Like Brendan Behan fresh out of borstal and on his way to Dublin, we\u2019re back.<\/p>\n
After one of the most active and anticipatory offseasons in recent memory, the New England Patriots took the field for the first time last night for a completely meaningless game against the Washington Commanders and completely mopped the floor with them. The score doesn\u2019t matter at all, but I\u2019d be lying if I said I didn\u2019t have way more fun than any man watching a preseason game on a beautiful Friday night instead of doing something productive should.<\/p>\n
Time to dust off my Fan Notes hat and get back to work. I\u2019m going to keep these very surface-level and brief, because it\u2019s Saturday morning and you all have better things to do than read my crappy writing. But we\u2019re already off to a good start, and the excitement is building.<\/p>\n
1. There\u2019s a lot of uncertainty around the preseason. Guys you\u2019ll only see a few more times before they\u2019re gone forever. Three different players all wearing the number 22 on the field at the same time. Vanilla playcalling and a more relaxed atmosphere. I\u2019d actually go so far as to say that there\u2019s only one genuine, ironclad rule of the preseason, and that rule is:<\/p>\n
2. If your team looks good in August, it\u2019s a surefire lock that it\u2019s going to translate into the regular season when the games start to matter. If your team looks bad in August, there\u2019s absolutely nothing to worry about, it\u2019s only preseason.<\/p>\n
3. And since that rule is set in stone and undeniable, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s speaking out of turn to say that we should all start thinking about our travel and accommodations in Santa Clara this coming February.<\/p>\n
4. If there\u2019s a better way to kick off a season than kicking off a season with a kickoff that an unseasoned rookie takes back to the house, I don\u2019t know what it is. The second-round pick that nobody saw coming quickly became a player that nobody could stop, as he apparently broke 20 mph on that return. He added another 18-yard run on the day and was solid in all aspects of the game.<\/p>\n
5. As was the only man chosen by the Patriots before him this past draft, Will Campbell. He got some excellent on-the-job training when he failed to pass off what looked like a stunt and surrendered a strip sack, and graded very well in a run game that saw the Patriots pick up 153 yards on the ground.<\/p>\n
6. There\u2019s not a whole lot to say about the passing game, which is wild seeing as how the score was 48-18. Drake Maye was efficient and safe in limited action, and Josh Dobbs didn\u2019t do much beyond an impressive scramble on 4th and goal to make it 27-3. If you were looking for some early sign that Maye has made massive strides coming into his sophomore season, you for sure didn\u2019t get that last night. So I think I\u2019ll just close my eyes and put my fingers in my ears and not say anything more about that as we gear up for the next game.<\/p>\n
7. The one thing about the phrase \u201cthere\u2019s not a whole lot to say\u201d is that implies that there is, in fact, something to say, and that something is that everyone\u2019s offseason darling Efton Chism had himself a nice little day. Granted, it was almost all late in the game when a whole new crop of insurance salesmen are putting their names out into the world, but when you\u2019re one of 11 receivers in a room, you capitalize on every rep you can get.<\/p>\n
8. Credit where credit is due, and that credit is due to me. I had D.J. James as little more than a camp body, and expressed it several times on the Patriots First and Goal Podcast. So good for me ensuring that James has a solid camp and is now right in the thick of making the final cut.<\/p>\n
9. I want to keep these notes mostly positive, so I won\u2019t mention Anfernee Jennings Brandon Merriweathering his way into the fourth quarter of this game. But that\u2019s something to monitor for sure.<\/p>\n
10. As is what might now be the most intriguing camp battle of 2025: the kicker competition. Borregales still has the inside track, I think, but Parker Romo crushing a 57-yarder in the 2nd quarter put some stank into that particular parade.<\/p>\n
11. And finally, I\u2019d be remiss if I didn\u2019t close out the first Fan Notes of 2025 by expressing my condolences to the Statue of Liberty, Christ the Redeemer, Leshan the Giant Buddha, and The Veiled Virgin as they all find themselves further down on the hierarchy of man\u2019s greatest achievements this morning. Now and forever, the greatest quarterback of all time will be immortalized at One Patriot Place with the best looking statue<\/a> you\u2019ll ever see. If anybody happens to have the business website or LinkedIn profile for Pygmalion of Cyprus, I\u2019d appreciate you making the connection.<\/p>\n