TEAM TALK
- Patriots - Texans Thursday Injury Report.
- Paul Perillo scouts the matchups: Containing Watt key to victory.
- Patriots Roster Moves: Pats release RB Trey Williams; Sign DB Rashaan Melvin to practice squad; Release DB Chris Greenwood from practice squad
- Briana Palma lauds the Pats fan in Broncos territory who snuck the Patriots logo into a Broncos fans' holiday card.
- Patriots Today - Practice Report: Gronk sighting. (1 min. video)
LOCAL LINKS
- Tom E. Curran believes Rob Gronkowski is entitled to take his time in returning. He's a special case in a team that doesn't usually tolerate special cases.
- Kevin Duffy wonders how long the Patriots should sit Rob Gronkowski.
- Rich Thompson notes the Patriots defense hopes to ground the Texans run game to a halt.
- Eric Wilbur points out that Sunday's game against the Texans looked like a slam-dunk two weeks ago but is now the most pivotal Sunday in 2015.
- Jeff Kane (ESPNNH) New England looks to right the ship vs. Houston Texans.
- Jeff Howe serves us up a Friday 6-Pack: Examining the issues with the offense while Julian Edelman is on the mend.
- Doug Kyed Patriots Mailbag: Pass rush living up to expectations despite injuries.
- Michael Hurley reports Tom Brady is on pace to throw nearly 700 passes this season, and mentions how history has not been kind to QBs who have thrown that much.
- Doug Kyed notes Jimmy Garoppolo finds the Texans' scout-team offense is 'very similar' to the Patriots this week.
- Jeff Howe mentions how Bill Belichick’s coaching style impacted the lives of more players than anyone could count.
- Bruce Allen (Boston Sports Media Watch) Avoiding toxic sports media.
- Rich Thompson finds that Brian Hoyer has earned the respect of former teammates.
- MassLive presents the best of Vince Wilfork: A look back at his best moments from Buttfumble to Wilfork Island.
- Jeff Howe Patriots Notebook: Rob Gronkowski's return makes for a happy Belichick, even if it's not yet clear whether he'll play in Houston; Dont'a Hightower had his left leg and knee heavily wrapped before practice but he shed it in time for the workout; Patrick Chung (foot) returned to practice; Matthew Slater is confident the players will rally together to claw out of a mistake-filled two-game losing streak.
- Doug Kyed reports the Trey Williams era didn't last long for the New England Patriots
- Pat Bradley notes Rob Gronkowski chose Arizona for college because of the pool parties.
- Jim Lazar sends "Do Your Job" stocking caps to Gillette to remind them to 'cut out the stupid show and start playing like the Patriots.' Week 14 Picks: Pats win 24-10.
- Sean Glennon (This Football Blog) Week fourteen picks. Pats win by a touchdown.
- N.E. Tailgate: Glen Ordway, Fred Smerlas and Steve DeOssie make their Patriots vs. Texans predictions. (1.34 min. video)
NATIONAL NEWS
- Sterling Xie (Bleacher Report) Patriots vs. Texans: Full New England game preview.
- Oliver Thomas (247 Sports) Patriots captain Devin McCourty's message: 'Just play football'.
- AP Report (Yahoo! Sports) No panic among Patriots after 2 straight losses.
- John Breech (CBS Sports) Tom Brady is way faster than we thought, ran 16.96 mph vs. Eagles.
- Oliver Thomas (247 Sports) Reports: Patriots work out receivers DeAndre Carter, J.J. Worton.
- Jeffri Chadiha (NFL.com) Playoffs contenders and pretenders.
- Doug Farrar (SI) Off the Grid: The NFL's credibility gap, Jim Bob's Big Adventure, and more.
- Kevin Clark (Wall St. Journal) NFL’s quality of play hits rock bottom, no one cares.
- Kevin Clark (Wall St. Journal) The most painful NFL teams to watch.
- Kevin L. Burke (Sporting News) Leave the refs alone, it's not their fault your team lost.
- Cyd Zeigler (SB Nation) The NFL's catch rule is better than you think.
- Jeanne Marie Laskas (Wall St. Journal) The doctor the NFL tried to silence.
- Gregg Rosenthal (NFL.com) QB Index: Palmer overtakes Brady for top spot.
- Daniel Jeremiah (NFL.com) Grading defensive rookie first-rounders. Malcom Brown gets a B+.
- Dave Dameshek (NFL.com) Football Baby makes his Week 14 picks. (1.59 min. video) Pats win.
- Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) PFT's Week 14 picks. Florio picks Patriots 27-20, MDS picks Patriots 23-17.
- Pete Prisco (CBS Sports) Week 14 picks. Patriots win 23-21.
- Experts (USA Today) Week 14 NFL picks. All seven pick Pats to win.
VIEW FROM HOUSTON
- Deepi Sidhu (HoustonTexans.com) J.J. Watt misses practice, will play vs. Pats.
- Drew Dougherty (HoustonTexans.com) 7 reasons Rob Gronkowski is effective.
- Aaron Wilson (Houston Chronicle) Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski practices, ‘big , big challenge’ for Texans, if he plays.
- Aaron Wilson (Houston Chronicle) Texans’ Jadeveon Clowney takes aim at childhood icon Tom Brady.
- Dale Robertson (Houston Chronicle) Texans report: Belichick lavish in praise of Watt.
- Greg Rajan (Houston Chronicle) Are Texans among the NFL’s most painful teams to watch?
- Staff (HoustonTexans.com) Texans Quotes: December 10.
- Staff (HoustonTexans.com) Texans release depth chart for Sunday Night Football.
- John McClain (Houston Chronicle) Week 14 NFL predictions. Patriots 27-17.