Welcome to first and 10, a roundup of all the (mostly) Patriots-related news you need to start your Monday. Grab your coffee and let’s get to it.
A few notes before we get things started here on Monday morning:
--Greg is going to have more shortly on the Tom Brady/Oprah sitdown that aired Sunday morning. But I didn't think there was anything especially revelatory, at least for those of us who have covered Brady for the last several years. Especially when it comes to the important stuff.
--I'm going to have a Monday afternoon Patriots' chat that'll kick off at 3 p.m. Get your questions in now, because it's going to be epic.
--With the NFL offseason really on us, we've got some vacation time coming shortly. Still figuring out all the details, but we'll have an update soon.
--In the meantime, keep this bookmarked between now and Sept. 9.
Now, on with the links...
1. My weekend notebook has a bunch of stuff, including a talk with the biggest NBA fan in the New England locker room and a glimpse of the Patriots’ 2017 AFC championship rings. But with the understanding the numbers will change between now and the start of the regular season, we lead with a deconstruction of the Patriots’ current roster by age and position.
2. I spent some quality time on Friday afternoon talking about the Patriots' offseason with our buddy Downtown Rich Kimball.
3. Linebacker Marquis Flowers is in his first full offseason in the New England system, and says he's miles ahead of where he was at the start of the 2017 season. “The coaches did a hell of a job getting me ready to play last year,” he told me. “But there were times where they would be going over something and they’d say ‘This is something we talked about in OTAs’ and it would come up in Week 8. I wasn’t the only one that happened to. Now, I know the little stuff. I was jumbled at times last year because I came in so late — I look back, and there were times where I was playing off my athletic ability. Now, I know the system.”
4. There was a Friday afternoon Q&A with Greg. Lot of good stuff here -- check out the transcript.
5. We need your help with an offseason football project. Check it out here.
6. Mike Reiss led his Sunday notebook with some thoughts from former players about Bill Belichick's past history lessons.
7. The latest edition of Phil Perry's position-by-position breakdown looks at running back.
8. The first official day of sports betting in New Jersey, and it looks like the Patriots have pretty good odds when it comes to Super Bowl LIII.
9. Austin Gayle at Pro Football Focus says Marcus Cannon is the best-graded offensive tackle in the league when it comes to run blocking. "Projecting Cannon’s success after his injury is a risky endeavor, but his sheer dominance as a run blocker in both 2016 and 2017 creates for a high floor in 2018," Gayle writes. "Even if his health permits, he may not match his 15.3 mark across a full 16-game season, but it’s unlikely his play in the trenches drops off by a significant margin."
10. Matt Patricia has plastered the "Do Your Job" motto all over the walls in Detroit. "It always comes down to being accountable to your teammates and so many times you get caught up in everything else going on," Detroit -- and former New England -- backup quarterback Matt Cassel said of what it means. "And I remember as a young guy, you always worry about, 'Well, who's getting the reps,' and this, that and the other, and it takes you and distracts you away from just doing your job."
Extra Point: In honor of Father's Day weekend, this is a great story about Ted Karras and his Dad.
When it comes to father-son bonding, it's fishing and football for @_teddy_k & his dad. pic.twitter.com/njDknZaVbH
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) June 15, 2018