New England Patriots Links 1/14/13 - Mentally Tough Patriots Take Care of Texans, 41-28

TEAM TALK

• Post Game Notes: Patriots vs. Texans. Records set, milestones reached and trends continued.
• Erik Scalavino feels New England's victory was soured by the loss of Gronkowski.
• AP Report: Patriots defeat Texans 41-28; will host AFC Championship Game on Sunday.
• Post Game Quotes: Patriots and Texans.
• Post Game Pressers: Bill Belichick (12.53 min. video), Tom Brady (4.46 min. video), Devin McCourty (2.14 min. video) and Vince Wilfork (6.49 min. video)
• Patriots Today - It's on to the AFC title game. (3.05 min. video)
• Patriots Today - Eyeing the Ravens. (1.32 min. video)
• Locker Room Uncut - Hernandez, Mankins and more. (3.32 min. video)

LOCAL LINKS

• Jeff Howe recounts the Patriots exhausting, momentum-twisting victory for the Patriots, that came with an extensive toll.
• Mike Reiss gives us his initial reaction to Patriots 41, Texans 28.
• Mike Petraglia recaps the Patriots divisional round playoff win over the Texans.
• Shalise Manza Young details the Patriots dispatching of the not-ready-for-prime-time Houston Texans.
• Tom E. Curran notes the Patriots persevered while losing key players, and their mental toughness has them now hosting the AFC Championship.
• Jackie MacMullen writes that with another Super Bowl in sight, the Patriots simply pushed the Texans aside.
• Greg A. Bedard says right now it's a toss-up on who has better timing, Rob Ninkovich or Superman.
• The ESPN Stats and Information crew finds that the stats tell the story of Pats-Texans.
• Karen Guregian reports the loss of Rob Gronkowski will not be crippling, and the Pats can still win it all without him.
• Mike Reiss thinks the Patriots have shown they can adapt to life without Rob Gronkowski.
• Christopher Price tells us ten things we learned Sunday: 358 days after Billy Cundiff went wide left, we're all back here once again.
• Mark Farinella observes the Patriots are pretty good at this "rematch" thing, and hopefully, that will serve them well next week.
• Mark Daniels focuses on how Shane Vereen picks up the slack and scores three times after Danny Woodhead was injured.
• Mike Rodak notes Shane Vereen picks a good time for a breakout game.
• Chad Finn likes how Shane Vereen took his chance as next-man-up and ran with it.
• Michael Whitmer reports that when opportunity knocks, Shane Vereen answers.
• Ron Borges believes little big man Wes Welker gives the Patriots a fighting chance, in what will be a street fight next week.
• Dan Ventura sees another solid outing for the Pats' defense.
• Tom E. Curran says "you can't spell "Maddening Disappointment, yo..." without Peyton Manning."
• Zuri Berry gives us five takeaways from Patriots-Texans: Tom Brady is the all-time leader in postseason wins for a QB.
• Christopher Price tells us what went right and what went wrong as the Patriots roll over the Texans.
• Mary Paoletti picks her Patriots-Texans superlatives.
• Mike Reiss selects his Ups and Downs from the Patriots win.
• Mark Daniels gives us the Best & Worst of Pats-Texans.
• Mark Farinella tells us who's hot and who's not from Pats-Texans.
• Mike Reiss gets the players' reactions to the Gronkowski news.
• The Herald Staff picks the play of the game: Rob Ninkovich's interception in the third quarter.
• Mike Felger, Troy Brown, and Ty Law discuss the day Tom Brady had after he won his 17th career playoff game. (1.39 min. video)
• Field Yates provides an early scouting report on Patriots-Ravens.
• Mike Reiss takes a look at snaps played by the skill-position players Sunday and analyzes what it means. Shane Vereen had a career-high day.
• Mike Reiss looks at the positional groupings utilized by the Patriots yesterday and notes they didn't reshape their attack after Gronkowski left the game.

NATIONAL NEWS

• NFL Game Center: Houston Texans vs. New England Patriots. Recap, stats, analysis and highlights. Woot!
• Don Banks (SI) No Gronkowski, no problem as Patriots offense steamrolls Texans.
• Sean Deveney (Sporting News) Patriots vs. Texans: Tom Brady remains a big problem for Houston.
• James Walker (ESPN) Rapid reaction: Patriots 41, Texans 28.
• Kennedy Ross (Cold Hard Football Facts) Patriots wrangle the Texans 41-28.
• Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) After three great games, Patriots make a statement.
• Chris Burke (SI) First down/Fourth down: Tom Brady's up-tempo attack unnerves Houston.
• Jason Cole (Yahoo! Sports) Did divisional-round theatrics produce best playoff weekend in NFL history?
• Matt Bowen (Nat'l Football Post) My game notes from Sunday's Divisional Playoffs.
• John Turner (Sporting News) NFL playoff scores: Patriots top Texans, Falcons survive Seahawks.
• Clark Judge (CBS Sports) Divisional Judgements: Ravens like their chances, Falcons in trouble.
• Dan Wetzel (Yahoo! Sports) Business-as-usual attitude as Patriots take next step in playoffs without star TE Rob Gronkowski.
• Gregg Rosenthal (NFL.com) Rob Gronkowski breaks left forearm, out for playoffs.
• Dan Hanzus (NFL.com) Balanced offense allows Pats to survive loss of Gronk.
• Jarrett Bell (USA Today) Resourceful Patriots know how to adjust on the fly.
• Josh Katzowitz (CBS Sports) Patriots-Texans winners, losers; Pats still electric.
• Mike Freeman (CBS Sports) Houston Texans secure their place as biggest frauds in all of NFL.
• Paul Kuharsky (ESPN) Texans can't handle Pats' pace, personnel.
• Will Brinson (CBS Sports) 2012 NFL Grades: Divisional round. Pats earn B+.
• Mike Freeman (CBS Sports) Welker quietly goes about business of setting records.
• Joel Corry (Nat'l Football Post) Patriot games: Why doesn't Wes Welker have a contract that matches his production?
• Tom Pollin (Cold Hard Football Facts) Ten biggest plays of the 2013 divisional round.
• Report (Cold Hard Football Facts) Mother of all stats gets hammered like drunken old MILF.
• James Walker (ESPN) Tom Brady separates Patriots in final four.
• Vinnie Iyer (Sporting News) NFL Checkdown: One last chance for Brady, Lewis to go at it.
• Gregg Rosenthal (NFL.com) Sunday scramble: Previewing Championship weekend.
• Alex Marvez (Fox Sports) Championship games preview: New faces add spice to familiar look.
• Gregg Rosenthal (NFL.com) Brendon Ayanbadejo: Patriots' offense a 'gimmick'.
• Mike Garafolo (USA Today) Patriots shrug off Brendon Ayanbadejo's comments.
• Insider (Pro Football Weekly) Successful teams' leaders police selves.

VIEW FROM HOUSTON

• John McClain (Houston Chronicle) Familiar song and dance leads to Texans’ playoff exit.
• Nick Scurfield (HoustonTexans.com) Texans' season ends with 41-28 loss at Patriots.
• David Barron (Houston Chronicle) Texans’ playoff run ends in rematch with Patriots.
• Nick Scurfield (HoustonTexans.com) Disappointed Texans fall 2 games short of ultimate goal.
• Jason Mastrodonato (Houston Chronicle) Patriots’ pace leaves Texans playing catch-up.
• Tania Ganguli (Houston Chronicle) Texans need more depth to take next step.
• Dale Robertson (Houston Chronicle) Third quarter changes momentum.
• Seth Lakso (Houston Chronicle) Pats’ Wes Welker lets performance do talking.