Vin+ 3,121 Posted December 5, 2015 (AP) -- Tom Brady addressed everything he could about the New England Patriots' first loss of the season and the challenges they'll face Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles in Foxboro. Brady, nor coach Bill Belichick, had any desire to discuss Rob Gronkowski's personal media release and Twitter video explaining his sprained right knee that will keep him out of this contest. Chip Kelly did his own damage control fending off questions about a reported meeting with USC and a digging into how his players spend their time at the practice facility during the week. All the Patriots and Eagles wanted to do was talk about football. How does New England (10-1) bounce back after blowing a 14-point fourth-quarter lead in Sunday night's 30-24 overtime loss at Denver? "As soon as that game's over with, we try to turn the page as quickly as possible," said Brady, who threw three touchdown passes to give him a league-high 28. "We have to move on with different challenges, whether that's personnel-related or scheme-related. Every week you just have to start out with a fresh slate." What did Kelly tell his team about the possibility of him leaving for another job? "I've never been leaving, and that's my point," Kelly said. "It's perception versus reality. The reality is the New England Patriots, and let's prepare to go against a really good football team." The reality also is that the Eagles (4-7) have lost three straight. The last two - a 45-17 loss to Tampa Bay and 45-14 drubbing at the hands of Detroit on Thanksgiving - have come without Sam Bradford, who suffered a concussion and an injury to the AC joint in his left shoulder in a loss to Miami on Nov. 15. Bradford has participated in practice this week and said he expects to play, but Mark Sanchez would get the call again if any unforeseen issues arise before kickoff. "I feel much better than I did at this point last week," Bradford said. "I'm much more comfortable out there with what I've been able to do on the field. It's starting to feel good." Despite the slump, Philadelphia remains very much alive in the weak NFC East with co-leaders Washington and the New York Giants sitting at 5-6. "The good news is we're only a game back in our division," Bradford said. Obviously, the season hasn't gone the way we hoped for. That being said, we're still in a position to get on a roll here and make the playoffs. Every game from here on out is important." It's all but certain the Patriots will head to the postseason and need a victory and a Jets loss to clinch the AFC East for the seventh consecutive year this week. A victory and some help would secure a playoff spot if the Jets win. New England's main concerns revolve around health, though. Gronkowski will be evaluated on a week-to-week basis, and Brady's other favorite target, receiver Julian Edelman, is out after having surgery on his broken left foot. Scott Chandler and Brandon Bolden caught touchdown passes against Denver, and Danny Amendola hopes to return after sitting out last week with a knee injury. "Danny tells me (he's ready) every week," Brady said. "Danny's a tough guy. He's a warrior." Brady could be directing most of his passes toward Eagles rookie cornerback Eric Rowe, who will get the start with Nolan Carroll out with an ankle injury. Rowe didn't have much success Thanksgiving against Calvin Johnson, who burned him for a pair of touchdowns. "I don't know how I'm going to feel out there this week," Rowe said. "I know (Brady's) going to come at me. I'm a rookie cornerback. I know he's going to look my way first and I've got to be ready for it." Despite the fact that Philadelphia hasn't reached the 20-point mark during its skid, Belichick is prepared for the Eagles' up-tempo style to give the Patriots trouble. "Offensively it's probably as good a group of skill players as I've seen," Belichick said. "They're at least two-deep and more really at some positions on the skill positions - quarterback, running back, tight end, receiver. They have a lot of good players at all those spots. The play multiple guys, they have great depth there and they keep bringing them at you." The Patriots have won all four of Brady's starts against the Eagles, including Super Bowl XXXIX. He's thrown for nine touchdowns and hasn't thrown a pick in 165 attempts against them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteVo+ 3,702 Posted December 5, 2015 My Eagle biased spidey senses detect we might actually win this game. Don't ask. Don't question the process. Just go with it. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Piggly Wiggly 960 Posted December 6, 2015 My Eagle biased spidey senses detect we might actually win this game. Don't ask. Don't question the process. Just go with it. Hat and t-shirt game as long as the Giants do their job. Business as usual. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xdh0TeGNsTw 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vin+ 3,121 Posted December 6, 2015 Patriots declared LB Dont'a Hightower, DT Dominique Easley, WR Julian Edelman, TE Rob Gronkowski, SS Jordan Richards and RB Trey Williams inactive for Week 13 against the Eagles. Hightower is out with a sprained MCL. He practiced on a limited basis this week so there's optimism he could suit up against the Texans in Week 14. Danny Amendola (knee), Patrick Chung (foot), Justin Coleman (hand) and Jamie Collins (illness) are all active for New England. Eagles declared WR Miles Austin, OT Tanner Hawkinson, G Barrett Jones, QB Thad Lewis, RB Ryan Mathews and DE Cedric Thornton inactive for Week 13 against the Patriots. Austin is a healthy scratch. Sam Bradford (shoulder), Zach Ertz (concussion), Josh Huff (concussion), Lane Johnson (shoulder), Jason Kelce (knee), Dennis Kelly (ankle), Bennie Logan (knee), Jason Peters (back, ankle) and Walter Thurmond (hamstring, calf) are all active. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vin+ 3,121 Posted December 6, 2015 https://twitter.com/Deadspin/status/673620640906235905 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteVo+ 3,702 Posted December 6, 2015 My Eagle biased spidey senses detect we might actually win this game. Don't ask. Don't question the process. Just go with it. Called it. Might not win, but the Eagles finally showed up. Don't know what Belichick was doing on that rugby kick, though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cherry 1,302 Posted December 7, 2015 Dear Phil, THE FUCKING EAGLES BRO Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Piggly Wiggly 960 Posted December 7, 2015 (edited) I could make excuses for injuries like pussy Bware, but I'm not like that. That was literally the worst coaching, decision making, and special teams I've ever seen from the Pats. Absolutely perplexed at the decision to not kick it deep after the Pats made it 28-35. Total shit show. With the Pats remaining schedule, I still feel pretty damn good about the Pats locking down the 1 seed. They'll finish 14-2/13-3. Edited December 7, 2015 by Piggly Wiggly 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cherry 1,302 Posted December 7, 2015 (edited) I see the Pats falling to the #2 or #3 seed. I think either Denver or Cincy will win out and it will be one of those two sitting at #1 with a 14-2 record. The Bengals face the Steelers, 49ers, Broncos, and Ravens to close out the year. Steelers will be a tough game, but I think they will do well enough to get by, especially with Bell out. 49ers will be a pretty easy game barring a primetime chokefest. Broncos will be a toss-up between the two teams. If Peyton is the starter it's the Bengals without a doubt. Ravens could pull some upset but I doubt it. Matt Schaub is fucking shit. Broncos face the Raiders, the Steelers, the Bengals, and the Chargers again. Raiders should be a somewhat easy win given how hard that team is falling. I don't think the Steelers can win back to back against the Bengals and Broncos, so I wouldn't be shocked at a Bronco win. The Bengals should be a W but it will depend on Peyton sitting/Bengals curse. Chargers should be another easy win. Pats still have to get through a pretty resilient Texans team and a very good Jets defense. Plus Miami usually snipes one for some reason. I don't think the Pats will lose all of those, or maybe not even two of the three, but I don't think they'll make it through this stretch with all the injuries. Edited December 7, 2015 by Chernobyl426 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BradyFan81 404 Posted December 7, 2015 Just get to the playoffs with a healthy Edelman and Gronk Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RazorStar 4,025 Posted December 7, 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JpKuDsRIBA Except its 2015 instead. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maverick 791 Posted December 7, 2015 https://twitter.com/Deadspin/status/673620640906235905 Makes it even funnier since that was the female official lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites