the Patriots defense care that Drake Maye is now the starting quarterback? Sure, but maybe not as much as we all think. The news came down on Tuesday afternoon, which is when many players found out through social media or group texts. Drake Maye and Jacoby Brissett knew Monday night when Jerod Mayo called them. Mayo held a team meeting on Wednesday morning to officially announce it to the 53-man…

If you wanted to see Drake Maye sooner rather than later this season, you’re getting your wish. Ian Rapoport had a tweet around 4:00 on Tuesday, reporting that the Patriots have decided to start Maye for the first time against Houston on Sunday afternoon. There’s no going back now. This is Maye’s team for the rest of the season. “The future is now in New England: Sources say the #Patriots…

Early on Monday morning, the Braintree Police Department announced Jabrill Peppers’ arrest Monday, saying they responded to an issue at a home early Saturday morning when they had been notified there was an altercation between two people. According to the police, Peppers will be charged with “assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, strangulation, and possession of a Class B substance believed to be cocaine.” He was…

Getty Images FOXBOROUGH – It’s hard to imagine things getting much uglier than the Patriots’ 15-10 loss at home to Miami on Sunday, but this might only be the start of what’s looking like a historically bad season. Sure, it’s only the first weekend of October and the Patriots can absolutely turn things around enough to finish with a respectable record, but, it certainly doesn’t look like it’s happening anytime…

Image courtesy of Getty Images FOXBOROUGH – The Patriots are no longer a team that can beat itself and still win games. On Sunday in another ugly display of football, they did and Miami squeaked out a 15-10 game that fans of football in the 40’s and 50’s would have loved. The Pats committed 12 penalties for 105 yards while Jacoby Brissett had just 160 yards on an 18-34 clip….

Image courtesy of @DartmouthFTBL (Twitter) Trailing by four at halftime on a day that the program renamed its stadium after Buddy Teevens, Dartmouth put forth a second half effort that would have made the late coach proud. The Big Green held the Quakers without a point over the final 30 minutes and pulled out a 20-17 comeback win. Dartmouth is now 3-0 overall and 1-0 in league play with a…

By Sophia Sargent NEFJ Correspondent FOXBOROUGH – When it comes to the New England Patriots, the buzz in the press is all about Drake Maye. As the team and Jacoby Brissett continue to disappoint fans, everyone wonders why the Maye era can’t start sooner rather than later. Let’s backtrack, and think about some of the qualities that made the Patriots so amazing before Jerod Mayo’s leadership. Players like Rob Gronkowski…

Images courtesy of JimPlunkett.com & Sports Illustrated  By Alan Segel NEFJ Contributor FOXBOROUGH – With apologies to Mr. Word himself, William Shakespeare, the question is not “to be or not to be?” the question is “Drake or not to Drake?” That’s the prime question on the lips of many Patriot fans these days. Drake Maye of course is the third overall choice in last year’s draft and is the future…

Image courtesy of AP Photos On the bright side, the Patriots showed more fight and a higher compete level against the 49ers on Sunday than they did against the Jets. The bad news is that the ugly 30-13 loss only magnified just how poor this roster is compared to most others in the NFL. To make matters even worse, David Andrews, Caedan Wallace and Kyle Dugger were all injured and…

Coach Hightower is still weird to say for those of us who were out at parties in February of 2017 as fans watching him help lead the Pats to the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history. But, Hightower has loved his new role since becoming Jerod Mayo’s linebackers coach this spring. His game days look much different now, but he’s finding ways to live through his players after waking up…