I don’t think anyone is particularly surprised that the Patriots lost to the 49ers yesterday. The Niners were heavy favorites and are legitimate Super Bowl contenders this year. And the game could have been a lot worse for the Patriots overall. The only real surprise, for me at least, is that I’m sitting here this morning feeling a little disappointed. I watched the game yesterday, I went through the rest of my Sunday, I slept pretty well, I woke up this morning and I’m still not sure what to think of the Patriots in general.

Well, I know what I think. They stink, I guess. But do I have anything else to offer other than that?

• In terms of an actual game analysis, I don’t really have much to say. We know what this team is and what this team isn’t, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. So I guess I’ll make a few notes to point out the obvious, and then maybe take a step back and treat today’s Fan Notes as a forum for healthy discussion and debate about the other obvious lying thing that we all wonder.
• Let’s get to the good stuff first.
• If the Patriots send one player to the Pro Bowl this year, it will be Bryce Barringer. He walks away with Team MVP for the second year in a row.
• Joey Slye is also in the midst of a mini-career revival in New England, and I’m here for it. Being able to deploy it from 50+ is absolutely crucial if you’re on a team like New England, because the chances of them getting into chipshot FG range are pretty damn slim.
• If you want an example of how clearly numbers that appear on a spreadsheet don’t even remotely translate to reality, look no further than New England’s defense yesterday. When you look at the final score and the 148 rushing yards surrendered and only one sack was generated, it’s easy to think the 49ers just ran all the Patriots. But the fact that it was only 30-13 is nothing short of a miracle, and that is due to the defense.
• There was obviously the pick-six, which takes one score off the board. You also have one score coming from a perfectly thrown 53-yard bomb to Deebo Samuel, as an injury-plagued Patriots secondary was without a deep safety at the position. On the other touchdown, George Kittle somehow had to land with the ball in the middle of three Patriots defenders and twist his body in the air to get in bounds on the third attempt. Marcus Jones had incredible coverage on the 45-yard Jennings reception – that was just a great throw and catch. Peppers picked one off in the end zone to short-circuit a strong Niners drive and the defense simply kept him closer than it should have been overall.
• There are certainly some issues with the D, particularly the lead and a hopefully injury-dictated decision to have Jahlani Tavai in the back third of the pitch, but against one of the most potent offenses in the league Purdy and company almost deserved every meter they got.
• And once again, Christian Gonzalez just takes whoever he’s covering and makes him a complete non-factor. It seems like every time the Patriots play press man, good things happen, and when they switch to a soft zone, they give up the stretch play. I would take Gonzo against any receiver in this class and leave him on an island there.
• I truly believe there are some extremely talented receivers on this team. We’ve seen what Pop Douglas can do, and we can all see what Polk can and will be under different circumstances. I still think that sideline was a catch. But everything related to passing and catching the ball is more or less a wash this year.
• Okay, enough pats on the back. Down to the meat and potatoes of the sucker.
• This team’s only real offensive weapon is putting the ball on the floor at least once a week. I know how things like that can get into your head, but in recent years Mondre was on the bench until he got that sorted out.
• And honestly, Antonio Gibson has been a bright spot under the radar for this offense. He’s a good runner, a good outlet receiver and had the only big play of the game for the Patriots yesterday. If they decide to bench Stevenson for a while, I’m fine with Gibson taking the lead role.
• This team’s best offensive lineman left the game with a shoulder injury and did not return. But if I found out that David Andrews was faking it just to get a break, I wouldn’t blame him.
• I’d joke about how Nick Bosa and Demontrey Jacobs should never be within 30 feet of each other, but that’s pretty much what happened yesterday.
• The only fun and creative attacking play we’ve seen all season was called back due to a block at the back.
• It’s going to sound crazy, but when you look at the overall sucking power, it’s not like they play terribly. This isn’t a talented side that can’t put together a complete game or has a tendency to blow leads or can’t close it out. This is a young, inexperienced team with an extremely weak offensive line protecting a QB with a very limited ceiling. The receivers have potential, but it’s hard to make an impact when the quarterback is taking six sacks per game and getting pressure on nearly half of his dropbacks. The offending product we saw yesterday is exactly where it should be, and it’s hard to get that upset about it.
• I really don’t blame any player. Mondre’s clumsiness aside, it’s not like I look at any individual player on the team and think he can do more or play better than him. It’s just the top-down offensive problem that we all saw coming back in April, convinced ourselves it wasn’t that bad when they beat Cincy, and now we have to deal with the reality that it might be even worse than we imagined can imagine. But it’s not just one man’s fault.
• Pats fans in 2023: Ah, crap, Vedarian Lowe starts today!
• Pats fans in 2024: Ah, crap. Vedarian Lowe is out today!
• The question then is: what do we do from here? We all know what we’re going to ask this week, and pretty much every week going forward: When is it time to retire Brissett and start Drake Maye?
• I said that week 5 makes a lot of sense. The Dolphins are a mess without Tua, and October starts off a nice little home stretch and a relatively soft part of the schedule.
• But based on what we’ve seen so far, is starting Maye the right choice?
• On the one hand, this whole Brissett-run offense seems pretty pointless. It goes nowhere and does nothing. Any growth or experience the young guys gain should be minimal at best, unless “running half a route before your quarterback gets sacked and you have to return to the huddle” counts as meaningful play replays and some extra cardio.
• Through four games, Brissett has completed 61 passes for 536 yards with two TDs and a pick. In case you were blocking the game, Tommy B threw for 505 in Super Bowl LII alone. He’s on the bench in almost every other circumstance, and as long as he’s out there, the entire team is just treading water. So what do we have to lose?
• To answer that question, let’s act out an imaginary scenario.
• “Happy 16th birthday, son! And congratulations on getting your driver’s license. I know you’re eager to start your cross-country road trip, so I bought you a car. There are no brakes, the right turn signal doesn’t work, you have to fasten the seat belt by tying it in a knot, someone etched a picture of a butt on the rear window and you can’t see back, the rear view mirror is just a piece aluminum foil, and I recommend stopping about every 350 yards to re-inflate the front tires with the hand pump in the trunk. Just be sure not to slam the trunk when you’re done or the transmission will cut out. Close it very carefully and secure it with the latch I duct taped in place last night. Call me when you get to LA!
• Would the birthday boy gain invaluable life and real-world driving experience by driving that junk car on the highway? Absolute. Would he make the journey in one piece? Maybe, if everything goes just right. Would you feel completely fine if that was your child driving out of your driveway into a cloud of black exhaust? Hell no.
• This means that the only reason Maye is not starting at the moment is for safety reasons. The team decided to throw Jacoby in there so he can get ripped every week while protecting their future. And it’s impossible that Brissett can’t understand that to some extent. It must be hard knowing that the only reason you have your job is so you can take a beating.
• Furthermore, if Andrews is out for an extended period of time, the offensive line couldn’t possibly have gotten much worse. Whatever center is there — we’re four weeks into the season and I can’t name the Patriots linemen — isn’t the center Maye needs to bond with. So I think I’m now in the camp of benching Maye, at least until Andrews comes back.
• But if they decide to start Maye sooner rather than later, I’m all in. All signs point to Jacoby being the man until he is inevitably injured and Maye is forced into service. But until he takes the majority of the starting snaps in practice, this is and will remain Brissett’s team. The coaches have already more or less said that.
• Are there really Patriots fans who say Mayo should go? That’s not possible, right?
• On a more macro level, the league really needs to do something about the referees. Not only are there an absurd number of flags flying on every play, but the calls are often just plain wrong. It gets worse every season and in 2024 matches will become completely unclear. Maybe one of the reasons offensive production is down this year is because offenses never have time to get into a rhythm, while every other play gets called back for nonsense. It has to stop.
• I imagine this falls under overall player safety, but I don’t see how having teams run even more plays due to phantom holds or face masks against the wrong team makes it somehow safer.
• Speaking of player safety, I would have liked to have been at the meeting with whoever decided that the new kickoff rules would bring the excitement back into the game. I bet they all left that meeting thinking they had it all figured out.
• And to their credit, it seemed to work during the preseason, during those few games where no one cared and was just trying things out. But all we have now are touchbacks and a bunch of special teamers sprinting to the end zone for no apparent reason.
• The new rules also mean an offense only needs 35 to 40 yards to get into the field goal ranger coming off that inevitable touchback. It makes the fourth quarter comebacks a little less impressive.
• Watching Jabril Peppers celebrate his pick in the end zone with what looked like an overfull diaper on his helmet was the only real enjoyment I got from yesterday’s game.

What will October bring for this team? Your guess is as good as mine. But I’m here for it, whatever it is.