S1: All right, now, here we go. It's another big week
S1: in the NFL for the New England Patriots, and this
S1: is the Patriots Wire podcast powered by USA Today Sports.
S1: Now your host Brian O'Leary and Patriots Wire Ed Henry McKenna.
S1: Welcome to the show, you might sense a different tone
S1: on the podcast this week as we're coming at you
S1: on a Friday morning, hours after the Patriots roasted the
S1: Falcons 25 zip on Thursday Night Football. Henry, you were
S1: probably up late up early working for the Patriots Wire,
S1: and I'm always up because I got a baby that's
S1: a little over a month old now. So what could
S1: really go wrong in the pod this this morning, right?
S1: It's got a little bit, a little bit of hoarseness
S1: in our voices. Little ornery, right? That should be a
S1: good thing for the show.
S2: Yeah, it'll be a much greater grumpier show than normal here.
S1: Seriously. And who could be grumpy over this team, right?
S1: Like this Patriots team? It's hard to be grumpy. I'm
S1: sure we'll find a way to be grumpy about something.
S1: But a little over a month ago, the Pats were
S1: two and four, and they were coming off this like
S1: shaky win over the Texans. And then they had the
S1: overtime loss to Dallas, where the defense gave up 35
S1: points at 567 yards. And since that point, the Patriots
S1: are five A. They give it up a total of
S1: 50 points in those five games. You know, we've talked
S1: about the team taking off max training wheels, accelerating his development.
S1: But doesn't that kind of extend to the entire team
S1: like they've gone from like mediocre in early October to
S1: legit AFC East Conference contender? And obviously, it starts with
S1: the defense. We're going to get to that. But have
S1: you ever seen a team make up this much ground
S1: in such a short amount of time? Like this team
S1: has done a complete 180 and it just kind of
S1: rapidly getting better from week to week, and I feel
S1: so much different now that I did that.
S2: This is basically a classic Belichick turnaround. But I think
S2: you may have a point in that we haven't quite
S2: seen one so dramatic as this one. And there are
S2: reasons for that. But if you go back to the
S2: second run of Super Bowls that the Patriots had, for example,
S2: the 2014 team, they started two and two, and that
S2: loss to the Kansas City Chiefs was, you know, I'm
S2: sure Patriots fans already know what I'm going to say.
S2: It was beyond the Cincinnati game where Trent Dilfer was
S2: saying that they can't. They're not good anymore. I love
S2: their team. That was kind of like the first time
S2: that the media members got burned for giving up on.
S2: The Patriots are not that good anymore. They're not that
S1: long. That was great.
S2: Yeah. But people learned their lesson after that. But like,
S2: you can't make your mind up about it. Belichick team
S2: after four games, that's when actually Belichick's teams start to
S2: really show up or show their identity. So and we've
S2: seen that throughout the last few Super Bowl runs, is
S2: this these teams are actually like they don't look that
S2: good through the first four games. This team didn't look
S2: very good through the first six games. And actually, I
S2: would argue that they looked better than a lot of
S2: those Super Bowl teams. It's just that they didn't have
S2: the wins like those Super Bowl teams eventually had, you know,
S2: after six games because of the 2014 Patriots, just to
S2: use them as sort of a microcosm of this. They
S2: went forward to they were on a two game winning
S2: streak immediately after that, that Monday night blowout to the Chiefs.
S2: So the Patriots, you know, this year, they didn't really
S2: have that. But the reason why they are turning it
S2: around so significantly is how much has changed this offseason,
S2: how important the offseason additions were to the team. And
S2: so Belichick spent like a hundred and seventy million dollars
S2: guaranteed at the beginning of free agency over the first
S2: few days. And like Robert Kraft, a billionaire, he had
S2: to like liquidate some of his assets just to pay
S2: those people their money back. So dramatic that was from
S2: spending like just to give people perspective on how much
S2: money was being thrown around. Unprecedented for the NFL, let
S2: alone the Patriots, who are who are known as sort
S2: of a thrifty team I had for so many years,
S1: I hadn't read that. That's that's interesting.
S2: Kraft admitted it. He admitted that he needed to move
S2: money around, which is crazy. Maybe he didn't have to
S2: liquidate his assets. I might be. I don't know. Sounds
S2: like you had to move money around.
S1: It's like when I have to start paying the gas
S1: bill again in the winter, it's like crap. I got
S1: to move some money
S2: around here like, oh no. In a move, the money around. Yeah,
S2: it's that bad side. But anyway, and then and then
S2: you add in the fact that you know you're your
S2: most important player. I guess your two most important players
S2: are brand new and one of them is Timothy Durant.
S2: And I would say Jason Jackson Jackson's kind of like
S2: to be so he is you have continuity with him,
S2: but no one is Mac Jones, a rookie quarterback. And
S2: so that shows, you know, like why a team like
S2: the Patriots had so much upside this year because, you know,
S2: among their best players were new players. And so they were,
S2: in theory, only going to get better throughout the year. Now,
S2: of course, that you look at like the jets and
S2: their rookie quarterback doesn't seem to be getting any better.
S2: Sometimes it feels like he's getting worse and might wait there.
S2: Other starting quarterback who is young he has. But more
S2: so it doesn't always work out that way. But yeah,
S2: I think that's why not only did we see such
S2: a dramatic turnaround. But why you could almost see it coming.
S2: Everything has looked as it should for a playoff contender
S2: constructed in the way that it is, which is offense
S2: kind of efficient, but not at anywhere near the level
S2: of a team like the Chiefs. But the Patriots defenses
S2: like the Chiefs offense of the NFL right now, they're
S2: just like. They're they're just that much better than everyone else.
S2: They are so far above and beyond. It is. It's
S2: just
S1: ridiculous. Yeah, you were tweeting, you think they're the best
S1: in the league, right, right now at this point, and
S1: it's like they seem to have this blend of pressure, right?
S1: With Matthew Judon and Barbara and these guys in Gotcha.
S1: And then they had the coverage ability in the back
S1: end with Jesse Jackson, and they got physicality with like
S1: Kyle Dugger. And then they got some finesse too on
S1: some of these interceptions, like the Jesse Jackson toe tapping
S1: and reaching out, catching that football is ridiculous, right? It's
S1: like pressure, coverage, physicality, finesse. It's like we've seen it
S1: a little bit here materializing over the last month, but
S1: people had to be watching that game last night from around,
S1: you know, around the league, you know, nationwide, watching the
S1: game on prime time, be like, Holy crap, they look
S1: at this defense. It's it's unbelievable that blend that they
S1: have right now. They give it up 13 points in
S1: the last 12 quarters.
S2: The Patriots have allowed a single point in 19 of
S2: their last. 19 possessions from opposing offenses. So, so 19
S2: consecutive possessions, no points allowed. That's how good. That's how
S2: complete of a defense they are. That's wild. The one
S2: thing I'll say just as sort of a counterpoint or
S2: to provide additional context to this defense because everybody can
S2: see with their eyes plainly how good they are. I mean,
S2: there's no there's no like argument here, right? And it's
S2: almost boring for viewers like, I don't think many Patriots
S2: fans made it to the end of that game because
S2: it's just this effort of futility for opposing offenses. It
S2: was like so brutal to watch these teams.
S1: Personally, I did enjoy our
S2: endurance
S1: struggle. I enjoyed the Falcons rolling out their quarterbacks to
S1: throw interceptions at the end, but that was fun. Yeah,
S1: I
S2: like three different quarterbacks through an interception. They weren't even close.
S2: They were worth to it.
S1: To the Patriots players. It was crazy.
S2: It was so bad. It was awful. I'm trying to
S2: get to what this team is not good at. And
S2: I'll tell you, it's man defense that is the one
S2: short coming that they have displayed so far this season.
S2: And I think that's also from a schematic standpoint. What
S2: has helped to trigger this shift for them to be
S2: that much better is they've gone into a significant amount
S2: of the zone defense. That's also why I think Jesse
S2: Jackson isn't getting as much love this year. He's not
S2: like strictly tied to a specific man throughout the game.
S2: And I think for like, neat and tidy, sick of
S2: the media, they like to see CB one go against
S2: wide receiver, one quarterback, one wide receiver, one day like that,
S2: like one on one matchup. Drop the stats. See which
S2: person won. Kind of like narrative and went into the zone.
S2: The quarterback, the quarterbacks usually play sides. So on one side,
S2: you have Jalen Mills, the second quarterback and then the
S2: other you have Jesse Jackson. So, you know, like last
S2: night against the Falcons, Jesse Jackson, only, you know, he
S2: only had a few snaps against Kyle Pitts, the top
S2: pass catcher. He's a tight end technically, but he's a
S2: little bit more than that, even though we didn't see it. Yeah,
S2: he's a freak. We didn't really see it, but he
S2: really is. So anyway. And the reason why they've got
S2: into this zone is because they are weak at quarterback.
S2: You know, previously they could be a heavy man team.
S2: Came back to even last year, early before Saquon Gilmore
S2: got hurt because I just said of the name Stephon Gilmore,
S2: which is the reason you have Stephon Gilmore at number one.
S2: He's the best quarterback in the league or one or two.
S2: And now we're seeing Jesse Jackson is cornerback. You know,
S2: one of the best five or four quarterbacks in the league.
S2: So you had two of the top 10. I would
S2: say Jackson wasn't quite at this level. Last year he
S2: was getting there, but he wasn't quite here. Plus, you
S2: had Jonathan Jones, a really good nickel cornerback. You just
S2: had a great amount of depth and a great amount
S2: of talent. And so they could they had at least
S2: in the first half of the season licence to play
S2: a lot of man defense this year. Jonathan Jones gets hurt.
S2: He's on injured reserve and got surgery so he won't
S2: be back. You have Jason Jackson. So across from him
S2: is Jalen Mills, who's technically like they signed him as
S2: like a hybrid safety quarterback. But he has nothing but quarterback, which,
S2: if you ask an Eagles fan, would be a disaster. Like,
S2: I'm serious. Like, Yeah, there's the writer from The Ringer,
S2: Ben Spencer Locke. He does the podcast over there. He
S2: does a lot of film breakdown and he like slams
S2: amid Mills. And I was the I mean, being like,
S2: I know you and you, like, have a bad experience
S2: with eagles. Let's talk through this. Hey, you have a
S2: bad experience or Jalen knows, but he's actually been pretty good,
S2: like he's not good. But he is the sort of
S2: exceeded expectations as a quarterback because he's known as being
S2: massively inconsistent and he has been solid. I think his
S2: completion rate this season is about 60 percent. You know,
S2: he's he's not letting off a ton of touchdowns. He's
S2: clearly the weakest link in this defense. And the fact
S2: that he can't play man does not allow them to
S2: be as multiple as they'd like to be. And so
S2: that's sort of the one thing right is Belichick has
S2: to really scheme up zone defenses every week, and if
S2: he could have it his way, he would be able
S2: to do both. He'd be able to throw his own
S2: defense at a team one week and a man defense
S2: at a team the next week. And that's what kind
S2: of happened with Justin Herbert with the Chargers was he
S2: was expecting man, and that was when the Patriots switched
S2: the zone. Taking off what I feel like was sort
S2: of that big turnaround moment, so that was actually a
S2: good example of why, you know, switching schemes defensively and
S2: tendencies can really confuse the quarterback. But now the Patriots
S2: can't really do that because they don't want to go
S2: back to man where they know they're not quite as effective.
S2: That's the one thing I'm not saying, like it's over
S2: or it's ominous or whatever. It's just like, they're not
S2: that that's a one limitation. They have.
S1: No, that's good. Nobody's talking about limitations right now, Henry.
S1: So that's actually interesting commentary and productive commentary, and it
S1: makes a ton of sense, like there's so many hybrid
S1: players on this defense. Adrian Phillips and Dugger and Jalen
S1: Mills and even some of the guys that play along
S1: the line like Kyle Van Noy, could go inside and out.
S1: So there's so many hybrid players, so Belichick's in his
S1: lab cooking it up, and it's been fun. It's been
S1: fun to watch and we'll keep breaking down this defense
S1: as we go. I think it'll continue to evolve. But
S1: one new development with this team, Henry, is that we
S1: got a lot of young talent that's being productive and
S1: playing a lot of snaps, and I was looking at
S1: Pat's draft classes and that that hasn't always been the
S1: case for Belichick teams. So let's get into that right
S1: after this.
S3: This is the typical sports book Fantasy M. Let's make
S3: this interesting, interesting
S4: or even any of the huddle that here to bring
S4: you strong plays for week number 11. Philadelphia Eagles quarterback
S4: Jalen Hurts vs. the New Orleans Saints New Orleans weaknesses
S4: its past offense and while we've seen somewhat of a
S4: transformation by the Eagles into a power running team, all
S4: of a sudden expect a return to the aerial game
S4: as the primary source of attack. New Orleans ranks as
S4: the third worst defense against quarterbacks in the last five weeks.
S4: More recently, in the last three games, this unit has
S4: given up forty seven point six percent more fantasy points
S4: per game than the league average. Both of the rushing
S4: scores by quarterbacks against the Saints have come in the
S4: most recent two contests, and it never hurts to have
S4: Jalen legs as a bonus. Tennessee Titans running back D.A.
S4: for men against the Houston Texans Houston is one of
S4: three teams that has allowed more than 1000 rushing yards
S4: so far, and they've done so in only nine games played. Also,
S4: this unit is giving up the second most rushing yards
S4: in that time on a per game basis. Six touchdowns
S4: have been scored in the last four games against this group,
S4: and one in every twenty point six rushing attempts has
S4: found the end zone for the sixth highest rate, while
S4: four men will share some touches in the backfield. He
S4: has potential for a touchdown. It should be good for
S4: close to 70 total yards. Not too bad for a
S4: flex spot. An even better place to come from wide
S4: receiver Tee Higgins Cincinnati Bengals at Las Vegas Raiders. Higgins
S4: scored 13 PPR points and change in each of the
S4: last three games, but he remains scoreless in five appearances.
S4: Since week two, the raiders have been mired by injuries
S4: and personnel woes of late going from being one of
S4: the stronger defenses of the position on the year to
S4: giving up six of seven total touchdowns to wide receivers
S4: in the last four games alone. Coming out of the bye,
S4: Higgins is due for a touchdown. New Orleans Saints tight
S4: end Adam Trautman at the Philadelphia Eagles. Eight different tight
S4: ends have scored 10+ PPR points on the year versus
S4: Philadelphia and all but one happen in the last five weeks.
S4: Five of those eight touchdowns have come in the last
S4: six games, and this is among the best possible matchups
S4: for the week in the last three games. Trotman has
S4: been targeted at least five times in each contest, and
S4: he's finally starting to show the signs of life that
S4: made him an early offseason sleeper prior to being derailed
S4: by an injury is a flier for a touchdown and
S4: could be a hot DFS play. For more award winning
S4: fantasy football news, tips and advice. Please be sure to
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S1: All right, Henry, here's our next topic. Young talent being
S1: a thing for the Patriots, right? That's usually not a
S1: thing for Bill Belichick in his rookie classes, but some
S1: of these rookies are just leaving their fingerprints all over
S1: this seven and four start to the season, right? Mac Jones,
S1: Christian Barmore, Ramadi, Stephenson. They're playing featured roles, right? We
S1: haven't even seen the kid. Ronnie Perkins, they the edge player.
S1: They drafted the third round. He's just kind of on
S1: the shelf. We'll probably see him next year. But you
S1: go through some of these recent draft classes 20 20.
S1: Kyle Dugger. He struggled early. Now he's playing really, really well.
S1: Michael on when you. He's grown into a featured role.
S1: Even Josh, who he's kind of a situational guy. Go
S1: back to 2019. Damien Harris. He was mostly inactive, right
S1: for the whole first or second season while Sony Michel
S1: was playing. He's your only really regular contributor right now.
S1: I know we got Winovich and Joel Williams to kill Harry.
S1: Yadi could just like some of these guys, but Damien
S1: Harris is really your only key guy for twenty and
S1: twenty eighteen. It took Isaiah Wynn some time he battled
S1: injuries to one Bentley, right? Like in 2017, he'll get
S1: me started. Right? That was the weirdest draft class ever.
S1: Were the Patriots in the pick in the first two
S1: rounds they traded for Brandin Cooks. That's going way back.
S1: But this this class is like a stand out for
S1: Bill Belichick, right? So to see these rookies just dominating
S1: and they were going on and on about Barmore, more
S1: on the broadcast and you see them handing the football
S1: a reminder. Stevenson, he just looks like a beast in
S1: the fourth quarter. And again, Mac Jones with a high
S1: completion percentage, is right and really only made one horrible
S1: mistake in this game on that interception. But besides that,
S1: he was pretty good. The young players, the rookie class
S1: being a part of the team's core right now is
S1: kind of a new development, and it's it's kind of
S1: a fun development for this team. This team's never got
S1: young talent right now with us.
S2: Did you, unlike I've said, go back to that 2019 class.
S2: You forgot someone. Oh no, the MVP of the 2020 season.
S2: It's Jake Bailey, the punter.
S1: Oh, yeah, I forgot about it. Yeah, they'll do that
S1: on your own time, right? Special teams. That's that's about that.
S1: They do special teams at your own time. No, the
S1: Patriots best players. Nick Foles, arguably, right? Nick Foles. Yeah,
S1: he's been the most consistent guy all season. Everybody else
S1: is that up and downs, not folk.
S2: It's like, yes, the best scorer. But kickers are generally right.
S1: How did I forget Bailey? But he is a step.
S2: Yeah, Jake Bailey is actually an. He's a very good puncher,
S2: but I'm point. OK, so to the actual point, the
S2: way that the last two draft classes are starting to
S2: shape this team, that's that's a good thing. Like you
S2: want when you have when the Patriots have to go
S2: to free agency, which they did this year to boost
S2: their team, to shape their team, to create an identity.
S2: That's not always a good sign because a the nature
S2: of free agency is that the best players, almost they
S2: very often don't make it to market. The idea is,
S2: if your player is good enough, you'll give them a
S2: an extension and you'll keep them around. And so the
S2: best free agents or the best pending free agents never
S2: actually hit free agency their teams want them. This year
S2: was different. Teams had salary cap constraints, and so it
S2: was a better than normal free agency class and a
S2: below market time for free agents. So the Pacers were terrible. Yeah,
S2: they were cheaper. So it was like it was a
S2: perfect time for the Patriots to really go in hard.
S2: And Bill Belichick saw the situation coming from a mile away.
S2: I asked him at the trade deadline last year. Hey,
S2: is this what you're doing? And he said, yes, that's nice.
S1: And, you know, it doesn't usually get that, you know,
S1: that straightforward.
S2: Yeah, I mean, it wasn't that simple. I was like, Hey,
S2: is this kind of what might happen? He was like,
S2: I think you're making a really good point. And I
S2: was like, OK,
S1: OK, I'll take that and run with it.
S2: Thanks. Well, that's the thing you've ever said to me.
S2: And so they don't want it like, this is an anomaly.
S2: You're not going to see free agent classes like we
S2: saw in twenty twenty one. And you're not going to
S2: see the Patriots have buying power, you know, and we
S2: won't see a buyer's market in free agency for a
S2: long time again. The pandemic created, you know, very unfortunate
S2: situations in the rest of the world, but unique situations
S2: and buying opportunities in the NFL, which is stupid. Owners
S2: should never have done that with meaning like what they
S2: did in managing the pandemic was smart, but the finances
S2: behind it were ridiculous. So to make players suffer financially
S2: is absurd. But that's a whole nother episode about how
S2: players are improperly treated by the billionaires that run this league.
S1: That could be a good one for what we're talking about.
S2: Yeah, yeah, exactly. We're talking about a draft class. Yeah.
S2: And and so the reason why the Patriots had to
S2: build in free agency was because their draft classes were
S2: really bad, like the fact that I'm like, Come on, man!
S2: And the punter was a great player in the 2018
S2: 2019 class wasn't good. The 2018 class. Was it really good, either?
S2: Isaiah Wynn is a good player and it's great to
S2: have a left tackle. That's hugely important. The fact that
S2: he's the only player on the team still from 2019
S2: and that Sony Michel was like the second best player.
S2: He's I mean, those are first round picks. Of course,
S2: they're supposed to be good. And Sony Michel had a
S2: great rookie season where they helped him, where he helped
S2: them get to the Super Bowl and win it. But
S2: other than that, like Sony, Michel was never special. He
S2: was not a unique talent. He just was. He was
S2: just like in a good situation, to be honest. And
S2: so I don't know. I don't know. I feel like
S2: there were years where he might not have made the
S2: team if he was wasn't a first round pick. And
S2: then you go back to 2017, 2016, really like one
S2: or two good players are coming out of those years
S2: and you need more out of a draft class like
S2: we're seeing over the last two years. Mac Jones, Barmore,
S2: Stephenson and then going into this, this last year, dugger. Okay.
S2: Justin Herron, Michael online. No. So you have, you know,
S2: you have two starters, two with one one two and dugger,
S2: dugger and then you have two backups or sub sub
S2: role players here. And the fact that that's kind of
S2: all they got. I don't know. The fact is that
S2: like Devin ICRC and Dalton Keene are just duds. I
S2: think probably, yeah, they'll probably get caught next year when
S2: the optics look a bit better for Bill Belichick to
S2: cut them. Good one. The other thing is the 2021
S2: draft class might not be done. You you alluded to
S2: Ronnie Perkins not really doing anything. Also, Shaun Wade is
S2: a rookie. The Patriots in draft him, but they traded
S2: for him at the roster cut down day. The Ravens
S2: had him on their team. It was great. It was
S2: a fifth round pick. I think a great preseason and
S2: the Patriots traded for him, so he'll he'll be kind
S2: of like an honorary member of the class. Curious to
S2: see how he pans out. And then finally, Cameron McGraw,
S2: he's on, I think, either NFC or either one of
S2: those injury lists, and we'll be back next year. He's
S2: a unique talent. He's a speedy, lighter linebacker that's going
S2: to play on the inside for them, if he can,
S2: if he can play. I think he's got sort of upside.
S2: People were talking about him in the draft process if
S2: he's put in the right place. Maybe he'll end up
S2: being one of those, those gems, one of those, sort
S2: of because he had to take a redshirt medical season.
S2: Teams knew he couldn't play this year, and he still
S2: came out of the draft. So that hurt his draft stock.
S2: But he seems like a kind of developmental guy where
S2: you let him, you know, heal up for a year
S2: and maybe he comes in and plays a sub several
S2: or even a starting one down the line. So it's important,
S2: enormously important in the league to nail your drafts. And
S2: Belichick was not doing it for many years, and that's
S2: why Brady grew frustrated. I mean, there are a number
S2: of reasons why Brady left, but the fact that there
S2: was no talent or they were really lagging in the
S2: talent department was sort of a problem Belichick created in
S2: the draft and his his Stafford. And that's why they
S2: were making sort of like desperate moves to get Mohamed
S2: Sanu and then Antonio Brown. They were adding these players
S2: that were like, You know, I mean, Antonio Brown is,
S2: I mean, we're seeing with with more drama in suing
S2: in Tampa. He's just like, there's not where. Use using
S2: questionable human being at its core and in Mohamed Sanu
S2: was a questionable talent, I'd say, for a second round
S2: pick a price, they probably went for a sixth round
S2: pick exactly, and they paid a second for Mohammed Teneo.
S2: So they were desperate at those times to really fill
S2: those that that were shortcomings from the draft. And so
S2: it's it's really bad that the Patriots nailed both the
S2: draft and free agency class. And it's sort of crazy
S2: because all general managers try to build their teams like
S2: this draft a quarterback in the first round. You fill
S2: around with free agents, you set a culture and then
S2: you with, but like, nobody actually does that. Look at
S2: the jets, wicked. Even the Browns like the Browns have had,
S2: they're looking at like obscene amount of first round picks
S2: through the years. And still, they're struggling to make a
S2: culture that wins and like it took years for them
S2: to go from being a dumpster team to like the
S2: five hundred and the Patriots. All of a sudden you
S2: go from like one year of being a 500 team
S2: back into a playoff and Super Bowl contention.
S1: What a story. It's a it's a it's an amazing story.
S1: Let's wrap it up here. We're saving our hot take
S1: for the end here. Had reset for all the folks
S1: that are hanging out with us here on the pod.
S1: You have a scorcher on Mac Jones about why he
S1: looks bad with the lead. So let's get into that
S1: right after this.
S3: This is the typical sports committee. Let's make this interesting.
S5: What's up, this is Geoff Clark from the Bet Slip
S5: and podcast presented by sports book Wired.com. I'm here with
S5: my handicap and whom he needs and begin to break
S5: down this week's Sunday Night Football game between the Pittsburgh
S5: Steelers and the Los Angeles Chargers. Our friends at typical
S5: sportsbook have the Chargers lane five and a half money lines,
S5: plus 200 for the Steelers, minus 250 for the L.A.
S5: Chargers and the total sitting at forty six and a half.
S5: I'm taking the underdog Steelers out, plus five and a half.
S5: Steelers have a huge edge in coaching matchup between Mike
S5: Tomlin and Brandon Staley. They're much better on third down
S5: and red and in the red zone, the Chargers have
S5: a negative differential and third down and red zone conversion rate. Also,
S5: if you blindly feed the more popular side, which is
S5: the Chargers, you win sixty three percent of your primetime
S5: games this season. Nate, how are you looking at this game?
S2: I'm going with the under forty six point five. The
S2: Chargers by far have the worst rush defense in the league.
S2: Pittsburgh is twenty fifth in opponent, rushing yards per game.
S2: It's going to be a lot of running, a lot
S2: of killing the clock, especially if we don't know. But
S2: Big Ben status, I'm going with the under.
S3: That was your typical sportsbook minute for a limited time.
S3: New users in Colorado and New Jersey from this podcast
S3: will enjoy a special welcome bonus. Get your bonus today
S3: at USA Today BET.com Flash Podcast. That's USA Today Icon
S3: Slash podcast significant for terms and conditions. 21+ only gambling
S3: problem call one 800 Gambler in New Jersey one 800
S3: five two two four seven zero zero in Colorado.
S1: All right, Henry, I don't know if this is still
S1: you're still kind of crafting this take, I think this
S1: is this one's not well done yet, it's still you're
S1: still cooking this one up, right? But we talked about
S1: this right before we started recording. You said you had
S1: to take on why Mac Jones might not. He doesn't
S1: look quite as good when he's playing with a lead. Right?
S1: And we saw that right. He threw a bad pitch
S1: in this game and he wasn't completely, you know, was
S1: a really dominating as the Patriots are pulling away this game.
S1: So why does it, Mac Jones look as good out
S1: there when the Pats are ahead?
S2: I think there's layers to it. He's an emotional guy,
S2: and I think he's tired of the narrative that he's
S2: the weak link on the offense and kind of the
S2: team in general, where it's like team is really coming
S2: up fast and he his development is lagging behind the
S2: general groundswell of development all around him. And I think
S2: there's something to that that he is like, Don't get
S2: me wrong, Mac Jones. I feel like Patriot fans are
S2: going to hate me because they're like, Oh, Mac Jones
S2: is so good. He's the best rookie ever, and he's
S2: inward looking and I love him. That's a good one.
S2: It's like, I like that, you know, Mac Jones. Like,
S2: I get that Pro Football Focus loves Mac Jones, and
S2: I get to the stats show Mac Jones is like
S2: guy two incredible completion percentage. That's all well and good.
S2: He likes to throw the ball to the line of scrimmage.
S2: Andre Stevenson and Johnny Smith and other guys who really
S2: create yards after the catch. They're doing a great job
S2: of making those stats look look better. So there were
S2: just many opportunities for Mac Jones to really like slam
S2: the door of the Falcons because it was 13 zero
S2: when Mac Jones threw his interception and the Falcons ended
S2: up in Patriots territory.
S1: They ended up fouling is what they did.
S2: Yeah, and then they Falcons. But like, you can't always
S2: trust the opposing team to like the Falcons are going
S2: to Falcons, the jets are going to jets, right? There
S2: have been a couple of games where Mac Jones really
S2: struggles to slam the door on his opponent. And a
S2: part of that's because Arthur Smith, the Falcons coach he
S2: really gets how to stop this Patriots system. So a
S2: credit to him. But yeah, Mac Jones threw that interception,
S2: there was a third down, or Mac Jones misfired to
S2: an open Jacoby Meyers at the end of the first half.
S2: Mac Jones mismanaged the hurry up and there was a
S2: fourth and one, and when he went to the sideline,
S2: Brian Hoyer was kind of like coaching through it, like,
S2: here's what you should have done. Clearly, Mac Jones felt
S2: like he should have gotten a shot at the end zone.
S2: Or maybe they were going to try to convert that
S2: fourth down. Maybe they were going to try and draw
S2: an offsides. I don't really know, but it seems like
S2: they didn't feel like they maximize the final. Twenty five
S2: seconds of the first half got a field goal, which
S2: is great. And he's he's got a few games in
S2: a row now by getting that second quarter final second
S2: field goal or touchdown, which is a credit to him.
S2: But the defense is so good. The Patriots then become
S2: reliant on their run game that Mac Jones doesn't have
S2: to throw very much. And when he doesn't have to
S2: throw very much, he gets a rhythm out of sync
S2: and he doesn't do well in that area. That's just
S2: that's not his comfort zone, which is basically beyond the
S2: 10 yard line. He's really good at peppering the ball
S2: with timing short, quick dink and dunk all that. And then,
S2: you know, his completion percentage looks brilliant, but sometimes doesn't
S2: pick his spots very well when he's going to push
S2: the ball downfield. And we saw that with the interception. A.J. Terrell,
S2: the Falcons cornerback. He really just stole the ball right
S2: away from them, and it was just sort of a
S2: careless error by Mac Jones that could not cost the
S2: Patriots the game, obviously, but could have been more costly
S2: against a more substantial opponent. So basically, my take is
S2: Mac Jones, still a rookie still developing and everyone who's
S2: saying that he's like the second coming of Tom Brady
S2: or even like, I don't know what the comps are
S2: these days for Mac Jones, but he's just not just
S2: not there yet, and he's not consistent quite yet. And
S2: I think that's one thing he's got to work on
S2: is is this defense and this running game will not
S2: make the team reliant on him. So unlike at Alabama,
S2: where he's like throwing the ball 40 times and he's
S2: the the most important player he's got to to kind
S2: of take a backseat and relax and like, find his rhythm,
S2: even when he's getting asked to throw sparingly, take his
S2: spots carefully because pushing the ball downfield is not easy
S2: for him. And so he shouldn't just do it because
S2: the media like me are saying that he can't. And so, yeah,
S2: that's kind of my take because I think he's a
S2: little bit in his head trying to prove himself to
S2: the NFL and to the up end that narrative. And
S2: I think he's a rhythm passer that doesn't quite always
S2: get put into a rhythm.
S1: Excellent stuff, as always from Henry McAdoo. Some stuff for
S1: Patriots fans to think about as we sit now through
S1: a long week waiting for the Titans, the Patriots on
S1: typical already three and a half point favorites of this one.
S1: Can't wait. It's going to be a huge game. So
S1: for Henry, I right O'Leary, thanks again for joining us.
S1: Hit the Subscribe button! Find us on Spotify, Apple Pods,
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S1: if we don't talk to you before then. Happy Thanksgiving to.
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