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.
--I've covered this team for a few years now, and the sense I get is they're pretty loose going into this one. In my experience, you never really know what you're walking into in these sorts of situations, but they seem like a pretty laid-back bunch. Dont'a Hightower good-naturedly barking at Tom Brady. Deatrich Wise dancing at practice. Laughing and joking in the locker room. It remains to be seen how it will all manifest itself come Sunday in Kansas City, but from the outside, it seems like it's been a chill week in Foxborough.
--Looks like Vegas is sticking with KC as a 3-point favorite. Not sure if I've seen it move all week. And the forecast remains the same -- partly cloudy with highs in the 20s.
--A Kansas City radio station is offering tickets to a Chiefs' Super Bowl parade. That seems ... unwise.
Friday’s Schedule
10:45 a.m.: Bill Belichick press availability (media workroom)
11:40 a.m.: Media availability at practice
1:15-2:00 p.m.: Approximate time for player availability (locker room) and Tom Brady, Julian Edelman and Jason McCourty (media workroom)
Now, on with the links...
1. Greg says there's not much to carry forward from the Chargers game for the Patriots, save for one shared weakness. What is that weakness? Click through to the story to find out.
2. I talked with former advance scout Dan Hatman, who worked with Andy Reid in Philly. He offers some insight into what the Chiefs might be thinking this week when it comes to attacking the New England offense.
3. Miguel has a breakdown of just how many AFC title games this will be for a handful of players. Only four Patriots' have been on the active, game-day roster for all eight of the consecutive conference championship games -- can you name them?
4. The notebook looks at another day of perfect practice attendance for New England. There's also an updated injury report, as well as the best of the quotes from the podium on Thursday.
5. Spent some quality time with Bob Kemp of NBC Sports Radio in Phoenix and Chico on 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland talking Patriots-Chiefs.
6. Video - Rob Gronkowski stopped by the media workroom on Thursday afternoon to talk about the Chiefs and what he expects come Sunday.
7. Whenever our buddy Dan Wetzel writes about the Patriots, we're going to link to him. Those are the rules. Here's a good one on Brady's path to an eighth consecutive AFC title game.
8. The Chiefs are aiming to end a 49-year-old Super Bowl drought Sunday against the Patriots.
9. When it comes to the defensive side of the ball, Kansas City is going to live and die with its pass rush. “We don’t care who we are going against," said Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones. “We can go up against brick walls and we will find a way to beat them."
10. Patrick Mahomes is prepping for another shot at Belichick and the Patriots' D. “They have the talent where they can play the man coverage and do that stuff, at the same time they can change up the look and do stuff they haven’t necessarily been doing all season long and still execute it,” Mahomes said of New England. “When you play veteran teams like this, you have to make sure you have a plan for everything every single play.”
Check out Sony Michel (aka @Flyguy2stackz) yards in each personnel group. #GoPats #NEvsKC pic.twitter.com/M8B9dzPciL
— NFL Matchup on ESPN (@NFLMatchup) January 17, 2019
The @Patriots offense has drastically different run-pass tendencies depending on which RB is on the field.
When Sony Michel is on the field, the Patriots RUN on 76% of plays, and when James White is on the field, the Patriots PASS on 79% of plays.#NEvsKC | #GoPats pic.twitter.com/hI2eHcGW5T
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) January 18, 2019