Patriots Afterthoughts - A New England Patriots Fan Podcast

Well, it's been a little over a week and I finally hit record to talk about the Super Bowl. The Patriots were outplayed and overmatched - and as disappointing as that was, I can't help but be grateful for an incredible season and excited for the future.Go Pats! 

Whoever said winning conference championships needed to look pretty!? The Patriots defense let up one touchdown today - and then nothing else for the rest of the game. The offense did just enough to score more points than the Broncos - and that is all that matters.Patriots win! And I can't believe I'm saying this - The PATRIOTS ARE GOING BACK TO THE SUPER BOWL! This podcast never thought we'd be saying that this soon.Incredible.

The Patriots are on to the AFC Championship game! The defense dominated again and the offense came through when they needed to for another two-score victory in the playoffs. We're on to Denver and I'm on to another week of taco dip!My wife and I cam home last night and I quickly crashed and fell asleep early - which is why the show wasn't posted until today. Who cares!? GO PATS!!!

For the first time since I started this podcast, the Patriots had a playoff home game AND the Patriots won a playoff game!!! It wasn't pretty, but the defense dominated and Drake came through when he needed to. HUGE win for the team and they live to fight another day - back at home next week! LFG!!!

Happy New Year, Patriots Fans! The Pats ended the regular season with three straight wins and an overall record of 14-3. They took care of business at home today against Miami and now all eyes are on to the Chargers.LET'S GO!!!!

It's always good to beat the Jets! After three straight super-late nights, I crashed and crashed early yesterday - but not before seeing the Patriots display absolute dominance over the lowly Jets and seeing the Bills lose on the last play of the game to secure the Patriots as the AFC East Champs!See you in 2026!

It wasn't pretty there for a while - until it was! Patriots put up 15 points in the fourth quarter to come back and and clinch a playoff spot! To come back and be one game away from winning the AFC East. To come back and still have a chance at the number one seed.To come back and win! Merry Christmas!

I know, I know. It's only one game. I know, I know - this time has massively overachieved already this season. I know, I know, they still have the division in their midst and still have some hope for that number one seed (the Broncos game is still going on).But expectations have changed for me, and after a fantastic first half - this one stung. But again, it was only one game - so you just put it behind you. And hopefully they just put it behind them.We're on to Baltimore.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. For Patriots fans, there is a lot to be thankful for. The Patriots had their first Monday Night Football game in three years and came out decisively on top and the Patriots have the best record going into their bye week.Tonight, they took care of business against New York. Now to rest up because the Bills come to town in a couple weeks. Let's go!!

Am I already so spoiled that seeing them struggle to put up points against the worst defense in the league - and have some key injuries to the offensive line - but still come away with a win feels almost unsatisfying? Yes, I guess so! But a win is a win is a win! First team in the league to 10 wins! Nine wins in a row! That is hard to do - and they did it....So, feelings, shmeelings, LFG!!!

It's always good to beat the Jets! The Patriots showed in Prime Time, on Prime Video, on Amazon Prime, and they delivered a fairly convincing win over the New York Jets! It's now eight wins in a row!KEEP THAT BALL ROLLING!!!

SEVEN IN A ROW, BABY! How about those Patriots!? They go down to Tampa down to one of the better teams in the league, and they come out with a victory and tied for the best record in the conference!Short week - get some rest, heal up and get ready for Thursday. I was talking to all of you fans, because these games take a lot out of us. LFG!!!

Well, that started off pretty well and then almost went off the rails! It was far from perfect - sloppy in some parts, lucky in other parts - but in the end they were able to finish out the final drive and hold on to a one point victory over the Atlanta Falcons.As far as I can tell, all you need to do is win by one point. And for the New England Patriots, that's six wins in a row. LFG!

Guess who won? Won again? Patriots. Tell a friend...who isn't a Pats fan so you can watch them get angry. That part didn't rhyme - but oh baby it must be annoying for the rest of the league to see the Patriots have any success - never mind the fact that they've now won five gives in a row and lead the division at 6-2.There's still a long way to go - but I love seeing what this team is becoming. Hopefully this is only the beginning....

Ho hum, the Patriots played a road game. The Patriots won a road game. It's exciting when things go how you expect them to! Even though I had to listen to the first half of the game, I got to enjoy the second half from a South Carolina motel room - where all good things happen.Four wins in a row. Three road wins in a row. Back home for next week's game - that goes for me and your first place New England Patriots...

Three in a row! An actual winning streak! For the first time in three years! This wasn't perfect - and they all know they can play better, but winning football teams find ways to win. And today they did just thanks to some spectacular play from their quarterback. Ride the Drake Wave baby!!!

I really should be sleeping. But after the biggest win in years for the Patriots, how CAN you sleep?The Patriots went into Buffalo, did not play a perfect game - but played a complete came - and leave withe a victory. Leave with a winning record. Leave with a winning streak. And leave with a statement made to the next of the year.Drake Maye is here. Stefon Diggs is still here. The Patriots are for real.

What a rollercoaster this season has been so far! Frustrating loss after exciting win! And nothing is more exciting to me than a decisive Patriots blowout victory!It was a little scary early on - but things were in control by halftime, which is good because I had to watch the 2nd have on delay....I talk about why in this very special fireside chat episode of Patriots Afterthoughts.

The crap was just a disaster. Sloppy jalopy! The Steelers were begging for the Patriots to win this game! The Pats turnover the ball FIVE times - and still had a chance to go down the field at the end of the game to either tie or win the game.Such a mess. They clean up those fundamentals and they might have something. But not today. Oofa boofa. Not today.

The Patriots are in the win column! The Patriots won in Miami! The Patriots finally beat Tua! The Patriots scored over 30 points! Sure, it wasn't perfect and there is work to be done - but come on, how can you not feel happy and excited after that a win! After that win!Now build on it Patriots! Build on it!

The last time I did anything for this podcast, the Patriots just won themselves out of the first overall draft pick and Mayo coached himself out of a job. Flash forward 8 months and there's a lot more hope with Mike Vrabel in charge...And then they come out and put up 13 points.13 points.Well, on the bright side - after today, they'll either be tied for 2nd place or tied for 1st place.Hooray!

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!

Tomorrow we truly enter the next era of Patriots football, kinda. The fun thing about going into a season with your favorite team having long to no expectations? You can focus on rooting for other teams to fail. Petty? Um, duh, of course it is. 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

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

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?)

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?)

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?)

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!

"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

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

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.

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