2026 AFC East Preview with Taylor Kyles: Bills or Patriots?

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to NFL Daily, where we're sick of hearing about
the AFC East easy schedule last year. I'm Greg Rosenthal.
I'm in my garage in Los Angeles talking to my
new friend Taylor Kyle's first time guest here on NFL
Media NFL Daily. He works for CLNS Media. I had

(00:25):
that in my head, so just going media crazy. One
of those beat writers covering the Patriots that you read,
you watch around the league that you like, know he
could cover more than just one team, he could cover
the entire league. So we're going to test him here
for the AFC East preview. A man that knows ball
so much that Mike Rabel once pointed him out at

(00:45):
the podium that like, oh, the rest of you, you know,
beat writers probably didn't notice this, except for Taylor. He
probably noticed that. How did that feel that day when
Mike Brad Brabel called you out as a ball door.

Speaker 2 (00:57):
It was cool in the moment, but then I don't
love attention, so like after a few seconds, I felt
like an and under a magnifying glass. I got a
lot of good natured ribbing from my colleagues, but it
was cool. Man Rabel's very good with you know, giving
us a little throwing us a phone here and there,
but you know, it was fun and then very quickly
got super shy about it.

Speaker 1 (01:17):
I hear that, Taylor. But your rising star in the business.
Your job literally requires you to speak in front of
a camera every day. So you got to get used
to it. Get used, I mean, get used to that. Shine.

Speaker 2 (01:27):
You don't.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
You don't see that much from a head coach. That
was That was during last season. We're talking about this season,
and yes, it's a division, the AFC East with the
haves and the have nots to Super Bowl contenders and
two teams that could potentially be picking in the top
five of the draft if things don't go right. If
you are just tuning in our division previews, we give

(01:48):
twelve minutes to every team, give or take. We have
a bunch of different categories which I'll throw at you, Taylor,
as we are going through, and let's put twelve minutes
on the clock. We go alphabetical order by city, so
that means we are starting with the Buffalo Bills and
the first section, I'll give you the floor. What is
giving you joy about this Buffalo Bills team?

Speaker 2 (02:10):
Giving me joy? I'm gonna go with their run game.
I love me a stout offensive line. James Cook was
fantastic last year. This might be a little sacrilege because
you know, Josh Allen's in the backfield as well, but
he carries the ball too sometimes, so we can kind
of mix him in there. But one of those frustrating things.
And granted, like I cover the Patriots, so I don't
love to see the other teams in the division have

(02:30):
success because I want to be going to playoff games
and Super Bowls and all that. But it's a really
fun run game to watch, a lot of outside zone stuff. Obviously,
the way James Cook is able to read off of
those blockers, the sync that they play with obviously not
going to be the exact same unit they put out
there last year. But it's one of those things that
every time you play them, you have to prepare for

(02:51):
it and put a lot of attention to it. And
then oh yeah, by the way, there's gonna be some
times where Josh Allen's gonna boot off of it or
he's gonna be going deep off it, and that is
very scary to watch. But as the foundation, not the
foundation of their offense, because again, it is Josh Allen,
but it's a massive advantage to have when you can
lean on James Cook in that backfield in the offensive
line to really take some of the pressure off Josh

(03:12):
Allen in a way that he really didn't have earlier
on in his career. So, you know, I wanted to
give you sarcastic answers to all these what brings me joy,
because we'll bring me joy is something. But I'm being
a good sport here so that one game I do
have a good time watching them go to work.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
I love that that you you're not a homer necessarily,
but you just want to be covering big time games
like like the Super Bowl a year ago, and that
that's fine own your self interest. I think that's a
great shout out. And you said it's not going to
be the exact same like you know, their full back
Regie Gilliam is now a member of the Patriots, for instance,
from a year ago, but it's pretty similar. This was
the bet for the the Joe Brady Bills. You know,

(03:51):
according to efficiency numbers like DVOA, like, they have been
a top four offense for four straight years, so they
are not trying to mess up what is going well
on offense, and for the most part, other than at
left guard, where right now it's a battle. Alec Anderson
is there, it's the same offensive line. David Edwards is gone,
but you resign Osyrus Torrans to a big deal. The

(04:12):
backfield is deep. It's not just James Cook like Ty
Johnson is a great third down back. Ray Davis is there,
runs hard. And then, of course I've been saying it
for years, the most efficient play in football is a
Josh Allen run. So that's like a great place to
build an offense from. I have a little more on
their front later, but what's bringing me joy is like
these are the good old days, and it's easy to

(04:35):
forget how recently the Bills like went on that long
playoff less streak and their fans are getting sick of
knocking on the door and getting close. But I'm telling you,
you just have seen it, like when Drew Brees left
the Saints to go way back, when John Elway leaves
the Broncos. It's just like you got to appreciate the

(04:55):
good old days when they're here and Josh Allen smack
in the middle of prime. They bring in Joe Brady
maybe to help almost make the place a little looser.
But also, if you look at the defensive numbers, they've
been mediocre to average overall the last three years. And
so just watching this team as a super Bowl contender
a year after year, it's what this city deserves. It's

(05:18):
a great football city, it's a new stadium. So that's
bringing me joy. The next category here is the most
important non quarterback. I'll start because it relates to what
you just said. I went with Pat Meyer, who is
their offensive line coach. I'm going deep, but it's because
Aaron Kromer, their previous offensive line coach, was so good.
They were so consistent. You saw it getting a little

(05:39):
rickety maybe at the end of last season in pass protection.
And there's a lot of talent here Taylor. But that
always spooks me a little bit because great offensive lines
usually only stay great for like three four years. That's
a long stretch, and they've done that now for Buffalo.
And so when the offensive line coach changes, even though
the offensive you know coordinator in the play caller Joe

(06:01):
Brady is still there, that freaks me out a little
bit of like, could that be something that upsets the
apple Cart. So it's Pat Meyer, who's the coach who
comes from Pittsburgh last year and now it takes over
for the Bills.

Speaker 2 (06:12):
I like to pick a lot, and there's gonna be
some level of growing pain, right They got a lot
of veterans on that unit, so hopefully they'll be able
to acclimate. But it's not easy. When the Patriots went
through it, when they lost Dante Scarnekia, there was kind
of a laundry list of guys that came in and
tried to replace him, and they kind of settled on
Doug Maron for now in New England. But anytime you
lose a quality offensive line coach, that's one of the
most valuable types of coaches to have. So I like

(06:35):
that pick for you. For me though, going Dj Moore,
and this is kind of gonna be a theme with
a lot of these most important players. Like I'm not
just a fantasy football guy, I promise you. But when
we look at the Bills and what's kept them from
actually making it to a Super Bowl, it feels like
it's always a player to where you know, Josh Allen,
I make a mistake, But a lot of the time
it just feels like the guys around him making crucial

(06:56):
mistakes in huge moments. Obviously the Brandon Cooks catch is
one of those examples, and the fact that Josh Allen
hasn't really had that guy we're in those big moments,
he can really lead on, throw up a prayer if
he has to, and just say hey, I know I'm
Josh Allen, but I need a little bit of help
from you guys too. And if DJ Moore cannot only
do that in the crunch time moments and when you
know it really is a game on the line scenario,

(07:17):
but also just regularly right, giving him some more opportunities
to take some of that pressure off of him. And
we talk about the schemed opportunities DJ Moore turning those
into bigger plays than we've even seen. And then in
those third downs in the red zone. With DJ Moore
being a big body who's gone up against top competition
throughout his career, I really think, especially in those games
against the Chiefs or the Crowns of the AFC, it's

(07:40):
really going to come down to the past game. As
much as I love James cook and that offensive line
in the run game, it's going to be the pass game.
So Josh Allen having more of a binkie than he's
had since Stefan Diggs was here. I think is probably
going to be the difference between the Bills having another
disappointing playoff egsit and potentially actually making it to that
Super Bowl and giving them a chance to get a ring. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (07:59):
I thought they give up too much for more. I
thought the contract was curious. I think they're going to
get a honeymoon season. And I do love how he
pushes everyone down a peck, you know, spot in the
pecking order. So I think looking at it, whether like
DJ Moore is a true one. Is he a top
fifteen wide receiver. No, No, he's been too inconsistent. But
Josh Palmer, who's had a good camp, reportedly, like Dalton Kincaid,

(08:20):
they expect to get better. They think it's going to
be a solid top four receivers with Keon Coleman and
then Khalil secure in the mix. You have the running
back depth. Like the offensive line is a weapon. I
think the conversation about weapons in Buffalo has gotten a
little like off base, because to me, he has weapons.
All of those aspects to the offense are a weapon.
But more really fills it out. The next category here

(08:43):
is scheme dream. So we hit something schematically. I know
you're an next as the O's guy. What gets you
excited about this team? Like what are you looking for?
Maybe even from a Patriots perspective of like what they're
doing schematically.

Speaker 2 (08:55):
Honestly, when you mentioned the weapons, I think that's it.
And how they're going to use specifically a level in personnel,
I think twelve with Austin Knox at Dalton kin kve
like we've seen how that looks. But I think they've
got an interesting diversity at wide receiver where DJ Moore
is not the guy he used to be, and I'm
glad that you said that. I want to make it
very clear he's not necessarily a top ten fifteen player.
But if Keon Coleman, who I did like coming out

(09:17):
of college and obviously not been the best start to
his career, but now he's not expected to be the guy,
you can use him around the formation a little bit more.
If you want to have DJ Moore, just stick him
at that spot, say hey, you're the solo guy. You
get the one on one matchups. Keon Coleman maybe a
little bit easier opportunities, and with his size, I'd love
to see him at flanker, get him involved in the
run game. Let that open some things up. So he

(09:38):
doesn't have to be necessarily a natural separator, but you
can just go let him be a big body and
be an athlete. I love Skylar Bell. I think that
I think his route tree isn't as diverse probably, and
I don't think he's necessarily going to be the most
multifactive player early on, but I do think he brings
a level of explosiveness. I like Khalil Shakier a lot. Again,

(10:00):
he's not gonna have to be the guy either, and
he kind of has been forced into that role of
having to carry a lot of the load of their
passing attacks. So the fact that now you can really
spread the ball around, you've got an interesting kind of
hater of skill sets. Josh Palmer. Also, it's just that
reliable veteran where, hey, you know, if Skylard Bell is
and someone you can really add to the mix early on,
if Keon Coleman does struggle, at least you know what

(10:21):
you have in him, not only what they can give
you in terms of the run game, where you can
force other teams to get into some of their sub packages,
make things easier on James, cooking those guys up front,
but also just being able to present different looks in
passing situations. That's pretty exciting and from a Patriots perspective,
it makes you think, Okay, where are these guys gonna
line up? How are they being used? Do you want
to use Keon Coleman in the slot more and create

(10:41):
some mismatches against the Marcus Jones and some of those situations.
So I'm going to be interesting to see how those
guys are deployed, if they're able to move them around
and create some more of those schemed opportunities, and how
they compliment each other with DJ Moore kind of being
the centerpiece and everyone else complimenting around it.

Speaker 1 (10:57):
I'm thinking big picture. But now that I think of it,
like going back to like Patriots rivals back in the day,
and there is a comparison here to the Colts with
Peyton Manning, I know they're very different quarterbacks. By that,
I mean the hardest thing to find in football is
a top five offense that stays the top five offense
year after year after year after year, and the Bills

(11:18):
have done that, and there's every reason even though people
I think are a little down on them this year,
like there's every reason to believe they're gonna keep that going,
there's not much reason. And the thing with those Peyton
Manning teams, yeah, they came up short a lot in
the big moments, until they didn't if you just keep
getting a chance over and over. And I mentioned this
on the show over the summer, but it was a
great bit of numbers from FTN Fantasies Football Manac, which

(11:40):
by basically any metric, you have to look at the
last three years of the Bills now as the greatest
team of the last forty years that hasn't made it
to the Super Bowl. No one has been at that
high of a level and not broken through. The hard
part is staying at that higher level. They're eleven to
thirteen wins every year. The numbers all say their top
three or four offense, the defense fell off. And that

(12:02):
leads me to my schemeing dream, which I think Jim Leonard,
their defensive coordinator, is the X factor of this entire division.
How aggressive will it be? He comes from Vance Joseph's
coaching tree in Denver and just blitz like crazy, so
different than what Sean McDermott was doing. They were really
bad against the run last year. They did get a
little more creative. But if ownership, if even Joe Shane,

(12:27):
who he gave a lot of grief to for keeping
that job, getting elevated, getting rid of McDermott, decided like
mcdermot's the problem. If you look at the numbers, it's
not that crazy of a takeaway from what's with this
Bills team. So if suddenly Jim Leonard is the coach
that a lot of people believe he is, like he's
been a rising like watch out for this guy for years,

(12:49):
they are going to be a lot to deal with
in one of the AFC favorites. If not the favorite,
we got to move to things go wrong. If what
stands out to you as like the thing that you're
most worth right about with this Bill's team.

Speaker 2 (13:01):
Wha'd you brut up? Jim Leonard? I was very upset
when the Bills hired him. I have a lot of
respect for what he does and kind of Sean McDermott
I thought, really covered up a lot of the issues
with their personnel. Defensively, they're all the injuries and everything
that happened, But you never face the Bills and thought, oh,
this is going to be a walk in the park
against their defense, because they're still always competitive. But it's
the run defense for me. If this is another year

(13:23):
where you go in and say, hey, if you just
put twenty two personnel, like two running backs, two tight ends,
and just get heavy on them, there's not a whole
lot they can do to stop you if you have
a decent run game, and I think if you can
go into Bills games not anticipating that, you can just
control the pace of the game, control the clock, keep
Josh Allen on the sideline. That's an encouraging thought because
you don't want to have to deal with Josh and

(13:44):
you want to be able to kind of dictate terms.
But when you look at their defensive front, I liked
a lot of the names, but they don't have guys
that really intimidate you when it comes to running into
the teeth of the defense. Now, if you like TJ.
Parker and I think on the edge, they could be
a little bit more solid. But even if they have
a lot of talented interior defenders, so all penetrators, so
you can blitz. You can blitz, but I don't know

(14:05):
if it's gonna happen. And if I were Bills Fad,
that would continue to worry me.

Speaker 1 (14:09):
That that does worry you or me too. And they
have an interesting pass rush like that that stood out
to me kind of of like if they don't have
enough juice in the past rush, I think the pass
rush almost is gonna have to make up for. Like
they're hoping to be average in terms of defending the
run and between like Bradley Chubb at Oliver Dan Walker
looks like a good young player Greg Russo, like that

(14:30):
should have the makings of a solid pass rush. I
think they're gonna need to be better than solid. They're
gonna need to be really good and and so that
that to me is an area where like things go
wrong if they are not like great there all right,
let's go to uh the ceiling floor of this team,
like where we think they are going. They've been a
very healthy team. Weirdly, I noticed that in adjusted games lost,

(14:51):
they've been top three offensively for five years straight. They've
been very healthy. So we try not to get into
the health aspect, but they've they've had a lot of injury,
like apparently at least on the offensive side, less so defensively, Like,
where do you see the ceiling and the floor for
this team? I'm gonna make you and I don't know
if you've done this yet, and I don't know if
you've been allowed to, you know, as a beat right
at the end of the show, pick the order of

(15:12):
this division. So we won't do that yet, but does
ceiling floor of kind of like where you see this team?

Speaker 2 (15:17):
Overall? It's a tough schedule in the AFC East, so
that's gonna be like kind of a caveat for all.
Some of these teams I have their ceilings. I think
they could win like eleven or twelve games. It's still
you got Josh Allen. Anytime you have Josh Allen, I
think that the expectations you should win about ten or
more games because he is the cream of the crop
in the NFL at his position. And then in terms
of floor, I would say eight or nine wins. I

(15:40):
don't know if I'm allowed to be multiple, but I
mean I think I really hated maybe I am. I
just for me. Every time I go into the season,
it really is like, okay, can the defensive coaches kind
of make up for some of the things that they're
lacking on that side of the ball. And should Josh
Allen be Josh Allen and really carry some of the
other ways. I don't think he has to do that
quite as much. Again, because the DJ morrack was and

(16:01):
it's a steam floor, I don't think that's what they're
gonna hit. I still think they're going to be somewhere
around ten games, but I feel like nine is probably
the worst case scenario for them, because again, you got
Josh Allen, Like, you're not going to be bad, but
you do have a pretty tough schedule like the other
teams listed.

Speaker 1 (16:14):
My floor is higher because he's earned that taking for granted,
Like we haven't even talked about the quarterback that we
took first overall when we drafted quarterbacks, Like who do
you want this year? On this show? Like Allen became
the consensus number one. And the fact is, like the
literal Stanpions say that eleven wins is their floor five
straight years. It's pretty exceptional.

Speaker 2 (16:36):
Wo.

Speaker 1 (16:38):
I mean, I'm saying relative health is in place here.
They just haven't shown any reason for me to believe
otherwise other than the schedule, it is difficult. So to
me that the ceiling is winning the super Bowl. I
have a long list of teams I think could win
the super Bowl. They are near the top of that
list in the AFC, certainly because of Allen And so
that that's the ceiling is thirteen fourteen wins whatever, you're

(17:00):
having a great regular season. I think it's more likely
to be around eleven or twelve, which which is which
is around where they were last year. But I think
people are I'm like, slightly higher than consensus on the Bills. Well,
we'll get to we'll get to the division, you know overall.
In a minute, let's talk Jets. Who a team that
we probably don't think is going to win the super

(17:21):
Bowl or contend for the super Bowl. And yet these are,
especially before a week one, I look at them, They're
like all of our children. When you're covering the entire league,
you don't have to look at it like this, especially
not the Jets, who the Patriots big rival. But I
find something exciting beautiful about all these teams. What is
what I know you're stretching here. What is giving you
joy about the Jets?

Speaker 2 (17:41):
I'm gonna say, David Bailey. I really liked him coming
out of college. I love what I'm hearing so far
out of love again, caveat of I cover another team
and would like to every more playoff games, But I think, yes,
you got to.

Speaker 1 (17:52):
You gotta not worry about these Patriots fans if they
happen to be watching and listening. I know they're very sensitive.
They want loyalty, but this exercise, you're not being asked
to be loyal.

Speaker 2 (18:02):
It's okay, it's a PTSD apologize. But I do really
like David Bailey. I like the juice he's going to
bring their pass rush, but not just the juice, the
fact that he's also a very tough player. He's well rounded,
and I feel like that Jets defensive front. Obviously, Quentin
Williams animal very different story. Once he was gone, it
was just even stunning. It was tough to watch the
Jets defense because they didn't really do anything. Well. We're

(18:22):
gonna get to a little bit later about how I'm
kind of worried about the back end and how exactly
they're going to be utilized. But I think if you're
gonna hang your head on anything this season for the Jets,
it said David Bailey is going to be a pain
in the ass for any offensive line that has the
task of trying to slow him down. And really, I
think even on the offensive side of the ball, there's
just so many questions and you don't know how things
are going to go. But I think David Bailey is

(18:43):
a really good player. He's already showing it, and I
think that that's going to be a really fun part
of this Jets defense. It has not been fun to
watch in a minute.

Speaker 1 (18:50):
Took him, you know, over Rvel Wreath, who I thought
was a great option there at two that it was.
It was an interesting draft. He was my choice for
most important on quarterbacks. So we're we're thinking along the
same lines, and that's because that's what this year is about,
is finding core pieces in between him and Membu who
we can get to. Like, they do have some young

(19:13):
pieces to really be excited about. But if Bailey is
that dude, and he's kind of symbolic of the you know,
all the high picks that they had this year, and
you hope Kenyan Sadik and and there are other high
picks D'Angelo Ponds and Omar Cooper like can get healthier
than they are right now or play, but Bailey is
the important one. I'm totally with you because you feel

(19:33):
good about your future regardless if he's looking his best.
What's bringing me joy is like this is this is
what is that action movie where they brought back stallone
and everyone the replacements? Or like this is so yeah,
like this is this is last chance saloon for some
characters that have been involved in my life in a
meaningful way for years. Gino Smith, of course, I just

(19:56):
want I just want him to have his moment as
long as the Met Life Stadium chance, Geno, Gino one time,
it'll be one of the craziest comeback stories from a
fan base and a team that like hated him on
his way out. Of any player I can ever remember,
Frank Wright, like this is his last chance. Aaron Glenn,
this is gonna be his only chance to be a
head coach, I think, and like he feels as on

(20:18):
the hot seat as anyone. But then you go throughout
the roster, like Minka Fitzpatrick, who's reportedly having a great
camp to Mario Davis is thirty seven years old returning
to the Jets. Yeah, even when you go to the
role players like On Yamada and Harrison Phillips, just like
a lot of last chance saloon guys. So usually this
plan doesn't work out too well, but there is a
positive way to look at it, whereas like, if they
have some moments here, it's kind of a good final

(20:42):
stop for most of these guys' career. So that's that's
a long way of saying, this is an old team
with a lot of question marks. Who is your most
important non quarterback? I went with Bailey.

Speaker 2 (20:52):
I've got Breece Hall. And part of that is fecause
today there was an injury stare for Breeze Hall and
I was like, oh, that is gonna be very scary
for Jets fans. Now, I will say I do think
that they have way more weapons than we've seen the
Jets happen quite some time. I love love Garrett Wilson.
I like what ad Mitchell can be, but you know
that's a little bit of guessing, like is he gonna

(21:14):
be able to catch football consistently? Like ad Mitchell was
cooking Christian Zales last year as a route runner. They
couldn't catch the ball when it went to him, So
that's still up in the air. And then Omar Cooper
and Kenyon Sadik. I know they're still kind of coming along.
So the past game could be really fun to watch,
I think for the Jets, but it's all gonna revolve
around that ground game. The Jets have a fantastic offensive line,
but although I do think they have a deep backfield,

(21:36):
no one's gonna scare you quite as much as Breze
Hall does. I think it's gonna be tough to defend
the run if anything were to happen to him or whatnot,
But not only would he brings you as a runner,
but also as a receiver. Like that dynamic ability I
think is gonna take pressure off a lot of other
people on the Jets offense. And I may not have
a ton of faith in the Jets defense because it
is a lot of older guys. It just kind of
feels like a ticking time bomb, to be honest. But

(21:58):
I think if you're hearing, oh the Jets are, you know, surprising,
they're doing really well. A big part of that is
going to be the fact that Breece is kind of
carrying the offense and the rest of the guys are
really complementary around him. Obviously, Garrett Wilson is fantastic, but
after last year with you know Smith, I'm so little
bit TVD. I loved him with the Seahawks, and I
don't know what this version of him is going to
look like. So I think that Breece Hall is going

(22:18):
to be extremely important just to take that pressure off
the people around him.

Speaker 1 (22:23):
He suffered a growing strain, Aaron Glenn called it. He
indicated Aaron Glenn that is that he believed it wasn't serious.
But Aaron Glenn is sometimes just saying stuff at the
podium and also said that imaging. You know, they're going
to do some imaging, and you're right that Breece hall
injury is really important to watch because you know it's

(22:45):
been a while since Frank Right coordinated a great offense.
And you mentioned the the talent that they have up front.
They give Joe Tipman, who moved from center to guard,
a big contract. You know, you have these bookend tackles.
I think Membu could make that Will Campbell pick look
bad in the division four years. He could be like
a future superstar. Fashion New has got more to prove,

(23:07):
like he's been a solid starter on the other side.
But yeah, it all goes wrong. I think if if
like Breece Hall is not there, they can only afford
so many injuries. Scheme dream is our next category, and
I find that it really interesting. Taylor, I'm not sure
what you think about this that you know, Aaron Glenn
got rid of twelve of twenty two coaches. He did

(23:29):
not want to call plays. He said that was not
his plan when he became a head coach. It was
not his plan even going into last offseason. Then suddenly
like he ends up up firing a lot of coaches
that he wasn't expected to fire. Seemed like ownership was
in the mix there. Now he is calling plays and
the flip side of kind of the last chance saloon

(23:50):
way I started this, you know, group is like does
Aaron Glenn have it as a play caller, we haven't
really seen it, And does Frank Reich still have it
as a play caller either side of the ball. I
don't know what you want to hit on, but you're
counting on a lot of like winning before the snap
from Geno Smith and then looking at the talent here,
it's better defensively for Aaron Glenn, but he just hasn't

(24:11):
shown in a while because the Detroit teams were pretty
up and down that he called the plays for that
he can make a difference as a play caller.

Speaker 2 (24:18):
Yeah, for me, I have just a good star would be, Hey,
maybe Playles's man coverage. I think that's gonna be a
big step in the right direction, because one you don't
have the horses. You didn't have the horses either. I
really like D'Angelo Pond's but I don't think he's gonna
be the guy that unlocks their man coverage potential. And
the amount that they played it just didn't make any sense.
Just they weren't good at it, they got burned doing it,

(24:38):
and they would never adjust. It was kind of baffling
to watch. And then their switch up and zone as quarters,
which in a lot of ways if you're getting stressedophertically
turns into man coverage. A lot of these zones do,
but specifically quarters, it just didn't feel like the scheme
matched the personnel, and I thought that was very bizarre
last season. And we also have the whole problem of hey,
they can't get a turnover to save their lives. Helps

(25:00):
to get interceptions when your back's not turn to the
ball and you're not getting burned, right, So I just
think more zones and they can do whatever else they want.
I just think that would be a huge set from
the right direction, not to just give them a fighting chance,
but also give them opportunities to look at the football
and take it away. It just the issues that they
had seem to be directly stemming from the types of
defense they were playing. So if you kind of give

(25:22):
it away from that, I think that's a it's positive. Again,
I still have a lot of skepticism around this defense.
But if they're going to play like you know, like
Aaron Glenn still thinks he's on the Lions, that's going
to be a pretty big issue. So my dream is
just stay away from man, it.

Speaker 1 (25:38):
Did feel like you were just trying to fit like
players that didn't fit into his scheme. And then this
offseason what they did was go out and get veterans.
And I've warmed up to it over time. At first
I thought it was a joke. It's crazy, and that's
that's like my things go wrong. If these these elder
free agent signings don't work out, they need at least

(26:00):
like fifty percent plus to work. If you weren't paying
close attention during free agency, like they traded for Tavandre Sweat,
who's actually a younger veteran who had some question marks
like a nose tackle for the Titans. David Onyamata who's
in his mid thirties and is going to play big
snaps room, Joseph Asai, who's more of a prime player,
has been out for most of camp. Naishan right is

(26:22):
a cornerback from the Bears that they brought along. And
then the important guy here is Minka Fitzpatrick, who reportedly
is having a great camp and he's had one of
those careers where like he'll pop up every few years
with a monster season. He would be massive. And so
my idea of like things go wrong if it's just
like they did not evaluate the right sword of guys

(26:44):
to bring in for this system, because you saw the
positive example of it last year with the Patriots. Free
agency can work, guys can come in and fit in
right away. But man, they are counting on a lot
of different pieces that weren't there a year ago to
come in and just start right away.

Speaker 2 (27:00):
And I do want to give Nashaw rights with credit.
I do like him as a player, And yeah, you're
just relying on a lot of guys taking time off
just feels like the right word to use. It's pretty
much really all I got on them. I just I
really hope that they actually adapt and make changes when
they need to and cater to the people that are
playing the football for them and not just you know,
the best play that they think they see on the

(27:22):
play sheet.

Speaker 1 (27:24):
The other somewhat obvious thing listeners might be screaming at
me about is like, yeah, they're they're done. If Gino
is cooked, I mean, that's that's for sure. Gina needs
to play a lot better. This is a system that
really relies on the quarterback to read the defense, get
rid of the ball quickly, point and shoot, run, run
like he's going to have as much control behind the

(27:45):
line of scrimmage just about anyone that should lean into
what he does well. His arm wasn't there last year.
The decision making the system was not right. But they
are really counting on a huge bounce back because Clay
Kate Klubnick is their backup quarterback, and that is like
aiming for number one overall draft pick. If Geno doesn't
work out or or something bad happens, we do do

(28:07):
a section occasionally Taylor if we have time, called land
yap and that's just like a little something extra I
just wanted to point out, which is that the Jets
have three first round picks one minute next year, which
is crazy. So they have their own They have the
better pick of the Packers and the Cowboys, and by
better I mean better for the Jets. So if you're

(28:27):
a Jets fan, you're just hard rooting against the Packers
and the Cowboys this year, and if one of them
ends up being a big disappointment, you're going to have
another high pick, and then the Colts. You're also going
to be rooting against the Colts. So that's just something
a little extra for the fun Jets fans out there
to root for. Let's go to ceiling floor of this
Jets team. The floor feels a little obvious. What is

(28:48):
your ceiling for this team?

Speaker 2 (28:52):
It's not as optimistic as it was a little earlier,
or like during the offseason. I would sail like six wins,
I think, and that's it's like everything right on defense,
and some of these young guys on offense step up,
because really, for me, you nailed it. I thought if
things go wrong, it's gonna be because Gino continues to regress.
And I understand he was in a really bad situation
last year and maybe he was trying to force the issue,

(29:13):
but some of the turnovers he committed were gregeous, and
you can't take bad sacks, you can't throw the ball.
I know when I was studying Kevin Byron when the
Patriots signed him, I mean he got picked off twice.
With Kevin Byer playing Robert that's rough. So I think
the ceiling is, if everything goes right, six or seven wins.
I think the floor talking about like three to four,
three or.

Speaker 1 (29:31):
Four that was a tough one because if I remember right,
it wasn't like the exact same right route like concept
and everything, and Gino got picked off.

Speaker 2 (29:42):
Just trying to throw that incut man. Can't do it.
Can't do it.

Speaker 1 (29:46):
You know, we'll always have Week one the Geno Nation
supporters throwing it up and down the field on the
future Super Bowl Patriots. Week one can often be a liar.
I think the ceiling it's a tougher schedule that they're
They're just a tough out to me, And yeah, six
or seven wins sounds about right. The floor is that

(30:07):
they're they're picking first. Overall, it's all about the young players.
If if they feel good about this trio of high
picks that they have, and you can throw in D'Angelo
Ponds as a third round pick. You know, we got
some injuries already with Sadik and Ponds. But if the
rookies look good and Membu keeps developing and looking like
a future star, that that's the most important thing. And yet,

(30:27):
because it's the Jets, there has to be a big
question over whether it'll be the same regime, whether it's
the same GM or just a new coach or who knows.
They'll have to win some games, probably to keep their jobs.
Let's take a quick break. We will be back after
the break with another team contending for potential Super Bowl,
the team that Taylor covers, the Patriots. In just a minute,

(31:03):
all right, we are back here on NFL Daily the
New England Patriots, the team you cover, the team I
was unnecessarily low on going into last season. We'll put
twelve minutes on the clock. Were you high on them
last year? What did you have as a potential outcome
for them last year?

Speaker 2 (31:21):
I predicted thirteen wins and I got sway by everybody,
So those victory laps were kind of fun.

Speaker 1 (31:27):
I was.

Speaker 2 (31:27):
I tried to play a little modest, but it felt
good to be. I was actually wrong, which is the
crazy part. I underestimated them as well. But you know.

Speaker 1 (31:36):
What's given you a joy. You're out there watching them
in practice every day, whether it's big picture, whether it's
something small, like what are you really enjoying covering this team?

Speaker 2 (31:46):
To your three of Drake may Man, he's been really
good in camp and this is actually today was the
second year perfect day that he's had where only like
one or two balls actually hit the ground. He was
dialed in. You see his chemistry with AJ Brown and
Romeo Dobbs progressing. But even more than the personnel improvements
around him, which the Patriots have made a pretty big priority,
it's also just him getting smarter having a second season

(32:08):
in this Josh McDaniel system, and in that system, the
amount of control the quarterbacks have is very rare where
you truly are a field general, and the more you
know of the playbook, and especially when you have other
veterans that can retain a lot of information and do
a lot of the kind of intercomplexities of the offense,
the better the quarterback's going to be. And Drake has
all the talent in the world, but he's also very smart,

(32:28):
and I think one of the biggest things that held
him back last season in this offense was just the
fact that it was kind of limited. The playbook wasn't
as wide as necessarily could be. As good as Drake
was pre snapper a second year player, there was also
just a lack of command of being able to make
certain adjustments and control tempo and really put defenses on
the back foot consistently. Like very rarely did you see

(32:49):
the Patriots incorporate tempo last season. This year, you're starting
to see Drake get the opportunities where he'll rush to
the line. Sometimes it's a dummy count and he's just
trying to see what guys are doing around him, then
get the offen into the right play. And when you're
going up against defenses like the Seahawks where answers are
not going to be easy and need a little some
extra to really make things tough on them, I think

(33:09):
Drake not just being talented and having more experience knowing
what teams want to do to him, what kind of coverages,
he's going to be facing and where he struggles, but
also truly being able to dictate terms and not just basically,
you know, being an extension of Josh McDaniels out there.
I think that's going to be huge for his progress.
And even if he isn't a statistically impressive, like I
don't think he's gonna have the same completion rate that

(33:30):
he did last year, I still think you're gonna see
him just be a smarter quarterback, make some better decisions,
not take as many bad sacks, and just mitigate the
mistakes to keep this offense on schedule, which I mean,
I know they were very successful last year, so it
might sound crazy, but I really do think that he
could take another step, which is insane given what he
was able to do in just his first year working

(33:50):
with joshreck Dams.

Speaker 1 (33:51):
Yeah, you're speaking my language. It's the same thing for me.
I love quarterbacks, and there's no quarterback I was higher
on even before the Patriot took him coming into a
draft in years like definitely you have to go back
to Burrow and Herbert, but I like May more just
because of the physical attributes and to see his development
and to think how far ahead, he was a schedule.

(34:14):
He's still twenty three years old as we're taping this.
His birthdays at the end of the month. So even
though he's had a lot of experience for such a
young player, it is exciting to think about. Okay, he
was able to handle a very difficult system in his
first year with Josh McDaniels. But what you said about,
you know, from the neck up, the maturity that he

(34:34):
can get is fun to think about because of what
it could unlock when you know, you add weapons like
brown and Dobbs and you cover them every day. So
I kind I'm going to skip ahead to the scheme
dream part because I do want to ask you. You
brought up like the tempo of what McDaniels has shown
you a little bit at practice, and I do think
that's going to be a counter for a lot of

(34:55):
offenses potentially this year to really stop what defenses have done,
to be really controlling the line of scrimmage and kind
of controlling the mind games between coaches and tempo is
a great way to come up with that. What have
you seen out of this offense?

Speaker 2 (35:13):
Is it?

Speaker 1 (35:13):
Is it just tempo that that's a little different this year?
Compared to like last training camp.

Speaker 2 (35:19):
I would say it's the tempo, but also the diversity
of personnel, and it's not like the Patriots are just
trotting one thing out there necessarily, but now they can
send out different personnel groupings and they're actually intimidating. Like
I love Jack Westover their fullback from last season, but
I think you saw in certain matchups that you know
he was kind of a backup plan for them, and
I think that manifested on the field where he did
his best, but he's not someone that you're really thinking

(35:41):
we got a scheme against. And Austin Hooper also was
solid for what he was. I really appreciate what he
did for the Patriots. But now Hunter Henry's complimented by
Eli Raridan, who I think is going to have a
much larger role in this offense. And people realize because
Hunter Henry just signed the extension. If anything, that extension
told me kind of in a weird way that they're
actually going to dial back much they use him because
he's getting up there in age, his skill set's a

(36:03):
little bit more limited. You don't really want him on
the fielded running situations. Sometimes they'll have him as almost
a wide receiver where he's standing up and he's kind
of that flanker where he's close to the formation and
can kind of dig out safeties, which is an easier
assignment for him. But Eli Raridan is going to be
involved in some of those base packages and as a blocker.
But he's also a big body. Like actually he was
my guy for the Patriots in the draft because what

(36:25):
Josh mcdale's with the tight end. He's not just going
to be in line. It's kind of like a Notre Dame.
He's going to be off the ball. Sometimes he's in
the slot, sometimes he's out wide. Like I think there's
things the offense can do with Eli Raridon that they
just couldn't really do with Hunter Henry because of just
his skill set at this point in his career. Where
Drake can put the ball in his back shoulder and
do all these things. But you're not throwing hundred Henry

(36:45):
fifty fifty balls, right, You're not asking him to beat
guys up the seam or you know, necessarily one on
crossers all the time. He can do it, but he
got to give him some advantages. So I think when
you have Reggie Gilliam in the backfield as well, and
Eli Raridon, like those are two guys that can block,
don't damn good receivers as well. Reggie Gillian gets slept
on in that part of his game where even if
it's just an under route or a hitch or a checkdown,

(37:07):
he can break tackles. He's more explosive than what they've
had in the past. And James Devlin and Yaka Johnson
and I've even gotten to the wide receivers where you
can take your pick. It's Aj Brown and Romeo Dobbs
at the top, but then you've also got Mac Collins,
who I think is pretty underrated as a receiver. Drake
had a lot of counter with him on those in cuts,
in some vertical routes and pull of shots to Mario

(37:27):
Douglas is the third receiver, and he's getting slept on
where he was known as more of an underneath threat
because that's how he was used, but if you look
back at his college tape, he was a vertical threat.
And this is a guy with some four to three
s speed and he's been entrenched in the slot when
they go with their three receiver groupings, and Drake's trusted him.
I think is continuing to grow, especially downfield. Yet Kyle Williams,

(37:48):
who is kind of like the seventh guy on the
depth chart for them, but is a home run threat.
He had ten catches last year and three of them
went for long touchdowns. So the number of personnel groupings,
it looks that they can throw at you. And then
when you incorp the tempo where Okay, we're gonna come
out and we're in the eye formation. Oh now we're
gonna go fast, and we're gonna go empty, and now
you've got to find out where everybody is, Like, is
a J. Brown the number three running you know chuo

(38:10):
as you running the seam. It's just the amount of
things they can throw at defenses is gonna be nauseating
for them, fun for me to cover. But I just
think they can really overwhelm opponents with the amount of
different things they can throw out.

Speaker 1 (38:22):
It is a fascinating, you know, team build to think
of the Patriots of all team have such depth in
terms of pass catchers and like they're rather thin in
other areas. I think they're pretty thin on the offensive line,
and I have questions about the pass rush and the
secondary in general, but of all positions, the pass catchers

(38:43):
for Drake Man, it's not like they're all going to
be super duper stars, But you traded for a superstar
in ag Brown. He could have been. My choice is
most important on quarterback because I do think everything will
flow through him to start, and you do want him
to maintain the level he's been at before. But I
went with zach Ko kor the the defensive coordinator. I
think they're going to have to scheme it up. Tell

(39:03):
me I'm wrong, because I see some of these lists
that have them as a top ten potential defense and
they finished last year great. Do you think he can
be like a scheme wizard, because on paper, I do
have questions. Tara Landry's been hurt in camp. They signed
Draymont Jones as an edge. They're hoping to get something
out of gay acis their second round pick. But I

(39:27):
see it like if you're slow at linebacker and you're
slow at safety, they bring in buyered and then you
tend to be a slow defense. They looked a little
slow in the Super Bowl, and I do think I
do see like them being a boom or bust type
defense that almost maybe needs a little bit of a
coaching advantage to maximize Do you do you think I'm
right there defend the Patriots defense, for me.

Speaker 2 (39:48):
I think that's val or. No. I mean, I think
Zach Korwood he was able to do, especially in the playoffs,
was very impressive. Early on in the season, I thought
the Patriots defense, frankly, was a little boring. I thought
you saw a lot of similar looks, and I felt like,
I don't want to say predictable necessarily, but I just
studying them, I wasn't necessarily wowed by the time they
got to the playoffs, the number of pressures they were

(40:09):
sending and blitzes. They were very, very aggressive, more so
than they were for most of the season. And then
when you get an obvious passing situations, the number of
just looks they'll give you where they'll give you mug fronts,
you'll get load fronts. You've got Milton Williams and Christian
Barmore a defensive end, you got edge guys that are
dropping down field, like there was so much going on.
I think that you even saw with veteran quarterbacks like

(40:29):
their heads were kind of spinning because it's not just
the old kind of typical Patriots defenses where they're just
gonna line up and man coverage and it's not a
whole lot of trickeration. They're just gonna do what they do.
And then if it's a unit that's been together for
a while, that's where you start to see them layer
things on top of it. Zach Orr took over for
Terrell Williams early in the season and really made the
defense his own. So, but I think it's gonna be

(40:51):
predicated on some scheme to pressure because Draymond Jones, I
think it's solid. I don't think he's a world beater.
Elijah Ponder is a player I think can really take
a step forward, and as someone who maybe slept on
but even still, he was an undrafted rookie last year,
so you can only expect so much. I'd rather be
wowed than you know, put a lot of expectations on him.
And gave Achis. I will say gave Achis looks better
than I anticipated, and he was one of the guys

(41:13):
I really wanted for the Patriots. When he says next
to Elijah Ponder and Eliji pondre is a freak athlete,
Akus looks like an action figure it's insane. I think
he's gonna work his way into the mix, but your
edge rush is really relying on akis. I think taking
that step or pondering again, young guys, I don't love that.
And then when you talk about the spine of the defense,
Roberts Blaine is a very good player, but he's someone

(41:33):
where like he's gonna get to his depth and zone,
he's gonna make the tackle, do all the things. But
there are some limitations to his game. If you look
back at the Dolphins early on last season, they had
him in man coverage on a chan a couple of
times and it went exactly how you think that would go.
And then Kevin Bayard even this is a defense and
unlike in the Bill years where everything they wanted to
look like man coverage and then they surprise you a zone.

(41:55):
They still play a ton of man, but now they
want their man to look like zone. So a lot
of the times you have safeties covering receivers because you know,
if Marcus Jones doesn't follow you, oh that's his own indicator.
No it's not because now Craig Woodson or last years,
Jalen Hawkins is going to be following you. If they
keep putting buyered in those situations. As solid as he is,
as savvy as he is, there's only so much you

(42:17):
can control. So I do think that Zach Korrer is
going to have to be in his bag and on
top of his play calls to make life easier on
some of those older veterans. But I still see them
having the potential to be top ten. Because Core killed
it last year. It seems like they're only building on it,
and there's enough continuity that I think they should be okay.
Plus Jane Bowen is in the building now. He was
really good dialing up simulated pressures. Hopefully they can get

(42:38):
and creepers as well, so hopefully they can add that
to the mix of keep offenses on their toes.

Speaker 1 (42:42):
I will give you your choice of just what you
want to talk about here, whether it's your most important
non quarterback, whether it's your things go wrong, if just
what is like standing out to you about this Patriots team.

Speaker 2 (42:55):
I'll get the most important because I think the biggest
thing is injuries. I think if they get hit by
injuries more than they last year, that's really gonna be
kind of rough to try to overcome. With their lack
of depth in some spots. But I now that wax
poetic about AJ Brown because is he the player that
he was in his prime? Maybe not, But according to
the practices I've seen, he's still pretty damn good. And
I think it's not just that Oh Aj Brown and

(43:16):
Drake May their skill sets fit each other very well.
There's the Josh McDaniel aspect of this, and I think
is gonna allow AJ Brown to have one of the
better seasons of his career because I'm like last year
where you saw him lining up outside like ninety percent
of the time, Josh is gonna move him everywhere. You're
gonna see him in the slot and some empty looks
where he's gonna be going up against smaller cornerbacks, linebackers, safeties,

(43:38):
just hunting mismatches and putting him in spots where he's
gonna have some of those more favorable matchups. I think
play action is gonna be huge, Like you're gonna see
a lot more of what you saw when he was
on the Titans. We're a lot of really hard run
fakes because he's one of two receivers on the field.
They're only running two routes. But as soon as those
linebackers step up. He got aj Brown on a glance
route wide open over the middle, and then a safety

(43:58):
habit to tackle him in space. And even Josh when
he gets funky, he's gonna put him in the backfield
at times Like I just think that Josh is gonna
be able to put him in a lot more advantageous
situations and not just say, hey, be on the backside
of a three by one and attack that one corner.
It's gonna be no, we're gonna put you off. We're
gonna find ways to get you matched up on their
worst corner and let you bully that guy. They're not

(44:19):
gonna ask him to only do difficult things. And then
on top of that, you got Greg by putting the
ball where only he can get it, being aggressive where
Jalen Hurts kind of pulled back in that area of
his game last year. Ah's gonna get all the opportunities,
he's gonna get scheme advantages, and so far he's done
a really good job taking advantage of him. So I'm
gonna have a really fun time stuttying how he gets
used this year. And he's gonna put up some big

(44:40):
numbers I don't think that's surprising anybody. But I don't
really see this as a potential regression year. I think
he's gonna be much better than he was last season.

Speaker 1 (44:47):
People are a little down on aj Brown in general,
and I'm with you. The willingness for May to throw
the ball into tight contested spots, and it's crazy his
tight window throw percentage can considering the complete percentage he
had last year. And it's partly and because the Patriots
had one of the best pass catching groups in the league,
just in terms of like catching the ball, which is

(45:08):
an underrated skill for wide receivers, like not a lot
of drops, a lot of tough catches. I think it
goes goes wrong if, like if free agency doesn't have
the midas touch again this year, like Elijah Vera. Tucker
is a very important signing for them to stay healthy
at guard. I think the offensive line Will Campbell reportedly
having a good camp at left tackle, could take a
step forward, certainly, but they have a lot to prove.

(45:29):
Like they weren't a good run blocking group last year,
they have to show that they can be. There is
a route here where the offensive line holds this team
and offense back, and despite everything you said about the defense,
I kind of think that the way this team is
a super Bowl contender is if the offense, like last year,
is pretty close to lights out, and that the offensive line,

(45:51):
to me, is the fly in the ointman that could
hold them back. To me, they have a lot of
variants like this team does. I'll go first on ceiling
and floor. They are one of the teams I think
could win the Super Bowl. I think there's six or
seven teams in the AFC that you could have a
hot take in a strong take that there's a big difference.
I just don't see much of a gap between the
top six or seven teams in the AFC at this point.

(46:14):
I think there's a lot of talent at the top
and a lot of good quarterback play. I think the
Patriots are one of those teams. I think their floor
is a little lower than the Bills. I think it
could go wrong a little bit. So much went right.
It's not just the schedule last year, the lack of
depth you mentioned. We're trying not to get too deep
into injuries here, but I think I think the defense

(46:34):
could regress, so to me, the floor would be missing
the playoffs like a nine to eight type of season,
just like a good not great season. But I think
Patriots fans would be pretty upset about that ceiling floor
For you.

Speaker 2 (46:46):
I do think I see their ceiling and floor similar
to the Bills. I think they could get back to
the super Bowl. You get aj Brown. That's I think
what the expectation is, or at least you're going to
be knocking hard on that door. I don't think they
missed the playoffs, and then that's really the coaching a
lot of it. And the depth is absolutely an issue,
and if they do, I think it's going to because
they got bit by the injury bug in the way
they didn't last year. But I think this coaching staff

(47:08):
understands the personnel very well. I think they know how
to come up with contingency plans to just kind of
stop the bleeding where they need to. Like last year,
they had some issues and coverage and with their pass
rush and then they kind of got better in that area,
but they sacrificed their run defense and they said, look,
if that's how you're going to beat us, go ahead.
We have Drake mabeill do what we got to do.
And I think that willing needs to kind of make

(47:28):
tough choices. Is going to keep them from being the
kind of team that actually does miss the playoffs. But again,
the reason I think that the Bills and the Patriots
could get to like really nine ish wins is because
of that schedule. It's not easy. And while aj Brown
likely flips the odds in your favor in some of
those games that are a coin flip, it's coin flip
for a reason. So I agree, I think they can
get back to the super Bowl. But I think if
things go really poorly, you're talking about probably.

Speaker 1 (47:49):
A nine winday plus the like last year, you're starting
out zero to one unless you can pull off a
big upset on the kickoff game in Seattle. But you
never know it's happened. Like once, home team for those
kickoff games almost never lose, as Patriots fans know pretty well.
Let's wrap with the Dolphins. What's bringing me joy about
this Dolphins team is my guy, Malik Willis had number

(48:13):
one overall in my top one to one free agency list.
I think he's going to be really fun to watch
play quarterback. All it took was one great preseason drive
of him, you know, diming up Caleb Douglass, so though
that was a crazy catch that he made, But in general,
Malik Willis has shown a really improved level of accuracy
as a pro compared to college and I'm just excited

(48:33):
to watch that development because it could be a really
exciting career arc I think it was a great risk
for the Dolphins to take, because I don't think there
was any risk to it at all. They can absolutely
draft a quarterback in the top five next year if
it doesn't work out. But I think he's the best
running quarterback in the league right now, like in terms
of running the ball and the combination and what that

(48:55):
will give you as an offense, especially when Devon h
Chan is on the same team as you with a
p pretty accurate quarterback and he's got to prove it
over seventeen games. Is exciting. I just think he's gonna
be box office. If if you're into fantasy, they're going
to be trailing a lot, He's gonna be running a lot. Like,
I think he will be a very watchable, exciting quarterback.

(49:15):
What do you have in terms of bringing you joy
for the Dolphins.

Speaker 2 (49:18):
I've got their defensive front. Now, I'm not sure how
the run defense is going to be exactly, but they
got some fun names, like I think Zac Seeler has
been underrated for years. I really like Kenneth Grant as well.
And then on the edge of Chop Robinson's having a
great summer. He's a really good player, so I'm excited
to see how he continues to grow. Joshua Uche kind
of rebounded last year after really struggling towards the end

(49:39):
of his Patriots tenure. I held out hope as long
as I.

Speaker 1 (49:42):
Was gonna say, you're not giving up on josh Day.
The few the proud are good.

Speaker 2 (49:47):
He's still as rusher. Just get him off the field
on first and second down, no use him where he's valuable.
But I mean, I really like the explosiveness and the
potential that they have. And then at linebacker, I am
pissed at the Dolphins linebacker depth because it's really fun.
Jordan Brooks is one of the best players in his position.
Another guy I think is really really underrated and should
get more love than he does, Malcolm Rodriguez. I did

(50:09):
so many mock simulations to just try to figure out
how the Patriots could justify taking him, because I just
really like the tape. I know he's undersized, but I
mean the guy is a really good playmaker, really good instincts.
I'm interested to see how he's gonna fit, especially learning
from someone like Jordan Brooks and Kyle Lewis. Kind of
a similar story where I was trying to figure out
if Patriots could use him kind of that like Will
Slot Hybrid. I just think he's a really interesting player,

(50:31):
where with Jeff Hafley, I like how he deploys his guys,
so I think he's going to maximize what Kyle Lewis does,
like again, run defense necessarily. I don't know that they're
going to be great, but just the names and the
potential of what they can be and maybe you know
as you continue to add or bolster whatever. I just
think it's a fascinating group. But I'm looking forward to
seeing what exactly they do this year.

Speaker 1 (50:50):
The defensive line in general, and I went with Chap
Robinson if I had to choose one, was my choice
for the most important non quarterback. And a larger point
about this team, this is a developmental team. We just
don't see that too often in the NFL. But when
you have seven high draft picks in the same season
when you just take on the most dead money in

(51:12):
the history of the NFL, Like, that's just what this is.
And so I thought Chop Robinson specifically, who's having a
good summer as you mentioned, kind of as a symbolic
piece of this development because we'll get to the rookies.
You mentioned Jacob Rodriguez and what he could do, But
how about taking some of the guys that were there

(51:32):
last year and making them better. That's the ultimate test
to me of a difference making coaching staff, is our
guys are better with us than they were with y'all.
Like Mike Rabel did that last year to me as
a real testament. He took some of the guys and
really improved those same guys. So specifically you mentioned Kenneth
Grant didn't have a great rookie season, Jordan Phillips was

(51:54):
a good rookie for them at defensive tackle last year,
and then Chop Robinson, who really had a poor year
year in his second season. So develop these young guys
kind of show us you're a good coaching staff, because yeah,
you got to hit on the rookies, but it would
really help their build to speed up if they also
can develop some of the younger players that the previous
regime had other than like the veterans that they resign,

(52:16):
and they do have a couple good ones. I don't
know if any of them are your choice for most
important non quarterback.

Speaker 2 (52:23):
They're not. I've got to Von hm because I think
if this offense is going to do anything. I also
like Maleiku Willis. I do not like Leak Willis a
supporting cast very much, and I think if they're going
to have any success, to him, Von Hhan is going
to have to be a monster yet again. And I
still I don't know how he manages his workload at
his size. It is absolutely incredible. But the ex closest

(52:43):
potential that he brings the versatility as well, his ability
to not just contribute as a rusher. And I'll be
interested to see what this Dolphins offensive line looks like,
because on paper looks pretty good. I know Austin Jackson,
it's been up and down, so we'll see how that
progresses exactly. But if they can open up some holes
for him and just keep Malik Willis out of obvious
passing situations, it's a lot of pressure, but it's why

(53:03):
he's been the most important player, and also what he
can do as a receiver out of the backfield. I
think that's going to mitigate a lot of the issues
that they have with that receiver room. So I wanted
to talk about the deep betse a little bit more,
but he's kind of the only guy on offense other
than Malik Willison I'm actually excited about, and he's earned
it that big contract, so full day champ.

Speaker 1 (53:22):
I am excited about what this offense looks like too.
That leads into my scheme dream here because the receiver group,
it's crazy that, like a third round rookie people thought
was a reach, Caleb Douglas might be wide receiver one.
Like it's him and Malik Washington. I mean, it's nuts.
Greg Dolsicch at tight end they're excited about, but he's
always hurt. Like it's one of the most talent poor

(53:45):
receiver groups we've seen. And yet if you're half lee
and then offensive coordinator Bobby Slowick, you can start off
by squinting and saying, well, we're a run based scheme,
we have a chan, we have Malik Willis. Those two
will be forced multiply for each other behind the line
with a lot of potential. Patrick Paul is a third
year player who really improved in his second year. Can

(54:06):
he take it the next step? Aaron Brewer was an
All Pro. He's legit one of the best centers in
the league. Jonah savanea disastrous rookie season, reportedly having a
good camp we'll ce, but had a really good preseason opener.
They have a top fifteen pick and Caden Proctor like
if they actually could coach it up and he squint

(54:26):
really hard, like you can see some like you know,
Lamar Jackson Ravens build similarities where it's more just about
like the running game and the running quarterback. Obviously it's
not going to produce at that level, but just in
terms of being respectable and being watchable. My question is
more about Bobby Slowak, who had a chance with the
Texans and had some talent there and it didn't go great.

(54:47):
Was also was in a total disaster. When people talk
about CJ. Stroud's good rookie year, like that was with
Bobby Slowk. So we'll see. It's a second chance for
an offensive coordinator we don't know that much about, but
that's kind of thing I'm watching. Schematically, if you want
to talk defense, he said he wanted to. I mean,
you're welcome to do it here.

Speaker 2 (55:04):
I mean, I'll tell you so can I lead into
my se dream what I want to see what this
NASCAR package looks like like when the defense gets an
obvious passing situation. Specifically, does Chop Robinson get to use
a little bit like Micah Parsons where you're just hunting
the mismatches on the offensive line, put him against the
center they can't move, just have new a little basketball

(55:25):
hoop thing in front of him, and then just go
nuts with the explosiveness. Like I'll be very interested to
see if he's able to move some of these pieces
around and create favorable looks because I think Chop is
going to have a really good season this year. But
I think he can put up stupid numbers if you
don't put him in just one spot and allow him
to be a real burstal weapon for you. And obviously
with Uce as well, there were times where he got
opportunities to rush inside. It was a little bit more

(55:47):
hit or miss. I don't think that's a perfect role
for him, but at least having one guy on the
edge that you know you have to respect when he's
pinning his ears back and then having chop is kind
of that moving piece. If I'm preparing for the Dolphins,
that's something that I'm not necessarily looking forward to.

Speaker 1 (56:00):
Man, they are just gonna be underdogs in every game
except I guess Home versus Jets. Potentially, it's overall on paper,
like a team that you squint and you look at
and like they're one of, if not the favorites to
draft last. And yet, like I said, we've been pointing
out a lot of the positive, especially on offense, but
you mentioned the linebackers. I think that could be a

(56:22):
difference making group. It's a defensive minded head coach and
Jeff Hafley, who has a lot of respect around the league.
Like it's easier to win five or six games surprisingly
with just like cohesiveness and enough talent and a good
enough line play then people realize. So in that way,
they could be surprising. That leads to my things go
wrong if section of the show, Taylor. I struggle with

(56:45):
the Dolphins more than anyone for this because, like, the
expectations are still I don't even know what wrong is here,
Like they're expecting to have a top five pick and
then I thought about it, and it's like, well, it's
all about the rookies, Like things go wrong if this
rookie class doesn't hit, it's a total success this season.
If Caden Proctor, their rookie guard, looks good, and Caleb

(57:08):
Douglas looks like a piece, and Chris Bell, who I
was really excited about as a wide receiver who just
got taken off pups coming off at torn acl show
some promise they had a first round picking Chris Johnson
at cornerback. Jacob Rodriguez you mentioned could be a future star,
Like that's the whole point of this season. They're not
all going to be great. But let's say out of
those five or six guys, if you find four real

(57:28):
deal contributors, maybe starters, and maybe one or two of
them could be plus starters, that's it. That's a win
for the Dolphins. So things go wrong if they mis evaluated,
and like, it's a stinker of a class and you
never really know until you see it on the field.

Speaker 2 (57:43):
I agree. For me, what goes wrong is the casting
offense lives up to expectation. Unfortunately, if this fasting game
looks like what we think it's gonna look like and
Bobby Slowick didn't learn from his year off. I hate
to be this nagative, but like he could be a
genuine disaster because I mean, if you go up against
like the Patriots secondary, for example, I don't see how
you're completing passes. Maybe some schemed opportunity, sure, but if

(58:06):
you get into these passing situation, I think you're looking
like what the Jets tend to look like on offense,
just like how are you getting downfield? You don't have
a lot of size there either, so of course, like
if you can get the ball in their hands, that's
one thing. I just it's really hard for me to
see reality where they get behind and it doesn't just
turn really really ugly and then we'll get to the record.

(58:26):
But I mean, if you're talking about end of half drives,
where are you going with the football? Like? Who is
your guy? Is it Caleb Douglass? Is that the world
you want to live in? I don't know. I just
I'm not optimistic at all about this pass game. I
hope that they pleasantly surprised because I don't want to
have to watch that and I don't want Dolphins fans
even have to suffer that, but I just I don't

(58:47):
see how this is more than at best a somewhat
functional passing attack.

Speaker 1 (58:53):
Yeah, I think you're really counting on the threat of
the run and the play action and r pos like
the confusion of Malik Willis's legs too, to really open
things up for you. And you know what I just
checked while you were talking. Caleb Douglas six three to ten.
That's a big guy.

Speaker 2 (59:12):
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry too. At well, let
me pull. I have to charge somewhere, So I'm sorry.

Speaker 1 (59:19):
Up to the two fans out there, like Sean McVay,
I don't know if he's making this team. I was
watching their preseason game and he was still out there
deep in the fourth quarter and I was like, oh,
to to not may not make this cut. We'll see.
He could just be the return guy. Ceiling floor, I'll
let you go to begin with.

Speaker 2 (59:37):
My floor is honestly, I think they could not win
a game, right if you don't have a pass game
in the modern NFL.

Speaker 1 (59:43):
That's how I'm sorry, Okay.

Speaker 2 (59:46):
I think that they could go literally win zero games.
And then again because I think if you're in a
tight game, a lot of the times, you're just gonna
have to pass to get in the field goal range,
whatever you know you gotta do. I think three is
probably the best case scenario for him. I think, whoa, oh,
I don't think I just have floor. I'm sorry, here
is my ceiling. I just don't have very high expectations

(01:00:07):
for the seat. I'm sorry if that's really mean, But.

Speaker 1 (01:00:09):
Clearly, you know the doll fans out there, they are proud.
They are an intelligent fan base. They they know by
bad ball when they see it, and they're going to
be tracking this team and they're going to come back
in full force when it's a little more competitive. But
they are going to take offense to a three win
ceiling and a zero wind floor. So that that was.

Speaker 2 (01:00:30):
Name too. I got down. So I'm sorry, this is
not my best segment. And if you come for me,
if you must, I agree, But I just I don't
see the vision.

Speaker 1 (01:00:39):
Unfortunately, maybe I've been sitting next to Jordan Rodriege too long,
and she likes some of the long term planning of
this build and thinks they're making right moves and and
so far, so good of what I hear from camp
in terms of the rookie class, although when they had
the joint practice with Washington it was one way traffic.
Things look better at the preseason as they were playing

(01:01:01):
their starters against Washington's reserves. Like, clearly they're they're the
slight favorite to me to be the number one overall pick,
but like, would I take them against the field? No,
I still would take the field because I think the
NFL is just too unpredictable. So I'm gonna give them
like a two win floor. Even that I was gonna

(01:01:22):
give them like a three win floor. I do think
Malik Willis and the running game and the coaching and
enough defensive like pieces gets them some wins that they're
competitive and not the worst team in the league. So
to me, they're ceiling is I don't think it's that
crazy for them to finish ahead of the Jets and
win five or six games, Like, I think that's possible.

(01:01:43):
I'm not gonna pick it. We're about to pick it
in order. I do have the Dolphins last, But I like,
if you told me they go six and eleven and
it becomes like a nice story of improvement, I think
that could happen. That to me is actually easier to
do than build sustained success and and it would show
something with Malik Willis. It would mean they really found
like a guy in Malik Willis, which would be incredible

(01:02:06):
fine for them if that actually happened, we'll see. All right,
let's pick this division, Taylor. I know where you're going
in terms of your last place team. I don't know
where you're going for your first place team. Are you
going to be a homer and go with the Patriots first? Overall?

Speaker 2 (01:02:22):
I'm going to be a homer and I'm just it's
an optimistic perspective of like they don't get bitten by
the injury bud, because I really do like the pieces
that they've added, and I think that they are the
kinds of pieces where they can actually move up to
the success they had last year where they did get
very fortunate last season and make it all the way
to the super Bowl. But I feel like they did
enough to outside of maybe the edge room that's still

(01:02:42):
a pretty big question mark for me, but I think
they shored up a lot of the weaknesses they had
where they can truly go toe to toe with any team.
So I have the Patriots winning. I think the Bills
are going to be right behind them, though I think
it's close. If the Bills win the division, I will
not be surprised at all. Obviously, Josh Allen bare minimum,
you're going to be one of it's not the best
team in the division, and I like the DJ more. Addition,

(01:03:03):
I just don't think it moves needle enough for me
that I put them at the top. Then third, Yes,
I have the Jets gonna mention to see how that
goes with the Dolphins. I just I hope they're more
for the sake of Dolphins fans. I hope they're more
entertaining than I think they will be. But it really
is just the pass game for me that I like
the piece. I like the direction of the ring as well.

(01:03:23):
I will say I think in two or three years
this could look like a very smart rebuild. And I
think they're eating a lot of crow early. I respect
what they're doing, but I think this is like a
development year, like you look it up in the dictionary,
and this is a rebuilt year. So you know, you
got to suffer for one year and hopefully you know
pays off.

Speaker 1 (01:03:41):
Yeah, and maybe get the number one overall draft pick.
And that's either a quarterback to build around or if
you're really loving what you're seeing out of Malik willis
a bevy of draft picks to maybe not move that
far down in the draft and get some high octane
talent at other positions. So I think they're in a
good position. The Jets are going to be angling for
a top five pick. These are teams where if there's

(01:04:03):
an injury or too early, could absolutely be you know,
trade partners with teams. But I do have the Jets third,
the Dolphins fourth. I have the Bills winning the division.
You could probably guess that based on the tone, and
the Patriots second. Maybe I'm just harder on, you know,
the team. I grew up rooting four, and I used
to just always pick them to make the super Bowl,
win the Super Bowl, and the Brady aar because it's like, well,

(01:04:25):
why wouldn't I I want to, like not be annoyed
that I didn't pick them, but they're going there every
other year, if not more, you might as well pick
them to get there. Now I'm kind of going the
opposite route. I was a little too low on them
last year, and they weren't the only team with an
easy schedule tailor the Bills had the second easiest schedule
in the league last year, according to DVOA, and the
Broncos had the fourth, So it's like, yeah, easy schedules

(01:04:47):
help teams get better records. So I think it'll be tougher.
But I think both the Bills and the Patriots are
at the top of the AFC to stay. I think
they're both going to the playoffs. I just have the Bills.
I just think they have a little more margin error.
Maybe maybe I'm wrong.

Speaker 2 (01:05:01):
And look, either you're right with the prediction and you're right,
or you're wrong and they're going to be really good again.

Speaker 1 (01:05:07):
So you know what, you win either way, but then
you don't fully win either way. You know. It took
me until like the Super Bowl last year to be like,
all right, maybe they'll win and then no, not so much.
Tell them where they can find you. CLNS Media and
Taylor Kyle's you. You and the crew there are are
great covering the Patriots every week. You got You Got
the Date Patriots Daily podcast. Right, you're not messing around.

Speaker 2 (01:05:30):
Past Saley brother and we try our bestsel up to
the name. First of all, thank you so much for
having me on. Man. This was a delight. You're one
of my favorite people in the industry, so I'm very
honored to be here. But yeah, you can find me
on Twitter at t Kyle's thirty nine, k y l
e S for Kyle's and on YouTube. That's where a
lot of my content is. It's Patriots on CLNS and
then the website for my written stuff c l NS
Media dot Com.

Speaker 1 (01:05:51):
I love it And if you want to go deeper,
really like learning about the game, listen to Mike Rabel.
He knows what he's talking about. H and check out
Taylor's coverage of the Patriots and the entire AFC East
and AFC as a whole. I always learn a lot
when I do that. So that's not it for our
division coverage this week. We got Patrick claibonn coming for

(01:06:13):
NFC East Talk in just a bit. But next on
the feed you will hear myself and Nick Schuk catch
you up on all the camp buzz around the league
that is coming on Tuesday. We will see them

All Episodes

Episode Transcript

Host

Gregg Rosenthal

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know

Crime Junkie

NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}2026 AFC East Preview with Taylor Kyles: Bills or Patriots?