Speaker 1: Mac White open throws. He's got a galore touchdown. This
Speaker 1: one is floated for picks and picked off. This one
Speaker 1: is too high and picked off coming up and misses
Speaker 1: a pick by Kyle van Oy throw it right to
Speaker 1: him and vannoys in from the touchdown. Philippe Franks crows
Speaker 1: and this one is picked off. Well, now it is over. Well,
Speaker 1: I think when we're hearing the name Philippe Franks, we
Speaker 1: know that the game has gone south to some degree
Speaker 1: m for the Atlanta Falcons and really for many viewers
Speaker 1: as well. But unless you were a Patriots fan, a
Speaker 1: strange game. Tonight, the Patriots um continue their show of
Speaker 1: dominance of late with a twenty five to nothing blanking
Speaker 1: of a wandering and lost Falcons team in search of
Speaker 1: its own identity. We'll get into all of that. Mark
Speaker 1: Cecil here with you tonight on the Thursday Night Recap.
Speaker 1: I'm joined by two wonderful individuals in house teammates here
Speaker 1: at NFL Network. Marcus Grant is number one. He is
Speaker 1: a fantasy guru, man with a fire in the belly,
Speaker 1: a workplace individual who has been the heart and soul
Speaker 1: of NFL dot COM's fantasy universe. For quite some time.
Speaker 1: We're happy to have him with us. And a newcomer
Speaker 1: to NFL Network, Bridget Condon, having just landed here in
Speaker 1: the last couple of months. Um. She is actually a
Speaker 1: Patriots fan who grew up reportedly twenty minutes she's got that.
Speaker 1: She's got the guard right there, twenty minutes from Gillette Stadium,
Speaker 1: So that tells you something right there. She enjoyed this evening. Um.
Speaker 1: But her, we'll get into her path a little bit.
Speaker 1: To come to NFL Network. She covered the Panthers for
Speaker 1: the last couple of years as well, so she's going
Speaker 1: to be doing a lot of stuff all around the
Speaker 1: league and we're happy to have her with us tonight.
Speaker 1: Let's get into this game. Bridget. I will start with you,
Speaker 1: because you know, I think the Patriots over the last
Speaker 1: month have changed perceptions about who they are at this point.
Speaker 1: You know, we had we did our midseason just died
Speaker 1: Super Bowl picks and I as a not as a joke,
Speaker 1: but just thought this might just get some attention and
Speaker 1: might get some tweets. I picked the Patriots as my
Speaker 1: a f C team, and now I'm starting to look
Speaker 1: like getting busters because it looks very smart um, you know, yeah,
Speaker 1: I think that the employer will enjoy what I've done there.
Speaker 1: What is your take on what is happening and what
Speaker 1: happened tonight with this Patriots team? Yeah, I think it.
Speaker 1: I just saw a stat come up on my Twitter
Speaker 1: feed that the Patriots have outscored their opponents by a
Speaker 1: hundred and twenty five points in that five game win
Speaker 1: streak that they're on. I think they've changed a lot
Speaker 1: of opinions, and I think this is credit to Mac
Speaker 1: Jones having time with Bill Belichick, learning the system and
Speaker 1: just becoming more comfortable. And Bill is just a mastermind, right,
Speaker 1: Like we have one bad season once Tom leaves and
Speaker 1: then now it's like hottest team in the a f C.
Speaker 1: Like you can't you can't say that, my Uh, Like
Speaker 1: I was trying to be an unbiased reporter now that
Speaker 1: I'm working for the NFL, I'm covering thirty thirty two teams,
Speaker 1: like trying to keep my opinions out of it. And
Speaker 1: so had a conversation with my dad a couple of
Speaker 1: weeks ago, like die hard Pats fan, and he's like,
Speaker 1: Bridget the Pats are going to the Super Bowl. They're
Speaker 1: going to the Super Bowl and I'm like, Dad, no,
Speaker 1: they're not. And he's texted me every day this week
Speaker 1: with a different article. They're a good team. They're a
Speaker 1: good team. They're a good team. And like I'm like,
Speaker 1: I guess he's right. I guess you're right. Like I,
Speaker 1: I don't know what's happening, but I'm riding the wave
Speaker 1: in tonight was just another example of Bill's magic. I
Speaker 1: know also that um Our producer Erica tam Posey has
Speaker 1: been all over you with Patriots texts and other paraphernalia,
Speaker 1: which I you know, we know that experience. Um I,
Speaker 1: I can only imagine where she is this evening. We've
Speaker 1: got the Grave Digger stepping in for her tonight. Her
Speaker 1: whereabouts are totally unknown. Marcus, your take, um your fast.
Speaker 1: There we go. He's played his own sound bite. That's
Speaker 1: that's the next level move by Grave Digger. Marcus. What
Speaker 1: is your what? What was your what was your experience
Speaker 1: watching this game? Uh? Well, one, the Patriots didn't offensively
Speaker 1: do a whole lot, but they didn't need to. And
Speaker 1: I think that's been maybe the big thing about this
Speaker 1: this wind street that we've seen them on, right, I mean,
Speaker 1: some of it is some of it is the opponents
Speaker 1: they played, right, I mean, they have gotten through a
Speaker 1: soft part of their schedule, but give them credit because
Speaker 1: they've gone out and they've dominated in that soft part
Speaker 1: of the schedule. You can only play the teams that
Speaker 1: are in front of you, and they've gone out and
Speaker 1: they've done an excellent job with the teams that they've
Speaker 1: gone against. But you look at what mac Jones has done,
Speaker 1: and Bridget sort of talked about it, right, Bill Belichick
Speaker 1: has put him in a situation where he can be comfortable,
Speaker 1: where he can prosper. They're not asking for the moon
Speaker 1: from him, but what they have really allowed him to
Speaker 1: do is play to his strengths. He's a guy who's
Speaker 1: very accurate, he makes the right reads and it's not
Speaker 1: necessarily a lot of deep throws, not a lot of
Speaker 1: high percentage throws, but he's getting he's throwing guys open,
Speaker 1: he's letting them make plays. And defensively, they have really
Speaker 1: turned it up a notch. I mean, obviously they dominated
Speaker 1: the Falcons tonight from start to finish, but you go
Speaker 1: over this last five games, uh, and they have really
Speaker 1: just sort of demoralized teams with what they're doing defensively,
Speaker 1: and it's all coming together at the right time. And now,
Speaker 1: whether or not they're the best team in the a
Speaker 1: f C or even the best team in the a
Speaker 1: f C East, I think that the jury is still
Speaker 1: out on that, um. But this is a team that
Speaker 1: really it's playing its best football at a great time
Speaker 1: of the year, and they're certainly in the conversation for
Speaker 1: making a run into the postseason. So uh, it's it's
Speaker 1: for for most of America, this is their worst nightmare,
Speaker 1: right It seemed as though we were rid of the
Speaker 1: Patriots in our football life, and Bill Belichick has figured
Speaker 1: out a way to sort of resurrect this team and
Speaker 1: get them right back in the conversation. But the people
Speaker 1: that can't stand the Patriots, because I wouldn't have put
Speaker 1: myself in that group. I if anything, uh, you know,
Speaker 1: the whole Brady in Belichick experience, um is something that
Speaker 1: will never see again as human beings with with a
Speaker 1: team and a coach and a quarterback. But isn't this
Speaker 1: a new Is it new? Or is it like? Am
Speaker 1: I actually watching this defense that held the page held
Speaker 1: the Falcons? And again it's the Falcons who are really
Speaker 1: a mess right now. But the sixty four yards of
Speaker 1: offense in the first half their lowest output in eight years.
Speaker 1: I mean it comes less than a week after Matt
Speaker 1: Ryan against the Cowboys was thumped to his lowest QB
Speaker 1: rating in fourteen years. So there's some systemic connection between
Speaker 1: an offense that really is struggling at the moment, but
Speaker 1: this Patriots defense. Um, I hear this a lot. I
Speaker 1: say it. I hear it from Greg Rosenthal that this
Speaker 1: reminds us of Patriots teams of old that we're not built,
Speaker 1: you know, around young Tom Brady, around dominant offense, but
Speaker 1: the defense jelling the way they are. Um Bridget, does
Speaker 1: this look to you like a team that, you know,
Speaker 1: where's the ceiling here? With this defense? I'm starting to
Speaker 1: get scary like a f C title game vibes from
Speaker 1: this crowd. Yeah. I think Matt Judean has been incredible
Speaker 1: for them, and uh he tonight was incredible. J C.
Speaker 1: Jackson has been incredible. I think they did a really
Speaker 1: good job in Bill Bell jack again, just he's smart.
Speaker 1: He knows how to get these pieces that other teams
Speaker 1: just let go into free agency and figure out a
Speaker 1: way to find guys who other people aren't seeing their
Speaker 1: strengths and fit him into his system. And again, like
Speaker 1: they're just such a disciplined team that, like you mentioned,
Speaker 1: even though mac Jones isn't Tom Brady and he's not
Speaker 1: executing these crazy plays, they have their defense on the
Speaker 1: other side of it. They can protect them and they
Speaker 1: don't need any of that. And you hold, yeah, a
Speaker 1: Falcons team to zero points tonight. I mean there were
Speaker 1: times there we like you were saying earlier, like you
Speaker 1: thought they were just gonna come come back and like
Speaker 1: get a touchdown or that a couple of field goal misses. Um.
Speaker 1: I think this defense is their strong suit right now,
Speaker 1: and it is keeping up for some of those mistakes
Speaker 1: early on that Max Jones is making and you know,
Speaker 1: his interception and things like that, that that's still going
Speaker 1: to happen as a rookie. You have the defense kind
Speaker 1: of as like the saving blanket to fall back on. Yeah,
Speaker 1: they seem versatile like that, Like last week against Cleveland,
Speaker 1: like we got to turn up the rushing attack. They
Speaker 1: had their highest output there, like a d eighty five yards.
Speaker 1: It just seemed to me extremely Dane. Just I guess,
Speaker 1: you know, we don't need to spend a lot of
Speaker 1: time on the Falcons. But Marcus, like, I guess, how
Speaker 1: do you view the Arthur Smith experience at this point?
Speaker 1: I thought a couple of weeks ago, arrows seem to
Speaker 1: be pointing up on a somewhat juicy offense that was
Speaker 1: showing some things. You lose Cordarrel Patterson. I know, from
Speaker 1: a fantasy angle for you, there's a lot of disappointed
Speaker 1: people on that front. Um is their hope? Here? Do
Speaker 1: you see growth? Or? I mean, I know the last
Speaker 1: two weeks have been a train wreck, but before that
Speaker 1: there was something to cling onto. Um. This tonight obviously
Speaker 1: is a low mark. It absolutely is, and they're just
Speaker 1: there are no answers right now in this offense. I
Speaker 1: tweeted during the game. You know, if you had said
Speaker 1: back in August that the Falcons needed Cordaryl Patterson to
Speaker 1: look like a functional offense, you would have been laughed
Speaker 1: off the internet. But here we are a week from
Speaker 1: Thanksgiving and that is absolutely the case. Um. Going into this,
Speaker 1: the one thing that we knew is that Bill Belichick,
Speaker 1: what he loves to do is take away whatever your
Speaker 1: strength is on offense, and with no Corderyl Patterson, with
Speaker 1: no Calvin Ridley. That put the spotlight squarely on Kyle
Speaker 1: Pitts and he was completely a non factor in this game.
Speaker 1: Throwing the fact that you have an offensive line that
Speaker 1: struggled to protect Matt Ryan. Uh, you know, as Bridget mentioned,
Speaker 1: Matt Judan is playing well, Christian Barmore is having an
Speaker 1: outstanding rookie season for this team, They're just there's nothing
Speaker 1: about this offense that that gives you reason to believe
Speaker 1: there's hope if Kyle Pitts can't go out and be
Speaker 1: a superstar, and that's asking a lot out of anybody,
Speaker 1: but especially a rookie tight end. Um, this offense is
Speaker 1: not going to move the football. And I again, until
Speaker 1: you know, if Calvin Ridley comes back, maybe that helps.
Speaker 1: When Cordeolle Patterson comes back, that certainly is going to help.
Speaker 1: But even then, uh, this is at best, at best
Speaker 1: a mediocre offense right now. And you know, like you said,
Speaker 1: this is kind of a wayward, lost team that doesn't
Speaker 1: have any real immediate answers. Yeah, the Falcons seemed like
Speaker 1: they have gone out of their way to not um
Speaker 1: create an offensive line that can you know, dominate the opposition.
Speaker 1: The same goes for the defensive line. I thought a
Speaker 1: turning point for them. It's some of these games I
Speaker 1: like to do this. I'm not always right, but early
Speaker 1: on I'll just say game over, and it's like, you know,
Speaker 1: sometimes you are right. And it felt like for me
Speaker 1: when they had that scenario third and one there at
Speaker 1: the Patriots fourteen, Matt Ryan took a sack. Unfortunate it
Speaker 1: was fourth and fourteen. Suddenly they made the field goal
Speaker 1: to get you know, it would have been ten to
Speaker 1: three to get back into it. There's a penalty. It's
Speaker 1: fourth and nineteen at that point, young Wick who misses
Speaker 1: the field goal. It's just like, guys, we cannot dream
Speaker 1: up a more disastrous, uh you know outcome for that
Speaker 1: drive and it never got any better. And I mean
Speaker 1: to end the game with four straight interceptions, I mean,
Speaker 1: I can't think of the last game that I've watched
Speaker 1: um at the pro level where there were four straight
Speaker 1: That's probably happened, but it's just, uh, it stood out tonight.
Speaker 1: It's a somewhat um epic disaster. And you know, the Patriots.
Speaker 1: I think good teams sometimes just take care of business
Speaker 1: like this against bad opposition, and the Patriots have been dominant.
Speaker 1: I would look at the Cleveland game last week as
Speaker 1: a huge turning point where they basically announced themselves as
Speaker 1: totally legit Grave Diggers. Wondering if Nathan Peterman through four
Speaker 1: straight picks, that feels very possible to me back in
Speaker 1: the day you did have the five interception half, wasn't it?
Speaker 1: Uh was once upon a time. Yeah, I think his
Speaker 1: family is trying to forget that. I don't know why
Speaker 1: we needed to bring that up again tonight, but um,
Speaker 1: that's how this works on this show apparently. So So
Speaker 1: I'll say this Mark though, I mean, for all the
Speaker 1: talk about the Patriots, right, I think we're gonna learn
Speaker 1: a lot about them the next two weeks. So after
Speaker 1: this they get essentially kind of a mini by but
Speaker 1: then they have the Titans at home and they go
Speaker 1: to Buffalo. So the next two weeks, I think you're
Speaker 1: gonna tell us a whole lot about where this Patriots
Speaker 1: team is. Right now, do you think we're back in
Speaker 1: a place that we're Bills fans who you know for
Speaker 1: the last year, we're really feeling like it's our time
Speaker 1: after twenty plus years um in the desert, now it's now,
Speaker 1: it's Buffalo's time to rule thisst division now that I
Speaker 1: would be looking knowver my shoulder if I'm Buffalo, if
Speaker 1: I'm a Buffalo faithful thinking this was short lived, this
Speaker 1: time on the top of the mountaintop. Potentially, I think. So,
Speaker 1: I mean they're they're kind of a fatalistic bunch. I
Speaker 1: think Bills fans um a lot of things. But yeah,
Speaker 1: but you know, after after twenty years of watching the
Speaker 1: Patriots be on top and thinking like, now this is
Speaker 1: our moment, this is our time, only to see, you know,
Speaker 1: the monster sort of rise from the grave and come
Speaker 1: after you again, I would definitely think there's a feeling
Speaker 1: of here we go again, um, you know, and we'll
Speaker 1: see how it manifests itself in in two weeks when
Speaker 1: these two teams play in Buffalo and like, Bridget, is
Speaker 1: your phone just exploding when like the Patriots do things
Speaker 1: like this tonight. Yeah, to your point, like I think
Speaker 1: Buffalo missed their opportunity last year, and like I have
Speaker 1: a ton of friends who are Bills fans and we're
Speaker 1: like giving me crap last season, right, and now it's
Speaker 1: like you knew this was coming, right, Like maybe as
Speaker 1: a Patriots I'm just like die Hard, Like I think
Speaker 1: of the positive, like I know that like I was,
Speaker 1: I don't think I've been worn during like the bad
Speaker 1: time of the Patriots, Like I've just experienced like the greatness.
Speaker 1: And so I'm like, oh, it's it's gonna get better,
Speaker 1: like it's gonna get fixed like whatever, like and here
Speaker 1: it is, like here's the answer, right. It's like the
Speaker 1: Patriots are the big brother to the Bills, and they
Speaker 1: were out on vacation and like the little brother got
Speaker 1: got the driver's seat for you know, the past year,
Speaker 1: and now big brothers coming back from college getting in
Speaker 1: the seat of the car and like little brothers getting
Speaker 1: shoved in in the house again. Um. One of the
Speaker 1: other points that I wanted to touch on that you
Speaker 1: were saying is like the Falcons, if we go back
Speaker 1: to them real quick, Matt Ryan, like when he got
Speaker 1: sacked early on in the game and you were talking
Speaker 1: about then then they missed the field goal after that penalty.
Speaker 1: You could kind of see it on his face when
Speaker 1: he was sitting on the sideline he got injured. He
Speaker 1: was like gushing blood on his arm, like he was
Speaker 1: grabbing his toe like to me looking at him, like
Speaker 1: when the cameras were zoomed in. I was like, he's
Speaker 1: already lost, like in his mind he was defeated, and
Speaker 1: then he finishes the game with four sacks. Like, if
Speaker 1: I'm the Falcons, I'm punching myself that we didn't get
Speaker 1: a quarterback last year in the draft and we decided
Speaker 1: to stick with Matt Ryan. I think I think that
Speaker 1: it is time for them to let him go and
Speaker 1: and start the next phase of their journey. Yeah, they
Speaker 1: definitely like there's another part of their team building and
Speaker 1: there could have been addressed last offseason. I mean, they
Speaker 1: could have had Mac Jones and you covered the Panthers.
Speaker 1: I think of other teams that could have had Mac Jones,
Speaker 1: especially when you know you know Matt Rule. Well, he
Speaker 1: came out a week ago, a week or two ago
Speaker 1: saying like we knew Mac Jones is gonna be great. Well,
Speaker 1: then why I don't you know the other part of
Speaker 1: that is why did we not pursue that? Um? I'll
Speaker 1: never starting to learn. So that's what I'm saying. Bill
Speaker 1: Belishack is smart, but he also like gets these opportunities
Speaker 1: like thrown out his lap that other coaches and other
Speaker 1: organizations pass up. On and I'm like, I mean, I'm
Speaker 1: not an owner, but come on, what are you doing? Yeah?
Speaker 1: And he's probably got you know, his Nick Saban was
Speaker 1: probably in his year all along the same draft for
Speaker 1: short players because it's working out well for them. All Right,
Speaker 1: we've got a couple more minutes. Um, Grave Digger has
Speaker 1: now chimed in to say, say that Nathan Peterman not
Speaker 1: do that? So um, that was an incredible subplot to
Speaker 1: this episode of the Around the NFL podcast. Before we go,
Speaker 1: I just want to hit you with a couple of
Speaker 1: quick questions each. Um. I'll start with you, Marcus, and
Speaker 1: these are not You don't have to dig into your
Speaker 1: like football treasure chest for these. You could just sort
Speaker 1: of think about who you are as a person. So, Marcus,
Speaker 1: you have to spend between now and Thanksgiving covered from
Speaker 1: head to toe in either cottage cheese or tuna fish shoes.
Speaker 1: I am not a fan of tuna fish in any way,
Speaker 1: shape or form, so I guess that makes a cottage cheese. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I feel like I didn't give you a great option
Speaker 1: outside of tuna fish there, But good job there, all right,
Speaker 1: So Bridget, you spent years minutes away from Foxboro any
Speaker 1: Tom Brady sightings. Have you ever seen Gizelle, maybe Belichick
Speaker 1: at Starbucks, Josh McDaniels on like a male clothing shopping spree,
Speaker 1: anything of that nature. No, Like, I wish I had
Speaker 1: a great story to tell you, and I like wanted
Speaker 1: to get into broadcasting and and cover Tom and Ill
Speaker 1: and then like finally make it to the NFL and
Speaker 1: they're not together anymore. So like, I guess it's my loss. Well,
Speaker 1: I think it's possible that none of them are human
Speaker 1: and never leave that complex also, so they're not out
Speaker 1: there doing things that humans do. Tom doesn't get to
Speaker 1: go to star Starbucks like he does not he I
Speaker 1: saw him complaining about something to do with coffee, like
Speaker 1: not you know, having to answer questions at a press
Speaker 1: conference after you lose a game is like, you know,
Speaker 1: drinking coffee before, like answering emails before someone drinks drinks
Speaker 1: their coffee, Like this guy doesn't drink coffee. So I'm
Speaker 1: gonna hit you with this one. Hot or not? Adam
Speaker 1: Rank Oh, absolutely absolutely hot man. I mean look, Rank
Speaker 1: has slimmed down, he's like smelt in shape, He's got
Speaker 1: the beard trimmed. Uh yeah, man, dude, on top of
Speaker 1: the world right now, I was really just setting you
Speaker 1: up there because I think we all know the answer
Speaker 1: to that one. Alright, Um, Bridget you can spend the
Speaker 1: next year hanging out exclusively with Taylor Swift. She is
Speaker 1: a Swift from reports I've received, and operate as our
Speaker 1: best pal and biographer. Okay, Or you can save the
Speaker 1: life of four hundred straight kittens. Okay. Like I'm people
Speaker 1: are gonna come for me. I literally hate cats, So
Speaker 1: I'm sorry. Friends. Um, I but like you were supposed
Speaker 1: to watch all too well, like, could you give me
Speaker 1: a little line or now? Well, I was you know,
Speaker 1: I was operating as a professional tonight, and I'm going
Speaker 1: to get to that after the game. You're right, that
Speaker 1: was my assignment from you and Erica and I. I
Speaker 1: have failed, um, but that doesn't mean I won't enjoy
Speaker 1: it later. I like to marinate and that stuff. When
Speaker 1: I you know, I'm outside of the workplace. They're all
Speaker 1: over my butt tonight. Marcus, Well, we will, we'll have to. Well,
Speaker 1: we'll have a whole separate show about that. Marcus Children, Colin, overrated, underrated,
Speaker 1: properly rated. Oh um, I guess it depends on the time,
Speaker 1: you know, uh, as I was trying to make dinner
Speaker 1: and my child was completely turning off all the lights
Speaker 1: in the house. That that felt like an overrated But
Speaker 1: for the most part, where we will say properly rated,
Speaker 1: I think they shift between all three zones. Bridget. Do
Speaker 1: you think a unicorn has ever actually walked the earth?
Speaker 1: Or is this a bunch of um, you know, nonsense, nonsense,
Speaker 1: straight and done with it. But people are really going
Speaker 1: to come for me after this? Well, no, that's fine.
Speaker 1: I think you're not into cats, you're not into mythical beings,
Speaker 1: and we were forming that knowledge. Marcus. Just one last
Speaker 1: one for each of you. Marcus. My wife was nice
Speaker 1: enough to make me a huge bowl of instant ramen
Speaker 1: noodles during this game. I was out in our garage
Speaker 1: trying to watch this because I had children too. Um,
Speaker 1: what did you eat during this game? Well, you said
Speaker 1: you cooked dinner, so I'm assuming it was some sort
Speaker 1: of food I did. That was a very excellent beef
Speaker 1: and sweet potato stew, you know, with some some carrots
Speaker 1: and celery in there. So I went down pretty well.
Speaker 1: Sounds wintry. I like that, all right, Bridget, last one
Speaker 1: for you. Luke Skywalker or Han Solo or neither. Oh god,
Speaker 1: Luke Skywalker, because you can. I don't really care for either.
Speaker 1: But Luke Skywalker, I know I suck. You will get
Speaker 1: to know, like there's a lot of things about me
Speaker 1: that suck. No, I think I think that's actually um
Speaker 1: an atypical flash answer. So I enjoyed where you went
Speaker 1: with that. UM. I love to do more of this,
Speaker 1: but we if I go over twenty minutes, I will
Speaker 1: hear about it from the rest of the people that
Speaker 1: I work with, and we were at not We're just
Speaker 1: hit twenty minutes. This was very enjoyable. I hope we
Speaker 1: can all gather again, maybe two or three seasons from
Speaker 1: now when the Patriots played the Falcons again, four seasons.
Speaker 1: With the way the NFL works, we'll do it again
Speaker 1: sooner than that. Thank you very much, guys, Thanks for
Speaker 1: having us. All right, everyone, check you later. If you
Speaker 1: still listen to this, that's on you, fair well.