New England Patriots links 10/24/17 - Improved defense not a fluke

TEAM TALK

• Press Release: Patriots victory delivers highest rating of season; Highest-rated primetime game since Week 1.
• Erik Scalavino breaks down the Pats-Falcons film, quarter-by-quarter: One bugaboo that still haunts the team overall is penalties.
• Paul Perillo looks at who won the matchups Sunday, as the Patriots delivered their best all-around performance of the season.
• Conference Call Transcript: Bill Belichick.
• Patriots locker room celebration following the win over the Falcons. (1.32 min. video)
• Go Home - We head to Chicago with Jimmy Garoppolo to get a closer look at his life in his hometown. (4.30 min. video)
• WEEI Patriots Monday: Tom Brady (17.27 min.) - Trey Flowers (9.54 min.) - Bill Belichick (20.42 min.)

LOCAL LINKS

• Jeff Howe thinks the Patriots defensive improvement may have staying power. /Can we vote? I vote 'yes' for it to stay.
• Mike Reiss notes the offense's ability to run out the clock after recovering an onside kick attempt - and getting contributions from all four of their main RBs - is one of the areas of improvement shown on Sunday.
• Ian Glendon (Cover32) Butler, Bademosi, and the Patriots defense shine in win.
• Zack Cox points out how Kyle Van Noy has grown into an every-down player for New England this year.
• Adam Kurkjian Patriots Notebook: Key tackle illustrates Kyle Van Noy’s improvement in second year with team.
• Doug Kyed Patriots-Falcons Film Review: How New England Put dagger in Atlanta. Falcons acted like a team who didn't respect the Patriots defense.
• Mike D'Abate (Cover32) Patriots recap: Pats rise; Falcons fall, 23-7.
• Michael Hurley serves up some still-warm leftover Patriots thoughts: Belichick's hand-picked players are starting to figure it out.
• Jerry Thornton (Barstool Sports) Knee Jerk reactions to Week 7: Patriots vs Falcons.
• Kevin Duffy hears from the Patriots on how its 'fast and physical' defense utterly dominated the Falcons.
• Matt Dolloff takes a look around the AFC to see where everyone stands after Week 7: Patriots, Steelers taking hold atop the conference.
• Henry McKenna (PatriotsWire) Bill Belichick says fog made film study of Patriots-Falcons difficult for 'aging eyes'.
• Jerry Thornton (Barstool Sports) Julio Jones suggests the Patriots created Sunday night's fog.
• Michael Hurley notes Tom Brady still leads the league in passing yards, is now tied for the NFL lead with 15 TDs and is second in passer rating.
• Mike Reiss reminds us the legend of Tom Brady really got going a little over 16 years ago when he engineered his first comeback win over the Chargers.
• 98.5 Sports Hub guest Boomer Esiason says the Patriots have an advantage every time they step on the field thanks to No. 12, and how their sustained greatness from 2001 until now is unheard of.
• Ian Glendon (Cover32) Tom Brady strengthens his case for the MVP award.
• Alex Reimer suggests that above all else, Tom Brady seems to be a good family person, and that should be a big part of his legacy too.
• Ian Glendon (Cover32) Brandin Cooks continues to flourish as a Patriot. "When targeting Cooks against the Falcons, Brady had a perfect passer rating."
• Phil Perry says a combination of factors - including his hard work in practice - prompted the Patriots to give David Harris nearly 20 snaps on Sunday.
• Kevin Duffy talks about the Pro Football Focus report that shows Dion Lewis ranking No. 2 in entire NFL in yards after contact.
• Mark Farinella Patriots Notebook: It’s easy to be unaffected by a past game when you didn’t participate in it.
• Mark Farinella picks his hots and nots from Pats-Falcons.
• Darrelle Lincoln (Total Pro Sports) Somebody in the Boston area is selling 328 fog machines on Craigslist following SNF fog game.
• Darren Hartwell passes along a report that the man who rammed into the back of Harvey Langi's SUV at a high speed faces multiple criminal charges.

NATIONAL NEWS

• Mike Jones (USA Today) Patriots leave Falcons in fog with dominating win.
• Steven Ruiz (USA Today) The Patriots-Falcons fog game revealed we've been watching the NFL from the wrong angle.
• Josh Alper (ProFootballTalk) Tom Brady: Fog looked cool on TV, but didn’t affect much.
• Kevin Seifert (ESPN) Why the 'Madden view' won't take over NFL broadcasts ... yet.
• Ian O'Connor (ESPN) The 2017 Patriots finally look worthy of Tom Brady.
• Mike Tanier (Bleacher Report) Monday Morning Digest Week 7: Meet the NFL's next great team.
• Lorenzo Reyes (USA Today) 40 things we learned in Week 7 of the 2017 NFL season.
• Robert Mays (The Ringer) NFL Week 7 Recap: Embrace the chaos in a season with no complete teams.
• Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) Hang a banner with Joe Thomas’s No. 10,363, and other Week Seven thoughts.
• Gary Davenport (Bleacher Report) NFL team grades for Week 7. Patriots earn an A.
• Chart (NFLPenalties.com) NFL Penalty stats - 2017. /Patriots 7th in flags against (53), and 5th in penalty yards (463).
• Highlights (NFL.com) Kyle Van Noy shuts down Taylor Gabriel on 4th and goal. (14 second clip.)
• Felix Gillette (Bloomberg) NFL’s $205 million man is hated by everyone but those who matter.

VIEW FROM ATLANTA

• Tim Tucker (AJC.com) Higher TV ratings in New Orleans than Atlanta for Falcons game. /This I find funny. Props to our friends in the NFC South.
• Matt Winkeljohn (AJC.com) Falcons look for more push up the middle, better coordination in D-line. Brady too comfy in the pocket.
• Matt Winkeljohn (AJC.com) Falcons hold team meeting to focus on several issues.
• Mark Bradley (AJC.com) Dan Quinn has the team he wanted, now he needs to coach it.
• Matt Winkeljohn (AJC.com) Frustration, thy name isn’t Falcons, at least not yet ... maybe.