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EPISODE 56 - PATRIOTS 5-2. ROLLING.
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Drake Maye MVP??
WERE BACK
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Transcript
Technical Challenges and Re-recording Plans
00:00:00
Savage Boston
Alright guys, welcome back to the Savage Boston Podcast. I'm Scott with Savage Boston Sports here with our co-host Brett of Savage Boston Sports. ah Coming to you on an unusual night. It's Wednesday. not We've been doing every single Tuesday, trying to be consistent.
00:00:15
Savage Boston
um And we did record last night. Unfortunately, we had 45 minutes of really 10 out of 10 top-notch audio that we somehow, Bretts, didn't upload. And so when we were about to put it online, it sounded like two people talking and then like two straight minutes of silence.
00:00:34
Savage Boston
And so I was like, I just can't i just can't put this up. so Unfortunately, we lost that whole pod. So tonight we'll be doing in ah ah maybe an abbreviated version, something like that, little little casual pod.
00:00:46
Savage Boston
um Just make sure that hopefully um everything loads. Hopefully you're hearing this on the pod because, ah cause yeah, that's unfortunate, man. Nothing worse than thinking you're you're having a good 45-minute chat about the paths and have it malfunction.
00:00:59
Savage Boston
So that kind of sucks.
00:00:59
Bret
okay give it Give it two strikes. so that We're not going to do it a third.
00:01:02
Savage Boston
Yeah. If there's another strike, maybe I switch to like a different streaming service.
00:01:03
Bret
Seven.
00:01:07
Savage Boston
We'll, we'll see how that goes, but all
Patriots vs. Titans Game Recap
00:01:10
Savage Boston
right. So yeah, it's getting back into it. Obviously the Pats beat the Titans on a, on Sunday. Great game. i think at this point, a lot of people have talked about it.
00:01:18
Savage Boston
um You know, the things, things we know, obviously Drake may was outstanding again. um Extremely efficient. One of the most efficient quarterbacks in football, if not the most efficient quarterback,
00:01:30
Savage Boston
ah top three, in my opinion, MVP candidate right now, um and ultimately a win. And a win that we all kind of thought, you know, not a trap game, just a game you should win.
00:01:41
Savage Boston
Not every game can be a trap game. We can't keep calling everything a trap. not It's not a trap at this point. There's just games that you should win. And that was one of them, and they did. So I guess, Brett, since we lost it yesterday, what's your initial thoughts on the game from last week?
00:01:54
Bret
Agreed, not a trap game. The trap game was last week. This week was a game that's been circled by variable for months. ah But the thing that you got to take away from it, I know there's a lot of chatter that you hear about people where they say the schedule is very soft, it's weak and whatnot. And then people say, well, you play what the schedule gives you, et cetera, et cetera.
00:02:15
Bret
The way I look at it is you go against a team like the Titans, you better go in there and take care of business, which is what they did. So they went in there, they obviously stumbled a little early on, you know, and we even predicted that, right? You said you're probably going to get a few series with that ah interim coach bump. But eventually after the first quarter, we took over, we settled in and,
00:02:39
Bret
We established a run game and we walked away there pretty handedly. We could have scored more points and yeah, Drake may continues to just play on a level that really no one has seen ever at this point statistically, which is just insane at the level he's doing. I'm waiting for him to level set because it's just not possible for him to continue to play at the
Offensive Line Challenges and Impact on Drake May
00:03:03
Bret
pace he's at. But I mean, obviously enjoying the ride, enjoying the W's and ah Really looking forward to seeing how this team progresses over the next few weeks with the matchups they have coming up. But it was still a great win.
00:03:15
Bret
Great win.
00:03:16
Savage Boston
um I think this weekend, you know, will be an awesome test, at least for Drake, because it's valid that the that the Browns have an awesome defense. and And, you know, going through the PFF scores, and again, we say it every time, nobody loves PFF anymore. It's like the apropos thing right now that you want people are hating on PFF scores. I understand that.
00:03:39
Savage Boston
They're one of the few different places that is just offering a scoring system. That's why you can use it. so And going through the the Browns defensive line, they, i think it's Malik Collins, I believe is who I, I have to check that again at interior D line. And he's ranked,
00:03:54
Savage Boston
you know number one in football, according to them right now. um And you know obviously, Myles Garrett is really the most elite, although he's ranked three in football, according to PFF. He's incredibly elite, and they just elevate each other. So um I think the the D-line for the Browns is obviously outstanding, and I think this will be a great test because going through and you know I think looking back through the tape, watching a little bit, you know the biggest issue of struggle for the Patriots this past weekend, I think, was some pass pro.
00:04:23
Savage Boston
They really, you know, they ran the the ball a little bit better, but man, they they struggled a little bit, especially Jared Wilson at left guard. So, um and I know you want to be like, yeah, he's he's a rookie. He's, I understand that. I understand he, you know, he might be a center in the future and not a left guard, but.
00:04:40
Savage Boston
He's got to be serviceable, and he wasn't quite serviceable this past week. He was one that had one of the roughest weeks in football, and he gave up. I think they said two, but in reality, it was three sacks he gave up.
00:04:52
Savage Boston
um And so really not impressed by his performance this past weekend. and And I think if that's where the Patriots going to struggle this week, like it's how how does Drake May get to those third and long progressions and reads if he's on his ass?
00:05:05
Bret
Thank you.
00:05:07
Savage Boston
Because he's getting sacked. So how do you feel about that, Brett?
00:05:10
Bret
Agreed. I mean, this is this is to date the biggest test for Drake May. This is statistically the best team, defensive team in football right now and easily the best front four based on what they're doing, just simply having Miles great Garrett and then you know Graham has been playing ridiculous. So this is going to be a test. And you mentioned Wilson. Campbell also had pretty bad moments during that game. I we had that defensive back blitz where like – Never slid over to pick it up. I mean, I don't know if there was a protection call and it was not his assignment and that was on Drake, but, you know, not a good look there.
00:05:47
Bret
But looking at this week to this point, I mean, he really, he hasn't been the one that's been tested as much. Most of the big edge guys like Crosby is coming off the edge on Moses side.
00:05:59
Bret
Garrett's on his side. So this is going to be a huge test for Campbell. And I think, like, obviously Cleveland can do some stunts to confuse them, but they can also just straight up attack him straight up because, I mean, he's about as elite as they get in the NFL.
00:06:16
Savage Boston
Mm-hmm.
00:06:17
Bret
So highly concerned about what we're going to see on the left side. I'd imagine that Josh is going to schematically bring in some tight ends, do some chipping before they go out, try to roll Drake out to the right side and and see if they can get something moving there.
00:06:31
Bret
I would say to this point, Josh has done a fairly effective job. schematically helping the offensive line out. um And then we'll see. you know I think we still can't abandon the run.
00:06:43
Bret
That's one thing I want to make sure that even if it's not working, we can't just abandon it like we did in week one where we decided not to run the ball in the second half. We have to stick with it.
00:06:51
Savage Boston
Mm-hmm.
00:06:52
Bret
It always has to be a threat because our play action has been the best thing that we've had as an offense. And the only way it's effective is if there's a threat of a run. if we can't show that we can consistently try to run, they're just goingnna it's going to be a long day, long day for us. So, yeah, it's offense versus defense entirely this game.
00:07:12
Savage Boston
And that's that's actually one of the metrics I saw. Like, I think it was either today or yesterday there on Twitter. Someone shared a graph, of those advanced metrics. And was like, I think EPA per run um run created for the Patriots is like one of the worst in football.
00:07:27
Savage Boston
And EPA, ah um negative EPA, when other teams run for the Browns, is the best in football. So quite literally, they have the best run defense in football and we have the worst run game in football.
00:07:40
Savage Boston
So it's like, Let's see how this shakes
Importance of Protecting Drake May
00:07:43
Savage Boston
out. I think it's going really cool test. like I think it's this is a good thing. It's not a bad thing. like This is a game that you know we all think the Patriots should win.
00:07:51
Savage Boston
I think they should win ah for reasons we'll talk about in a second. But, like, when you're just talking about the run game, like, it is a great test. Like, can they establish a run? If they come out the first half, as you said, like, you don't want them give up on the run.
00:08:03
Savage Boston
But if they're getting negative one a carry, then you're like, oh, shit, like, we got to <unk>re gonna adjust this now. Like, they're going to have to – Josh might have to be just a little creative. And maybe instead of having like three wide, he goes straight back to, um, you know, 12 personnel with like two tight ends. And he says, all right, fuck it. We're going, we're going big, two tight ends.
00:08:23
Savage Boston
Give Drake a little bit of time. Even if they, if they rush four and we have six in a protector, if they rush four and you know, you keep seven, it like you're to have to find ways to, to scheme guys open.
00:08:35
Savage Boston
And Drake, as we know now, Drake will find them. Drake's doing a great job finding the open guy. um, you know Did a little bit, not worse is the wrong word, but um Mike Reese commented on this on the radio where ah you know Drake had a little bit of a step backwards this past week in protecting himself.
00:08:56
Savage Boston
And I do think it's worth talking about, and it's like the biggest talking point, is like he cannot get injured this season.
00:09:01
Bret
Let's see.
00:09:02
Savage Boston
He cannot get injured. Your season is fucked. It blows up. He can't get injured. So you know we need Drake to do a better job protecting himself.
00:09:14
Savage Boston
um or else we're in trouble. So however they need to coach that up more and say, hey, like you need to slide early. You can't because, again, hit the shot the one where he took a shot in the back of the head, like he's ah in there in someone's face trying to stiff arm him, get extra yardage. I'm like, I get you're fighting for your yardage. Like I love that in a quarterback, but you're not built in the same way as like jo Josh Allen's like six five like 250. Like he's a thicker kid.
00:09:41
Savage Boston
Drake is very big. He's he's tall, but he's leaner. And he's had concussions in the past. So I'm concerned with how he ah handles himself.
00:09:52
Savage Boston
I'm concerned with him getting injured.
00:09:54
Bret
Thank you.
00:09:54
Savage Boston
And I think this is a huge week where you know Drake has to take care of his body. And and I'd like to see that. And this this plays right into talking about pass protection. can Can the line keep Drake healthy?
00:10:07
Savage Boston
This is why you're going to need a back in there all game and pass pro, probably Ramondre. You're going to need a couple of tight ends in there. Again, chipping Myles Garrett. Maybe you don't go – maybe every time with Myles Garrett, you don't go out for ah for a pass. You stay in and double him and say, fuck it.
00:10:21
Savage Boston
We're just going to cover Myles Garrett. So anyway, how do you feel about that, Brett?
00:10:25
Bret
Yeah, look, when it comes to Drake May, it's essentially going into this year. The two things that we wanted to see him show the most improvement on, one was the turnovers. And to this point, other than one game, essentially passing that test and doing really well with the ball with protecting the ball.
00:10:44
Bret
The second one is ah just decision-making on when it comes to when he rolls out and protecting himself. Because you're right, um the kid's a baller. he's getting us and He's winning us games right now. And you saw that competitiveness last year.
00:10:59
Bret
But you also saw the risk that comes with that. And it came out a lot this this week. this past week. So a hundred percent agree with my grease. It is a form of regression for him just from that standpoint alone.
00:11:11
Bret
And you have to imagine that Josh and, and Braybill are beating this into this kid's head, basically saying like, I get you want to compete, buddy, but we need you for the next play. We need you for the next game. We can't have you go down.
00:11:25
Bret
We've already talked about this team is thin across the board. So any of our stars go down, we're going to be in trouble. Drake may goes down. It's we're fucked. It's over.
00:11:36
Bret
Whatever ride we're on right now is officially over because we're not going to do what we're doing with Dobbs in there. So may has to figure this out. And yeah, we have to be on it from a protection standpoint, but I'm he He doesn't help himself sometimes. He slides up in the pocket or he's fighting for that extra yard when it's like, we don't even need the fucking yard.
00:11:57
Bret
Just go down.
00:11:57
Savage Boston
Mm-hmm.
00:11:58
Bret
like Just go down. and and it's just It's got to be hard. i can Again, you've got to respect the competitiveness the kid, but... competitiveness in the kid but i mean Brady was as competitive as it came, and he preached about the fact that he learned how to effectively manage it so he didn't come out of the game. and That's the that's a mentality he has to get to Drake May. like We have to have that level of mentality so he can protect himself because we're fucked if he goes down.
00:12:24
Bret
Just fucked.
00:12:24
Savage Boston
I think the problem, too, is Drake you know is a young man. He's like 23 years old. And as we know, you know his prefrontal cortex, not fully developed, doesn't develop for a little bit in young men.
00:12:35
Savage Boston
So you don't make great decisions before the age of 25.
00:12:37
Bret
As we all know..
00:12:39
Savage Boston
as we all sorry As we all know, your prefrontal cortex doesn't develop well before like 25. It's not fully developed. Anyway, so you're more impulsive and you make worse decisions. so And that is true. True information. um And so the problem is with Drake, maybe there's an element there where like he's so he wants to create. And you can see it. He knows he's talented.
00:12:58
Savage Boston
He is talented. We see his talent. And I would love for him to, in a vacuum, try to make every play out of the pocket. But he cannot take hits. He can't do it. I know Vrabel's watching the tape in the in the in the film room and he's like, Drake.
00:13:15
Savage Boston
Like, buddy, like, you're our season, bud. Like, you can't get hit in the head. Go slide. Like, even he got he got hit on, like, a 20-yard scamper. I'm like, what are you doing taking a shot?
00:13:25
Bret
Yeah.
00:13:25
Savage Boston
Like, what are you what are what are we doing? Take yeah.
00:13:27
Bret
but And the thing is, is you know his teammates are saying the same thing. Like all of the guys are probably like Drake, bud, respect you, love the compete.
00:13:38
Bret
We need you. Don't do that. Just don't do that. Because, yeah, they're fucked if he goes down. And i it just it's got to be hard to break that out of him. But what he is showing really early on in his career is he's coachable. He learns quick.
00:13:54
Bret
I mean, just look at the level of play he's doing in every other aspect. We talked about the turnovers to start. I mean, the guy is just – not putting it, it's not like you look at these throws and I'm like, even if it's a relatively
Run Game Struggles and Potential of Travion Henderson
00:14:07
Bret
contested throw, like where he's placing it and he's like how he's not going into like, he's not throwing double coverage.
00:14:14
Bret
If he throws into a a double coverage, it's like he's dropping it between the zone or he's basically throwing it over.
00:14:19
Savage Boston
It's been good decisions.
00:14:20
Bret
that Like it's just, it's just, it's been so great that the reality is where the decision falls down is when he scrambles out of the pocket And decides to run when there's actually a play to be made on the field.
00:14:35
Bret
um So I think that's a level of that pass protection. And they they're improved from last year because we were dog shit last year. But we're still not great.
00:14:46
Bret
And we talked about this top. Like Wilson issues. I mean, Moses and Awenu have had issues. Bradbury's had issues. Like we have had. a lot of inconsistencies with our offensive line better than last year, but let's not kid ourselves. They're not.
00:15:01
Bret
i mean, don't, I um don't even think they're like top 15 in the league yet. I mean, they're probably 20.
00:15:05
Savage Boston
Well, there's been – yeah, I saw some stats where people were like – I forget who it was. like Ben Baldwin, I think maybe on on Twitter, shares some like statistic charts about offensive line.
00:15:15
Savage Boston
And one chart like last week had the Patriots as like the number one ranked line. And I was like, this it's not is not – it's nonsensical.
00:15:20
Bret
Oh my God.
00:15:23
Savage Boston
Like that's the A, that's a Drake May stat for being good at evading sacks and being really impressive and getting out of the pocket.
00:15:25
Bret
this happened.
00:15:29
Savage Boston
That's Drake May stat. B, just watch the games. Just watch them. they're the worst They've been one of the worst russian games rushing attacks in the league. Part of that has been the running backs' faults.
00:15:41
Savage Boston
And people disagree on this, and I just find it like an interesting argument. like By advanced metrics, the Patriots running backs have had some of the most left yards on the field. right like They're saying, hey, when the when the offensive line creates space, the Patriots running backs aren't meeting that space.
00:15:59
Savage Boston
right they're not hitting They're leaving yardage on the field. So in that regard, I think the ah the run blocking metrics probably look worse because the running backs have been poor this season.
00:16:10
Savage Boston
and the And the flip side, the pass blocking looks better because Drake may. It's like if you're if you're pass blocking for Tom Brady, you always look better. He gets rid of the ball in two seconds.
00:16:23
Bret
yeah
00:16:23
Savage Boston
you tightly You know, like historically the best pocket mover of all time, the best instincts of all time are Tom Brady, like just moving the pocket and get rid of the football. So I do think like to me, the line probably mid mid pack.
00:16:37
Savage Boston
And um I really do like what Will Campbell's done. i feel like he's really has solidified the line. He's just going to get better. Is he ever going to be Penny Sewell or Trent Williams? He's probably not going to be that type of elite guy, but he could be a top 10 left tackle.
00:16:54
Savage Boston
And that's what you need. You need a guy who's a great attitude guy, a great teammate who's going to be a solid left tackle. And I think that's, that's what he's done. um And if someday they bump him down to guard, we'll see if that happens and everyone gets all angry, blah, blah.
00:17:07
Bret
I mean, if he he's top 10 tackle at level at the fourth overall i' pick, left tackle, that's that's a home run hit. I mean, that's telling you have a franchise caliber guy.
00:17:16
Savage Boston
yes Yeah.
00:17:19
Bret
And to this point, he's looked really great. The rookie that has not looked great is Henderson. Like, he's the guy that's just sort of an enigma for us because –
00:17:28
Savage Boston
And Kyle Williams as well.
00:17:30
Bret
Well, yes and no. I mean, i just – running back is a lot easier to come from rookie year than wide receiver.
00:17:37
Savage Boston
Mm-hmm.
00:17:38
Bret
Historically speaking, ah coming in with Josh's system for whatever reason, I think it's probably a lot of zone reads and stuff. And you're seeing some of that, right? I mean, there's been ah couple of instances where there was definitely a zone read, complete miscue between Drake and Kyle Williams.
00:17:54
Bret
Whereas Henderson, it's like, dude, you're just running into your blockers. Yeah. you're just missing the pass pro.
00:17:59
Savage Boston
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
00:18:01
Bret
You're just dropping the three yard dump screen pass. That's the one that's just frustrating me because I just expected so much more from him. And he just, he would have given our offense or he can give our offense a huge dynamic threat, but,
00:18:20
Bret
he just can't get on the field. Like the snap count was really low this last game on a game where you would have thought you would have probably got more, obviously like great to see the production from Stevenson, but you need more than just Stevenson.
00:18:32
Bret
And while Stevenson is good and like running the ball, i mean, there's always going to always going to be that fumble risk. He's okay in pass, but he's not like super dynamic and open field. Whereas Henderson can be dynamic and they got to find a way to get that kid.
00:18:50
Bret
that being dynamic because we just just don't have enough of that. Like right now, Drake may is making the wide receivers be dynamic and they're playing really well. Like booty and eggs are playing really well, but like, we don't have a lot of dynamic talented guys.
00:19:05
Bret
Henderson is like that flash guy and he's just not producing. So like, ah what do you think is issue? What do you think it is?
00:19:12
Savage Boston
i think I think he needs, I think Henderson first and foremost needs to do a better job when he's is in there. I think it primarily falls on Henderson. He's his own individual.
00:19:23
Savage Boston
He's extremely talented, very fast, um clearly has an extra extra speed. like You want him in space, but they've asked him to be in there a third time back and pass block.
00:19:35
Savage Boston
What happens? He either gives up a sack or holds. He's unreliable. Seriously, like that that's a massive problem. Then they're like, all right, well, maybe he can run the football. They give him some runs.
00:19:46
Savage Boston
He runs straight into his blockers, and he's not patient. As Snooty said recently, the game feels too fast for him. It feels like it's too sped up. he needs to learn.
00:19:57
Savage Boston
and And we're not saying he can't learn. He obviously can learn. And I think he could be a better back. I think Josh needs to stick with him a little. And by stick with him, I don't mean just run him up the gut 10 times a game. Like that's not – especially in this game. I don't know.
00:20:13
Savage Boston
But – Can you bait Miles Garrett? Can you bait some of these guys and get a couple screens to him? Can you get him in a little bit of space? Because this kid is dynamic in space. So i'm not there's not not a lot of like blame pie on this one, like who gets what slice of blame. I think Henderson himself has to be more reliable.
00:20:33
Savage Boston
ah He has reps the other day, and Andrew Callahan had this. We shared video. was a couple weeks ago, I think. and he's like He said Trayvon Henderson had a glitched out Madden rep. And it was a really funny video where Travion, he's out in the flat. He's supposed to be pass blocking, right? But no one's in front of him. And he just stood there with his arms out, kind of like dancing his feet for like a good.
00:20:53
Savage Boston
Meanwhile, Drake's behind him rolling out. All Travion has to do, turn around. Drake will, boom, right there. There's a catch. Turn around. And you watch the clip and you're like, what's he doing?
00:21:04
Savage Boston
And that shows you like it's a lot of this is mental, right? That's what it shows you. he And even when he got asked about it, he's like he's like, yeah, I saw it. He's like, I don't know. you know I forgot what the exact quote was, but he was kind of like, my bad.
00:21:17
Savage Boston
um I messed that up. yeah He thought a guy was coming. The guy didn't come and all sudden looked stupid, right? Because he should have recognized that guy's really far away. Like i need to go get open. let me Let me turn around here and get open. So there's been a lot going on with Travion where,
00:21:32
Savage Boston
I'm still optimistic, but, like, you spent 38 overall on a running back. And so if you're going to spend that on a running back, you better hit on the running back. And, like, there's going to be – it's going to silence a lot of critics if they're winning football games, just like it did back in the day.
00:21:48
Savage Boston
You didn't have to shit on the picks because they were one. You could have sat there shitting on Chad Jackson's pick or shitting on Easley or, like, there's a bunch of, like, first, second rounders that –
00:21:59
Bret
and
00:22:02
Bret
I like those picks too at the time. and not ah Yeah, Chad Jackson out of Florida.
00:22:04
Savage Boston
dowling or whatever, or you remember all these picks.
00:22:08
Bret
What was he?
00:22:09
Savage Boston
I love that pick. i was like, oh yeah, dude, this is going to be awesome.
00:22:09
Bret
Florida? useful And I was like, oh, man, this guy's gonna be great. And even easily where it's like the blown out like ACL, I was like high risk reward guy.
00:22:17
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:22:18
Bret
That guy was dynamic and then never amounted to anything. No, I agree. And I think that's a perfect example. The Callahan play that you just talked about that he kind of basically says like a Madden glitch.
Wide Receiver Dynamics and Chemistry
00:22:30
Bret
That is a perfect like synopsis of where he's at, where you could say a guy's too much in his head. Because an instinctual football player would realize, I'm literally guarding no one.
00:22:42
Bret
I should probably see what's going on with my quarterback. But because he's so much in his head, that's what he's doing. and I think Bedard said it, and he talked about the same thing that you just said about Snooty, where the game's going fast.
00:22:54
Bret
And Bedard basically said when it came when he gets asked about Henderson, he's like, it's going faster, with the kid.
00:22:54
Savage Boston
Hmm.
00:22:59
Bret
It's going to go fast until it doesn't. And when it doesn't, he's just too talented to not be something, right? so I don't think he's going to be a complete dud. it's just got It's just got to start clicking and has to become instinctual. It's the same idea that they talked about with Ramon Dair and the fumbles. like
00:23:16
Savage Boston
man
00:23:16
Bret
There was a thought that he was so concerned about the fumble that he was not running aggressively through the hole, and that's why he was leaving so many yards on the field. it's just It gets to a point where these guys go through phases where it's just they get so locked up mentally that they lose that instinctual element that makes them dynamic.
00:23:35
Bret
And for him, let's hope it clicks.
00:23:35
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:23:38
Bret
But I'd also like to see Josh encourage that. I mean, nine snaps last game on a Titans game that we really ran away with. Come on.
00:23:45
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:23:45
Bret
Like, help the kid out.
00:23:46
Savage Boston
Mentor, El Jennings is going in at the end of the game and you're like, you're like, all right, what are we doing here? and And with like Kyle Williams, right? Like, y'all would love Kyle coming out.
00:23:57
Savage Boston
i think Kyle can be a really good wide receiver. If he's on a team that is a little more wide open, a little more, i don't know. not just relying on veterans. I think Kyle gets on the field more, but like the problem is he just doesn't have a relationship with Drake like that right now.
00:24:13
Savage Boston
Drake just obviously digs his digs still just been outstanding, you know, and then Kayshawn booty and and and may have a great rapport and are playing really well. So you're not taking booty off the field.
00:24:26
Savage Boston
So Matt Collins provides a bigger element. And then it's like, who are we? And then pop Douglas is really, really explosive. So who do you want to remove from the field? Like, of course I want to get Kyle Williams. Like it's just four wide receiver sets.
00:24:38
Savage Boston
Does he give someone a break and a three wide receiver set? And maybe you can, you just run a fucking go route. Like, I don't think I've seen one go route. He runs, he ran like a deep, I don't know, like a deep comeback, like a 15-yard comeback, and Drake, obviously their their communication is poor. They don't work well together at this point.
00:24:56
Savage Boston
It doesn't mean it won't happen. People take it extreme. When I say something like, yeah, really tough, you know, Drake missed them high. not a good I said something like bad relationship between Drake and and Kyle. I tweeted that during the game. And, of course, it's during the game, so it has a bajillion hits and views. But, like, most people understand what I mean by that. Like, they're not connecting well yet.
00:25:14
Savage Boston
doesn't mean he's a bust.
00:25:15
Bret
yeah
00:25:16
Savage Boston
it It doesn't mean that he can never be good. What it means is they don't connect well yet. Just like we were saying with Pop Douglas at the beginning of the year, it wasn't working well.
00:25:27
Savage Boston
And even Pop and Drake had that one – on that one-handed catch by Pop, somehow they still miscommunicate. Like Drake thinks he's sitting.
00:25:34
Bret
yeah
00:25:35
Savage Boston
Pop thinks he's going. It's like what are we doing? Like I don't get – and Pop had the skill to make up for it. But again, it's one of those things where – they somehow don't ever seem totally on the same page. And versus Booty and Diggs with Drake are largely on the same page, especially Booty. I mean, him and Drake, they are on the same fucking page.
00:25:57
Savage Boston
So...
00:25:57
Bret
I mean, well, the thing is, it's hard not to trust Booty. He's a he's a contested wide receiver. Like, he catches contested throws. He catches deep throws.
00:26:08
Bret
And, I mean, he is balling out. He is definitely producing – At a level I didn't anticipate going into this year, but he was another pick that I loved when they picked him up at LSU because it was the same thing, high, you know, low risk, high reward type guy. He flashed his freshman year, had some attitude issues, injury issues, but you knew the talent was there.
00:26:30
Bret
He even admits the fact that like the first few years he was immature and did some immature things, but he's learned and he's grown. And yeah, I mean, love me some May and booty. Gotta love my, gotta love my booty.
00:26:41
Bret
So, you know.
00:26:42
Savage Boston
I love that big booty booty booty booty. Rocking.
00:26:44
Bret
I mean, my God, catching that fingertip point over the 50-yard pass, like just insane, insane dynamic. But switching gears, I mean, I'd still love to talk to you about defense because I think still a lot of concerns there.
00:27:00
Bret
And I know we talk about like what's coming up with, you know, can we get someone in trade to help with a defensive side of the end ah ball?
00:27:07
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:27:07
Bret
But like what are your thoughts on defense because – I think we struggled early on and then we got better, but Titans are not a great offensive team. What do you think we got to do defensively?
00:27:18
Savage Boston
I think as Mike Vrabel said, um at the beginning of these games, when the teams are coming out with their scripted setup, Vrabel himself said they have to find a way to disrupt like the the beginning script. These teams are coming out with what feels like two or three drives of of script.
00:27:35
Savage Boston
where they know exactly what they're running, when they're running, what they're looking for. And it's only when the game gets slowly into it where and the script goes away when they're like, okay, um let's start to tighten up. And the defense does tighten up and it does well.
00:27:50
Savage Boston
So I think they have to find a way. i look at the pass rush. yeah Earlier in that game against the Titans, they made Wardhead you know and the Titans had 10 points in the first two drives, which to me, that's too many. I know they obviously did awesome the rest of the game, so it was ultimately irrelevant.
00:28:04
Savage Boston
You can't dig yourself a hole every game. They did pretty well against Buffalo when they played them. That's how they beat Buffalo is because they were in the game really early. But a lot of these games against not good teams, including the Saints, I mean, they're giving up a lot of yardage.
00:28:16
Savage Boston
A lot of explosive plays early, and and and I don't love that. So, um you know, we've been talking about it for a while. Like, what do they do? And, like, I want them to i want them to somehow get in the trade market to some degree, and I don't know.
00:28:31
Savage Boston
I think it's obviously this point. trey It looks like Trey Hendrickson getting dealt anywhere. That's what they're saying. The Bengals are just doubling down for whatever reason. um the Miami Dolphins are trying to deny that they want to let anyone go. but They have like Jalen Phillips and Bradley Chubb, you know, the Jets and like have Jermaine Johnson, who he's trying to t tweet out today that he's not going anywhere. Like who the fuck knows actually who's going places, but like you got to find a way, maybe it's play calling, maybe it's personnel, but just be just more disruptive on the initial drives because you can't let the teams come out and just get a touchdown or even just points in the first possession of every game.
00:29:10
Bret
No, you can't. And I never really felt like Hendrickson was going to be a guy. i also know in the NFL, they never really trade like blockbuster moves. It just doesn't happen. It's not that league.
00:29:24
Bret
But there's probably going to be something that you could do on the um defensive side of the ball to help add some pieces, right? So it's either... you know We definitely could use a safety out there.
00:29:36
Bret
ah We could use another cornerback because I just think our cornerback play has been okay. like ah Obviously, a lot of trust in Gonzalez. I would say Davis has not been playing well to this point on what we're getting from him. and i Yeah, we're just not doing well from a pass defense standpoint, but we're also not getting that pressure. So getting another edge guy or just another linebacker that can make us, again, give some fresh legs in there could help us out. But we've got to figure out what we've got to do to not, like you said, give up those early plays or like early from the game. I feel like the first drive in every game, I'm like –
00:30:15
Bret
what the hell we're already on there given up like 40, 50 yards. And it just started so quickly.
00:30:19
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:30:22
Bret
We just give up too many chunk plays too. It's just, they're not where they need to be. There's too inconsistent and they're on, they're unreliable. And, We really haven't played great offenses. Now, this week, not going to be a test.
00:30:37
Bret
Doug Gabriel sucks. All we really have to do is try to bottle up Junkins, and I think you're just going to roll after that. So, give your offense a lot of times and get as many three and outs as you possibly can.
00:30:51
Bret
Atlanta, I think could pose a little bit more challenges for them. And then, you know, we have Tampa, which Baker Mayfield is dynamic and in that top three category for MVP.
00:31:02
Bret
So, well, probably not after this past week, but you know,
00:31:05
Savage Boston
yeah look By the way, I want to correct it.
00:31:06
Bret
that
00:31:07
Savage Boston
Dylan Gabriel, not Doug Gabriel.
00:31:09
Bret
Oh, yeah.
00:31:10
Savage Boston
Just in case you have chance, Doug Gabriel is listening to this podcast and says, what did I do?
00:31:10
Bret
Uh,
00:31:16
Bret
Hey, did come up with this?
00:31:17
Savage Boston
What hell I upset, Brett? I haven't played in the years. um Anyway, yeah, so – and i brought this up last time we talked too. Like we were just talking about the the Browns ah the browns ah offense, right? And the Browns had – I know they smoked Miami last week 31-6, but Dylan Gabriel, he had 116 yards passing.
00:31:37
Savage Boston
So it's not exactly like that offense is humming. So, again, I tweeted this out tonight where I'm like, you know Really, i think ah Drake should have a lot of drives, lot of opportunities. This could kind of this could be one of those classic slog games where, again, like my prediction was something like 20-13, like a low ah low scoring.
00:31:59
Savage Boston
If Drake comes out and plays the way he's been playing against this defense, I will be surprised. And I'll be obviously really happy, but I think this is a tough matchup and it's a tough pass rush.
00:32:06
Bret
Yeah.
00:32:13
Savage Boston
And it's like, I just want to go in with reasonable expectations. Like I don't expect Drake to have 90% completion percentage. You know what i mean? Like you got to go in, like, do I expect him to get a happy, productive player?
00:32:25
Savage Boston
ah Yeah, of course I do. um But they got find a way to run the football. They got to find a way to to to put together some points. I just think this is going to a tougher challenge than people think. Now, if we're totally wrong and we come back and we're like, holy shit, they smoked them, then I'll be like, all right, they can beat it. They can score anybody, like and any any given Sunday, you know, at that point.
00:32:46
Bret
Yeah, I think if we can put up 28 on Cleveland, I would look at that and be like, there's no one in this league we can't score on.
00:32:51
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:32:57
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:32:58
Bret
So, yeah, I don't think that's going to happen
Predictions for Patriots vs. Browns
00:33:02
Bret
ah to me. i actually do think they'll they'll do respectable. I think I'm in that 21 to 24 point range.
00:33:08
Savage Boston
Yeah. Yeah.
00:33:09
Bret
I don't think Cleveland scores more than 14.
00:33:09
Savage Boston
Mm-hmm.
00:33:13
Bret
So, ah yeah, I would say twenty one fourteen probably final.
00:33:14
Savage Boston
yeah
00:33:18
Bret
And even that I think would be happy with, ah especially, again, if we can do all three on the offensive side of the Game and then that really does tell me our offense is sound and and we doing against a really elite level team and again Atlanta is going to pose a lot of problems for us too because they're statistically the second best defense right now in the league and they too have a great front grouping that can just get after the quarterback so we'll see this are going to be some real tests but
00:33:28
Savage Boston
yeah
00:33:52
Bret
The great news is we're already five and two. We're number two in the AFC, which no one fucking predicted that.
00:33:54
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:33:57
Savage Boston
Great. Yeah.
00:33:59
Bret
and And we're obviously doing well in division. And outside of this grouping, I think we have some favorable matchups coming down the road because we still got two games against the Jets, which are dog shit teams. We still got a game against Miami late in the year when they're already like full blown mutiny.
00:34:19
Savage Boston
Mm-hmm.
00:34:19
Bret
So we'll get that group. Giants, I mean, yeah.
00:34:22
Savage Boston
I think the Giants are a little feisty to be honest. I've watched them the last couple weeks. Unless teams figure out Jackson Dart, which they might soon, like they've been feisty with Jackson Dart. like But when they had Russell in there, they were terrible.
00:34:35
Bret
It was bad.
00:34:35
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:34:39
Savage Boston
there's flashes there i don't know what kind of player he's going to grow into but i know that he's he's been a little exciting for them so like i can it's kind of like drake last year that's how jackson dar feels like a little bit is he going to become drake no i'm not saying that but i just think he's come in they're still losing games But he's making wild plays, and he's been productive. So, like, how did they lose that? They lost they were up 26-8 in the fourth with, like, seven minutes to go or something and lost to the Broncos. Like, I wish I got to watch that game.
00:35:09
Bret
I would, I know I watched the highlights of 19, nothing at the start of the fourth.
00:35:12
Savage Boston
Oh, my God. It's insane.
00:35:14
Bret
Then it was like back and forth.
00:35:14
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:35:15
Bret
That was a dynamic. That was a crazy game. Just watching those highlights and man, I don't know what it is about Bo next, but that kid competes.
00:35:20
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:35:25
Bret
I mean, I don't watch a ton of his games, obviously not a huge Broncos follower, but the highlights you see and and what you get from that kid, he competes. And Peyton's got him going well.
00:35:36
Savage Boston
He's a good player. He's a good player.
00:35:38
Bret
So.
00:35:38
Savage Boston
I just don't think he's – I'm still doubting. If you if you tell me – like who is he? Is he going to be like Brock Purdy? Like that was he Brock Purdy?
00:35:48
Savage Boston
He a few really good years in there with a really, really good team. Like is he Brock Purdy?
00:35:52
Bret
Yeah. and
00:35:53
Savage Boston
Is he more Mac Jones-ian kind of like limited tools-wise?
00:35:55
Bret
ah
00:35:57
Savage Boston
Because that season throws with him though.
00:35:57
Bret
definitely definitely He's definitely better than Mack. I mean, he's way more mobile than Mack to start.
00:36:02
Savage Boston
He also has a really good arm. He's made some pretty amazing deep throws. so
00:36:06
Bret
yeah
00:36:06
Savage Boston
But i'm trying you're trying to figure out who he is because that's a really good coach, really good coach, good scheme, really good defense. So, like, they're dangerous if Bo figures out how to just be a pretty good quarterback.
00:36:19
Savage Boston
They're dangerous. He's not been that good this year.
00:36:21
Bret
that's That's where we're at, though, which is just crazy to think about, where we're starting to look out and look ahead. And I think that's fair for us to do as fans, obviously not in the building, but us to do as fans to look at it. And that's the part that I look at and say, okay, well, who else do we have in the AFC that...
00:36:39
Bret
we would in theory have to go through to, I mean, at this point we're playing a home divisional game, which is nuts. And the home divisional game is against Jacksonville.
00:36:49
Bret
And think we both would agree we should beat Jacksonville because they're not that great of a team. They're good, not great.
00:36:58
Savage Boston
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
00:36:58
Bret
But I mean, Lawrence sucks. He looked horrible in that game in Europe. ah He's not good at all. And they're not getting anything out of Hunter that they should do from a guy with his skill set. So...
00:37:14
Bret
Yeah, they I think they'll be okay, but I think we should win that one. But you look at some of the other teams in the AFC, they could be problematic. Obviously, the Chiefs are still top dog in the AFC, even though they're not like statistically right now. They're still the premier team. Buffalo, you know, is going to be in it all the way through.
00:37:31
Bret
Tough go. Indianapolis seems like a pretty complete team. And yeah, I would say that Denver team scares me quite a bit because their defense is elite. And Bo Nix seems to ball out.
00:37:40
Savage Boston
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
00:37:42
Bret
So... We're not there yet. we We have a lot of tests coming up. It's going to be interesting to see how the team performs. We need other players, I think predominantly on the defensive side, to really elevate where we're at.
00:37:57
Bret
um I mean, up to this point, I think Milton Williams has been – huge And like we've had flashes with chase on and Landry, but we've also let up a lot of, like I said, big chunk plays and been unable to get any sort of pressure with four guys rushing. It's like, guys, come on. Can we please do something? So we got to get, we got to continue to grow, continue to improve.
Need for Aggressive Talent Acquisition
00:38:23
Bret
The good thing is, is you can see it on the team. And that's what you hear. We're able talk about where they're leaving things out in the field. There's opportunities to improve.
00:38:31
Savage Boston
Mm-hmm.
00:38:32
Bret
So that's, it's all positive signs. It's looking up. I like where we're trending. how you How can you not? It's just interesting to start thinking about it at this point in the season, like what it looks like long-term.
00:38:46
Bret
And we're going to some good tests this up next few weeks to really tell us what kind of team we are.
00:38:50
Savage Boston
And I've said before, like I think they just need to show urgency. Show urgency now, make moves now, depth pieces, whatever you need to do, trade off assets you don't want. Be assertive and be aggressive because you have an opportunity now and I think the door is open.
00:39:06
Savage Boston
The window's open. it's we got It's there. You're here. You're here now. And like treat it treat it like it's open. Don't treat it like you're just in a rebuild. That's not that's not how you do this. like If the Seattle Seahawks did that with Russell Wilson, they wouldn't wouldn't have won. you know like I don't know. You've got to believe in your young quarterback. You've got the young QB on the rookie deal. This is the dream for rebuilding a franchise. This is literally what teams want.
00:39:32
Savage Boston
Year two of Drake, he doesn't get an extension for at least two full more seasons after this. right This is what you want.
00:39:38
Bret
Yeah.
00:39:39
Savage Boston
So that's all I'm saying. Be assertive. Be aggressive. We have reliable reporting that they're looking to be aggressive. I don't have anything new for anybody. All we have is that they're trying to look for talent and including wide receiver position.
00:39:53
Savage Boston
Do I have anything like linking them to Alave? No. Would that be awesome? Yes, absolutely. Like just how do we improve this team? Yeah. All right, I'm going to cut it off here. i'm gonna And i again, just prediction-wise, I'll take Pats 20-13 over the Browns.
00:40:08
Savage Boston
What do you got, Brett?
00:40:10
Bret
Wow, we were close. I already said, I'm going I think we're going to do Drake Still Hot 24-14. Wait a minute.
00:40:19
Savage Boston
Okay, good pick. I like it. All right, guys, peace.
00:40:22
Bret
i