New England Patriots 10/27/17 - ‘Give me victory or give me depth’ edition

TEAM TALK

• Patriots-Chargers Thursday Injury Report. [sobs].
• Transactions: Patriots sign WR Jake Kumerow to the practice squad; Release DL Mike Purcell from the practice squad.
• Erik Scalavino posts the locker-room news and notes from Thursday at Gillette: Reaction to Hightower news.
• Paul Perillo scouts the matchup: Pass protection key to victory.
• Press Conference Transcript: Devin McCourty.
• What They're Saying: Los Angeles Chargers.

LOCAL LINKS

• Steve Balestrieri (PatsFans) Patriots-Chargers key matchups, who has the razor's edge?
• Stephen Hewitt finds Rex Burkhead happy to be back in the running rotation.
• Jeff Howe Patriots Notebook: Danny Amendola day-to-day with nagging left knee injury.
• Kevin Duffy wonders if the Patriots should reconsider Danny Amendola's role as punt returner.
• Zack Cox Patriots Notes: Rex Burkhead taking unselfish approach in return from injury.
• Ryan Hannable passes along a report that Danny Amendola has a hyperextended knee.
• Doug Kyed tells us how Chris Hogan got his teeth knocked out in practice.
• Jeff Howe reports the Patriots’ defensive turnaround will have to continue without their most impactful LB.
• Ryan Hannable explains why the loss of Dont'a Hightower might be the one the Patriots can't overcome.
• Mike Reiss sees Shea McClellin's return as similar to a trade acquisition and makes a knee-jerk move for a replacement unlikely.
• Ryan Hannable tells us which players will need to step up to replace Dont'a Hightower, and adds a few names the Pats might try to acquire.
• Mike Reiss suggests it's now time for David Harris to prove that he was worth the money.
• Ryan Hannable looks at David Harris as having a good chance to be the player to step up in Hightower's place.
• Matt Dolloff points to Kyle Van Noy as the guy the Pats need to step up and lead their linebacking corps.
• Ron Borges questions the long-term issues brought up by Dont'a Hightower's latest injury. "How many times can your body rebel against what you are asking from it before it begins to refuse to respond at all to your commands?"
• Mike Reiss says the ankle injury to Malcom Brown, the Patriots' most effective DT in 2017, will make him miss Sunday and could open a spot for a practice squad player.
• Tom E. Curran deflates the Patriots’ Super Bowl chances with the loss of two players on their "Just Can't Lose" list, and says ‘Pats are now just another crab in the AFC bucket.'
• Matt Dolloff believes that even after losing Dont'a Hightower, the Patriots should have as good a chance to win it all as anyone.
• Jeff Howe Friday Mailbag: Assessing Pats’ 2018 free agents; revisiting decision to keep Jimmy Garoppolo.
• Doug Kyed Patriots Mailbag: Is Super Bowl still realistic with Dont'a Hightower out?
• Olivia Vanni Inside Track: Tom Brady's sweet ride, Aston Martin debuts TB12 car. /The minivan has to last-gasp one final college pick-up (knocks wood), then I'm taking a look at this baby.
• Jim Lazar credits the fabulous fog for getting the Patriots heads out of the clouds, and makes his Week 8 picks. Pats win 34-19.

NATIONAL NEWS

• NFL Insiders (ESPN) Roundtable: How Dont'a Hightower's injury impacts the Patriots.
• Josh Alper (ProFootballTalk) Devin McCourty: Dont’a Hightower a “tough loss”.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Trade deadline needs to go back even farther (or go away entirely).
• Kevin Seifert (ESPN) The 10 biggest mistakes in NFL history.
• Conor Orr (SI) Kiko Alonso’s hit on Joe Flacco shows problems in NFL's safety guidelines.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) More revisionist history from Rex Ryan.
• Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) Rex Ryan: Sanchez was never a franchise quarterback, Geno didn’t help himself.
• NFL Reporters (ESPN) Week 8 NFL predictions: Scores for every game.

VIEW FROM LOS ANGELES/SAN DIEGO

• Tom Krasovic (San Diego Union-Tribune) Rivers owes Pats, as does SD, as does AFC, as does... /Good read.
• Dan Woike (L.A. Times) Chargers' pass rush will need to stop Tom Brady from being too slippery in the pocket.
• Ricky Henne (Chargers.com) Bolts explain plan for Tom Brady.
• Tom Krasovic (San Diego Union-Tribune) 5 reasons the L.A. Chargers* will lose to the New England Patriots: 2. When Tom Brady is the quarterback, the Pats are 7-2 against the lightning-bolt team and 6-0 opposite quarterback Philip Rivers.
• Dan Woike (L.A. Times) New rookie starter Dan Feeney and the rest of the Chargers know what's on the line against the Patriots.
• Ricky Henne (Chargers.com) Bill Belichick has a lot to say about the Chargers.
• Nick Hardwick and Dan Woike (Chargers.com) Ask the Booth: Patriots preview. (2.49 min. video)
• Sam Farmer (L.A. Times) Jersey swapping has become a thing at the end of NFL games.
• Sam Farmer (L.A. Times) NFL Week 8 picks. Patriots win 27-24.

EXTRACURRICULAR

• Jerry Thornton (Barstool Sports) Chris Mortensen is doing better. And still lying about deflategate.
• Alex Reimer notes Chris Mortensen went through the process of his Deflategate reporting for the first time at length in an interview with Peter King - and it remains woefully inadequate.
• Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) Mark Cuban says the NFL’s problems are accelerating.