Welcome to first and 10, a roundup of all the (mostly) Patriots-related news you need to start your day:
A few thoughts while we wonder if today would have been good parade weather in downtown Boston:
—There’s been a lot of talk the last few days regarding the possibility of Bill Belichick “losing the locker room” over the Malcolm Butler benching and the flurry of support Butler has gotten on social media since his statement. I’ve covered this team long enough to remember the first “Belichick has lost the locker room” stories from 2003 after he cut Lawyer Milloy. I heard them in 2006 after he traded Deion Branch, and in 2008 after he dealt Richard Seymour. They were there in 2009 after he mistakenly assembled a broken roster, and again in 2016 after he traded Jamie Collins. Not saying he’ll be able to have the same outcome this time around. But let’s not pretend this is Belichick’s first rodeo.
—I’ve got to be honest — I think the idea of re-igniting the feud between the Patriots and Colts is awesome. I’m going to hesitate to call it a rivalry because it’s been one-sided for most of the last five-plus years, but the NFL is a better place when there’s a healthy hatred between the two franchises. For almost a dozen years, every time New England and Indy played, it meant something, and it was almost always compelling theater. Granted, much of that was because of the quarterbacks. But there were so many fun subplots over the years, it made for must-see TV on a regular basis. You get me, Chris Ballard. (For what it's worth, this was the first thing that came to mind after he said it.)
—Great performance by Matt Patricia in his introductory press conference in Detroit, right down to the self-mocking move of putting a pencil behind his ear midway through so he could feel more “comfortable.”
We see you, Coach. ?✏️ pic.twitter.com/bVliiHYuOw
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) February 7, 2018
oh please. someone could make a greatest hits of phony coaching rumors involving lamonte clients over the last decade plus. https://t.co/7XVaKGlmKW
— Gregg Rosenthal (@greggrosenthal) February 7, 2018
incredibly proud of this team. I’ve seen how much hard work these guys put in day in and day out. the chips didn’t fall our way this time, but the preparation and training for the 2018 season starts now. we’ll be back.
— Julian Edelman (@Edelman11) February 7, 2018
Parade ready pic.twitter.com/tuCQbTkOrY
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) February 8, 2018