Are the Patriots playing up the ankle injury TE Rob Gronkowski suffered in the AFC Championship game? Both the Patriots and Giants know that Gronkowski’s contributions are a major factor in the success of the Patriots this year,.  Knowing the extent of his injury will certainly affect the Super Bowl XLVI game plans of the Giants and Patriots.

Early last week, Gronkowski’s dad Gordie gave away some injury information which the Patriots would rather keep secret.  Mr. Gronk told WIVB’s John Murphy (via CSNNE.com) that his son has a high ankle sprain.

On Sunday, Gronkowski got off the team plane wearing a walking boot on his injured left leg but at Tuesday’s Super Bowl Media Day he fielded questions in sneakers.

Was the leg boot and injury info released by Rob’s daid a ploy to affect the game plan of Giants coach Tom Coughlin?  It wouldn’t be the first time that Patriot coach Bill Belichick tried to get a leg up on his competition.

Remember Spygate?

Regardless of the status of Gronkowski, you can bet Coughlin and the Giants will have an answer for Gronkowski.

What NFC teams have the most first downs in 2011?  An intelligent answer would be one of the NFC Division contenders, like the Green Bay Packers (7-0), San Francisco 49ers (6-1), Detroit Lions (6-2) or New York Giants (5-2). But in fact, none of them are in the top 3 NFC teams with the most first downs heading into Week 9 of the NFL season.

The top 3 NFC teams with the most first downs are the New Orleans Saints (5-3), Philadelphia Eagles (3-4) and the Carolina Panthers (2-6). The Saints have accumulated 202 first downs so far in 2011, 51 rushing and 140 passing.  The Eagles are next with 170 first downs, 74 on the ground and 92 in the air.  Surprising, the Carolina Panthers have the third most first downs in the NFC with a total of 177, 65 rushing and 99 passing.

The Saints also hold the distinction of leading the NFC in 3rd down efficiency, successfully converting a 1st down 56.3% of the time.

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In the latest NFL news, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick won the Associated Press 2010 NFL Coach of the Year, for the third time this decade. Belichick also won the coveted award back in 2003 and 2007. He is only one shy of Hall of Famer, Don Shula, who has won the award four times.

Coach Belichick received 30 of the 50 votes from a committee consisting of media members who regularly cover the NFL. Behind Bill were Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris who received 11 ½, and Chiefs Todd Haley who got 4 ½ . 4 other NFL coaches received one vote each, including: Falcons Mike Smith, Eagles Andy Reid, Bears Lovie Smith, and Rams Steve Spagnuolo.

Bill Belichick was heralded for making a successful transition of the New England Patriots to a much younger team. He led the Patriots to a 14-2 regular season record. His starting QB, Tom Brady was voted AP Offensive Player of the Year earlier this week.

“I will say the foundation of the Patriots organization, which starts with Mr. Kraft and Coach Belichick, has not changed since the day I arrived,” Brady said. “They have and will always do what is in the best interest of the team, and they will continue to find selfless players that love to work hard, compete and strive to be the best they can possibly be.”
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