Courtesy of the New England Patriots

1.Henderson with a bang: Rookie running back Tre’veyon Henderson opened the game with a 100 yard kickoff return and sent Patriots fans into a frenzy to open the game. It was an impressive start to Henderson’s career and it created a buzz at Gillette Stadium that we have not seen in a while. The speed and big play ability we saw at Ohio State was on full display.

2. Maye O.K through two series: Drake Maye was O.K in his two series of action. He rushed for 16 yards including a five yard touchdown run. He completed 3-of-5 passes for 12 yards. It was the first preseason game of the season. I would not put much stock into it but it was good to see Maye run when the opportunity presented itself. Patriots Coach Mike Vrabel did call Maye’s fumble to end the first possession a “poor decision by our quarterback.” to WBZ’s Steve Burton.

3. Campbell watch: Rookie left tackle Will Campbell held his own in his first career start. He struggled to release on a screen and he got caught flat footed a couple of times, especially on Commanders T-E stunt but overall he was good fundamentally on his other pass blocking snaps and did a nice job of relying on his lower half to cut the edge off and force speed rushers back inside.

4. Basic stuff on O: Josh McDaniels did not show much offensively in his return to New England. We did see a couple of staples in the run game like crack toss and draw but overall McDaniels kept simple especially in the passing game. We will see more next week as McDaniels will open things up and give us more of a look into what the Patriots will be doing offensively.

5. Defense keeps it simple: The defense did not show much but one thing we did see, plenty of 40 fronts and tilt alignments. The Patriots defense will no longer be predicated on controlling gaps, but taking them. Based on what we saw tonight, the Patriots defense will attack and get up field.

6. Chism impresses in the second half: The rookie undrafted free agent out of Eastern Washington had an impressive second half. He scored on a 12 yard touchdown catch and also picked up 20 yards on a wide receiver screen. He carried over his performance from the spring and training camp thus far. Chism finished with 6 catches for 50 yards and a touchdown. He is making a case to make at least the practice squad.

7. Patriots do Brady statue ceremony right: Kudos to Robert Kraft and the Patriots for a job well done on the Tom Brady statue unveiling ceremony. Patriots Plaza was jammed packed with Patriots fans chanting Brady….Brady!!! The Patriots commissioned Jeff Buccacio, a Natick native and lifelong Patriots fan, to design the sculpture. His team spent more than 20,000 hours working on it, according to a release from the team. The end result a statue that represented Brady and his connection to the team well.