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Patriots Savor AFC Win, Get Ready For Super Redux

January 24, 2012 By

The Patriots took a day to recover from and enjoy their AFC Championship win over the Ravens, while begining to turn their attention to the NFC Champion New York Giants.

The Super Bowl XLII replays have already begun on NFL Network. View at your own peril. Some of us still can’t stomach it.

Super Bowl may be a rematch, but teams are not the same - Tim Britton says that for all the attention about the “rematch” these are pretty much completely different teams than the two that met in XLII. Rich Garven has the Patriots looking to finish off the season the right way.

Making The Grades – AFC Championship, Patriots vs. Ravens - Jeremy Gottlieb has the grades from Snday and here are a pair of other report cards to look over, from Ron Borges and Hector Longo.

Patriots savor a little longer - Shalise Manza Young has the team taking a day to enjoy their AFC Championship.

A workout by Vince Wilfork - Ian Rapoport has a look at a very tired Wilfork following his monster performace against the Ravens.

In key moments for the Patriots, it’s keep calm and carry on - Christopher Price notes how the Patriots ability to come through in key moments has separated them from the rest of the AFC this season.

Rob Gronkowski will be ready - Rapoport’s notebook says that the monster tight end will be ready to play in the Super Bowl. The Globe notebook from Shalise Manza Young confirms that. The Patriots Journal has Julian Edelman not one to back down from a challenge.

The hot topic of sports radio this morning has been Tim Thomas and his boycott of the Bruins visit to the White House yesterday.

Thomas on his own as White House distraction - Joe Haggerty thinks the goaltender may have wandered a bit too far off the reservation. Joe McDonald thinks that Thomas put himself above the team.

Tim Thomas should be applauded for conviction - Kirk Minihane thinks Thomas was doing what he thinks is right. Michael Felger thinks that Thomas’ is an embarassment.

The Celtics put on a defensive clinic last night, holding the Orlando Magic to 25% shooting from the field, on their way to a 87-56 romp at the TD Garden.

Dwight Howard tips hat to C’s after ugly loss - Steve Bulpett has the Magic center saying that the Celtics went back to playing “Boston basketball” last night.

The Celtics we know - Paul Flannery welcomes back the Celtics.

Banged-up Celtics put hurt on Magic - Peter May has the Celtics putting on a defensive tour de force.

Pietrus is latest sidelined - Gary Washburn’s notebook looks at the latest Celtics injury and has the Garden welcoming back Glen Davis.

What the addition of Cody Ross means for the Red Sox - Alex Speier examines the signing of the free agent outfielder.

 

 

Filed Under: Morning Links
  • Alex

    You know I think it's kind of amusing that many reporters, radio hosts, and talk show callers have spent the better part of three seasons complaining about bad free agent signings and draft pick busts while completely ignoring the fact that Bill Belichick has rebuilt this roster with some very good, young players. While the Felgers of the world complain that the "window is closing" on this group or that the "cap is crap", the Patriots simply went about their business and retooled an aging roster with some new talent. This is not an aging dynasty making one final championship run. This is the 4th YOUNGEST team in the NFL getting ready to play for the Super Bowl Championship. Hopefully that point gets recognized at some point in the next two weeks.

    • latetodinner

      Excellent point Alex…also remember the Pats are approx 20 mill under the 2012 cap and they have 2 first round picks. Also I doubt Ocho will get $6 mill next year…so that is even more room. My point is not only are they in a good position to be good for a long time to come but they have the flexibility to add more pieces if they want to…like maybe a Mario Williams (I boy can dream can't he).

      • Tom

        The Pats don't have a lot of 'middle-aged' guys… they are all either 1-3yr players or 10-13yr. players.
        Don't forget, in addition, they have two 2nd rounders as well.

  • http://twitter.com/pedroiar @pedroiar

    All I ask.. is that someone take Jon Tomase and Mike Fish and tie their hands behind their backs for the next two weeks.

    Seriously, all I want is to be able to enjoy this without any controversies. Thankfully "Scoreboardgate" from the Ravens game seems to have already fizzled out.

  • Alex

    Well it turns out I read that chart wrong and the Pats are the like the 10th oldest team in the NFL. But my basic point is still the same: the Pats have rejuvenated their roster by bringing in a lot of young, talented players who are willing to work hard and learn from the coaching staff. And the fact that they're playing in the SB is ample proof that Belichick's system/philosophy works just fine.

  • latetodinner

    I don't get why Tim Thomas not going to the White House is such a huge story, especially this week. No one seemed to mind when Theo did not go in 2004 to visit President Bush….for political reasons. Thomas said his piece and did not go. Its not what I would have done…but that is irrelevant. So an athlete making $6 mill + a year playing a sport decides he does not want to go to a photo op with the President. Its not like he was being invited to the White House for a policy discussion where his opinion might have been sought after and mattered. Its actually silly when you think about it. Having said that…on day 2 of Superbowl hype week the phone lines on both sports talkers lit up this AM with people either out raged or totally in support of Thomas' actions. Seriously, I heard a guy on active duty tell how proud he was for Thomas standing up for what he believes in and sticking it to the liberals…I heard a self described Cambridge liberal saying how proud he was because Thomas was exercising his free speech, I heard a conservative repulican call Thomas selfish because he was disrespecting the "Office of the President" by not going and thereby making the story about him rather than the team… NEWSFLASH a sports team visiting the White House for the congratulatory photo op, hand shake and free food should not be a news story nor should it be a sports story. There are so many things more important in the real world and the world of sports that the media and I guess by extension the fans can focus on…like the reporter from TSN Dave Hoge who observed that all three of Thomas' children's names start with a K so maybe that is where his political heart lies. Unbelievable. Thank god there is nothing more important to discuss in the Boston media this week. Wait the Red Sox signed a journey man platoon right fielder…I see the light at the end of this tunnel.

    • APimpNamedDaveR

      Theo wasn't the MVP of the 2004 World Series.

      • latetodinner

        He was in some people's eyes for finally putting together a team that did not choke it all away. I still think it is a dumb contrived controversy.

        • Tom

          To me, this issue is so straightforward.

          THIS WAS NOT A POLITCAL EVENT!

          So, he should have been there. It was a traditional ceremony that has been happening for years and years. It was a TEAM event, not a politcal one.

          If Obama were holding a fundraiser and invited the Bruins, then I would applaud Thomas' resolve.

          How's this question for you: If Rush Limbaugh owned say, the Dallas Mavericks, would Obama have cancelled the WH ceremony? Nope.

          Theo and Thomas were/are BOTH wrong.

        • latetodinner

          Tom…to Quote the Big O "You are missing my point"… it does not matter what the reason for the visit is…it is a contrived photo op. So you think he should go, others think he shouldn't…my point is this is not news and to be frank, not something I think the White House or the press corps should spend any time on. I am sure the President has more important things to do than meet Last Years Boston Bruins. I am sure there are better ways to spend money than on food, logistics and security for the Bruins and Entourage. But most importantly there has to be something better for the media and the fans to discuss than whether or not an athlete goes to meet the President. Its not news, its at best lousy Entertainment.

        • Andy

          We understand that this is photo-op. So what is Your point. These photo-ops occur and they are non-political events.

          Whether they are news or entertainment is up to each of us to decide. What Thomas did was to use this non-political event to make a very political statement.

        • latetodinner

          My point is Thomas' political statement should have fallen on deaf ears because no one should care about a contrived event that has no real relevance.

        • Tom

          Should have fallen on deaf ears??? If a team goes to this 'contrived photo op', and someone is missing, the question is asked: 'where is player X?'… in this case the answer was from the player himself. He said it was a politcal reason for not going.

          Again, he has the 'right' to not go, but he is the one making it a 'politcal' thing. Not ANYONE else.

          You say they are contrived and silly. No argument from me, but that is a different issue than whether or not they should go. If it, as you say, has "no relevance", then why DIDN'T he go? Because he looked at it politcally, and that is the problem I have with him. I could care less about his politcs. I truly don't care. In fact, I don't care if he even talked about them occassionally, but to me, skipping this NON-POLITICAL, team, event was disrepectful to his team and frankly, to the country he apparently loves so much.

          To me, if you're sick, don't go. If you are politically opposed to the President, you're an idiot for not going.

    • bsmfan

      Given the reaction so far, it seems like the media are ready to run Thomas out of town over this. That's really sad. Felger and others always complain about not making us like Montreal where we care about stupid things like if a guy speaks French or not–and, he's one of the guys leading the charge here. Nice job, Felger.

      Hey Felger, when we give guys physicals, do we also administer sodium pentothal and inquire about their political views in order to determine if they are cleared to play on a team?

  • tl;138

    The "If Eli wins the Super Bowl, he's a HoF QB" talk today is laughable.

  • http://twitter.com/pedroiar @pedroiar

    All I ask.. is that someone take Jon Tomase and Mike Fish and tie their hands behind their backs for the next two weeks.

    That's all I want, to be able to enjoy this without controversy. Hopefully 'scoreboardgate' against the Ravens rightfully fizzles out quickly.

  • 02062

    Who's more qualified to speak about "small-minded chumps" than Michael Felger?

  • Rick

    Forum is down for everybody?

  • mallen

    I think that it is easy to see why the Tim Thomas no-show is eating up time. it lies at the intersection of politics, culture, sports, and pontification. Perfect.

    • NS Webster

      Yup….just one more goofy, non-partisan tradition that had to get ruined like everything else.

  • bsmfan

    To stay away from the Thomas issue because it violates a rule of keeping politics out of sports, anyone see the news out of Indy?
    http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/24/c…

    Doesn't look good for Peyton there and Irsay seems to be losing it as a GM.

    And, it looks like even "Shotty" admits the Jets are a walking disaster:
    http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/24/s…

  • Winning_

    In an attempt to provide some rational concerns about the SB, here's one point the talking heads should discuss. The often compared QB matchup is very close in this one. We all agree Brady is better, but his play in the playoffs recently does pose some concerns. I will not say he sucks nor do I expect him to be bad. Felger actually said it best when he said "I expect Brady to be great everytime he steps on the field." While we likely agree this is how we all feel, it has not and is not always a given, something Felger did f/u with. I think Eli has definetly progressed to a level which scares me. He has shown toughness and resiliency that his brother often lacked. The question becomes, is Tom Brady the TB 12 we all know and love? Or does the Brady from last week, Jets of last year, or SB 42 Brady show up? Can our Pass rush cause enough pressure to not allow Eli to pick apart our Pass Defense. We'll see.

    More to come in days leading up to the game.

  • Doc Michaels

    The worst part of the Tim Thomas situation? It's brought out some of the dumbest, most worthless talk of all on the air. Turning on Gresh & Zo, they've moved off it and to the Super Bowl. Mutt and Lou? Still talking about Tim Thomas. No wonder why nobody is listening.

  • bsmfan

    $10 says he would have had a bronzed statue next to Larry Bird if Bush was still in office. Had to turn off these segments as well and thankfully SVP/national ratio is moving on from this.

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