TEAM TALK
- Patriots-Broncos Saturday Injury Report.
- NFL announces schedule changes.
- Mike Dussault’s Analysis: Early bye for Pats provides a chance to get healthy.
- Mike Dussault’s Keys to the Game: Out-of-practice Pats brace for Broncos. 1. Eliminate bad football. /Agreed.
- Mike Dussault’s Unfiltered Notebook 10/10: Patriots take to practice field for Broncos prep.
- Press Conference Transcripts: Bill Belichick.
- Expert Predictions: Week 5 picks for Patriots vs. Broncos.
- Patriots All Access: Broncos preview; Steve Burton goes one on one with Damien Harris; Bill Belichick analyzes the Broncos young playmakers on the Belestrator; and highlighting the post football careers of a few Patriot hall of famers . All that and more. (40 min. video)
LOCAL LINKS
- Mike Reiss says according to a source this morning, the Patriots have no new positive coronavirus tests.
- Mike Reiss shares some quick-hit weekend thoughts: New England has a chance for three straight home games with 200 rushing yards, joining the ‘76 and ‘78 squads as the only Pats teams to do it.
- Steve Balestrieri (PatsFans) Sunday Patriots news, AFC East notes: While putting out memos threatening teams with fines and losses of draft picks for violating their protocol, [the NFL] basically forced both the Chiefs and Patriots to do the same so that they had their prime-time matchup.
- Karen Guregian reports Denver coach Vic Fangio says his Broncos will ‘roll with the punches’ from postponed Patriots game; QB Drew Lock has better chance of playing next week.
- Zack Cox previews Patriots vs. Broncos and tells us which players to watch for. CB J.C. Jackson: If Gilmore can’t go, Jackson would become the Patriots’ No. 1 cornerback. He’s certainly not a bad second option.
- Mark Morse (PatsFans) Game 5 Preview: Patriots vs Denver Broncos.
- Michael Quilty (FullPressCoverage) Patriots vs Broncos: What to watch for in Week Five. 1. New England’s QB situation.
- Katie Feehan (LastWordOnSports) Why Jarrett Stidham should start for the Patriots vs. Broncos.
- Adam London mentions how Cam Newton could benefit from the NFL rescheduling Broncos-Patriots.
- Doug Kyed notes Cam Newton’s father says Cam has been COVID symptom-free.
- Phil Perry’s Patriots Mailbag: Examining Stidham vs. Hoyer; Where Patriots rank in AFC.
- Mark Morse (PatsFans) Patriots schedule analysis at the quarter pole.
- Danny Jaillet (PatriotsWire) Broncos TE Noah Fant would fill the hole the Patriots can’t seem to plug.
- KJ Doyle (GuyBostonSports) The NFL’s power brokers aren’t taking COVID-19 seriously, they just desperately want you to think they are. /Excellent read.
- Tom E. Curran writes how the Patriots stood up for themselves Sunday morning, and are now calling their own shots on how to handle COVID-19.
- Dakota Randall passes along a report that New England players clearly were against playing if the game was held Monday and apparently were ready to push back.
- Danny Jaillet (PatriotsWire) Patriots CB Jason McCourty blasts NFL, NFLPA amid COVID-19 outbreak
- Adam London notes an anonymous Patriots payer told Mike Giardi that he’s not giving the NFL any credit for rescheduling the game: “No one gets credit for doing the right thing now because they didn’t do the right thing Monday and maybe that’s why we’re in this mess.”
- NBC Sports Boston notes the Broncos were were not happy about the NFL moving the game and sounded off about it.
- Doug Kyed is hearing the Patriots don’t believe COVID is spreading at Gillette Stadium, or that DT Byron Cowart caught it at the facility.
- WEEI highlights call-in guest Boomer Esiason: NFL should power through
- WEEI calls for the NFL to make some in-game adjustments to their COVID-19 game plan. /Did they even have one?
- Adam Weinrib (MusketFire) Joe Judge’s story of job interview with Bill Belichick is hilarious.
- Jerry Trotta (MusketFire) Why is Tom Brady still being asked why he left New England? /Is that you Boston Globe?
- Locked On Patriots podcast: Mike and Murph discuss the postponed Pats-Broncos game, the abbreviated bye week, and more. (39 min.)
NATIONAL NEWS
- Albert Breer (SI) Monday Morning QB: The NFL’s Jenga schedule loses a few more blocks; Dak Prescott injury; Falcons make coach, GM changes; the 4-1 Browns; More from Week 5.
- Peter King (ProFootballTalk) FMIA Week 5: Rescheduled games, fired coaches and pain in Dallas—A look back at the NFL’s newsy Sunday
- Gary Gramling (SI) Week 5 Takeaways: Dak goes down, Dalton time in Dallas, Derek Carr’s signature win, Alex Smith’s comeback, Garoppolo melts down, and much more.
- Nate Davis (USA Today) 32 things we learned from Week 5. No. 6. After beating the Colts, the Browns are 4-1 for the first time since 1994 ... when Bill Belichick was their coach.
- Around the NFL (NFL.com) NFL Week 5: What we learned from Sunday’s games. /KC lost, so I’m good.
- Rodger Sherman (The Ringer) The winners and losers of NFL Week 5. /Loser: My eyeballs for witnessing Dak’s ankle twirling like a fan.
- Lorenzo Reyes (USA Today) NFL Week 5 winners, losers. A few wild upsets, another coaching change and a devastating injury.
- Staff (ESPN) NFL adjusts schedule for 8 teams moving forward.
- Michael Silver (NFL.com) NFL could add additional weeks to regular season.
- Jeff Legwold (ESPN) How postponing Broncos-Patriots affects the rest of the NFL schedule.
- Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Patriots don’t believe they have an outbreak
- Jenna West (SI) Patriots’ Jason McCourty questions NFL and NFLPA’s concerns for player safety.
- Josh Alper (ProFootballTalk) No new positive tests for Patriots.
- Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) Punts at an all-time low in the NFL.
- Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz (USA Today) Jimmy Garoppolo benched at halftime as 49ers fall in big hole vs. Dolphins.
- Riley McAtee (The Ringer) Atlanta cleaned house to save itself from oblivion and start anew. It turns out the Falcons never recovered from their collapse against the Patriots in Super Bowl LI. /Hee hee.
- Conor Orr (SI) Dan Quinn’s firing was inevitable, but the Falcons didn’t have to do it in-season.
VIEW FROM DENVER
- Aric DiLalla (DenverBroncos) Drew Lock? Cam Newton? Broncos’ Week 5 matchup impacted by QB uncertainty.
- Jeff Legwold (ESPN) Brett Rypien the latest, greatest Broncos starting quarterback.
- Aric DiLalla (DenverBroncos) DEN vs NE’s Burning Questions: Can the Broncos win in the margins?
- Aric DiLalla (DenverBroncos) ‘We’re all in this together’: HC Vic Fangio explains Broncos’ mentality following #DENvsNE postponement
- Jeff Legwold (ESPN) Broncos bristle about moving Patriots game to Monday, but Vic Fangio says ‘it’s on us’.
- Jeff Legwold (ESPN) Broncos’ Bradley Chubb ‘hungry’ for more after 2.5 sacks against Jets.