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Your Light – by Clazzy Clare

The moment you hold it together, resilience. 

The moment you deny false appreciation, hope.

The moment you believe, passion.

The moment you give in, fandom. 

Being a fan isn’t the easiest job in the world, and it isn’t even a job, but we do it. We choose to support. Some of us feel we have no choice, we are born into it. Or perhaps we even believe it is simply a destiny. Either way, a fan has their own path to travel with their team, and no one has the right to say otherwise. 

Your fandom is your sanctuary. Each week, you undergo the rituals of your fandom. For some that’s simply watching the game. For others it involves a specific jersey, a particular seat, or even… that certain pair of underwear you really should have thrown out by now… 

But this is what it’s for! 

Sports are a way of an escape. The world can be a dark, harsh place and your team may be your light. But when your team isn’t doing so well, that light may be dimmed. 

But the light will never go out. Sure, they may not even have a .500 season, they may lose to teams they should beat, and you scratch your head in puzzlement, or you pull your hair out in frustration, but they are still the light! 

You nurture your light in your own way. You support it in your own way. You cheer it on… in YOUR own way. 

But your light will never give up on you. It will change its style, it will change its numbers, it will change its names… but it will still be YOUR light. 

And hey, this week that light beat the Bills… so LFG baby! 

Even though the Pats didn’t manage to make it through to the playoffs this year, there are plenty of Super Bowl betting promotions to take your mind off of it until Belichick can get New England back to their winning ways. Coming off an 8-9 season, it’s a third-straight year around .500 with just one trip to the playoffs for New England. With a clearly defined power structure in the AFC becoming more and more defined during the playoffs, the Pats must figure out a way to first crack the bottom three playoff spots, which feature the Chargers, Dolphins and Ravens, before then tackling the next group, the AFC’s final four, Kansas City, Buffalo, Cincinnati and Jacksonville.

Here are five quick steps on how the Patriots should approach the offseason to re-emerge in the AFC.

1. Revamp the attack: With reports that the team will begin meeting with offensive coordinator candidates this week, it seems the Patriots are already focused on taking the most important step, installing a better offensive approach from a coaching and schematic standpoint. Many signs point to Bill O’Brien as being the best candidate given his experience in New England and some familiarity with Mac Jones. Regardless if it’s O’Brien or someone else, the team needs someone like Josh McDaniels to get their offense humming at a high level.
2. Reinforce Protection: With Isaiah Wynn due to hit free agency, the Patriots have at least one starting-level need at tackle and might even need two as Trent Brown enters the final year of his deal. The consistency from the tackle spots was spotty at best in 2022 and it’s a critical position of long-term stability. If the team can have confidence in their edge protectors the whole offense should benefit.
3. Repeat weapons search: Jakobi Meyers and Nelson Agholor are free agents so the team will also have some turnover at receiver position, another spot where a key addition or two could help elevate the attack. Can Tyquan Thornton take another step forward and be a consistent threat? DeVante Parker had quite a few flashes late in the year and is a player to build around, as the team should be aggressive in the draft to continue stacking speedy talent.
4. Real cover corner: Injuries hammered the Patriots cornerback depth this season, by the end they were on fumes, but that only highlights the need to restock the position as Jonathan Jones heads for free agency. The team has lacked a true number-one corner since Stephon Gilmore’s departure and the effects against the top receivers in the league have been obvious. Finding another number-one corner, whether in free agency or with a first-round pick seems like one of the most critical additions to the defense that needs to happen in the spring of 2023.
5. New leadership: With the potential retirements of Matthew Slater and Devin McCourty, the team could have significant role to fill on the field on defense and special teams, as well as inside the locker room, where the duo has been critically important with their experience and leadership. Finding a new identity post Slater and McCourty figures to be a significant storyline this season as the team continues to find themselves further away from their last Super Bowl title. Free safety could be a sneaky big need, while the team already found a gem on special teams in Brenden Schooler.

Aside from the buzz that the start of every NFL season comes with, Massachusetts has been in the news for another reason – sports betting. 

While the fanbase of the Patriots spreads far beyond the state lines, it’s hard to deny that a significant portion of the New England support comes from MA, so what’s been going on with sports betting, and how does this impact the Patriots?

The State of Sports Betting in MA

It’s been a bit of a roller coaster ride for Massachusetts when we talk about sports betting, with months of back and forth seemingly getting no closer to a decision. But around 5am a deal to legalize sports betting in the state was agreed, and signed into law by Gov- Charlie Baker a few days later. 

And it’s been all hands on deck to get things ready for the start of the NFL season so residents would have the chance to wager on the Patriots without needing to cross into New York or Connecticut. While it will certainly be a few months before online sports betting is really up and running, numerous retail options could be live before the first game of the season. So get ready to find the best NFL betting promotions and get some skin in the game for what will certainly be a thrilling NFL season. 

How does sports betting impact the Patriots?

After their first day of Training Camp, the Patriots have extended DT Davon Godchaux to a two-year $20.8M deal, with $17.85M guaranteed.

This is a little surprising, now Godchaux did fine last year, and started 16 games of the season on defense, but I just wasn’t expecting an extension this early. My immediate thought is that this will create some cap space for the team, something which we should find out sometime later today/tomorrow from our friend over at @patscap on Twitter.

Godchaux gets rewarded well for playing both DT and DE last season, and clearly, he impressed the coaches enough to warrant a new deal with such a high guaranteed amount of money.

In case you missed any of the NFL action yesterday (perhaps you were watching the Patriots take on the Titans) but either way, Pats Propaganda has you covered. Here are the Sunday results for week 12!