WEBVTT - Patriots Catch-22 11/30: Scouting the Bills, Evaluating Mac Jones/Offense vs. Vikings, Concerned about the Defense? 0:00:03.360 --> 0:00:06.720 This is the Patriots Catch twenty two podcasts with Evan 0:00:06.800 --> 0:00:11.280 Lazar and Alex Barth. I'm Lazar, Lazar Lazar. Hello, everybody 0:00:11.360 --> 0:00:15.360 nailed it, joined us always buying our Barak David match. 0:00:15.480 --> 0:00:19.760 No really, Chulk here is Evan Lazar and Alex barr 0:00:20.040 --> 0:00:22.920 Zach Wilson is definitely like the worst person to get 0:00:22.960 --> 0:00:25.680 stuck flaying golf with. You made it eight episodes before 0:00:25.680 --> 0:00:31.760 I got into a golf rance. Evan, good job. Hello, everybody, 0:00:32.320 --> 0:00:35.320 Welcome into a new edition of The Patriots Catch twenty two. 0:00:35.400 --> 0:00:38.200 I've opened Lazar every show we've done together the same 0:00:38.240 --> 0:00:41.320 way for three years, and it took a golf reference 0:00:41.320 --> 0:00:43.760 to throw you off of that. Wow, it definitely did 0:00:43.800 --> 0:00:46.880 throw me off because you know my feelings on golf. 0:00:46.920 --> 0:00:48.839 You also told me that I had to stay focused 0:00:48.840 --> 0:00:52.199 on the show because Argentina Poland is on right behind you. 0:00:52.479 --> 0:00:55.480 So I'm trying not to watch that right now because 0:00:55.520 --> 0:00:58.080 I do want to focus on the show. So that's 0:00:58.120 --> 0:01:01.360 what we're gonna do. Uh, we are going to creeve 0:01:01.360 --> 0:01:03.320 you the bills here today. That's gonna be a big 0:01:03.320 --> 0:01:04.920 part of the show. But I do want to go 0:01:05.000 --> 0:01:08.360 back and talk a little bit about the Vikings game, 0:01:08.440 --> 0:01:11.840 not necessarily get into the nitty gritty because I think 0:01:11.880 --> 0:01:14.280 it has been almost a week now and we're kind 0:01:14.280 --> 0:01:17.399 of onto Buffalo around here, Alex, But well, you, I 0:01:17.440 --> 0:01:19.040 do want to talk a little bit about that game 0:01:19.080 --> 0:01:21.160 as well, and that's where I want to start. And 0:01:21.800 --> 0:01:24.200 every show I try to come up with my my 0:01:24.240 --> 0:01:26.480 one big thing that I need to get off my 0:01:26.560 --> 0:01:32.280 chest what really grinds my gears about about what's going 0:01:32.400 --> 0:01:36.480 to the narrative. So the talk around the thank you, 0:01:37.200 --> 0:01:41.960 thank you, Yes, I knew he had it. And when 0:01:41.959 --> 0:01:44.839 you come off a game like that in Minnesota last 0:01:44.880 --> 0:01:48.600 Thursday night, and I'm not saying everybody, and I'm I'm 0:01:48.600 --> 0:01:52.400 gonna not saying anybody in particular, but when you come 0:01:52.440 --> 0:01:54.960 off a game like that on Thursday night, I feel 0:01:55.000 --> 0:02:02.880 like the conversation immediately for the majority goes to the 0:02:02.960 --> 0:02:06.280 defense getting shredded by Justin Jefferson and the Vikings, the 0:02:06.400 --> 0:02:08.920 special teams giving up a touchdown and running into the 0:02:08.919 --> 0:02:13.000 punter and all of these other factors right that go 0:02:13.040 --> 0:02:18.240 into losing the game, the referees, and I'm not saying 0:02:18.240 --> 0:02:22.000 that the offense always escapes blame, but I think in 0:02:22.040 --> 0:02:24.480 this particular instance. I heard a lot of that, right, 0:02:24.600 --> 0:02:27.360 Like the defense couldn't stop a real offense when they 0:02:27.360 --> 0:02:30.480 played a real offense. The special teams was terrible, the 0:02:30.680 --> 0:02:34.919 f's were terrible, and all of that might be true. 0:02:34.960 --> 0:02:36.840 It probably is true. A lot of it is true. 0:02:37.280 --> 0:02:39.600 But what I think the biggest problem that I have 0:02:39.919 --> 0:02:46.440 with why it gets me agitated is because we look 0:02:46.480 --> 0:02:50.359 at that and we don't We're trying to take away 0:02:50.400 --> 0:02:52.560 blame from the offense, right, And I've had some people 0:02:52.600 --> 0:02:54.840 that sit here and tell me, oh, well, twenty six 0:02:54.880 --> 0:02:57.959 points should be enough to win a game. Twenty six 0:02:58.000 --> 0:03:00.680 points probably wins you a lot of games this league, right, 0:03:00.680 --> 0:03:03.280 It probably wins you a lot of those games against 0:03:03.360 --> 0:03:08.239 the Lions, or against the Jets with Zach Wilson at quarterback, 0:03:08.320 --> 0:03:10.440 or the Colt with Sam Ellinger. Like, that's gonna win 0:03:10.480 --> 0:03:12.360 you a lot of football games at twenty six points. 0:03:12.880 --> 0:03:16.000 But when the Patriots play teams like Minnesota on the 0:03:16.120 --> 0:03:19.239 road on Thanksgiving night of another playoff team they play 0:03:19.280 --> 0:03:23.960 Buffalo here tomorrow night, the offense has to be able 0:03:23.960 --> 0:03:28.160 to win you a game. Eventually, Yeah, eventually, the offense 0:03:28.200 --> 0:03:30.640 has to be able to drive the bus. Because the 0:03:30.680 --> 0:03:32.800 Patriots to me right now, Alex and I think the 0:03:32.800 --> 0:03:36.640 biggest reason why the Patriots cannot get over the hump 0:03:36.680 --> 0:03:43.080 of being a six and five mediocre average operation is 0:03:43.120 --> 0:03:46.680 because they can only win games one way. They only 0:03:46.720 --> 0:03:50.480 have one winning formula, and that is that the defense dominates. 0:03:50.640 --> 0:03:53.320 They play a clean game across the board, and the 0:03:53.360 --> 0:03:57.320 offense is allowed to just kind of coast to a 0:03:57.440 --> 0:04:00.560 victory and there's never any real pressure on the offense 0:04:00.760 --> 0:04:03.920 in a fourth quarter or in a big spot. That's 0:04:03.920 --> 0:04:07.119 how they win football games. When they get into these 0:04:07.160 --> 0:04:11.880 games where the defense doesn't have its best day, the 0:04:11.960 --> 0:04:17.280 special teams make some mistakes, there's some adversity for the offense. 0:04:17.839 --> 0:04:22.400 They do not have the ability yet to rise above 0:04:22.440 --> 0:04:26.680 it as an offense and lead this team to victory. 0:04:26.720 --> 0:04:30.279 The Patriots had I'm taking out the last drive because 0:04:30.279 --> 0:04:33.000 that the last drive to me is last garbage time. 0:04:34.640 --> 0:04:37.360 It's essentially garbage time. Yeah, the three drives that they 0:04:37.360 --> 0:04:40.760 had in the fourth quarter they went punt, punt, turnover 0:04:40.839 --> 0:04:45.040 on downs. In the fourth quarter, they gained fifty eight 0:04:45.120 --> 0:04:49.040 yards on thirteen plays, and forty of those yards were 0:04:49.040 --> 0:04:51.920 on a screen pass to Rumandre Stevenson, So that means 0:04:51.960 --> 0:04:55.440 that the other twelve plays went for eighteen yards in 0:04:55.480 --> 0:05:00.839 that game. And I think we remember a lot in 0:05:01.120 --> 0:05:06.200 the Brady era about the Patriots mystique that, oh, they 0:05:06.279 --> 0:05:08.920 never made mistakes like that, right, Like, oh, they never 0:05:08.920 --> 0:05:12.000 would run into the punter, or they would always step 0:05:12.000 --> 0:05:15.000 out abound Hunter Henry at the two minute warning and 0:05:15.120 --> 0:05:18.440 preserve the clock, right, like they always made these I 0:05:18.480 --> 0:05:21.960 think on the whole, they made those decisions way more 0:05:22.120 --> 0:05:24.440 than maybe they are doing now, right, Like maybe it 0:05:24.480 --> 0:05:27.279 was almost a ninety percent lock that they would do 0:05:27.279 --> 0:05:30.320 those things. But they didn't always play perfect. They didn't 0:05:30.320 --> 0:05:33.279 always have perfect games, but they won so many games 0:05:33.360 --> 0:05:37.080 because quite frankly, Brady would put the team on his back, 0:05:37.480 --> 0:05:40.800 right and Brady would lead them there. And I'm not 0:05:40.800 --> 0:05:43.080 putting it all on mac Jones, but I think a 0:05:43.120 --> 0:05:45.960 lot of it is on mac Jones. And if they 0:05:46.040 --> 0:05:48.440 are going to compete with Buffalo tomorrow night, and this 0:05:48.520 --> 0:05:50.880 is sort of why I'm bringing this up and starting here, 0:05:51.440 --> 0:05:54.719 if they're going to compete with Buffalo tomorrow night, they 0:05:54.720 --> 0:05:58.480 are going to have to get that performance from mac Jones. 0:05:58.520 --> 0:06:01.320 They are not going to hold the offense to ten points. 0:06:01.839 --> 0:06:05.240 They are not going to dominate the Bills offense tomorrow night. 0:06:05.640 --> 0:06:08.480 The Bills offense is going to get theirs right. Right. 0:06:08.800 --> 0:06:11.280 Maybe they can hope to make it less efficient, right, 0:06:11.279 --> 0:06:13.760 and maybe there's some turnovers mixed in there or something 0:06:13.800 --> 0:06:17.839 like that. But the Bills offense, I would say, realistically, 0:06:18.880 --> 0:06:21.760 is going to get to twenty seven points. Twenty seven 0:06:21.839 --> 0:06:25.119 is where they got last week against Detroy despite having 0:06:25.120 --> 0:06:28.880 a few snaffoos, right, despite having a few turnovers and 0:06:28.960 --> 0:06:30.960 brain farts in the red zone and things like that, 0:06:31.160 --> 0:06:34.640 they still got to twenty seven. Can you score twenty eight? 0:06:34.640 --> 0:06:39.520 Can you score thirty? Right? Can you outscore them? Because 0:06:39.600 --> 0:06:42.880 right now the Patriots cannot have not shown I'm not 0:06:42.880 --> 0:06:44.720 gonna say they can't do it, because maybe they can 0:06:44.800 --> 0:06:48.159 in the future, but as of right now, they have 0:06:48.320 --> 0:06:51.000 shown us that they can't do it. Well, they just 0:06:51.040 --> 0:06:55.080 score twenty six, so they're gonna need twenty eight. They're 0:06:55.080 --> 0:06:57.040 gonna need twenty eight, all right, Fine, can they hit 0:06:57.080 --> 0:06:59.279 another field goal? A couple things about what you just said. 0:06:59.279 --> 0:07:03.320 We've talked about this before, and I've said that when 0:07:03.400 --> 0:07:05.839 you know, we throw these terms around, good team, great team, whatever. 0:07:06.960 --> 0:07:10.840 A bad team can't win, a good team can win. 0:07:10.880 --> 0:07:13.880 Games their way, Right, a great team can win games 0:07:13.920 --> 0:07:17.040 multiple ways, or a great team can win games multiple ways. 0:07:17.080 --> 0:07:20.120 An elite team can win games anyway. And I think 0:07:20.160 --> 0:07:22.160 where the Patriots are right now, they can win games 0:07:22.160 --> 0:07:24.920 their way. They can win defensive games right, low scoring games. 0:07:25.240 --> 0:07:27.320 They're trying to get from that good to that great column. 0:07:27.280 --> 0:07:30.400 It's kind of essentially what you're saying exactly. I don't 0:07:30.520 --> 0:07:34.400 disagree with your overall points on the offense. I don't 0:07:34.520 --> 0:07:37.160 think it applies to last week a ton just because 0:07:38.240 --> 0:07:41.080 I yes, they weren't great in the fourth quarter, but man, 0:07:41.120 --> 0:07:43.920 they gave that. When your defense is built the way 0:07:43.920 --> 0:07:47.960 it is, that should be enough. The offense doesn't exist 0:07:47.960 --> 0:07:51.840 in a bubble, right. I just think complimentary football, right 0:07:51.960 --> 0:07:55.480 for the for the for the offense to have the 0:07:55.520 --> 0:07:58.440 performance it had, the defense should be able to clean up. 0:07:58.760 --> 0:08:01.600 I would come back at you, you know, where was 0:08:01.600 --> 0:08:03.400 the turnover late in the game, Where was the pressure 0:08:03.400 --> 0:08:05.320 on Kirk Cousins, any of that? When the Patriots have 0:08:05.400 --> 0:08:08.120 won these kinds of games, the kind of game even 0:08:08.280 --> 0:08:10.880 going back to some of the later Brady years we 0:08:11.000 --> 0:08:13.840 called darn harmon the closer for a reason, right, because 0:08:13.840 --> 0:08:15.280 the defense would come up at the end of the 0:08:15.280 --> 0:08:17.720 game and force that one big turnover that would end it, 0:08:18.160 --> 0:08:20.360 and that wasn't there. They let the Vikings score ten 0:08:20.400 --> 0:08:22.920 points in the fourth quarter and have a big drive 0:08:23.000 --> 0:08:25.400 late in the game that ran out the clock. I'm 0:08:25.400 --> 0:08:28.040 not saying the offense was perfect. They weren't. They weren't, 0:08:28.360 --> 0:08:32.680 But I think your point could be better made about, honestly, 0:08:32.720 --> 0:08:35.400 even a win. Go back to the Jets game, right, 0:08:35.440 --> 0:08:37.400 That's a game where I'm more like, yeah, they won 0:08:37.440 --> 0:08:39.199 and it was great, but man, you needed something more 0:08:39.200 --> 0:08:41.360 from the offense in that one. I just feel like 0:08:42.320 --> 0:08:45.840 you can only win a game with your defense right now, right, 0:08:45.880 --> 0:08:48.200 And this is the big problem to me is that 0:08:48.559 --> 0:08:50.680 you know you're saying it should have been enough, but 0:08:50.800 --> 0:08:53.959 on that day, it wasn't enough. Right, So on that 0:08:54.040 --> 0:08:58.120 particular day what you are expected why but because complimentary football, 0:08:58.160 --> 0:09:00.760 Why wasn't it enough? Because you are affecting the defense 0:09:00.840 --> 0:09:03.319 to be not I won't use the word perfect, but 0:09:03.400 --> 0:09:05.679 you were expecting the defense to be good every single week, 0:09:06.000 --> 0:09:08.199 and in this league, you're not going to be good 0:09:08.280 --> 0:09:10.920 every single the way this defense is played this year, 0:09:11.160 --> 0:09:13.240 and I know people point out the good quarterbacks versus 0:09:13.240 --> 0:09:16.679 the bad quarterbacks whatever, they should not allow thirty three 0:09:16.720 --> 0:09:19.280 points to Kirk Cousins. That to me is the bigger 0:09:19.320 --> 0:09:24.040 issue here. I got backup left, Hime. I disagree because 0:09:24.120 --> 0:09:26.200 I just think that some weeks you're just not going 0:09:26.240 --> 0:09:28.400 to be on your a game, like you know, for 0:09:28.480 --> 0:09:30.719 the Patriots. Here's the whole point, right, And when we 0:09:30.800 --> 0:09:32.880 say that about the offense, No, the offense is bad. 0:09:33.440 --> 0:09:35.880 The offense has been bad all year, right, and the 0:09:35.960 --> 0:09:38.679 offense at some point the offense needs to needs to 0:09:39.240 --> 0:09:42.319 hold its end of the bargain. That's my point, right, 0:09:42.559 --> 0:09:44.640 And I think the biggest thing is is that when 0:09:44.679 --> 0:09:46.120 you start to I'm not going to do the whole 0:09:46.160 --> 0:09:48.400 schedule thing and stuff like that, but when you start 0:09:48.480 --> 0:09:53.160 to break down, how does this Patriots team make the playoffs? Yeah? 0:09:53.320 --> 0:09:55.280 I think they have to get to ten wins, right, 0:09:55.400 --> 0:09:57.120 which means that they have to go four and two 0:09:57.200 --> 0:09:58.920 in the last six games of the season to get 0:09:58.920 --> 0:10:01.480 to ten wins. We are not going to win four 0:10:01.640 --> 0:10:06.360 games out of this six with this schedule on all 0:10:06.520 --> 0:10:09.400 on the back of your defense. Not in this league, 0:10:09.600 --> 0:10:13.240 not in twenty twenty two, not with Joe Burrow and 0:10:13.600 --> 0:10:15.520 Jamar Chase coming in here in a couple of weeks 0:10:15.600 --> 0:10:18.320 and two and the Dolphins coming in here and Buffalo 0:10:18.480 --> 0:10:21.120 coming in here and then traveling to Buffalo, Like, you're 0:10:21.200 --> 0:10:24.280 just not going to win the games on the back 0:10:24.320 --> 0:10:27.920 of the defense without the offense winning are stealing or 0:10:28.000 --> 0:10:30.560 whatever term you want to use a game every once 0:10:30.559 --> 0:10:32.400 in a while, And this this is I think a 0:10:32.480 --> 0:10:34.360 two year trend now at the Patriots two like this 0:10:34.480 --> 0:10:36.880 goes back to Max's rookie season as well, and it 0:10:36.960 --> 0:10:39.959 goes back to twenty twenty two, but I kind of 0:10:40.000 --> 0:10:43.800 throw twenty twenty out. You look at the last two years. 0:10:44.760 --> 0:10:46.880 This is the only way that they win football games. 0:10:47.240 --> 0:10:49.240 And if you're that one dimensional, then you're an eight 0:10:49.320 --> 0:10:51.040 win team. Then you're good. You're not, You're a good 0:10:51.120 --> 0:10:53.880 not great team, right And in order for them to 0:10:53.960 --> 0:10:56.319 get where they need to get, and and for in 0:10:56.480 --> 0:10:59.400 order honestly, in order for me to be totally sold 0:10:59.480 --> 0:11:02.080 on mac Joe is the future, like as the franchise 0:11:02.240 --> 0:11:05.640 quarterback that we all want him to be. I gotta see. 0:11:06.800 --> 0:11:09.800 Things didn't go well defensively, the special teams made a 0:11:09.840 --> 0:11:12.880 few mistakes, but it didn't matter because mac Jones led 0:11:12.920 --> 0:11:15.640 them to a win. He doesn't have a win like that. 0:11:15.920 --> 0:11:19.280 He just doesn't. He should have against He should have 0:11:19.360 --> 0:11:23.800 two against Dallas and Tampa last year. Dallas, to me too, 0:11:24.080 --> 0:11:26.880 is the same thing. Dallas. He throws a pick six 0:11:27.120 --> 0:11:29.360 and then he comes back the next play and throws 0:11:29.400 --> 0:11:31.520 a touchdown. If he doesn't throw a pick six, Alex, 0:11:31.559 --> 0:11:34.000 then they're not in the hole to begin with, the 0:11:34.120 --> 0:11:37.760 only reason why they're all out, then it all that's out. 0:11:38.760 --> 0:11:40.839 I still don't I still don't think that that was 0:11:41.080 --> 0:11:44.599 that was And also let's not forget they had the 0:11:44.600 --> 0:11:47.400 possession in overtime where they had the ball now that 0:11:47.559 --> 0:11:50.959 Nelson Agler draw or was hell sure he dropped it, 0:11:51.520 --> 0:11:53.280 but and they could have gone for it on fourth down. 0:11:53.360 --> 0:11:54.680 To be honest too, I think it was like fourth 0:11:54.720 --> 0:11:59.680 and three or fourth right, But they didn't lead. They didn't. 0:11:59.760 --> 0:12:01.800 He had the opportunity to lead the drive in overtime 0:12:01.840 --> 0:12:05.880 and they didn't. And again I'm not just putting it 0:12:05.920 --> 0:12:08.120 all on Mac like the whole offense, right, But but 0:12:08.240 --> 0:12:09.840 this is my point. You're saying you want to see 0:12:09.880 --> 0:12:11.719 this for Mac, and I'm telling you have seen it. 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:14.679 This is the whole. This is just one example of 0:12:14.720 --> 0:12:17.280 the whole conversation that exists around Mac Jones. Right now, 0:12:17.760 --> 0:12:21.080 you have seen it in the sense that Mac has 0:12:21.120 --> 0:12:23.480 done what you're asking him to do. The ultimate result 0:12:23.559 --> 0:12:25.480 isn't what you wanted to be, but that's due to 0:12:25.600 --> 0:12:29.520 factors outside of Mac jones control. I guess, man, we 0:12:29.679 --> 0:12:32.640 just can't keep making these excuses. You're right. Look, eventually 0:12:32.679 --> 0:12:36.880 you need to start winning games. You're right. But I've 0:12:36.960 --> 0:12:38.680 said this before on this show. I'll say it again. 0:12:39.440 --> 0:12:42.439 Mac Jones is not in the top three lists of 0:12:42.520 --> 0:12:46.000 reasons Mac Jones has struggled this year. I don't disagree 0:12:46.040 --> 0:12:50.959 with that, and I think that same concept applies to 0:12:51.040 --> 0:12:54.679 what we're talking about here again the Minnesota game. It's 0:12:54.679 --> 0:12:56.959 funny we're having this argument now. I actually think that 0:12:57.120 --> 0:12:59.559 there is some validity to the argument you're making. I 0:12:59.679 --> 0:13:02.319 just think the Minnesota game is the best example of it. 0:13:02.600 --> 0:13:04.640 I think the Minnesota game is the perfect example of 0:13:04.720 --> 0:13:07.920 it because the defense did not play particularly well. That yes, 0:13:08.040 --> 0:13:10.880 they probably should have played better against primetime Kirk Cousins, 0:13:11.040 --> 0:13:14.199 no doubt about it, but they did it. They in 0:13:14.280 --> 0:13:16.200 the kicking game. Let me let me, let me turn 0:13:16.240 --> 0:13:18.160 around on you. Then, why is it you need to 0:13:18.200 --> 0:13:20.480 see Mac play well when the defense doesn't play well, 0:13:20.640 --> 0:13:22.840 I would argue because I need Mac to pick up 0:13:22.880 --> 0:13:24.959 the rest of the team. I would, I would. I 0:13:24.960 --> 0:13:27.439 would be more interested in seeing because this is a 0:13:27.559 --> 0:13:31.679 defensive minded team. And even outside of maybe two or 0:13:31.720 --> 0:13:34.040 three years, defensive minded team in the league that is 0:13:34.040 --> 0:13:38.120 all about the last two or three years, even or 0:13:38.240 --> 0:13:40.800 the last twenty years, except for maybe two or three 0:13:41.360 --> 0:13:44.960 even when Brady was here, it is a defensive As 0:13:45.040 --> 0:13:47.480 long as Bill Belichick is the head coach, this is 0:13:47.520 --> 0:13:52.679 going to be a defensive minded football team that I 0:13:52.800 --> 0:13:55.360 want to be able to see them extend leads. I 0:13:55.440 --> 0:13:58.400 want to see when the defense is on, like look 0:13:58.400 --> 0:13:59.920 at the Jets game. I want to see them be 0:14:00.000 --> 0:14:01.920 able to pull away in that kind of game, not 0:14:02.280 --> 0:14:04.679 have a ten you know, a ten point come down 0:14:04.679 --> 0:14:07.480 to the wire. I've seen map before. Yes, I've seen 0:14:07.559 --> 0:14:10.520 them pull away from mediocre like I mean against I 0:14:10.559 --> 0:14:13.199 mean against a good team. Okay, I mean, but I 0:14:13.320 --> 0:14:17.000 just don't think that it's realistic. Again again down it 0:14:17.120 --> 0:14:19.160 is gonna come in here and drop an egg. But 0:14:19.280 --> 0:14:21.360 but not. It's not a Buffalo point. It's just a 0:14:21.440 --> 0:14:25.520 general point. You want to see Mac Jones play well 0:14:25.520 --> 0:14:27.320 against a good team. I want to see Mac Jones 0:14:27.400 --> 0:14:29.680 win a high scoring game. He has not won a 0:14:29.760 --> 0:14:32.520 game where the opposition scored twenty five points. Okay, So 0:14:32.680 --> 0:14:34.520 here when here's my point, Mike, and it's kind we're 0:14:34.600 --> 0:14:36.480 kind of arguing two sides of the same argument. But 0:14:36.600 --> 0:14:39.400 my bigger point is that's the story of our lives. Right. 0:14:39.720 --> 0:14:43.000 When is the last time the Patriots as a whole, 0:14:43.120 --> 0:14:45.480 like put Mac Jones aside, Yes, when's the last time 0:14:45.520 --> 0:14:48.040 they played a complete game offense, defense, special teams? We 0:14:48.160 --> 0:14:50.520 walked away from it all three units. Hey, that went 0:14:50.560 --> 0:14:53.560 well against not the Jaguars. I was gonna say Cleveland, 0:14:53.600 --> 0:14:56.840 So I guess that doesn't count. Okay, But they've been 0:14:56.920 --> 0:15:00.080 few and far between the last three years because I 0:15:00.280 --> 0:15:02.400 think that other teams get paid too, and you're just 0:15:02.560 --> 0:15:05.360 not gonna walk all over teams like Buffalo Like you're 0:15:05.400 --> 0:15:07.480 just not gonna walk all over teams on the road, 0:15:07.600 --> 0:15:10.840 Minnesota on all over him. That's why you want them 0:15:10.880 --> 0:15:13.000 to dominate in all three phases. You're not gonna do that. 0:15:14.080 --> 0:15:16.800 You can, you can play well in all three phases 0:15:16.840 --> 0:15:20.360 and not can the quarterback win a game for you? Can? 0:15:20.480 --> 0:15:23.360 He can? He put the team on his back. He 0:15:23.520 --> 0:15:26.280 had adversity on Thursday night. There's no doubt about it. 0:15:26.640 --> 0:15:29.320 The special teams gave up a kick return touchdown, Pierre 0:15:29.360 --> 0:15:32.120 Strong ran into the punter. The defense gave up twenty 0:15:32.160 --> 0:15:35.880 six points. Okay, he had to win a game. Thirty six, 0:15:36.040 --> 0:15:39.880 thirty three came up short. It's not like twenty sixteen anymore. 0:15:40.160 --> 0:15:43.640 You can win games. You're getting mad at me for 0:15:43.760 --> 0:15:45.760 being like behind the eight ball and how the NFL works, 0:15:45.840 --> 0:15:49.320 right because quarterback, quarterback, quarterback. Yeah, let me ask you this, 0:15:49.480 --> 0:15:51.080 the hot team, the real hot team in the NFL 0:15:51.200 --> 0:15:52.840 right now, they're talking about him right behind us here 0:15:52.880 --> 0:15:56.400 on ESPN, the San Francisco forty nine ers. How many 0:15:56.400 --> 0:15:58.480 of those games is Jimmy Garofolo really won? Okay, but 0:15:58.560 --> 0:16:01.080 the San Francisco forty nineties have Deebo Samuel and Christian 0:16:01.160 --> 0:16:06.000 McCay and George You're right, good, right, But but all 0:16:06.040 --> 0:16:09.600 I'm saying is, right there, you can win games by 0:16:09.720 --> 0:16:12.560 just all three units showing up, and it's been few 0:16:12.680 --> 0:16:15.160 like but okay, okay, okay, I agree with you. I 0:16:15.240 --> 0:16:17.080 agree with your point that they can win games with 0:16:17.120 --> 0:16:19.960 all three units showing up. You're not gonna win every 0:16:20.080 --> 0:16:23.680 game like that. You're not gonna get all three units 0:16:23.960 --> 0:16:29.920 a well oiled machine. Special teams play as well defense here. No, 0:16:30.120 --> 0:16:33.200 it's not, it is no, it's not. Alex. Did the 0:16:33.320 --> 0:16:36.000 defense play well in the second half against Kansas City 0:16:36.040 --> 0:16:39.360 in the AFC Championship game in twenty eighteen, they'se gave 0:16:39.480 --> 0:16:42.320 up thirty points, But you know, you know who played 0:16:42.360 --> 0:16:44.800 freaking well, Brady. He put the team on his bed. 0:16:47.520 --> 0:16:49.920 But this is the You need all of it, You 0:16:50.160 --> 0:16:53.600 need all of it. It's it's okay, and win the defense. 0:16:53.800 --> 0:16:56.720 On Thursday night against the Vikings, when the defense picks 0:16:56.760 --> 0:16:59.600 off Kirk Cousins in the first half and Jonathan Jones 0:16:59.640 --> 0:17:02.760 return to the seventeen yard like they wore, they need 0:17:02.800 --> 0:17:04.760 to score there. You're right, they need to score there. 0:17:04.800 --> 0:17:08.040 You're right, You're you're right. But it's just it's it's 0:17:08.119 --> 0:17:12.680 more so it's less Mack that I'm frustrated with, and 0:17:12.840 --> 0:17:15.680 more so what's going on in the margins, right, It's 0:17:15.720 --> 0:17:18.280 the penalty point is is that the that winning on 0:17:18.400 --> 0:17:22.120 the margins every time you go out there is hard. 0:17:22.720 --> 0:17:25.000 Every time you go out on the field. If you 0:17:25.240 --> 0:17:28.439 can't have any dumb well, every time you go out 0:17:28.480 --> 0:17:29.920 there as hard. I don't want him to play well 0:17:29.960 --> 0:17:32.399 every time. I wanted to play well once and he 0:17:32.520 --> 0:17:36.320 did just play well for three quarters. For three quarters, 0:17:36.400 --> 0:17:40.240 he played well. Okay, I want him to go. I 0:17:40.720 --> 0:17:42.359 don't need him to play I don't need him to 0:17:42.400 --> 0:17:44.840 win every single game for them. Okay, I don't need 0:17:44.920 --> 0:17:47.280 him to be Patrick Mahomes right where he goes out 0:17:47.359 --> 0:17:49.960 there and you win every single game because Patrick Mahomes 0:17:50.000 --> 0:17:52.520 is your quarterback, right, I don't need that. But every 0:17:52.600 --> 0:17:55.639 once in a while, when the defense is having an 0:17:55.680 --> 0:17:58.520 off game, right, it's like if you're I'm gonna crossports, 0:17:58.720 --> 0:18:01.359 if you roll your ace out there in baseball and 0:18:01.720 --> 0:18:05.520 he gets knocked around a little bit, you're surprised, right, 0:18:05.560 --> 0:18:08.840 You're like, oh wow, Like you know, justin Verlander gave 0:18:08.880 --> 0:18:11.159 up five runs this this game. That's surprising. That's not 0:18:11.240 --> 0:18:14.800 justin Verlander's game, Right, We're not used to that. Let's 0:18:14.840 --> 0:18:17.879 go out there and score six, right, Like, is that 0:18:18.720 --> 0:18:21.119 that's where we're getting at here? Where that is the 0:18:22.200 --> 0:18:25.280 that has eluded this team, that has eluded this team, 0:18:25.680 --> 0:18:27.920 That when the defense over the last two years, and 0:18:28.040 --> 0:18:31.520 the defense hasn't carried the team to the winners circle, 0:18:32.520 --> 0:18:35.240 and all the stuff on the details and on the 0:18:35.320 --> 0:18:38.720 margins that everybody talks about. To me is what you 0:18:38.800 --> 0:18:41.960 were talking about earlier. That's that good teams need all 0:18:42.040 --> 0:18:44.840 that to go right. They need every call they need, 0:18:45.040 --> 0:18:48.359 they need not to commit dumb penalties when they're in 0:18:48.400 --> 0:18:50.680 the two minute drill, the quarterback needs to throw the 0:18:50.720 --> 0:18:52.960 ball away instead of taking a sack to preserve time 0:18:52.960 --> 0:18:55.800 because they need every second of the game, they need 0:18:55.920 --> 0:19:00.520 every scoring opportunity to go correctly. And this team is 0:19:00.680 --> 0:19:03.120 in that position. And that's why last year they were 0:19:03.240 --> 0:19:05.919 ten and seven beating up on bad teams. This year 0:19:06.000 --> 0:19:08.639 there's six and five beating up on bad teams. Is 0:19:08.640 --> 0:19:12.040 because when the good teams come in here, you need 0:19:12.119 --> 0:19:15.520 to actually be able to be better than just the oh, well, 0:19:15.720 --> 0:19:18.800 we didn't shoot ourselves in the foot team, or if 0:19:18.840 --> 0:19:21.040 you do shoot yourself in the foot, you have to 0:19:21.119 --> 0:19:23.240 be able to overcome in But that's how many teams 0:19:23.280 --> 0:19:25.000 in the league. That's two or three teams in the 0:19:25.080 --> 0:19:27.920 league are that good. I don't think that's true. I 0:19:28.040 --> 0:19:30.760 don't think that's true. I think that there are teams. 0:19:31.400 --> 0:19:33.560 I think that a lot of playoff teams are like that. 0:19:33.880 --> 0:19:35.840 I think a lot of good playoff teams are like that, 0:19:35.960 --> 0:19:38.359 and right now, that's what you want to be the 0:19:38.400 --> 0:19:40.640 super Bowl this year especially, I think it's all about 0:19:40.640 --> 0:19:42.520 what's going on in the margins. There's a handful of teams, 0:19:42.560 --> 0:19:45.000 and yes, one of them is coming in this in tomorrow. 0:19:45.440 --> 0:19:48.119 But this Buffalo team is eight and three and they 0:19:48.200 --> 0:19:52.520 don't play well in the margins at all. Exactly interceptions, 0:19:52.560 --> 0:19:55.560 and there's still eight and three. But Mac Jones isn't 0:19:55.680 --> 0:19:58.120 Josh Allen one because he throws less interceptions. But there's 0:19:58.160 --> 0:20:01.320 other reasons as well. Mac Jones isn't Josh Allen. So 0:20:01.560 --> 0:20:03.800 if you're a big complaint is Mac Jones isn't Josh Allen, 0:20:03.840 --> 0:20:05.040 I don't know what to tell you that. No, my 0:20:05.200 --> 0:20:07.880 big complaint is not that Mac Jones isn't Josh Allen 0:20:07.880 --> 0:20:11.080 because Josh Allen. I know you're gonna you have your 0:20:11.160 --> 0:20:15.119 chance to talk about Josh Allen, but Josh Allen is 0:20:15.160 --> 0:20:18.480 on a different level. Okay, I'm not asking Mac Jones 0:20:18.560 --> 0:20:22.440 to win every single game. I'm asking him every once 0:20:22.480 --> 0:20:27.719 in a while when the Belichick stuff doesn't go well, right, 0:20:27.800 --> 0:20:30.320 when the defense doesn't play well, when they don't play 0:20:30.400 --> 0:20:33.520 sound in or you know, they're undisciplined and they take 0:20:33.560 --> 0:20:36.560 these dumb penalties and all this stuff doesn't go well. 0:20:37.600 --> 0:20:40.359 All right, he's got to be able to rise up 0:20:40.440 --> 0:20:45.200 and help the team propel the team forward. And on 0:20:45.400 --> 0:20:48.879 Thursday night he played lights out. And I'm gonna give 0:20:48.960 --> 0:20:52.240