New England Patriots links 12/31/19 - Unfamiliar territory: Patriots gearing up for all-out fight

TEAM TALK

• Mike Dussault shares the locker-room buzz from Monday at Gillette: Patriots lock in on a short week of Titans playoff preparation.
• Mike Dussault takes a closer look at the plays and players that stood out in the Patriots 27-24 loss to the Dolphins.
• Glen Farley writes about how on Sunday, the Ravens broke the NFL’s single season rushing record previously held by the 1978 Patriots.
• Conference Call transcripts: Bill Belichick, Josh McDaniels, Bret Bielema.
• WEEI Patriots Monday: Tom Brady (17.35 min.) - Bill Belichick (11.08 min.).

LOCAL LINKS

• Mike Reiss talks about the Patriots players shifting their mindset with idea of a ‘Revenge Tour’. /Against who, themselves?
• Andy Hart looks at the opportunity ahead for the Patriots after they experienced the worst of losses.
• Bob George (PatsFans) Patriots entering a January they aren’t familiar with after Sunday’s loss.
• Evan Lazar’s Advanced Stats Report: Pats lose in passing game on both sides of the ball vs. Miami.
• Matt Dolloff’s Package Report: Patriots offense did enough to win, thanks to one particular grouping.
• Michael Hurley serves up some stone-cold leftover Patriots thoughts: Tom Brady not great, defense even worse.
• CBS Boston notes Duron Harmon says the Patriots ‘didn’t come to play’ vs. the Dolphins, which won’t happen on Wild Card weekend.
• Zack Cox Patriots Notes: New England taking ‘flush it and move forward’ mentality into Titans game.
• Doug Kyed notes Josh McDaniels sounds willing to unleash N’Keal Harry in the playoffs.
• Zack Cox spotlights the huge challenge ahead for the defense vs. the Ryan Tannelhill-led Titans.
• Darren Hartwell discusses how the Patriots-Titans referee assignment could impact this Saturday’s Wild Card matchup.
• Nick O’Malley says there’s a ‘Patriots dynasty ends’ countdown currently ticking down to Saturday’s game on Fox Sports 1.
• Adam London highlights NFL Media analyst Bucky Brooks on why he believes the Titans will beat the Patriots.
• Andy Hart gives us his Pats Stats check-in: The final 2019 numbers.
• Joy Manning (BostonSportsChick) 2019 defensive scoring leaders and losers of the NFL. “I’m not sure which emotion is stronger: the great feeling you get when your defense scores points, or the miserable feeling when your offense turns the ball over leading to automatic points for your opponent.” /Hammer vs. nail.
• Tom E. Curran points out the Patriots have a fleet of expiring deals – including Van Noy, McCourty, Tom Brady, Matthew Slanter, Joe Thuney and Jamie Collins: Van Noy wants to stay but it’s going to cost.
• Christopher Mason relays Joe Cardona talk about how being a Patriot ‘has made me a much better officer’.
• David Latham (LastWordOnSports) Chad O’Shea could provide playoff spark for New England.
• Nick O’Malley wonders if Chad O’Shea could return to the Patriots if Josh McDaniels leaves.
• Alex Barth presents his Patriots All-Decade Team.
• Matt Vautour comes clean on all of his wrong predictions from 2019: Patriots didn’t draft Daniel Jones, the Celtics didn’t win the East and more.
• Patriots Press Pass: Wild Card Preview with Alex Barth and Evan Lazar. (8.44 min. video)
• Entitled Town Podcast: Dave Brown and Mike Irons examine the crucial truths of the Patriots loss to Miami, and then forget about them and move on to Tennessee. (66 min.)

NATIONAL NEWS

• Preview (Sporting News) Titans vs. Patriots: AFC Wild Card Weekend. (6.52 min. video)
• Sam Borden (ESPN) Stephon Gilmore is the key to the Patriots’ playoff success.
• Shalise Manza Young (Yahoo! Sports) Tom Brady on loss to Dolphins: ‘We had plays that I should make. And I didn’t make them’.
• Bryan DeArdo (CBS Sports) Tom Brady points to ‘07, ‘11 Giants teams as blueprint for ‘19 Patriots.
• Darin Gantt (ProFootballTalk) Tom Brady insists elbow is not an issue.
• Darin Gantt (ProFootballTalk) Josh McDaniels focused on Titans, not his many interviews.
• Albert Breer (SI) Monday Afternoon QB: Matt Rhule’s most likely NFL landing spot, Josh McDaniels’s coaching plan, A quick preview of Patriots-Titans; More Black Monday notes.
• Will Brinson (CBS Sports) 2019 NFL Playoff odds, schedule: Patriots a shockingly small favorite for Wild-Card Weekend against Titans.
• Dan Graziano (ESPN) Five big questions for the 2019 NFL playoffs. 1. Is this Tom Brady’s last run in New England?
• Ben Baby (ESPN) Final NFL stats leaders in every major category for 2019 season.
• Maurice Moton (Bleacher Report) Final 2019 NFL regular-season team grades. Patriots: A-.
• Robert Mays (The Ringer) Which NFL playoff team has the best chance to win the Super Bowl?
• David Purdum (ESPN) Patriots 20-1 long shots to win Super Bowl; Ravens the favorite at 2-1.
• Vincent Verhei (Football Outsiders) Week 17 Quick Reads: A look back at the best and worst games of the year.
• Josh Alper (ProFootballTalk) Bills feeling different than their last trip to the playoffs.
• Report (NFL.com) Opponents for each team set for 2020 NFL season.
• Staff (SI) NFL Black Monday Tracker: Giants Fire Pat Shurmur, Redskins move on from Bruce Allen.
• Conor Orr (SI) Ranking the current NFL head coach job openings.
• Henry Bushnell (Yahoo! Sports) What it’s like to be fired as an NFL coach.
• Cameron Wolfe (ESPN) Source: Chan Gailey out of retirement as Dolphins OC. “the Dolphins seem to be switching from a Patriots-style offense and toward a spread scheme that Gailey prefers to run‬.”
• Dan Hatman (InsideThePylon) 2020 NFL General Manager candidate study.
• Joe Lucia (Awful Announcing) Ranking the four teams that can be forced to appear on HBO’s Hard Knocks.
• Andrew Bucholtz (Awful Announcing) Network exec projects NFL could get $8-10 billion annually under new rights deals, with that framework expected by 2021
• Jay Rigdon (Awful Announcing) ESPN touts strong year of Monday Night Football ratings and viewership.