The Patriots’ First Shot

Good morning! The First Shot provides you with a healthy helping of links to the top Patriots-related stories around the internet to get your day started. Enjoy your breakfast, your coffee, put off your work (just keep an eye out for the boss), and get your early morning football fix. The links begin after the jump…

• The Patriots free agent spotlight continues, this time shining on OLB Manny Lawson.
• ESPN Boston is looking at free agent possibilities for the Patriots as well, taking a look at Bills S Donte Whitner.
• Keeping with the free agency trend, the Boston Herald looks at free agent wide receivers and special teams players.
• Forbes Magazine lists Tom Brady as one of the things that’s great about America.
• Patriots S Pat Chung is being looked at as a guy that’s ready to break out and become a star in the NFL.
• Did Brady subconsciously leave Randy Moss off a list of players he was thankful for playing with because he wanted the Pats to trade the receiver last season? Michael Hurley from NESN.com thinks that may be the case.
• Tom Curran from Comcast Sports Net tries to debunk the myth that Tom Brady is the product of a good system in New England, a theory that is propagated by the fact that the Pats went 11-5 in 2008 under the leadership of Matt Cassel.