It reminded Bill Belichick of practice and Julian Edelman of the College of San Mateo. Anyone who was at the old Sullivan Stadium Rod Rust era games probably could have seen resemblance too.
It did not however feel like a home Patriots game.
For 281 games - that’s all the games since Gillette Stadium has been open and then some - dating back to 1994 there hasn’t been an unsold ticket. And there weren’t any Sunday either. Like every team in the NFL except the Jacksonville Jaguars and Kansas City Chiefs, the Patriots aren’t hosting fans for at least September games and perhaps beyond.