New England lost a tough game Sunday night at the hands of the Seahawks.
Now, the question is whether the Seattle game will also cause the Patriots to lose All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski for any game action, the result of safety Earl Thomas' impressive big hit.
The Boston Globe says there are conflicting reports regarding whether Gronkowski does or does not have a punctured lung, although it seems to be more a case of semantics than any erroneous reporting. The Globe Patriots notebook looks at Cyrus Jones return work in his return to the lineup. The Globe breaks down the Patriots ill-fated four plays at the goal line to close out Sunday night's loss. Speaking of the end of the game, the Globe says it was a rare Patriots finish, and not in a good way. The Globe *passes along Tom Brady refusing to reveal who he voted for and putting the clamps on any political talk at all. The *Globe also notes New England’s upcoming game against the Jets being flexed out of prime time and into the 4 o'clock Sunday afternoon slot. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, who failed miserably in his time in New England as the Patriots coach in the late 1990s, was not impressed with the Gillette Stadium crowd on Sunday night.
The* Boston Herald* Patriots report card says New England’s flaws were on fill display against Seattle. Elsewhere the Herald says the Patriots failed in pass coverage. *Herald *columnist Steve Buckley writes that the Patriots can’t be judged by their soft upcoming schedule.
The* Providence Journal's film review to the loss to the Seahawks says the defense faltered in a big way. The *ProJo acknowledges the reports of Gronkowski’s uncertain health status, while second-guessing how New England handled its final drive that ultimately came up short.
ESPN says the Patriots struggles to force turnovers as a defense are as bad as the team has been in that area in a decade. ESPN passes along Brady's comments from his weekly Monday Night Football radio interview in which he discusses the low hit he received from Seattle safety Kam Chancellor. ESPN reports that the Gronkowski injury is “not overly serious,” which falls in line with the initial report from NFL Network.
ESPN notes that Sunday night’s game was a big hit in terms of TV ratings. ESPN also has Brady putting an end to his comments on politics.
WEEI.com says Gronkowski continues to prove, playing through injury on Sunday night, that he’s one of the NFL’s toughest players. Gronkowski did reportedly cancel an EA Sports appearance scheduled for Tuesday. WEEI.com wonders where the big plays are when it comes to the Patriots struggling defense. WEEI.com says Carroll is exactly right when it comes to his thoughts on the unimpressive Gillette Stadium crowd.
CSNNE.com has Bill Belichick suggesting that Dion Lewis needs to shake off some rust before he's ready to play.
NFL.com says Gronkowski could miss one game to what is believed to be a punctured lung, as first reported by NFL Network. The Cowboys and Seahawks both jumped the Patriots in NFL.com's power rankings. NFL.com thinks the Patriots “abandoned” LeGarrette Blount on the final series on the goal line Sunday night.
Silly reactions are all the rage these days, so the *New York Times *says the Patriots are beatable but the Cowboys may not be.
NESN.com looked at the tape and details why New England’s final series on the goal line failed against Seattle. NESN.com also drops the Patriots to the No. 3 slot in its power rankings.
The New York Daily News also has New England behind the Seahawks and Cowboys in its power rankings.
