Since winning Super Bowl LI, the Patriots have certainly been a topic of discussion across the NFL. New England’s fifth championship, coupled with an eventful offseason, has provoked several notable reactions around the league.

As the Patriots prepare for the 2017 season opener against the Chiefs on Thursday night, here are a few quotes from the past several months:

Jarvis Landry, Miami Dolphins (April 12)

On predicting a sweep of the Patriots in 2017:

If you’re a competitor, that’s the way you should feel, and I don’t mind saying it. It’s time for a change. I have all the respect in the world for the Patriots, and I respect Tom Brady tremendously. But they’re not our big brother anymore.

On what gives him confidence about sweeping the Patriots:

Coach Gase. He’s flipped the switch with us. New England’s won the division 14 of the last 16 years, something like that? It’s ridiculous. It’s a problem. We cannot let that happen anymore. What I’ve seen is, when we play that game, sometimes we focus on the guys on the other side of the line instead of just focusing on us. And I want to be part of that change. I want to go into the games against New England expecting to win—that’s something we need to do.

Shannon Sharpe, Fox Sports (April 13)

On the Patriots being “the entire league’s father”:

"The Patriots are not your big brother. They're your father…They're the entire league's father." —@ShannonSharpe on Jarvis Landry's comments pic.twitter.com/sU2LanJ26n — UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) April 13, 2017

Bill Polian, ESPN (May 10)

On why the Patriots aren’t as good as everyone says:

Tom Brady was a quarter away from losing the Super Bowl last year pretty decisively. They are a great team. They are not as great as people think they are. They’re not invincible. What they are is exceptionally well-constructed and exceptionally well-coached. But, Tom Brady isn’t going to play forever. He showed some signs of being human last year on a number of occasions, including in the Super Bowl.

Ryan Shazier, Pittsburgh Steelers (June 15)

On the NFL’s “Patriots problem“:

If you look at it that way, the NFL has a Patriots problem. They’ve been a great team, they have a great leader, and they just find a way to win. They have a good strategy in what they want to do. But I feel we are going to be prepared for them this year. I feel we are going to get them when we need to get them. And at any day I feel we can win the Super Bowl. We might have had a problem in the past but I think we are going to be ready this time. I think everybody is trying to get over that obstacle. I think we have the team to do it and everybody is prepared to do it. We compete every day and try to get better every day for things like that.

Malcolm Jenkins, Philadelphia Eagles (June 26)


On if Tom Brady should be considered the greatest quarterback of all time:

100-percent. Yeah, I mean, you’ve always got two sides of the argument usually when people are talking about ‘greatest.’ It’s like, well, how good are you, what are your stats, what do you look like on the field, and then there’s the people who always want to validate it by wins and championships. Well, he’s got both. And I don’t think how you can argue, or who you can compare him to to say he’s not the best of all time.

Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (June 26)

On Tom Brady’s greatness and future:

I think he’ll do it for at least five more years. He’s the best ever. I hate to say it [because] I’m a Peyton Manning fan, but I’m a realist and Tom Brady is the guy.

Whitney Mercilus, Houston Texans (August 28)

On the Texans’ playoff loss in New England in January, 2017:

After that night we knew…We knew we were better. We could’ve done a lot more than we did that night.

On Tom Brady’s intelligence:

With somebody as smart as him, who knows the game inside and out. . . you’re playing against his mind. He knows where the holes are.

Maurice Jones-Drew, NFL Network (Sept. 3)

On why he picked Andy Reid over Bill Belichick in comparing Chiefs-Patriots: