New England Patriots Links 12/26/11 - Second Half's the Charm

Vince Wilfork talks about being down 17-0 at halftime.

"We went to the sideline and talked. We said we only needed one play to get it started as a team. All the while, we never gave up on one another and never said anything negative to one another. Going down 17-0 is a pretty big deficit but once again, this team showed its character. We believed in one another and stepped up and once we got going, it seemed that all we needed was that one play. Once we got it, it opened up everything else on offense, special teams and defense. It was a great win for us and we still have room for improvement. Each week we are going to get better."

Brian Waters responds to a question on how the team overcame a 17-point deficit.

"One thing they say from the day you come in here is just do your job. And I think that we trust each other in that fact. There are no special things around here that are any different from anybody else, outside of everybody is just wondering about what they need to do and they take care of their business. The end result [is] we never panic. We never panic. There was no panic on the sideline. More people will probably think, 'You guys were too calm.' There wasn't any yelling, there wasn't any screaming, it was just about getting to the things that we knew we could do well and going after it after that."

Deion Branch says they were "looking for some sort of boost and needed a big play from our guys and we got it."

[The defense] played a 60-minute game. The offense went out and couldn't get it going. It just wasn't in sync at all in the first half. We let our defense down the entire first half. It's all about being a team. We stuck with it, came back and everything worked out for us."

TEAM TALK

• Erik Scalavino analyzes Dolphins-Patriots and says Christmas Eve hasn't seen this dramatic a turnaround since Ebenezer Scrooge.
• Post Game Notes: Patriots v. Dolphins. Team and player milestones reached, records set and trends continued.
• Post Game Pressers: Bill Belichick (5.03 min. video), Tom Brady (3.12 min. video) and Wes Welker (2.33 min. video).
• Player Interviews: Jerod Mayo (1.31 min.), Devin McCourty (2.41 min.) and Vince Wilfork (3.48 min.)
• Post Game Quotes: Patriots and Dolphins.
• Patriots Today - Pats come back to secure a bye. (3.44 min. video)
• Locker Room Uncut - Players react to win over Dolphins. (3.57 min. video)

LOCAL LINKS

• Ian Rapoport explains what Bill O'Brien did to adjust the offense in the second half to keep Tom Brady upright and find his rhythm.
• Ian Rapoport charts how the Dolphins pressured Brady in the first half and how it changed in the second.
• Ron Borges details the Patriots' odd but winning formula: Give up huge chunks of yardage, fall significantly behind an inferior opponent, then turnover, turnover, turnover, game over.
• Christopher Price tells us ten things we learned Saturday: We've seen this finish from the Patriots before.
• Mike Reiss takes a hard look at some key points in the Patriots' turnaround, winning seven straight games.
• Tom E. Curran notes the Big Digout wouldn't have happened if the NE defense hadn't settled in and started getting the ball back in Tom Brady's hands.
• Mike Reiss focuses on how the Patriots are showing the mental toughness that breeds success. The team's formula of plugging in the 'next man up' continues to produce results.
• Chris Forsberg notes Wes Welker blames himself for the Patriots poor first half.
• Steve Buckley reports Wes Welker took one for the team when he blamed himself for the poor first half, but without Matt Light or Logan Mankins, the Pats were re-crafting their O-line on the fly.
• Bob Ryan says Vince Wilfork's fumble recovery was the game-changer for the Patriots.
• Mike Rodak says Devin McCourty's first interception of the season doesn't make up for how badly he was beaten during the game.
• Shalise Manza Young reports rookie RB Stevan Ridley had a season - and team- high 13 carries against the Dolphins Saturday.
• Mike Petraglia tells us why this Patriots playoff run will be different.
• ESPNBoston reports Bill Belichick presented Saturday's game ball to Robert Kraft, in memory of Myra Kraft, as the players gathered around him in the locker room.
• Mike Reiss points out all the Patriots need is a win over the Bills to earn the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs.
• Mike Reiss looks at the snaps played by offensive skill-position players and analyzes what it means.
• Mike Reiss looks at the snaps played by Patriots defenders, noting Shaun Ellis was back in the mix.
• Mike Reiss takes a look at the positional groupings used by the Patriots and what it tells us.
• Mike Reiss charts the players who appeared on multiple special teams units in the win over the Fins.
• Ian Rapoport Patriots Notebook: Shaun Ellis filled in Saturday after spending the middle of the season on the bench without complaint; Pats LBs found success blitzing for the first time in several games; Players had Sunday and Monday off after catching a bye with their win; For a second week, the Pats came back from a deficit to dominate in the second half.
• Shalise Manza Young Patriots Notebook: Zoltan Mesko's six first-half punts bailed out the offense; Shaun Ellis stepped up to fill Andre Carter's role; Tom Brady has a career-high 4,897 passing yards (surpassing the 4,806 in 2007) and can break Dan Marino's season record of 5,084 if he passes for 188 yards in Week 17 against Buffalo.
• Mike Reiss gives us his three up and three down for the Patriots.
• Dan Duggan gives us the Best and Worst of Saturday's game.
• WEEI tells us what went right and what went wrong for the Patriots against the Dolphins.

NATIONAL NEWS

• NFL Game Center - Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots. Recap, stats, analysis and highlight videos.
• James Walker (ESPN) Five things we learned about AFC East.
• Don Banks (SI) Snap Judgments: Week 16.
• Playoff picture (NFL.com) If the season ended today.
• Peter King (SI) MMQB: After dismantling Bears, MVP is officially Rodger's to lose.
• Staff Report (NFL.com) Playoff scenarios through Dec. 25.

VIEW FROM MIAMI

• Barry Jackson (Miami Herald) Dolphins collapse in second half in loss to New England Patriots.
• Shandel Richardson (Sun-Sentinel) Dolphins blow big lead, fall to Pats 27-24.
• Ben Volin (Palm Beach Post) Dolphins lose to New England but it's nothing like the beat-down they suffered in Week 1.
• Dave Hyde (Sun-Sentinel) Tom Brady gives Miami Dolphins a reality check.
• Brian Biggane (Palm Beach Post) Dolphins stop Tom Brady in the first half, but he dominates the second in NE's comeback victory.
• Shandel Richardson (Sun-Sentinel) Dolphins had no answer for no-huddle.
• Armando Salguero (Miami Herald) Grading the game: Dolphins at Patriots.
• Ben Volin (Palm Beach Post) Dolphins can end NY Jets' slim playoff hopes with a win next week.