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.
The first thing I found out Trey Flowers when he was drafted? Growing up, he modeled his game after Bobby Boucher.
Flowers was on a conference call with us just after he was chosen out of Arkansas in the fourth round in 2015, he said he first developed his love for the game after watching "The Waterboy."
"I actually imitated (him) in middle school – he’s playing middle linebacker and he’s visualizing the quarterback saying something about his momma and he’s walking around going crazy, walking in circles, and then he jumps over the offensive line and hits the quarterback," he told us. "I think I tried to emulate that in high school and middle school and it worked out."
It was the start of a fun ride for Flowers, who now leaves Foxborough a shining example of the Patriots' developmental process: He went from redshirting his rookie year (he played one game in his first season), to being a part-timer his second year, to becoming a defensive force the last two seasons. His ability to get his hands on an offensive lineman was legendary among his teammates -- one of them referred to Flowers as "country strong" early in his career. And I'm not sure I ever heard anyone -- fans, media, teammates, or coaches -- question his effort, heart or desire.
In my four years covering him, I found him to be unfailingly polite and an especially thoughtful interview, especially when you got him in a one-on-one setting. In the end, it’s no surprise. I mean, anyone who takes after Bobby Boucher, you know they’re going to be decent people.
Now, on with the links...
1. I had Live Coverage of Monday's events rolling all afternoon, complete with analysis and breakdown of the departures of Flowers and Trent Brown -- as well as a Rob Gronkowski update.
2. Another epic Monday Q&A with a ton of good stuff, including a ton of free-agent talk. Check out the transcript here, and make plans to join us again next Monday.
3. You guys know the rules -- when our buddy Dan Wetzel writes about the Patriots, we have to link to it. This time, he writes on how the Brown move encapsulates their business approach. It "represents the franchise’s genius in almost all capacities -- namely how a keen eye for talent, disciplined salary-cap management and deft roster construction got it a Super Bowl starter for little money and literally no roster assets," Wetzel writes.
4. Mike Reiss takes a look at the Scarnecchia Effect, noting the impact the Patriots' veteran offensive line coach has had on many New England linemen.
5. Dwayne Allen met the media in Miami and said he wanted to be an "agent of change" with the Dolphins. “Obviously, I would like to say that I’m a positive presence in the locker room," he said. "I definitely know how culture is developed and enforced on the players in the locker room. It’s set by the head coach and reinforced by the guys in the locker room. Hopefully, I can be an agent of change in that respect.”
6. Sticking with the tight end theme, Michael Bennett expressed some pessimism about the possibility of his brother playing for the Patriots. Bennett also checked in with his thoughts about the deal that brought him to Foxborough here.
7. Michael Renner of Pro Football Focus weighs in on New England's personnel losses -- he writes on the impact of Flowers moving from the Patriots to the Lions here, and weighs in on whether or not Brown is worth his new deal here.
8. In Detroit, Carlos Monarrez of the Free Press has the Lions doubling down on the Patriot Way with the addition of Flowers and Danny Amendola. "(Matt) Patricia deserves to succeed, or fail, on his own terms," he writes. "And clearly he and (Bob) Quinn believe in this. They should continue to make the kind of moves that bring in players who evangelize Patricia’s vision in the locker room and change the culture to reflect what Patricia wants it to be — even if it flies in the face of convention by doing things like practicing in the snow for an indoor game."
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