Welcome to first and 10, a roundup of all the (mostly) Patriots-related news you need to start your Friday. Grab your coffee and let’s get to it.
Congrats to the Browns. Unlock those fridges!
Got a lot going on for a Friday, so we'll jump right into things.
Friday’s schedule
11:30 a.m.: Bill Belichick press availability (media workroom)
12:05 p.m.: Media availability at practice
2 p.m.: Approximate time for player availability (locker room) and Tom Brady media availability (media workroom)
Now, on with the links...
1. Talked with an NFC scout about the Lions, and what the Patriots should expect when they head to Detroit this weekend. “The next three or four weeks, you’ll see more frustration from that team, but they’re not quitting on him," the scout said of Matt Patricia and the Lions. "I don’t know Patricia personally, but I know he’s brilliant, and he comes off to a lot of people as a guy’s guy. He doesn’t talk down to his guys. He’s teaching them. That’s one of the reasons why I think they might be capable of having a better second half of the season than their first."
2. Our Patriots Notebook covers a bunch of stuff, including the fact Belichick finally acknowledged Josh Gordon was on the roster.
3. Miguel has the story of Malcolm Mitchell filing a grievance against the Patriots.
4. Cyrus Jones is back for a second act with New England. What does it mean for him and the Patriots? And why was the cornerback working with the safeties at the start of Thursday's practice?
5. We've got video from Thursday's practice: First, it's Master Joe Kim working with the pass rushers. And second., there's Brady and Brian Hoyer going through some drills of their own.
6. Mike Loyko has the latest edition of the NFL Draft Digest, which includes some Patriots' coaching connections. defensive line fits, and more.
7. Spent some quality time Thursday afternoon talking about the Patriots, the Lions and Josh Gordon with my pal Downtown Rich Kimball.
8. Our Week 3 picks. The one thing I've learned so far? On almost every occasion, you're safe if you bet against the Bills.
9. The Lions know stopping Rob Gronkowski is paramount. But how do they do that? “You’d say superstar players are going to get (theirs),” Lions defensive back Glover Quin said of Gronkowski. “They don’t go off every game. They go off a lot of them. They don’t go off every game, but they do demand a lot of attention. So we just got to know where he’s at, at all time and make sure that we keep that in mind.”
10. Through two games, the Lions run-pass ratio is historically lopsided.
Extra Point:
These teams are BLITZING the most (and the least) through two weeks in the #NFL!#Browns #BeRedSeeRed #GoPats #GiantsPride #HereWeGo @gregcosell @MattBowen41 pic.twitter.com/X1efV5fRI3
— NFL Matchup on ESPN (@NFLMatchup) September 21, 2018