New England Patriots links 10/04/23 - Moving on to the Saints

Bring on Week 5! If I didn’t have so many people in my house last Sunday I would have moved on at halftime. But diehard fans tend to stay and suffer the bad as well as cheering on the good.

Today it’s officially Saints week. Players return to practice, the game plan gets introduced and the page has been mentally turned. By this time the staff has determined what they got wrong, where they need to coach up to raise the level of execution (awareness of the the first-down marker perhaps?) to where it needs to be, and how the weak spots can be shored up - because the Saints’ staff has analyzed that same film.

The injuries to key players Christian Gonzalez and Matt Judon certainly don’t help. It will be interesting to see more of Keion White and if he can supply the same punch - albeit without the cheery demeanor as Judon.

TEAM TALK

• Game Preview: Saints at Patriots. Series history, scouting the matchups, tale of the tape.
• Paul Perillo tackles this week’s Patriots Mailbag: Exploring WR options and more?
• Paul Perillo’s NFL Notes: Same old story for Patriots as the team continues to be marred by mistakes and falling into early holes.
• Alexandra Francisco reports Gillette Stadium Lighthouse’s 360-degree observation deck now open to public.
• Press Conferences: Bill O’Brien - Cam Achord - Jerod Mayo.
• Patriots Unfiltered: Takeaways from loss to Cowboys, Gonzalez/Judon injuries and who steps up; more. (2 hours)

LOCAL LINKS

• Michael Hurley serves up some leftover Patriots thoughts: It was supposed to be better. Much, much better.
• Alex Barth reports the Patriots added depth to their interior defensive line on Tuesday by signing Trysten Hill to their practice squad.
• Mac Cerullo suggests that with Matthew Judon out, rookie Keion White will be expected to play a bigger role.
• Dakota Randall notes Jerod Mayo believes his defense will be able to withstand the loss of CB Christian Gonzalez.
• Mike Kadlick notes Mac Jones says he’s ‘excited to move on’.
• Nick O’Malley notes Bill O’Brien gave Mac Jones a strong vote of confidence this week, but admitted the team has a lot of issues to fix.
• Khari Thompson highlights Bill O’Brien on how Mac Jones’s decision-making will be a point of emphasis this week.
• Zolak & Bertrand talk with Mike Reiss about why he’s not ready to bury Mac Jones just yet and more.
• Dan Kelley (PatriotsFootballNow) No QB controversy currently in New England.
• Jordy McElroy (PatriotsWire) Patriots’ top 10 offensive players in Week 4, per PFF grades.
• Andy Hart gives us the latest Pats stats check-in: Points and turnovers tell the ugly story.
• Ian Logue (PatsFans) Patriots Notebook: Ty Law believes the lack of talent remains the issue; Bill Belichick backs Mac Jones; More.
• Mike Kadlick wants “Dad” [Robert Kraft] to step in, say ‘enough is enough’, oust Bill Belichick and replace him with Jerod Mayo.
• Gayle Troiani revisits eight memorable Patriots celebration Championship moments. /Sure, why not?
• Peter Chianca reports on a miniseries about Tom Brady that is in the works. “The Patriot Way” is being written by the team behind the Lowell-based 2010 movie “The Fighter.”

NATIONAL NEWS

• Kevin Patra (NFL.com) Patriots OC Bill O’Brien: QB Mac Jones’ struggles versus Cowboys were ‘uncharacteristic’.
• NFL Nation (ESPN) NFL quarterback questions: Reporters on concerns, hot starts. What are the Patriots doing to help Mac Jones’ issues when under pressure?
• Josh Alper (ProFootballTalk) Mac Jones: I believe in myself, I will show that I can do the job.
• Sports (Yahoo! Sports) Would the Patriots really push Bill Belichick out? There’s no playbook for breaking up with a legend. /No byline to this article, lol.
• Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) Matthew Judon set for bicep surgery Wednesday, unsure whether he’ll return this season.
• Matt Johnson (SportsNaut) NFL coaching hot seat: Seat getting warm for Josh McDaniels, Bill Belichick after Wk 4.
• Michael Rosenberg (SI) NFL owners need to evaluate head coaches based on who they are.
• Gilberto Manzano (SI) NFL Week 4 coaching decisions: Three we liked and three we didn’t.
• Adam Schein (NFL.com) NFL contenders or pretenders? Upstart Texans and frisky Rams legit; Jordan Love-led Packers ain’t it
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) ESPN doesn’t release audience numbers for ESPN+ game (again).