New England Patriots links 11/08/22 - Special teams gets its groove back

TEAM TALK

• Evan Lazar’s After Further Review: Breaking down the Patriots offense, Mac Jones’s struggles and defensive standouts vs. Colts; How do the Pats get their offense back on track during the bye week?
• Mike Dussault wonders if the Patriots defense is primed to peak over the final eight-game gauntlet.
• Alexandra Francisco talks about why the Patriots honoring TAPS families was personal for Joe Cardona.
• Press Conference transcript: Bill Belichick.
• Press Conferences: Kyle Dugger - Trent Brown - Bill Belichick.
• Locker room celebration after win over Colts. (1.07 min. video)
• WEEI Patriots Monday: Mac Jones and Bill Belichick.
• Best Game Photos: Patriots vs. Colts.

LOCAL LINKS

• Andrew Callahan’s Patriots-Colts film review: The No. 1 problem with Mac Jones, Matt Patricia and the offense. Trust. /Good read.
• Michael Hurley serves up some still-warm leftover Patriots thoughts: Offensive line still an Achilles heel. At least the Patriots can still thump the colts.
• Jerry Thornton shares his knee-jerk reactions to Week 9: Patriots vs. Colts. After nine weeks I’m coming to grips with the fact what we’ve been seeing [from the offense] is what they are.
• Steve Balestrieri (PatsFans) Monday Breakdown: Observations, thoughts on the Patriots 26-3 win. During the upcoming bye week, the coaches need to work on getting Mac Jones better protection, a better feel for going through his progressions, and making better decisions with the ball.
• Chad Finn’s Unconventional review: Patriots have plenty to sort out if they are going to have a relevant place in the playoff picture.
• Mark Morse (PatsFans) Observations as the defense smothers the Colts to get above .500 mark. “The Colts have the most expensive O-line in the league, but they have not been getting the results for what they paid for. The Patriots targeted the RG on many pass-rush packages.”
• Cam Garrity (PatriotsWire) The Morning After: Patriots finally in rhythm heading into bye week.
• Mark Daniels says that right now, the Patriots don’t look close to fixing their offensive woes.
• Zack Cox spotlights how Trent Brown has been an ironman for the struggling O-Line.
• Bob George (PatsFans) Defense rules as Patriots throttle Colts.
• Zack Cox wonders if Josh Uche is finally making his long-awaited Patriots breakout.
• Mark Daniels highlights Josh Uche on how the Patriots saw ‘blood in water’ before going to hunt the Colts QB.
• Richie Whitt (Patriots Country) Matthew over Micah: Do Patriots own NFL’s best defensive player?
• Soor Vora (GilletteGazette) Matthew Judon is making it all happen on defense this season.
• Sean T. McGuire hears from the Colts explaining how Matthew Judon ‘wrecked the game.’
• Mark Daniels believes Mac Jones showed toughness by putting his ‘body on the line’ Sunday.
• Eric Wilbur suggests the Patriots may have ruined Mac Jones.
• Andrew Callahan talks about Cole Strange opening up about getting pulled in second straight game.
• Karen Guregian notes Matthew Slater says Marcus Jones, like many of the Patriots great returners before him, is a daredevil. “He has no fear.”
• Dakota Randall mentions how rookie Marcus Jones is emerging as a much-needed weapon, becoming one of the best returners in football.
• Zack Cox has an interesting note about the Pats’ signing of punter Michael Palardy to the practice squad two weeks ago. Palardy helped Marcus Jones learn how to catch punts from left-footed punters.
• Zack Cox points out how rookie Brenden Schooler is already looking like an elite special teamer.
• Phil Perry’s Patriots Report Card: A tale of two units in win over Colts.
• Steve Balestrieri (PatsFans) Patriots Week 9 Report Card. Coaches: C (game grade), C (season grade). The season grade kind of mirrors exactly where they are now. They’re not great; they’re not terrible; they are a middle-of-the-pack team that can compete for a playoff spot.
• Mark Daniels looks at the Patriots pass protection stats: Mac Jones isn’t the problem on offense.
• Mark Daniels Patriots coverage stats: Jonathan Jones and Jalen Mills look like top NFL cornerbacks.
• Nick Goss looks at the NFL playoff picture and how the Patriots’ position changed after Week 9.
• Jerry Thornton writes Frank Reich is only the latest victim of Belichick’s eternal blood vengeance against the Colts.
• Kevin Tame, Jr. (Patriots Country) Bill Belichick lauds Tom Brady’s ‘tremendous’ accomplishment.
• Nick Goss notes the Patriots are projected to have the third-most salary cap space in the 2023 offseason.
• Sara Marshall (MusketFire) Stephon Gilmore wants to go back to the Patriots?
• Darren Hartwell relays Albert Breer on what he projects Jakobi Meyers’ free agent value will be this offseason.
• Patrick Keefe (GilletteGazette) The extremely unofficial first annual NFL’s best-name awards.

NATIONAL NEWS

• Albert Breer (SI) Monday Afternoon QB: The two quarterback misses that led to Frank Reich’s firing; Plus, why current defensive coordinators should be candidates for top jobs, notes on Cade Otton, Josh McDaniels and more.
• Jeffri Chadiha (NFL.com) The First Read, Week 10: Patrick Mahomes’ night a reminder QB position is key; Bears unlocking Fields; More.
• Albert Breer (SI) 2022 NFL Midseason: One wish for every team. Patriots: A streamlined offensive identity. The Patriots have been chasing it for six months. They’ve thrown a lot of stuff at the wall through nine games. I think last week and this week you saw the answer start to emerge—with coaches giving Mac Jones more chain-moving layups along the way.
• Brad Spielberger (PFF) 2022 Midseason roster rankings for all 32 teams: Strengths, weaknesses and X factors for every starting lineup.
• Steven Ruiz (The Ringer) The 2022 NFL midseason superlatives.
• Doug Kyed (PFF) NFL Week 9 one up, one down for all 32 teams. Patriots up: Josh Uche, key grade 86.0 pass-rush grade; down: Cole Strange, key grade: 0.0 pass-blocking grade.
• Jeff Kerr (CBS Sports) Week 9 overreactions and reality checks. The Patriots are a playoff team: Overreaction. New England needs to be better on offense to keep pace with these teams, even if the defense and special teams are playoff-caliber. The passing game has to come alive down the stretch.
• Rodger Sherman (The Ringer) Winners and losers of NFL Week 9. Loser: The new-look Colts.
• Adam Schein (NFL.com) Week 9 takeaways: New York Jets good, Los Angeles Rams bad, Indianapolis Colts UGLY.
• Ben Solak (The Ringer) After replacing Frank Reich with Jeff Saturday, the Colts have no next move.