We’ve still got Julian Edelman, Stephon Gilmore, Dont'a Hightower, Sony Michel, Devin McCourty, James White, Rex Burkhead, David Andrews, Chase Winovich and other veterans, including newcomer Cam Newton, but when the New England Patriots take on the Miami Dolphins on Sunday at 1 p.m., the mainstay for the past 20 years, No. 12, will be warming up in New Orleans to face the Saints. Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – just doesn’t sound right! Time marches on and we New England Patriots fans have been spoiled for the past two decades. We have a tested quarterback now in Newton but it seems we are far from being Super Bowl favorites – a preseason assumption for many years. So, let’s all sit back and relax on Sunday and see if coach Bill Belichick can begin a new successful era without his star quarterback – and deal with it if he doesn’t because Brady isn’t coming back and a quarterback like him will likely not be seen in a long while.

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Hope you are all enjoying this September weather. Not too hot, not too cold. One of the best months to be outside!

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Speaking of weather … The Old Farmer’s Almanac (founded in 1792) is predicting a light winter (2020-2021) for most of the United States, with warmer than normal temperatures expected for a large part of the country. According to patch.com, “Each year, the authors of the Almanac go back to see just how accurate their predictions were for the previous year. When it comes to the 2019-20 winter season, they found that they were 80.5 percent accurate, which is just above their typical 80 percent.”

We hope Mother Nature takes it easy on us after what we’ve been through – the pandemic – for going on six months.

Stay safe, everyone!