September 17, 2021 • 26 mins
In the fifth episode of the NFL Inside Report podcast, Rhett Lewis is joined by Mike Giardi for an inside look at the maturation process of Mac Jones in New England! Rhett is also joined by Jim Trotter to share an insiders perspective on the opportunity Eric Bieniemy has to finally be given a head coaching position he's so long deserved!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:11):
I'm Red Lewis and this is the NFL inside Report.
John straf Back looks the landside touchdown Patriots. Patriot's rookie
quarterback Mac Jones efficient effective in his debut despite a
week one loss. If you're stuck in the pocket, do
you trust this guy to make the smart decision and
(00:32):
the smart throw? And I think the way the Patriots
few back is that he has that that capability with
every rep Mike Giardi showing us how Mac is building
trust and striving for urgency. Plus chief selfensive coordinator Eric b.
Enemy has interviewed for multiple NFL head coaching vacancies but
come up empty. From my standpoint, it really is shameful
(00:55):
that he has not become a head coach in the NFL.
Jim Trump and Hya jumped to college. With the USC
job now open. Might be the Enemy's next opportunity at
a head job, But we begin with Mac Jones's opening
salvo as the Patriots QB one. Drafted number fifteen overall
by the Patriots, Jones beat out Cam Newton and earned
(01:17):
the starting quarterback job and performed well in the season
opening loss to Miami, and Mike Giardi has followed all
of it for us, Mike welcome. We give mac an
a for the way he operated the Patriots offense, but
probably a B for production. So how do we reconcile
that difference in seeking the ultimate evaluation? Yeah, I mean
(01:39):
I think you saw as the game went on, you
know obviously that that that first series there when he
gets spun behind and throws the ball in the ground
and it's a fumble and sort of like, oh God,
that's just not the way you want to start. But uh,
the thing that I've been most impressed with him rhet
in terms of how this summer has gone now here
into the into the fall and the start of the
season is how he corrects his miss stakes on the fly.
(02:01):
And there was a moment and I mentioned this on
NFL Now a couple of days ago, where he threw
a ball down the middle of the field to um
Jacoby Myers and it was a pretty good throw, but
Jason mccordy recovered and knocked the ball away. It was
on a post, it was about yards down the field,
and it was like, that's a great throw and even
better play by mccordy. And I'm thinking to myself, good throw,
(02:22):
but could be better. Next series, Agalore runs essentially the
same route, and he puts a little bit more juice
into it. He puts the ball a little bit further
away from the defensive back and it ends up as
a seven yard completion around the pocket the chaps. That's
just how his brain works. It's like the super computer
(02:43):
starts going and he starts processing the info. K. Well,
I thought i'd throw it well enough to myers, I didn't,
So now I gotta make sure this next time around,
I'm gonna put a little extra juice on it. And
I think we've seen him do that in a variety
of ways all summer and into the season, and you know,
I think they love the fact that he sees something
and you may get him on it once, but then
(03:04):
he files it away and if he sees it again,
you're not gonna be so lucky. It's it's um that
that part of his game right now, that brain part
of his game. I can't imagine there's a quarterback, a
rookie right now is more more advanced in that regarding
than him. The other trait that I think that I
found really interesting with Mac, especially in his debut here
was patients. I feel like in this version, like of
(03:26):
the Patriots offense, the quarterback has to exercise real patients
because you're not just taking deep shots a lot two
thousand seven Randy Moss. Right, You're gonna work the ball
down the field a little bit more methodically, and I
feel like that kind of suits his style too. Is
that accurate? Yeah, I would say completely. I mean, first
of all, just in terms of if if you view
(03:46):
the Brady offense, and you know which is Charlie Weiss
and Josh McDaniels and Bill O'Brien and back to Josh,
but if you view that offense, where Brady made most
of his hey, especially early on, was that short to
interer stuff and putting it on a guy such that
he allowed for yards after catch, right, He was great
at that is, whether it was Troy Brown or Wes
(04:07):
Welker or later Julian, you know, getting them the ball
full stride so they turned, you know, the six yard
or eight yard throw into fifteen or twenty or whatever.
And I think you've seen signs with Mac that he
does sort of the same thing. Gives his guys an
opportunity to make plays with the football, you know, strictly
because of that, and look, there does need to be
probably more as we go along here, he's gonna need
(04:30):
to push the ball down the field. I have there
a couple of times, which I think he mentioned indirectly,
and Josh McDaniels mentioned directly where you know, there were
some shot plays drawn up in there and he ended
up checking it down. But the good news about that
is he didn't force it, so if he didn't like
the look, he just went right away, Hey, that's that's
not That's not what I'm looking for. So I'm gonna
go here where I know I have the five yard throw.
(04:51):
And maybe in some respects Brian Flores and the defensive
coordinator Josh Boyer baited him into some of that stuff,
like hey, let's let's make him make twelve to fourteen
throws to go down the field. But um, I think
as they give him more, and they have given him
a lot, but of course it's going to continue to expand.
I think if they give him more, and when they
give him more, it's just gonna make them more difficult
to defend. It's gonna spread defenders out a little bit more.
(05:13):
And I think we'll see more of those plays down
the field. One of the other narratives that we talked
about a lot in the run up to the draft
about Mac Jones was, man, can he get out of
trouble if he has to? He's not this elite athlete
like the other four quarterbacks that are going to be
drafted in the first round really are. Right. So even
though you know, like by most quarterback standards, still pretty
damn good, you know, if you just look at forty
(05:33):
times and other testing stuff. But then it comes back
to his poise and his processing ability to get the
ball out quick in the face of pressure. That kind
of nullifies that need to escape, right And and do
we see that against Miami here in Week one? Absolutely
there are countless examples. And again I'll give you the
(05:54):
one fourth quarter, third and six down, seventeen sixteen. Uh.
The Dolphins bring six um and immediately have the shoot.
Emmanuel Agba twists inside and he beats Shack Mason's right
shoulder and he is on top of Mac. I mean, Mac,
there's there's not much time here. Jacoby Mayers running a
crossing route and Jacoby has barely made his cut, and
(06:15):
Mac plants his foot in the ground and lets it
go and lets it go fifteen yards to the left
of where Myers is at the time of the throw,
knowing he's gonna get hit, but places it perfectly. So
Meyers swings his head around and runs right into it
and it's a first down Myers. There have been so
(06:37):
many moments like that again, where he just he'll stand there,
he'll take it. And I'll give you one other thing.
And it's a little bit of a pet peeve of mine.
And I say this quite often. I think when you're
playing big games against good teams, those teams are gonna
be able to keep you in that pocket. You know
you're gonna have to win from the pocket at point.
(07:00):
So all we love the guys that can run around
and the young and iing and you know, look, pat
my homes can beat you in the eye of the the pocket,
can beach outs in the pocket. So there are rogers,
there are examples of guys that can do both. But
to me, if you're stuck in the pocket, do you
trust this guy to make the smart decision and the
smart throw? And I think the way the Patriots view
Mac is that he has that that capability. You know,
(07:21):
it doesn't always have to be the you and the
are play. It just has to be the right play,
and I think they feel like more often than not,
that's what he's given them, the right play, I mean,
making the right play. I think it's a great way
to describe what we saw from Mac in week one. Now,
we we talked about maybe, you know, adding some more
deep shots, trying to get some more explosive plays as
this kind of offense develops. But what is the next
(07:42):
step do you feel like in Mac's progression within the
framework of this offense, as they kind of evolve together,
I think they'll go empty more. Um. I think they'll
give him more freedom at the line of scrimmage. I
think he has some freedom right now, but as Josh
McDaniels was telling us earlier in the week, he doesn't
have all of it yet. And I think again that
comes with trust and time and and volume with the playbook,
and and understanding the concepts and how they want to
(08:04):
attack teams. And I think that if you give and
I believe that's coming, and I'd probably becoming a lot
sooner than maybe most people expect because of the quickness
that he's had in picking up the system and and
doing the right things. I think when when you give
him that freedom and you give them multiple choices at
the line of scrimmage, you'll see more of those plays where, um,
(08:25):
you know his feel and feel for the game and
feel for what he's seen on tape and how he
can exploit it, You'll see even more of that. You know,
more of he said, you know, Josh gives me the
right answers to the test, I just have to go
out there and and and pick the right ones. Well,
I think you're also going to see the point where
I'm seeing some things that maybe we haven't even talked
about that I'm able to then sort of express if
you will, on the field and make plays that way.
(08:48):
Red zone one area I'm sure the Patriots would love
to be a lot better in moving forward. If you're
going to one of one for four in terms of
touchdowns in the red zone against Miami. The biggest issue
there not driven or how do how do they correct
that moving forward to kind of get the more points
on the board here. Yeah, I thought they were a
little too conservative in the red zone. Um, and again
(09:08):
I think there are various points. You know, as a
rookie starting his first game against an aggressive defense, where
they had some tendencies to slide to a little bit
more of a conservative play call. I think there are
some first and second down runs that maybe you know,
now that you've seen the kid can handle it, maybe
that that first down run as a pass instead, you know,
give yourself an opportunity. I would say. The other thing is,
(09:28):
you know, look that their tight end production has been
got off of the last two years. They had eight
teen catches from the tight ends. Last season they got
eight and the opener from John who Smith and Hunter Henry,
and yet they needed to be more involved. And I
think it's particular Yeah, Hunter Henry in the red zone.
I think I don't to me as i've the more
I've watched Hunter, I feel like he's a slow builder
(09:48):
in terms of speed and how he gets open. But
his real I guess best skill set is in that
read area. Because he's so big, how do you defend
him as a linebacker able to to handle him ten
twelve yards down the field, fifteen yards down the field.
If you go somebody smaller, he's just gonna post them up.
And I think that's something that I would look for
(10:08):
uh in the coming weeks to get those guys more involved.
I think it will make his life a little bit easier.
And there us as your point out, you can't have
four trips to the red zone and thirteen points, and
that's as much a reason there is anything for losing
the football game on Sunday. And I think it'll be
fun to watch the rookie versus rookie quarterback match up
here as the Patriots get their second divisional test in
a row to start this season with their rival the
(10:31):
Jets this week. Nobody's got the pulse of the Patriots
like Mike Gardi Mike, Thanks Buddy. Thanks still to come
on NFL Inside Report. If the sc situation drags on,
I think Eric would definitely be interested in that position.
Jim Trotter joins us with why I jump to college?
Could be the opportunity that finally gets Chief's offensive coordinator
(10:54):
Eric B. Enemy the head coaching job he has long deserved.
An offensive coordinator has done such a fine job. Maybe
on bell Is in the backfield first, now take it
to him. It's the fans that's right on the sideline.
(11:18):
Chief's offensive coordinator Eric B Enemy and integral piece of
Kansas City's offensive success. Yet unable to secure a head
coaching job despite multiple interviews. Over the last few years,
our Jim Trotter has been a prominent voice in the
NFL minority hiring discussion. Is there a scenario where Eric
b Enemy would in fact be interested in becoming the
(11:41):
next head coach for the USC Trojans. Oh? Absolutely, Um.
I can tell you from my knowledge of the situation that, Um,
for some time I've known that if this job opened up,
he would have interest in this position. If everything we're right,
I think what he said is true that right now
(12:03):
his mind is where his feet are planet. I am
where my feet are. Okay, my job is to make
sure that we're ready to play it complete sound, sixty
minute football game. But we can come out and win
a game. But Um, that being said, if the FC
situation drags on, UM, I think Eric, again, if everything
(12:26):
is right, would definitely be interested in that position. Why
would USC be more attractive than say, the opening at
his alma mater a couple of years ago at Colorado. Well,
my understanding is that there were some things that he
wanted at Colorado that he couldn't get and so from
that standpoint, it wasn't right. So he didn't make the leap. Um.
And that's why I say even about USC, everything would
(12:48):
have to be right. Got to that point. So um,
you know, Eric is smart enough to know that you
don't just jump into a situation blindly. And he's put
in the work to prepare himself, um to get a
job that he wants, you know. So Um, He's not
(13:11):
just gonna if sc were to come after him. He's
not going to go there just because it's a job.
It would have to be the right job in terms
of everything that he feels he needs to succeed is
going to be available to him. How do you feel
like Eric B. Enemy, who has had so many interviews
now for NFL head coaching jobs without getting the job,
(13:32):
would perceive a step away from the NFL into the
college game to get a head coaching job there. You know, Red,
I don't know, but I'll say this, it's um number
one is shameful that that Eric B. Enemy hasn't gotten
a head coaching job in the NFL yet. I mean
that goes without saying. This is someone who has has
spent you know, fourteen plus years as a head I'm sorry,
(13:53):
as a coach in the NFL. Um. He's been nine
years in Kansas City. You know, he's coached a Super
Bowl m v P, he is coached to league MVP.
He has purposely tried to expand his knowledge from starting
out as a running back coach to understanding every level
of the offense UM and what's required to be able
(14:15):
to succeed. So from my standpoint, it really is shameful
that he is not um become a head coach in
the NFL. But having said that, let me say this.
I think Eric is the tree in a force that
we continue to ignore. And the force. What I mean
by that is the NFL has a has an issue
(14:37):
overall with hiring black people into decision making positions or
authority positions. And I'm not just talking about on the field.
You can go look at the league office where the
top twelve or thirteen executives are and there are what
two people of color there. You can look at our
media group where we cover a league that is whose
(14:58):
player pool is seven percent black, and yet there is
not one black person sitting at the table among the
senior managers when decisions are being made about how we
are going to cover these players. You know, we can
talk about the way owners of view black employees. From
this standpoint, um, you know, an owner can make an
(15:19):
alleged racist comment and it gets swept under the rug
to the point where we're told when we ask about it, well,
it's a human it's a human resources issue. So that's it.
So there's no um follow up on that. I can
have an owner tell me to my face when I
say to him, why does the NFL have such a
hard time hiring black people? Two positions of authority in
(15:42):
the NFL, and after a long winded answer that didn't
address the point, say to me, well, if blacks feel
some kind of way about that, they should buy their
own team and hire who they want. You know, why
is it that when we were doing the podcast last year,
for a year, a full season, we has to have
the commissioner come on and talk to us about these issues.
(16:04):
And we could not get the commissioner to come on
our podcast and talk about some of these issues. So
from my standpoint, we keep focusing on Eric b Enemy
not getting a head job, but he's just a symptom
of a much larger problem in my issue, and the
NFL needs to address this overall and not just focus
on well, one person, one person of color, did not
(16:25):
get a job. It's bigger than that. And I think
if we keep pretending and putting out all of these
um these these slogans and hashtags and everything else, then
we're not doing ourselves a service here of actually getting
to the root problem of what's going on in the NFL.
It's an important conversation to have to keep having because
I know you've had it before. I know this isn't
(16:46):
the first time that you've made your your thoughts clear
on this subject. And so how do we get beyond
then trying to mitigate the symptoms without addressing the real problem. Yeah,
I think first and foremost, you stopped pretending like there
isn't a problem, you know, or that everything is gonna
be okay. You know, the one word that really drives
me nuts in this whole conversation when people keep saying
(17:09):
be patient, be patient. How long do these men have
to be patient? You know, I'll never forget. I was
on a I was on a conference call with UM
the National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches, and they were
having sort of a banquet, and so they brought in
a handful of media to talk to a number of
these coaches and whatnot, and I was one of them.
And I'm not going to put the person on blast here,
(17:30):
but there was a very prominent media person on there
who was asked by these coaches, what do we have
to do to um get an opportunity to climb the ladder,
both on the collegiate level and the professional level, And
this very prominent media person, who is broadcasting to millions
of people every time he's on the air, says, well,
(17:52):
you guys got to dominate. You gotta dominate your job,
your positions, you know that you're coaching and whatnot. And finally,
for me, I just couldn't taking anymore and I said, look,
with all due respect, these men are dominating the positions
that they're coaching. Eric the enemy is dominating what he does,
and yet he can't get an opportunity. And the other
thing that we forget here is they are not asking
(18:14):
to be given anything. They're simply asking for an opportunity
that they have earned based on their body of work.
But we continue to ignore that as if somehow they're
asking for preferential treatment and they're not. So the first
thing I would say to you, and addressing this problem is,
let's be real and right up front say there is
a problem, and we are a part of it. So
(18:36):
how do we address it? Okay, Jim, So then for
the enemy again, we're saying that he has earned these
opportunities to be a head coach based on merit, based
on the work that he's done in his career in
the NFL, most recently with the Kansas City Chiefs, But
yet he hasn't gotten the head coaching job. So are
you then saying that it's not a merit based system
(18:58):
for the enemy? Rent for many of them? How does
Pep Hamilton's who coached the offensive rookie of the year
last year and Justin Herbert Um a guy who got
called into a game like thirty seconds before the game started,
so you know he had to be prepared to go
out and play and play as well as he did
against Kansas City when that happened last year when Tyrod
(19:19):
Taylor couldn't play. How does Pep Hamilton's coach the offensive
rookie of the year. And then we have what seven
head coaching openings and he didn't get an interview for those,
And I'm not even gonna argue with you that he
should have. But how the heck is he not an
offensive coordinator today? You know. So there there are things
going on here where you say it just doesn't make sense,
(19:43):
But yet others continue to get opportunities that these coaches
of color don't. It's just it's not right. And the
reason people say, well, why do you focus on this?
Because if you could talk to these men as I do,
and they are as honest with you as they are
with me, and you hear the sense of hopelessness in
their voice that this is never gonna change, man, that's devastating.
(20:07):
It's devastating for these men to aspire to climb the
ladder to the highest level and yet feel that they
don't have a real shot at it because of systemic racism.
You know. It's just it's just wrong. So that's why
I focus on it and talk about it so much,
is because someone has to speak for these men, because
it's very easy for us when we get to the
(20:28):
season and we're playing these great games, just like last night,
you know, which was outstanding, or the first week of
the season, and we have these great games to forget
about what's going on here and to forget about these
men until the next hiring cycle rolls around and everybody says,
woe is me. Okay, we gotta listen to black coaches
complaining that they're not getting opportunities, and then all the
(20:51):
hiring is done, and then we're right back into the
cycle again and preparing for the season, and everyone's forgotten
about it. It's wrong and that's why me personally, I
try and continue to focus a light on it for
these men, not for me. It doesn't do anything for me,
but it's to give a voice to these men who
feel like they can't say anything because if they do,
they're never gonna have an opportunity to climb that ladder.
(21:13):
Do you think it's possible, Jim, that we don't understand
the true value of the enemy, perhaps until he leaves
Kansas City and get to John elsewhere. Yeah. Look, let's
be honest here. And I'm not in any way saying
that Eric the Enemy is solely responsible for the great
success that Kansas City's offenses. Yeah, so I'm not saying
that Kansas City will be fine if Eric the Enemy
(21:33):
is there or not. I'm saying that, based on everything
he has done while there, he has earned the opportunity
based on that body of work to have an opportunity.
Justice Doug Peterson deserved an opportunity. Justice Matt Negy deserved
an opportunity, both of whom preceded him. So that's all
I'm saying here. The sad part to me is my
(21:55):
sense is that even when a black gets a head
coaching position, if he does not succeed, then the narrative
become See, we knew he couldn't do it. And the
reality is white coaches fail even more often than black
coaches do if you look at the history of winning
percentages among these coaches. So all I'm saying is that
(22:15):
they deserve an opportunity. They have earned an opportunity to
either succeed or fail based on the merits of their ability.
You know, That's all, well said Jim Trotter. An important
topic in a conversation, UH, that that you have championed
and that we appreciate your honesty and your candor here
for us on the NFL and side report. Thank you, Jim,
(22:37):
appreciate you. When we come back, the news you have
to know around the league, including a dear's impact on
a Minnesota Vikings players availability this weekend forty eight yarda tep.
Hopkins sweeps the wag ag and push us up to
the right. No, God, as time makes fires. There is
(23:01):
a flag on the play. Washington pointing in the Giants direction.
Will Hopkins get a reprieve? Joe Judge might lose his
mind if this is on the Giants offside on the
defense from the ninety seven. It's a five yards holiday
in the first hour. This is the anatomy of how
(23:22):
you lose football games. A forty three yard attack cheese
mat to snap it way the holder from forty three
yards away for the win. Hopkins curls it through. Washington
gets it done thirty to twenty nine. Hopkins hips the
game winner tie drama to kick off Week two in
(23:43):
the NFL and NFC East Showdown on Thursday Night Football.
That's a backup quarterback Taylor Heinekes three thirty six yards
and two touchdown performance through the air, lead a comeback
bid and get Washington in range for those walk off
fuel goal opera tunities plural thanks the Giants defensive lineman
(24:04):
Dexter Lawrence's off side penalty. Finally, Dustin Hopkins sending that
forty three yarder through and securing Washington's first victory of
the season, while sending New York to their fifth consecutive
oh and to start to a season. Some injury updates.
After playing just eighteen snaps in the Packers Week one
loss to the Saints Green Bay ed Drushers that Darius
(24:25):
Smith now heading to injured reserved with a back injury.
Packers said coach Matt Lafloor says Smith will be shut
down for a while, but does hope to have him
back this year. The LA Chargers are placing starting right
tackle Brian Bulaga on injured reserve due to groin and
back injuries, and in Minnesota, the Vikings ruled out linebacker
Anthony Barr, cornerback Harrison Hand, offensive lineman Christian derrisog and
(24:49):
in one of the more unique injury circumstances, defensive lineman
Everson Griffin has also been ruled out after being placed
in the concussion protocol due to his involvement in a
car our accident in which he was trying to avoid
hitting a deer on his way to the Vikings practice
facility Thursday morning. All four players will not suit up
(25:10):
for the Vikings in their week to match up against Arizona,
and we'll leave you though with some good news. For
the first time in the history of television's most acclaimed
sports reality franchise, Hard Knocks will present a multi episode
in season edition when HBO Sports and NFL Films team
up for Hard Knocks in season. The Indianapolis Colts coming
(25:33):
this fall with an all new primetime docuseries on the
a f C South Team and all premieres Wednesday, November
ten pm Eastern Time. And We're back with you next
Monday with a look behind the biggest headlines following your
week to Sunday in the NFL. This episode of NFL
Inside Report was produced by Thomas Warren and Tim Parrotka.
I'm your host, Rhet Lewis. We'll catch you next time, YEA.
(26:02):
NFL Inside Report is the production of the NFL and
partnership with I Heart Radio. For more official podcasts from
the NFL, visit the i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
I'm Red Lewis and this is the NFL inside Report.
John straf Back looks the landside touchdown Patriots. Patriot's rookie
quarterback Mac Jones efficient effective in his debut despite a
week one loss. If you're stuck in the pocket, do
you trust this guy to make the smart decision and
(00:32):
the smart throw? And I think the way the Patriots
few back is that he has that that capability with
every rep Mike Giardi showing us how Mac is building
trust and striving for urgency. Plus chief selfensive coordinator Eric b.
Enemy has interviewed for multiple NFL head coaching vacancies but
come up empty. From my standpoint, it really is shameful
(00:55):
that he has not become a head coach in the NFL.
Jim Trump and Hya jumped to college. With the USC
job now open. Might be the Enemy's next opportunity at
a head job, But we begin with Mac Jones's opening
salvo as the Patriots QB one. Drafted number fifteen overall
by the Patriots, Jones beat out Cam Newton and earned
(01:17):
the starting quarterback job and performed well in the season
opening loss to Miami, and Mike Giardi has followed all
of it for us, Mike welcome. We give mac an
a for the way he operated the Patriots offense, but
probably a B for production. So how do we reconcile
that difference in seeking the ultimate evaluation? Yeah, I mean
(01:39):
I think you saw as the game went on, you
know obviously that that that first series there when he
gets spun behind and throws the ball in the ground
and it's a fumble and sort of like, oh God,
that's just not the way you want to start. But uh,
the thing that I've been most impressed with him rhet
in terms of how this summer has gone now here
into the into the fall and the start of the
season is how he corrects his miss stakes on the fly.
(02:01):
And there was a moment and I mentioned this on
NFL Now a couple of days ago, where he threw
a ball down the middle of the field to um
Jacoby Myers and it was a pretty good throw, but
Jason mccordy recovered and knocked the ball away. It was
on a post, it was about yards down the field,
and it was like, that's a great throw and even
better play by mccordy. And I'm thinking to myself, good throw,
(02:22):
but could be better. Next series, Agalore runs essentially the
same route, and he puts a little bit more juice
into it. He puts the ball a little bit further
away from the defensive back and it ends up as
a seven yard completion around the pocket the chaps. That's
just how his brain works. It's like the super computer
(02:43):
starts going and he starts processing the info. K. Well,
I thought i'd throw it well enough to myers, I didn't,
So now I gotta make sure this next time around,
I'm gonna put a little extra juice on it. And
I think we've seen him do that in a variety
of ways all summer and into the season, and you know,
I think they love the fact that he sees something
and you may get him on it once, but then
(03:04):
he files it away and if he sees it again,
you're not gonna be so lucky. It's it's um that
that part of his game right now, that brain part
of his game. I can't imagine there's a quarterback, a
rookie right now is more more advanced in that regarding
than him. The other trait that I think that I
found really interesting with Mac, especially in his debut here
was patients. I feel like in this version, like of
(03:26):
the Patriots offense, the quarterback has to exercise real patients
because you're not just taking deep shots a lot two
thousand seven Randy Moss. Right, You're gonna work the ball
down the field a little bit more methodically, and I
feel like that kind of suits his style too. Is
that accurate? Yeah, I would say completely. I mean, first
of all, just in terms of if if you view
(03:46):
the Brady offense, and you know which is Charlie Weiss
and Josh McDaniels and Bill O'Brien and back to Josh,
but if you view that offense, where Brady made most
of his hey, especially early on, was that short to
interer stuff and putting it on a guy such that
he allowed for yards after catch, right, He was great
at that is, whether it was Troy Brown or Wes
(04:07):
Welker or later Julian, you know, getting them the ball
full stride so they turned, you know, the six yard
or eight yard throw into fifteen or twenty or whatever.
And I think you've seen signs with Mac that he
does sort of the same thing. Gives his guys an
opportunity to make plays with the football, you know, strictly
because of that, and look, there does need to be
probably more as we go along here, he's gonna need
(04:30):
to push the ball down the field. I have there
a couple of times, which I think he mentioned indirectly,
and Josh McDaniels mentioned directly where you know, there were
some shot plays drawn up in there and he ended
up checking it down. But the good news about that
is he didn't force it, so if he didn't like
the look, he just went right away, Hey, that's that's
not That's not what I'm looking for. So I'm gonna
go here where I know I have the five yard throw.
(04:51):
And maybe in some respects Brian Flores and the defensive
coordinator Josh Boyer baited him into some of that stuff,
like hey, let's let's make him make twelve to fourteen
throws to go down the field. But um, I think
as they give him more, and they have given him
a lot, but of course it's going to continue to expand.
I think if they give him more, and when they
give him more, it's just gonna make them more difficult
to defend. It's gonna spread defenders out a little bit more.
(05:13):
And I think we'll see more of those plays down
the field. One of the other narratives that we talked
about a lot in the run up to the draft
about Mac Jones was, man, can he get out of
trouble if he has to? He's not this elite athlete
like the other four quarterbacks that are going to be
drafted in the first round really are. Right. So even
though you know, like by most quarterback standards, still pretty
damn good, you know, if you just look at forty
(05:33):
times and other testing stuff. But then it comes back
to his poise and his processing ability to get the
ball out quick in the face of pressure. That kind
of nullifies that need to escape, right And and do
we see that against Miami here in Week one? Absolutely
there are countless examples. And again I'll give you the
(05:54):
one fourth quarter, third and six down, seventeen sixteen. Uh.
The Dolphins bring six um and immediately have the shoot.
Emmanuel Agba twists inside and he beats Shack Mason's right
shoulder and he is on top of Mac. I mean, Mac,
there's there's not much time here. Jacoby Mayers running a
crossing route and Jacoby has barely made his cut, and
(06:15):
Mac plants his foot in the ground and lets it
go and lets it go fifteen yards to the left
of where Myers is at the time of the throw,
knowing he's gonna get hit, but places it perfectly. So
Meyers swings his head around and runs right into it
and it's a first down Myers. There have been so
(06:37):
many moments like that again, where he just he'll stand there,
he'll take it. And I'll give you one other thing.
And it's a little bit of a pet peeve of mine.
And I say this quite often. I think when you're
playing big games against good teams, those teams are gonna
be able to keep you in that pocket. You know
you're gonna have to win from the pocket at point.
(07:00):
So all we love the guys that can run around
and the young and iing and you know, look, pat
my homes can beat you in the eye of the the pocket,
can beach outs in the pocket. So there are rogers,
there are examples of guys that can do both. But
to me, if you're stuck in the pocket, do you
trust this guy to make the smart decision and the
smart throw? And I think the way the Patriots view
Mac is that he has that that capability. You know,
(07:21):
it doesn't always have to be the you and the
are play. It just has to be the right play,
and I think they feel like more often than not,
that's what he's given them, the right play, I mean,
making the right play. I think it's a great way
to describe what we saw from Mac in week one. Now,
we we talked about maybe, you know, adding some more
deep shots, trying to get some more explosive plays as
this kind of offense develops. But what is the next
(07:42):
step do you feel like in Mac's progression within the
framework of this offense, as they kind of evolve together,
I think they'll go empty more. Um. I think they'll
give him more freedom at the line of scrimmage. I
think he has some freedom right now, but as Josh
McDaniels was telling us earlier in the week, he doesn't
have all of it yet. And I think again that
comes with trust and time and and volume with the playbook,
and and understanding the concepts and how they want to
(08:04):
attack teams. And I think that if you give and
I believe that's coming, and I'd probably becoming a lot
sooner than maybe most people expect because of the quickness
that he's had in picking up the system and and
doing the right things. I think when when you give
him that freedom and you give them multiple choices at
the line of scrimmage, you'll see more of those plays where, um,
(08:25):
you know his feel and feel for the game and
feel for what he's seen on tape and how he
can exploit it, You'll see even more of that. You know,
more of he said, you know, Josh gives me the
right answers to the test, I just have to go
out there and and and pick the right ones. Well,
I think you're also going to see the point where
I'm seeing some things that maybe we haven't even talked
about that I'm able to then sort of express if
you will, on the field and make plays that way.
(08:48):
Red zone one area I'm sure the Patriots would love
to be a lot better in moving forward. If you're
going to one of one for four in terms of
touchdowns in the red zone against Miami. The biggest issue
there not driven or how do how do they correct
that moving forward to kind of get the more points
on the board here. Yeah, I thought they were a
little too conservative in the red zone. Um, and again
(09:08):
I think there are various points. You know, as a
rookie starting his first game against an aggressive defense, where
they had some tendencies to slide to a little bit
more of a conservative play call. I think there are
some first and second down runs that maybe you know,
now that you've seen the kid can handle it, maybe
that that first down run as a pass instead, you know,
give yourself an opportunity. I would say. The other thing is,
(09:28):
you know, look that their tight end production has been
got off of the last two years. They had eight
teen catches from the tight ends. Last season they got
eight and the opener from John who Smith and Hunter Henry,
and yet they needed to be more involved. And I
think it's particular Yeah, Hunter Henry in the red zone.
I think I don't to me as i've the more
I've watched Hunter, I feel like he's a slow builder
(09:48):
in terms of speed and how he gets open. But
his real I guess best skill set is in that
read area. Because he's so big, how do you defend
him as a linebacker able to to handle him ten
twelve yards down the field, fifteen yards down the field.
If you go somebody smaller, he's just gonna post them up.
And I think that's something that I would look for
(10:08):
uh in the coming weeks to get those guys more involved.
I think it will make his life a little bit easier.
And there us as your point out, you can't have
four trips to the red zone and thirteen points, and
that's as much a reason there is anything for losing
the football game on Sunday. And I think it'll be
fun to watch the rookie versus rookie quarterback match up
here as the Patriots get their second divisional test in
a row to start this season with their rival the
(10:31):
Jets this week. Nobody's got the pulse of the Patriots
like Mike Gardi Mike, Thanks Buddy. Thanks still to come
on NFL Inside Report. If the sc situation drags on,
I think Eric would definitely be interested in that position.
Jim Trotter joins us with why I jump to college?
Could be the opportunity that finally gets Chief's offensive coordinator
(10:54):
Eric B. Enemy the head coaching job he has long deserved.
An offensive coordinator has done such a fine job. Maybe
on bell Is in the backfield first, now take it
to him. It's the fans that's right on the sideline.
(11:18):
Chief's offensive coordinator Eric B Enemy and integral piece of
Kansas City's offensive success. Yet unable to secure a head
coaching job despite multiple interviews. Over the last few years,
our Jim Trotter has been a prominent voice in the
NFL minority hiring discussion. Is there a scenario where Eric
b Enemy would in fact be interested in becoming the
(11:41):
next head coach for the USC Trojans. Oh? Absolutely, Um.
I can tell you from my knowledge of the situation that, Um,
for some time I've known that if this job opened up,
he would have interest in this position. If everything we're right,
I think what he said is true that right now
(12:03):
his mind is where his feet are planet. I am
where my feet are. Okay, my job is to make
sure that we're ready to play it complete sound, sixty
minute football game. But we can come out and win
a game. But Um, that being said, if the FC
situation drags on, UM, I think Eric, again, if everything
(12:26):
is right, would definitely be interested in that position. Why
would USC be more attractive than say, the opening at
his alma mater a couple of years ago at Colorado. Well,
my understanding is that there were some things that he
wanted at Colorado that he couldn't get and so from
that standpoint, it wasn't right. So he didn't make the leap. Um.
And that's why I say even about USC, everything would
(12:48):
have to be right. Got to that point. So um,
you know, Eric is smart enough to know that you
don't just jump into a situation blindly. And he's put
in the work to prepare himself, um to get a
job that he wants, you know. So Um, He's not
(13:11):
just gonna if sc were to come after him. He's
not going to go there just because it's a job.
It would have to be the right job in terms
of everything that he feels he needs to succeed is
going to be available to him. How do you feel
like Eric B. Enemy, who has had so many interviews
now for NFL head coaching jobs without getting the job,
(13:32):
would perceive a step away from the NFL into the
college game to get a head coaching job there. You know, Red,
I don't know, but I'll say this, it's um number
one is shameful that that Eric B. Enemy hasn't gotten
a head coaching job in the NFL yet. I mean
that goes without saying. This is someone who has has
spent you know, fourteen plus years as a head I'm sorry,
(13:53):
as a coach in the NFL. Um. He's been nine
years in Kansas City. You know, he's coached a Super
Bowl m v P, he is coached to league MVP.
He has purposely tried to expand his knowledge from starting
out as a running back coach to understanding every level
of the offense UM and what's required to be able
(14:15):
to succeed. So from my standpoint, it really is shameful
that he is not um become a head coach in
the NFL. But having said that, let me say this.
I think Eric is the tree in a force that
we continue to ignore. And the force. What I mean
by that is the NFL has a has an issue
(14:37):
overall with hiring black people into decision making positions or
authority positions. And I'm not just talking about on the field.
You can go look at the league office where the
top twelve or thirteen executives are and there are what
two people of color there. You can look at our
media group where we cover a league that is whose
(14:58):
player pool is seven percent black, and yet there is
not one black person sitting at the table among the
senior managers when decisions are being made about how we
are going to cover these players. You know, we can
talk about the way owners of view black employees. From
this standpoint, um, you know, an owner can make an
(15:19):
alleged racist comment and it gets swept under the rug
to the point where we're told when we ask about it, well,
it's a human it's a human resources issue. So that's it.
So there's no um follow up on that. I can
have an owner tell me to my face when I
say to him, why does the NFL have such a
hard time hiring black people? Two positions of authority in
(15:42):
the NFL, and after a long winded answer that didn't
address the point, say to me, well, if blacks feel
some kind of way about that, they should buy their
own team and hire who they want. You know, why
is it that when we were doing the podcast last year,
for a year, a full season, we has to have
the commissioner come on and talk to us about these issues.
(16:04):
And we could not get the commissioner to come on
our podcast and talk about some of these issues. So
from my standpoint, we keep focusing on Eric b Enemy
not getting a head job, but he's just a symptom
of a much larger problem in my issue, and the
NFL needs to address this overall and not just focus
on well, one person, one person of color, did not
(16:25):
get a job. It's bigger than that. And I think
if we keep pretending and putting out all of these
um these these slogans and hashtags and everything else, then
we're not doing ourselves a service here of actually getting
to the root problem of what's going on in the NFL.
It's an important conversation to have to keep having because
I know you've had it before. I know this isn't
(16:46):
the first time that you've made your your thoughts clear
on this subject. And so how do we get beyond
then trying to mitigate the symptoms without addressing the real problem. Yeah,
I think first and foremost, you stopped pretending like there
isn't a problem, you know, or that everything is gonna
be okay. You know, the one word that really drives
me nuts in this whole conversation when people keep saying
(17:09):
be patient, be patient. How long do these men have
to be patient? You know, I'll never forget. I was
on a I was on a conference call with UM
the National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches, and they were
having sort of a banquet, and so they brought in
a handful of media to talk to a number of
these coaches and whatnot, and I was one of them.
And I'm not going to put the person on blast here,
(17:30):
but there was a very prominent media person on there
who was asked by these coaches, what do we have
to do to um get an opportunity to climb the ladder,
both on the collegiate level and the professional level, And
this very prominent media person, who is broadcasting to millions
of people every time he's on the air, says, well,
(17:52):
you guys got to dominate. You gotta dominate your job,
your positions, you know that you're coaching and whatnot. And finally,
for me, I just couldn't taking anymore and I said, look,
with all due respect, these men are dominating the positions
that they're coaching. Eric the enemy is dominating what he does,
and yet he can't get an opportunity. And the other
thing that we forget here is they are not asking
(18:14):
to be given anything. They're simply asking for an opportunity
that they have earned based on their body of work.
But we continue to ignore that as if somehow they're
asking for preferential treatment and they're not. So the first
thing I would say to you, and addressing this problem is,
let's be real and right up front say there is
a problem, and we are a part of it. So
(18:36):
how do we address it? Okay, Jim, So then for
the enemy again, we're saying that he has earned these
opportunities to be a head coach based on merit, based
on the work that he's done in his career in
the NFL, most recently with the Kansas City Chiefs, But
yet he hasn't gotten the head coaching job. So are
you then saying that it's not a merit based system
(18:58):
for the enemy? Rent for many of them? How does
Pep Hamilton's who coached the offensive rookie of the year
last year and Justin Herbert Um a guy who got
called into a game like thirty seconds before the game started,
so you know he had to be prepared to go
out and play and play as well as he did
against Kansas City when that happened last year when Tyrod
(19:19):
Taylor couldn't play. How does Pep Hamilton's coach the offensive
rookie of the year. And then we have what seven
head coaching openings and he didn't get an interview for those,
And I'm not even gonna argue with you that he
should have. But how the heck is he not an
offensive coordinator today? You know. So there there are things
going on here where you say it just doesn't make sense,
(19:43):
But yet others continue to get opportunities that these coaches
of color don't. It's just it's not right. And the
reason people say, well, why do you focus on this?
Because if you could talk to these men as I do,
and they are as honest with you as they are
with me, and you hear the sense of hopelessness in
their voice that this is never gonna change, man, that's devastating.
(20:07):
It's devastating for these men to aspire to climb the
ladder to the highest level and yet feel that they
don't have a real shot at it because of systemic racism.
You know. It's just it's just wrong. So that's why
I focus on it and talk about it so much,
is because someone has to speak for these men, because
it's very easy for us when we get to the
(20:28):
season and we're playing these great games, just like last night,
you know, which was outstanding, or the first week of
the season, and we have these great games to forget
about what's going on here and to forget about these
men until the next hiring cycle rolls around and everybody says,
woe is me. Okay, we gotta listen to black coaches
complaining that they're not getting opportunities, and then all the
(20:51):
hiring is done, and then we're right back into the
cycle again and preparing for the season, and everyone's forgotten
about it. It's wrong and that's why me personally, I
try and continue to focus a light on it for
these men, not for me. It doesn't do anything for me,
but it's to give a voice to these men who
feel like they can't say anything because if they do,
they're never gonna have an opportunity to climb that ladder.
(21:13):
Do you think it's possible, Jim, that we don't understand
the true value of the enemy, perhaps until he leaves
Kansas City and get to John elsewhere. Yeah. Look, let's
be honest here. And I'm not in any way saying
that Eric the Enemy is solely responsible for the great
success that Kansas City's offenses. Yeah, so I'm not saying
that Kansas City will be fine if Eric the Enemy
(21:33):
is there or not. I'm saying that, based on everything
he has done while there, he has earned the opportunity
based on that body of work to have an opportunity.
Justice Doug Peterson deserved an opportunity. Justice Matt Negy deserved
an opportunity, both of whom preceded him. So that's all
I'm saying here. The sad part to me is my
(21:55):
sense is that even when a black gets a head
coaching position, if he does not succeed, then the narrative
become See, we knew he couldn't do it. And the
reality is white coaches fail even more often than black
coaches do if you look at the history of winning
percentages among these coaches. So all I'm saying is that
(22:15):
they deserve an opportunity. They have earned an opportunity to
either succeed or fail based on the merits of their ability.
You know, That's all, well said Jim Trotter. An important
topic in a conversation, UH, that that you have championed
and that we appreciate your honesty and your candor here
for us on the NFL and side report. Thank you, Jim,
(22:37):
appreciate you. When we come back, the news you have
to know around the league, including a dear's impact on
a Minnesota Vikings players availability this weekend forty eight yarda tep.
Hopkins sweeps the wag ag and push us up to
the right. No, God, as time makes fires. There is
(23:01):
a flag on the play. Washington pointing in the Giants direction.
Will Hopkins get a reprieve? Joe Judge might lose his
mind if this is on the Giants offside on the
defense from the ninety seven. It's a five yards holiday
in the first hour. This is the anatomy of how
(23:22):
you lose football games. A forty three yard attack cheese
mat to snap it way the holder from forty three
yards away for the win. Hopkins curls it through. Washington
gets it done thirty to twenty nine. Hopkins hips the
game winner tie drama to kick off Week two in
(23:43):
the NFL and NFC East Showdown on Thursday Night Football.
That's a backup quarterback Taylor Heinekes three thirty six yards
and two touchdown performance through the air, lead a comeback
bid and get Washington in range for those walk off
fuel goal opera tunities plural thanks the Giants defensive lineman
(24:04):
Dexter Lawrence's off side penalty. Finally, Dustin Hopkins sending that
forty three yarder through and securing Washington's first victory of
the season, while sending New York to their fifth consecutive
oh and to start to a season. Some injury updates.
After playing just eighteen snaps in the Packers Week one
loss to the Saints Green Bay ed Drushers that Darius
(24:25):
Smith now heading to injured reserved with a back injury.
Packers said coach Matt Lafloor says Smith will be shut
down for a while, but does hope to have him
back this year. The LA Chargers are placing starting right
tackle Brian Bulaga on injured reserve due to groin and
back injuries, and in Minnesota, the Vikings ruled out linebacker
Anthony Barr, cornerback Harrison Hand, offensive lineman Christian derrisog and
(24:49):
in one of the more unique injury circumstances, defensive lineman
Everson Griffin has also been ruled out after being placed
in the concussion protocol due to his involvement in a
car our accident in which he was trying to avoid
hitting a deer on his way to the Vikings practice
facility Thursday morning. All four players will not suit up
(25:10):
for the Vikings in their week to match up against Arizona,
and we'll leave you though with some good news. For
the first time in the history of television's most acclaimed
sports reality franchise, Hard Knocks will present a multi episode
in season edition when HBO Sports and NFL Films team
up for Hard Knocks in season. The Indianapolis Colts coming
(25:33):
this fall with an all new primetime docuseries on the
a f C South Team and all premieres Wednesday, November
ten pm Eastern Time. And We're back with you next
Monday with a look behind the biggest headlines following your
week to Sunday in the NFL. This episode of NFL
Inside Report was produced by Thomas Warren and Tim Parrotka.
I'm your host, Rhet Lewis. We'll catch you next time, YEA.
(26:02):
NFL Inside Report is the production of the NFL and
partnership with I Heart Radio. For more official podcasts from
the NFL, visit the i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
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