What does Mayes improvement mean? | Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast - video Dailymotion

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Greg and Nick break down everything that has happened with Drake Maye since the Eagles joint practice. Can he start? Is there a competition? Breaking down the offensive line puzzle and three things we liked and didn't like from the Eagles game.  After a rocky start in joint practices and a lackluster showing against the Philadelphia Eagles, Maye has begun to turn things around, showcasing improved decision-making and confidence on the field. The hosts discuss the implications of the coaching staff's strategies, including their approach to Maye's development and the ongoing quarterback competition with Jacoby Brissett. With a focus on the offensive line's mixed performance and the need for a solid running game, this episode offers a comprehensive look at the challenges and potential solutions facing the Patriots as they gear up for the upcoming season. Tune in for insights and analysis that every Patriots fan won't want to miss!  0:00 - Intro 5:40 - Maye's Preseason Performance 7:19 - Drake's Decisiveness 9:41 - Split Reps Opportunity 12:22 - Practice vs. Preseason 14:20 - Jacoby Brissett Starter 16:00 - Shotgun Offense Discussion 20:12 - Young QB Discussion 22:45 - Drake Maye's Fit 24:30 - Running Game Strategy 29:11 - Left Tackle Options 32:03 - Right Guard Discussion 34:15 - Mix and Match Strategy 37:01 - Optimism for Options 38:50 - Three Things Liked 41:00 - Rookie Quarterback Struggles   ************************************************ Patriots Content Brought to you by....  Prize Picks - PrizePicks.com/CLNS Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100!  Gametime - https://gametime.co Take the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets with Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Download Gametime today. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed. Terms apply.  Merch Store - https://shop.clnsmedia.com  Social Media!!!!  Patriots Twitter- https://twitter.com/patriotsclns  Patriots Instagram-  https://www.instagram.com/patriotsclns/  Facebook- https://facebook.com/clnsmedia  LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/company/clnsmedia/about/  Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@clnsmedia *********************************************************  ABOUT PATRIOTS COVERAGE ON CLNS:   Welcome to the CLNS Media Network’s YouTube channel for New England Patriots  football.  CLNS Media is the leading online provider of audio/video coverage for the 6X Super Bowl Champions.  Get complete inside access to the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro and everywhere on the road. CLNS Patriots credentialed insiders Greg Bedard, Andrew Callahan, Tayler Kyles, John Zannis, Alex Barth and Mike Kadlick provide instantaneous news and analysis all in real time, as well as full access to complete videos from the players, coaches, ownership and everyone else inside Patriots Place.

Transcript

00:00This is the Gregg Bedard Patriots Podcast with Nick Cavins.

00:07We're going to get into the good stuff in a minute, but I remind you first, download

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00:41All right.

00:42I'm going to start with Drake May, because of course we do.

00:48Let's first start with the last time we had a conversation, you and I.

00:53It was before the Philadelphia Eagles preseason game.

00:58Obviously that game has been talked about an awful lot since then with Drake May.

01:03Just 30,000 feet, Gregg, what have you seen from May the last couple of weeks?

01:07I know last week you went a little bit harsh on him, said he was far behind.

01:12Have you changed that stance?

01:14How do you feel now after the last several days going back to the preseason game?

01:19Yeah.

01:20Well, Nick, all I could tell you is leaving the press box on Thursday night, and you could

01:28probably even hear this in the post-game show that I did on 98.5.

01:33I left in a good mood from the press box on Thursday.

01:38Certainly better than where I was at the previous week.

01:41Certainly a lot better than I was after the Eagles joint practice, which that was not

01:48fun and not fun to watch.

01:52I was breathing a big sigh of relief because I thought that Drake May, and look, he has

01:59shown flashes in camp.

02:01It's not like he's out there drilling balls under the ground and throwing picks all the

02:05time and all this stuff.

02:08He's shown flashes in camp, but I would say they've been few and far between, especially

02:18about the week leading up to the Eagles joint practice.

02:22He started out pretty well in camp, and then for about a week there, he plateaued.

02:33I was frustrated by that, and it culminated in the Eagles joint practice.

02:39It wasn't all on him because it was the entire offense.

02:42The entire offense couldn't do anything after.

02:44Once they started red zone in that practice, it was terrible.

02:50I asked people internally, did I react too harshly to that?

02:55Was I too harsh on the offense, and they're like, well, it certainly wasn't good.

03:03They shared basically the same opinion.

03:08Was I reactionary to that?

03:11Yeah.

03:12Did I probably overreact to it?

03:14Yeah, a little bit.

03:15I'm not going to take back my general overarching opinions about the offense and May's progression

03:24and a lot of that.

03:25I do think some of it was that.

03:28The other thing that's really bothered me, and this is probably where I might have overreacted

03:32a little bit, was May's lack of usage against the Carolina Panthers.

03:39Anytime I say something or make an evaluation, I always go back, whether it's I revisit things

03:45or I talk to people in the building and be like, was this fair?

03:48Was this not fair?

03:51I can tell you, number one, first of all, there's a lot of people in the building who

03:54weren't happy with the plan with Drake May in that first game.

03:59I made the mistake, slight mistake, of reading too much into that, that six snaps against

04:07the Panthers threes, what they asked him to do, which was basically nothing.

04:15I took that as a big sign of they don't think he can do anything, and that was not correct.

04:23That was not technically correct.

04:25Now, I will say I have an excuse, or at least this is what I think the excuse was, is that

04:32I covered Bill Belichick for 14 years, and I saw a lot of training camp practices, a

04:40lot of preseasons, and pretty much it wasn't the secret sauce of Bill Belichick in terms

04:45of developing players, picking a roster and all that stuff.

04:50It wasn't all that complicated.

04:52Pretty much what you saw in the practice field and in the games is pretty much the coaches

04:58telling you what they thought of the players in terms of, for example, Jimmy Garoppolo

05:06went out there his rookie year and played at least 25 saps in every game and played

05:15well at times.

05:17They just had him in shotgun sort of like they did with Drake, but they kept things

05:20in his bucket, stuff that they knew that he could do.

05:24But that's where I came from, and to see Drake May only play six snaps and not being asked

05:30to do really much of anything, I reacted badly to that, and that was probably my mistake.

05:39Now, fast forward to Drake May, I think Thursday night, I'm sure other reporters will differ,

05:48but I thought Drake May in his 24, 25 snaps, whatever he had against the Eagles, I thought

05:54he showed more in that game than he had pretty much combined in camp to that point.

06:02Again, not saying that he didn't do anything in the games, but just in terms of his comfort,

06:11some of the way he read the defenses, delivered the ball on time.

06:18There wasn't the lack of decisiveness, and there wasn't the second guessing that we've

06:24seen in practice.

06:25And I know some people excuse the quote unquote sacks in camp as just his protection.

06:31It's never just the protection.

06:34Part of it was Drake not pulling the trigger on stuff, and there were plays in this game

06:39where we saw him not pull the trigger and be a little indecisive.

06:42But I will say, I think this game was great for Drake.

06:48At least if he was questioning himself, which I'm guessing that he probably was a little

06:53bit, I think that reinforced to him like, I can play.

06:58I can play on this level.

06:59Now, look, his second team and all that stuff and simple offense and all that stuff.

07:03But I think it gave him a needed boost of confidence, and he carried that into the next

07:09two days of practice.

07:10The first day was in just shells, sort of get back on the field, make some corrections

07:16type of thing.

07:17But the practice after that, he was really good.

07:20He was really decisive.

07:22He looked more like he knew what he was doing.

07:24And so to me, the Drake that we saw leaving the practice field against the Eagles and

07:30the one that we saw leaving the practice field on Monday before their day off, to

07:38me, we're night and day.

07:39He looks like he's taking a needed step forward, especially with his confidence.

07:45Being at some of the practices, I haven't been as many as you have been.

07:48I've been to about six, I think I went to yesterday's, I think was my sixth practice,

07:52all padded, including the joint practice.

07:55I walked away from those practices feeling like the majority of the issues had to do

07:59with the offensive line and the supporting cast that he was working with.

08:03Yes, some of the stuff was on Drake May, the indecisiveness that you've brought up, all

08:07of that stuff.

08:08We saw it.

08:09We saw some of that, no doubt.

08:11Some of the exchanges between the center and he, even though I think most of that was a

08:15Tony Omafi, thank God they finally got away from that experiment.

08:18But I thought a lot of it did have to do with the offensive line.

08:22And I think it correlates when he goes out there with the starters, or at least most

08:26of the starters against the Eagles on Thursday night, he plays better.

08:31Now I would also say, I know people are pushing back and saying, oh, it was against the second

08:35Eagles defense.

08:36Well, Jacoby Brissett was also playing against that defense and we saw it with Brissett.

08:42So when we're comparing apples to apples, Brissett to Drake May, may play better against

08:47the same guys.

08:48And I kind of feel the same way about the offensive line, which we'll get into regarding,

08:52oh, well, they were playing against, you know, Philly second, third.

08:56There are levels to this and we understand that, but, but there are comparisons that

09:01make sense.

09:02As far as this quarterback competition, Greg, after Thursday night, I think you and I, before,

09:08before you went on Felger and Maz last Tuesday, I think it was and said that May was way behind

09:13that.

09:14That's where you and I would have disagreed.

09:15I couldn't tell you how far behind May was because of everything that was happening around

09:20him.

09:22But we agreed on the Carolina game plan, not making much sense.

09:25We agreed on the whole joint practice thing, him not getting any reps with the ones.

09:30So he goes out there on Thursday night against the Eagles.

09:32He plays the way he did now to me.

09:35I don't know how you felt.

09:36I haven't talked to you yet.

09:37To me, I said to myself, has he earned the opportunity to start the regular season?

09:43No.

09:44But what he has earned is a chance to at least split the reps with the ones for the next

09:50few practices to really put the heat on Brissette and to have that comparable, you know, mono

09:56versus mono quarterback quarterback battle.

09:59We haven't really seen that.

10:01There was a mix and match of offensive linemen in front of him after the game and practice

10:06that could be due to some injuries, as we know, some guys missing from the offensive

10:10line.

10:11But when I was out there yesterday, it was pretty much Drake again with the twos.

10:15Do you disagree with how the Patriots have run practice with their quarterbacks since

10:20that Eagles game?

10:23So 10,000 feet, yes.

10:29You know, the other side of the coin is I don't know what they're being asked to do.

10:33And like one thing I want to point out, you know, because I think a lot of fans and a

10:39lot of listeners like, you know, have heard me talk about Drake in a certain way.

10:45And then they go out and they see in the preseason game him, you know, play at least decently

10:51well, which would be in contrast to what I said.

10:56You have to realize that what they did in that game, preseason games in general are

11:02completely different than, you know, let alone the NFL regular season, but just like practices

11:08like, you know, whether it's internal, but, you know, I guess their own team or against

11:12the Eagles, like, you know, the Patriots are running their offense that they're going to

11:17run during the regular season in that practice.

11:20And that means at least for now with Alex Van Pelt, a lot of under center running game,

11:25you know, all that stuff on the other side of the coin is either the Patriots defense,

11:30whether it's ones or twos and the defense does a good job of mixing guys up.

11:33There's not really, they don't really put out a ones and a twos occasionally they do,

11:38but they really like they'll have like the starting defensive backs out there and like

11:41backup defensive linemen.

11:43It's just the way they do things.

11:45But you know, in the, in the Eagles joint practice, the Eagles with Vic Fangio are running

11:50his stuff, which is complicated and different coverages and changing looks.

11:55You don't get that stuff in the preseason.

11:57And plus the Patriots were in shotgun 95% of the time against the Eagles.

12:04So to me, it's not comparable, like, you know, it's both things can be true.

12:10Drake may, especially Drake may with the under center stuff and being new to all this stuff,

12:16he can be struggling or indecisive and practice, and he can look better in a preseason game.

12:22Both can be true.

12:24And which I think they are, you know, as far as the competition, I mean, you know, I agree

12:31with you.

12:32I was watching it before and it was part of the reason why, you know, I used it as my

12:36ammunition to be like, Drake's not where he needs to be because if he was, why wouldn't

12:41they be giving him at least some snaps with the ones if it may, I was calling it a quote

12:47unquote competition.

12:48The competition means you guys are getting equal shots to win the job to this point.

12:56That hasn't happened.

12:57It still hasn't happened.

12:58Even after the game the other night, yeah, Drake got a couple snaps with Andrews in the

13:03jog through practice after the game.

13:06But like you said, there were injuries.

13:07Nick Leverett wasn't there, blah, blah, blah.

13:09We don't need to go into it.

13:10But the bottom line is Drake may has not been given close to equal reps with Jacoby Brissett.

13:18I think that's wrong.

13:20You know, I do think that he needs to be getting those reps.

13:24I think it would be useful for him, whether it's now or down the road.

13:29You know, but to me, Gerard Mayo says a competition, Drake may could still start opening day.

13:35He doesn't know who the opening day starter is.

13:38If you watch practice, that's just not true.

13:41Right now, Jacoby Brissett is the starter.

13:43They had a period of the, you were at the last practice.

13:47They had a period against cards, which is literally a staffer holding up a car card

13:53with an opponent play.

13:54It's used to for the scout team.

13:58They're giving a look to probably the Bengals.

14:01This they ran a 10 minute session, probably ran, I don't know, 20 plays.

14:07If they ran 20 plays, Jacoby Brissett got 18 with the starters.

14:12Drake may got two with the backups.

14:15To me, that's, that's not a competition.

14:18That means they're going forward with Jacoby Brissett as the opening day starter.

14:21Again, that's my interpretation.

14:24I just don't know how this coaching staff does things because it's new to me.

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15:31With that in mind, I have a couple questions.

15:34The first question is, you've talked about, and we've discussed, I've discussed on 98.5

15:40when I've been doing shows there, you know, what we saw on Thursday night against Philly.

15:45A lot of shotgun, a lot of stuff that Drake May ran at UNC.

15:52It came out that Alex Van Pelt sat down with Drake before the game, asked him about some

15:57of the concepts that he liked to run.

16:00What do you think was behind that decision to go more shotgun heavy, to do things that

16:06May was a little bit more comfortable in doing from his time at UNC?

16:10Was it because they wanted to make the young man feel comfortable and get his confidence

16:15up?

16:16Or are they trying to mix and match here and maybe, maybe they're thinking about bringing

16:21some of those elements to this AVP offense?

16:25It's a good question.

16:27You know, I think, I think whenever Drake May is the starting quarterback of this team,

16:33they're going to have to, you're going to have to include some of that stuff and, you

16:38know, talking with NFL offensive coordinators and league executives, sort of like what you

16:42do with a young player like this is you figure out, all right, what's in his bucket?

16:48What are the, you go back to the college tape, you talk to him, what are the concepts he

16:53likes?

16:54How does he like to move?

16:55What kind of routes does he like?

16:56Like all that stuff.

16:57And so then, then you do that stuff in practice and you're like, all right, the kid's got

17:01these, these are in his bucket, they're in his bag.

17:04And then a good coach slowly expands the bag, especially in preseason opportunities,

17:10which again, I'm never going to let go of this.

17:13The Carolina Panthers game was a complete botched miss opportunity that I'm sure if

17:18you asked people in the front office and the coaching staff right now, in hindsight, they'd

17:23be like, man, we've really overthought that.

17:26That was dumb.

17:27I can almost tell you that they feel that way.

17:31But be that as it may, this is where they are.

17:35You know, I think that this, this is a very long discussion and I'm sure it's the discussion

17:41that Elliot Wolfe and Gerard Mayo and the AVP and all these guys, they're going to have,

17:45but it, you know, I think it starts with Mayo and you know, they are going to have to at

17:51some point here, if it hasn't happened already, it will maybe after the preseason game, Gerard

17:56Mayo has to figure out how this team is going to win football games this year.

18:01What does it look like?

18:02Yeah.

18:03How are they going to have to play in all facets of the game?

18:05You know, how, how are they going to cover in the secondary?

18:08Are they going to be almost exclusively man?

18:10Are they going to play more zone?

18:11Are they going to do more trap?

18:12Are they going to do, you know, how, how are they going to win games?

18:15And that includes like the defensive interior without Christian Barmore, can they, can they

18:20stop the run?

18:21How are they going to do that?

18:22You know, and it really, when it, how it pertains to may and the offenses, they have

18:28to figure out how, how the team currently constituted with what's going on with the

18:32offensive line.

18:33They have remandary Stevenson, like all this stuff.

18:37How are they going to move the ball?

18:38How are they going to control the ball?

18:40How are they not going to turn the ball over, you know, and probably Gerard's going to say,

18:44and he has said this before, it might change, but he has said, we are going to run the football.

18:49We are going to win with defense.

18:51And then once you have that settled, then you fit the pieces around, including the quarterback

18:57on whether they can do that.

18:58Can you, so when it comes time for the team to run the ball and play ball control and

19:03stuff like that, what's the best way for the team to do that?

19:06Is it getting in the shotgun and doing a bunch of gun runs and RPOs and stuff like that,

19:11which would be easier for me to do?

19:15Probably not.

19:16It's probably a VP wants to get under center, outside zone, stretch, play action, all that

19:21stuff.

19:22And when, when you judge it on that scale, probably Jacoby resets up here and Drake Mays

19:27down here, but there's no, he can close the gap.

19:30I think he has closed the gap, but that's really where you start when it, when it comes

19:35time to when can Drake play and what can he do?

19:39You have to look at what's the, what are the ramifications of that decision and how the

19:43team's going to play.

19:45Let's say Greg Bedard fills the role of Elliot Wolf and he's sitting in his office and you're

19:52looking at the elements of, we've got to bring some quarterbacks into town.

19:55We've got to hire an offensive coordinator.

19:58What's your philosophy, Greg?

19:59Do you like the idea of Alex Van Pelt saying we're running the West Coast, we're going

20:03under center, we're playing, we're going with play action bootleg and we're going to, we're

20:08going to fit Drake May into that.

20:10Or do you like the idea of let's just get the young man in here, see what he's comfortable

20:15in running, run that stuff because he's our future.

20:20And that's the way we're going to go.

20:22Philosophically, where do you land on that?

20:25So let's also point out that like, you know, just by the timeline, you know, you have to

20:30hire the OC before you pick the quarterback.

20:32So you know, I would say, and I know there's a sort of a big discussion about this, but

20:39I don't think it's all that complicated.

20:41I think it's, you have to pick an offensive coordinator and I guarantee you, I think we're

20:48supposed to talk to offensive assistant coaches on Thursday.

20:52I guarantee you, Alex Van Pelt has said, and I've heard Mike McCarthy with this, you know,

20:57because Mike Van Pelt comes from the McCarthy tree basically.

21:00And I covered Mike McCarthy and you know, we used to get in a lot of these discussions

21:04with McCarthy, especially about his lack of running the ball.

21:07And he'd be like, I would love to run the ball 50 times every game and blah, blah, blah,

21:11like which was a bunch of crap.

21:13But you know, the, the uncomplicated answer is every, every offensive coordinator is going

21:22to have a foundation to what he believes in, how he does things, but they have to have

21:27the ability to do both.

21:29And really every offense does, because at some point in time, you're going to be running

21:32two minute, you're going to be shotgun spread, you're going to be doing that.

21:36Like, you know, I think that Alex Van Pelt would say, we absolutely, we have the ability

21:44to tailor this offense to any quarterback, depending on what their strengths are and

21:47how we want to play and all that stuff.

21:49And so, um, you know, and, and I think he would also say that a lot of different type

21:55quarterbacks have been successful in the scheme.

21:58And I think that Drake certainly falls into that physical profile, athletic ability.

22:04You know, I'm thinking just like Rogers, Favre, you know, those type of guys that Drake, it

22:10worked for those guys.

22:12It can work for Drake may as well.

22:15I agree.

22:16I mean, you figure them out under center, which we'll get into in a minute, but if you

22:20looked at the quarterbacks and which quarterbacks could fit AVP system or AVP can make it work,

22:26you know, may does a lot of the things that AVP wants his quarterback to do.

22:31As you said, the athleticism with the bootleg, he likes to take deep shots.

22:35May has the arm strength.

22:37They like to attack the seam.

22:38They like to throw to tight ends, all that kind of stuff.

22:41And he can, you know, he can kind of fit that they attack the middle of the field a

22:44lot and Drake was good throwing to the middle of the field.

22:47So there are attributes of may that fit with AVP and let's not forget AVP was asked a similar

22:53question that I just asked Greg going back months ago.

22:56And he said, I feel like, you know, you, you always kind of tailor the offense with who

23:02you have and that, and that's what you do.

23:05But I also think these guys can, you know, fit multiple ways.

23:08So I think he sees it more fluid as, as others would that have been commenting about that.

23:13Uh, I got another question that we'll move on to the offensive line.

23:17So a couple things we talk about Drake and his development.

23:21I think a couple things stand out where he hasn't looked as good, right?

23:25Under center is one there's, there's still some awkwardness there in the two minute drill,

23:29the no huddle two minute drill stuff, you know, stuff that we see at practice where

23:33it's, Hey, you've got a minute left on the clock.

23:35You've got to drive the team down.

23:36We saw this yesterday at the practice preset, got it in field goal range maze drive went

23:41pretty much nowhere.

23:42He made one good throw to booty, but outside of that, it really didn't do anything else.

23:47We've seen that now consistently where in that situation may is still a little bit of

23:51fish out of water.

23:53What I've got to ask you, Greg is if you're the offensive staff, your Mayo, you're looking

23:57at this.

23:58Okay.

23:59So he's not doing great with two minute.

24:01He's not super comfortable just yet.

24:03Maybe under center.

24:05Is that too much minutiae?

24:07Are there too many boxes to check to get them out there?

24:10Is there a certain, is there a certain point when you say to yourself, we can live with

24:14this guy, you know, he might not be great under center yet, but he's doing everything

24:20else.

24:21Okay.

24:22So, and he's better than Brissette.

24:23So let's play him.

24:24Like, where do you draw the line?

24:25How much has to be done in fundamentally sound for you to put them on the football field

24:30when it counts?

24:31Yeah.

24:32I mean, I think it's related to the answer I gave before.

24:36I think related to that is like, they have to, you know, how are they going to move the

24:40ball and what does the running game look like?

24:43Because I think there's a, it's a vast difference and I don't think it's very successful not

24:47to say you can't.

24:48And again, if like, say they do a lot of gun run and RPO stuff with Drake may they incorporate

24:54like a lot of what he did in North Carolina, which I do think the scheme can adapt to,

24:58you know, one of the benefits is Drake Mays part of the running game and they have to

25:03account for him.

25:04So that opens some things up that you're Kobe Brissette or say like a Mac Jones, like wouldn't.

25:09Then again, if he's part of the running game, how much you were exposing them to hits and

25:13things like that.

25:14So I think you, the fundamental question, the first question you have to answer is how

25:20are we going to run the ball?

25:22What's the, what's the best way?

25:23Can we do it out of the shotgun?

25:24Can we do it with RPOs?

25:26Like, you know, and then that gets into, okay, well that's in, that's in Drake's bag.

25:31So he has more of a chance to start.

25:35I mean, I, I just think there are a lot of foundational questions that lead to the answers

25:40that we're all seeking everybody.

25:43There was a little bit of a chill in the air here in new England today.

25:48And you know what that says to me?

25:50It says football and better yet.

25:53It means going to football games, college pro high school.

25:59It's that time of year.

26:01You got to be there in person, especially for college and pro games.

26:05And if you want to get there and make great memories that last a lifetime, I mean, I can

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27:30With that said, let's get to the offensive line.

27:34Simple question for you.

27:35Maybe it's not a simple question for you.

27:38August 20th, 2024.

27:40We are recording this at 626 PM Eastern time.

27:45What is Greg Bedard with this offensive line?

27:52I would say that I'm concerned.

27:58The last time I saw them against starters, against the Eagles, they got the lunch handed

28:01to them.

28:04I don't disagree with what Elliott Wolfe told us the other day about like he thinks they

28:09had the pieces to be competitive.

28:11I don't disagree with that.

28:12I also don't disagree with him saying that, you know, Vardarian Lowe, you know, has some

28:19potential and he just needs to learn, you know, a good punch, which he's developing.

28:23And I do think that the Vardarian Lowe is on the upside.

28:26I did not think that he played poorly the other night.

28:28It wasn't great, but I don't think it was as bad as people like to make him out to be.

28:34I threw him under the bus on Twitter on Thursday night, so I'm one of the people that were

28:38very upset and said, I'm done with him.

28:39Enough is enough.

28:40And not only Greg, but I've seen other people, Taylor Kyles, Evan Lazar, Greg has done more

28:47work about offensive line than anybody else.

28:49And those three guys, they're smarter than me when it comes to offensive line play.

28:53And all of them seem to agree that Lowe is showing at least a little bit, a little bit

28:59of upside and a little bit of, hey, it might not end up being a disaster.

29:07Yeah.

29:08I would agree with that.

29:09Especially if you get the other pieces ironed out.

29:12Now, looking at the Patriots the way they are, do they have five adequate starters on

29:19the offensive line?

29:20No, I'd probably more put three or four.

29:23It's like three and a half over under.

29:25But there are a lot of moving parts.

29:27Let's go through it.

29:28Left tackle, Vardarian Lowe.

29:30Are there any other options?

29:32Caden Wallace, but that's probably a stretch for him as a rookie.

29:38Now, look, the whole Chooks Accorafor thing.

29:42Remember, Wolf basically said that they signed him to play left tackle.

29:45I think it was Mayo or Wolf said that if today was the day, Accorafor would be our left tackle.

29:50It happened for like three days.

29:53Hasn't happened barely at all since.

29:56So what's the issue there?

29:59I believe that Accorafor has some discomfort playing on the left side.

30:08Maybe didn't like it, prefer the right side.

30:12Maybe I think they're giving that a harder look to see is that workable for them.

30:18So I still think that Accorafor has a chance to be their best left tackle.

30:25Is that going to happen?

30:26I don't know.

30:27I have reason to believe that they're not exactly thrilled with Accorafor on the coaching

30:33staff.

30:34So there's that.

30:35That's left tackle, left guard.

30:38Sidney So has been a little bit up and down.

30:42Not bad.

30:43I wouldn't say that he, you know, I wouldn't say he's been really good.

30:48At times he's been good.

30:51But the other thing is Leighton Robinson.

30:53The rookie has been coming on like gangbusters.

30:56In the games, in the practices, he is now definitely in the conversation for being one

31:03of the best five.

31:05And so now what do you do there?

31:07Now he played a lot of right guard in college, almost exclusively right guard.

31:13So what do you do there?

31:14What do you do with Big Mike?

31:15Do you kick?

31:16But we'll get to that in a second.

31:17David Andrews solid at center.

31:21Back to left guard for a second.

31:22I think that as of the moment, Sidney So and Leighton Robinson are in a competition.

31:27I don't think it's anything that So's done wrong.

31:30I think it's more about how good Leighton Robinson has been.

31:34So right guard, Michael Wenu has a chance to be an all-pro right guard, even though

31:39I don't know if you heard this the other day, but Mike Lombardi on his podcast said that

31:44Wenu reported 80 pounds overweight.

31:46Like I don't know that.

31:47I've heard that he had a little trouble with the scale.

31:51But you know, but he said the other day to us that he's 350 and that's where he wants

31:58to be at.

31:59I don't know whether he reported like that, but anyways, so when he has a chance to be

32:03an all-pro right guard, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on.

32:07So if he's 350, if Lombardi is accurate, you're telling me that Michael Wenu showed up at

32:13430 pounds.

32:14Yeah.

32:15Yeah.

32:16No, there's no way.

32:17I think that like, you know, and I, and I said in OTAs, I said, I don't know, Michael Wenu

32:20kind of looks bigger to me.

32:22Yeah.

32:23You said he looked a little big.

32:24Yeah.

32:25And because I, well, number one, I expected a slim down because he talked about, oh, he's

32:28going to train for offensive tackle and look like an offensive tackle when he came in.

32:33So I don't know.

32:34I would have said at most if he's 350 now, he was probably 380 when he came in.

32:39Probably.

32:40That would be my guess.

32:4120 or 430 is a bit much.

32:42I think everybody would have been like, holy shit.

32:45That's like Trent Brown territory.

32:49Anyways.

32:50So, uh, so, so what do you do?

32:53Do you, Robinson could play right guard a, when it could be a very solid right tackle.

32:59I could be good.

33:00Right.

33:01Tackle is certain.

33:02I don't think he's going to be all pro.

33:03Could be pro bowl.

33:04I don't know.

33:05Maybe.

33:06Um, so, you know, what does that look like?

33:08You know?

33:09Okay.

33:10Say you keep a, when you at right guard, you know, at right tackle, they've had a core

33:15of four there.

33:17He had a horrible practice against the Eagles.

33:19Horrible.

33:20He did better in the game.

33:22Um, how much can you count on him?

33:26Where's his mental toughness?

33:27Where's his physical toughness?

33:28These are all things that coaches are going to have to, are going to have to sort out.

33:32Now I would say as of right now, my opening day starting offensive line is low, even though

33:42I'm, I would prefer a core for low city.

33:48So David Andrews laden Robinson, Michael went out.

33:55Let me also say Caden Wallace is a potential to play right tackle.

33:58I think he could play right tackle today.

34:00So there are, and, and Wolf alluded to this the other day saying like, they have to figure

34:06out where the pieces fit.

34:07There were pieces.

34:09Is the top end that good?

34:11No.

34:12I think they have options.

34:13And now I think it's going to be Nick.

34:15I really think it's going to be mix and match.

34:17This is part of the Drake May equation.

34:19If they're trying people out the first four weeks of the season, you know, borrowing from

34:24Bill Belichick for first four games or an extension of the preseason, do you want Drake

34:28May out there for that?

34:29No, probably not wait until it's settled.

34:31Get it settled, figure it out, take however long you need to, but get it figured out.

34:37I want to strip this down to the most basic fundamental idea here, because I've talked

34:42a lot about the old line.

34:43You've talked a lot about the old line.

34:45I think last week, the joint practice against the Eagles, the guy was there.

34:48It was atrocious.

34:49It was horrific.

34:50It was awful.

34:52There's no other way to put it.

34:53Everybody stunk out loud.

34:55It was bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad.

34:57But I always try to take myself out of the moment and look at the big picture.

35:02I always try to look at the 30,000 foot view.

35:04That's why I love asking the question sometimes to you about the 30,000 foot view.

35:07I think it's important because when we get wrapped up in the day to day, and yes, we

35:11have a show to do today, I agree with that.

35:14But I think you could tell people what's going on today without making some grand conclusion

35:19about what's going to happen tomorrow or a year from now.

35:22So I always try to take myself out of it.

35:25And there's no denying that the Carolina game wasn't great for some guys.

35:30So took a step back and you saw when it wasn't great either.

35:35Yeah.

35:36And then, you know, the joint practice was atrocious.

35:38It was a bad week.

35:39It was a bad five or six.

35:42I thought they bounced back relatively well against Philly.

35:46And I know it's against their backups.

35:47But I would say before the Carolina game, when we had the conversations about the offensive

35:52line, we'd say they're OK.

35:54It's not it's not a disaster.

35:57And they're going against the ones, right?

35:58They're going against the Patriots ones.

36:01And the Patriots have been throwing some blitz looks at them during practice.

36:03So I do count those practice reps against the starting defense of the Patriots, especially

36:09when Matthew Judown was out there.

36:10So they have been repping against ones.

36:14Just hasn't been the live bullets.

36:16To strip down the easiest, you hit the word, Greg, options.

36:19And I think that's the difference from right now to what we were talking about last year.

36:24They have options.

36:25So when people say this offensive line is a disaster, they screwed up again.

36:30That might be true.

36:31By week five, we might be looking at this and going, oh, my God, it's a disaster.

36:36They screwed up again.

36:38But I'm actually going to give them some time to let this unfold because of what Greg just

36:42mentioned.

36:43The options like you have Robinson that you can put at right guard and slide a winner

36:47to right tackle.

36:48And now you feel pretty damn good from left guard to right tackle.

36:51As long as city so can hold his ass.

36:53Also, you can put Wallace at right tackle and keep a winner at right guard over some

36:59of the moves.

37:00So the way I look at this is you've got a core of four, a winner, Andrews, Robinson.

37:07So Wallace, the Darien Lowe, seven offensive linemen.

37:13If four of those seven guys can work out, you'll be OK.

37:16Yep.

37:17And we don't know what the mix of match is going to be.

37:19But that's I think that's what Patriots fans have to focus on.

37:22Can four of those seven guys work out?

37:25And I think Greg just told you Wallace to be optimistic here for a minute, which I know

37:29is people don't want that in Boston.

37:32But Wallace has shown flashes.

37:35Robinson's been done pretty damn good throughout camp.

37:38So if you look at what they did at the draft right now, it doesn't look like it's a huge

37:42swing and a miss.

37:43Could change.

37:44I'm telling you right now how those guys have looked.

37:46So in totality has looked pretty good.

37:50Oh, when when totality has been good.

37:52So has Andrews.

37:53So when you take it from beginning of camp to right now.

37:58I think they have a pretty good chance of four of those seven guys working out.

38:01So that's kind of my overall thoughts on that.

38:04All right.

38:05Before we get to three things that we like, didn't like, because I got to get to dinner

38:07here in a few minutes.

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38:41All right, Greg, quick, because I got some some little things that we got to tie up here

38:46at the end.

38:47What happened today?

38:48Nothing huge, but a few a few little things.

38:50Three things that you liked about the Philly preseason game.

38:53Well, I mean, I'll just start with Drake May.

38:56I mean, you know, I'm it was like, OK, OK, and, you know, calm down a little bit.

39:05You know, I I felt better.

39:06I'm still, you know, we still got a long ways to go.

39:10I still think his motion is way too long.

39:12I think that's got to get figured out.

39:14You know, if he's going to become an elite quarterback, you can get away with it for

39:17a while.

39:18But at some point, that's going to need to be fixed.

39:20And, you know, there's some other things, but I really liked his his demeanor in the

39:25game.

39:26Like he's very flat lined, like, you know, not much riles him like I think that's a that's

39:30a really good place to start.

39:34Number two, I think I would say the pass rush, which was good.

39:40I mean, some of the guys like Keon White and Josh Uche beating up backups, but still it

39:45was good.

39:47pressure rate in the game.

39:49And what's even better is that they only blitzed less than a quarter of the time.

39:54Everybody knows how I felt about the blitz in the first game where they did it like half

39:57the time.

39:58I'm like, what are we doing here?

39:59What's the point of this?

40:00Yeah.

40:01You know, they were able to get pressure, you know, without doing that.

40:04And so I would say the other thing that I liked in this game, you know, was the offensive

40:11line overall.

40:12Again, it wasn't the Eagles ones.

40:14It's not, you know, Jalen Carter and Davis in there and all those guys.

40:20But it was definitely, you know, not only for Drake May gaining confidence in this game,

40:25I think the offensive line gained confidence.

40:27I think Leighton Robinson, I think the two rookies, I had them as my highest rated offensive

40:32linemen in the game.

40:33So that's really good and talks to about the coaching that they're getting and how they're

40:38applying things to the field.

40:39So those are sort of the three things I feel best about.

40:45Three things you didn't like.

40:51I would say related to that, I would say, I guess, well, first of all, Marcel's dial,

40:57the rookie cornerback had a night to forget.

40:59I mean, he they were throwing all over the joint on him.

41:02Some of it wasn't his fault.

41:04Good coverage, good throws, good catches.

41:06Some of it was him stopping his feet and reaching and grabbing and things like that.

41:12So that's number one.

41:13Number two would be some of the work by the rookie wide receivers, especially Javon Baker

41:21in this game.

41:23There were a handful of times watching Javon where I was like, I don't know what the hell

41:29he's doing, and I don't know if he knows what he's doing on this play and which caused some

41:34issues for Drake May.

41:36I think it has also caused him to drop on the depth chart because he is now basically

41:40running with the threes.

41:41They have been like, all right, we gave you too much too soon, let alone the catching

41:46thing.

41:48We need to dial it back.

41:49Let alone that he has problems catching the football consistently, which is pretty important

41:53for a wide receiver.

41:54Yeah.

41:55And there were some, you know, with Polk, there were a couple of times where I'm just

41:58like, I don't know if he's supposed to be doing that.

42:01And, you know, but, you know, it seems like they like what he's doing because it seems

42:05like he's up with the ones or at least in the mix to be with the ones.

42:08So that's really good.

42:10But yeah, so that was two, three, I guess would be the run blocking.

42:16That's probably where some of my biggest concerns on this team are, you know, that they couldn't

42:22run the ball.

42:23I mean, most of their runs came like after contact.

42:26Thank God Ramondry Stevenson could get like, I think he had like 38 yards after contact

42:31or something like that.

42:32But like they got to figure out how they're going to run the ball.

42:35It might not be the outside zone and all this stuff.

42:37It might be gap.

42:38It might be inside because they're having a lot of issues running the ball.

42:43And we all know we saw this with Matt Patricia.

42:45If they can't run the ball, there's going to be a lot of young yard, long yardage situations

42:51on second down on third down.

42:53They got to figure out how they're going to get four or five, six yards in the running

42:57game to really give this offense a chance.

42:59Yeah.

43:00It may have been an untold story, but they're, they're offense running the football.

43:04Ramondry has popped a couple at practice here and there, but they have not consistently

43:09been able to, to get some runs going.

43:11So they got to figure it out.

43:12All right, let's tie up some loose ends here.

43:14Just some, some moves today.

43:16The Patriots, they put Jaquay Jackson on the IR.

43:19We saw him Lou leave on Thursday night against Philly, get carted off.

43:22So he's done.

43:23Uh, they did sign Matt Landers, wide receiver, big guy, uh, six, four, like 200, 210 pounds,

43:31something like that.

43:32Uh, workout warrior.

43:33So, uh, he is now in town.

43:35Uh, also I wanted to bring this up, Coby Jones and Christian McCarroll, two linebackers,

43:40Greg.

43:41The reason why I wanted to bring this up is because you look at edge now without Judah

43:45and he's out of town, Uche and Ximenez both have missed the last couple of practices.

43:50I don't know if this is to get through Sunday night and they feel pretty good about Uche

43:55and Ximenez being healthy by the time you get to labor day weekend.

43:59Or if this is an indication as to, wow, we're really thin and we might've just, you know,

44:04we don't know about Uche and Ximenez.

44:06So something to keep an eye on there.

44:07Yeah.

44:08I mean, it could just, just could, uh, them like getting their emergency lists in order,

44:13but I think you're right.

44:14I mean, especially with this last preseason game and the injury situation and Mayo said

44:19everybody who's healthy is going to play like they got to figure out how to finish the game.

44:23That's often what happens in this game.

44:25So it, plus they have a long week, uh, you know, they don't play till Sunday night.

44:30I think it's the last game of the, of the preseason schedule.

44:34And so they have time to bring guys in.

44:36I mean, I would say my, my inclination is they're just sort of going through positions

44:41in terms of tryouts, but you could be right.

44:43They could be trying to bring a couple of people in to finish these games.

44:46All right.

44:47And the last thing I wanted to say was Chris Price, uh, reporting that the Patriots have

44:52been one of the teams that have inquired into a Dennis Daly.

44:56And so that's a name that we might want to pay attention to offensive lineman.

45:00I think he played every game in 2022 at left tackle for Tennessee.

45:04If not every game, almost every game of that season on the left side, he was signed by

45:07Arizona after the 22 season, mostly injured last year was pretty much a lost season frame

45:13with Arizona.

45:14Uh, and now he's kind of stuck in a numbers game, but he is somebody that has experience

45:19at both tackle and guard, uh, and, and has started, uh, you know, a number of games in

45:24the league.

45:25So if you're looking for offensive line depth, maybe they, maybe they bring him in.

45:29I had, when you said that name, I was like, I have no clue who that is or where this is

45:34going, but you know what you're going to see out of this, uh, this front office going forward

45:39here is anytime they see somebody who could be an upgrade over somebody on the roster

45:43could be the last guy could be, you know, the eighth offensive lineman, they're going

45:48to do it.

45:49So this could be a, uh, Calvin Anderson upgrade who is now hurt and has not had a very good

45:56camp in preseason.

45:57Greg's putting that kindly.

45:58He's been brutal.

45:59Uh, that's it.

46:00We're back later this week.

46:02Be well until then.

What does Mayes improvement mean? | Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast

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