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00:00joining us here on WEI's afternoon show is a friend of the program and a friend
00:06of the Six Rings podcast. Joining me at Jumbo Heart alongside Nick Fitzy-Stevens
00:11it's Mike Giardi. Michael Giardi, I have to ask you right away because we've been
00:16debating it for multiple days. If Drake May is indeed cleared from the
00:20concussion protocol, would you play him on Sunday? First of all, I'd like to say
00:25that I think I'm the best friend of the program. I agree. So let's start there, not to say friend, but
00:29best friend. Yes, I plan, absolutely 100%. Fitzy's smoking something funny over there.
00:36Like, if he's cleared medically and like I reported earlier in the week, he showed
00:42no ill effects, was feeling no ill effects from the hit on Sunday, Monday or
00:45Tuesday, then like what are you doing? Yeah, how are you going to tell the kid
00:49that he can't play when he checks out fine and how are you going to tell the team who
00:54has clearly been energized by him, clearly has a belief in him despite him
00:58being here for just a handful of months and three starts only of two
01:03which he completed, how do you tell them, hey you know what, he's clear but we're
01:07not going to play him. Like it's not a sprained ankle, like I understand there's
01:12things that go into it and you want to be cautious, but if they're following the
01:16protocol and the kid says he feels good and he's being honest with you, then you
01:19got to play him. Yeah, but sometimes Mike, you know this just from watching football,
01:23parenting, etc. Sometimes you have to get in the way of somebody for their own
01:27best interests and when it comes to something, you know, not to be that
01:32guy but comparing a potential sprained ankle to a concussion, whatever grade or
01:36to whatever severity he sustained it, if he was even truly concussed, you could
01:40still even be in the protocol and not necessarily be that dinged up. You know,
01:44the way to me, if I were in this situation, I would say the reason why
01:48we're sitting him is because you're gonna ride the positive momentum that
01:52you got from Brissette in the fourth quarter last week and that this is a
01:55long-haul decision. Like, sure, you're playing to win this game on Sunday
01:59because they're going one game at a time as they try to actually develop winning
02:02ways, learn to win and set a culture and tone in Mayo's tenure, but at the same
02:06time, you know, you have to look at the totality of Drake May. This is a
02:11long game you're in. Feels like it turned into a bit of a Mamby Pamby. Hey, Troy
02:18Aikman, you want to tell me to take the dress off while we're at it? I don't need
02:24to risk getting cancelled. Troy's made enough money in his lifetime that if he
02:27got cancelled, he'd be just fine. Me on the other hand, I have two kids in
02:31college right now. I'm not messing with that. No, look, I understand what
02:36you're saying, but you're looking at Elliott Wolf is being judged on this
02:41roster. Gerard Mayo is being judged by the team that he's putting out there and
02:45how competitive or, quite frankly, for five of the six previous weeks or
02:49whatever it was, four of the six previous weeks, they weren't competitive at all.
02:52Like, Drake May gives them that juice, and I know, yes, they lost by 20 to the
02:57Texans when he started the first game, and I know they lost by double digits
03:00again in Jacksonville, but there's something about him, and you could feel
03:04it in the stadium when he went out and Jacoby went in. You could feel it in the
03:08crowd. You could feel it in the team, though, and to their credit, they were
03:11able to sort of right the ship in the second half, but you're playing a risky
03:15game. You've seen Jacoby, and you saw what it looked like with Jacoby, and you
03:22want to take the goodwill that you felt from beating the Jets and turn around
03:26and go lose to a team that, aside from Carolina, has been by far and away the
03:30worst. You were playing bad. You were in the running for a little while, the
03:33Patriots, but Tennessee is a complete dumpster fire right now. I was on
03:37Tennessee radio earlier today, and they're, like, wondering, is this a one
03:41and done for Brian Callahan? Oh, yeah, he's coming off a six-win season, no
03:45less, too, Mike, and now they're one and six, and I don't see their upward
03:48trajectory at all, and we thought the Patriots were banged up. Have you seen
03:52their injury report? Holy smoke. Yeah, it was not great for them at all, and,
03:56like, I was thinking to myself, well, like, look, if Sweat plays, Sweat
04:00alongside Simmons on the D-line, like, it's going to have a hard time running
04:04the football again, so then you're turning them into a one-dimensional team,
04:07and if that's the one dimension that you're bringing a quarterback, like,
04:10there's a path there. I mean, look, there's a path anyways because it's not
04:14like you're light years ahead of them in terms of your roster and your talent
04:18base, but that would change things if Sweat doesn't play, and there's
04:22obviously the Ridley thing. I mean, it sounds like Levis is going to get the
04:26start, which they were actually, you know, Mason Rudolph has been terrible,
04:30actually maybe worse than Levis was, and there was cries for Levis to be
04:35benched, so, yeah, they're a mess. They're a wayward ship right now. A group
04:40that was a mess as of a week ago, a hell as of Sunday, was the Patriots wide
04:44receiver group, but we hear Gerard Mayo today talking about a good week on the
04:48practice field, not a lot of balls hitting the turf. I don't want to ask
04:52you if you believe him, but do you think that group is capable of a relatively
04:58noticeable and swift turnaround? Could they get out there on Sunday with Drake
05:02May, and suddenly you got two or three guys that are hauling in four or five
05:07passes, and there's some consistency, fluidity. Do you think we could be on
05:12the precipice of a turnaround for that wide receiver room?
05:16So, I guess the way you're defining turnaround, yes, yes, because there were
05:21four or five balls that should have been caught, like, no question. Like, if you
05:24want to say one or two of them, like, hey, if Bourne had made that back shoulder
05:28catch, that would have been, you know, he should have caught it, hit him in his
05:30hands, but that would have been a tough catch, but in general, like, those are
05:33some easy throws to mess up. Even Booty, the slant that he dropped that was
05:37behind him, you're like, oh, well, that's a bad throw. No, well, Booty was
05:41supposed to sit in the zone, and the throw would have hit him right in the
05:43numbers. So, they've got to clean up their act. We get into this thing now,
05:49it's like, is this big play Booty, and like, okay, you know, guy makes a play
05:52here, and he makes a play there, but then there's 50 other plays in the game
05:56that he's, you know, he's running the wrong route, or he's not making, and we
06:00know Polk, when we last saw him, he was a mess, and has been for a better part
06:04of the year. So, do I think Jalen Polk's that kind of player? No, I think he's a
06:07better player than that, but he's got to show it. They've all got to show it at
06:10this point. Mike, earlier this week, one of our fellow beat writers here, Taylor
06:15Kyles over at CLNS, did a, put out a tweet of the players that he, that have
06:19exceeded his expectations on the season, and it sort of got me thinking that
06:23there are a lot of guys that we had never really heard of before on this
06:26team. Now, sort of the ragtag tatters of Patriots football that they put
06:30together, they're really kind of a rogue squad at this point. Who would you say,
06:35I'm just kind of curious, like offensively and defensively, who's playing
06:39above pay grade, or above expectations now, that's kind of helping them, that
06:43helped them win last weekend, are some of the bright spots as we look to the
06:47midpoint, and then subsequently the second half of the season for you?
06:51So, I wouldn't say that Anferty Jennings is exceeding my expectations, because I
06:54thought he was really good last year, and I think he's done the same thing
06:57this year, like for all their problems in run defense over the previous five
07:01weeks, and actually even into the Jets game, don't forget the Jets rushed for
07:04over 100 yards, he's been their best front seven guy. Week in and week out, he
07:08does his job, he does it really well, he's obviously going to get more run as
07:13a pass rusher, it seems, with, and he did this past weekend, because they traded
07:17Uche, but he's been someone to me that like, that contract is, I mean, I know, I
07:24understand it's an edge setter and run stopper, you don't get paid a ton of
07:29money, but like, he's just a damn good football player, he's really accountable
07:34for what he does, and he pretty much shows that on tape every single play, so
07:38he's someone that I would just say like, he's just having a really nice year, and
07:43he's not going to get the crazy counting stats, so no one's going to really talk
07:46about him, but he's a good football player for him, he should be going forward.
07:50Um, offensively, I've liked Vidarian Lowe, now he hasn't been out there a ton,
07:55because he keeps getting hurt. Oh boy, oh boy, I heard, I didn't like the answer
07:59from Gerard Mayo today, when he was asked, could he be the long-term answer at
08:03left tackle? No, how about no, and he said yes. Well you need an answer, Andy.
08:09Yeah, and go find a real answer, he might be named Will Campbell or some stud,
08:14no disrespect to Lowe, but it's like, because he hasn't sucked, everybody has
08:18fallen in love with him, because everybody, all the other options sucked, or quit, or
08:22left the team, like, him just being competitive somehow has landed him this
08:26opportunity, um, and I didn't mean to cut you off, but that answer really kind of
08:31concerned me today. We've gone from suck to low. Yeah.
08:37Look, I'm not telling you that he's been great, I'm just saying that he stabilized
08:40the position, and it's funny, because remember when they, he sort of became the
08:45guy during August, and then when he got hurt late in August, and you're like,
08:49wait, does this team really miss Vardarian Lowe? And the answer was, yeah, the team
08:53really misses Vardarian Lowe. Now again, that speaks to the overall tackle play that
08:57they've gotten throughout the course of the summer and into the fall here, but I
09:01think he's done a reasonable job at that position, I think he's at least shown to
09:06you that even if they were to do what you said, Andy, and go get a, target a left
09:12tackle in the first round, if they're picking in the top five or ten, and that's
09:15what they do, and I would be perfectly fine with that, because they've had a hard
09:19time answering that position other than the one, uh, rogue year they got from Trent
09:23Brown over the last however many years since Nate Solder was any good, you know,
09:27like, that's been a big problem for them, but at least Lowe has showed you that
09:31moving forward, he is someone that, if this continues, he continues on this track,
09:36that he is someone that can be a serviceable, useful player for you, whether it be a
09:41starting right tackle, whether it be a swing tackle, you know you need those guys, I
09:45mean, pretty much never, never does any team make it through a full season without
09:49their injured, you know, without their offensive line getting banged up, so to have
09:52that kind of piece, again, it's more of a depth piece than it is a starring role, but
09:57I think he's done what he's needed to do when he's been out there.
10:01Like a Cam Fleming type.
10:04Yeah, yeah, I actually think he's a little bit, well, I mean, Cam played for a long
10:08time, so I shouldn't, I think he's, I think he's got a little bit more of a higher ceiling,
10:13but again, we're not talking about, I'm not agreeing with Gerard, I don't think.
10:17Okay, good.
10:18Yeah, he's my left tackle.
10:19So we got a big Tuesday coming up after you vote for Trump, Mike, what will you be writing
10:24about how the Patriots handled the trade deadline?
10:27I'll take baited questions for 400 Alex.
10:33I still, I still think another piece is good.
10:36He didn't deny it.
10:37Another piece is going to move.
10:39I'm not even touching any politics.
10:41No, no, it's great.
10:42It'll load the phones up for the rest of the day.
10:44I can't wait to read the text line.
10:45Yeah, please.
10:46The G and MAGA stands for GRD.
10:48Oh my God.
10:50He stands for Mike.
10:51What are you doing?
10:52He's got people on his front lawn tonight for God.
10:55I thought they would show up for his terrible candy.
10:57Take not his political stance.
11:00Don't you see that again?
11:01Shows a lack.
11:02Hey, we'll get there.
11:03We'll get there.
11:04Focus on the trade deadline.
11:06So I think another piece is moving.
11:08I think one of the guys in the wide receiver room,
11:11most likely KJ Osborne is gone.
11:13I was, I was, yeah, I know.
11:16I was chuckling because Doug Cide,
11:18who does a fantastic job at the Herald, the reporter,
11:20Doug had a, he went to talk to Osborne
11:22maybe yesterday or two days ago.
11:23And the headline was like, you know,
11:25something like KJ Osborne reacts
11:27to his name being in trade talks.
11:28And I'm like, he reacts to the fact
11:31that he's in trade talks because he told him
11:32he wanted to be traded.
11:33And then he told us he wanted to be traded.
11:36So I did laugh about that.
11:38But yeah, like there's no point.
11:39Obviously they're, they're getting Javon Baker.
11:42I think you're finally going to get your wish.
11:44Fitzy and Baker is going to be active
11:46and actually play some offensive snaps on, on Sunday.
11:49And I think, you know, you start to look
11:51at the totality of that room and you say,
11:53you know, KJ's, the opportunity he's given him,
11:57he hasn't done anything with it.
11:58And now that he doesn't want to be here
12:00and kind of went social with that,
12:01like, okay, fine, see you later.
12:03Well, you know, you're not getting anything for him.
12:05We're talking like a, you know,
12:06probably a seventh round pick, but you know,
12:08clear, clear space for, for the kids to get more snaps.
12:13Could they bring anybody in that?
12:14I know Josina Anderson had the report.
12:16I, I was trying to sell the point where I think
12:19that because of their cap space
12:21and because of their kind of blank canvas of a roster,
12:25they really can listen to anything
12:26and they should be acquiring.
12:28I don't even care if it's a swing tackle,
12:30a fifth corner, a future free safety, whatever.
12:32Do you think there's any chance we have to learn
12:35a couple of new names as of early next week?
12:37Yeah, I haven't hated the idea.
12:39I mean, their, their, their cap space is ridiculous.
12:42You know, we know how free agency works.
12:44So even if they do spend a ton of money in free agency,
12:47you're not guaranteed that that's going to be
12:48this unbelievable hall.
12:50And like, you've changed the structure of your team.
12:52So if you're looking at guys,
12:53you and I were texting yesterday,
12:55there were a couple of names out there,
12:56guys that have been benched or are struggling,
12:59that are, you know, high picks,
13:00former high first round picks,
13:02Emmanuel Forbes, the corner in Washington,
13:04who went ahead of Gonzalez, right?
13:06Like he's been benched.
13:07He's definitely not a part of their future plans.
13:09Now he weighs, he weighs 170 pounds.
13:11I don't love that.
13:12He's less than you with two phone books
13:14in his pocket soaking wet.
13:15Yeah.
13:15He's like a 160s kind of guy.
13:17But as, would he have any value
13:19as like a potential free safety?
13:21Maybe that's a dumb question,
13:22but it's a little length.
13:23Yeah, I don't think, yeah,
13:24I don't think he can hold up physically.
13:26I think, you know,
13:27remember talking to McCordy about that
13:29and the idea that, you know,
13:30there's a tight end running full bore down the seam
13:33and you're coming across and he's 250.
13:36And, you know, Devin was a solidly built,
13:37whatever 195, 200 pounds, right?
13:39But like Devin's shoulders are cooked
13:42because of those collisions over and over again.
13:45I think at 165, 170,
13:47you're probably asking too much,
13:48but like he's someone who had
13:49great ball skills in college.
13:51He's quick, he's long,
13:53like that might not be like a bad dart throw to take.
13:58Kenyon Green, who played terribly last night again
14:01for Houston with a first round pick a guard.
14:03Like I know you kind of probably feel
14:05like you have a lot of guards,
14:06but like a first round talent
14:08who has had some success in the league.
14:10I don't know if that's a fifth round pick
14:12or a sixth round pick.
14:14I might be willing to throw that dart.
14:15You know, like those are the sorts of players
14:17I think you're talking about.
14:19And the flip side, you know,
14:20the one other name I do want to mention,
14:21so I was talking about possible guys moving
14:24is I do think there's some actual
14:28truth to the John Jones stuff.
14:30I don't think that name just got thrown out there
14:31for the hell of it,
14:32because we looked at it and said,
14:33oh, he's 30 and he's in the last year of his contract.
14:36And I think there are teams
14:37that are generally interested in him.
14:39And genuinely interested in him.
14:41And that'll be, that's a tough one for me,
14:43because I think-
14:44At what cost?
14:45What would the return have to be?
14:49I mean, I guess I would move him
14:51for no less than a fourth.
14:53Same.
14:54And I mean, but even then I'm still a little,
14:57and I'm not saying that like at this point of his career,
14:59that wouldn't be a smart business move.
15:02But in terms of what he brings to the locker room,
15:04and even this past weekend where
15:06he's dealing with the shoulder,
15:08but Duggar can't go.
15:09And you find that out officially
15:1090 minutes before the game
15:11or two hours whenever he had his workout
15:14and they decided he couldn't go.
15:15And then John Jones is playing from safety.
15:18And they'd like to cross train their guys,
15:20but there are very few guys
15:21that can go do that as fluidly as he can
15:23and make the right plays when he's doing it.
15:26And so between that versatility
15:28and then the leadership,
15:29you know, you saw him as the guy
15:31who broke the team down after the wind,
15:33you know, with Juwan Bentley being out.
15:34Like, I feel like that locker room
15:36is a little rudderless.
15:37There's a lot of young guys.
15:39And having someone like him,
15:41who's one of the last remaining ties
15:43to great success here,
15:46there's some value in just keeping him
15:47and just saying, you know what?
15:49Yeah, maybe a fifth rounder
15:50would still be good value for him.
15:52But we can't do that.
15:53We shouldn't do that.
15:54We need him to keep teaching the young guys
15:56how to be pros because they've,
15:58that's been a problem for them.
15:59It's for all those reasons and more.
16:01The leadership, the quality of character,
16:03the positional versatility,
16:04the fact that he plays
16:05at a reasonably high level
16:06on the inside and the out,
16:08as well as safety
16:09and what he can teach these guys, Mike,
16:10that makes me think as badly
16:12as they may want that fourth from,
16:13let's say, I don't know, San Francisco,
16:15if they were to call
16:15because they've got secondary issues
16:17like so many other teams do.
16:19I just can't see moving on from them
16:21at this point, even if you would,
16:23you know, net another pick.
16:24You know, you've already got
16:25an extra three and a six.
16:26There'll be compensatory picks.
16:27The Patriots will be loaded
16:28up adequately next year.
16:29Why wouldn't you want to keep
16:30a guy like him around?
16:31You've got 140 million dollars.
16:33You could afford another two
16:35or three year deal
16:35for Jonathan Jones as well.
16:38So I'm with you.
16:39And I would love to see them
16:40bring somebody in as well this week.
16:41I don't defensive tackle
16:43another linebacker,
16:44like you said, a safety.
16:45Just you're this is a process.
16:47This is an exploratory process.
16:49Yeah, the DT thing is interesting, too,
16:51because I think God chose
16:52that that's real, too.
16:53I think there are teams
16:54that have called about Godchow.
16:56The question there is,
16:57again, like maybe one
16:59of the leanest positions
17:01on your football team,
17:02cycling and a lot of unknowns,
17:06you know, Derek Johnson, Jacqueline,
17:08I can't even say Jacqueline.
17:10Jacqueline Roy is going to be
17:11your best defensive tackle.
17:13So that's but then
17:14if you're telling me, OK,
17:16we're going to we're going to be able
17:18to get good value for Godchow.
17:19You know, San Francisco,
17:20there's another team that could
17:22they lost Javon Hargrave
17:23haven't been great against the run.
17:25He'd be someone that would do
17:27pretty nice things for them
17:28as if they were still
17:29in a winning out mode.
17:30But then that's when you have
17:31to do the ancillary move.
17:32That's when you have to bring
17:33someone in who has a longer resume
17:37and is a better player
17:38stature wise than what
17:40you have on your roster,
17:41because if you're going to move him
17:42and then go with that,
17:43then what are you telling
17:44the rest of your team?
17:45But if you move him
17:46and you bring in
17:48a solid defensive tackle
17:50who's been in the league
17:51for five or six years
17:52and is a good player,
17:53then OK, guys, you know,
17:55this made sense for us
17:56to get a fourth rounder for Devon.
17:59But at the same time,
18:00you know, we brought in a player
18:01that could still help us
18:02for the now.
18:03And as Mayo said,
18:04they want to be a team
18:05that is very hard to play
18:06over the second half of the season.
18:08OK, I got to ask you
18:09before we let you go.
18:10You had a controversial
18:11take last night about candy.
18:13I was trying to look it up.
18:15I didn't even know
18:15what one of the candies was.
18:16One of them was
18:17some soda pop crap thing.
18:18And the other was
18:19butter flavored jelly beans,
18:22buttered popcorn jelly beans,
18:24buttered popcorn jelly beans.
18:25Jelly makes them.
18:26They are absolutely fantastic.
18:28They taste exactly
18:30like buttered popcorn,
18:31but they got the little
18:32little sugar in them.
18:34Delightful.
18:36And then I can't believe
18:37you never had gummy colas before.
18:38People think it's a wax thing.
18:40It's a gummy bear.
18:41It's a gummy bear
18:42that's in the shape of a cola bottle,
18:44but it tastes like cold.
18:46I don't like you can have a popcorn
18:47and soda like you're at the movies,
18:48but the texture is different.
18:49And that's the whole idea.
18:50It's the real Haribo gummy cola.
18:53And those are really
18:54your favorite candies.
18:55You'd rather have that
18:56than like a Milky Way
18:58or a Reese's or a peanut butter cup.
19:03I said that they're elite candies.
19:04I didn't say that
19:05I would rather prefer them.
19:06See, this is where
19:07reading comprehension is important.
19:09And I know we're asking a lot of you
19:12and others on that social media app
19:16to understand the words that I wrote.
19:19But I didn't say that
19:21I wouldn't rather have a peanut butter cup.
19:22I'm just saying
19:23those are two elite candies
19:24nobody talks about.
19:24They're underrated, Andy.
19:26Basically, this is the.
19:28Those are Jayvon Baker
19:29and Jalen Polk.
19:30Now he's saying they're
19:31the Anthony Jennings
19:32and the Del Pettis of candies.
19:34Del Pettis, by the way,
19:36having a nice little moment here.
19:37Yeah, he is.
19:38OK, I agree with Judy Bautista.
19:40She told you you were wrong.
19:41I tell you you were wrong.
19:42You can align yourself.
19:43She flat out said,
19:44what's wrong with you?
19:47I said nothing.
19:47I said nothing and everything.
19:49Tremendous reply.
19:51Mike Giardi, Boston Sports Journal.
19:53We bring him on for his Patriots takes.
19:54We also talk candy and real quick.
19:56I need a yes or no answer
19:58before I let you go.
19:59Should the Bruins fire Jim Montgomery?
20:02I think the message is lost at this point,
20:04and I don't love the roster,
20:05so I think he's been saddled
20:07with some some aging players
20:08and our guy like Zdorov was dreadful.
20:10But yeah, it's probably time.
20:13I think they probably
20:14have no other choice,
20:15but to make the coaching change
20:16because you can't fire
20:17the 20 players in the room.
20:19He's Mike Giardi,
20:20best smelling man in the business.
20:21Best interview on the phone
20:23in the business.
20:23Good friend of the program.
20:24Appreciate you, man.
20:26Yeah, good luck to Jackson tonight.
20:29See you, Mike.
20:30Mike Giardi, Boston Sports Journal
20:32here on the WEI afternoon program,
20:34defending his candy takes
20:36and also saying a couple
20:37interesting things I thought
20:38about the trade deadline.