Patriots Afterthoughts - A New England Patriots Fan Podcast

Not a great day for the Patriots. Sure they won. I feel good for the players who were out there and were able to come away with a win - even if it was against the Bills backups. There were a lot of the Patriots backups out there too. They want to play. They want to win. It was most of us fans that did NOT want them to win. The Patriots went from having the first overall draft pick in the 2025 NFL draft to falling down to the 4th pick. Will that come back to bite them? Only time will tell. But whoever gets picked by the Pats this year, there will be a different head coach leading them into the 2025 season as Jerod Mayo was fired after the game today. I like Mayo. I've always been a fan of Mayo. It just didn't work. We'll see where things go from here, but for this season - the Patriots, and this podcast, is done. I'm sure you'll hear from me when they announce the new coach - and after the draft - but other than that - Happy New Year, see you next season - and Go Pats!

Worst performance by this terrible team all year. A pitiful final showing in the year 2024. Patriots get destroyed by the Chargers, who made it look easy. If the Bills end up playing their starters next week (or hell, maybe even if the unload the bench) there might still a chance that it gets even worse... Way to finish strong - Happy New Year!

Most of the world was expecting a blowout. The Patriots had different plans...They decided to just lose because of turnovers, mistakes, and some bad play calling. So the usual. Fun for a while. Frustrating for a while longer. More of the same. Patriots football. At least I'm on vacation and Christmas is coming up. Happy Holidays Pats Fans!

Two weeks off and this is the best they could do? Pretty awful all around - except for Drake...Must focus on Drake...

Well that sucked. But I guess that's what happens when you go up against a coach who has the balls to go for all the marbles - win or lose - on one play...Instead of playing for the tie like you know who. At least Thanksgiving was nice.

Oofa boofa, that was some bad football. Offense. Defense. Special Teams. Coaching. The Patriots were Outwitted, outplayed, outlasted by the Dolphins. Should any of the coaches be voted off? Did I just make two Survivor references? And do those references have NOTHING to do with this episode? Yes. The night wasn't a total loss though, we went out after and had some delicious holiday fun…

Happy Sunday Patriots fans! It was a close on there for a bit. They had their moments - and even had a chance to go win the game. Drake looked good but also made some rookie mistakes that you had to expect would pop up here and there. Even with a loss, I cam out of it with one feeling. Hope. And hunger for pulled pork sandwiches I'd been making all day. I blame the hunger on getting the games/record wrong.

Happy Sunday Patriots fans! It's that time of year again where I am driving my mother-in-law down to Florida. Today we stopped in South Carolina for the night. I was able to listen to half the game through the SiriusXM app and then watch half the game from my laptop in the motel room (don't has me how.) Very excited for the Patriots win - and even more excited that tomorrow is my last day of driving. Go Pats!

Well. That was a frustrating game that almost turned into an amazing game. Patriots lose - Drake makes a few rookie mistakes, but he also pulls off an amazing play at the end of regulation to tie the game...Or to go for the win if Mayo went for two. Sigh.

Remember that time where I said "I'd give up my gallbladder to see the Patriots beat the Jets?" Okay, I never actually said that - but it still happened...I talk about that, the nice win for the Patriots today, and the hopes that Drake May is fine and will be good to go as soon as possible. Today though - gotta give the credit to Jacoby Brissett. Job well done!

Stop me if you've heard this one before. The Patriots lose. Their sixth loss in a row. Drake Maye looked good again. Some nice bright spots, some rookie mistakes, but all-in-all he seems to be the one positive thing we can grasp on to as Patriots fans....So - top 5 draft pick again? Watch on YouTube

Another game. Another loss. The defense gave up the most points they have all season - but the offense scored the most points they have all season. There was a lot of ugly, ugly play out there and a lot of mistakes made - but Drake Maye threw for over 230 yards and for 3 touchdowns. That is the silver lining that we can hopefully use to start making the clouds that hover over this team smaller and smaller each week. Go Pats.

What an absolutely ugly, sloppy game. Both teams did everything they could to lose it, but ultimately the Patriots came out on top of failure mountain. The offense is terrible. But even with that it was just an unenjoyable sludge of a game. Well at least we don't have to think about this team until next Sunday.

Look, I'll be perfectly honest with you. I only watched like the first 25 minutes of this game. After that I listened to most of the first half while driving into Boston with my wife and her mother to go see Mamma Mia! I made the right decision.

Now that's more like it! There's the team that we thought was going to stink this year! There's the team that has a terrible offensive line (that falls squarely on Eliot Wolf, the coaches, and the Krafts - take your pick). The Patriots were in this game for maybe the first couple minutes and it was just downhill from there. Did Drake Maye getting into the game foreshadow things to come? Really the only success they had today was NOT getting Maye severely injured out there. They tried their best - but he survived. Phew.

And just like that the perfect season is over. There were some positives to enjoy but in the end they just couldn't get the job done. We're on the Thursday and the Jets...

Well, well, well! What a wonderful, pleasant surprise that most of the NFL outside of the Patriots locker room did not see coming. The Patriots win! Jerod Mayo wins his first game as a head coach! The offense was good enough! The running game is legit! The defense is legit! I love exclamation points!! I mean, you couldn't ask for anything more? Go PATS!

Welcome to the New New era of the New England Patriots. New coach. New quarterback. In this little bonus episode, Mike came back to tell you everything he knows about Drake Maye, the newest member of the New England Patriots. If you're familiar with the show, your expectations are already set at the correct low level. What he does know though, is that he is excited to see what happens. Music in this episode – "It's Gonna Be Me" by *NSYNC --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/patriots/message

And just like that - it's over. The TRUE end of a dynasty ended on January 11, 2024 when Bill Belichick announced he and the New England Patriots will be parting ways. What the future holds for the Patriots, who can say? I just wanted to take a few minutes and give my gratitude to Coach Belichick for giving me so many memories that I'll cherish for the rest of my life. And while this long chapter ends, let's hope for great days ahead. Go Pats! Music in this episode – "Everything Dies" by Type O Negative --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/patriots/message

This is the end, beautiful friend....This is the end, my only friend....The end. The end of the season and possibly the end of an era. I'd like to put this season in the rearview mirror - and hope with whatever comes, better days are ahead....Go Pats! Music in this episode – "Is This The End" by Creed (Creed? Really?) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/patriots/message

Happy New Year's Eve, football nerds! After some terribly sloppy play, the Patriots made a game of it while the Bills did their best to not want to win. But they did. In the long run this is probably better for the Patriots, but still never fun to see the Bills win a game. Let's do this one more time next week... Music in this episode – “Auld Lang Syne (Punk Rock)” by Knights to Remember (how could you not love this song?) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/patriots/message

Merry Christmas! Draft positioning be damned, this was a helluva win and a great, poetic ending for Chad Ryland. I don't care what anybody says, I enjoyed this game and this win. What an ending! Happy Holidays, Pats fans! Music in this episode - "Christmas Is The Time To Say 'I Love You'" by Billy Squier (how could you not love this song?) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/patriots/message

And just like that the winning streak is over. The Pats fall to 3-11 and the focus stays on the draft and the future of this team and its coaching staff. See you Christmas Eve! Music in this episode - "Down" by 311 - Get it? 311...3-11....I'm brilliant! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/patriots/message

"Hark! The herald angels sing - the Pats actually got a win!" Admit it, you sang that out loud. Well folks, here we are with a very special episode of Patriots Afterthoughts - coming to you after a rare Patriots victory. There have only been 3 this year, so enjoy them while you can. Sure the more the lose, the better their draft position is - but tell that to me whilst I'm actually watching the game... Music in this episode - "Blow Your Speakers" by MANOWAR --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/patriots/message

The Patriots have five games in December. Can they score 30 points during that time? I'm not talking about then putting up thirty in any of those games - I'm talking, can they score 30 points TOTAL in those 5 (now 4) games. If today was any indication, the answer is a big fat no. I guess just keep losing? Feels weird even thinking that. Makes me feel dirty (and not the good kind of dirty). Music in this episode - "When It's Over" by Sugar Ray --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/patriots/message

Thanksgiving is done, which means Christmas season is officially here - and the Patriots delivered early by losing a terribly boring game which only helps them with next year's draft. Yup, we're at that point. Music in this episode - "Shiny Happy People" by R.E.M. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/patriots/message

Happy Thanksgiving Patriots Fans! I'm a little late getting this out, but just wanted to say hi as we head into the last seven games of the season - and contemplate who will be behind center for the rest of the season? Oh and I got an amazing Apple Podcast review. Music in this episode - "Bye Bye Bye" by *NSYNC

The good news is that I'm not traveling with my mother-in-law this week....That's it for the good news. The bad news - well, you watched the game... Music in this episode - "That's All" by Genesis

Look, I've been in a car most of the last few days driving my mother-in-law to Florida from Massachusetts. We made it to South Carolina today and I got to watch most of the 2nd half of yet again another loss. So you get what you get. Music in this episode - "Oops!...I Did It Again" by Britney Spears

Golly, remember last week? That was fun. This week? Today? Not so much. Will the Patriots ever beat Tua? Who knows - but not this year. I'd say "not this year unless they meet in the...." but let's be realistic. Not this year. Music in this episode - "Give It Away" by Red Hot Chili Peppers

Well lookie what we have here! A Patriots win! A Patriots division win! A Patriots win over the Bills! A Patriots final drive last second score to win! No matter what happened the last few weeks, this is one to enjoy. This is one to be really happy about - and maybe, just maybe - this, the 300th regular season win of Bill Belichick's career - is one to build off of? GO PATS! Music in this episode - "Winning" by Santana

The Patriots played today. So the Patriots lost today. Different week. Same result. Music in this episode - "The Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats

Oh wait, it actually can get worse as witnessed in Foxboro today where the Patriots looked like absolute garbage in a shutout lost to the New Orleans Saints. And that's all I'm going to type about that. Go Pats!? Music in this episode - "How Bad Can I Be?" from the film, "The Lorax"

What. A. Disaster. Nothing good happened in Dallas. Nothing. Mack looked lost. The two best defenders got hurt. And they just looked lost. The less send about this week the better. But, oofa boofa did they look like crap Go Pats!? Music in this episode - "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" by the Suicide Machines

It's always good to beat the Jets. Always. A win is a win is a win is a win! Could it have been easier? Sure. Should it have been easier? Maybe. Does it matter in the long run, probably not. It's been 266 days since the Patriots last won a game, so I'm just happy to be happy with a win! And also to see the Jets lose. It's not 100% equal, but it sure feels good. Go Pats! Music in this episode - "Curse of the Pharaohs" by Mercyful Fate

Remember that concert I mentioned in last week's episode. Well, there's a good chance from there I...got down with the Sickness - if you know what I mean. I've since passed this sickness on to my parents AND as of this morning to my wife. But I still took the time stay up and get my hopes up with the Patriots again. Only to be let down again. Tiny glimpses of hope. Yeah, that's what I'll hold on to...

The NFL is back! The Patriots are back! And this podcast is back! And while things started off rocky for our favorite team today - and the end result was disappointing - there was a lot to feel good about in the end. Let's hope they build upon the positives and try to erase the negatives. We're on to Miami.

The season is officially over. While the Patriots did have a chance to earn the final AFC playoff spot, alas they could not come up with enough points to overtake the Bills in what has been a very emotional week for Buffalo and the Bills Mafia. The Pats could've also backed their way into the postseason - but the Dolphins had other plans and now they live to fight another day and the Patriots look to regroup for next season. See you then.

A win!? Is that right? Yes the Patriots are BACK in the win column and actually still have a chance to make the playoffs. The offense did just enough and the defense as usual put points on the board. Hey, whatever happens at least they're giving us something to root for in the final game of the season.

Oh look, they lost again in a heartbreaking way. Oh look, the offense looked inept and then looked okay, and then blew it. Oh look, Bill O'Brien rumors are starting. Good....Now let's go focus on family and have a Merry Christmas everyone!

I love this team. I really do. I love them. But holy crap was that a disaster. I barely wanted to talk about this - so I barely did. Have a great week and focus on Christmas if you celebrate it - and not football.