The Patriot Way – New England Patriots News 1/17
By Adam Burt
Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Welcome to another edition of The Patriots Way, links and information everything New England Patriots from around the web.
– After a brief scare for Patriots fans on Wednesday, Tom Brady has been completely removed from the injury report. Both teams had full squads for practice, with the patriots having a number of players limited. No team is really fully healthy at this time of year, but given everything the Patriots have gone through, this is about as healthy as it gets.
– Former Patriots Willie McGinest will serve as the Patriots honorary captain on Sunday. I just wish he could suit up and get after Manning a little bit.
– Jackie MacMullan has a nice piece on the relationship between Brady and Bill Belichick. For all the talk about how each is the greatest at their respective positions, the two will forever be linked in history and people will always question whether or not they “needed” each other to be great. I think they pushed each other to reach their potential, but each is amongst the greats.
– We all know of Chandler Jones’ championship pedigree. He uses it for motivation, even if he doesn’t say it publicly. If Jones can have a big game on Sunday it would go a long way in securing a Patriots victory. Much like Brady, the best way to stop Manning is to get pressure with down lineman, and Jones is far and away the best pass rusher the Patriots have. What is scary is Jones is still developing, looks like a phenomenal pick for Belichick.
– Greg Rosenthal outlines how the Patriots offense has evolved over the years, truly a remarkable feat that one coaching staff (essentially) and one quarterback can change their offense so many times in today’s NFL.
– Over at MMQB, Andy Benoit has a great piece on the evolution of zone vs man coverage in today’s NFL and how the Patriots and the Broncos are amongst the teams leading the way.
– For a few key “Manning vs Brady” stats, check this out, and for some predictions, you can head here, here, and here. You’re either going to be very upset, or very pleased with those picks.