Welcome to first and 10, a roundup of all the (mostly) Patriots-related news you need to start your Tuesday. Grab your coffee and let’s get to it.
I saw Ted Karras in a sombrero Monday night.
I'm not sure how he got the sombrero, who gave it to him, or why. But the Patriots' offensive lineman was wearing a sombrero. Oh, and a bunch of other players also wore the same sombrero throughout the evening. That's pretty much all you need to know about what happened at Opening Night.
There was some football that was talked about on the floor of State Farm Arena. Nickell Robey-Coleman offered a limp response when asked about his jab at Tom Brady and the Patriots, and there was some conversation about how each team was going to go about attacking each other. Oh, and I had the chance to catch up with old pal Aqib Talib, who remains awesome. But for the most part, Opening Night is about ... well, it's about things like Ted Karras wearing a sombrero. The less said about that the better.
We'll get to some more x's and o's on Tuesday, as the usual media obligations really begin. That's when some of the circus starts to thin out and we start to get down to business.
--Greg will be on with Felger & Mazz from 2-4 p.m. Listen live here.
--Patriots are still a 2.5-point favorite.
Tuesday’s Schedule
11 a.m.: Rams team availability with head coach Sean McVay and 10 players, including quarterback Jared Goff.
12:40 p.m.: Patriots team availability with head coach Bill Belichick and 10 players, including quarterback Tom Brady.
Now, on with the links...
1. I put together a massive feature on defensive line coach Brendan Daly, who some defensive players hope is the guy who gets the call as the new defensive coordinator when Brian Flores departs for Miami. (For his part, Flores was pretty coy about the Dolphins when he was asked about his situation. As always, Josh McDaniels has conditioned to believe there's no such thing as a done deal until there's a name on the bottom of the contract...)
2. Greg talked with offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia. The good news for Patriots' fans? He told Greg he's going to be back for 2019. “I really like it," he told Greg. "I like coaching. I like the meetings. I like coaching players. I like it. So, yeah, it’s good. So I am coming back next year.”
3. Greg also has a terrific story where he talks to two people close to Tom Brady to get the scoop on why we've seen a different look from the quarterback at times this year.
4. Robey-Coleman made some waves earlier in the day when Bleacher Report published a story on the irascible Los Angeles cornerback where he appeared to take some shots at the Patriots. On Monday, he said his words were taken out of context. Problem was, not all the Rams got that same memo. Talib backed his teammate, making sure to tell reporters he said some good stuff too. And ... scene.
5. Another epic Overreaction Monday Q&A is in the books. So many good questions and hopefully a few good A's.
6. So much sweet video goodness from Opening Night: Brandin Cooks, Talib, Robert Woods, Josh McDaniels, Stephon Gilmore.
7. You guys know the rules -- when Dan Wetzel writes on the Patriots, we link to it without asking. On Opening Night, he spent his time watching Belichick go head-to-head with J.B. Smoove.
8. Rob Gronkowski said Monday night he's going to take some time after the season before he makes any decision about potentially playing in 2019. "As of right now, those are the last things I'm thinking of," he said when asked about possible retirement plans. "I love playing the game. After a long season, after the (Super Bowl), a few weeks down the road, you sit back, you relax, you get some downtime, enjoyment time. And you just see where you want to go with it.''
9. Herbie Teope of NFL.com wins the award for best use of his time at the Pro Bowl -- he talked to Pro Bowlers who were on teams that beat the Rams and Patriots over the course of the regular season to try and get a sense of just what needs to be done on Sunday. Jags defensive end Calais Campbell on New England: "Oh, man. They're a tough team and they're tough to beat. There are ways to go about it, but the biggest thing is just try to make Tom Brady uncomfortable, put pressure on him up the middle and in space, play a lot of man-to-man."
10. Rams' running back Todd Gurley says he doesn't care about what sort of role he'll have in the Super Bowl. He just wants a win.
Extra Point:
Bill Belichick, asked @nflnetwork by @WillieMcGinest about planning for life after Tom Brady:
“I’m not going to worry about next year until at least Monday."
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) January 29, 2019