New England Patriots: Morning Coffee at MusketFire.com: Monday 9/7/15

Sep 3, 2015; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots fans hold up a sign in support of quarterback

during the first quarter against the New York Giants at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports

Grab your coffee. Skip the sports section in your archaic newspaper. Don’t bother going anywhere else online for your New England Patriots news, analysis, and opinion.

Here at MusketFire.com we have your Morning Coffee with all the vital information you need to stay on top of all the Patriots’ going-ons in the time it takes to enjoy your first cup of joe:

MORE MOVES:

The Patriots continued making moves as impressive back-up tackle Cameron Fleming was released after the Patriots claimed defensive tackle Khyri Thornton from waivers. Fleming was a fourth round draft pick in 2014 and Thornton was a third round draft pick that same year by Green Bay.

In another expected move, former New England wide receiver Kenbrell Thompkins joined the practice squad. He had been cut by Oakland this summer.  Thompkins made too much sense to leave on the street as he was productive in New England in 2013 and the team obviously wanted to push him through waivers to the practice squad last year before Oakland snagged him.

Jonas Gray–who was a surprise release–did pass through waivers unclaimed and there remains a slim chance he could return to the practice squad in New England.

BRADY BACK TO NORMAL:

Aug 28, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) points to the defense during the second quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

For the first time since the trumped-up NFL witch-hunt began, quarterback Tom Brady finally addressed the media.

Earlier he sent a message through his Facebook page on Friday night:

"“The regular season starts tomorrow morning and I can’t wait to fully commit my energy and emotion to focus on the challenges of the 2015 NFL season. I want to thank my family, my friends, all of the fans, past and current players and my teammates for the support they have given me throughout this challenging experience. I also want to thank Judge Berman and his staff for their efforts to resolve this matter over the past five weeks. I am very grateful. My thanks also to the union’s legal team who has fought so hard right along with me. While I am pleased to be eligible to play, I am sorry our league had to endure this. I don’t think it has been good for our sport — to a large degree, we have all lost. I am also sorry to anyone whose feelings I may have hurt as I have tried to work to resolve this situation. I love the NFL. It is a privilege to be a member of the NFL community and I will always try to do my best in representing my team and the league in a way that would make all members of this community proud. I look forward to the competition on the playing field and I hope the attention of NFL fans can return to where it belongs — on the many great players and coaches who work so hard every week, and sacrifice so much, to make this game great. Most importantly, I look forward to representing the New England Patriots on Thursday night in our season opener. I hope to make all of our fans proud this year … and beyond!”"

Speaking to the media yesterday, Brady was his usual classy self. He mentioned how he felt terrible for John Jastremski and Jim McNally, thanked everyone for their support, and refrained from incendiary statements.

OK, I need a second cup of coffee now. Come back tomorrow for another dose of Morning Coffee at MusketFire.com. However, be sure to check out the daily poll below before you move on to the next great article here.

Here is the background for today’s daily poll:

Neil Hornsby at the football statistical analysis website ProFootballFocus.com had an article rating quarterback Tom Brady as the third best quarterback in the NFL currently. In pure production terms, the website ranks him sixth (based upon their proprietary statistical analysis over the past two years.