Daily news and links for Thursday"WhitePatriots News Opinion and Analysis Contribute! FanPostsFanShotsAbout the Site List of Patriots Twitter AccountsWrite For Pats Pulpit!New User Welcome and Commenting GuideCommunity GuidelinesMastheadTopics Patriots Off-Season CoveragePatriots Opinion/AnalysisPatriots NewsPatriots Draft CoverageSportfolio ManagementNew England Patriots links 4/25/19 - Patriots 2019 NFL Draft: Hurry up and wait...New Damien Harris Buffalo Bills Jersey ,22commentsDaily news and links for ThursdayEDTShareTweetShareShareNew England Patriots links 4/25/19 - Patriots 2019 NFL Draft: Hurry up and wait...Downtown Nashville, ahead of the NFL DraftChristopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY SportsTEAM TALKAndy Hart and Paul Perillo look at 5 prospects each at the Edge and Defensive Tackle positions that might make sense for New England.Don Banks’ Dispatches from the NFL Draft in Nashville: Wednesday’s media availability with about 20 or so NFL draft prospects.Patriots players offer advice to draft picks. (1 min. video)Don Banks mocks the 2019 NFL draft for the 4th and final time.LOCAL LINKSCBS Boston Patriots NFL Draft Primer: New England’s picks, needs & potential targets.Kevin Duffy takes a look at what draft day moves would be unprecedented for Bill Belichick and Patriots.Tom E. Curran picks six draft questions for the Patriots that need answering: Any love for the offense?Kevin Duffy previews the Patriots draft options and tells fans to get ready to wait.Kevin McNamara lays out how Bill Belichick has a lot of holes to fill, as the Patriots have lost an awful lot more than they’ve gained this offseason.Karen Guregian knows what she would do if she were in the Patriots war room, sitting in the Hoodie’s command chair: It’s pretty simple. Help Tom Brady.Mark Daniels sees the Pats’ biggest need at TE but it won’t be the only focus, as they also have needs at WR, DE, T and DT. Plus Youth Drew Bledsoe Jerseys , don’t be surprised if they sneak in a S, LB or QB by the time the draft ends on Saturday.Ryan Hannable explains why he thinks if the Patriots do select at No. 32, because trading up or down is always possible, it will be Alabama TE Irv Smith Jr. David Latham (LastWordOnSports) Patriots 2019 draft targets: Vanderbilt CB Joejuan Williams.Devon Clements (PatriotsWire) If Eagles draft a wide receiver, should Patriots trade for Nelson Agholor?Phil Perry talks about what the Patriots look for at the defensive tackle position: There are a handful of extra-large bodies in this draft. There are also lighter interior linemen -- built more like Lawrence Guy -- who could interest Belichick. Nick Goss notes Tom Brady posted a photo to Twitter with a caption letting everyone know he’s ‘ready’.Devon Clements (PatriotsWire) Julian Edelman tries to recruit top NBA prospect Zion Williamson to Patriots.Alex Reimer observes how the Chiefs seem to be doubling down on players with sordid pasts in their efforts to surpass the Patriots.Andrew Callahan posts his final 2019 Patriots 7-round mock draft: New England drafts two wide receivers, top pass rusher with initial picks.Phil Perry’s sixth and final 2019 mock draft. Pats pick Clemson DL Dexter Lawrence.NATIONAL NEWSCharean Williams (ProFootballTalk) Tom Brady tops merchandise sales for second consecutive year.Danny Kelly (The Ringer) The Ringer’s 2019 NFL draft guide.Eric Edholm (Yahoo! Sports) Could the NFL draft be delayed by bad weather?Albert Breer (SI) 2019 NFL Draft: A Kyler slide could reignite the baseball question, a hot market for Jets’ pick at 3; More draft buzz.Jenny Vrentas (SI) News, notes Drew Bledsoe Jerseys Stitched , observations from Nashville: Kyler Murray shows up fashionably late, Nick Bosa again addresses his social media.Andy Benoit (SI) The nine myths you’ll hear on draft night. 1. “They missed on this pick.”Lance Zierlein (NFL.com) 2019 NFL Draft: Believable things amid so much misinformation.Danny Heifetz (The Ringer) Best case/worst case: The 2019 NFL draft’s riskiest prospects.Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz (USA Today) Montez Sweat, Greedy Williams among five NFL draft prospects who could fall in first round.Joseph Ferraiola (Inside the Pylon) Top 50 Draft board.Dave Archibald (Inside the Pylon) 2019 WR draft superlatives.Dave Archibald (Inside the Pylon) Ball velocity is bunk.Lorenzo Reyes (USA Today) Twitter and social media purges are latest steps for prospects in NFL draft process.Gerry Dulac (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) Steelers sign Ben Roethlisberger to new 3-year, $80 million deal.Michael DiRocco (ESPN) Source: NFL warns Coughlin about ‘voluntary’.Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) PFT’s 2019 mock draft. Pats pick Texas A&M OG Erik McCoy at 32.EXTRACURRICULARMike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Prosecutors “believe that a crime occurred” against Tyreek Hill’s son.CBS Boston reports an unknown Patriots player’s Super Bowl LI “28-3” ring is up for sale through Heritage Auctions. The ring will be listed for 22 days and is currently up to $28,000.AP Report (ESPN) Man gets probation for pawning Gronk’s coins.Alex Reimer reports that a TMZ offshoot called “The Blast” inserted itself into the middle of the Robert Kraft story when it alleged last week it was approached with a copy of his spa sex videotape. The New England Patriots’ dominance in the running game was a big reason for their playoff run in 2018. During their three postseason games, the eventual world champions ran the football 109 times and gained a combined 489 yards on the ground — a respectable 4.5 yards per carry — while also scoring nine touchdowns. The recipe proved to be a successful one against the lighter defenses the team faced during the tournament.Six games into the 2019 season, however, the Patriots’ ground game has struggled to get consistent results. Heading into the Monday night game against the New York Jets Youth Kevin Faulk Jerseys , the club is ranked just 21st in the league in rushing yards per game (101.5) and only 27th in yards per attempt (3.8). Despite the comparatively pedestrian numbers, however, the running game is still a vital part of New England’s offensive attack this season.Why? Because of the play-action game. The secret is in the play design and how it is executed by the 11 men on the field: Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is drawing up play-action concepts that are nearly indistinguishable from “regular” running plays, which in turn puts defenders in difficult spots as they find themselves defending their assigned run gaps while they should rush quarterback Tom Brady or drop into coverage.In order to achieve this, the Patriots use various play calls — with some of their favorite ones being as follows:Back on Backer Iso Lead: New England assigns a fullback to block a linebacker at the second level, which typically indicates run. The Patriots actually use the same concept on play-action passes as well, however, giving the defense one fewer key to read.One Back Power: This play uses the back-side guard and pulls him behind the rest of the offensive line to get to the second level and onto a linebacker. Pull blocks are a staple of New England’s running game Kevin Faulk Jerseys Stitched , which makes it difficult for the defense to react accordingly when the football is not handed off.Duo: The Duo concept is a misdirection play that requires the offensive line to block down to the weak-side of the formation with double-teams. The running back would usually follow these blocks, which in turn forces the linebackers to move forward or at the least hesitate to drop into coverage.All in all, the Patriots’ play-action game has allowed them to successfully move the football down the field even when the ground attack is not posting the same impressive numbers it put up during last year’s playoffs. Teams, after all, still need to commit to defending the run even if New England is only an average rushing team when measured simply by statistical success. However, its role within the offense as a whole cannot be underestimated.