Patriots Playbook 9/20: Dolphins Recap, Jets Preview, NFL Week 3 Predictions

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
This is Patriots Playbook, the Legend.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
The one thing I love about having you with this program, Evan,
is that we don't have to agree to get along.
I make the veins bulge out on your head, which
is fine. I understand that I am somewhat of a
football nerd, Like, now, what do I know? I came
from running a wishbone offense, so what the hell do
I know? I was a Roade Doug fan myself. Oh
you didn't know? Bad ass? Okay, that's his email address, too.

Speaker 3 (00:30):
Bad ass.

Speaker 4 (00:32):
I'm not a badass, but I'm more.

Speaker 5 (00:34):
Of a flat ass.

Speaker 1 (00:36):
Now here's your host of Patriots Playbook, John Rook.

Speaker 2 (00:52):
Is it my turn to talk now? Oh? Okay, jeez,
you know.

Speaker 3 (00:55):
I'm trying to get We tell him this every week
with the with the badge Marine too got to take
that bad job. It's because we're on camera out.

Speaker 2 (01:03):
The gold button. Before I was ready to go, I mean,
my god, what's going on here? It's not talking to me.
He's not paying a tanger to me because I'm yelling
at him, and I don't usually yell at Marine because
Marine takes care of me. And he's saying to answering
the phone it's a terrifying person. I kind of feel.
I guess what my day is going like today is
I'm a microcosm with the entire New England Patriots football season.

(01:27):
I just am not ready. Do you think they're ready
to play? They hadn't been ready to play in two weeks.
I'm getting ready to go off. I am, I'm getting
ready to go off.

Speaker 3 (01:43):
I'm wondering if you know, I'm just going to give
you the floor and I because you're showing.

Speaker 2 (01:47):
No game, no, no, no, no no, I don't.

Speaker 3 (01:49):
Get it off your chest. Now we've had I've had
two days to talk about it.

Speaker 2 (01:53):
I know you get it off. Yet you had two
days to talk about it. You've had two days to
think about it, write about it. Whatever. Yeah. Now I
think I'm just I think I'm feeling the frustrations of
literally every other fan that's within earshot right about now, unless,
of course, you root for another team. Right, it's pretty

(02:14):
clear to see to me through two weeks that this
team was ill equipped to start the season. Now that's
not going to help them win a game on Sunday
right right, not going to help them. We know where
the inadequacies are, and I guess, really, to be honest
with you, I think the thing that I'm ustset the

(02:35):
most about is is how could they not see this?
How could Bill not see this? How could you know
Matt grow not see this? How could the crafts not
see this? But when you take the inadequacies coupled with
the injuries, and I'm talking specifically upfront, because that is
the worst excuse of an offensive line that I think

(02:55):
I've seen potentially in the last twenty years in the NFL. Okay,
and I've covered the NFL for more than forty years
between here and in Dallas and in Houston with the
old Oilers. Okay, those are the teams that I covered
years ago. I have not seen an offensive line that
is as inadequate as this one. And maybe they'll come around,

(03:20):
Maybe they will. Maybe it's because and again I have
to I have to quantify by saying that this offensive
line hasn't yet played a snap together, right at all?
All summer? They haven't. They haven't played a snap together yet, right.
So I guess in that regard, I'm still holding out
a slight amount of hope that maybe they can somehow

(03:43):
be professionals and pull themselves together. And somehow do this
because I lay nothing at the feet of Mac Jones,
no blame at all. I'm I'm absolving him now. You know,
did he make a bad pass that Xavier and Howard intercepted?
Let Yeah, yeah, it was a bad pass, you know,
but again, all quarterbacks do that. All quarterbacks make bad passes.

(04:06):
Patrick Mahomes makes bad passes. Somehow he can get away
with it, of course. You know, he got away with
it when he had a guy like Tyreek Hill a
few years ago. And of course that's one of the
reasons why Tua looks like a freakin' All Star now,
an All Pro quarterback. He's throwing dimes. I mean, he's
just he's bbi'es. He's lasers to these guys and they're
catching him. Why, because Miami was just so damn fast. Yeah,

(04:30):
it looked like the Patriots. You know what Patriots look like.
It looked like in real speed. They're all running an
instant replay in slow mo. In slow you know, they're yeah,
they're doing the no no no no no no, no
no no, you know, six million dollar man thing. I'm
just like, I was astonished at Miami's team speed. Yeah,
and I think the Patriots are faster. I think they've

(04:51):
improved that on the defensive side of the ball. I
think they've even improved it slightly on the offensive side
of the ball. But the one thing I'm going to
come back to, Okay, one thing I'm gonna come back
to is something that Scott Zolac and I shared with
each other at halftime of the game when the Patriots
were down seventeen to three. So Alex booth is two
booths down from mine, okay, and so he's out there

(05:12):
and he's reaching in for, you know, a drink, a
soda or something. And I look at him as I
come out of the booth to go to the bathroom,
and he looks at me, and we both roll our
eyes at each other, and I said, you know, Zoe,
the best ability is and he goes availability there you go. Now,
I'll leave that right there, and you can interpret that

(05:33):
any way you want to, Okay, interpret it any way
you want to. That can go over the offensive front,
could go for some of the wide receivers. It can
go for a lot of places, I think on this roster,
you know. And when Mac Jones said what he said,
when was it Sunday after the game when he said that,
you know, we all get to come early and stay late.
And Okay, I'm telling you there is something to that. Yeah,

(05:58):
not everybody has the same buy in as the quarterback
and a few other choice people on this team. And
I'm and with the whole ability slash availability thing that
you know, Zoe and I were rolling our you know,
eyeballs back on. There's just there's something to this and
that again, yeah, it's gonna be on every individual person

(06:20):
on that roster, has no doubt about it, But it's
also on the coaching staff for bringing them in here
in the first place. What happened to finding guys that
would come in and follow the Patriot way?

Speaker 3 (06:32):
What is the Patriot way?

Speaker 2 (06:33):
The Patriot way is shut up, do your job.

Speaker 3 (06:39):
I think that the buy in that you are talking about,
and I haven't really thought about this until you say
this is like a half baked take, I'll admit, but
I think the buy in that you're talking about stems
from the fact that you need to have a purpose
as a team. And when I say a purpose, I
mean it was easy for everybody to come in when

(07:03):
Tom Brady was here and they were the favorites in
Vegas to win the Super Bowl and all start pulling
on the rope because they had a purpose of winning
a championship. And I think that one of the things
that I have noticed, and I think a lot of
people ask these questions to the players, and we try
to put our finger on like, Okay, you know, the

(07:24):
talent has changed on the field, Like right, you don't
have Brady, you don't have Gronkowski, Like you know, the
talent has changed on the field, But what's changed about
the messaging? What's changed about the culture. And I think
the thing that's changed is that these guys don't believe
no as much as they that they truly are a

(07:47):
championship caliber operation anymore. And I look at Devin mccorty,
and Devin mccordy flat out said in an interview, and
I don't know how this didn't get more run. In
a moment of honesty, Devin mccordy flat out said in
an interview this offseason that he retired from the Patriots

(08:09):
because he didn't think they were Super Bowl contenders.

Speaker 2 (08:13):
In the words, he would have stuck around another year
if they were.

Speaker 3 (08:15):
Yes, he said, I wasn't going anywhere else, and I
didn't feel like me coming back. He was gonna help
the Patriots win a Super Bowl. And so then I
kind of looked at myself and said, what am I
doing this for? Unfortunately, I think that there's too much
of that in the locker room. And you say, okay,

(08:36):
you can you can blame the players for the by
lack of buying. You can blame the coach for the
lack of buying. But ultimately, this is why in the
off season, and I know people, some people are you know,
say like all you talk about is weapons, weapons, weapons, weapons,
But this is why I talk about DeAndre Hopkins, and
this is why I talk about paying tackles, you know,

(08:59):
and free agent and see big money, Orlando Brown, mcglinchy,
those types of guys, because when you bring in those
types of players, it brings confidence to the locker room.
It brings buy into the locker room. Like, oh, we
were you know, a couple bounds is away from the
playoffs last year. We're in the playoffs two years ago.

(09:20):
Now we have DeAndre Hopkins. And then now you have
Mac in year three with Bill O'Brien and he's got
Hopkins to throw the football to now and like this
is how you get that bravado back and that swaggerback
of like we can, we can do this, we can
we can be a good team, we can be competitive.
And right now they don't have the talent that really

(09:43):
I especially on offense, that I think really manifests that.
And I have to think for the defensive guys that
they do have the talent on that side of the
football for a Matthew Judon, for a Juwan Bentley, for
some of those guys on the defensive line that are
starting to get up there, and in terms of the
years played in the league, you know, godshot guy wise,

(10:04):
like you have to look at the other side of
the locker room and be like we have to be perfect,
Like we have to dominate, We have to cover every
blade of grass. We have to hold this Dolphins offense
that put up thirty six points in Week one to
the Chargers. Nobody can stop them. Tua is an MVP candidate.

(10:25):
When they played last year with Tua, before Tua got hurt,
they were the number one rated offense and EPA in
the league. So this isn't new for Miami. Like Miami
has been great on offense for two years now with
Tua at quarterback, and we have to hold this offense
to twenty points or we.

Speaker 2 (10:44):
Have no chance. And they did a good job I
think of holding them, to be quite honest with you.
The one you know thing that they obviously blew was
the you know, the the most run you know for
forty three yards for the touchdown. And I think that
was obviously a byproduct of thethans they were playing anyway,
correct me if I'm wrong, But they're so concentrated on
keeping guys in front of them. They didn't have the

(11:06):
middle played perfectly in that particular instance, and the guys
got pinned on the edge and you can see the
hole as it opened up, you know on the replay
that the Patriots never had a guy in position to
make up like and the guys that would have had
to come in from the outside all got wedged out.
They got blocked out. Yeah, and that's how you go
forty three yards untouched.

Speaker 3 (11:25):
Yeah, I mean, the most are player. We've had a
lot of breakdowns to it.

Speaker 2 (11:29):
I think multiple breakups at.

Speaker 3 (11:30):
The first level. They put Daniel aquality in the game,
on the nose and tried to move Godsha out to
the edge, because I think what they were trying to
do was get some interior pressure on Tua because they
couldn't get to Tua off the edges, okay, because getting
the rid of the ball too quickly. So they put
a Quality in the game in the middle. And Quality
is just not a run player. Nope, he's just not.

(11:52):
So he gets bodied by the double team, the combination
block moves him completely out of the gap. Then the
guards able to then pull Ajan Bentley or climb, I
should say to Juwan Bentley, so he gets washed out
of the gap, and now your two first levels are
out of there. And then I also thought, you know,
just to put the icing on the cake on that play,
that Kyle Duggart did not take a great angle to

(12:13):
the ball from deep safety, so you.

Speaker 2 (12:15):
Had a complete and total breakdown. And and and you know,
I think that from time to time that's probably going
to happen. It just is you're just you're not thinking right,
or you're not making the right play, you're not making
the right call, whatever it may be. The fact of
the matter is is that is as bad as that was,
they did a reasonably good job I think of containing
Miami's offense a reasonably good job overall.

Speaker 3 (12:38):
I think we also paid a lot of ben don't break.

Speaker 2 (12:40):
Okay, they did, and we understand that. And I thought
Christian Gonzales is starting to show some of the promise
that you know, we hope that you would get in
that regard, Okay, but then they keep shooting themselves in
the foot, you know, the early mistakes, the turnovers, the penalties,
just the play calls. Everybody. Everybody is guilty, from top

(13:03):
to bottom. Everybody is guilty. And if you can't run
the ball against the Miamied devents that got gouged in
the first week by the Chargers, and you can't run
the ball to take pressure off of your quarterback and
off of your defense for having to be out on
the field and have to throw it fifty times as
they did against you know, Miami or whatever what I mean,
Philly in both so you well, you lead the league

(13:26):
in pass attempts. Now after two weeks, you lead the
league of pass attempts that I mean, and they're all
and they're all, and you're blaming the quarterback because he
can't hit a downfield pass when the son of a
gun doesn't have the time to throw an accurate downfield
pass because he's worried about the pocket collapse him all
around him. Yeah, it's the damnedest thing I've ever seen.
Nobody is on the same page.

Speaker 3 (13:49):
Well, I don't know about it if it's that nobody's
on the same page, because I think they are well
coordinated on offense and well coached to an extent technique wise,
maybe not in terms of the offensive line and the
route running, but in terms of like the plan and
everybody being on the same page. I think that there's
some really good things that they're doing offensively from a
schematic perspective, but.

Speaker 2 (14:09):
They still can't score.

Speaker 3 (14:10):
I think the biggest thing is with the offense is
the lack of explosive plays, so.

Speaker 2 (14:17):
I think, and then you take out Tomorrio Douglas after
he fumbles the football. Yeah, you know, and I understand
there's a lot of frustration over that because he's your
one breakaway threat. Well, listen, the first problem here is
that if you have to rely on a sixth round
rookie to be the one breakaway threat, you've got problems. Yeah, yeah,
you got problems. Second of all, we know that Bill
has operated this way for twenty three years. Okay, he

(14:40):
ain't changing. He's gonna put somebody in the doghouse when
they don't protect the ball. Period, end of discussion. Move on.
If you don't like that, well, okay, then you don't
like Bill. But plenty of people still seem to like him.
You know, I'm beginning to side with Eldred. I really
am Eldred. I know you're listening. I'm coming around to

(15:00):
your way of thinking. Okay, I'll take coach Bill any day.
GM Bill.

Speaker 3 (15:05):
So I don't know that the Pop Douglas thing. I
am a big Pop Douglas guy. Barth and I were
at the Shrine Bowl in January and saw him for
the first time and we both fell in love with
him back then. So I'm the I'm the leader of
the Pop Douglas hype train, trust me. But your point
about the bigger issue being that it's a six round

(15:25):
rookie from Liberty. That is basically the offense that you're not.
You know, I shouldn't say it like that, but you
know what, I try to.

Speaker 2 (15:31):
Say it because he didn't have hell yeah, there's no
one there leading the way. He should be a great complimentary, yes,
complimentary piece. Yeah, and Amon, right, he's got to be
a part of it. He can't be the lead slip dog.

Speaker 3 (15:43):
No, not yet at least no. But I think the
biggest thing that I with Bill and some people get on.
You know, certain play calls here and there, certain game plans.
You know, in game decisions like the bench pop Douglas
after the fumble. You know, some people didn't the challenge right,
like you burn a time out challenging a spot on

(16:04):
when you have a fourth and one where you can
sneak and pick it up. Anyways, Like, let's let's throw
all that in game stuff aside, because that type of
stuff is to me like every you can nitpick every
coach like that in the league. The issue that I
think that Bill is having with his it's it's philosophical.

(16:25):
It's a philosophical mindset that he would rather load up
on the defensive side of the ball to stop offense
instead of producing his own good offense, right like he
would rather And he's a defensive coach, so it makes sense.

Speaker 2 (16:42):
That's been a case for a long time. But the
game is clearly evolved in a different direction.

Speaker 3 (16:47):
Right And the bottom line is that you have to
score more than seventeen points regardless.

Speaker 2 (16:51):
And so what I'm my biggest problem with Bill right
now is is he hasn't realized that the game has evolved, right,
and he appears to be out of touch with reality.

Speaker 3 (16:59):
Yes, and he evolves on defense, and he has made
a lot of changes on the defensive side of the ball.
You know, you mentioned getting more speed on the field, like,
you know, things like that. I think he really has
evolved and changed. But in general, you know, I go
back and I know we reference this all the time,
and so does everybody else. But around like twenty fifteen,
twenty sixteen, Nick Saban was doing a press conference coach

(17:22):
clinic something like that, and he said that at Alabama
they recognized that in order to compete for national championships,
which is what they're in the business of, obviously they
needed to start lighting up the scoreboard. They needed to
start scoring points and having They went from like an
under center, smash mouth run game offense with like the

(17:43):
aj mccern's of the world at quarterback to Tua and
Bryce Young and Mac and Jalen Hurts and Devonte Smith
and Jalen Wattle and Jamison Williams and like all these
receivers and you know, spread offense. They're running our pos
down there now in Tuscaloosa, like all this innovative, cutting
edge stuff offensively with all these five star players all

(18:05):
over the field on offense, and Saban saw the changing
of the guard and for some reason, his probably one
of his best friends in football, is just not following suit. Yeah,
he's just not following suit. And they've built this defense
and it's a good defense, and they're gonna be a
good defense this year and it's going to keep them
in most games. But when push comes to shove, when

(18:28):
it's fourth and three for the game, they do not
have the playmakers or the quarterback to go out and
make those plays. And that if you're.

Speaker 2 (18:38):
Gonna emphasis on playmakers more than the quarterback, because I
think the quarterback probably is capable of getting the ball
into the hands of the playmakers if they had playmakers.

Speaker 3 (18:48):
Yeah, I think he is capable. But I think that
in order for Mac to in order to get to
where they need to be with Mac as the quarterback,
then they need to significantly upgrade the supporting cast. I'm
not saying that all has to be perfect around him,
because I think that that's an over an exaggeration that
tends to get thrown out there a lot with Mac,

(19:08):
but I think it needs to be a whole lot
better than it is right now.

Speaker 2 (19:11):
Well, he's, of course Evan Lazarre Patriots dot Com with
us at this present time for a bit more, and
then Zach Cox from Nesson, who covers the Patriots, will
join us at two thirty this afternoon. Connor Hughes, who
covers the Jets for sports Net in New York, s
n Y. He will join us at the top of
hour number two, and then Russell Baxter on week three

(19:32):
around the NFL at the bottom of our two. So
I guess, really, then we'll start over here and basically
ask a very simple question, because you know, you're zero
to two for the first time since two thousand and one,
and yeah, we know how two thousand and one turned out,
But I don't think anybody feels terribly confident in history
repeating itself in this regard. This team hasn't been O

(19:53):
three since ninety three. Okay, since ninety three, that would
be thirty years. Yeah, okay, this team has been or
Bill Belichick has only been to three once before in
his entire coaching career, and he was in Cleveland when
that happened. All right, So the idea now is, we
know that this team, this is why I began this way.

(20:15):
I've we know this team has flaws. It is a
flawed team. Every team has flaws. Some teams, championship teams
learn how to mask or overcome those flaws. This team
hasn't yet done that. I don't know if it's capable
of doing that, but again, it is a long season,
so I'm going to give them that much benefit of
the doubt. Right now, you just have to worry about

(20:36):
winning a game. A game, Yeah, that's all you need
to worry about. Gotta beat the Jets on Sunday or
you're O and three. And of course then of course
you know you look at all the periphery around it.
The Patriots have beaten the Jets fourteenth street times. Right now.
It's the second longest win streak for team in the
NFL against another team, right so, fourteen times in a row.

(20:56):
You don't think that sits kind of like you know
in the krass, some of those guys in Florham Park,
New York, a little differently than it sits here that
that will certainly be talked about a lot, I'm sure
in their locker room throughout the course of this week.
And the Patriots have to go and play in the Metalwlands.
They go and play at MetLife Stadium this weekend, they
go out on the road for the first time after

(21:18):
Wow oh and two start at home no less. Yeah,
they played maybe two of the top three or five
teams in the NFL as possible. I'm ready to put
Miami up on the pedestal because they're just so damn fast.
I don't think there's just not a faster team in
the NFL than what I saw they are. They're very good.
They've got flaws too, and I think they've got actually,

(21:40):
you know, I can see if there were there might
be a couple of Achilles heels out there where if
you learn how to target it, you might be able
to be effective against them. But that's for another day, okay,
because Miami's gone now. So how do you win a
game on Sunday to be one in two and put
some sort of realistic outlook into this season? And so

(22:02):
the question I'm gonna ask here is make a move,
Make one move, Make any move that gives this team
a better chance to win Sunday.

Speaker 3 (22:14):
So the short answer to what I'm about to say,
I'll just say balance offensively, they need to be more
balanced offensively.

Speaker 2 (22:24):
Well, in order to balance it, they got to run.

Speaker 3 (22:27):
They have to be able to run the ball better.
And they have to get the quarterback out of the
shotgun well. As much like I'm not saying that he
shouldn't be, I.

Speaker 2 (22:39):
Agree with that because I mean, you would think that
play action would be especially play action would be a
little bit more effective. But the problem is is that,
you know, the offensive line is such a freakin sieve
right now. He's got no time under center. He can't
even do a three step drum.

Speaker 3 (22:56):
So here's the thing. They got to get the quarterback
under center. They have to because in his first two games,
Mac has thrown ninety six passes right six getting them killed.
Ninety two of them have been from the shotgun. Ninety two.

Speaker 2 (23:13):
That's a lot.

Speaker 3 (23:14):
The only way that you can help these receivers and
deal with the let's face it, middling receiver talent that
they have is to scheme them open. And when you
put guys, when you put the quarterback in the shotgun
and you put the receivers out wine and he goes
empty and he's got you know, he's No quarterback in
the league has thrown more passes than mac Jones. No

(23:36):
quarterback has thrown more passes from the shotgun. No quarterback
has thrown more passes from empty than mac Jones. The
problem when you do all that is that if you
don't have ball winners on the out side, you got
no explosiveness. If you don't have guys that can just
go win one on one and get open on their
route and then do something with the football in their hands,

(23:56):
then you're you're four yards of pass right You're you're
which tells.

Speaker 2 (24:00):
Me that's why they're dinking and dunkin right now, because
A they don't have guys who can scheme them, or
they don't have guys who can get open whether they're
schemed or not. B they get an offensive line that
can't block them. I don't give them enough time. So
here's my where I think. I don't think we differ,
but we're just looking at it two different ways. Maybe yeah,
I don't think that the offensive line issues is just
strictly on the personnel. You think it's on their scheme.

Speaker 3 (24:23):
I think it's the scheme you're putting the partially Like,
I'm not saying it's all on the scheme, but when
you look at the scheme that they're running right now,
being so gun heavy, being playing obviously from behind, and
playing from these large deficits, but most importantly, I would say,
playing in five man protection for the majority of the game.

(24:45):
You're asking an offensive line that hasn't wrapped a lot together,
that has no continuity, that hasn't been healthy in training camp,
to block one on one, to pick up blitzes from
five man protection, to pick up stunts from five man protection, like,
do all these like intricacy type things, and it is
making a bad problem worse.

Speaker 2 (25:06):
Would zone blocking help if they change the scheme.

Speaker 3 (25:09):
I don't think so. I think what they need to
do is get the court. You played football, and you've
been covering football for a very very long time. The
simplest football, well, the simplest thing to do in football,
no matter what level you were at, the simplest thing
for the offensive line to do is.

Speaker 2 (25:26):
To run block. Sure, Okay, say I actually started, believe
it or not, I started my career as a guard. Yeah, okay,
not to tackle a guard I was a grunt when
I was in Peewee's okay, right, So that's the I
always preferred charging ahead then backing up correct.

Speaker 3 (25:41):
And the easiest thing to do is to put the
quarterback under center, have him turn around, hand it to
your two ner and twenty five pound running backs, and
bully the opponent. That's just that's at its root football, right,
that's at its root right. And from there, if you
can do that and you start incorporating play action, which
will help the receivers on the outside get open, because

(26:02):
you're gonna start pulling linebackers out of passing lanes, and
you're gonna start threatening safeties and all these different types
of things to help guys get open. I don't think
I hear it. Everybody has said it to me already.
Oh you want him to turn his back to the line,
he's gonna get killed. YadA, YadA, YadA. When you have
that pause as a defense and that conflict of it

(26:23):
as a defense of is this runner pass that those
guys on the edges and stuff like that aren't pinning
their ears.

Speaker 2 (26:29):
Can't set that's right, They can't get set. They can't
come after you until they read right. They read and
then react. It's to read and react game.

Speaker 3 (26:37):
You're right, So what's happening actually is that you're stressing
this offensive line because the only thing you're doing is
throwing and when you run the ball, you're running it
from the gun, And personally, I don't think that their
personnel fits gun runs very well. They have two battering
ram running backs that they're asking to start from a
standstill standing next to mac Jones. Whereas if you put

(27:00):
Remandre seven yards behind mac Jones and you let him
get ahead of yeah, and then he can run through
the line of scrimmage, then you sequence the play action
off of that and you start to hit some big
plays down the field.

Speaker 2 (27:12):
Well, then the offensive line just has to They have
to block better in run blocking situations, and they're not
opening holes.

Speaker 3 (27:19):
Right, And so I that this is another part of
this whole equation to me is for two years now,
I have hated, hated the schemes that they've tried to
run the ball with. Hated it outside zone, inside zone, duo.
I hate it, like, get get freaking downhill, Okay, run

(27:39):
a gap scheme, get downhill, get the lineman off the ball,
all this zone stuff and things like that. All it's
doing is it's it's muddying the picture. For for Remandre,
he's he's looking at a pile of mud in the
middle of the field and he's trying to find he's
trying to find holes, and nobody's get into the second level.

(28:01):
Nobody's you know, really springing him for these bigger runs.
Have your bigger line, have you know, Mike on Winnow,
these guys get on a double team, pull the guard
through and hit somebody and hit somebody okay, and then
we can get you know, how many times have we
seen them run play action where they pull the guard

(28:23):
and then that gets the linebackers to bite up and
then they hit the crossing routes behind the linebacker level,
right like, that's a staple Patriot play. Those are the
things that you do. Then now when you get into
you know, passing situations, it's not as it's not as
big of a tell that right now, when they're in
the gun, they're throwing, when they're in the in the

(28:45):
under center, they're running like that.

Speaker 2 (28:47):
That's it.

Speaker 3 (28:47):
They're predictable. They're one dimensional. You can't play football like that.
And a big part of it is because they're getting
into these big deficits and they have to throw from
behind to get back in the game. So you got
it in some ways, simp it right, like get back
to basics.

Speaker 2 (29:02):
So can I answer my own question then, based on
what you just said, you know, yeah, I agree with you.
They have to be balanced. I want them to throw
a change up. I'm gonna use a baseball terminology along
what you just said. They've got to change it up.
They can't be predictable. However they do that is fine,
but they have to keep the Jets guessing at what's
coming next. If they do that, I think they got

(29:24):
a shot to win the game. Now, the Jets are
a really good personnel, Okay, we know that. You know,
they've got elites at some of the quality positions go
up and down. You certainly can say, well quarterback right
now is a little questionable. But you know, and they
seem to have this, you know, Zach Wilson seems to
have this phobia against New England especially. But the fact
of the matter is is that you know, I actually
believe it or not think that this is an emotional

(29:47):
disadvantage for the Jets because of the winning streak and
because of the mastery that the Patriots have had over them.
Will it end someday, Sure, it will could end this Sunday.
But if you can actually keep the Jets, as you suggest,
all ready reading and then reacting rather than pinning their
ears back and getting after it, that's where you can
beat them.

Speaker 3 (30:08):
Yeah, and just quickly because you know Zach is waiting.
You can also off play action and I don't love
it with mac Jones. I don't think that he's a
natural bootleg passer. But you can move the pocket a
little bit too, yeah, yeah, yeah, which will help the
line also, right, like if you just.

Speaker 2 (30:25):
Assure you can't actually get and we've seen actually it
looks like he's out a character, but he's actually had
success moving the pocket.

Speaker 3 (30:33):
Yeah, so if you can, you know, they were really successful.
And this is this is the sequence that really drove
me crazy on Sunday night. The very first drive of
the third quarter, second half of the Patriots, they ran
three successful plays in a row from under center. They
tossed it to Remandre, they threw like a couple quick
hitters out to DeVante Parker and they and they had

(30:53):
a sneak in there too that gained four yards to move.
They were moving the ball. It's my point from under center,
and they kept on showing this toss sky where they're
gonna motion the tight end across, add the blockerund and
toss it out to Remandre. Where's the bootleg?

Speaker 2 (31:06):
Right?

Speaker 3 (31:06):
Like that's the whole point, you know, like you're setting
it up, you're setting it up, you're setting it up,
and all I'm keep waiting for is all right, well
let's fake the toss, let's boot the quarterback, and then
let's hit the cross or come in the other direction.
And it never came. And that's Those are the types
of things that really help offensive lines, Like you talk
about these Shanahan schemes and stuff like that, and what
makes them so good. The bootlegs basically are offensive line proof,

(31:31):
Like if you move the pocket that way, you don't
need the offensive line to block anybody. Like straight up
one on one, when you put the quarterback in shotgun,
it's all on the five guys to keep them protecting.

Speaker 2 (31:42):
All right, I'll start leak leak no Evan, I always
appreciate you, man, Thank you anytime. All Right, he's gonna
get off the practice in the locker room interviews that
are coming up. Evan Lazara is a big part of
our program here each and every Wednesday that we bringing on.
Let's move now to Zach Cox, who covers the Patriots

(32:03):
for Nesson and nesson dot com, who's also a regular
contributor in here. You know, on the playbook, Zach, I
don't know if you share, or even you care to
share the frustration of Patriots Nation. I think that they've
seen thus far through two weeks. I'm not completely sold
that this team is out of it yet, but I'd

(32:25):
have to say they are a strong trend in that direction.

Speaker 5 (32:29):
Yeah, the trend certainly isn't moving in the direction that
you would want if you're a Patriots fan. I'm of
the mind too that I don't think that this is
a lost season or a terrible team, or a team
that's going to be completely out of the mix by
October or anything like that. I feel like you look
at what happened to them in these first two games,
and you can see some pretty clear sixes. I think

(32:54):
they need to get healthy on the offensive line. I
think they need to get some consistency up front there,
and I think if they can do that, it's going
to fix a lot of the issues that they have had. Yeah,
and I mean the fact that they these two losses
have come to two of the better teams in the NFL.
If you're taking a glass half full approach.

Speaker 2 (33:16):
Here, Yeah, we said that a little while ago. We said,
I thought, you know, the way that Miami looked, that's
the fastest team I've seen in the NFL in a
long long time, maybe even ever, with some of their
their actual foot speed.

Speaker 5 (33:25):
They're really they're an impressive team.

Speaker 2 (33:27):
They're much better than I thought they were. All.

Speaker 6 (33:30):
Yeah, yep, yeah, I was.

Speaker 5 (33:31):
Actually, I was very impressed with the scheming and game
planning from Mike McDaniel. I agree with you if you
come into the season.

Speaker 2 (33:38):
I just wish he wasn't I wish McDaniel wasn't so
young and snotty looking.

Speaker 5 (33:44):
No, it definitely paints him in a bit of a
different light.

Speaker 2 (33:48):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (33:48):
It came into this season saying, all right, you're going
to lose to the Philadelphia Eagles by five, and you're
going to lose to the Miami Dolphins by seven, and
you're gonna have a chance to beat both of these teams.

Speaker 2 (33:58):
Late.

Speaker 5 (33:59):
I think a lot of fans would have taken.

Speaker 2 (34:01):
That probably would have said, okay, yeah.

Speaker 5 (34:03):
Right, they said okay, that's fine, right, But the fact
that they did happen in quick succession at the beginning
of the season, and they really followed basically the exact
same script.

Speaker 2 (34:13):
It's because of the self inflicted wounds though, Zach, right,
I mean they wounds.

Speaker 5 (34:18):
Yeah, it's two games, I mean, especially the Eagles game.
But you can argue that the Patriots should have won
both of these games, absolutely, and I think that definitely
raises the frustration level, especially since their margin for error
overall in the AFT slim is much much much slimmer, slim.

Speaker 2 (34:33):
Way way slim. But that's the thing that's maddening, you know,
and that's why we wonder about, well, who's committed in
this locker room. And we hear mac Jones say what
he said, you know about staying you know, riving early
and staying late. And and I was relating to h
Evan just a short while ago halftime of the game
on Sunday night, you know, in the UH broadcast Booze downstairs,

(34:54):
I locked eyes with Scott Zolac and he locked eyes
back with me, and I said, you know, the best
ability I think his team has and so like stopped
me and he said availability, and so I'm just telling
you that that's the mindset. That's that's the mindset.

Speaker 5 (35:11):
It's true, Yeah, I mean the fact that they haven't
been able to have the I mean, I think it
goes back to that on the offensive linemish is what
I was saying earlier. The fact that they basically four
out of the fire. It is, out of the five
guys that were starting on the O line in this game,
either did not practice with the team at all in
training camp or practiced very little. Yeah, Marion Lowe got

(35:34):
there right before cutdown day, and Andrews both missed the
entire summer. Strange missed almost the entire summer, and that
was showing. I mean, the Patriots have not played well upfront,
especially in this game. I think they were worse against
the Dolphins than they were against Philadelphia, which was a
little surprising on the caliber of opponent there. But that's

(35:55):
really what's kind of hamstringing this offense. Poor offensive line
play and these early turnovers that are putting them into
these early holes that the Patriots, I mean, they haven't
been for years, but they're not a team that's built
to overcome of fourteen points that half or halftime deficit
and win in a shootout in.

Speaker 6 (36:13):
The fourth quarter. They just they have not.

Speaker 2 (36:14):
Been that well Tom Brady left, Yeah, and.

Speaker 5 (36:17):
So that desperately needs to avoid these kind of early
holes that they've been getting themselves into.

Speaker 2 (36:21):
Yeah. And I think that leads directly to you know,
people being critical, you know, of Bill for not you know,
moving along because he you know, he's still playing, he's
still coaching, he's still building a team like he still
had the greatest quarterback of all time under center, and
he doesn't have that. And so the frustration here is
that you haven't seen enough adjustment when he's still trying
to coach the way that he knows how to coach

(36:42):
best and has done so for a number of years.
But be that as it may, the question really today,
Zach is how do you win a game? And it
has to start this Sunday with the Jets. I think
before the season started, we all looked at the first
four games of the schedule. We said, look, one in
three and zero to four is quite likely or certainly
very probable, and you know what, they're on track for that.

(37:06):
So everybody was right in that regard, But it's the
way that they've lost, as you suggested, it's the way
they've lost and the fact that they've had opportunities on
the final possession of the game to match the team
or even beat the team, and they couldn't come through
in the clutch. And it is because you don't have
you know, Captain Tom at the helm. So you know,
we want a little bit of the past, and yet

(37:28):
we have to realize we got none of the past.
And that's part of the issue here. How do you
win a game? What is one move that this team
can make to win a game this next Sunday.

Speaker 5 (37:40):
Yeah, I think some of that speaks to the roster
construction that Bill Belichick did over the summer. I mean
what they did at offensive tackle basically just bringing in
a couple of mid level veterans, and then their big
move at wide receiver was jujus Mith Schuster, who I
think has been a pretty significant disappointment at least through
these first two weeks. It's been Bill Belichick's strategy for

(38:03):
years and years, try to kind of win on the margin,
get these mid level guys that other teams don't want
to overpay, and be able to win with that. That
worked with Tom Brady, it obviously doesn't work nearly as
well in this current Patriots climate. But I mean, I
think this is a game that the Patriots should win
relatively easily as long as they don't just like, basically,

(38:25):
I think they have to lose this game. For them
to lose this game, as dumb as that sounds, I
think they need a bunch of dumb turnovers. They need some,
just like just the kind of mistakes that we've seen
from them. I think from a talent perspective, obviously that
Jets defense is good. There's a lot of talented players
really at all three levels of that defense. But they've

(38:48):
owned Zach Wilson. Zach Wilson is probably the worst starting
quarterback in the NFL. I have a very very very
hard time seeing him coming out and basically like winning
this game for the Jets.

Speaker 6 (39:00):
So I think it.

Speaker 5 (39:01):
Comes back to what I mentioned earlier. You got to
cut down in the turnovers, you got to doc fall
into an early deficit, and you've just got to play
moderately clean football. And I think the Patriots should be okay.
I mean, on paper, this is kind of an ideal
get right week for them. Obviously, this is not the
Jets of old where the Patriots are going to come
in and win forty five to three in their sleep.

(39:23):
But this is a game that the Patriots should win,
and if they don't, then I think it's time for
some real, real concerns about this team.

Speaker 2 (39:30):
Well, the two guys that worry me the most actually
on this team are their two running backs. I think
Breece Hall is one of the better underrated running backs
in the entire league. Before he hurt himself a year ago.
You know, I thought this kid would be an NFL sleeper.
I loved him at Iowa State and he played against
you know, preeminent teams in the Big twelve, and he's
showing already that he's got the talent to be a

(39:51):
number one back in the NFL. And then they got
Dalvin Cook to back him up, which who was talked
about coming here, you know for a brief while, you know,
this summer. I think that's a really good one two punch,
and you know, if the Jets are smart, I'm trying
to figure out a way to let those guys kind
of carry it and make the Patriots play from behind again.
At least that's kind of my way of thinking here.

Speaker 5 (40:12):
Yeah, that's what they were able to do pretty successfully
in that Buffalo game in Week one. I mean, Brice
Hall was phenomenal in that game. Neither of them were
nearly as effective last week against Dallas, and I think
that kind of hurt their whole offense because Zach Wilson
wasn't terrible for the first half, the first three quarters
of that game, and then he just kind of completely

(40:34):
fell apart in the final fifteen or twenty minutes.

Speaker 6 (40:37):
But yeah, I mean that is certainly the just.

Speaker 5 (40:41):
Kind of preferred strategy in this game. I would imagine,
just run the hell out of the ball against the
Patriots defense that.

Speaker 2 (40:46):
Had some issues, control the clock against the run, control.

Speaker 5 (40:49):
The clock, give the ball to your most talented players
or two of them are those running backs, and then.

Speaker 2 (40:56):
Let your defensive front control the Patriots offensive line, which
is another big concern.

Speaker 6 (41:02):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (41:03):
Absolutely, I think this is a game that very clearly
could be kind of one in the trenches to use
to use a cliche, because the Patriots, as I mentioned,
didn't defend them run especially well nope last week, and
the offensive line has been pretty much a mess. Through
two weeks. From a Patriots perspective, you got to hope
you're going to get some of those pieces back on

(41:23):
the old line. And what we saw at practice today,
Trent Brown back out there, Cole Strange and Michael Wan
who continuing to practice for another week, have kind of
knocked some of the rust off a little bit.

Speaker 2 (41:33):
That's a step in the right direction, right.

Speaker 5 (41:35):
Yeah, you got to hope that it's a bit of
a cleaner performance there once you get something close to
your preferred starting five there. But this is I mean,
this is another talented defensive front. They've been playing good
defenses and good defensive line basically every week. And there's
some real dudes on that Jets one. So yeah, it's
going to be absolutely another challenge. I don't think this

(41:56):
is a walk in the park for the Patriots by
any means, but again, it is a game that I
do think they can and will win.

Speaker 2 (42:02):
Yeah. Here's the thing that I think that bothers me
the most about it is because you almost have to
hope that, you know, they almost have to have the
quarterback Zach Wilson shoot himself at the foot again, throw
a couple of picks, and that's how the Patriots stayed
largely competitive a year ago. They had to have the
defense come up with big plays. They scored some defensive touchdowns,

(42:25):
and I'm getting the same feeling that that's the only
way that this team, this version of the Patriots, can
be successful is by doing what they did last year,
and we're not seeing that yet. And I think that
maybe right at the top of my you know, my
frustration list, I.

Speaker 5 (42:41):
Think they should be better positioned to attack this Jets
defense than they were last year. I mean, the second
game they played against the Jets was one of the
ugliest offensive football games I've ever seen. Neither team could
do much of anything on the offensive side. I think
the Patriots offense now, even with the ruggles that they've
had so far this season, still is substantially better than

(43:04):
the unit that they had in these games last year.
So you can hope for maybe a little bit more
production from that side of the ball. And if you're
going into a game hoping that the opposing quarterback makes
some mistakes and throws the ball to you, Zach Wilson
is a pretty good quarterback to be facing in that scenario.
I believe he's what two touchdowns and seven interceptions against

(43:25):
the Patriots in his career. He's just been a total
puddle every time he's played played against them, not too
dissimilar from most of his other games, but Bill Belichick
has really known how to just get that kid's head
spinning and limit any sort of success they've been able
to have offensively.

Speaker 2 (43:43):
So I don't know.

Speaker 5 (43:44):
Again, I think this situation shapes up well for the
Patriots to get their first win this week. But there
is a path that you can see for a Jets
upset and kind of disaster scenario for the Patriots.

Speaker 2 (43:57):
Well, that's I think that's sure. There's a there's a
nice pathway there. The Patriots come out slow, if they
turn it over early and get in an early hole,
it Jets you know, have a similar like seventeen to
three lead like the Miami Dolphins had this past week. Yeah,
you're in real trouble. So that has to be I
think that has to be an imminent focus this week
is look, guist, we got to start off here. We
got at least stay you know, even keel if not

(44:19):
have a lead at halftime and forced them to play
from behind and let them, you know, have their rear
ends tightened up, not ours.

Speaker 5 (44:27):
Yeah, that's I would imagine that's probably the number one
focus for the Patriots offense this week. Well, the Patriots
team as a whole, but especially on offense, is you
can't make these early mistakes that's putting the team in
holes like this. I mean they've they trailed sixteen to
nothing in the first half or basically in the the
first ten minutes in Week one, sure, and then it

(44:48):
was ten to nothing and then seventeen to three last week.
It's it's really hard to win from those sort of deficits,
even if you do have a highly talented offense, which
the Patriot most people would say do not. So, yeah,
that's got to be priority number one for that. Just
avoid those early holes because when you fall behind by
two scores so early in the game, it really affects

(45:11):
a lot of the things you're able to do from
a play balling standpoint as well for the rest of
the game and sort of just completely You basically have
to take your preferred game plan and throw it out
the window at that point.

Speaker 2 (45:20):
Yeah, and that's you know, I'd just like to see
these guys develop some kind of consistency somewhere rather than
you know what we've seen the last couple of weeks.
It looks like, you know, twenty twenty two all over again.
And I don't think anybody really wants to go there.
And I think that's probably at the root of a
lot of a lot of frustration, not only my own,
but I think anybody who might be listening and follows

(45:40):
this team. It just doesn't look like much has changed,
and everybody wants to see change, and shoot, I mean,
let's face it, the coach has to want that too.
I can't imagine that he doesn't want to see change,
but even though he's kind of coached like it.

Speaker 5 (45:54):
No, absolutely, I mean I think that there is a
very clear and valid frustrat with especially after all everybody
read and heard about this offense over the summer. For
it to come out and score thirty seven points through
their first two games, I can see people saying, all right,
what the hell going on? Whereas the improvement that everybody
was talking about? And I do think it's there, and

(46:16):
I do think it will come. But yeah, the first
two weeks have been pretty underwhelming.

Speaker 2 (46:22):
Whatever the reasons for that have been all right, Zach,
thanks for the time today. It's always appreciated, Bud. We'll
see on the trail.

Speaker 5 (46:29):
Absolutely, Thanks John, Thanks you got it.

Speaker 2 (46:31):
Zach cox nesson and Nesson dot com at Zach Coxnsson
on x dot com. See I said that first today,
You like that I'm getting there formerly known as Twitter.
I feel like I always got to sneak that in.
Everybody should understand what that is now, especial if you're
on social media at all, and I'm on social media
way too damn much. Just ask for miss Robbins. She

(46:52):
knows that she knows that. But hey, that's how I
read people post their stories. I read stuff, you know,
It's how we study, It's how we get prepared for
this stuff.

Speaker 7 (47:00):
You know.

Speaker 2 (47:01):
I just you know the question that I'm posing you
and Connor Hughes from sn why Sportsnet New York covering
the jet's going to join us here at the top
of the hour. So eight five five PATS five hundred
is the toll free telegle number web radio at Patriots
dot com, on email at JR Broadcaster. That's the follow
on Twitter, or you can post it on my Facebook page.

(47:22):
John dot Rook on Facebook. I just I get the
sense here that yeah, there's there's a little turning of
the corner here, but it's just not happening the way
it should. And there's just not a attention to detail
and not enough personal accountability that's being held for. And
I don't know if that's because, you know, of the
lack of leadership in the locker room. I don't know

(47:42):
if it's because they just don't have talent. I don't
know if it's because you know, Bill's not bringing in
the right kind of guys that he was bringing in
as of you know, five to ten years ago. I
think it could be maybe a little bit of everything,
to be quite honest with you, And so I don't
think it's necessarily asked this question. You know, when we
were tweeting out about the show today, posting out about

(48:03):
the show today, xing about the post, well, yeah, what
what's our adjective to use?

Speaker 6 (48:07):
Now?

Speaker 2 (48:07):
What do we call it? We called do we x? Yeah? Okay,
must be xing. Okay, So when we a tweet and yeah,
I know everybody says it's tweeting, but when we exed it,
I guess it was kind of like, you know, is
it is it over before it gets started? And through
two weeks there's a part of me that things, Yeah,

(48:28):
it might be, and I think that's part of the
frustration that I'm feeling right now. But in reality, we
knew this was going to be a tough start. Gang.
We knew it. And if you didn't know it, then
all you're doing is waving the pomponds and you're not
paying attention to what's going on. But you had to know,
because of the strength of schedule to begin that this
is going to be a tough start. You had to

(48:49):
figure a way to, you know, keep your head above water.
The problem here is that it looks like two and
oh rather than O. Two was actually feasible, It was doable,
and you could have beaten two of the best teams.
And if you could have placed another twelve or thirteen
points in the right spots over the last two weeks,
the Patriots would be one of the stories of the

(49:10):
National Football League right now. And I feel like backing
that up with will of fifs and butts for candy
and nuts. We'd all have a merry Christmas. I know,
got to play the game. Would the Patriots even deserve
to be one of the best teams in the NFL? No,
even if they had won both of these games. No, no, no,

(49:30):
we're not delusional. Okay, nobody's delusional, but we're trying to
be realistic. And the realistic part of this is is that, yeah,
this is tough, but we expected it was going to
be tough. Is it overcomeable? Yeah, but you're losing opportunities.
They're starting to run thin. Even in week three. This

(49:52):
game Sunday is an opportunity to right the ship. I
don't care if if it's thirteen to twelve, it doesn't matter.
Just win. It's the old Al Davis. Just win, baby,
move on. Style points don't count like they do in
college football or any other college sports. Style points don't count.
Just win, you win. It's a road win, it's a

(50:15):
divisional win. You're back to one and one within the division,
which is what really matters most at this stage. You
take your shot with the Dallas Cowboys team that looks eminently,
eminently talented. We'll talk more about that next week, obviously,
but you put yourself in good shape. You get out.
If you can get out one in three. Hell, if
you get out two and two, man alive, are you
ahead of the game. But if you get out one

(50:36):
in three, all right, that's where everybody thought should be.
This is the swing game, people, This is the swing game.
Is there a move for this team to make that
can help them win a game, not make them better
later this year or make them better next year. I'm
just talking about a game. The Jets, Jets, Jets, Jet Jets.

(51:00):
It's Jets week. Is there a move that you would
make if you're running the show, that would make this
team better to win a game this week? All right,
Sean and Vancouver, you're in the playbook.

Speaker 4 (51:12):
Hey Sean, Hey John, Hey, I appreciate I got a
kick out of hearing my joke in the opener, so
numbering that was nice.

Speaker 2 (51:21):
I didn't hear it because I'm busy trying to pull
things off of my head and things they don't want
me to do around here. So I'm just trying. I'm
just trying. I'm just a part of the team, you know.
I'm just trying to get along.

Speaker 6 (51:29):
That's on the podcast.

Speaker 2 (51:30):
That's fine, Yeah, that's true.

Speaker 1 (51:31):
I'll do that.

Speaker 2 (51:32):
I'll do that.

Speaker 6 (51:33):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (51:33):
Well, there's lots of moves the Patriots could do this
week to win this game. I'll just throw my prediction
out there. I say the Patriots win seventeen ten.

Speaker 2 (51:43):
Well, you're certainly optimistic. I'm thinking more along the lines
of seventeen sixteen. Okay, either way, I didn't call the
winner yet. I just said the game is going to
be seventeen sixteen, and yeah, the Patriots, they might have
a chance to win it at the end by kick
in a field goal. I don't know, but I just
think it's going to be tight, and it's going to
be nail biting and sweaty palm time, and the Pageots

(52:06):
will be right there at the end somehow, someway.

Speaker 4 (52:09):
Well, last week we really was surprising in a bad
way was the run defense because watching the Dolphins play
the Chargers, the Chargers just ran all over them. They
looked like they didn't have a run defense at all.
And then the Patriots.

Speaker 6 (52:24):
Couldn't run it all.

Speaker 4 (52:25):
So that was a big problem, right, And it was
a big problem on defense, not stopping them, but on defense.
I think they'll do better this week. And my guess
is that a lot of that run deficiency and on
defense was due to playing with five defensive backs. You

(52:46):
were trying to stop you.

Speaker 7 (52:48):
Know what you did?

Speaker 4 (52:49):
I mean they kept him to what five for forty
with one touchdown. So that's that's pretty damn good for
Tyreek Kill. So you know that area, but that you know,
most went all over them, so that was a problem.
But I think you'll see a lot more right in
the box this time, and they'll Dare Wilson. The pass
probably to Wilson and if Gonzo can keep him till

(53:11):
five for forty one touchdown, I'm happy with that. And
I think that's where they score ten points.

Speaker 7 (53:17):
The Jets.

Speaker 4 (53:17):
They have that one touchdown to Wilson and they kick
a field goal and that's all. But you know, I
see this kind of like the Bills game for the
coach for the Jets.

Speaker 5 (53:27):
Like in the Bills game.

Speaker 4 (53:29):
They didn't take chances. They just ran the ball, didn't
really throw downfield, and forced Josh Allen to throw three
interceptions to Jordan Whitehead for some reason. I don't know
why he did that, but that's what happened. I don't
think the Patriots will do that this time. I think
they're going to try and run the ball, and you know,

(53:50):
instead of running straight up the middle, maybe don't run
on first and ten right into quinnin m Williams arms.
Maybe try to go to the outside. Maybe try and
get big Trent Brown. Hopefully he'll play on Carl Lewis
or Jamaine Johnson and try and and and force the
edges a little bit more, try and get them to
set the edge and then you can maybe do some
play action and actually have some time to throw down

(54:11):
build them and you know, don't bench your your most
explosive player in pop Douglas. Let him, you know, play
maybe six or seven targets in the.

Speaker 2 (54:20):
Game, and as long as he holds onto the ball.
Because again, I don't know why anybody was surprised that
he sat the bench. I'm not because that's that's that's
what Bill does.

Speaker 4 (54:30):
Yeah, he's he's a rookie, he's te fumbles. He's gonna
sit on the bench. So hold onto the ball.

Speaker 6 (54:34):
That's the lesson.

Speaker 4 (54:35):
And you know, you've got to learn each week. And
that's one of the things we need to learn, is like, Okay.

Speaker 6 (54:39):
You're a rookie.

Speaker 4 (54:40):
You need to hold onto the ball. This is this
is one of the things that you got to take
away from that game. And every week it's it's a
different thing. So in the in the first week, booty
is a rookie, you got to learn to toe tap.
That's these are things that that's these are are kind
of uh, little things we have to put up with

(55:01):
from from these young players.

Speaker 2 (55:02):
That which is part of the frustration. Sean, Yeah, it's.

Speaker 4 (55:04):
Part of the part of it's part of it for sure.

Speaker 2 (55:06):
Absolutely.

Speaker 4 (55:07):
I don't expect them to win a lot of games
this year, you know, I don't expect them to to
really make a run for the super Bowl. So that's
not where I'm at. I'm just looking for progress each
week and looking for them to improve. And and you know,
I saw good things out of Mac. But I what
I liked in that game against the Dolphins is he
actually was able to throw on the move, like I've

(55:30):
never seen that from from Mac Jones before, where he's
he's on the run and east he's actually completing a
pass or making a good throw anyways. And that's he
did a couple of times. So maybe we'll see more
out of him where he they moved the pocket a
bit and he gets he gets out of there a
little bit and scrambles. So you said there's something to
look forward to.

Speaker 2 (55:50):
You said super Bowl. You mentioned that you mentioned the
words super Bowl on there. Super Bowl, the playoffs. Where
where's Where's where's the coach? Where is coach Morrow when
we need him? Playoffs? Yeah, don't talk about.

Speaker 4 (56:03):
Talking about I'm talking about playoffs either with week two,
you know, I'm but I know for sure than go
in to the super Bowl, that's not something that I yeah,
I even have any any, any kind of aspiration for
I know, the playoffs.

Speaker 6 (56:17):
It's probably not.

Speaker 4 (56:18):
But let's talk to me in week twelve and let's just.

Speaker 2 (56:21):
Just need to win a game right now. Let's let's let's,
you know, let's see this team win a game. Let's
see this team not shoot itself in the foot, Let's
see this team play clean. Let's see this team, you know,
play a game with you know, let's say under five
penalties and no turnovers. Because I would consider that to
be a huge success, and it would give you a

(56:44):
chance to do just that. It would give you a
chance to win. Now, you can't schematically be all over
the place, especially on defense, and expect to win because
you know, while I thought they did it an admirable
job of slowing down Miami's very very fast, lightning fast receivers,
they still unfortunately spread themselves a bit too thin and

(57:04):
got you know, got whacked right up the middle by
Raheem Moster or you know, and it's just it was
just it was over. It was over. That was that
was a backbreaker as far as I'm concerned. Whether they
had a chance to win it at the end is
almost a moot point. And and and you can't you
can't make devastating mistakes like that that forced you to
keep coming from behind. That's the problem. Okay, well I

(57:31):
think that's Uh, do we just lose him? Okay, let
me take that. Oops, now I just clicked that off.
My mistake. Sorry, all right, Oh were you okay? All right?
So then let's do this. Well, we've got we've got
Connor Hughes from s and Hy getting ready to come
on here. In the meantime, eight five five pats five hundred,
let's get Eldred in North Carolina in here, Eldred. Did

(57:53):
you hear you were your ears burning?

Speaker 7 (57:55):
Oh yeah, mister legend. You know what, you and a
pu made me very half of the day.

Speaker 2 (58:02):
Why because we agreed with you.

Speaker 7 (58:04):
Finally, I've been saying that for fifteen years, and my
offer still stands. Mister Kraft, let me draft for you
one year you want have to pay me, not one time.
I draft better than that gym you got, and you
keep having me guaranteed. I watch college football Saturday all day,
all day and make them my little boards and everything.
And I just hate the way we are right now

(58:28):
because we got somebody just still stuck in the eighties, nineties. Yeah,
in the two thousand and Bill is Bill. I give
he's smart whatever, but defense, yes, offense, he just don't
want to pay the divus because you know, you know,
if you do that, you're gonna have to keep paying
or you get rid of him. And then sometimes the

(58:49):
guys that he homegrown, he don't. He might pay him once,
but he get rid of him. And that's then how
you build a team. I'm sorry, then how you do that?

Speaker 2 (58:57):
So you got to keep your card?

Speaker 6 (58:59):
Let's get thirty.

Speaker 2 (59:00):
Yeah, no, I listen, I'm not going to disagree with
anything that you said. And you know, you know I
value your opinion. And we've been doing this together for
a long time, you know. And and so while I'm
giving you the benefit of doubt in this regard, this
team needs to win a game, elderd. This team needs
to win a game this Sunday, what are you changing,
what are you moving around, what are you doing differently?

(59:22):
Make a move that will help this team win this
game on Sunday, regardless of what it means for the
rest of the season.

Speaker 7 (59:30):
On what move I'm gonna do? I like what Evans
says start with the line, but does other rule If
you got an explosive rookie, I don't care. If he's
sixth round, fifth round, fourth or third and he's chowing
better than him over overpaid.

Speaker 2 (59:45):
Then he needs Yeah. Yeah, I realized that, and I
think we all realize that, you know, having a doghouse
in this day and age probably seems a little bit silly. Uh,
But again, you got to realize, this is the way
the coach is. The coach has been here forever. His
way has worked forever, you know, maybe not in the
last couple of years, but certainly his you know, over

(01:00:07):
the long haul. And so I don't think that that's
going to change. So I think we all need to
get by that. When somebody fumbles, Oh here he goes,
he's in the doghouse again, wolf Wolf, you know it's
gonna happen.

Speaker 7 (01:00:18):
The problem that is, the problem with that is you
had twelve you ain't got twelve now, and I want
to ask him. Okay, you said before, it's a system.
It's a system that you run. You talk. You can
get any top fifteen quarterback to run your system. How's
it working for you now, buddy?

Speaker 2 (01:00:36):
Would you really ask him that?

Speaker 6 (01:00:38):
I would?

Speaker 7 (01:00:39):
How's it working for you now?

Speaker 2 (01:00:40):
Buddy?

Speaker 7 (01:00:41):
You got the top fifteen, buddy, and you what for
the last four years?

Speaker 2 (01:00:46):
You love it? Love it.

Speaker 7 (01:00:48):
I don't think you got five hundred. You know.

Speaker 2 (01:00:51):
No, I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing with you
on this one. I'm like, yeah, I think somebody probably
does need to do that. Buddy.

Speaker 7 (01:00:59):
You know, you had to get the greatest quarter back
of all time. That made everything that you did work
a little bit, you know, work a whole lot better.
And I meant, Grady, Brady, there never be another time.
Br I don't care if they put Patrick Mahome throw
up there, they put Hirst and his cold whoever, You'd
never be another Brady and Belichick. I'm sorry that guy

(01:01:21):
was too special, all right? You know?

Speaker 2 (01:01:23):
All right, so you let's we'll get back to the
original premise. Then here, you kind of agree with what
Evan said about you, know, trying to find some balance
on offense. That's how you would change it up this week.

Speaker 7 (01:01:34):
Yeah, best you can. And mistakes going to happen. You
just hope you don't make too many, especially against this team.
But this team got a better defense than the one
you face.

Speaker 2 (01:01:44):
Yeah, I know that's the problem. That that's that's a
real concern. That's a real concern. So if you if
you're turning the ball over or you're not you know,
moving the ball against the defense that's better than the
one you just faced. I mean, how are you gonna
win a football game.

Speaker 7 (01:02:01):
That is gonna be? Like I said, I don't know.
But Dallas had Lamb and a couple of good plays
here and there, you know, and they and they just
you know, and they just got and they had Parsons
they got after which card We don't have Parsons. I
wish the guy would have drafted Parson, but we went well.

Speaker 2 (01:02:21):
You know, there's really another I mean, I mean, yeah,
sure there are a lot of guys there. You know
that you know, you you you wish that you could
have taken that you know got taken uh you know,
uh just before you drafted or whatever, or or just
after you drafted or whatever. It just seems like there
were a lot of close calls that you probably could
have been accurate on. But I mean, the fact of
the matter is you can't change anything. So what you

(01:02:42):
have to do is you got to figure out a
way to win this game this week and worry about
the rest of it later.

Speaker 7 (01:02:48):
Well on that newse take a page out of Dallas book,
get your best pass rusher and just try to you know,
try to get there, you know, and get the whiss.
But I'm to be honest with you, will Mason throws
to Wilton, and that's what's worrying me because that chief
has showed up a little bit like they did Sunday,

(01:03:10):
and he had just the more time to throw. Wilson
gonna get open, you know.

Speaker 6 (01:03:14):
So it's just whatever.

Speaker 7 (01:03:16):
But I just hope, I just hope we win a
close one. Yeah we need to win this one, but
if it don't, it's gonna be focus. You play them cowboys,
and that's gonna be what you call. We got a
couple weeks after we after that to be four this week,
you just gotta get after Wilton and just hope our
office just don't turn the ball over and that's the

(01:03:38):
only thing you gotta hope for.

Speaker 2 (01:03:39):
Well, outside, you can't turn the ball over, and you
still got to move the ball against the team that
has a very strong front four and has you know,
maybe the best defensive back of the league in Sauce Gardener.

Speaker 7 (01:03:51):
And the other cornerback and in a slout cheese, I know.

Speaker 2 (01:03:54):
I'm telling you the Jets. The Jets are are. The
Jets are better than most people think they are because
the Patriots, you know, I think most everybody here is
uh and fans would be jaded that direction because you've
beaten them fourteen times in a row, which is incredible
to think about in this day and age of parody,
but that's exactly what has happened. And so you're like, oh,
it's the Jets. They'll figure out a way. And I

(01:04:15):
frankly kind of think that way myself. I feel like
the Jets are gonna jet, They're gonna shoot themselves in
the foot. I just hope they shoot themselves in the
foot before the Patriots do.

Speaker 7 (01:04:24):
Me too, Me too, cause that defense is, like I said,
they the weakness might be that safety, but you know
the safety part, but them corners, they all melt they
are melt, you know. But but like I said, we
ain't got that speed like Lamb got or whatever to
get to get Byn.

Speaker 2 (01:04:42):
Yeah you know. Yeah, Well what is your impression overall?
Real quick, elderd, what is your impression overall about you
know the Patriots, you know, improving their quickness or their
speed defensively? And what's your first impression of the secondary.

Speaker 7 (01:05:00):
Last week?

Speaker 2 (01:05:02):
Yeah?

Speaker 6 (01:05:02):
Or overall?

Speaker 2 (01:05:03):
Really?

Speaker 7 (01:05:03):
I know speed overall? Yeah, secondary, M I'm gonna do
wait judgment that a little bit. That shows a little
bit special gunzales. But I can't understand if you got
another six to two corner of speed, why you're working
them trying to coach them up. But then you have
some guys that will run with he'll and what you
call back then, But if you're not, if you just

(01:05:25):
keeping them not on the special team depth, you're not
working to bring them up because you got two more
back there that's got speed too. And I I understand
their rookies, but I really get beat by rookie. They
get beat by Miles Bryant or Jalen Mills or they
be in the league whatever, but they ain't got the
speed or the height to run with them tall guys,
always on the fast guys. I take my lumps, because

(01:05:48):
you can only get better the farthering year. The only
way them rookies don't get better becaus under fire now
sitting there watching. They got to be in the game playing.
And Bill shp of all people should know that. But
he played playing veterans bore. You played rookie, and sometimes
your rookies show a little bit better than your betroos. Okay,
and that's what I would do.

Speaker 2 (01:06:08):
Okay, gotcha? All right? What do you think about this week?

Speaker 7 (01:06:12):
Then twenty seventeen, when we get it a rhynd the
field go ad en.

Speaker 2 (01:06:22):
Oh, so you think they'll actually win it?

Speaker 6 (01:06:25):
I hope, so wow, I hope.

Speaker 2 (01:06:26):
I thought you. I thought you yeah, I thought you're
picking hell. To be honest with you, I thought you
were going in that direction.

Speaker 7 (01:06:34):
All right, I'm going to hope, hope twenty seventeen. If
we do more than that, I just gig in the
middle of my street out here, you know, But.

Speaker 2 (01:06:42):
Will you will you send me the video of your
jig dancing?

Speaker 7 (01:06:45):
I send you the video first hand.

Speaker 2 (01:06:47):
Okay, all right, I appreciate you, Love you, buddy. Be
safe out there. Yep, all right, say up with the
legends later, Eldred. He is classic. He is absolutely classic bets.
If you want to see Toyota's best offers, including those
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(01:07:09):
of the New England Patriots, Toyota Let's Go Places and
bridge Stone is the official tire of the New England
Patriots and Bridgetone's tires are now on sale through September
thirtieth at all Sulliventire locations. Visits Sullivantire dot com for
a location near you. As we roll straight into our
number two inside the playbook, here Connor Hughes from sn Y,

(01:07:32):
we discover is on an airplane. Okay, because he said,
I guess he thought Marine Mint tomorrow for the show,
So I guess we can give him to catch twenty
two and those guys tomorrow because he's on an airplane
and so he's unavailable today, which is too bad. But
at the same time we understand, you know, hey, they

(01:07:52):
got work to do. The jets are actually they've got
their interview opportunities by my understanding as well, going on
right now, which is why most of their reporters are
unavailable because they're talking to the Jets players in their
locker room after their practice. So that's kind of why
you know, these you know, mid afternoon shows slash practices
are a little difficult sometimes and getting guys to jump

(01:08:14):
on for a few minutes because they're in the middle
of doing their jobs that they're paid to do. So
we try to scratch and claw and get people to,
you know, come on over whenever they have a chance.
So what this does, then is it opens up an
opportunity for you eight five five pats five hundred eight
five five pats five hundred and of course web radio
at Patriots dot com. I get some emails we'll share
here in a minute at JR Broadcaster on Twitter. UH,

(01:08:37):
and Russell Baxter will join us at the bottom here
of the hour.

Speaker 7 (01:08:42):
UH.

Speaker 2 (01:08:42):
In the meantime, let's go back to the phones. Hey
Claire in the UK, Hi Claire.

Speaker 8 (01:08:48):
Hey Ricky, Hey Marine.

Speaker 2 (01:08:50):
Hey girl, what's happening? You call him just to hear him?
Say that? Hear him? Do that?

Speaker 5 (01:08:56):
I know you do what I do?

Speaker 8 (01:08:57):
I do? I even get Andrea most show.

Speaker 2 (01:09:01):
Yes, correct, correct? So what are your thoughts? What are
you what are your thoughts here? What is this team?
What do they have to Can you make a move
that would actually help them win a game this Sunday? Well,
I did.

Speaker 8 (01:09:15):
Imagine with the joke, but I thought i'd ring in
while I had a bit of time.

Speaker 2 (01:09:19):
I appreciate my.

Speaker 8 (01:09:20):
Initial reaction when you asked this question was, Yes, they
need to utilize the secusment and more. Obviously we need
more tight ended more tight endedry. Okay, it's a given,
but no, My serious answer was I agreed with pretty
much as you. I think everybody does because Evanie's got
such a beautiful mind. But yet Evan was really smart.

(01:09:40):
What he said about balance is the key. I think
the thing that is necessary that they need to try
and do, and I don't know how feasible it is
doing it within a week. Is getting the O line cohesive.
As it's been said on multiple shows, yourself Pu included,
they haven't had time together that you know what you

(01:10:00):
want as you're starting five, haven't had the time to
build together that dynamic of one vision and it's missing
so significantly. And I've said it before, I'm sure many
people have as well. It doesn't matter what weapons inverted
commas you like to put out there, who is you know,
making it down the field. It doesn't really matter how

(01:10:22):
great they are, how excessively skilled they are, if everything
around the quarterback is coming and he just has no
time to make any read to get the ball out anything. Granted,
I get it that he needs that, you know, he
needs the speed within himself to get the ball out
to make those reads. But if you've got nothing but
pressure constantly, it doesn't matter if you've got your Tyreek

(01:10:44):
Hill speeding down the field if you can't get the
ball out because everything around you is collapsing. Literally, the
walls are falling down upon him, and you're asking him
to kind of like make plays. And I think I
don't know how, because obviously I'm not a football pros
but and I don't know even if it is feasible.

Speaker 6 (01:11:02):
But it's just a.

Speaker 8 (01:11:03):
Glaring obvious necessity at the moment is they need to
do whatever they can internally to try their best internally
to get the O line. Soheseem working together, Yeah, stronger,
just just better.

Speaker 2 (01:11:18):
Just for one you know, Let's get him back out there.
Let's just get him the hell back out there and
playing together, right, I mean, if you can get him
back out there, then maybe you can work on actually
playing together. I'm noticing that Zach Cox, who was on
the show here just a little while ago, he just
tweeted out or X posted out or what the hell
we're calling it? Uh? He said, yeah, X posted three

(01:11:38):
minutes ago. He just said, how can the Patriots fix
their stagnant Russian attack? And Ezekiel Elliott answered the question
after practice today, win the line of scrimmage, and I
would give you a big fat duh on that one.
You know, yeah, when the line of scrimmage, these guys,
you know, if they say that they like blocking forward

(01:11:58):
rather than pass blocking, better, then show it, show it.
And you've got to figure out a way to open
up some holes because these guys are you know, these guys,
as Evan put it overly, they're mutters. So you got
to give them a chance to run downhill a little bit.
I would like to see more under center snapping because
out of the out of the shotgun, running the football

(01:12:21):
is basically a stop a standing start, you know, from
a stopped position, and it's much more difficult to get
momentum going. So I you know, I just i'd like
to see some changes. I know Bill O'Brien even admitted
to some of that, you know, to an extent earlier
this week yesterday, I think when the when the media
spoke to him around here. So let's let's see some

(01:12:41):
of this, let's let's let's do some things differently, because
if we're doing the same things over and over again
and they're not working, that is the sign of not
only insanity, it's also the sign that you're defeated and
you don't know what else to do and there's nothing
else to do.

Speaker 8 (01:12:58):
And I don't think in what we said last week
about the offense, sorry I don't.

Speaker 2 (01:13:02):
Yeah, no, that's right, Yeah, ahead, Yeah.

Speaker 8 (01:13:04):
I'm still confident in the in the offense itself, not
so much the line of as I don't want to
call it like weapons, but the playmakers with it being
I think it was last week I Rangin said it
that they're growers, not show us. And I think it's
only been two games. I've still got the confidence that
they can make something happen. The defense can be quite dynamic,

(01:13:27):
and I just, yeah, if we were one and one,
how would we be as Patriots fans been looking at
this if we were looking at exactly the same offense
as it is, exactly the same as the O line
as it is, if they'd have just had a couple
of things fall their way in one of the two games,
whichever one you want to pick, would we be looking
at it so much differently because we're looking at that fat,

(01:13:51):
big fat zero rather than anything else.

Speaker 1 (01:13:54):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (01:13:55):
Yeah, okay, what else is on your mind? Clear?

Speaker 8 (01:14:00):
Not much because it's getting really close to my bed time.

Speaker 2 (01:14:03):
Okay, well, let's be honest. Yeah, I know right, you're
starting to show your age now a little bit. I
didn't think we had to worry about that with you.
You're eternally young. You're you're eternally young.

Speaker 9 (01:14:13):
I'd like to think so, I'd like to think so.

Speaker 8 (01:14:15):
I do want to say, if you don't mind, I
have still got I've got a sandwich bet with my
with my buddy Childs, who I do a YouTube show
with now perhaps of the Ganda.

Speaker 2 (01:14:23):
Oh that's great, Still got a.

Speaker 8 (01:14:24):
Sandwich bet holding out there. Good for eleven winds. So
if they get eleven or more wins, he has to
buy me a sandwich. But if they get nine or less,
I have to buy him a sandwich. Okay, so I
need patriotation to will for the eleven winds.

Speaker 2 (01:14:43):
Well, I'm hey, listen, I was there with you. I'm
just I'm not feeling terribly confident about my prediction overall.
I just thought that, you know, maybe the schedule is
a little bit too much for them to bite off
and chew, as will that sandwich become.

Speaker 8 (01:14:54):
So you know, well, it's early days, it's week two.
If it was the only the second die in your
seventeen day vacation and you hadn't had the best two days,
what would you be saying it's.

Speaker 2 (01:15:06):
Got to get better from here?

Speaker 8 (01:15:08):
Okay, there you go. But let's hope and let's be
confident that it will be. You will it too?

Speaker 2 (01:15:14):
And I'd be pissed that I wasted two days of
my vacation, right, wouldn't we all. It's like you're going
to the Caribbean or something and the first two days
of rain and it rains there, what like, you know,
ten minutes out of the whole year, and it's raining
when I'm here. Are you serious? Okay? That's I'm upset.

(01:15:35):
I am not happy. And if I've got to waste
two days of you know, a vacation that I paid
a lot, you know, a lot of money for. Nope,
not happy. And I honestly kind of feel that way
in a little bit about you know, this football team
right now, which is why I started the show today.
You know, I guess with yeah, grumpy, good way to
put it. I was grumpy. I was grumpy. I actually

(01:15:57):
was on the air. Clear you like this. I was
on the air, you know, you know me. I'm mister perspective.
I'm mister you know, hey, let's let's look at the
bright side of things. I look at the positive side
of things, generally speaking. And so I'm on the air
Monday morning with a radio talk show in Maine who
they usually call me from time to time just to
you know, chat Patriots after a game. And so I'm

(01:16:18):
on my commute and it's poor in rain here, so
I'm already in a bad freaking mood, right, and so
they said, well, what did you think? And I just
I laid into him. I laid into him. And I
didn't lay into them. I laid into the Patriots and
the offensive line and everything else is going wrong. And
I'm just like, wow, I you know, after it was over.
I was kind of like, I don't really remember doing

(01:16:40):
that much. I guess it's just maybe I was crabby
because it was Monday and it's pouring down rain and
I'm sitting in traffic and I'm just like, I don't really,
I don't dig that. And then I loved how you
know when they're done with the interview and you're still
on and you can hear what the hosts say afterwards,
and one of the guys said, boy, he just kind
of puts things in perspective, doesn't he. And I'm like, well,
good to know that other people kind of feel the

(01:17:01):
way that I do. That they're upset and I understand.
So that helps give me a little bit more perspective now.
And I think it's okay to be upset. But that's
why I asked the question today, how the hell do
we fix this? We can't worry about, well, we've got
to make the team better, and we got to worry about,
you know, the salary cap next year and all that. No, no, no,
we need to win Sunday. And so this is where

(01:17:24):
you know, I'm actually, you know, I haven't had a
whole lot to agree with Bill Belichick lately. I'm sure
he would find that amazing. But the fact of the
matter is that I agree with him. We're worried about Sunday.
We're worried about the Jets. We're on to New York.
That's all this team needs to be talking about, thinking
about doing about is worried about winning a game. Let's
not worry about you know, one in three oh and

(01:17:45):
four oh and seven one, and it doesn't matter. Okay,
let's win a game and move on. Now, if this
one in three oh and two, whatever start they're in,
becomes oh and six oh and seven oh and eight,
now you've got problems of a different sort and a
different level. And I think we have to kind of
hope that that won't happen. That there is more talent

(01:18:07):
on this team than has showed itself thus far through
two weeks.

Speaker 8 (01:18:12):
I feel I can confidently say, and I'm probably naive
saying this and everybody will go, oh, she's such a
home but whatever, I am genuinely have the positivity the
outlook that that won't happen. We won't be Owen six,
we won't be seven. I don't believe that what they've
got on offense, how good. The defense that I just

(01:18:34):
I don't know, I just don't believe that will happen. Yeah,
there could be more beginnings. And don't let her call
in again.

Speaker 2 (01:18:41):
The first step to take, my dear is this week
in New York, let's find out what happens.

Speaker 8 (01:18:47):
All we need is is somebody's hot mom in the
building and we'll put the Zach Wilson thing out. Bind
that's all you need and then thank you for that.

Speaker 2 (01:19:01):
Okay, oh lord, Okay, thank you, Claire. Talk to you soon. Yep,
good night, you bet wow. Through the hot mom thing
of there.

Speaker 6 (01:19:18):
I like that.

Speaker 2 (01:19:18):
That's pretty good. Actually. Uh. The multiple reporters are reporting
that Marcus Jones was not at practice today. Of course,
he injured his shoulder Sunday night against Miami. Divon Godshaw
was not there today, but we understand that his fiance
had a baby yesterday. So congratulations to Godshaw and his family.

Speaker 6 (01:19:41):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (01:19:42):
And if you're looking for positives, Trent Brown, Jonathan Jones,
and city. So we're all at practice today after you know,
going through the concussion protocols. Uh. And the injury that
Jonathan Jones had kept him out last week, and that
was an injury that I thought was going to doom
them against the Dolphins when he was a scratch last week.
Turned out to be not that way. So it tells

(01:20:02):
me that, you know what, they schemed well, and mostly
the guys who've had to fill in for him did
an adequate job last week, and that largely why did
they lose the game, Because their mistakes were self inflicted,
and I think mostly self inflicted wounds are a sign
of an immature team. And yeah, I know the eleven

(01:20:26):
rookies are on this team that have dressed for this
team this year, so yeah, this team is younger, but
I looked at the overall average of the age of
rosters up and down the league, the Patriots are still
like fifth or sixth oldest in the NFL, even with
eleven rookies on the damn team. What does that tell you?
Ain't much middle ground on this team, is there? Right?

(01:20:47):
You're either really old or you're in diapers you're too old. Yeah,
So I just I found that really bizarre when I
saw that number earlier this week, and I'm not sure
what to make out of it. All I know is
is that the young guys need to grow up in
a hurry. Otherwise it's going to go south in a hurry,
Patty and aguam, Hey, Patty, what's going on?

Speaker 6 (01:21:10):
John?

Speaker 9 (01:21:11):
And when I'm not talking, I'm gonna mute my mic because.

Speaker 5 (01:21:13):
I'm in my loud ass fan.

Speaker 2 (01:21:14):
Yeah, that's right.

Speaker 9 (01:21:15):
I want, I want to give you one quick thing
and well I'm gonna I'm gonna ramble on for a
little bit.

Speaker 2 (01:21:22):
That's right.

Speaker 9 (01:21:23):
But I don't know if you remember, but before the
season started, I gave you two old predictions. One of
them was that New England would go five in one
of the division. It's not looking so hot right now.

Speaker 2 (01:21:33):
Well, it's still a possibility, but they got to win
them all.

Speaker 6 (01:21:35):
Brother.

Speaker 9 (01:21:37):
Yeah, and to me, I mean, it's huge.

Speaker 6 (01:21:39):
I heard.

Speaker 9 (01:21:40):
I wasn't able to catch the whole show so far,
but I did hear you say something about the offensive line.
And you know, as long as he's been covering the league,
what have I.

Speaker 2 (01:21:49):
Not said about the offensive line? Yeah, it's true. It's true.
It's one of the worst offensive lines to this point
in time that I've seen in forty years of covering
the NFL. It absolutely is. I don't remember another offensive
line being as big a liability for a team as
this one.

Speaker 9 (01:22:04):
And you're you're one on point. One of the things
that I wrote in was when I'm watching the game
Sunday night, Well, I'll give you a couple. I'll give
you a couple of my perspectives. I'm watching the game
Sunday night, and I'm saying to myself, this reminds me
of the twenty fifteen AFC Championship Game, only Miam this

(01:22:24):
hasn't been twenty fifteen Broncos defense that they're playing. Yeah,
and they're making them look like it.

Speaker 6 (01:22:30):
And yeah.

Speaker 9 (01:22:31):
One of the things, like I was, I was just
kind of pissed off at myself that I didn't go
to bed when I was twenty four to ten, because
I you know, I've been working like a dog lately
and going to school on top of it, and I'm like, man,
they just made it too intriguing, you know. I'm like,
stop making this game intriguing and just freaking lose enough
or just lose. Already a little upset with myself. I

(01:22:56):
think this week, the fact that Zach Wilson is quarterback
king and Aaron Rodgers is and I do think that
they'll end up winning. I think it's going to be
kind of like what everyone's sort of predicting three or
four point when I'm gonna go with twenty three to
twenty that they win.

Speaker 6 (01:23:13):
I think.

Speaker 9 (01:23:15):
I think having Trent Brown back is gonna be gonna
be pretty big.

Speaker 2 (01:23:19):
And dude, I hope you're right. I mean, I hope
you're right. I just don't know, you know, especially with
guys who are continuing to sort of work their way
back into shape, I'm not sure how much of a
positive factor they can be other than the fact that,
you know, hey, Trent is, you know, a mountain of
a man, so it's going to be harder and take
a guy longer to get around.

Speaker 9 (01:23:37):
Him, right, And you know what, they're they're losing the
war of attrition so far, and it's only two games
into the season, and it's I mean, it sucks, but
I mean, what can you do. I don't know if
he brought him up during the show, but would you
take a flyer on Layo Collin? Yes, you know it,
he's healthy, because yes, I mean, he's just he's.

Speaker 6 (01:23:59):
A proving guy.

Speaker 2 (01:24:01):
And well when his name was first mentioned, his name
was mentioned, I think before the game was over Sunday night,
you know. Then I said well, they have to at
least place the call, don't they. And frankly, we haven't
heard yet this week here, it's Wednesday that we're doing
the show. We haven't heard whether or not that's even
the case. And so if they haven't placed a call,

(01:24:24):
it says two things to me. Number One, that they
still like the direction they're headed, and that these guys
are getting healthier and that much closer to getting back
and being healthy. Number Two, it probably also says that
Collins is not healthy himself.

Speaker 9 (01:24:41):
Yeah right, But man, my thing is too it like
we've seen, We saw what it looks like all throughout camp,
in the preseason and the first two games. There's no
depth behind anybody.

Speaker 2 (01:24:53):
Well, that's the other thing. That's why I would still Patty.
I would actually still entertain the fact even if he's
not healthy. I mean, short of you know, well, the
guy's not gonna be able to play football this year.
Short of that, if he could get healthy and comeback,
then you'd have much better depth when he can return
to Africa duty if he's out there able to get
into your rotation. Right, yeah, right, that's I mean. So

(01:25:18):
I would still take a flyer on the guy. I
just you know who knows. You know, you don't know
the way that they think. So I mean, all right, whatever,
if they don't do it, then that tells me that
they are still happy with what they have. But I
think the proof is in the pudding. I don't think
anybody should be happy with what they have, or at
very least be happy with what they have and how
they've performed, because they haven't performed to NFL modern day

(01:25:43):
capability period.

Speaker 9 (01:25:47):
Now they haven't. And I mean, you can't look at
mac Jones. He's not dynamic. He doesn't have the he
doesn't have the gun that Josh Allen Pat Mahomes has.
But I think if you if you can give him
a clean pocket and he can step into his throws,
he can make pretty much any throw. And I mean,
I don't know about the talent around him. I think

(01:26:07):
the talent is good enough to at least make a
playoff runner get into the playoffs. I don't think that
they have the talent to make a Super Bowl run.
But I mean they everything that you said, they have
to pick the problems up front. We can't block. If
we can't keep our quarterback clean, then I mean we
might as well just check out.

Speaker 2 (01:26:25):
Well, that's the I'll let you go down. Yeah. I
appreciate you, Patty.

Speaker 9 (01:26:28):
Get some other colors on the line and love you, buddy.
I'll talk to you in twenty three to twenty market.

Speaker 2 (01:26:33):
Okay, you're down twenty three twenty. Thank you, Patty. And
you're right. I mean, yeah, they have to they have
to be able to, you know, keep the quarterback clean.
Haven't really been able to do. It's why he's in
the shotgun. It's why he's getting the ball out, you know,
on flairs out of the backfield and short roots over
the middle and things along those lines. That's why. Because
he doesn't have time to throw, and when he does

(01:26:55):
step up into the pocket, you can see that he's
got a case of happy feet. That's the They've got
to figure out a way to fix that problem. To me,
that's one of the biggest issues right now is the
confidence he's getting the ball. Lot Quicker has to get
the ball a lot quicker almost as a self preservation thing.
Stead says, guys, I'm going up to New York City
for the game this weekend. Made these plans before the

(01:27:17):
season started, with the hopes of seeing a great game
between the Pats and Aaron Rodgers. As a huge Pats
fan in football fan, I'm still thrilled to go to
the Metal Lands for the first time and see the game.
My hopes now or that we can at least win
this game. I still have eye confidence that our defense
will continue to make Zach Wilson look terrible, and if
the offensive line can hold up a little, I think
Matt can win the game. Well, that's said. The Jets

(01:27:39):
defensive front is absolutely terrifying. I'll be incredibly disappointed and
said if I go to New York to see a
six to three Jets win, win or loss, I think
this game will be super boring. But I'm stoked anyway.
Please tell me some positives to look for during the
game that you can think of, any positives to look
for in New York? Wow, Marine, you got any positives

(01:28:04):
to look for in New York? Anon Rodgers won't be there? Okay,
Well that's one. Okay, so he should be able to
fit you know, instead, should be able to fit his
ego inside the stadium without Rodgers there, right, Yeah, okay,
that's one. So I may that may be the only
positive I can give you. I think of that one,
I'm not. You know, if I'm the Patriots, I'm really

(01:28:24):
worried about you know, Hall Briest, Hall U and you
know in Dalvin Cok. I'm just I'm yeah, pretty good
one two punch, I think in the in the offensive backfield.

Speaker 7 (01:28:36):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (01:28:36):
And so if if I'm Robert Salid, their head coach,
I'm trying to figure out a way to not put
Zach Wilson in a position to beat himself like he's
done in his previous couple of games against you know,
New England and Bill Belichick and the Patriots defense trying
to give him a chance to win the game. And
so I'm gonna let my run backs and I'm gonna
let you know, even though they've had some some injury issues,

(01:28:58):
uh and some issues over oh with their own offensive line,
I'm gonna kind of let those guys sort of take
it over their coach Today, Robert Sala listed seven players
as either non participants or limited prior to practice earlier today.
In New York. Free safety Tony Adams was a recent

(01:29:19):
addition to the list. He had a hamstring injury late
I think in the game against Dallas pasted last week,
so that could be somewhat problematic for the Jets if
he is unable to go, certainly hurts their depth back there.
Let's see what else you know. The Cowboys, by the way,
they ran eighty three offensive plays in that win last week.

(01:29:42):
That's a lot of plays. A Jets defense stayed on
the field eighty seven snaps forty two minutes of game time. Yikes.
So that tells me that the Jets offense also underperformed,
you know, woefully unperperformed as well. Certainly a thirty to
ten score with indicate, but I mean forty two minutes

(01:30:03):
of playing time for the defense. If I'm the Patriots,
you know what I'm doing. I'm slamming the ball right
at them up the middle. Again. You know, you got
to give the offensive line a chance. The best way
I know to get in sync with your teammates and
the offensive line is for everybody to be blocking ahead
and open a hole and let the guys get to
that a hole more quickly from a downhill angle. Evan

(01:30:24):
was right when we talked about that in the first
hour of the show today. And knowing that this Jets
team is also you know, already somewhat you know, battle weary,
from having been on the field for more than forty
minutes and more than almost ninety snaps last week against
the Cowboys, and then the Cowboys just they pinned their
own ears back and beat the crap out of them
last week. That's what I want to do. That has

(01:30:48):
to be part of That has to be a part
of it. You got to attack them where you can.

Speaker 9 (01:30:55):
You have.

Speaker 2 (01:30:57):
Well offensive tackles haven't missed a snap. Brown and Beckton,
even though they've been on somewhat of a maintenance program
to my understanding, because they had off season surgeries on
the line. Obviously, Breeze Hall has been on the injury
list because he's still recovering from acl but it looked

(01:31:19):
like he's not missing a based on what I've seen
in two games, and I watched, you know, their whole
first game against Buffalo, and I watched bits and pieces
last week of them getting beat up by Dallas. You
gotta expected his you know, carry count and his time
on the field is probably going to increase a little
bit this week because they look at it as an opportunity. Look,
we can kind of do what Miami did in New England.

(01:31:43):
They lost I think Carter and Williams defensively last week,
they left the game before the loss to Dallas was complete.
That's a cornerback and a linebacker carry in case you're wondering,
And I'm not sure what their status is going to

(01:32:06):
be for Sunday, but if they are unable to go,
that suddenly makes the middle of that Jets defense vulnerable
in the back end a little more vulnerable than it was.
So I'm just kind of looking ahead to that particular instance.
These are things that you know, will I'll certainly be
accounted for, I would think as the preparations begin for

(01:32:27):
game plan. Patriot fans, if you want to see Toyota's
best offers, including those not seen on TV, go to
buy at toyota dot com. It's Toyota's official website for
deals from the official vehicle of the New England Patriots, Toyota.
Let's go places A real woman could stop you from
drinkings a real big woman.

Speaker 1 (01:32:46):
It's time to go around the NFL with football guru
Russell Baxter.

Speaker 4 (01:32:50):
Now on, your name is Flounder.

Speaker 1 (01:32:53):
On Patriots Playbook.

Speaker 2 (01:32:57):
Welcome to Patriots Playbook again, Flounder. How you doing one? Well?

Speaker 9 (01:33:03):
You know what?

Speaker 2 (01:33:04):
Nothing that a win wouldn't cure. And you know, I
know you have all the historical perspective on oh and
two and oh and three and one and three and
whatever the numbers may play out. And I guess we
kind of began today, Russell really by kind of looking at,
you know, whether or not you think that this Patriots
team is built, uh with flaws in it. I think

(01:33:27):
every team in the NFL has flaws. Some just know
how to cover them better than others. As we kind
of began the show today, the idea for the Patriot
here is not to worry so much about the bigger
picture flaws that they may need to cure with you know,
additional personnel moves, free agency, drafts, whatever. But it's that
they need to win a flipping game this Sunday. And

(01:33:48):
so to me having the Jets, even though you got
to travel, having the Jets, because you've got momentum in
terms of having beaten the Jets fourteenth straight times, maybe
it's a maybe it's a mind game thing. I don't know,
And I don't know how much of a help or
a hindrance that might actually be, because if I'm the Jets,
that kind of pisses me off right, Now, you know,

(01:34:08):
you got to win a game, and this seemed to
be to me as good an opponent as any that
you could face in the NFL. If you're the Patriots
just trying to win a game.

Speaker 6 (01:34:19):
Well, I agree, I agree exactly what you're saying. Who
cares how you get it done? Scratching. I mean, what's
a better example than what we saw Monday night? Okay?
I mean that game made a feel cage match look
like ballroom dancing. Okay, that's one of the ugliest games.

(01:34:41):
And I've watched a lot of football. Okay, that border
would be in like a stripe replacement game. Yep, at
least in the first quarter. Okay. And listen, there's some
great defensive players on both of those teams, but we
saw some really ugly offense and not taking care of
the ball all And to be honest with John, thumbs up,

(01:35:04):
the jet futility against the Patriots is for the most
part in New England. And I've got to peek something
out later. I've got to excuse you with some numbers,
so it'll probably blow.

Speaker 2 (01:35:15):
You away, that's all right. I like it when you
when you spew the numbers. I like it yeah.

Speaker 6 (01:35:20):
Well, I mean, I've got to if a full press
coverage beat and I just want to look. But think
about this. Okay, it's fourteen in a row, and by
the way, we've seen longer streaks by other teams, I believe.
Still the record is Buffalo losing twenty straight games to Miami. Yep,
it was the entire decade of the seventies. It was

(01:35:42):
like a bad asset script. Yeah, wow, you know, that's
no memory whatsoever. And then they kind of turn around. John.
The tumulative score in the last fourteen games is four
to ten to one, fifty three.

Speaker 2 (01:35:54):
Wait wait, wait run that by again. What what's the
cumulative score.

Speaker 6 (01:35:57):
New England for ten the Jets won fifty three.

Speaker 2 (01:36:02):
That's that's that's crazy. That's just crazy. I didn't realize
it was that really one sided.

Speaker 6 (01:36:08):
It's you know, but as they say on the game shows,
but wait, there's more okay, and there will be more
Jets behind in every one of those games except one.

Speaker 2 (01:36:21):
The Jets not say that again, because.

Speaker 6 (01:36:24):
Nine of those fourteen games by fourteen.

Speaker 4 (01:36:26):
Points or more.

Speaker 2 (01:36:27):
Wow, nine of those And I'll get.

Speaker 6 (01:36:30):
Into the turnovers later. But let's let's say to say
that there are bakeries across the country that would love
to turnover production that the Jets have had. Ah, very good,
but I mean ugly, ugly, ugly. That'd be instead. Last year,
these were two close games, and of course we saw
how the one ended with the special uh oh, I

(01:36:57):
mean we need to lose and and and and then
this story here and you know what also struck me
about this week.

Speaker 2 (01:37:03):
John, Okay, go.

Speaker 6 (01:37:08):
Patriots? All right, I believe thatast year I was on
your show.

Speaker 2 (01:37:12):
Okay, you're gonna have to say that again because we
lost you in mid sentence.

Speaker 6 (01:37:16):
Okay, the last time the Patriots were oh and two
was the first year I did.

Speaker 2 (01:37:22):
Your show, Right, that's right, in two thousand and one. Correct,
that's correct.

Speaker 6 (01:37:27):
I mean, that's you know, that's crazy. I don't know
what that means, but.

Speaker 2 (01:37:31):
Well let's let's let's hope it means something really good.
Like well, they said they were zero and two, but
they ended up eleven and five and won the damn
Super Bowl that year.

Speaker 6 (01:37:38):
Yep, and and and as we know oh and two,
and you know we've seen it happen four times. Three
of those teams won the Super Bowl. One got to
the Super Bowl, so another what I'm saying is four
teams have overcome oh and two starts to get to
the Super Bowl.

Speaker 2 (01:37:55):
The Bengals did last year.

Speaker 6 (01:37:57):
The ninety three Cowboys won it, the ninety six Patriots
lost it at the Patriots in two thousand and one,
and of course the Giants in two thousand and seven
when they beat the Patriots. Patriots seem like they're tied
into all this stuff. So now you don't want to
know Owen three because Owen three is there's only I

(01:38:17):
believe six teams in NFL history, forget the merger. Six
teams in NFL history. They have overcome Owen three and
reached the playoffs. And once they got to the playoffs.
Not a lot of success, right, But again we have
seen It's funny people sometimes kind of scott at the
streaks they go on between teams and hey, it's the

(01:38:41):
new year and blah blah blah blah. Well, the Raiders
made it nine in a row over the Broncos this year, yep.
And the you know, the Niners have keep on beating
the Rams in the regular season. I know they lost
the NFC title Game a couple of years ago, but
I think at nine in a row, and you know,
so these streets have some sort of relevance regardless of

(01:39:03):
all the changes of personnel and so on. So the Jets,
very gutty effort against the Bills, not as gutty against
the Cowboys, looked overwhelmed. And the Patriots is just like
so close and yet so far in their in their
two games, it's like they're they're they're right there, and

(01:39:25):
then just something goes wrong a long touchdown bought run
by Raheem Mosters, or you know, just the bad start
against Philadelphia, and yet they outplayed them with probably the
final three quarters, you know, just missing on fourth down
and so on. So right there, it's right there, and
you know, the Patriots are listen, they got a good company.

(01:39:46):
There are nine teams that are zero and two, and
you know, we'll see, but since twenty nineteen, there's only
been one zero and two team get to the playoffs,
and that was Cincinnati last year.

Speaker 2 (01:39:58):
Last year, the af right exactly.

Speaker 6 (01:40:02):
So as time goes well, my point is, as time
goes on, and as we add a seventeenth game, and
like we did a couple of years ago at a
seventh playoff team, who knows what's going to happen. I mean,
if you can figure out this league on a weekly basis,
you're better than I am. I mean, I enjoy the
hell out watching it. But if you think you have

(01:40:22):
it solved, you know the Giants are you know, down
twenty one points the Cardinals.

Speaker 2 (01:40:29):
That was an amazing comeback, by the way, I actually
saw most of that in the press box before our
game Sunday, and I'm like, I can't believe the Giants
going to come back and win this game. That was nuts.

Speaker 6 (01:40:40):
Well, look at Washington's down twenty one to three at
Denver john that too. They might expect that come all
the way back than they did. No, I think one
of the most astounding things in the early stages of
the season is now if we have nine to zero
and two's, we have nine two and oh. Remember the
NFP didn't have team with a winning record. They won

(01:41:03):
it with an eight and nine regular season record. And
I like to point out you include Tampa's lost to
Dallas and the every team in that Dinvation lost, tame
well Land's two and oh, and New Orleans is two
and oh.

Speaker 2 (01:41:21):
Yep, I missed the last part of what you said
because you broke up again.

Speaker 6 (01:41:29):
Atlanta's to and o. New Orleans is two and o.

Speaker 2 (01:41:31):
In Tampa Bay too, Tampa is yeah, two and oh.
In fact, the fact that there are seven NFC teams
that are are two and o for the first time ever,
I think is kind of remarkable because frankly, I wasn't
sure that the NFC was going to be the stronger
of the two conferences this year, but certainly started out
that way.

Speaker 6 (01:41:48):
Well, that's funny you said that, because I heard that too. Well,
the AFC has all the quarter packs and the NFC
is up for grabs, and you know, okay, well, as
you pointed out, seven of the nine undefeated sir in
the NFC, you know who else is undefeated? The NFC
when they face the AFC this.

Speaker 2 (01:42:08):
Year, they're fixing out how about that? Yeah?

Speaker 6 (01:42:10):
Okay, So you know, again it's early, but these are
interesting little things to point out. By the way, the
NFC has actually won the season series each of the
past two years, okay, and that really doesn't have that
much relevance in terms of the Super Bowl. The Chiefs
won the Super Bowl last year the year before the Rams,
so it's you know, flip flop, et cetera. Et cetera. Yeah,

(01:42:32):
and so, but you know, the early stages of trying
to figure out who's good. I mean, right now, I
think there's kind of three teams that are little heads
and above the other three, although here come the Chiefs,
but a different kind of chiefs, you know. Not explosive
offense so far, but defensively, a lot of young players.

(01:42:55):
They got Chris Jones back. You say, you think about
given up what they gave up two offensive touchdowns to
the Lions. They held Jacksonville Refeld goals. But you know,
you have to like what you see out of Miami. Explosive,
a little hot and cold with defense and so on.

(01:43:16):
They look like they fixed their okay le'sco balance on
both sides of the ball.

Speaker 2 (01:43:24):
Yeah all right, So let's take a quick look at
the schedule then, And I actually wanted to start Russell
with the Thursday night game tomorrow night, with the Giants
playing at the forty nine ers. I mean, to me,
San Francisco looks like one of the preminitive teams in
the league, if not certainly the NFC. But the way
the Giants came back, I mean, how much can can

(01:43:45):
that build a team's confidence? Is it sort of a
of a of a fool's gold type of thing, or
you know, now that Sequon Barkley is out, I'm just
kind of curious as to you know, if the Giants
have an opportunity to kind of hold on any of
that momentum.

Speaker 6 (01:44:00):
Well, I think they can. I mean, they paid what
they did in the second hand, but it's obviously it's
going to be pretty fresh in their minds. You know,
it's a short week for them, but I'm guessing I
don't know, somebody can probably tell me that they probably
stayed out west for this game since it was a
Thursday night game and so on. You know, it's totally

(01:44:21):
off the subject because you and I, You and I
are are we boomers?

Speaker 7 (01:44:26):
Is that what they call it?

Speaker 2 (01:44:27):
Yeah, we're boomers. Boom boomer. Okay, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 6 (01:44:33):
So and I'm going to do a base I'm going
to do a baseball and I'm going to do a
football chime. I'm on the schedule this week. We have
Giants at San Francisco and we have Colts at Baltimore.

Speaker 2 (01:44:48):
That's kind of cool, isn't that funny? Yeah, that's kind
of cool. But I'm realized nobody gives a rats. You
know what besides you and I on that one.

Speaker 6 (01:44:56):
That's okay, it's really made. Hey, it's William Mason, it's
Johnny and Knight is.

Speaker 2 (01:45:02):
Yeah, I know, I like the Colts against Baltimore because
I still sometimes think of him as the Baltimore cults.
I do say that. And Johnny You was one of
my favorite quarterbacks growing up.

Speaker 6 (01:45:11):
So I mean, you know, well I listened. I know,
we like to have goat conversations a lot of people do,
and so on, and the fact that he's still in
the conversation because he really was the advent of the
modern day quarterback and you know what he did, and

(01:45:31):
so I mean, you know, think about Peyton Manning, you know,
wearing those shoes. He got fined for it. Remember after
Johnny You passed, and so I was a tribute to him,
and so on. Johnny. There are certain names and sports
Johnny and Knight is Jim Brown that that you just
say with reverence, and you know, you look at some

(01:45:52):
of the marks that he has and you're like, wow,
still up there, still up there in this day and
age of you know, an incredible numbers. Yeah, yeah, listen
at any one time, Okay, against against the Rams, a

(01:46:13):
team that usual they usually dominate and so on. So yeah,
there's always a chance a fumble, a pick, sick, something
to get you on the board and so on. I
mean a lot of people think that they had no shot,
considering the nine Ers have scored thirty points in each
of their first two games. But you know, we'll see.

(01:46:35):
I mean, listen, Brian Dabele has definitely built something there, yep.
And I know a Giants win would kind of epitomize
what this leads all about. Okay, and I'm not predicting that,
but think about this. Yeah, sure, two weeks after losing
forty to nothing, they're two and one with the road

(01:46:55):
when it's San Francisco.

Speaker 2 (01:46:56):
Which would be and I mean, yeah, knock us over
with the other on that one, right, I call that yeah, yeah,
helmet Yeah, that's a helmet scratcher. Hey, So a couple
of interesting ones that I'm looking at. You know, the
Falcons have started two and oh they're one of those
seven NFC teams that are unbeaten, and they go to
everybody's you know, I think preseason Darling the Lions, So

(01:47:19):
I think, you know, we'll see a good test for
both teams there. Uh, the Broncos have been sort of
hard luck and they've got to go on the road
and play at Miami and then a game that that
actually might be better than most people realize. The Bills
are one and one and the Commanders are two and oh.
Another one of those seven undefeated teams in the NFC.

(01:47:40):
I'm intrigued. I don't know how much I'll be able
to see them, but I'm certainly I think that they're
they're worth paying attention to this weekend.

Speaker 6 (01:47:48):
Oh, I don't think the same question about it. I mean, listen,
we're I mentioned teams that I felt were kind of
heading shoulders. That's not saying they can't be beat, you know,
the doing it kind of different ways. They're getting great,
great played from the court to and if it's not

(01:48:09):
Tyreek Hill last week was kind of stifled by New
England with a lot of big plays to Jalen Waddell
and obviously the running game will go from so on.
Dallas Ceedee Lamb had a big game the offensively, defensively,
they kind of did the same. Dallas has won its
first two games seventy to ten.

Speaker 2 (01:48:29):
So that's that's that we'll save that for next week.

Speaker 6 (01:48:33):
Yet I'm sure we will and Washington listen, I think
people need to be reminded for those who forgotten that
this Washington team was not a losing team last year. Okay,
they beat Jacksonville early in the season in Week one.
They were the first team to beat Philadelphia last year.

(01:48:55):
And you know, they beat Dallas at the end of
the season. So they knocked off three playoff teams. They
were eight eight and one inconsistency. If they seem very
content with their quarterback situation with Sam how uh Brian
Robinson Junior is really a spark with the running game. Listen.
Ron Rivera has is a pretty solid head coach. You know,

(01:49:20):
things didn't end well with him in Carolina, but let's
not forget what he did when he was in Carolina.
He was took him to a super Bowl. There are
four playoff appearances and a five year stretch even a
even a team was in Funny. It's funny. Ron Rivera
had a losing record one year with Carolina and they
made the playoffs. They did a losing record Washington one

(01:49:42):
year and won.

Speaker 5 (01:49:43):
The NFC East.

Speaker 6 (01:49:44):
So you know, it's that toughness that he brings to
the team. But that's rot remind you that the organization
straction over the last couple of years. But that's a
that's a scary interest team in an NFL where again
you got three three, two and oh teams and a

(01:50:07):
division last year that not only sent three teams to
the playoffs, every one of those teams Philadelphia, Dallas, and
New York won at least one playoff game, which is
not easy to do necessarily.

Speaker 2 (01:50:21):
No, it's not. No, it's not. Can you I don't
you don't You don't obviously need the one of us
works at ESPN anymore. But can you tell me why
the NFL and the ESPN have insisted on first couple
of weeks here of having double headers on Monday night football?

Speaker 6 (01:50:36):
I don't know they were it used to be, and
really a double header it's it's it's well.

Speaker 2 (01:50:47):
Yeah, it's even worse than a double header because you
got one it starts at seven to fifteen Eastern and
the next one starts at eight fifteen, So it's kind
of like, uh, hello, I mean, I.

Speaker 6 (01:50:56):
Mean they used to kick off the season with the
same in o'clock Monday night game and then they would
have a ten DM West Coast game.

Speaker 2 (01:51:04):
So what's the thought process behind having one game start
over the other one before it finishes.

Speaker 6 (01:51:10):
I don't know. I don't know, and you know, I
don't know if it's less about ESPN.

Speaker 2 (01:51:19):
Oh well, I think it finally crapped out on us. Unfortunately.
You know, we hold onto his phone line as long
as we possibly could, and I think we just finally
lost it. So apologies for that, you know, far as
I know. At least, this is the way that he
was when we were at ESPN years ago. Whenever we
would have Russell in studio to you know, do radio stuff.

(01:51:42):
He actually he fidgeted a lot. So I'm guessing Russell
is probably walker and talker. That's just a guess. That's
just I guess.

Speaker 7 (01:51:51):
Now.

Speaker 2 (01:51:51):
I know there have been times Marine when we've had
Russell on the show and you can hear the creak
of his chairs back in it that that's the case.
So maybe we have to tell Russell that, you know, dude,
you got to get back in the creaky chair. And
by the way, what's with the z that we hear
in the middle of his phone calls? Do you think
he feel like it's his phone vibr Yeah, that's what

(01:52:13):
I was thinking too. That's what I was thinking too.
He must be you know, he's getting buzzed, he's getting
texted or you know, or it's an alert that he
has on his phone from social media or something whenever,
you know, he you know, somebody's crying to contact him.
That's what I'm thinking, because we hear that all the time, right,
dup of popular guys, the guru he is, Well, that's

(01:52:33):
why he is who he is. Anyway, Apologize for the
phone because sometimes I don't know that could be irritating
to listen to when we're you know, especially doing it online.
But look, Russell's good people. He, like I said, he
knows more than most of us forgotten about the NFL,
And so just didn't work out with his telephone right there.
And we're toward the end of the show anyway here,
so we'll grab Russell again next week. And Russell is
very much appreciated and I wouldn't want him at all

(01:52:56):
to h to think that we don't appreciate it. All right,
So let me get to a couple of emails here
before we wrap up today. Where are we Where do
they leave off? Aiden in California. John. I know I've
been on record that I want to fire b b.
By the way, you're nothing only one. Okay, I think
they went on a big rant on him, you know,

(01:53:17):
I think on Boston Sports Journal, Greg Bdard, I know
Tony maz you know, at ninety eight five, I know
those guys were, you know, talking about how you know,
you know, maybe the game has passed Bill Bien, it's
time to make a change. And I'm like, look, okay,
I understand the need for you know, clicks and for
attention and subscriptions and ratings and all that stuff, but

(01:53:39):
that kind of thing isn't going to happen now, Okay,
it may not happen. Ever, let's be real. You know,
we've got Jonathan Craft on record as saying, you know,
Bill's earned his time here. Now. I'm sure things will
be reevaluated at the end of the season no matter
how this year ends up. And if this year ends
up with the team being six and eleven, five and
twelve or something worse than that, yeah, then you know,

(01:54:01):
all bets are off. But I think it would take
something of that kind of magnitude for the Patriots to
make any kind of move before Bill is ready to go.
All right, So I'm not sure that we need to
waste any time on that. I really don't. And I'm not,
you know, waving the company banner here on this one
by any stretch. I'm being practical about it. What are

(01:54:25):
you gonna do that's gonna be better right now? Because
all you're gonna do if you make a move like
that now is you're just going to create controversy and
and and and start the three ring circus. And we know,
you know that that's something that nobody likes to have
happened in the middle of the year, unless, of course,
it's unavoidable, so you know, and that's avoidable. I just

(01:54:48):
I just kind of I'm kind of like shaking my head.
I'm like, okay, it's one thing to criticize, you know,
how you build a team, and I think that's mostly
what Badard has been doing. And I love Greg. I
read their website often. I'm a subscriber. Greg is very
smart with football. He's into the film study, much like
our own Evan Lazarre is. And you know, does Bill

(01:55:11):
deserve criticism for the way he built the offense? Sure? Absolutely,
you know, with the team struggling like they are and
have they've struggled offensively over the last few years. Yeah, yeah,
you deserve criticism. You haven't adapted quick enough to the
modern game. And I said this much at the beginning
of the show today. You have to adapt to the
modern game. Bill is still coaching it like he's got

(01:55:33):
I think Tom Brady at the Helm and he didn't
have that. And so you've got to make sure that
you have enough talent surrounding the guy that you do
have that you did spend a first round draft pick
on okay, fifteenth overall pick, and you got to make
a decision or whether or not you want to keep
him or not beyond this year already anyway, So, uh,
you know, does he deserve criticism? Yes? Is this the

(01:55:56):
time to address it? No, But we address it anyway
because we're frustrated. I join you in that frustration. Okay,
But like I said today, all I want to do
is just win a flipping game. Let's just win a game. Okay,
win a game. It reminds me Helleni Forson practice. We're
talking practice, not a game, not a game. Practice. Anyway,

(01:56:20):
Aiden says, these last two games prove it. I think
it's time to let go Bill after this year. Regardless
of the outcome. It's prettyparent. But notice he said, after
the end of this year. Okay, regardless of the outcome,
it's pretty apparent he is set in his ways and
only wants to win one way, and that's defense. Don't
get me wrong. Defense can win championships. He says, Defense
wins championships. I would tell you that's not the case

(01:56:41):
over the last few years. In fact, this is where
you know Russell's knowledge could bear me out here. I
believe of the last five Super Bowl champs, only one
team has been in the top five defensive numbers of
the last five Super Bowl champs. Somebody would back me
up on that or look that up and send me
a note, But I think I read that. So that

(01:57:03):
just shows you the way that it's trending. Does it
help to have a good defense or no doubt. I
just don't know if it's the same game that you know,
us Boomers.

Speaker 1 (01:57:11):
Grew up with.

Speaker 2 (01:57:12):
You know, I don't think it is. And that may
be part of our problem here, by the way, because
we're talking about the game that Bill hasn't maybe hasn't
adjusted to it the way that we would hope it
would happen. He says, when you neglect the other side
of the ball, it's a fireable offense on any other
NFL teams. I know it's two weeks, but we've been
seeing the same movie for three years now. Brady isn't

(01:57:33):
here to patch the holes on offense like before. Probably
the main reason he left because there was no help,
not saying Mac is a world beater, but the guy
needs help. It's Jets week, so Pats win twelve to nine.
Great criticism, and then oh yeah, Pats are still gonna win. Aiden.
I love you. I look forward to your emails. Okay,

(01:57:54):
let's see what else we have. Carlos brutal, simply brutal.
The never ending negativity and dissension is becoming intolerable even
for longtime listeners fifteen years in running. Let me see
if I have this right. Evan, you're an offensive coordinator
in waiting. You're already done with Billy O'Brien's play calling.
He knows better. It's that simple, Paul, your snarky Menzawana
Bee constantly drills the Patriots underperformance and f ups, but

(01:58:18):
is fine making excuses for when opponents f up, seemingly
never able to link and opponent's issues to something the
Patriots did to cause it, Like the Eagles offense wasn't
ready and the Fins could have scored thirty or forty
had they not dropped two snaps, failing to highlight a
decent defensive effort given that three of our four cornerbacks
were out for the game. And then there's Deuce. The
in house buzzkill has a way of just casually agreeing

(01:58:41):
with any and all negativity being spouted by the crew
and then credibly adding a layer of despair that induces depression. Yeah,
I'm saving this email for these guys to read tomorrow. Okay,
I think maybe he just wanted to complain here, right,
Loyalty can only go so far. I haven't missed a
pod in almost fifteen years. But you guys are trying me. Okay, Well,

(01:59:05):
you know, if you're listening to the playbook, then hopefully
maybe it's because you you know, want a little something
something different. I don't know. I mean, we try to
present somewhat of a balanced point of view here, which
is why we talk about the opponent with you know,
people who cover the opponents you know, we try to
get a larger, bigger picture perspective around the league. With
a guy like Russell, you know, they can provide some
historical perspective as well. And then you know, Evan is

(01:59:27):
really good at watching the game film. And look, I
know Mac Jones derided him, joked with him a couple
of weeks ago about calling him a de facto I
think offensive coordinator. Evan's a smart kid. Is his smart kid.
I'm I'm gonna give him his due. That's why I
like having him on the show. It's why I liked
having Eric on the show a few years ago. Eric smart,

(01:59:49):
Eric's intelligent. Eric saw things that maybe sometimes go over
our heads, and I think Evan is that same kind
of guy. Now, Evan and Eric are two different people.
But I want people who can add value to the
thought process here, not only about the Patriots, but about football,
about the NFL, about the league as a whole. And

(02:00:11):
I think those guys can do that. You don't have
to agree with them, and you don't have to like
their constant, as you put it, you know, whining or negativity.
You don't have to like that. Tell them, Tell them
today's the first day I can remember a long time
that I started out negatively, but I was upset and

(02:00:33):
angry and disappointed like many of you are. And I
think we you know, look, sometimes we get so close
to the forest we can't see the trees right, And
I think that's part of the problem that I'm having here.
So I think we need to take a step back.
And that's why I wanted to look at like, let's
just talk about winning a game. Let's not look at
the big picture. We know that there are issues with

(02:00:54):
his team in the way that it's put together and
coached and YadA YadA. Okay, what there's nothing so we
can do about that right now, Let's be real, you
can't do anything about that now. There is a time
and a place for that kind of change. It isn't
now it's Jets week. You gotta beat the Jets on Sunday.

(02:01:16):
You beat the Jets on Sunday. You flip the script
a bit on this season. It gives you some hope,
it gives you something to look forward to, It gives
you maybe a theoretical shot against the Cowboys, whatever it
may be. But it flips it. And that's what this
team needs right now. As of this moment, they need
a change of course, Let's see if they can own

(02:01:39):
up to it. You want to host the perfect game day,
why not bring the tailgate home with a stylish dining
set from Bob's Discount Furniture. We promise you that the
dancing Bob will not go in behind you and make
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you'll score big when you shop at Bob's, the official

(02:02:02):
store furniture store of the New England Patriots. Okay, thank you, Bob.
We love you. We even like balloon Bob. I like
Balloon Bob's. Balloon Bob is funny. Okay, I'm sure kids
love balloon Bob too when they go to the store
and they get all that free stuff, right, they do
they get they get a lot of free stuff, all right.
Our thanks to Zach Cox and to Evan Lazar and

(02:02:23):
to Russell Baxter for joining us the program today, Thanks
for taking the time to tune in, Thanks for putting
it together. Marine Next Wednesday, same patch time, same patch channel,
two pm Eastern time, we'll sort of relive what the
Patriots experienced Sunday at the Bato Lands against the Jets,
and we turned the page to the Dallas Cowboys. Wow,

(02:02:45):
what kind of change are we going to see over
the next seven days of the fortunes of this team
and this franchise could be significant, But whichever way it goes,
we'll be here for it see it.

Speaker 1 (02:02:59):
Thank you for download this podcast, subscribe on Apple, Google Play,
and everywhere else you listen. Like the show, please rate
and review us. Listener comments and ratings help keep us
high in the podcast rankings so new listeners can find us.
Be sure to check Patriots dot com for more news
and more podcasts.

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