HOUSTON -- Tom Brady made mention during his weekly Kirk & Callahan appearance of an intention to "stand up there and fulfill [his] obligation" during Super Bowl Opening Night (formerly Media Day).
As we learned from Marshawn Lynch two years ago, the amount of effort it takes to fulfill that obligation is, to put it lightly, minimal.
So if anyone expects Brady to finally have a "You know what?" moment and give some grand answer about his relationship with Donald Trump and his political leanings, they'll be disappointed. He'll either say he's just focused on the Falcons or he'll say that he has a lot of friends and that Trump is just one of them (see full story).
- CSNNE.com
Falcons: Ryan avoids wrath of Pats' fans
BOSTON -- The enemies list is long in New England, and it grows with each tweet that dares to doubt Tom Brady's supremacy or call coach Bill Belichick a cheater.
But there's one opponent who has escaped the fury of the Foxborough fans, and even has a considerable amount of goodwill in the heart of New England. In fact, it's hard to find any kind of animosity toward Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, who built his reputation -- personally and professionally -- at Boston College.
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"It's hard to think of anything bad to say about Matt," said former BC sports information director Chris Cameron, who was in the athletic department when Ryan led the Eagles to a No. 2 ranking in The Associated Press poll in the middle of the 2007 season.
"I think there are many people at Boston College who are die-hard Patriots fans who are somewhat torn. But I can't think of anyone who will wish any ill will on Matt Ryan," (see full story).
- The Associated Press
Patriots: A look inside Super Bowl game plan
HOUSTON -- Last week we asked Bill Belichick how far along the Patriots were in their preparations for the Super Bowl. He said the team was about 50 percent done, and we nodded dutifully.
If you asked me directly what that meant, I'd have answered with a sentence making liberal use of the words "game plan," "installation," and "installed."
The noun "game plan" is pretty self-explanatory. It's a preconceived plan for playing a game. But what does it look like, how is it created, how is it disseminated? I didn't have a concrete answer (see full story).
- CSNNE.com
Patriots: Hands are full with Falcons' WRs
If the Patriots put Malcolm Butler on Julio Jones on Super Bowl Sunday, that means that former college teammates and suitemates Logan Ryan and Mohamed Sanu could see quite a bit of each other.
Or the Pats could opt to put Ryan on Jones, or try some combination of one of their top three corners with safety help.
Whatever they do, there's a pretty good chance that Ryan is going to have to face either Jones or Sanu in the most important game of the season. If that sounds difficult, it's because it is (see full story).
- CSNNE.com
