PostGame Thread OFFICIAL POSTGAME THREAD: 2025 Preseason Game 1: Patriots Blow Out Commanders 48-18

[signbabybrady]

 

[scott99]

Did not like Cambell Wilson maye fumble play. Many mistakes and decisions that needs to be coached. We still have no Red zone go to guy that can get separation. Liked 6'7 foot Bryant, reminds me of Solder. Did the Commanders have any starting defensive lineman playing with the ones? I really like running the rock. Who was the starting fullback, Westover...hmmmm. Good fun game to watch. Been a while.

That fumble was a 3 man mistake. Maye has to take the sack, or throw it away earlier. I have a feeling that he will make bone headed mistakes through his whole career. I still think he’s gonna be a top 10-15 QB throughout his whole career (maybe even higher), but there will always be head scratchers. Kinda reminds me of Elway, 15 highlight plays and 1 head scratcher.

That being said, besides that huge mistake by Campbell/Wilson, there was a lot to like about Campbell & Wilson, and then add Bryant as the RT, man, what a draft. There was a lot of success running to the left (Campbell/Wilson side). A lot of positives to take out of their first NFL action ever.

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

I had to wait until 11 pm to watch the game. Henderson was amazing, the kicker had zero chance of running him down. The Pats should wrap him up in bubble wrap for the rest of the pre-season, no need to risk an injury.

Maye was mah, the fumble was a ridiculous play, the Pats mostly ran the ball, not sure he had a completion beyond the LOS. When your best plays as a QB are your running, you are not going to last long.

Again, the Redskins didn't play any starters, so not a real tough test.

Two of the biggest draft mistakes of the BB era, Duggar and Strange, both look like they are in danger of not making the team.

 

[Huckleberry1]

My one concern for Chism making the roster is ST and whether he makes a contribution. Who was handling punt returns last night? Could Marcus Jones be a surprise trade/cut? There was talk around combine time that Vrabel was looking for a bigger slot CB.

Special teams are an advantage for Chism, he can play on both offensive and defensive special teams and be a good contributor on both.

 

[WinstonSmith]

Thoughts

Henderson seems okay.... i guess. On a serious note though. I have never made a secret that i under value RBs. And i dislike taking them high in the draft. They need to be so good to justify that pick. is Henderson good enough to justify it? Yes, it seems so. My 2 main things with RB i ask first. How are you as a pass catching threat and can you hit that all important 5+ YPA (ideally more but 5+ is the minimum). The answers for Henderson appears to be yes and yes. Good pick then.

Campbell made some mistakes and looks a bit rough at times on pass blocking, but also had a really solid long stretch. So not ideal, but not panic time either, for his first live action it was acceptable. Keep in mind unfortunately we need to grade him on a sharp curve cause he needs to be ready to go week 1. So he doesn't get time to be taken along slowly in his development. As far as being a run blocker? Kid is clearly already in the top half of NFL starters.

Starting WRs were a HUGE disappointment. Boutte, Douglas and Hollins with very little separation. For all the talk of Douglas being uncoverable in joint practice we didn't see it today.

Williams is an interesting case. On one hand he had 2 catchable balls he couldn't bring in, one more catchable than the other. On the other hand he had at least 2 other balls he was clearly open on for big plays he was given no chance to bring in as well as an uncalled DPI on one of those and another DPI which was nullified. Massive potential shown but failure to get any results. I made a comment about Williams entering this game. That after being silent in the joint practice this would be a massive test for him to show what he can be. The results are in IMO. If Williams was going to be a true #1 WR in this league he would have somehow someway have made a play tonight or in the joint practices. He didn't. Almost is not good enough. So Williams i don't believe will be that. My hopes for him are a little dashed. Not that you expect a guy in rd 3 to do that for you automatically, but i was hoping. What he did show is he can be a weapon in this league. I know it is early, but the top tier of guys show more consistent production by now. Williams has not been consistent. I think him being that is not in the cards. Being that potentially dangerous #2 option which can kill you on occasion? That seems alive and well.

Speaking of WRs... Chism popped tonight. I know it was almost all in the second half. I don't care. With Polk on his way out the door it's now more open for him. He ain't making it through waivers i think if this keeps up. Use him or lose him. Vrabel can talk up Bakers STs all he wants. But Chism showed well there too. i don't see the argument for Baker having substantially more ST value. Here is what i do see. Chism 8 targets 6 catches 50 yards 1 TD and some pop in his plays. Baker 2 targets 0 catches. How much better is Baker on STs? I know Jiles made some plays as well late. Doesn't take away from Chism or excuse Baker's lack of production.

Lets also take a moment for that RB room. Stevenson with a nice showing. But Gibson showed again he is one of the better back ups in this league when given a chance. Larison had some nice players too. Both contributing in the running and passing game. I think they should keep both. We know guys will miss time, they always do at that spot. and 3 deep seems a little thin.

As for the OL... some hiccups for sure but overall solid. We saw pretty good depth tackle play tonight. Depth at OT is something we need to look at closely as this process goes on. Is someone misses a game can we keep it together? The answer for now. It may be possible. Which is better than last year when the problem was our starters to begin with. For the interior... Seems to have done okay. I couldn't keep track of it all and don't have replay but overall the unit seemed to do well i guess. Waiting for the all 22 on that one.

DL seemed to get penetration and some pressure but to little effect. Not good enough. Not vs the competition they played against. Overall this unit gets a subpar grade. They did enough to be okay, but should have done better. Particular on the edges. Yes, no Landry, Barmore or Chaisson and i think Milton didn't play much either. But still not good enough. Serveral guys who should play big roles like White, Tonga, Pharms, Farmer and Jennings were all out there and didn't show enough. As for Milton I he got 1 TFL and i think he got out fairly quickly.

As a side note on the DL. I mentioned before there is an underrated battle of Truman Jones vs Ponder for 1 spot. Jones clearly looks in the drivers seat after tonight.

Farmer did some stuff, none that was overly impressive but he was there. Swinson was pretty much silent when given what i think was substantial playing time, i don't want to use the term bust yet (and for a late rounder... but remember this was a guy people talked about as a 2nd or 3rd round pick). Right now he looks to be heading for the practice squad, which would be dissapointing. Needs to step it up.

Mapu was someone who needed to make an impression tonight and didn't for me. He made some tackles but none were memorable for me.

Even outside the pick i think DJ James played well, the question isn't will he make this team or not. The question is how much will he play. While they have some decent competition at CB, I don't believe that #3 spot is not open. Can James take over that spot at some point this year? IDK, but he has a shot. I don't think any other.

As for Alex Austin, he played well too. Marcus i honestly don't remember much from but he wasn't out of place either IIRC.

Woodson had some ups and downs tonight. Which is fine for now. We don't need him week 1. I just want to see some ups from him, and i did.

Now counting Schooler they have 9 DBs i like at this point. No safeties out of the top 4 showed me anything, No CBs stepped up in my mind to claim that 6th spot. Right now there is 1 spot for the taking IMO and it is wide open. Maybe Battle? Maybe Mapu? Maybe Pettus? Maybe Bolden? It seems this really was Dial's spot till the ACL. And now i wonder if there is anyone even worth carrying? Maybe trying to find a guy in the waiver wire is the answer?

An Interesting read.

I wasn't able to watch live beyond the opening kickoff, but have read elsewhere that Pop didn't play. Did he? If not it may help explain his difficulty generating separation

 

[vicspats]

Run the ball. Tough o-line will be the culture moving forward. Screen plays galore, welcome back McDaniels. Moving the ball builds team confidence. The rest will fall into place. Love Vrabel.

 

[Toofy]

I looked at the eagles vs Bengals game. The game speed and pass accuracy was light years ahead of our game. Though our run game and Oline and defense came as advertised qb play and pass offense was putrid. Maye was rusty and doubs was awful . Hope they improve upon that

Tanner mckee looks like brady when compared to doubs who is playing at 2023 Mac Jones level .the difference in backup qb quality is huge . We need to really test our doubs even more.

 

[Kdo5]

I had to wait until 11 pm to watch the game. Henderson was amazing, the kicker had zero chance of running him down. The Pats should wrap him up in bubble wrap for the rest of the pre-season, no need to risk an injury.

Maye was mah, the fumble was a ridiculous play, the Pats mostly ran the ball, not sure he had a completion beyond the LOS. When your best plays as a QB are your running, you are not going to last long.

Again, the Redskins didn't play any starters, so not a real tough test.

Two of the biggest draft mistakes of the BB era, Duggar and Strange, both look like they are in danger of not making the team.

Maye needs to be better than that. It was a play I’d expect from prime-Mac suckage or Josh Dobbs.

 

[Joey007]

Get that, it’s not like he’s also a you know f***in rookie in his first f***ing NFL game. In which he played pretty f***ing well. Kid does not stand a chance in some eyes.

No one stands a chance in captains eyes.

 

[patfanken]

You mentioned that you missed the broadcast, which is a shame because for the first time ever maybe, I thought they were extremely informative. Even Paul Perillo had useful info and didn’t look like death on screen.

Anyway, they mentioned that the Pats were playing Peppers in the slot, and have been doing that a lot during practice. That they’ve been playing 3 safeties in nickel and dime sets, but at the expense of a slot corner rather than a linebacker. I found that to be pretty interesting - and it supports your thought there.

Personally I still think Marcus Jones makes the team, but you may be onto something. Especially since they were trying Austin out in the slot later in the game.

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I thought it interesting too that they were trying out bigger slot corners last night. I guess it's the evolution of the game as even slot receivers are getting bigger and 6' is no longer considered a particularly big CB. IIRC Chism is 6'

In the end my guess is that will go week by week and have DB's of all sizes and skill sets to plug in and not worry about their position designations, just the matchups.

 

[Ross12]

You mentioned that you missed the broadcast, which is a shame because for the first time ever maybe, I thought they were extremely informative. Even Paul Perillo had useful info and didn’t look like death on screen.

Anyway, they mentioned that the Pats were playing Peppers in the slot, and have been doing that a lot during practice. That they’ve been playing 3 safeties in nickel and dime sets, but at the expense of a slot corner rather than a linebacker. I found that to be pretty interesting - and it supports your thought there.

Personally I still think Marcus Jones makes the team, but you may be onto something. Especially since they were trying Austin out in the slot later in the game.

I also think part of this is that they know Marcus Jones is a bit fragile, and they might just get more value from him being primarily a punt returner who mixes in occasionally as a slot or outside CB in some packages. Gonzo and Davis have the outside covered, and if a safety is taking some slot work, plus Austin and James also being around, Marcus Jones might not really NEED to play defense that much.

 

[BobDigital]

Looked at that Maye Strip/Fumble again. It was bad all around.

We had 6 OL vs 4 rushers... Bradbury helps the right side so we have 2 on 4 there. Campbell lets himself get engaged on the chest and is trying to keep the inside move from happen while Wilson's guy separates and goes around Campbell. Wilson is looking to hand off it seems but he is a full yard ahead of Campbell who dropped back to absorb the pass rush.

Lots of things to look at. Bradbury should be aware and ready to peel off. I know it's not the scheme but in that situation where there is help and 2 other guys are isolated you need to keep your head up.

Campbell's short arms may be a long term problem here. He seems happy to put a guy on his chest and use his power. But then he is in no position to hand off.

Wilson needed to not let his guy go free. He allowed him to get to the outside practically uncontested and was stopped by the body of the other defender where him and Campbell were locked up. He looked lost on what to do. It was a tough situation but he needs to do something. Either fall back and try to loop underneath or be more aggressive when a defender backs off so he can' loop around freely.

And Maye makes a big mistake because of it.

All 4 of those guys could have played that better. It was no one players fault. So i don't think you just blame Campbell for it. But yeah, if he didn't let that guy get to his body maybe he could have done something. But it was the whole center/left side operation.

Personally i think this is something that needs to be talked about more. Campbell short arms will make stunts to the outside in particular a problem. They need to have a plan for this going forward, besides we hope they don't do it.

Edit: One thing i am very interested in hearing is the back up interior OL battle. Is Strange still the guy or did someone else show tonight? Robinson 1 or 2? Conley? Butler? (Sow didn't play)

 

[bresna]

Went to the game last night... first preseason game in a long time. I can't add much to what others have said about the play on the field.

Some things I noticed...

Ozzy's "Crazy Train" was back for the team intro! I hope it's permanent and was not some sort of tribute in Ozzy's honor.

I can't help but think that the Commanders lost this game more than the Patriots won it. They made a ton of mistakes. It started with the opening kickoff and continued with a drop on a very catchable 3rd down ball in their first series.

That said, I was really encouraged by the Pats O-line. It was great to see the QBs able to take a few steps before getting pressure. We'll see if that is a trend, opening game preparedness or just a sucky opponent.

Not thrilled to see that the refs haven't gotten any better. The NFL needs to allow teams to challenge terrible non-calls. That missed DPI was ridiculous. And I still think that Vrabel's first challenge should have been upheld. The Commanders WR clearly trapped the ball on the ground. It's like the ref skipped the first review angle that clearly showed this and only watched all of the other non-conclusive views.

The "virtual measurement" system needs to improve dramatically before the regular season. It took way too long. If this becomes a thing for all measurements, it'll make for a very long game. BTW - as is, it's a game chiller. If a team is on a hot streak and close to the redzone when one of these happens, it'll mute the crowd. It was like a slow bass solo in a cooking jazz song.

 

[Ross12]

Also want to remind folks about the change to IR rules last year. At roster cutdowns, teams can designate two players already on IR to become "designated to return" instead. This means that a guy like Marcellas Dial, or Ja'Lynn Polk if he has to go to IR from his injury last night, may come back if they are given this designation. This could also potentially apply to other guys who are currently hurt and might end up on IR, like Kendrick Bourne or Sidy Sow.

 

[p8ryts]

Just some off the cuff remarks, knee jerk reactions so to speak from tonight's game. I want to get them down fresh and without being influenced by anyone else's thoughts.

1. Throughout this game my first reaction was that this was a well-coached team. Few penalties, efficient personnel changes, clean sideline operations. And from what I saw, an alert sideline with players engaged and listening to coaches. Very hard to do when you are dealing with 90 players and it's your first time out together. To me it was the single most positive and most important thing I could take out of this game.

2. The running game ran surprisingly well and did well 5 backs deep (Stevesonn, Henderson, Gibson, Larison, and Jennings, who I didn't know was on the roster before tonight). They all ran hard, looked quick, and hit the right holes and made the most out of them.

3. The best passer tonight, was the guy who won't be on the roster (but on the PS). He was the only guy who completed multiple passes that got to the even the medium area. Dobbs tried a few deep ones but was largely inaccurate. 48 points but the passing offense has a LONG long way to go.

BTW- I don't care a lot what it looks like at this point, except for the WR competition.

I didn't realize just how sudden Maye can be when he runs. He DEFINITELY need a few well timed designed runs each game.

I thought the OL was EONS better all 3 groups into it. Quite simply they just look like they were playing together more in one night than they seemed to all last year. Credit the coaching, the system, the players but this wasn't just adding a few more talented players, it was EVERYONE that played looked better.

It wasn't against the type of comp they will see come the regular season, but for now it is a good start, and they have 3+ weeks to improve on it

I can't tell you how thrilled I was to see Marcus Bryant get most of the game snaps. I couldn't tell you how well be played, but I knows he's a lot better because of it. I almost as happy that Wilson and Campbell got so many snaps. You got to play football to get good at football.

Individuals - Henderson will get all the highlights, and he deserves them, but all it tell us is this. As of this moment, this DOESN'T look like an offense that is easily going to break big plays (20+) very easily. Rather a typical JMD move the chains offense. They have one player who they know can be explosive every time he touches the ball (Henderson) and one who has the potential (Williams)

I saw William beat the defender deep twice and the QB not get him the ball. So he's still in "potential" mold.

I know Chism will get a lot of comments, and he looked fine doing pretty much everything asked of him, but keeping it in perspective, so did a kid named Jiles (whom I have never heard of EVER) looked just as good at 6'3 and fast. There IS some talent in that WR room and I can only see 5 guys on the final roster, unless we go with only 2 TE and no FB and I don't see that happening for a 7th or even 6th

Oh, I forgot to mention, given that WE were initiating most of the contact, we appear to have come out pretty unscathed, which I believe will be the case when you are the HITTER, rather than hittee.

DL played well and held the Commanders rushing attack pretty much under control along with the LB's, but they didn't "flash". No undo pressure, and few plays that sat you up in your chair. They were OK, "solid", etc .

LB's and DB's did well all through the line up Miles Battle flashed and I like that he's a big guy. Maybe he's the big CB I was
hoping that Bolden would become (and still might, though...)

One comment about the announcers. I generally like the McCourty brothers and Zo, but tonight they were CONSTANTLY talking over the game play. I saw a play where Truman Jones (Harvard) made a tackle and they just continued talk about anything else. I thought, this might be the only chance he or his family gets to his name on TV playing in an NFL game and these guys took it away. Unfair or not?

I look forward to the guys who break down the film and the over-hype from the mediots...and us.

In a preseason game, I want to know who is in the lineup and made or didn't make the play. I don't need anecdotes about their careers. I don't want to hear Zolak period. I remember the Truman play. I had to dig out the roster and go through looking for #54.

 

[The Gr8est]

Once the all-22 is out can get a better sense of overall performance of the starters. Obvious quick highlights

-Tre Henderson is as advertised. Many reports had him ranked by teams as a first rounder. They were right. I did watch some OSU tape and he is best in space. He can run inside and if there is a hole he can shoot through but not the most elusive. He's going to have to do that some or teams will play outside runs whenever he is in the game. So he's not Barkley but he is already clearly a game breaking type back and can't remember having someone like this. So fun to see him go to that extra gear and get there so quickly. He covered 19 yards before he got to the first Commanders Kick return player, Gibson covered16 yards. Gibson couldn't outrun the coverage when he broke free like Tre would have.

-The sack/fumble: Washington ran a stunt, Campbell did not get off his guy and take the looper. Maye has to know the situation, it's going to be 4th down, a sack there is meaningless at that point. But I get it, look at the screen shot below, all he has to do is get it past the line of scrimmage since he's out of the pocket. Unfortunately, the guy collapses his legs and he loses the ball falling backwards. Pretty smart to see he could just toss it to save the yardage, pretty dumb to not think the risk was too high.



Will have to look at Maye's decision making after seeing All 22 but he went thru progressions and took the outlet a few times, something Josh's offense was always known for and something the offense last year did not do enough of. You could tell it was Josh's offense immediately and Maye looked to have a good grasp of it.

-Campbell looks like what we've all heard, great run blocker, solid in pass pro but certain guys will give him trouble. Even with that the position is a major upgrade over 2024.

-Keion White continues to underwhelm in games as an edge rusher, he just always seems better in the past rushing inside due to lack of speed. Biggest need on this defense is a good speed edge rusher, hopefully one of the new guys will pop.
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-Barmore didn't dress, but you can that see he's the key to this front line and whether they will be dominant or not. Williams is strong as hell but not so quick. Barmore has it all physically and will free up others. His health is extremely important.

-Polk goes to IR? Probably saves him. He was so bad last year that if the coaching staff was the same I would have cut him in the off season. The only hope for him was the coaching messed him up so badly the new staff could fix him. However, the odds are really slim and I bet his career with the Patriots is basically over.

-Kickers can both kick in the NFL. Neither makes it to practice squad, can they squeeze a 7th round pick from one of the teams desperate for a kicker? Borregales has to stay, he's the draft pick, right? Romo has a stronger leg though and he is only 27.

-Coaching difference is night and day. They looked like a well-oiled machine. Clean, aggressive football. This team, barring Rham and Maye dumb fumbles, will not beat themselves this year.

You figure the tie goes to the draftee, but I am reconsidering.

We know Borregales is the drafted kicker, but how will either of them handle kicking in the cold?

Pats chose the wrong kicker last year, but of course, Kraft chose the wrong guy to lead the organization, so there was a lot of error carried forward.

 

[Ross12]

In a preseason game, I want to know who is in the lineup and made or didn't make the play. I don't need anecdotes about their careers. I don't want to hear Zolak period. I remember the Truman play. I had to dig out the roster and go through looking for #54.

I remember late in the fourth quarter, Terrell Jennings scored a TD and Zolak said it was Rhamondre Stevenson.

 

[Ross12]

Once the all-22 is out can get a better sense of overall performance of the starters. Obvious quick highlights

-Tre Henderson is as advertised. Many reports had him ranked by teams as a first rounder. They were right. I did watch some OSU tape and he is best in space. He can run inside and if there is a hole he can shoot through but not the most elusive. He's going to have to do that some or teams will play outside runs whenever he is in the game. So he's not Barkley but he is already clearly a game breaking type back and can't remember having someone like this. So fun to see him go to that extra gear and get there so quickly. He covered 19 yards before he got to the first Commanders Kick return player, Gibson covered16 yards. Gibson couldn't outrun the coverage when he broke free like Tre would have.

-The sack/fumble: Washington ran a stunt, Campbell did not get off his guy and take the looper. Maye has to know the situation, it's going to be 4th down, a sack there is meaningless at that point. But I get it, look at the screen shot below, all he has to do is get it past the line of scrimmage since he's out of the pocket. Unfortunately, the guy collapses his legs and he loses the ball falling backwards. Pretty smart to see he could just toss it to save the yardage, pretty dumb to not think the risk was too high.



Will have to look at Maye's decision making after seeing All 22 but he went thru progressions and took the outlet a few times, something Josh's offense was always known for and something the offense last year did not do enough of. You could tell it was Josh's offense immediately and Maye looked to have a good grasp of it.

-Campbell looks like what we've all heard, great run blocker, solid in pass pro but certain guys will give him trouble. Even with that the position is a major upgrade over 2024.

-Keion White continues to underwhelm in games as an edge rusher, he just always seems better in the past rushing inside due to lack of speed. Biggest need on this defense is a good speed edge rusher, hopefully one of the new guys will pop.
.
-Barmore didn't dress, but you can that see he's the key to this front line and whether they will be dominant or not. Williams is strong as hell but not so quick. Barmore has it all physically and will free up others. His health is extremely important.

-Polk goes to IR? Probably saves him. He was so bad last year that if the coaching staff was the same I would have cut him in the off season. The only hope for him was the coaching messed him up so badly the new staff could fix him. However, the odds are really slim and I bet his career with the Patriots is basically over.

-Kickers can both kick in the NFL. Neither makes it to practice squad, can they squeeze a 7th round pick from one of the teams desperate for a kicker? Borregales has to stay, he's the draft pick, right? Romo has a stronger leg though and he is only 27.

-Coaching difference is night and day. They looked like a well-oiled machine. Clean, aggressive football. This team, barring Rham and Maye dumb fumbles, will not beat themselves this year.

I like Borregales, but Romo looks very good. They might be able to flip Borregales for a late round pick to a team that needs a K, and/or was hoping to draft Borregals this year themselves before NE took him.

 

[State]

Looked at that Maye Strip/Fumble again. It was bad all around.

We had 6 OL vs 4 rushers... Bradbury helps the right side so we have 2 on 4 there. Campbell lets himself get engaged on the chest and is trying to keep the inside move from happen while Wilson's guy separates and goes around Campbell. Wilson is looking to hand off it seems but he is a full yard ahead of Campbell or dropped back to absorb the pass rush.

Lots of things to look at. Bradbury should be aware and ready to peel off. I know it's not the scheme but in that situation where there is help and 2 other guys are isolated you need to keep your head up.

Campbell's short arms may be a long term problem here. He seems happy to put a guy on his chest and use his power. But then he is in no position to hand off.

Wilson needed to not let his guy go free. He allowed him to get to the outside uncontested and was stopped by the body of the other defender where him and Campbell were locked up. He looked lost on what to do. It was a tough situation but he needs to do something. Either fall back and try to loop underneath or be more aggressive when a guy backs off so he can' loop around freely.

And Maye makes a big mistake because of it.

All 4 of those guys could have played that better. It was no one players fault. So i don't think you just blame Campbell for it. But yeah, if he didn't let that guy get to his body maybe he could have done something. But it was the whole center/left side operation.

Personally i think this is something that needs to be talked about more. Campbell short arms will make stunts to the outside in particular a problem. They need to have a plan for this going forward, besides we hope they don't do it.

Very insightful. In pass pro stop tailgating, Campbell.

 

[Kdo5]

I also think part of this is that they know Marcus Jones is a bit fragile, and they might just get more value from him being primarily a punt returner who mixes in occasionally as a slot or outside CB in some packages. Gonzo and Davis have the outside covered, and if a safety is taking some slot work, plus Austin and James also being around, Marcus Jones might not really NEED to play defense that much.

Just eyeballing it I’ve never been particularly impressed by Marcus Jones the defensive back. I wouldn’t say he instills confidence if given a larger role. I’m more looking to Austin or James to show out.