Join Greg Bedard as you enjoy your Thanksgiving leftovers for a mailbag edition of the Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast! Get questions answered that were submitted by subscribers of the Boston Sports Journal, plus get all of the latest on the Patriots vs. Colts matchup.
0:00 - Intro
1:04 - Thanksgiving Day Off
4:34 - Player Evaluations Needed
6:34 - Player Lineup Uncertainty
10:53 - Colts Recent Performance
12:40 - Colts Tough Schedule
15:20 - Colts Offensive Struggles
17:10 - Colts Coaching Background
19:11 - Colts Offensive Line Issues
22:12 - Colts Offensive Line
24:34 - Patriots Offensive Challenges
26:18 - Colts Defensive Line
28:05 - Colts Mailbag Introduction
30:03 - Coaching Evaluation Discussion
32:54 - Coaching Experience Overview
36:04 - Leadership Traits Discussed
37:39 - Concerns About Mayo
39:19 - Coaching Concerns
43:57 - Drake Maye's Impact
45:32 - Upcoming Game Importance
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Welcome to the CLNS Media Network’s YouTube channel for New England Patriots 🏈 football. CLNS Media is the leading online provider of audio/video coverage for the 6X Super Bowl Champions. Get complete inside access to the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro and everywhere on the road. CLNS Patriots credentialed insiders Greg Bedard, Andrew Callahan, Tayler Kyles, John Zannis, Alex Barth and Mike Kadlick provide instantaneous news and analysis all in real time, as well as full access to complete videos from the players, coaches, ownership and everyone else inside Patriots Place.
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0:00 - Intro
1:04 - Thanksgiving Day Off
4:34 - Player Evaluations Needed
6:34 - Player Lineup Uncertainty
10:53 - Colts Recent Performance
12:40 - Colts Tough Schedule
15:20 - Colts Offensive Struggles
17:10 - Colts Coaching Background
19:11 - Colts Offensive Line Issues
22:12 - Colts Offensive Line
24:34 - Patriots Offensive Challenges
26:18 - Colts Defensive Line
28:05 - Colts Mailbag Introduction
30:03 - Coaching Evaluation Discussion
32:54 - Coaching Experience Overview
36:04 - Leadership Traits Discussed
37:39 - Concerns About Mayo
39:19 - Coaching Concerns
43:57 - Drake Maye's Impact
45:32 - Upcoming Game Importance
************************************************
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Welcome to the CLNS Media Network’s YouTube channel for New England Patriots 🏈 football. CLNS Media is the leading online provider of audio/video coverage for the 6X Super Bowl Champions. Get complete inside access to the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro and everywhere on the road. CLNS Patriots credentialed insiders Greg Bedard, Andrew Callahan, Tayler Kyles, John Zannis, Alex Barth and Mike Kadlick provide instantaneous news and analysis all in real time, as well as full access to complete videos from the players, coaches, ownership and everyone else inside Patriots Place.
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SportsTranscript
00:00This is the Gregg Bedard Patriots podcast with Nick Cattles.
00:07Hey, everybody, welcome into a post Thanksgiving Day solo edition of the Gregg Bedard Patriots
00:16podcast with Nick Cattles gave Nick the day off to spend time with the lovely Kelly.
00:24I'm sure they're having fun, but of course, I'm here for you and I'm here because this
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01:00Download game time today.
01:02What time is it?
01:03Game time.
01:04So the format of this podcast, I was going to go heavy on the mailbag, but sort of depends
01:12on how long I spend on the Colts.
01:14I actually think this is a pretty interesting matchup between these two teams.
01:20I think everybody's looked at the Patriots schedule.
01:22This is most likely the last winnable game that they have.
01:28So it would be nice for them to get a victory.
01:32So we'll dive into some mailbag questions, but we will start with the headlines like
01:37we normally do.
01:38The Patriots were off entirely on Thanksgiving day, which is, I look back to last year, they
01:45did the same thing.
01:46Now they were coming back from a bye week.
01:49Most years with the Patriots, when Belichick was here, it was sort of early in, early out
01:54on Thanksgiving day.
01:55So interesting that Gerard moved everything up a day and took Thursday off.
02:01So they're back at it today on Friday.
02:06He spoke to the media today.
02:09Probably the most interesting things that he talked about.
02:13And of course, I forgot to get the quote, but I will get it in a second.
02:20So first off, let's talk.
02:21I don't think we talked last podcast about the Michael Jordan release.
02:25So they claimed Lester Cotton off of waivers from the Dolphins.
02:32I've seen cotton a little bit over the years.
02:35He hasn't been overly impressive, but I told you before the season started that they were
02:39going to turn the bottom of the roster.
02:41Now there's Michael Jordan being the starting left guard, basically for 11 of 12 games is
02:46at the bottom of the roster.
02:48I think it's more of a case of the Patriots are getting down to it now with five games
02:53left and it's basically, all right, well, is this guy going to be part of us going forward
03:02or not?
03:03And if the answer is no, let's try to start to take a look at some other things, including
03:09a guy like Cotton, but also a guy like City So, or Leighton Robinson, who's been training
03:16up a little bit more at left guard to possibly put them in and get an evaluation of where
03:24they are.
03:25And that relates to the quote that Mayo said today, which was, so he would say, you need
03:36a guy like Leighton Robinson to show what he can do.
03:39We need a guy like Cole Strange before the end of the season to see what he can do.
03:43You can use Caden in the same bucket.
03:45You need to see what the receivers can do and what they're going to look like going
03:49forward.
03:50And that's the hard part for me.
03:51Look, you want to win right now, but at the same time, I think it would be a disservice
03:56to go to the end of the season and not know exactly what we have.
04:01Okay.
04:02I mean, I understand that.
04:05And I think that that Mayo is telling the truth.
04:09You know, I also think it's a little bit of a convenient excuse.
04:14Should they get trounced in the final four weeks of the season?
04:17It's a ready made excuse to say, Hey, look, we were trying a bunch of guys out, but they
04:21do need to do those sorts of things.
04:26It is a tough balance.
04:27So I respect what he said about that.
04:32But you know, I do think, you know, a guy like Leighton Robinson, I do think he's proven
04:40that he's going to be a player in this league.
04:42Now, it wasn't great the last time he was out there, but they put him in a bad position
04:46against Jeffrey Simmons, Caden Wallace.
04:50That's a guy, especially with the situation at right tackle with Demontre Jacobs.
04:55You know, could they take a look at him?
04:57You know, absolutely.
05:00And the receivers, yeah, I could see that.
05:04I mean, you know, you still got to be careful about have these guys earned their playing
05:08time or not, because then things start to get dicey.
05:13You know, in the locker room, Gerard Mayo said today that Cole Strange will not be up
05:17this week.
05:18He was asked about Jabril Peppers.
05:19They kind of needed to see how it how it would look at practice on Friday.
05:25I'm not sure I really buy that.
05:26I think Peppers is going to be back in the lineup.
05:28I think this is a team against Anthony Richardson and against the running back, Jonathan Taylor,
05:40who this is a game where they're going to need Peppers and his physicality.
05:44And they could use his intensity as well with what's been going and also the miscommunication
05:50on the back end.
05:51So I do think that we're going to see Jabril Peppers, and I just think they're trying to
05:56be coy about it and not answer too many questions, not get in the weeds about Peppers situation
06:03since it hasn't really been clarified.
06:05He's still the trial date is still set.
06:11It gets a little bit dicey.
06:12I mean, I assume they have information that this thing might go away somewhat soon because
06:18it's kind of a bad look if you're putting a player out there that is currently facing
06:24a jury trial for domestic violence.
06:28So tough road to navigate.
06:31As far as the offensive line, what we're going to see with them on Sunday, I really have
06:36no idea what we're going to see.
06:38I assume Vardarian Lowe is going to be back at left tackle.
06:42Mayo acknowledged that Michael Jordan, he just signed back to the practice squad.
06:46He has one more elevation left.
06:48And we've seen this sort of scenario before where they release a guy, he's on the practice
06:52squad, but they can elevate him and he can still start, but he's not, quote unquote,
06:58on the roster.
07:01Could we see a winning out of right tackle and Lane Robinson in at right guard or yeah,
07:09right guard.
07:10Robinson could be in a left guard.
07:12City so could be there.
07:13It sounded like City so is going to start at right tackle, but we'll have to see about
07:18that.
07:20There's a lot of things up in the air.
07:25We will get into the Colts in just a couple of minutes.
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08:04And that's exactly what I did for my Colts Patriots picks.
08:09I am going over to Mario Douglas, over 43 and a half receiving yards.
08:17I'm doing that because against this Gus Bradley cover three.
08:23It's pretty much deep middle of the field and underneath stuff, the Patriots against
08:27this type of scheme.
08:28Seattle, I remember the Super Bowl game and Super Bowl 49, you get a bunch of low crossers
08:37going across you and a little check downs.
08:39I would really like to see DeMario Douglas used that way.
08:42I'm going Drake May combined over 255.5 passing and rushing yards.
08:50I don't feel great about this and we'll get into why more with the game pick and game
09:00discussion.
09:02But I think, look, I think Drake will get some rushing yards.
09:06I think so.
09:07It's basically like you're looking at about 55 and a half rushing yards, 200 yards passing.
09:13I think he can get there.
09:14Joey Sly, more than one and a half field goals made.
09:18On the Colts side, I'm going Anthony Richardson over 228.5 passing and rushing yards.
09:25We will get into that.
09:26Jonathan Taylor over 92 and a half rushing plus receiving yards and wait, I got to make
09:33sure I get this.
09:35But an I Mitchell, the Colts, I think he's a rookie receiver.
09:42He could get a little bit more run.
09:45He hasn't gotten a ton of action, but Josh Downs, who coincidentally was one of Drake
09:50May's favorite receiving targets at UNC, his first season is out this week.
09:56So I expect Mitchell to get a lot more run.
09:59This dude is fast.
10:00He had a route last week against the Lions that basically broke ankles and he's going
10:08to be dangerous and sort of that's probably third option against the Patriots.
10:13So he's going to be a tough matchup.
10:15So I have him over a half rush plus receiving touchdown.
10:20So I need him to get a touchdown.
10:23I could very well see that happening.
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10:51Okay.
10:52Taking a look at this week's opponent, Indianapolis Colts, they are five and seven.
10:57They have lost three of four.
11:00They started out O and two, then won four to the next five and they have now lost four
11:06out of five, but some context has to come with that.
11:11Those losses came against the Houston Texans, the Minnesota Vikings, the Buffalo Bills,
11:17and the Detroit Lions, all playoff teams.
11:20So if you look at DVOA, they're very similar to the Rams.
11:25Basically they're one spot below the Rams, they're 20th.
11:28The Colts are 21st.
11:29They have the 21st offense.
11:32They have the 16th defense.
11:35They are ninth on special teams and I wanted to take a look at their schedule.
11:42Future schedule is easy.
11:43They have played the fifth hardest schedule to this point.
11:48Looking at the two teams over the last four games, and this is even more difficult with
11:53the Colts because Anthony Richardson has only started the last two games.
11:59The previous two games were Joe Flacco before they benched Flacco and put Richardson back
12:04in.
12:05He came back, led them to a victory over the Jets.
12:06He played really well.
12:07I think he threw for like 270 yards in that game.
12:11These two teams over the last four games are pretty similar.
12:14Both are one and four.
12:17They both don't score a lot.
12:20The Colts have averaged about 17 points a game during that.
12:24The Patriots have averaged about 18 points.
12:30Opponents have averaged about 26 points a game over the last four compared to 21 for
12:37the Patriots, of course.
12:43The Colts have played a very tough schedule.
12:47With what they have gone against, I think the Bears game is kind of skewing a lot of
12:55the Patriots numbers.
12:56We know how they've been the last two weeks.
12:58Not very good.
13:00As we all know, the Bears, not only did they fire their offensive coordinator after playing
13:03the Patriots, they just fired their head coach.
13:07Very similar to the Jets in terms of what's been going on with former Patriots opponents.
13:16You're looking at yards over the last four.
13:21The Colts are 28th in the league.
13:22The Patriots are 21st.
13:24Yards allowed.
13:25Colts are 24th.
13:27The Patriots are 13th.
13:30Turnovers very similar to the Patriots.
13:33The Colts and, of course, Flacco was responsible for a lot of these.
13:38They turn it over about 1.75 times a game.
13:44Patriots are at 2.
13:47Big difference.
13:48The Colts get turnovers.
13:51They're getting 1.25 per game.
13:55The Patriots are only getting 0.5.
13:58Of course, that might have to do with the Dolphins basically giving you a fumble when
14:04they couldn't get the exchange.
14:07Very similar.
14:08Both these teams could be very sloppy.
14:10A lot of dumb penalties.
14:13The Colts are at 6.75 penalties per game over the last four.
14:17The Patriots are at 8.
14:20They are both near the bottom of the league.
14:24With that, as far as efficiency with EPA, over the last four, the Colts are 30th.
14:37Patriots are 24th.
14:39Defensive.
14:40The Colts are 13th.
14:42Patriots are 9th.
14:43Special teams.
14:44Colts are 16th.
14:45Patriots are 12th.
14:50Offensive pass EPA.
14:52Colts are 29th.
14:53Patriots are 25th.
14:55Rush.
14:56Colts are 28th.
14:57Patriots are 20th.
15:01Defensive pass EPA.
15:02This is where it gets interesting.
15:05The Colts are 5th over the last four games, even against what they've gone against, probably
15:10because who they've gone against.
15:11Patriots are 16th.
15:13Rushing EPA.
15:14Colts are, this is on defense, 28th.
15:18Patriots are 5th.
15:22Both teams are one in three in their last four.
15:24Like I said, for the Colts, that's against the Vikings, the Bills, the Jets, and the
15:29Lions.
15:30For the Patriots, Titans, Bears, Rams, Dolphins.
15:34You're talking about probably one team that's in the playoffs, Rams, and that's iffy.
15:40The Dolphins don't look like they're headed there because of what we just saw on Thanksgiving.
15:49Let's see.
15:50What did I want to talk about?
15:52Let's start with the Colts offense versus the Patriots defense.
15:56I know you're going to hear a lot of things about Anthony Richardson, about his, I think
16:00he's completing 47% of his passes.
16:03He completed 39% last week against the Lions.
16:08I did want to point out that Lions game, that was only a 24 to 6 loss to the Lions.
16:19We know how good the Lions are.
16:21Dan Campbell talked out to the game how much of a pain in the butt that they were to play
16:27against, how hard they played.
16:29They hung around the entire game and made it really tough on the Lions.
16:34Anthony Richardson, you might not be blown away by his stats against the Lions, but I
16:43watched the film and I also watched JTO Sullivan's breakdown of the Colts.
16:49The Colts couldn't really run the ball.
16:52I think they're having a tough time marrying Richardson's run game with what Taylor does
16:59well.
17:00I think they're having difficulties with that, but I got to tell you, this Colts offense
17:08is going to present difficulties in this game.
17:12The stats do not tell the whole tale.
17:16The Colts, this is what they did against the Lions.
17:19They played like the Patriots did against the Dolphins.
17:21With all these penalties, I think they had 10 penalties.
17:24A lot of them were stupid.
17:26A lot of them were pre-snap.
17:29They ruined some really good plays.
17:31They had some really bad drops in the game, including one potential touchdown, which I
17:37think would have put the Colts up 10-0 in that game, if I'm not mistaken, or maybe it
17:43just was the opening drive and it was the opening field goal.
17:48But what they do, and just to give you a little background, Shane Steichen is the Colts head
17:53coach.
17:54He came from the Eagles.
17:56He was the Eagles offensive coordinator that year with Jalen Hurts, how he suddenly popped
18:04their run and pass game.
18:06He does a lot of really good stuff.
18:09He's going to stress this Patriots defense big time.
18:13I do think the Patriots have a built-in advantage.
18:17If they win this game, especially if they play well defensively, it's going to be because
18:21of Joe Milton, because he's on the roster and he is basically very close to Anthony
18:30Richardson in terms of size, speed, arm strength, all that stuff.
18:35So that's a great asset to have in this game.
18:38That could really add them.
18:40I think that the Colts have a bunch of speed on the outside.
18:45They will not have Josh Downs this week, as I said, which is a shame because he's a good
18:52player.
18:53He's a speedy little player, but they still have Mitchell, who I was impressed with.
18:59So they still have Alec Pierce, who's really good, sort of the number one.
19:04Michael Pittman is out there.
19:06You got Mitchell.
19:10I will say the Colts offensive line is not that great.
19:13Quentin Nelson, I don't know if he's hurt or what, but what I saw on film last week,
19:18he is not Quentin Nelson like best offensive lineman in the league that you remember from
19:24before.
19:25The rest of the line is pretty ordinary.
19:27Bernard Raymond, he should be good to go this week.
19:31He was a 2022 third round pick.
19:34He was one of those guys that Bill Belichick could have drafted to get him in the pipeline.
19:39He needed development, but he was one of those guys that I talked about that they could have
19:43gone and drafted to sort of start the process.
19:48Of course, Jonathan Taylor's in the backfield.
19:51Trey Sermon is a speedy little back as well.
19:55Tyler Goodson is the backup.
19:59Tight end, they have Mo'Ally Cox.
20:03They don't really have a ton at tight end.
20:07That was where they had one of the big drops last week.
20:14So that's sort of a look at the Colts offense.
20:16I mean, I just think, you know, I know Richardson's stats were bad last week, but he was a lot
20:24better on film.
20:25He made some ridiculous plays in that game, their quarterback run game.
20:32They do it all.
20:33It is going to be a pain in the butt.
20:37I did want to point out that as far as big plays in the game, you know, you had the Lions
20:44versus the Colts.
20:46You know, you figure the Lions are going to go do their thing all over the place with
20:50Ben Johnson and Jared Goff and all those guys.
20:54The Colts only had two passing plays over 20 yards in that game.
20:59They both happened in the first quarter and a half of the game.
21:03One was a sort of dump down to Tim Patrick.
21:06I went for 27 of the other one went to Jameson Williams for 21.
21:09That was it.
21:10As far as big plays in the past game, listen to what the Colts had.
21:15Anthony Richardson passed deep left to Alec Pierce, 39 yards, Richardson passed deep left
21:20Michael Pittman, 22 yards, Richardson passed short right to Pittman, 30 yards, Richardson
21:26passed short middle to Pittman, 24 yards.
21:30So the Colts doubled up as far as passing big plays.
21:34I mean, this is a big play offense.
21:37They're going to get big plays.
21:38Richardson had a couple of quarterback designed runs that almost broke to the house if they
21:43would have run it or blocked it just a little bit differently.
21:48And then you have the ability for him to go down the field.
21:51Steichen also does a good job scheming some things up.
21:55I think in some of these games where the score has gotten out of whack, Richardson,
22:00a lot of his stats go downhill after that.
22:02And like I said, I don't think the offensive line is that great.
22:06So pressure is an issue.
22:08But make no mistake, this Colts offense is going to be a load for this Patriots to handle.
22:16And I really don't love the matchup.
22:18Again, if the Patriots do well on defense against the Colts, it's going to be because
22:24of Joe Milton, because he gave them a really good look in practice all week.
22:28Kind of look that a lot of teams can't get with a quarterback like Richardson.
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22:59It's football season.
23:00It's college basketball season.
23:02You got to be there in person.
23:03I was just looking.
23:04I'm trying to get down to my alma mater, Rutgers, the rack.
23:08There's nothing like being at a game at the rack, a Big Ten game.
23:13It's loud.
23:14All the sights, sounds.
23:16Got to root my team on.
23:17We only have the best freshmen, maybe the best player in the country in Dylan Harper,
23:23who is the truth, Ace Bailey.
23:24Not that bad.
23:25Either.
23:26Both will be lottery picks this coming.
23:28I got to get down there.
23:29I got to see my guys, and I'm going to do that through game time.
23:35I also was looking, and if you wanted to get to watch the Bruins.
23:45We all know Bruins tickets are kind of expensive.
23:47I was just looking.
23:49Red Wings at Bruins.
23:52December 3rd, Tuesday, 7.30 PM.
23:54We know the Red Wings are kind of buns, but you can get in the building to watch the Bruins.
23:59I saw one of the amazing deals, the game time picks, 78 bucks all in for row 11 in the balcony.
24:10You know, you've been there before.
24:11You can see everything, so make sure you get over to game time.
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24:31Okay, so the Patriots offense versus the Colts defense.
24:38This is going to be another difficult matchup.
24:40I was pleasantly surprised by the Colts on film against the Lions.
24:46I thought they did a really good job.
24:48Their defensive line gets after it.
24:50They go wide splits.
24:52They try to split gaps.
24:55They have fast linebackers.
24:57They have fast players all over the place.
24:59They do a really good job covering in the secondary.
25:02Now, I hate Gus Bradley's scheme.
25:05I did see him match a little bit more in this game than he has in the past,
25:09but it's clear to me watching these guys on film, they play fast.
25:13It's a simple scheme which allows your players to play fast, and they do.
25:17They're pretty assignment sure.
25:20The linebackers fly around.
25:22They flow.
25:23They do a good job in the run game.
25:24The Lions really didn't get off on that.
25:26I think they averaged like four yards a carry.
25:29With that Lions offensive line, that's pretty good.
25:32The Colts actually averaged more yards per play.
25:35I think it was 5.6.
25:36The Lions had 5.5.
25:38That's a pretty good day at the office for a team against the Lions.
25:43These guys are going to be a pain in the butt, and conversely, I talked about Joe Milton.
25:50As far as if the Patriots do a good job on defense against the Colts, it'll be because
25:53of Joe Milton.
25:55If the Patriots win this game, to me, it's going to be Drake May's coming out party.
26:01He carves up this Gus Bradley defense that he hits the underneath stuff.
26:06He hits the deep end cuts sort of in front of the safeties.
26:12This will be really the only chance I see the Patriots winning this game is if Drake
26:18May goes off, and he just comes into his own, everything works.
26:22I just don't know whether they're going to be able to block these guys up front.
26:28They're really good.
26:29You got the defensive tackles, Grover Stewart and DeForest Buckner are just two of the best
26:35in the league.
26:36They are loads.
26:37Buckner is going to be a handful for whoever plays at either guard.
26:41He mostly lines up over right guard, I want to say.
26:49I could be wrong on that.
26:52Quiddie Paye and Latu, the first round pick, those guys sort of switch off.
26:59They get after it.
27:02Deo Odabayo, he comes in.
27:07He's sort of a sub interior.
27:10Their sub rush is Latu, Quiddie Paye, Odabayo, and it might be Taequann Lewis, but they have
27:26a pretty good sub rush.
27:29They're going to be a pain in the butt for the Patriots to block on Sunday.
27:37I think, and the Colts cover well in the back end, I mean, I either think this is going
27:41to be a really rough game or just a great coming out party for Drake May against his
27:47defense.
27:48I think it's going to be a lot tougher than I thought going in, knowing what I know about
27:52Gus Bradley over the years, but I hope the Patriots have a good plan.
27:57I hope they can block it up because it is going to be a handful.
28:04So that's a look at the Colts.
28:06Let's get in the mailbag real quick.
28:10So let's start the mailbag again.
28:13For those of you that are new around here at Boston Sports Journal, one of the things
28:17that I think is great about it, and I hear from the members, they love it.
28:24Every one of the four major sports, the writers, whether it's me, Corrales, Giardi does one
28:29as well on the Patriots, sort of on Mondays.
28:32I do more on Fridays.
28:34Corrales, Haggerty, Geffen Kulbaugh does a good job on the Red Sox.
28:41There's always a weekly Q&A with each of our writers, so including me.
28:46So any questions you have about the team, the site, whatever, my favorite Thanksgiving
28:53Day sides, you can ask that in our weekly member Q&A, and this is where I have one on
29:01Friday that I'm going to do right after I'm done with this pod.
29:04So these are some of the questions straight out of there.
29:06Paul from Holden.
29:07Hi, Greg.
29:08Just curious if you think Jonathan Kraft would be any more likely to fire Mayo after one
29:13season compared to Robert.
29:14If the right decision for the team is to fire Mayo and Robert doesn't have the stomach for
29:18it, then Robert should just empower Jonathan to do the right thing.
29:25I don't know.
29:26I simply, I don't know whether Jonathan would be more likely to fire Mayo.
29:31I just know, despite me writing, it's time for Jonathan to take a bigger role after sort
29:39of what we heard from Robert at the league meetings last year when I don't think his
29:44performance was very good.
29:47I don't think that's really going on.
29:49I still think it's his ship.
29:54He's steering it.
29:56Jonathan's right there with him.
29:58But in terms of hiring and firing coaches, I think this is a, you know, Robert decision.
30:05And we know that he has an affinity for Gerard Mayo.
30:08He put him in this position not very wisely, I might add, in terms of the succession plan
30:15and all that.
30:16It wasn't well thought out.
30:17It was it was a rush to judgment, something that didn't need to be done and was done and
30:23sort of pigeonhole the franchise.
30:25I think this team would have been much better off if the if the crafts just had talked to
30:30me about succeeding Belichick.
30:32But when they when it came down to it, they said, you know, you know, Gerard, we love
30:38you and we would love to for you to be a head coach one day here.
30:43But this is too big of a job for you right now.
30:46This is a total rebuild.
30:49We need somebody who's been through this before and knows what they're doing.
30:52And we're going with a guy like Mike Frabel.
30:54Of course, we know they did not do that.
30:57B.C. D.R.E.S.
31:01This is going to be a long and complicated question.
31:05I get that most teams are out coaching Mayo and his staff this season.
31:09He inherited a weak roster, was likely elevated too soon, but doesn't have and doesn't have
31:15the Rolodex to recruit a top tier coaching staff.
31:17But does that mean he could never be a talented head coach?
31:22In other words, does he have the individual traits to succeed in the NFL eventually?
31:30Or do you think a young and somewhat inexperienced version of insert name of established and
31:36talented head coach here with the same roster and coaching staff would have outperformed
31:42Mayo? And then there's another part, but let me answer that.
31:45Look, I and let me read the next part because it goes into it as a journalist, what steps
31:51can you can you take to evaluate a head coach's aptitude separate from his supporting
31:58infrastructure and experience?
32:00I mean, I don't have any I don't have like a scientific answer about this.
32:06B.C. I just know what I see.
32:08And this is why this is why I think it's important for a head coach to be able to
32:15evaluate things on a micro basis, which means a game by game basis like C.
32:22There are certain benchmarks that you should get with any coach, in my opinion, and
32:28basically, especially a first year head coach, it's show me you're getting better at
32:33the end of the season. Show me you're coaching better.
32:36Show me you're developing some of the players.
32:38Show me that the team is pointed in the right direction.
32:41I don't think that is too much to ask.
32:42And I don't think that's hard to judge.
32:45I don't need to really separate to do that.
32:49You know, for example, let's look at Dan Campbell, who firstly, first of all, had a
32:53lot more experience than Gerard Mayer.
32:56He had the interim position with the Dolphins.
33:00Then he went to the Saints.
33:01He was under Parcells.
33:02He was under Sean Payton.
33:04I think he was assistant head coach with the Saints.
33:07And look, we know he inherited a bad roster.
33:11They started 0-10-1, and I know a lot of people, maybe even me, thought like, all
33:18right, this is a joke.
33:19But I went and did some research.
33:21The people in Detroit after that first season did not talk about firing Dan Campbell.
33:26And probably you want to know why is because he won three of his final six games,
33:31including they beat the Packers, who were, I think, 14-3 that year.
33:35They did not take that game off.
33:37I think Rodgers played the entire game.
33:40They beat the Packers in the last game of the season.
33:47Do we think that the Patriots have really been on that trajectory this year?
33:52I mean, look, there's five games left, and this is why I don't make definitive
33:56judgments, whether it's the head coach, the roster, the rookies, the GM, all that
34:02stuff, until the season's complete.
34:05It's a 17-game season.
34:07They should get that opportunity.
34:09All of them to prove how they are at doing their jobs.
34:13And so, to me, these final five games are vitally important.
34:17I mean, there are some really bad signs to me, and I've written about it at BSJ,
34:23about how they've come out the first game against the real divisional opponents and
34:27not Snoop Huntley, Tua, Rodgers.
34:32They come out and they get shellacked both times.
34:35These are teams that you should have prepared for in the offseason, and
34:38instead, you look clueless.
34:42As far as Mayo, do I think he has some traits to be a successful head coach?
34:49Yes.
34:50A lot of them, though, are sort of cult of personality stuff.
34:53I do think he's a leader.
34:56I think that he relates to the younger players.
34:59I think that the players respect him right now.
35:03Again, it's the first season.
35:04There's not too many places.
35:06Even if you think Josh McDaniels was a disaster in Las Vegas,
35:12there was no talk about him.
35:13There was no dissension in the locker room about Josh McDaniels after year one,
35:16and it didn't go that well.
35:18Everybody gets year one with anybody.
35:20It's when you get into year two and things don't look a lot better,
35:24then things can really go sideways and you start to lose the locker room.
35:28So I would say the chances of him losing the locker room or not having the respect
35:32of the players was about 2% going into this year.
35:35Next year, it goes up to like 60% if they don't win games.
35:39Now, again, I think that Mayo is a good leader.
35:44I think he knows how to speak.
35:46I think that his corporate jargon right now plays OK in the room.
35:53But that's not being a leader is not what an especially what an NFL head coach.
36:00Is all about.
36:01I mean, that's good.
36:02I mean, as far as leadership and how much players loved them and stuff like that,
36:08how high was Bill Belichick, how high was Bill Parcells
36:13in those regards?
36:15The bottom line is you've got to have substance behind the words,
36:20the leadership, all that stuff.
36:22You have to solve problems on your team and you have to create problems
36:26for the other team.
36:26And that's not that just doesn't go down to the coordinators.
36:30Like, you know, you can be a CEO head coach all you want,
36:34but it's still it starts with you, just like Dan Campbell
36:37is a CEO head coach in Detroit.
36:40I mean, he stepped in, fired, basically took over play calling
36:44when they were oh, ten and one helped turn that around,
36:47helped empower Ben Johnson to be who he is now.
36:50Mayo could be doing that on the defensive side of the ball
36:53with DeMarcus Covington to this point.
36:56As far as we know, he hasn't.
36:58So, you know, he he has traits, but.
37:03The traits are limited
37:04and they got to be more football centric for him to be successful.
37:08And right now, I think that's very much unproven.
37:14S. Rancator.
37:17Thanks, me and Mike.
37:19Earlier in the season, you alluded to doubts or concerns
37:22within the organization about Mayo dating back to the summer.
37:25Would you care to elaborate?
37:26Were those concerns emanating from the ownership level
37:29based on his interactions with the team, coaching staff, media,
37:32upper management, his readiness and grasp
37:36and command of his responsibilities and expectations?
37:39All of the above.
37:40I am not going to elaborate.
37:43I give you the information.
37:45I do not.
37:47I give as much information that I am comfortable
37:50giving in terms of mostly protecting my sources.
37:54And I'm not going to get in that position.
37:58It's not something that's why I've had a long career
38:01where people trust me because I I stop short.
38:04Sometimes, you know, you might want more information.
38:07You know, I'm just I'm just not going to go there because it's not worth it.
38:11You're getting the information.
38:12I'm telling you that.
38:14And I and I said and I think I didn't say I said
38:19I said not just members within the organization.
38:22I said at upper levels of the organization.
38:26So I think it's safe to say that
38:30all of the above would be the answer.
38:33And I still think there are concerns and that they have been calling around
38:37for weeks or at least weeks ago,
38:41trying out not only how to support and what to do with a young quarterback,
38:45but also how to support Mayo, which is their first choice to do after the season.
38:50I think they're going to run into a lot of problems with that.
38:55You know, for a variety of reasons, some of which Felger finally
38:59stumbled upon this week, I mean, I told you I said between
39:04Mayo could only have one year if that
39:07who's coming in for that without a guarantee of other things
39:11or, you know, it's going to have to be a lot guaranteed contract.
39:15So that's one thing.
39:16Again, if these coaches who they want to bring in
39:20call around to build people, if not Bill himself,
39:23I think that's going to be a rough sell.
39:25I think that's not going to look good on Gerard.
39:28That's just the way that it is.
39:29I mean, to be a player and a coach under Bill Belichick
39:33and he hasn't talked to you in months going back to his final season,
39:37your final seasons together.
39:39I mean, that should tell you a lot.
39:41And also.
39:44Based on how the Patriots went about creating the staff last year,
39:49the interviews, how that process went down, the questions, I can tell you
39:55there's a lot of coaching agents that are not super impressed
39:59with what's going on here.
40:00So I think it's easy to talk about fantasy football about,
40:04oh, we can add this guy and this guy.
40:06And, you know, what about Brian Dayball, who I hear if he gets fired,
40:09I hear if he gets fired, he's more likely to take a year off than anything else.
40:14Again, he's another Bill guy.
40:17You know, Josh McDaniels.
40:18I don't I think the chances are it's highly unlikely he would come back here.
40:21I don't completely rule it out.
40:23But if I were him, I'm not coming back to work in this situation
40:27unless Robert Kraft gives me assurances, writes it into my contract
40:32that I would succeed Gerard Mayo if he is in over his head again
40:36for a second season. Do I think that's going to happen? No.
40:40Um. AC Askin said, what do you expect the offense to evolve
40:45into over the last few weeks versus the Rams?
40:48It was quick passes, getting the ball into pop's hands.
40:50Good doses of run games.
40:52I know it's harder when you can't run the ball.
40:54But is there any but is there an identity that you feel will form
40:58versus in the Arizona going forward, maybe a focus during the bye?
41:03Uh. The easy answer is
41:09I have no freaking clue what they're going to look like over the last five games.
41:12I mean, they can't even figure out who's going to play on the offensive line.
41:16I fully expect another lineup this week, like I talked about earlier in the pod.
41:21So how how is anybody supposed to know what that offense is going to look like?
41:25I mean, I can tell you what I would like to see.
41:28I think I would like to see them start incorporating some Drake Mayo runs.
41:33Drake Mayo. Drake May runs
41:37RPOs, things like that, especially down in the red zone.
41:40Start to see what that looks like.
41:43You know, again, I don't even know how they're going to be able
41:45to block things if they can block.
41:48AC also asked about Ramond Ray.
41:50Will he continue to carry the load?
41:55I just think like, look, I would
41:58I would play Antonio Gibson more.
42:00I mean, I just think he's more comfortable in the scheme they can do.
42:03He's much more comfortable in the wide zone when they do do do that.
42:07They sort of, you know, mix it up these days.
42:12So, you know, I don't know.
42:14I mean, it's where they are, how they're doing things.
42:19You know, it seems like they're, you know, game planning week to week,
42:22what they're going to do.
42:24I think sometimes there's missteps like I think against Miami.
42:27There were a bunch of missteps.
42:28I thought they did a good job against the Rams.
42:31That should be their approach basically every week.
42:35But yeah, there's there's really not much
42:40that I could say on that.
42:42I just I
42:44I just want to know how they're going to block things
42:46and who's going to be out there, and then maybe we can go from there.
42:49Again, if you like the mailbag,
42:53if you like to get questions in, you got to be a BSJ member.
42:57It's only 50 bucks for the year.
43:01You can get on not only access to that, but also my film.
43:06I've been putting like full halves basically as I grade the film,
43:11whether it's offense or defense, depending on the week,
43:13I've been posting video full house.
43:15You're talking like 45 minutes
43:18worth of film from the game.
43:20So it's worth it even just from that perspective.
43:23So come on over and join us.
43:27We would love to have you game pick so far this season one last week.
43:33So that's good.
43:34I am now four, six and two against the spread seven and five straight up.
43:37The line is the Colts minus two and a half.
43:40Forty four and a half over under
43:44sort of repeating what I said earlier.
43:46If the Patriots defense does well in this game, it's because of Joe Milton.
43:51If the Patriots offense does well in this game,
43:55it's because of Drake May having his coming out party,
43:58having his way with Gus Bradley's defense.
44:04So I think really the storyline, if the biggest storyline is going to be
44:09if the Patriots win this game, it's going to be Drake May.
44:13Here we go.
44:15Put it all together.
44:16They eliminated the stupid penalties, which there should be less of those at home.
44:21But here we go. Drake May all aboard the bandwagon.
44:24Not that that's not already full right now.
44:27If they lose, I can see the storyline being, man,
44:31that is some really cool stuff that Shane Steichen does with Anthony Richardson,
44:35with his legs, with the pass game.
44:38Very similar to what he did with Jalen Hurts.
44:41And then you're looking at Alex Van Pelt just running the old West Coast
44:45system with Drake May.
44:47And it could be a stark contrast
44:48where people are really calling for the Patriots to move
44:52in a different direction and offensive coordinator after the season.
44:55So I think this is a big game and it's probably their last winnable game
45:00on the schedule.
45:01And so, you know, they're staring at they don't win this game.
45:03They're staring at three and 14,
45:06which is not good enough and not acceptable.
45:10And I think depending on how those last four games go,
45:14two against the Bills, one against the Chargers, one against the Cardinals.
45:18If they get boat raced in those games,
45:24not quite sure.
45:25I think Gerard Mayo is fully guaranteed about coming back next year.
45:30So big stretch coming up here.
45:33I will be in the stadium with Mike.
45:35Can't wait for it,
45:37you know, to be back here for the aftermath on Sunday,
45:41normally Tuesday and Thursday.
45:44And we will talk to you later.
45:47Thanks so much.
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