Payton Pritchard, the silent assassin

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown get all the attention, and rightfully so, but the secret to this team’s defense is their depth. Take Tatum and Brown off the team and it may well still be a playoff team. On any given night, there are seven players who can score

Week 13 NFL predictions: Patriots last chance for a win, Eagles-Ravens should be a beauty

When I went back and reviewed my picks from Week 12 I was like, “Uh oh.” I was under .500 on picking winners, but when I checked my picks against the spread, I found myself going, “win, win, win, win.” I think I won my first six or seven games

Week 12: Are the Ravens contenders or pretenders? Lions keep roaring

I was proud of a few of my picks in Week 11 and then others I was like “what was I thinking?” I was spot on about the Colts upsetting the Jets, although it came down to the last minute. I was right about the Bills giving the Chiefs their

Week 11 picks: Could the Rams-Patriots game harken back to 2001?

Week 10 was a beauty for me. I went 10-4 in all three categories. My season totals are now: Moneyline:  61-27 Against the spread:  49-36-1 Point total O/U: 45-42 It feels good to get over .500 in the point total betting. That was bothering me. Week 11 has some

Week 10 NFL picks

CIN @ BALT (-6.5)   Total: 52.5 The Bengals are hanging around the fringes of the playoff race. It would help if their two diva receivers were better team players. Ja’Marr Chase held out all camp looking for more money and the Bengals looked rusty in their first couple

Week 9 picks: Chiefs lose their first game, Patriots two-game winning streak

It may not have been the best of weeks for me with my picks, particularly against the spread and over/under on the point totals. But I don’t care. I got the big one right. I nailed the Patriots upsetting the Jets. That’s all I care about. I

Patriots 2024: Is this 'chicken and beer' all over again?

A comment by Kendrick Bourne this week caught my attention. It, actually, gave me a bit of PTSD. It sounded familiar. Bourne told the Boston Herald following New England’s 32-16 loss that he questioned the attitude and professionalism of some of his teammates while in London and, I assume,

Week 8 predictions: Could I be picking the Patriots to upset the Jets?

It was a so-so week for me in Week 7. I was disappointed in the Saints, Texans, Patriots, Giants, and Falcons. I expected more out of all of them. I still came out ahead at over .500, and that's all you can ask, right? Wrong. Last week on

Week 7 predictions: Looking at a lot of upsets

I had a pretty good week last week. I was 11-3 straight up, 10-4 against the spread, and 8-6 on over/under point totals. When I was wrong, though, I was spectacularly wrong. I, ahem {cough}, picked Dallas to win outright against Detroit, but the Cowboys managed to only score

Takeaways from the Patriots, 41-21, loss to the Texans

Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans was the most enjoyable Patriots' game I've watched in over a year. It was a small reminder of what it used to be like to watch a game around these parts. It was the anticipation leading up to the game.

Thundercat behind the decision to ditch "The Plan" and start Drake May now?

All year long we have heard about the “The Plan.” Head coach Jerod Mayo has preached it since the draft. We have a plan. We are going to stick to the plan. How many times did we hear about this mysterious "plan" of theirs? Mayo never would expound

NFL Week 6 picks: NFL debut for rookie Spencer Rattler... oh, yeah, and Drake Maye

I think I did pretty good in my first foray in publishing my picks last week: Money line (winner straight up): 9-4 Versus the spread: 8-4-1 Over/under: 6-7 There was a lot more scoring than I expected. Who expected Joe Flacco to pass for 359 yards and the Colts

Week 5 picks: Dallas-Pitt, Arizona-SF, Buffalo-Houston should be fun. NE-Miami, not so much.

Seems like everyone nowadays has a betting video on YouTube or online blog so I asked myself, "Why not me?" This could be fun. I’ve been picking Patriots’ games for over a year now on this blog, but now I am going to expand my horizons and

Play Drake Maye now.

Mayday! Mayday! Sound the alarms! The Patriots are coming off an embarrassing 30-13 loss to a banged up San Francisco 49ers team. No one expected the Patriots to win or even compete against the defending NFC champs, but is it too much to ask for them to entertain us? Is

Patriots' Week 4 preview: End of the Jacoby Brissett era

Thank you for your dedication and service, Jacoby Brissett. You served Patriot Nation well. You fulfilled your duties. You took hard hits and you kept getting up. You showed what it means to be a leader and a warrior on the field. You showed how to take accountability and not

Week 3 preview: Patriots' fans need to learn to relax

With six minutes left in the Patriots’ game against Seattle, I said out loud to my gathered group of friends watching the game, “I can’t believe we are six minutes away from being 2-0.” I did the same thing when it got to under four minutes with Joey Slye

Patriots-Seahawks preview: Could the Patriots move to 2-0?

The Patriots are not used to playing the role of Cinderella, but they are looking like the belle of the ball right now. Every year there is always a team that exceeds expectations and turns heads. Last year it was the Houston Texans behind their rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud.

Patriots follow their formula for success in their season opener victory over the Bengals

The Patriots began their march to the Super Bowl with a convincing, 16-10, victory in Cincinnati over the Bengals. What? Am I wrong? Boston fans are notorious for overreacting. It's what they do. But even reactionary Boston fans don't believe this team is a playoff contender

Some bold and not so bold predictions for the Patriots in 2024 and beyond

The New England Patriots are on to Cincinnati. They open the season there this Sunday at 1pm. For the first time in over two decades, Bill Belichick won’t be on the sidelines for the Patriots. Instead, it will be first time head coach Jerod Mayo leading the team. He

Mayo disheartens fans by naming Brissett as the opening day starting QB

Jerod Mayo announced on Thursday that Jacoby Brissett will be “our starting quarterback this season.” Interesting wording. It was also notable how Mayo began by saying “we” have decided before, quickly, correcting himself to say “I" have decided. The decision has disappointed many fans who want to see rookie

On to Cincinnati

Now that was the game many of us were expecting last week against the Eagles following the horrific joint practice the Patriots had with Philadelphia only two days prior to that game. It was a nightmare come true. I have written the last two weeks that the thing I was

Things to look for as the Patriots wrap up the exhibition season

The New England Patriots face the Washington Commanders tonight at 8pm in the nation's capital to finish off the exhibition season. In only two weeks, the Patriots will be playing games for real. The long wait will be over. It seems like forever since the night the Patriots

All aboard the Maye train

It didn’t take much to get the Drake Maye hype machine charged up. All it took was two quarters for thevNew England region to be overcome with the epidemic of amnesia. Zappe Fever was nothing compared to this. This new epidemic could have longer effects. There are a lot

Things I will be looking for as the Patriots play their second exhibition game

As I write this – an hour before the Patriots are about ready to take the field against the Eagles for their second exhibition game of the season – thunderstorms are rumbling outside my window not too far away from Gillette Stadium. It is setting up to be another less than stellar

The honeymoon period for the Patriots' coaching staff is officially over

I got a chance to visit Patriots’ training camp for the first time Tuesday. It happened to be the last practice that was open to the public. It also happened to be the first and only joint practice with another team – the other team being the Philadelphia Eagles. Like everyone