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.
Home again -- after a wild (and unexpected) journey that included a 13-hour, caffeine-fueled minivan ride from Charlotte to New England after a second canceled flight over the weekend. But it's good to be back. Hopefully, the trip to Atlanta won't be nearly as eventful. But thanks to everyone along the way who helped us out.
--A lot of you guys asked in Monday's Overreaction Monday Q&A about John Parry, who will serve as the lead official for Super Bowl LIII. Parry had a limited background with New England -- the Patriots are 9-5 when he's served as the referee, but two of those losses were Super Bowl XLVI and the flag-filled game in Pittsburgh last month. We'll have more on his background in the next couple of weeks, but for now, check out his full resume as an NFL official here.
--It's going to be Jim Nantz and Tony Romo on the call for Super Bowl LIII -- that's good news for the Patriots, who are 12-2 since the start of the 2017 season when that duo has been in the booth.
--In the wake of their loss to New England in the AFC title game, the Chiefs fired defensive coordinator Bob Sutton.
--Looks like it'll be another quiet day in Foxborough, as players will be back in the building, but no on-field work.
Wednesday’s Schedule
3-3:45 p.m.: Approximate time for player availability (locker room)
Now, on with the links...
1. Conor Ryan has a really fun look back at the Patriots' wild ride over the last decade-plus. For him, it's hard to put this run into perspective.
2. I had three takeaways from the Tuesday conference calls with the coaching staff, a session that included thoughts on Aaron Donald, Sony Michel and Trey Flowers. (Question for Belichick: "What stands out specifically about Aaron Donald and his style of play?" Answer: "Everything. He’s pretty much unblockable." OK then.)
3. Here are the transcripts from those calls with Belichick, Josh McDaniels and Brendan Daly.
4. Mike Reiss writes on how many of the Patriots identified Week 16 as a major turning point in their season. That was just after the back-to-back road losses to Miami and Pittsburgh. "It was like, ‘We’re running out of time,’” said Devin McCourty of the feeling around the team.
5. Our pal Tyler Dunne from Bleacher Report writes on how the Patriots' underdog mentality has fueled another Super Bowl run. From Dunne: "This feeling of being slighted — even if it's, say, 15 percent real and 85 percent perceived — has served as the electroshock the 2018-19 Patriots absolutely needed."
6. Wouldn't expect a lot of trash talk for the next two weeks -- the Rams are saying all the right things about the Patriots, including Rams safety John Johnson III, who walked a bit of a fine line with this quote. “It’s an honor (to play against Brady), honestly,” Johnson said. “He’s an all-time great. He’s been to the Super Bowl, what, nine times? He’s beatable, though. We just can’t go in there with a mindset of “Oh, it’s Tom Brady,” like, he’s definitely beatable. So we’re gonna go in there and give him a go.”
7. This is going to be a big storyline for the next two weeks, so get used to it: What's the deal with Todd Gurley? Is he hurt, or is there something else going on? (Note -- this sounds better when you read it in a Jerry Seinfeld voice with this music in the background.)
8. Deion Sanders is picking the Patriots to beat the Rams. (For what it's worth, the line as of Wednesday morning is New England by 2.5 points.)
9. Dan Wetzel says when it comes to Super Bowls, this one is going to be a nightmare for St. Louis: "(This) Super Bowl will feature the franchise that bailed on them, relocated to the sunshine of Los Angeles and promptly got really, really good, playing against the club that defeated them in the last Super Bowl their local team reached, which is a wound that, as all Super Bowl losers know, never heals."
Brady hasn’t been sacked yet this postseason. Only postseason where he wasn’t sacked once (3-game minimum) was 2003. #Patriots @BostonSportsBSJ
— Christopher Price (@cpriceNFL) January 23, 2019