Welcome to first and 10, a roundup of all the (mostly) Patriots-related news you need to start your day:
On Thursday, we asked Patriots players how Tom Brady looked at practice this week. There was a predictable answer.
“Tom always looks good,” said linebacker Kyle Van Noy. “He’s handsome and he’s good at football.”
“Tom looks excellent every day. One of the best-looking people I’ve ever met," added defensive back Devin McCourty. “When you look at Tom, (his face), it’s hard to look at anything else. So, I really only saw his face.”
OK then. We will hear from the quarterback himself on Friday. And while there's no real way of knowing how much it's going to impact his overall play on Sunday, after watching him suit up the last 17 years, the one thing I do know? Doubt Brady at your own peril. He might not go for 300 yards and finish with four touchdowns, but he's going to be able to find a way to make it work. Even if he throws nothing but checkdowns to Dion Lewis and James White all day.
And now, on to the links...
1. Greg says that bum thumb or not, Brady's mental toughness should make Pats fans rest easy.
2. Brian Hoyer's thumb is OK, as far as we know.
3. Patriots Notebook: Brady didn’t practice Thursday.
4. No matter the conditions, Danny “All-Weather Dola” Amendola continues to deliver for the Patriots.
5. Doc Flynn looks at a range of possibilities when it comes to Brady’s finger injury.
6. The Jags’ secondary is prepping for Brady, even after allowing 462 passing yards last week against the Steelers.
7. Jacksonville defensive lineman Malik Jackson has faced the Patriots in the postseason before. And won.
8. Blake Bortles is looking at Sunday’s game as an opportunity, not a shot at redemption.
9. Case Keenum and Nick Foles — ex-teammates — have both traveled a winding path to the NFC title game.
10. The Eagles secret weapon this year? An analytics-fueled attack.
Extra Point:
Question: "Tom Brady will still be OK to play Sunday, right?"
Noted right thumb expert Arthur Fonzarelli: "Correctamundo." pic.twitter.com/OHvfiwz2Vp
— Christopher Price (@cpriceNFL) January 18, 2018