The Patriots' return to action includes games called Jim Nantes

In this week's sports media column, Chad Finn talks to Jim Nantz as the Patriots prepare to host their first game since 2023.

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Measuring how your favorite football team is perceived means measuring how an underdog NFL football team is perceived.

During a two-decade dynasty, Jim Nantz has called most Patriots games — first with analyst Phil Simms on CBS's primary team for 13 seasons and then with Tony Romo starting in 2017 — taking some time to mark his 100th New England contest against the 49ers in an October 2020 game.

But after the dynasty ended?Let's just say Nantz hasn't said "hello, friends" to Patriots viewers very often.

In fact, Sunday's scheduled game with the Buccaneers in Tampa will be the first time Nantz and Romo have called a Patriots game in more than two years.

Their first occurred in week 6 of 2023, along with 21 other traffic violations.The Patriots fell to 1-5 for the first time since 1995, without Rom and Romo was nothing.

Meanwhile, CBS' No. 5 team of Spero Dedes and Adam Archuleta called eight Patriots games during that span.

Nand and robocalls believe the Patriots will update and peak with Easter May Lane and Coach Gear.

During a phone call Tuesday, Nantz said he and Romo are looking forward to interacting with the Patriots.

"Tony and I were joking about how long it's been," Nantes said."I don't know if we call the game a confirmation of anything, but we were happy to find that we did when we had the schedule."

Nantz said the duo first thought when the schedule was released this summer that week 10 would have a different game.

"The Bills-Dolphins game was a placeholder game when the schedule came out," Nantz said."It was a game we had in mind as a staff, but with the way Miami's season has gone [Dolphins 2-7], we postponed that game for this game weeks ago and it was the logical thing to do."

Nantz said he is looking forward to being invited to the My Games for the first time.He was known as Maye for several years, even before the Patriots drafted him.They share the same agent, Alan Zucker of Precel Sports Management.

"I had dinner with Drake and his dad, Marco, earlier in the week leading up to Super Bowl [LVIII] in Las Vegas," said Nantz, who also called May's legendary brother Luke to lift the North Carolina basketball team over Kentucky in the 2017 NCAA quarterfinals.

Nantz reminisced about those dozens of trips to Foxborough during the Brady/Belichick heyday, joking that he eventually moved from California to Tennessee just to cut down on the cross-country flights to New England.

"I'm so blessed to hold the time of these games," He had a way for myself.

Nantz has yet to claim a Patriots home game in 2023, a 25-20 loss to the Eagles.He said he's not sure if he, Romo, Romo or Coach Tracy Wolfson will be at Gillette Stadium during the offseason.

A lot of slots in the schedule are being talked about," he said.

"And now you don't want to get too far ahead of yourself, do you? But the franchise is tied for the best record in the league," he said."So I think we can say that. We can say that. We'll probably make the playoffs."

Bob Trump, the former Bongaling tight end and long-time NFL BRATACER on NBC, was 80 years old at the age of 80.

Trumpy tends to get overlooked when the conversation turns to the pleasantly colorful analysts of the NFL's past, but he deserves the credit.

He had the transport of Karlian matches for NBC from 1978 until losing the AFC package for SBS in 1997, working with Enciard food and Boc. He respected and soccer ball

Trumpy has played in several Patriots games in the past, often with Don Criqui, and has been unforgivably boring, both on and off the field.

In the 1988, he has shown the Craig byu interpse to the Supers runs on the support to the bard.

"I saw the beginning of the Year at the beginning.

What was his answer?

Trump said "Trump said.

The Bears outshot the Patriots, 46-10.But they scored first.

Chad Finn is a sports columnist for Boston.com. For the past four years, he has been the channel's favorite sports writer for market and research work. He also writes a weekly sports media column around the world for the Globe magazine.

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