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Oh, that's it, No open nothing.
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I figured after the draft you'd have this big
0:31
montage.
0:32
You and I did it.
0:33
I just oh, okay, all
0:36
right, Well, welcome to Patriots Unfiltered.
0:38
It is Tuesday
0:41
after the draft here at Jillette Stadium.
0:43
It's duced Tamara, Evan Paul,
0:45
myself, Matt Nabooth and
0:48
uh. I think overall,
0:51
everybody's pretty pleased with the
0:53
hall. Thanks for the weekend.
0:55
I think so seems like it. I mean, uh, you
0:57
know, definitely some questions about I think still remain
0:59
along that the offensive line. But you
1:02
said you had to weaponize the offense and get
1:04
rookies, and you know, it feels like they pretty
1:06
much hit most of their needs. I mean, probably a couple of position
1:09
groups that maybe just a little bit surprised that
1:11
they didn't spend a Day three draft pick on, which isn't
1:13
all that big of a deal. But I would say I'm
1:15
excited. It's just I think the questions about left tackle
1:17
kind of continue.
1:18
It's still in terms of quality and depth.
1:20
But when's the last time we went into a draft saying,
1:23
here are the top three needs bing bing bing
1:25
and that's the things that they exactly did.
1:27
Yeah, and I think we said too, like, they're not gonna
1:29
be able to hit all three perfectly, you know, and I don't
1:32
And I really I think they hit one perfectly.
1:34
And you know, the receivers, I really like the
1:36
receivers, but you know, I think that there is you know,
1:38
some discussion to be had about they tried to trade
1:40
back up, so clearly they wanted to, you
1:42
know, maybe get somebody that was a little bit higher
1:45
on their board than the guys they ended up with.
1:47
I say that as I liked those guys. And then you
1:49
know, the tackle, I think is the biggest question there the
1:51
third pick, which you know, Ken that kid
1:53
moved to the left side. That's the question we already
1:55
had with with some of the guys that already exist on the roster.
1:57
Yeah, there was definitely something going on at the end of the
2:00
first round with the Bills, and I think
2:05
on somebody that we wanted there in terms
2:07
of a receiver.
2:08
Yeah, yeah, that's that seems like the case. But
2:10
but overall reactions seems you know pretty
2:12
good. Just needed offense, took offense,
2:15
and uh yeah, I'm excited to see these
2:17
guys get out here in those few days.
2:18
Week, not if you not if you listened to Paul's
2:21
shows yesterday, which I did because I had
2:23
to hear what the you know, Burnan
2:26
Ernie had to say about the draft, and uh, I
2:28
think the biggest thing that they said was probably
2:30
the one critique I hear the most from people.
2:33
So it's I guess fair
2:35
is just you know, did they
2:37
miss runs at receiver and tackle?
2:39
And like how they how they played the board, not
2:42
necessarily the players that they got, but
2:45
you know how they played the game, you know,
2:47
of the draft board. At receiver,
2:50
you mentioned that it sounds like they tried to trade
2:52
back up in the first round, like most people
2:54
think Xavier Laguet was the guy that they wanted. You
2:57
know, they end up in a run of six receivers
3:00
and they get the sixth guy, you know, tackle seemed
3:02
like Caden Wallace. Maybe
3:05
they missed out on the Patrick Paul's and
3:07
the Kingsley Sue Mattias. But I
3:09
think at the end of the day, like we've
3:11
seen, it doesn't always
3:14
go that the top guy taken, or you know, the
3:16
way that the run unfolds you, that they could end
3:18
up being right in the long run, that Jalen
3:20
Polk is a better player than lad mcconncor.
3:22
Or they could end up being lucky, you know,
3:24
like the other way you want to put it. Yeah, because like if you were
3:26
trying to move up, obviously there was somebody who were targeting,
3:29
but it might turn out that the guy you were targeting
3:31
isn't as good as the guy you ended up with. Yeah, you
3:33
know, yep, so, But
3:36
I think in terms of the positions, I
3:38
think, you know, it was pretty good. I'm
3:41
intrigued by the second wide receiver
3:43
Baker. He's got a little dog in
3:46
him, you know, like I think
3:48
he might have some competing in here.
3:49
And I feel like you need that in the receiver
3:52
and corner position. You need those guys who
3:54
are confident in themselves and according
3:56
to him, grab your popcorn, have it ready
3:58
to go when you get to chill.
4:00
Yeah, I mean, now out there, you know, reality's
4:03
gonna hit him in the face when he gets here. Yeah,
4:06
but what's the stacy
4:08
James. Yeah, like Parcels said, if they don't bite
4:10
when they're puppies, they won't bite when their dogs.
4:12
So yeah, that's gonna happened. Boom er bust.
4:14
It feels like with him. But it's funny though, because some of the people
4:16
who are critiquing the draft and are like, well, I think
4:19
the fourth round receiver is the best pick, And I'm like, well,
4:21
how does that make sense? Like yeah, you know, like that's
4:24
like because you think in your mind of whatever
4:26
you've done, that this guy might go off, Like I
4:28
don't know, it just feels it feels oh yeah, silly,
4:31
Like you know, they obviously like Polk was a better
4:33
player and they took him higher for a reason.
4:35
But and I also just didn't like the sixth
4:37
best receiver. That's an easy way to put it. But did
4:40
you really want lab? I mean I would have taken
4:43
Jalen Polk over, Like I don't know. Sometimes I think you
4:45
get to that point and it's kind of an eye of the beholder.
4:47
So yeah, you can say he was the sixth receiver taken,
4:49
but does that necessarily mean he was their
4:51
sixth receiver.
4:52
I don't know, And I think the big thing about it is,
4:54
and we were talking about this on Catch twenty two. I had all
4:56
these guys in the same
4:59
tier received Ladd McConkie,
5:01
Royman Wilson, Troy Franklin, Jalen
5:04
McMillan, the other Washington receiver. They
5:06
were all in the same tier for me, and I
5:09
think at the end of the day, you take the guy
5:11
that stylistically plays the way that you
5:13
want to play, and that's that's the separator,
5:16
right, It's not necessarily Yeah,
5:18
I had a slightly higher grade on Ladd
5:20
McConkie than I did on Jalen Polk, But
5:23
maybe they want a guy that's a little bit bigger, a little
5:25
bit stronger, you know, one hundred and eighty six
5:27
pound receiver in McConkie versus a two hundred and
5:29
five pound receiver in Polk. So that skill
5:32
set tip the scales towards Jalen
5:34
Polk for them, and that's
5:36
different.
5:36
There was an email that came across that you guys
5:39
addressed in Catch twenty two towards the
5:42
end, which I'm going to push back on you a
5:44
little bit, Evan, where Elliott Wolfe
5:46
said, you know where I come from,
5:49
it's not so much XYZ, it's
5:51
are they good? Are they good receivers?
5:54
You know? And I think that's refreshing.
5:57
I know the email that's sent it in said
5:59
we should we be worried about that? I
6:02
say no, I mean can
6:04
the guy? Can the guy separate? Can he
6:06
catch it when you throw it to him?
6:08
You know, like the second
6:10
part for sure with these guys.
6:11
Yeah, you know, so that's more important than
6:13
is he is he you know frame? Or is he
6:16
Z one?
6:16
Two three? Here we go again.
6:18
Can we get a bunch of guys that can get separation
6:20
and catch the ball?
6:21
Yeah?
6:22
I just think that you always say
6:24
to watch what they do and not what
6:26
they say. And when I look at these two
6:28
guys, I think they're extremely complimentary
6:31
players. I think Javon Baker is
6:33
an outside receiver. If you
6:35
don't want to put X on him because we don't like
6:37
the letters, that's fine. But Javon Baker
6:40
is an outside receiver. Jalen Polk
6:42
is an inside outside receiver. Can do
6:44
a little bit of both, and so I think these
6:47
two guys are very complimentary. And they're also
6:49
very complimentary to Drake may like their their
6:51
skills overlap with what he does well.
6:54
So I think in a lot of ways, Elliott
6:57
says that, oh, we don't necessarily prioritize
6:59
positions and things like that. Well, you drafted
7:01
a down the field outside
7:03
receiver and you drafted a Z receiver
7:06
that moves inside and out. So by
7:08
your actions, it looks like you said,
7:11
we're gonna get two guys that are at least a little bit
7:13
different here so that they're not stepping on each
7:15
other's toes. That's just the way that I look at
7:18
it. I think that people are more excited about Javon
7:20
Baker because he's flash here. There's
7:22
no doubt about it that Javon Baker's highlights
7:25
are better than Jalen Polk's highlights. So if
7:27
you're into that flash, and I'm not
7:29
saying that that's necessarily wrong, but
7:31
you're gonna look at Javon Baker as
7:34
a more flashy big play. I
7:36
mean, had averaged like twenty two yards
7:39
per catch last year in the Big twelve, so you
7:41
know he's one of those guys that plays that way, whereas
7:43
Jalen Polk is gonna be the steady, chain
7:46
moving possession receiver that might not
7:48
have as much flash to him but might be more consistent.
7:51
Was Javon Baker the number one guy
7:53
at UCF.
7:54
Yes, yeah, I mean he led to the
7:56
Big twelve in receiving last year, just
7:58
the entire conference. And is
8:01
it a big play machine. I mean the
8:03
only two guys that had more twenty plus yard
8:05
catches than Javon Baker Dunesay
8:08
and Neighbors and the whole FBS.
8:11
So this is a this is a big play guy. You
8:13
know, that's what he does.
8:14
Does anyone hold against him transferring
8:17
out of Alabama?
8:18
I mean they're all transferred now, yeah.
8:21
I mean maybe they're going for like the elite
8:23
of the elite to a lower, you know
8:26
level school.
8:27
I mean it's Big twelve now, Like it's
8:30
to me there was a time that I would have but
8:32
not anymore. Like everybody transfers now.
8:34
And it's hard to I'm just throwing it out there,
8:36
and it's hard.
8:37
To at Alabama when you have so
8:39
many five star guys. It's like, how are you gonna
8:41
get playing time?
8:42
Right? So you know something, you know, it
8:44
could be good, Like the Andy Harts of the world would
8:47
be like just fight it out better.
8:50
The fairness, Like there's probably a time,
8:52
you know, eight or ten years ago that I would have been like
8:54
that, like you know, compete, yeah, you know,
8:56
like he's something admirable about what Matt
8:58
Castle did at USC, you
9:01
know, which is nothing, no complete
9:04
and try to win the job. Don't take your ball and go
9:06
home and it just goes somewhere else. Now,
9:09
you can make an argument that had he gone somewhere
9:11
else, maybe he would have been drafted higher,
9:13
but that didn't prevent him from having an NFL career.
9:15
So I mean, what what would have happened
9:18
to for example, let's
9:21
just say Jalen if he didn't
9:24
transfer from Oklahoma
9:26
to Alabama, what happened to him?
9:30
I don't know, Jalen.
9:33
Sorry, I'm like my brain is like blinking
9:35
right now.
9:37
Yes, okay, he went from Alabama, toy.
9:40
So imagine you would have stayed there and competed with Tua.
9:42
Like, would he be where he is right now if
9:44
he would have just stayed there as the backup behind
9:47
too?
9:47
I would say he probably would be, because he was
9:49
already the starter before that. Now, if
9:51
he had never played in Alabama, that's
9:53
different, you think, now,
9:56
yeah, he never player or the
9:58
same draft pick. He probably wouldn't have gotten
10:00
drafted in the second round. Yeah, I think that
10:03
the performance at Oklahoma probably got him
10:05
second round status. He'd be the same player.
10:08
I think a
10:10
lot to do with his development.
10:11
I think I have
10:14
no way of knowing that for sure. You guys might be right on.
10:16
No, I'm just saying, like if he stayed there behind Tua
10:18
and never saw the field again.
10:20
Yeah, I listen, I think putting,
10:23
but he would have I think. I think giving
10:25
these guys control of their future.
10:28
I think it's a good thing. You know. I I
10:30
would have been one of those guys, you
10:32
know, had I had any ability. Uh,
10:34
And I got into a sport and you
10:37
know I wasn't seeing as much playing
10:39
time, if at all, I'd want to leave
10:41
and go. I'm not out here to watch.
10:44
I want to.
10:44
Play so much easier now too,
10:47
with the way things are. I mean, used to what you have to sit out a
10:49
year, you'd have to apply. Yeah, you know, it's a whole
10:51
process, and now it's just like I'm going to the portal.
10:53
I mean, it's it's to put it in
10:55
context of this was the golden era
10:57
of Alabama receivers like his freshman
11:00
year, It's DeVante Smith, Jalen
11:02
Wattle, John Metchi. It
11:04
doesn't get much better than that in a college receiver
11:07
room. And then the year after that, Jamison
11:10
Williams transferred in from Ohio State, so
11:12
it was Jamison Williams and John Metchi and
11:14
he was he was probably supposed to be the third
11:17
guy in that group, but they ended
11:19
up going in a different direction at that point, and
11:21
that's when he decided to transfer after that season.
11:23
But this was in the run of Alabama receivers
11:26
that was just ridiculous every single
11:28
year. They were like a receiver factory. And
11:31
uh, and I don't necessarily blame him for the
11:33
fact that he couldn't beat out DeVante Smith,
11:35
who won the Heisman.
11:36
Trump.
11:36
Glad you got the timeline right, because I've heard
11:38
a lot of oh, he's behind Jalen Wattle and DeVante
11:41
Smith, like he went to Alabama
11:44
in June of the COVID year, And
11:47
yeah, technically, Jalen
11:49
Wattle was still there. He's a true
11:51
freshman coming. He wasn't going to play over
11:53
the starting especially not for Nick Wide. Yes,
11:56
like you're not gonna like step in, especially
11:58
in COVID. They didn't practice, they
12:00
didn't have any of the preparation that they normally would
12:02
have. And then the next year, you
12:05
know, it was John Metchi, not you
12:07
know, Jalen
12:10
Waddle. Yeah, you know, and Evan perfectly
12:13
put that. Still good players, Jamison Williams
12:15
and John Metchi, but he probably should
12:17
have been in line to get more playing
12:19
time now his red shirt
12:21
freshman year than he did then he left.
12:23
Yeah, and here's some of the comments that he had
12:25
in his press conference, and from
12:29
what we know about Bill and Nick Saban, like,
12:31
does that really strike you as the type of guy that it was
12:33
gonna win Nick Saban over unless he
12:35
was just incredibly talented. Yeah,
12:38
you know so. But I do think it's important
12:41
to put in context that the
12:43
receiver rooms that he was in at Alabama
12:45
were stacked like this is not We're not just
12:47
talking about, you know, a receiver
12:49
room like the Patriots right now, where there's all this opportunity,
12:52
you're not going to beat out a Heisman Trophy winning receiver
12:55
for targets.
12:56
So I thought it was a good weekend if
12:59
you follow it along with us on Patriots
13:01
dot com and socially, you saw some really
13:03
cool content. Drake May seeing his locker
13:05
for the first time. I thought was
13:08
was really neat, and I think he genuinely
13:10
was, you know, excited.
13:13
You know, it looks like an excited kid.
13:15
I mean, it's it's it's it.
13:16
He makes me feel old. I was like, my god, I
13:18
could be this kid's dad, but no, he's
13:21
Uh. I just I said it. Turning the shows.
13:23
I just thought it was cool. The relationship with him
13:25
and his brothers and his girlfriend and
13:27
the line of you know you're getting me, you're getting
13:30
them. That that stuck out to me. So it's just it's
13:32
real clear. I mean I think I think
13:34
he might be a little bit sheltered, you know. I think that
13:36
that he's probably he's never been out of North Carolina
13:38
and you know, he's been the little brother. So
13:41
you know, we'll see because I think what
13:44
kind of adversity has he faced. I mean, this is all He's
13:46
going to be thrown into the fire of all fires
13:48
now, oh yeah, and uh, you know it's
13:50
it's I compared to, you know, not the
13:52
player. But I remember sitting here with Mac when
13:54
Mac first came in, and it was, you know, it was pretty cool.
13:56
Like when we first drafted Mac, I was excited, and you
13:59
know, it's, uh, it's you realize
14:01
how much he had to go through from that point
14:03
on, and you know, the injuries and the
14:05
mental stuff and just every you know, it's just it's it's
14:07
a real grind. And so you know, Drake May's
14:09
twenty one, He's got a great attitude. He's got some you know,
14:11
receivers around him that I think will help
14:14
him, you know, have a good chance. I mean, we haven't
14:16
talked about Joe Milton yet. I mean that,
14:18
but I think having another rookie quarterback in there
14:20
as well is uh, you know, is in
14:22
that way is advantageous that you know they're all gonna
14:24
be able to work together and hopefully develop. But it's
14:27
just the hard times are waiting for him and he's going to have
14:29
to prepare and be ready to overcome that stuff.
14:31
I feel like he's already gone through more adversity than
14:33
Mac has, though, like Mack was, like
14:35
sure Mac was waiting behind three quarterbacks to play,
14:38
but he's he's
14:41
like Drake May has dealt with more in North Carolina, having
14:43
nothing this year, a bad offensive line, bad weapons
14:46
around him, and he's still found his way to be a number
14:48
three overall pick. Obviously not as productive
14:50
as the years his previous year, but he
14:52
played with nothing. Mac had a whole lot around.
14:54
Well, he comes in with more college yeah games
14:57
and Mac did you know for sure?
14:58
So that's yeah, he has more
15:01
football adversity, yeah, I would say than
15:03
Mac Jones. But your point about
15:05
him out of shelters
15:07
the right word. But like he's he he
15:10
is from North Carolina. He was originally
15:12
committed to Alabama, decommitted
15:14
from Alabama to stay in North Carolina
15:17
and go to UNC. And I don't, like
15:19
he said, other than to travel to
15:21
road games, he's never left the state of North
15:23
Carolina, So that that's going
15:25
to be something that will be I'm
15:27
sure for any kid like I remember,
15:29
you know, moving out to LA when I graduated
15:32
college. That's it's a culture shock, like for anybody
15:34
that age. So that will be
15:36
interesting to see. How I don't know if he's
15:38
ever really been in like true winter before.
15:41
Which I didn't hear anyone.
15:44
That's where it comes out in.
15:46
Like a parka. He's like, you don't have to dress in winter
15:48
clothes here.
15:49
That was I will say.
15:50
I feel like from a person standpoint,
15:53
a lot of people don't get out of their state
15:55
until they graduate college, just
15:57
saying like unless your family is wealthy
15:59
and can make you on vacations. Like I know a
16:01
ton of people that I went to school with that
16:04
never went anywhere until after they graduated him,
16:06
so.
16:06
Did they have to perform their job in the snow after
16:08
they graduated.
16:09
That I was
16:11
not wealthy the state.
16:13
I never I never was on a plane until
16:17
college.
16:17
Yeah, you know, like there's so many people who haven't gone anywhere.
16:20
Yeah.
16:21
Well, I mean I think it's it's just for
16:23
me. It's also just his comportment,
16:25
like he's you know, he's just not doesn't
16:27
seem like a very worldly kid, like you know, it
16:30
seems like he's known sports and
16:32
North Carolina and football, and that's
16:34
kind of it, right.
16:35
You know.
16:35
And I mean it look it's fine, Like I mean, you're right,
16:37
everybody's been like that before. But I just think when you
16:40
look at a kid who's going to go through the
16:42
kind of ups and downs that Mac had to deal with,
16:44
like that's just waiting for him. It's going to happen,
16:46
you know, you don't know how anybody's going to react to that.
16:48
Yeah, I mean Max's first year, he was coddled. He
16:51
was you know, they Josh McDaniels
16:53
took care. I mean, he wasn't. He
16:55
started right away, but I don't think he was
16:58
expected to do everything right away.
17:00
But like you look at other players too that are coming into the
17:02
NFL who transferred schools, who
17:05
had you know, didn't go great at a place, had
17:07
to you know, pick up shop and go somewhere else and
17:09
re establish themselves those kind of things. So you
17:11
know, those little things all add up for me. And and
17:13
you know, it's not a negative, it's just something
17:15
that I think he's gonna that's gonna be his biggest
17:17
area of growth. Like I always thought when
17:19
Gronk was drafted, he seems so innocent and pure,
17:22
and I was like, man, I don't want to think about like Gronk
17:24
when he's bitter and jaded and old and you
17:26
know, not that that's what Drake May is gonna be. And Gronk didn't
17:28
become that, but you know, there's gonna be grown
17:30
up Drake May who's bent out
17:32
to the woodshed and you know, had to deal with getting
17:34
his doors blown off and getting lit up and you know those
17:37
kind of things.
17:37
So let's hope that he doesn't have to deal with that, like.
17:42
Right half jokingly, but like at the same time,
17:44
you know, you use Gronk as an example. Gronk was just awesome,
17:47
like right away, and if you know,
17:49
there's something to be said for the fact that he just he
17:52
could be great and like you
17:54
know all this others, like he's obviously gonna have ups and
17:56
downs, but like if he's you know, as good
17:58
as.
17:58
He's an all time great, he'll be okay.
18:00
But that's ultimately we can
18:03
talk and we will and we're going to continue to do
18:05
it about this draft class. That's ultimately
18:07
what it's going to come down to. If Drake
18:09
Bay hits, we're gonna love this draft class.
18:12
If it doesn't, there's not a whole
18:14
lot those other guys are gonna be.
18:15
Able to do to overcome that, because the
18:17
receivers won't pop without him popping. Probably,
18:20
I mean, I don't think that they
18:22
really profile as guys that lift the quarterback
18:24
anyway. Especially Polk, I think
18:26
is sort of a guy who's just kind of solid
18:29
and steady, Like at his best, he's
18:31
like there's Jalen Polk again on third
18:33
down, you know, making a play that's high
18:36
end Jalen Polk to me, and
18:38
that's great, that's what exactly what you're looking
18:40
for. But if the quarterback
18:42
can't get him the ball, I don't think he's going to be the kind
18:44
of guy that's going to make the quarterback better
18:47
if he just can't play. So ultimately,
18:50
this is coming down to Drake May.
18:53
We mentioned Joe Milton a lot of people
18:55
kind of we're surprised that the Patriots took
18:58
him in the sixth round.
19:00
Honestly, I think it's really funny that you use
19:03
we use the pick that we got from the Jaguars
19:05
to draft a quarterback with way better
19:07
talent than Mac Jones. Obviously
19:10
he has some accuracy accuracy
19:12
issues, but great arm and unbelievable
19:14
athlete.
19:15
Yeah.
19:16
Yeah, I'm kind of torn on that one. I'll
19:19
let the boys kind of lay out the negative
19:21
part of it, but it's just, uh, Evan, I don't
19:23
want to steal your line. But it's exactly what I thought, which
19:25
was kind of felt mine Gamy
19:28
with like the Max stuff. You know, oh, we're going to take
19:30
another quarterback now, and you know what,
19:32
what what's the point? The
19:35
point?
19:35
And to be fair, like you need a better backup
19:37
than Billy's happy.
19:38
But he's but he's a developmental
19:41
player. Yeah, And I just my
19:43
whole thing is is that I know we're gonna get out
19:45
there to in the spring, in the summer and
19:48
and shorts and a T shirt. Joe Milton is going to look
19:50
just as impressive as as Drake May. The
19:52
arm, talent, the mobility, the size,
19:55
like all of it is going to be just as impressive.
19:57
And to deuce his point,
19:59
just as second ago about how does Drake May handle
20:01
it? How does Drake May handle it when
20:04
in the second half of preseason games against
20:06
Scrubs, Joe Milton is lighting it up. And
20:08
then we have people calling into our shows and stuff
20:10
like that saying, well, why don't they give Joe Milton a try?
20:12
I like, I didn't
20:15
like anything about the pick because I
20:17
just don't think he's very good, sneaky, He's not good
20:19
at football. But the
20:22
intangible stuff that Evan just introduced
20:25
is why I think I don't like it the most.
20:27
And we had a really good in depth
20:31
post on the Mailbag this week and
20:33
I sort of tried my best to sort of downplay
20:36
it, but I got to be honest, that guy made a lot of good points
20:38
about that kind of stuff, Like
20:41
if he goes out there and does a Michael
20:43
Bishop fred, how does that
20:45
impact Drake May. Michael
20:47
Bishop wasn't anything great. He just was a tremendous
20:49
athlete who ran around and did eye
20:51
popping things in preseason games that were
20:54
meaningless. And that's just
20:56
going to create sort of unwanted
20:58
controversy.
21:00
And here's what I feel
21:02
like, he needs to be mentally tough, Like if you're
21:04
going to grow out there and pee your pants because Joe Milton
21:06
has.
21:07
His parents, it's just not a good situation.
21:09
We spent three years making excuses
21:12
for Mac Jones because you didn't have the right things
21:14
around him and they ruined him. This
21:16
to me seems like you're going out of your way to
21:20
create controversy.
21:21
I don't that. I don't know, Yeah, I don't
21:23
think.
21:23
So the guy can't play.
21:25
Here's what.
21:27
Since he can't play, Drake May should
21:29
have nothing to worry about.
21:30
Period.
21:31
He doesn't matter.
21:33
It's not about that people that tried
21:35
to call us and tell us that Millie Cunningham
21:37
was the answer, They're going to see him throw one
21:40
seventy five yard pass in the first preseason
21:42
game in the fourth quarter and say that this guy
21:44
is better than the guy they d not a
21:46
tenth.
21:46
Of what Malik was.
21:48
I don't think this coach. I think the coaches will
21:50
deal with that. But but but you're.
21:52
Missing the point. People are completely missing
21:54
the point on it. It's not about who's the guy. Drake
21:58
May is the guy. It's one
22:00
hundred percent it's Drake May. But
22:02
you're creating a possibility of
22:04
having all kinds of noise
22:07
which you're supposed to work to try to avoid.
22:10
Yeah, to be honest, I think the only people making noise are
22:12
the media.
22:13
Fans.
22:14
Fans will be making noise.
22:15
I will guarantee it. In the summer, people
22:18
like you will be saying, look at the arm,
22:20
look at the athletics. People
22:22
are going to say, be
22:25
mentally tied with Drake May.
22:27
It's the noise that you're creating, just
22:29
like saying you can handle it perfect.
22:31
That's just like saying to the current wide receiver room,
22:33
they should be scared right now because of all
22:35
the people that we just drafted.
22:37
Right you need six receivers.
22:39
You don't need more than one quarter receivers
22:42
right now.
22:43
You don't need more than one quarterback. You need
22:45
all of us receivers and you
22:47
have like twelve receivers right now.
22:48
They should be they should be. We do not.
22:52
They have four receivers that are going to make the team
22:54
that we know of what happens after.
22:56
There's a lot of them on the roster.
22:57
There's a lot of scrubs on the roster
22:59
that not in the NFL.
23:01
But I I agree with Tomorrow.
23:03
I think if Drake May, if
23:05
Drake May isn't showing that he has a good arm
23:07
in his athletic then we have problems. Well,
23:10
you know, it's not about what Joe Milton. I
23:13
know I'm saying it. It's not about what Joe
23:15
Milton shows us in this summer. It's
23:17
about what Drake May shows us.
23:18
Think you take every shot you can to get players
23:20
to help your team.
23:21
But here's what I hope, Here's what I hope. I
23:24
hope happens with Joe Milton.
23:27
You know he said it's not gonna happen. I'm going
23:29
to be a tight end. Rod Mayo said, we draft
23:31
him as a quarterback. But I hope he gets
23:34
out there and it becomes very apparent he
23:36
cannot be a quarterback. And I hope
23:38
at some point he realizes that
23:40
and they have a sit down and say, hey, this
23:42
doesn't work, This isn't working out.
23:45
What do you think how about taking
23:47
some reps to tight end? What do you think?
23:49
I don't think he's his footwork
23:51
and his feet are not like they could train
23:53
him. I guess long term to be a tight end.
23:56
But I just I don't think his athleticism
23:58
translates very well to like receive. I
24:01
just I would Paul on this. I understand
24:03
that Drake may should be mentally tougher. I agree
24:05
with that point, but why test
24:08
it? Like, why do we have to test these guys mentally
24:10
all the time where they have to deal
24:12
with all this crap and it's the same thing that they
24:14
did with Mac Jones. You know, we have people
24:17
out here on Monday night football chanting
24:19
the backup quarterback's name. You
24:21
know, we have all this kind of stuff. We have people
24:24
thought that you raft.
24:24
Every one of us said, yeah, I wouldn't be surprised
24:27
if they draft a quarterback later.
24:28
And yeah quarterback, Yeah, like like Michael
24:30
Pratt who developed mental prospect.
24:32
That's not gonna like create any waves.
24:35
This is going out of your way to just have a
24:37
physical freak out there is to run around.
24:40
Okay, listen, I'm sorry.
24:42
I'm sorry that I don't have the same opinion as you want
24:44
to play. You have to get so defense
24:46
because all of a sudden, the Patriots made a pick
24:48
and three of us don't like it, and we're
24:51
like cast aside. You're about
24:56
this, okay, whatever.
24:57
You know, people have a different opinion. Now you're
25:00
like ready to like fold up like a baby. A
25:03
baby.
25:03
I didn't even think of Evans and
25:05
making fun of it. That the Molie Cunningham.
25:08
I didn't even think of that, and that that
25:10
that's my thing too. I'm with the movie coming on. Yeah,
25:18
sorry, I but.
25:19
I mean when Michael Bishop was running around, people
25:21
were screaming for Michael Bishop. It didn't affect the
25:23
quarterback. I mean it was not a big deal.
25:25
No, and I mean honestly it was the quarterback
25:27
when that happened.
25:28
I forget it doesn't Okay,
25:32
but you know, so.
25:33
What, well, it's the
25:35
same. It's the same six year
25:37
veterans.
25:37
You really think the coaches are going to be and you
25:40
know, coach, they're going to be like, oh
25:42
my god, I think the coaches care. The fans are
25:44
yelling. Fans are yelling for Joe Milton.
25:46
What are we going to do?
25:48
Why do you like? So?
25:50
What if they drafted Spencer Rattler instead
25:53
of Joe Milton would be the same
25:55
thing.
25:55
If he came out and was lighting it up game,
25:58
people would be saying, oh, look at.
26:00
Because that because the thing is is
26:02
like Joe Milton has physical
26:04
traits. That again, I'm
26:06
not talking about the people sitting at this table right now, I promise
26:09
actually.
26:09
A good one.
26:09
How about Sam Hartman?
26:10
Would that be a no? Because Sam?
26:12
No, Yeah, you could drave Sam Hartman, I said Michael
26:14
Pratt. Michael Pratt is like Bailey's Appy,
26:17
right, Like it's going to be clear to everybody
26:19
that Drake May is more physically
26:22
talented than Michael Pratt.
26:24
The problem that I don't.
26:25
Want to be clear that he's physically better.
26:26
Than not to the casuals.
26:28
No, but it's like
26:30
MALIEK.
26:30
Cunningham.
26:31
MALIEK.
26:31
Cunningham ran like the wind and we heard three straight
26:33
months of put in, Malik put in.
26:35
I'm not worried about people in this building not
26:38
realizing that Drake May is better than Joe Milton.
26:41
I'm worried about people that don't have the
26:43
football knowledge that Gerrod Mayo has
26:45
looking at it and saying, this guy can throw
26:47
it seventy five yards and that guy can throw
26:49
it seventy five yards.
26:50
What's the difference. And you think that's going to affect
26:52
Drake may No, I
26:54
hope not. But that's all we care about that. I
26:56
hope not.
26:58
It did affect the last quarterback.
26:59
If it doesn't, If then who cares what
27:01
the fans are saying? As long as
27:03
in that in that room.
27:04
When the when the Patriots drafted Jimmy Garoppolo
27:07
and affected that guy, And yeah,
27:09
he used it as motivation, but
27:12
not everybody is wired that way.
27:14
Especially especially
27:18
picked the wrong guy.
27:20
Everybody all that. So
27:22
many of these kids are like that. Now though, that's
27:24
the problem. That's the problem,
27:27
like that that that's this generation.
27:30
Like that's what it is
27:32
like. You know a lot of in all sports,
27:35
you know, they they're the man that
27:37
this is my territory. And when
27:39
you you tell me differently, a lot of these
27:41
guys pout that's just the way it is.
27:44
Well, I mean, right now, it's
27:46
not his territory. He's gonna have to earn this job
27:48
by what he does on the field, and
27:51
if it's not apparent, and
27:53
again the subtleties are going to be lost on
27:55
the casual fan. I agree with that, right,
27:58
but we're hoping that this is a competent
28:00
coaching staff and they will realize
28:03
the difference between Drake May and
28:05
Joe Milton.
28:06
The coaches, I have no doubt, are going to recognize
28:09
that.
28:09
Well and and and Drake
28:11
May will understand that he's doing things
28:13
better than Joe Milton should
28:16
know that, and
28:18
that's it.
28:19
I'm not, honestly, I'm not even that worried,
28:21
that worried about the football of it all. It's honestly
28:23
just I don't want to deal with four months. You don't
28:26
have to call like we had with Malik Cunningham,
28:28
and I'm like, I can't even talk to you guys right now.
28:30
I think that's fun. Who cares,
28:33
it's let them say what they say.
28:36
I never once wanted Malik to start over.
28:38
No one, no one, no
28:40
one actually did know.
28:42
But there were plenty of people. How much did we talk about Malie
28:44
Cunningham.
28:44
On every time I wrote
28:47
about Malik Cunningham and the post would blow up for
28:49
no reason, like, oh, they elevated him
28:51
from the practice squad. He didn't even play in the game,
28:53
but they elevated him and everybody read about
28:55
it like it's just I understand
28:58
that it's all not gonna matter, and six months
29:01
from now, we're gonna really Like remember when we argued
29:03
for like thirty minutes about Joe Milton and
29:05
Drake May and all this stuff.
29:06
I get all that.
29:08
I just am telling you that there are people
29:10
outside this room that cover this team
29:12
that are not gonna know the difference between the
29:14
two guys, and that is concerning
29:17
to me.
29:17
But but I mean, how many I
29:20
don't know why you're so wrapped up about
29:22
what fans understand and what they don't. It's up to me
29:24
because it creates That's why you're here because
29:26
it
29:27
because it.
29:28
Creates how bad outside noise.
29:31
It just creates the outside noise, and we just watched
29:33
it happen with Mac Jones.
29:34
But it's I don't think there's anything you
29:36
can do about that. There's always going to be someone
29:39
that the fans are clamoring for, whether it's Malie
29:41
Cunningham or Michael Bishop or
29:43
whoever. It's the you know, you know, the
29:45
next shiny little toy. I
29:47
remember when Michael Bishop, who was the receiver
29:50
from Brown. That was Oh
29:53
god, yeah, what
29:55
was Sean Moore? Oh, Sean
29:57
Moore is gonna be the next big thing.
29:59
It's like, come on, well, I think too part
30:01
of it.
30:01
You want to be excited about Drake May and you don't all
30:03
of a sudden have two camps that are going to emerge
30:05
of you know, the team Milton who.
30:08
See it now?
30:09
Day one of Patriots Mini camp
30:11
here in June and Joe Milton threw
30:13
the ball better than Drake May. I'm telling you, Mike,
30:16
like, I just can see it now.
30:17
Put him in.
30:18
I don't know what's the problem May struggling,
30:20
Mike.
30:22
It will happen. I'm sure that
30:24
will happen.
30:25
Yeah, yeah, wow. I
30:27
mean now they got something else to figure out how to manage too
30:29
with you know, just we talked about when we may get
30:31
in there. I mean, you know, it's it's just another body
30:34
in there. I mean, I do think right now because
30:36
five receivers, right yeah, I mean I think it
30:38
affects Bailey ZAPPI probably more than anybody because
30:40
I thought, you know, it seemed like Billy get
30:43
traded.
30:43
Those the rumors, like rap Sheet
30:45
said after they took Joe Milton that they've
30:47
been trying to shop Bailey Zappy and he's available
30:50
in the trade.
30:51
Interesting, yeah, yeah, so
30:53
all right, good stuff, good
30:56
stuff, webs.
30:57
Just can I just throw one last thing out here, yes,
30:59
Paul. So if let's
31:02
just say, disaster strikes and
31:04
this negatively impacts Drake
31:07
May and
31:09
you stuck without a quarterback.
31:11
So make May is playing but he's
31:13
not playing well and.
31:14
Yeah, and then and the mentality is like Mac,
31:16
well, well they didn't do anything to support them, and they
31:19
they failed them, you know, they ruined them, And
31:22
that's the that's the narrative. Say this
31:25
time in two years they ruined
31:27
them. We're not allowed to say.
31:29
That by drafting Joe Milton.
31:30
We're not allowed to say. Yeah, we're not allowed to say it.
31:32
Though, well I think that would be incorrect.
31:35
But but you didn't see it. No,
31:37
But if it's a hypothetic, if that's what ruined
31:39
him, that this is a complete hypothetical, it's
31:42
incorrect, I know.
31:43
But like I'm sure like in three years,
31:45
if Drake May is a bust,
31:47
there's going to be more reasons than they drafted
31:50
Joe Milton.
31:51
Right, were there more reasons mac Jones was a bust
31:53
other than they hired Matt Patricia for the offensive
31:55
coordinator. Yeah, is that the reason why people think
31:57
that.
31:57
They ruined him. Yeah, that's one of the reason.
32:00
Yeah, you know, but you're not allowed to say
32:02
that. That's a lot different than drafting. I
32:05
don't hear you say it's it's not even
32:07
apples to apples.
32:07
So don't don't ever say it.
32:09
Then, No, it's not even a fair
32:11
comparison.
32:11
So don't say it. Don't don't
32:14
change your mind.
32:14
Okay, I won't. I probably
32:17
won't want.
32:17
No one's allowed to say that. Okay, we broke
32:19
all the rules here, Paul, you disagree, we
32:21
disagree with the Patriots moved.
32:23
You're allowed to broke the rules. You're allowed to say whatever
32:25
you want, and everyone's allowed
32:27
to.
32:27
If I do that, I'm just being a baby. So I'm
32:29
not going to do that.
32:30
Yeah, when you when you start saying, well, I can't say what
32:32
when you act like a baby, I
32:35
mean.
32:35
You have to pander you You can't say
32:37
what you want to say.
32:39
What's pandering by saying
32:41
my opinion? I'm pandering?
32:43
Ye?
32:43
Okay, all right, yep, yeah,
32:47
yeah, So so I will check
32:49
it at the door next time. Okay, I'll be all on board,
32:51
baby Patriots filtered from
32:54
now on.
32:54
Okay, Paul, you don't
32:56
have to filter it, but you have to be a
32:58
big boy when someone pushes back. That's
33:01
all. That's all I'm saying.
33:03
All right, you're the arbiter of justice.
33:05
Yes I am. It's my show. Eight five to
33:07
five. Pass five hundred is the hotline,
33:11
web radio pages dot com is
33:13
the email address.
33:14
Totally pathetic.
33:15
Oh, he just won't stop, He
33:17
just won't stop. Joe Milton, Yeah,
33:20
Joe Milton.
33:23
You couldn't have an opinion on draft picks. I
33:26
thought that we were supposed to give that.
33:28
Well what I was wrong? Why can't you give
33:30
your opinion?
33:31
Because I'm mocked for it? All
33:34
you do is laugh?
33:35
Yeah, okay, all right, you did? All
33:37
right?
33:38
Call me names.
33:38
I disagree, mocking, yeah, mocking. Not because
33:40
of your opinion.
33:42
Well that's the way I took it. I
33:44
dissented.
33:45
I'm sorry, Paul.
33:47
That'd be audacity to not agree. Yeah,
33:49
and and sorry, Yeah, I won't let it happen.
33:52
This is what you're being mocked for, Paul, this
33:54
attitude. You can have a different
33:57
opinion, but like not the way I see it. When someone
33:59
disagrees, then again, I.
34:01
Don't see it the way you do, so I'm automatically
34:03
wrong. I don't see it that way.
34:05
You're not wrong, no one, no one's wrong. It's
34:08
just like I don't know why you have to like
34:10
act that way, like everyone's
34:12
at acting.
34:13
Like I'm acting anyway. Okay, all right,
34:15
but I don't just I don't agree with you. So
34:18
it's not the same way. That's the way you
34:20
see it has to be the way we see it.
34:23
Well, I see it. I shouldn't put what.
34:25
I don't understand why two people can't have different
34:27
opinions. I don't either, you know, So
34:30
as soon as I push back, you act like a baby.
34:32
That's what I'm saying.
34:34
Enough for pushing back, for the mocking,
34:36
the laughing, like how could you even
34:39
think that?
34:39
Well?
34:39
So what so
34:42
what what I mean?
34:44
You know, I believe me. I told you I
34:46
will try to just conform.
34:49
Okay, now on I'll try not to
34:52
have my thoughts aired.
34:54
Okay, what about Kaden Wallace? Yeah,
34:56
I was gonna move on to Christian Barmore because
34:59
you know, I think I think we
35:01
might be all in agreement. That was a good move by
35:03
the Patriots.
35:04
It was a good move for the Patriots. Yeah, yeah,
35:06
sure, I mean long needed and you know
35:08
Dougger him.
35:09
Yeah, and when you Jennings, now,
35:12
I was a little surprised, and you know that
35:15
only about half of it was guaranteed, because
35:17
in today's day and age, like a
35:19
lot of these deals like seventy five percent
35:22
are being guaranteed. But I think it's a
35:24
good lesson when you have a guy like that,
35:27
do it early, as early as you can do it a year
35:29
early. Don't wait, you know, get
35:31
that thing done.
35:33
That's I mean, that's that's the whole thing. I
35:35
mean, why you know, why wasn't Dougger done last year?
35:37
You know, it's the same same kind of thing, you
35:39
know.
35:41
I just I think to me, it's just it's
35:44
two different ways. And I always
35:46
feel like we come or I come across it, and I want to speak
35:48
for you guys, like it's always Bill's ray was
35:50
always wrong, which might not be the case
35:52
right or it wasn't always the case. But
35:55
Bill would have drafted Christian Barmore's
35:57
replacement this year. He
36:00
would have used a premium pick on a defensive
36:02
tackle, and he would have said in a
36:04
year from now, he's gonna train under
36:06
Christian Barmore for a year and a year
36:08
from now, we're gonna let Barmore walk for the
36:10
third round compick and this guy's gonna
36:13
take his place, and we're not going to miss a beat. And
36:15
he would have done the same thing. He did the same thing. He drafted
36:17
Marty Mapu to replace Kyle Dugger.
36:19
He did the same thing with Kyle Dugger.
36:22
And I think the bigger thing that you see
36:24
with that is one, it's not that the
36:27
next player is not always as good, which
36:29
is I think the situation they got into the last
36:31
couple of years. And two Thenett,
36:35
you don't use that asset on other holes. So
36:37
now you're drafting a defensive tackle in the second
36:39
round and you're not drafting Jalen Polk. So
36:42
it just has a dominant effect. Now in
36:44
the long run about the individual player,
36:47
maybe Bill will end up would have ended up being right.
36:50
Maybe Kyle Duger this is as good as he's
36:52
gonna get. And maybe you know, the
36:54
contract in a year from now is gonna look
36:56
terrible, and Bill would have been right in terms
36:59
of the individual player. But it's
37:01
all you know, there's a lot more of a web there
37:03
than just what effect it has on that one
37:05
player. Last year, they drafted everybody's
37:07
replacements, that's what they did.
37:09
And you can't just do that every year. I mean, that's just you fall
37:11
out of the cycle. You only have maybe at nine to
37:13
ten draft picks a year. You can't just continue,
37:16
excuse me, to recycle things. And that's the
37:18
problem. They weren't enough of those guys. There weren't enough extensions
37:21
they got. You know, they lost their way, especially
37:23
on the offensive side of the ball, and then it seemed like they just
37:25
started running this like we'll just replace them on defense
37:27
kind of thing. So I think it's a good move
37:29
for Barmore. I mean, you know, four years extension, he's
37:32
here for a while. I mean I still think, you know,
37:34
not to get ahead of ourselves, but defense
37:36
is going to need to be rebuilt.
37:38
Oh yeah. I mean everyone's assuming that the
37:40
defense is going to be just pick up
37:42
where it left off. Last year.
37:43
Well, I mean this year maybe, I mean this year maybe, I mean
37:45
they'll get they'll get some guys back, and I mean, but
37:48
you know, next year, it's it's Godshaw Wise,
37:51
you know, Bentley, all those guys are out next year,
37:53
so you know, they're, yeah, it was good to get
37:55
Barmore. So you have one piece up front.
37:57
That I also like that when you exert this much
38:00
energy and you promote draft and develop
38:02
guys, it's like you aren't that much energy developing
38:04
bar More into what he is today. Like why would you let him
38:07
walk out the door and let someone else like profit.
38:09
Off of that.
38:09
That's a hard thing too, Like guys like Toney, you know, it's
38:11
just guys that you drafted, you developed. You know, they're
38:14
good players, and it's you.
38:16
Know, he would have done the same thing with Mike on Wenhu,
38:19
Like they drafted Citisow to replace
38:21
Mike on Weho.
38:22
Yeah, they just never drafted anybody to replace Gronk
38:25
or Edelman, and they.
38:27
Just drafted bad players.
38:28
Like and plus, you know, when you compare
38:31
the drafts when Brady was here to drafts
38:33
that it's not a fair comparison, you
38:35
know, because you could take chances with Brady and
38:37
screw up and you'd still win twelve
38:39
games, you know, and so you didn't notice
38:42
it as much. Plus you had a foundation
38:44
of like good players. I think now the
38:46
foundation is bar More, you know, the
38:49
hopefully the foundation is dugger and
38:52
guys like that you need to
38:54
keep those guys were in the past. You
38:56
know, maybe you didn't have to do that. Maybe
38:59
you drafted guys that were replacements
39:01
so that you could keep that salary down and
39:04
you know, spend it on Tom Brady or whatever.
39:06
But you know, it's
39:09
it's not fair to compare the post Brady
39:12
drafts to Bratt drafts that you had with
39:14
Brady.
39:14
I agree, because there's a talent level that you didn't necessarily
39:17
need to have when Brady was here. Right now, I
39:19
love the Barmore resigning
39:22
and I'm not necessarily sure
39:24
that it's not one that Bill would have mait. It's like Michael
39:27
and you, they wouldn't have done that. Well, they just did it with Jack
39:29
Mason five years ago, Like they drafted
39:32
a guard that really hit and they gave him
39:34
a big time extension. Now they
39:36
pulled the plug in the middle of the extension. But that's
39:39
different, Like they did give him a second
39:41
contract. And I think there
39:43
are other guys that he feels
39:46
like. I think we have no way of knowing
39:48
this, but I think he may have felt Barmel was different
39:50
because Barbera was special as opposed
39:53
to maybe to Evan's point about Dugger
39:55
and Mapu. Maybe he just feels like Douger is just
39:57
another guy, and maybe he wouldn't
39:59
have got that could be, you know what I mean, I'd
40:02
listen to that argument. You know, And we have no way of
40:04
knowing for sure because Bill's not here anymore
40:06
obviously, But I think he might have treated
40:08
Barmore a little bit.
40:09
I think I do too.
40:10
I mean, and I don't think he broke the bank either. I think
40:12
that was a really team friendly deal.
40:14
Yeah.
40:14
No, I think that's a good point, Paul. That's what I mean. That
40:16
that's been the hard thing is like I don't
40:19
really nextinarily. I mean, there was a time last year when I was saying,
40:21
like and when you I mean, he's good, but I
40:23
don't, I mean, Duggar, he's good. But but
40:25
Barmore, You're right, like maybe he would.
40:27
And I think the state of the offensive line would have led
40:29
to an extension because
40:31
I feel like he might have looked at it and said, we got to somebody
40:34
gotta have somebody to bank or this thing. David
40:36
Andrews is going to be around forever. Yeah.
40:38
I just want to let everyone know coming up at around
40:40
one o'clock. We're going to be joined by Field
40:42
Yates from ESPN. Obviously,
40:45
he was a NonStop
40:47
on ESPN on TV over the weekend
40:50
with draft and you know he's dived
40:54
as deep into the draft as anyone over
40:56
there. So we'll get his opinion. He's got his
40:58
new England roots.
40:59
We talk to him at the combarm.
41:00
Yeah, always interested to see what the
41:03
Patriots are doing and hear from him from
41:05
his perspective. So we'll do that around one
41:07
o'clock or so. So that's
41:09
that'll be. That'll be fun. You guys have your
41:11
questions ready for him.
41:13
Yes, I have one question for him.
41:15
You do nothing? How did you
41:17
get in the business.
41:19
We've talked about that before though.
41:21
Okay, all right, can we get Mina
41:23
Chimes.
41:24
I've tried to get Mina Chimes. She's
41:26
a tough get, is that right. She's a busy gal for
41:29
Taylor Kyles. That's true, that's
41:31
true, and I hold out against her.
41:34
Maybe you need to work on your DM game.
41:37
I don't think Jess would like that they've got a DM game. Being
41:39
bad is a good thing.
41:40
Yeah all right, Yeah,
41:42
so that's that's good news. Christian Barmore
41:45
locked up. Now, you
41:48
know, I think in terms of like
41:50
his potential and
41:52
you compare it to Dougger, he's bar
41:55
more special. I think, Yeah, Dougger's good
41:58
by I ain't bar more special. I hope
42:00
that now that he's got his bag, that
42:02
he keeps up that you know,
42:05
energy that he's shown the last couple of years.
42:08
He doesn't know any other way, Fred, I mean, you just talked to him,
42:10
just stand at his locker and he's just can't He's got
42:12
a move. He is just that kind of guy.
42:13
So he seems to really love football too.
42:15
I've had a lot of conversations with him
42:18
about like technique, like real football minutia
42:20
type of stuff, and he's he's
42:22
a craftsman, like he works on it like you
42:25
can tell. And I think he really really likes
42:27
DeMarcus Covington a lot.
42:29
So whatever the knock on him coming out of Alabama
42:31
was, it seems that that's gone away.
42:33
Oh boy. Yeah, remember Warren Sap. Warren Sap had
42:35
a whole thing of like I wouldn't draft this guy
42:37
with a ten foot poll Yeah that makes sense.
42:39
But yeah, I think,
42:41
you know, defensively, I was looking around
42:43
at some of the the other depth
42:46
charts on our lads and things like that.
42:48
And honestly, if Christian Gonzales
42:50
and is as good as he was for the month that he
42:53
was healthy last year, the Patriots defense
42:55
is as good as anybody on paper, you know, just
42:57
in terms of how deep they are, and you really think
42:59
so yeah, I really think so yeah. I mean
43:01
they have assuming Judoon
43:04
comes back and is on this team. You
43:06
know, Judan, Barmore, Gonzales
43:09
are potentially three Pro Bowl caliber
43:11
players.
43:11
Are you factoring in the loss of one Bill
43:14
Belichick?
43:15
Maybe not as much as you but yeah,
43:18
I mean, like obviously that's gonna have a game plan
43:20
impact on them. I'm more talking about from like
43:22
a talent personnel standpoint, yeah,
43:25
because they still have a lot of like those lunch payal
43:27
Belichick guys to to supplement
43:29
the star players, you know, to Vibe Bentley,
43:32
Dietrich Wise, you know those types of guys
43:34
too. So it's not just the high end
43:36
talent like maybe other teams. You could argue
43:38
you have a little bit more of that, like you know, elite,
43:41
elite, blue chip talent. But if Barmore continues
43:43
to ascend and Gonzalez is as good as he was last
43:46
year when he was healthy. Then I mean
43:48
I take the Patriots defense.
43:49
Yeah, yeah, me too. I mean I think you know, we had
43:52
we did a video yesterday just some of the interesting stuff. It
43:54
is like some of the positions they maybe didn't necessarily address.
43:56
It kind of puts a spotlight a little bit
43:58
on you know, like a mop who didn't draft
44:00
the free safety type. We kind of talked about Kevin
44:03
Harris on the offensive side of the ball, you know,
44:05
didn't really draft a running back, so you
44:08
know, and I think Isaiah Bolden and this Marcellus
44:10
Dial, I'm really interested to see them because
44:12
I think we all, you know, kind of feel like they could use
44:14
another corner like in the mix and.
44:17
Yeah, them and Alex Austin, you
44:19
know, add those If they can get an outside
44:21
corner that can play some snaps out of those three
44:24
guys, then.
44:26
Inst to keep an eye on shoulder
44:29
shoulder.
44:29
Gonzales torn Labor feel
44:31
so as.
44:32
Long as it wasn't those hips the hipstone
44:34
live hips don't live, no, And you
44:36
know, in all seriousness, the thing I
44:38
loved about Gonzales is, you
44:41
know, like Malcolm Butler was feisty, He
44:43
was a competitor and he you know he but
44:46
Gonzalez is an athlete, like he does
44:48
it with with talent, Stean Gilmore
44:50
like he yeah, Stefan Gilmore
44:53
or dare I say Tylaw? Like he
44:55
stays with a guy because of his talent, not
44:57
because of his feistiness. You know, he's
45:00
able to mirror a guy. And to me, that's
45:02
I've always thought that's a rare skill in
45:04
the NFL. Like to be able to be that
45:07
kind of mirror corner in this league
45:09
is it's a rare commodity.
45:11
And when you get one of those guys, you don't let
45:13
him go.
45:14
It's recovery too. I mean I remember in those couple of games. That's
45:16
what stood out to me was just even when he was kind
45:18
of taking a half false step, like he's good
45:20
enough that he can recover from that stuff. So very
45:23
excited. I mean there's a lot to I mean, Andy
45:25
was saying that he's excited. You know, I tweeted out, I'm
45:28
like Jesus, how things have changed. I
45:30
mean, but I think he's right. You know, there's a lot there's
45:32
some talent coming back, guys that were good.
45:34
And then I mean, you just you've got a whole bunch of new offensive
45:36
pieces that it's gonna be fun to just get out there,
45:38
see what they look like, see what they move like. And I'm
45:41
just excited to see what Joel Milton looks like.
45:46
Yeah, with Gonzo, his
45:49
speed is I'm just going
45:51
to for I'm
45:53
just right over that his
45:56
speed in a straight line, like, I mean,
45:59
he ran a four to three, so it's obviously there. But
46:01
he plays to the four to three dial, no
46:03
Gonzales. Yeah, it dialed though it
46:05
ran like in the mid four force. It
46:08
has some length and some ball skills.
46:10
So you had thirty one pass breakups
46:12
in college, you know, which is a pretty big number for a college
46:14
corner So there's some there's some talent
46:17
there in terms of finding the ball, like their typical type
46:19
of guy that can play man and find the football
46:21
and do that kind of thing.
46:23
I'd say that's that's like a thing to watch for
46:25
me. You know this summer is who can a third
46:27
cornerback kind of emerge? And you know, I
46:29
still have a cornerback. Yeah he's still
46:32
there, but I still think there's questions in the slot. I mean,
46:34
you know, we can Marcus Jones stay healthy? Can he
46:36
play the slot full time. I mean, so I definitely
46:39
think. I mean, but as Evan pointed out on our
46:41
little video shoot, maybe somebody like
46:43
Gilmore or you know, that kind of addition could
46:45
still possibly happen.
46:46
Now, Yeah, if you get the third corner, if
46:48
you have an outside corner that can play a
46:51
lot and you know, let's call it sixty
46:54
five percent of the snaps that you feel really good about,
46:56
and you have Jonathan Jones more back inside
46:58
to Nickel like, then I think that's
47:01
probably their best combination. Nothing against
47:03
Marcus Jones, but I think that's probably their
47:05
best combination. Is if in Alex
47:08
Austin, Isaiah Olden dial someone like that
47:10
emerges as the Jason mccorthy type, and
47:12
then that allows Jones to case.
47:17
I'd love to go back to where when we were
47:19
like a man team on defense, you
47:21
know, not have to do zone play like a man.
47:23
No, but like you know, the more you can put
47:26
one on one coverage, the more it frees up your
47:28
defense to do other things. And you
47:30
know, I loved if Gilmore, you
47:32
know, someone of that ilk came into.
47:36
Not as much anymore.
47:37
In yeah, you lose the compic
47:40
formula situation too, not that that matters
47:42
for the Patriots, but it matters for for a lot of
47:44
teams, So that could maybe make
47:46
it a little bit more money.
47:48
Was he being asked to be number one in Carolina?
47:50
Where when he got.
47:51
Traded down there?
47:52
But he got traded after Diggs got hurt?
47:54
He was there number one? Are you talking about Carolina?
47:56
Dallas?
47:57
His last stop was Dallas, y Yeah, so
47:59
he wasn't the number one and down I know that. Yeah,
48:01
Okay, all right, all right,
48:04
Well, well.
48:05
At this point I would say that he's probably not going
48:07
to sign until camp, Yeah, because he would
48:09
he would have signed initially if he got like
48:12
maybe years in money, But
48:14
now that he's not going to get that, he's
48:17
probably like, yeah, I don't
48:19
want to hear any of the spring crap right in camp
48:21
if he's looking for that one year reset coming back
48:23
here where he knows the system and it's
48:26
a pretty good defense around him and he knows Gerrod,
48:28
Like I could see that him thinking, well, that's
48:30
probably where.
48:31
It's not bills off season anymore. It's it's.
48:34
Yeah.
48:35
My initial impression would be there's no chance,
48:37
But because of Gerard, I think there
48:39
is a chance. I think he would you
48:42
know, depending on his relationship with Mayo, how
48:44
he felt about Mayo, I do
48:46
I don't even see him doing it. The bigger question is
48:48
not going to get money. I just would think that he would
48:51
rather go to a contender.
48:52
The bigger question, just for me, outside of specifically
48:54
to Gilmore, is just you know what guys on the roster
48:57
that are younger, that haven't really gotten a chance yet,
48:59
maybe like a map does this administration
49:01
look at and see, let's get we want
49:03
to get this guy involved. We want you know, they've they've talked
49:05
a lot about that, drafting guys, allowing
49:08
the coaches to work with them, allowing them to play. So
49:11
you know that's that's in the Kevin Harris like is you
49:13
know, do they see him and say, man, if
49:15
he wasn't behind Ezekiel Elliot last year, he could
49:17
have really gotten a chance.
49:18
I don't know.
49:18
I mean, I don't really feel passionate about
49:20
any of those guys. I mean, to be honest, I'm
49:22
curious about Mapa though.
49:24
What about on White?
49:26
Like I feel like, yeah, White is one of those guys
49:28
that you just drafted him in the second round, Like you should
49:31
hope to think that, you know, we keep talking about
49:33
edge rusher to jump, Well, there's
49:35
your edge rusher.
49:36
Does he kind of play in the guy role? Do
49:38
they move him more to more hand down
49:40
defensive end kind of thing? And and kind of quit
49:43
it with the with the standing up or is armand
49:45
Watson there? And ke On White continues,
49:48
I don't think if him as an edge us I don't. I think of him
49:50
as a guy down.
49:52
Yeah, you know, I think that's where he's been his best
49:54
wer. Yeah, but I wonder if
49:56
you know, he comes in a little lighter,
49:59
you know, and like you say him, why don't you drop
50:01
ten pounds of you know whatever?
50:03
And you can sell me on it with the outside linebacker
50:05
depth because there's really nobody. So if you if you want
50:07
to come back and tell me Cam White's going to be a pure outside
50:10
linebacker this year, like.
50:11
Because I just don't think that he's like a block eating
50:13
three four end. No, No, he's I think that's
50:15
what Bill wanted him to do last year. I
50:17
mean in camp, you remember how many times he would be out
50:19
there and it just didn't seem like it.
50:21
I just think he's too small for that. Like I think
50:23
that you know, his his strains are obviously
50:26
like his first step in his athleticism, and I
50:29
think he's a little bit too clunky to play up on
50:31
his feet. But if you had him lose some weight and
50:33
maybe go about it a little bit differently
50:35
where it's like we're trying to thin out a little bit, then
50:38
maybe he could he could.
50:39
Do it a little bit better.
50:40
Yeah, that's a good one.
50:41
Yeah, all right. Eight five five PATS
50:43
five hundred is the Aceticket hotline web radio
50:45
at patries dot com is the email address Carries
50:48
in New Hampshire. What's up? Carry? Hey?
50:52
Carry?
50:52
Hello, Hey, Hey, Okay,
50:57
I wanted to tell you guy, you've taught me most
50:59
of what I know about football.
51:01
I'm sorry you don't know anything.
51:03
Long time listener, but
51:05
I do have to tell you I don't normally
51:08
listen live today.
51:12
I just need to tell Paul
51:15
and Fred to take a deep breath because we
51:17
don't want to listen to that.
51:18
On this Okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry
51:20
too.
51:21
Much, arguing, too much arguing.
51:24
Anyway, that being
51:26
said, I'm excited about
51:28
what's coming this year and continue
51:32
to listen. You guys are the only ones I listen
51:35
to and thank you for teaching
51:37
me everything.
51:38
That I know. Okay, well, what makes you excited
51:40
before you go anything? In particular?
51:45
You said you're excited about it.
51:46
Just to change, I think, just to change
51:49
everywhere from the top down.
51:52
Okay, new start.
51:54
You know, I mean, you know they're not going
51:56
to hit on every
51:58
single one of these picks. And I'm
52:01
okay with that.
52:02
Yeah, good because they won't.
52:06
Just wait and see how it all all right?
52:09
Thanks Carrie, Carrie New Hampshire not happy
52:11
with the arguing. Yeah, okay,
52:14
this is an argument free zone.
52:15
She wants no, that's
52:18
what we will get.
52:20
Mike and Bell. Rica writes in starting
52:22
up by saying, I love this draft. Drake was
52:24
my guy. I got to meet him in Detroit and
52:27
I'm thrilled we got him. My only issue
52:29
is this felt like the same as
52:31
always, albeit with more offense.
52:34
We moved off the consensus guy of Mitchell.
52:36
I know, I know he has
52:38
diabetes. He's a monster.
52:41
Why can't he go drunk
52:43
driving?
52:44
Like?
52:44
Well? Come? Then
52:46
we reached on day three projected right
52:48
tackle who we have to play out
52:50
of position because of a whole we decided
52:53
to not seriously fill at previous opportunities.
52:56
I like Poke and I really love Baker
52:59
and I hope takes the position change
53:01
well. But this didn't seem like we drafted
53:03
all two differently than when we had
53:05
Bill. What am I missing?
53:06
Really?
53:07
We drafted two receivers in all offense.
53:10
Like literally, I feel like it would have been maybe
53:13
four defensive players in three offense or maybe
53:15
four, maybe five and two.
53:16
I mean, I think like he's
53:19
recognizing that we went offense, but I
53:21
think I think the style is what he's
53:23
talking about.
53:24
Like maybe, yeah, I guess I could hear that
53:27
with the email.
53:28
I don't know.
53:28
I feel like when you draft seven of eight offensive
53:31
players, that is something that hell would
53:33
freeze over before Bill Belichick did that.
53:35
No, but but it's it's not it's
53:37
not the fact that they did offense. Its
53:39
defense. It's it's the quality
53:42
or you know, players that they could have had
53:44
verus who they took.
53:45
But to you or to the email, that's
53:48
what That's the point.
53:49
Yeah, And I just I'm
53:51
I ranked these players as much as anybody,
53:53
but like it's just my opinion, you
53:56
know, And like when I see these draft grades and stuff
53:58
like that, I'm like, Okay, so you're going
54:00
off of your pre draft opinion
54:02
of these players. Which is all you can do. But
54:04
what if you're wrong?
54:05
Yeah, well you got to remember we're drafting
54:08
at the top of every round for the most part,
54:10
rather than middle or bottom,
54:13
so that that changes who you have an
54:15
opportunity to get.
54:16
You know.
54:17
Also, I think, for whatever reason we still haven't
54:19
heard yet, but Adie Mitchell, a lot of teams
54:21
kept passing.
54:22
People passed up so like the.
54:24
Bills could have taken him, the Chiefs could have taken him
54:26
like they didn't. So I think
54:28
it's clearly a reason that all those teams
54:30
skipped him.
54:31
Into the state and he could end up being the best of the
54:33
bunch. You never know.
54:34
Yeah, George
54:38
hung over our head for all eternity, could
54:41
have had AJ Brown.
54:42
I know, I know.
54:43
That's my that's my biggest fear
54:45
about this draft is you really have I
54:48
take Adie Mitchell out of it because he wasn't on their board,
54:50
like they passed on him multiple times. He wasn't
54:52
there, like he wasn't going to be a Patriot.
54:54
But Xavierly get Lad McConkie,
54:57
Troy Franklin. If they looked at those three
54:59
guys versus the two guys they actually did
55:01
draft, that's gonna be three
55:04
years from now if it's gonna be George Pickens
55:06
Taekwon Thornton all over again.
55:07
Like, do you think they viewed
55:10
Lad McConkie though, was too similar to Pop Douglas
55:12
Like.
55:13
No, I mean maybe, but I think they're
55:15
different, very different players. Like Lad mcconkee
55:17
is a is a deep threat, like he's
55:19
just he's a you want to small
55:21
guys. I think it was more about the size
55:24
in the play strength, yeah, than necessarily
55:27
stylistically. But you know, Lad mccakie
55:29
is one hundred and eighty six pounds.
55:31
You know, that's what Baker
55:34
are both like six to one and change and over
55:36
two hundred pounds. I mean they're both pretty thick
55:39
dudes that you know.
55:40
How much does Pop Way.
55:44
Like one hundred and eighty pounds, Yeah.
55:47
Similar to yes,
55:49
less I think best Maybe Pop Pop
55:52
small too, Yeah, Pops short, but.
55:55
It's a good compliment to the other. Two guys talked
55:57
about inside outside and outside and an
55:59
inside.
55:59
That's one thing I've thought about it is just in
56:01
talking about these receivers and stuff like that. You know,
56:04
everybody's like, well they don't have anybody with any real
56:06
speed. Well they have Pop Douglas.
56:08
Like Pop Pop Douglas is a fast guy.
56:11
Like even down the field, he's a fast
56:13
guy. I mean, we saw it last year that
56:15
he's got legit game speed. So
56:18
I know everybody's well, maybe this is finally
56:20
taekwon Thornton's chance.
56:21
Like no, no, and
56:24
to that point, that's that's a
56:26
can can Javon Baker get off the
56:28
line? You know, like that's a big question for
56:30
me. How does he look against you know, going up against
56:33
Gonzales in practice when we see these guys
56:35
like.
56:36
Straightjack fair match.
56:38
When Drake May finally becomes the starting
56:40
quarterback, who will be his binkie
56:43
out of this group?
56:45
Yeah, Jaylen Polk. I mean, and I think Pop
56:47
Pop would have a level of that too.
56:48
I would hope, you know, just with his you know about
56:52
not signing guys to Mario,
56:54
Douglas is a guy that Bill wouldn't give a second contract.
56:56
Oh yeah, oh yeah, like I six
56:58
rounder every where I created
57:01
him. Now someone's going to overpay him
57:03
quote but you know, overpay him. We
57:05
got the best years out of him.
57:07
They'll let him go.
57:07
I was gonna say, like, I just why do if
57:09
you pour so much into that and he becomes
57:12
good, why would you let him walk?
57:13
And he'll think that the first
57:15
four years will be the best four years of
57:17
his career and he's going to go down.
57:19
Yeah at that size, that skill set.
57:21
Yeah, they let on, right,
57:24
they let it on.
57:25
Watch want to know one of them?
57:26
Right.
57:27
That's a big concern about Papa is
57:29
the concussions that have already added up, and the injuries
57:32
and all that kind of stuff. But if he doesn't have to be a
57:34
high volume guy like last year they were trying to feed
57:36
him the ball because he's the best player on the field.
57:38
He got a stretch there where he was getting a ton of
57:40
targets.
57:40
Right, All right, Uh, we'll take a break from this conversation
57:43
because joining us now is Field Yates
57:45
of ESPN. Field, can you
57:48
hear me?
57:49
You're okay? What's going on?
57:51
How are you?
57:52
I'm great? Thank you? Thanks for having me on exciting
57:54
times right now in New England.
57:56
Seeing you have a lot of rich mahogany behind
57:58
you. I barn
58:00
it.
58:00
I took it off of a Reese's paycheck. That's how
58:02
I paid for it.
58:04
I know how that works.
58:05
Field. It's good talking with you. Of
58:08
course, you've got your New England roots. But
58:11
now you're covering the league as a whole. But I'm
58:13
sure that you always have a keen eye as
58:15
to what the Patriots are doing. What was your
58:18
opinion of how draft weekend
58:20
turned out for the Patriots.
58:22
Yeah, I think this has the weekend. This is the potential to
58:24
be the weekend.
58:25
And I know this is what everybody says about every
58:27
draft, but the potential to be the weekend
58:29
to set the course for the Patriots future. Drake
58:32
May and I said this from the moment
58:35
that the draft order was set for the non
58:37
playoff teams, that there was no such thing
58:39
as a consolation prize amongst the top three
58:41
quarterbacks.
58:42
The three months.
58:43
Between the end of the regular season and the start
58:46
of the NFL Draft, we're going to determine who
58:48
went one, two, and three. But I
58:50
really felt strongly that all three of them merited
58:53
top three pick consideration, and
58:55
depending on the year, any of them could
58:57
have easily been the number one player in
58:59
the entire draft. So the fact that the Patriots
59:02
stood at number three resisted
59:04
the temptation to move back, and I understand
59:06
that temptation. There's evidence that suggests
59:09
that having a ton of extra draft capo,
59:11
it can be very, very valuable. But you
59:13
know, there's nothing more important in roster
59:15
building in football than having a quarterback
59:17
who can make everything else go. And the Patriots
59:19
now have that in Drake May, and they
59:22
use six of their subsequent seven picks
59:24
on offense, which was a sign that, hey,
59:26
we have the quarterback in place. But it
59:28
doesn't matter if you're the you know, if you're
59:30
a rookie quarterback, or if you're at the very top of
59:32
the food chain like Patrick Mahomes right now
59:35
for the Chiefs, We're going to continue to invest
59:37
in you because it's still the ultimate
59:39
team sport and we have a lot of work to do to
59:41
help get Drake May to where we believe
59:44
he can get to.
59:45
Are you in the sit him
59:47
for a while or are you in the camp
59:49
of he needs to get right out there.
59:51
Yeah, I'm okay with sitting Drake May for a little
59:53
while here.
59:54
And maybe I'm a little bit too old school for the modern
59:56
era of the NFL, but I believe
59:58
that one of the reasons in which we see young quarterbacks
1:00:01
play so often is that
1:00:03
there's pressure for these gms
1:00:05
and head coaches that they understand
1:00:08
that you know, they only have so much of a
1:00:10
leash to work with here. We see so much
1:00:12
turnover in those positions around the NFL.
1:00:15
I don't think that's the case here with the Patriots, though obviously
1:00:17
with Gerrod Mayo and Elliott Wolf both in their
1:00:19
first years in their respective positions.
1:00:22
This does align as an.
1:00:23
Opportunity for a team to say, if
1:00:25
the quarterback isn't ready, or if
1:00:28
they feel like playing Drake may
1:00:30
right out of the shoots can do equally
1:00:33
as much bad as it can good, then
1:00:36
maybe it's a chance for Jacobe Brissett to start
1:00:38
some number of games to begin this season
1:00:40
one, two, ten, seventeen.
1:00:43
I don't know the answer, to be specific, but I'm
1:00:45
an advocate for it. If the player is not fully
1:00:48
ready, it's gonna be really hard. If Drake
1:00:50
may does some of the stuff that I ankisobey, he'll do.
1:00:53
I know you guys have all watched him endlessly right
1:00:56
now, but wait till first Patriots
1:00:58
training camp practice is open to the public, because
1:01:01
the fans are going to see up close and personal
1:01:03
what kind of a special.
1:01:04
Player this is.
1:01:05
And you're gonna have moments during training camp they're gonna
1:01:07
make you say wow.
1:01:08
Now you're talking about Joe Milton, right. I've
1:01:10
always.
1:01:13
That's but Drake's
1:01:16
gonna have enough moments they're going to a wow you that people are
1:01:18
gonna say, how can we not.
1:01:19
Play this kid? Right away?
1:01:21
That being said, I do think there is
1:01:23
something to be learned in a young quarterbacks
1:01:26
a trajectory from seeing it
1:01:28
from sideline view for a little bit. I'm
1:01:30
not talking about three years here, I'm talking about any
1:01:33
three games that might be what it takes for the
1:01:35
Patriots to feel like Drake May is more ready.
1:01:37
Phil, we talked to you, thanks for talking to us at the
1:01:39
combine and uh Elliot
1:01:41
Wolf saying Patriots got to weaponize their offense.
1:01:44
What did you think of the two picks there, Polk and
1:01:46
Baker.
1:01:47
Yeah, If anybody here listens to the first
1:01:49
Draft show, thank you first of all,
1:01:52
But second of all, you'll know that Mel and I try
1:01:54
to do our best to not spend all day talking about just
1:01:56
the guys that will go at the very top of
1:01:58
the draft, and we did our favorites
1:02:01
list.
1:02:01
It's our players.
1:02:02
It could go not in round one or most
1:02:04
likely not in round one that we just loved
1:02:07
and loved studying them love something about
1:02:09
their game, loved everything about their game. And the captain
1:02:11
of my team was Jalen Polk. I felt
1:02:13
strongly about this player throughout the process.
1:02:15
I feel as though in a really
1:02:17
really deep wide receiver class he might have been
1:02:20
the most underappreciated of all
1:02:22
of them. Jalen Polk is a
1:02:24
dog. I know that's kind of a cliche, but this
1:02:26
kid is so tough. He's got vice gript
1:02:28
hands. The analogy that I continue
1:02:31
to use is he is a low post
1:02:33
player in the NBA twenty five years
1:02:35
ago. Not a lot of flash, a lot of substance.
1:02:38
He just gets buckets. There's just he just
1:02:40
consistently moves the chains. And we talk
1:02:42
about great hands in football, and we
1:02:44
think about highlight reel catches, right the Odell
1:02:46
Beckham junior catch with two fingertips,
1:02:49
and those are great, Those are remarkable. I'm not trying to take
1:02:51
away from the merits of those I think about
1:02:53
great hands. I think about and you guys have
1:02:55
all followed this team long enough to know, for
1:02:58
you know, there's some great, great players that
1:03:00
have come through this Patriots franchise
1:03:02
for a long time, Guys who just consistently made clutch.
1:03:05
Troy Brown a great example there, right, Like Troy
1:03:07
just made catches reliably.
1:03:08
Yeah, the ball in his.
1:03:10
Back hip, he just he made
1:03:12
the catch.
1:03:12
It wasn't necessarily these catches that gets
1:03:15
you on the Sports Enter Top ten, but rather
1:03:17
just clutch production plays. And I thought Jalen Polk
1:03:19
just made catches consistently, really
1:03:22
good body control as well. One of my favorite
1:03:24
players, truly, one of my favorite
1:03:26
players in the entire class.
1:03:27
Will you talk about guys like Troy Brown
1:03:29
and Edelman and Welker, guys
1:03:32
that just moved the chain consistently. I
1:03:35
felt all those guys had very, very high
1:03:37
football IQs. You
1:03:39
know, do you have any indication
1:03:42
of Poke's IQ when it comes
1:03:44
to football?
1:03:45
Yeah, the IQ and the character are a plus,
1:03:48
I mean outstanding. That's
1:03:51
part of the consideration when you're sitting there at thirty
1:03:53
seven, I know they were thirty four before they
1:03:55
moved back, is that the board was kind
1:03:57
of wide open there, right. You had a bunch of different wider
1:03:59
seats that could have merited consideration
1:04:02
right there, and they ended up adding some extra
1:04:04
draft capital and then uh and then taking
1:04:06
Jalen Polk. I believe was it the fourth that they got
1:04:08
in the deal that they used on uh.
1:04:12
Baker as well.
1:04:12
Yeah, is that correct? One? Yeah?
1:04:14
I have to two hundred and fifty seven
1:04:16
pick. Some of it's still blur to me. I know they gave
1:04:18
it a fifth to La and picked up
1:04:20
the force. That was where they got Javon Baker, but
1:04:22
a third and seventh pick, Like, there are some real good
1:04:24
candidates to take besides Jalen Polk.
1:04:27
The thirty seven was a signed of not just
1:04:29
the skill set.
1:04:30
Physically, but also the mentality, the
1:04:32
IQ, the person, the character.
1:04:35
They have a young quarterback now in Drake May, and
1:04:38
you want to make sure that you support him with the right people.
1:04:40
We think about that if the coach, the offensive coordinator,
1:04:43
you know, the you know, the position coach, they'll be working
1:04:46
with you name it. But some of the people as
1:04:48
well on the roster. What kind of guys do you want to have around
1:04:50
your young quarterback? They're going to help elevate
1:04:53
him in the same way that he can help elevate them.
1:04:55
And I feel like Jalen Polk is like that. I had
1:04:57
a chance. I loved him throughout the process.
1:04:59
I went to Washington prote got a chance to see
1:05:01
him up close and personal, and him and Roma
1:05:03
Dunze, who of course went ninth to the Bears, like
1:05:06
those are truly special young
1:05:08
men as well, the kind of guys that the minute
1:05:10
they walk into a room, they kind of changed
1:05:12
the chemistry of it. So that was a big ad
1:05:14
for the Patriots. You know, I saw
1:05:16
the people. There were some belly aching.
1:05:19
Apparently Jalen Pole went too high
1:05:21
according to various boards. I had him forty
1:05:23
second on my board, and I don't know, I have four hundred
1:05:25
players graded, so you know, forty
1:05:27
two for me, it was right in line with about where he
1:05:29
went, and I thought this kid was
1:05:31
an absolute stud.
1:05:32
So I was great with that pick.
1:05:34
Javon Baker was that was a value based
1:05:37
off my board. He was believe, seventy second
1:05:39
on my board, so that's a you know, good value there in the
1:05:41
fourth round. But again
1:05:43
this is in some ways it's just what
1:05:45
are we doing to empower our young quarterback? And
1:05:48
we're using six of our final
1:05:50
eight selections excuse me, six of our final seven
1:05:53
on offensive pieces. Maybe you want to call it five
1:05:55
out of seven because one of them was also a quarterback.
1:05:57
But the point is the Patriots went offense heavy
1:06:00
throughout this draft, and while there's still
1:06:02
work to do, it's a good step forward to help Drake
1:06:04
may feel like, Hey, this team's trying to surround
1:06:07
me with the right pieces.
1:06:08
Ye Tamara Hi?
1:06:10
What was Tamara Hi?
1:06:12
What was your opinion of the Patriots
1:06:14
double dipping at quarterback?
1:06:15
And what do you think of the pick?
1:06:17
Overall?
1:06:18
Joe was one of the most fascinating players, regardless
1:06:20
of position, in the entire class. I
1:06:23
had so many conversations with people during the process,
1:06:25
saying where do you think Joe Milton will go? And
1:06:27
nobody could quite pinpoint what the exact
1:06:30
round or pick would be for Joe because some
1:06:32
of it with Joe during the evaluation is
1:06:34
you saw what you wanted to see, but
1:06:37
if you tried, if you took a big step back and just
1:06:39
like took all the various exposures and
1:06:41
try to condense them down into one single
1:06:43
vision, what I saw was a player who, if coached
1:06:46
up correctly and not rushed into action,
1:06:49
has a chance to develop into something in the NFL.
1:06:51
What does that something mean?
1:06:52
I don't know, specifically becoming a starting
1:06:54
quarterback after being taken in the was it sixth
1:06:56
round, fifth round again?
1:06:57
I'm sorry if I.
1:07:00
Patriots fans probably would disagree
1:07:02
with this, but that's hard to do, right.
1:07:03
I mean, you know, Tom Brady is one to one in so
1:07:06
many ways.
1:07:06
It's high.
1:07:09
Yeah, and that no one knowing becomes a starter from
1:07:12
one ninety two. It's only that
1:07:14
one ninety nine spot that matters. But Joe
1:07:17
like the Patriots, and maybe this
1:07:19
is the Elliot wolf factor.
1:07:20
I don't know exactly why.
1:07:21
Well, who is you know, the most responsible
1:07:24
for winning? I guess I guess every pick is Elliott's
1:07:26
most responsible for. But I don't know which
1:07:28
voices in the room were also arguing
1:07:31
for the sport of Joe Milton.
1:07:32
But they want to be a quarterback factory. You
1:07:34
want to have an arm in the pipeline
1:07:36
every single year.
1:07:37
And you know, I feel like it's good business to be drafted
1:07:40
one almost every single year. We've seen teams
1:07:42
that have done so, and you're not going to hit on all
1:07:44
of them, but if you hit on one or two of them every five
1:07:46
or eight or ten years, it's a great business. It's
1:07:48
gonna help you out. So Joe's so fascinating.
1:07:51
He's an awesome kid, he's a great dude.
1:07:53
He's had to pay his dues. Joe has has
1:07:55
not been easy. He kind of came to Michigan with a ton
1:07:58
of fanfare and you know, the potential
1:08:01
fourth star recruit.
1:08:02
He had to wait.
1:08:03
He basically had one year as a starting quarterback
1:08:05
at the college level, one full season. But
1:08:08
I mean, as we all know, massive arm, the most
1:08:10
effortless arm I've seen in person in
1:08:12
the college ranks for quite some time. I was good
1:08:14
athlete too. An eighty plus yard touchdown run last
1:08:17
year. There's something to work with with Joe. It's
1:08:20
a project. But you know, in the sixth round, those
1:08:22
are the kind of sort of swing for the fences type
1:08:24
of picks that I think are worthwhile.
1:08:26
You know, some on this show feel like
1:08:28
by getting a guy like Joe Milton, who has
1:08:31
such unique talents, but it's
1:08:33
you're creating maybe unnecessary noise
1:08:36
for a first round pick who also you
1:08:38
need to develop any
1:08:41
What do you think about that? You know,
1:08:43
I don't.
1:08:43
I don't think in the sixth round you're doing that. That's my opinion.
1:08:46
I understand that that that thought and sentiment I've
1:08:48
seen it. I didn't. I didn't interpret it that.
1:08:50
Way personally, And part
1:08:53
of that I think is probably like knowing the character of Drake
1:08:55
a little bit, had a chance to spend
1:08:58
actually most of least until the until
1:09:00
the third pick, the evening prior
1:09:03
to the draft, right around the May family and competitions
1:09:07
in the blood of Drake May. I mean all
1:09:09
three of his brothers were there, and they were you could
1:09:12
just see it, right like I could. You could
1:09:14
see the competitive fire of the four of them. We're kind of horsing
1:09:16
around before the draft, having a blast, like getting ready
1:09:18
for this special moment. And I don't
1:09:20
think Drake is going to be bothered by the presence
1:09:23
of somebody, right He forever has had to kind
1:09:25
of scratch and crawl and claude
1:09:28
to become, you know, kind of the person he is today
1:09:30
because he had three older brothers who were all star athletes,
1:09:33
I mean three who played
1:09:35
Division one sports, you know, national champions
1:09:38
and basketball and baseball and you know,
1:09:40
a big programs. So I don't I'd
1:09:42
be surprised if this like created
1:09:44
like this inherent I'm
1:09:48
sure, you know, sort of uncertainty for Drake. I feel
1:09:50
like he'll he'll he'll be cool with it.
1:09:51
I do.
1:09:52
I don't know that for a fact. I would guess that though, but
1:09:54
I was, I was more fun with it. If it's a third round pick,
1:09:57
then we got a problem. Yeah, you know, but the sixth round,
1:09:59
one ninety two, Like, at some point there are
1:10:01
only so many players on the take. So I was, I thought that
1:10:03
was a you know, reasonable way to approach.
1:10:05
That pick field.
1:10:07
Bill Belichick was obviously on with Pat McAfee
1:10:09
on ESPN during the draft, and they
1:10:12
showed a draft board it seemed to be
1:10:14
team needs that were behind him,
1:10:16
and uh, some people thought that maybe
1:10:18
it was you know, I weren't sure if those were actually Bill's
1:10:20
needs for teams or if like you guys
1:10:23
had handed it. I'm not sure if you knew, uh you
1:10:25
know, who was the one that was constructing that board.
1:10:27
But it was just interesting, you know, to see what he thought
1:10:29
of the Patriots roster, you know, obviously after
1:10:31
he was just a coach here not too long ago.
1:10:35
Yeah, I think those were I
1:10:37
think so I know that was my bore that you
1:10:39
saw. They're my top fifty and such. Are
1:10:42
you asking about the cornerback things specifically, Evan.
1:10:44
Yeah, yeah, the court It well was just obviously,
1:10:47
you know, weird to see corner back up
1:10:49
there compared to the receiver or something
1:10:51
like that. But I was just wondering, if you know, did it was
1:10:53
did Bill have a hand in those needs, because I'm
1:10:55
interested, you know, about his thoughts on the.
1:10:57
Roster that he just coached.
1:10:58
Obviously, yeah, I'm almost positive
1:11:00
and I'll pull the file up right now. I did not
1:11:03
have cornerback on my Patriots needless
1:11:05
now I did not, So you know, I think Bill had some
1:11:07
influence there of how the needs
1:11:10
were conveyed because I just pulled it up
1:11:12
that I did not have. I had, believe it or not,
1:11:14
quarterback, wide receiver. So
1:11:17
that for my needs Patriots.
1:11:19
So yeah, I don't know, but you
1:11:22
know that.
1:11:23
So if you're if you're asking like, how could cornerback
1:11:26
be a need for the Patriots? The question might be
1:11:29
you have one, you know, potential megastar
1:11:31
in Gonzo Uh, you have another
1:11:34
solid starter in Jonathan Jones. Obviously,
1:11:37
you have Marcus Jones hoping for you know, for for great
1:11:39
things in a bounce back year this year? Do
1:11:42
you need more size than that cornerback group, which, by
1:11:44
the way, they got Marcellus Diele, who I
1:11:46
had. He had been mentioned on the First Draft podcast
1:11:49
as a value pick about ten
1:11:51
days prior to the draft being beginning,
1:11:53
So I was a fan of the player there, but
1:11:56
I personally felt like, you know, the needs
1:11:58
were stronger, you know, across the offensive line,
1:12:01
I mean across the offensive board pretty much, you know, wide
1:12:03
receiver, offensive tackle, quarterback, and
1:12:05
any kind of supplementary offensive line.
1:12:07
Investments, field and your dealings
1:12:09
with the various personnel
1:12:12
guys. I'm just wondering if
1:12:15
there was a consensus about Jayden Daniels and Drake
1:12:17
May. You know, I know you you started off, did not get
1:12:19
that. Did you feel like there were anybody that felt
1:12:22
May was better than Daniels? Like that's kind of That's
1:12:24
kind of how we felt here, you know, going
1:12:27
in, and I don't know if we convinced ourselves
1:12:29
sort of knowing that we had the third pick, but I
1:12:32
like a lot about what Drake May does over
1:12:34
Jayden Daniels. I'm just curious what the you
1:12:37
know, some of the executives might have thought that you spoke to.
1:12:39
Yeah, it leaned towards Jayden
1:12:42
versus Drake, but everybody
1:12:45
also has a little bit of a different perspective on this. I
1:12:48
would say the most popular refrain when
1:12:51
assessing the case for Drake over
1:12:53
Jayden is that the long term potential
1:12:55
nutside Trader and I, by the way, I
1:12:57
see a plausible case that I had Jaden asquarterback
1:13:00
to Drake's quarterback three. But you know,
1:13:02
I mean, guys, we're splitting hairs here obviously,
1:13:05
but you know, the physical skill set
1:13:07
in the upside that Drake brings to the table is ridiculous.
1:13:10
You just don't find guys with that
1:13:13
kind of size, that kind of in pocket mobility,
1:13:15
that kind of out out of pocket mobility, the
1:13:18
ability to manipulate the defenders
1:13:20
with his eyes down the field. The arm
1:13:22
strike is great, obviously, the character is
1:13:25
you know, off the charts great. You know,
1:13:27
the age I think is a factor as well. Durability
1:13:30
and if you're looking at through the New England lens,
1:13:32
right, you need a guy who's built for the weather. I don't
1:13:35
know exactly, but it feels like the Patriots
1:13:37
over the past couple of years have been absolutely
1:13:40
I mean, especially in the winter, it's just been terrible
1:13:42
weather, game after game after game, and you
1:13:45
know, I mean there are games in which was
1:13:47
the Jets game last year where it was like, what like
1:13:50
five completions in the first quarters or something
1:13:52
ridiculous. You know, you got to have a guy that has a rocket arm.
1:13:54
You just do big hands, rocket arm, can you
1:13:57
know, take on you know the weather, and then take on some
1:13:59
hits as well. So you know, to me, Drake may had
1:14:03
an easy case to be quarterback two in
1:14:05
this class. I'd say
1:14:07
more than anything though that the line that I used earlier
1:14:09
was the most important one in my eyes, which is, if there is no
1:14:11
consolation prize of those three, it's
1:14:14
really a matter of how each of those three teams
1:14:16
developed them because as we know in the NFL, you
1:14:19
know, quarterbacks obviously don't always live up
1:14:21
to expectations, but sometimes the teams fail the player
1:14:23
as well.
1:14:24
Yep, all right field, I really
1:14:26
appreciate you joining us. It was
1:14:28
great to hear and talk with you. So
1:14:31
where can we get more of you on ESPN's
1:14:34
What's on the map for twenty twenty four for you?
1:14:37
Gosh, I hope nothing for a while here, but we'll
1:14:39
see. No, I'm kidding them that. I We'll
1:14:41
just keep rocking and roll. First Draft is wrapped up for the
1:14:43
season, so we had a blast there and Fantasy
1:14:46
football season. I started my rankings this
1:14:48
morning, so we're rocking and rolling. And then I
1:14:51
had my first twelve players for twenty
1:14:53
twenty five NFL's raft up here.
1:14:54
My grease board right here too. So we're
1:14:57
going to keep ranking away one way or the other. All
1:14:59
right, fields have no
1:15:01
shot.
1:15:01
Are
1:15:04
you a Calvin bankster or Will Campbell guy?
1:15:07
Say that?
1:15:08
What we're talking Evan?
1:15:08
Are you a Calvin Bankster or Will Campbell guy?
1:15:11
Well, you know a little biased.
1:15:13
And I spent the past week in Detroit, uh and
1:15:15
you know I heard everybody's talking about Will Campbell.
1:15:17
But I mean these these are you know, breaking
1:15:20
that time will be a fun problem for the next eleven and
1:15:22
a half months to debate. But I tell you what, Well,
1:15:24
Campbell had a great chance to catch up with
1:15:26
Wink Martindale. He's now the DC at Michigan,
1:15:29
and to say that he's fired up about Will Campbell would be
1:15:31
the understatement of the year.
1:15:34
All Right, Phil Yates, thank you so much. We're
1:15:36
going to take a break on Patriots Unfiltered Paul's
1:15:38
Foods here. We'll be right back. If you want to see
1:15:40
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at that, including those not seen on TV,
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go to buy at Toyota dot com. It's Toyota's
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vehicle, the New England Patriots Toyota. Let's
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1:17:07
What's going on with Brian Horror these days?
1:17:09
No, I don't know.
1:17:09
I think it would take a great opportunity to come along
1:17:12
for me to do that. Obviously, I was in Las Vegas
1:17:14
last year. I know I can still play because
1:17:16
I beat the Patriots last year, one of the most
1:17:18
to the list of
1:17:20
the sweet moments of my career. So we'll
1:17:23
talk about that later. But you know, so I
1:17:25
know I can still physically do it. But
1:17:27
at thirty eight years old, my kids are getting older.
1:17:29
You know, I think it would take a really great
1:17:32
opportunity for me, you know, to come along,
1:17:34
for me to to kind of look and
1:17:36
see. But so I know I can still do it. Body
1:17:38
feels relatively healthy, and you
1:17:42
know, so we'll see. It's it's always open. People
1:17:44
always say, you know, you if someone's
1:17:47
offering you an opportunity to play and you feel like you could do
1:17:49
it, you know, you know, I remember a
1:17:51
former teammate saying play till they tell you you can't.
1:17:53
So definitely capable of it.
1:17:56
It's just got to be I think, the right opportunity
1:17:58
at this point, you know.
1:17:59
It It's like us sit there and oh,
1:18:01
you know, he can play, or it's time to go, and everything
1:18:03
like that. But I don't think the lay people
1:18:05
realize what's it like
1:18:08
to make that decision as a family. Yeah,
1:18:10
when you have a wife who's supported
1:18:12
you cross country trips,
1:18:14
taking kids back and forth, at
1:18:17
some point in time, her decision
1:18:19
or her opinion, while
1:18:21
always valued, you got to really listen
1:18:24
to that's got to be hard, like from as a family
1:18:26
standpoint, like at what point time do I need
1:18:28
to devote my time to them? Right?
1:18:30
And that's a huge part of the decision making.
1:18:32
So that's why I said, like, it have to be the right opportunity
1:18:34
and all those things, because you
1:18:37
know, deciding to go to play in Las Vegas last year,
1:18:40
it.
1:18:40
Was not an easy choice.
1:18:41
It was an easy choice because it was Josh in my relationship
1:18:44
with him, but it wasn't an easy choice in the
1:18:46
regards of what does this mean for my family?
1:18:48
And thankfully we had a great school here that allowed
1:18:50
our kids to kind of virtual school with the help
1:18:53
of a tutor out there.
1:18:55
But it was rough.
1:18:56
It was it was a rough transition, and
1:18:58
they were all happy to come back once the season was over.
1:19:01
And so now my son, he's going into seventh grade, he's
1:19:03
he got accepted as Avarian brother. So you
1:19:05
know, those are all things that you have to take into account, Like
1:19:07
I want to watch him play football at of course.
1:19:09
He's watched me played for a long time. So maybe
1:19:11
it's times, you know, for.
1:19:12
A role reverse when you have
1:19:14
when you came out of Michigan State, I mean, you
1:19:17
didn't get drafted, yep, And I don't know what your
1:19:19
expectations were heading in, but to
1:19:23
then have what a fifteen year career
1:19:26
off of that, what were your expectations sort
1:19:28
of when you arrived here in two
1:19:30
thousand and nine, what were you nolping for.
1:19:32
I was just talking about this with my son the other day,
1:19:34
and I said, listen, when I didn't get drafted,
1:19:37
you know, I kind of thought, Okay, the Patriots
1:19:40
are going to sign me.
1:19:41
I'll learn from Tom Brady.
1:19:43
Obviously, I grew up I watched Bill coach in Cleveland,
1:19:45
so I always kind of had an affinity to him,
1:19:47
and obviously him being a great coach, I thought it was
1:19:49
a great opportunity to go learn. And I thought,
1:19:52
you know, maybe i'll make the practice squad if
1:19:54
I get released. At least I'll learn from these guys. And
1:19:56
then sure enough, I kind of worked my way
1:19:58
up the ranks and then it be and Tom's backup my rookie
1:20:01
year. And you know, the things that I learned
1:20:03
in those first four years were so invaluable
1:20:06
to me that when I finally got some
1:20:08
opportunities to play, you know, you put
1:20:10
those in motion and then you just keep stack in
1:20:12
years, stack in years, and and you
1:20:14
know, the thing about the quarterback position is if you're
1:20:16
relatively competent and you're a good guy, and
1:20:19
you make some connections, you know, you just extend
1:20:21
your career, extend your career. That's I mean, when
1:20:23
I look at last year, if if Josh
1:20:26
isn't the head coach in Las Vegas last year,
1:20:28
then you know, maybe my my my career
1:20:30
ends there. But you know, luckily for me, I've
1:20:32
met a lot of great coaches, played with a lot of great
1:20:34
players, and made a lot of great connections which
1:20:37
allowed me.
1:20:37
To do that.
1:20:38
That's a little bit unorthodox Brian as
1:20:40
a rookie. Now you're backing up Brady,
1:20:42
who's, by the way, is coming off a knee surgery at that point
1:20:44
in time, and you're the only backup quarterback
1:20:46
your rookie year. That was the same way in twenty
1:20:49
ten, you're the only backup court. Like, not a lot of teams
1:20:51
did that.
1:20:52
Well, how did that?
1:20:53
What was your thought process in that? Like you want
1:20:55
to talk about literally next man up and you're
1:20:57
one pitch away. Yeah, you're one pitch away at that.
1:21:00
I think I was too naive to even understand that at
1:21:02
that point.
1:21:03
You know, now looking back, when you realize, like Tom's
1:21:05
coming off of major knee reconstruction,
1:21:07
had you know, some hiccups along the way. Man,
1:21:12
if I had had to play that year, I don't know how ready I
1:21:14
would have been. Obviously Bill believed in me, and
1:21:16
Bill O'Brien believed to me, and and so
1:21:18
I'm sure it would have, you know, worked itself out. We had
1:21:20
a really good team, So I think I would have relied on those guys
1:21:22
around me. But you
1:21:24
know, at that point, you're
1:21:26
just I was just thrilled to be an NFL
1:21:29
football player and now I'm going to a meeting
1:21:31
room every day with Tom Brady and soaking up
1:21:33
what I can I can learn from him. And then
1:21:36
you know, that went for four years and then until
1:21:38
I got released in twenty twelve. So I
1:21:40
mean those years, like you know, those are kind of
1:21:42
like, you know, the years
1:21:44
you're building your foundation of your career, and I couldn't
1:21:46
have done it in a better place.
1:21:48
So I wanted to ask you a little bit about that rookie
1:21:50
season. You were part of
1:21:52
some really good teams, and you know, ultimately
1:21:55
you were part of a champion in eighteen,
1:21:57
but you know, you had that great year in two thousand
1:22:00
and twenty eleven, You go to the super
1:22:02
Bowl in two thousand and nine. You probably didn't recognize
1:22:04
it at the time. It's your rookie year, but
1:22:07
do you kind of look back and say, there was a little bit of
1:22:09
something amiss in two thousand
1:22:11
and nine. That's sort of the way it's kind
1:22:13
of viewed here. That was kind of a reset year,
1:22:16
and we're very spoiled because we've been brought up a.
1:22:18
Lot like when I didn't know any better.
1:22:19
So ten is going to the playoffs and
1:22:21
all that stuff is not I thought it was great.
1:22:23
I'm like, man, I'm a great but did you did you see
1:22:25
did.
1:22:25
You sense any like sort of dysfunction at
1:22:28
the time, or you know, maybe looking back
1:22:30
at it, do you feel like that wasn't the same as
1:22:32
some of the better teams that you were on.
1:22:34
Definitely wasn't the same. I think looking
1:22:36
back now, knowing what I know and being on some great
1:22:38
teams, it wasn't. There was definitely
1:22:40
some learning curve, there was some adjusting
1:22:42
to new I mean, that was Bill O'Brien's first year as a
1:22:44
coordinator here, you know, so now I know how
1:22:46
important that is, you know, being a quarterback when
1:22:48
you're learning, even if you're keeping somewhat
1:22:51
of the system intact, you're working with someone new, and
1:22:53
and that was you know, so those were kind of I guess you
1:22:55
call growing pains. But I thought, like, man, we're
1:22:57
going to the playoffs, like we're this is I'm on the page.
1:23:00
This is like a super Bowl organization.
1:23:02
Like Okay, one year, you know, we
1:23:05
didn't win the Super Bowl, and I'm like, oh, we'll win it next year.
1:23:07
I mean, I think that that's kind of the expectation you
1:23:09
have when you come into that organization.
1:23:12
And I've always said this, I've always
1:23:14
looked at it. When Tom Brady was the quarterback, I
1:23:16
never went into a game thinking we're not going to win.
1:23:18
Ever, there was never and I well,
1:23:21
I've been on other teams whether I was the quarterback or
1:23:23
someone else is the quarterback, and I'm like, man, I
1:23:25
don't know how much a chance we have this Sunday. And
1:23:28
I can honestly say every game that I ever played
1:23:30
here backing Tom up that there
1:23:32
was I never had that feeling, and obviously
1:23:34
a lot of other players around that. But you
1:23:37
know, when I talk with a lot of my old teammates, I think that
1:23:39
that feeling was very you know, similar.
1:23:42
When someone accidentally threw away the school
1:23:44
play costumes, no
1:23:46
replacements were shipped with FedEx and with
1:23:49
picture proof of delivery, everyone could focus
1:23:51
on the perfect opening night FedEx.
1:23:53
Where now it's next for residential
1:23:56
delivery only.
1:23:58
And now moments in.
1:24:03
History.
1:24:03
I don't know.
1:24:04
I know it's I know it could easily
1:24:06
go the other way and they could be in the super Bowl next year.
1:24:08
Nobody would be that shocked.
1:24:09
But I just it's not.
1:24:12
I feel like it's being like they are a top ten team
1:24:14
in power rankings and all this stuff, and it's it's
1:24:16
being talked about like it's like guaranteed that
1:24:18
that's gonna work.
1:24:19
Thinking about like Brice Hall being back,
1:24:21
you know, like.
1:24:22
Yeah, that doesn't move the needle for me.
1:24:23
Well who's who's who?
1:24:24
But I agree, I agree with what you're saying. I'm
1:24:26
just saying I don't.
1:24:27
Who would you pick them in Miami? Just take Patriots
1:24:29
out of this, take back Patriots and Bills out of the situation.
1:24:31
Who do you think is the better team between the.
1:24:33
Jets of Aaron and Jets Jets? I
1:24:35
think Miami. What I
1:24:38
think Miami based on what their
1:24:40
talent and the Jets. Now,
1:24:43
now if you're asking me who I'm going to invest in,
1:24:45
I think there's a better chance that Aaron Rodgers play seventeen
1:24:48
games than two. Yeah, that's a big
1:24:50
one, right, But if I think at full strength,
1:24:52
I think Miami's better. Yeah,
1:24:55
that's okay, you don't have to agree. He's like he's
1:24:57
disgusted that when you do that, he like turned
1:24:59
your the way, like that's
1:25:02
another great moment.
1:25:12
We're back. Excuse
1:25:14
me. That was Fields from ESPN. Thank you
1:25:16
for joining us on the WebEx
1:25:19
Cisco hotline. I
1:25:21
guess link, Yeah, hot
1:25:23
link anyway. Yeah, we use
1:25:25
that for during the draft
1:25:28
Elliott and we had Cam
1:25:31
Williams and Matt grow on that. So
1:25:34
it's a good little addition here
1:25:36
from the temperature tests from
1:25:38
the National Pundits. Yeah, web
1:25:41
radio at Patriots dot com is the email address
1:25:43
eight five five past five hundred is the ACE ticket
1:25:45
houtline. Let's get right to the phones.
1:25:48
Uh, Dylan's in South Florida. What's up, Dylan,
1:25:52
Dylan?
1:25:54
Maybe it's dial in?
1:25:56
All right, dial in Dylan Jackson
1:26:00
in Alabama? What's up Jackson?
1:26:03
What's up?
1:26:04
Guys? How are y'all good? Hey?
1:26:07
I love that Phillyates interview man. Always
1:26:10
respected Field ever since you've been
1:26:12
covering the Patriots.
1:26:15
He works hard.
1:26:15
They also did I agree with
1:26:17
Evan with the Joe Milton situation,
1:26:20
and uh, just just kind of wondering
1:26:23
what you guys think, uh, in
1:26:25
terms of who's gonna be gotting Drake may through
1:26:28
this process?
1:26:29
Yeah, is it gonna be a VP?
1:26:31
Yep?
1:26:32
I think for the most part, but I think, you know, I
1:26:34
think mcadoo's gonna help, and yeah, McCartney's
1:26:37
gonna take up Jacoby Jacob yeah.
1:26:40
Yeah, I do. Okay, I'm ahead.
1:26:43
I'm good with Jacoby Brissette going into
1:26:46
it with him. I'm good with that. I
1:26:48
guess I'm not just I'm not sold on
1:26:50
the a VP situation. Uh,
1:26:54
I would like to get your guys opinion. I'll take it off the
1:26:56
air.
1:26:56
I love you guys, Thank thanks, Jackson, appreciate
1:26:59
it.
1:26:59
Yeah, I don't know about I think
1:27:01
I'm less sold about a VP the play caller
1:27:03
than I am ABE the quarterbacks coach.
1:27:06
I mean, this guy played quarterback in the league and
1:27:09
has been coaching quarterbacks for like twenty years.
1:27:11
And you know, I'm not I understand that they're
1:27:14
not all hits. No one has straight
1:27:16
hits all the time, but you know, he's worked
1:27:18
with some really good quarterbacks and guys that he's
1:27:21
helped I think. I mean, I remember in Green
1:27:23
Bay when he got let
1:27:25
go of Aaron Rodgers was not happy
1:27:27
about it. You know, Aaron Rodgers really went it went
1:27:29
to bad for him publicly. And
1:27:35
yeah, and you know there's a lot of things
1:27:37
about especially like
1:27:39
the way their footwork and their their fakes
1:27:41
on play actions and stuff like that that he coaches
1:27:44
that kind of hide the ball and he
1:27:46
coaches to you know, keep it here and then use
1:27:48
your your other hand and that
1:27:50
kind of sells the fake to the defeni Little things
1:27:53
like that that I feel like I can say, oh,
1:27:55
you know, he's there's some new ones.
1:27:56
Here's the thing. Who who
1:27:59
on the team will be able to say, other than obviously
1:28:02
his performance in the field, but who on the team will
1:28:04
be able to say a VP is doing a
1:28:06
good job with him. Ben mcadoo's like, because Gerard's
1:28:09
a defensive crime, you know, and he didn't
1:28:11
like it's hard to tell individually. Will he'd be able
1:28:13
to know, yeah, he's doing right by
1:28:16
Drake Mill.
1:28:16
Again, I mean I think it just looks the comfort in the offense,
1:28:18
and especially with the quick reads and you
1:28:20
know, seeing what's open and you know it's not.
1:28:24
Yah, Don Tuck and Bryan.
1:28:25
Just like he's going to come in at a baseline
1:28:28
of ability. Does
1:28:30
that gradually go up? Remember Bill used
1:28:32
to say they come in here and then once
1:28:34
they stop ascending is when you have to
1:28:37
cut ties. So those little
1:28:39
things, you know, we talk about all the cliches,
1:28:41
the footwork, the accuracy. If that looks
1:28:44
like it's improving, I would credit whoever's
1:28:46
working directly with him. Yeah, I will
1:28:48
say this about Alex mann Pelt. I've
1:28:51
talked to a couple of guys that are not with the
1:28:53
team anymore. Brian Hoyer very
1:28:55
briefly drew bled, like
1:28:58
these guys rave about him the person Alex
1:29:00
Repelt the person now Hoyer
1:29:03
played for him a little bit, so he had some some
1:29:05
of that. But I don't find
1:29:08
anybody that has anything bad to say about Alex
1:29:10
van Pelt.
1:29:10
No, I would say too, like it's I
1:29:13
don't know how much credit to give him for last
1:29:15
year with the Browns because we talked about it on the show
1:29:17
and we never you know, it was always kind of Stefanski. But
1:29:19
you know, the job that they did last year, what four
1:29:22
quarterbacks? Is that what they played?
1:29:23
I mean the credit
1:29:25
blame thing, you know, it's like, I
1:29:28
give them a lot of credit for patching it together
1:29:30
and finding ways to stay relevant without
1:29:32
a quarterback. But he lost
1:29:35
his job because he couldn't do anything with the quarterback
1:29:37
that we were supposed to do, because he insisted on doing
1:29:39
his offense rather than one that suited
1:29:42
to Shaun Watson. So I give
1:29:45
him credit and blame at the same
1:29:47
time. It's incredible that they were able
1:29:49
to win games with dtr
1:29:52
off the couch Joe Flaco like that.
1:29:54
That's I don't care what you say. That's
1:29:57
PJ Walker. I think won a game for him last
1:29:59
year. I mean, these are guys that really aren't NFL.
1:30:03
That's really hard to do.
1:30:04
Just like I could never name off.
1:30:06
Why why are you insulting PJ Walker like
1:30:08
they actually.
1:30:09
They actually started the fifth I think Jeff might
1:30:11
have started the last, but they didn't win.
1:30:13
Yeah right, yeah, yeah,
1:30:16
but p J Walker's they're scoffing ATFL.
1:30:21
You said five quarterbacks to play for
1:30:23
the Browns last year, go, I would have been like, uh,
1:30:26
it's funny.
1:30:27
It's funny because their room is besides
1:30:29
the John Watson, who I wish was not in
1:30:31
the league, you have PJ
1:30:33
Walker and dt R, who are two guys
1:30:35
I love. I love both those guys in that. But
1:30:38
yeah, I think with the Browns it's
1:30:40
all the macro level stuff with a VP like play
1:30:42
calling design, Like how much of that
1:30:44
Wastfanski was the one
1:30:46
calling plays. I'm not so worried about him
1:30:48
coaching the positions, like I think that that's what he's
1:30:51
been doing for the last thirty years
1:30:53
of his NFL career. I'm more worried
1:30:55
about, you know, game plan,
1:30:57
like, are they going to be a step ahead on the game
1:31:00
plan? Are they going to how he calls plays
1:31:02
and sequences plays together, you know, that kind of stuff,
1:31:04
because he hasn't done it before without Stefanski.
1:31:07
Uh Tyler and Providence writes in I'm
1:31:09
just curious your thoughts on which team benefited
1:31:12
the most from Jade and daniels ascension
1:31:14
this past year. Was it Washington
1:31:16
being able to draft him, the Patriots still being
1:31:18
able to draft the blue chip quarterback even
1:31:20
from the third spot, or Arizona all
1:31:23
but guaranteeing that they'd be able to draft the consensus
1:31:25
top ranked non quarterback Patriots.
1:31:27
A fantastic question, Patriots. I
1:31:30
think the Patriots as well, aren't you contractually
1:31:32
I'll be good to say that, No, I learned that way.
1:31:35
I do think that, you know, and I think
1:31:38
you know we talked. Yes, feel a little bit about
1:31:40
that. I mean, I do think that there's a maybe
1:31:42
a little bit closer to readiness you would hope
1:31:44
with Jayden Daniels, and clearly Washington kind
1:31:46
of feels like they're not really all that far off.
1:31:49
So you know, maybe that influenced
1:31:51
things, but for where the Patriots are right now, and
1:31:53
they, you know, are probably at ground zero of an
1:31:55
offensive rebuild. Twenty one year old
1:31:57
kid with not a lot of mileage on him, that
1:32:00
that's what I want to.
1:32:00
Fis all snark aside. I think the answer
1:32:02
is the Patriots, and it's because two
1:32:05
things. Number One, I like Drake May more than Jayden
1:32:07
and Daniels. I've made no bones about
1:32:09
that from the start of the process. But also
1:32:11
the part that the emailer
1:32:14
says it allowed the Patriots to get
1:32:16
one of the three quarterbacks, right exactly.
1:32:18
So if it was just even if it take Jaydon
1:32:20
Daniels out of it and then Washington takes Drake
1:32:22
May, the Patriots wouldn't have taken Jayden Daniels
1:32:25
had he not exploded. Yeah, so now
1:32:27
you're stuck without a quarterback and it
1:32:29
kind of like the way it looked at the end of
1:32:32
the season, you're picking three
1:32:34
in a two quarterback draft. Well, ultimately you ended
1:32:36
up picking three in a three quarterback draft.
1:32:38
Yeah.
1:32:38
Yeah, Denver, that's
1:32:41
the best way to put it is that it became
1:32:43
a three quarterback draft and you happened to be the
1:32:45
one with the third overall pick. Most
1:32:48
years you wouldn't have had a quarterback
1:32:50
to take where you would have been reaching, you know, significantly
1:32:52
on.
1:32:52
And I know there were six ultimately in the top twelve
1:32:55
picks, but I don't think I
1:32:57
think we can all agree we wouldn't have wanted to had
1:33:00
to take Nick.
1:33:02
Yeah, I feel like, going off what Field
1:33:04
Yates said earlier, like with those
1:33:06
three there was no consolation prize, whereas
1:33:09
if you had to draft the fourth or fifth best
1:33:11
one, it would have beens
1:33:14
that right.
1:33:14
Well, it definitely seems like even those
1:33:16
teams, I wouldn't call them consolation
1:33:19
prizes, but those teams seemed to have much
1:33:21
lower grades on those quarterbacks
1:33:23
and where they took them but their quarterbacks, so
1:33:26
they they had the quarterback tax like
1:33:28
bow Knicks. I saw some report that Denver
1:33:30
thought bo Nicks was like probably like
1:33:33
a high end second round pick on their
1:33:35
board, but they took them because of some
1:33:38
crazy story about like his visit
1:33:40
to UH to Denver.
1:33:43
He had like a backpack with him and
1:33:45
Sean Payton asked him, like what was in the backpack,
1:33:48
and he it was all like football stuff.
1:33:51
It was like cleats and tape and like all,
1:33:53
and he was like, that's a football guy. So now I'm gonna
1:33:55
take them twelve oor.
1:33:59
Backpack.
1:34:02
If someone shows up to a job in door, the
1:34:04
explorer.
1:34:04
The laptop, a binder, a pen of
1:34:06
paper.
1:34:08
That's it, you got the job. Okay.
1:34:10
So it was the most wild thing, like
1:34:12
a microphone, one of those like halo
1:34:14
lens because.
1:34:17
Unbelievable story.
1:34:18
I remember I probably old Frederick
1:34:21
an apology earlier in the show anyway,
1:34:23
but now I really you an apology because at
1:34:26
least you just took a guy in the sixth round.
1:34:28
He didn't worry about what was in his backpack
1:34:31
dumbage.
1:34:33
I really hope that this sugar, because that
1:34:35
is excellent.
1:34:36
Yeah, it was like there was like three things
1:34:38
amazing and it's so funny.
1:34:40
He probably said it. You see what the backpack right?
1:34:42
Yeah, the way it work, I got a the
1:34:47
way it was dried ice cream
1:34:49
right here, just in case I get would
1:34:51
have like a Jersey mics, you.
1:34:53
Know, and just the whole shouting
1:34:55
materials.
1:34:56
The way it was written was like the paragraph, it
1:34:58
was like a full paragraph of like, you
1:35:00
know, he came in, this is what he had his backpack,
1:35:03
and then the next line is.
1:35:04
Just like three words.
1:35:05
It's like it was all football
1:35:08
in that period, Like it was like, this is just
1:35:10
a football Like it was just this amazing
1:35:12
feat that all he had in his backpack were cleats
1:35:15
and tape.
1:35:15
After six years of playing college football.
1:35:17
I mean.
1:35:20
A lot of football stuff. Got It was another
1:35:23
rants with the Pennix thing. Have
1:35:25
you noticed like there's a pushback
1:35:28
like, oh this is brilliant you
1:35:30
No, now, you're just like you just you go right
1:35:32
into it. You know, you have two years of cousins
1:35:35
right into this us.
1:35:36
Oh yes, right, okay, oh yeah.
1:35:39
He'll be thirty five when he gets which
1:35:41
absolutely could happen. I'm not dismissing the possibility
1:35:43
that could happen, but hey, why are we assuming it
1:35:45
is going to happen that way? Why is Penix
1:35:48
got less of a chance more of a chance to hit
1:35:50
than Daniels or may
1:35:53
or whoever.
1:35:54
McCarthy. He doesn't, right,
1:35:56
It's, let's face it, we don't
1:35:58
know. So the other
1:36:00
thing that I hear a lot, well, look at green
1:36:02
Bay. If I have to hear the
1:36:05
look at green Bay argument one more time, forgetting
1:36:07
the fact that Green Bay had a
1:36:09
really good playoff team with
1:36:12
Aaron Rodgers, so you didn't have to worry about
1:36:14
it. I would argue,
1:36:17
especially the last time when they drafted Jordan
1:36:19
Love, that that was a dumb pick.
1:36:22
I don't care what Jordan Love is doing right now.
1:36:25
They potentially sacrificed possible
1:36:28
Super Bowls by not taking the
1:36:31
talent to help the team. And they
1:36:33
were still Aaron Rodgers was the MVP
1:36:36
believe wide receiver and you
1:36:38
intentionally gave him nothing to
1:36:41
help that particular year. Was it twenty
1:36:44
twenty, twenty twenty, right?
1:36:46
That was?
1:36:46
He was the fourth That was the COVID
1:36:49
year.
1:36:49
He was the fourth of the five really good quarterba were in
1:36:51
the war room. That was a great quarterback class.
1:36:54
Hey, hey, Frank, don't look at each other.
1:36:57
Statute.
1:36:58
I don't.
1:36:58
I don't understand why we just
1:37:00
sit there and praise a
1:37:02
team that intentionally didn't maximize
1:37:05
its window. They went out of their way not
1:37:07
to be as good as they could be.
1:37:09
The only excuse for the Falcons is that, and
1:37:11
it's not an excuse because this is bad on them
1:37:13
for not recognized it is that Kirk Cousins' achilles
1:37:16
is shot. And so now you know,
1:37:18
now if there's something like that they
1:37:21
know, right, But I would say that the
1:37:23
other thing that is so confusing is
1:37:25
that you took the oldest quarterback in the draft, So
1:37:28
now you're gonna sit him for two years. He's gonna
1:37:30
be forty by the time he gets on the field. But
1:37:32
if he's take JJ McCarthy, who's
1:37:34
twenty, if he goes like twelve.
1:37:35
And five this year and they get knocked out of the
1:37:37
division around, you're not gonna sit there and look and say,
1:37:40
I couldn't know what we're a cornerback away or
1:37:44
if we were an edge rushing away, you know, like
1:37:46
that might have put us over the top.
1:37:48
It's not I mean, they've got talent down there, but they're
1:37:50
good.
1:37:51
No, but they're really good.
1:37:52
That's my point. I think they could make a run. It's
1:37:54
a terrible con I'm saying. It's not like they couldn't
1:37:56
have used another good player.
1:37:58
It's a really bad division. The itself
1:38:00
is not overly deep, you know, it's
1:38:02
San Francisco.
1:38:03
Except for the NFC North. Paul am
1:38:06
I wrong.
1:38:06
He just his pants off for the NFC North.
1:38:08
I love it. I love it.
1:38:11
He did the Lions, Packers, the
1:38:14
Lions, the Bear Lions,
1:38:23
like I just I get that it's
1:38:25
it's smart business to take quarterbacks and
1:38:27
having a succession plan avoids
1:38:30
the situation the Patriots were in. But
1:38:32
at least when the pat but at least that the
1:38:34
Patriots they were winning titles when
1:38:36
they were ignoring the future. If
1:38:39
I was Green Bay, I would rather have won a
1:38:41
title or two in the twilight years
1:38:43
of Aaron Rodgers' career than have the guy
1:38:45
that's in place now. I would take
1:38:47
that draw take that.
1:38:49
I mean, it's exactly what the Patriots did in twenty
1:38:51
eighteen.
1:38:52
Point.
1:38:52
They could have drafted Lamar Jackson in twenty eighteen
1:38:55
and he could have sat behind Brady for two years, But
1:38:57
instead they drafted Sony Michelle, who
1:39:00
ended up helping them win a Super Bowl.
1:39:01
Helped them.
1:39:01
I'm not telling you they wouldn't have won without him, but he helped
1:39:03
them.
1:39:04
Yeah, it was part of it. Uh spiing
1:39:06
Fresno. Did you guys see Josh Allen as
1:39:08
an outlier in terms of how he overcame
1:39:11
his accuracy issues? I definitely
1:39:13
did. In his rookie year. I was sure his
1:39:15
goose was cooked. What are other examples
1:39:18
of quarterbacks who similarly developed to overcome
1:39:21
that level of inconsistency. Just
1:39:23
wondering if we need to hope Drake may is a
1:39:25
similar kind of freak outlier, or
1:39:27
if instead it's a realistic code for him
1:39:29
to overcome his technical issue.
1:39:31
Well, two things.
1:39:32
What, he's a more accurate quarterback coming in than
1:39:35
Josh Allen was. Josh Allen completed
1:39:37
like fifty eight percent of his passes in his last year.
1:39:39
I went to it's a really low level of company. Yeah,
1:39:41
I mean, he's definitely more accurate. But I'd also say
1:39:44
if he hits on Josh Allen's
1:39:47
level, he's an outlier, no matter how he got there.
1:39:49
Like, the bottom line is that hitting
1:39:51
at the quarterback position is an outlier. Like it's
1:39:54
more times than not the guys fail than succeed.
1:39:56
I don't know that there are a ton of quarterbacks
1:39:59
that come into the league with accuracy
1:40:01
as being a main weakness.
1:40:04
So to answer his point, I don't know if
1:40:06
there are more guys than Josh Allen. I
1:40:09
think, I think, and
1:40:13
he did.
1:40:13
He was accurate, though Lamar was an inaccurate
1:40:16
He just his mechanics were not
1:40:18
exactly where they needed.
1:40:20
To be and he can't throw it to the receiver here's
1:40:22
a guy who had some mechanical flaws and he
1:40:25
overcame them. Yeah. No, I have Josh
1:40:28
vouching me. Josh Allen's rookie year.
1:40:29
I was all in.
1:40:30
I was like, whoa did you see that throw?
1:40:32
Josh Allen was a little bit more wild. He
1:40:35
was a little bit more wild than Drake Maker.
1:40:36
James Pettigrew, the most interesting Patriots
1:40:38
fan of the world, says I can't believe the negativity
1:40:41
over the draft and was disappointed
1:40:43
you guys felt the need to defend what is playing to
1:40:45
anyone, a good draft that has awesome
1:40:47
potential. Having been in studio with you
1:40:50
guys for a draft show and witnessing
1:40:52
the Razie Dowling pick, anyone who
1:40:54
says nothing has changed or nothing to be excited
1:40:56
about is nuts. I was a maniac
1:40:58
before the draft, and I'm very excited.
1:41:02
Usually we were defending,
1:41:04
we were trying to defend that it wasn't a bad I don't
1:41:06
know. I mean, I think, I mean, everybody think.
1:41:09
Everybody thinks it's pretty good. I mean, there any draft is
1:41:12
like, yeah, we'll see I mean that.
1:41:14
I just to me, I
1:41:16
don't know if any of these guys are gonna work out. To
1:41:19
me, it was just like I said at the beginning, they
1:41:21
needed three. They had three glaring
1:41:24
needs and whether or not the guys will fill
1:41:26
those needs. They picked guys try
1:41:28
to help fill those needs, and that's rare.
1:41:30
We've never really done that before. Unless
1:41:33
we were wrong about what the needs were. We never
1:41:36
were right.
1:41:36
That's what's hard for me with some of these draft grades where
1:41:38
it was like, well, what would it have been then if
1:41:40
they had gone and taken like an edge defender,
1:41:42
Like what would you have said?
1:41:43
Then?
1:41:44
You know, what are these people willing to be? Like,
1:41:46
well, it was a great edge defender. And I love this move
1:41:49
even though it wasn't a need.
1:41:50
You know, I feel like the difference in Again, we
1:41:52
don't know because we don't have the boards and stuff, but
1:41:55
I feel like Bill probably would have gotten to some
1:41:57
of these picks and said, I
1:41:59
know we need a wide receiver, but I don't have this
1:42:01
wide receiver ranked high enough to take him here. And
1:42:04
he would have moved down Cooper, do you know
1:42:06
what I'm saying?
1:42:07
Or there's a defensive tackle that I love, but
1:42:10
let's go.
1:42:10
He would have stuck closer to his board. Yeah,
1:42:13
And I don't know that maybe the Patriots did
1:42:15
too. This is why I said, we don't know. Yeah, for
1:42:17
all I know, Elliott Wolf had Jalen Polk
1:42:19
thirty seventh on his board.
1:42:22
He took him.
1:42:23
You know, I don't know what his board looked like. But my
1:42:25
guess is Fred's right. It's
1:42:28
hard to imagine quarterback wide receiver
1:42:30
tackle, Bill going quarterback wide
1:42:33
receiver tackle.
1:42:34
It just never happened.
1:42:35
I just feel like Bill, outside of the like
1:42:37
left field picks that we all know, I feel
1:42:39
like outside of the first round. He was
1:42:42
always thinking a year ahead with the draft.
1:42:44
He always felt like, that's what the
1:42:46
draft is all about. That free agency is about plugging
1:42:48
your immediate holes. The draft is
1:42:50
about we have all these we
1:42:52
have all these free agents on defense next
1:42:55
year that Deuce was talking about earlier. So I'm
1:42:57
gonna draft the defensive tackle. I'm gonna draft
1:42:59
this. I'm gonna draft that because I have to draft
1:43:01
a edge rusher because Matthew Judon's a free agent
1:43:03
and we're not gonna pay him, you know, and that sort
1:43:05
of thing. Whereas this draft for the Patriots
1:43:08
was a needs based drafty they attacked
1:43:10
the most glaring needs on the team and
1:43:12
I don't know if Bill would have done it that way.
1:43:14
And you know, again during
1:43:17
Brady, you can do it that way. But
1:43:20
you know, as Patriots fans, we get frustrated
1:43:22
when we see other teams draft rookies and these
1:43:24
guys are good right out of the gate, and like, well, why can't
1:43:26
we get guys like that? You know, And I think
1:43:28
we did with Gonzales, he got hurt.
1:43:30
But I think I think to to to expand upon Evan's
1:43:32
point is that even when he did take some of those rookies,
1:43:34
they didn't it was hard for a lot.
1:43:36
Of them to get on the field.
1:43:37
And they get on the field and they're right back off
1:43:39
the field because of a mistake or something.
1:43:41
To finally see when they had
1:43:43
a couple of years of.
1:43:45
Right and then they're getting ready to free agency and.
1:43:47
We got a draft that But I mean, like last year,
1:43:49
there was no like, oh it's hard to see Gonzo
1:43:51
out there. No, it's like day one training camp.
1:43:54
But I think, you know, credit
1:43:56
to Bill, like he
1:43:59
really ran this thing like football
1:44:01
university, and it was and
1:44:03
Billy, he seems this is a hard place
1:44:06
to play. And if it's a hard place to
1:44:08
play, it's a hard place to break into
1:44:10
for a rookie. You I
1:44:12
mean, you have to have a certain mentality, and
1:44:15
I think it took a little time for most rookies
1:44:17
to get it here. And you know, either they
1:44:19
did or they didn't. And that
1:44:22
contributed to guys just not seeing the field right
1:44:24
away, and Bill knowing that and saying, you know,
1:44:27
I got to get a guy assimilated. He's not going
1:44:29
to hit the field, So I do need to think a year
1:44:31
in advance.
1:44:31
But the funny part of that to me is it seemed
1:44:34
like they had the most success as
1:44:36
a team when they were doing you know, when Richard
1:44:38
Seymour and Matt Light were starting week one. Yeah, you
1:44:41
know, when Orgine Wilson
1:44:43
and Santi Sami were playing key roles in year
1:44:45
one starting
1:44:48
you know, forget about Maccody,
1:44:50
Gronk Carnandez. That was a huge part of the
1:44:52
team's success.
1:44:53
Chandler Jones and Dante high Tower scoring
1:44:55
a touchdown.
1:44:56
Right the first game.
1:44:57
I felt like when they were at their best, these guys
1:44:59
were playing right away Finnish
1:45:01
sort of you're right, got away from that, but and they were
1:45:03
also check with the rookies
1:45:06
not as good. Yeah, they're not hitting it as many draft
1:45:08
picks.
1:45:08
Or but I think it was a hard place to play,
1:45:11
oh for sure.
1:45:11
But I think they were great for a long period
1:45:14
of time of the year head thing, and
1:45:16
he was always a year ahead, like he always had
1:45:18
somebody in the pipeline for somebody
1:45:21
retiring, somebody getting overpaid or
1:45:23
whatever. And then towards the end, it
1:45:25
just it they weren't a year head, and
1:45:27
all of a sudden, it was like there was a million
1:45:29
holes in the rowboat and they were kept on trying to
1:45:31
fill.
1:45:32
You know, that classic book
1:45:34
The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire wasn't just one
1:45:36
thing.
1:45:36
Are you thinking about that? It was all.
1:45:40
The book about it is like this all
1:45:43
that's all.
1:45:44
It was like a million cuts. You know, the
1:45:46
Brains river, you know, Ernie and Dante
1:45:49
and all these people leaving, and you know
1:45:52
it all contributed to.
1:45:54
Yeah, I mean, and I've always reduced it down
1:45:56
to and I mean, it's it's really tied heavily into what
1:45:58
we're talking about. Where they had a good going
1:46:00
where they were ahead of the game, and then
1:46:02
they got behind the game. And I think some of the series
1:46:05
of not just bad draft picks, but bad decisions on
1:46:07
a lot of those draft picks too. You know, we talked
1:46:09
about like Toney, if you just bit the bullet
1:46:11
right locked tuney up for a while, then
1:46:14
the cold strange thing, you know, all the like Michael
1:46:16
Lomono pops up. Great, we got two guys now.
1:46:18
But you know that that's where I point to, And
1:46:21
I mean I would also say, I just I
1:46:23
think that it started to get a little
1:46:25
old for a lot of these guys. And I think as you lost
1:46:28
the Brady's of the world, not just his amazing
1:46:30
on field play, but the guys that were totally bought in
1:46:32
that were here at four am to eight pm no
1:46:35
problem, you know, as that stuff left and you
1:46:37
had less and less leaders, and it's just kind of Matthew
1:46:39
Slater and David Anderest being like, we got to work harder
1:46:41
guys, and you know, they're like, but Bill's a jerk
1:46:43
to me all the time, and I don't really want to play for him anymore,
1:46:46
you know, like that' and.
1:46:47
He's not going to pay me at the season. And then well,
1:46:49
I think the economic part of it is
1:46:52
might be the biggest difference, because I think Bill
1:46:54
was always so conscious of that structure
1:46:57
and then I don't think he really adjusted
1:46:59
to the caps adjustment, and
1:47:02
he sort of stuck to those philosophies,
1:47:05
and so many guys didn't get because
1:47:07
you know, back in the day, the guys that got second contracts
1:47:10
kind of took less. You know, the Jarvis
1:47:12
Greens winning championship. You know, they were really
1:47:14
good players. They got you know, more
1:47:16
contracts, but they didn't like break
1:47:19
the bank. And all of a sudden, like guys like
1:47:21
Trey Flowers are coming up and they're
1:47:24
getting good contracts because the cap
1:47:26
is exceedingly rising. Yeah,
1:47:28
and he was like, well, I can't give that guy. But
1:47:30
but Bill, that's what those guys make now.
1:47:32
Yeah, it's so true. And at the offensive
1:47:35
skill positions, especially like the Patriots were
1:47:38
just not going to pay a receiver twenty five
1:47:40
million dollars. But that's what the market
1:47:42
dictates now that Calvin Ridley is worth twenty
1:47:44
five million dollars. And if you're not going to pay that price,
1:47:47
then you'll get Jacks Houston.
1:47:49
Do you think that I would say, one, there's
1:47:51
no way Bill would have given that contract offer.
1:47:53
Think there's any truth to what your guys say, Paul
1:47:56
Uh, Probably that no
1:47:59
one could make more more than Bill, Like,
1:48:03
remember they had that one. It started out
1:48:05
as a conjecture.
1:48:06
By the end of the show it was fact, that's
1:48:08
the established it's never
1:48:10
been. That's tenant number one, throw something
1:48:13
at the wall. By the end of the show, it's fact.
1:48:15
I just want to tell them that my big board
1:48:17
beat their big board. They
1:48:20
had a bad year, only I think they had one.
1:48:22
So you mean throwing throwing markers
1:48:24
at a white board, well beat boy, Well yesterday
1:48:26
I told you, And you're taking a pat on the back for that.
1:48:29
Yeah, because because yesterday I was listening
1:48:31
and Felger was like, nobody hits
1:48:33
more than I do on the big boards, Like, yeah,
1:48:36
one person did, to.
1:48:37
The point he was so upset
1:48:40
that they only had one hit that he's too
1:48:42
I think they jam
1:48:44
bell. He wants to pull the plug on it because
1:48:47
he's.
1:48:47
Like, I thought it was a sponsored element.
1:48:49
Well that's what they all said, making
1:48:52
half kidding. But Deuce and I both I know you.
1:48:55
So to that same point, though, if say Bill
1:48:58
ended up going to Atlanta, think
1:49:00
he would have signed Kirk Cousins for that much money.
1:49:03
He's a good question.
1:49:03
Actually can't, like, I don't know
1:49:05
what the contract would have been, but I do think you would would
1:49:08
have been strongly interested.
1:49:09
Especially because of his at some point, his age
1:49:12
has to be a factor, and like his window
1:49:14
was just so small that Kirk
1:49:17
Cousins was perfect for for him.
1:49:19
Because I was going to say, do you think he would have taken
1:49:21
Kirk Cousins or do you think he would have looked at the draft board
1:49:23
and been like, Okay, we're eight, like we'll just
1:49:25
get one.
1:49:26
Speaking of going to be he's going
1:49:28
to be on Pat McAfee every Monday during
1:49:31
the season, I think he was at some point
1:49:33
though McAfee has to stop groveling,
1:49:36
like, no, I'm that that will get old, Like
1:49:38
he's got to mix it up.
1:49:39
I just get the clips, but I just I think
1:49:42
it's it's a great part of Bill. It's a side of Bill that we
1:49:44
barely ever saw when he was a coach. And now if we're going
1:49:46
to get it once a week and get you know, I'm
1:49:49
I'm psyched. I mean that's that's.
1:49:52
Yeah, well that's what I'll see.
1:49:53
I won't watch it, but I'm really interesting, you know
1:49:55
that.
1:49:55
You know, Bill was on and he was talking about Drake
1:49:58
May not Drake many, Yeah,
1:50:01
Drake May and he said, you know, he's comparing
1:50:03
himself to you know, Josh Allen, and we'll
1:50:05
see about that. I know a lot
1:50:07
of people have compared him.
1:50:09
I thought that was does he go around saying
1:50:11
I'm Josh Allen, or I'm gonna beat Josh Allen.
1:50:14
Or I'm like to comment at some
1:50:16
point where he said something, I'm paraphrasing
1:50:18
something along the lines of some
1:50:21
people have said, there's
1:50:24
some similarities to Josh Allen's gable
1:50:26
or I you know, I like watching Josh Allen
1:50:28
play or something like that.
1:50:30
That's what he said, not like I'm
1:50:33
like Josh Allen. Every every player
1:50:35
gets asked who's the pro that you
1:50:37
emulate, you like to watch, you model your game
1:50:39
after? And that's I think the question that he
1:50:41
answered, Yeah, and everything you know
1:50:44
we asked. Someone asked Jalen Polk and
1:50:46
he said Keenan Allen. He does Jalen
1:50:48
Polk think he's Keenan Allen? Does
1:50:50
Bill go to the whiteboard and say, you know, this
1:50:53
guy compares himself to Keenan now?
1:50:54
And I don't know about that.
1:50:55
So I thought that was a little bit unfair, unless
1:50:58
unless there's stuff that he said that I'm
1:51:00
not aware of it.
1:51:01
Yeah, that's what I had heard.
1:51:04
I mean, and the rest of it I thought was kind of overblown. But
1:51:06
I do think I'm like, when did he say that?
1:51:08
When it comes to public comments, whether it's a press
1:51:10
conference, I've been at every single thing that
1:51:12
Drake may has said this off season, Pro Day, combine
1:51:15
whatever, I have never once
1:51:18
heard him say I'm Josh all I.
1:51:21
Would also add that he hates Josh
1:51:23
Allen with the fiery depths of it. He still
1:51:25
thinks he's thinking, he still thinks he's.
1:51:27
So at some point if he if
1:51:29
he says things like that, somebody on the show, and
1:51:32
you would think it'd be McAfee has to push
1:51:34
back, Well, when did he say that? You know, like,
1:51:37
you know, make him back it up.
1:51:39
Oh boy, it'll be interesting because we know what
1:51:41
Bill's like, because he's when he was in position of
1:51:43
power at the podium and you know, people try to
1:51:45
go back and forth and he would just shut it down. But like on
1:51:48
TV, he's like, we're onto the next segment,
1:51:50
We're onto the commercial, like no bills, just like we're
1:51:52
onto the commercial Foxy Roll.
1:51:56
I can just say him, Pat Patam, I'm
1:51:58
just doing what's in the best the show. All
1:52:03
right, let's get back to the phones. Matt's in
1:52:05
Iowa. Hey, Matt, Matt,
1:52:09
what is going on.
1:52:12
There?
1:52:12
He is there?
1:52:13
He Matt?
1:52:14
Hey?
1:52:15
Uh So, Paul, I did have one
1:52:17
thing to dispute on what you said.
1:52:20
You said that each team only needs one quarterback.
1:52:24
That's wrong.
1:52:26
Wow. Yeah, well I know
1:52:28
what Paul saying, only white player at the time.
1:52:30
Sorry I misspoke, I'm but now I've
1:52:32
rethought that, so don't worry about it.
1:52:35
Okay, all right.
1:52:36
My question for y'all is, now
1:52:38
that we have, uh two wide
1:52:42
receivers that we drafted, what does
1:52:44
our wide receiver room look like?
1:52:46
And who do you all expect to.
1:52:47
Make it out?
1:52:49
Is going to give you us his early I
1:52:51
got a quarterback, I got what?
1:52:54
What?
1:52:54
What?
1:52:56
Who makes this team? We got?
1:52:58
We got kJ Osborne. Think he's a lock. I
1:53:00
think Tomorrow Douglas is a lock. Jalen Polk
1:53:02
of course, and Javon Baker and
1:53:07
uh and then I think, I mean, I think Kendrick Born probably
1:53:09
a lock. But I just wonder if he could be a pup guy
1:53:11
because he's injured. He sounds like he's going to be healthy. But those
1:53:13
are my so those are my top five and and
1:53:15
then yeah, whatever.
1:53:17
I think Jalen Rager, just because of his return
1:53:19
ability, has a good chance have
1:53:22
Marcus Jones.
1:53:23
Well, he's going to be the.
1:53:24
Pun returner, but Jalen Rager might be the kick returner.
1:53:27
I don't know how the new rules, Marcus Jones might
1:53:29
be better at both than he is. Jones
1:53:33
maybe that will push him off the roster. But
1:53:36
I think you know, if you if you're going to keep
1:53:38
six receivers, the six guy better
1:53:40
have some kick game value, Like you
1:53:42
can't just have Juju collecting paychecks
1:53:45
on the sideline.
1:53:45
What about the new rules on kickoffs? Does that change
1:53:48
the type of guy that you have possible?
1:53:51
I mean, Jalen Rager was really good at
1:53:53
the traditional kickoff. I don't
1:53:55
know if he's going to be really good at the new one.
1:53:57
I will see.
1:53:58
And that could Amara's point be
1:54:01
Marcus Jones's job because there are a lot of
1:54:03
people have said.
1:54:03
Jones is really good. There's a lot of people
1:54:06
that have a bigger running back. I
1:54:09
mean, could
1:54:11
change the coverage guys. You might
1:54:13
want some bulk of your guys at the point
1:54:15
of I mean, you might want.
1:54:17
A little tackle breaking ability,
1:54:19
because that seems like you're gonna have to get through
1:54:23
no one can move until it's caught.
1:54:25
Yes, yeah, so that's that's
1:54:28
you're basically starting from a dead start
1:54:30
there for everybody.
1:54:31
You know.
1:54:31
And I think explosiveness is the most important
1:54:34
thing still though, Like if you see a crease,
1:54:36
you have to be able to run through.
1:54:38
It, and there's a good chance once you get through that crease.
1:54:40
You're gone.
1:54:41
I think early on in the season we're going to see a lot
1:54:43
of kickoff returns for touchdowns before teams
1:54:45
start to figure out how to defend.
1:54:47
Training camp will be interesting, just they're gonna have to start working
1:54:49
on it.
1:54:50
Yeah. So I don't know if like who you
1:54:53
looked at in the past put that things
1:54:55
that will over overst you
1:54:58
know, it's a Marcus Jones best suited for
1:55:00
this new rule.
1:55:01
Maybe not, you know that
1:55:04
I'm kind of I mean, I don't know. I
1:55:07
think it's still going to be the return
1:55:09
guy. I think still has to have that kind of
1:55:11
straight line speed, quick quick twitch,
1:55:14
burst, change a direction, get.
1:55:17
So, yeah, more like Cordero Patterson
1:55:19
then Marcus Jones is more of like the you
1:55:22
know, joystick type of guy.
1:55:24
Yeah, you know, and I like that.
1:55:25
I want a guy who can make a guy miss and then take
1:55:28
it to Fred's point, If you can get past
1:55:31
the initial line of sort of congestion
1:55:33
there and get to the second level, it's like a running
1:55:35
play. It's like a short yardage running play in the middle
1:55:38
of the field. Yeah.
1:55:39
I really wonder if this rule had got into
1:55:41
place earlier, Cordero
1:55:43
Patterson might have actually made some like real
1:55:45
money in free agency because
1:55:47
he not only does he have he
1:55:50
had both he has running back experience too,
1:55:52
but he has the size and strength to break through
1:55:54
and then the speed to Dusty.
1:55:56
Do you think it's possible that this new kickoff rule, like
1:55:58
they blow up and it's all of a sudden like off,
1:56:00
I mean multiple scores, like to an unexpected
1:56:03
level.
1:56:04
Like solution to that, which is just if
1:56:06
it's if it's a problem, the lion
1:56:08
will change the rule. And I agree with Heaven that I think
1:56:10
early early in the season you tend to see some returns
1:56:13
anyway, but I think with the adjustment
1:56:15
there's probably more of a likelihood. But wouldn't
1:56:17
you just said, Okay, I'm just gonna touch back. I
1:56:20
don't care, I'm not going to
1:56:22
go up an eighty yard touchdo I'm just going to give them ball at the thirty.
1:56:24
Right, Rudy's in California,
1:56:26
will finish up with you. What's up, Rudy, Rudy.
1:56:30
Rudy, make it good, Rudy.
1:56:33
He's not there on that note.
1:56:36
All right, well, Rudy, you're
1:56:38
gone. You had your chance. That
1:56:40
was your shot, Captain, you had one shot.
1:56:42
I know he's he's gonna come run
1:56:44
out of a tunnel with his golden helmet flashing
1:56:46
and yeah, all.
1:56:47
Right, Well that's going to be it for this edition of Page Check
1:56:49
Filtered. What's coming up
1:56:52
this week? Catch twenty two already
1:56:54
had that Thursday, and no playbook
1:56:56
this week.
1:56:57
I'm not going to say anything. I'm not going to say what it is. But
1:56:59
Paul and I work on a very exciting project
1:57:01
tomorrow that I'm very excited to share with
1:57:03
everybody. Oh yeah, it's new and any
1:57:05
hints former Patriots offensive
1:57:07
coordinator will be participating in.
1:57:09
Us nice talking about a former Patriots
1:57:11
quarterback?
1:57:12
Nice? All right, sounds
1:57:14
good. All right, we'll talk to you on Thursday.
1:57:19
Thank you for downloading this podcast.
1:57:21
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1:57:24
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1:57:26
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