The Patriots opened up their offseason program on Monday morning at Gillette Stadium.

Tom Brady entered the building looking as smooth as ever – captured in exclusive photos on Patriots.com -- to lead a large contingent of New England players through workouts.

Cornerback Logan Ryan was among a handful of players speaking with Patriots Today, saying the Patriots are hungry and “want to do big things this year and we feel special about this whole season.”

But beyond getting back to sweating, there wasn't a whole lot of news coming out of Patriots Nation on Monday.

That makes for a quiet morning on the Patriots.com News Blitz.

ESPNBoston.com looks at the Chiefs losing their appeal of a tampering punishment received by the league, comparing it to the Patriots situation with Deflategate. ESPNBoston.com also notes that while Brady often has a lot of fun on social media, the Patriots quarterback had a more serious message to send on Marathon Monday.

The Boston Globe notes that Mississippi State football coach Dan Mullen and former Giants running back Tiki Barber were among Monday’s Boston Marathon runners with ties to the football field. Mullen, who spent a portion of his youth growing up in New England, was running his first race of any kind.

The Boston Herald NFL notebook looks at an appeals court upholding the league’s $1 billion settlement on a concussion lawsuit brought about by former players. The Herald's ongoing draft prospect series looks at Ole Miss defensive lineman Robert Nkemdichie as a wild card of the first round. 

WEEI.com passes along Bill Belichick using his girlfriend's Instagram account to post a video wishing former Patriots backup QB Doug Flutie luck in is ongoing Dancing with the Stars competition.

CSNNE.com released a new version of a two-round NFL mock draft. Warning, though, it's a slide show so it will take some time and work to find out who the Patriots landed with the 60th and 61st picks/clicks! CSNNE.com also has four questions facing the Patriots as the offseason program begins this week. (Public service announcement, this is also a slide show.)

NFL.com unveils personnel guru Gil Brandt’s list of the top 100 prospects heading into the 2016 NFL Draft. NFL.com offers up five prospects likely to slip in this year’s draft, including intriguing Clemson cornerback Mackensie Alexander.

ProFootballTalk.com notes that recently-released Patriots defensive tackle Chris Jones was picked up off waivers by the Dolphins.