New England Patriots links 2/04/21 - Offseason remodel: What Pats need to keep, toss from 2020

TEAM TALK

• Mike Dussault says a deep dive into some advanced statistics shows which strengths New England should maintain and which weaknesses they must address in the 2021 offseason. “Most fascinating was how the team was a reflection of itself on either side of the ball. On one hand, you had the best short-yardage rushing offense and worst third-down passing offense, on the other, the worst short-yardage rushing defense and best third-down passing defense.” /Good read.
• Mike Dussault thumbnails 10 Senior Bowl standouts who could help the Patriots
• Angelique Fiske reports how Patriots Pro Bowlers surprise local football programs with donations.
• Patriots announce Devin McCourty is their nominee for Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award.
• Pats from the Past podcast: Ty Law. (50 min.)

LOCAL LINKS

• Tom E. Curran spotlights six players on offense who the Patriots should invest in and build upon for the future.
• Evan Lazar’s Super Bowl LV Preview: Tom Brady’s Super Bowl rematch vs Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo.
• Zack Cox highlights Lawrence Guy on what Bill Belichick told the team after their disappointing season. ‘...We didn’t win (the number of) games that we want to win. But that doesn’t mean that we just put our tails under our butts and just walk away. That means you strive to be better the following year.’
• Adam London notes Ex-Patriot Brandin Cooks refutes the rumor about playing in New England; it appears Patriots players do have fun over the course of an NFL season.
• Phil Perry ranks the eight QBs most likely to join the Patriots in free agency.
• Ian Logue (PatsFans) Garoppolo returning to New England? Not unless the 49ers find a QB first.
• Dakota Randall finds multiple QBs reportedly ‘made it clear’ they want to play for the Patriots.
• Ian Logue (PatsFans) NFL Rumors: Deshaun Watson will not play for Texans “ever again.”
• Matt Dolloff adds a potential Derek Carr trade to the offseason quarterback rumors.
• Adam London highlights Matt Hasselbeck on how he believes Bill Belichick deserves some credit for Tampa Bay Buccaneers reaching Super Bowl LV.
• Michael Hurley compiles a list of times it was Belichick and not Brady, just to balance out the current narrative.
• Darius Butler uses Twitter to directly addresses the Brady-Belichick talk he’s been hearing lately: Who’s responsible for The Patriot Way? Bill Belichick: 1a, Tom Brady: 1b. (4.45 min. video) /Sane talk from a former Patriot.
• Clare Cooper (FullPressCoverage) A Clare Perspective: The great and heated debate!
• Rob Bradford hears from Aqib Talib lists 3 things that truly make up ‘Patriot Way’
• Clark Judge (FullPressCoverage) Nope, getting Bucs to Super Bowl is not Brady’s greatest accomplishment.
• Zack Cox compares Tom Brady winning two Super Bowls in his first four NFL seasons to Patrick Mahomes’ 2017-2020 seasons.
• Zack Cox highlights Tom Brady’s reaction to ‘incredible support’ from Pats fans ahead of Super bowl LV. ’It was an amazing two decades in my life’.
• Zack Cox relays DT Lawrence Guy explaining why he’s pulling for Tom Brady Sunday. ‘Man, you just want him to win another one, you know?’
• Zack Cox notes Robert Kraft is ‘so excited’ to be cheering for Tom Brady Sunday night.
• Chris Mason ‘highlights’ Lawrence Tynes talking trash about the Patriots, that the Giants were afraid of the Patriots spying on practices, etc... /What an a-hole.
• One Patriots Place podcast: Steve, Murph and Clare talk Super Bowl with guest Mike D’Abate. (53 min.)
• Locked On Patriots podcast: Mike D’Abate and John Sapochetti discuss the plausibility of Derek Carr landing in Foxboro, the recent comments by Danny Amendola on the “Patriot Way,” and Super Bowl LV. (43 min.)

NATIONAL NEWS

• Jenny Vrentas and Greg Bishop (SI) The ‘Gap Years’ Patriots: Those who played for Brady-Belichick but never won a Super Bowl.
• Albert Breer (SI) Mailbag: Are Tom Brady and Bill Belichick competing with each other?
• Jason La Canfora (CBS Sports) NFL Insider notes: More QB moves to come after Stafford-Goff blockbuster; Dolphins’ curious OC move and more.
• Carson Wentz would prefer to leave Eagles, but team is not looking to trade him, per report: The QB drama remains alive and well in Philadelphia.
• Ethan Cadeaux (NBC Sports Washington) Ron Rivera doesn’t rule out Cam Newton as his potential QB.
• Nora Princiotti (The Ringer)The evolution of an NFL tight end, from Gronk to Kelce: No two players embody the TE renaissance of the past decade better.
• Jordan Dajani (CBS Sports) Tom Brady told Buccaneers to stop crying after NFC Championship game because there was still work to do: Tampa Bay’s players are still getting used to the kind of expectations Brady has.
• Bryan DeArdo (CBS Sports) 10 most consequential Super Bowls of all time: Revised look at games that altered history.
• Will Brinson (CBS Sports) Ranking all 54 Super Bowls, 54-1. No. 1. Super Bowl XLIX: Patriots 28, Seahawks 24.
• Bryan DeArdo (CBS Sports) Ranking every Super Bowl QB matchup: No. 1, Tom Brady vs. Patrick Mahomes.
• Charles Robinson (Yahoo! Sports) Finally, a little bit of trash talk has broken up the most vanilla Super Bowl week in history.
• Kaelen Jones (The Ringer) The Buccaneers’ young secondary could be the key to Super Bowl LV.
• Adam Teicher (ESPN) Patrick Mahomes focused on Super Bowl win No. 2, not end-of-career ring count.
• Jacob Harris (SI) Mahomes vs. Brady will reshape the narratives of both their careers. /Not quite.
• Cameron Filipe (Football Zebras) Carl Cheffers is the referee for Super Bowl LV. Sarah Thomas becomes the first woman to officiate a Super Bowl
• Shalise Manza Young (Yahoo! Sports) Bruce Arians put together the most diverse coaching staff in the NFL and now it’s led the Bucs to the Super Bowl.
• Rodger Sherman (The Ringer) The star of Super Bowl LV will be the Buccaneers’ massive pirate ship.
• Noah Pransky finds that economists all seem to agree the Super Bowl doesn’t really make it rain hundreds of millions of dollars of profits on host cities; Sports leagues and politicians grossly exaggerate their economic impact claims.
• Frank Schwab (Yahoo! Sports) Super Bowl LV pick: Can the Buccaneers slow down Patrick Mahomes and Chiefs offense?
• MMQB Staff (SI) Super Bowl LV predictions: Picking the winner, score and MVP.
• Pete Prisco (CBS Sports) Super Bowl 2021 pick: Mahomes, Brady make big plays in Chiefs-Bucs shootout.
• John Breech (CBS Sports) 2021 Super Bowl prediction, odds, pick: Chiefs-Buccaneers goes down to the wire in wild Mahomes vs. Brady duel.
• James Dator (SBNation) Our NFL experts make their picks for Chiefs vs. Bucs in Super Bowl LV.