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, and kick off your weekend right with an early morning football fix. The links begin after the jump…

• What do you think of Rob Gronkowski’s ranking in Pat Kirwan’s “Top 25 Tight Ends” list? Too high? Too low? Vote in the poll HERE!
• There’s a lot of bad blood in the AFC East…
• What do members of the Patriots’ coaching staff like to do off the field for fun? Find out in this video from the Patriots’ official website.
• ESPN Boston continues its free agency series with a look at WR Sidney Rice.
• Rumor has it that former Patriot LB Mike Vrabel is considering retiring and then joining the Ohio State coaching staff. Ohio State is Vrabel’s alma mater.
• The Patriots stand a good chance at winning the next Super Bowl, according to recent trends.
• Was Bill Belichick going with Tom Brady over Drew Bledsoe in 2001 the best decision in Boston sports over the past 10 years? To see the other options and vote in the poll, go HERE.
• If the proposed CBA plays out and the new cap is around $114 million, the Patriots could be around $20 million under the cap, according to Comcast Sports Net’s Tom Curran. Therefore, they’ll have a good shot at landing an impact free agent if they so choose.