New England Patriots Links 4/24/15 - Patriots Receive Presidential Seal of Approval

TEAM TALK

• Patriots 2015 Mock Draft Tracker - What the top 'experts' are predicting the Patriots will do in the first round.
• Erik Scalavino sets the stage as the Super Bowl XLIX champions receive a warm embrace from the leader of the free world.  /and President Obama.
• Briana Palma shares six awesome moments from the Patriots White House visit.
• New England Patriots White House ceremony. (13.03 min. video)
• Andy Hart gives us a Bill Belichick draft-day flashback to see what he had to say on draft day about Rob Gronkowski.
• Photos - Patriots travel to the White House.
• Patriots.com recaps the Patriots visit to the White House through social media.

LOCAL LINKS

• Mike Reiss details the Patriots trip to the White House, as President Obama lauded the team and got in a deflategate joke.
• Jeff Pini points out that, in President Obama's words, the Patriot are "as good an organization as there's been" in sports.
• Karen Guregian wonders if Roger Goodell tuned in to watch President Barack Obama cracking jokes about Deflategate.
• Tom E. Curran was a bit surprised President Obama went with the deflategate joke, and gives his take on Tom Brady's absence.
• Shalise Manza Young reports on the Patriots presidential visit, and on the joke that fell flat.
• Mike Reiss notes Rob Gronkowski's answer to a question provided a bit of an awkward moment at Thursday's ceremony honoring the team.
• Ben Volin writes the visit to the military hospital gives Patriots perspective.
• Ben Volin reports Nick Caserio is the Patriots’ crucial link between football and business.
• CBS Boston posts a video clip of Rob Gronkowski being himself at the microphone, with coach Belichick and Julian Edelman laughing, cringing behind him. (32 seconds)
• Karen Guregian sees the rest of the AFC East gaining on the Patriots.
• Christopher Price identifies five late-round developmental quarterback targets for the Patriots.
• Mike Reiss reviews the Kiper-McShay mock draft for the Patriots.
• Jeff Howe Patriots Notebook: Tom Brady's absence from the White House was not a political message; Bill Belichick wore an Armenian flag pin on his lapel during the visit, as today marks the 100-year anniversary of the Armenian genocide; Belichick took a busload of Patriots to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center before arriving at the White House; Chandler Jones was very shocked by how many Patriots fans were in there.

NATIONAL NEWS

• Jordan Fabian (The Hill) Obama 'deflategate' joke falls flat.
• Cy Brown (Sports on Earth) Obama burns the Patriots.
• Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) Obama praises Patriots, makes a Deflategate joke.
• Darin Gantt (ProFootballTalk) Bill Belichick uses White House trip to make larger points.
• Jake Ciely (Sports Grid) NFL strength of schedule is meaningless.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) At least 10 players declined invitation to draft.
• Adam Schein (NFL.com) 2015 NFL Draft: Perfect marriages I'd love to see in first round.
• Suzanne Vranica (Wall St. Journal) Google using NFL content as leverage to bolster YouTube ad sales.
• Matt Brown (Sports on Earth) NFL Draft all-sleeper team.
• Jamey Eisenberg (CBS Sports) The science of speed.
• Jake O'Donnell (Sports Grid) The celebrity-filled promo for Mayweather-Pacquiao is just a taste of how epic this fight will be. (30 second clip) /Brady shows for a split-second.
• Kerry J. Byrne (Cold Hard Football Facts) Bill Belichick to football world: Go f*ck yourself. [Jan. 24. 2015 - three-month anniversary of Belichick's "I am not a scientist" presser.]
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Still waiting for #DeflateGate outcome.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) NFL’s new disciplinary process, player rights make for delicate balance.
• Mike Wilkening (ProFootballTalk) 88 years ago Thursday, the NFL made a plan to get smaller.