WEBVTT - The Patriots defense has been unstoppable, but they do have one weakness 0:00:00.510 --> 0:00:05.309 All right, now, here we go. It's another big week 0:00:05.309 --> 0:00:13.440 in the NFL for the New England Patriots, and this 0:00:13.650 --> 0:00:17.790 is the Patriots Wire podcast powered by USA Today Sports. 0:00:18.180 --> 0:00:22.919 Now your host Brian O'Leary and Patriots Wire Ed Henry McKenna. 0:00:25.790 --> 0:00:28.460 Welcome to the show, you might sense a different tone 0:00:28.460 --> 0:00:30.410 on the podcast this week as we're coming at you 0:00:30.410 --> 0:00:33.710 on a Friday morning, hours after the Patriots roasted the 0:00:33.710 --> 0:00:37.280 Falcons 25 zip on Thursday Night Football. Henry, you were 0:00:37.280 --> 0:00:40.849 probably up late up early working for the Patriots Wire, 0:00:40.850 --> 0:00:43.880 and I'm always up because I got a baby that's 0:00:43.880 --> 0:00:45.800 a little over a month old now. So what could 0:00:45.800 --> 0:00:47.659 really go wrong in the pod this this morning, right? 0:00:47.710 --> 0:00:49.610 It's got a little bit, a little bit of hoarseness 0:00:49.610 --> 0:00:52.820 in our voices. Little ornery, right? That should be a 0:00:52.820 --> 0:00:53.599 good thing for the show. 0:00:53.960 --> 0:00:57.440 Yeah, it'll be a much greater grumpier show than normal here. 0:00:58.640 --> 0:01:00.710 Seriously. And who could be grumpy over this team, right? 0:01:00.710 --> 0:01:03.680 Like this Patriots team? It's hard to be grumpy. I'm 0:01:03.680 --> 0:01:05.360 sure we'll find a way to be grumpy about something. 0:01:05.360 --> 0:01:08.180 But a little over a month ago, the Pats were 0:01:08.180 --> 0:01:10.280 two and four, and they were coming off this like 0:01:10.280 --> 0:01:14.060 shaky win over the Texans. And then they had the 0:01:14.060 --> 0:01:16.790 overtime loss to Dallas, where the defense gave up 35 0:01:16.790 --> 0:01:20.300 points at 567 yards. And since that point, the Patriots 0:01:20.300 --> 0:01:21.980 are five A. They give it up a total of 0:01:21.980 --> 0:01:25.069 50 points in those five games. You know, we've talked 0:01:25.069 --> 0:01:28.310 about the team taking off max training wheels, accelerating his development. 0:01:28.310 --> 0:01:30.590 But doesn't that kind of extend to the entire team 0:01:30.830 --> 0:01:34.340 like they've gone from like mediocre in early October to 0:01:34.340 --> 0:01:37.760 legit AFC East Conference contender? And obviously, it starts with 0:01:37.760 --> 0:01:39.350 the defense. We're going to get to that. But have 0:01:39.350 --> 0:01:41.660 you ever seen a team make up this much ground 0:01:41.660 --> 0:01:43.550 in such a short amount of time? Like this team 0:01:43.700 --> 0:01:46.160 has done a complete 180 and it just kind of 0:01:46.160 --> 0:01:48.200 rapidly getting better from week to week, and I feel 0:01:48.200 --> 0:01:49.700 so much different now that I did that. 0:01:49.970 --> 0:01:54.830 This is basically a classic Belichick turnaround. But I think 0:01:54.830 --> 0:01:57.140 you may have a point in that we haven't quite 0:01:57.140 --> 0:02:00.260 seen one so dramatic as this one. And there are 0:02:00.260 --> 0:02:03.140 reasons for that. But if you go back to the 0:02:03.470 --> 0:02:07.400 second run of Super Bowls that the Patriots had, for example, 0:02:07.400 --> 0:02:11.809 the 2014 team, they started two and two, and that 0:02:11.810 --> 0:02:15.690 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs was, you know, I'm 0:02:15.710 --> 0:02:17.899 sure Patriots fans already know what I'm going to say. 0:02:18.230 --> 0:02:22.160 It was beyond the Cincinnati game where Trent Dilfer was 0:02:22.160 --> 0:02:24.980 saying that they can't. They're not good anymore. I love 0:02:24.980 --> 0:02:27.590 their team. That was kind of like the first time 0:02:27.950 --> 0:02:31.190 that the media members got burned for giving up on. 0:02:31.190 --> 0:02:34.400 The Patriots are not that good anymore. They're not that 0:02:34.850 --> 0:02:35.950 long. That was great. 0:02:35.960 --> 0:02:39.750 Yeah. But people learned their lesson after that. But like, 0:02:39.770 --> 0:02:43.489 you can't make your mind up about it. Belichick team 0:02:44.240 --> 0:02:49.640 after four games, that's when actually Belichick's teams start to 0:02:49.639 --> 0:02:54.140 really show up or show their identity. So and we've 0:02:54.139 --> 0:02:56.840 seen that throughout the last few Super Bowl runs, is 0:02:56.840 --> 0:02:59.570 this these teams are actually like they don't look that 0:02:59.570 --> 0:03:03.680 good through the first four games. This team didn't look 0:03:03.680 --> 0:03:06.500 very good through the first six games. And actually, I 0:03:06.500 --> 0:03:08.900 would argue that they looked better than a lot of 0:03:08.900 --> 0:03:11.090 those Super Bowl teams. It's just that they didn't have 0:03:11.090 --> 0:03:15.180 the wins like those Super Bowl teams eventually had, you know, 0:03:15.230 --> 0:03:18.500 after six games because of the 2014 Patriots, just to 0:03:18.500 --> 0:03:21.170 use them as sort of a microcosm of this. They 0:03:21.169 --> 0:03:23.990 went forward to they were on a two game winning 0:03:23.990 --> 0:03:27.530 streak immediately after that, that Monday night blowout to the Chiefs. 0:03:27.770 --> 0:03:30.290 So the Patriots, you know, this year, they didn't really 0:03:30.290 --> 0:03:34.100 have that. But the reason why they are turning it 0:03:34.100 --> 0:03:39.470 around so significantly is how much has changed this offseason, 0:03:39.620 --> 0:03:48.170 how important the offseason additions were to the team. And 0:03:48.170 --> 0:03:50.870 so Belichick spent like a hundred and seventy million dollars 0:03:50.870 --> 0:03:54.050 guaranteed at the beginning of free agency over the first 0:03:54.050 --> 0:03:57.620 few days. And like Robert Kraft, a billionaire, he had 0:03:57.620 --> 0:04:00.830 to like liquidate some of his assets just to pay 0:04:00.830 --> 0:04:04.130 those people their money back. So dramatic that was from 0:04:04.130 --> 0:04:08.240 spending like just to give people perspective on how much 0:04:08.240 --> 0:04:12.500 money was being thrown around. Unprecedented for the NFL, let 0:04:12.500 --> 0:04:14.720 alone the Patriots, who are who are known as sort 0:04:14.720 --> 0:04:17.300 of a thrifty team I had for so many years, 0:04:17.300 --> 0:04:18.800 I hadn't read that. That's that's interesting. 0:04:19.190 --> 0:04:22.100 Kraft admitted it. He admitted that he needed to move 0:04:22.100 --> 0:04:25.429 money around, which is crazy. Maybe he didn't have to 0:04:25.430 --> 0:04:27.860 liquidate his assets. I might be. I don't know. Sounds 0:04:27.860 --> 0:04:29.520 like you had to move money around. 0:04:29.570 --> 0:04:30.950 It's like when I have to start paying the gas 0:04:30.950 --> 0:04:32.839 bill again in the winter, it's like crap. I got 0:04:32.839 --> 0:04:33.380 to move some money 0:04:33.380 --> 0:04:37.260 around here like, oh no. In a move, the money around. Yeah, 0:04:37.279 --> 0:04:42.200 it's that bad side. But anyway, and then and then 0:04:42.200 --> 0:04:43.850 you add in the fact that you know you're your 0:04:43.850 --> 0:04:46.820 most important player. I guess your two most important players 0:04:46.820 --> 0:04:49.010 are brand new and one of them is Timothy Durant. 0:04:49.339 --> 0:04:51.289 And I would say Jason Jackson Jackson's kind of like 0:04:51.620 --> 0:04:54.770 to be so he is you have continuity with him, 0:04:55.940 --> 0:04:59.539 but no one is Mac Jones, a rookie quarterback. And 0:04:59.540 --> 0:05:01.880 so that shows, you know, like why a team like 0:05:01.880 --> 0:05:05.610 the Patriots had so much upside this year because, you know, 0:05:05.690 --> 0:05:09.080 among their best players were new players. And so they were, 0:05:09.350 --> 0:05:13.280 in theory, only going to get better throughout the year. Now, 0:05:13.279 --> 0:05:16.010 of course, that you look at like the jets and 0:05:16.220 --> 0:05:18.500 their rookie quarterback doesn't seem to be getting any better. 0:05:18.510 --> 0:05:22.190 Sometimes it feels like he's getting worse and might wait there. 0:05:22.190 --> 0:05:24.760 Other starting quarterback who is young he has. But more 0:05:24.839 --> 0:05:28.409 so it doesn't always work out that way. But yeah, 0:05:28.410 --> 0:05:32.370 I think that's why not only did we see such 0:05:32.370 --> 0:05:36.990 a dramatic turnaround. But why you could almost see it coming. 0:05:37.290 --> 0:05:41.550 Everything has looked as it should for a playoff contender 0:05:41.550 --> 0:05:45.100 constructed in the way that it is, which is offense 0:05:45.120 --> 0:05:49.980 kind of efficient, but not at anywhere near the level 0:05:49.980 --> 0:05:53.460 of a team like the Chiefs. But the Patriots defenses 0:05:53.460 --> 0:05:56.279 like the Chiefs offense of the NFL right now, they're 0:05:56.279 --> 0:06:00.849 just like. They're they're just that much better than everyone else. 0:06:00.880 --> 0:06:04.870 They are so far above and beyond. It is. It's 0:06:04.870 --> 0:06:05.020 just 0:06:05.020 --> 0:06:07.000 ridiculous. Yeah, you were tweeting, you think they're the best 0:06:07.000 --> 0:06:08.679 in the league, right, right now at this point, and 0:06:08.680 --> 0:06:12.010 it's like they seem to have this blend of pressure, right? 0:06:12.010 --> 0:06:16.390 With Matthew Judon and Barbara and these guys in Gotcha. 0:06:16.630 --> 0:06:18.580 And then they had the coverage ability in the back 0:06:18.580 --> 0:06:21.150 end with Jesse Jackson, and they got physicality with like 0:06:21.160 --> 0:06:22.960 Kyle Dugger. And then they got some finesse too on 0:06:22.960 --> 0:06:26.080 some of these interceptions, like the Jesse Jackson toe tapping 0:06:26.080 --> 0:06:28.870 and reaching out, catching that football is ridiculous, right? It's 0:06:28.870 --> 0:06:34.060 like pressure, coverage, physicality, finesse. It's like we've seen it 0:06:34.060 --> 0:06:36.279 a little bit here materializing over the last month, but 0:06:36.279 --> 0:06:38.380 people had to be watching that game last night from around, 0:06:38.710 --> 0:06:41.500 you know, around the league, you know, nationwide, watching the 0:06:41.500 --> 0:06:44.020 game on prime time, be like, Holy crap, they look 0:06:44.020 --> 0:06:47.560 at this defense. It's it's unbelievable that blend that they 0:06:47.560 --> 0:06:49.390 have right now. They give it up 13 points in 0:06:49.390 --> 0:06:50.260 the last 12 quarters. 0:06:50.410 --> 0:06:55.360 The Patriots have allowed a single point in 19 of 0:06:55.360 --> 0:07:02.750 their last. 19 possessions from opposing offenses. So, so 19 0:07:02.750 --> 0:07:07.489 consecutive possessions, no points allowed. That's how good. That's how 0:07:07.490 --> 0:07:10.610 complete of a defense they are. That's wild. The one 0:07:10.610 --> 0:07:13.610 thing I'll say just as sort of a counterpoint or 0:07:13.610 --> 0:07:18.110 to provide additional context to this defense because everybody can 0:07:18.110 --> 0:07:21.360 see with their eyes plainly how good they are. I mean, 0:07:21.380 --> 0:07:27.350 there's no there's no like argument here, right? And it's 0:07:27.350 --> 0:07:31.040 almost boring for viewers like, I don't think many Patriots 0:07:31.040 --> 0:07:33.500 fans made it to the end of that game because 0:07:34.370 --> 0:07:38.210 it's just this effort of futility for opposing offenses. It 0:07:38.210 --> 0:07:41.260 was like so brutal to watch these teams. 0:07:41.270 --> 0:07:42.739 Personally, I did enjoy our 0:07:42.740 --> 0:07:43.340 endurance 0:07:43.340 --> 0:07:46.910 struggle. I enjoyed the Falcons rolling out their quarterbacks to 0:07:46.910 --> 0:07:49.220 throw interceptions at the end, but that was fun. Yeah, 0:07:49.220 --> 0:07:49.340 I 0:07:49.340 --> 0:07:53.430 like three different quarterbacks through an interception. They weren't even close. 0:07:53.450 --> 0:07:54.440 They were worth to it. 0:07:54.440 --> 0:07:56.390 To the Patriots players. It was crazy. 0:07:56.420 --> 0:08:00.290 It was so bad. It was awful. I'm trying to 0:08:00.290 --> 0:08:03.440 get to what this team is not good at. And 0:08:03.440 --> 0:08:07.070 I'll tell you, it's man defense that is the one 0:08:07.190 --> 0:08:11.090 short coming that they have displayed so far this season. 0:08:11.090 --> 0:08:15.050 And I think that's also from a schematic standpoint. What 0:08:15.320 --> 0:08:17.870 has helped to trigger this shift for them to be 0:08:17.870 --> 0:08:22.190 that much better is they've gone into a significant amount 0:08:22.190 --> 0:08:25.700 of the zone defense. That's also why I think Jesse 0:08:25.700 --> 0:08:28.790 Jackson isn't getting as much love this year. He's not 0:08:28.790 --> 0:08:33.500 like strictly tied to a specific man throughout the game. 0:08:33.860 --> 0:08:36.890 And I think for like, neat and tidy, sick of 0:08:36.890 --> 0:08:40.910 the media, they like to see CB one go against 0:08:41.090 --> 0:08:45.620 wide receiver, one quarterback, one wide receiver, one day like that, 0:08:45.620 --> 0:08:50.300 like one on one matchup. Drop the stats. See which 0:08:50.300 --> 0:08:55.580 person won. Kind of like narrative and went into the zone. 0:08:56.330 --> 0:09:00.470 The quarterback, the quarterbacks usually play sides. So on one side, 0:09:00.470 --> 0:09:03.920 you have Jalen Mills, the second quarterback and then the 0:09:03.920 --> 0:09:08.150 other you have Jesse Jackson. So, you know, like last 0:09:08.150 --> 0:09:11.480 night against the Falcons, Jesse Jackson, only, you know, he 0:09:11.480 --> 0:09:14.240 only had a few snaps against Kyle Pitts, the top 0:09:14.600 --> 0:09:17.990 pass catcher. He's a tight end technically, but he's a 0:09:17.990 --> 0:09:20.990 little bit more than that, even though we didn't see it. Yeah, 0:09:20.990 --> 0:09:24.470 he's a freak. We didn't really see it, but he 0:09:24.470 --> 0:09:28.340 really is. So anyway. And the reason why they've got 0:09:28.340 --> 0:09:32.420 into this zone is because they are weak at quarterback. 0:09:32.929 --> 0:09:37.030 You know, previously they could be a heavy man team. 0:09:37.280 --> 0:09:41.030 Came back to even last year, early before Saquon Gilmore 0:09:41.030 --> 0:09:44.210 got hurt because I just said of the name Stephon Gilmore, 0:09:44.210 --> 0:09:47.060 which is the reason you have Stephon Gilmore at number one. 0:09:47.070 --> 0:09:50.240 He's the best quarterback in the league or one or two. 0:09:50.570 --> 0:09:54.080 And now we're seeing Jesse Jackson is cornerback. You know, 0:09:54.080 --> 0:09:57.380 one of the best five or four quarterbacks in the league. 0:09:57.380 --> 0:10:00.410 So you had two of the top 10. I would 0:10:00.410 --> 0:10:03.860 say Jackson wasn't quite at this level. Last year he 0:10:03.860 --> 0:10:06.829 was getting there, but he wasn't quite here. Plus, you 0:10:06.830 --> 0:10:10.250 had Jonathan Jones, a really good nickel cornerback. You just 0:10:10.250 --> 0:10:12.680 had a great amount of depth and a great amount 0:10:12.679 --> 0:10:15.410 of talent. And so they could they had at least 0:10:15.410 --> 0:10:17.510 in the first half of the season licence to play 0:10:17.510 --> 0:10:21.790 a lot of man defense this year. Jonathan Jones gets hurt. 0:10:21.830 --> 0:10:24.620 He's on injured reserve and got surgery so he won't 0:10:24.620 --> 0:10:29.030 be back. You have Jason Jackson. So across from him 0:10:29.030 --> 0:10:31.790 is Jalen Mills, who's technically like they signed him as 0:10:31.790 --> 0:10:35.719 like a hybrid safety quarterback. But he has nothing but quarterback, which, 0:10:36.440 --> 0:10:39.910 if you ask an Eagles fan, would be a disaster. Like, 0:10:39.920 --> 0:10:44.720 I'm serious. Like, Yeah, there's the writer from The Ringer, 0:10:44.750 --> 0:10:48.559 Ben Spencer Locke. He does the podcast over there. He 0:10:48.559 --> 0:10:51.630 does a lot of film breakdown and he like slams 0:10:51.920 --> 0:10:53.990 amid Mills. And I was the I mean, being like, 0:10:53.990 --> 0:10:56.870 I know you and you, like, have a bad experience 0:10:57.260 --> 0:10:59.000 with eagles. Let's talk through this. Hey, you have a 0:10:59.000 --> 0:11:01.970 bad experience or Jalen knows, but he's actually been pretty good, 0:11:01.980 --> 0:11:04.670 like he's not good. But he is the sort of 0:11:04.670 --> 0:11:07.970 exceeded expectations as a quarterback because he's known as being 0:11:08.450 --> 0:11:12.979 massively inconsistent and he has been solid. I think his 0:11:12.980 --> 0:11:17.120 completion rate this season is about 60 percent. You know, 0:11:17.150 --> 0:11:20.449 he's he's not letting off a ton of touchdowns. He's 0:11:20.450 --> 0:11:23.690 clearly the weakest link in this defense. And the fact 0:11:23.690 --> 0:11:26.510 that he can't play man does not allow them to 0:11:26.510 --> 0:11:30.620 be as multiple as they'd like to be. And so 0:11:30.620 --> 0:11:34.250 that's sort of the one thing right is Belichick has 0:11:34.250 --> 0:11:38.839 to really scheme up zone defenses every week, and if 0:11:38.840 --> 0:11:41.599 he could have it his way, he would be able 0:11:41.600 --> 0:11:43.670 to do both. He'd be able to throw his own 0:11:43.670 --> 0:11:46.970 defense at a team one week and a man defense 0:11:46.970 --> 0:11:50.060 at a team the next week. And that's what kind 0:11:50.059 --> 0:11:52.730 of happened with Justin Herbert with the Chargers was he 0:11:52.730 --> 0:11:55.100 was expecting man, and that was when the Patriots switched 0:11:55.100 --> 0:11:58.790 the zone. Taking off what I feel like was sort 0:11:58.790 --> 0:12:01.849 of that big turnaround moment, so that was actually a 0:12:01.850 --> 0:12:06.859 good example of why, you know, switching schemes defensively and 0:12:06.860 --> 0:12:10.370 tendencies can really confuse the quarterback. But now the Patriots 0:12:10.370 --> 0:12:12.350 can't really do that because they don't want to go 0:12:12.350 --> 0:12:15.380 back to man where they know they're not quite as effective. 0:12:15.830 --> 0:12:18.800 That's the one thing I'm not saying, like it's over 0:12:18.800 --> 0:12:21.830 or it's ominous or whatever. It's just like, they're not 0:12:21.830 --> 0:12:23.600 that that's a one limitation. They have. 0:12:24.290 --> 0:12:27.170 No, that's good. Nobody's talking about limitations right now, Henry. 0:12:27.170 --> 0:12:30.949 So that's actually interesting commentary and productive commentary, and it 0:12:30.950 --> 0:12:33.800 makes a ton of sense, like there's so many hybrid 0:12:33.800 --> 0:12:38.360 players on this defense. Adrian Phillips and Dugger and Jalen 0:12:38.360 --> 0:12:40.730 Mills and even some of the guys that play along 0:12:40.730 --> 0:12:42.920 the line like Kyle Van Noy, could go inside and out. 0:12:42.920 --> 0:12:46.820 So there's so many hybrid players, so Belichick's in his 0:12:46.820 --> 0:12:49.460 lab cooking it up, and it's been fun. It's been 0:12:49.460 --> 0:12:51.890 fun to watch and we'll keep breaking down this defense 0:12:51.890 --> 0:12:53.930 as we go. I think it'll continue to evolve. But 0:12:54.260 --> 0:12:57.140 one new development with this team, Henry, is that we 0:12:57.140 --> 0:12:59.930 got a lot of young talent that's being productive and 0:12:59.929 --> 0:13:02.120 playing a lot of snaps, and I was looking at 0:13:02.120 --> 0:13:04.609 Pat's draft classes and that that hasn't always been the 0:13:04.610 --> 0:13:07.819 case for Belichick teams. So let's get into that right 0:13:07.820 --> 0:13:08.330 after this. 0:13:08.720 --> 0:13:12.380 This is the typical sports book Fantasy M. Let's make 0:13:12.380 --> 0:13:14.500 this interesting, interesting 0:13:15.080 --> 0:13:16.910 or even any of the huddle that here to bring 0:13:16.910 --> 0:13:20.240 you strong plays for week number 11. Philadelphia Eagles quarterback 0:13:20.240 --> 0:13:23.570 Jalen Hurts vs. the New Orleans Saints New Orleans weaknesses 0:13:23.570 --> 0:13:25.849 its past offense and while we've seen somewhat of a 0:13:25.850 --> 0:13:28.190 transformation by the Eagles into a power running team, all 0:13:28.190 --> 0:13:30.530 of a sudden expect a return to the aerial game 0:13:30.530 --> 0:13:33.350 as the primary source of attack. New Orleans ranks as 0:13:33.350 --> 0:13:36.290 the third worst defense against quarterbacks in the last five weeks. 0:13:36.410 --> 0:13:38.929 More recently, in the last three games, this unit has 0:13:38.929 --> 0:13:42.020 given up forty seven point six percent more fantasy points 0:13:42.020 --> 0:13:44.450 per game than the league average. Both of the rushing 0:13:44.450 --> 0:13:46.760 scores by quarterbacks against the Saints have come in the 0:13:46.760 --> 0:13:49.460 most recent two contests, and it never hurts to have 0:13:49.460 --> 0:13:53.030 Jalen legs as a bonus. Tennessee Titans running back D.A. 0:13:53.030 --> 0:13:55.880 for men against the Houston Texans Houston is one of 0:13:55.880 --> 0:13:58.070 three teams that has allowed more than 1000 rushing yards 0:13:58.070 --> 0:14:01.160 so far, and they've done so in only nine games played. Also, 0:14:01.160 --> 0:14:03.290 this unit is giving up the second most rushing yards 0:14:03.290 --> 0:14:06.410 in that time on a per game basis. Six touchdowns 0:14:06.410 --> 0:14:08.780 have been scored in the last four games against this group, 0:14:08.780 --> 0:14:11.090 and one in every twenty point six rushing attempts has 0:14:11.090 --> 0:14:13.190 found the end zone for the sixth highest rate, while 0:14:13.190 --> 0:14:15.320 four men will share some touches in the backfield. He 0:14:15.320 --> 0:14:17.179 has potential for a touchdown. It should be good for 0:14:17.179 --> 0:14:19.580 close to 70 total yards. Not too bad for a 0:14:19.580 --> 0:14:21.950 flex spot. An even better place to come from wide 0:14:21.950 --> 0:14:25.550 receiver Tee Higgins Cincinnati Bengals at Las Vegas Raiders. Higgins 0:14:25.620 --> 0:14:28.460 scored 13 PPR points and change in each of the 0:14:28.460 --> 0:14:31.730 last three games, but he remains scoreless in five appearances. 0:14:31.730 --> 0:14:34.160 Since week two, the raiders have been mired by injuries 0:14:34.160 --> 0:14:36.350 and personnel woes of late going from being one of 0:14:36.350 --> 0:14:39.170 the stronger defenses of the position on the year to 0:14:39.170 --> 0:14:42.230 giving up six of seven total touchdowns to wide receivers 0:14:42.230 --> 0:14:44.300 in the last four games alone. Coming out of the bye, 0:14:44.300 --> 0:14:46.730 Higgins is due for a touchdown. New Orleans Saints tight 0:14:46.730 --> 0:14:49.730 end Adam Trautman at the Philadelphia Eagles. Eight different tight 0:14:49.730 --> 0:14:52.190 ends have scored 10+ PPR points on the year versus 0:14:52.190 --> 0:14:55.100 Philadelphia and all but one happen in the last five weeks. 0:14:55.100 --> 0:14:56.870 Five of those eight touchdowns have come in the last 0:14:56.870 --> 0:14:59.420 six games, and this is among the best possible matchups 0:14:59.420 --> 0:15:01.490 for the week in the last three games. Trotman has 0:15:01.490 --> 0:15:03.950 been targeted at least five times in each contest, and 0:15:03.950 --> 0:15:05.840 he's finally starting to show the signs of life that 0:15:05.840 --> 0:15:08.660 made him an early offseason sleeper prior to being derailed 0:15:08.660 --> 0:15:11.239 by an injury is a flier for a touchdown and 0:15:11.240 --> 0:15:13.790 could be a hot DFS play. For more award winning 0:15:13.790 --> 0:15:15.920 fantasy football news, tips and advice. Please be sure to 0:15:15.920 --> 0:15:17.660 check out the huddle scam 0:15:17.960 --> 0:15:21.530 that was your typical sportsbook fantasy minute when your Fantasy 0:15:21.530 --> 0:15:24.380 Football League with the huddle dot com and use them 0:15:24.380 --> 0:15:28.160 to dominate player prop bets at typical sportsbook for a 0:15:28.160 --> 0:15:31.640 limited time. New typical sportsbook users in Colorado and New 0:15:31.640 --> 0:15:35.150 Jersey from this podcast will enjoy a special welcome bonus. 0:15:35.180 --> 0:15:39.590 Get your bonus today at USA Today BET.com Slash podcast. 0:15:39.590 --> 0:15:43.580 That's USA Today BET.com Slash podcast Echo Typekit account for 0:15:43.580 --> 0:15:45.770 terms and conditions. 21+ The only gambling problem call one 0:15:45.770 --> 0:15:47.900 800 gambler in New Jersey one 800 five two two 0:15:47.900 --> 0:15:49.340 four seven zero zero in Colorado. 0:15:54.200 --> 0:15:57.530 All right, Henry, here's our next topic. Young talent being 0:15:57.530 --> 0:16:00.170 a thing for the Patriots, right? That's usually not a 0:16:00.170 --> 0:16:03.620 thing for Bill Belichick in his rookie classes, but some 0:16:03.620 --> 0:16:06.800 of these rookies are just leaving their fingerprints all over 0:16:07.040 --> 0:16:10.280 this seven and four start to the season, right? Mac Jones, 0:16:10.670 --> 0:16:15.110 Christian Barmore, Ramadi, Stephenson. They're playing featured roles, right? We 0:16:15.110 --> 0:16:18.110 haven't even seen the kid. Ronnie Perkins, they the edge player. 0:16:18.110 --> 0:16:19.700 They drafted the third round. He's just kind of on 0:16:19.700 --> 0:16:22.760 the shelf. We'll probably see him next year. But you 0:16:22.760 --> 0:16:25.430 go through some of these recent draft classes 20 20. 0:16:25.790 --> 0:16:29.090 Kyle Dugger. He struggled early. Now he's playing really, really well. 0:16:29.390 --> 0:16:31.940 Michael on when you. He's grown into a featured role. 0:16:32.150 --> 0:16:35.330 Even Josh, who he's kind of a situational guy. Go 0:16:35.330 --> 0:16:39.860 back to 2019. Damien Harris. He was mostly inactive, right 0:16:39.860 --> 0:16:42.320 for the whole first or second season while Sony Michel 0:16:42.320 --> 0:16:45.410 was playing. He's your only really regular contributor right now. 0:16:45.410 --> 0:16:48.140 I know we got Winovich and Joel Williams to kill Harry. 0:16:48.140 --> 0:16:50.630 Yadi could just like some of these guys, but Damien 0:16:50.630 --> 0:16:53.360 Harris is really your only key guy for twenty and 0:16:53.480 --> 0:16:55.790 twenty eighteen. It took Isaiah Wynn some time he battled 0:16:55.790 --> 0:16:59.960 injuries to one Bentley, right? Like in 2017, he'll get 0:16:59.960 --> 0:17:02.330 me started. Right? That was the weirdest draft class ever. 0:17:02.330 --> 0:17:03.800 Were the Patriots in the pick in the first two 0:17:03.800 --> 0:17:06.440 rounds they traded for Brandin Cooks. That's going way back. 0:17:06.440 --> 0:17:10.340 But this this class is like a stand out for 0:17:10.340 --> 0:17:14.300 Bill Belichick, right? So to see these rookies just dominating 0:17:14.300 --> 0:17:15.890 and they were going on and on about Barmore, more 0:17:15.890 --> 0:17:18.359 on the broadcast and you see them handing the football 0:17:18.430 --> 0:17:20.419 a reminder. Stevenson, he just looks like a beast in 0:17:20.420 --> 0:17:23.150 the fourth quarter. And again, Mac Jones with a high 0:17:23.150 --> 0:17:26.510 completion percentage, is right and really only made one horrible 0:17:26.510 --> 0:17:29.030 mistake in this game on that interception. But besides that, 0:17:29.030 --> 0:17:32.360 he was pretty good. The young players, the rookie class 0:17:32.359 --> 0:17:34.490 being a part of the team's core right now is 0:17:34.490 --> 0:17:36.500 kind of a new development, and it's it's kind of 0:17:36.800 --> 0:17:38.840 a fun development for this team. This team's never got 0:17:38.840 --> 0:17:40.400 young talent right now with us. 0:17:40.680 --> 0:17:44.750 Did you, unlike I've said, go back to that 2019 class. 0:17:44.750 --> 0:17:48.980 You forgot someone. Oh no, the MVP of the 2020 season. 0:17:49.550 --> 0:17:50.990 It's Jake Bailey, the punter. 0:17:51.020 --> 0:17:52.760 Oh, yeah, I forgot about it. Yeah, they'll do that 0:17:52.760 --> 0:17:56.010 on your own time, right? Special teams. That's that's about that. 0:17:56.090 --> 0:17:58.340 They do special teams at your own time. No, the 0:17:58.340 --> 0:18:01.859 Patriots best players. Nick Foles, arguably, right? Nick Foles. Yeah, 0:18:01.880 --> 0:18:04.010 he's been the most consistent guy all season. Everybody else 0:18:04.010 --> 0:18:05.540 is that up and downs, not folk. 0:18:05.750 --> 0:18:09.980 It's like, yes, the best scorer. But kickers are generally right. 0:18:10.010 --> 0:18:12.020 How did I forget Bailey? But he is a step. 0:18:12.109 --> 0:18:15.109 Yeah, Jake Bailey is actually an. He's a very good puncher, 0:18:15.619 --> 0:18:20.660 but I'm point. OK, so to the actual point, the 0:18:20.660 --> 0:18:23.659 way that the last two draft classes are starting to 0:18:23.660 --> 0:18:27.859 shape this team, that's that's a good thing. Like you 0:18:27.859 --> 0:18:31.160 want when you have when the Patriots have to go 0:18:31.160 --> 0:18:35.570 to free agency, which they did this year to boost 0:18:35.570 --> 0:18:38.690 their team, to shape their team, to create an identity. 0:18:39.290 --> 0:18:43.320 That's not always a good sign because a the nature 0:18:43.320 --> 0:18:47.390 of free agency is that the best players, almost they 0:18:47.390 --> 0:18:51.229 very often don't make it to market. The idea is, 0:18:51.230 --> 0:18:53.720 if your player is good enough, you'll give them a 0:18:54.109 --> 0:18:58.640 an extension and you'll keep them around. And so the 0:18:58.640 --> 0:19:02.629 best free agents or the best pending free agents never 0:19:02.630 --> 0:19:05.270 actually hit free agency their teams want them. This year 0:19:05.270 --> 0:19:09.169 was different. Teams had salary cap constraints, and so it 0:19:09.170 --> 0:19:13.520 was a better than normal free agency class and a 0:19:13.520 --> 0:19:18.740 below market time for free agents. So the Pacers were terrible. Yeah, 0:19:18.740 --> 0:19:20.990 they were cheaper. So it was like it was a 0:19:20.990 --> 0:19:23.780 perfect time for the Patriots to really go in hard. 0:19:24.050 --> 0:19:26.990 And Bill Belichick saw the situation coming from a mile away. 0:19:27.170 --> 0:19:31.580 I asked him at the trade deadline last year. Hey, 0:19:31.580 --> 0:19:35.560 is this what you're doing? And he said, yes, that's nice. 0:19:35.700 --> 0:19:37.790 And, you know, it doesn't usually get that, you know, 0:19:37.830 --> 0:19:38.600 that straightforward. 0:19:39.380 --> 0:19:41.510 Yeah, I mean, it wasn't that simple. I was like, Hey, 0:19:41.510 --> 0:19:43.460 is this kind of what might happen? He was like, 0:19:43.460 --> 0:19:45.619 I think you're making a really good point. And I 0:19:45.619 --> 0:19:46.510 was like, OK, 0:19:46.570 --> 0:19:48.110 OK, I'll take that and run with it. 0:19:49.000 --> 0:19:50.840 Thanks. Well, that's the thing you've ever said to me. 0:19:51.740 --> 0:19:54.800 And so they don't want it like, this is an anomaly. 0:19:54.800 --> 0:19:56.899 You're not going to see free agent classes like we 0:19:56.900 --> 0:19:59.480 saw in twenty twenty one. And you're not going to 0:19:59.480 --> 0:20:03.470 see the Patriots have buying power, you know, and we 0:20:03.470 --> 0:20:06.980 won't see a buyer's market in free agency for a 0:20:06.980 --> 0:20:11.600 long time again. The pandemic created, you know, very unfortunate 0:20:11.600 --> 0:20:14.989 situations in the rest of the world, but unique situations 0:20:15.619 --> 0:20:20.000 and buying opportunities in the NFL, which is stupid. Owners 0:20:20.000 --> 0:20:24.230 should never have done that with meaning like what they 0:20:24.230 --> 0:20:27.950 did in managing the pandemic was smart, but the finances 0:20:27.950 --> 0:20:32.330 behind it were ridiculous. So to make players suffer financially 0:20:32.330 --> 0:20:35.790 is absurd. But that's a whole nother episode about how 0:20:35.990 --> 0:20:39.379 players are improperly treated by the billionaires that run this league. 0:20:39.619 --> 0:20:41.359 That could be a good one for what we're talking about. 0:20:41.369 --> 0:20:44.870 Yeah, yeah, exactly. We're talking about a draft class. Yeah. 0:20:45.260 --> 0:20:48.229 And and so the reason why the Patriots had to 0:20:48.230 --> 0:20:51.109 build in free agency was because their draft classes were 0:20:51.109 --> 0:20:54.440 really bad, like the fact that I'm like, Come on, man! 0:20:54.440 --> 0:20:56.869 And the punter was a great player in the 2018 0:20:57.980 --> 0:21:03.290 2019 class wasn't good. The 2018 class. Was it really good, either? 0:21:03.290 --> 0:21:05.240 Isaiah Wynn is a good player and it's great to 0:21:05.240 --> 0:21:07.760 have a left tackle. That's hugely important. The fact that 0:21:07.760 --> 0:21:11.420 he's the only player on the team still from 2019 0:21:11.780 --> 0:21:15.859 and that Sony Michel was like the second best player. 0:21:16.430 --> 0:21:18.740 He's I mean, those are first round picks. Of course, 0:21:18.740 --> 0:21:20.929 they're supposed to be good. And Sony Michel had a 0:21:20.930 --> 0:21:23.899 great rookie season where they helped him, where he helped 0:21:23.900 --> 0:21:26.540 them get to the Super Bowl and win it. But 0:21:26.540 --> 0:21:29.270 other than that, like Sony, Michel was never special. He 0:21:29.270 --> 0:21:32.030 was not a unique talent. He just was. He was 0:21:32.030 --> 0:21:34.910 just like in a good situation, to be honest. And 0:21:34.910 --> 0:21:37.130 so I don't know. I don't know. I feel like 0:21:37.130 --> 0:21:38.840 there were years where he might not have made the 0:21:38.840 --> 0:21:41.570 team if he was wasn't a first round pick. And 0:21:41.570 --> 0:21:45.590 then you go back to 2017, 2016, really like one 0:21:45.590 --> 0:21:47.930 or two good players are coming out of those years 0:21:48.650 --> 0:21:51.500 and you need more out of a draft class like 0:21:51.500 --> 0:21:55.430 we're seeing over the last two years. Mac Jones, Barmore, 0:21:55.520 --> 0:22:00.540 Stephenson and then going into this, this last year, dugger. Okay. 0:22:00.650 --> 0:22:04.080 Justin Herron, Michael online. No. So you have, you know, 0:22:04.100 --> 0:22:06.389 you have two starters, two with one one two and dugger, 0:22:06.530 --> 0:22:10.159 dugger and then you have two backups or sub sub 0:22:10.160 --> 0:22:13.639 role players here. And the fact that that's kind of 0:22:13.670 --> 0:22:15.770 all they got. I don't know. The fact is that 0:22:15.800 --> 0:22:20.310 like Devin ICRC and Dalton Keene are just duds. I 0:22:20.330 --> 0:22:23.300 think probably, yeah, they'll probably get caught next year when 0:22:23.300 --> 0:22:25.850 the optics look a bit better for Bill Belichick to 0:22:25.850 --> 0:22:29.660 cut them. Good one. The other thing is the 2021 0:22:29.660 --> 0:22:32.780 draft class might not be done. You you alluded to 0:22:32.780 --> 0:22:37.130 Ronnie Perkins not really doing anything. Also, Shaun Wade is 0:22:37.130 --> 0:22:41.450 a rookie. The Patriots in draft him, but they traded 0:22:41.450 --> 0:22:46.340 for him at the roster cut down day. The Ravens 0:22:46.340 --> 0:22:48.439 had him on their team. It was great. It was 0:22:48.440 --> 0:22:51.650 a fifth round pick. I think a great preseason and 0:22:51.650 --> 0:22:54.680 the Patriots traded for him, so he'll he'll be kind 0:22:54.680 --> 0:22:57.409 of like an honorary member of the class. Curious to 0:22:57.410 --> 0:23:01.520 see how he pans out. And then finally, Cameron McGraw, 0:23:01.730 --> 0:23:05.840 he's on, I think, either NFC or either one of 0:23:05.840 --> 0:23:09.920 those injury lists, and we'll be back next year. He's 0:23:09.920 --> 0:23:14.000 a unique talent. He's a speedy, lighter linebacker that's going 0:23:14.000 --> 0:23:15.980 to play on the inside for them, if he can, 0:23:16.250 --> 0:23:19.040 if he can play. I think he's got sort of upside. 0:23:19.400 --> 0:23:23.120 People were talking about him in the draft process if 0:23:23.119 --> 0:23:26.000 he's put in the right place. Maybe he'll end up 0:23:26.000 --> 0:23:29.270 being one of those, those gems, one of those, sort 0:23:29.270 --> 0:23:32.450 of because he had to take a redshirt medical season. 0:23:32.780 --> 0:23:35.149 Teams knew he couldn't play this year, and he still 0:23:35.150 --> 0:23:38.600 came out of the draft. So that hurt his draft stock. 0:23:38.869 --> 0:23:41.750 But he seems like a kind of developmental guy where 0:23:41.820 --> 0:23:44.330 you let him, you know, heal up for a year 0:23:44.330 --> 0:23:47.450 and maybe he comes in and plays a sub several 0:23:47.450 --> 0:23:51.140 or even a starting one down the line. So it's important, 0:23:51.530 --> 0:23:54.710 enormously important in the league to nail your drafts. And 0:23:54.710 --> 0:23:58.310 Belichick was not doing it for many years, and that's 0:23:58.310 --> 0:24:01.850 why Brady grew frustrated. I mean, there are a number 0:24:01.850 --> 0:24:04.880 of reasons why Brady left, but the fact that there 0:24:04.880 --> 0:24:07.429 was no talent or they were really lagging in the 0:24:07.430 --> 0:24:11.600 talent department was sort of a problem Belichick created in 0:24:11.600 --> 0:24:14.270 the draft and his his Stafford. And that's why they 0:24:14.270 --> 0:24:17.360 were making sort of like desperate moves to get Mohamed 0:24:17.359 --> 0:24:21.650 Sanu and then Antonio Brown. They were adding these players 0:24:21.830 --> 0:24:24.410 that were like, You know, I mean, Antonio Brown is, 0:24:24.619 --> 0:24:27.590 I mean, we're seeing with with more drama in suing 0:24:27.590 --> 0:24:31.880 in Tampa. He's just like, there's not where. Use using 0:24:31.880 --> 0:24:37.820 questionable human being at its core and in Mohamed Sanu 0:24:37.850 --> 0:24:41.210 was a questionable talent, I'd say, for a second round 0:24:41.210 --> 0:24:44.020 pick a price, they probably went for a sixth round 0:24:44.020 --> 0:24:47.050 pick exactly, and they paid a second for Mohammed Teneo. 0:24:47.060 --> 0:24:50.140 So they were desperate at those times to really fill 0:24:50.510 --> 0:24:54.320 those that that were shortcomings from the draft. And so 0:24:54.320 --> 0:24:58.699 it's it's really bad that the Patriots nailed both the 0:24:58.700 --> 0:25:02.510 draft and free agency class. And it's sort of crazy 0:25:02.510 --> 0:25:05.720 because all general managers try to build their teams like 0:25:05.720 --> 0:25:08.690 this draft a quarterback in the first round. You fill 0:25:08.690 --> 0:25:11.510 around with free agents, you set a culture and then 0:25:11.510 --> 0:25:14.750 you with, but like, nobody actually does that. Look at 0:25:14.750 --> 0:25:19.340 the jets, wicked. Even the Browns like the Browns have had, 0:25:19.650 --> 0:25:22.480 they're looking at like obscene amount of first round picks 0:25:22.490 --> 0:25:25.639 through the years. And still, they're struggling to make a 0:25:25.640 --> 0:25:29.270 culture that wins and like it took years for them 0:25:29.270 --> 0:25:31.609 to go from being a dumpster team to like the 0:25:31.619 --> 0:25:34.550 five hundred and the Patriots. All of a sudden you 0:25:34.550 --> 0:25:37.369 go from like one year of being a 500 team 0:25:37.760 --> 0:25:40.490 back into a playoff and Super Bowl contention. 0:25:40.940 --> 0:25:43.310 What a story. It's a it's a it's an amazing story. 0:25:43.580 --> 0:25:46.760 Let's wrap it up here. We're saving our hot take 0:25:46.760 --> 0:25:48.590 for the end here. Had reset for all the folks 0:25:48.590 --> 0:25:49.879 that are hanging out with us here on the pod. 0:25:50.240 --> 0:25:53.660 You have a scorcher on Mac Jones about why he 0:25:53.660 --> 0:25:57.169 looks bad with the lead. So let's get into that 0:25:57.440 --> 0:25:58.010 right after this. 0:25:58.520 --> 0:26:03.290 This is the typical sports committee. Let's make this interesting. 0:26:04.730 --> 0:26:07.090 What's up, this is Geoff Clark from the Bet Slip 0:26:07.100 --> 0:26:11.090 and podcast presented by sports book Wired.com. I'm here with 0:26:11.090 --> 0:26:13.310 my handicap and whom he needs and begin to break 0:26:13.310 --> 0:26:16.340 down this week's Sunday Night Football game between the Pittsburgh 0:26:16.340 --> 0:26:19.639 Steelers and the Los Angeles Chargers. Our friends at typical 0:26:19.640 --> 0:26:23.510 sportsbook have the Chargers lane five and a half money lines, 0:26:23.510 --> 0:26:26.869 plus 200 for the Steelers, minus 250 for the L.A. 0:26:26.869 --> 0:26:30.320 Chargers and the total sitting at forty six and a half. 0:26:30.660 --> 0:26:33.890 I'm taking the underdog Steelers out, plus five and a half. 0:26:34.910 --> 0:26:38.270 Steelers have a huge edge in coaching matchup between Mike 0:26:38.270 --> 0:26:41.570 Tomlin and Brandon Staley. They're much better on third down 0:26:41.570 --> 0:26:44.570 and red and in the red zone, the Chargers have 0:26:44.570 --> 0:26:49.520 a negative differential and third down and red zone conversion rate. Also, 0:26:49.609 --> 0:26:52.609 if you blindly feed the more popular side, which is 0:26:52.609 --> 0:26:56.000 the Chargers, you win sixty three percent of your primetime 0:26:56.000 --> 0:26:58.940 games this season. Nate, how are you looking at this game? 0:26:59.240 --> 0:27:02.449 I'm going with the under forty six point five. The 0:27:02.450 --> 0:27:04.859 Chargers by far have the worst rush defense in the league. 0:27:04.880 --> 0:27:07.939 Pittsburgh is twenty fifth in opponent, rushing yards per game. 0:27:08.150 --> 0:27:09.320 It's going to be a lot of running, a lot 0:27:09.320 --> 0:27:11.310 of killing the clock, especially if we don't know. But 0:27:11.330 --> 0:27:13.129 Big Ben status, I'm going with the under. 0:27:13.640 --> 0:27:16.940 That was your typical sportsbook minute for a limited time. 0:27:17.030 --> 0:27:20.390 New users in Colorado and New Jersey from this podcast 0:27:20.420 --> 0:27:23.840 will enjoy a special welcome bonus. Get your bonus today 0:27:23.840 --> 0:27:28.790 at USA Today BET.com Flash Podcast. That's USA Today Icon 0:27:28.790 --> 0:27:33.200 Slash podcast significant for terms and conditions. 21+ only gambling 0:27:33.200 --> 0:27:35.359 problem call one 800 Gambler in New Jersey one 800 0:27:35.359 --> 0:27:37.310 five two two four seven zero zero in Colorado. 0:27:42.190 --> 0:27:43.810 All right, Henry, I don't know if this is still 0:27:43.810 --> 0:27:46.510 you're still kind of crafting this take, I think this 0:27:46.510 --> 0:27:49.750 is this one's not well done yet, it's still you're 0:27:49.750 --> 0:27:52.810 still cooking this one up, right? But we talked about 0:27:52.810 --> 0:27:54.820 this right before we started recording. You said you had 0:27:54.820 --> 0:27:58.000 to take on why Mac Jones might not. He doesn't 0:27:58.000 --> 0:28:02.020 look quite as good when he's playing with a lead. Right? 0:28:02.050 --> 0:28:04.390 And we saw that right. He threw a bad pitch 0:28:04.780 --> 0:28:07.730 in this game and he wasn't completely, you know, was 0:28:07.750 --> 0:28:10.120 a really dominating as the Patriots are pulling away this game. 0:28:10.119 --> 0:28:12.310 So why does it, Mac Jones look as good out 0:28:12.310 --> 0:28:13.480 there when the Pats are ahead? 0:28:13.780 --> 0:28:18.959 I think there's layers to it. He's an emotional guy, 0:28:18.970 --> 0:28:23.890 and I think he's tired of the narrative that he's 0:28:24.160 --> 0:28:27.459 the weak link on the offense and kind of the 0:28:27.460 --> 0:28:30.610 team in general, where it's like team is really coming 0:28:30.609 --> 0:28:34.629 up fast and he his development is lagging behind the 0:28:34.630 --> 0:28:39.610 general groundswell of development all around him. And I think 0:28:39.610 --> 0:28:42.580 there's something to that that he is like, Don't get 0:28:42.580 --> 0:28:44.860 me wrong, Mac Jones. I feel like Patriot fans are 0:28:44.860 --> 0:28:47.080 going to hate me because they're like, Oh, Mac Jones 0:28:47.080 --> 0:28:50.050 is so good. He's the best rookie ever, and he's 0:28:50.230 --> 0:28:52.870 inward looking and I love him. That's a good one. 0:28:52.870 --> 0:28:56.470 It's like, I like that, you know, Mac Jones. Like, 0:28:56.470 --> 0:28:59.230 I get that Pro Football Focus loves Mac Jones, and 0:28:59.230 --> 0:29:01.870 I get to the stats show Mac Jones is like 0:29:01.870 --> 0:29:05.830 guy two incredible completion percentage. That's all well and good. 0:29:06.130 --> 0:29:08.740 He likes to throw the ball to the line of scrimmage. 0:29:09.070 --> 0:29:12.580 Andre Stevenson and Johnny Smith and other guys who really 0:29:13.030 --> 0:29:16.210 create yards after the catch. They're doing a great job 0:29:16.210 --> 0:29:19.120 of making those stats look look better. So there were 0:29:19.120 --> 0:29:23.110 just many opportunities for Mac Jones to really like slam 0:29:23.110 --> 0:29:27.010 the door of the Falcons because it was 13 zero 0:29:27.400 --> 0:29:31.510 when Mac Jones threw his interception and the Falcons ended 0:29:31.510 --> 0:29:33.970 up in Patriots territory. 0:29:34.000 --> 0:29:35.830 They ended up fouling is what they did. 0:29:36.520 --> 0:29:39.430 Yeah, and then they Falcons. But like, you can't always 0:29:39.430 --> 0:29:43.030 trust the opposing team to like the Falcons are going 0:29:43.030 --> 0:29:45.520 to Falcons, the jets are going to jets, right? There 0:29:45.520 --> 0:29:47.680 have been a couple of games where Mac Jones really 0:29:47.950 --> 0:29:51.250 struggles to slam the door on his opponent. And a 0:29:51.250 --> 0:29:53.910 part of that's because Arthur Smith, the Falcons coach he 0:29:53.950 --> 0:29:57.250 really gets how to stop this Patriots system. So a 0:29:57.250 --> 0:30:01.290 credit to him. But yeah, Mac Jones threw that interception, 0:30:01.290 --> 0:30:03.990 there was a third down, or Mac Jones misfired to 0:30:03.990 --> 0:30:06.960 an open Jacoby Meyers at the end of the first half. 0:30:07.290 --> 0:30:11.760 Mac Jones mismanaged the hurry up and there was a 0:30:11.760 --> 0:30:14.760 fourth and one, and when he went to the sideline, 0:30:15.030 --> 0:30:17.060 Brian Hoyer was kind of like coaching through it, like, 0:30:17.070 --> 0:30:20.250 here's what you should have done. Clearly, Mac Jones felt 0:30:20.250 --> 0:30:21.950 like he should have gotten a shot at the end zone. 0:30:22.330 --> 0:30:24.300 Or maybe they were going to try to convert that 0:30:24.300 --> 0:30:26.430 fourth down. Maybe they were going to try and draw 0:30:26.430 --> 0:30:28.709 an offsides. I don't really know, but it seems like 0:30:28.710 --> 0:30:31.770 they didn't feel like they maximize the final. Twenty five 0:30:31.770 --> 0:30:35.970 seconds of the first half got a field goal, which 0:30:35.970 --> 0:30:38.489 is great. And he's he's got a few games in 0:30:38.490 --> 0:30:43.080 a row now by getting that second quarter final second 0:30:43.470 --> 0:30:46.290 field goal or touchdown, which is a credit to him. 0:30:47.100 --> 0:30:51.390 But the defense is so good. The Patriots then become 0:30:51.390 --> 0:30:54.450 reliant on their run game that Mac Jones doesn't have 0:30:54.450 --> 0:30:56.940 to throw very much. And when he doesn't have to 0:30:56.940 --> 0:31:00.630 throw very much, he gets a rhythm out of sync 0:31:00.630 --> 0:31:03.750 and he doesn't do well in that area. That's just 0:31:04.020 --> 0:31:06.989 that's not his comfort zone, which is basically beyond the 0:31:06.990 --> 0:31:09.270 10 yard line. He's really good at peppering the ball 0:31:09.840 --> 0:31:13.440 with timing short, quick dink and dunk all that. And then, 0:31:13.740 --> 0:31:18.420 you know, his completion percentage looks brilliant, but sometimes doesn't 0:31:18.420 --> 0:31:20.970 pick his spots very well when he's going to push 0:31:20.970 --> 0:31:25.020 the ball downfield. And we saw that with the interception. A.J. Terrell, 0:31:25.020 --> 0:31:28.260 the Falcons cornerback. He really just stole the ball right 0:31:28.260 --> 0:31:29.760 away from them, and it was just sort of a 0:31:29.760 --> 0:31:33.990 careless error by Mac Jones that could not cost the 0:31:33.990 --> 0:31:39.030 Patriots the game, obviously, but could have been more costly 0:31:39.210 --> 0:31:44.280 against a more substantial opponent. So basically, my take is 0:31:44.280 --> 0:31:48.660 Mac Jones, still a rookie still developing and everyone who's 0:31:48.660 --> 0:31:51.540 saying that he's like the second coming of Tom Brady 0:31:51.540 --> 0:31:55.020 or even like, I don't know what the comps are 0:31:55.020 --> 0:31:58.320 these days for Mac Jones, but he's just not just 0:31:58.320 --> 0:32:02.370 not there yet, and he's not consistent quite yet. And 0:32:02.370 --> 0:32:04.380 I think that's one thing he's got to work on 0:32:04.380 --> 0:32:08.550 is is this defense and this running game will not 0:32:08.880 --> 0:32:12.750 make the team reliant on him. So unlike at Alabama, 0:32:12.750 --> 0:32:14.940 where he's like throwing the ball 40 times and he's 0:32:14.940 --> 0:32:17.970 the the most important player he's got to to kind 0:32:17.970 --> 0:32:22.200 of take a backseat and relax and like, find his rhythm, 0:32:22.200 --> 0:32:26.640 even when he's getting asked to throw sparingly, take his 0:32:26.640 --> 0:32:30.210 spots carefully because pushing the ball downfield is not easy 0:32:30.210 --> 0:32:33.450 for him. And so he shouldn't just do it because 0:32:34.350 --> 0:32:39.870 the media like me are saying that he can't. And so, yeah, 0:32:39.870 --> 0:32:41.280 that's kind of my take because I think he's a 0:32:41.280 --> 0:32:44.400 little bit in his head trying to prove himself to 0:32:44.400 --> 0:32:48.960 the NFL and to the up end that narrative. And 0:32:48.960 --> 0:32:52.290 I think he's a rhythm passer that doesn't quite always 0:32:52.290 --> 0:32:53.760 get put into a rhythm. 0:32:54.030 --> 0:32:57.000 Excellent stuff, as always from Henry McAdoo. Some stuff for 0:32:57.000 --> 0:32:59.370 Patriots fans to think about as we sit now through 0:32:59.370 --> 0:33:02.370 a long week waiting for the Titans, the Patriots on 0:33:02.370 --> 0:33:04.980 typical already three and a half point favorites of this one. 0:33:05.190 --> 0:33:07.530 Can't wait. It's going to be a huge game. So 0:33:07.530 --> 0:33:10.040 for Henry, I right O'Leary, thanks again for joining us. 0:33:10.080 --> 0:33:12.840 Hit the Subscribe button! Find us on Spotify, Apple Pods, 0:33:12.870 --> 0:33:16.540 Google Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. We appreciate you 0:33:16.640 --> 0:33:18.910 if we don't talk to you before then. 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