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EPISODE 80 - Mike Vrabel, Patriots draft and Red Sox
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Transcript
Podcast Introduction and Draft Excitement
00:00:00
Savage Boston
Alright guys, welcome back to the Savage Boston Podcast. We are here at 8.30 at night on April 7th, 2026 with the original crew here with Snooty. I'm Scott and we're here with Brett.
00:00:13
Snooty
Thank you.
00:00:13
Savage Boston
OG crew. And, uh, yeah, man, we're, uh, again, we're coming close to the draft now drafts in a few weeks away. Um, which is, which is exciting. Uh, I guess it's, it's, we're not, not as exciting as last year being, uh, picking fourth overall, I guess when you're like really hyped up about every rumor, everything they're taking now, it's just more speculation and we can talk about what people are kind of like mocking to the Patriots and and what
Vrabel Hot Tub Scandal Emerges
00:00:38
Savage Boston
positions are mocking. But, uh, first I just want to lead off with a story because this broke like an hour ago.
00:00:44
Savage Boston
And it's kind of an uncomfortable story. And I think it makes it makes people uncomfortable because we don't want to be you don't want to judge like I'm not judging anybody. But the these optics of the story looks pretty bad, you know, so we have basically um the New York Post, which is a large, large company paper. And Page Six put some photos out, and they must have been pretty confident with their story. They put photos out of Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel.
00:01:13
Savage Boston
um Kind of looked like he's hugging and and in a hot tub with NFL insider Diana Rossini. Um, which is, ah on its own, obviously not a problem if they're friends or there's other people there, but, um, in the article, they're claiming that they were there at the hotel luxury hotel by themselves and in the pool for like a hot tub for an hour with each other and dancing. And it's like, all right you know, so, um, they did offer a comment. Vrabel and Diana Rossini both said they were laughable.
00:01:43
Savage Boston
And, you know, again, they kind of laughed it off. Diana said they were there with some friends, things like that. But, um, But yeah, it's just a really poor look. And apparently the New York Post is confident enough to run with this story.
00:01:56
Savage Boston
I don't know what level, you know, it's not quite TMZ. it's It's, I assume, a little, maybe a little bit higher standard, journalistic standard. But i don't know. do you guys have any initial thoughts of like the legitimacy to the story? Or give me give me your initial take.
Support for Vrabel and Criticism of Media
00:02:11
Snooty
I'm going to stand by Mike Rabel.
00:02:16
Savage Boston
Boom, there we go. This is for AblePod.
00:02:18
Snooty
Boom.
00:02:19
Bret
Defend the wall.
00:02:20
Snooty
Look, he's in public.
00:02:21
Savage Boston
yeah
00:02:23
Snooty
Honestly, my initial reaction is like, I don't like they can't be that stupid that it would be like that.
00:02:26
Savage Boston
Oh boy.
00:02:29
Snooty
out You know what I mean? Like it's that out in the open and obvious. Like that's the only part of me where i'm like, no, because it's like, that's just really fucking stupid. And I just don't think he's that stupid.
00:02:41
Snooty
Like, I don't, i don't really know Diana Rossini of, you know, but like, Not that I know Mike Vrabel personally or anything, but like I just feel like that's just really, really stupid. And i I find it hard to believe that they would be that overt and like that reckless in order to like do that, I guess. I don't know.
00:03:00
Bret
let's Let's put our investigative hats on, though, and and look at the photos. I mean, the hug, it's not exactly like your come on in here, my side piece type hug. it's He's like looking away. It's not really affectionate. I mean, that's how I would like.
00:03:15
Bret
No, if i like it's like how I would hug like someone else's mom. You know what I mean? Where I'm kind of like turning away sideways and leaning into the hug in a non-affectionate way. So I don't think there's much there. you know, hanging out by a pool. It's not like they're like super close to each other holding hands. They're just basically like hanging out there. And I know the post says, oh, they're holding hands, but it's like a, hey, how you doing? And then they come in for a little awkward side hug and then they're in the base.
00:03:42
Bret
I think there's a whole lot of nothing there. And yeah, post is probably a step above TMZ, but I wouldn't exactly think the post is something that has high standards when it comes to this stuff.
00:03:53
Bret
So I think they're going to put stuff out there if they have it. And that's obviously, it's, it's them, you know, it's pictures of them.
00:04:01
Savage Boston
Well, I mean, at a minimum, they and a minimum they asked Vrabel and Rossini for comment.
00:04:01
Bret
So they're putting it out there, but yeah.
00:04:06
Savage Boston
They didn't just like run. They like asked him to comment on the story. like Obviously, they have some sort of confidence that this was a weird interaction, right? Yeah.
00:04:14
Bret
Yeah, I mean, essentially the weird interaction is like, why are the two of them seemingly not with their spouses hanging out together by a pool? Like, why is that the case? But I don't know. I'm almost nudie.
00:04:31
Bret
I'm defending Vrabel. I don't think there's much there. And so so be it.
00:04:38
Savage Boston
Honestly, I mean, I don't know other than like their friend. I mean, it would honestly, Rossini and variable should come out with like picks of their, with their buddies or whatever. Like if that's a story, like they drove two hours to the hotel and she was there with a bunch of friends, like girls take picks all the time. i mean, show the pictures. I don't know. Like,
00:04:59
Bret
I mean, this is this is similar vein.
Speculation of a Smear Campaign
00:05:01
Bret
It's just another New York outlet trying to push. Same as like you had that guy that was basically trying to push that Drake May was not like not seeing a side piece outside of Ann Michael May.
00:05:14
Bret
And that was we're getting right before the Super Bowl.
00:05:14
Savage Boston
Uh oh, we're getting this. Uh oh. Oh boy.
00:05:18
Bret
And that thing gets spun up.
00:05:18
Savage Boston
Oh wait. Oh boy. This is getting, this squad just got dicey.
00:05:20
Bret
It's it's ah well, it's all a smear campaign against the Patriots. defend the wall, fuck them all. They're all coming out of New York. They're all haters.
00:05:32
Bret
There's nothing there, there.
00:05:33
Snooty
Fuck it. The Colts are behind this somehow.
00:05:36
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:05:36
Snooty
Fuck them. Fuck Goodell.
00:05:37
Savage Boston
This is the Colts all over again.
00:05:38
Snooty
Goodell released the pictures. Goodell tipped him off. Tipped the pi tipped the New York Post off that they were going to be there. Fuck them. Fuck that piece of shit. I'm done. That's it.
00:05:47
Snooty
It's conspiracy.
00:05:47
Bret
and And somehow Bill Pullian, and somehow Bill Pullian's evolved too.
00:05:52
Snooty
God damn Bill Pullian. That motherfucker. It's all his fault.
00:05:57
Savage Boston
Well, I'm glad we've solved that issue for the world. Congratulations. That'll end the podcast. Thank you for tuning in We've, we've solved the New York post story.
00:06:08
Savage Boston
I'm going to have to clip this in some regard. um Yeah, man. I don't know. It's
Impact on Diana Rossini's Career
00:06:12
Savage Boston
a, it's, I hope it's whatever. It's just a distraction, but let's not talk about the variable piece anymore. Just, just to touch on the Rossini piece.
00:06:20
Savage Boston
If there's, if this is like, let's say, you know, the post is obviously confident. This is like a sketchy interaction. Diana Rossini's got a couple of young kids. That aside, she works as an NFL insider.
00:06:34
Savage Boston
This is like some real sketchy territory of like being an insider and information and who you have relationships with. And it's just kind of gets a little muddy. So again, for her sake, like they need to have real good. I think they should, if I'm them too, you got way, you got to get way ahead of this shit, man. Cause this story is about to blow up.
00:06:56
Bret
All right, now let me defend Diana Rossini here. Jay Glazer was just blowing up the spot, having all of the NFL coaches doing a pool party at his place. There's nothing going out about Jay Glazer hanging out poolside with these guys, drinking out cocktails, and then hanging out, showing pictures, doing live stream videos.
00:07:14
Bret
Also, Diana...
00:07:14
Savage Boston
Was Jay Glazer seen one-on-one in a hot tub in some sort of compromising position with another coach?
00:07:21
Snooty
No, but he was seen shirtless around a bunch of NFL coaches hanging out, drinking by the pool.
00:07:25
Savage Boston
Well, we can assume maybe they were having a really good time. Maybe they're having a lot of fun.
00:07:29
Bret
Yeah, hosting hosting them up, giving them cocktails. Look, an insider is going to do what an insider is going to do.
00:07:34
Savage Boston
NFL coach, gang, gang,
00:07:39
Bret
And hey. talking I remember Schefter was talking about how it's about building connections with people to try and get inside information. It's about a two-way relationship. And sometimes you don't have like dirt things to feed. So it's just about being like a good friend and being someone like as an outlet and making a connection. So even Schefter talks about sometimes there's a personal element that you're just talking to him from a personal side. So we're seeing he's doing the same thing. She always has a relationship here. I think it's completely professional and they're just friendly towards each other. No different than Jay Glazer hanging out poolside with a bunch of the coaches drinking up cocktails on his own dive.
00:08:20
Savage Boston
I would say there is a rumor from people that is potentially, this could have potentially been something that's happened before with Diana Rossini. A lot of people talking about that's been a lot of rumors around that. So I don't know, man. It's like weird. I don't want to, again, they're going what they're going to do. No judgment. You're adults. Do whatever you're going to guilty. You're guilty. You're innocent. It doesn't, I'm no judgment here. Seriously. No judgment.
00:08:47
Savage Boston
Do what you're going to do. i just find it to be an interesting story. and And obviously, it's the big, it just dropped like an hour ago, and everyone's going to talk about it for the next little while probably.
00:08:58
Bret
Defend the wall.
00:08:58
Savage Boston
don't know.
Patriots' Draft Strategy Discussion
00:09:01
Savage Boston
I like the whole angle. This is just a New York plant.
00:09:04
Bret
Yep.
00:09:05
Savage Boston
This is New York, is this is like a New York Jets plant job.
00:09:05
Bret
Yep.
00:09:08
Savage Boston
This is a Jets paper.
00:09:08
Bret
Mm-hmm.
00:09:09
Savage Boston
what i
00:09:10
Snooty
Where's NFL headquarters located?
00:09:10
Bret
Oh, yeah.
00:09:12
Snooty
It's in New York.
00:09:16
Bret
Yep.
00:09:16
Savage Boston
yeah We should all we should be detectives really.
00:09:16
Snooty
I rest my case.
00:09:20
Savage Boston
We should just be...
00:09:20
Bret
I mean,
00:09:21
Savage Boston
We should be detectives. All of us.
00:09:23
Bret
just part of the best investigative detectors imaginable.
00:09:27
Savage Boston
We are detectives. Alright, cool.
00:09:29
Snooty
Zero bias.
00:09:29
Savage Boston
well shifting off Shifting off that story. um Last week we ran through some like... Me and Pete, we're on, we're in through some draft stuff. Like, I don't know where you guys are at in terms of like any kind of new thoughts on the draft or like what direction you want to take or who you're looking at, like, again, players you're interested in at 31.
00:09:49
Savage Boston
You guys read or heard anything recently that you're interested in?
00:09:52
Snooty
There's been a lot of noise recently about like a guard. Patriots targeting guard. And to me, there's only one scenario where that would be, i'd be okay with that.
00:10:06
Snooty
And is that that's if the guard from Penn State fell to 31, which is not going to happen.
00:10:10
Savage Boston
he's He's like nasty.
00:10:11
Snooty
But if that if that happened, that's the only time where you could legitimately say that's best player available. And I'd be like, that's fine because the kid's going to be a nasty guard for a decade.
00:10:22
Snooty
And you know what i mean? Like, fine, I'm okay with that. But was Schrager came out with his mock today, and it was like Keelan Rutledge, who's a guy a player I like.
00:10:29
Savage Boston
Mm-hmm.
00:10:32
Snooty
It's a prospect I like, but not at 31. And then someone else came out and said that there's one of the predictions they had is that the second guard is going to sneak into into round one.
00:10:43
Snooty
And, like, you you sneak into into round one at the end of round one. You know what I mean? At 31, 32.
00:10:48
Bret
Yeah,
00:10:49
Snooty
So, like, there's a lot of starting to get a little bit of smoke there. And it's, like I said, I would be and don't want say I'd be disappointed, but and unless it's the kid from Penn State, I would be, i would certainly be surprised and I'd be ah slightly disappointed if they took a guard at 31.
00:11:06
Bret
yeah I don't want to guard. I mean, I think the interesting smoke that I'm feeling out of this is its offensive line because it's like lately it's been guard. week before that it was maybe they're going to go out inside and get an outside tackle. It seems like there's a lot of offensive smoke.
00:11:24
Bret
But i don't know. To me, also I still go edge. I still want them to address the edge. And I know like people talk like it's a pretty deep draft when it comes to the edge. There's going to be options there.
00:11:36
Bret
People act like you're just going to get a rotational guy, but there's chances you could get a guy that could drop into 31 and make a move to get a viable piece that could make an impact year one.
00:11:47
Bret
So I'm okay if they they feel like you know They're going to get a draw right tackle. I know we talked about Ahenakor, however you pronounce the last name.
00:11:58
Bret
Ahenakor.
00:11:59
Savage Boston
Yeah, I think it's a henna, a henna tour or a henna car. And I'm sure.
00:12:01
Snooty
I think it's hardcore.
00:12:03
Bret
Ahenakor. Where it's like a guy like that where they look at and say he's raw, he's got a lot of development needed, but sit a year under Moses and maybe he's like the next right tackle for the next five, seven years, whatever.
00:12:16
Bret
And you make that pick at... 31. Okay. If he is in fact that guy, I think that's a good value pick. But I also think we have more needs and i don't necessarily want to sit on a developmental pick at 31.
00:12:29
Bret
If we can get a guy that can make an impact in year one and actually get some viable playing time. as an edge guy and you know not that map map who was an edge guy but he's another depth in the front seven and we we obviously released him or i guess he got picked up by houston so we got a conditional on that but it's essentially ah defensive piece that i look at and say i'd like to get something addressed in that front seven early rounds
00:12:56
Savage Boston
I don't, yeah, I don't really get the whole, I mean, today's today's mock with Schrager, again, they're they're pretty well-informed. When he's with, like, him and Daniel Jeremiah, like, they're pretty, those two are pretty well-informed, man. And, like, you don't know what smoke or not, but, like, those guys, those guys know people.
00:13:13
Savage Boston
And for him to come out with Keelan Rutledge, and, like, I think I read somewhere else, like, Dane Brugler had a random tweet about Keelan Rutledge. Like, all sudden, the Rutledge PR team came out today, and, like, I don't,
00:13:24
Snooty
Nah.
00:13:27
Snooty
He's really good.
00:13:28
Savage Boston
I know people, I get it. Yeah. People like the player.
00:13:30
Snooty
I've liked him for a long time.
00:13:30
Savage Boston
I'm sure he's a ah mean dude.
00:13:31
Snooty
He's really, he's a mean, he's like your Logan Menken's mean prick, put him at left guard and you're good for a long time.
00:13:32
Savage Boston
Like, i
00:13:37
Savage Boston
yeah, I love it again.
00:13:38
Snooty
That's that type of player.
00:13:39
Savage Boston
Like positional wise, like they just have so many needs. Like it would just be tough. It'd be tough for the fan base to be like, all
Debate on Drafting a Guard or Tackle
00:13:47
Savage Boston
right. You know what I mean? Like, do we really, more we're really going to go guard again in the first round.
00:13:51
Savage Boston
You know what i mean? Like, They dedicate someone so many draft resources to the offensive line. like One of the higher teams have done that because they've had a poor offensive line. But, like, and don't know. There's just so many needs, man. Like, I just would rather get the tackle. Like, I feel like you can find a guard.
00:14:07
Savage Boston
like But, again, finding a tackle is hard.
00:14:07
Bret
Well, it's just kind of weird because you just signed Vera Tucker. You still have Onwenu. So are they saying like they're going to move off of Onwenu? You wouldn't draft a guy at number one as a guard and then sit him.
00:14:23
Bret
ah Like, I don't understand, or you wouldn't use them as a backup piece. Like, it just doesn't make sense. And then, okay, so you could use them as center, but then it's like, well what are you doing with Wilson?
00:14:33
Bret
So it just doesn't make any sense. If you're going to draft, you're going to address and draft the offensive line early in number 31, it is a right tackle. After that, wait till later rounds. Don't draft in that position.
00:14:48
Snooty
I will say it does make some sense in the sense that this is the last year of an one-year deal. And if they don't view him as a viable long-term piece, it's better to get someone a year early than a year late.
00:15:02
Snooty
You what i mean? Like it's better to have someone in the pipeline and be like, nah, he's there. And then it's added security in case Wilson goes down where Vera Tucker goes down. Who's, you know, I mean, we all talked at Nazeem about how his injury history and how much money is tied to his being available.
00:15:13
Bret
Mm-hmm.
00:15:18
Snooty
Like, it's not crazy when you think about it. It's like, cause that's what the draft is about. It's, it's about establishing long-term positional stuff. It's, it's, you know what mean? Like it's not necessarily year one. Like would I rather take a guard who's going to stay and be a guard for 10 years or an edge rusher, the last edge rusher available in the first round who's at best a rotational piece. You know I mean? Like, yeah, maybe more value year one for the rotational piece, but like,
00:15:47
Snooty
Long term, it's a better bet to go with the better long term player.
00:15:53
Savage Boston
I mean, I just the, I don't know. Obviously it depends who falls, right? Like if, and what position, but like a Hannah core I'm into, we did like a small mock draft thing today.
00:16:04
Savage Boston
And like, after we did our, our, I did a mock online with some like Brett and a couple other guys online, not, not this Brett, different online Patriots, Brett. And and he basically, like, there there's guys down there. Like, i think in the dr and the mock we did, like, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren was still there.
00:16:21
Savage Boston
Like, Ahana Kor was there. There's a couple other good players. Like, they're going to get a solid player. But, like, I don't know who do they believe in. who's the Who's the guy they believe in? Like, that's what we have. Again, they're doing it. It's a tight ship right now. Like, we have no fucking.
00:16:35
Savage Boston
The only report, I think, at any point is during the combine where we heard they liked Zion Young, the edge out of Missouri. That's like the only thing other than that, have you heard any or read anywhere, anything about who they like?
00:16:48
Savage Boston
So to me, like, I don't like, there's no information. And again, it's great for the organization. It means that they are not leaky at all. But for us as fans, we're just like playing the guessing game. You know, you see Vrabel go on a visit with a Hanacor and he's hand to hand with them. And we're all getting like, Oh shit. Like they're going to take him.
00:17:08
Savage Boston
He probably has done that with like 20 guys. You know, so it's like we could just cause we got photos of that one. you know, it's hard it's hard to really know.
00:17:19
Savage Boston
Um, so
Evaluating Edge Rushers for the Patriots
00:17:20
Savage Boston
I don't know. i wonder like, what do you think about, um, Jordan Tyson? If he falls.
00:17:26
Snooty
Yeah, I mean, it's an ultimate boomer bust pick, right? Like, i mean, ultimately, I'd be probably be in favor of it because he's just that the talent is there.
00:17:34
Savage Boston
Talented.
00:17:37
Snooty
You know, I mean, like you get that if you get a guy like that, I mean, how many receivers with that type of upside have they ever really had or had the opportunity to draft?
00:17:48
Savage Boston
He's just like, there i guess Jeremiah said that he's soft. In some interview, he's like, he thinks he's soft, and he's like soft with injuries.
00:17:57
Snooty
you know
00:17:57
Snooty
But then it's a question of, like, can you coach that out of him or is that, like, who he is? if that's true And and that this is the part where it's so hard for us to do the analysis because, like, we can watch tape.
00:17:57
Savage Boston
And it's like, you know.
00:18:02
Savage Boston
But his... Yeah. yeah
00:18:08
Snooty
You can look at numbers. You can we can look at all that shit. but like, we're not the ones interviewing his teammates or his coaches or high school coaches or friends. you what i mean? Like, we're not the ones digging into that type of background.
00:18:19
Snooty
Like, the teams are. So they know, like, what – at least they have they think they know, they have a much better idea of what kind of person they are and how they're going to fit in the locker room. Like, does he need someone, like, can he get that out of him?
00:18:33
Snooty
Like, get that, you know, softness out of him if, you know you get guys like Drake May and everybody else kind of pushing him, right? Like, you know, keeping him going, that type of thing. like Like, I don't know what his environment was like at Arizona State. Like, maybe it's a whole bunch of soft players there. I don't know.
00:18:49
Savage Boston
Yeah, I don't know. I mean, the the rumor is he'll fall below. It was the rumor today by Brugler. And again, waiting, I think this week, Dane Brugler's The Beast comes out, which is like the ultimate draft guide.
00:18:59
Snooty
Yep.
00:19:01
Savage Boston
So that'll be a lot of fun. But like he's saying, he thinks Tyson's going past 20. He thinks teams are Teams are kind of questioning the toughness, questioning his injuries and durability. So he he might drop.
00:19:14
Savage Boston
And then he thinks Reuben Bain's dropping past 10 because teams are just looking at Bain and saying like, I think Bain's going to a beast. Don't get me wrong. I think he's he's a freak, dude. like He's going to be a really good football player, but like he's going to have to be inside, outside.
00:19:28
Savage Boston
He's not a true edge rusher. And like his arms being historically small. just like Cassius Howell, Armisen, like that type of guy. Like Bain is a way more powerful player than those two.
00:19:40
Savage Boston
Like, and again, I like that you can line them up at like a, I don't know, like a five technique. You could put them on, even maybe a three technique. You could get them like really down, down low and see what he can do. Like if if you rush, but if he weighs 280, how much does Milton Williams weigh?
00:19:57
Savage Boston
290, 6'3", 290. You know, like if you got Bain down there inside, could he be a huge matchup issue with a guard? you know, there's some stuff you could do with Bain I think is be is is interesting versus like Cassius Howell.
00:20:11
Savage Boston
He doesn't go inside ever. He'll never be inside. He's just lying way up at the like a way out and he'll just gun it, right? He's never going to come down. So I just think there's a lot you can do with him.
00:20:20
Bret
Yeah, I mean, last year we ran a lot of 3D tackles, one edge type setup. You know, we were pretty heavy on the line. It wasn't your traditional, like, 2D tackles, two edge guys, you know, 4-3 front. Like, it just wasn't.
00:20:37
Bret
And I think we ran a little heavy, so I wouldn't i wouldn't be surprised. I just... It's going to best player available. you know and The 31 pick is just such an interesting spot for us just because like we have so many needs, but at the same time, we're not like desperate. right It's not like we're desperate any key spot. we have a lot like You look at the key positions, we pretty much have a guy that we would consider to be the guy for the future locked
Jordan Tyson's Potential and Risks
00:21:07
Bret
in. I know there's questions, obviously, about Campbell, but like we're essentially considering that guy a locked-in position.
00:21:14
Bret
You know, we're not looking for a quarterback. We're obviously not looking for a cornerback, which, again, I'd like to see Gonzo sign. I think that would be really helpful. But it seems like Gonzo is getting more and more into like a next year conversation, which is a bit concerning because I feel like you take the Elliott Wolfe conversation and what he had with.
00:21:35
Bret
like talks about Gonzo and yeah, it's a contract and, but he's under contract right now. You know, he was sure to remind us that he's already under contract and we don't have to sign him, but I would hope we lock him up, but we just don't have any pressing needs at 31 that we're going to be like, Hey, we got to get this guy. So this is really where you get like, like we've been talking about, you get the guy where it's a draft for the future and he sits for a year or you kind of take one of those,
00:22:02
Bret
ah low risk, high upside type guys at the end of the draft and see if they pop. Cause they dropped for a reason, but we look at it and say there's potential there. So we're going to make a swing.
00:22:14
Savage Boston
What do you guys feel about... um What do you think about Chris Brazel, the wide receiver, who's like six four Everyone like seems to want to hype this guy up. And he's like skinny, small.
00:22:24
Snooty
Thank you.
00:22:26
Savage Boston
like All I read is is he has zero yak. He catches the ball and falls. He's like Taequann Thornton. He's like catches the ball and falls. Catches the ball and falls. And it's like everyone online seems to want this kid. They think he's Randy Moss.
00:22:39
Savage Boston
And I'm like, he's not... No one's fucking Randy Moss. Like, you know...
00:22:43
Bret
No, I don't, I don't like him. I like conception out of, uh, you know, I think he'd be a better fit for us.
00:22:49
Savage Boston
I like conception too.
00:22:53
Bret
Um, better play style. I just, I don't know. He just reminds, like, when I look Brazil, I just think it's just another one of those like streaker guys. It's going to go up there again, but do nothing.
00:23:07
Bret
And he just can't produce. And I just,
00:23:09
Savage Boston
Maybe soft. I heard his attitude, has some attitude concerns.
00:23:13
Snooty
Yeah, he has attitude concerns because guys who are 6'4", 215, and run as fast as he does don't fall without fucking reasons.
00:23:24
Snooty
There's a reason he wasn't super uber productive at Tennessee, right, with giving all the measurables and things like that. And it's not all quarterback play. um I don't know. i mean...
00:23:36
Snooty
Everybody's locked into this, like, Drake May likes big receivers. He likes big receivers, so that's what we have to get. And, like, you know, Vrabel said, it's like, dude, receivers like that that can legitimately play don't come around very often.
00:23:50
Snooty
They don't. They just don't. So, like, and i mean, look at Diggs. Diggs is, like, six feet tall. And Diggs and May were on the same page, and they were awesome. Right? Like, i'd read i a million times out of a million, might not have a guy like Diggs and just take, like, a flyer on a random guy early, like, with with height, just because he has height.
00:24:09
Snooty
It's like, it doesn't... I'd much rather look at, like, if you're going to look for someone like that, I'd rather look for, like, I think Malachi feels a kid from Notre Dame. I'd rather, like, in round four. You what mean? I'd rather look for something like that, where you're going to get a big, tall receiver versus, like, go round one early like that.
00:24:25
Snooty
Yeah.
00:24:27
Savage Boston
don't know how far Brazel falls, but like, again, people are seem to be all jazzed up about the player.
Future-Focused Draft Strategy Emphasis
00:24:31
Savage Boston
They just see someone who's six four and runs a 4'3 and they like freak out. But again, like these he's got, he's got serious questions versus I'm hearing like, even though Who is it? Jeremiah said that Colonel Tate might go as high as two to the Jets, which feels like really, that feels really high.
00:24:48
Savage Boston
Versus I think consensus number one wide receiver, there's like Makai Lemon. They said we're all like, Lemon can ball. see what watched Lemon's tape? This is the opposite of somebody's. He's incredibly tough, gritty in like every area. He's kind of Diggs-like.
00:25:02
Savage Boston
Like maybe Diggs when he came out, right? Like he could do everything like Diggs and like inside Diggs. the the x or the you know the slot but um so lemon they're very high on makai lemon um you know i think going back to like the edge role where the patriots need to be like i don't know again like i just don't know who they want like i said like if they come out and take cassius howell with his tiny arms i think that'll be pretty surprising to me um but like we talked about tj parker zion young like
00:25:34
Savage Boston
They're just names until we get some real, like, I don't know, some real info here. You know, we only got, what, two weeks, three weeks before the draft? I mean, this shit's it's coming up, man.
00:25:44
Snooty
Two weeks. Wow.
00:25:45
Savage Boston
Two weeks. That's it. Like, that's crunch time. You know?
00:25:49
Bret
A little bit further away I also hope we don't come out of the draft talking arm length again year two.
00:25:55
Savage Boston
We will if you draft r Mason Thomas or Cassius Howell. You will. Not as much as last year, but you will.
00:26:03
Snooty
It's just true.
00:26:04
Savage Boston
Armiston Thomas is is very similar. Again, and he's athletic. He's came in for a top 30 visit for the Patriots.
00:26:11
Snooty
Yeah.
00:26:11
Savage Boston
And, um you know, Brad, you're an Oklahoma fan, Brad. Isn't that one of your teams? You'd be into – you'd be all about that. And then Snooty would be really pissed, as is that random Texas fan. You guys just choosing your Big 12, your whatever – what is the conference now? Is it not the Big 12 anymore?
00:26:31
Snooty
They're in the SEC.
00:26:31
Bret
SEC?
00:26:31
Savage Boston
Boy, Texas is in the SEC now.
00:26:32
Bret
SEC?
00:26:33
Snooty
They're both in the SEC.
00:26:34
Savage Boston
man.
00:26:35
Bret
Yeah.
00:26:35
Savage Boston
Are they both? Is Oklahoma in the SEC now too?
00:26:37
Snooty
Yes.
00:26:37
Bret
Yeah, they had to follow each other because the rivalry has to fall into there.
00:26:38
Snooty
Yeah.
00:26:38
Savage Boston
What?
00:26:41
Bret
And the SEC has to dominate.
00:26:41
Snooty
Well, it's...
00:26:42
Savage Boston
When did Oklahoma enter the SEC?
00:26:43
Snooty
I mean, really, the deep dive is those two teams made way more money than any of the other teams in the Big 12, which is why they forced everybody around for a while, which is why Nebraska left, because they were like, fuck you guys, we're sick of dealing with you two.
00:26:56
Snooty
And that's why Colorado left, because they were like, fuck you. And same thing with Missouri. That's why they left years ago.
00:27:04
Savage Boston
It's just weird to me that it's just like, how many conferences are there? do you just have the sec is like 16 teams or something now.
00:27:09
Snooty
There's really, it's it's basically there's five.
00:27:10
Savage Boston
And it's like
00:27:13
Snooty
But we were like, the Pac-12 kind of folded into the Big 12 for the most part.
00:27:14
Savage Boston
five main conferences.
00:27:19
Snooty
The Pac-12 basically split and either went Big 10 or Big 12 with two teams, Cal and Stanford, going to the fucking ACC, which is the funniest damn thing of the whole thing.
00:27:33
Snooty
SMU joined the ACC. it's i interested It's just a mess. The whole thing's a fucking mess.
00:27:40
Bret
Meanwhile, the Big Ten is like dominating right now.
00:27:43
Snooty
There was actually a plan. The guy who basically like killed the Pac-12 years ago, um they had a plan to try to get, i think it was texas Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, to go join the Pac-12 from the Big 12, and they were going to be in the Pac-12 South.
00:28:08
Snooty
like It was like a whole thing. it would have been like like Talk about how things would how different things would be. Because then USC and UCLA and Oregon and Washington, they don't leave the Pac-12 and go to the Big Ten.
00:28:19
Snooty
They stay there, right?
00:28:22
Savage Boston
think it's all weird. Like eventually there's just going to be, as you said, four or five, just, just, it might go down to four. It's just four conferences. i don't know if Notre Dame will ever enter a conference as well.
00:28:32
Snooty
they have a thing where... it's I think it's impossible for them to get bye in the playoffs, but they have like a substantially easier path to get into the playoffs.
00:28:44
Snooty
So they they're like, fuck it, cool, like we're in, I don't care.
00:28:45
Bret
Well,
00:28:47
Snooty
And that was the whole thing. And actually, the past couple years, it's actually been more beneficial to not get the bye. I think Indiana was the only non-bye team to to win.
00:28:57
Savage Boston
Yeah, but Notre Dame should have been in the tournament last year. There was the rules with those conferences that got like auto bids or whatever.
00:29:02
Snooty
Right.
00:29:02
Snooty
Right.
00:29:02
Savage Boston
Notre Dame was by far and away a much better team than a number of teams in the tournament.
00:29:08
Snooty
Right. And that was like the, that was like a one-off type thing. But they also like, they lost. They lost the team they were heads up against. It happens.
00:29:18
Savage Boston
What was that? Was
00:29:20
Bret
I don't know. I heard it too.
00:29:22
Snooty
I heard it too.
00:29:22
Bret
That was a lot.
00:29:22
Snooty
What was that?
00:29:23
Savage Boston
that alarm? Who's did that come across on the pod? I wonder who someone does have like some sort of emergency.
00:29:28
Snooty
I'm, I'm sure it did. Exactly.
00:29:32
Savage Boston
They weren't. Okay.
00:29:34
Bret
Everyone's okay. Everyone's around. Well, didn't they have – so they sat out of a bowl this year, and don't they have like a wink-wink, nudge-nudge type agreement going forward that they're going to get in the playoffs? Yeah.
00:29:45
Snooty
they That's what I'm saying. So it's something where like the chances of them making the playoffs are substantially higher than any other team, but they can't like get a buy.
00:29:57
Snooty
And so for them, that's worth it because like if you're in, you're in. like That's where the money is. It's not...
00:30:02
Snooty
like yeah
00:30:03
Savage Boston
Those matchups last year weren't very good in the first round either.
00:30:05
Savage Boston
Like ton of teams just got rolled. Like it was like, it was, it was like people were like, wait, why do we have, how many is it? Like 12 teams now or something. They're like, why do we have so many teams?
00:30:15
Snooty
It's a better format. What they have to do is they have to they just have to boot the bowls out entirely. Like, fuck the bowls, dude.
00:30:20
Bret
Yeah.
00:30:21
Snooty
Like, the first round game, they should just have games on campus. That's, like, what's awesome.
00:30:25
Savage Boston
Why did they make it 12 teams instead of eight again? Like, why did they bump it up? Cause didn't they have 12 this past year?
00:30:32
Snooty
Money.
00:30:32
Savage Boston
I know, but it's just like, it just, the the quality was pretty poor in the first, you know, like,
00:30:37
Snooty
Yeah, but theoretically, the whole thing is they want to get one for each of the Power 5 in, right, with an auto bid, and then they want I think it's the highest rated group of five from there.
00:30:49
Snooty
And then, but that's only if they're ranked or something. Otherwise it's just like the next top ranking in the committee.
00:30:56
Savage Boston
But, dude, you had you had like Tulane versus Ole Miss. You had James Madison got in versus Oregon. I mean, like these games we're like were not good. You know and i mean? like A lot of these games were very not good. They were teams that – can you imagine instead it was Ole Miss versus Notre Dame or Notre Dame versus Oregon or something? Yes.
00:31:15
Snooty
Counterpoint. like how many teams are actually How many teams that make it like at that very tail end?
Red Sox's Disappointing Season Start
00:31:21
Snooty
like Last year's a perfect example. like they weren't gonna fight Notre Dame wasn't going to win the national championship.
00:31:27
Snooty
They had as much of a chance as fucking James Madison did.
00:31:32
Snooty
They're like, oh, well we know. yet You lost to Miami. Sorry, you lost.
00:31:32
Savage Boston
Well,
00:31:37
Savage Boston
yeah, I mean, they lost, you know, they lost, they lost, they should have won the games.
00:31:38
Snooty
Sucks, okay. Yeah.
00:31:41
Savage Boston
They should have, they should have won more games. You know, you can always say it that, but still, like I don't like the odd, the auto bid thing to me is, you know, don't love it, but yeah, it's this money, money, money, money.
00:31:43
Snooty
Win the game. Yeah.
00:31:50
Bret
It's all money.
00:31:54
Savage Boston
um Yeah. ah Would you guys want to touch on the Red Sox quick? ah
00:31:58
Snooty
All right.
00:31:59
Savage Boston
Only cause they've been asked.
00:32:00
Bret
Sell. Sell the tea.
00:32:03
Savage Boston
I've tweeting a lot about that recently just because it's the the thing that's going on. And, like, they're they're up right now three to two Hopefully they don't blow this one. But, like, don't know.
00:32:15
Savage Boston
they just like, they reek of like failure. Like there's something about like the attitude, like, you know what i mean? There's something there that just reeks. And it's like, you're trying to figure out what it is. They should have like enough talent to win some games. Like they're not a two and eight, two and eight is really bad. Like they're not two and eight quality, but like, what is it about them? Like reeking with like failure right now?
00:32:38
Savage Boston
What is
00:32:40
Snooty
They... They were talking about this on Pilgrim as... They... like they don't pick a lane, like basically in terms of strategy. They just like, you either want to go like super small market and just like not extend yourself at all and like maintain that financial flexibility or you got to fucking act like a big dog, like
Critique of Red Sox Management
00:33:00
Bret
Thank you.
00:33:00
Snooty
can actually spend money.
00:33:01
Snooty
right like they just They have no vision. They have no coherent vision. They've shifted vision so many fucking times that they like don't know how to construct a roster. I think Breslow sucks. And I understand that he's he's limited by what Henry lets him do and you know and so on and so forth. But like I still think he sucks.
00:33:19
Snooty
like they That Devers trade, I couldn't fathom having a worse trade. than the Mookie Betts trade, but like, my God, that Devers trade is so fucking putrid.
00:33:30
Snooty
It's disgusting. Like it did.
00:33:33
Savage Boston
Well, they actually got an okay return. Technically they flipped them.
00:33:35
Snooty
And they flip both pieces for nothing, for nothing, for nothing.
00:33:39
Savage Boston
Tim's in Harrison.
00:33:42
Snooty
Like, for nothing. It's like, what the fuck, dude? Like, they just, they they're so bad. Like, they just, they need to sell the team. They don't care about winning. They just care about making money, ownership. Breslow sucks. There's a reason why he was, like, the 12th candidate because no one wanted to take the job. And that's because they don't, like, you don't have free reign or, like, an actual financial backing. Like, you have, like, a mid-tier backing in a fucking high-pressure market where you're going to get scrutinized for every move that you make. and you're expected to win and compete for a championship every year.
00:34:14
Snooty
No one wants that.
00:34:16
Savage Boston
Yeah, I just thought there was a great piece by Jun Lee, who's a, he's a really good reporter. forget who he works for, but he's a really good reporter. did this whole piece about private equity in sports and how, like, it basically, like, doesn't benefit them to be winning all the time. Like, it benefits them the most to just be, like, you know, like, eking into the playoffs and, like, not spending that much money.
00:34:39
Savage Boston
You know, like, that's what benefits them is, like, make the most is just have, like, yeah like always be building the portfolio up. But like, this is the argument again for how they've changed. and People are like, Oh, don't be so they, you won four titles with the, with the ownership group. I get it. Very successful. They ran a great program for years.
00:34:58
Savage Boston
The problem is we're not mad about, how they ran it then you're mad about how they ran it the last eight years about how they changed how they run it. They're like, we're not going to do what we did. We're not going to sign where we're going get young players draft and develop. Then they're giving these long, cheap contracts to young players, many of the many of which don't hit.
00:35:18
Savage Boston
They haven't paid for it. Like they paid last year. They finally said, F it, let's go get Bregman. Then he ends up walking. You know, they the trades have been pretty good, but here we are again. It's like there's no – the face of the franchise is a 21-year-old who can't throw.
00:35:34
Bret
Yeah, noodle arm.
00:35:36
Savage Boston
What the hell happened there?
00:35:38
Bret
Yeah, I don't know.
00:35:38
Savage Boston
Why can't he throw?
00:35:39
Bret
And the thing is, is like going into this year, we all knew that offense was going to be a challenge. But we felt like there was enough talent on pitching – and we would be okay from a defensive front that we would win those games. That was a message coming out going in. We're going to win 3-1 games, 2-1 games because we've got enough talent. And typically speaking, early in the season, you know it favors the teams with the pitching because the batters haven't quite hit a groove and things like that. But like neither is correct. like We're not only – we're not pitching well. We're not playing great defense. We're one of the worst teams with errors. in the entire league.
00:36:20
Bret
So we just look bad. And I think the team is already kind of on tilt because I think Cora is just he's not fully invested in the team.
00:36:30
Bret
So I think he's kind of like half in it half out. So he he's not really doing a great job trying to get guys motivated and get them to buy in. Like there just doesn't seem like there's any buy-in. Like there doesn't seem like there's any commitment towards the team.
00:36:43
Bret
And it starts at the ownership, trickles into the manager. So inevitably the players are looking at it like, yeah, I want to compete, but like I don't really feel it. I don't get that sense. So – No, they're just they're just a middling market team. They've been a middling market team for years now, and you're seeing the results. And nothing's going to change unless it hits Henry's pocket, and it's going to take a while before it hits Henry's pocket.
00:37:10
Snooty
I think the other thing is some fans want them kind of to bottom out. And I understand that sentiment, but like if they bottom out, like, and this gets back to what you were saying, like, this is the whole analytics, like lack of like understanding human emotion, like Brazil being a fucking robot.
00:37:25
Snooty
Like, like you, like they're, they're people, you're they're people.
00:37:26
Savage Boston
He's rude. Brutal. brutal
00:37:30
Snooty
They need leadership. They need guidance. They need that shit. Right. And it, Hey, it can't just come from the manager. It has to come from the players too. And like, yeah, So you look at someone like Anthony, who's the one answering questions after a shitty loss the other night, right? Marcelo Meyer, who they're dicking around with, like in and out at second base and like not giving him consistent at bats and well a little bit more now, but like,
00:37:53
Snooty
You know, like against lefties, I mean, like they need players that can help guide them. You you have to like incubate that level of talent. They're they're like 21 years old. They're young. You can't just like crater out because you have no fucking leadership. That's how you destroy young prospects like that. If you want to have a good team, you can't bottom out.
00:38:14
Snooty
Because it's not even like, oh, we'll sacrifice these two in the name of, potentially sacrifice these two in the name of better prospects. Because to what is your point, Brett, it's not going to change anything. it It would have to be a very, very long time of him losing money before he actually makes any type of change.
00:38:30
Snooty
And they're not going to lose money. The system is set up.
00:38:33
Savage Boston
ah think it's a well I don't think it's a bottoming out as in terms of like prospects growing and you know doing that thing again.
00:38:33
Snooty
They're not going to lose.
00:38:43
Savage Boston
That's what they've done for the last eight years. They've tried to reset and get through the prospect game. That's what they did. Literally, they did it. So that's not what i'm I'm talking about. I kind of want them to bottom out in some part of my mind so that they fire Breslau because I think he'd be like the first one to go.
00:38:53
Snooty
Thank you.
00:39:00
Savage Boston
And then I think maybe they fire Cora who I don't mind Cora. I think Cora's fine. I just think he seems kind of like he's like, yeah, the team kind of sucks. and you're like, alright, well, you're the fucking manager. like what do you you know and And then maybe the ownership says, gets mad enough that they say, fuck it, we're going to spend at the top of league again. like That's the only ideal scenario from bottoming out. and like This year, two and eight people are like, oh, it's it's early. like Listen, hopefully they win tonight. They're up 1-9 right now. like,
00:39:30
Savage Boston
but like you You sometimes, like, you need the ownership to change philosophy. They hire this fucking robot guy who has no idea how to build. they They can't fucking hit.
00:39:42
Savage Boston
No one can hit. Like, I don't think they're going to be even close to good enough hitting-wise. And if the pitching the pitching moves don't work out, like if Sonny Gray all of a sudden just sucks and can't. If rate rot Ranger Suarez, if he blows, he's blown for two starts. If he's bad, they're fucked.
00:39:59
Savage Boston
they're fucked. They're going to lose a ton of games. They're going to win like 70-something games. You know what i mean? So they have legitimate problems coming down, and it's just not how they used to build a team where you're like, hey, we don't have anyone who hits home runs.
00:40:13
Savage Boston
Let's go pay for the guy that hits home runs to be in the middle of the lineup. Like Mike Lowell. Or J.D. Martinez. Or Mike Napoli. Like, they would just bring in someone and be like, we need 40 dingers. Let's pay them.
00:40:25
Savage Boston
Like, that's how they... You just got fucking baseball players. That's what they used to do. Like, hey, can you hit home runs? Great. Come on in. Like, we need home runs. This year, they knew they needed home runs. They couldn't... They can't slug.
00:40:38
Savage Boston
They don't hit... They don't hit for power. And they didn't do anything. They literally got worse, their lineup, by a lot. So...
00:40:47
Snooty
I think Gasper made a pretty good comparison. crossed sport comparison where it was like the Patriots made the Superbowl run last year. Didn't bring anyone back. They were, they recognized that they were like, Hey, we caught lightning in a bottle.
00:41:01
Snooty
Right. But like, it's not sustainable. Realistically, it's a ahead of schedule. We still need to build this. We still need to improve the Red Sox last year. Caught a lot, caught lightning in a bottle, made it to the playoffs and doubled down.
00:41:12
Snooty
You know what i mean? It's like, okay. Like you, you gotta, you can't, You can't do that. Like, you can't do that. Like, I know he just got the save, but like re-signing Chapman, like Chapman was like historically good last year.
00:41:26
Snooty
There's no way he pitches like he like like he did last year, this year. he just It's just not possible. Like, he was that good last year. You don't fucking buy at the top of a player like that, particularly when they're almost like 40. It's like, it's shit like that where you're like, dude, come on, man. Like, i don't know.
00:41:44
Snooty
I hope they're good. I want them to be good. I just don't think they're going to be very good.
00:41:49
Bret
The thing is, is like they're just not invested. And then you have either Breslow or Sam Kennedy or John Henry at times. They come out and they just feed you the most blatant bullshit, like to your face lie that you're like, I just don't even like who's buying anything they're selling.
00:42:11
Bret
No one. Because – Their actions don't line up with anything they say, and they try to feed you this line like we're a bunch of fucking idiots.
00:42:19
Snooty
Thank you.
00:42:20
Bret
And it's like, guys, no, you're you're not investing in the team. You haven't invested in the team in years. You're not acting like a big market team when you should be because you're ah you are a big market team that should go out there and try to find those bats like you have done historically in the past when you're trying to make a name for yourself.
00:42:37
Bret
But it's like they made a run early on, and then they just totally said, we're done, and now we're going to go on cruise control for the next year. 20 years and think it's like gonna be okay.
00:42:48
Savage Boston
Yeah. Well, it's going be an interesting season for them. I don't know. We'll see how it goes. But, like, it's it's basically the the the main thing happening now. I think hopefully soon we get some Celtics playoffs and we'll see the Bruins. Like, stuff's going to go on. I mean, this is just – unfortunately, it's just, like, dead Patriots season until, you know, we get the draft and all that and then OTAs and whatnot. But we'll we'll keep at it. Keep plugging away. Keep the – Keep the pod rolling. So, all right, we'll we'll end it tonight. we'll We'll see you guys next week. Peace.
00:43:18
Bret
Peace.