We don't need Seattle fans to tell us what went wrong in January.
We know.
Drake Maye got sacked five times against the Chargers.
Five more against Houston.
Five more in Denver.
Six in the Super Bowl.
Twenty-one sacks in four playoff games.
We know the schedule was supposedly a joke. We know the offensive line got exposed. We know Maye spent January getting shelled like he was dug in at Bastogne.

We've heard all of it.

Patriots fans have spent seven months watching people discredit a Super Bowl run faster than a Boston sports radio host can suck the joy out of winning.

The schedule was soft.

The run was lucky.

Maye wasn't ready.

Never mind that New England went through some of the best defenses in football to get there.
Fine.

Tonight, we finally get football again.
Super Bowl rematch.
In Seattle.
Banner night.
The team that ended New England's season gets the first crack at them again.
Tell me you aren't fired up for this.

Not every question gets answered in Week 1. September football is sloppy. Tackling is bad. Coverages get blown.
But we're going to learn something.
What does Year 2 of Drake Maye and Josh McDaniels look like?
Did New England actually fix the offensive line?
Was Will Campbell's Super Bowl nightmare proof he wasn't ready, or a rookie tackle playing through a bad knee against the best front in football?
I've heard the injury dismissed plenty.
Most of those people couldn't play an NFL snap with a paper cut.
Looking at you, Felger.
Campbell played.

He got his ass kicked.

Both can be true.

Now he's healthy, Alijah Vera-Tucker is next to him, and Jared Wilson is back at center.
Show us the difference.
Because Mike Macdonald already knows where to attack.
Seattle wrecked New England up front in February. Campbell allowed 14 pressures. Maye was sacked six times.
They don't need a new plan.
They need to see if New England has a new answer.
Leonard Williams does not care about your offseason development plan.
There is one wrinkle that could matter.

Nick Emmanwori is questionable, and Ty Okada is already out.
If Emmanwori can't go, Seattle loses more than a safety. He can play deep, drop into the slot, fit the run or threaten pressure.

Same player. Same personnel. Different picture.
That's what makes Macdonald's shell game so hard to read.
Take Emmanwori away and Seattle's defense is still nasty.
But the shell game gets a little easier.

And if Seattle's secondary is compromised, New England finally has the weapon to punish it.

A.J. Brown has never taken a real snap with Drake Maye.
That doesn't matter.

His first game after Philadelphia traded for him?
Ten catches.
155 yards.
Patriots fans have seen this movie before.
Randy Moss's first game in New England:
Nine catches.
183 yards.
Touchdown.
I'm not saying Brown goes for 184 tonight.
Actually, screw it.
Why not?
This is why you traded for him.

Seattle's front is terrifying. So don't ask Maye to hold the ball while something develops 25 yards downfield.
Get Brown involved immediately.
Slants. Crossers. Quick outs. Glances.
Get the ball out and let your enormous, angry All-Pro receiver ruin somebody else's evening.
And Brown isn't alone.
Romeo Doubs raises the floor of the room. Hunter Henry remains a red-zone weapon. Rhamondre Stevenson is healthy and looks like a tank again.
Stevenson is 230 pounds of somebody else's problem.
Make Seattle tackle him.
Then hit Brown when that secondary starts creeping downhill.

And Christian Gonzalez?
Paid.
Highest-paid cornerback in football.
Perfect timing, because Jaxon Smith-Njigba is waiting across from him.
Want the contract?
Here's one of the best receivers alive.
Have fun.

When the schedule came out, I had this as a loss.
Seattle was better in February.
It's deeper. It's home. It's raising a banner. Its defensive front is still disgusting.
There are plenty of reasons to pick Seattle.
I'm picking New England anyway.

Week 1 is weird. There will be missed tackles, busted coverages and at least one play where eleven professionals look like they received eleven different play calls.
And in that kind of game?
Give me Maye.
Give me Brown.
Give me Gonzalez on JSN.
More than anything, show me Seattle can't beat New England the same way twice.

Brycen made a point this week that stuck with me: this has quietly become one of the most impressive rebuilds in sports.
Brady left. Belichick left. Mac Jones failed. Mayo failed.
And somehow, only a few years later, New England has Drake Maye, Mike Vrabel, A.J. Brown, Christian Gonzalez locked up long term, and a team coming off a Super Bowl appearance.
You don't have to love every move to admit the direction has been pretty damn good.
Now comes the next test.
This isn't revenge.
You don't avenge a Super Bowl in September.
But you can prove February taught you something.
That Campbell grew up.
That Vera-Tucker matters.
That McDaniels found answers.
That Brown changes the offense.
That last year wasn't the destination.
It was the beginning.

Seven months of talking are over.
Let's see the fucking football team.

Patriots 27, Seahawks 24.

Ed's Picks: Ride With Me or Fade Me
Patriots +3 (-102)
A.J. Brown over 63.5 receiving yards(-110)
Hunter Henry anytime TD (+275)
Season ledger: 0-0