Once upon a time five years ago today…

So, as I sit here ready to write this article about the Patriots and their journey into this 2025 season after a not-so-great loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, I realise that today marks a significant day for me. Five years ago my first ever piece of Patriots content dropped… my first article entitled “Patriots Tight Ends have potential in 2020” went live on the Full Press Coverage website. 

My slightly self-indulgent point is twofold. Firstly, it gives me the opportunity to celebrate a milestone for myself, but more than that, it gives me the chance to thank all that have been there for me, helped and supported me. Not to mention be appreciative for those that I can now call friends, some of whom have carved out a very important place in my life. I have been shown such acceptance, generosity, and affection from so many people in relation to the team that I adore. 

I am honoured and humbled to be sitting here after five years writing these words to you lovely lot, THANK YOU!

Now, my more Patriot centric point is that this time five years ago, I had no idea where that first piece of fandom writing would get me. Had I managed to pull a Stewie Griffin and time travelled back to tell myself everything that would happen there’s no way I would have believed myself, even if I am pretty trustworthy!

And whilst I’m not much of a betting woman, (although when it comes to sandwich bets, things are a little different, just ask my co-host) I doubt many Patriots fans would have expected what the team went through in those last five years either. 

There has been a rebuild following the departure of the best quarterback to ever do it, the rebuild after the GM/Head Coach moved on, and the next man up was possibly prematurely promoted, to this one. The beginning of a new era with a head coach that has 11 years coaching in the NFL under his belt, a trio of offensive line coaches and an extensively experienced defensive coordinator who is known for his success developing defensive linemen. Oh, and did I mention a real and proper offensive coordinator?

So, okay, season one, week one, game one wasn’t completely successful. I doubt my first article was as polished and cheekily amusing as this one is… ahem, moving on…

Now, let me be clear here. As a fan you can feel and have whatever opinion you like, that’s your prerogative… I’m in no way attempting to tell you otherwise. What I am hoping to give is a little entertainment, the opportunity to thank the fan base I am so blessed to be part of, and mostly, to hopefully give you a little bit of a positive perspective. 

Yeah, the Raiders kinda had the Patriots’ number in the second half of that game, the rookies did some rookie things (imagine that huh?!?), and the coach is frustrated, stating they were too inconsistent on both sides of the ball to be successful. The quarterback dropped back aplenty, the kicker missed a field goal, and the defense let the Raiders score 20, struggling to stop two of the leagues really good tight ends from being wide open.

But may I reiterate, it’s season one, week one, game one?

They brought in some great free agency pieces, finally managed to draft better than probably my whole five years’ time as content producer put together, and have experienced coaches. Of course, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, there’s still plenty to get right, but they really do have things there that they can mould into the right stuff.

I mean, we are looking at a sample size of one. One regular season game for Drake Maye with Josh McDaniels, under Mike Vrabel with Stefon Diggs and so on.

A season is a marathon, not a sprint. New players need time to find their feet, new systems need time to click, and new people need time to develop relationships. Anyone ever go on a first date that wasn’t so great but saw the person again because they felt there was something there? I do hope so, and I’ll bet some of you are married to that person now too. 

Again, I’m showing, not telling here.

Even so, the fan base has warranted concerns, I just hope that if you felt super curmudgeon-y, I could transpose a little bit of positivity sparkle onto you, because hey, that’s what I’ve been trying to do for these last five years!

We have large expectations that stem from the epic history of this franchise, Pats Nation had it good for so long, and I truly believe we will have it good again, in time. In a time that is filled with instant gratification, we just need a little patience with the potential. 

And so, with a huge, massive thanks to you lovely lot for reading this, as well as consuming and supporting my content over the past five years, I say…

It’s on to Miami and as always, go Pats!