Patriots Afterthoughts - A New England Patriots Fan Podcast
By Fans Not Experts
What a great time to start a Patriots podcast - AFTER Tom Brady leaves the team. This show isn't about the nuts and bolts as some nerds demand. This show is just about reacting to what we just watched.
Patriots Afterthoughts - A New England Patriots Fan PodcastDec 27, 2021
Drake Maye Is Now A New England Patriot
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
The End of the Bill Belichick Era
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
NFL Week 18: Jets 17 - Patriots 3
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?)
NFL Week 17: Bills 27 - Patriots 21
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?)
NFL Week 16: Patriots 26 - Broncos 23
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?)
NFL Week 15: Chiefs 27 - Patriots 17
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!
NFL Week 14: Patriots 21 - Steelers 18
"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
NFL Week 13: Chargers 6 - Patriots 0
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
NFL Week 12: Giants 10 - Patriots 7
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.
NFL Week 11: Patriots vs. Bye Week
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
NFL Week 10: Colts 10 - Patriots 6
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
NFL Week 9: Commanders 20 - Patriots 17
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
NFL Week 8: Dolphins 31 - Patriots 17
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
NFL Week 7: Patriots 29 - Bills 25
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
NFL Week 6: Raiders 21 - Patriots 17
The Patriots played today. So the Patriots lost today. Different week. Same result.
Music in this episode - "The Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats
NFL Week 5: Saints 34 - Patriots 0
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"
NFL Week 4: Cowboys 38 - Patriots 3
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
NFL Week 3: Patriots 15 - Jets 10
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
NFL Week 2: Dolphins 24 - Patriots 17
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...
NFL Week 1: Eagles 25 - Patriots 20
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.
Bills 35 - Patriots 23
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.
Patriots 23 - Dolphins 21
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.
Bengals 22 - Patriots 18
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!
Raiders 30 - Patriots 24
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.
Patriots 27 - Cardinals 13
Was the offense good? Not really.
Were they good enough? Yeah today they were.
Was the defense good? Yes. Yes they were.
It's great to back in the win column - and to still have the playoffs as a realistic possibility - but they still have to play better with the ball...if that is possible. But happy to be on the winning side again!
Bills 24 - Patriots 10
You know it's bad, it's bad (bad, bad)
You know it, you know (really, really bad)
And the whole world has to answer right now
Just to tell you once again
Who's bad?
Vikings 33 - Patriots 26
Happy Thanksgiving Pats fans! Tough loss tonight as the offense finally looked like they were putting some things together - but special teams and some bad penalties (both called and committed) ended the losing streak for our Patriots. But the Thursday night streak continues as we'll be back here AGAIN next Thursday...see you then.
Patriots 10 - Jets 3
The winning streak continues. The offensive struggle continues. The defense playing great continues. And beating the J-E-T-S continues! continues! continues! And now all we have to do is wait 4 more days for more Patriots football! LFG!
Patriots 26 - Colts 3
It's another winning streak! The defense came up big. Special teams came up huge. The offense.....did enough. And the Colts stink. Go Pats! Enjoy the bye week.....
Patriots 22 - Jets 17
It wasn't perfect and it wasn't without me yelling at my television multiple times - but IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO BEAT THE JETS!
Bears 33 - Patriots 14
There was a fun 10 minutes hidden in there tonight - but yeah, the less said about this garbage game, the better. Patriots lose to the Bears, 33-14. Next.
Patriots 38 - Browns 15
I'm back in Massachusetts! I'm back home! And I'm back actually WATCHING the Patriots game. Today was a great win for the Pats, and while we do have ourselves a winning streak, I am not ready to say we have ourselves a quarterback controversy. Save that talk for all the terrible sports media around here...JUST WIN BABY!
Patriots 29 - Lions 0
Did I watch the game today? NOPE! Did I listen to the game today? Most of it! Was there a reason for that? Oh hell yeah - but you're going to have to listen to find out. (Spoiler: I'm in South Carolina typing this in a motel.)
Don't worry - the episode is short.
Packers 27 - Patriots 24
Am I disappointed they lost this game? Sure - but am I happy as how they made it a game and really had a chance to win with a rookie 3rd string quarterback who was thrust into the game?
Yes, yes I am. I feel like this loss could actually bring this team closer together. Or maybe I'm just a hopelessly positive fan. Either way, we're on to Detroit.
Ravens 37 - Patriots 26
Oh brother. The Patriots lose again, but for a while there they made a game of it and showed that they can hang and they can play offense - but they gotta stop with the dumb mistakes! And the terrible turnovers!
And most importantly - let's all hope Mac Jones is okay! We're on to Green Bay....
Patriots 17 – Steelers 14
Well okay, that's more like it! Was it perfect? Was it flawless? Nope. Does that matter? Nope. What's important to me is getting a win, having some success, and building on that for next week when they finally play at home. But hey, it's always good to win on the road and it's always good to beat the Steelers.
Dolphins 20 - Patriots 7
There really is nothing good about this episode. The sound quality was terrible. The music choice was terrible - and even worse the game that I somewhat discuss was terrible.
Just terrible all around - Enjoy!
Preseason Game 3: Raiders 23 - Patriots 6
Once again the offense didn't look very good. It had small moments - moments that maybe could have been built on in a full game - but for the most part it was nothing to be excited about. And of course the local media can't wait to tweet or for you to be the 7th caller to crap all over them.
You can probably tell during this episode I wasn't all that excited to be talking about a meaningless, sloppy, final preseason game loss. On top of that I had to leave to go take my brother's dogs out and then a headache comes on. So...yay.
At the very least we can say - the f'n preseason is over with. The games that matter are just a couple weeks away. Until then - Go Pats!
Preseason Game 2: Patriots 20 – Panthers 10
Have you ever asked yourself - what would it sound like if there was a podcast about the Patriots where the host knew next to nothing, seemed overly tired, and oh yeah - it was another meaningless preseason game? If you have well boy oh boy do we have the podcast for you!
PATRIOTS WIN! THEEEEEE PATRIOTS WIN!
Preseason Game 1: Giants 23 – Patriots 21
I'm baaaaack. Back to talk about a team I love. Back to speak with the passion of a fan, not with the hot takes of some radio host craving attention. I know barely anybody listens and I STILL do it. I even show up for the preseason! If that's not love, then what is? Oh and the Giants beat the Pats...
Bills 47 - Patriots 17
The Patriots were in the playoffs for about 10 minutes and then it all went to hell. The defense was horrendous and the offense couldn't keep up. There were a lot of moments to be happy about this season and a lot to make you feel good about the future. Today was not one of those moments. They sucked. See you next season.
Dolphins 33 - Patriots 24
What a way to bookend an overall successful season - with two disappointing losses to the Dolphins! And while the Miami Football Team is done for the season and your favorite Patriots are on their way back to Buffalo - it would've been nice to win this one. But they didn't. We're on to Buffalo.
Patriots 50 - Jaguars 10
Now that's what I call a win! Yes the Jaguars are terrible, and they have a lot of players on the COVID reserve list - but to see the Patriots just utterly dominate from beginning to end was a nice way to start the new year. And of course....PLAYOFFS!
Bills 33 - Patriots 21
Let’s just try to forget that this happened. Let’s try to forget they’ve now lost two games in a row. Let’s try to forget that in the past week they’ve let the AFC top seed and AFC East lead go. Let’s try to forget how their offense hasn’t looked that great and their defense looks beatable. Let’s just focus on the Jaguars and the chance to get into the playoffs with two games to go. Yeah, let’s focus on that.
Colts 27 - Patriots 17
Too little too late for the Pats. You can't dig yourself a hole that big and expect to come out of it on top - even if there was hope for a moment. Some costly special teams mistakes as well as some bad offense put the Patriots behind to the point where everything needed to go right in the 4th quarter for them to possibly win. It didn't. They didn't. We're on to Buffalo.
Patriots 14 - Bills 10
Turns out my heart must be stronger than I thought. My Fitbit kept telling me my heart rate was going up, but nothing exploded and I am safe and sound and ready for bed. But more important than my health - the Patriots beat the Bills in Buffalo to expand their lead in the AFC East and remain the #1 seed overall in the AFC with 4 games left to play. It was a game of wind and runs. A game of defense. A game where Mac was not put in any position to make mistakes. And it was a win. Most of all - and really the only thing that matters - it was a win! Enjoy the bye week!
Patriots 36 - Titans 13
Another week, another victory. The Patriots came back home after a mini-bye and took care of business against the top ranked, and pretty banged up, Tennesse Titans with a decisive 36-13 victory. Mac threw 2 TDs, Judon had a sack. JC had a pick. Business as usual. And now we’re on the to the Bills! But let’s enjoy this one for at least the rest of the day! Go Pats!
Patriots 25 - Falcons 0
hows up as much as they did tonight in the first patriots shutout of the season. This moves the Pats one game ahead of the Bills in the win column, at least until Sunday, and it helps the Pats inch closer to possibly making the playoffs. But let's not get ahead ourselves. Enjoy a nice Sunday off, have a great Thanksgiving, and then we're on to Tennessee! Go Pats!
Patriots 45 - Browns 7
Nobody saw this coming. Sure, did people think the Patriots could or would win? Absolutely. But I don't think there is a person out there who saw the absolute destruction the Pats would bring upon Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns. I apologize for the delay in getting this one out - I recorded it Sunday night and well....no excuses. Go Pats! See you tomorrow!
Patriots 24 - Panthers 6
The hottest team in the AFC East is back with another win! That makes 3 in a row as the defense once again made Sam Darnold believe in ghosts! Three interceptions, including one for a touchdown really made the difference in this game where the offense did just enough to help secure 24-6 win over the Carolina Panthers. One game out of 1st in the loss column, and we're on to Cleveland!