Can Patriots Start 2-0 vs. Seahawks? | Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast - video Dailymotion

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Greg Bedard and Nick Cattles preview the Patriots Week 2 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. While these teams are very similar in terms of caliber and scheme, who will come out on top? They also discuss Robert Kraft's Hall of Fame situation, final thoughts from the Cincinnati Bengals game, and more!  0:00 - Seattle week preview 3:29 - Robert Kraft's Hall of Fame 5:51 - Timing and circumstances 9:00 - Coaches' insights 11:42 - Offensive line analysis 13:51 - Player position discussion 16:38 - Red zone offense concerns 19:02 - Offensive explosiveness potential 21:30 - This week's picks 23:06 - Offensive similarities 26:35 - Defensive strategies comparison 29:10 - Patriots defensive strategies 34:27 - Seahawks defensive challenges 37:03 - Seattle's offensive strategy 39:50 - Kenneth Walker's injury 41:49 - Quarterback fit discussion 44:06 - Patriots vs Seahawks preview 47:39 - Game prediction debate ************************************************ Patriots Content Brought to you by....  Prize Picks - https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/CLNS Download the app today and use Code CLNS at PrizePicks.com/CLNS & Get $50 instantly when you play $5!   Gametime - https://gametime.co Take the guesswork out of buying MLB 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.  If you enjoy CLNS’ Celtics  All Access and are craving more Boston sports content, you head over to CLNS’ Patriots  Press Pass at   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqX7G3pEDTseNxtoDU27PEg?sub_confirmations=1   __________________________________________________________________________  For Celtics Content:    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmp3kivpOg3lzoJC7yV7VjQ?sub_confirmations=1

Transcript

00:00This is the Greg Bidard Patriots Podcast with Nick Cavins.

00:07All right, it's officially Seattle week.

00:12As we get ready for Sunday afternoon at Gillette, the Patriots will have their first home game

00:17of the 2024 season, and it will be happening at 1 p.m., which is very early for those Seattle

00:25peeps.

00:26We'll get into all of that.

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01:00Before we get to the Seahawks game, Greg, I got to ask you about this Don Van Notta story

01:04at ESPN.

01:06Everybody's talking about it locally.

01:08Robert Kraft and his attempt to get into the football hall of fame.

01:14How do you feel about it?

01:16Well, I'll just say this.

01:20I did not think that I would awake one morning and see a story like this with Stacey James

01:28as a, as the focal point for those.

01:32We've referenced Stacey a few times, but Stacey is the longtime head of PR for the Patriots.

01:38When he was here before Belichick got here, um, they, he found a way to coexist with Bears

01:46New Jerry and basically, basically Stacey did a great job.

01:50He ran the PR department and they have one of the best PR departments in the league.

01:54I think they won the award for best PR department, um, during the COVID year when they did an

02:00excellent job getting people on zoom and things like that for us and totally deserved.

02:04And if there was a different head coach, like I wouldn't be surprised with Mayo now as head

02:08coach, the Patriots could win the award like every single year.

02:11That's how good their department and that's a credit, um, to Stacey.

02:16Um, you know, so basically when Bill was here, Stacey ran the PR department and basically

02:21looked out for Robert and Bears was short of sort of Bill's PR head.

02:26Um, and there was some meshing there, but anyways, just to give people a background,

02:31but you know, Stacey as any good PR person tries to stay in the background as much as

02:36possible.

02:38And, um, we hear from him, um, sometimes more than others, uh, with some of our coverage

02:45and things like that.

02:46But, um, I think he's one of the best in the league at what he does.

02:49But I was just, I mean, they even had a picture of Stacey in the story.

02:52I was just like, holy cow, what the hell are we doing?

02:55Um, you know, but look here, here's the bottom line.

03:00Um, this was at least, you know, sort of my takeaways from it.

03:05Um, and I don't know a huge amount about the hall of fame process and it has changed this

03:10year.

03:11Um, you know, I don't have a hall of fame vote.

03:15Um, as far as I know, Ron Borgia still is the, uh, new England Patriots, Boston representative,

03:22um, on, on with all that, um, look, Robert Kraft should be in the hall of fame.

03:30Um, he will get into the hall of fame at some point.

03:35Um, do I think it's, um, do I think it's an atrocity or anything that he's not in at

03:42this point?

03:44You know, not really.

03:45I think some of it is just timing and also the rules like, you know, because contributors

03:50like owners are, um, you know, they're grouped in with like coaches and assistant coaches

03:57and like, you know, it's, you know, and commissioners like, you know, Tagliabue's in, even though,

04:02you know, I think that's ridiculous.

04:04But anyways, um, you know, I think a lot of it was timing.

04:07I do think some of it was, I thought Robert and his people started the push for him a

04:14little early, like, especially like, you know, in the aftermath of the, the 2011 labor deal,

04:21which Robert had a huge hand in, um, you know, I was right there reporting for the globe.

04:26I wrote, you know, I ended up winning, uh, an award for my coverage of Robert's role

04:33in the labor negotiations.

04:34Look at you, huh?

04:36Look at you, the award winner.

04:39And, uh, uh, so, you know, that was all good, but, um, you know, do I think there's some

04:47pettiness, uh, among the voters and things like that?

04:51Do I think there's some, uh, anti-patriots bias?

04:56Yeah, I do.

04:57Um, but you know, I, I, I think he's going to get in.

05:04I mean, do I want to see him get in, um, while he's alive?

05:07Yes.

05:08I think that they drag their feet on too many of these people and unfortunately they pass

05:12before they get in.

05:13Um, but you know, I, I just think Robert has mostly been a victim of circumstances and

05:20timing.

05:20And I do think, you know, there's some stain about Spygate and things like that.

05:24And also, uh, Orchids of Asia.

05:26And I think there's just, at first there needed to be some distance for, uh, between Spygate

05:31and things like that.

05:33And now there needs to be some distance between, uh, Orchids of Asia and, and all that.

05:38Um, but yeah, I mean, I, I think he's going to get in and I don't think it's a, it's a

05:43crime that he's not in yet.

05:44I mean, I, do I think he should be in?

05:46Yeah.

05:47Um, but he will get in.

05:50Mostly a nothing burger for me with this story.

05:54Stuff that happened away from football, like the Orchids of Asia, give me a break.

05:58There's a lot of guys that are in the hall of fame that away from the field have done

06:02not great things, have done illegal things, have done very questionable things.

06:07Um, you know, and Jerry Jones has mentioned in this story a decent amount and Jerry

06:11hasn't away from the football field and operation history as well, as we all know,

06:17and has recently gone through some stuff away from the field.

06:19So give me a break with that.

06:22None of this really surprises me like, okay, an 83 year old owner who has a hall of

06:28fame resume is not in the hall of fame yet and is feeling desperation to get in.

06:34And it just makes sense.

06:36And I think the vast majority of people out there, if they were in Robert's position,

06:42they would feel the same damn way.

06:45And you can call it selfish.

06:46You can call it ego, but there's a certain amount of pride.

06:50I mean, Greg just mentioned an award that he won in all seriousness.

06:54He probably has great pride in winning that award.

06:57You want to be recognized for your work.

07:00Everybody wants to be recognized for their work, whether it's employee of the month,

07:05it's a parking spot, it's practice player of the week, it's being a hall of fame

07:10owner, guys, 83 years old.

07:13Unfortunately, we don't live into 130.

07:16He knows his time is limited on this planet.

07:18The people that have worked for him that I'm sure care about him and know that he

07:22has that hall of fame resume and yes, want to make their owner and their employer

07:27happy. I'm sure they're looking at this and saying, man, the clock is ticking.

07:31Can we get Robert in?

07:33Like, can we just get the guy in?

07:34We all know he deserves to be in.

07:36Can you stop being petty?

07:38Can we just, you know, give the guy his flowers while he's on this planet?

07:42So, of course, there's desperation.

07:43I don't think it's that big of a deal at all.

07:46Um, let's Nick, Nick, one thing I did want to add to this, and I'm trying to flush

07:52this out a little bit, um, you know, because I, I mentioned Ron Borges and, um, you

07:58know, I really don't know the answer.

08:00I've reached out to Peter King and other people on the hall of fame, um, voting

08:05roles that I really don't understand.

08:08I did find it odd.

08:09Like I found myself when I read the story, probably the biggest question I had was,

08:14well, where's Ron Borges and all this?

08:16He's the local representative.

08:18Often.

08:18We certainly hear it about the players.

08:20I don't know if it's the same way with contributors and owners where the local

08:24people make the pitch to the voting staff.

08:28And there's up until now, and maybe now there's this subcommittee that's part of

08:34this, and that's really where Robert's been getting.

08:36I think he's only gotten through the subcommittee once.

08:39So just one question I had, and I'm trying to get an answer to this is, um, and I'll

08:46probably call Ron after this to ask him, you know, what he thinks, but what is, what

08:51is Ron Borges his role or any local rep, um, in all that?

08:56So I just wanted to say that.

08:59All right, let's move on to the coaches.

09:00The offensive coaches spoke with you guys today at Gillette.

09:03I have not been at Gillette in a couple of weeks, um, due to some personal

09:07situations like COVID and a terrible back issue, but you were out there today

09:12and, uh, you spoke with Alex Van Pelt.

09:14You spoke with some of the, uh, offensive assistants.

09:18I'm sure there wasn't like any big news items here, Greg, but what were some of

09:22your takeaways, if you had any takeaways?

09:25Uh, so, you know, not a ton.

09:31I mean, I, I, I mean, I asked Alex Van Pelt about, um, Mike McDonald, the Seahawks

09:36coach, um, because we obviously know that there was a lot of familiarity with the

09:41Patriots offensive coaching staff going against the Bengals last week from being

09:45with the Browns, Mike McDonald was with the Ravens, um, previously.

09:50So, you know, Alex basically said like, yes, there's some, some carryover, um,

09:56with that, I'm trying to think, um, you know, I listened in, I was with Scott

10:01Peters for a bit, I asked Tyler Hughes, the wide receivers coach about pop

10:06Douglas and his lack of usage.

10:08And he basically said like, it was sort of a, I think what we sort of talked

10:13about, it was sort of like just a by-product of the game and the reads.

10:17I don't think it was anything game plan specific where they were like, well, I

10:21don't think pop's going to get many opportunities.

10:23I do think he had opportunities that sometime, sometimes pressure, um, was

10:29an issue for Jacoby being able to go through all his reads.

10:33Um, Hughes did say that there were multiple times when, uh, pop Douglas

10:39was one of the first two primary reads, uh, on the play.

10:43So, um, they certainly have a plan for him to get them involved and

10:48they want to get him involved.

10:49Scott Peters, the offensive line coach, um, you know, he talked about, uh, really

10:56the most significant part that I heard, I asked him about, um, Michael Jordan,

11:01the left guard, and I don't think many people have been talking about this,

11:04but, um, I did hear, um, and I think I remarked on the last podcast that David

11:10Andrews on his podcast talked about how a great summer Michael Jordan had.

11:14And I just thought, I thought the Patriots were very, I mean, to have a guy

11:18with this much experience, um, you know, to have to release them with the four

11:24waiver claims, I'm sure they were sort of, um, holding their breath a little bit.

11:29Um, I think they were very fortunate that they were able to get into the

11:32practice squad and then elevate him.

11:35But, um, Scott Peters was certainly very complimentary of Michael Jordan

11:39and the job that he did in the opener.

11:41All right.

11:41Let's jump into the, uh, leftovers.

11:43If we have any from the bangles game, I've got a couple.

11:46Uh, the first I'll say is the offensive line, Greg, you know, thinking

11:49about it over the last few days.

11:52I actually feel like Sunday's game really perused many of the points

11:57that you and I have made over the past few weeks about this O-line,

12:00which is don't panic yet, relax a little bit.

12:03And the reason why I say that, and we can look at the 50% pressure rate

12:07that, that Greg had, it was over 50% against the bangles, but that

12:10was really two primary spots.

12:12It was left tackle and right guard.

12:13Leighton Robinson, rookie.

12:15And you know, a lot of that stuff, correct me if I'm wrong, Greg, but a

12:19lot of the stuff that Leighton had issues with in the past pressure was

12:23stunts and kind of, you know, different looks and communication issues.

12:27Rookie problems up and down rookie problems.

12:29So I stand by what I said.

12:31And over the last few weeks, which is I'm not panicked, I'm not going to

12:35be panicked until week five or six.

12:37And if you look at it overall, Greg, we now know Michael Jordan.

12:41Um, yes, it's one game, but he is a veteran NFL guy, as Greg just said.

12:46And he did a pretty good job holding his water, uh, at left guard.

12:49So I really feel like, and Brian Baldinger tweeted out a video three

12:54minutes long of Leighton Robinson and Caden Wallace and the good job

12:58they did as rookies in the run game.

13:00Uh, he, he tweeted that out earlier today.

13:03You can check it out at his Twitter account, but I really think, uh, agree

13:07with me or disagree with me, Greg.

13:09You know, you look at the big picture.

13:11You now have, you could have Robinson at left guard if need be Andrew center.

13:16You could move a window back to, to right guard if you want and have

13:20Caden Wallace, if he continues to improve at right tackle, that's,

13:24that's four out of the five and you have, you have some guard depth

13:28now with Michael Jordan and city.

13:30So I just feel like left tackle.

13:33That's the one thing we'll look at, but if you get four out of five,

13:37you should be in decent shape.

13:40Yeah.

13:40And I do think that Cole strange is going to be back sooner, um,

13:44rather than later, of course he's on IR.

13:46So he has to be out the first four weeks in this, in this system outside zone.

13:51Could he play tackle?

13:54Uh, I doubt it.

13:56I mean, maybe, I mean, you know, it's, it's, and we hear a lot of this stuff

14:00and I hear, you know, you know, callers and, you know, whether I'm doing a BSJ

14:04member chat, like everybody like is like, well, can Michael, when you play left

14:08tackle, like it's not, you know, it's not fantasy football and like, you know,

14:13like Leighton Robinson, for example, like, I don't think you can just, you can just

14:18flip him over to left guard as a rookie, especially like the younger guys, the

14:22rookies, like you just for a while, you just want to give them one thing to, to

14:27work on and to get better at that.

14:29And you also have to keep in mind that Leighton Robinson primarily

14:33played right guard in college.

14:35So there's a lot of comfort for him.

14:36Like I, I do not want to move Leighton Robinson at all.

14:41Um, you know, I, cause I do think, I think he's going to get

14:44better every time he's out there.

14:46I think we saw that on the practice field all summer that like the more

14:49every, every day he got better.

14:51And so I just want him to get better.

14:53Um, you know, my Michael, when it will continue to get in better shape, um, the,

15:00the more he plays and, you know, I think, I mean, he was really good

15:03at right tackle in that game.

15:05And so, um, you know, I, I think the left tackle thing, I think it's going to be low.

15:11I mean, I think, I think they're going to eventually Michael Jordan, like I said,

15:15um, and I think Scott Peters references, Michael Jordan's probably their best.

15:19Zone blocking offensive lineman.

15:21He's been through it before.

15:23Uh, technically he's very good.

15:25Um, I think, you know, they're going to get to a place sooner rather than later.

15:30We're really left tackles.

15:31The only thing you have to worry about.

15:32And like we said, all along, it doesn't matter whether it's left or right.

15:37I mean, you would, you would ideally like it to be the right tackle.

15:41Like we're going to see that with, you know, Seattle this weekend where they're

15:44having huge issues at right tackle, you know, where you just have one spot where

15:49you need to help, um, even if it's left tackle, you know, you can deal with that.

15:55So I think the Patriots are in a good place and I do, I think this, you know,

15:59and this is something I've been saying throughout, like I wasn't overly worried

16:02about, you know, the offensive line.

16:04And I, I think they're going to get better and better as the season goes on.

16:08Yeah.

16:08You and I have been consistent on that.

16:10If anybody wants to question it, we, we've been consistent on the O line.

16:13And, you know, if you keep Robinson at right guard, makes all the sense in the

16:16world, you still have city.

16:18So slash Michael Jordan on the left side and you got four out of the five and it

16:23was great to see a when, who, you know, he's out there, right?

16:25Tackle.

16:26He didn't practice the entire time at right tackle, of course, during camp.

16:29Um, and it was good to see him out there.

16:320% pressure has given up from what I saw written good stuff.

16:36Um, red zone offense, Greg, Cincinnati was 10th in the, in the league last

16:41year in red zone defense, Patriots were one for four in the red zone on Sunday.

16:46Any concerns about their red zone offense with Alex van Pelt?

16:52Um, no, not, not yet.

16:57I mean, I, I do think, um, and van Pelt referenced, uh, you know, something

17:02about like, well, you know, first of all, you had the, the Hunter Henry play

17:06where, you know, I think Hunter Henry was open.

17:10Um, I think that if I remember correctly, I think Jacoby was getting sort of hit at

17:14the same time that he threw and that, that led to the ball being slightly

17:19underthrown, um, but I thought that was schemed up well, a van Pelt referenced

17:24that there was a third down in the red zone.

17:27Um, it might, I might've been Polk where Jacoby had a chance, uh, to throw a

17:33touchdown pass, but yeah, Jacoby made another, made a different

17:39decision and van Pelt was fine with it because, you know, Jacoby just as a

17:45veteran made the decision of like, I'm just going to do this and we're just

17:49going to get the field goal and get out of here and just manage the game.

17:51Like if it was different, I think van Pelt said like, you know, if the score

17:54was tied or they were behind, you know, Jacoby probably throws it

17:58and throws a touchdown pass.

18:00And so, um, no, right now, uh, after one week in opening week, no, I

18:06don't have a lot of huge concerns, but you know, this is going to be a big

18:09test, uh, on Sunday with this.

18:12Last question for you.

18:14Uh, before we get, uh, you know, our friends at prize picks, Greg has a

18:18message for you, some info for you, and then we'll get to the Seahawks.

18:21Just one more question.

18:23We all agree that, you know, scoring 16 points every week is not a recipe to win

18:28football games consistently in 2024, but how much more explosive Greg, you

18:33just brought up the Jalen Polk play.

18:35Um, I know others have written.

18:37I've seen, I've seen videos out there, clips, Taylor, Kyles, and other people

18:41throwing them out there saying, look, there were guys open and some of it was

18:44pressure.

18:45Some of it was Brissett didn't see the guy.

18:47Some of it was Brissett picked the wrong guy.

18:50First play of the third quarter.

18:51I think you said, you know, he throws the Taekwon Thornton, but Polk on the

18:55opposite side was actually the guy who got open.

18:58Uh, so that was a little bit of a questionable decision.

19:00How much more explosive can this offense be?

19:03Do you believe if they get a little bit better, uh, a little bit better

19:08protection upfront,

19:12I mean, it's one of my big worries.

19:14Um, I'm not, I'm not sure how, how much more explosive.

19:19I think a lot of it depends on which Jacoby do we see.

19:22Is it, you know, the Jacoby that we saw on Sunday who, you know, basically

19:26played in the rhythm of the offense, or is it the old Jacoby who, um, you

19:31know, sort of pats the ball and, you know, gets a, uh, little hitch in his

19:36step where, you know, he's taken a while to get through.

19:39I, I, I thought the Patriots were fortunate that they didn't

19:43take more sacks in that game.

19:44And that's a credit to Jacoby.

19:46I also think he was fortunate.

19:47There were a couple of times where he was bumped pretty good, but he was able

19:51to like that one rollout where he got bumped and he almost stumbled down and

19:55then he was able to make, make a play.

19:57Um, you know, I think, I think a lot of their, I think a lot of their explosive

20:03plays, at least in the passing game are going to have to come from scheme.

20:07And also, you know, just maybe like even a bubble to pop Douglas or

20:11Taekwon Thornton or, uh, you know, Jalen Polk or something like that.

20:15Um, it's, it, to me, I mean, I don't have a ton of confidence that they're

20:21going to be, you know, all that explosive this season, but, um,

20:26we'll have to see how it goes.

20:27We'll get to Seattle in a minute, but, uh, before we do that, Greg tell

20:30the fine people watching and listening.

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21:28Let me give you my picks for this week.

21:31And again, I'm staying Patriots centric because I don't know what the hell is

21:37going on in the rest of the league.

21:39Um, really?

21:40Um, because I'm pretty busy on Sundays and Mondays and Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

21:44So, uh, so I definitely have the Caleb Williams free box.

21:50I have DeMario Douglas more than 34 and a half receiving yards.

21:55I get a feeling after week one, they're going to make a little bit more of

21:58a concerted effort to get pop involved.

22:00I also think that, um, Seattle, the way that they play, I think it's

22:06going to be tough on the perimeter.

22:07I think they're going to have to make their living in the middle of the

22:09field with, with pop and the tight ends.

22:14I have Gino Smith, less than 221 and a half passing yards that I have

22:20confidence in the Patriots DBs, uh, and also their pass rush to sort of make

22:26this a rock fight between the two teams that are very similar, which

22:29we'll talk about in a second.

22:30I have Hunter Henry more than 27 and a half receiving yards.

22:35Uh, you know, Hooper Hooper got his fair share last week.

22:40I think Hunter's another guy that they'll double down on.

22:42I think it'll be a big red zone threat again.

22:45And I have Jacoby Brissett less than 184 and a half passing yards.

22:51Sorry.

22:52I mean, I still think the Patriots have a chance to win the game, but I think

22:57it's going to be, you know, a lot of running, a lot of ball control.

23:02Um, I don't think it's going to be an air out type scenario.

23:05So those are my prize picks this week.

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23:29I started doing my work on the Seahawks yesterday, and I'm looking at a lot of

23:35the statistics and analytics and I'm reading about them and what struck me

23:40is what you just said, Greg, these two football teams on Sunday that you're

23:44going to watch are incredibly similar when it comes to both, you know, at

23:51least two of the three phases offensively and defensively from 30,000 feet, Greg,

23:56just explain to the people out there why they are so similar.

24:02So let's start with the offense.

24:04Um, you know, we can start with the quarterbacks.

24:07I mean, Gino Smith and Jacoby Brissette are, you know, very similar.

24:11I mean, I think Gino Smith is better.

24:13Um, obviously he's gotten, you know, more starting opportunities

24:16and a bigger contract.

24:17So that sort of shows you where the league values him, but you know, they're

24:22very similar in that they're, you know, they're big, strong quarterbacks and

24:27they'd rather throw than run, but they will run, you know, and, and Gino Smith

24:31had a, I don't know, 34 yard touchdown run, um, last week against the Broncos.

24:35They're, they're both challenged on the offensive line.

24:40Um, you know, I will say Seattle has probably right now the best offensive

24:46lineman among, among the group with, uh, cross with Charles cross at left tackle.

24:52Um, you know, but they're very weak at right guard.

24:57Um, and right tackle is basically the equivalent of the Patriots left tackle.

25:02Um, you know, one of their top rookies has already heard, or one of their top

25:07players has already heard it right.

25:08Tackle.

25:09Then they had to go to, um, George Fant, which it seems like we talk about every

25:13year on this podcast because the Patriots are playing him.

25:16He used to be on the jets.

25:18He stinks.

25:19He got hurt.

25:20Um, he got hurt early last week.

25:23And, um, some dude, I think he's a rookie named, uh, hang on one second.

25:29His name is stone Forsyth, uh, came in and he, first of all, he's

25:37six foot nine, 312 pounds from Florida.

25:41He was drafted in the sixth round in 2021.

25:45Uh, he played a decent amount last year.

25:50Um, not very good.

25:52Um, and so the Patriots can do some things there.

25:55So, you know, and also, you know, probably the best quote unquote

26:00player arguably on both teams is their running backs with Kenneth

26:04Walker, Ramond Ray Stevenson.

26:06Now, you know, when you get to, to weapons in the passing game, you know,

26:11obviously Seattle has a big leg up on the Patriots and they have DK Metcalf,

26:16Tyler Lockett, uh, Jackson Smith and Jigba, um, you know, as their sort of

26:22slot guy, so there's a lot of firepower there, but, you know, these, these

26:27teams, they're not exactly high flying.

26:30They're more muck it up ball control.

26:31So they're very similar in that regard.

26:34Yeah.

26:34And defensively, you know, we know that Demarcus Covington on Sunday

26:38against Cincy, he spun the dial a lot.

26:41He changed a lot of, you know, from pre-snap to post-snap, he

26:44played some games with Burrow.

26:46Kind of rattled Burrow early in that game.

26:48I would anticipate, you know, Covington playing some games against

26:51Gino Smith, but now we've got to look at Mike McDonald and his defensive scheme.

26:56And Greg, it's, it's somewhat similar.

26:58Correct me if I'm wrong, but going by what was last week in Cincinnati,

27:04it's somewhat similar to Cincinnati.

27:06Now I think Seattle will blitz more, but McDonald, much like Anna Rumo,

27:12they kind of rely on fooling the people up front and you don't really know at

27:18times who's going to be coming at you.

27:21So I think, you know, given what the Patriots went through last week, they'll

27:25have a decent idea as far as some of what Mike McDonald will want to do.

27:29But talk about the defense and what he does, because obviously he is a much

27:35heralded defensive coordinator from last year.

27:38People think very highly of him.

27:40What do you see on the film?

27:43So, yeah, I mean, he definitely spins the dial a bit.

27:47I will say Demarcus Covington, after going through everything from the last

27:52game, I, I had him changing pre and post snap looks 55% of the time against the

28:01Bengals, you know, often, you know, more exotic than they have been.

28:06Let me stop you there for a second.

28:09Give me a percentage regularly, like week to week over the last couple of years

28:14with Steve Belichick and Bill in town.

28:16Is that a lot, Greg, from pre to post snap?

28:19Is that a lot of change or is that roughly what you would anticipate from

28:22those guys the last couple of years?

28:24I would probably put the previous versions at more about 40, 45%, but you

28:31know what, what I thought, and again, I didn't chart this when they were here.

28:37Um, but I thought, um, the, their ability to morph into more complicated

28:45things, sort of like it went to another level, um, you know, in this, you

28:51know, including like, you know, what, what we would typically see with the

28:54Patriots and this goes for Bill and Steve, like what will you typically see

28:59in terms of their fooling the quarterback would they'd stack the box.

29:05They'd show they're bringing pressure and then they drop out into some sort of

29:09zone coverage and, you know, they wouldn't expect this guy to be here.

29:12Or the other typical thing that you would see is they're showing too high

29:18safeties, uh, before the snap, but after the snap, it's actually, you know,

29:23cover one lurk where one of the safeties, like whether it's Devin McCourty or

29:28Kyle Duggar or whoever, Duran Harmon, those guys would go diving for, say,

29:34uh, the preferred third down target for, for that team.

29:37So they would bracket double that guy.

29:39That's typically what we saw.

29:41I mean, but in this, just to, just to give you an example, um, of,

29:47you know, what the Patriots showed.

29:48So, um, they would show in cover, let's see, showing man pressure.

29:56Well, that's a cover to man.

29:57They would show cover to man.

29:58They would morph into Tampa to, uh, stay in cover to man and also go to

30:04cover one lurk, uh, so it was a lot of different things they'd show quarters

30:09coverage and they would go to Tampa cover to quarters and cover three.

30:14They did that on different snaps.

30:15So I would say it was a lot more exotic and elevated a package, but, and just

30:22to point out some things about the Seattle defense, which, you know, I

30:25think from, from what I've been told, the Patriots borrowed some things.

30:28Um, from Mike McDonald, um, and, and, and use that this week.

30:33Um, so Seattle in week one was 11th and blitz rate, 26.5%.

30:40Um, we all know Seattle traditionally before Mike McDonald got there

30:44under Pete Carroll, one of the biggest cover three teams in the league.

30:47That's it.

30:48That's interesting about the blitz rate because pro football reference had

30:53them 23rd and blitz percentage at 20.4%.

30:57Um, so where, where was the 26th possession from pro football focus?

31:02No, this is actually.

31:03I have this thing, um, this year from true media, which basically

31:07works with pro football focus.

31:09Okay.

31:09Um, takes a lot of their stuff.

31:12Um, so I have, I have Seattle.

31:16Um, where did I have them?

31:20I'm looking for them.

31:21Uh, hang on in which, and make sure I have the right year.

31:26Yes, I do.

31:28Seattle was 11th in blitz rate at 26.5%.

31:33Now there's still not a lot.

31:36Um, it's a big Broncos, but I mean, pro football reference and true media.

31:39I, I, I mean, 23rd and blitz rate, which is what I had.

31:44You have 11th from your, from your reference.

31:46So that's, that's interesting.

31:47I wonder what the, what the real number is.

31:49Can we get all these people together and figure that out, please?

31:52Right.

31:53Right.

31:54Um, we all remember Seattle when P Carroll was there was, you know, cover

31:58three, their version of cover three.

32:01They were last year, they were third in the league and cover three.

32:04Um, in week one, they were 16th in the league.

32:08Uh, they were 10th in the, in the league week one in zone coverage

32:14at 60, 76.8% of the time.

32:18Um, let's see.

32:20And also looking back on Baltimore, um, just to see if there's a big difference

32:26between Mike McDonald now, and then Baltimore played zone 69.3% of the time,

32:33which was 20th in the league.

32:35Um, they were 30th in the league and man at 12%, uh, when he was in,

32:41when he was in Baltimore.

32:42So I would still expect to see a lot of zone, um, out of this group come Sunday.

32:48Yeah, they got a lot of hurries and pressures on Denver.

32:51Of course, we also have to add the context.

32:54They were going against Mo Nix, rookie quarterback, uh,

32:57limited beyond the sticks.

32:59I don't know how good Denver's offensive line is going to be this year.

33:02So that plays a role, uh, defensively also the run defense, Greg, you know,

33:09when you look inside the numbers, it's interesting because they gave up the

33:1212th most rushing yards, but Bo Nix had 35 of the 99 yards.

33:16So 35% of those rushing yards came from the quarterback, uh, 13th in yards per

33:21carry again, Bo Nix helped that, but in, in run, stop, win rate, according to ESPN,

33:28they were 26th in the league and run, stop, win rate, uh, defensively, which

33:34is interesting because of course we know the Patriots are going to run it, want

33:37to run the football and, uh, we'll see if they can have some success against

33:41this defensive front, uh, boy, a Mafe is a guy that you want to watch.

33:46Uh, he's pretty explosive on the edge.

33:48So keep an eye on him.

33:49He had, by the, by the way, he had, according to pro football focus, first

33:53of all, Seattle had 29 pressures, uh, against Bo Nix in that game, uh, nine

34:00pressures, one sack, one hit seven hurries came from boy, a Mafe Leonard

34:05Williams, the defensive tackle, big number 99 had six, including five

34:10quarterback hits, um, Derek Hall and Draymond Jones who sort of, uh, switch

34:16off as, uh, at, uh, over the left tackle, uh, combined for seven pressures in the

34:24game.

34:24So, um, yeah, there's a lot to worry about in terms of the personnel

34:28up front with the Seahawks.

34:30So, you know, um, definitely, I think a much bigger challenge than the

34:35Patriots encountered last week against the Bengals.

34:38And we all know how sort of that went from a pass blocking perspective.

34:41But, um, I think everybody gets better from week one to week two, and I expect

34:46the Patriots to be better in that regard.

34:48Yeah.

34:48Defensive front of Seattle also had six tackles for loss.

34:51Uh, Seattle's defense forced two fumbles.

34:54They had two picks on the back end.

34:56They're not a joke at all.

34:58They've got woolen.

34:58They've got Witherspoon, uh, Julian Love from Notre Dame, by the way,

35:03shitty loss last weekend.

35:05Don't even want to talk about it.

35:07Um, Julian Love is legit.

35:10He had an interception.

35:11He had 12 tackles, very active.

35:13So it's a tough defense before we get to the, uh, the offense, Greg.

35:18Uh, let's, let's have you tell the people about our friends at game time.

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37:00What time is it?

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37:03All right, Greg, looking at this Seattle offense.

37:05Um, you mentioned this earlier, very similar to the Patriots.

37:08They want to run the football.

37:10They were 28th in the league last week and pass rate.

37:12Doesn't seem like they trust Gino Smith a ton.

37:17Um, Gino was okay.

37:19It was 10th in QBR, by the way, Jacoby Brissette last week was seventh in QBR.

37:22So stick that in your pipe and smoke it.

37:25Yeah.

37:25I remember he was eighth in QBR.

37:27The last time he was with Alex van Pelt in this offense in Cleveland.

37:30That's part of the reason why they signed him.

37:32And you know, some people, some people sniffed at that and just like,

37:36whatever, they didn't want to talk about it.

37:37But some of us pointed it out at the time.

37:40So we look at, uh, the offensive line though, right?

37:44They were 29th and pass block win rate Wolf.

37:48And, uh, they were 27th in run block win rate Wolf.

37:53So very similar teams, offensive line questions, some trouble at a tackle spot.

37:59They want to run the football.

38:00Um, and you know, looking at this, Kenneth Walker, I think

38:05this is the biggest story, Greg.

38:07He did not practice yesterday.

38:09He left that game on Sunday against Denver in the fourth quarter.

38:12He never returned.

38:12It's an abdomen issue.

38:14Uh, they need Kenneth Walker to be their best, but just your, your

38:20overall thoughts on this, on this offensive operation and what, what

38:24Seattle's trying to accomplish with these guys.

38:27Yeah, I think, uh, I think you're absolutely right to point out.

38:31I mean, the Walker, you know, injury is huge and potentially we'll have to

38:35see, you know, what he does this week.

38:37Um, Zach Charbonnet is the backup and you know, he's, he's solid, but

38:42he's no Kenneth Walker, you know, explosive.

38:45Um, you know, Ryan Grubb is the offensive coordinator, um, for the Seahawks.

38:52He's, you know, sort of a guy, he came from the university of Washington.

38:56Um, you know, did some really good things with, uh, what the hell's

39:03the quarterback, Michael Penix, Michael Penix, and all those guys.

39:08I'm sure Jalen Polk will dap them up big time before the game.

39:12Um, on Sunday, uh, I just think they're, they're going to find their groove.

39:17I think they were definitely disjointed in Grubb's first game.

39:19It, you know, I think things were, you know, Alex van Pelt much more experience.

39:24I think it was a little bit smoother transition.

39:26I'm sure Grubb's going to learn a lot, um, you know, from that, but I, I, I mean,

39:31to me, like, it's just their personnel, you know, Noah Fant at tight end is all

39:36right, but I mean, just their personnel when they have Kenneth Walker and DJ

39:42Metcalf and Tyler Lockett and Jackson Smith and Nick and jig, but like,

39:47you know, they're a handful.

39:48I'm looking forward to seeing the matchup between the Patriots.

39:51Do they think they can match up with those guys?

39:53Do they think they're going to be able to, to bring, bring pressure?

39:57Um, you know, can, can they put Christian Gonzalez on DK DK Metcalf all game?

40:03Um, can you put Jonathan Jones on, you would think he would be more of a Tyler

40:09Lockett guy, um, you know, and put, it's going to be a size mismatch between

40:14Marcus Jones and, uh, Smith and Jigba, but, um, I'll be very interested.

40:19We'll, we'll know a lot more about how good the Patriots think they are at

40:23cornerback with what they do in this game against, uh, in those matchups.

40:27Yeah.

40:27Shout out to Seattle with the most fans in the league on one team.

40:30They've got George and Noah.

40:31So they've cornered the market on fans.

40:34Um, we talk about the familiarity, Alex van Pelt against Mike McDonald,

40:41trying not to sing every time I say his name, because it's been

40:43a weakness of mine, it's crutch.

40:46How about Tyler Hughes?

40:47Uh, interesting question for you.

40:50He was at Washington last year as the wide receivers coach.

40:53So he coached with grub.

40:55Can he help at all understanding grub and the concepts they have?

41:00Um, you know, and what they want to run, how to get after them.

41:04Could that help DeMarcus Covington?

41:06Does he bring Tyler Hughes in for a conversation and say, what does grub?

41:10Like, what does he hate?

41:13Uh, yeah, probably.

41:15Yeah.

41:16Um, I hadn't really thought about that.

41:17I mean, it did probably the first question comes to my mind is why

41:20didn't grub hire Tyler Hughes, but of course, you know, that would make him

41:24just fit in with this Island of misfit toys that are the Patriots offensive

41:28coaching staff with Alex van Pelt and Scott Peters, you know, fired in

41:32Cleveland, um, you know, he was certainly, uh, fit in with all those guys.

41:38Um, but yeah, I'm sure.

41:40I'm sure.

41:41I mean, look, the college game is a lot different than the pro game, but yeah,

41:44I mean, you know, I'm sure grub has these, every coordinator has these sort

41:49of got a place got to have it plays that they have in the back of their mind

41:53that, you know, but a lot of it is also.

41:56The fit to the quarterback.

41:57So what grub really liked with Michael Pennix and, you know, their receivers,

42:04you know, might not be the same thing that Gino Smith likes with these receivers.

42:08And so, but I do, yeah, there, there, I think Hughes will definitely be able

42:13to say like, you know, look out for this, you know, in certain situations.

42:17And really you're looking for third down in red zone to

42:19get a little bit of an edge.

42:21All right.

42:21Before we get to our pick, it'll tell you 50 bucks for the year at Boston

42:25sports channel, but dart and GRD tag teaming on the Patriots with film.

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42:40This week's pick.

42:41I remind you, and we'll do this when we, when we suck at picks as well,

42:44we keep each other accountable.

42:47Um, Greg and I were, uh, I get plus points for grammar there.

42:51Uh, Greg and I want to know on the season.

42:54So we were both right last week.

42:56We had Patriots with the points and the under the under was at 40 and a half.

43:00This week's under is less than 40 and a half.

43:03Uh, the line this week, Greg is the Seahawks giving three and a half.

43:07The over under is 38 and a half.

43:09I will go first.

43:10You went first last week.

43:12I feel like this is a low scoring game, a very low scoring game.

43:17I don't think either passing offense.

43:20Will be explosive on Sunday.

43:23It feels to me like a three to four point game.

43:25So I think the line is, is pretty accurate here.

43:30I'm going to go with the Patriots and I'm going to go with the

43:32Patriots for a couple of reasons.

43:34Number one, the travel Seattle to new England.

43:37You're going to hear that a lot.

43:38And I think it's legitimate.

43:39This is a 10 AM kickoff for those guys.

43:42First game like that, this season for them, the, the, the offensive line

43:46you could argue is worse for Seattle than the Patriots offensive line right now.

43:50Especially a fan can't get out there and he didn't practice yesterday.

43:54Kenneth Walker, not practicing.

43:56I think that's a big deal.

43:57Even if he's playing at like 70% and he's limited, I think that really

44:02impacts the offense for Seattle.

44:04I'm going to go Patriots 1713 and, uh, not the most fun game to watch at times.

44:10What do you think?

44:12Um, so a couple of things.

44:14First of all, the, this game opened at four, um, Seattle by four.

44:19I actually, when I looked, um, and I, I don't know, I forgot the place where I

44:24used to look at the lines and it used to have a bunch of different places.

44:27And I don't know, maybe you, you know, a good place, but, um, on, I think at

44:32least on ESPN, when I looked, it had it down to two and a half, um, you know,

44:37but I saw other places where it was, it seemed like it was three

44:41and a half at most places.

44:43Um, you know, I, a lot of that.

44:47I, I agree with you.

44:48I do think the West coast team coming East and playing a one o'clock game.

44:54And, and I think it's very real.

44:56And in fact, you know, three of my six predicted Patriots wins

45:01were in that circumstance, Seattle, the Rams and the chargers, which we

45:07don't know what game time, what time that game's going to be, but I don't

45:10know, I would imagine it's one o'clock could be four o'clock, um, depends

45:14on how the teams do, um, before the end of the season.

45:18Um, and I also, you know, so I picked the Patriots to win

45:23this game before the season.

45:25Of course I had them losing week one, barely, um, before the season.

45:30I definitely thought the Patriots were going to be competitive

45:32against the, the bangles.

45:34Um, of course, when I predicted all that, I didn't know T Higgins was

45:38going to be out and you know, whatever.

45:42I don't know.

45:42I, if they would have lost last week, I definitely would probably

45:46pick them this week, um, you know, for the Patriots to be two and Oh, and

45:51look, even if they're two and Oh, Nick, um, I would caution people,

45:57like just still relax.

46:00I still don't think it changes that we see this every year where there's

46:03some team due to the schedule or whatever, or they're ready and

46:08the opponents aren't ready.

46:10There are always teams that start fast, that ends up completely fading.

46:14Like it happens every single year.

46:16And the Patriots could be that team this year.

46:18They could be two and Oh, they could be three and Oh, with how the jets

46:21looked against the 49ers and Aaron Rogers playing, you know, on what?

46:26Four days rest, um, at his age.

46:29Um, who knows what's going to happen.

46:31But look, the bottom line is I just think the Seahawks are

46:35just better in too many places.

46:37And I do think the travel, um, works to the Patriots advantage.

46:43I do like Mike McDonald.

46:44I listened to some of his press conferences this week.

46:47Um, he impresses me with it.

46:49He's a very smart guy.

46:51I mean, I don't know how many feelings he is, and I don't know if he's on the vibes

46:55train like Gerard Mayo is, but in terms of analyzing and understanding how to win a

47:00game, I think he's, I think he's excellent.

47:03Um, we'll see what kind of head coach he is.

47:05Um, but I just think they're the Seahawks are better.

47:09Let's just say the offense, let's say the coaching is even in this game with two

47:15first year head coaches and what have you.

47:18Um, I just think, I think the Seahawks have the better quarterback.

47:23They have the better left tackle.

47:25They have, I think all three of their receivers are better than anybody.

47:29The Patriots have, I think their defensive personnel is better than the Patriots.

47:35And for that reason, I'm going to pick the Seahawks.

47:39Um, 23, 23, 17.

47:46So I guess that's over.

47:4923 points against that Patriots defense with a banged up Kenneth Walker.

47:54That'd be interesting.

47:56Uh, I do think also we should say this, this is a turnover game.

48:01Like, I think these teams are, I agree with you, Greg, that

48:05Seattle's got more talent, but.

48:08Um, they're very similar as we've talked about it.

48:12Whoever turns the ball over, it sounds so cliche, but it's so damn true.

48:15Like if the Patriots have a turnover and Seattle takes care of the ball, you can

48:19be talking about a, you know, a three point win versus a three point loss or,

48:23you know, a tie game late to a touchdown game.

48:25So you got to take care of the football.

48:28All right.

48:28So we disagree.

48:29First time we've disagreed this year.

48:31Uh, I'm going to, I'm going to end up being right.

48:33Greg will be wrong.

48:34We'll have fun with that next week.

48:35Uh, everybody enjoy your weekend.

48:37Be well, enjoy the damn weather.

48:38And if you're going out there for the game on Sunday, uh, go crazy,

48:42be responsible, but go crazy.

48:43We'll talk to you early next week.

Can Patriots Start 2-0 vs. Seahawks? | Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast

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