Like any rookie quarterback, Patriots third-round pick Jacoby Brissett has a lot on his plate as he tries to transition from North Carolina State to New England.
But thanks to an impressive circle of friends and associates, Brissett is an even more notable newcomer, something that the Boston Globe notes this weekend with another look at the passer’s connections to Bill Parcells and others.
"I can't even describe what type of person he is and what he's meant to my life," Brissett said of Parcells. "Just him grooming me as a man and preparing me for tough times, hard times, good times.
"He's been so helpful to me throughout this process, and just keeping me steady and keeping a good head on my shoulders, and you know, I just can't thank him enough."
The Globe's Sunday football notes looks at players from around the NFL whose job status became a bit more tenuous after this year's draft.
The Boston Herald says that the Patriots restructure of Danny Amendola’s contract is one of the team’s best moves of the offseason. The Herald's Sunday notes looks at how another N.C. State football player landed in New England's draft class with a breakdown of offensive lineman Joe Thuney.
The Patriots officially announced the signing of its draft picks and undrafted rookies late on Friday, and the Providence Journal notes the deals.
ESPNBoston.com breaks down the Patriots current 90-man roster. ESPNBoston.com also has Mike Reiss' endlessly-informative Sunday notes, which lead off with a note about how Malcolm Butler’s success has helped the team in its recruitment of other undrafted players. Late last week ESPNBoston.com also took note of first-round pick Cyrus Jones’ photo-op arrival in New England, including his thoughts on wearing No. 24 that has belonged to the likes of Ty Law and Darrelle Revis.
WEEI.com looks at supposed Raiders **pre-draft notes from 2010 that describe Rob Gronkowski as the best player in that draft class**, which unlike some other Oakland draft evaluations of the past is pretty much dead on. WEEI.com says the Patriots are already working on team chemistry after a busy offseason, while the site's Sunday notes looks at Jones’ arrival as well.
CSNNE.com says that former Dolphins coach Don Shula -- a Hall of Fame legend with the most wins in NFL history -- will always be remembered as an angry old man in Patriots Nation.
Despite the fact that the Patriots remain the odds-on Super Bowl favorite in Las Vegas, NFL.com's silly power rankings don’t include New England in the top five slots.
The Attelboro Sun Chronicle says that Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is eager to see what the quarterbacks on his depth chart not named Tom Brady have to offer the team this summer and fall.
