Welcome to first and 10, a roundup of all the (mostly) Patriots-related news you need to start your Wednesday. Grab your coffee and let’s get to it.
Going to be a busy one Wednesday in Foxborough Wednesday, so we're just going to jump right into things.
Wednesday’s Schedule
11 a.m.: Bill Belichick press availability (media workroom)
12:30 p.m.: Media availability at practice
1 p.m.: Conference call with Andy Reid (media workroom)
3:45-4:30 p.m.: Approximate Time for Player Availability (locker room) and David Andrews, Tom Brady, Devin McCourty and James White (media workroom)
Now, on with the links...
1. Greg takes an early look at the challenge that lies ahead for the Patriots. Man coverage is going to be the focus of this one for the New England defense.
2. Miguel's first mailbag of 2019 looks at a few different things, including some possible extensions, handicapping some free-agent situations, and looking at the long-term financial future of Rob Gronkowski.
3. Greg spent some quality time with the guys from "Felger & Mazz" Tuesday afternoon.
4. I chatted with the folks in Miami about Brian Flores and my buddy Bill Michaels in Milwaukee about the AFC title game.
5. Video - Trey Flowers talked about the challenge of Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
6. Transcripts from Tuesday at the podium include Trey Flowers, Dont'a Hightower and Matthew Slater.
7. Mike Reiss has Belichick not interested in making the Patriots' regular-season road struggles a hot topic.
8. Our pal Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star takes a look at the film from Saturday's divisional playoff win and examines just how the Chiefs' defense turned things around.
9. Blair Kerkhoff of the Star looks at Brady's "Everyone thinks we suck" statement.
10. The Chiefs activated guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif off the injured reserve list and waived safety Ron Parker. Adam Teicher has a look at what that means for Kansas City.
Extra Points:
15 coldest games in #Patriots history, per @pfref. Temps in the single digits in the forecast for Sunday. @BostonSportsBSJ pic.twitter.com/iipsu3u1nK
— Christopher Price (@cpriceNFL) January 15, 2019
In their earlier meeting, the Patriots destroyed the Chiefs from 21 personnel:
Passing:
•80% success rate, 15.4 YPA, 0 sacks
Rushing:
•65% success rate, 5.1 YPC
YTD:
•KC is the NFL's worst defense vs 21 (65% success rate)
•NE has the 2nd highest usage rate of 21 personnel
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) January 15, 2019