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.
--Big picture takeaway from Thursday? About 45 or so good minutes of football for the Patriots against the Colts. The general feeling though is that when it comes to a short week sometimes it's just about escaping with a victory, style points be damned. Especially when you toss in the idea this was the third game in 12 days for New England. There's plenty to square away between now and the Kansas City game on Oct. 14, but the Patriots did their part to set the stage for what should be a fun one later this month against the Chiefs.
--The Patriots got Tom Brady, James White, Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski on the field together for a regular-season game for the first time since November 2016. You get that group operating at full potential, if Josh Gordon keeps trending in the right direction, and if Sony Michel can hit four yards per carry on a consistent basis, this offense will be just fine.
--If Thursday will be the last game in Foxborough for Adam Vinatieri, the Gillette Stadium crowd sent him off properly, giving him big cheers as he came off the field.
Friday’s Schedule — Players are off until Monday
11 a.m.: Conference call with Bill Belichck
11:15 a.m.: Conference call with Josh McDaniels
11:30 a.m.: Conference call with Brian Flores
Now, on with the links...
1. Greg's column looks at the performance of the defense, which struggled for sizable portions of the second half. But the group remains confident it'll be able to make the necessary fixes before the looming showdown with the Chiefs.
2. Greg's game report has everything you need to know about the contest in quickie form, including the fact it was a tale of two halves.
3. I took a look at the fact that New England's most fearsome offensive foursome -- Gronkowski, Brady, Edelman and White -- were together on the field for the first time since Nov. 2016. Love this quote from Gronkowski: “You can take us away from each other for 10 years, and we’ll come back and be the same. We’ll just have to knock off the rust with a couple of practices.”
4. Edelman was a tone-setter right out of the gate for the Patriots, as his full-tilt sprint signaled a welcome back for the veteran receiver. “I remember when I tore my ACL and I was sitting back and during the rehab, you’re just sitting there and can’t wait to run out of that tunnel," he said after the game.
5. The #StayCovered Defensive Play of the Game went to Devin McCourty with his strip and fumble recovery in the second half of Thursday's win. “(I was) just tacking up high and as I’m tackling him, I (felt) like the ball was a little loose,” McCourty said after the game when I asked about what happened. “Just ripping at it as we’re going down. I got lucky and got the ball out.”
6. I had Live Coverage hopping all night long. Check the full transcript here.
7. We've got postgame video: Edelman, Belichick and McCourty.
8. Following the win, Greg broke things down with the guys from the Patriots' Postgame Show.
9. I did the same thing with my buddy Scott Seidenberg of NBC Sports Radio.
10. My Patriots notebook led with Josh Gordon helping Brady set a new mark. “To catch any pass from Tom is amazing, let alone some history-making catch or pass,” Gordon said of No. 500. “I told him congratulations, and I know there’s many more for him to come. Hopefully, he’s got a lot more left in him – I’m pretty sure he does – so I’m looking forward to that. The next history point to make for him, I hope to be a part of it. So, it was awesome.”
Extra Point(s):
Find yourself someone who looks at you the way Bill Belichick looks at Adam Vinatieri. pic.twitter.com/xXe4eC2As4
— Christopher Price (@cpriceNFL) October 4, 2018
Chung LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/7hfefWX225
— New Account (@ftbeard_17) October 5, 2018
Not one of them batted down a deep ball thrown to Gordon in double coverage. Not one of them tackled Sony Michel in the open field. But at least they look good posing after a gimme turnover when they were down by 2 TD’s! pic.twitter.com/NrBm5TF78B
— Brian Billick (@CoachBillick) October 5, 2018