1. It isn't too often Tom Brady directly responds to stories written about him, but Friday's ESPN piece was different. While it centered around Brady, Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft, the person who looked the worst besides Alex Guerrero was Brady. The 40-year-old came across as a player who thinks he deserves special treatment and is above the rest of the team, especially when it comes to handling criticism. It also painted a picture of him not being able to handle the presence of Jimmy Garoppolo, when in reality Brady has thrived off competition his entire life. But the biggest thing Brady didn't like was the sense he has issues with certain people — namely Garoppolo and Belichick. "Speculating on relationships or what my feelings towards my team, or my organization, or players, or coaches, I can only speak for myself," Brady said on Westwood One Radio. "Really, my relationships with everybody that I deal with I feel are so positive. To think anything differently of that is complete nonsense." "Complete nonsense" is especially strong coming from Brady. From this viewpoint, at its core, the ESPN piece was mostly true, but some of its details and how it portrayed some situations and people (the half day meeting with Belichick and Kraft being one) was off.
2. One more thought on the piece: Of course there are going to be power struggles when you have three people who are arguably the best at what they do in the NFL, have big egos, and have been together for 18 seasons. This is natural and would happen at any company in America when there are three talented people working together for 18 years. In the end, all three have winning as their No. 1 priority, so if things ever got to a point where any of their disagreements were impacting things on the field, they would change. As Brady said Saturday, this whole story will not impact how things go this postseason -- in fact it may benefit them. "I think in so many ways adversity that our team has faced over the years only makes us stronger," Brady said Saturday while appearing on Westwood One Radio.
3. The Patriots should be getting three key contributors back on offense who missed extended time to end the season. Running backs Rex Burkhead (knee) and James White (ankle), who both missed the final two games, participated in practice this past week and word is they are expected to play next Saturday night. In addition, wide receiver Chris Hogan, who has only played once (in Miami) since the bye, supposedly could have played in the regular-season finale against the Jets if they needed him, so he too should be on the field next weekend. It remains to be seen how effective he can be, though.
4. Getting these three players back into the fold is huge for the offense. Brady completed below 63 percent of his passes in three of the final four games and threw six interceptions in his final six games. Hogan, White and Burkhead are three of his most dependable targets, especially in the short passing game, which should help turn those numbers around. When asked about potentially getting some of these players back last Thursday, Brady didn't want to talk about it. "We'll see," he said. "So, not sure – to be determined by everybody once we're out there and what we do. I'd rather go out there and do it and not talk about it, so that's what our focus is going to be on."
5. One offensive player not mentioned with the other three who could return is Malcolm Mitchell, who remains on injured reserve. It is worth noting the Patriots do not have to activate him this week, as they still could the week of the AFC title game. Even though he hasn't played in a game this season, it may still be worth activating him and seeing what he has. New England has had issues at the receiver position when it comes to production outside the numbers and beating man-to-man coverage. Mitchell specializes in comeback routes on the outside and showed the ability to be on the same page as Brady last year as a rookie. It would seem Mitchell at 75 percent can give the Patriots more than Phillip Dorsett and Kenny Britt have.
6. To no fault of the Patriots, they always seem to have things go their way. It happened again on Saturday as the Chiefs were knocked off by the Titans, meaning the Patriots will host either the Titans or Bills next Sunday. Kansas City was clearly the toughest of the three teams and even beat New England at Gillette Stadium in Week 1. The Patriots appear to have caught a huge break with whoever they face next Saturday and have a really good chance of playing in yet another AFC title game.
7. Early stat of the week: The Patriots are 20-1 when scoring more than 21 points in the playoffs in the Brady-Belichick era. This is a good thing for the team, as in the eight games since the bye, the offense has scored more than 21 points in every game but one.
