Patriots
The journeyman quarterback and longtime Patriots center have no reluctance to share their thoughts on ‘The Quick Snap,’ which now airs on NBC Sports Boston.
It would be understandable if Brian Hoyer still evaluated the NFL from the viewpoint of an active player. Hoyer, who spent 15 seasons — including three stints and eight years total with the Patriots — as a journeyman quarterback, last played for the Raiders in 2023.
David Andrews’s career is even closer in the rear-view mirror. His 10 years with the Patriots ended in March, when he was released, and he retired in June.
But the co-hosts of “The Quick Snap” podcast — produced by Shadow Lion, which just began its second season and also now airs on NBC Sports Boston at 6 p.m. Wednesdays — have no recency bias or reluctance to say what they think, which can happen with former players transitioning into the sports media.
Behind the curtain for a long time, both have a well-considered sense of what Patriots fans want.
“The one thing I’ve learned very quickly in doing this is that fans can’t get enough of stories about what happened behind the scenes, or these little anecdotes that we remember from being there,” said Hoyer, who also will be part of NBC Sports Boston’s Patriots studio programming. “Bill [Belichick] is not here anymore and we can’t get in trouble, so we might as well share those stories.”
It is mentioned to Hoyer that the number of former Patriots working in the media is well into double digits, including some of the highest-profile gigs — Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, and Julian Edelman at Fox Sports; Tedy Bruschi and Randy Moss on ESPN’s NFL programming; and Devin McCourty on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football.”
“A lot of those guys were tight-lipped when they were here, but they were all really well educated on how to navigate the media,” said Hoyer, “and now all of a sudden you’re free from those restraints.”
Andrews said he enjoys sharing anecdotes and looking back; he is a terrific storyteller. He also hopes Patriots fans learn something by listening to the ex-center and former quarterback explain what they’re seeing during a game.
“When you’re successful, people want to look behind the curtain on what made these teams great,” he said. “It’s not just the storytelling, which is important, but the specifics on something like how we had success against the 2018 Chiefs when everyone doubted us, or how we came back from 28-3 against the Falcons [in Super Bowl LI].
“Me and Brian have a lot of the same core principles that we believe makes football good or players good or whatever it may be, but we also see the game differently as a quarterback and a center. There’s a lot that goes into quarterback play that I don’t even know that Brian knows or that Tom has talked about over the years, and then there’s a lot that goes into line play.
“A lot of times someone online will be like, ‘Oh, that guy missed the block,’ and I’m like, ‘Are you sure? Do you know the call? Did the quarterback set the protection right? Was it the running back’s assignment?’ Some of that stuff is still unknown because you’re not in that huddle, but from our experience and deductive reasoning, we can have a good idea about some of that stuff and provide some insight of why that play was good or bad.”
When the podcast launched before the 2024 season, the hook was it featured an ex-player and an active player. A shoulder injury then ended Andrews’s season after just four games.
“David got hurt and we started to do it a little more virtually,” said Hoyer. “And a lot of people didn’t know about it because it kind of came out of nowhere. Everyone that told us they listened to it loved it, so it made more sense to continue to do it with David retired. And now having it at NBC Sports Boston will really help.”
Said Andrews: “Last year was a weird spot for me because I was still playing, you know, and I had responsibilities and I had bosses I had to answer to in some aspects. You can’t be a football player and then come out there and say everything you want to say. That’s just the truth. And then I got hurt, where it was this weird kind of limbo for me. Now I can focus more of my time on doing this the way we want to.”
The NFL, not new partner ESPN, made the call to add double-box advertisements to NFL RedZone. As always, when something with the NFL changes for the worse, it’s safe to assume Roger Goodell was at the forefront of the decision. (The same is doubly true for Rob Manfred and MLB.) At least host Scott Hanson might be allowed a bathroom break now . . . Hard to believe this is the 16th season for NBC Sports Boston’s “Quick Slants,” which remains informative, quirky, and fun due to host-from-the-start Tom E. Curran. Kayla Burton has been a welcome addition, too . . . Brady begins season two as Fox’s top color analyst when he joins Kevin Burkhardt on the call for Commanders-Giants on Sunday. What’s the over-under on how many times the Raiders minority owner (and walking conflict of interest) checks in on the Raiders-Patriots game being played at the same time?
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