Here's our annual column reviewing every Super Bowl champion's dependence on some lucky bounces of the proverbial ball since the beginning of New England's winning run. Half of the 16 Super Bowls listed here were decided by four points or less, and that's not including last year's six-point win in overtime. For a look at … Continue reading With A Little Bit Of Luck (2018 Edition)

During the Super Bowl bye week, why not take a little break from watching highlights of NFL players and instead check out highlights of future NFL players? Hmm? Sound good? Watching last Saturday's Senior Bowl and the previous Saturday's East-West Shrine Game has helped prime this space for the first BSMW Patriots draft column of … Continue reading Patriots Thursday Observations, “That Guy” (Senior Bowl)

We've seen this statistic before, and we should all see it again: In the 16 seasons Tom Brady has started at quarterback, the Patriots have gone to the Super Bowl eight times. In other words, every season with Brady as a starter has had a 50 percent chance of ending up in the championship game. … Continue reading Patriots Thursday Observations, AFC Championship Review

You know a game has gone well for New England when the Gillette Stadium crowd starts to sound like they're cheering for Georgetown. Hoya! Hoya! Yes, when backup quarterback Brian Hoyer takes the final snaps, that means victory formation. The Patriots overcame a sluggish start and unleashed a relentless attack on both sides of the … Continue reading Patriots Thursday Observations, Titans Review

The Patriots host the Titans on Saturday night. It's a game very few around the region feel particularly worried about, although I'll go into a couple of details on that below. New England could field a more complete team than what took on the Jets a couple of weeks ago, with the potential return of … Continue reading Patriots Thursday Observations, Playoff Bye Review

I've got a buddy who's from Buffalo. (Sounds like the start of a bad joke, but it's true.) On the morning of the New Year, he sent out this piece on Buffalo fans greeting the team at the airport in two-degree weather. Every New England fan should watch that, and remember. In 2002, the Patriots … Continue reading Patriots Thursday Observations, Jets Review

Hey there. Have a good Christmas? Hope so. New England got a couple of presents on Christmas Eve, including a would-be Bills touchdown reception by Charles Clay that "survived the ground" about as well as an unlucky skydiver. That got overlooked when an ensuing catch by Kelvin Benjamin got called a TD but was overturned … Continue reading Patriots Thursday Observations, Bills Review

While many have called New England's 27-24 win at Pittsburgh a roller-coaster, I'd liken it to one of those drop rides they have at traveling carnivals that lift you way up in the air and release you, making your stomach feel like somebody attached an industrial vacuum cleaner to it. This game went beyond nerve-wracking, … Continue reading Patriots Thursday Observations, Steelers Review

You know, I was never the type of kid who jammed lit firecrackers into piles of dog vomit. If I had been, that might give me a greater appreciation for New England's output Monday Night. The Patriots got outmatched at every level in Miami for an exhausting 27-20 setback. From a New England perspective, we … Continue reading Patriots Thursday Observations, Dolphins Review