NFL Notebook: Poll reveals Ty Law's Hall chances gaining momentum

Taking a weekend spin around the NFL with a focus on the Patriots...

1. I spoke with 10 people who have a vote for the Pro Football Hall of Fame this week, and I asked them a very simple, off-the-record question: Do you anticipate voting for former Patriots cornerback Ty Law this year? I got five straight “yes” votes. Meanwhile, three others said they would vote for him on the first stage of votes when the potential candidates are narrowed to a field of 15 finalists, but would have to reassess the field at that point. Two others wouldn’t say what they were going to do either way, but they both believed that Law would “eventually get in,” and that he remained a “strong candidate” for the Hall sooner rather than later. Law needs 80 percent of the vote to make it, which is 36 or 37 votes when it all goes down. (For a complete look at the voting process and all that it entails, click here and scroll down to the bottom of the page.) Based on this random cross-section poll, it certainly appears that his candidacy is gaining momentum.

2. While my conversations with these voters were all off the record, one voter said he had no problem going on the record. Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole has a vote, and is a big Law backer. “Yes, I would vote for him. He was clearly the dominant defensive player during that run. His performance in big games against great players (Peyton Manning and Kurt Warner) is as good as anyone. He should have been the MVP of the first Patriots Super Bowl victory,” Cole wrote in an e-mail. “He also has a long and productive career. I’m not sure there will be many (cornerbacks) who get 50 interceptions over a career going forward because of the rules. But Law did and he did it being relentlessly physical. He was not the definition of pure physical talent like a Deion Sanders, but his production measured up, particularly on the big stages.”

3. While Tom Brady talked about Eli Manning’s situation on Thursday on the radio and during his weekly press conference on Friday, it was also a topic in the locker room among multiple players after the news broke. While none of them wanted to go on record with their feelings about what happened, one veteran acknowledged to me that it was a shocking move, but it said more about the state of the franchise than Manning himself. There was respect in all corners of the locker room for Manning, and there was curiosity as to where he might end up in 2018. However, there was no such level of respect for the New York coaching staff, front office and ownership. One player noted that he had been in touch with some members of the Giants over the course of the year, and said things had sounded like they became pretty rough. There was also some speculation about managements’ ability to recruit potential free agents down the road in the wake of how Manning’s benching was handled. One more thing worth mentioning: given the way all of this plays out, the Giants will be in the market for a head coach sooner rather than later. And if I’m Josh McDaniels or Matt Patricia, no matter how prestigious the history is when it comes to a franchise like the Giants, I take a pass right now.

4. Our favorite stat of the week comes to us from our buddy Eric Edholm, who unearthed this nugget: Chris Long’s teams (the Patriots and Eagles) have gone 27-3 in his last 30 games, including the postseason. The first-round pick of the Rams in 2008, St. Louis was 3-31 in his first 34 games as a pro. (For what it’s worth, Eric also wrote a dynamite story this week for Pro Football Weekly on a 1998 Bills-Patriots game that went down as one of the baddest beats of all time.)

5. Three more stats in this same vein worth passing along:

a) In the last three-plus seasons, including the playoffs, the remaining members of New England’s 2014 draft class (a group that includes James White and Cam Fleming) have achieved a 54-13 win-loss record and a pair of Super Bowl wins. To put that win-loss record in some sort of perspective, the Browns could hit 13 losses in one season next Sunday. As good a run as the Class of 2014 has had, the draft class of 2016 might be even better. That group, which includes Joe Thuney and Elandon Roberts, is 26-4 (including the playoffs) for a winning percentage of .867 in the NFL.

b) White might be more used to winning than just about anyone in the New England locker room. As a collegian at Wisconsin, he was 39-15 in four seasons with the Badgers. Combine his college and pro record, and that’s 93-28 record in his last eight seasons or so of football, a winning percentage of .769.

c) We had a lot of fun with this stat when he started his Patriots’ career 17-0, but it’s worth reiterating that having Dion Lewis healthy and in a New England uniform is as close as you’re going to get to an automatic victory. Since he showed up in '15, including the playoffs, the Patriots are 26-2 (.929) when he plays. Maybe it’s good thing New England didn’t trade him. (For the record, Lewis is scheduled to be a free agent in '18.)

6. Two statistical leftovers from two of our stories this week, courtesy of our friends at Pro Football Focus: one, regarding how Brady has done when it comes to targeting specific sections of the field. Via PFF, Brady is 82-for-120 for 1,087 yards with nine touchdowns and no picks when aiming for a target who is outside of the left numbers, 153-for-209 for 1,671 yards with 12 touchdowns and three interceptions when targeting a receiving between the numbers, and 44-for-58 for 616 yards with five touchdowns and zero picks when aiming at a pass catcher outside of the right numbers. Two, here are a set of stats are in relation to screen passes this year. Brady is 17-for-19 for 80 yards when targeting running backs in the screen game, 13-for-13 for 55 yards when targeting wide receivers and 2-for-2 for eight yards when aiming for tight ends.

7. The news that Arizona State fired head coach Todd Graham this week reminded us of the run-up to Super Bowl XLIX, when Bill Belichick went on record as saying he was a big supporter of Graham. "I love Coach Graham," Belichick said, who added that he had taken recruiting visits over the years to Tempe. "Coach Graham does a great job. He's a good friend of mine. I really respect the job he's done with this program. … (He) probably doesn't get enough credit for the job that he's done at Arizona State since he's been there. He's one of the best coaches in college football." Arizona State wasn’t exact fertile ground for the Patriots over the previous few seasons — only a few former Sun Devils ended up making their way to Foxborough, including D.J. Foster — and Belichick was also trying to be nice talking up the program while in Arizona. But it’ll be interesting to keep an eye on the relationship between the Patriots and ASU moving forward, especially if Herm Edwards ends up taking the job, as some expect.

8. We got such a positive reaction the first time we did this — and there have already been some questions on this in our weekly Q&As — that we’re going to occasionally revisit some mock drafts the rest of the season as a way to monitor who might be on the Patriots’ radar between now and next spring. (Just so we’re all clear, all of these predictions are made with an eye toward New England picking in the low 30s with its first overall selection.)

CBS Sports: QB Mason Rudolph, Oklahoma State

Bleacher Report: RB Derrius Guice, LSU

Sports Illustrated: LB Rashaan Evans, Alabama

SB Nation: CB Anthony Averett, Alabama

Walter Football: DT Taven Bryan, Florida

9. On Sunday against the Dolphins, the Patriots committed seven penalties for 70 yards. On the season, New England has committed 69 penalties (11th most in the league) for 628 penalty yards (tied for 11th most), not including flags that were declined or offset. Here’s a look at the players who have played at least 500 snaps this season and have committed the fewest penalties.

Zero penalties
S Devin McCourty — 725 defensive snaps
S Duron Harmon — 543 defensive snaps

One penalty
G Shaq Mason — 790 offensive snaps
QB Tom Brady — 781 offensive snaps
WR Chris Hogan — 535 offensive snaps

Most penalized by position (top 5 positions)
Special teams: 16 penalties for 127 yards
Offensive Line: 14 penalties for 135 yards
Cornerback: 9 penalties for 153 yards
Wide receiver: 8 penalties for 72 yards
Defensive Line: 7 penalties for 45 yards

Most frequently called penalties (top 5 types of penalties)
Offensive Holding: 10
False Start: 9
Offensive Pass Interference: 7
Illegal Block Above the Waist: 5
Defensive Holding: 5
Defensive Pass Interference: 4
Illegal Use of Hands, Defensive Offsides: 3

(As always, thanks to NFLpenalties.com for providing a database to help cross-check our information.)

10. What is it that they say around Foxborough? You want to be playing your best football at this time of year? Yeah, that’s me. I was a red-hot 14-2 last week, and I’m 116-58 on the year. My picks for this week: Redskins, Vikings, Ravens, Patriots, Bears, Packers, Jaguars, Dolphins, Jets, Titans, Chargers, Rams, Saints, Raiders, Seahawks and Steelers.

11. Another week, another divisional game. The next 10 days will be key to the development of the 2017 team — if the Patriots can take care of business Sunday in Buffalo, and follow that up with a win over the Dolphins in Miami next Monday, the AFC East will be as good as clinched. Hats and T-shirts are looming, people. And after that, Pittsburgh.