New England Patriots links 6/28/18 - The Brady bargain: Ranks No. 1 in NFL, 99 in Madden, 11th in QB pay

LOCAL LINKS

• Michael Hurley appreciates how Tom Brady’s unparalleled greatness gets lost in the barrage of offseason local media reporting about him.
• Phil Perry presents examples of how imperfect the ‘NFL top 100 player’ rankings are, but concedes at the end that they do show how Tom Brady is in a class of his own. /Like pulling teeth.
• Steve Balestrieri (PatsFans) Patriots 2018 Training Camp primer: Wide receiver.
• Nick O’Malley looks at the 25 NFL free agents still available, why Dez Bryant is still unsigned, and who the Patriots could target.
• Ryan Hannable puts together his All-time Bill Belichick Patriots team: Running back.
• Henry McKenna (PatriotsWire) 3 Remaining free agents who could help the Patriots.
• Dakota Randall highlights a recent study that ranks Patriots fans among the NFL’s best. /Suggested file name: Wicked Diehards.
• Michael Hurley comes up with what he feels is the proper solution to the NFL’s ‘Dr. Duvernay-Tardif’ jersey problem.
• Lauren Campbell discovers Tom Brady playfully trash talking CBs Aqib Talib and Richard Sherman on Instagram.
• Ricky Doyle notes Shaquille O’Neal has an interesting scouting report on Rob Gronkowski. “He’s the craziest white guy I’ve ever seen in my life,” Shaq said Tuesday on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”.
• Henry McKenna (PatriotsWire) Bill Polian skeptical of Julian Edelman’s appeal of PED suspension.

NATIONAL NEWS

• Rebecca Toback (SB Nation) Tom Brady is the NFL’s 11th highest paid quarterback.
• Joel Corry (CBS Sports) Agent’s Take: Andrew Luck, Joe Flacco among 12 players who are facing a pivotal season.
• Albert Breer (SI) The Kirk Cousins effect; MMQB Mailbag.
• Elliot Harrison (NFL.com) 2018 NFL coach rankings: Bill Belichick and then ...
• Michael Lewis (ScholarBlogs.Emory.edu) NFL fan and brand report 2018: The top five fan bases (team brands if you prefer) are the Cowboys, Patriots, Eagles, Giants and Steelers.
• Bob LeGere (Pro Football Weekly) PFW’s Super 50: 30-21 and 20-11.
• Terez Paylor (Yahoo! Sports) 2018 NFL supplemental draft has options for cornerback-needy teams.
• Danny Kelly (The Ringer) Nine hypothetical trades NFL teams should make.
• Josh Alper (ProFootballTalk) Bills secondary aiming for 20 interceptions this season.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Dolphins players ignoring dire predictions.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) More confusion regarding the new helmet rule.
• Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) Terry McAulay joins NBC as Sunday night rules analyst. /Now this crew of ex-refs will be giving their expert opinions on a helmet rule they never had to officiate on the field.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Seven players get 99 ratings in Madden 19. Brady, Gronk included.
• Tristan H. Cockcroft (ESPN) Why Tom Brady is overrated in fantasy football.
• Shalise Manza Young (Yahoo! Sports) Radio host suspended for disparaging comment about Tom Brady’s daughter returns to show.
• Kevin Skiver (CBS Sports) Rob Gronkowski gets career advice from Mark Wahlberg, of all people, and an incentive to retire.
• David Fleming (ESPN Magazine) Tall tales: Getting an athlete’s real measurements is rarely easy.
• Darin Gantt (ProFootballTalk) Poll shows NFL not as popular in Texas as football in general.