Author: Dave Long

The Big Story – 2025 Ends for Sox: It ended in the worst place of all, at Yankee Stadium, where the Sox went out 1-2 in their Wild Card Series with the Yankees.

After the Sox won a surprising 89 games and went to the playoffs for the first time in three years, some in the fellowship of the miserable spent Friday looking under rocks to find the 2025 negatives. And the Boston Globe’s Prince of Darkness reverted to his classic 1990s “the sky is always falling” form by being bizarrely fixated on the Raffy Devers trade to say that’s why they lost to the Yanks. Except they weren’t headed to the playoffs with him.

Actually it was an entertaining year and a sign of things to come after the Devers nonsense ended when he got dumped to SF — who, oh by the way, tanked when he got there. The missing piece in the WCS was really losing the catalyst for their turnaround, Roman Anthony.

Sports 101: Name the two players whose NFL records for most receptions and receiving yards in a season are under threat this year.

News Item – Patriots Beat Buffalo 23-20:Key stat – Pats had 3-1 advantage in TO’s. Improvement by Andy Borregales: The guy everyone wanted to send packing after Game 1 gaffes won the game with a FG with 20 seconds left. Backslide: The offensive line was shaky as they rushed for just 71 yards and Maye was pressured all night. Game ball: Stefon Diggs (10 catches for 145 yards) was excellent, but it goes to the emerging Drake Maye (22-30 with no TO’s) for a mistake-free game, fighting off constant pass rush pressure and leading the game-winning drive with two minutes left.

News Item – 2025 Alumni News: Catching up with recent ex- Red Sox players who could have helped the cause in 2025.

Kyle Schwarber: NL MVP candidate thanks to hitting 56 homers and knocking in MLB-leading 132 RBI.

Nathan Eovaldi: FA passed on. 11-3 with a 1.73 ERA for mediocre Texas.

Nick Pivetta: Free agent. Was 13-5 for SD; ERA 2.87 over 181.2 innings. Seems like they could have used him in Game 3.

Quinn Priester: Dumped in spring trade to Milwaukee, which they now regret. Stats: 13-3, 3.32 ERA and 157.1 innings in 24 starts.

The Numbers:

6.5 – million dollars raised for The Willie Mays Foundation through an auction of memorabilia from his awesome career.

3:04, 2:50, 2:30 – times of the three WC games between the Yanks and the Sox.

119 – homers by Seattle bashers Cal Raleigh (60) and Eugenio Suarez (47), which kinda sorta is the second highest by teammates in history to Mickey Mantle (54) and Roger Maris (61) in 1961. Kinda sorta because Suarez actually only hit 13 for Seattle after being traded there in July.

… Of the Week

Thumbs Up – Impossible Feat of the Week: Helped by two Paul Goldschmidt base running blunders, Aroldis Chapman escaped a bottom of the ninth, no out, bases loaded jam without allowing any Yankee to score while saving Boston’s 3-1 WCS Game 1 win.

Who’s Hot – Puka Nacua: His 52 catches for 588 yards after five games puts him on pace for 170 catches for an even 2,000 yards, which would be all-time NFL records.

In Case You Missed It:

Ryan Day: His Ohio State Buckeyes stayed atop the college football rankings after stomping Minnesota 42-3. The defending national champs are 5-0 as they head to Indiana Saturday.

Mac Jones: He threw for a career high 342 yards, two TD’s and no picks while going 33-49 as his 49ers beat the Rams 25-23. He’s now 3-0 filling in for Brock Purdy with six TD passes, one pick and a 99.2 QB rating in Kyle Shanahan’s system. Makes you wonder what would have happened if (a real OC) Josh McDaniels had coached him for all three NE years.

UNC Update: Coach B got clocked again. This time 38-10 at Clemson when they allowed a most ever by a Bill Belichick team 28 first-quarter points. UNC dropped to 2-3 with the losses being by 34, 28 and 25.

Random Thought: Those NY-Boston game lengths are a long way from the five-hour marathons from the Tito–Torre era. Guess the 15-second clock is working.

Sports 101 Answer: The record for most receptions and receiving yards are 149 receptions by the Saints’ Mike Thomas (2019) and 1,964 yards by Detroit’s Calvin Johnson (2012).

Final Thought – Who Brought 2025 Red Sox to Fenway:

Dave Dombrowski: Drafted– Brayan Bello, Ceddanne Rafaela and Jarren Duran.

Chaim Bloom: Trade – Wilyer Abreu. FA – Trevor Story. Drafted– Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Kristian Campbell and Kyle Teel, who was used in the Crochet trade.

Craig Breslow: Trade– Garrett Crochet and Carlos Narvaez. FA – Chapman and Alex Bregman.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

The Big Story – Baseball Playoffs Begin: There was a lot to choose from, between the Europeans holding off a furious USA final day rally to win the Ryder Cup 15-13 at Long Island’s famed Bethpage Black; the Red Sox clinching their playoff spot in 1967 Yaz-like fashion via Ceddanne Rafaela’s clutch walk-off triple on Friday; and the first Patriots trouncing of an opponent since the Brady administration left town in a 42-13 thumping of hapless Carolina.

But the Big Story goes to baseball’s playoffs starting Tuesday when the Sox face the Yanks at the Stadium. The other series are Cleveland-Detroit, L.A. (Dodgers)-Cincy and Cubs-Padres.

Sports 101: Name the five winningest pitchers in postseason history.

News Item – Patriots Observations: (1) Player of the game is Marcus Jones for sparking the team with an 87-yard punt return for their first TD and a 61-yarder that put them inside their 20 to set up their third score. (2) Drake Maye’s 14 for 17 for 203 yards, two TD passes, no turnovers and a 155.6 QB rating day shows he is maturing in front of our eyes. (3) FA newcomer Milton Williams is earning his big paycheck. (4) Still too many penalties — 7 for 54 yards during the first half. (5) I like that Mike Vrabel didn’t bury Rhamondre Stevenson as Coach B would have after Week 3’s fumble-itis game, ’cause they need him.

News Item – Clayton Kershaw to Retire: He takes three impressive feats into retirement. He passed Yankees great Whitey Ford (.690) to finish with the highest winning percentage (.699) of anyone with at least 200 wins (222-96) His 2.54 career ERA is the lowest since the dead ball era ended in 1920. And his 18 years with the Dodgers ties him with Zack Wheat and Bill Russell for the most seasons in franchise history.

News Item – Cal Raleigh’s Sensational Year: His 60 homers and 125 RBI (.247 BA) as Seattle came out of nowhere to win the AL West is arguably the best season of any catcher in history.

The contenders: (1)1970, Johnny Bench, .283-45-148. (2) 1953, Roy Campanella, .312-42-141. (3) 1950, Yogi Berra,.322-28-124.

The Numbers:

4 – times Aaron Judge has hit 50+ homers ìn a season to match Babe Ruth as the only other to do it outside of the steroid era.

6 – catches for 101 yards in Stefon Diggs’ first “that’s more like it” game for the Pats in Sunday’s win.

30 – number of doubles, homers and stolen bases by the Cubs’ Pete Crow–Armstrong to become just the sixth person ever to do that.

… Of the Week Awards

Thumbs Up – Garrett Crochet: The Sox paid a big price for him to be THE MAN. And in going 18-6 with an ERA of 2.59 along with 255 strikeouts and just 46 walks he was. Most notably by pitching eight shutout innings in the year’s biggest game to get Tuesday’s 7-1 win in Toronto.

Thumbs Down – NY Fans: Their behavior toward the Europeans at the Ryder Cup was appalling. Booooo!!!

Fiscal Sanity Award: To Milwaukee, who had baseball’sbest record at 97-55 despite spending a meager $120 million on payroll compared to the 93-59 Dodgers, who’ve racked up a billion dollars in deferred player payments, or the $323 million Mets, who didn’t even make the playoff, showing it’s not how much you spend, but how you spend it.

Random Thoughts: Hey Robert Saleh, what does “legally” stealing signs mean as you claimed before Sunday’s SF-Jacksonville game? Doesn’t legal mean it’s OK to do? That led to a near brawl between the 49ers DC and Jax head coach Liam Coen, who, oh by the way, beat out Saleh for Jax’s HC job last spring.

Sports 101 Answer: With 19, Andy Pettitte has the most postseason wins, followed by Justin Verlander (17), John Smoltz (15), Tom Glavine (14) and Kershaw (13).

Final Thought – The Raffy Devers Trade: With the year ending, here’s the early evaluation of the highly controversial trade.

Records: On day of trade SF was 41-31 and Boston was 37-36. After that, SF went 40-50 and Boston 51-37.

Stats: Devers with SF: G 89, BA .239, HR 19, RBI 50, K 119. Overall: G 163, BA .252, HR 34, RBI 108, K 191.

Red Sox Got Back: Just one win from the four guys they got. But it was a big one for the WC race by Kyle Harrison.

Future: From the money saved by trading Devers they’ll have $250 million to invest this winter for a No. 2 starter.

Who Won the Deal: 2025: Based on their record, getting rid of Dever’s distractions to make room for Roman Anthony worked out fine for Boston. Given what he hit, it’s hard to pin (or ignore) SF’s slide on just Raffy, but it happened.

Future: Can’t be fully judged until we see what they do with that saved $250 million.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

The Big Story – The Final Weekend: Since we’re filing this on Monday it’s hard to predict where the Red Sox will be as the final weekend begins. But they’re facing a tough week, starting with three at first-place Toronto and then their final three games at Fenway vs. Detroit. Who, thanks to Cleveland getting red hot, could now be fighting for the same WC slot. The good news is Garrett Crochet goes tonight (Thursday) in Toronto. Which means, if looking ahead like you’re not supposed to do, he’ll be the starter of the Wild Card game if they make it into the tournament.

On the precarious side, they’ll then be depending on rookie starters Kyle Harrison (who gave up just one run in six innings vs. TB in his Red Sox debut Friday) and Connelly Early on Friday and Saturday. Lucas Giolito will pitch Game 162.

Nothing like the final week of a baseball season when you’re still in the race. So enjoy the final weekend while thinking 1967.

Sports 101 – Which NFL team has gone the longest without winning a playoff game?

News Item – Pats Fumble Away Win vs. Pitt: (1) Not that it takes a degree from MIT, but it’s nearly impossible to win when you have five turnovers as they did Sunday. (2) After two more fumbles, including one as he was going in for the tying score, on top of seven last year, when do you think Rhamondre Stevenson will next see any action? (3) With Antonio Gibson also benched for fumbling, who’s going to be the RB if TreVeyon Henderson fumbles next week? (4) Except for two exceptionally thrown TD passes, 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers looked like he was on the 17th hole throwing for 139 yards. (5) Where is Efton Chism III?

News Item – The Career Legacy – Going Down:So far the college career ain’t going as Bill Belichick had hoped. After another pasting, this time 34-9 to the University of Central Florida, Coach B has dropped to 2-2 while being outscored 91-84. And seeing the 20-something girlfriend wearing knee-high go-go boots on the sideline didn’t do much for the image either.

News Item – NFL First: Vikings DB Isaiah Rogers did something no one else had ever done in their 44-13 thumping of the Saints on Sunday. He became the first to ever return an interception and a fumble recovery for TD’s in a first half. And then for good measure he recovered two more fumbles later in the game.

The Numbers:

400 – career home runs for Angels outfielder Mike Trout after blasting one Sunday.

509 – career TD passes for Aaron Rodgers after hitting DK Metcalf Sunday to move into fourth place on the all-time TD passes list.

4,012,430 – 2025 attendance for the Dodgers, making them the 10th MLB team to draw 4 million. The per game average was 49,537.

… Of the Week Awards

Thumbs Down – NFL and Tom Brady: Sorry, but being a part owner of the Oakland, er, Las Vegas Raiders while doing all that’s needed to be Fox’s lead broadcaster is an obvious conflict of interest.

Stupid Coaching Move That Worked – Mike Vrabel: Going for (and making it) on fourth and 1 from his 15. The last guy to do that deep in their own territory early in a game was Barry Switzer when coaching Dallas vs. the G-Men in the ’90s. The headline in the NY Post the next day was “Bozo The Coach.”

Random Thoughts:

Besides Aroldis Chapman and to some degree Garrett Whitlock, the Red Sox bullpen has been an unreliable joke. Alex Cora never knows what he’ll get game to game from anyone ranging from pitching well to total arson. How can someone manage like that?

How in the name of Hoyt Wilhelm does Sox reliever Justin Wilson get a positive stat when he pitches just two thirds of an inning and gives up two runs to BLOW a one-run lead? But somehow he got a “HOLD” — even though he didn’t do it.

Earth to baseball: HE BLEW the lead in, oh by the way, a very important game and he still gets a positive stat. Just NUTS.

Sports 101 Answer: The Dolphins haven’t won a playoff game since Dec. 30, 2000, when Dave Wannstedt was the HC.

Final Thought – Red Sox Pennant Race Thoughts: Raise your hand if at the beginning of the year you had Nick Sogard knocking in Nate Eaton with the winning run in extra innings in a crucial pennant chase win as they did in the Sox’ 5-4 win in 10 vs. Oakland on Wednesday.

Ditto that they’d have to rely on two rookie starters, Harrison and Early, in the year’s crucial final weekend series.

Or that, with all due respect to Crochet and Chapman, a guy brought up from AAA in early June would be their MVP?

Don’t agree? They were 32-35 when Roman Anthony arrived, then went 46-27 until he got hurt. Since then they’re 7-10.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

The Big Story – AL Playoff Chase: The Red Sox left Yankee Stadium on Aug. 24 1.5 games behind NY for the top wild card spot. They went on a 16-game slate against three last-place teams and two sub-.500 teams where they went a good but should have been better 10-6. It was a missed opportunity, as the Yanks held pace against a tougher schedule, where after winning two of three vs. Boston last weekend NY kept same 1.5-game lead over their rivals. When you read this on Thursday, the Red Sox have 10 games left, the Yanks 11. So the sprint to get into the playoffs is on. Enjoy.

Sports 101: Who is the only NFL player to win the MVP in his rookie season?

Observations from Pats’ 33-27 Win Over Miami: (1) Been watching football since around when Calvin Coolidge was president and I’d never seen a punt and kickoff returned on consecutive plays until Malik Washington and Antonio Gibson did it Sunday in Miami. (2) With Milt Williams basically ending Sunday’s game with a sack of Tua Tagovailoa, it was the first dividend on his monster free agent contract. (3) Loved the OL’s surge when it overpowered Miami’s D-Line on the two-point conversion they badly needed after two missed extra points. (4) I like when Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson are in the same backfield because it gives them more options.

News Item – Drake Maye: While the stats — 19-23, 230 yards with two TD passes while running for a third TD — weren’t gaudy, it was arguably Maye’s best game as a Patriot, because he had no TO’s, led a crucial fourth-quarter TD drive to take the lead back and was cool throughout in a place that was often a chamber of horrors for Tom Brady.

News Item – Quinn Priester: It appears the former Pittsburgh pitcher they dumped to Milwaukee for lunch money in spring training was a keeper. He’s now 13-2 with a 3.25 ERA and the first-place Brewers won 15 straight games he’d started before losing to Texas last week.

News Item – Connelly Early’s Debut: The Sox’ seventh-ranked prospect pitched five shutout innings vs. Oakland in a 6-0 win on Tuesday, when he allowed five hits and a walk and had a whopping 11 strikeouts. The k’s tied Don Aase’s rookie debut record set in 1977.

And likely it wasn’t luck, as Early’s 2025 minor league record was 10-3 with 132 strikeouts in 100 innings with ERAs of 2.83 and 2.53 in AAA and AA respectively.

The Numbers:

28 – stolen bases in 28 attempts by Trevor Story to become the fifth player to start a season with that many steals without being thrown out.

279 – passing yards with three TDs and no picks by Mac Jones while filling in for starter Brock Purdy as SF downed NO 26-21.

362 – career homers for Aaron Judge after hitting one Friday against the Red Sox to move him by Joe DiMaggio into fourth place on the Yankee’s all-time homer list behind Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Lou Gehrig.

… Of the Week Awards

Thumbs Up – Red Sox: For having the foresight to keep Aroldis Chapman away from free agency after his spectacular season. He agreed to a one-year deal worth $13.5 for 2026 with a vesting option to keep him in 2027 if he meets a certain level. Exactly the kind of deal you want for a 37-year-old closer.

Record of the Week – Cal Raleigh: Seattle’s catcher set one record and tied another. His 54th homer on Sunday tied Mickey Mantle’s record for most in a season by a switch hitter. It was also his 43rd homer hit while catching, which passed Javy Lopez’s all-time record of 42. And with Seattle surging, can you say MVP?

Random Thoughts: Yes, that was Pats alum Tyquan Thornton who actually caught a deep ball that was thrown over his head on Sunday night. It was the kind of great catch he never made here, which is why he no longer calls Foxboro home. And it went for an important 49-yard TD that let KC close to within three points in its 20-17 SB rematch loss to Philly.

Sports 101 Answer: Jim Brown became the only NFL rookie to be named MVP in 1957. Which, for his encore, he won again in 1958.

Final Thought – Questionable Patriots Personnel Decisions:

(1) Joe Milton: Unless Maye is so soft that he couldn’t deal with competition, why would you give up a back-up QB with the tools, second year salary and one-game resume he has for a sixth-round pick in next year’s draft?

(2) Not being in on Micah Parsons when put on the trade market by Dallas is F-thinking.

(3) Disappointing 2024 second pick Ja’lynn Polk was already out for the year. So unless they’re convinced he’s an unsalvageable draft mistake, why trade him now for less than a sixth-round pick rather than wait to see how the next year goes?

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

The Big Story – Roman Anthony: We were going to ask this week if a guy who was brought up from AAA in early June could be considered in the MVP race. Because, while Roman Anthony’s .292, 48 runs, 18 doubles, 8 homers and 32 RBI season numbers in 71 games won’t match Seattle’s Cal Raleigh or Yankee Aaron Judge, given how it all turned around for the staggering Red Sox from the day he arrived he certainly embodied the phrase “valuable.”

But instead, after suffering one of the most damaging local sports injuries in recent years, the rookie star is likely out for the rest of the year thanks to the lat muscle he strained last week.

They lost the first three without him. But after Sunday’s 7-4 comeback win over Arizona, they were 1.5 behind the Yanks for the top wild card spot with a 3.5-game lead over Seattle for the second wild card spot.

Sports 101: Which two players hold the all-time record for hitting the most homers in September in one season with 17?

News Item – Aroldis Chapman: As the week began he hadn’t allowed a run his last 18 appearances. The last was Sunday when he struck out four batters in the ninth after one of the K pitches got by the catcher to let the batter get to first after the swing and miss. Astonishingly he’s given up just one run in his last 35 appearances. Which leaves him with a 0.95 ERA with 29 saves and 81 strikeouts in just 55.0 innings.

News Item – Alumni News:

Down Goes Belichick: To say his college debut was inauspicious is a massive understatement. At least that’s what a 48-14 loss to TCU at home says to most of us. UNC did rebound with a 20-3 win over Charlotte.

Kyle Schwarber: He became the 21st player to hit four bombs in a game with his historic four-homer, nine-RBI day in a 19-4 win over Atlanta. It gave him 180 for the Phillies since the Sox let him walk for the same $20 million per they gave to Masataka Yoshida, who’s hit just 37 for Boston.

Duran Harmon: The clutch Patriot safety with the knack for making game-clinching interceptions for the three Super Bowl winners announced he was retiring after 11 years in the NFL, seven with the Patriots. A job well done.

The Numbers

6 – seconds into the season it took Philly DL Jalen Carter to be ejected after spitting at Cowboys QB Dak Prescott.

121 – pitches thrown by 42-year-old Justin Verlander in just five innings as he hung in long enough to pick up his 265th career win when SF downed Baltimore 13-2.

… Of the Week Awards

Comeback of the Week – Orioles Stun Dodgers: With Yoshinobu Yamamoto one out away from a no-hitter and L.A. up 3-0 disaster struck. First Jackson Holliday homered to end the no-hit bid. Then L.A. manager Dave Roberts yanked a guy who made one bad pitch all night in favor of two struggling relievers who then gave the game away as Baltimore won it 4-3 helped by stat geek managing over common sense by Roberts.

Anniversary of the Week – Cal Ripken: That magical Orioles win also came on the 30th anniversary of the glorious 1995 night at Camden Yard when Ripken broke Lou Gehrig’s record for most consecutive games played.

Immaculate Inning of the Week: San Diego’s Mason Miller did it by striking out three Baltimore batters on nine total pitches with an awesome slider in the eighth inning of a 7-5 loss.

Thumbs Down – The Great Montreal Goalie Ken Dryden Passes: I’m no hockey expert but I do know dazzling when I see it and that’s what he was when as a rookie with six career NHL games under his belt he shut down the unstoppable Bruins in the 1971 Stanley Cup playoffs before beating Chicago for the Cup. He went on to win five more as Montreal dominated most of the 1970s. He succumbed to cancer at 78. RIP.

Random Thoughts:

While he had a big day (169 yards rushing and two TDs) in Baltimore’s shocking last-second 41-40 collapse to Buffalo on Sunday night, can’t believe Derrick Henry was in just 19th place on the all-time rushing list when 2025 started and still needs over 7,000 more to catch all-time leader Emmitt Smith.

Sports 101 Answer: Albert Belle hit his record-tying 17 September homers in 1995 when he became the only player to hit 50 doubles and 50 homers in the same season. For Babe Ruth he needed all 17 to set the then all-time homer record of 60 in 1927.

Final Thought – Coach B Bans Pats Scouts From UNC Practices: A question and a comment.

How does that help the players you’re supposed to be trying to help get to the NFL, Bill? You’re acting like a fool and a crybaby. You’re 73 — time to grow up buddy.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

The Big Story – Sept. 1: It’s hard to pick the top story this week because there are two. It’s the opening week of the NFL season and baseball moves into its final month of the pennant chase.

For Patriot Nation, thanks to having a new coach in Mike Vrabel and Drake Maye’s entering his Year 2 season, there’s the excitement of a new season, though it’s tempered by many locals’ having convinced themselves they’re better than they’ll actually be. For Red Sox Nation no other sport matches the day-to-day thrills and chills of a season’s final month when their team is in a heated pennant race, which is where the Red Sox find themselves. So buckle up, because this is the most fun part of the year.

Sports 101: Who returned the most kickoffs (two did it three times) and punts (four) for TDs in Patriots history?

News Item – 5 Keys to Patriots’ Season

Drake Maye: He needs to take a solid next step in his development.

Rookie Linemen: Will Campbell and Jared Wilson need to deliver on Day 1, which is a lot to expect from rookies.

The CB Are Keys to the Defense: Media maven Greg Bedard thinks the defense is the biggest problem area. He sees them more than me, but I think it’s the opposite, provided that Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis are healthy and can add the shutdown element that gives the improved pass rush more time to get to the QB.

TreVeyon Henderson: If he’s as good as he looked in pre-season it gives them a play maker and real depth in the backfield.

Milton Williams is worth the money.

News Item – Interesting 2025 NFL Stories to Follow

Travis Hunter:Can he play on both sides of the ball on this level?

The Coaching Hot Seat – Who Gets Fired First: BrianDaboll (Giants), Kevin Stefanski (Browns), Zac Taylor (Bengals) and others are in play. Having three disappointing season endings on the resume, my first choice, Miami’s Mike McDaniel, recently got an extension until 2028.

Pete Carroll in Las Vegas: It’s interesting minority owner Tom Brady passed on picking 73-year-old Bill Belichick to coach LV in favor of picking the even older by 200 days Carroll.

The Numbers:

22 – Maye’s rank among starting QBs to start the season in a recent poll by The Athletic of 40 NFL coaches and executives.

33 – career NFL wins Andy Reid needs to pass Belichick for second most all-time, which at the current Reid-Mahomes pace would happen sometime in 2028.

245 – career TD passes after eight seasons for soon to be 30-year-old Patrick Mahomes. Career TD leader Brady had 197 at the same point in his career.

… Of the Week Awards

Thumbs Down – Eliot Wolf: The latest evidence that the Pats’ VP of Personnel is completely asleep at the switch came last week when he let the Packers trade for unhappy Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons. They could/should have beaten the price of two first-round picks and DT Kenny Clark GB gave up to get him. And with the most cap room in the NFL they could have matched the whopping salary Parsons got as well. This is a much worse miss than Craig Breslow’s not getting a starter at the trade deadline, because nobody he was after was what Parsons is — a gettable franchise-changing talent.

Random Thoughts:

Can’t figure out who Efton Chisholm III reminds me of — Wes Welker or one-time Jets pain in the butt Wayne Chrebet.

Sports101 Answer: With four, Julian Edelman has the most punt returns for Patriots TDs. Raymond Clayborn (all in 1977) and Ellis Hobbs (2006, ’07 and ’08) are the TD kickoff leaders with three each.

Final Thought – Predictions

Biggest Surprise – Jacksonville: Because Trevor Lawrence finally has a season that lives up to the billing.

Biggest Disappointment:Thanks to its owner trading his best player too late to reap immediate benefits and the annual Dak Prescott injury, Dallas has my Cowboys-loving friend George Copadis in despair as they plummet to the bottom of the NFC East. But at least we’ll get to see how good Joe Milton actually is.

The Geezer QB Follies: We’ll see the Giants’ latest QB disaster, where the over-under for Russell Wilson’s benching is Game 10. Ditto for what’s likely a one and done season for Aaron Rodgers in Pittsburgh.

MVP:Unless he gets hurt from running too recklessly, Jayden Daniels.

Rookie of the Year: Defense, Abdul Carter (NYG).Offense, Ashton Jeanty (LVR).

Drake Maye:With 25 TD passes and 14 interceptions he comes close to Brady’s 28 and career-high 14 picks in Year 2 as a starter.

The Patriots: It won’t satisfy the media yackers who are expecting a 4-13 team to become a playoff team out of thin air. But they improve four games to 8-9 in Vrabel’s first year.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.