New England Patriots links 11/27/18 - Offense runs best with run game the staple, not just a complement

TEAM TALK

• Patriots activate RB Rex Burkhead to 53-man roster; Release OL Matt Tobin.
• Patriots deliver highest 1 PM rating since 2015; Ratings top Boston TV market once again.
• Erik Scalavino breaks down the Pats-Jets film: TE Rob Gronkowski managed to play for the first time in three weeks, and he made an impact almost immediately.
• Paul Perillo reveals the matchup winners from Sunday: Sony Michel leads the way past Jets.
• Locker room Celebration following the 27-13 win over the new York Jets. (1.07 min. video)
• Community: Rob Gronkowski made four Make-A-Wish kids’ dreams come true at Gillette Stadium on Monday. (40 sec. video)
• WEEI Patriots Monday: Tom Brady (16.25 min.) - James White (11.14 min.) - Trey Flowers (11.21 min.) - Bill Belichick (19.25 min.).

LOCAL LINKS

• Doug Kyed presents his Pats-Jets Film Review: How Sony Michel’s improvement generated big plays.
• Evan Lazar’s Advanced Stats Report: Tom Brady excellent under pressure vs. Jets.
• Andrew Callahan reviews the film and says the Pats’ next step is the most critical for it to boast an elite offense: Converting in short yardage.
• Tom E. Curran brings up what the Patriots still need to work on if they want to keep their ground and pound identity.
• Matt Vautour points out that Cordarrelle Patterson isn’t just a ‘last resort’ for the Patriots to run the football.
• Dale Lavine (LastWordOnSports) Return of Rex Burkhead boosts New England rushing corps.
• Michael Hurley serves up some still-warm leftover thoughts from Sunday: The Patriots make winning look boring. Julian Edelman is a certified nut. The officials stink. All this and much more!
• Chad Finn thinks 27 thoughts on the Patriots’ 27-13 win over the Jets: A win is a win is a win, especially on the road against the Jets.
• Ian Logue (PatsFans) Five things we learned from the Patriots win over the Jets: 1. Issues with inconsistency on offense continued.
• Zack Cox analyzes the snap counts from Sunday: Rob Gronkowski busy in return to action.
• Eric Wilbur downplays the win, noting this wasn’t exactly a game that Brady is going to show on a loop at the entrance to the TB12 facility.
• Michael Hurley explains how Tom Brady can now lay claim to being the NFL’s all-time leading passer. Sort of.
• Nick Goss points out one crazy stat from Sony Michel’s rookie season: Sony Michel now has as many 100-yard rushing games (3) as every other rookie runner in Bill Belichick’s 19 years in New England combined.
• Mike Reiss reports Rob Gronkowski is back to being himself, catching touchdowns and having fun.
• Ryan Hannable feels we should all take the time to really appreciate Rob Gronkowski.
• Zack Cox reports the team showered Ryan Allen with praise after his ‘fabulous’ game vs. te Jets. /File under: Punters are people too.
• Mark Daniels observes that the Patriots are starting to get healthy at the right time.
• Joshua Schrock highlights Tom Brady’s interview with Jim Gray, where he says he hopes he’s turned the corner with his knee injury ahead of the game vs. the Vikings.
• CBS Boston reports Tom Brady may not have to worry about All-Pro CB Xavier Rhodes when the Vikings come to Foxborough. Rhodes suffered a hamstring injury that appears to be on the serious side.
• Zack Cox mentions that the Vikings are tied for 4th in rushing yards allowed per game (93.6) and yards per carry (3.7). Patriots are 7-0 this season when they rush for 93 or more yards and 1-3 when they don’t.
• Kevin Boilard (247Sports) Imperfect Pats still can’t be cast aside in AFC.
• Rob Bradford wonders how much money the Patriots system is costing Trey Flowers.
• Ryan Hannable talks about safety Obi Melifonwu making his Patriots debut Sunday in New York.
• Karen Guregian notes Bill Belichick was not happy with his team’s rash of penalties.
• Karen Guregian Patriots Notebook: Road to first-round bye still not easy; More.
• Mike Dussault (PatsPropaganda) Pats Posits: Bye week not a magic elixir, but Pats still in playoff bye hunt.
• Nick O’Malley issues his Week 12 Patriots Report Card: Sony Michel deserves an A+ for Jets game.
• Kevin Duffy issues his Week 12 Patriots Report Card: A lot to like from Sunday’s road test.
• Steve Balestrieri (PatsFans) Patriots Week 12 Report Card: The offensive line was outstanding Sunday.
• Matt Chatham (BlogTalkRadio) Real Thing Patriots Podcast: Pats ground Jets; Game review & adjustments made from the bye. (63 min.) /Always a great listen.

NATIONAL NEWS

• Clare McNear (The Ringer) Gronk returns to his happy place.
• Manish Mehta (NY Daily News) Rob Gronkowski proves he still has a pulse with tough TD catch against Jets, his first since Week 1.
• Albert Breer (SI) Monday Afternoon QB: Nathaniel Hackett on his firing, Tyler Lockett on Seahawks, Gronk’s clapback moment, More notes.
• Mike Tanier (Bleacher Report) Monday Morning Digest: Colts, Seahawks and other wild cards gone wild!
• Nate Davis (USA Today) 32 things we learned from Week 12. 14b. #TB1K update: Brady’s game-ending kneeldown meant he finished the day with minus-1 rushing yards, setting his quest for 1,000 career rushing yards back to 995. /The struggle is real.
• Charean Williams (ProFootballTalk) Tom Brady says Philip Rivers’ performance “nearly impossible”.
• Kristopher Knox (Bleacher Report) NFL team grades for Week 12. Patriots B.
• Joe Lucia (Awful Announcing) The 2018 NFL announcer rankings.
• Joseph M. Hanna (SportsLawInsider) Judge denies reviving Patriots’ “Deflategate” suit.