• yesterday
The Boston Sports Journal's Mike Giardi rejoins the show to cover potential changes to the Patriots' coaching staff this offseason, whether Drake Maye or Justin Hebert will be the better quarterback over the next 10 years and leftover takeaways from Foxboro. Later, the guys preview Saturday's Patriots-Chargers game and make their game picks.


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Transcript
00:00:00Okay, I've said this before, and I genuinely don't know how this keeps happening.
00:00:17We have a crackpot security team on this podcast.
00:00:22No one is to be trusted to do their jobs.
00:00:24I guess everyone took the holidays off because as hard as we try and as many firewalls as
00:00:28we put up, and stop signs, and please don't all cap text, Mike Ciardi of the Boston Sports
00:00:33Journal is back, folks.
00:00:35Yeah, it's pretty remarkable.
00:00:37And I have the same thing on my own podcast, and it's trying to deny me from getting in
00:00:41there as well, and I still managed to figure it out.
00:00:43So I'm actually smarter than you think I am, smarter than I look, which isn't to say that
00:00:48I'm smart, because obviously I do this for a living.
00:00:52So anyway.
00:00:53Well, yeah, and you keep coming back on this podcast.
00:00:54It's been a while since you and I hung out in this space, since I've been in this space.
00:00:59Hope everyone had a lovely holiday.
00:01:00I text you as much yesterday, but you've deleted that as we've since learned that you tend
00:01:04to delete texts and don't know where they come from sometimes, and I still don't know
00:01:07what to make of that behavior.
00:01:09I can't.
00:01:10I mean, it's with everyone.
00:01:11I think honestly, like right now, if I were to look at my phone, well, I just got a text
00:01:16from my boss.
00:01:17Andy Hart just texted me.
00:01:19Don't respond to either of them.
00:01:22My kids.
00:01:23That's it.
00:01:24That's it.
00:01:25There you go.
00:01:26Four.
00:01:27There's four.
00:01:28There's four threats.
00:01:29Okay.
00:01:30And the top two will be gone immediately.
00:01:31What do I need to keep Andy Hart's text for?
00:01:34Come on.
00:01:35No.
00:01:36All right.
00:01:37It is late Thursday.
00:01:38Patriots have a game in less than 48 hours.
00:01:40They're playing the Chargers Saturday, one o'clock.
00:01:42We're going to do our typical 3-2-1, three matchups, two keys, one wild card thought
00:01:47breakdown here a little bit with Mike Giardi, but I want to do a little bit of catch up
00:01:50because the Patriots lose 24 to 14 out in Buffalo, give up the last 24 points.
00:01:55I think that game has been exhausted.
00:01:57I promised folks I would not do a full film breakdown.
00:01:59We're not going to do that today, but I'm curious if you have any leftover thoughts
00:02:02because Alex Van Pelt, we spoke with today, DeMarcus Covington, we spoke with today and
00:02:07you get a little questions about that or stuff that's happening in the middle of the week.
00:02:10So I just want to catch up.
00:02:11This is the day for leftovers from whether you celebrate a Christmas or the first night
00:02:15of Hanukkah, the food in the fridge or the content of the podcast.
00:02:18So what are you diving into first?
00:02:20So I had two things that sort of were leftover from the game and, you know, my feeling about
00:02:25Drake May's performance on Sunday in Buffalo was that it was kind of a myth.
00:02:29You know, like we've seen him have nearly complete games.
00:02:34You know, I don't know that he's totally put together from start to end.
00:02:36Maybe he has, but I didn't love the second half and obviously he was complicit in sort
00:02:41of the unraveling of the football team there in the second half.
00:02:45But when I went back and rewatched the game, those first two drives, and obviously they
00:02:50scored touchdowns on both drives, like that's about as well as a rookie quarterback could
00:02:56play in those moments.
00:02:57And I think people look at the booty throw and like, oh, unbelievable throw down the
00:03:01sideline.
00:03:02And he does that so well.
00:03:03But to me, it was the, let's start with the first play of their offensive series where
00:03:08they run a screen and it's a disaster.
00:03:10As many of their screens to running backs have been this year.
00:03:13And you're playing in a raucous environment.
00:03:16Like he's never been there before.
00:03:18It's cold.
00:03:19Like there's just a lot going into it.
00:03:20A lot of stuff about your coaches.
00:03:21It's a million things going into this game and he turfs it.
00:03:24And I was like, under normal circumstances, I probably would just say, that's whatever.
00:03:29That's what the quarterback's supposed to do.
00:03:30But for a rookie in that spot, I'm like, you know, there's that sort of that, some of that
00:03:34poise that I really like about him and some of the decision-making that I found to be,
00:03:37you know, sort of at a higher grade than most.
00:03:41And then the third down throw on that same first drive to Hunter Henry with Vaughn Miller
00:03:45just absolutely steamrolling Demontre Jacobs as he did for much of the game and standing
00:03:51there and just delivering a perfect throw when he's about to get smoked.
00:03:56And it was just that first drive and then into the second drive where I think maybe
00:04:00a little bit less of it was asked of him on that drive.
00:04:02They ran the ball a little bit better, but that third down scramble and the spin move
00:04:05at, you know, to get the first down was something.
00:04:09And then even to just sort of, all right, they're playing off coverage on Hunter on
00:04:12the third down, like he sees it, I see it, boom, got it.
00:04:15And it was just like, I'm still in the, it was a meh game for him based on what I feel
00:04:20he's capable of.
00:04:21But those first two drives are an indication like, you know, that it's all there for him
00:04:27to put together.
00:04:29And when he does put it together, when they get him some better pieces to do it with,
00:04:33like this offense could be scary good.
00:04:35And you know, this better than most people, because you were up covering that Bill's team
00:04:41all the time at the NFL network.
00:04:43But when Sean McDermott got there, so my favorite stats in 2017, he had three seasons where
00:04:47he faced Tom Brady Patriots before obviously Brady leaves.
00:04:51In that time, Brady had more interceptions than touchdowns against the bills.
00:04:56And so you're like, Oh, the Patriots always beat the bills, yada, yada, didn't really
00:04:58turn until 2020 Josh Allen ascends and it's all over.
00:05:01And they run away with the division.
00:05:03That process was happening towards the end.
00:05:04So for Drake may, which granted, it's not the same Bill's defense, it's a bit younger,
00:05:08but faster to do that against a defense that doesn't disguise a ton, but when they do,
00:05:12it's hard to know what's coming.
00:05:14And they pressured him a whole lot was really impressive to me.
00:05:16The thing that I didn't love was he did, I felt like it had a compound effect on him
00:05:20that pressure, which again, rockets.
00:05:23Yep.
00:05:24Yeah.
00:05:25Like four man rushes are getting to you.
00:05:26The blitz is going to do he's over four with a sack in his last five drop backs under pressure,
00:05:31but you're trying to play catch up.
00:05:32So I'm with you.
00:05:33I thought the mistakes were more costly than normal.
00:05:36But otherwise a mediocre game where you just, you just didn't get any help.
00:05:39Yeah.
00:05:40That, that to me stood out.
00:05:41And the other thing that really sort of going back and like, obviously when you're watching
00:05:44it, they're running the ball down your throat.
00:05:47And I just remember like early in the game thinking like they're trying to, the bills
00:05:52were, as I said, you know, may was complicit in sort of your decline in the second half,
00:05:56the bills sort of helped you have some life in the first half.
00:06:00I thought they were way too pass heavy and that's always been sort of the push and pull
00:06:04there because you have Josh and he's, you know, you want the ball in his hands, but
00:06:08they become a really good running football team.
00:06:10That offensive line is I think terrific.
00:06:13And there were points in that game where they just completely dominated you up front.
00:06:17There was a, I think it was a five yard run.
00:06:19I forget what quarter it was.
00:06:21Maybe it was the second quarter, maybe in the third quarter where literally your entire
00:06:24defensive line was just moved back.
00:06:28God shall all of them just five yards back.
00:06:30You should have gotten more yards.
00:06:31I think it was just so much of a crowd of your bodies that got pushed back that he didn't
00:06:35have anywhere to go.
00:06:37But the way the front seven has played against the run all year has been a problem.
00:06:42You know, 11 of the last 13 over a hundred yards, you know, one 72 in that game, I think
00:06:48was one 44 the game before.
00:06:50And it just, they can't, they haven't solved that problem.
00:06:54And it's obviously it goes beyond scheme.
00:06:56It's a personnel problem.
00:06:58And I thought their front seven against the run was embarrassing is too strong a word,
00:07:02but they got their ass kicked.
00:07:03Well, you know, who's at it best.
00:07:05And this is, this wasn't my favorite answer from him today.
00:07:08That one went to you.
00:07:09DeMarcus Covey, defense coordinator asked about the run defense, very simple run fits
00:07:15and fundamentals.
00:07:17And he's, he's being Frank, he's being honest.
00:07:21He's also, as we know, telling on himself because those all point to coaching and okay.
00:07:25I said, we wouldn't do film here.
00:07:27We aren't doing film, but the 46 yard touchdown in the second quarter, James cook off the
00:07:32left side, same exact play as you had on the 12 yard game that started the last drive that
00:07:38ended the game outside zone going left.
00:07:41Where's Dion Dawkins.
00:07:42One of the best left tackles in the game, right behind him on the last play, Keon white
00:07:46gets kicked out all the way into Lake Erie.
00:07:48And that's an easy one.
00:07:49Or it's a, it's turned, excuse me.
00:07:51That was a different play.
00:07:52He gets turned and James cook just goes around him.
00:07:54The other one, talkie talkie washed out, Jeremiah farms, washed out Devon, gotcha turned.
00:08:00And it was just, it was gone.
00:08:01So it's just basic, simple plays.
00:08:03They can't make against other simple place.
00:08:05The bills are better.
00:08:06It was a good showing.
00:08:07I wrote after the game, you had the same feeling Gerard is going to come back in 2025 because
00:08:12it was never that wobbly to begin with.
00:08:14We just talked about it in a way because the, the consequences could be really dire and
00:08:18significant.
00:08:19Right?
00:08:20So you have to talk about things like that, even if there's a small chance.
00:08:23To me, if you're someone like the crafts, we want him to come back.
00:08:26You look at that game ago.
00:08:27Oh, that's progress.
00:08:28Yeah, of course.
00:08:29We'll bring him back.
00:08:30And you know what?
00:08:31That's only fair to see what he's got and give him a better roster to see if there is
00:08:33that potential as a head coach, even if that potential, this theoretical thing is still
00:08:38the best argument for keeping him as a head coach going to the next year.
00:08:43Yeah, I, we've talked about it quite a bit and I think based on their inability to improve
00:08:51the first 14 weeks of the season, I thought it was fair game.
00:08:55You know, I just got to come back.
00:08:56They want him back.
00:08:57Well, okay.
00:08:59They want him back, but has he done enough to prove that he deserved to be back?
00:09:03And I think you could still make the argument that he has not done that.
00:09:06But I think we're all of the informed opinion that ownership would like him to return.
00:09:13And it would have taken something disastrous here over the final month to have them move
00:09:18off their spot.
00:09:19And so when you have a game like that, it's like, okay, well, if you were, I hate there,
00:09:25there are people that were probably rooting for them to get smoked.
00:09:27So they would make a change, whether they go to Vrabel or someone else, right?
00:09:31Like I'm talking about outside the organization, fans, whatever you hear from them all the
00:09:34time.
00:09:35And it's like, okay, well, it's not going to happen.
00:09:38So now just figure out where to go forward with this group or that coach in particular,
00:09:45because like I said, I can't, I can't see it happening.
00:09:49No.
00:09:50And that's, that's the bottom line.
00:09:51It doesn't matter what you think.
00:09:52It doesn't matter what any fan wants.
00:09:53It doesn't matter what I think it's what the craft see, what they want to see.
00:09:57And we all know visibly, and this can be sometimes too big of a deal, but what it really is like
00:10:04things that we think we see on the, on the outside, the visible exasperation on Jonathan
00:10:08Kraft's face against Alex Van Pelt.
00:10:10Notable though, that the crafts did not go talk to Alex Van Pelt after that happened
00:10:13as he told us a week ago, but we're doing a lot of rehashing old stuff.
00:10:16Let's move forward.
00:10:17Last week, Cole strange or Lucida Smith looks like one of them is going to start at center.
00:10:21And that could be disaster.
00:10:22It could be a really great thing for Cole strange if he can prove that he played center
00:10:27guy was great today.
00:10:28So he's so honest.
00:10:29Like simple is usually a derogative term, but I envy the man who's like, I like football.
00:10:34I like this.
00:10:35I sit at home, my girlfriend, we have a simple Christmas, just the two of us.
00:10:38And it was wonderful.
00:10:39I'm like, you didn't think about anything else.
00:10:41You're not like up at night.
00:10:42Just these impossible scenarios, just anxiously keeping you awake and you're driving and all
00:10:46these different things.
00:10:48Simple guy.
00:10:49It's been a long road back.
00:10:50He could start at center.
00:10:51You can either run with that, Gerard Mayo, still disciplined at the podium.
00:10:55And I say this again, sounds pejorative, useless.
00:11:01That's the goal for him.
00:11:02He checked that box today or Drake may and Jacoby preset, which you can read about this
00:11:07in the Herald on Friday.
00:11:08They got Gucci travel bags and Carolina blue Jordan sneakers for their offensive lineman
00:11:14and Herald exclusive, which I'm teasing here.
00:11:16Now I'm going to spoil somewhere else.
00:11:17So yeah, pick, pick any of the three.
00:11:22Yeah.
00:11:23So I'm going to latch onto your comments about Demarcus Covington, which he's, and again,
00:11:34I know most people could give a crap about this, but I always think about it in the terms
00:11:38of when the guy's in front of us and he communicate his message clearly and efficiently, and he
00:11:46doesn't have to give me unbelievable one-liners or, you know, like spin yarns or whatever.
00:11:52Just do I feel like he has a good grasp of his message and he's not good at it.
00:12:00And like, I don't expect he's never had to do this on a regular basis, right?
00:12:04Like, you know, especially the way bill hit some of his assistant coaches for years.
00:12:09But I, I just wonder what it's like in the room and I've talked to guys about it and
00:12:14they back them months, you know, like, but I don't expect anything different.
00:12:19It just, I mean, I asked him today if they figured out as you teased talking about Marta
00:12:25Mapu who had a, a, a relatively nice game.
00:12:28Although I still, I gave him a thumbs up thumbs down because the interception thing was just
00:12:32so boneheaded that I can't overlook it, but they've talked about not necessarily knowing
00:12:39where he best fits.
00:12:40In fact, Gerard Mayo told us that in the preseason, like we're still trying to decide where he
00:12:46is, what, what he does best for us.
00:12:49And so, okay.
00:12:50He has this good, relatively good game and I just like, do you feel like you have a better
00:12:53handle on it?
00:12:54And he's like, he's a good football player.
00:12:55And I, I smiled and I could have said like, well, if that's the case, then how come he
00:13:00didn't dress for like three straight games?
00:13:02Like it just was one of those things where, I don't know, this is a weird disconnect.
00:13:07I don't, I don't quite understand.
00:13:09I don't, I don't quite understand why the answer had to be that, but you know, that's
00:13:12inside media stuff, I guess.
00:13:15It is.
00:13:16But I think the, the way you started of this can be, and it's not always illustrative of
00:13:20how do you just generally communicate?
00:13:23It's easy enough to command a room, which I've said this before, and it's not a knock
00:13:25on any of the colleagues specifically, it's just the way that this business works subconsciously
00:13:30or some of them overtly rooting for the team.
00:13:32Like we're not that hard to win over.
00:13:34And so if you have an issue doing that, then are you commanding a group of alpha males
00:13:40behind closed doors?
00:13:41Now you could counter and be like, well, why the hell does he think you have to win?
00:13:45He has to win you guys over.
00:13:46I'd be like, that's fair.
00:13:48But the thing is you can do bad press conferences or you can have bad play, but when you have
00:13:53both, you have a problem because then you're losing a public favorite.
00:13:57Then you're losing ownership.
00:13:58Then you're losing people who might be looking at this, you know, whether your own players
00:14:02or future employers being like, we really want that guy.
00:14:04So it's nothing cataclysmic or catastrophic.
00:14:08Like some moments have felt like which rod mail, but consistently, especially for a guy
00:14:12who started the season and be like, we would ask DeMarcus, how'd you get ready to play
00:14:16call?
00:14:17He's like, Oh, I'm in my backyard.
00:14:18Mike, that's cool.
00:14:19That's a harmless detail.
00:14:20And you know what?
00:14:21His objective is to not to instruct us or teach us like it is with the players.
00:14:24But there have been more than a few moments, not just from you, not just for me, some people
00:14:28in the beat who are typically friendly or going, well, that wasn't great.
00:14:32So I think, I think it's fair.
00:14:33And you know what?
00:14:34DeMarcus Covington, people have come around.
00:14:35I think you were first on this being like, Hey, why is he skating?
00:14:37And that's not a question I love to ask because blame is so easy and it's not the negativity
00:14:43that bothers me.
00:14:44It's like, can we just do better?
00:14:45Can we assess solutions or we can pinpoint what's going on?
00:14:48Not just like, whose fault is this?
00:14:50Which is half of the TV or radio in the city anyway.
00:14:53Next segment is a question I struggled with a little less than I thought.
00:14:58I'm curious what you're going to say, Drake May or Justin Herbert next 10 years.
00:15:03And while everyone ponders that, I'm going to remind you that for the next 10 years,
00:15:06I don't care what you need, where you're going, what you want to do.
00:15:09Christmas has passed.
00:15:10Still nights of Honda.
00:15:11Good to go.
00:15:12If you need tickets to a concert, to a show, to a game, go to game time.
00:15:14I did this a few nights ago for a Christmas gift.
00:15:16I'm going to Sox Rangers.
00:15:19It's Wednesday or Thursday, May 7th.
00:15:21You can come hang out, find me.
00:15:22This will be great.
00:15:23And if you do, you can get the lowest price guarantee on any ticket.
00:15:26You can go to college basketball games too, before we even get to the spring.
00:15:30But the point is, wherever you want to go, your first stop is with game time.
00:15:33Not just because of this lowest price guarantee, which frankly is the only thing that should
00:15:36matter when you're buying tickets.
00:15:38But also the fact they give you all in pricing right up front.
00:15:41There's no fees in the back end.
00:15:42There's no mystery about where the seats are, how much it's going to cost, what it might
00:15:45be.
00:15:46They also give you their best deals right up front.
00:15:47So in less than 60 seconds, you can go to game time with game time picks.
00:15:51Find all in pricing, a lowest price guarantee, plus your seat view.
00:15:54But this is only in one place.
00:15:56And again, it's at game time.
00:15:58So what are you wasting your time for?
00:15:59Go to game time right now.
00:16:01Download the app, create an account, use code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase.
00:16:06Terms do apply.
00:16:07All you have to do, download a game time account, redeem code CLNS, $20 off.
00:16:12I might've made a fake email just so I can do this again.
00:16:15Just kidding game time folks.
00:16:16I definitely did not do that.
00:16:18Download game time today.
00:16:19What time is it?
00:16:21Game time.
00:16:22Game time.
00:16:23Are you going to be mad at me for that you think?
00:16:24I don't think.
00:16:25First of all, I give you the applause for that's a great read professional, you know.
00:16:31Unlike what you normally are.
00:16:32Uh, yes.
00:16:34So I wrote down for this just, you know, as I like to kind of keep notes to keep my adult
00:16:38brain from wandering too far, uh, pardon my French here, but shit, I can't answer that.
00:16:45Yes you have to.
00:16:46I don't have to.
00:16:47You swear.
00:16:48What do I got?
00:16:49I have, do I have 11 games of Drake May?
00:16:52You don't have an answer?
00:16:5411 games of Drake May versus four seasons of Justin Herbert.
00:16:57Um, the Justin Herbert, here's what I will say.
00:17:00The Justin Herbert that we're seeing now is the Justin Herbert I wanted to see after his
00:17:05rookie year.
00:17:06And I think in part because of our graph coaching that he never quite ascended to that level.
00:17:14And now with the coaching he's getting from Harbaugh, even though I'm not a huge Greg
00:17:19Roman scheme guy, uh, they've got him playing really smart football.
00:17:24He's using his legs more, which I think is really important for him.
00:17:27And it's not designed quarterback runs for all you've designed quarterback run freaks
00:17:31out there.
00:17:32It's just within Phil Berry, Phil, Phil, of course it's just drop back.
00:17:39Oh, you're playing zone.
00:17:40You're playing man.
00:17:41You turned your back on me.
00:17:42Like I'm, I run, I can, I'm a four, six guy, a four or five go, whatever he is.
00:17:47I'm going to take off and I'm a big dude.
00:17:49I can get 20 yards, 15 yards before you figure out what's happening.
00:17:53And uh, I just like, I think he's just playing very smart football right now.
00:17:58And I think we talk here in new England about the weapons or lack thereof that Drake has.
00:18:04He doesn't have much more there.
00:18:06Lad McConkey has obviously become his, his best guy.
00:18:10But when you're depending on Will Disley, who's supposed to be a blocker, you know,
00:18:14to be one of your primary third down targets.
00:18:17And you've got a collection of, uh, failed first rounders and Quinton Johnston and whatever.
00:18:23Like they're just not very good.
00:18:24Like they'll talk about the Patriots and T Higgins.
00:18:27I would not be surprised if the, if the chargers are getting involved in the bidding with T
00:18:31Higgins, if it gets to that.
00:18:33So, um, I just love the way he's playing right now.
00:18:36It's, I like what I've seen from Drake, obviously I'm just, we, we started the show off talking
00:18:41about sort of the poise that he played with the decision-making he's obviously this, the
00:18:45turnover stuff has been a bit of an issue, but it's still early in his tenure as a, as
00:18:50a quarterback.
00:18:51I like the progression that he's on, but he's going to have to take the next step next year.
00:18:55And he's going to have to take the step where he's got to cut down the turnover numbers
00:18:59to a certain degree or cut down the turnovers in moments.
00:19:02Like we saw on Sunday when 1714, you're in a position to get at least points and you
00:19:08need points.
00:19:09You're on the road.
00:19:10You've got things that started to turn against you.
00:19:11You have a nice drive going and kind of off the back foot, you know, just wasn't a good
00:19:17throw.
00:19:18It was a mistake, you know?
00:19:19So I guess push comes to shove at this moment.
00:19:23I'm still not going to give you an answer.
00:19:24So how's that?
00:19:25Yep.
00:19:26Took you right to it.
00:19:27And then I'm not going to do it.
00:19:28I'm not going to do it.
00:19:29Cause I know, I know what's going to happen.
00:19:30Um, circle that you just took.
00:19:32I know it's going to happen and I'm not going to do it as it is.
00:19:35When I said he had a Mac game and I was like, what do you mean?
00:19:39Because people are ridiculous.
00:19:40Like Justin has more experience and I've seen what he can do and I'm seeing what he can
00:19:47do with a good quarterback.
00:19:49And now I'm thinking to myself, Oh, I mean with a, with a good coach.
00:19:53And now I see myself like if they get him another piece or two, like he's going to cook.
00:19:58He's already cooking Drake.
00:20:00It's really early.
00:20:01It's still very early in the process.
00:20:04Here's how this is done.
00:20:05You're going to say may, because you're a Homer, I think first time this season, anyone's
00:20:11called me that.
00:20:12I know that's that.
00:20:13And that's why I found that particularly, I amuse myself on that one.
00:20:16I know, which I don't think I've ever gotten a whole lot.
00:20:19It's you know, the, the sweet and salty spot where you get it from both sides.
00:20:23Um, you're a home where you're a hater, whatever it is.
00:20:26Yeah.
00:20:27Anyway.
00:20:28Uh, the answer for me is may.
00:20:29And look, the reason this is a question is because it's super close, but right now they're
00:20:32only four quarterbacks.
00:20:33I would take over the next 10 years over Drake may.
00:20:36Their names are Patrick Holmes, even though he's 29, Josh Allen, 28 Lamar Jackson and
00:20:41Joe burrow.
00:20:42And that's it like definitive.
00:20:43I know what they are.
00:20:44I know how good they are.
00:20:46Any of them, frankly, this year, aside from the homes could have a good MVP case.
00:20:50And in Drake May's case, I look at this and go, okay, he's 22.
00:20:53Justin Herbert's 26.
00:20:54And Justin Herbert perennially is one of the best quarterbacks in the league, regardless
00:20:58of what you're talking about, situation coach, uh, offensive line and receivers, a Testament,
00:21:03a quarterback you can win a super bowl with there's no dismissal or discount or anything
00:21:08bad here.
00:21:09Okay.
00:21:10We're doing separation, a tiny, tiny degrees projecting future greatness.
00:21:13But right now you want to talk about degrees.
00:21:15Drake may ranks 14th by ESPN's QBR, all encompassing modern pastor rating, unlike pastor rating
00:21:21counts for sacks and scrambles and fumbles.
00:21:23Oh, in game situation, kind of important with the same rating down to the first decimal
00:21:29point, I think it's 58.6.
00:21:31Justin Herbert is 15.
00:21:32So right now they're tied or Drake is a tiny, tiny, tiny bit ahead.
00:21:36Just like he's a tiny, tiny, tiny bit ahead on CPOE completion percentage over-expected,
00:21:42which all that says is we can tell how difficult to throw is based on location of the defenders,
00:21:45all the speed of the receiver location, the field, et cetera, 70.6.
00:21:50You want regular completion percentage to 67.5.
00:21:53He also boasts a higher touchdown percentage as a pastor.
00:21:56So not only is it the gap in age with four years, not only is it the statistical case,
00:22:01which omits things like interception percentage, which is much higher for Drake, not so good.
00:22:05It's the idea that he's doing this while being fronted by the league's worst past protecting
00:22:09offensive line.
00:22:11He's doing this with the receiving core with no names and even less game.
00:22:17And so projecting that forward as small as the sample is, and a tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny
00:22:22sample is, it's such a strong power of that sample that says, this kid's going to be great.
00:22:28It will take something that's more disastrous than the current state of the Patriots to
00:22:33get him off track.
00:22:34You would think in addition to all the natural stuff that we see in eye test and what we're
00:22:38talking about before.
00:22:39So if none of that is persuasive, his quarterbacks coach, again, kind of these coaches love to
00:22:43like dunk on themselves a little bit.
00:22:45Maybe it's just an honest comment.
00:22:46TC McCartney said he's probably the smartest person in the building, which is a great compliment
00:22:52to a 22 year old kid.
00:22:54Also not good for anyone else above the age of 22.
00:22:57Is that persuasive in any kind of way to you?
00:22:59No.
00:23:00No, I, I honestly, I think it's, if you said to me, Hey, you got to pick Burrow versus Herbert
00:23:11or Lamar versus Allen, or like, there's so much more evidence that you can say, all right,
00:23:17now, like, where am I going?
00:23:18I just, I don't have enough evidence.
00:23:20Do I believe that he is on the track to be a great quarterback?
00:23:23Yes, I do.
00:23:25But, and, and, and granted their talent levels are, you know, one's over here and one's over
00:23:30there, but I thought Mac Jones is pretty good as a rookie.
00:23:34Now some of it was turned out to be false.
00:23:36I'm glad you brought up Mac Jones because you know who has as many Pro Bowls as Justin
00:23:41Herbert.
00:23:42Well, that, I mean, Pro Bowls can kiss my ass.
00:23:45Brandon Merriweather was a two time Pro Bowl player.
00:23:47Pro Bowls are like, I know it's, I know it's, I know it's a crude measurement, but so crude
00:23:55If Drake May gets a Pro Bowl in his first four years, he just matched Justin Herbert
00:23:59and Herbert is a top five, top seven, top eight, top 10, whatever quarterback.
00:24:03I think Drake May over the next 10 years, that's the biggest part of this projecting
00:24:07out not next year, not the next two seasons.
00:24:09That's Herbert.
00:24:10That's Herbert.
00:24:11You could argue the next three seasons.
00:24:12It's Herbert still.
00:24:13I'm going like the future of my franchise is in your hands.
00:24:16Whose hands do I want that in?
00:24:19I don't know that the hands of the guy that you picked is not going to turn it over yet.
00:24:24And I'm not trying to be mean, but he's like, I know, I know, I know.
00:24:26Well, this is better.
00:24:27If you agree with me, this wouldn't be seven.
00:24:29So it's seven straight games with interception again.
00:24:32Every turnover has its own story.
00:24:34We like to say that and like, oh, well, you know, did he do the right thing with Hunter
00:24:37Henry and, you know, try not to get him killed, even though he still got, you know, hitting
00:24:41the head and the ball hit him in the hands and should have caught that a case on booty
00:24:44should have caught the pick against Arizona.
00:24:47But there have been some pretty big and bad ones in critical moments, including the one
00:24:52I mentioned against Buffalo.
00:24:53And again, I'm at this point, I'm OK with it.
00:24:56He's he's still gaining experience.
00:24:58He's still learning.
00:24:59What can I do?
00:25:00What can I do?
00:25:01Who can I trust?
00:25:02Who can I trust?
00:25:03But his streak now of seven straight games at least one interception is the second longest
00:25:07by a rookie since Blake Bortles.
00:25:10We're just I don't know, I'm just like, you know, just a little you're giving me all your
00:25:15CPO ease and your DVO ways and your EPA's and you're we got more coming, your oceans
00:25:22and all this other stuff.
00:25:23And I'm just, you know, like, let's just boil it down to a simple thing.
00:25:26He's turning the ball over too much.
00:25:28You know what I do like, though, because in this comparison where, you know, this comes
00:25:32up more and more because when we were doing the draft, Josh Allen and Justin Herbert were
00:25:35the most common comparisons for Drake, and there are very obvious differences.
00:25:39Drake is smaller than both of those players where he can still be mobile and run either
00:25:44by design or scramble.
00:25:46He's just not going to take the punishment that both of these guys are.
00:25:48But the best way it was put was it was closer to Justin Herbert's body with Josh Allen's
00:25:53YOLO.
00:25:54I'll show you brain.
00:25:56And that's been changed a little bit where he's still trying to find a balance.
00:25:59But it's just interesting because I think even going head to head against Josh Allen,
00:26:03whom he outplayed for two and a half quarters and look, no one's hanging a banner except
00:26:07in my office for two and a half quarters.
00:26:11I don't know.
00:26:12It stands out and to see them side by side as much as they're never on the same field.
00:26:15This is never as it's most commonly put in the media, this quarterback versus that quarterback.
00:26:19It's still fun.
00:26:21And so I don't know.
00:26:22Some of us like fun, but others like to fire people.
00:26:25So let's do that.
00:26:26Are you ready for this?
00:26:27Awesome.
00:26:28Yeah, this is gonna be great.
00:26:29Two questions.
00:26:30Well, it's like, okay, I want to separate myself from that comment.
00:26:33Never great.
00:26:34And this is not being the nice guy or reporter.
00:26:36It's just to say, this is shitty part of the business.
00:26:39And we all have to live it either coaches on the receiving end or cover it and speculate
00:26:44as we have for weeks.
00:26:45But I think the people deserve to know.
00:26:47So this is what we have.
00:26:48Number one.
00:26:49After these two questions, we're gonna get to the game.
00:26:52Number one, if you had a bet today, I'm gonna give you, I'm gonna ask for two, two most
00:26:57likely coaching staff changes this offseason, which I would bet happened the week after
00:27:02the season is over, maybe even that black Monday.
00:27:04Okay, so if you had to bet two most likely coaching changes, and then give me any and
00:27:09all as many as you want staff changes you would make personally if you were in charge.
00:27:15So I continue to and I've been beating this drum for a long time.
00:27:18I think Alex van Pelt is gonna be the he's going to be the sacrificial lamb here.
00:27:23I don't think if you're going to run back to rod, which as we've talked about, we believe
00:27:27that's happening where they're not going to run back the same defensive coordinator and
00:27:31the same offensive coordinator.
00:27:33And while Alex's relationship and hand in developing Drake certainly should be accounted
00:27:40for perhaps more than I think it's going to be accounted for.
00:27:45I think what you're seeing is, and what you saw on that little snippet of Jonathan Kraft
00:27:50is most owners don't know what the hell they're looking at.
00:27:54Actually, most people don't know what the hell they're looking at.
00:27:56And I'm sitting here telling you, I know everything that I'm looking at when I'm watching the
00:27:59games like I can tell you, I think it's this coverage or that coverage and I've studied
00:28:03and but like, they're in the room, they know what the play call is, they know what's happening.
00:28:08I think owners can look at it and say exactly that when they're looking at defense.
00:28:13What the hell am I looking at?
00:28:14What's an inverted cover to why?
00:28:16No clue.
00:28:17The double, they don't know any of that stuff.
00:28:19But when they look at offense, they don't know anything about that either.
00:28:23But they can say, oh, we should have run the ball or we should have thrown the ball.
00:28:26And I think you saw it in that moment.
00:28:29And I've made a passionate defense of that moment, in particular, the five yard loss
00:28:33by Antonio Gibson on that oddly designed.
00:28:37Was it a draw?
00:28:38Was it an incident?
00:28:39Was it somebody on the wrong side?
00:28:40I don't really know what happened.
00:28:41However, we don't know what we're looking about.
00:28:45However, your left tackle got his ass kicked, your left guard got his ass kicked, and your
00:28:50center literally got his ass kicked to the point where he was pushed back into the running
00:28:54back who had the football.
00:28:55Now, he can say that's a crap call, but I would 100% guarantee that that is not how
00:29:02they drew it up.
00:29:03And that was not what was supposed to happen.
00:29:05But when the three guys at the point of attack get absolutely emasculated, somehow that's
00:29:10the offensive coordinator's fault.
00:29:13They did such a bad job in the offseason, so they're overriding conversation we've had
00:29:19for many.
00:29:20We're building this roster and building pieces and creating some competition, like high level
00:29:25competition that they reap what they sow.
00:29:29And that starts with ownership.
00:29:31How much money are we spending?
00:29:32Who are we spending it on?
00:29:34Why do we have $40 million in cap space when the year's over?
00:29:37What did we do here?
00:29:39They didn't do enough.
00:29:41And some of that is evident on the football field every single week.
00:29:44And I just think that when push comes to shove, ownership's going to say, hey, Gerard, they
00:29:49ain't all coming back.
00:29:51You hired DeMarcus to be your DC, Elliott hired AVP to be your offensive coordinator.
00:29:56I just think that that's where the part's going to be talked about.
00:30:00It sounds like you would pick Van Pelt and Scott Peters as your two most likely firings.
00:30:05So I think they're going to be loathe to pull the trigger on offensive line again.
00:30:14Not that it hasn't been a revolving door to offensive coordinator as well.
00:30:16I just think that the AVP situation is going to be critical.
00:30:21And then to me, that's where maybe Scott Peters is put on hold.
00:30:27Who's going to be the next OC?
00:30:29Do they have someone they want to bring with them?
00:30:31And I'm sure they already have people and names in mind.
00:30:34There's probably already a short list of people they want to talk to.
00:30:37So that would be, to me, sort of the direction.
00:30:40And I would say Tyler Hughes, the wide receiver coach.
00:30:44And once again, I'm not sure that I'm not defending Tyler Hughes.
00:30:48I don't know if he's a good coach or not.
00:30:50I know what room he's working with is not very talented, and it hasn't been for years
00:30:55now.
00:30:56So this is, again, a recurring roster build problem.
00:30:59But they're going to look at it and say our second round receiver and our fourth round
00:31:01receiver either couldn't get on the field, or when they did get on the field, they were
00:31:05incredibly ineffective.
00:31:07And are we going to admit that that's our fault because we chose the wrong guys?
00:31:11Or are we going to just say, you know what, let's remove this piece and put a new piece
00:31:16here and see what happens?
00:31:18Yeah, the starting point of all of this, and it's not fairness, it's not ownership, it's
00:31:24not connections, it's not a lot of stuff we're about to revisit.
00:31:28It's three and 12.
00:31:30He's a first-year head coach who did not know everyone that he was bringing in the building
00:31:33and took a leap of faith.
00:31:34And this happens a lot with first-year coaches, first-year, first-time head coaches.
00:31:38And then you figure out, I don't really like this guy.
00:31:41He's not that good at his job, and maybe I can work with him.
00:31:45Or certain things arise that you obviously can't foresee, and you adjust and move forward.
00:31:49And Gerard Mayo hinted at this before the bye, about when we were asking, oh, how are
00:31:53you going to spend the bye week, yada yada, mentioned looking out the front windshield,
00:31:57which he said again this week.
00:31:59And in following that comment, those exact words, front windshield, because before the
00:32:03bye I was like, well, we're always focused on football, but we got to look out the front
00:32:07windshield, the things that are going to come up fast.
00:32:09Meaning once the season's over, boom, we got changes to make.
00:32:12So fast forward, this Monday, he says the start of that same comment, we have to look
00:32:15out the front windshield, what players we want to keep, what coaches we want to keep.
00:32:20So this is not personal to anybody.
00:32:22This is business.
00:32:23And when you look at the business in the New England Patriots football team, wide receiver
00:32:28and offensive line have been the worst position groups on this team.
00:32:32Even if they've been among the most difficult to deal with, either because of maturity issues
00:32:36with the receivers, injuries, meddlesome, probably bosses dealing with offensive coordinators
00:32:43or maybe Mayo himself and Scott Peters issue.
00:32:45But the bottom line is they didn't develop, they didn't produce.
00:32:48And you could argue both are the worst in the entire league.
00:32:51So when you get to firing, it's not personal, these guys who I think it's worth noting.
00:32:55Like I don't know about you.
00:32:57Every interaction I've had with Scott Peters, every interaction I've had with Tyler Hughes,
00:33:01Ben Pelt, like very professional, that matters to me, I'm sorry.
00:33:05Like it does.
00:33:06Yeah, no.
00:33:07100%.
00:33:08100%.
00:33:09Like, look, I'm, I don't, Alex obviously hasn't been out of the park as a play caller.
00:33:15Like I, we can quibble with the play calling and the different things.
00:33:18And again, people think they know more than they do.
00:33:21He talks about like sort of knowing your personnel and there's certain things we, you know, can't
00:33:25do.
00:33:26And I think that's true for you, right?
00:33:27What, 10 to 15% maybe of the playbook that they haven't fully gotten to.
00:33:30And I think that's in part because.
00:33:33Saving it for year two.
00:33:34Yeah, we can't do that because that guy can't do it or we can't do this because he can't
00:33:38do that.
00:33:39And we don't have enough people to make this happen.
00:33:41But I think he actually deserves to be back.
00:33:45And we're not talking about Demarcus Covington here, because I don't believe Demarcus is
00:33:49getting fired.
00:33:50But if you're asking me of the coordinators who's done a better job, I think it's hands
00:33:54down Alex.
00:33:55I think Alex can at least say, hey, yeah, I know the kid's talented, but like I've cleaned
00:34:01him up a bit and I got him thinking pretty good.
00:34:03And we're not making, you know, the air repeater thing, which is obviously again on him.
00:34:08But also these are the things that were going over every week.
00:34:11These are the things when we talked about him sort of, it was a stretch there where
00:34:15he was leaking out of the pocket, right?
00:34:16Where pressure wasn't there and he was actually hurting his tackle.
00:34:19So they don't need any help being hurt, but he was getting out of the pocket too quickly.
00:34:23They recognize that.
00:34:24We talked to Alex about it.
00:34:26And then the next week, guess who wasn't leaking out of the pocket?
00:34:29I told you can't do this.
00:34:30You started to get back into it.
00:34:32Let's clean it up.
00:34:33And now he cleaned it up.
00:34:34So I think he's been able to reach his guy.
00:34:36I think his guy appreciates him.
00:34:40I'm going to have a problem with it when they do it, but I think it's going to happen.
00:34:43Whereas Demarcus, again, tell me what's gotten better on defense.
00:34:48You haven't been able to fix any problem.
00:34:51You've had some questionable game plans.
00:34:53Okay.
00:34:54So you finally had a good one against the Bills.
00:34:55Well, where was it for 13 weeks, 14 weeks, like week after week after week, it's just
00:35:00been like looking at the same thing again.
00:35:02And obviously personnel matters into that.
00:35:05They don't have enough good players on that side of the ball.
00:35:07But when you're playing the Rams and Sean McVay goes, oh, you're going to keep Gonzalez
00:35:11on the boundary.
00:35:12Well, then here's what I'm going to do.
00:35:14I'm going to motion away from the boundary, my good guys, and leave Tutu Atwell and Demarcus
00:35:19Robinson over there while Puka and Cooper Cup slap you around and you don't do anything
00:35:25about it.
00:35:26Like that to me is just like, that's a game maybe you could have won.
00:35:31And that to me was a little bit of coaching malpractice.
00:35:34I agree.
00:35:35I think look with when it's again, the starting point is the bad football.
00:35:39So when the firings come down, someone is going to get a raw deal, an unfair deal.
00:35:44Even if you want to do this on merit, Demarcus Covington would go, Hey, look, the spine of
00:35:48my defense has gone for most of the year, bar more to Bentley, Peppers and Duggar.
00:35:53Duggar has not been himself since that ankle injury.
00:35:55It's been bad.
00:35:56And I asked around about it.
00:35:57No one, I'm not asking for excuses.
00:35:58I'm just like, clearly it's not the same guy.
00:35:59No one wants to acknowledge it.
00:36:00It's fine.
00:36:01Tough it out.
00:36:02That's, that's the culture.
00:36:03He could go, I'm a first year defense coordinator.
00:36:05I'm still in my thirties.
00:36:06There's a lot going on here.
00:36:07And it sounds like excuses to you, but it's also the reality.
00:36:10So if he got fired, it is a raw deal, but this isn't about fair.
00:36:13This is about ownership and what they want to do.
00:36:15And this is where the relationships come into play.
00:36:18If the starting point is the bad football, then it's like, this is the problem.
00:36:20Well, how do you want to fix it?
00:36:22And it's not the right solution, but how do you, the people in charge want to do that?
00:36:26Of course, Gerard doesn't want to fire DeMarcus Cummings.
00:36:28I'm not saying he won't do it.
00:36:30I just think when we answer the first question that I asked, if you had to bet today, the
00:36:33most likely staff changes, we're in agreement so far, Ben Pelt, Tyler Hughes, maybe Scott
00:36:38Peters and some other position coaches, which defensively, I think some changes have to
00:36:41be made.
00:36:42Sure.
00:36:43And Jerry Montgomery and Drew Wilkins, Dante Hightower are the only new assistants there.
00:36:47Hightower's not going anywhere, I would imagine.
00:36:50But Wilkins and Montgomery, given the play of the front seven, as bad as the talent spin,
00:36:55even Montgomery acknowledged, oh, Danny Larkwally has to play a lot this season, huh?
00:36:58Right.
00:36:59Yeah, I guess so.
00:37:00Yeah.
00:37:01I was going to say to you, so I think the right thing to do, honestly, if you're going
00:37:09to run Gerard Mayo back as the head coach of the football team, Alex and DeMarcus deserve
00:37:16another shot to do what they're doing in year two with $117 million in salary cap space
00:37:22and another high, you know, slew of draft picks we're going to be picking at the top
00:37:25of each round, essentially like, OK, show me what you got, because if I'm going to run
00:37:29it back with this guy who's inexperienced and not getting it done in his first year
00:37:34as head coach, I should give you the same luxury, if you will, of same opportunity to
00:37:40do the same that he's going to get.
00:37:42But that's not how it works.
00:37:44You're three and 12 and firing the defensive line coach and the wide receiver coach is
00:37:50not going to satiate ownership.
00:37:53It's not going to satiate a fan base that is pretty unhappy with the direction that
00:37:56things have gone, obviously, for the last multiple years now.
00:38:00So yeah, there's it's the fall guy factor.
00:38:04There's going to be guys that, whether they deserve it or not, are going to get their
00:38:10jobs taken away from them because they're not going to run back the entire group again
00:38:15after, at best, five and 12, most likely three and 14 or four and 13.
00:38:23So OK, that answers the second question.
00:38:25Staff changes you would make.
00:38:26You're saying bring back the coordinators.
00:38:28That would be, I think, the fairest outcome.
00:38:30But again, this isn't about fair and people want to fire them.
00:38:33I understand it.
00:38:34I think when you look at this from the perspective of like, OK, not just them and their situations,
00:38:39but the offense's evolution, like there's a case, hey, Alex Van Pelt fixed them.
00:38:43This already made quarterback scheme proof.
00:38:45He's good.
00:38:46You can hire the next guy.
00:38:48I would say I want my rookie quarterback to have some continuity in an offense that like
00:38:53they're not winning the Super Bowl next year.
00:38:54They need to do better.
00:38:55And we've seen this offense, this system in Cleveland, granted, with a much better offensive
00:38:59line, finish top 10 scoring like it's possible.
00:39:02OK, so that's your goal.
00:39:04You can do it, but you need to replace the coaches around you.
00:39:07I would let go of some of the offensive assistance.
00:39:09I want to streamline that operation.
00:39:11I do want more coaches on defense in terms of the changes I would make.
00:39:14I'd consider a change of defensive coordinator like Patrick Graham, probably going to get
00:39:18let go in Vegas if he's up to come back.
00:39:21I have a hard time thinking he's not an upgrade over to Marcus Covington, which, again, it's
00:39:25not personal.
00:39:26The Raiders last year were ninth in scoring defense.
00:39:28This year, obviously, it's bad, but the starting point is talent, like you said, when we asked
00:39:32the question about what would you do else on staff, I think those are my answers, which
00:39:36I want yours in a second beyond the coordinators coming back.
00:39:40I threw this name out.
00:39:41It wasn't reckless, but it's just like speculation because at the end of his career, he's local.
00:39:46He's a senior offensive analyst at B.C. right now because he's tight with the head coach.
00:39:51Doug Barone interest you at all as like a ex head coach, give you some consulting, worked
00:39:58with the offensive line before.
00:39:59I have no idea if he wants to come work for dry mail or be the offensive line coach here,
00:40:03but that's a name.
00:40:05I think Doug is actually a pretty good coach.
00:40:08It turned out to be at the end of his tenure at Jacksonville as a head coach.
00:40:12Not so great, but went to Alabama for a year, right?
00:40:16Coach the old line there like he he is well respected, well regarded.
00:40:21He's a good people person to like and again, but he's also he's got the old line hard ass
00:40:26thing to him, too.
00:40:27So it's not like, oh, we're bringing in another sort of players coach type thing.
00:40:32I think he's a smart guy.
00:40:33I think that couldn't hurt to have someone with head coaching experience in the room
00:40:39and in the meetings every day and involved with things every day.
00:40:44You know, I know there's some, you know, Ben McAdoo has been a head coach before.
00:40:48There's just remains to be seen how involved Ben is, you know, daily with what's going
00:40:55on.
00:40:56I think they could use more voices.
00:40:57I think that's where I'm looking at, too.
00:40:59If I'm if I if I had my way and I brought the three guys back, if that's what you know,
00:41:03like if you're bringing Gerard back, I said, bring the other two guys back.
00:41:06Then I'm looking to poach guys with a lot more experience to be on my coaching staff.
00:41:11And if I can get a head coach or two on my staff, either as an associate head coach,
00:41:16whatever you want to do, position coach, associate head coach, offensive line coach.
00:41:20Yes, that's a pay raise.
00:41:22It's a bigger title.
00:41:23You're back in the league.
00:41:24No recruiting.
00:41:25Yep.
00:41:26I mean, it goes with Bill O'Brien would tell him about working in New England recently.
00:41:29Not as great as it used to be, but no.
00:41:32And you know, look, I don't think Bill and Gerard were in the greatest place when Bill
00:41:37left to go to Ohio State, then BC.
00:41:39So yeah, there could be some.
00:41:41But hey, you know, does Doug want back in the pro game?
00:41:44Does Doug want to be coaching every day like those sorts of things?
00:41:47Yeah, I'd make that phone call last one and then we'll get on the game.
00:41:53People bring these names up and it's understandable.
00:41:56It's expected.
00:41:57I think both may or may not offer an upgrade.
00:41:58It's in the same ballpark as ABP.
00:42:00Let's say ABP is gone.
00:42:01He's a fall guy, which is what we expect.
00:42:02And you've been on for a while.
00:42:04Josh McDaniels and Brian D'Abel pick one and why?
00:42:10So I'm a huge D'Abel guy and I think first of all, just the dude that he is.
00:42:17But then the relationship that I saw him develop with Josh and what that meant to Josh over
00:42:22the course of Josh's time and his development.
00:42:25And look, Josh may have turned out to be a special quarterback with, you know, Joe
00:42:30Blow is the DOC, right?
00:42:32But underrated that Joe Blow.
00:42:34Yeah.
00:42:35Joe Blow.
00:42:36Fantastic.
00:42:37But I think...
00:42:38One of those snow games.
00:42:39Sorry.
00:42:40But I think if Brian's smart, Brian doesn't coach next year.
00:42:42If Brian gets fired from New York, Brian should go do the, you know, step back, reassess what
00:42:50happened.
00:42:51How did it get so good in year one?
00:42:53How did it turn so bad in years two and three?
00:42:55And be honest with yourself because I'm sure you can easily say, well, my quarterback and
00:42:58my offensive line and the GM didn't get me this or whatever, but like, what did you do?
00:43:04You were the head coach.
00:43:05What role did you play in sort of the dissolution of the franchise?
00:43:09They don't even look like at times they're playing hard now, which I'm not a big guy
00:43:14should play hard, but it's pretty telling that they're not.
00:43:18And I don't know if you've noticed too, there's been some stuff about some of the higher execs
00:43:23being on the sidelines who haven't been on the sidelines recently.
00:43:26Brenda Brown's talking to the quarterbacks at one point during the game.
00:43:30It's like, that just doesn't feel right.
00:43:33So if I'm Brian, I take a step back, honestly.
00:43:35You know they don't do that though.
00:43:36Like this is, football is an addiction for fans on their Sundays and us as the media.
00:43:41That's how we got into this.
00:43:42Sure.
00:43:43But like...
00:43:44But it's in their lives.
00:43:45It's in their blood.
00:43:46Josh, for instance, though, or even Vrabel.
00:43:47Like Vrabel's involved with Cleveland and Josh is doing things, different projects for
00:43:52people in the league, but like, you're not doing it every day.
00:43:55And like, I don't know what Dable's number is.
00:43:58I'm sure it was north of $10 million a year.
00:44:00There's another two years I think left on the deal.
00:44:03Even if it's a year, like dude, just like, I mean, Josh is sitting on three years and
00:44:07like 40 million.
00:44:08So like, you know, it's like, all right, I'm going to take a job.
00:44:13I want to be in this.
00:44:14This is what I do to your point.
00:44:16Like I'm a lifer.
00:44:17This is, I want to coach.
00:44:18That's what I've been doing my entire life yet.
00:44:22I shouldn't just jump at the first thing.
00:44:24And you've also got to figure too, while the quarterback is certainly very attractive here
00:44:29in Drake May, the head coach goes three and 14 in year one, I could come here for a year
00:44:36and that thing goes sideways.
00:44:37And if I'm not promised that I'm the successor, then it's a one and done and I'm moving on
00:44:42again.
00:44:43You know?
00:44:44So if I'm him, that's my advice to Brian.
00:44:47Hey Brian, you're listening.
00:44:48I know you are.
00:44:49You're a huge fan of Pat's interference.
00:44:51Take the year off.
00:44:52If you get fired as for Josh, it's interesting to me because I do advise ownership though.
00:44:59Like I'm asking this from the Patriot perspective, who would you hire between the two?
00:45:05I'm done with the McDaniels offense to a degree, but I also know how much ownership values
00:45:12their relationship with Josh.
00:45:16So I could see them saying, Hey, he's right over there.
00:45:21He still lives local, you know, like, and look, I don't think Josh is ever getting another
00:45:26head coaching job, Andrew, but maybe as I was just discussing Gerard's future is tenuous.
00:45:35Josh gets something put in the language that says, you know what, if I do what I'm supposed
00:45:40to do and I take this offense to the next level, you know, a little bit more checks
00:45:45and balances because you guys know me and you know, I'll be great the third time.
00:45:51You just landed me a one-star review on Apple with that suggestion, Josh McDaniels.
00:45:57We're spitballing here.
00:45:59I know.
00:46:00I know.
00:46:01Okay.
00:46:02Yeah.
00:46:03So, but if I'm them, call Dayball first.
00:46:06Okay.
00:46:07Well, if Brian Dayball instead takes your first suggestion, just to hang up the phone,
00:46:12go to the beach, bop around, visit programs.
00:46:15I'd like to offer him my own advice.
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00:47:59Okay.
00:48:00Nailed it.
00:48:01Let's talk about the real game.
00:48:04Pass chargers, Saturday, one o'clock, all eyeballs on NFL Network.
00:48:08One of a triple header, chargers, nine and six this season.
00:48:14Get a load of this.
00:48:1513th in offense by DVOA, excuse me, 13th in defense, 13th in special teams.
00:48:24This is a solidly and above average football team as you will find in the NFL.
00:48:30That 13th in defense came way down over the last six weeks when they were number one in
00:48:33the league by scoring yards, a bunch of different things.
00:48:35Here are their last four games, a 34-27 win versus Denver, Thursday Night Football, big
00:48:40win for them.
00:48:41Big loss before that, 40-17 versus Tampa Bay, 19-17 loss at Kansas City, the doink inside
00:48:47with the backup kicker for the Chiefs who just have a shamrock shoved so far up their
00:48:51ass.
00:48:52They might not never lose again.
00:48:53And then a win, 17-13 at Atlanta.
00:48:56So we talked about Herbert, he's got a bad receiving core, much better offensive line.
00:49:01Gus Edwards today was ruled out, running back JK Dahman still questionable, defensively
00:49:07really good, smart coordinator and Jesse Minter, Joey Bosa is ready to go.
00:49:10You got Derwin James in the background, they fly around, they disguise well.
00:49:13It's just a smart, fundamental, not surprisingly, hard-nosed team.
00:49:20And so I'll answer my own question first of what does this game mean?
00:49:23What is it about for New England?
00:49:25This to me is the final say that the Patriots get about who they say they are versus who
00:49:32they really are.
00:49:34This toughness, this culture, fundamentals, are you going to fix them?
00:49:38This is the last shot because Buffalo next week is probably going to sit Josh Allen and
00:49:42all their important starters at least for a half, if not the entire game.
00:49:45That's not going to be particularly telling, but a Jim Harbaugh team, well-rested, nine
00:49:50days coming in here to Foxborough, even with the West Coast to East Coast flight.
00:49:54You have to knock them out because their solution to problems on offense and defense
00:49:59is to punch you in the mouth again and again and again.
00:50:03And that's running the ball on offense, it's hitting you harder than you want to be hit
00:50:06on defense.
00:50:07And that's how it was when he was at Michigan, won the national championship.
00:50:09It was how he was with the Niners going to the Super Bowl and two other NFC championships.
00:50:14It's how he was even at Stanford when he had Andrew Luck, the number one pick in the draft.
00:50:17That was a hard-nosed physical team.
00:50:19So if you're the Patriots, and we know you have problems on fundamentals, but you made
00:50:24good progress at Buffalo, okay?
00:50:27You played tough in that cold.
00:50:30If you do that again, you have a real shot to finish strong the way that you want to,
00:50:34to be that pain in the ass team no one wants to see down the stretch because that's exactly
00:50:38who the Chargers are.
00:50:39If you don't, it feels like that Buffalo game was a fluke.
00:50:42That playing at home means nothing to you, that you go backwards and everything anyone
00:50:45else has said about you has been more accurate than whatever else you're trying to tell us
00:50:49and show us at the podium and beyond.
00:50:50So if the Patriots lose this game, I don't think it's going to be close.
00:50:54If they win this game, I think it will be.
00:50:56That's how I see this.
00:50:57This is your final say about who you are and what you're about, because we know what the
00:50:59Chargers are about.
00:51:00We know what Jim Harbaugh is about.
00:51:02Their game plan is not a secret.
00:51:04Can you meet them in the most fundamental, basic essence of what football is?
00:51:08Because if you can't, everyone has reason to doubt you now and moving forward.
00:51:13Yeah, you and I were thinking the same thing here.
00:51:15I said I scribbled down like sort of your last chance to be relevant, strictly because
00:51:19I think, as you mentioned, Week 18, Buffalo is likely not playing for anything.
00:51:25Sean's made a habit of playing the guys for a half.
00:51:27He doesn't want them to get too, you know, out of the football mode.
00:51:31But generally, that's it.
00:51:33You're going to see Josh for two quarters.
00:51:35And then you're going to see Mitch Trubisky mop up the rest of the game.
00:51:38And they'll pick and choose certain starters that, you know, if he's beat up, he's not
00:51:41going to play.
00:51:42You know, they kind of balance it that way.
00:51:44And that's sort of been his M.O. for the last four or five years, is they've been one
00:51:47of those teams that either is vying for a buy or is in this position where, you know,
00:51:52they're going to have home field in the postseason, at least for a round.
00:51:58I love the toughness aspect of this, because that's who they told us they wanted to be
00:52:02at the beginning of the year.
00:52:03That's who they were in Week 1.
00:52:05That's who they were in part in Week 2.
00:52:08And then, no, especially defensively, stopping the run.
00:52:13They're just not.
00:52:14They don't do it well.
00:52:16Greg Roman will try you over and over and over again in that regard.
00:52:19Harbaugh wants them to do that in that regard.
00:52:21So you're going to get pushed that way.
00:52:24This does kind of lead into one of my keys.
00:52:28Can I go there?
00:52:29One of my keys.
00:52:30Well, we've got three matchups first.
00:52:31You're such a...
00:52:32Just...
00:52:33Three.
00:52:34You know the drill.
00:52:35Three matchups.
00:52:36Maybe that's what I meant.
00:52:37Maybe it's the three matchups.
00:52:38Three matchups, two keys.
00:52:39OK, well, let me do that then.
00:52:40All right?
00:52:41I'm going to do that.
00:52:42That thing.
00:52:44I'm going to do D-line.
00:52:45Because their D-line is not especially stout against the run.
00:52:50There are movable pieces there.
00:52:51There are pieces that you can attack.
00:52:53And when your O-line is right, you're a physical group.
00:52:57And we saw that in parts during the game against Buffalo.
00:53:01That's when they're at their best.
00:53:03And Van Pelt told us that.
00:53:05We have to stay out of the chains.
00:53:06We have to stay on schedule.
00:53:08Part of that, a big part of that, is running the football.
00:53:09So can they move bodies like they've shown, at times, they're capable of?
00:53:15And if they can do that, then I think you do end up with a close game, or a relatively
00:53:19close game.
00:53:20Assuming you don't turn the ball over on three straight possessions, as they did in Buffalo.
00:53:25I like it.
00:53:26I'm going to go to the defensive side.
00:53:28Because it's just like every part of the coverage this week has been like, oh, how's Drake Mayer?
00:53:32How's Christian Gonzalez?
00:53:33Do we have to talk about the other 51 players in the roster?
00:53:36Yes, we do.
00:53:38I look at Lan McConkie.
00:53:39And it's not because he plays in the slot sometimes, other times he's outside.
00:53:43And I think about, not Christian Gonzalez, but Jonathan Jones.
00:53:47Because Jonathan Jones was excellent, capital E, excellent, against Khalil Shakir, who's
00:53:53in the same ballpark of a player, whoever you want to rate him, him and Lan McConkie,
00:53:56fine, do whatever you want.
00:53:57But to me, not only based on the size, the quickness, and the experience, which is now
00:54:02one of Jonathan Jones' best assets, and as Mike Pellegrino, your guy, told us today,
00:54:07like he was hurt more than they let on earlier in the season.
00:54:10He's feeling good now, Jonathan Jones is.
00:54:12To me, that screams he gets the shadow on McConkie, and they'll see how that goes.
00:54:17And Gonzalez is obviously going to race, whether it's Quentin Johnson or Josh Palmer, because
00:54:22they've become a little bit more cognizant in recent weeks of size when they're determining
00:54:26those matchups.
00:54:27And so Christian gets the big guy.
00:54:29And if they need to double McConkie, so be it.
00:54:32But if you're the Patriots defense, you're like, I don't really have any fear of Justin
00:54:37Herbert throwing to anybody else, especially if it's not the deep ball or jump ball, because
00:54:40Christian Gonzalez has got that side of the field, and maybe I heat him up a little bit.
00:54:43So that, to me, is going to be a key battleground.
00:54:45Because if McConkie wins that, then you have Christian Gonzalez probably coming off, right?
00:54:50And then it's Jonathan Jones giving up five, six inches to the other guys.
00:54:55Yeah, this was my other one that I wanted to talk about, and what, you know, sort of
00:54:59the chess match there.
00:55:00Because as we talked to Covington today, and well, would you be willing to put Gonzalez
00:55:05inside?
00:55:06Yeah, absolutely.
00:55:07But in a lot of ways, it doesn't make sense to do that based on how you're built.
00:55:11And based, more importantly, on how they're built.
00:55:14Which is to say, they're not as talented as the Bills receiver room is.
00:55:20And I don't think the Bills receiver room is, you know, exceptionally talented.
00:55:23Like they've had, they have good players in that room.
00:55:26Murray Cooper's a good player.
00:55:28Coleman's going to be a good player and has moments, right?
00:55:30Shakir's been their best receiver, but he's not, he's not a four, three, eight guy like
00:55:35McConkie is.
00:55:36So here, take McConkie to your point, try Jones on him, double him if you have to.
00:55:42But I trust my guys on the outside to defend whoever it's going to be, and that I can win
00:55:48the majority of those battles and allow me to play man again and get a little creative
00:55:52in terms of how I pressure Herbert.
00:55:54So I think that's going to be a key thing.
00:55:56And let's, let's be real here.
00:56:00There's been a lot of noise about your receivers that you drafted when you could have sat there
00:56:06and taken Ladd McConkie at 34.
00:56:07Instead, you trade back with the chargers, they get McConkie.
00:56:11And as I wrote today, just to confirm for everyone again, McConkie, almost a thousand
00:56:17yards receiving 69 catches, missed at least one game, maybe two, I forget.
00:56:22I didn't, I meant to look it up, I know I missed one.
00:56:26Jalen Polk, 12 catches, 87 yards.
00:56:31Yvonne Baker, as I put in my piece today, he and Bluto Blutarski from Animal House have
00:56:40something in common, 0.0.
00:56:43And that is the number of catches and receiving yards that he has.
00:56:45Of course, Bluto was the great point average, but it just hasn't happened, right?
00:56:50It hasn't happened.
00:56:51And it would appear that it's not going to happen, at least, I mean, I guess there's
00:56:57two more chances at it.
00:57:00Maybe something happens in a positive direction, but like, I got to believe that they know
00:57:06in the building, we picked that guy, like, let's not let that guy come on our field and
00:57:13have 10 catches for 120 yards and a touchdown, because that's just going to make it all the
00:57:18more worse.
00:57:19You're just going to have to hear that noise over and over again.
00:57:22You picked the wrong guy, you picked the wrong guy, and look what the guy just did to you.
00:57:25Like, I would think that plays a little bit of a factor, somewhat.
00:57:30Last matchup, Derwin James versus Hunter Henry, old teammates, Hunter Henry we know is going
00:57:35to be the binky for Drake Mays, the tight end, they're good friends, all this different
00:57:39stuff and works the middle of the field.
00:57:41Derwin James also will be all over the place, as we know, I mean, he always has, regardless
00:57:45of whoever's running that defense.
00:57:46Jesse Minter's done an excellent job, but they're going to need to find him.
00:57:51And when they're singled up, that's a matchup Hunter Henry has to win, because Drake Mays
00:57:54is going to be going to him.
00:57:55All right, you're very eager to get to your keys.
00:57:58Are you wonky?
00:57:59Yeah, one of my keys was neutralized, Derwin James.
00:58:02Okay.
00:58:03Like, I just-
00:58:04You're stealing all your stuff today.
00:58:05Yeah, well, hey, like mine's, unfortunately for you, your brain's starting to work like
00:58:10mine.
00:58:11You're in trouble, buddy.
00:58:12Well, I, to my credit, have been saying these things first, and then you're like, oh, well,
00:58:15I was going to take that.
00:58:16So we don't really know if we're thinking the same things.
00:58:19I think you might just might be copying and pasting.
00:58:22You're aggregating my podcast in real time.
00:58:24I have enough of that happening on Twitter two weeks later, where, credit some folks
00:58:29who have been on this podcast, and I answer his mailbox questions all the time, do a good
00:58:31job with the full quote of, Jalen Polk, not a bad guy, gracious with his time.
00:58:36Just when I see him a lot, it's isolated, and I'm a little worried about him, because
00:58:38I want to talk to his teammates and have a good time.
00:58:40And other people are like, oh my God, Jalen Polk doesn't talk to anyone, and they just
00:58:44rip the tweet, and there they go.
00:58:45So thanks, Carlos.
00:58:46Thanks to nobody else.
00:58:47I wish we could get credit.
00:58:50I meant that sincerely.
00:58:52It sounds like I'm being facetious, but there's a good way to copy and paste, and they're
00:58:57not so good.
00:58:58Anyway, how do you neutralize Derwin James?
00:59:02I think it's a combination of things.
00:59:04It's like we always talk about with the edge rusher.
00:59:06Sometimes you got to run at him.
00:59:07Sometimes you got to run away from him.
00:59:08You got to keep him guessing.
00:59:09There's got to be misdirection in there.
00:59:10You've got to hit him with a bunch of different things, so that we always talk about, can
00:59:14you put a quarterback in the blender?
00:59:16Well, this guy is so important and integral to what they do defensively.
00:59:20Can you put his brain in a little bit of a blender?
00:59:22Because he's such an explosive athlete, that when he sees it, and he's confident in it,
00:59:28he's hard to stop.
00:59:29Well, so give him that hesitation.
00:59:31Give yourself that extra quarter of a second that you might need.
00:59:34I got to give him a ton of credit, too, by the way, just as an aside.
00:59:38He's come back from some serious injuries, and I wondered if he would ever be the same
00:59:41player again, because he was awesome when he came into the league, and you're like,
00:59:44this dude is so big, you can line him up on the edge, and you can pass rush people.
00:59:48He's that kind of player, but he's also 50 yards down the field, making a play on the
00:59:52ball.
00:59:53He's just, put him in the slot, cover the little slot guy.
00:59:55He could do all these things, and I thought, the injuries, I was like, hey, he's probably
00:59:59never going to be the same guy.
01:00:01To his credit, and to their credit for the way they've used him, they've got him back
01:00:05to looking like he's that force of nature.
01:00:09I think he's someone that they absolutely, as Drake said, we got to know where he is,
01:00:13but they better have a plan for him, and they better have a plan to try to confuse the dude,
01:00:17because don't let him loose, because he'll put a helmet in Drake's ribcage, and the
01:00:22ball will be up in the air, and next thing you know, you're turning the football over,
01:00:26and it's bad things when that happens.
01:00:28Why you got to manifest like that?
01:00:30I'm just saying, man, keep an eye on him.
01:00:33He's a beast.
01:00:34He's, like, honestly.
01:00:35No, no, he's great.
01:00:36He's great.
01:00:37He worries me more than the two-edge guys.
01:00:39I think that's the kind of player he is.
01:00:41I think Bosa's a one-trick pony, Khalil's really good against the run, or pretty good
01:00:46against the run, not as the same explosive player, but then again, what do you have?
01:00:50Six sacks against you a couple years ago, or was that last year?
01:00:52When was that?
01:00:53So.
01:00:54Yeah.
01:00:55Three, and destroyed Mike on Monday when that was, like, one of, on Monday was, like, fourth
01:00:58or fifth game at right tackle last year, six-nothing.
01:01:00No one wants to talk about that game.
01:01:01He was sick.
01:01:02Yeah, whatever.
01:01:03Yeah.
01:01:04It was, yeah, not good.
01:01:05My one key is simple, and I hit on it earlier.
01:01:07You have to meet their physicality.
01:01:08Like, that's what this is.
01:01:09This is a better coach team, they're more talented, and it's not that they're, like,
01:01:13a simple, like, caveman football-style team.
01:01:16Like, they've got a multiple-run game, and Roman does a really good job scheming that
01:01:19up, but the bottom line is, they're going to punch you, and they're going to be sound,
01:01:23and you have to meet them on those levels before you do anything else on top of that,
01:01:27which I talked about this for weeks.
01:01:29Can I get a fake?
01:01:30Can I get something to spice up my Sunday?
01:01:32And they delivered!
01:01:33There was a fake pun in the first half, and it worked.
01:01:35I wouldn't count on another one on Sunday, but I don't really want the spice.
01:01:39It would've been nice if they went for it on fourth and won the same possession.
01:01:42We disagree on that, actually, but I didn't bring that up to you today, and I'm not going
01:01:44to continue.
01:01:45Well, I just brought it up now, but we'll talk about that off-air.
01:01:48Fine.
01:01:49Fine.
01:01:50I need the meat and potatoes.
01:01:51Fine.
01:01:52That's what I need today.
01:01:53Wild card thought?
01:01:57I'm curious to see how many people show up for this game, legitimately, and I don't think
01:02:02the weather, at least the last time I looked, I don't think the weather's supposed to be
01:02:04bad.
01:02:05It's Saturday, 1 o'clock, your team is 3-12.
01:02:13The Chargers are, I mean, Herbert, obviously, but they're not loaded with star power.
01:02:18It's not like Patrick Mahomes is walking into town, or the Chiefs as the defending Super
01:02:22Bowl champs.
01:02:23So I'm curious what that's going to look like, because I think we've seen the last couple
01:02:28games.
01:02:29It hasn't been great in the stands, again, and it's not my fault, no one.
01:02:34I don't blame you for not wanting to give up.
01:02:36It's not easy to get into Gillette.
01:02:38It's not easy to get out.
01:02:39I don't fault you for that, but yeah, curious to see what sort of showing they get at this
01:02:44point in the year.
01:02:45Co-sign there, and all eyeballs will be on Foxborough, as we said, Saturday, 1 p.m.
01:02:50This is part one of a triple header.
01:02:51So this is a game that ownership is where, has national attention, and if it is an embarrassment,
01:02:57which we'll make our game picks here in a second, then I think that will weigh more
01:03:01because they'll know, more people will be aware of it.
01:03:03Game pick, what do you got?
01:03:04A lot of people, by the way, were not all that psyched that this game got flexed there
01:03:08in Foxborough.
01:03:09That was okay.
01:03:10And I'm not talking about people that live in the nearby area, I'm talking about people
01:03:14that work in the building.
01:03:15I think they would have not minded sliding under the radar for the final two games and
01:03:21figure out what they're going to do next.
01:03:23But instead, here you are, and all right, show me something.
01:03:27I think it's going to be close.
01:03:29I was, 24-17 is my feeling on this one, Chargers.
01:03:35But I think it's a fourth quarter game.
01:03:38I want to believe.
01:03:40I didn't believe last week.
01:03:42They showed up.
01:03:43Credit to them.
01:03:44A game you could argue should have won, but look, we all know the differences between
01:03:47those two teams.
01:03:48They are what they are.
01:03:49I think it swings back in the other direction, and it's sad.
01:03:52I think it's Chargers bolt past Pats.
01:03:54They pull away in the fourth quarter, 30 to 20.
01:03:56It's just a matter of your fundamentals on a short week against a well-coached, well-rested
01:04:00team.
01:04:01I think that it's just too wide a gap to cross.
01:04:05I could be wrong.
01:04:06Again, I hope I'm wrong.
01:04:07I've said for weeks, and this is not rooting in the press box, it's just I would love the
01:04:11dust to settle.
01:04:12I'd like just everyone to calm down a little bit.
01:04:14A win does that.
01:04:15You match last year's record.
01:04:16We all understand the team stinks.
01:04:18No one's ripped the coaching more than I have, within reason.
01:04:21But you match last year's record is important because they were trying to win every single
01:04:24game last year.
01:04:25They haven't been this year.
01:04:27This has been developed.
01:04:28See what you have.
01:04:29Oh, and win when you can, which is they try every Sunday, but it's been a lot of issues.
01:04:33That's what I would like, even if that's selfish.
01:04:35Speaking of selfish, I didn't put this on the rundown.
01:04:37Can I give you one quick one on that?
01:04:39You mentioned it a little bit beforehand.
01:04:43Prove to me that what happened last week wasn't a fluke.
01:04:46You did this last year.
01:04:47You beat Buffalo, right?
01:04:48And we're like, oh, Mac had a good game.
01:04:50It's like, oh, it's going to turn for Mac.
01:04:53They're back on track.
01:04:54I remember being on with our pals on early edition, and I was next to Tom and Phil, let
01:05:00quarterback run the football, Perry, and Trenny Kisnerick, and I remember being asked, what
01:05:05does this mean?
01:05:06And I said, it means absolutely nothing if they don't do it again next week.
01:05:10And I got, oh, yeah, it's a negative.
01:05:12I'm like, no, man, it's one game.
01:05:14And we know in this league, one game, you can do things in one game.
01:05:18You can surprise somebody in one game.
01:05:20You can have a team.
01:05:21I think the Bills played a little bit down to you last week.
01:05:24I think they were complicit in the game being close, so you can have one of those games.
01:05:28OK, well, now show me that, as Dietrich Weiss has said, and some other players have agreed,
01:05:34others have not, Keon White, hard work works.
01:05:37Show me that hard work works and that you can take one week and put it into two weeks.
01:05:42And even if you don't win the football game, you play a good representative football game,
01:05:46then I can say, OK, everybody's talking about last week, and there's the sign of progress
01:05:50you want.
01:05:51No, no, no.
01:05:52I'm curious if they can do it a second game this late in the season when you're really
01:05:56I mean, you're playing for jobs, but you're not playing for playoffs.
01:05:59Well, they said it themselves is what do you need to see more of?
01:06:03And the answer is often consistency, which I appreciate that that's them telling us how
01:06:08they feel.
01:06:09I would also counter and say, if you consistently suck, that's not what you want.
01:06:12It's consistently execute in a way that's positive.
01:06:15It shows progress.
01:06:16Like my wife would not like it if I was consistently late.
01:06:21Consistency is not what she wants.
01:06:22She wants me to be on time.
01:06:23And I understand that.
01:06:24I respect it.
01:06:25So anyway, you said you want a surprise.
01:06:28You got one.
01:06:29This is not on the rundown.
01:06:30This is a late week episode of Pass Interference, where typically we have a four minute drill,
01:06:34a four minute running clock, rapid fire interview with the player.
01:06:38OK, I don't have any questions.
01:06:40You're scraping the bottom of the barrel here, but I know.
01:06:43But this is the best part.
01:06:44You are going to get all of the questions that I asked Antonio Gibson, who we stopped
01:06:48halfway through because I just wanted to talk about the notebook with him.
01:06:51Loves the notebook, by the way.
01:06:52Listen to that for it.
01:06:53Four minute drill.
01:06:54So I'm going to start the clock.
01:06:56We are going to ask you some personal questions alternated with football.
01:07:00When time is up, we'll stop and that'll be the end of the episode.
01:07:04We need to give the people the four minute drill.
01:07:05You ready?
01:07:06I'm ready.
01:07:07Clock starts.
01:07:08OK.
01:07:09What do they not tell you about playing in New England?
01:07:13Fox Bursts in the middle of nowhere.
01:07:16Who's the biggest badass in the locker room?
01:07:18Media only.
01:07:20Oh, media only.
01:07:21Biggest badass in the locker room.
01:07:25You can pick a player if you want, but this is more fun if you have to pick someone on
01:07:29your team.
01:07:30Dan Roach.
01:07:31Dan Roach.
01:07:32He's a goddamn bully.
01:07:33He bottoms you in press conferences all the way.
01:07:35Anyway, I'm not asking questions.
01:07:36Oh, what's your favorite?
01:07:37Your favorite play?
01:07:40Play as in like a running play, passing play or like a theater?
01:07:44No, design play.
01:07:46Design play.
01:07:47Like football play.
01:07:48I love a good play action.
01:07:49I do.
01:07:50I love a good play action.
01:07:51A little boot off that.
01:07:52Yeah, I like that.
01:07:53OK.
01:07:54We're going to mix in a couple of extra questions we gave Yannick Ngokwe.
01:07:58If you could hit one teammate, aka media member, every single day in practice, who would it
01:08:02be?
01:08:03Taylor Kyles.
01:08:04Oh, wow.
01:08:05I didn't see that coming.
01:08:12Worst pronunciation of your name you've ever heard?
01:08:17Garrardi comes up a lot.
01:08:19I don't.
01:08:20I mean, it's honestly, it's not that hard.
01:08:21I tell people all the time.
01:08:23My mother was a nursery school teacher.
01:08:26Three letters.
01:08:27G-R-D.
01:08:28Simple.
01:08:29Bingo.
01:08:30Bango.
01:08:31You ever cried during a movie?
01:08:32Yeah.
01:08:33What was the last movie you cried in?
01:08:42Probably Feel the Dreams They're Having to Catch with the dad.
01:08:45Some people think it was cheesy.
01:08:46I didn't think it was cheesy.
01:08:49So good.
01:08:50How romantic is Mike Gerrardi?
01:08:52Not very.
01:08:53Give us an example.
01:08:55I mean, like, I'm the person that would say, just go get what you want.
01:09:00You mean at the beginning of your relationship or marriage?
01:09:05No, I mean, now it's, you know, we're talking like, I'm old, I don't have time for that.
01:09:12What's the most important lesson you've learned so far about covering the NFL?
01:09:18How often people lie.
01:09:20That's a good one.
01:09:23A lot of, I can tell you this just as a quick aside.
01:09:26I think I was, I think I probably said this to you before in a private moment, like, I
01:09:33can't tell you how many times someone would give me information.
01:09:37I would, you know, you built this source and they give you information and then I would
01:09:39sit there and look at it and go, I don't trust it.
01:09:42And you're like, but you developed the source and this is a good guy and he gives you good
01:09:46information.
01:09:47It's like, yeah, but why?
01:09:48Who benefits?
01:09:50You know, like there's a lot of that.
01:09:52I find myself, there've been plenty of times where I, there've been plenty of times where
01:09:55I just haven't gone with a story because I just think, who benefits?
01:09:58And sometimes people have it and they come out with it and then it gets turned out to
01:10:02be not true.
01:10:03Or sometimes people come out with, it's a big story and you go, I had that, but I didn't
01:10:07do it because, who benefits?
01:10:10All right.
01:10:11Less than a minute left.
01:10:12This question I asked Joe Milton, can you do a Gerard Mayo impression?
01:10:16Scratch that.
01:10:17Can you do a Tom Curran impression?
01:10:20He makes faces.
01:10:23He makes a lot of faces.
01:10:24He makes the best face.
01:10:26Karaoke, what song are you picking?
01:10:31God.
01:10:32I did it my way.
01:10:35Frank Sinatra.
01:10:36Nice.
01:10:37Underrated teammates.
01:10:38So you need to say a nice thing about a fellow media member.
01:10:40Underrated media member.
01:10:44Chris Price is one of the nicest human beings you'll ever meet.
01:10:48Not what I asked, but I would agree.
01:10:50You said underrated teammate, right?
01:10:53Underrated.
01:10:54Yeah.
01:10:55But like at their job.
01:10:56Yeah.
01:10:57I think he's underrated.
01:10:58But I think he's underrated.
01:10:59Yeah.
01:11:00He's got a good experience.
01:11:01You can't, can't measure.
01:11:02All right.
01:11:03Eight seconds.
01:11:04Least favorite media question.
01:11:05Not to be asked, but to hear asked.
01:11:06Any question that starts off with coach.
01:11:08Oh, great.
01:11:09Great.
01:11:10All right.
01:11:11That's it.
01:11:12Well done.
01:11:13Not so bad, right?
01:11:14Yeah.
01:11:15And I don't have anything against Taylor Kyles.
01:11:16I just want to, you know, he's young, he's new, he likes the team.
01:11:22I would like to knock some of that out of him because I think he's a smart guy.
01:11:26So like, I'd like a little more critique.
01:11:29He also came very close to roasting me for a touchdown in the media game.
01:11:33That's not my answer.
01:11:34I don't even have an answer.
01:11:35But for a second, you're going to give me an answer, Drake Mayer, Justin Herbert, give
01:11:39me an answer.
01:11:40Look, I'm going to give him a compliment.
01:11:42It sounds like a Belichick backhand of the cliche.
01:11:44Nobody works harder.
01:11:45Like that dude is tweeting gifts at two 30.
01:11:48I literally have told him, please go to bed.
01:11:50Yeah, it's a long game.
01:11:51I'm like, take your girlfriend out.
01:11:52Do something.
01:11:53Ah, she's got school right now.
01:11:54I'm like, then find another girlfriend.
01:11:56I didn't tell him that, but I'm just like, dude, just, I think we just established you're
01:12:01the last person we should be taking romance advice from.
01:12:03So anyway, both fans of Taylor Kyle's, even if Mike Giardi is going to lay him out the
01:12:08next time he sees him.
01:12:09That was fun.
01:12:10We've gone for over an hour.
01:12:11It never feels like that.
01:12:12We both think the Patriots are going to lose on Saturday, but this game is more intriguing
01:12:16the more I think about it.
01:12:17And I think we did a good job of covering that.
01:12:19Why Drake Mayer will be in the Hall of Fame one day and Justin Herbert will be opening
01:12:22the door for him.
01:12:23You co-signed on that.
01:12:25Anything else?
01:12:26Well, other than you want to fire the entire coaching staff, I think that we take that
01:12:32away from this.
01:12:33Yeah.
01:12:34Look, all the aggregators, please.
01:12:35Please copy.
01:12:36Also.
01:12:37And you said, you said too, like it is personal too.
01:12:39It's very personal.
01:12:40He didn't say that people.
01:12:43They didn't answer my questions the way that I wanted.
01:12:47Thank you, pal.

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