Who should Patriots SELL or KEEP? | Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast
In the recent Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast w/ Nick Cattles, Greg and Nick tackle the extensive Patriots injury list and discuss its unusual nature, explore potential trade candidates among players in contract years. They also preview of the Patriots vs. Bills matchup in Week 7, and finish with game picks from Greg and Nick, along with the latest odds from FanDuel Sportsbook (Bills -8.5, 40.5 o/u).
Check Greg's Coverage out over at www.bostonsportsjournal.com, for $50 on BSJ's annual plan. Not only do you get top-notch analysis of all the Boston pro sports, but if you're a Patriots junkie — and if you're listening to this podcast, you are — then a membership at BSJ gives you access to a ton of video analysis Bedard does on the coaches film, and direct access to him in weekly chats.
This episode of the Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast w/ Nick Cattles Podcast is brought to you by:
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Check Greg's Coverage out over at www.bostonsportsjournal.com, for $50 on BSJ's annual plan. Not only do you get top-notch analysis of all the Boston pro sports, but if you're a Patriots junkie — and if you're listening to this podcast, you are — then a membership at BSJ gives you access to a ton of video analysis Bedard does on the coaches film, and direct access to him in weekly chats.
This episode of the Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast w/ Nick Cattles Podcast is brought to you by:
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00:00 I will say that, you know, number one, there are people in that building who want to start thinking about 2024.
00:10 And getting things set up for that, and that would probably entail maybe trading a few pieces this year.
00:16 I will also say that most of them are operating under the assumption that Bill is going to be Bill.
00:24 That he's going to continue to win games.
00:27 The Greg Bidard Patriots podcast is brought to you by FanDuel, the exclusive wagering partner of the CLNS Media Network.
00:35 This episode is brought to you by FanDuel, the exclusive wagering partner of the CLNS Media Network.
00:40 And Factor, America's number one ready-to-eat meal kit. Of course, you know this by now, but he's Greg and I'm Nick.
00:45 Greg, let's start with the headlines. The Patriots injury list is forever long.
00:51 20 dudes on the report this week. I know some people have maybe brought up the possibility of some shenanigans.
00:59 Do you think, Greg, that we got shenanigans going on?
01:02 I don't think, you know, we're there yet. And I think that Bill Belichick has bigger fish to fry, including trying to get this team to play better.
01:12 I mean, you know, I think that people, you know, need to realize that this Patriots team, I'm just checking exactly when it is.
01:20 But they have a pretty late bye this year. And, you know, so they're already, we're already in week 7 now.
01:28 They don't have their bye until week 11. They have to go to Europe at some point before the bye week for the Colts game on November 12th.
01:39 So, you know, they've been at it for a while. Yeah, there's a break between the end of the preseason and the season opener.
01:48 But, you know, they played six games. I just think a lot of it is I just think the schedule is different now.
01:57 We're talking 17 games. And so there's a lot more management going on.
02:01 You know, you look at like, for instance, who was it? Trent Brown and Jonathan Jones did not participate on Wednesday.
02:09 They did participate on Thursday on a limited basis. To me, that's sort of a, you know, veteran sort of, you know, let them get better type of day.
02:20 They also have like the Patriots have changed where they have their walkthrough instead of on Monday.
02:25 They have it on Tuesday now. So it's a little bit more stacked together.
02:29 Now, we did say you see Keishon Booty popped up on a hamstring. He was at practice fully on Wednesday.
02:37 On Thursday, he was limited. So I guess he either did it late Wednesday or during practices on Thursday.
02:44 And the other guy, the guys who have not participated, Hunter Henry, he was on the field today, but he didn't do anything.
02:52 His injury did not look good during the game. It looked like at least a high ankle sprain, if not something with his knee got rolled up on.
02:59 Riley Reif, we know, has been dealing with something basically throughout his tenure here with the Patriots.
03:04 Josh Uche with an ankle, that's not good. And Keon White had the concussion, you know, pretty good concussion during the game.
03:13 And, you know, so, you know, the rest of the guys are all dealing with stuff. It's six weeks into the season, so I don't think it's a huge deal.
03:21 All right. Looking at the Patriots defense, Greg, one thing that's jumped out, and this has been the case the entire year, even before Judon's injury,
03:30 but the Pats have the second highest blitz rate in the league. Pros and cons to that.
03:37 This is totally unorthodox for them. I mean, they are, you know, even when we went back to like, you know, you go back to like, say, the glory years, Patriots teams,
03:48 you know, when they were playing the 3-4 defense and stuff like that, most of the pressure they brought, and even in recent years,
03:54 when they've been more of a 4-3, it's been more of a zone blitz variety, which means you're only bringing four, but you're just changing which four you're bringing.
04:03 They don't, the only time that Steve Belichick likes to bring pressure is when he has to. Normally, as soon as a team crosses the 50 in the red zone, that sort of thing,
04:16 and then a third down, he'll get creative, but now, you know, they blitz all the time. I mean, other than Tua, when they played three deep safeties, they blitz a lot.
04:26 And, you know, look, I think some of it is because they aren't bringing pressure. I think that teams have caught up, especially since they played, for the most part,
04:38 they played, you know, to start the season, either teams with good offenses or good offensive lines or, you know, something that makes them dangerous on offense.
04:48 So I think that, you know, these are the teams that they've traditionally had trouble getting pressure against. A lot of these teams are the ones that are on their schedule traditionally at the end of the season.
04:59 We've seen the Swoons going back to the Bogeymen in 2019, or yeah, 2019, when they couldn't get off the field and they couldn't get pressure.
05:09 And, you know, to me, I think teams are catching up a little bit to what they like to do as far as how they bring pressure. So now they're bringing extra people.
05:17 The problem with that, Nick, is twofold. You have to play really good coverage behind, and they're not doing that. The tighter you are, the more you let the pressure get home.
05:31 The Patriots aren't doing that. You know, for example, the Patriots brought an all-out blitz on third down against the Raiders, where Jacoby Myers caught that ball with a bunch of cushion from JC Jackson,
05:41 and he just basically turned around and fell forward and got a first down. You see a lot of that on film.
05:47 The other thing that is more disturbing, and you're seeing more and more instances of this every week, Nick, is the stress that it's putting on the secondary to be assignment sure,
05:58 especially with the safeties, Kyle Duggar specifically, Jabril Peppers, JC Jackson now being back. He's had some mental errors.
06:07 So when you bring pressure, there's less guys in coverage. And so those guys have to be on point. You don't have to be the most talented guys, Nick.
06:16 I mean, think back to 2011, that defense and those cornerbacks, Sterling Moore and all those guys that were, I think there was a Molden guy that was back there.
06:28 Guys who aren't really cornerbacks in the league, but those guys knew their assignments and executed so well that they were able to go to a Super Bowl with that group.
06:37 Yeah, a lot of it was, you know, they had a great offense, but the defense had to do their part. And they did because they were on point with all their assignments, didn't blow any coverages.
06:48 You see blown coverages all the time in the secondary. I mean, just think the Jacoby Myers touchdown.
06:54 Miles Bryant is not supposed to be left there like that. There's supposed to be a safety in the middle of the field. I think it was Kyle Duggar, but that stuff is going all the time.
07:02 I will point out, even though we're talking about blitz, that play, Nick, they didn't blitz. They actually only rushed three. They had eight in coverage in the red zone.
07:12 And Jacoby Myers was still that open. That's what I'm talking about, about, you know, the mental errors that are going on with this team, that that's another thing that they have to get cleaned up.
07:22 The mental errors on both sides of the football and even in the special teams. It's a it's thoughtless, mistake filled football that we usually would see other teams go through versus the Patriots going back a few years ago.
07:36 And now the Patriots are in that spot. And of course, you know, Josh Uche, he might not play Sunday. He's been banged up. He played limited snaps last weekend.
07:44 So no Jude on maybe no Uche, no Keon White because of the concussion. I don't know how you're going to get pressure on Allen.
07:52 You might not even try to do it. You might just have to lay it back. We'll get into that a little bit later.
07:57 Just two more things I wanted to ask you about quickly. So Devontae Parker yesterday, Mike Reese opened the door for Parker to give a little bit of a mea culpa.
08:07 Reese ran into Parker in the locker room, asked him about the play again, the drop late in the fourth quarter against the Raiders.
08:14 And man, oh, man, I'll tell you, Parker did himself no favors.
08:19 He he looked at and said, oh, well, you know, he tugged my arm talking about the defensive back.
08:24 And that it was a good play by him. So, again, not taking accountability for dropping the football that hit him in the hands.
08:32 At first it was, oh, it's the fingertips. I don't know what happened. And then after days of sleep on this, he's asked about it.
08:39 And it's like, oh, the defense just made a good play. The lack of accountability, Greg, is stunning.
08:45 And if this guy goes out there and plays as many snaps as he has throughout the entire season on Sunday, you know, what's Bill telling the rest of the rest of that locker room?
08:54 Yeah, I did. Did he say anything about the throw from Mac Jones? Did he praise that or anything or?
09:00 No, I don't. No, I don't believe so. And he also said that he had not.
09:04 Reese also said that he had not spoken to Parker, had not spoken to.
09:08 I think it was Reese who said it. He still hadn't spoken to Mac about the play, which brings a bunch of different questions, too.
09:15 Yeah, I mean, this that's odd. And it is you know, you're absolutely correct.
09:20 It is disappointing. I mean, you look at, you know, when you build a program and when you, you know, are so worried about the locker room,
09:29 like Bill Belichick is with certain things, contracts and things like that.
09:33 And I do think he's right to do that. Those are real dynamics that go on.
09:38 And, you know, you can only manage them to a certain extent.
09:41 And I think for the most part, Belichick over his career has done a really nice job in that regard.
09:46 And you don't see a lot of the problems that go on elsewhere around the league as far as contracts.
09:53 Hey, this guy got his. Where's mine? I want mine.
09:55 Like, you don't see a lot of that with the Patriots, and that's a credit to Belichick and his approach.
10:00 But, you know, there's a flip side to that, that if you, you know, for example,
10:06 Jacobi Myers gets the free agency and you don't give him what he's worth and everybody sees what he got in Vegas.
10:12 And they're like, that's not a lot of money. Why didn't we give that to Jacobi Myers?
10:16 And then and then you extend Devante Parker, who hasn't done anything in a Patriots uniform.
10:24 And wait, that guy's assured of his future here.
10:28 And, you know, he got more guaranteed money, but I haven't gotten anything yet.
10:32 Like, you know, what's going on here?
10:33 So, you know, I think you're correct to point out that, you know, I do think Belichick has lost his way a little bit in terms of,
10:43 you know, those dynamics, who he gives out contracts to, who he gives extensions to, you know, because those guys are watching in the locker room.
10:50 And, you know, if, you know, it would be one thing if Devante Parker got an extension, then came out after the game and said,
10:58 you know what, you know, that was on my hands.
11:01 I got to have that ball. Mac threw a great ball. It was a perfect pass.
11:04 I let him down. I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen again.
11:07 Something like that, you know, that resonates in the room and, you know, the guys understand it.
11:12 But for a guy to get an extension and then he doesn't take responsibility twice, even days later,
11:18 you just wonder about where this locker room is going.
11:22 And you wonder, does he even get it? It doesn't seem like Parker gets it.
11:26 And how many guys don't get it in that locker room after years and years of getting it?
11:31 So it's a significant question.
11:32 Last one I wanted to ask you about before we get into some contract year stuff and trade deadline stuff.
11:37 And then, of course, we'll get quickly into the Buffalo game coming up on Sunday.
11:41 But Malik Cunningham, people love talking about this guy, Greg.
11:47 And the handling of the quarterback position, we talked about it in Vegas, was very strange.
11:56 Do you think we see Cunningham this weekend? Do you think that he's going to take some snaps?
12:00 Do you think he'll be QB number two again? Or will Bailey Zappi or will Greer be that guy?
12:08 Well, it's a great question, Nick.
12:09 And judging off Bill's response from this past game when he was just like, "A lot of injuries,"
12:17 as to why Malik Cunningham had to be the backup and the length of the injury list,
12:25 I don't know how much things really change.
12:29 But I think probably Bill realizes sort of the error of his ways.
12:38 And I do think sometimes Bill just gets caught up in the nitty gritty of things.
12:44 And, you know, Nick, that that was allowed to happen on Sunday.
12:48 And I think everybody's heard my rant by now.
12:50 And I even had a preemptive rant on the podcast about it last week, about how ridiculous it was that in week six,
12:58 the New England Patriots went into a game that they kind of needed to have with a terrible offensive line with no backup quarterback.
13:05 I mean, it's just absurd.
13:07 And to me, that speaks to...
13:10 I don't think there are people there in the building that speak the truth to Belichick anymore.
13:14 That there's no one there to be like, "Wait a minute.
13:18 What the hell are we doing?
13:20 Like, seriously, we're going to go into a game without a backup quarterback?
13:25 Why?"
13:25 You know, so he can get, you know, six snaps on offense.
13:30 So Jeremiah was a bullfrog, Farms can play two snaps, a defensive tackle.
13:36 Like, we have to make sure we're okay there, but we, you know, we need Sam Roberts and Jeremiah Farms.
13:41 You know, and you could just go through the whole roster about, you know, how there are guys that, you know, like Ty Montgomery
13:49 plays 13 snaps on special teams as like a gunner on punt team and on the edge on field goal and field goal block.
13:55 And like, does that really need to go on?
13:58 So, you know, I got to think that Bill probably thinks better of it.
14:02 I would say that Zappi's probably back to being the backup quarterback this week.
14:08 Cunningham could have a role this week.
14:10 I would not be surprised about that.
14:15 You know, but there shouldn't be the need to do what they did last week.
14:18 That shouldn't happen.
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16:18 All right, Greg, before we get to the matchup on Sunday, obviously trade deadline coming
16:25 up.
16:26 It's a couple of weeks away and a lot of people are wondering what's going to happen.
16:31 What's Belichick's role going to be?
16:33 I found it pretty telling.
16:35 I talked about this today on my podcast, The Nick Cattle Show, that there was Phil Perry
16:41 yesterday on his pod.
16:43 He talked about, according to people, I don't know if you can add to this, if you've heard
16:47 the same kinds of things that Phil has heard, but Phil said yesterday that he has heard
16:54 from people that Belichick's going to be Belichick, that his main priority, focus number one,
17:00 is to win football games.
17:02 He's going to go into the deadline thinking, "I want to win."
17:07 Not that he wouldn't make any trades, but if you're looking for Bill to trade impact
17:12 players, the Duggars and the Uches, you might be disappointed.
17:17 Have you heard anything about that, how Bill might approach this deadline?
17:22 If there's any idea or not if Kraft would step in and say something, if that was going
17:29 to be the approach?
17:31 A couple of things on that.
17:33 I will say that, number one, there are people in that building who want to start thinking
17:41 about 2024 and getting things set up for that.
17:46 That would probably entail maybe trading a few pieces this year.
17:51 I will also say that most of them are operating under the assumption that Bill is going to
17:57 be Bill, that he's going to continue to win games, that he is going to continue his trend
18:04 from recent years where he doesn't handle assets right.
18:10 We've seen this repeatedly.
18:11 We've been over it before.
18:12 The glaring example was Joe Tooney, who at the last minute, they decided to put the franchise
18:21 tag on him instead of letting him walk.
18:24 This was going into the COVID year, the Cam Newton year.
18:29 When Brady left, from what I understand, because they had this money allocated if Brady wanted
18:35 to come back, that they just decided to put it on Joe Tooney.
18:38 Now, I don't have a problem with that in a vacuum, but you need to look at things a few
18:44 steps down the road, especially if you're Bill Belichick, that's what your specialty
18:48 is.
18:50 You knew that the Patriots weren't going to spend freely that offseason.
18:56 If Joe Tooney, you let him become an unrestricted free agent, somebody snatches them up to a
19:00 big money contract, you'll at least pick up a third round comp pick in what would be 2021.
19:08 That's one decision to make.
19:09 They didn't do that.
19:10 They slapped the franchise tag on him.
19:12 Even even more egregious to me was the way that season was going, pretty early on, about
19:21 the midpoint of the season around the trade deadline, you could see that this was not
19:26 trending right.
19:27 Why not trade Joe Tooney at that time, get some of the money off the books from the franchise
19:32 tag and maybe pick up some sort of pick?
19:35 Probably wouldn't be a third round comp pick, but because of the money involved, but say
19:39 a fifth round pick.
19:40 But instead, what does Bill do?
19:42 He franchise tags him for over, I think over $10 million, like $11 million.
19:49 He plays out his string.
19:52 He leaves in free agency.
19:53 That's the same year the Patriots sign all those free agents.
19:56 So they get no comp pick.
19:57 They get no compensation for Joe Tooney.
20:00 So they basically wasted $11 million and a draft pick to have Joe Tooney play guard on
20:06 a dead end team.
20:08 And so that's what you need to somebody needs.
20:13 Somebody needs to be calculating this stuff and questioning Bill and about this stuff.
20:21 Because you look at a guy like Josh Huche, you have to have real conversations about
20:28 this is a guy who still is really just a designated pass rusher for this team.
20:34 And we've seen these guys in the past.
20:37 The Patriots have a certain limit on his value.
20:40 Somebody else who runs a 4-3 who just wants them to run after the quarterback will pay
20:44 him a lot of money in the offseason.
20:46 So you have to decide now, do you let it play out and get a comp pick the year after?
20:50 Or do you cut bait now and say, he's not our guy.
20:53 We're not going to offer him.
20:54 We're not going to franchise tag him.
20:56 We're not going to offer him a big, big contract extension.
20:59 Let's get a third or fourth round pick now.
21:01 You know, so these are the things you have to weigh out.
21:04 And I do think you're right.
21:05 I think, look, I don't think there's anybody in that building right now that is going to
21:10 speak truth to power in Bill Belichick.
21:13 And so it's got to be the crafts.
21:16 And if Gerard Mayo is going to be their next guy, they need to start getting in cahoots
21:20 with him about like, hey, what are you thinking about a year from now?
21:24 What do you think Bill should do?
21:26 What if you think, if we trade these guys, are you okay with it?
21:29 Do you just want to start fresh?
21:30 Like, what do you want to do, because I can guarantee you almost that Bill Belichick is
21:35 not thinking about the future.
21:37 He is thinking about winning games this season because that's all he's ever been about in
21:41 his football career.
21:43 A couple quick things.
21:45 You mentioned the compensatory thing with Dooney, same situation this time around.
21:48 I know this is something else that Phil Perry's talked about.
21:51 You got a hundred million dollars in cap space this off season.
21:54 You are going to spend that money.
21:56 And that means the compensatory formula means pretty much nothing to you.
22:01 So you could have a number of these guys walk because you didn't trade them and then you
22:06 get nothing for them in return.
22:09 Same situation as Joe Tooney.
22:12 Did Belichick learn from it?
22:14 We'll see.
22:15 The second thing, this structure is so antiquated.
22:21 And I understand why Belichick is head coach in GM.
22:25 The time he came in, the leverage he had with the Jets and all of that, the idea that obviously
22:32 the more they won, the more stroke he got and the more Kraft looked at it and said,
22:36 "Things are going fine.
22:37 There's no reason to split these two atoms here.
22:41 Don't split the atom up into two separate pieces."
22:44 But now you start to see the chickens come home to roost because now you've got a head
22:48 coach who's 71 years old, who is grasping tightly onto his legacy.
22:54 He's looking at Don Shula's record.
22:56 He knows what people are saying about him.
22:58 He knows he has failed the past few years.
23:00 And the last thing that head coach Belichick is going to want to do is give up on this
23:05 season because he's not going to go out with a three and 14 record.
23:10 That is not what he wants.
23:12 So head coach Belichick is going to fight GM Belichick because if you're a GM, your
23:17 number one priority is to, if you're in this kind of situation, okay, what can we get rid
23:22 of, what can we get back and how do we start building towards 2024?
23:27 Head coach Belichick ain't feeling that.
23:29 And that is the fundamental issue, having a head coach/GM role.
23:34 It's why New England's the only one in the league that has it right now.
23:37 It doesn't work.
23:38 It just doesn't work.
23:40 So significant change has to happen.
23:43 With that said, let's talk about some of these guys, Greg.
23:46 Let's run down some of the free agents.
23:47 I remind people that one third of this roster is walking into free agency after the season's
23:51 over.
23:52 So I don't know if you agree with this.
23:55 Let me just give you a premise here.
23:59 Do you handle the deadline differently if the plan is to try to somehow, someway rehab
24:07 Mac Jones and he is likely to be on this roster in 2024?
24:12 Does that change GM Bedard's way of handling this deadline in any way?
24:18 That's a good question.
24:19 Um, no, I don't think that it does.
24:23 I mean, you know, because I would start, I would start here.
24:26 The discussion to me, when we talk about these players and there's, there's a whole list
24:30 of them that are, you know, either starters or, or very prominent role players that are
24:35 going to be free agents.
24:37 You have to start the discussion with, okay, which guy do we want to franchise and which
24:44 guy or guys are we willing to maybe overpay to retain because we need some continuity
24:53 at certain spots.
24:54 So, but I don't, I don't really think you can build a team like that.
24:59 I mean, it's similar to like when, um, you know, and again, we're going with, we don't
25:05 know who's running the operation, but just let's, for the sake of argument that they
25:10 sort of continue on as is with maybe a tweak with personnel or something like that.
25:15 But um, you know, remember when, uh, after Cam Newton's first year, they brought him
25:22 back and, or re-signed him and he was the only quarterback on the roster and they went
25:28 into free agency and they signed all of those guys.
25:31 They didn't get Mack Jones until like a month or two later in the draft.
25:36 And so, you know, I think, you know, yeah, they totally had Mack Jones in mind when they
25:43 signed Hunter Henry.
25:45 Like I mean, you know, there there's a, you just have to, you just have to build a team
25:53 like, you know, for example, you know, let's just start off with, you know, tight end Hunter
25:58 Henry, like, look, it's the tight end position.
26:02 They don't have anybody signed beyond this year.
26:04 And so what are you going to do?
26:05 Like what's the alternative?
26:07 Are you going to go out and, you know, sign another free agent or just sign Gusicki at
26:13 a lower number or draft a guy?
26:17 Like, so, you know, to me, I think it's, it's not about the quarterback.
26:20 It's about like, what do we have at the position?
26:23 What are the alternatives?
26:25 How do we feel the competent team next year, no matter what we do.
26:29 And I think that's where you need to start the discussion.
26:32 I think Mac does impact this.
26:35 And if I'm thinking about Mac Jones and whether or not he's going to be able to rehab here,
26:41 I need to give him at least something to work with.
26:44 And if I am trading Hunter Henry and the only good offensive lineman you've had all year
26:48 in Trent Brown, and I'm trading Kendrick Bourne, the only receiver that's worth a damn so far
26:53 this season, if I'm trading those guys, I'm bailing on Mac Jones.
26:57 He's Mac Jones has been bad the last three weeks.
27:01 He's not going to get better if you ship out the guys that have actually done something
27:04 for him this year.
27:06 So I think, and I know Mac is this obviously polarizing figure.
27:12 And I understand like he's, he hasn't been good the last three weeks.
27:15 There's no doubt about that, but you have to look at this in the big picture and you
27:20 have to take emotion out of it.
27:22 And so if you're looking at Mac Jones, he's been bad the last three weeks.
27:27 However, I posted this on X yesterday and it's not to defend Mac Jones in any way in
27:34 the way he's looked recently.
27:36 This is the pushback, the narrative that Mac Jones has sucked since the end of 2021.
27:40 That's not true.
27:41 Greg has told you that's not true.
27:43 With the game film that he has done, Mac had a string of winning games.
27:48 He didn't win games, but he was playing winning football, like eight out of 11, whatever it
27:54 was, whatever the number was.
27:55 And when you look back after Belichick embarrassed Mac on national television against the Bears
28:00 on Monday night, you go from that next game until Mac was broken in Dallas.
28:07 I think it's a 13 game stretch.
28:09 Mac completed 65% of his passes, 17 touchdowns, seven interceptions, and a passer rating of
28:16 88.4.
28:19 Good numbers considering what he was dealing with.
28:21 I'm not telling you he's lighting the world on fire, but if you expect Mac to be average
28:26 to slightly above average, that's what he had been, post Chicago game until Dallas when
28:31 he was broken.
28:33 The question is whether or not the Patriots can get him back to that point, because if
28:37 you do, that's going to give you a lot of options.
28:40 I don't think Mac Jones playing average football is going to win you any games.
28:45 We saw in the first three weeks, he played pretty good football.
28:48 You were one and two and barely survived the Jets.
28:50 If I'm the Patriots, one of the most important assets that I might have on my roster is a
28:55 rehab Mac Jones, because it gives you the opportunity that, "Hey, if we have a top five
29:00 pick or we're going to move up and draft one of those stud quarterbacks, we can then pivot
29:05 and trade Mac to somebody else."
29:08 Now his value is not at its lowest point, which it is right now.
29:12 If you don't have that top pick, Greg, you then have the ability to draft a quarterback
29:17 in the middle rounds, sign a guy like a Gardner Minshew, and walk in next year with a Mac
29:23 Jones versus that guy quarterback competition in your bridge year.
29:28 It does nothing for you if you just cast aside Mac Jones, if you just quit on him right now.
29:33 I understand people want to, I do, but you've got to pull the frustration and anger and
29:39 stuff like that.
29:40 You've got to take that out of this.
29:42 This is a business.
29:43 For the Patriots business, the best thing would be to rehab the value of your 15th overall
29:48 pick from a couple of years ago.
29:50 That's how I feel.
29:51 Let's start with Hunter Henry.
29:52 I'm guessing you would hold onto him.
29:56 I would franchise tag Hunter Henry, because I'm just looking at the potential tight end.
30:03 Tight end is the third lowest, sorry, fourth lowest projected.
30:08 No, excuse me, third.
30:10 Keep getting confused.
30:12 Third lowest as far as money on the projected franchise tender on overthecap.com at 13.2
30:21 million.
30:22 Safety, Kyle Duggar would be involved.
30:26 Safety is $18 million a year.
30:30 That's a bit rich for somebody who I don't think is worth that money.
30:35 I do think that Hunter Henry's worth that money, and to Mac Jones, and the fact that
30:39 you have absolutely nothing at tight end, and you're not just going to draft the guy
30:44 in the fourth round and plug him in, and he's going to be a starter.
30:49 I would franchise tag Hunter Henry to keep him here, to give me something that I know.
30:53 He was a captain this year.
30:55 He's a leader.
30:56 Mac Jones loves him.
30:57 I franchise tag Hunter Henry.
30:59 I stick with Henry as well.
31:01 Trent Brown.
31:03 Trent Brown I stick with, because again, they haven't prepared at the tackle position, which
31:08 we've been talking about for three years, because they're again in this freaking position
31:13 where, so what I do with Trent Brown, I hold on to him, and we all know Trent's a very
31:18 simple man.
31:19 He is going to go to the highest bidder.
31:21 I don't know how much of a market he's going to have.
31:24 Everybody knows who the hell Trent Brown is, so I'm willing to risk it, let him go to market,
31:30 say, "Hey, go get your best offer.
31:32 We'll match it at least."
31:35 And yeah, I think Trent Brown is back again, probably on a one-year contract, because they
31:39 haven't done jack crap at tackle, but that's where they are.
31:44 You and I, same page so far.
31:45 Kendrick Bourne.
31:48 This is a tough one.
31:49 Yeah.
31:50 Yep.
31:51 Kendrick Bourne.
31:52 I love Kendrick Bourne.
31:56 I want him on my team.
31:58 The question is, do I think he's going to have a market?
32:02 Yeah, I think he's going to have a market.
32:04 I think there are going to be teams that watch his film and like his film.
32:09 I think there are things that the Patriots know, that the Raiders coaches know about
32:13 Kendrick Bourne that make him tougher to bet on, a sure bet, as far as giving money to.
32:22 So with Kendrick Bourne, I'm sorry to say, I would look to trade him now.
32:29 Unless my shorts were blown off by an offer, I'm keeping them.
32:32 I just, again, with the idea of trying to rehab Mac.
32:36 And one more thing I'd say is, again, I understand people's frustrations, but you've got to take
32:41 emotion out of this.
32:42 It is a business.
32:44 You can't fire the whole team.
32:46 You can't get rid of everybody.
32:47 You need to feel the football team next year.
32:50 A third of your team is off, right?
32:52 They're going into free agency.
32:54 You still need some guys.
32:57 And I have a concern about if you're just letting everybody go, how does that impact
33:03 the 30 dudes that are actually going to be here in 2024?
33:06 How does it impact the rookie class?
33:09 If you throw the white flag up and you trade a guy, Kendrick Bourne's your only receiver
33:15 who has actually proven to give a shit this year that is a veteran.
33:18 And that means something to me.
33:20 If you trade Kendrick Bourne, you're left with Devante Parker and Juju Smith-Schuster
33:24 as the veterans at wide receiver for you, and you want Pop Douglas and Keyshawn Booty
33:29 to learn from those dudes?
33:30 And Juju's not a bad guy.
33:34 Juju's just not productive.
33:36 But you want Parker to continue to lead that room?
33:38 I would like to have Bourne's steadiness.
33:41 Play him where he should be played.
33:43 Give him the football.
33:45 Give Max somebody to throw the football to.
33:47 And Kendrick Bourne is the kind of guy that can help Keyshawn Booty and Pop Douglas's
33:52 development for the rest of the year.
33:54 That does matter to me.
33:55 Mike Kosicki?
33:59 Somebody going to have him at any time for a bag of used footballs.
34:02 He gone.
34:03 Let's go with Zeke Elliott.
34:07 Love Zeke.
34:08 I do think right now he's the best running back on the roster.
34:11 But given his contract, how he's fit in with the Patriots, his reputation around the league,
34:19 I think this might actually be a case where the Patriots at the end look smart for signing
34:25 a guy and then unloading him.
34:28 I think if there are injuries around the league, like say Dallas doesn't like what's going
34:32 on at running back with Pollard and what they have there, and bring him back.
34:37 I love having Zeke here.
34:39 I think he's a good player.
34:41 But I would try to trade him.
34:46 I agree with you.
34:47 Send him to a contender.
34:48 Make a fifth round pick or something for him.
34:50 And again, that's good business.
34:52 Jalen Mills?
34:56 Much to my chagrin, at this point he has no role on this team.
34:59 Similar to Adrian Phillips, who is not on this list.
35:02 But I guess you could only group them together.
35:03 Because I do think Phillips has term on his contract yet.
35:08 But both of them have no role on this team.
35:11 And so if somebody wants him, come get him.
35:16 I guess it's tough to find a role for all 15 of your safeties.
35:20 So yeah, I would say goodbye to Jalen Mills.
35:24 I thought he actually played really well when he was given an opportunity in the preseason.
35:28 I agree.
35:29 And was one of those dudes that was playing hard.
35:32 And apparently it didn't matter.
35:34 Kyle Duggar, you touched on him a little bit earlier.
35:36 You said you wouldn't franchise him, but would you trade him at the deadline?
35:39 Yeah, I wouldn't trade him.
35:45 I think he's going to get overpaid by someone.
35:48 And look, he's 27, I think.
35:51 Maybe going to be 28 next year, which we've talked about before.
35:54 He can't play free safety.
35:56 He's pretty much a box safety.
35:59 You've seen the mistake that Seattle made with Jamal Adams with that trade with a very
36:03 similar type of player and how that hasn't worked out for them.
36:08 If somebody wants to give me something for Duggar right now, I'm taking it.
36:15 So tough.
36:16 This is one of the tougher ones for me.
36:18 I think I would hold on to him, put him where he belongs on the field, and I would try like
36:25 hell to extend him.
36:26 And I know it's a risk.
36:27 Greg, I tend to agree with you.
36:30 He's going to get paid a lot of money by somebody.
36:32 You might lose him.
36:33 You might lose him for nothing.
36:35 But I might take that risk because he's one of those guys, if he's in the right spot,
36:41 you can come back next year and you have Gonzalez and Duggar and Barmore and Judon.
36:47 You've at least got four or five guys, Keon White hopefully gets back from this concussion
36:52 that you could kind of believe in as pieces on one side of the ball.
36:57 Josh Uche.
37:01 Like we sort of touched on before, I don't think he's ever going to be a full-time player
37:06 here.
37:07 I think his film's really good.
37:08 I mean, while he hasn't been uber productive for the Patriots this year, he's freaking
37:12 fast on film.
37:13 There will be teams, four or three teams, maybe somebody like the Lions or somebody
37:19 of that ilk that look at him and be like, "That dude is fast and can get after the quarterback
37:23 and we're just going to let him do that."
37:25 So he is going to get paid in free agency.
37:29 The Patriots aren't going to match that.
37:31 I can't see them franchising a guy who's not even a three-down player for them.
37:38 I definitely trade Josh Uche.
37:39 Yeah, he's the guy at the top of my list that might be able to get you the most in the trade
37:44 market and I agree with everything you said.
37:47 I don't think he has a future here as a full-time player.
37:50 He's a pass-rushing sub, that's what he is.
37:52 Move on.
37:53 Someone's going to pay him a ton of money.
37:54 There's no chance you're going to come close to that money.
37:56 Michael Wenu.
37:58 Tough because he's hurt and he doesn't have good film this year.
38:03 I think he'd be selling low.
38:07 I do think he'll get a decent contract offer.
38:11 Just think back to Tooney got sort of near top of the market.
38:15 He was in his prime coming off a really good season.
38:19 Wenu, he's beat up.
38:21 His film isn't good.
38:23 So that's going to mute his market a little bit.
38:26 So in any event, he's a guard.
38:31 While he's a good player, when he's played well, you just drafted three interior guys.
38:37 You can find guards.
38:38 Riley Reif looks like he actually might be able to play guard a little bit if he's ever
38:42 healthy ever for the rest of his life.
38:46 So I'd probably hang on to a Wenu and sort of gauge his market and see where it goes.
38:51 If it's not obscene, then maybe I just mash the offer and bring him back.
38:54 But he's a guy I hold on to and wait and see.
38:58 If I get knocked over by an offer, I'm trading him.
39:00 If not, probably hold on to him.
39:02 Matthew Judon, he's obviously not walking into free agency year, correct?
39:06 But he's going to be in that same kind of Stefan Gilmore spot next camp.
39:11 He obviously has a torn bicep.
39:14 What do you do with him?
39:16 Well, it depends what I can get.
39:19 Given his injury status, maybe there's a team that knows him well that needs an edge rusher
39:23 like the Ravens who know he's going to be back and will play ball on his contract.
39:29 But we were in the same spot with Stefan Gilmore.
39:33 And I told people, I was like, "This is going to be an issue.
39:37 You need to do something now."
39:39 I think it was the same year where I was like, "Trade Gilmore now because you're just going
39:43 to be in the same spot."
39:45 And then he ended up, they didn't trade him.
39:47 Even he wanted to get traded.
39:49 They didn't trade him.
39:50 And then he got hurt.
39:53 Just like Matthew Judon is.
39:54 And then he does come back and he never practices.
39:57 He bitches about his contract.
39:58 And then he's, what was he, traded or released?
40:01 I think he was traded.
40:02 He was traded.
40:04 Traded to the Panthers?
40:06 I think so.
40:07 Yeah, for like a box of donuts.
40:11 So look, if somebody wants to make an offer for Matthew Judon, a really good offer with
40:19 him being injured, I have to listen to it.
40:23 Given his age and where he is, how willing are the Patriots going to go on a contract
40:29 with a guy who's hurt?
40:30 They normally don't do that.
40:32 They stay clear of that.
40:33 So they're going to be running into issues.
40:36 I guess I got to be blown away by the offer.
40:40 But it's either trade him now or prepare to pay through the nose next year or else you're
40:45 going to be in the same spot with him.
40:46 Same as Gilmore.
40:47 I'm holding onto him.
40:48 You've got zero pass rush.
40:51 You're either, I don't know what you're going to do.
40:53 You're going to end up having to draft an edge or two high in the next draft, which
40:58 you've got so many holes like tackle and wide receiver.
41:01 And if you have a top five pick, you're going to probably spend that on a quarterback, I
41:05 would imagine.
41:06 I would.
41:07 So I'm going to keep him around.
41:08 And I also think he's really good for the locker room.
41:10 I think he's good for the guys.
41:11 And with the idea of keeping at least some of that intact, I'd hold onto Judon.
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42:36 All right, let's, uh, let's quickly look at this game coming up on Sunday.
42:43 Greg, uh, Buffalo Bills come rolling into town.
42:45 Let's start with the, uh, Bill's offense and how the Patriots defense can, can deal with
42:51 Josh Allen and company.
42:53 Greg, what would you do if you're the Pats on Sunday?
42:56 I play really aggressive and I know they don't do that anymore against the bills or the dolphins,
43:01 but you know, you look at the job that the giants did against Josh Allen, you know, that's
43:06 wink Martindale, the giants defensive coordinator, who's one of the most aggressive in the league.
43:12 Um, you know, they got after him.
43:15 I mean, with Josh Allen, like you want him to make mistakes.
43:18 You want to speed them up.
43:19 You want them to play fast, but the Patriots, like they're too afraid of him and they sit
43:24 back and they're like, well, maybe he'll just throw it to us on accident.
43:28 Um, and, and he does do that on occasion.
43:31 He does still make stupid plays even when you don't rush them.
43:34 But you know, the, the Josh Allen I watched against the giants was a guy who was made
43:38 uncomfortable by the giants, you know, pressure and coverage and the giants aren't uber talented
43:44 on defense or anything like that.
43:47 I mean, they do have some really good players.
43:49 Um, but you know, it's, it's, you know, nothing that I would say they're, they're way better
43:53 than the Patriots or anything like that.
43:54 So you know, the Patriots, the, these blitzes, if they do it, they gotta be better.
44:00 Um, you know, they have to play more aggressive in the secondary.
44:05 I would just double Stefan Diggs wherever he goes, because that's, he's the only guy
44:10 Josh Allen looks at.
44:11 I mean, you'll be, you'll be watching and you'll be like, that guy's open.
44:15 That guy's open.
44:16 That guy's open.
44:17 And then he's throwing it to Stefan Diggs with three guys draped around him.
44:20 And Stefan Diggs is trying to make a catch, like behind his head, like this, like, you
44:24 know, so Josh has gotten really bad staff tunnel vision.
44:29 Maybe that gets corrected this week.
44:31 Because there were, there are a lot of plays to make, to be made on the field, but the
44:36 Patriots have to figure out a way to get Josh Allen sped up.
44:41 And it's not what they've done in recent times against him.
44:44 Yeah.
44:45 So, uh, what you have done the last five games against Josh Allen, here's what you do.
44:49 You take that, you roll it up and you throw it in the garbage and you do the complete
44:53 opposite because if you take out, if you take out the wind game, which doesn't matter, come
44:59 on now, uh, here's, here's what Allen has done the last five games against the Patriots.
45:03 Again, excluding the wind game, 70% completion percentage, 17 touchdowns, one interception.
45:12 His passer rating has been a one 22.56.
45:15 He has ripped your heart out and showed the entire world over and over and over again,
45:22 do the exact opposite.
45:23 You've done the last five games against this guy, uh, to, to highlight your point before
45:27 we move to the defense, Greg on digs, digs this year, 66 targets, 66 targets this year.
45:34 So far, uh, Gabe Davis is second on the team with 30 digs has more than twice the amount
45:41 of targets than the guy who's gotten the second most on the team.
45:43 So what Greg is telling you is the exact truth.
45:46 There's no doubt about it.
45:47 It is digs, digs, and more digs.
45:48 All right, let's jump to the, uh, Bill's defense.
45:51 Defense is banged up.
45:52 Uh, Matt Milano is out.
45:53 Trudeaus white is out.
45:57 Daquan Jones is out.
45:58 Ed Oliver, uh, is iffy.
45:59 He might not play.
46:00 Um, so we'll see if he's out there, but just your kind of overall thoughts on this Bill's
46:05 defense and, and how you would attack it if you were Bill O'Brien and company.
46:09 Yeah, they, um, they're definitely weak at cornerback.
46:13 Um, the edge rushers are pretty good.
46:15 Von Miller is back, but he, he ain't Von Miller yet.
46:19 Like he looks like he's still playing on like, you know, one knee coming back from, I think
46:23 it was ACL or something along those lines.
46:25 Yeah.
46:26 Um, you know, but, uh, Russo Epinesa has had a really good year.
46:31 Leonard Floyd looks really good out there for them on the edge.
46:34 So you know, Von is sort of like a, you know, designated closer that they kind of bring
46:39 in on, on just pass rushing downs to run around, but he's not the same guy anymore.
46:44 Um, if Oliver is out there, they're really good on the defensive interior with Phillips
46:48 and Oliver, uh, Puna Ford, Tim Settle.
46:52 Those are two big, like run stuffing guys.
46:55 Um, God, I hope, I hope at Oliver isn't playing in this game because I don't want to watch
47:00 at Oliver against a Tony Omafi or, or city.
47:04 So, or whatever else they're doing.
47:06 So, um, this is going to sound very counterproductive, Nick.
47:10 Um, and people are going to be like, what the hell is wrong with the dart?
47:13 He's completely lost it.
47:14 And it's only week seven.
47:16 So if this was a regular Patriots offense or even Mack Jones in his rookie season with
47:24 Josh McDaniels as offensive coordinator, they wouldn't even try to run the ball against
47:28 this defense.
47:29 They would just spread them out and just try to pick them apart.
47:33 And that's what I would like them to do.
47:36 Do I think they're going to do that?
47:38 No, but that's sort of what the game plan calls for.
47:42 Pick on the, the cornerbacks are not good.
47:45 And a lot of youth, a lot of mistakes out there.
47:48 Um, give Mac a look at the pass rush where it's coming from.
47:52 They play a lot of zone, let them pick it apart.
47:55 Just little dink and dunks all over the field, three step drops.
47:58 You know, that's what I would do.
47:59 And then, then maybe come in, get them, get them gassed a little bit, then maybe come
48:03 in with the running game.
48:04 But that's what I would do against these guys.
48:06 Will they do it?
48:07 I don't know.
48:08 I'd run the ball.
48:09 I'd run the ball.
48:10 Uh, the bills run defense has not been good for, you know, a few years now.
48:15 Milano is one of the dudes that helps sometimes against the run.
48:19 And as I said, he's out.
48:20 Edmonds is no longer on this team.
48:23 Uh, so they're on defense is 31st in the league.
48:26 They're giving up almost five and a half yards of carry.
48:28 You can run on this team.
48:29 If the, if the big boys up front show up with the right attitude, you can run the football
48:34 on this team.
48:35 And one other thing about this bill's defense, they have the sixth most missed tackles in
48:39 the league this year.
48:41 So you can turn a five yard gain into a 10 yard gain against these dudes.
48:45 So I would run the ball, not exclusively, but I would try to run the ball on early downs
48:51 to try to establish that.
48:52 And then maybe you can open things up.
48:54 And I understand Buffalo, they'll probably roll eight in the box.
48:57 They'll probably, you know, force things to be tight on Mac, but, uh, I would at least
49:03 start this game seeing if I can run the ball.
49:06 Uh, and as you said, Von Miller, not the same guy because of the injury, the pass rush though,
49:12 numbers wise has been pretty legit.
49:14 And that's my concern.
49:15 Like this defense does two things.
49:17 Well, get after the quarterback and take the football away.
49:21 I want you to think about those two things and think about what has plagued the Patriots
49:24 this year.
49:25 That's that, that is a recipe for disaster.
49:29 My friends, the, the, the bills are number one in sack percentage, number one in pressure
49:32 percentage and they don't blitz.
49:35 They're the opposite of the Patriots.
49:37 They get pressure without blitzing.
49:39 They're 21st in the league and blitz percentage.
49:41 So yeah, that's going to be an issue and we'll see how it all works out.
49:47 All right.
49:48 We'll give you our pick in a minute, but first I'll tell you a BSJ 50 bucks for the year,
49:52 but Darden Giardi, a tag teaming the Patriots coverage.
49:55 Of course, Celtics coming up now, John Corrales with the coverage over there at BSJ, uh, and
50:01 also hags.
50:02 Max has joined the team at BSJ to cover the Bruins.
50:06 So they've got you taken care of over there.
50:08 Uh, are those special still running Greg or, or have those, uh, no, yeah, we're, we're
50:14 running Celtics into a week into the season.
50:17 So that's Celtics 23 to get 20% off or hags to get 20% off, um, as well.
50:23 There you go.
50:24 I also want to remind all of you, this episode is brought to you by Fandul, the exclusive
50:28 wagering partner of the CLNS media network.
50:30 New customers get $200 in bonus bets guaranteed when you place a $5 bet.
50:35 Fandul line, Greg bills minus eight and a half at Gillette.
50:39 The over under is 40 and a half.
50:42 What you got?
50:43 Yeah, I'm not overly impressed with the bills.
50:45 I mean, you know, look, they, they got all they could handle from the giants who, you
50:51 know, with Tyrod Taylor at quarterback, um, at home.
50:56 And um, you know, so the bills aren't exactly clicking.
51:00 There's all sorts of stuff about, you know, they're all over, uh, the offensive coordinator
51:05 and Josh Allen and what's wrong with them and blah, blah, blah.
51:08 I mean, you know, I think they're just working through some things.
51:12 I don't, you know, one of my big issues with the bills is that, you know, a, they're not
51:17 physical enough on the offensive line.
51:18 They need, you know, give them a little bit of a running game and they also need, you
51:22 know, some other options.
51:24 I've never been a Gabe Davis guy and, uh, you know, some of the other picks haven't
51:28 worked out.
51:29 So, uh, I'm not overly enamored with them, but you know, Josh Allen just seems very comfortable
51:35 against the Patriots.
51:36 And I don't think that's going to change.
51:38 And we're going to see Stefan digs, you know, his eyes get about this big when he sees JC
51:42 Jackson and Jonathan Jones in the Patriots secondary.
51:46 And so, you know, he's going to get, you know, a one or two touchdowns cause he always does
51:50 against the Patriots.
51:51 And so, you know, I like the bills.
51:53 I like them by about 10 in this game.
51:56 Do I think it's going to be high scoring?
51:58 No, 40 and a half.
52:02 I would say probably let's go 27, 13, some, some, somewhere around there.
52:09 So yeah.
52:10 Okay.
52:11 So I'm going to go bills, uh, to cover.
52:15 I just, until the Patriots show me that they can slow down Josh Allen, then I, I, I can't
52:24 pick them to even, you know, be within the eight and a half points.
52:29 The last five games, as I mentioned, those numbers from Josh Allen, the bills have won
52:33 every single one of those five games by double digits.
52:36 They have torched Belichick's defense and until Belichick flips the script and they
52:40 look like a completely different defense against this quarterback.
52:43 I just anticipate the bills being able to put up at least 27, 30 points.
52:47 And I don't think the Patriots offense can do that.
52:50 I think the Patriots offense is looking at, you know, a 20 spot that that's, and that
52:56 might be generous.
52:57 So I'm going bills minus eight and a half.
53:00 I'm going to go with the over again, off of the Allen stuff and what he's done to Belichick's
53:03 defense.
53:04 One caveat that I will give to all of you.
53:07 If you're thinking about betting this game, the weather could be really, really iffy.
53:12 I was watching earlier today.
53:15 Wind gusts could be as high as 35, 40 miles an hour and there could be some rain.
53:20 So if you've got whipping winds and you've got some rain that might change, that might
53:26 change the entire dynamic.
53:27 So we'll see what happens on Sunday though.
53:29 We'll be back tomorrow, not tomorrow, early next week to recap the game and more.
53:36 Everybody enjoy your weekend, be safe and have some fun until then.
53:40 It's the Greg Medard Patriots podcast with Nick Happ.
53:42 [music]