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TEAM TALK
- Patriots place LB Jerod Mayo on injured reserve.
- Erik Scalavino tackles this week's Ask PFW Mailbag: Debating the defense.
- Belichick Breakdown: Top plays from the Divisional Round. (7.33 min. video)
LOCAL LINKS
- Matt Dolloff suggests we should expect a much different Patriots offense against the Broncos this week.
- Mike Reiss talks about how Bill Belichick and his players credit the team's mental toughness to help them push through numerous off-field distractions over the years.
- Christopher Price reveals Ed Hochuli will work as referee for Pats-Broncos, and reviews the lead official and their record for each Patriots game this season.
- Mike Petraglia says Tom Brady and Josh McDaniels have something special in these playoffs no one else can match.
- Mike Reiss tells us what has to change if the Patriots want a different result vs. the Broncos.
- Jeff Howe looks at the key matchup between Rob Gronkowski vs. T.J. Ward.
- Jen McCaffrey talks about the matchup between Julian Edelman and Chris Harris.
- Mark Daniels notes that the Broncos have sometimes had answers for Brady, but not with his full complement of weapons.
- Matt Burke lays out how the Patriots look the best out of the final four remaining teams.
- Christopher Price focuses on how Brady's quick-strike play made things easier for the offensive line.
- Kerry J. Byrne explains how the Patriots and Broncos buck NFL trends.
- Chris Mason tells us five things to know about the Broncos.
- Tim Britton writes that like all great rivals, Brady and Manning have motivated one another to reach new heights.
- Rich Garven observes Julian Edelman had to shake off some rust before taking over against the Chiefs.
- Chad Finn listens to the Patriots-Chiefs broadcast and doesn't find Dan Fouts as bad as the complainers claimed.
- Chris Mason reports DT Malcom Brown was named to the Pro Football Writers of America's All-Rookie team.
- Phil Perry notes LB Dekoda Watson is happy to chip in for a third go-round with the Patriots.
- Eric Wilbur explains why Brady will never beat Manning in one arena - the game of favorites.
- Kevin Duffy finds Broncos CB Chris Harris talking about how the best way to tackle Rob Gronkowski is to hit him in the knees. Rob Gronkowski issues a response.
- Mike Reiss notes Bill Belichick points out Gronk's recovery of the onside kick in his weekly breakdown of the game.
- Jerry Thornton goes full snark on Dan Shaughnessy for his claim that the Patriots lost to Miami on purpose and it blew up on them.
- Mark Farinella, perched proudly on his high horse, moralizes to Patriots fans about not giving Peyton Manning the proper respect.
- Jim Donaldson offers some new lyrics for Peyton Manning to use for his Nationwide jingle.
- Steve Buckley mentions that the Broncos want to avoid selling tickets to Pats fans and remembers when Pats fans weren't even interested in going to Foxboro.
- The Herald Staff rehashes Tom Brady's half-dozen defeats in Denver.
- Tom E. Curran wonders why anyone would believe the NFL on PSI.
- Mike Reiss reports new Titans GM Jon Robinson credited the Patriots with teaching him "what it means to build a team."
- NESN reports Bob Kravitz regrets calling for Bill Belichick's firing and sells out Chris Mortensen.
- Karen Guregian Patriots Notebook: Jerod Mayo was placed on season-ending IR after taking a hit to his shoulder Saturday; Rob Gronkowski may have to battle through a bit of a mind game going back to Denver where he was taken out of the game with a knee injury; Broncos have provided plenty of bulletin-board space at Gillette; Ed Hochuli will serve as referee; Broncos are 6-0 with Hochuli since 2008.
- Michael Whitmer Patriots Notebook: Broncos whine loudly to the media about Brady and take aim at Gronkowski; Bill Belichick was saddened by the loss of Ted Marchibroda; Ed Hochuli will be the referee for Sunday's game.
- Ricky Doyle notes that according to Charlie Weis, there was a time when the Pats could have flipped a coin between Tom Brady and Damon Huard to be the no.1 backup to Drew Bledsoe.
- Pat Bradley posts a photo of Tom Brady and Gisele watching their son Ben's hockey game while the Broncos-Steelers were playing.
NATIONAL NEWS
- Jenny Vrentas (The MMQB) Tom Brady's guardian angels.
-
Shalise Manza Young (Yahoo! Sports) Broncos' Marshall says Rob Gronkowski 'pushes off'.
- Cork Gaines (Business Insider) A Broncos defender admitted to something that should scare the bejeezus out of the Patriots and the NFL.
- 2 Point Lead (Facebook) Rob Gronkowski responds to Tweets. (1.48 min. video)
- Paul Hembekide (ESPN Stats & Info) Broncos don't fit profile of teams that have beaten Patriots in playoffs.
- Jake O'Donnell (SportsGrid) 11 Reasons why Pats fans can't buy AFC Championship tickets.
- Don Banks (SI) The ties that bind the four head coaches left in the NFL playoffs.
- Infographic (Real GM) NFL final four matchups since 2005.
- Chris Burke (SI) Ultimate 2016 NFL Championship Weekend Power Rankings.
- Thomas Duffy (Bleacher Report) Ed Reed on how to beat Tom Brady and the Patriots: 'Pray'.
- Nancy Armour (USA Today) Tom Brady exacts Deflategate revenge with his play.
- Rocky Boiman (Football by Football) Conference Championship week: 1. Postseason bye weeks matter.
- Michael O'keeffe (NY Daily News) Petyon's anti-aging guru talks about hormone replacement.
- Michael O'keeffe, Christian Red, Nathaniel Vinton (NY Daily News) Why would an elite athlete like Peyton Manning seek any treatment at sordid clinic?
- Vote (NFL.com) FedEx Air and Ground players of the year. Tom Brady is nominee.
- Mike Rodak (ESPN) Ed Reed's son, a Patriots fan, hesitant about dad coaching for Bills.
- Andrew Tomasi (Off The Monster Sports) "Tom Brady: The Goat" is the greatest video you will watch all day.
- Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Malik Jackson: Tom Brady is a "whiner" who throws "temper tantrums".
- Josh Alper (ProFootballTalk) Antonio Smith: Brady cries when he gets hit, but he keeps coming.
- Bob Kravitz (WTHR) It doesn't get any better than one final Manning vs. Brady matchup.
- Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) NFL divisional round games average 36.2 million viewers.
- Darin Gantt (ProFootballTalk) NFL adds a pair of executive vice presidents.
VIEW FROM DENVER
- Cameron Wolfe (Denver Post) Broncos' run game a contrast to Patriots' passing game.
- Andrew Mason (DenverBroncos) Broncos look to correct drop issues.
- Troy E. Renck (Denver Post) Broncos Mailbag: What to do about Denver's damaged secondary?
- Nicki Jhabvala (Denver Post) Rob Gronkowski, Broncos' defense trade barbs.
- Phil Milani and Matt Boyer breakdown video of TE Rob Gronkowski and discuss the challenges of defending him. (1.33 min. video)
- Andrew Mason (DenverBroncos) Broncos place Omar Bolden on injured reserve; Taurean Nixon promoted to fill his spot.