PATS

Taps gently

• ___ down (frisks)

• ___ on the back: praises

• 2002 championship team

• 2002 Super Bowl champs, familiarly

• 2002 Super Bowl winners, in headlines

• Affectionate gestures

• Affectionate taps

• Authors Barker and Conroy

• Back strokes?

• Back supports?

• Back-hand compliments?

• Benatar and Boone

• Bit of butter

• Boone and Benatar

• Boone and Buchanan

• Boone and O'Brien

• Boone and Paulsen

• Bradley and McGowan

• Brady and Moss, e.g.

• Buchanan and Nixon

• Butter bits

• Butter dabs

• Butter measures

• Butter pieces

• Butter portions

• Butter servings

• Butter slices

• Butter squares

• Caresses

• Caresses gently

• Causes one not to draw cards (with [one] up)*

• Certain congratulations

• Comforting touches

• Congratulates

• Congratulates in a way

• Congratulations of a sort

• Congratulatory or consoling gestures

• Congratulatory strokes on the back

• Consoles, in a way

• Dabs

• Dog rewards

• Encourages

• Encourages, perhaps

• Encouraging signs?

• Encouraging touches

• Football team or some points they score, for short

• Forms of encouragement

• Foxboro bunch

• Foxboro pros, for short

• Frisks

• Frisks, with down

• Gentle touches

• Gently strokes

• Gillete Stadium players, familiarly

• Hingle and Boone

• Last year's Super Bowl champs

• Light slaps

• Light strokes

• Light touches

• Little touches

• Loving strokes

• Margarine slices

• Metheny and Boone

• N.E. eleven

• N.E. gridders, in headlines

• NE gridiron champs

• New England eleven, familiarly

• New England football team, for short

• New England footballers, for short

• New England NFLers

• New England team, for short

• New England team, to fans

• NFL scores

• NFL team, for short

• Nixon and Schroeder

• Oleo squares

• Portions of butter

• Praises for pups

• Praises, in a way

• Puppy pleasers

• Puts on a foundation

• Reassures, in a way

• Sajak and Benatar

• Sajak and Summerall

• Sen. Moynihan et al.

• Shows of approval

• Singers Benatar and Boone

• Soft touches

• Some congratulations

• Some encouragement

• Spread things?

• Squares at diner tables

• Squares in a breadbasket

• Squares on the table

• Strokes

• Strokes affectionately

• Super Bowl XXXIX champs, to their fans

• Super Bowl XXXVI champs, familiarly

• Super Bowl XXXVI champs, to fans

• TD trailers

• They may be directed toward the back

• They may be on the back

• They're welcome on the back

• Three-time grid champs of the 2000s

• Tom Brady and his bunch

• Touches affectionately

• Touches gently

• Touches lightly

• Touches with affection