New England Patriots links 9/25/19 - Patriots on fire but running game takes heat

TEAM TALK

• Game Preview, Patriots at Bills: Series history, scouting the matchups, tale of the tape; More.
• Mike Dussault shares the news, notes and locker-room buzz from Tuesday at Gillette: Getting ground game on track, Collins making big plays from everywhere.
• Paul Perillo tackles this week’s Patriots Unfiltered Q&A: Replacing Develin, getting Michel going and more.
• Conference call transcripts: Bill Belichick, Josh McDaniels, Jerod Mayo.
• Angelique Fiske gives us 5 takeaways from Phillip Dorsett II’s interview on ‘Patriots Off Topic’.
• Sights and Sounds: Week 3 vs. Jets. ( min. video)
• Belichick Breakdown: Top Plays against the Jets. (7.57 min. video)
• Patriots Unfiltered: Takeaways from the win over the Jets; Injuries starting to pile up for the Pats; The loss of James Develin; Team preps for Buffalo Bills. (2 hour)
• Patriots Playbook: John Rooke and Erik Scalavino nitpick the win over the Jets. (1 hour, 55 min.)

LOCAL LINKS

• Zack Cox scouts the Bills with four things to know about the Pats’ Week 4 opponent: 2. Their defense is legit.
• Mac Cerullo spotlights how the Patriots run defense is on pace to rank among NFL’s best ever, allowing an average of 36.6 rushing yards per game through three weeks.
• Jerry Thornton lays out how Stephon Gilmore and the Patriots defense is even better than you thought.
• Michael DePrisco notes LB Kyle Van Noy pointed to the defensive unit’s continuity as a major reason for their success.
• Doug Kyed checks in on some of Tom Brady’s advanced metrics to see how he has been performing so far.
• David Latham (LastWordOnSports) Tom Brady still the best quarterback in the NFL, per PFF.
• Michael Hurley participates in some New England Nitpicking: Patriots’ run game is by far their biggest weakness through 3 weeks.
• Phil Perry fears the James Develin injury may force the Patriots to abandon the most efficient plays from their Super Bowl 53 run.
• Sean T. McGuire believes the loss of James Develin is a massive one for the Pats’ running game.
• Michael Hurley says the Patriots’ praise for James Develin is warranted.
• Sierra Goodwill and Evan Lazar discuss why the RBs haven’t been very efficient so far this season. (4.05 min. video)
• Henry McKenna (PatriotsWire) Rex Burkhead’s versatility traces back to father’s failed journey to NFL.
• Isaiah Houde (PatriotsWire) Patriots’ Jake Bailey named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.
• Andy Hart spotlights New England’s special teams unit that has also clearly contributed to the Patriots winning formula.
• Ryan Hannable lauds the coaching as an underrated part of the historic Patriots defense so far this season.
• Michael Hurley remembers the legitimate concern about the loss of Brian Flores, the rapid hiring and resignation of Greg Schiano, and the lack of humans and clarity among Patriots defensive coaches.
• Henry McKenna (PatriotsWire) Jerod Mayo has high praise for Patriots LB unit: ‘These guys are totally different than I was’.
• Rian Queen (LastWordOnSports) Patriots Notes: Tom Brady touchdown record in new offense; Sony Michel’s lack of production; More.
• Isaiah Houde (PatriotsWire) Report: Julian Edelman’s injury isn’t major, could play Week 4.
• Nick O’Malley gives us an update on how some former Patriots are doing with their new teams: Solder gives up 4 sacks; Chris Hogan has 2 catches all year.
• Hayden Bird relays Mike Lombardi’s theory that Bill Belichick’s “stare” at the end of Sunday’s pregame interview with Dana Jacobson, was a look that said, “I thought we went over this”.
• Locked On Patriots podcast: Crossover Wednesday edition with Locked On Bills’. (31 min.) Plus: Mike D’Abate and guest Ian Glendon discuss Brady-Mahomes and More. (29 min.)
• The Gridiron and Beyond podcast: Bob Socci sits down with Mike Flynn to discuss the dominance of the Patriots and more. (28 min.)
• Patriots Talk podcast: Tom E. Curran attempts to put ‘a bow on the Antonio Brown mess.’ (36.26 min.)

NATIONAL NEWS

• Josh Alper (ProFootballTalk) Jerod Mayo: Jamie Collins making big plays everywhere we use him.
• Jeremy Bergman (NFL.com) Players of the Week. Patriots punter Jake Bailey included.
• Mike Freeman (Bleacher Report) 10-Point Stance: 5. The Patriots’ not-so-secret weapon.
• Cameron Filipe (Football Zebras) Week 4 referee assignments. Pats-Bills: Craig Wrolstad.
• Brent Sobleski (Bleacher Report) Upstart Buffalo Bills have a legit chance to take the AFC East.
• Jarrett Bell (USA Today) Kansas City Chiefs’ big numbers won’t add up to much without Super Bowl title.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Patriots become Vegas favorites to win the Super Bowl.
• Will Brinson (CBS Sports) Ranking remaining undefeated NFL teams: Cowboys over Chiefs in second place behind Patriots.
• Nate Davis (USA Today) NFL backup QB rankings: Which teams have best, worst contingency plans? Patriots ranked 19th.
• Danny Heifetz (The Ringer) Our brief NFL holding nightmare may finally be over.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Art Rooney becomes new chairman of Compensation Committee.

EXTRACURRICULAR

• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Patriots decline to pay the first installment of Antonio Brown’s signing bonus.
• NESN scours Antonio Brown’s Instagram posts to discover Tom Brady “seemingly signing off on the embattled receiver’s messages” by liking his post. Seriously.
• Darren Hartwell weighs in on the bombshell report suggesting that Bill Belichick may have acted solo and ‘didn’t consult anybody’ by bringing Antonio Brown to New England. /I’m shocked. Shocked!
• Mike Cole investigates: Did Bill Belichick act alone on Antonio Brown contract, making mistake in process?