Fortress Of Good Fortune

Week 5: New Orleans Saints 34. New England Patriots 0 (1-4) (Sunday, October 8, 2023)

STINK, STANK, STUNK!!!!!!!

After last week's worst loss in Bill Belichick's career as a Head Coach, we witnessed his second worse loss, this time at home! It was awful in all three phases of the game. QB Mac Jones threw yet another Pick-6, the defense couldn't stop anybody and special teams were atrocious. Awful, awful, and MORE awful! Crickets at Gillette.

Where do they go from here? Who knows? They have no playmakers, injuries have piled up, and coaching looks clueless. Bill keeps building a team like Brady's still here, Tom's greatness spackling the cracks in the foundation and elevating JAGs to serviceable-to-good. Can the 71-year-old Belichick relate to today's players who can't be yelled at? Who are social media darlings? Can a chalkboard coach relate to tablet players?

Can this be fixed at all?

The Dolphins and Jets won, the Pats and Bills lost. Next week they travel to Las Vegas to meet the Raiders. Primetime games coming up. Bet the networks bump 'em.

AFC EAST

Miami 4-1

BUFF 3-2

NYJ 2-3

NE 1-4

Crossposts: https://bradygirl-12.livejournal.com/1571323.html

Week 6: New England Patriots 31, Cleveland Browns 15 (Sunday, October 16, 2022)

Quite the entertaining game! Lots of turnovers by both sides, but the Patriots were good enough to overcome their share. Back-up QB Bailey Zappe looked pretty good, throwing for over 300 yards and 2 touchdowns. The defense managed to make takeaways, and except for a slight glitch, special teams were good, too. The Patriots seem to be improving, but still too many penalties. You can bet that Coach Belichick is letting them know his displeasure.

Is there a quarterback controversy? Not yet, but it could come soon if Zappe keeps lookin' good! Mac Jones must be getting nervous. :)

Pats, Bills and Jets won, Dolphins lost. Next week, da Bears come to Foxboro!

It's unnatural that the Jets are above the Patriots in the standings. ;)

AFC EAST

BUFF 5-1

NYJ 4-2

NE 3-3

Miami 3-2

Crossposts: https://bradygirl-12.livejournal.com/1539339.html

Happy St. Patrick's Day! May ye be happy and healthy as spring comes 'round the corner. :)

Parades all over the place last weekend, and the most famous one in Southie (Sout Boston) this Sunday. In this part of the country, every town and hamlet hosts one, it seems. :)

Speaking of the Irish, Tom Brady's back! I KNEW that retirement wouldn't last. Just didn't feel like the real deal.

Weird how it went down, though. Retire for two months and then un-retire? Gotta be some record! Maybe Giselle decided hubby's retirement wasn't what it was cracked up to be. ;)

Guaranteed Tom wouldn't be this flaky if he was still playing for Bill Belichick!

Crossposts: https://bradygirl-12.livejournal.com/1520608.html

Week 13: New England Patriots 14, Buffalo Bills 10 (9-4) (Monday, December 6, 2021)

The wind really played havoc with this game as predicted. The offense was uninspired, wind or not.

But it was the game plan: run the football and dare the Bills to stop them! And the Bills couldn't. Mac attempted 3 passes. That hasn't happened in the NFL in a loooong time! Old school football! Just the way Bill Belichick likes it. :)

Crazy wind, run the football, win! End of story. :) (with a nice 64-yard run for a TD by Damien Harris.)

Pats and Dolphins won, Bills and Jets lost. Pats finally have their bye week and then it's on to Indy on December 18th.

Guess who is not only on top of the division but the No/ 1 seed in the AFC? :D

AFC EAST

NE 9-4

BUFF 7-5

Miami 6-7

NYJ 3-9

Week 7: New England Patriots 54, New York Jets 13 (3-4) (Sunday, October 24, 2021)

A 50+ burger! :)

Fifty-four glorious points against the hapless Jets. Okay, so it was the Jets, but better to stomp an awful team that get stomped by one. And Mac looked very good, the receivers actually caught balls, the O-line protected the QB, and the defense was rollin'. Special teams were sharp. First win at home this season!

All-in-all, an entertaining game. Coach Belichick loves beating the Jets. He was actually smiling on the sidelines! :)

And Richard Seymour, newly ensconced in the Patriots Hall of Fame, requested this game as the one to honor him. Always extra energy during Jets Week! ;)

Can the Pats maintain a semblance of competence against the Chargers next week? We shall see!

The Pats won, Jets and Dolphins lost, and the Bills were on their bye week.*

AFC EAST

BUFF 4-2 (Bye)

NE 3-4

NYJ 1-5

Miami 1-6

*Tom Brady and the Buccaneers are 6-1 and leading their division.

Okay, so a quick recap to catch up:

Week 1: Miami Dolphins 17, New England Patriots 16 (0-1) (Sunday, September 12, 2021

Last-minute fumble kills a possible game-winning drive. Rookie QB Mac Jones looks pretty good.

Week 2: New England Patriots 25, New York Jets 6 (1-1) (Sunday, September 10, 2021)

Jets are awful. 'Nuff said. ;)

Week 3: New Orleans Saints 28. New England Patriots 13 (1-2) (Sunday, September 26, 2021)

Patriots a total mess. Penalties and turnovers! Mac still looking good for a rookie, so there's that.

Week 4: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 19, New England Patriots 17 (1-3) (Sunday, October 3, 2021)

THE game of the season! Tom returns to Foxboro. :)

Belichick's defense keeps Tom in check and Patriots have a chance to win it at the end, but kick doinks off the goalpost. Not Folk's fault: raining hard and well over 50 yards!

Tom and Bill talk in private for nearly half an hour after the game, clearing the air.

Week 5: New England Patriots 25, Houston Texans 22 (2-3) (Sunday, October 10, 2021)

Four out of five starters not playing on the O-line. Struggling game but a win!

AFC EAST

BUFF 4-1

NE 2-3

Miami 1-4

NYJ 1-4

Next week, Dallas comes to town!

Week 13: New England Patriots 45, Los Angeles Chargers 0 (Sunday, December 6, 2020)

Well, that was a thing! :)

The Patriots blew the doors off the Chargers, defeating them 45-0, the biggest deficit at home in Chargers' history. All three phases of the team did a great lob: offense, defense, and special teams.

Special teams really sparkled. Gunner Olszlewski ran a punt return back for a 70-yard touchdown, and a blocked field goal resulted in Devin McCourty scoring a TD. Kicking and punting were perfect.

Cam looked good, and the offense actually moved the ball! The defense forced turnovers, and it helped that L.A.'s special teams were atrocious. Charger rookie phenom Justin Herbert got schooled by Belichick. :)

It was a spectacle, and a lot of fun to watch.

No Tom news. He and Tampa Bay were on their bye. :)

The Patriots and Dolphins won and the Jets (of course!) lost. The Bills are playing Monday night.

The Pats have a short week as they play on Thursday against the L.A. Rams in the same stadium. :)

AFC EAST

BUFF 9-3

Miami 8-4

NE 6-6

NYJ 0-12

Week 5: New England Patriots 33, Washington Redskins 7 (5-0) (Sunday, October 6, 2019)

The Pats' O struggled in the first half, our replacement kicker missed an extra point, and our defense let up a sloppy TD. Fortunately, adjustments were made at halftime and the running game got going as the Patriots pulled away from the Redskins. Jules had a good game as did Sony Michel, James White, and Rex Burkhead.

The defense was outstanding, as usual, except for missed tackles that resulted in Washington's only score. We've really got something this year.

Tom passed Brett Favre to take third place in all-time passing yards. He can pass Peyton Manning in the next game. Drew Brees is the leader.

It sounded like a home game at Fed Ex Field. Many Patriots and Coach Bill Belichick commented on it. Many Pats fans snapped up tickets that the home fans sold. When your team is winless, you tend not to fight the traffic. :)

Short week as the Patriots host the Giants this Thursday.

The Bills won, the Jets lost, and Miami was on their bye week.

AFC EAST

NE 5-0
BUFF 4-1
Miami (0-4) (Bye)
NYJ (0-4)

Two unbeaten teams left, the Patriots and 49ers after the Chiefs lost last night. The 49ers play tonight so we'll see if they continue that streak.

EDIT: The 49ers won.

(Preseason) Week 1: New England Patriots 31, Detroit Lions 3 (1-0) (Thursday, August 8, 2019)

Football is back, baby! :)

It's just preseason, but it's better to execute plays than not to execute, I say. :)

Few starters played, so it was the Pats' back-ups versus the Lions' back-ups, and ours looked like they knew what they were doing and the Lions looked clueless. The defense looked sharp and the offense crisp. Our kicker missed an easy field goal, so there's that.

Back-up quarterback Brian Hoyer looked the best he ever had in a Patriots uniform, going 12-for-14, and rookie Jarrett Stidham didn't look bad. Managed to throw for a TD and moved the offense pretty well.

Joint practices went well with the Lions last week. Aaron Rodgers of Green Bay doesn't like joint practices, but Brady and Belichick get a lot out of them, and will practice with the Tennessee Titans this week before their Saturday game.

Of course, next week they may look inept. So goes preseason! ;)

AFC Championship Game: New England Patriots 24, Jacksonville Jaguars 20 (2-0) (Sunday, January 21, 2018)

WE'RE ON TO THE SUPER BOWL!!!!!!

Yep, for the 8th time under Tom Brady and Bill Belichick's leadership, the New England Patriots are going to the Super Bowl, the 10th time in franchise history, which sets a record.

Anyway, the Patriots started out slow, a pattern they've been following all season. Frankly, both the offense and defense was stinking it up until the last few minutes before halftime, when they finally scored a touchdown to go with an earlier field goal.

They started out sputtering in the second half and were down 10 points with 12 minutes left. Gronk was out due to concussion. A fumble by Dion Lewis jeopardized their comeback chances but, hey, it's Tom Brady! Remember the last Super Bowl? It didn't look good but I still figured we'd win the game, and Tom Terrific went to work. Danny Amendola was especially clutch. Once again, excellence wins out. :)

I'm sure Jacksonville, who dominated most of the game with a stifling defense and a quarterback who was playing out of his mind, looked at each other in the waning moments of the game and thought, "WTF? This place is a horror house!"

The Pats' opponents are the Philadelphia Eagles, a rematch of Super Bowl XXXIX in which the Patriots won. This is a fan base that caused the city of Philadelphia to grease the city's lampposts with Crisco to prevent them from climbing the poles and possibly killing themselves. Oh, well, no Mensa candidates here.

SUPER BOWL LII-BOUND!!!