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.
--I'm going to be on "Patriots Playbook" Wednesday afternoon with John Rooke. Listen live here.
Now, on with the links…
1. Greg brings it here with a deep dive talking to sources in the New England organization about the ill will some have toward Jack Easterby as a result of what has happened with the Nick Caserio situation. This is what I call a $34.99 story — one that justifies the yearly subscription to BSJ. Really interesting stuff here.
2. Todd Haislop of The Sporting News ranks the best rivalries in the NFL. Patriots-Chiefs is at No. 5. (Cowboys-Eagles is ranked first.) “This is another example of a rivalry getting a significant boost simply because the two teams will play each other in 2019. We know about the game in New England in Week 14, but there's a strong chance these teams could have another postseason meeting soon,” he writes.
3. After years of being persona non grata in upstate New York, Buffalo-area native Rob Gronkowski feels welcome again. "We were out Saturday night, and they were all giving cheers at our charity event, and everything," he said prior to making a donation to the Oishei Children’s Hospital. "It was cool to finally be accepted, once again, where I grew up. So, I decided to come back and start giving back."
4. Jason La Canfora takes the Texans to task for how they’ve handled the Caserio situation, saying they are stumbling forward without a GM or a long-term plan.
5. Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report ranks the top 10 offenses of all time. The 2007 Patriots are third. “The 2007 Patriots are best known for two things: They were the second team in the Super Bowl era to run the table in the regular season, and they came up just short against the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII,” writes Davenport. “They were also an offensive buzzsaw.”
View this post on Instagram
If you’re talking about a Lock down corner you’re talking @officialtylaw #israel ✈️