Drake Maye Shows He’s More Than a Gunslinger vs Rams + Q&A | Patriots Daily - video Dailymotion

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Taylor Kyles goes LIVE with CLNS Media's Jackson Tolliver on a new Patriots Daily to analyze the Patriots' 28-22 loss to the Rams on Sunday. Rookie quarterback Drake Maye impressed with 282 passing yards and two touchdowns, but the defense faltered against LA’s dynamic offense.   ************************************************ 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 NFL tickets with Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Download Gametime today. Terms apply. What time is it? Gametime!  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

Transcript

00:00:00I am joined by Robert Griffin III, James White, Field Yates, Mina Kimes.

00:00:08All right, so first play we're going to look at, second and two, one of the Patriots' first

00:00:11offensive plays.

00:00:17Welcome in everybody to another episode of Patriots Daily.

00:00:20My name is Jackson Tolliver filling in for the illustrious Michael Kadlik, who has started

00:00:24his new job at Sports Illustrated.

00:00:26Don't worry, he's still going to be here.

00:00:27I will just be filling in for him while he is away.

00:00:30I'm joined, as always, by the all-knowing football Patriots guru, Taylor Kyles.

00:00:34Taylor, how are you doing?

00:00:35I know you were at the dentist earlier, so good to see you made it through.

00:00:38Yeah, dude.

00:00:39I'm chilling.

00:00:40My teeth are good.

00:00:41They said I have merry cavities, which I was ... Honestly, I was scared about my gums.

00:00:45Gum health is very important, everybody.

00:00:47Don't forget the floss, but I've been on my grind.

00:00:50Everything was okay.

00:00:51Honestly, man, I've been looking forward to this all day.

00:00:53We've been talking about this, haven't you, once?

00:00:55Mike's going to be busy with his side hustle and everything, so I'm excited to see what

00:01:01you got, young man.

00:01:02Let's have a good show.

00:01:04Yeah.

00:01:05I've spent enough time doing all your grunt work.

00:01:08Now I get my time.

00:01:09You do it wonderfully.

00:01:10You do it wonderfully.

00:01:11Yeah, appreciate it.

00:01:12Appreciate it.

00:01:13We are powered, as always, by prize picks and game time.

00:01:15We're going to get right into it.

00:01:16Obviously, discussing the Patriots falling to the Rams yesterday, 28 to 22.

00:01:22Lot to get into.

00:01:23We started off, though, with what everyone's really been kind of talking about today, which

00:01:27is the overall issue of coaching and some questionable decisions that Gerard Mayo and

00:01:32his staff made during yesterday's game.

00:01:36If you guys watched the post-game show yesterday, you may have seen this graphic that we had,

00:01:41which had just basically a basic little outline of everything that went wrong or was questionable.

00:01:48We had some pretty interesting things to say, and Taylor, now that we've had 24 hours

00:01:53to sort of digest and watch the film, let's get into it.

00:01:58With whatever you want to start with, what do you think needed to be done differently

00:02:01and what may just scratch your head a little bit?

00:02:03Yeah, so that one up top, we're going to get to last, because that's where we're going

00:02:07to get into the actual film and the breakdowns.

00:02:09But now that we've had time to digest, we heard from Gerard Mayo and some of the players,

00:02:13we have a little better idea of what his thought process was.

00:02:16Now, I will say as an overview, I did disagree with a lot of these decisions.

00:02:20My bigger issue was that the execution often exacerbated the questionable calls.

00:02:25And this is a young coaching staff.

00:02:27I know everybody, as soon as, you know, when Mayo wins, oh, look at how resilient the team

00:02:31is and they really want to play for him and all the good storylines.

00:02:34When they lose, it's often a complete about face where it's, oh my God, this first year

00:02:39coach doesn't know what he's doing, oh my, you know, they're so inexperienced.

00:02:42Yes, they are inexperienced.

00:02:44This is their first year with the roster.

00:02:46We all knew wasn't very good.

00:02:48A rookie quarterback, several injuries to very important players, multiple captains,

00:02:53and obviously a first time play caller, first time head coach and first time defensive coordinator.

00:02:57The Patriots have been saying, I think it's important that we understand expectation management.

00:03:02Now it doesn't mean we let them slide.

00:03:03It's important that we hold them accountable.

00:03:05We call out when we do think that they've made mistakes so that if they make them again

00:03:09in the future, we can continue to hold them accountable and say, hey, this is becoming

00:03:12a pattern.

00:03:13And if they correct it, like what we saw with Alex Van Pelt in the run game opening up where

00:03:16everybody thought his play calling sucked, but then when you actually have a decent run

00:03:20game, lo and behold, in a West Coast offense, it actually helps your play caller and also

00:03:24get to know what your players do better.

00:03:25So without further ado, that's really the big overview is expectation management is

00:03:29important, but we should also make sure we do hold these guys accountable.

00:03:32Just make sure we're not going crazy saying fire Mayo every time he makes a bad call.

00:03:37So skipping the not shadowing again, if we're going to go over that, I'll start with passing

00:03:41up the field goal in the second quarter to punt in the end zone.

00:03:44Now this one at the time, I thought it made a little bit more sense than I think other

00:03:49people did.

00:03:50And I still feel that way.

00:03:51We know that the pregame routine had a part in it.

00:03:53We know the wind, it wasn't just, you know, we always think of the wind is, oh, it's go,

00:03:57you're into the wind or you're against the wind.

00:03:59There's also the side gusts where that can give a lot of kickers problems, or even if

00:04:03you try to kick into the wind.

00:04:05So it adjusts, it's not always an exact science, especially when you're talking about a 54

00:04:09yard field goal.

00:04:10And Joey Sly even said himself that he didn't feel very confident in his pregame routine.

00:04:15I think the best that he hit was 53 yards that 54 can make the difference.

00:04:20So that one, I still didn't have a huge problem with the zero blitzing that we're also going

00:04:25to get into when it comes to, you know, really the cornerbacks and all that, because it's

00:04:29not just Pucco.

00:04:30There was obviously the huge play to Cooper cup, the zero blitzing did not make sense

00:04:33to me.

00:04:34Even in review.

00:04:35I know that Gerard Mayo said that there were times where they used it in the run game and

00:04:39they kind of helped them dent the line of scrimmage.

00:04:40And I get that.

00:04:41I just hate the idea of blitzing a quarterback who's been in the league as long as Stafford,

00:04:46because it's very easy to disguise what you're trying to do.

00:04:49And the Patriots did that.

00:04:50They, there were times where, you know, they would have linebackers just standing at depth

00:04:53where they wouldn't show that they were going to blitz versus a typical cover zero.

00:04:57Look, you got like birds on a fence.

00:04:59Everybody's on the line of scrimmage so that you're saying, Hey, I'm coming after you.

00:05:03And the offense basically has to get the ball out quickly.

00:05:05Matthew Stafford, because of that disguise had precious few seconds to get the ball out

00:05:09of his hands on that play to cup.

00:05:11Jonathan Jones, once again, exacerbated what was already a bad call.

00:05:15Just like with the punt, it may, you know, you may have disagreed with it for Bryce Berenger

00:05:18after taking a delay game for more room, put it on a touch, put it in the end zone for

00:05:22a touchback.

00:05:23So you can't have that.

00:05:24It would have been a big gain even if he made the tackle.

00:05:27That's why I say, Hey, it's Marcus Covington.

00:05:29That's kind of on you.

00:05:30They wanted to be aggressive.

00:05:31I just don't like doing it specifically in that way.

00:05:34Now running twice on first and goal from the six and then opting for a field goal in

00:05:38the third quarter.

00:05:40That's another one.

00:05:41We're going to kind of touch on once we get to the actual red zone section, but that's

00:05:44one where frankly, I didn't feel as irritated by it as I did at first, because one, the

00:05:50first pass was that out route to Hunter Henry and Drake may actually threw it behind him.

00:05:54So I'm not saying that means, Oh, you can't pass anymore because Drake may was eating

00:05:57on that drive.

00:05:58But at the same time, I don't hate the idea of running, especially because they have run

00:06:02effectively in the red zone.

00:06:03The past two weeks, it's been one of the few things they did with consistency.

00:06:06Now when they did run the ball on that second down, they actually got positive yardage.

00:06:11It was netted as positive EPA.

00:06:12It set up a third and one.

00:06:14The issue, which we'll get to again later was a lack of execution.

00:06:17Hunter Henry misses a block.

00:06:19Ramondry Stevenson probably trucks a cornerback into the end zone for a touchdown.

00:06:22Instead, he's tackled behind the line of scrimmage.

00:06:24Now the field goal decision.

00:06:27I understand not liking that.

00:06:28I didn't really like it at the time either.

00:06:30Rod Mayo said it was because it went from a fourth and one to a fourth and two at the

00:06:33time.

00:06:34I was thinking when I heard it, like, all right, maybe, but the more it sits with me,

00:06:38the more I don't like it.

00:06:39A friend of the show, Andre Weingarten made a great point that, you know what?

00:06:42Trust your offense and defense.

00:06:43Trust your offense to convert eating just two yards because you know you're going to

00:06:47need a two point conversion anyway.

00:06:49And you trust your defense because knowing the Rams are so far backed up, they should

00:06:53be able to get a stop without a score.

00:06:54That is what I absolutely do disagree with.

00:06:56But once again, the execution wasn't there anyway.

00:06:58It should have been a touchdown on that play.

00:07:00You can see it was so close.

00:07:02Couldn't get it done.

00:07:03Attempting the PAT down nine in the fourth quarter.

00:07:05This is one where I completely understand both sides.

00:07:07Actually, Alex Burke, who I'm sure many of you were just listening to on the other show,

00:07:11we were talking about it over text and articulate as Alex is.

00:07:15He put it very, very well.

00:07:17The two cases.

00:07:18So if you go for two, the pro is, you know, if you need one or two possessions to win,

00:07:24the con is you're not getting it and it lets the Rams know you need two possessions and

00:07:29they can focus on draining the clock, which is what they tried to do, although I think

00:07:32they were a little too aggressive in that and it kind of backfired on them.

00:07:35If you kick the PAT, the pro is it's a much higher chance of making it a one score game

00:07:40and you won't need to rush as much late, assuming you don't get the kick blocked, which again,

00:07:47execution.

00:07:48Yeah, we're talking about a whole different thing.

00:07:50If Joey Sly actually makes the kick, which 10 times worse when you decide to go for that

00:07:54field goal attempt and he misses it.

00:07:56And then the con, if you don't get the two point on your next drive, once the clock has

00:07:59run down, good luck getting the ball back.

00:08:02Both completely fair cases.

00:08:03And I think it's a matter of more philosophy than necessarily right or wrong.

00:08:07At the same time, Gerard Mayo did a completely different thing against the Jaguars in London,

00:08:12right?

00:08:13He tried to go for two.

00:08:14Jalen Polk falls.

00:08:15I don't think that's enough reason to really dissuade you from doing it again.

00:08:18And that's where my issue with it is, is I like being aggressive, especially when you're

00:08:22that close to scoring, but I get it.

00:08:26I understand it.

00:08:27I just don't necessarily agree with it.

00:08:29And then the last one, opting not to have the Rams re-kick and taking the ball at your

00:08:3310 yard line.

00:08:34This is another one I understand, and this is less about execution, obviously the Patriots

00:08:38didn't score on the drive.

00:08:40But this is one where I kind of see both sides of it, because if it is a touchback the way

00:08:44that a lot of fans wanted, then yeah, you're starting with 10 more yards of field position.

00:08:48I also would rather be at that 10 yard line, because if you end up at the five, that's

00:08:53a good punter.

00:08:54He can put a coffin corner down there.

00:08:56Drake may being at the five means if he's in shotgun, he's in the end zone and you need

00:09:00to score.

00:09:01So this isn't like, oh, we'll run a couple of times and get ourselves some breathing

00:09:03room.

00:09:04This is no, you need yards.

00:09:05Now that doesn't mean they couldn't have done anything.

00:09:08You know, you can quick pass, get the ball out of his hand sooner.

00:09:10I kind of get where Gerard May was going again.

00:09:13I personally disagree, but I really don't think it was egregious because they got out

00:09:16of the backed up territory anyway.

00:09:19So it didn't really make a whole lot of difference, but Jackson, I've done my whole spiel.

00:09:22I'm curious what you think, and also anybody in the comments, if you disagree with any

00:09:26of those points on the situations, please let me know.

00:09:28Yeah, let us know.

00:09:30Obviously stay active in that chat.

00:09:31We're going to be doing a Q&A a little bit later.

00:09:32So I get those questions in as well.

00:09:35I think you did a great job going over every single one of those mistakes.

00:09:38I don't think any of them are egregious enough, or even if you put all this together, this

00:09:42whole coaching performance would be egregious enough to say he needs to be fired tomorrow

00:09:47his performance this season so far is like he needs to be fired at the end of the season.

00:09:50Kraft picked this guy without going for any other interviews.

00:09:53He went with Gerard Mayo, and he's not going to give up on that after one season where

00:09:58they've already hit three wins.

00:09:59Most of the projections before the season were four, five.

00:10:01They're probably going to hit that.

00:10:03This isn't a bad season at all, especially when you look at Drake May and his development,

00:10:07which we'll get into later.

00:10:08Another great game yesterday.

00:10:10But just going case by case, the one thing that really sticks out is going for two or

00:10:16going for one rather down nine.

00:10:19Just like what you said, when he did the opposite, everyone had a problem with that.

00:10:22And now people have a problem with this.

00:10:24In both cases, if you get the one point or you get the two points, it's probably a different

00:10:28situation.

00:10:29People should have a problem with the fact that the kick was blocked and that the two

00:10:31point conversion didn't go.

00:10:34But that one is to me just totally philosophical.

00:10:36And I don't think you can call that a coaching mistake.

00:10:39But the other ones are definitely ones that make you want to throw something at the TV,

00:10:42right?

00:10:43Especially for me, the 54 yard field goal we've seen, you know, regardless of the wind

00:10:49or what's going on in pregame, what was the long one that he hit?

00:10:5264 yards a few weeks ago.

00:10:53Longer than 61.

00:10:55It was it was 60 plus at the end of the half.

00:10:57Maybe it was a Seattle game and he drilled it.

00:11:01So what they essentially got because they were on what the 35 yard line, like the 37

00:11:06and they end up.

00:11:08Yeah.

00:11:08And then they end up giving it back on the 20.

00:11:10That's a 15 yard net gain.

00:11:13Both of which you're still they're still in their own territory.

00:11:16It just didn't make much sense to me unless you have absolute confidence that you can

00:11:20pin them within the five yard line, which they obviously didn't do.

00:11:23And maybe if they do, we're looking at that differently.

00:11:25But either way, I say, let him kick it.

00:11:29Just to your point, like Drodney has called all the specialists to weapons like he called

00:11:35Joey Sly weapon.

00:11:35He called Bryce Behringer weapon.

00:11:37But are you expecting that Bryce Behringer is going to cough in corner when he's got

00:11:41a ton of space to work with?

00:11:42Or do you think that Joey Sly is going to make a 54 yard field goal when in pregame

00:11:45you literally saw he was already struggling?

00:11:47That's just the question I posed there.

00:11:49Yeah.

00:11:50And you know, if that is the case, you were there.

00:11:52I wasn't there yesterday.

00:11:54Then you would know.

00:11:55But again, it's like, I guess you're right.

00:11:58You're just deciding which is more likely to happen.

00:11:59You're more likely to get a five yard punt or a putt within the five rather.

00:12:03Or are you more likely to drill a 54 yarder?

00:12:05And I just think that in one case, you're putting them at the five, but that's no guarantee

00:12:10that you're going to get anything right.

00:12:11Because even if you pin them at the five, they can still march on the field and score.

00:12:14On the other hand, you have a chance to get points, which is obviously that determines

00:12:17who wins the football game.

00:12:19So I think if you're debating one thing over the other, you also have to factor in the

00:12:23fact that one of these things is actively getting you points while the other there's

00:12:26no guarantee of points, even if you do pin it in the five and it does work out that way.

00:12:31So that one is really, really head scratching to me.

00:12:34Um, and then the other one, when they ran it on, on, on third down, um, on, on, on third

00:12:40and goal, and he just got stuffed at the line.

00:12:42It's like, ah, what have we been watching for the past few weeks?

00:12:46Taylor, when you put the ball in Drake May's hands and you make Drake may make a play,

00:12:52especially in the red zone, which I think he's been great in the red zone.

00:12:55Um, usually good things happen.

00:12:57And that one was really, really head scratching to me.

00:13:00The part one, it's like, whatever, because again, like if you, if you make them kick

00:13:05it again, for me, it's like, when I saw the flag come down, you're immediately thinking,

00:13:10okay, is it roughing the punter?

00:13:12Is it something like that?

00:13:12Like something can go horribly wrong.

00:13:14And when a punt like that happens and it doesn't like, it doesn't pin you within your own red

00:13:19zone or it doesn't, you know, result in them keeping the ball or something like that.

00:13:24You're almost tempted to, uh, just accept it, which is what they did obviously.

00:13:28But then if you think about, I know you tweeted this yesterday, all the Patriots blue chip

00:13:33players.

00:13:33One of those players is Marcus Jones, the punt returner.

00:13:36And you want to give him a chance to make something happen to, uh, you know, get some

00:13:41yardage and put you in a better position.

00:13:45But that one, I don't fault them as much for, because again, like I mentioned, it's like,

00:13:49okay, we can just kind of move on.

00:13:50You're not pinned within the five or pin like right outside your own end zone, which could

00:13:54always happen.

00:13:55And you do have a chance to go and win the game and you're giving it to your young quarterback.

00:13:59Obviously that didn't happen, but that one, I, I, I somewhat understand.

00:14:04And then when it comes to the punting, I think if it were like fourth quarter, I would feel

00:14:09differently, you know?

00:14:10Cause it's like, yeah, you had a chance at points.

00:14:12That's where I think it's a little more dicey.

00:14:14It was so early in the game.

00:14:15It feels, and people were talking about it at the time.

00:14:17I'm not going to say it's revisionist history because people did have questions.

00:14:20I just remember at the time being like, there's so much game left.

00:14:23If this is the reason you lose, it's not going to be the reason you lost, right?

00:14:27Like, cause clearly a lot of other things had to go wrong.

00:14:29When you're talking about a one score game in the red zone, I'm, I'm still kind of on

00:14:33the same page where I don't like the idea of going under center.

00:14:36When you need a yard, when you have Drake may, who brings a threat of running, throwing,

00:14:41or just handing the ball off.

00:14:42My only reason I was like, I get it is they have had success in those situations, running

00:14:48behind Mike and when you demonstrate Jacobs, that same motion for Monterey that we're going

00:14:52to see later, they have had success with it.

00:14:54So it's not like galaxy brain, like what in the world were you thinking?

00:14:57Also like Alex Van Pelt did have a good game.

00:15:00So it feels like a very nitpicky thing, but he was doing so well for the most part.

00:15:03But again, really outside of a couple of like earlier ones, I don't think that people are

00:15:09wrong for criticizing or being skeptical of what it is.

00:15:11Like you made great points as well.

00:15:13But there is one that I do want to push back against.

00:15:17And it's only when we haven't gotten to yet, if you are down to dive in.

00:15:21Oh, of course we are.

00:15:21You want to get in the film now?

00:15:22You want to do it?

00:15:24Let's do it.

00:15:24Let's talk about the Patriots defense, Christian Gonzalez, that whole situation.

00:15:29And the secondary.

00:15:31So we're going with a new format here.

00:15:33You don't have to see my pretty mug or Jackson's pretty mug.

00:15:37Just focus on the tape.

00:15:39So the whole debate with Christian Gonzalez, should he have followed Pukunukuwa, should

00:15:43he not have?

00:15:44For the game, I thought he should because Pukunukuwa was their most productive at one,

00:15:49their most productive outside receiver.

00:15:51Obviously, he is Pukunukuwa.

00:15:53The one thing I actually noticed when I dove in to actually see, OK, like how much of a

00:15:57threat was Pukunukuwa on the boundary versus Demarcus Robinson?

00:16:00Like how often was he actually there?

00:16:02Pukunukuwa has spent a lot of time on the boundary for the Rams, which was the only

00:16:06reason I thought that maybe they would actually stick him there.

00:16:09And also, not only that, but Mike Pellegrino actually told us heading into this game that

00:16:14actually, you know what?

00:16:14You're going to have to see our mugs real quick.

00:16:15I don't want you just staring at a blank screen this whole time.

00:16:18Real quick, Mike Pellegrino told us that they can't just do the same thing against

00:16:22the Rams offense because Sean McVay, the way he schemes his formations, the way he uses

00:16:26motion.

00:16:27If you're a man defense like the Patriots, it can be so hard to play your game because

00:16:31he knows exactly how to beat you.

00:16:33Like the man beaters, the rubs and all those things.

00:16:35There are very few offenses do it better than Sean McVay.

00:16:38And as an NFC team, you don't really see them very often.

00:16:41You see offshoots of their scheme, but you don't see Sean McVay's system specifically.

00:16:45So what I think it was, was one to kind of help with communication.

00:16:48When you're actually shadowing somebody, sometimes it can be hard because like if it's

00:16:51Puka Nakua, who motions and shifts all the time and there's a lot of trickery involved,

00:16:56you know, sometimes you can get picked off.

00:16:58Sometimes there can be miscommunications.

00:17:00So we'll see how the Patriots actually tried to go about covering these guys.

00:17:04Why I also disagreed sometimes in certain packages with Christian Gonzalez sticking

00:17:08to the boundary.

00:17:09And also why I think once again, you can blame coaching to a degree, but execution needs

00:17:15to be there.

00:17:15And Jonathan Jones was one of the guys who was the most vocal, but the guy we're going

00:17:19to focus on to start this is Marco Wilson, obviously released today so that Alex Austin

00:17:25could be elevated or activated.

00:17:26I'm sorry from injured reserve.

00:17:28So Marco Wilson, this is a really bad game for him.

00:17:31He had a pretty solid stretch after he got benched early in the season, but he's been

00:17:34a liability against the run and Puka Nakua ate his lunch.

00:17:39Not even just that.

00:17:39It was also some mental errors.

00:17:41This one specifically was a pretty glaring mental error.

00:17:44So we're going to see Marco Wilson and Christian Gonzalez on the same side against a bunch

00:17:48look from the Rams Puka Nakua as the number three receiver.

00:17:51So as the number three with all three receivers to the same side, the boundary becomes that

00:17:57inside most receiver, right?

00:17:58So Christian Gonzalez is going to follow him, but the Patriots, what they often did against

00:18:03these bunch looks was have somebody in man coverage against Cooper cup.

00:18:07We can say everything we want about Puka Nakua.

00:18:09Cooper cup is the Rams number one receiver and the Patriots play him that way.

00:18:13We're in a lot of situations.

00:18:14They clearly prioritize making sure that he had one-on-one coverage.

00:18:19So as we're going to see here, the Patriots are going to have Marcus Jones outside on

00:18:23Cooper cup man to man.

00:18:25And then on the back end, they're going to play what's called a banjo technique, which

00:18:28basically means the inside receiver plays the first inch or I'm sorry, the inside corner

00:18:32plays the first inside route in the outside corner was Marco Wilson plays the first outside

00:18:37route.

00:18:38And the way this route pattern is going to distribute is you're going to see Puka Nakua

00:18:42pretend like he's going in motion.

00:18:44One of the many unique kind of motions you get from the Rams and then go right out to

00:18:48the flat.

00:18:49I think they call this zipper because of how it looks.

00:18:51Obviously it kind of looks like a zipper there and you're going to see the miscommunication.

00:18:54This causes off the motion with Marco Wilson.

00:18:57So Puka Nakua going in motion, going across field.

00:19:00No, I'm not.

00:19:01He's in the flat, but both Marco Wilson and Christian Gonzalez are both looking at Marcus

00:19:07Robinson.

00:19:07Now Puka had gone inside.

00:19:09He would have been covered by Christian Gonzalez because he went outside.

00:19:12Marco Wilson's responsibility, but Marco mental error.

00:19:15These are the things that they always say the coaches and the players.

00:19:18These are not excusable.

00:19:19You can't have this because you are supposed to take the outside route.

00:19:22And he knows that because not only is Puka Nakua wide open in the flat, but Marco turns

00:19:27around immediately because he knows now if he thinks he's supposed to be covering this

00:19:32route, he's going to stay on it.

00:19:33But he's like, oh shit, I was supposed to take the outside guy.

00:19:36This doesn't feel right.

00:19:38And once again, just to be more specific, it's not just the pattern.

00:19:41It's the release.

00:19:42So the Marcus Robinson releases inside, even though he does end up running an outbreaking

00:19:47route, which is supposed to create the confusion.

00:19:49And then Puka Nakua releases outside, but his route is the first one to do that.

00:19:53That's why Marco Wilson blows this coverage, kind of gets run over by Puka Nakua, but does

00:19:58end up making the tackle.

00:20:00Now we have a very similar situation.

00:20:02This time Puka is on the other side of the formation with Marco Wilson over top of him

00:20:06to the field.

00:20:07But you can kind of tell in these formations where you've got two receivers to the boundary,

00:20:11there's going to be a shift.

00:20:12We see that pop all the time and low and behold, Puka Nakua is going to come in motion.

00:20:18And now what we're going to see is we're going to get another banjo technique.

00:20:22This time, Christian Gonzalez is going to be the one who's on Cooper Cup, who is the

00:20:26number three this time.

00:20:27And we're going to have a banjo on Tutu Atwell at the point right here.

00:20:31And then Puka Nakua on the outside as the number one.

00:20:35Marcus Jones is taking the outside route.

00:20:37Marco Wilson's taking the inside route.

00:20:39Now, this is going to be another kind of tricky one because Puka is going to release inside,

00:20:44but he's going to be breaking this route out.

00:20:46Now, is that tough?

00:20:47Sure.

00:20:48But this coverage from Marco Wilson is unacceptable.

00:20:50Now, it's not terrible, right?

00:20:53You got to move your hips.

00:20:54But the fact that he's able, Puka Nakua, to accelerate and get this much separation, you

00:21:00absolutely can't have that.

00:21:01You need better situational awareness.

00:21:03Really big play allowed by Marco Wilson.

00:21:06Now, he allowed a couple of Puka Nakua's big plays.

00:21:09As you can see, the first one was a miscommunication because of Wilson.

00:21:13The second was just poor execution.

00:21:15John Jones, a lot of his issues were just flat out execution.

00:21:19But this play was a pretty bad blown cover.

00:21:21This was early on in the game.

00:21:23Now, it's a tough situation, and we're going to show exactly why.

00:21:26So we got Puka Nakua coming in motion.

00:21:28The Patriots are in their three nickel base defense.

00:21:32So they've only got three corners on the field.

00:21:34John Jones here, Marcus Jones on the outside, Christian Gonzalez on this outside.

00:21:38And then Jonathan Jones, because they want to beef up against the run, they're going

00:21:42to have him essentially be an extra cornerback covering Puka with Kyle Duggar on the deep

00:21:47part of the field.

00:21:49Now, again, John Jones is in man-to-man coverage.

00:21:51Puka Nakua goes over to the boundary.

00:21:55And what we're going to see from him is a motion that kind of looks like what the Rams

00:21:59usually run, where he's going to pretend to come up to the second level and block.

00:22:03What he's actually going to do is go on a shallow route over the middle of the field,

00:22:07and that's going to completely dupe Jonathan Jones.

00:22:10It's a very good design, though, because when you look at it from here, it does look like

00:22:14a run.

00:22:14Kind of see this from KJ Osborne, Kendrick Bourne, Jalen Polk all the time.

00:22:18But he's not running a route, and Jonathan Jones doesn't realize it until it's too late.

00:22:24He's way in chase mode.

00:22:26Anthony Jennings can't get a hand on the pass.

00:22:28Puka breaks the tackle from Kyle Duggar, gets some more on that.

00:22:32So this was Jonathan Jones' worst game in years, I think.

00:22:35And he acknowledged he needed to be better, took full accountability.

00:22:38That's what you want from your veteran.

00:22:40But when a guy who's one of your most consistent, smartest, and most effective players struggles

00:22:44like this, it's going to be a bad game for the offense.

00:22:47So once again, we're in a base defense, but this time only two cornerbacks.

00:22:51Got Christian Gonzalez to the bottom on Demarcus Robinson.

00:22:54And then we got Jonathan Jones on Puka Nakua.

00:22:56Now, my bigger issue is maybe the red zone defense.

00:23:00Because this is a situation where I would like to see Christian Gonzalez on the better

00:23:05receiver no matter what, right?

00:23:07But you know what?

00:23:07That wasn't part of their game plan for whatever reason.

00:23:10You get Jon Jones on Puka Nakua.

00:23:12Now he's in man coverage, and Puka is going to shift inside another motion where it looks

00:23:17like a run.

00:23:18Again, this is something we see from the Patriots all the time on their duo concepts.

00:23:22But one of the things the Patriots mentioned was they really struggled on early downs.

00:23:27Rod Mayo said that was something the offense did well, the defense really struggled.

00:23:31And it was so bad that if you look at positive EPA allowed, which is basically just explosiveness,

00:23:37no defense has allowed a higher positive EPA rate than the Patriots did in this single

00:23:43game, which tells you how awful it was.

00:23:45And it's because the Rams ran just well enough to force the Patriots to respect their play

00:23:50action.

00:23:50So once again, we get a run formation, play action pass.

00:23:55Now you get the run fake, and Puka does a good job looking like he's stock blocking,

00:23:58right?

00:23:59He's not getting right into his route.

00:24:00He looks like he's trying to block this safety.

00:24:02And even he thinks he's about to get blocked.

00:24:04Then he breaks inside.

00:24:05Jonathan Jones is late to flip his hips.

00:24:08And again, I don't want to undersell how great a route this is, but Jon Jones loses to his

00:24:13leverage outside.

00:24:15Can't have that.

00:24:16Great throw by Matthew Stafford.

00:24:17I want to give him credit.

00:24:18Great adjustment by Puka to co-op.

00:24:20But again, Jonathan Jones outside leverage loses against the play action pass.

00:24:24Can't have that.

00:24:26Now that was the one, right?

00:24:29Yeah, this is this is this is the play.

00:24:31This is the play.

00:24:32All right.

00:24:33So once again, we're in a base defense and a lot of these explosive plays from Jon Jones

00:24:38came against the Patriots base defense.

00:24:40Once again, you've got three corners on the field.

00:24:42All right.

00:24:43Just one safety.

00:24:44I've liked this formation in other weeks, but this is one.

00:24:47We have two really good receivers.

00:24:48We can come back to bite you.

00:24:50Now the Patriots, because they're in base, they're trying to defend the run.

00:24:52Like Gerard Mayo said, they ran a couple of cover zeros and they worked.

00:24:56I think the Patriots are thinking they're going to dent the interior and maybe stop

00:24:59the run or, you know, obviously get pressure on Matthew Stafford.

00:25:02But like I mentioned, the linebackers are at depth.

00:25:05So when they start coming downhill, it's going to take them a while to actually reach

00:25:08the backfield.

00:25:10So we have Christian Gonzalez against Marcus Robinson.

00:25:12Obviously, they're on the boundary.

00:25:13He's going to the outside most receiver.

00:25:15And like we saw in the first Jon Jones play as the safety, he's going to be in man coverage

00:25:20against Cooper Cup in the slot.

00:25:22Now, Cooper Cup going to run a scene route.

00:25:24And Matthew Stafford actually said after the game, this was not a concept that the Rams

00:25:28had really been able to run this season.

00:25:30So this is it's always tough to defend concepts that you've never seen on tape, because usually

00:25:35when you run cover zero, you're expecting the ball to come out quick.

00:25:38And this was a great play for Matthew Stafford.

00:25:40So I'm going to run the play back of his drop.

00:25:43Now, Matthew Stafford is throwing this ball before Cooper Cup, who's trying to just get

00:25:47on Jon Jones's toes before he gets to his break.

00:25:51He hasn't even on Jon Jones's toes yet.

00:25:53Incredible anticipation for Matthew Stafford.

00:25:56Now, Cooper does get on Jon Jones's hip, or I'm sorry, he gets on his toes.

00:26:00Jon is trying to undercut this and bat it away, makes a diving attempt, which if you

00:26:05make it great, awesome.

00:26:07If you don't, you're screwed, right?

00:26:10And as a veteran, Bill Belichick might genuinely may have benched Jonathan Jones for doing

00:26:14this.

00:26:14He would always, always preach.

00:26:16If you don't have anyone behind you, you cannot try to go for the ball, because if you do

00:26:21and you can't make the tackle, it's a touchdown.

00:26:24That's exactly what we see.

00:26:25Another great, great throw from Matthew Stafford.

00:26:28Can't give him any credit.

00:26:30Amazing throw, but Jonathan Jones, the mental error there, you absolutely cannot have that.

00:26:35Now, I've talked about the bad, right?

00:26:37Again, it comes down to execution, where maybe the coaching call isn't good, where I don't

00:26:42love that Jonathan Jones was against Puka Nakua in the red zone.

00:26:45I don't necessarily love that they were using those base looks that kind of put Jon Jones

00:26:49into difficult positions, but the wily veteran he is, Jon Jones, for the umpteen time in

00:26:54his career, did finish on a high note and gave the Patriots a chance to win the game,

00:26:59despite the struggles he had throughout.

00:27:01So you got Jonathan Jones one-on-one on Puka.

00:27:04Puka's going to shift outside.

00:27:05He loves this motion.

00:27:07Now, Jon Jones is in man coverage.

00:27:08See how hard he's playing the inside leverage?

00:27:11Yep.

00:27:12That's because Marcus Jones had allowed a third-down conversion earlier on this drive

00:27:17on a slant route.

00:27:18So Jon Jones is saying, nah, my trucker, you're not running a slant on me.

00:27:24I'm ready for it.

00:27:24I'm taking it away with my alignment.

00:27:26But Sean McVay is one step ahead, and Puka Nakua is actually running a double move to

00:27:31get vertical.

00:27:33So you're going to see him get into his route.

00:27:34You see him slow down, try to dupe Jon Jones.

00:27:36He's not falling for it.

00:27:38Gets in the receiver's hip as the ball's there.

00:27:41Great job getting his head around and making a play.

00:27:43Hyped up.

00:27:44Really, really great job by him finishing after what was, of course, a very tough outing.

00:27:49So in summary, could the game plan have been better at times?

00:27:53Absolutely.

00:27:54If you're just shadowing receivers for the entire game, that can make it easier on you

00:27:57when it comes to those specific situations where, eh, I don't love this matchup.

00:28:01But the Patriots have said this, and I also believe it.

00:28:03They trust all of their corners.

00:28:05Like Marcus Jones had good reps against Cooper Cup.

00:28:07Jon Jones, like we saw, also had some good reps.

00:28:10It's a battle.

00:28:11And it's very hard to play a team with two great receivers and a top eight quarterback,

00:28:15right?

00:28:16So we need to keep that context into perspective.

00:28:18Coaching could be better, but the execution is, at the end of the day, what matters the

00:28:23most.

00:28:23Coaching to put you in good positions to win.

00:28:25But if you have an opportunity to make a play or prevent a play, you got to do it.

00:28:29Right.

00:28:30And that's exactly why Marco Wilson was cut for the exact reason you just said.

00:28:33It's all about the execution.

00:28:35You can talk about the coaching all you want, but at the end of the day, you got two guys

00:28:38that are, I mean, Cooper Cup's already, obviously, he's been one of the best wide

00:28:42receivers in the game for the past few years.

00:28:44Puka Nakua, rising star, just his second year.

00:28:47He's super big, super physical.

00:28:49So at the end of the day, sometimes it's just you got outplayed.

00:28:52And I think the defense, like through the first three quarters, got outplayed.

00:28:56The fourth quarter, they did well.

00:28:57Obviously, gave them a chance to win the game.

00:28:59You mentioned that route where Jonathan Jones came back and was able to make that stop.

00:29:04Against Puka.

00:29:05So I think some of it is on coaching.

00:29:08You can point to areas that they could have been better.

00:29:11But at the end of the day, this is just a remarkable team.

00:29:14And I don't think they played up to their potential at all with all the injuries that

00:29:17they've had.

00:29:18But when you have those three guys, four guys, really, because Kyron Williams as well, who

00:29:22was still good in this game.

00:29:24When you have those four offensive weapons in Stafford Cup, Nakua and Kyron Williams,

00:29:29it's going to be tough to beat regardless.

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00:31:12That's good.

00:31:12How did I do?

00:31:12I stumbled a little bit.

00:31:14No, you did good.

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00:31:15First time.

00:31:16I was practicing earlier to make sure that I hit it right.

00:31:20All right, moving on here.

00:31:23Let's talk about, I mentioned earlier that the red zone has been pretty good overall

00:31:27this year.

00:31:28But yesterday there were some problems in terms of lack of execution on the plays.

00:31:32Also some pretty bad penalties that got the Patriots in some bad spots somewhat frequently.

00:31:38So take it away, Taylor.

00:31:39What was your take on the red zone offense?

00:31:43Yeah.

00:31:43So the biggest thing for me was that they just kept shooting themselves in the foot.

00:31:47And that really has been the story the past two weeks.

00:31:50The red zone offense is very good when they're going forward, obviously.

00:31:53But when you're getting penalties, when you're getting tackled in the backfield,

00:31:57you put yourself in really bad positions.

00:31:59So I went over all the third downs that they failed in the red zone, as well as the times

00:32:04where I felt like they got backed up into a position that kind of shot themselves in the

00:32:08foot.

00:32:08Now one, funny enough, the throwaway where it looked like to Mario Douglas was wide open

00:32:12over the middle and Drake may basically get to the top of his drop and just throws it

00:32:16away.

00:32:16That was the first time outside of the opponent's five yard line.

00:32:20So like almost a goal line situation that Drake may had ever seen cover zero in his

00:32:24career.

00:32:25You know, very young career, obviously, but pretty interesting considering zero is a pretty

00:32:30popular concept throughout the league these days.

00:32:32But he hadn't seen it before.

00:32:33There weren't enough blockers to get the guy who was coming downhill at him.

00:32:37I thought he might have come off to Mario Douglas a little quickly, but that's not really

00:32:40what I'm putting on the rookie.

00:32:41So yes, they didn't.

00:32:43They weren't able to score a touchdown on that drive.

00:32:45But you know what?

00:32:45It's early in the game.

00:32:46That was the second quarter was before halftime.

00:32:49You don't want to see that.

00:32:49But at the same time, at least you get points on the board.

00:32:52Now it upset me more.

00:32:53Ben Brown has a false start.

00:32:55It actually seemed like noise was an issue.

00:32:57There were two plays where players kind of made it seem like they couldn't hear Ben at

00:33:03one point.

00:33:04Yep.

00:33:05And there was one play.

00:33:05I think it's the second time Ben Brown's done this, where it's everybody but the center,

00:33:09like almost everybody.

00:33:10But him and Mike didn't want to move, which usually tells you, which I don't know why

00:33:13and when you didn't move.

00:33:14He had a pretty rough game.

00:33:15To be honest, it's not going to come up a ton in this one outside of a couple of times,

00:33:18but I was not impressed by his performance at all.

00:33:21But Ben Brown had a false.

00:33:23Everybody had a false start.

00:33:24It was called on Michael Jordan, but it was because nobody actually moved.

00:33:27After the play, Ben Brown kind of did like this.

00:33:30I'm not sure if that was because May was saying something to him after the play or if he just

00:33:35couldn't hear the cadence.

00:33:36But whatever the reason was, it's kind of weird for a home team to not be able to hear

00:33:40when they're on the field.

00:33:41Fans, I love the passion, but just be careful in those critical moments.

00:33:45Hunter Henry missed two critical blocks.

00:33:48There was one where he goes on his usual shift across the formation, but he wasn't able to

00:33:53get a Roseboom, which is one of the coolest names I've ever heard.

00:33:56By the way, 56 on the Rams wasn't able to get him on the edge linebacker got right around

00:34:01him and stopped.

00:34:02Ramond Ray Stevenson short of the end zone.

00:34:05This is actually I think this is a play.

00:34:07Yeah, this is it.

00:34:09Yeah, it's not good enough.

00:34:10Actually going to rewind right now real quick so you can see Hunter Henry comes in motion.

00:34:14He's trying to block Roseboom right here.

00:34:16Roseboom gets right around him, makes that contact.

00:34:19If he doesn't make this contact in Ramond Ray Stevenson is running in a straight line

00:34:23off the handoff.

00:34:24You think 37 is going to stop him before he gets across the goal line?

00:34:27Absolutely not.

00:34:28No, I don't think so either.

00:34:30And then Demontre Jacobs is a nice job getting in the second level defender as well.

00:34:34So that was really disappointing from Hunter Henry.

00:34:36We actually saw a similar thing actually happen on this play as well, where it's duo Ramond

00:34:41Ray tries to.

00:34:42Honestly, I will say this.

00:34:44I wish the Ramond Ray had just taken this whole put your head down.

00:34:47It's third and one.

00:34:48Just get the yards.

00:34:49Unfortunately, Hunter also has his guy get around him as Ramond Ray is trying to bounce

00:34:55this, which I think he does because he knows that this guy is coming downhill.

00:34:59It's a tough block for Ben Brown from where he is to get upfield while also helping out

00:35:03on the chip.

00:35:04So I kind of understand where Ramond Ray Stevenson is coming from here, but then tried to bounce

00:35:08it again.

00:35:09Can't because Hunter Henry doesn't make his block and then the run gets blown up.

00:35:13Then some other plays I didn't love.

00:35:15You got the false start here from Jalen Polk.

00:35:17Looked like I think this might have been some kind of quarterback wheel because when you

00:35:22see quarterbacks nonchalantly just walk away like this, it's usually because they want

00:35:25people to forget that they exist.

00:35:27And we've seen Ramond Ray in the wildcat a few times and Van Pelt starting to break out

00:35:31his trick plays.

00:35:33And now you see once Jalen Polk moves, he's pissed off about it.

00:35:36Drake May trying to tell the crowd, please be quiet.

00:35:40We're not supposed to be the ones that you scream at.

00:35:42I'm sure they love the support.

00:35:43But again, got to be very careful there.

00:35:45I'll just let it run from here.

00:35:46But there was that one.

00:35:48Also a pretty big mistake from Badarian Lowe.

00:35:50He acknowledged this one after the game.

00:35:51He got an illegal formation penalty that didn't have to do with the red zone execution, but

00:35:56it did lead from it was a third and eighth that Drake May actually converted on this

00:36:00throw.

00:36:01Awesome, awesome play outside the pocket scrambling getting Hunter Henry.

00:36:05But really, this was one where Michael Jordan was more at fault.

00:36:08He wasn't on the line of scrimmage and Badarian Lowe had been warned twice to make sure he

00:36:12was aligned with the guard.

00:36:13What Darian Lowe was doing was looking down the line to see if he was with Michael Jordan,

00:36:17but because he wasn't plans up getting flagged.

00:36:20So really, I put that more on Michael Jordan, to be honest, because Darian Lowe had a bad

00:36:23point of reference.

00:36:24Either way, took away conversion.

00:36:25The Patriots were in third and 13 incomplete pass.

00:36:28They had to go for a field goal.

00:36:30So those are the biggest issues I'm seeing with the red zone offense right now.

00:36:34Again, the execution.

00:36:35I know people hate hearing that because it's like, oh, what about the coaching and all

00:36:39that?

00:36:39Yes, that plays a factor.

00:36:41But the players, you know how Belichick always used to say, hey, the players make plays.

00:36:45Players also are the ones who don't make the plays.

00:36:47And that at the end of the day, once again, I don't want to say the bigger issue because

00:36:51you need to be put in good positions.

00:36:53But those were plays that you expect a guy like Hunter Henry especially to make.

00:36:57So this offense, they cannot keep going backwards.

00:37:00If they are going forward or getting stopped as long as not on third down, that's fine.

00:37:05But you can't keep shooting yourselves in the foot at the end of the day.

00:37:08That's what I think these red zone struggles have been all about.

00:37:10I just wish we could have seen what that trick play was going to be.

00:37:13Because I bet that was going to be a touchdown.

00:37:15He's like, I knew it was going to be a touch.

00:37:17I'm like, what the hell was it now?

00:37:18And for those things where you like once you do it and it didn't work, you can never do

00:37:23it again.

00:37:24So it's just we still don't know.

00:37:26We still don't know what it is.

00:37:27So maybe they will.

00:37:28Maybe a shout out to D here for the donation.

00:37:31We appreciate it.

00:37:32Good offensive coordinator is not a scheme.

00:37:34Their wide receiver is open.

00:37:35ABP doesn't do that.

00:37:37What do you think?

00:37:38I take my kiss back.

00:37:40Okay, now you can have it.

00:37:41But I don't think that's necessarily true.

00:37:43I think this is one of the better games that Alex has helped us teamed up in a while.

00:37:46I just think there's times where you can see the talent deficit, where whether it's a quick

00:37:50pressure or whether there's a playoff show later where Keishon Booty, as good as he's

00:37:54been, just isn't the kind of downfield threat that Drake May needs.

00:37:57And without Jayvon Baker, I don't really know that they even have that guy.

00:38:00So is there more than Alex?

00:38:03Is there more than Alex Van Pelt?

00:38:05This is the first time I've been on the show at six o'clock.

00:38:06My mouth is going to fall off.

00:38:08Is there more he could have done?

00:38:09Yes, most likely.

00:38:11But he's not Shanahan.

00:38:12He's not McVay.

00:38:13He's doing a great job of developing Drake May and putting an offense out there that

00:38:17Drake May can execute and that the players clearly believe in because we've heard nothing

00:38:21but good things about him.

00:38:22And Hunter Henry said, I love the scheme.

00:38:24I love his mentality and all that stuff.

00:38:26So no, you're not probably going to be blown away by Van Pelt's scheme.

00:38:29But I will say the interesting motions, the trick plays, there's different things they're

00:38:34starting to add on a weekly basis.

00:38:35So hold your horses on Alex Van Pelt.

00:38:38I understand the frustration.

00:38:40I do think he's doing a pretty good job, all things considered.

00:38:43Thanks again to Dee for that donation.

00:38:45We are going to do a Q&A later, as I mentioned off the top.

00:38:47So get those questions brewing for sure.

00:38:50Let's step away from the offense for a little bit.

00:38:51We obviously got two player debuts yesterday.

00:38:54Much anticipated.

00:38:55Christian Barmore returning from his blood clot situation, regardless of how he played.

00:39:00Just incredible to see.

00:39:02Obviously, him come back relatively quickly compared to David Andrews a few years ago,

00:39:06missed the whole season.

00:39:07So it's great to see him back out there.

00:39:09And Yannick Ngakoue, who the Patriots claimed off of waivers after he was released by the

00:39:13Baltimore Ravens.

00:39:14Both of them made their debuts yesterday.

00:39:16Taylor, what did you make of their game?

00:39:19Yes, sir.

00:39:19So let's get the numbers out here real quick.

00:39:22So looking at how Christian Barmore was actually used in terms of situation.

00:39:26So total, oh my God, this is not right.

00:39:28It should say 29.

00:39:29I don't know.

00:39:30It should say 20.

00:39:30I don't know what happened to the zero.

00:39:32That should be a total of 20 snaps.

00:39:34So we'll just pretend that this little cursor is the zero there.

00:39:37First and second downs, he played seven snaps, three to four pass to run ratio.

00:39:42Played a lot of third downs.

00:39:43Played a ton in two minutes.

00:39:44I kind of figured he would mostly be a third down guy for them because he only practiced

00:39:48on Thursday.

00:39:49Thursday is when the Patriots practice third downs.

00:39:51And typically, if a player is limited, that's usually what the role is going to be.

00:39:56But in this specific instance, he played more in two minutes.

00:39:58And also, he played more early downs than I expected.

00:40:01Had a pretty significant role in their base defense.

00:40:03He didn't record a pressure.

00:40:04But he did have three tackles.

00:40:06The only person who had more was Marcus Jones in that game.

00:40:10So kind of funny that Christian Barmore, known as the pass rusher who couldn't stop the run.

00:40:15Last year, he was both.

00:40:15And now, as he's still getting his legs under him, he's like, hey, I can still stop the

00:40:18run.

00:40:18But you got to give me some help in terms of being a pass rusher.

00:40:21And also, Yannick Ngcakwe, obviously.

00:40:23Yannick, by the way.

00:40:25Not Yannick.

00:40:25Yannick.

00:40:27Yeah, Yannick.

00:40:27I went to the pronunciation guide.

00:40:30I had to make sure.

00:40:30I've been saying his name like a jerk.

00:40:32So you need Ngcakwe.

00:40:35So when you look at the actual packages they were a part of.

00:40:37So you saw Christian Barmore in a lot of these nickel defenses, where typically,

00:40:41you'd have him on the field with Jeremiah Farms or Daniel Akwale as another defensive tackle.

00:40:46And then, Anthony Jennings as one of the edge guys.

00:40:49Yannick wasn't really part of the nickel defense.

00:40:52Really more, you saw Keon White.

00:40:53Then, in the dime defenses, is where you saw a lot more Christian Barmore.

00:40:57You saw him on the inside with Keon White.

00:41:00Thank the Lord, we finally got the fierce material that we've been waiting for.

00:41:04And that was where you saw more of Yannick Ngcakwe.

00:41:06He didn't really have an early down roll.

00:41:08Had one snap.

00:41:09I think, yeah, it was just one snap, I think, of nickel defense.

00:41:12And he got an assisted run tackle along with Christian Barmore.

00:41:15But really, he was used more as a pass rusher, as you can see in these kinds of looks.

00:41:19They used Christian Ellis, again, a ton as that dime linebacker.

00:41:22Used him on some blitzes.

00:41:24He got to Matthew Stafford a couple times on twists.

00:41:26Line games are one of the only things that work for the Patriots pass rush, obviously.

00:41:30Did not look very good for most of the game.

00:41:32Part of that's because Matthew Stafford gets ball out of his hands so fast,

00:41:35as you're going to see in some of these clips.

00:41:37Like, he has, I think he's top five or top eight in the average time to throw

00:41:40in terms of getting the ball out of his hands fast.

00:41:42So we knew it wasn't going to be easy to pressure him.

00:41:44But marriage of coverage and pressure, obviously, always going to work out.

00:41:48And then, when Christian Barmore was in the base defense,

00:41:51this is a role that I wanted to see him in more.

00:41:54You saw, typically, it was Devon Gauchon in the middle with Barmore in that more

00:41:58Dietrich-wise role, where he brings pass rush value and is a run stopper.

00:42:03Dietrich-wise, it's more pass rush than run stop.

00:42:05But Christian Barmore gives you both.

00:42:07We saw at times throughout the season, they would put Daniel Aquale in that role

00:42:10when they wanted to stop the run, try to use him as a pass rusher on the edge.

00:42:14And it just didn't work out for them or quarterbacks would get out of the pocket

00:42:17because he just doesn't have the range to bring those guys down.

00:42:19Now, with Christian Barmore, he's got that.

00:42:21So there were times where Anthony Jennings would drop out,

00:42:24and he would basically act as a defensive end.

00:42:26There were times where they would try line games.

00:42:28The coordination wasn't great.

00:42:30And I think that was a big reason why Ngokwe and Christian Barmore just didn't

00:42:33have a ton of success.

00:42:34Again, Stafford was a pretty big reason for that,

00:42:36getting the ball out of his hands quickly.

00:42:38But also, it just didn't feel like, understandably,

00:42:41two guys who were playing on this specific defense for the first time

00:42:45still getting a feel for things.

00:42:46And in other weeks, you saw that the line games for the Patriots

00:42:49actually worked really well and consistently.

00:42:51So I think it's just going to take some time for them to get it together.

00:42:53Barmore, obviously, once he gets his legs under him,

00:42:55is going to continue to be a game wrecker and be really fun to watch.

00:42:58Hit some coverage away from Keon White, who's been seeing double,

00:43:01even triple teams at times.

00:43:03And then Yannick, I think his one win as a pass rusher,

00:43:05he did have a nice cross chop,

00:43:07just didn't do it in time for Stafford to get the ball out.

00:43:09And then sometimes he tried power,

00:43:10but it wasn't a crazy impressive performance from either guy.

00:43:14I was hoping for more from Ngokwe,

00:43:15but I understand he had a limited role against an elite quarterback.

00:43:18It's tough to get to those guys ever.

00:43:20Christian Barmore flashed about three or four times

00:43:23where you saw like, okay, he still got it.

00:43:25But again, he's still trying to obviously work his way back

00:43:28from the blood clots, get in football shape.

00:43:31There was a time where there's this one move he loves

00:43:33where it's kind of like you slap a guy.

00:43:35It's supposed to be you slap him in the arm

00:43:37and then you rip underneath.

00:43:38It's from Deacon Jones.

00:43:42It was his go-to rush.

00:43:43Now, back in the day, what they would do

00:43:45instead of hitting the arm was hit you in the head.

00:43:47Literally, he would just clobber guys in the head

00:43:49so they would kind of get dazed.

00:43:50And then he's like, all right, now I'm going to throw you.

00:43:52Barmore accidentally did hit somebody in the head

00:43:55and he ended up missing the arm, which stopped his rush.

00:43:57But again, that was how those guys were used.

00:43:59Barmore was used in every different type of situation

00:44:02in base, nickel, and dime.

00:44:05So as always, with Barmore being the kind of player he is,

00:44:08expect him to be a big part of the defense.

00:44:10Then Yannick Ngokwe, we actually heard from Mayo,

00:44:13he's expected to have a bigger role moving forward.

00:44:15So I think he and Dietrich Wise are probably going to rotate.

00:44:17Like you can see, he's more of a defensive end

00:44:19than an outside linebacker who stands up.

00:44:21So I think those guys are probably

00:44:23going to rotate on early downs.

00:44:24But just nice to get more depth on the defensive line.

00:44:26You can never have enough.

00:44:27And you got two quality veterans who

00:44:29are smart football players, very diverse in their skill sets.

00:44:32And we'll see what happens as they

00:44:34get more comfortable in the scheme

00:44:35and guys get more comfortable around them as well.

00:44:37Without a doubt, yeah.

00:44:38Excited to see those two continue to work.

00:44:41Obviously, I mean, the run defense

00:44:43is going to be tremendously boosted

00:44:46by both of those guys, which has been

00:44:48a struggle for the Patriots at some points

00:44:50throughout this season.

00:44:53Let's take another break.

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00:46:46What time is it?

00:46:47It's game time.

00:46:49Moving on here.

00:46:50Let's get into some Drake May talk specifically.

00:46:52And then we will open it up to you guys for some questions.

00:46:55Taylor, what do you have on the rookie superstar quarterback?

00:46:58Yeah, so we all know Drake May is a crazy athlete, right?

00:47:01This is one of the few shows where I'm not gonna highlight

00:47:03those crazy scramble plays and everything.

00:47:06He did have some, but a big reason that I'm not gonna

00:47:08highlight them is I thought the bigger takeaway from this game

00:47:11was that Drake May isn't just a gunslinger.

00:47:13He's not just a young guy who can beat you with scrambles.

00:47:15If you look at the Patriots production,

00:47:17especially in the passing game,

00:47:19a lot of it has been on scrambles

00:47:20where Drake May has been like the best quarterback

00:47:22in the NFL.

00:47:23But what he was able to do against the Rams,

00:47:26kind of like Matthew Stafford to a degree, to be honest,

00:47:28where he took what the defense gave him.

00:47:30He got the ball out of his hands in a timely manner

00:47:32against a very good pass rush for the most part.

00:47:35And had one of the best statistical outings

00:47:37of his young career in the process.

00:47:39So let's look at the stats real quick.

00:47:41Get rid of this.

00:47:42Oh, thank you, Jackson.

00:47:43All right, so passing.

00:47:45The quickest average time to throw for Drake May

00:47:47in any game this season.

00:47:48His shortest average depth of target.

00:47:51I wasn't expecting that, to be honest.

00:47:52I thought he was gonna air it out

00:47:53against this Rams secondary.

00:47:54But also, like when I was talking with Bart

00:47:56during our preview show, this is not a front

00:47:59that's very easy to hold the ball against.

00:48:00So it's, and also when they tried their play action,

00:48:03Rams did a pretty good job of actually smothering it.

00:48:05So even still, he had the second highest accuracy rate.

00:48:09Just obviously like throws that hit you in stride

00:48:11or at least within the receiver's frame

00:48:13and away from the defender.

00:48:15It was his second best game as a Patriot.

00:48:17Highest adjusted completion percentage.

00:48:18That basically just accounts for drops.

00:48:21Second highest passer rating,

00:48:22but his highest PFF passing grade.

00:48:25And while it was his first start without a big time throw,

00:48:29big time throw is basically just anything

00:48:30that's typically a deep throw,

00:48:32like 20 yards.

00:48:33It's not a big time throw if the guy's wide open

00:48:35and you just like throw it wherever

00:48:36and he's just able to get it.

00:48:38If it's tight coverage,

00:48:39that's considered typically a big time thrower

00:48:41if you throw the guy open.

00:48:43He didn't have any.

00:48:44I think he was robbed

00:48:45because there's one throw I'm gonna highlight

00:48:46where I think he probably should have gotten one

00:48:48and the receiver just didn't really help him out.

00:48:50But he was able to win in other ways.

00:48:51And that's a really exciting thing for a young quarterback.

00:48:54They don't just win in the ways

00:48:55that you knew they would coming out of college.

00:48:57He's adjusted his game, his footwork's been better,

00:49:00his accuracy underneath specifically

00:49:01has been much better.

00:49:03And we are going to see that in this compilation.

00:49:06So there were a few areas specifically

00:49:07that I wanted to,

00:49:08or a couple that I wanted to highlight specifically.

00:49:10One was his ability to beat the blitz,

00:49:12which we saw a few times.

00:49:13Now against the Rams,

00:49:15Drake May faced his highest blitz rate,

00:49:18his highest simulated pressure rate.

00:49:20Simulated pressure basically just means

00:49:21the defense is sending four rushers

00:49:23like they usually would.

00:49:24But instead of it being defensive linemen,

00:49:26one of those guys at least is gonna be a defensive back

00:49:29or an off ball linebacker.

00:49:31Basically the point is to confuse pass protection.

00:49:34Drake May threw one touchdown

00:49:36to no interceptions against the blitz.

00:49:38That was the best touchdown ratio for him this season.

00:49:40And his passer rating of 107.7

00:49:43was his second highest of the season.

00:49:45Like I mentioned,

00:49:46he faced cover zero for the first time.

00:49:47So the Rams were the first defense in Chris Shula

00:49:50that really tried to test him

00:49:52and see if he could adjust to them sending heat.

00:49:54Because I looked up a stat,

00:49:56Drake May's tied for like 27th in the NFL

00:49:59in dropbacks against six or more pass rushers.

00:50:01Like defenses have basically been saying,

00:50:03we're not gonna all blitz this kid

00:50:05because if we miss and he runs,

00:50:07there's no one to catch him.

00:50:08And if we make the read simple enough

00:50:09that he just has one receiver to hit,

00:50:11it might work.

00:50:12Now that didn't work this time,

00:50:13but we'll see if defense

00:50:15to try to challenge him more in the future.

00:50:16Anyway, beating the blitz,

00:50:18we're gonna get into the first clip here.

00:50:19This was the play that everyone's been talking about.

00:50:21I love this play.

00:50:22It was one of my favorites from the entire game.

00:50:24So the Rams are gonna try to overload the left side

00:50:27of the Patriots offensive line.

00:50:29You're gonna see this look,

00:50:30we've got one, two, three, four, five,

00:50:32six players on the line of scrimmage.

00:50:34Only got five offensive linemen,

00:50:35but you do have Armand Ray Stevenson in the backfield.

00:50:39Now the tricky part here

00:50:40is the Rams aren't gonna send all these guys.

00:50:42Like you can see these two mugged up defenders

00:50:44who were standing up in the middle

00:50:45between the nose tackle.

00:50:47These guys are dropping into coverage

00:50:48and this safety is coming from depth.

00:50:50When a safety is coming from depth,

00:50:51it's very difficult for the offensive line to pick him up

00:50:54because you're not even thinking

00:50:55that someone who's like 15 yards away

00:50:57is gonna try to come down and affect the passer.

00:51:00Now the route we're gonna be looking for

00:51:02is to Mario Douglas.

00:51:03He's gonna come in motion.

00:51:04So he's the outside receiver in the bunch

00:51:06and run a shallow crossing route.

00:51:07So against this kind of blitz,

00:51:09you wanna get the ball out of your hands quickly.

00:51:11This was also a third and seven situation.

00:51:13So you'd like to really throw past the sticks,

00:51:16but in this situation,

00:51:17I didn't mind Drake May throwing it short

00:51:18and you're going to see why.

00:51:20So Mario Douglas, come on over, run your rep.

00:51:23And as you can see, safety comes down.

00:51:25And what happens is Michael Jordan gets distracted

00:51:29by the mug defender.

00:51:30So you see right here, he's blocking this guy,

00:51:32blocking this guy.

00:51:33Oh, he's dropping into coverage.

00:51:34Oh my God, there's somebody coming down the pipe.

00:51:36He's got pressure.

00:51:37Drake May is looking at the Mario Douglas,

00:51:39but he can't throw it

00:51:40because there's a defender in the way.

00:51:43If he throws this, there's a decent chance

00:51:45this guy is gonna break on the ball and pick it off.

00:51:48And this is something Drake May has done a great job of.

00:51:50Even in the Jets game where he came in just for relief,

00:51:52he had a really impressive throw to Pop Douglas

00:51:55where once again, he waited for that second window

00:51:57and hit him in stride.

00:51:59Now this time, Mario is gonna clear that defender

00:52:02and I'm sorry, Drake May has pressure,

00:52:05jumps in the air as he throws this off platform.

00:52:09Like again, this is coming out of his hand

00:52:11while he has no feet on the ground.

00:52:13Mario Douglas does clear the defender.

00:52:15Drake May hits him.

00:52:17Huge play to Mario Douglas.

00:52:18Nice acceleration after the catch.

00:52:20Really good job by Drake May.

00:52:21Not only identifying he needed

00:52:23to get the ball out of his hands,

00:52:24but even doing enough to kind of...

00:52:26I'll actually show one more time

00:52:27because I really like what he does in the pocket here

00:52:29to buy himself time.

00:52:30He's gonna kind of drip just a little bit to the right,

00:52:33which GC McCartney complimented him for a couple weeks ago.

00:52:36Couple, just one step just to give him enough time

00:52:39to hit to Mario.

00:52:40Well done, young man, well done.

00:52:42All right, we got another blitz.

00:52:43This time, we're gonna get it from the middle linebacker.

00:52:47They're not showing a blitz look,

00:52:48but they're gonna send it after the snap.

00:52:50Now, the Patriots, obviously,

00:52:52they have numbers advantage, right?

00:52:54They've got the center,

00:52:55two other offensive linemen and Hunter Henry.

00:52:58Problem is, Hunter Henry is running a route.

00:53:00So he is not gonna be able to pick up

00:53:03the fourth pass rusher

00:53:04that's gonna come over to this side.

00:53:06Drake May is gonna see right once he gets the snap

00:53:09that this middle linebacker is coming

00:53:11and he knows he's hot because,

00:53:13what basically hot means is,

00:53:14you don't have anybody to pick up the blitzer.

00:53:16So there needs to be somewhere on the field

00:53:17where you can throw the ball and not get yourself killed.

00:53:20And that guy is backside, good old Keyshawn Booty,

00:53:23running a slant, gets open.

00:53:25Drake May, quick decision,

00:53:27hits Keyshawn Booty in stride, bursts down.

00:53:30Again, really impressive identification

00:53:32from Drake May there.

00:53:33Now, sometimes the Rams blitzed,

00:53:36but the Patriots weren't able to pick it up.

00:53:38Now, Ramond Dury-Stevenson is one of the best

00:53:40pass-blocking running backs in the entire NFL,

00:53:42but even the best are gonna take their Ls

00:53:44and we're gonna see that here.

00:53:45This linebacker blitzes

00:53:46and Ramond Dury-Stevenson tries to pick him up.

00:53:48So play fake here from Drake May.

00:53:50Now, he's got Hunter Henry wide open

00:53:53on this out-breaking route.

00:53:55He can throw this, but he also sees

00:53:57that Keyshawn Booty has stacked his defender

00:54:00and is gonna get open down the field.

00:54:02And Drake May, impressive as always,

00:54:04said, you know what, I'm gonna go for the throw.

00:54:06Let's see what we can get deep down field.

00:54:08Now, Ramond Dury-Stevenson,

00:54:10I don't wanna say he like loses fully,

00:54:12but gets enough of his guy to slow him down,

00:54:15not enough to stop the rush.

00:54:16Drake May, another throw where his feet

00:54:18are not on the ground.

00:54:20Ridiculous heave all the way down field,

00:54:24puts this to Keyshawn Booty's upfield shoulder.

00:54:26That's the only place you really can put this, right?

00:54:29I don't really love the way

00:54:30that Keyshawn Booty judges the ball.

00:54:32I think the defender may have kept him

00:54:33from going up with two hands.

00:54:35Isn't able to get that.

00:54:36Keyshawn Booty's like five foot 11.

00:54:38You don't really expect him

00:54:38to make those plays consistently.

00:54:40But a crazy example again of Drake May saying,

00:54:43hey, I have the arm strength to make these throws

00:54:45that like Mac Jones is never even gonna consider

00:54:47making in his life.

00:54:48Unreal against Mac.

00:54:49I hope you have a bit of a bounce back or whatever.

00:54:51I know you're going through some tough times,

00:54:53but an incredible display

00:54:55of that arm talent from Drake May.

00:54:58All right, now anticipation.

00:55:00Now we've seen the blitz recognition,

00:55:02his ability to say, hey, you got pressure.

00:55:04I know where to go with the ball.

00:55:05He also did a great job identifying

00:55:08when he needed to get the ball out

00:55:09to best give his receivers a chance

00:55:10and also to put the defense in compromising positions.

00:55:13So here we're gonna get kind of like a posty

00:55:16kind of route here from Kendrick Bourne.

00:55:19But the key is we're gonna watch these two defenders

00:55:22because they are gonna be the reason

00:55:23that this void even opens up.

00:55:25And it's a great job from Drake May

00:55:27recognizing he has that opening.

00:55:28So quick motion from pop.

00:55:30You're gonna get that flat route from Rondre Stevenson.

00:55:33Both of the defenders end up looking towards him

00:55:36and vacating the space over the middle.

00:55:39Kendrick Bourne is about to break.

00:55:40Drake May sees that they vacated the area

00:55:43and says, I'm firing this right to my guy.

00:55:46Does just that.

00:55:47Puts it right on Kendrick Bourne's body

00:55:50for the touchdown.

00:55:51Great comeback performance from Kendrick Bourne.

00:55:53And that was really the first bit.

00:55:55I actually think he had a big catch before that.

00:55:56That was one of the first really big sparks.

00:55:59Now-

00:55:59Is that a no look, Taylor?

00:56:00That pass?

00:56:01Oh, you wanna look again?

00:56:02Was it a no look?

00:56:04So I thought that last night.

00:56:06I'm honestly not sure enough to say definitively here.

00:56:09Cause I remember you texted me that it was a no look.

00:56:11Yeah.

00:56:12To be fair, that was like midnight.

00:56:14And sometimes my brain starts to go at that point.

00:56:15It's usually when I'm like, you know what?

00:56:16I'll get my stuff that I need for tomorrow

00:56:18and just watch early in the morning.

00:56:20Cause I get really stupid at that time.

00:56:22But it does seem like, look where his foot is pointed.

00:56:25It's pointed kind of upfield.

00:56:27And Rondre is running a rail route.

00:56:29It's hard to see where exactly his eyes are.

00:56:31But the way that these defenders react,

00:56:33I did think that part of it was his eyes.

00:56:37I'm not 100% sure, but either way,

00:56:39good job identifying that there was a void

00:56:40in the coverage and being able to exploit it the way he did.

00:56:43But yeah, I'm not quite as confident as I was at midnight.

00:56:46It's still an insane throw though.

00:56:47It's still a great find.

00:56:50And this was another one.

00:56:51Now this is a really impressive anticipation

00:56:53throw to Hunter Henry facing off coverage.

00:56:56I'm just gonna run this one.

00:56:56It's pretty straightforward.

00:56:58Drake made top of his drop.

00:57:00Again, look at his feet here.

00:57:02That base, that's what we've been wanting

00:57:04from him for so long.

00:57:05So often he has that narrow base

00:57:06that he can't actually throw from.

00:57:08Really good job here.

00:57:10Now, it's not a great look

00:57:12because Hunter Henry is being contacted

00:57:14at the top of his route

00:57:15as Drake May is getting ready to throw the ball.

00:57:17But he's got trust in his tight end

00:57:19knowing that Hunter is going to try to initiate contact.

00:57:21Basically that you push I pull rule

00:57:23where you initiate it,

00:57:24kind of give him a little chicken wing

00:57:26and then you break off and get open.

00:57:28Drake May knows that he's got to throw this to the sideline.

00:57:31Isn't afraid of the fact that there is this defender

00:57:34who obviously his back is turned.

00:57:35You shouldn't be afraid of him.

00:57:36But he understands that

00:57:38and that there's going to be a void

00:57:39for him to throw.

00:57:41Let's just go way before Hunter Henry

00:57:42is even out of his route for a first down.

00:57:45Love, love that play.

00:57:46They threw the flag for pass interference.

00:57:48It wasn't no damn pass interference.

00:57:50That was clean.

00:57:51So blitz beating ability

00:57:52and anticipation from Drake May.

00:57:54Traits you don't expect to see

00:57:56on a consistent basis from a first year quarterback,

00:57:59much less a 22 year old quarterback.

00:58:01Drake May is showing these flashes every week.

00:58:03And this was one of the most consistent performances

00:58:05I think we've seen from him in both respects.

00:58:07But it was not perfect

00:58:09and we cannot praise Drake May

00:58:10without also acknowledging

00:58:11where he could potentially be better

00:58:13because he did have two turnover worthy plays.

00:58:15Now the first one we're going to look at

00:58:16is his strip sack.

00:58:18So he's going to be looking at Keishon Booty.

00:58:19He's running a curl on third down

00:58:22and it's only third and three, right?

00:58:24So it's not like this

00:58:25some crazy long guarded situation,

00:58:27but the Rams are going to be running a twist

00:58:29where this defender is going to slant inside

00:58:32and then Braden Fisk is going to loop around.

00:58:34Ben Brown is not going to pick him up

00:58:36and it's going to lead to the sack.

00:58:38Now Drake May gets the ball.

00:58:40He's ready to let this go, right?

00:58:41He's already in his throwing motion

00:58:44and Keishon Booty isn't out of his route.

00:58:45But like I mentioned the anticipation,

00:58:47I would expect Drake May to let this go

00:58:49and trust his receiver to make the play

00:58:51with the defender as we can see

00:58:52not looking at the ball.

00:58:54But instead the pressure does get there

00:58:57and I'm not sure why he doesn't let it go.

00:59:00He keeps holding onto the ball

00:59:02which allows it to come out.

00:59:03And this is like such a ticky tack

00:59:05small kind of thing.

00:59:07But like look at this.

00:59:07You see his arm coming down,

00:59:09but he's not letting the ball go.

00:59:11I'm not totally sure why.

00:59:12I think maybe he didn't love

00:59:13that Keishon Booty was still getting out of the route.

00:59:16But that leads to the strip sack.

00:59:18Obviously very tough

00:59:19because this is coming from his blind side

00:59:21and happened so fast.

00:59:22I'm not dumping on Drake May at all here,

00:59:24but he's gotten strip sacked a ton, right?

00:59:27Almost in every single game coming in.

00:59:29We knew the Rams led the NFL in strip sacks.

00:59:32They had like six in their last seven games.

00:59:35So ball comes out.

00:59:37Not a great rep from the rookie,

00:59:39but also you need to do better as an offensive line

00:59:41to keep him protected.

00:59:43And now the next play,

00:59:45the one we all talk about the last play,

00:59:47the interception where what was

00:59:49either one of these guys thinking?

00:59:51Drake May said that Mario Douglas was right

00:59:53to Mario Douglas said it was miscommunication

00:59:54on both sides.

00:59:55Frankly, I don't know for a fact

00:59:58who was right and who was wrong,

00:59:59but I do know that Drake May,

01:00:01I don't even think this ball was catchable.

01:00:03We're going to see why.

01:00:04So first off,

01:00:05he identified this correctly during the game.

01:00:07It was a split safety look,

01:00:08but it's not just cover two.

01:00:10You have cover two to this side of the field,

01:00:12but this side you're going to have quarters, right?

01:00:15So they're going to play out a little differently

01:00:17where this guy is defending the deep half

01:00:19and they're playing almost more of a match

01:00:21where they're waiting to see

01:00:22who comes into their area before they respond.

01:00:24And the Patriots,

01:00:25the routes we care about

01:00:26are the ones in this vertical concept.

01:00:28You got Hunter Henry going way downfield on a crosser.

01:00:31You've got to Mario Douglas

01:00:32on what looks like a scene,

01:00:33you know, some kind of route like that.

01:00:35In case on booty,

01:00:36interestingly, is lined up basically as a tight end.

01:00:39He's going to chip to give

01:00:40but Darian Lowe help against Jared Burst,

01:00:42who, you know, I'm a very low fan.

01:00:45He was hanging on for dear life against Jared Burst.

01:00:47Now that's the kind of player he is

01:00:49versus an absolute monster.

01:00:51Most guys are in that same position,

01:00:52but it was not an easy matchup.

01:00:53So good on Alex Van Pelt giving him some help.

01:00:56And then that's going to do

01:00:58is attract this defender right here.

01:01:00So now let's get to the play.

01:01:02Now we got our route distribution here.

01:01:04Let's see the picture.

01:01:05So Drake May is already throwing us, right?

01:01:07No one is actually out of the route yet.

01:01:09I think that Drake is thinking more.

01:01:11All right, you're in space.

01:01:12Turn around and let me put this ball on you.

01:01:14The problem is even if

01:01:16DeMario Douglas turns right here, right?

01:01:19And maybe tries to settle around here.

01:01:21This ball ends up getting picked in the red of the logo.

01:01:25DeMario Douglas was probably not going to,

01:01:27maybe he thought he was going to keep going straight.

01:01:29I'm not totally sure,

01:01:31but it doesn't look like a catch

01:01:32that DeMario Douglas was going to make.

01:01:34But you do have these two quarters defenders.

01:01:37Hunter Henry's drawing the safety's attention.

01:01:39Keyshawn Booty's drawing the corner's attention.

01:01:41So I think DeMario Douglas's idea was

01:01:43let me get over the top of these guys.

01:01:45Because if I go straight,

01:01:47maybe there's a little bit of conflict there.

01:01:49But if I just go right over the top of them,

01:01:50I could probably score a touchdown.

01:01:52And he would have made my prediction right

01:01:53of him having his first hundred yard game.

01:01:55But that's neither here nor there.

01:01:56Nobody cares about stupid Taylor's predictions.

01:01:59Ball comes out from Drake May,

01:02:00who does get pressure.

01:02:02And you're going to see from his footwork,

01:02:03I think he understood he was going to get hit.

01:02:05And I think that's why this might have sailed on him.

01:02:07Like, look at his feet.

01:02:08You see how he kind of hops

01:02:09because he doesn't want that contact.

01:02:12That little hop, it looks like,

01:02:13does kind of make the difference.

01:02:14DeMario Douglas isn't even turning.

01:02:16He isn't turned around by the time

01:02:17the ball gets intercepted.

01:02:18He's still running,

01:02:19said he was just trying to run his route.

01:02:21That's the kind of thing where a young quarterback,

01:02:23a young receiver,

01:02:24you're going to have miscommunications.

01:02:26That's just part of the game.

01:02:27They'll talk about it.

01:02:28They'll figure it out.

01:02:29Hopefully somewhere down the line,

01:02:30we can say, oh my God,

01:02:31it's the same thing and they made it work.

01:02:32And that would be awesome.

01:02:33Um, and again,

01:02:34Drake may got to get down on the turnovers.

01:02:36Those are two plays where you expect him

01:02:38to improve moving forward.

01:02:39So not totally stressed about those.

01:02:41What I am excited about though,

01:02:43is his ability to identify blitzes,

01:02:45get to different type of routes and hot reads.

01:02:48And then on top of that,

01:02:49show the anticipation and the confidence

01:02:51to throw when his receivers

01:02:53haven't declared themselves open.

01:02:54You see so many college quarterbacks,

01:02:56even Caleb Williams right now.

01:02:57Sometimes we'll be hesitant to throw

01:02:59before the receivers break is done.

01:03:01Drake may is not in that category.

01:03:03Wildly impressive stuff last week from the rookie.

01:03:05We have just seen him improve week after week

01:03:08and going back to, you know,

01:03:09the OTA is like,

01:03:11it has just been remarkable

01:03:12to watch this kid's growth.

01:03:14Um, and the only way to go is up from here.

01:03:17And like, yeah,

01:03:17the turnovers are a problem,

01:03:19but that's what everyone says

01:03:20about Josh Allen too.

01:03:21And he's considered to be a top

01:03:22two quarterback as well.

01:03:23And like, I, I see the comparisons.

01:03:26I, I, I really do.

01:03:27I, I think they're both so similar

01:03:30in terms of their play style.

01:03:31And I just can't wait for next year

01:03:33to see like what,

01:03:34what Drake may looks like

01:03:35with another off season behind him

01:03:37and they get those draft pieces figured out.

01:03:39Maybe have a good free agency.

01:03:43Yeah, maybe fingers crossed.

01:03:44Fingers crossed.

01:03:46I'm excited to see what he could bring

01:03:47for the rest of the season

01:03:48and next year as well.

01:03:49We'll take a few questions here

01:03:50just to wrap things up.

01:03:52So be sure to drop those in the comments.

01:03:53First one that I see here,

01:03:55favorite realistic

01:03:57on the topic of free agents

01:03:59of free agent targets

01:04:01and draft options besides Darius Slayton

01:04:03and the guy after him said Braxton Berrios.

01:04:06So maybe not that one either.

01:04:09What do you think?

01:04:10Who are, who are you looking at right now?

01:04:12Patriots have the sixth pick.

01:04:14If the draft were to happen today,

01:04:16where are you at

01:04:18in terms of that situation?

01:04:19And who are some guys

01:04:20that you would want to see

01:04:21then pick up in free agency?

01:04:23So I'm actually trying to find

01:04:24a good list with some players.

01:04:27I'm on a list that says 2015

01:04:29and I'm seeing Justin Hewson,

01:04:30Des Bryant and Dominic and Sue and Darrell.

01:04:31Wow, that list is bunk.

01:04:34So we are going to ignore that.

01:04:35CBS do better.

01:04:36You are literally the first search result.

01:04:39Oh, I, oh my God, it's my fault.

01:04:40I typed.

01:04:41Cause you typed in 2015.

01:04:43I'm the dumbest.

01:04:44Ragging on CBS, ragging on other, other.

01:04:47I'm sorry, CBS.

01:04:48I'm sorry.

01:04:49I'm sorry.

01:04:50I've been sitting in this exact chair

01:04:52for eight hours.

01:04:53So my apologies.

01:04:54All right.

01:04:54Let's throw them up on the screen.

01:04:55That was the point of this whole thing.

01:04:56Let's have some mother effing fun.

01:04:58All right.

01:04:59So Javon Holland, dude,

01:05:02especially if you don't have, uh,

01:05:03Jabril Peppers, that'd be fun.

01:05:06Huh?

01:05:07That would be fun.

01:05:08That's what I'm Javon.

01:05:09Holland's one of my favorite players.

01:05:10Like if I was supposed to do,

01:05:12usually if I could steal two players

01:05:14from division rival, it's Garrett Wilson

01:05:15and Quinn Williams.

01:05:16Every time Javon Holland

01:05:18is like in my top four.

01:05:19I absolutely love his game.

01:05:20I think him and Kyle Thurber

01:05:21would be outstanding.

01:05:22And would you bro pepper

01:05:23situation up in the air?

01:05:24I think his court case is in four days

01:05:26on the 22nd.

01:05:27Um, so I guess we'll have more clarity

01:05:28on his long-term status then,

01:05:30but I would love Javon Holland.

01:05:31That would be a ton of fun.

01:05:33T Higgins.

01:05:34Now I need to talk to more

01:05:36of my Bengals guys because he's sat

01:05:39out a ton of games this year,

01:05:40but I also think part of that is

01:05:42because of how the team did him

01:05:43and maybe wanting to just

01:05:44protect himself,

01:05:45but he has been injured on and off.

01:05:47Now it's more of in the past two seasons

01:05:48before that he was pretty

01:05:49consistently available.

01:05:50Um, the injuries are going to be

01:05:52a factor I would like.

01:05:53If you are going to sign him,

01:05:54especially to like a three year deal,

01:05:56have those injury clauses in there

01:05:58to make sure you protect yourself as well.

01:05:59Um, but I'm not going to be mad

01:06:01at throwing a bag of T Higgins.

01:06:02You know, you got the money to spend,

01:06:03spend it on a good player.

01:06:05Hopefully your young guys develop.

01:06:06So the offense doesn't solely need

01:06:08to revolve around him,

01:06:09but they need to add some talent.

01:06:11Trey Smith is an interesting one

01:06:13because he's a right guard

01:06:15and all these Patriots fans,

01:06:17understandably to a degree.

01:06:18I've been so sick and tired

01:06:20of the Patriots taking linemen

01:06:21and ask them to flip sides.

01:06:22So as much as I like Trey Smith,

01:06:24I don't like the idea

01:06:25of bringing in a guard

01:06:26who's going to play the position

01:06:27where he's not a natural.

01:06:29Ronnie Stanley,

01:06:30I think is a good player,

01:06:32but what was it?

01:06:33Oh, the injury is one thing.

01:06:35Obviously it was a while ago,

01:06:36but I just don't know

01:06:38if they get a veteran

01:06:39when the Darien Lowe

01:06:40has been good enough

01:06:41that I think you love Darien Lowe, man.

01:06:43I do love Darien Lowe

01:06:44and I'm not saying

01:06:45he's a long-term answer.

01:06:45I'm not.

01:06:46But I am saying is

01:06:47I think he could be a good enough bridge

01:06:48if you want to draft somebody

01:06:49in the first or second round.

01:06:51I think it makes more sense

01:06:52to do that than to spend

01:06:53all this money on Ronnie Stanley.

01:06:54You know what I'm saying?

01:06:55Like Calvin Banks

01:06:56or somebody along those lines.

01:06:58Exactly.

01:06:59Chris Godwin, no thank you.

01:07:00Don't need no slot receiver.

01:07:02DJ Reed.

01:07:03Oh, yeah.

01:07:04I take DJ Reed to heartbeat.

01:07:05That'd be fun.

01:07:06Great.

01:07:07John Jones replacement.

01:07:08That would be really cool.

01:07:10Amari Cooper.

01:07:11I don't know.

01:07:12If you miss out on Tee Higgins

01:07:15and you want to give yourself insurance,

01:07:17sure, I'm with it.

01:07:18He has experience in elephant pelt.

01:07:19He's got a skill set

01:07:21with Drake May.

01:07:22Have you actually been looking at his stats?

01:07:24Has he been doing well in Buffalo?

01:07:27He's been fine.

01:07:27I don't think he's been anything

01:07:29eye popping quite yet.

01:07:31But I mean, like the thing with him

01:07:32is what's his price tag?

01:07:33Because if it's a Calvin

01:07:34Ridley type situation,

01:07:35like I know that Cooper

01:07:36is a little bit older,

01:07:37but if it's something

01:07:39where like the price,

01:07:39like they have a chance to get him,

01:07:41but the price is just too high.

01:07:43I don't know if you go for that.

01:07:47But again,

01:07:49he would be better

01:07:49than any of the wide receivers

01:07:50that they have right now.

01:07:51So it's like,

01:07:54you can't be too picky,

01:07:55but I think so much of it

01:07:57depends on what they do in the draft.

01:08:00And what's your like?

01:08:02What's your what are

01:08:03your thoughts there right now?

01:08:04Because I'm a big tech guy.

01:08:05I think that Tet or or Kelvin Banks,

01:08:09depending on which way they go

01:08:10and how they finish out

01:08:11their college seasons.

01:08:12Obviously, there's still

01:08:13multiple weeks left.

01:08:14If they were picking six,

01:08:16which guys would you

01:08:16be looking out for?

01:08:18I'm hesitant to say

01:08:19because I haven't watched them yet.

01:08:21And I remember like last year,

01:08:22there were some guys

01:08:22I thought I liked

01:08:23because I'd heard about them

01:08:24and seen some clips

01:08:25and then actually watched the tape

01:08:26and was like like Jaden Daniels,

01:08:29like not the same thing I like.

01:08:30I still like Jaden Daniels a lot.

01:08:32And I was like,

01:08:32oh, I want the pass to take him for sure.

01:08:33Like how dynamic he is.

01:08:35Then I started to notice,

01:08:36oh, the arm strength's an issue.

01:08:37He runs like he's in playing Mario Kart

01:08:40with just complete reckless abandon.

01:08:43You know, there were some red flags

01:08:45that scared me off for him

01:08:46just for New England specifically.

01:08:48I do like what I've seen from Ted,

01:08:50like that skill set.

01:08:51I think the body control,

01:08:52the hands, the catch radius,

01:08:55all those things are really impressive.

01:08:56I know he's been inconsistent this season.

01:08:58That's what I want to look more into.

01:08:59The tackles.

01:09:00I honestly just don't know

01:09:01a whole lot about, honestly.

01:09:03But I do know that people like them.

01:09:04But I've also heard that

01:09:05it's not a great to

01:09:06tackle class at the top.

01:09:08So we have to see how the board falls,

01:09:10where the Patriots priorities are,

01:09:11obviously after a free agency.

01:09:14But I do think that first pick

01:09:16needs to be an edge rusher.

01:09:18Or just a pass rusher period.

01:09:20A wide receiver or attack.

01:09:22Those are the like

01:09:23it needs to be a premium position.

01:09:24Those are the three that

01:09:25they have a glaring hole at right now.

01:09:26If it's any one of those

01:09:27with the best player available.

01:09:30Do you say a middle linebacker?

01:09:32I hope you mean in the in the later rounds.

01:09:34I'd I'd be shocked

01:09:35if they took any defensive player

01:09:36in the first and second round.

01:09:38So other than a pass rusher,

01:09:41other than a pass rusher,

01:09:41like maybe great, you know,

01:09:43because they only have

01:09:44they don't have the edge rushers.

01:09:45Really like Anthony Jennings is solid.

01:09:46He's really all they got.

01:09:47Um, so one thing that Bill Belichick says

01:09:51is everyone gets like all up in arms

01:09:52when teams draft a middle linebacker.

01:09:54But then when you look

01:09:55at every elite defense,

01:09:57what do they have in common?

01:09:58They all have a really

01:09:59strong middle linebacker.

01:10:01Every single one, because you're

01:10:03in the middle of everything.

01:10:04You are a communicator.

01:10:05You can make up for failures

01:10:07in other parts of the field.

01:10:08I'm not saying they should

01:10:09choose one that early,

01:10:10because I think they have

01:10:11way too many other needs.

01:10:12And you got Juwan

01:10:12building cylinder contract

01:10:13aligning to buy cylinder contract.

01:10:15Yeah, Christian Ellis, potentially,

01:10:17I think he's a restricted free agent,

01:10:18so he's most likely

01:10:19going to come back.

01:10:20Sione Taki Taki has a multi year deal.

01:10:23So I don't think that drafting one

01:10:25outside of, like you said,

01:10:26the late rounds should be a thing.

01:10:27But if you can get yourself

01:10:28old Juwan Bentley in the fifth

01:10:30have added, I'm cool with that.

01:10:31You get yourself some depth.

01:10:33For sure.

01:10:34I saw one up here

01:10:35that I want to talk about

01:10:36because it has to do

01:10:38with the offensive play calling.

01:10:40Do you think it's an issue

01:10:41with play design or play calling?

01:10:43Are they still running plays

01:10:44that were designed for Jacobi Brissett?

01:10:46When now you have Drake

01:10:47may under center.

01:10:50It's funny when we get

01:10:51these questions when I feel like

01:10:53it's been pretty unanimous

01:10:54that Allison Pelt has done

01:10:56well the past two weeks,

01:10:57so I just don't really know

01:10:58where these are coming from.

01:11:02In the past,

01:11:03I mean, it's just it's so hard.

01:11:05It's so hard because like

01:11:06there are times where like

01:11:08routes are too close, right?

01:11:09The spacing is kind of off.

01:11:10When you look at it,

01:11:11usually at least one of

01:11:12the receivers in that,

01:11:13you know, in that area is a rookie.

01:11:16So I think the lack

01:11:17of talent overall

01:11:19and the inexperience

01:11:20has a ton to do

01:11:21with why sometimes the play

01:11:22designs don't look very good.

01:11:24Now there's times like

01:11:24against the Jets

01:11:26where Allison Pelt made

01:11:27the egregious decision

01:11:28of running the same

01:11:29naked bootleg twice

01:11:31and getting Jacobi Brissett

01:11:32killed both times

01:11:33and he took full accountability.

01:11:34He was like, yeah,

01:11:35that was not cool.

01:11:36I got to be better.

01:11:37But in terms of play calling,

01:11:38there's little things

01:11:39like I don't like.

01:11:41Going under center

01:11:42in some short yardage situations.

01:11:43There are some situations

01:11:44where you know at the end

01:11:45of the house,

01:11:46they've been aggressive

01:11:46and I'm just like

01:11:47your offense is not good.

01:11:48What in the world

01:11:49are you thinking?

01:11:50There was like again,

01:11:50the third and one before

01:11:52halftime a few two

01:11:53or three weeks ago

01:11:53where they try to run

01:11:54from under center

01:11:55and just my two pet peeves combined

01:11:57and I'm just like this stinks.

01:11:59For the most part,

01:12:00I really don't have an issue

01:12:01with Van Pelt's play calling

01:12:02when the run game works

01:12:04and he can like play

01:12:05to his strengths.

01:12:05I think they're good.

01:12:06There's not a lot of

01:12:07offense coordinators

01:12:08in the league

01:12:08where you can make them

01:12:09one dimensional

01:12:09and they'll look good,

01:12:10much less a guy

01:12:11who's new at calling plays.

01:12:13So really, I'm fine with Van Pelt.

01:12:15I don't think either

01:12:16is egregiously bad.

01:12:18Not enough for me to say,

01:12:19oh, play calling is worse.

01:12:20You know, I think there's first

01:12:21where yeah, like

01:12:22neither one is perfect,

01:12:24but I think both are good enough

01:12:25where I'm not saying,

01:12:26well, Alex Van Pelt

01:12:27is wrong with this offense.

01:12:28I think if he gets more talent,

01:12:29I think we could see this offense

01:12:31look significantly

01:12:31better than it does.

01:12:33I yeah, I think Van Pelt

01:12:34is sort of saved his job recently.

01:12:36I mean, I think he's the

01:12:39he's become kind of the scapegoat

01:12:40for the Patriots offense.

01:12:41And I think some of his play

01:12:42calling has been pretty bad,

01:12:44but I think he's done a fine job,

01:12:46especially these last couple weeks.

01:12:48Do you think the Patriots

01:12:49number one pick in 2025,

01:12:51which will be top five attempts

01:12:53since he did let Chase go?

01:12:54Not not a chance, not a chance.

01:12:57Jamar Chase is not going anywhere.

01:12:59Understand Jamar Chase

01:13:00is one of the ultra rare,

01:13:03like shiny Mewtwo rare

01:13:05where he is not only

01:13:06like one of the most

01:13:07productive players in football.

01:13:09He's also a 99th percentile athlete.

01:13:13Understand that a 99th percentile

01:13:16athlete at wide receiver.

01:13:18He literally does not

01:13:19have any glaring flaws

01:13:21since T Higgins is one thing.

01:13:22He gets injured sometimes.

01:13:23They already have a number one.

01:13:24Basically, they're just like

01:13:25they have a wealth of riches.

01:13:27They're they're not ever.

01:13:29Jamar Chase is right.

01:13:30Yeah, he's untouchable.

01:13:32Yeah, no, he's playing

01:13:33with Joe Burrow until he retires.

01:13:35In my humble opinion.

01:13:36Yeah, I mean,

01:13:37it would be great to see.

01:13:38And I but I think your better

01:13:40hope is that they drive somebody

01:13:42that can become a Jamar Chase adjacent.

01:13:45But even that is going

01:13:46to be really difficult.

01:13:47Did he end up signing

01:13:48an extension or no?

01:13:50There's no Jamar Chase in this class.

01:13:51No, did he?

01:13:52Did he end up signing an extension?

01:13:54Oh, I don't remember how

01:13:56that whole saga ended.

01:13:58If he if he signed it,

01:13:59if he signed an extension

01:14:01or if he just ended up

01:14:02just saying, like,

01:14:03we'll work on it later.

01:14:04I think he just said

01:14:05we're going to work on it later.

01:14:07They broke down.

01:14:08Maybe if they have a huge falling out

01:14:10in the Bengals,

01:14:11end up missing the playoffs,

01:14:12which they probably will.

01:14:14And also these wide receiver

01:14:16contracts with the things

01:14:17with the team.

01:14:17Sometimes they do fall through.

01:14:19I just I is stingy and cheap

01:14:22as the Bengals can be.

01:14:24I just don't think Mike Brown is,

01:14:27frankly, dumb enough to let Jamar

01:14:28Chase walk out of the door.

01:14:29I don't care what he how much

01:14:30money he asked for.

01:14:31If you want to be the highest

01:14:31paid player in the league.

01:14:33OK, OK, that's fine.

01:14:36Agreed.

01:14:37We'll take a couple more here.

01:14:38Mayo being a defensive coach,

01:14:39how concerned should we be

01:14:40with the defense struggling

01:14:41more than the offense?

01:14:43There's been injuries

01:14:44and small signs of progression,

01:14:45but that is something to worry

01:14:45about for the future

01:14:46or just going to change

01:14:47the experience.

01:14:47That's actually

01:14:48an interesting question,

01:14:49and I don't know if there's

01:14:50a way to know for sure.

01:14:51What do you think?

01:14:52There is, and that's why

01:14:53these coaching things for me,

01:14:54like one, I've never coached

01:14:55in a lot of this stuff.

01:14:56Like I'm learning like.

01:14:58I watched Bill Belichick

01:15:00for most of my football life,

01:15:03so I didn't really ever

01:15:04have to question

01:15:04the decision making.

01:15:05Like sometimes you're thinking,

01:15:06oh, he's not being aggressive

01:15:07or whatever.

01:15:07A lot of these things

01:15:08are new for me,

01:15:09which, you know,

01:15:10I would think for a

01:15:11for a new head coach.

01:15:12A lot of these things are new

01:15:13as well as well

01:15:14as a new defensive coordinator.

01:15:16Now Mayo is not

01:15:18like a D'Amico Ryans

01:15:19where he's like calling plays

01:15:20and he's hyper involved

01:15:21in the defense.

01:15:22He wants to be a CEO type

01:15:23like Dan Campbell.

01:15:25He wants to be the guy

01:15:26who is at the macro level,

01:15:28can do all that,

01:15:29you know, big picture stuff

01:15:30and then let his coordinators

01:15:31do their jobs.

01:15:32Bill Belichick did that.

01:15:33Now, obviously

01:15:34he's not the same person.

01:15:35I don't like.

01:15:36Obviously it's a slippery slope

01:15:37of a comparison,

01:15:38but whenever the Patriots

01:15:39are doing their best,

01:15:40everybody praised Bill Belichick

01:15:42for letting them do their thing.

01:15:43I think it is a very slippery slope,

01:15:45especially as a first year guy

01:15:47with a first year coordinator

01:15:49to micromanage.

01:15:50I think it's important to say,

01:15:51hey, this isn't up to our standard.

01:15:53I'm taking over.

01:15:54But I think when it comes to like,

01:15:56you know, like the stuff

01:15:57that I had an issue with,

01:15:58with like the zero blitzing at times,

01:16:00you know, not having Gonzalez

01:16:02follow the best receiver

01:16:04in those base personnel

01:16:05groupings in the red zone,

01:16:06specifically like, yeah,

01:16:07Mayo has an issue with that.

01:16:08For sure, let him know.

01:16:09And I think they do have

01:16:10this collaborative process

01:16:11where that probably happens.

01:16:13But I would say

01:16:14the defensive struggles,

01:16:15one, I would just like to see

01:16:16this group at full strength.

01:16:17They have so many

01:16:18inexperienced players.

01:16:20Now, then at the same time,

01:16:21you got like John Jones

01:16:22having bad games as well.

01:16:23Like sometimes your veterans

01:16:24are the ones letting you down

01:16:25and that's definitely tough.

01:16:27But we don't really know.

01:16:28Like sometimes players

01:16:29just have bad games.

01:16:30Sometimes it is scheme.

01:16:32But I think it's

01:16:33not in terms of discipline.

01:16:35And I think they do need

01:16:36to continue to grow.

01:16:37I think it's more into Marcus Covington,

01:16:38but he's also learning

01:16:40and he was a hot defensive

01:16:41coaching commodity as well.

01:16:42So I think you just give him a year.

01:16:45I know people are saying

01:16:46that's a low bar,

01:16:47but like I think the bar was low

01:16:49because if you look at the roster

01:16:51in the situation,

01:16:52like nobody was expecting much.

01:16:54So, yeah, I don't want to see

01:16:55what it necessarily is

01:16:56as a warning sign for the future,

01:16:58but it's something

01:16:59we should definitely look out for.

01:17:00And hopefully they finish strong.

01:17:02That's the biggest thing.

01:17:03Like that's the standard

01:17:04that Gerard Mayo set

01:17:05like the last month of the season.

01:17:06Tough competition,

01:17:07but you need to be competitive

01:17:09and you need to start to fix,

01:17:11like finish at least a couple games

01:17:12or figure out your kinks.

01:17:14And then next season,

01:17:15once you get more talent on board

01:17:16because everybody wants

01:17:17to play with Drake May,

01:17:18get some more draft picks in here.

01:17:20Hopefully, then you start to see

01:17:21things begin to come together.

01:17:23Also, when the coaches

01:17:24can do their own self-reflection

01:17:25and improve on their rookie campaigns.

01:17:27Yeah, I just I agree with you.

01:17:29I think it's much too early.

01:17:30And I also think people

01:17:31are understanding like

01:17:33in in preseason,

01:17:34if I were to ask you,

01:17:35who's the best player

01:17:36on the Patriots?

01:17:36Who would you have said?

01:17:37Either Matthew Judon,

01:17:39Christian Barmore,

01:17:40or Jabril Peppers.

01:17:41Judon's gone.

01:17:43And Gonzo as well, right?

01:17:44But I think and three

01:17:46out of those four guys

01:17:47are not playing for the team anymore.

01:17:48So not only are you losing Bill Belichick,

01:17:51who's one of the best defensive coaches,

01:17:52if not the best defensive head coach ever,

01:17:55you're also losing Jabril Peppers.

01:17:58You're losing Judon,

01:17:59who they traded.

01:18:01And you lost Barmore for,

01:18:03you know, the majority

01:18:04of the season so far,

01:18:04except this last game

01:18:05where he was really

01:18:07limited involvement

01:18:09and is still getting

01:18:10some legs under him.

01:18:11And Jawan Bentley,

01:18:13people undersell how big of a loss

01:18:15Jawan Bentley is as well.

01:18:17Led the team in tackles

01:18:18for the past three years.

01:18:20A true leader.

01:18:21I guess the other thing

01:18:22in terms of leadership,

01:18:23how many other captains

01:18:24have they lost now to injury?

01:18:26I think five out of six.

01:18:28You count Jacobi.

01:18:32They lost Ducker for a while too

01:18:33when he's a captain.

01:18:35Andrews.

01:18:38And so they still have Wise

01:18:39and they have Cardona.

01:18:40And that's it, I think, right?

01:18:42I mean,

01:18:43Brissette's still on the sidelines

01:18:44and Andrews still on the sidelines,

01:18:45but they're not actually on the field.

01:18:46So that's another thing

01:18:47that you have to consider

01:18:49is that like the leadership

01:18:50is taking a huge hit

01:18:51and the talent of the team

01:18:53is taking a huge hit.

01:18:54But you have guys that are promising.

01:18:56Gonzo being, you know,

01:18:57A1 diamond type of guy

01:19:00that's really, really

01:19:01showing up this season.

01:19:03And you have pieces to build on.

01:19:05I agree with you.

01:19:06I'd like to see next season

01:19:07them just return fully healthy

01:19:09because we knew they weren't

01:19:09going to be fully healthy

01:19:10since July when they announced

01:19:11the Christian Barmore,

01:19:13the Christian Barmore solution.

01:19:16I think we're going to wrap it up there, guys.

01:19:17Thank you so much as always

01:19:18for tuning in

01:19:20and dropping your questions.

01:19:21We appreciate it.

01:19:23We are powered as always

01:19:24by prize picks and game time.

01:19:26Be sure to check out those two services.

01:19:28Use code CLNS.

01:19:30I am Jackson Tolliver.

01:19:32He is Taylor Kiles.

01:19:34Let me see if I can get the outro right.

01:19:35Take care of yourselves.

01:19:37Take care of each other.

01:19:39Is there any more that I miss or is that?

01:19:40And we'll see you next time.

01:19:41And we'll see you next time.

01:19:43Thanks everybody so much again.

01:19:45And we will see you when we see you.

01:19:47Peace.

Drake Maye Shows He’s More Than a Gunslinger vs Rams + Q&A | Patriots Daily

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