Five deserving Patriots – Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Darrelle Revis, Stephen Gostkowski and Matthew Slater – were among those named to the Pro Bowl team Tuesday night.
Beyond the continued discussion of how Bill Belichick might deploy his players in Sunday's season finale against the Bills, a breakdown of those Pro Bowl selections tops most of the news stories on the various outlets across the web this Christmas Eve morning.
The Boston Globe has a staff report noting the specifics of New England’s Pro Bowl picks.
In regards to the play-time issue, the Globe's Shalise Manza Young says that history suggests Belichick will indeed use his starters against Buffalo. The Globe's Patriots notebook has Brady expressing that his New England offense has an important test against a solid Buffalo defense on Sunday, while Ben Volin offers his thoughts on a variety of topics in his weekly mailbag.
The Boston Herald's Karen Guregian looks back at how the Jets defense went to work trying to stop Rob Gronkowski last Sunday. Her notebook addresses the rest vs. rust debate.
The Providence Journal's Mark Daniels not only notes the Patriots Pro Bowl selections, but also that the New England offensive line has work to do before it’s postseason ready.
Over on ESPNBoston.com, Lee Schechter has Brady saying that it’s not time to focus on the playoffs yet. Mike Reiss’ weekly mailbag wonders if the Patriots have "gotten too cute" on the offensive line of late. ESPN also passes along an Associated Press story comparing the success of the Patriots and the NBA’s Spurs over the last decade-plus.
WEEI.com has Gronkowski making it clear that he is “expecting to play the whole game” against the Bills. Chris Price also anoints center Bryan Stork as New England's top rookie for 2014.
Patriots Insider Tom E. Curran puts forth his thoughts on New England’s five Pro Bowl picks on CSNNE.com. Curran also makes it clear that the relationship between Brady and Patriots offensive coordinator Brady remains strong. Phil Perry has Brady saying that the fans and weather give New England a home field advantage, something the team will have throughout the postseason.
