New England Patriots Links 1/17/16 - Bonus Divisional Round Victory Edition

TEAM TALK

• Post Game Notes: Patriots vs. Chiefs. Records set, milestones reached, trends continued.
• Erik Scalavino posts his observations from the press box at Gillette Stadium: Gronk, Edelman the difference.
• Paul Perillo shares some random thoughts from the game: Patriots return to form.
• Andy Hart's Stock Watch: Gronkowski, Edelman boost Patriots to AFC title game.
• Gamebook: Full Chiefs-Patriots stats.
• Post Game Quotes: Patriots and Chiefs.
• Post Game Pressers: Bill Belichick (13.16 min.) - Tom Brady (5.08 min.) - Rob Ninkovich (4.20 min.) - Devin McCourty (5.44 min.)
• Locker Room Uncut: Julian Edelman (7.36 min.) - Rob Gronkowski (3.26 min.) - Dont'a Hightower (4.53 min.)

LOCAL LINKS

• Christopher Gasper borrows a line from former NFL coach Dennis Green: the Patriots are who we thought they were all along, saving their best football for the Tournament.
• Jeff Howe recaps Saturday's win over the Chiefs saying it almost looked easy, like the flip of a switch.
• Mark Daniels talks about how the Patriots offensive line stepped up with the addition of Sebastian Vollmer.
• Mike Reiss reports Tom Brady continues to rewrite playoff records for quarterbacks.
• Ryan Hannable passes along what he knows about the Patriots injuries suffered in the win over the chiefs.
• Phil Perry calls defending 6-foot-6 Rob Gronkowski when he's lined up out wide a physics problem . . . and the Chiefs had no answers on Saturday.
• Mike Reiss finds that for Rob Gronkowski, it's, no practice? No problem.
• Ron Borges observes that even a gimpy Rob Gronkowski proves he's too much of a beast to be stopped.
• Ben Volin focuses on how the return of Julian Edelman and Sebastian Vollmer and a healthy Rob Gronkowski made all the difference.
• Art Martone calls Saturday's win a championship performance.
• Doug Kyed Patriots Advanced Stats: Patrick Chung shuts down Pro Bowl tight end.
• Karen Guregian credits the return of the Pats offense to the return of Julian Edelman.
• The Herald Staff says third-down offense had been a glaring weakness for the Patriots, but that all changed yesterday with the return of Julian Edelman.
• Michael Hurley points out that Chandler Jones started and missed no time after the bye-week incident.
• Mike Reiss notes Chandler Jones' limited playing time is one of several takeaways from Saturday's snap-count totals for the Patriots.
• Steve Buckley says Chandler Jones' strong showing doesn't wipe out his embarrassing display.
• Dan Ventura highlights Tom Brady's play, including his own touchdown late in the second quarter.
• CSNNE reports Danny Amendola says he will appeal if he gets fined for his "unnecessary roughness" penalty.
• CSNNE passes along a Tweet from Scott Zolak that the refs forgot the kicking balls and gauges at their hotel.
• Doug Kyed reports Bill Belichick was in an unusually fantastic mood after his team came away with the win yesterday.
• Michael Hurley notes Bill Belichick honors Ted Marchibroda: 'I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him.'
• Phil Perry writes a fantastic article about Bill Belichick and his out-of-the-box approach.
• Dan Shaughnessy wasn't worried at all about the Patriots making another trip to the AFC title game.
• Ben Volin Sunday Football Notes: After ride on NFL's coaching carousel, how did teams make out?
• Mike Reiss picks his Ups and Downs from Saturday.
• Michael Hurley gives us his post-game Four Ups and Four Downs.
• The Herald Staff picks the Best & Worst from Patriots-Chiefs.

NATIONAL NEWS

• NFL Game Center - Kansas City Chiefs vs. New England Patriots: Recap, stats, analysis, highlights.
• Marc Sessler (NFL.com) Pass-happy Patriots prove balance is overrated.
• Lorenzo Reyes (USA Today) Julian Edelman's return 'changes everything' for Patriots offense.
• Pete Prisco (CBS Sports) Why the Chiefs' scary pass rush was no match for mad genius of Belichick.
• Dan Hanzus (NFL.com) Gronkowski strikes twice as Patriots outlast Chiefs.
• Bob Glauber (Newsday) Tom Brady-to-Rob Gronkowski TDs get Patriots past Chiefs.
• Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) Patriots beat Chiefs, advance to AFC Championship Game.
• Mike Vaccaro (NY Post) We will never see another dynasty like these Patriots.
• Staff Report (ESPN Stats & Information) Brady-Belichick duo reigns supreme.
• Sharon Katz (ESPN) Tom Brady's sneaky huge game.
• Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) Edelman’s game-clinching first down should have been reviewed.
• SI Wire (SI) Watch: Patriots seal win over Chiefs with tipped-pass first down.
• Dan Wetzel (Yahoo! Sports) Bill Belichick emotional talking about the late Ted Marchibroda.
• John Breech (CBS Sports) Travis Kelce makes horrible pregame decision to mock Tom Brady.
• Josh Alper (ProFootballTalk) Report: Patriots sign Keshawn Martin to two-year extension.
• Conor Orr (NFL.com) Chiefs mismanage clock in failed comeback attempt. /Ya think?.
• Chris Korman (USA Today) Everyone was exasperated with Andy Reid as he meandered through another playoff loss.
• Manish Mehta (NY Daily News) Tom Brady makes sure Patriots beat Chiefs for trip to AFC Championship: "Never. Doubt. Tom. Brady."
  

VIEW FROM KANSAS CITY

• Terez A. Paylor (Kansas City Star) Chiefs’ magical run ends with 27-20 loss to Patriots in AFC playoffs.
• Bill Speros (Kansas City Star) Tom Brady has his way in Patriots’ victory over Chiefs.
• Pete Sweeney (Chiefs.com) Game Recap: Patriots Defeat Chiefs, 27-20.
• Sam Mellinger (Kansas City Star) The best Chiefs team in years is done, ‘just like that,’ and now comes the hard work.
• Vahe Gregorian (Kansas City Star) Alex Smith’s scramble looked like a spark, but Chiefs’ remarkable run ends.
• Blair Kerkhoff (Kansas City Star) With time to operate, Patriots’ Tom Brady picks apart Chiefs.
• BJ Kissel (Chiefs.com) Chiefs vs. Patriots: 12 Observations.