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EPISODE 50 - Patriots vs Raiders aftermath! Preparing for the Dolphins.
319 Plays25 days ago
Drake Maye, The offense, the scheme
Mike Vrabel, the defense
Preparing for Miami. need to win.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction of Hosts and Guests
00:00:00
Savage Boston
Alright guys, welcome back to the Savage Boston Podcast. Alright, big week. This is week after week one.
00:00:06
Bret
Thank you.
00:00:08
Savage Boston
And lots to talk about. Lots to talk about. This is... ah You know, not really the game everyone wanted to see. And I think there's there's a lot here to digest that we'll go over. So um I'm Scott with Savage Boston Sports. We're here with Snooty online at Snooty Boston on Twitter.
00:00:28
Savage Boston
And Brett, who is not really online, but that's cool. You can hear him hear him here on the podcast.
Drake May's Performance: First Half Analysis
00:00:33
Savage Boston
um Anywho, so just wanted to kick it off with, I feel like is going to be, you know, obviously the biggest talking point is, um is Drake May, you know, and I know that that's the biggest talking point for, for most people, um which makes sense. He's your quarterback. And so,
00:00:50
Savage Boston
um Being at the game and we all watched the game, you know i think Drake had a pretty good first half and I and i was optimistic with how he was playing. i thought he was controlling the game pretty well.
00:00:58
Bret
Thank you.
00:01:02
Savage Boston
ah i didn't you You don't love... some of the play calls by Josh and we can get into that stuff, but like Drake was, was okay. a couple of inaccurate throws early. um And then, you know, we come to the second half where everything kind of fell
Drake May's Second Half Challenges
00:01:17
Savage Boston
apart. And so why don't we just get, I'll just bounce it to to Snooty first. Give me his initial take on, on how he thought Drake may performed and then we can kind of dig into that. So don't you go forward on Drake may snooty.
00:01:29
Snooty
Yeah, I mean, I think you kind of hit the nail on the head right there. Like, the first half, he was pretty good overall. um Still andt too amped up at the beginning of the game, which is perplexing that that's still the case.
00:01:41
Snooty
But, you know, he started out the first half pretty well.
00:01:42
Savage Boston
Mm-hmm.
00:01:45
Snooty
I don't know what exactly his numbers were for the first half, but seemed to settle in after the first drive, kind of get things going a little bit. Second a half, you know, after he threw the pick, which – Look, he couldn't step up. There was pressure. He's got to learn to just eat that. He did have digs open, but he sailed it because he got hit and you know because of the, think Crosby of the TE stunt there.
00:02:06
Snooty
um it just you can't You have to rebound from things like that. You have to come back from that. and I don't know if it was how much it was him getting you know a little skittish back there, you know kind of seeing ghosts with the pass rush, that type of thing, or the pass rush ramped up, or the play calling, or some combination of all three, but
00:02:17
Bret
you
00:02:24
Snooty
The second half was just relatively, and don't want to say dreadful. Overall, it was dreadful, but want say Drake May was dreadful.
00:02:32
Savage Boston
Like the game itself felt, felt very false.
00:02:33
Snooty
the game sell The game itself was fucking horrible. That was just fucking terrible.
00:02:36
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:02:37
Snooty
It felt like last year again. That sucked.
00:02:39
Savage Boston
I know.
00:02:40
Snooty
But he wasn't he wasn't great in the second half. I'm not going to panic, Bill. Everybody's got throw to throw the fuck out.
00:02:45
Savage Boston
No, no, no, no, no.
00:02:46
Snooty
Yeah.
00:02:46
Savage Boston
Brad, how what was your initial thoughts?
00:02:49
Bret
Yeah,
Team Issues Beyond May's Performance
00:02:50
Bret
same. i think, oh honestly, Drake May is taking probably the most heat here.
00:02:54
Snooty
Thank you.
00:02:55
Bret
I don't think it's deserved. I think there are bigger issues on the team, which we'll get to. But just sticking with May, thought he was good in the first half, but Bad in the second half.
00:03:08
Bret
Do have the stats here. So he was like 14 for 20 in the first half. 70% completion. 150 yards with the touchdown. Second half he was 16 for 26. Obviously down by numbers. They're forcing it. Passing up.
00:03:23
Bret
Only 61% completion.
00:03:24
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:03:26
Bret
And 137 total yards plus the pick. And yeah, I mean, essentially the game turned when that pick happened. you know, we came out of the half, we were driving, we were moving, they were going to hurry up. It looked in sync and then he made an error.
00:03:39
Bret
ah You know, obviously not the throw we want to have happen, but
00:03:39
Savage Boston
yeah
00:03:44
Bret
ah Those things are going to happen. I'd like to see it continuously get cleaned up. I think by and large, he wasn't forcing it, but I also think that was the
Coaching Strategies and May's Fit
00:03:55
Bret
problem.
00:03:55
Bret
To me, I think looking at Drake May and how he played the game, I just think there's too much in his head. And the kid is just so focused on not making an error.
00:04:06
Bret
and trying to make sure he's taking the easy read, which was why there was a lot of short passes. And I just think it just didn't give him an opportunity to be creative, get out of the pocket, move with his legs, force the defense to scramble, and then maybe something creates. I mean, we just don't have...
00:04:24
Bret
the dynamic players are going to get open, and Drake May's not sophisticated enough that he's going to get to like his third read. and we don't have the offensive line to do it. So to me, I look at it and say, Drake was okay this game because largely the first half I would say he was good.
00:04:42
Bret
I just think my concern here is is there's just so much in his head on how he's playing, and I just think he just didn't look comfortable at any point during Sunday.
00:04:53
Savage Boston
Yeah, I mean, I agree with just about everything you said. I think that it's such a weird situation, right? So they're coaching. So last year, right?
00:05:02
Bret
Thank you.
00:05:02
Savage Boston
Last year's Drake May. Offense wasn't great, but they allowed him to get out of the pocket, you know, scramble, be creative. And you're like, wow, this kid's got all the tools, right? He's got the tools. He can figure this out. He's got a great arm. He can scramble. He can move.
00:05:16
Savage Boston
What I found interesting in this game is there, like, is a number of things. One, he was glued in on, like, his first read, right, and then maybe a second read, okay? And you're like, and he's pretty glued in.
00:05:27
Savage Boston
He got nervous sometimes where he'd see the first read. It wasn't there. And then he he leaves the pocket, right?
00:05:33
Bret
you
00:05:33
Savage Boston
But then because of the coaching ah for him to get down quick, don't try to do too much with your legs, don't make contact, He ends up just really having unproductive scrambles versus last year. i feel like this is a really important point because last year he was so good out of the pocket.
00:05:55
Savage Boston
That, to me, was the most concerning. like If he's getting coaching that, hey, when you get out of the pocket, like yeah, see if something's there, but you've got to get down quick. Don't challenge it.
00:06:06
Savage Boston
like That was one of his greatest skill sets. So, That would be more my concern after week one. It's not this is necessarily Drake. I know that people that's an easy target.
00:06:15
Bret
Thank you.
00:06:16
Savage Boston
It's just the scheme. like I just have concerns, as we all do, that is this the right scheme for Drake? I hope it is. We all hope it is. But you just can't make him Tom Brady.
00:06:31
Savage Boston
He's not Tom Brady. He's a different player than Tom Brady with different attributes. And you can't just assume he can stand there and and immediately have 20 years experience and know how to dissect the every defense and where to move people.
00:06:43
Savage Boston
It's not who he is at this point.
McDaniels' Coaching Suitability
00:06:44
Savage Boston
He's got like 12 starts in the NFL. 12. How do you expect them to be Tom Brady? So I don't know. They need to help him more. I know they're trying to help him, but like,
00:06:56
Savage Boston
you know We used to say, let Drake cook. You know what Let Drake cook. And I think in some respect, you do. You've got to like let him be creative. like Get him into space more. like Why is he not getting into fucking space? So anyway, I know I'll rant about it, but there's there's a lot here to this. And it was a quick alarm. And there was a lot of bad offense yesterday in the NFL, so don't get me wrong. It wasn't just ah the Patriots. like A lot of bad offense. But but as you know, like they're going to have to let Drake be more explosive and let him be more creative.
00:07:24
Savage Boston
So, Snooty, what were you going to say?
00:07:25
Snooty
I was going to like, to your point, that's not only does he have limited stars in the NFL, he doesn't have a ton from college either.
00:07:26
Bret
Thank you.
00:07:33
Snooty
You know I mean?
00:07:33
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:07:34
Snooty
So, like, he he needs reps and experience. So putting him in an ah offense where you have to make a dozen precise reads and throws every fucking drive just to go down the field.
00:07:45
Snooty
might not be the best fit. Like, what you want to be able to limit the mistakes without neutering his ability to make a big play.
00:07:52
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:07:52
Snooty
That's my concern.
00:07:53
Snooty
They're like, take the profit, take the profit, take the profit. And there's a lot of merit to that. Don't get me wrong. But, like, you can't just, like, ignore, like, the potential for, you know, a big player to extend the play.
00:07:53
Savage Boston
yeah
00:08:05
Snooty
Like, you can't just completely, like, zap his big play potential. That's a lot of what Drake may is. You know, and like, I know he's going to turn the ball over a little bit more than a guy like Brady is, but he's also going to run around and make some plays that Brady's not going to do.
00:08:19
Snooty
And obviously Brady's the GOAT.
00:08:19
Bret
you
00:08:20
Snooty
Like, I'm not saying one way is better than the other.
00:08:21
Savage Boston
Yeah. It took some players. Yeah.
00:08:24
Snooty
Yeah, but it's two different playing styles. So to me, all if this continues, all this does is just breathe life into the fact of like, why did they hire McDaniels?
Play Calling and Game Outcomes
00:08:35
Savage Boston
Mm-hmm.
00:08:35
Snooty
Like, And it's two camps. It's either Vrabel did, in which case you look and go, did he really think that that was the best fit for a guy like May? Or, and this was the conspiracy, is that Kraft pushed McDaniels on Vrabel.
00:08:49
Bret
Bye.
00:08:49
Snooty
And until they actually start to meld the system, and McDaniels has to move a little bit towards May. He's got to go that way too. He's got to change what he does. He's got to like boot naked boots, bootlegs, stuff like that. Stuff to get him on the move a little bit If you're having a problem with the pass rush, get him on the move.
00:09:04
Savage Boston
Did they run any RPO yesterday?
00:09:06
Snooty
No, ah I mean, they did that ridiculous fucking speed option zone read like right before the half, and which was like...
00:09:10
Savage Boston
Keeper? Yeah, I saw the speed off. I was told – so I was told before the season that Josh McDaniels was a good enough OC and that he would adapt – to what Drake can do.
00:09:24
Savage Boston
That's what we were we were told that. That was the bill of goods. Like Josh is going to adapt. He's great. He's been in the league. He's going to be creative himself and say, what does Drake do well? that That was my impression from yesterday, that or Sunday I should say, that is not what happened.
00:09:41
Savage Boston
It was like, let's put Drake and like, it was so simple. The offense felt so fucking, the screen game was horrendous because they queued in on it all fucking game.
00:09:50
Snooty
Yeah.
00:09:52
Savage Boston
They knew anytime Travion's on the field, he was their main target. It was just simple. And like, yeah, like dude, all they did, they played zone, but every fucking play they played zone.
00:10:03
Savage Boston
They were in
Offensive Strategy and Missed Opportunities
00:10:04
Savage Boston
cover two and cover three zone the whole game. They didn't even play man. I think it was like one or two times they played man. So like, Again, if that was Brady, that's Brady in heaven.
00:10:15
Savage Boston
You know what i mean? like It's like playing the Steelers. you know just He's in heaven, picking apart his own. But like it was just they kept taking away the big play and kept playing that shell cover two and dropping guys.
00:10:26
Bret
Thank you.
00:10:27
Savage Boston
And Drake started making a couple mistakes. And that was what what bit him. You know, I think... Like, you should... They should have been able... Or Josh, someone should have been to make adjustments. Like, they're just playing zone. Like, why don't we have... Like, can Pop... I don't want to get... I wanted to do this systematically, but not to shift quickly. Can Pop Douglas play against zone?
00:10:46
Savage Boston
Can he fucking sit down in a zone?
00:10:46
Snooty
I'm about done with pop.
00:10:50
Savage Boston
What's the name of he had? Negative two yards receiving. Like... and I understand he had a touchdown, great throw, by the way, but like, can he sit in a zone?
00:10:59
Bret
you
00:11:00
Savage Boston
Like, I'm, I just want to like, just put Efton Chisholm on the field. You made him make the roster. What the hell is the harm in saying, Hey, maybe you can go play against zone. Maybe you can feel where coverage is and sit and turn.
00:11:10
Savage Boston
Like you've got to like, that's what my homes does against zone. I guess coverage him and Kelsey have had that relationship for years, right? They can feel where the defense is. So, That's the type of shit you've got to work out with experience and players, and that's my concern. like I know Diggs did it pretty well.
00:11:25
Savage Boston
I saw Diggs, like, when he was in there, wasn't bad, had a bunch of good catches. Drake missed him a bunch of times. I was on the interception, obviously, got hit and he missed him. But, like, you need players who are experienced receivers, and I think, i don't know about Pop. Like, Pop Douglas, I believe in the ability. He was great all offseason. I just, he's got to give you something.
00:11:44
Savage Boston
He's got to give you something. So, i don't know. You guys take it.
00:11:46
Bret
Well, here's the thing, though. like You look across the board, they just seemed very flat, very vanilla, which, you know to me, was sitting there going to myself, like how do you come out...
00:11:59
Bret
in like such a overly hyped game as a first regular season game, like so many changes that you had. And then people look at it and say, what's different this year versus last year?
00:12:11
Bret
And I think we can nitpick through some of the things, but at the end of the day, we only scored 10 fucking points. We fell apart in the second half. We couldn't get off the field on defense and we made stupid, stupid errors.
00:12:24
Bret
So it was problematic across the board. To me, i think one of the biggest concerns I had with the offense is the fact that we just so quickly abandoned the run and we had no ability to run the ball when we had to.
00:12:37
Bret
like That fourth and one with Stevenson where i was like, what are we doing, guys?
00:12:38
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:12:42
Bret
like We can't get any movement here. So, yeah, you talk about running an RPO. In order to run an effective RPO, you've got to establish a run. So, like, if they're not able to establish a run, that's problematic. And if you want to try to help your quarterback out and try to give something better for these receivers to get open, you've got to establish a run. Because what happened was in the second half, the Raiders just turned around and said, well...
00:13:05
Bret
You guys can't run on us, and we know you're passing, and we're just going to blitz at you until you can prove that you can defeat our blitz. And that's what they did, and the offensive line struggled in the second half. Drake couldn't make the drake couldn't make the reads, and we had what we had.
00:13:17
Snooty
Okay.
00:13:19
Bret
And it's just like, you can't run into that situation, and I agree, Snooty. You know, McDaniels, we were told, took a year off to learn the college game and the new game and all this.
00:13:29
Bret
I didn't see anything unique about the play calling yesterday at all.
00:13:32
Savage Boston
That feeling blows me.
00:13:35
Bret
At all. He got schooled by Chip Kelly. And we made the we made the Raiders offense look far superior than they should have, which, you know, we'll get to the defensive side of the ball. But, like, McDaniels did nothing special on that day.
00:13:50
Snooty
And I think the only thing worse than not being able to run the ball is just completely giving up on it.
00:13:56
Bret
Yes.
00:13:56
Snooty
Like, it's one thing if you just can't do it, but you still keep plugging away into the second half. You've seen that a lot where, like, it's just not working, but you keep going because it makes the other team respect the threat of the run.
00:14:07
Snooty
It's like you're not even fucking trying. They ran ball three times in the second half. It's like you have to try.
Coaching Decisions and Team Performance
00:14:12
Snooty
have to at least fucking try.
00:14:12
Bret
Well, I think one of them was a scramble by May, so you can't even count it. Yeah.
00:14:16
Snooty
Right. Like you have to at least try. So like the defense is like, basically the only thing that you have worry about is, is screen. And that's only if that's really only if Henderson was in the game. Right. So like, it's just classic McDaniels, like, and I've never been a big McDaniels guy. That's all that's, you know, fair warning just for everybody. But like,
00:14:34
Snooty
It was just not inventive. He does not help out in the line, like in terms of play calling. He may in terms of scheme, but in terms of play calling, he doesn't. Like, get a fuck get a moving pocket. Get Drake May out on the run. He's good. He's good at throwing on the run. Get him out.
00:14:47
Snooty
Slow the pass rush down a little bit Do something to slow the fucking pass rush down.
00:14:48
Savage Boston
Put someone in motion for the snap.
00:14:52
Snooty
Anything.
00:14:52
Savage Boston
They didn't put anyone in motion before the snap too, which is like one of the easiest tools that they have to diagnose a de defense.
00:14:57
Snooty
Yep.
00:14:58
Savage Boston
I mean, if you just put someone in motion, you're like, oh, they didn't follow them across the field. A lot of the time that means it's zone, but like,
00:15:02
Snooty
Baby's.
00:15:05
Snooty
The only time they did it was
00:15:05
Savage Boston
you know In today's NFL with a good defense with Flores or something, now they can disguise that, right?
00:15:08
Bret
Thank you.
00:15:10
Savage Boston
And they can follow you and then drop in a zone because they've gotten smarter. But like but still, a lot of the times, if you just put a guy in motion and someone travels across the field with him, a lot of the time you're they're in man. At least part of this is in man.
00:15:21
Savage Boston
Anyway, that's a way to diagnose it. Let's let's let's get right into the, again, a huge question, which is the whole, whole is this too much on Drake May's plate question?
00:15:33
Savage Boston
Because i thought Mike Rabel's answer was really, really telling um yesterday when he was interviewed. And it was a simple question. like have you I think it might have been Doug Kite. I forget who answered it but or asked it.
00:15:44
Savage Boston
But they're like, is there too much on Drake's plate? And he goes, we'll evaluate that. He could have very easily just said, no, we're comfortable with what we're giving him.
00:15:56
Savage Boston
where you know You could answer it in a million different ways, but he decided to say we're going to evaluate that, which A, they should, and that's fine to evaluate stuff.
00:15:58
Bret
Thank you.
00:16:04
Savage Boston
That's the whole point. But it's an interesting answer. It almost is like, People were alluding to maybe he was calling out McDane. I don't think any of that. I'm not buying into that hype. I just think like they will actually take a look and say, why couldn't we run the offense in the second half? We couldn't run it.
00:16:21
Savage Boston
Are we getting too careful at the line of scrimmage? Is Drake looking for the exact look? Because that's what Josh did with Brady. Brady got up there and was like, need my exact formation or I'm checking in or whatever.
00:16:33
Savage Boston
So i thought that was I thought that was a really, really interesting answer. So... Whoever wants to take the question, but you know are have they put too much on Drake in this offense?
00:16:44
Bret
So I would say yes, they have. ah From the standpoint, like I said, I think he's too much in his head. And I think he's... I don't think it's because a system is complex.
00:16:56
Bret
I think it's because they're forcing him into the like the reads he needs to make and where he's able to throw it and like able to roll out of the pocket versus when they basically have whipped him into basically saying, no, you cannot.
00:17:11
Bret
But I think...
Vrabel's Leadership and Accountability
00:17:13
Bret
For me, you know just kind of shifting gears because of Rabel and his response here, I will say... As a coach with as much hype as he's gotten, and i think ah you know most of us were on the variable train. I know I was more so than you guys were, for sure.
00:17:33
Bret
But ah to me, like really disappointed. i mean, I'm sure we'll get to the punt, but just the commentary after the games and even the comments about, like well, we'll see how this team is coming in after a loss on a Tuesday. like It's a lot of just...
00:17:49
Bret
deflecting and like just venting out in the public air and like i just don't want to see that from my coach i don't want to see that from the leader of the team which he is i need him to basically just lock it in get his shit together with his team and get focused rather than being like yeah we're gonna see how they suck up or how they do and where they go and how this is and Yeah, we'll see. Maybe we got to reevaluate. Maybe we're putting too much in Drake's head. It's like, well, you should have recognized that beforehand.
00:18:17
Bret
You should have been more aggressive like you've talked
May vs. McDaniels: Blame Game
00:18:20
Bret
about with your play. You didn't do that. You're the head coach. If you don't like what fucking McDaniels is doing, tell him to change it. But he didn't do it. So like to me, i think a lot of the commentary and just like the narrative coming out from Rabel following the game seems kind of deflective.
00:18:27
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:18:37
Bret
And I'd rather him take more ownership.
00:18:40
Snooty
So I think how we how you interpret the comments from Vrabel, it comes down to, and not you specifically, Brett, it comes into like kind of basically how you view it Do you blame McDaniels or do you blame May?
00:18:51
Snooty
If you blame May, then you're going to say, like well, see, he's calling out May, saying he the kid can't handle it.
00:18:54
Bret
Thank you.
00:18:56
Snooty
If you blame McDaniels, you're going to say, yeah, they're like either he doesn't fit the system or they're putting too much on him or whatever it is. I mean... The optimist in me says I think he should, you know, he will overcome this. It's a lot. It's like drinking out of a fire hose. It's going to take a while for him to get, you know, settled and comfortable in the system. And those of us who didn't think they were going to make the playoffs this year, it's like it is what it is, right? Like it it just is what it is. It's going to take some time.
00:19:22
Snooty
It's the first year in a new system. He's a very young quarterback, like with limited experience, like it is what it is.
Long-term Coaching Consequences
00:19:30
Snooty
Now, if you want to go to the conspiracy route, if McDaniels was foisted on him, then you could interpret the comments as saying that's taking a shot at Kraft, where he's basically being like, yeah, no, we'll look at it.
00:19:42
Snooty
I mean, like, maybe we are. i don't know. Maybe his fucking guy is putting him on him, right? Like, I mean, I can put on my, you know, Felger and Maz hat and starts calling shit like that.
00:19:49
Savage Boston
Ha ha.
00:19:50
Snooty
like But you know what i mean? but The only reason you can do that right now And the only reason like I can say that and not get completely laughed off is is because they're because they lost. And not only that they lost, it's how bad they looked when they lost.
00:20:04
Snooty
It's one thing you're losing in a shootout and you go, all right, you know, shit, Geno Smith went off, the the defense missing Gonzalez, whatever. But, like, they looked fucking putrid. They looked like a fucking JV high school offense in the second half.
00:20:17
Savage Boston
was more that the the other team made adjustments at halftime and they came out and they had nothing.
00:20:17
Bret
well
00:20:21
Savage Boston
and you know You had the opportunity to score before the half, score, get the ball.
00:20:22
Snooty
No.
00:20:25
Savage Boston
you know and or and It's more like, i don't like, Vrabel going to be, this is a reputation.
00:20:26
Snooty
Dude, that drive right before half. Thank you for bringing that up. Dude, what fucking pussy coward fucking Clay Collin.
00:20:33
Savage Boston
Hold on. This is a reputation Vrabel had in Tennessee is that he made kind of cowardly coaching decisions. Everything was always punt deep, play defense, punt deep. like Not necessarily like he claimed to be big on stretch and analytics and all that stuff, but I mean, I got to tell you that fourth and 10 punt with the gate, like you literally punted the game. I get it. They're like, no, we're just going to make a stop. Like there's four minutes left in the game. You haven't moved the ball at all.
00:20:55
Savage Boston
you be Like, that is a surrender punt.
00:20:55
Snooty
Nope. Yep.
00:20:59
Savage Boston
That is a surrender.
00:20:59
Snooty
yep
00:20:59
Bret
yeah
00:21:00
Savage Boston
And that's not – I don't – that's not how you win go and
Urgent Need for Offensive Improvement
00:21:05
Savage Boston
try to win and be aggressive. When he's like, we got to beat with we're going to be aggressive and play defense. Well, that's kind of like – is that a juxtaposition? Like, got to be aggressive to be aggressive. Like, you know, let's hurry up and play defense. Like, let's actually try to win. You need to score points. So, I'm happy with – again, like, we'll pivot soon. I'm happy with some stuff that Drake – Drake did in the first half.
00:21:26
Savage Boston
Obviously, the shaky throws and stuff, he's got to work on his mechanics. He's got work on his feet, all the things they complain about.
00:21:29
Bret
you
00:21:31
Savage Boston
He's got to work on his accuracy. All these things come together. um and But ultimately, you have to score points. And there's going to be a ah point in which if they keep just putting up like 13 points, 17 points,
00:21:45
Savage Boston
10 points, 15, whatever. We're going to be like, hey, something's not working. You have to put the ball in the fucking end zone, period.
00:21:52
Snooty
but mike Yeah,
00:21:53
Savage Boston
And first of all, they should have fucking Parker Romo taking kicks and not Boragallis shanking a 40-yarder, which killed me. in the like That changes the whole fucking game. but one kid I know no one talks about this kick.
00:22:04
Savage Boston
It changed the whole game, the whole complexion of the game. It changes huge momentum.
00:22:07
Snooty
I mean.
00:22:09
Savage Boston
If you have those three, you can just score it. It changes every mathematical formula. i don't Again, this is not even something to analyze. It's just they he shanked a kick.
00:22:16
Bret
Thank you.
00:22:17
Savage Boston
But you can't miss gimme kicks.
00:22:17
Snooty
Right. But to me, like, look at the drive at the end of the half.
00:22:19
Savage Boston
Period.
00:22:22
Snooty
they get They call timeouts to get the ball back, right, which you're supposed to do. They get a great stop on defense. They where they stop the clock. Jacoby Myers makes ah really uncharacteristic, stupid play by going out of bounds.
00:22:33
Snooty
Right at the end half, saves them a timeout. They have timeouts, and they have time to go down the field.
00:22:35
Savage Boston
Mm-hmm.
00:22:37
Snooty
And the first play is a fucking zone read, whereas May keeps the ball and gets, like, four yards. And the announcer's like, who were terrible, by the way. like But the announcer's like, oh, you know, I just want to get some positive yards in the first down. I'm like,
00:22:49
Snooty
What the fuck was that? Like they were just hoping that it was completely unblocked and he could just run. thought they, everyone bit the play fake and he just ran 15 yards downfield. It's like, what the fuck?
00:23:00
Snooty
It was just so conservative. It's like to be so aggressive to try to get the ball back.
00:23:01
Savage Boston
They're going to figure out out who the fuck they want be to be. Give it.
00:23:04
Snooty
You're not a good offense. You need every fucking possession you can get. If you're not going to win the game, most likely anyway, you, the only way going to win the game is by being aggressive on offense on every opportunity you get, because you're not good.
00:23:16
Snooty
This isn't Brady where you're going to score. You're 60% of the time you have the ball. You aren't going to do that. So you need to be aggressive every time you get the ball. It's a minute 30 left. So what? He throws a fucking pick.
00:23:27
Snooty
What is that what you're worried about? You take a sack and all of a sudden they get field position. oh Oh, no. Like the at the upside versus you actually maybe making an explosive play and generating some points.
00:23:36
Savage Boston
Not aggressive.
00:23:37
Bret
you
00:23:37
Snooty
You have to try for that.
00:23:39
Savage Boston
Yeah, hold on.
00:23:39
Snooty
It's so fucking cowardly.
00:23:40
Savage Boston
They've got to figure out who do they want Drake May to be. Okay, who do they want him to be? Because do you want him to be Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen, the two best quarterbacks in the league right now? Do you want him to be a creative out-of-the-pocket guy who can run the football?
00:23:53
Savage Boston
are you going to coach him up that every time he leaves the pocket, he now needs to slide immediately? who do you ah Who do you want Drake to be? Do you want him to be Kirk Cousins? Yeah. Just a pocket pea shooter? like Who do you want him to fucking be?
00:24:04
Savage Boston
The point of this is the dynamic, modern quarterback has to be able to run the football, run RPO, get out of the pocket, throw on the run, off-platform.
Defining May's Quarterback Identity
00:24:13
Savage Boston
That's the model for the modern quarterback right now.
00:24:16
Snooty
Mm-hmm.
00:24:16
Savage Boston
And that's obviously not who Josh has had success with. Josh has really only had success... with like one guy and his name's Tom Brady who had success with everyone he played with because he's Tom Brady.
00:24:27
Bret
Thank
00:24:28
Savage Boston
So who do you want Drake to be? And I think that's a genuine question. Like you got to let Drake be Drake, be himself. Go listen to Josh. Josh Allen had an interview the other day too. He said that he's like, he is advice to Drake was be yourself.
00:24:40
Savage Boston
And I agree. Let Drake be Drake. Drake has some special tools. Seriously. It's like special tools. And I think he can be a really good quarterback. Like, i just don't – you've got to see the direction they're going in.
00:24:52
Savage Boston
Like, they do need to work fundamentals, all that shit. Like, he's been inaccurate. Like, he has to reel that stuff in. But, like, the offense coordinator has to help him.
00:24:58
Bret
Thank
00:25:01
Savage Boston
This is easily the biggest point is just is Josh McDaniels the right guy. And everyone's to talk about it all fucking week. And if it starts coming together in five games, six games, where were like, ah, Drake's – they're getting a lot of yards here. They're – eating it up. They're getting, you know what i mean? Then we can be like, all right, maybe this is working and, and we can figure this out together and it can be a good relationship. But right now, who knows?
00:25:22
Savage Boston
um All right, cool. We're already this far into the podcast, but I wanted to, I want to pivot now. How we feeling about offensive line? Okay. Cause basically
00:25:30
Bret
You just went so robotic there for a minute, but it's okay.
00:25:33
Savage Boston
I didn't, hopefully it didn't come across too bad on the, ah on the recording, but um yeah, just want to touch on the old line.
00:25:34
Bret
I think you came through.
00:25:34
Snooty
Yeah.
00:25:35
Bret
Offensive line.
00:25:35
Snooty
You're back. You're back from the matrix. Here we go.
00:25:43
Savage Boston
um first and foremost, Will Campbell, who played pretty okay. Pretty good game. I mean, he was okay. I didn't even – you didn't even notice him the entire game.
00:25:54
Savage Boston
you know And I was like, wow well, if I don't notice him.
00:25:54
Bret
So the fourth quarter.
00:25:56
Savage Boston
I mean, and then he had a bad false start. And um the one sack, official sack he gave up was not his fault. Drake May literally stepped up into his sack. That was just a bad – a negative pocket movement from Drake.
00:26:08
Savage Boston
um And then he got beat bad on that one play but where Drake actually just fumbled the ball. It wasn't even a strip sack. Drake literally just fumbled it out of his hand, which is bad anyhow. um So, yeah, how how in general, how did we feel about the performance of the O-line yesterday?
00:26:24
Snooty
I mean, I...
00:26:24
Bret
Yeah, I mean, I would say for me, i thought, yeah, I would agree. I thought Will Campbell was good. He really played really strong, actually, for the first half. And ah you you basically, you never want to hear about the offensive line. That's when you know the offensive line is doing great.
00:26:42
Bret
It's because you never hear about them because they just go in, do their job, and like you never realize they're a problem.
00:26:46
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:26:48
Bret
So I would say by and large, he did well. I thought Wilson, not so much. But my bigger concern here is is I felt like a right side of the ball you know with Moses and Owenu. Really just not great.
00:27:03
Bret
And that mean you look at the pick that Drake threw, that was a stunt blitz that basically Owenu got overcommitted with moses with Moses on the outside and missed the guy coming in on the inside on his assignment. So ah you know That's got to get tighter on the right-hand side of the ball.
00:27:19
Bret
But if you look at the like the overall of the offensive line, I would say from a pass protection standpoint, they did pretty good. The problem is is they couldn't establish the run, which then became problematic in the second half when Oakland just basically said, we're going blitz at you all day long.
00:27:37
Bret
And we didn't have a solution to get out of it to help the offensive line out there either. So to me, I think the biggest concern I have with the offensive line is the inability to establish sharan a run, And then B, I felt like I was a little surprised with how shaky at the right side and and really kind of the interior of Unwenu was.
00:27:57
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:27:58
Snooty
I mean, I think the left side, that's about as good as you could hope for from a very first game with two rookies. I mean, clearly far from perfect, right? Like it it was, wasn't great, you know, but like it's two rookies on the left side starting their very first game and you know, they did okay.
00:28:06
Bret
Like 21, 22 year old. Yeah. yeah
00:28:13
Snooty
Like it was okay. and And that's something you can build off of, right? A lot of the nerves are going to be there, especially for the first game. I think, I think it was Bradbury was saying that Campbell went up to him and was like, I'm nervous as shit. And it's like, yeah. And Bradbury was like, yeah, me too, man. You know, like,
00:28:28
Snooty
You know, like, of course you're going to be nervous. Your very first professional game. Like, he's a 21-year-old left tackle. But, like, he did fine. um Moses very much looked like he was – although he did keep Crosby in check for but for the most part.
00:28:39
Snooty
I actually thought they did a pretty good job on on cro on Crosby all game.
00:28:43
Savage Boston
Until the very end of the game where he could pin his ears back, yeah.
00:28:43
Snooty
um Sure. But, i mean, that guy's a fucking home wrecker, right? Like, that guy that guy's just – he's a monster, right?
00:28:47
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:28:50
Snooty
Like, you know, full respect. Everyone else kind of sucks on their D-line, but, like, he was – he was, he's a monster and, and he, yeah he was held in check for the most part.
00:28:56
Bret
Oof.
00:28:59
Snooty
Um, I mean, look, they couldn't establish, it they couldn't get the run going. I don't think Wilson was as bad as his PFF grade. I don't like PFF grades for alignment. Truth be told.
00:29:08
Savage Boston
on tape, I heard he i heard he was not
00:29:08
Snooty
i dont
00:29:10
Savage Boston
No, I didn't like glue in on him, but Mike Jardy was reporting that he got kind of – I think he said dog walked by ah Adam Butler, the Patriot.
00:29:18
Snooty
Yeah.
00:29:19
Savage Boston
Like he had a really rough go in the second half with Adam Butler.
00:29:21
Snooty
Yeah. Um, You know, so, I mean, and again, he's a rookie. Butler's ah for he's a journeyman, but he's a, what, eight-year journeyman or nine-year journeyman, whatever it is?
00:29:30
Savage Boston
yeah so He's a good pass rusher. He's all right.
00:29:32
Snooty
Yeah. I mean, he was here for a while, right?
00:29:32
Savage Boston
Yeah. Yeah.
00:29:34
Snooty
Like, so
00:29:35
Savage Boston
yeah
00:29:36
Snooty
I think you can live with what they gave you for week one. Obviously, you hope for steady improvement. You hope that the right side settles in a little bit. Moses didn't play much in the preseason.
00:29:44
Bret
Thank you.
00:29:44
Snooty
You hope that he and and when you get together a little bit and they can, you know, kind of settle in on the right side and the left side starts to improve a bit. So I'm hopeful for the O-line. That was that was it wasn't a terrible performance.
00:29:56
Snooty
Run blocking aside, it wasn't a terrible performance.
00:29:57
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:29:58
Snooty
It was leagues better than it was
Wide Receivers and Offensive Line Performance
00:30:01
Snooty
last year.
00:30:01
Savage Boston
mean, they do have to figure out, they got to figure out the run blocking. Obviously that's the most obvious point. um As far as like the weapons go and stuff like that, um very encouraged by K'Shaun Bowie.
00:30:12
Savage Boston
Just watching in person, i mean he just worked routes, man. like Watching it, I was like, wow like i was really impressed in the person, just how he gets open. like he's is not the fastest guy in the world, but he is a good route runner, and Drake t trusts him.
00:30:20
Bret
Thank you.
00:30:23
Savage Boston
He's got sure hands, just like what he does out there. He can't leave the field, basically. i mean like's It's crazy he's become that person, but you can't take him off the field. um Diggs was like decent when he was when he was in there. He only played 41% of the snaps.
00:30:37
Savage Boston
was decent when he was in there. Again, he's not going to be the same wildly explosive guy. Hard to see, though, people being explosive when they're just running this like deep shell zone coverage anyway that no one's right like Drake is just not throwing into.
00:30:51
Savage Boston
They're just trying to bait him all game. he only you know he wasn't throwing he wasn't thrown into that.
00:30:55
Bret
Thank
00:30:56
Savage Boston
um But the rest of it, though, again, Pop Douglas. I don't know. What are we getting from him right now? is this I know he had a great offseason, but that's the offseason. So I'd like to see something from whether or not they activate Chisholm. Can we get him a rep? Can we see how he functions in the offense, in the slot?
00:31:15
Savage Boston
I'm interested in that. as um I think most people are just interested in that. lot of people are kind of feeling down on Pop. Matt Collins, to me, like as like your true ex or something, like i just don't – I get it for blocking and stuff, right?
00:31:29
Savage Boston
I need more Kyle Williams. You draft to the kid early. He's your burner. He's fast. He had 10% of the snaps. Like, are we going to do this again to another wide receiver? Are we going to take a kid and be like, let's just bury him?
00:31:44
Savage Boston
Like, get him on the fucking field. Please get him on the field.
00:31:48
Bret
Thank you.
00:31:48
Savage Boston
Like, he can do something. He can run even just a go route. Just do it. Like, they didn't run one. There was not one go route throw. sure they're running them, but he didn't throw it. you know there's like I think just generally watching, like a the lack of explosion from the Patriots' weapons was a apparent, and B...
00:32:08
Savage Boston
ah every time Drake May rolled out of the pocket, I had huge problems with how the scramble drill was going. Nobody was coming free. Usually someone scrambles, you work your way to the sideline, work your way back to the ball. Maybe you work your way deep, but you have to work your way open off your route. Like it's a fucking scramble drill.
00:32:27
Savage Boston
Where are you going? And I didn't see anyone open. I saw a lot of like lackadaisical cutting when Drake was rolling out almost as if they thought he wasn't going to throw it. And that's just absolutely not what I want to see. Like I want i want Kyle Williams in there more for ah more for Matt Collins.
00:32:44
Savage Boston
I want way more Travion Henderson and less Ramond or Stevenson. At least they can be split with the carries um and maybe even some more Antonio Gibson. But like they're to have to do something with the personnel. And no, I don't think that's just the reason they lost. It's not just personnel. But this is why you play the game. So you got to see what's everyone doing. What do you do What kind of adjustments do you make?
00:33:04
Savage Boston
So know. How do you guys feel about the weapons?
00:33:05
Bret
Yeah, I 100% agree.
00:33:06
Savage Boston
You know,
00:33:08
Bret
I mean, I want to see more Kyle Williams because we know there's a better upside there than what you're going to get from a guy like Pop or what you're going to get from a guy like Matt Hollins. Obviously, we've liked Pop, but he is he's a fourth guy on the depth chart. Like, why are we giving him the number of snaps he's getting? Like, that's just, to me, I think...
00:33:28
Savage Boston
He's your starting slot.
00:33:28
Bret
and
00:33:29
Savage Boston
He's just who plays the starting slot, you know?
00:33:31
Bret
But then, but so to me, I look at this and I say to myself, this is ah another McDaniels thing, right? Where he just tries to make things so complex and that, oh, you can't learn the offense because it's so complex. And then he buries these wide receivers that can't get in the field. And I could utilize the excuse when you had Tom Brady, who, yeah, he run...
00:33:52
Bret
He ran like really sophisticated like zone read routes with his receivers that I could understand a guy like this not being able to go in. But like none of these guys are elite-level talent at being able to do that other than a guy like Diggs who would be able to read the zone and would be able to play in. So like I think you move Diggs inside, get him to play more of the slot that they're utilizing with DeMario, and get Kyle Williams on the outside, and then you got more skill on the field.
00:34:23
Bret
yeah
00:34:23
Savage Boston
Well, I wanted to add to like, i feel like if someone's in zone the whole game, right? And I'm sure a smarter football mind could
Counteracting Zone Defenses
00:34:30
Savage Boston
answer this. But if someone's in zone the whole game, don't you have to do something to maybe take them out of zone?
00:34:36
Savage Boston
Like if you just noticed they're just sitting in zone, like what are your zone beater plays?
00:34:41
Bret
Overload is out.
00:34:42
Savage Boston
Like, what do we do to beat zone, right?
00:34:43
Snooty
Yeah. Yeah. you You fought it.
00:34:45
Savage Boston
What do we flood at one side of the field?
00:34:45
Snooty
You fought his own.
00:34:47
Savage Boston
Do you just like – if he's they're just in this cover two, do you have to do those shots between the corner and the and the deep safety?
00:34:47
Snooty
Yeah.
00:34:53
Bret
you
00:34:55
Savage Boston
like Or you find those those zones in between all three and you have someone go run and sit. You know, there's there's ways to beat zone. And Josh knows this, and I know Josh has probably coached this, so that to me might have been a Drake. Like, this is the hard to know the communication, but is that a Drake issue?
00:35:14
Savage Boston
But, like, because you know Josh, he was literally the OC for years watching Tom Brady eviscerate people who who sat in zone. So you've got to basically you gotta find a way to beat it, find the soft spots, and again, or like,
00:35:32
Savage Boston
Yeah, there are zone beater plays and and and use them. if they're playing they Again, they so thing like ah it was over of their their defensive rap source we're literally sitting in zone so so do you go for
00:35:44
Snooty
I mean, I think a big piece of what the but the Patriots used to do, where it's it's like Brett was saying, it's site adjustment stuff, where it's like, you know, the court which relies on the quarterback and the receiver, seeing and reading the defense the same way and making the adjustment on the fly, right? Like no communication. It's just this is your route. These are your options. This this is, you know, whatever you see, you adjust based upon what did do you make the defense wrong, effectively.
00:36:08
Snooty
um they i'm Obviously, they can't do that. I'm not sure Pop will ever be able to do that. I'm um just about done with Pop just because I hope he does well.
00:36:18
Bret
you
00:36:18
Snooty
I hope he succeeds here. But, like, don't know. This is year three. I'm just kind of – I don't I just don't think it's ever going to happen. I'd rather see, i mean, I wouldn't mind giving someone like Chisholm a shot just because it's something different.
00:36:32
Snooty
I think I love booty's answer. I think it was today. he or yesterday he gave the answer. He's saying like, people forget at one point I was the first round pick and he's playing pissed off. I think he's playing to prove someone. And I fucking love that.
00:36:32
Savage Boston
Mm-hmm.
00:36:43
Snooty
He's got some edge to him. He gets to get a little diva attitude going. And I love it because he's actually the only one playing like it. So sure. um I mean, give holen you give um take Hollins off. Give Kyle Williams a shot. You know, I mean, look, he fails, he fails. bi its But if if May rakes makes the right read and he just can't get open or whatever, like you're going to see that on film.
00:37:06
Snooty
You know what I mean? It's not going impact May. You made the right read. You threw the ball in the right place. you couldn't either
00:37:11
Bret
Thank you.
00:37:12
Snooty
You made the right read, but you couldn't you had to eat the sack because he couldn't get open or you had to move off or whatever. But i don't know. I'm... You have a couple dynamic, potential dynamic players, and I know it's only one week, but like you're limiting their snaps. Henderson's never going to be a bell cow back.
00:37:29
Snooty
I think you have to be selective with how you get him on the ball. I'd love to see him, you know, the pony backfield with him and Stevenson or him and Gibson and try to get him out in the passro pass route somewhere, try to get him on a linebacker one-on-one because that's a that's a mismatch all over the place. Yeah.
00:37:44
Snooty
Plus, when you do that, you can open it up. If they want a blitz, you can get him out of the backfield quick. you know Things like that. And and Stevenson can can pick up some of the blitz because he's good at that as well. And you'd rather burn Stevenson in pass pro than Henderson, obviously.
00:37:58
Savage Boston
It was more of the disappointment in the offense when they took control of the game and they were up 10-7, whatever it was, and then they just let it slide and they couldn't figure out how to do anything.
00:38:09
Savage Boston
It was the disappointment of watching another failing offense
Persistent Offensive Struggles
00:38:13
Bret
so
00:38:13
Savage Boston
again and being like, okay, like are we is this just last year again?
00:38:18
Savage Boston
Are we going to watch the same thing again now where we just they can't? maintain drives. They can't put points on the board. They have shaky play. You know what i mean? It was always a mistake, always something that, that sent him back. Um, all right, we're almost 40 minutes of the pod. We have not touched on the defense.
00:38:33
Savage Boston
ah So, again, in the efforts of time, let's touch on the defense quickly, okay, because I do actually want to talk about Miami for a minute. um What kind of stood out for everybody on the defense yesterday like or Sunday?
Defensive Performance and Blitz Strategies
00:38:46
Savage Boston
Other than, you know, i think Harold Landry obviously played really well. He had a really great game generating two and a half s sacks. You're go to take that every every day of the week. So happy for him, happy he can get in there.
00:38:54
Bret
Thank you.
00:38:57
Savage Boston
And I guess one of my big surprises was just the Patriots just – Did that i glitch out again or something? Oh, man, what's going on the internet? one of it Well, going to say, one of my biggest surprises was um how much they blitzed.
00:39:10
Savage Boston
think it was something like – it was almost like 50% of the time they're blitzing against the quarterback, Geno, who actually think does pretty well against blitzing.
00:39:13
Snooty
you
00:39:18
Savage Boston
So not sure.
00:39:18
Snooty
It's because they are they had inconsistent pressure just rushing four, right?
00:39:19
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:39:23
Snooty
So, like, you you had to blitz to get any type of pressure because you didn't you didn't have the horses in the back in the in the secondary to hold up for that long.
00:39:30
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:39:31
Snooty
I thought the secondary played pretty well after the first couple drives. They settled in until somewhere in the second half, and then it just, like, it just imploded, like everybody else.
00:39:39
Savage Boston
because the offense doesn't sustain a fucking drivey.
00:39:39
Bret
Well,
00:39:39
Snooty
I was like...
00:39:41
Savage Boston
Everyone's exhausted.
00:39:42
Snooty
Yeah. I mean, you're going to get tired, like which is, you know, defense but like, I don't know, you gave up like, what was it? Six plays of over 20 yards. Like Jesus guys, like, come on, man.
00:39:52
Savage Boston
accept
00:39:52
Snooty
Like, you know, you're never going to win a game when that happens.
00:39:53
Bret
well
00:39:55
Bret
Geno, I mean, Geno Smith lighting us up. I mean, he was the second highest passing yards we let up, were let up other than Josh Allen. So not a good sign. And especially because the Raiders do not have elite weapons other than Bowers.
00:40:11
Bret
And he got banged up. So like... You know, we should not have been getting gashed like we did, especially in the second half. Of course, ah good offense is going to be the defense's best friend because they're going to keep them rested and on the on the sideline.
00:40:29
Bret
I think, to me, yeah, it's a secondary. And I look at it and I say to myself, like... God, we need Gonzo back, like, right away. ah But on top of it, guy like Peppers could have helped at some point. Like, i don't, like, to me, the big plays screams lack of safety play.
00:40:47
Bret
And ah just I just look at it and say to myself, Again, why do we let a guy like that go? And it's going to, we'll see what happens week three. We're going to have a very highlighted, highly motivated safety coming up against us when we play the Steelers. But I just, to me, it's concerning our lack of ability to stop the pass. We did pretty well against the run.
00:41:11
Bret
Pretty much, Gentry was almost like a non-factor, to be honest with you. But we could not stop the pass, and that is concerning.
00:41:19
Savage Boston
Well, Craig Woodson played pretty well, the rookie, and they like him, and ah and he he played pretty well. Jalen Hawkins was just all over the place. Like, he had a pick. He had a set like a s sack.
00:41:30
Savage Boston
ah Stuff for loss and gave up a massive touchdown. Like, he was just all over the place, Jalen Hawkins. um and and And Woodson was was pretty good. But, yeah, like, clearly they had to limit the big plays. I don't know.
00:41:42
Savage Boston
But something like, you know, it's weird. When you blitz so much and the guy's the guy beating you, well, you've got to change something again, right?
00:41:48
Bret
Thank you.
00:41:49
Savage Boston
So, like, I remember the biggest standout play was they had, like, Carlton Davis do a cornerback blitz. right and you know And it was like a third and two or something. And Gino just turned around and just threw the ball where he came from.
00:42:01
Savage Boston
Exactly how you're supposed to do it. It first down. You're like, okay, well, what what the fuck was the point of that? Like, what was the, like, if he just, know like, he's obviously a good enough quarterback now, and he was good last year. He's been good. Geno's been a good quarterback, like, like maybe 12th in the league, 13th. Like, he's been a good quarterback.
00:42:18
Savage Boston
And a good quarterback who knows what they're doing. They see a corner blitz. It's probably going to turn. It's like, okay, let me throw, like, it's probably open where he just blitzed from.
00:42:23
Bret
Thank you.
00:42:26
Savage Boston
Like, you know what I mean? And and it was really simple play by Geno, but a really smart play. And this is a second time in two years he's he's destroyed the Patriots. and and lit us up. So that's the concerning part, obviously. Gino's been really, really good.
00:42:39
Savage Boston
um Like another weird part is like, you know, Keon White, you know, he's not even going to get a second contract here. Like, I don't i don't know.
00:42:50
Savage Boston
know, this is, i don't know what's going on with that. You obviously he's going to start getting disgruntled if this is his play level. He's going to start acting out and talking shit like he did last year. So we'll see how that goes.
00:43:01
Savage Boston
um But yeah, just not in love with, Not in love with that. Ultimately, the pressure stats don't look horrible from yesterday. Like, they got home enough where it doesn't look terrible. But too many big plays. um Again, in the efforts of time.
00:43:14
Savage Boston
um Let's touch on Miami really quick, all right, because obviously that's a game kind of coming up this Sunday at 1 in Miami.
00:43:16
Bret
you
00:43:21
Savage Boston
um And just to preface this, Miami was the worst team in the NFL this past week by a long shot.
Upcoming Game Against Miami
00:43:28
Savage Boston
They got smashed. They had the worst metrics. Tua was horrible.
00:43:33
Savage Boston
They're already falling apart. I hope we're not the get-right game because I don't get how you get smoked by the Colts like that, but they did. They got smoked. So how do you guys – what's your initial take on the the Miami matchup this Sunday?
00:43:49
Snooty
So it's you traditionally it's been a house of horrors playing down there. So I'm not going to say this with a big caveat here.
00:44:01
Bret
Thank you.
00:44:01
Snooty
I'm not going to freak out if they lose down there. Depending how they look. If they go in and lose a shootout because Gonzalez doesn't play a full game or doesn't play, Waddle plays and Tyreek Hill plays, I'm not going to lose my mind.
00:44:16
Snooty
I am going to lose my mind if they go down there and score 10 fucking points again. Because if they go down there and can't score against that Miami defense, you have very, very real problems. It's one thing, okay, you gave up some big plays against a team that has, you know, explosive players. that And look, they've had your number for a while now, so, like, I'm not going to excuse that. I'm going happy with that, but, like, I can live with that.
00:44:41
Snooty
I can't live with going down there and scoring 13 points or 10 points. not That defense is, like, you can you should be able to score at least 25 to 28 points on that defense. Easy. You should be able to.
00:44:52
Savage Boston
it's It's not a good defense.
00:44:54
Snooty
It's not a good defense. You should be able to score on that defense.
00:44:58
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:44:58
Snooty
You should. And if they can't, then fucking start the draft to the past the path to the draft clock because, like, here we go.
00:44:59
Bret
i mean
00:45:05
Savage Boston
Please.
00:45:05
Snooty
Like, it's fucking – it's going to be a ah long, ugly season if you can't score there.
00:45:10
Bret
Fucking Daniel Jones put up 33 points on them. So, yeah, we should be able to score on this team. um Yeah, I tend to agree. i i would hope we win the game, but you're right. For whatever reason, I don't understand it, but you go to Miami, funky things happen.
00:45:28
Bret
So I could see us losing the game. I'm not saying like we should win the game, but we should be able to put up points on offense, and it should look better than it did This past week, because, you know, yeah, they should be motivated. But like, why should we not?
00:45:44
Bret
You know, why should we not have a get right game, too? So if we just say, oh, well, they had a get right game and we were away down in Miami. what Then, yeah, I agree. Like, OK, so I guess we're talking about the 2026 draft and see what that looks like, which fucking sucks.
00:46:00
Bret
So let's let's get it right. Let's fucking go down to Miami and actually play a game and and show that we have some level of competency and that we give a damn. You know?
00:46:11
Savage Boston
It's insane to be like, oh, it's a must win game and in week two. But like, i don't know, a win would really solve a
Coaching Decisions and Team Dynamics
00:46:19
Savage Boston
lot. You know, and I think it would put you right back on the path. You just say, all right, we're where you thought you might be one-on-one. You know what i mean? Like, then because the Steelers now, anything, again, anything can happen in these games. This is the problem. Like, I just think now you can't chalk up any game to be a win. That's the problem. It doesn't matter even if it's the Jets.
00:46:38
Savage Boston
You can't chalk anything up to be a win. You don't know. This is the issue. Like, i we're like, oh, 10 wins, this and that. And then it's like, oh shoot. Like, you had a horrible performance against the Raiders.
00:46:49
Savage Boston
And now it's like, well, okay, when we play the Jets, is that a guarantee? like who you know What team's a guarantee? like There's some awful teams in their schedule. Carolina's really bad.
00:47:00
Savage Boston
Saints are really bad. you know There's some pretty bad teams.
00:47:02
Snooty
Cleveland.
00:47:04
Savage Boston
so are Should they be capable of winning a bunch of games? Absolutely. They should absolutely win a bunch of games. And starting with this Sunday, like this is the biggest get-right game for the Patriots, not even Miami. Like they need to come out and move the fucking ball.
00:47:18
Savage Boston
They got to figure it out this week, have a better game plan, hope that Miami just has way worse coaching, which it does probably, especially defense, not only just poor defensive coaching probably, but poor personnel.
00:47:31
Savage Boston
I think Mike McDaniel is a decent OC. but like I don't know. If you can't score this week, man, just get ready for – you want to talk pitchforks?
00:47:41
Savage Boston
and I mean, it's going to be real bad if they if they go down there and they can't score over 20 points.
00:47:41
Bret
Agreed.
00:47:46
Savage Boston
so
00:47:48
Snooty
And this is the reality of it, right?
00:47:48
Bret
ah great
00:47:49
Snooty
Like, and you invited this, like, when you hired McDaniels, and, you know, I still think it's a little bit of a, you know, square peg in a round hole type thing. And you if you, ca I'm telling if you can't score, then, and this is why kind of went off a little bit on the deep end, super negative on Sunday.
00:48:05
Snooty
But, like, if you were to take this long term, if it fails with McDaniels, that means and you you get rid of him after this year, that's your third offensive coordinator in three years. That's, like, the fucking blueprint for ruining a quarterback.
00:48:18
Snooty
That's literally the blueprint for ruining a a quarterback prospect.
00:48:18
Bret
Thank you.
00:48:21
Savage Boston
It would just be – you know what? That shit would be on Kraft. So they would all be Kraft, man.
00:48:24
Snooty
Yep.
00:48:25
Savage Boston
Everything falls on him and and he should – he's skirted this blame because he's letting Bill make himself look like a jackass with all this stuff he's doing.
00:48:25
Snooty
Yep. 100%.
00:48:33
Savage Boston
But like Kraft is – Kraft is skirting the blame and –
00:48:34
Snooty
Bill's obliging.
00:48:38
Savage Boston
If it doesn't go well and they're like, oh, this wasn't the right fit. It's like, well, you said it was the right fit. This was your perfect guy. was your perfect head coach candidate, you said. This is your perfect OC candidate. Everything's supposed to be perfect. This is exactly what you want.
00:48:51
Savage Boston
Meanwhile, I mean, half the fan base wanted fucking Ben Johnson, who I think is obviously an excellent offensive coach in seeing what he's trying to make Caleb Williams into, even though Williams, I just don't think, has it.
00:49:02
Savage Boston
He's got all he's got the tools, doesn't have the brain.
00:49:02
Bret
Thank you.
00:49:05
Savage Boston
I don't want to go tune into that, but, man, he – Looked like shit last night. And I would not trade Drake for him um at all.
Ownership Influence and Coaching Hires
00:49:13
Savage Boston
Way better head on his shoulders with Drake. Even though look at the situation surrounding fucking Caleb Williams in Chicago and what he has and the coaching he has.
00:49:21
Savage Boston
You know, that is what it is. But this was your perfect guy So if Kraft gets rid of him, you know, I'm going to lose it. What do you got, Brett?
00:49:30
Bret
I'll just say, we've brought it up numerous times about the how McDaniels hire. We haven't addressed it on the pod. Where do you think the influence came? Do you think it was really a Vrabel hire, or was this Kraft basically inserting McDaniels into the system and making him hire
00:49:46
Savage Boston
Well, let me – to answer that quickly, i don't think – it doesn't have to be – like all decisions people make, as you guys know, don't have to be one guy in a room being like, this is my decision.
00:49:59
Savage Boston
Like both of them could have said like, all right. He could have said hey, Mike, who are you thinking about for us as an offensive coordinator? Mike is like, here's my guy from Tennessee. Here's whatever. He have brought up his candidates.
00:50:12
Savage Boston
And then Kraft's like, you know, Josh is available – and has been great. What you think about Josh? Yes, you could probably say, I do think it was probably a little more Kraft than Vrabel, but Vrabel has to agree to it. He came in knowing probably who they're going to hire as OC. He knew everyone was going to bring in. He was going to bring Stretch. He was going to bring Turrell Williams.
00:50:32
Savage Boston
This is his crew. i think there's one plant from Kraft back 100% is Elliott Wolf. That is like the plant. like That's Kraft's guy in the room is Elliott Wolf, period.
00:50:44
Savage Boston
um I don't have any source on that. i just Again, that's my opinion. That's opinion. um But I think it's probably mostly Kraft on McDaniels. and Vrabel thought, you know, i think Josh has had a good history.
00:50:56
Savage Boston
He could could be okay here. And just watch what they say. If it gets down a week eight and they suck ass and they're 1-7 and they score 13 points a game, you better believe Vrabel's going to be in the fucking media talking about how shitty the offense is every day.
00:51:03
Bret
Thank you.
00:51:11
Savage Boston
And he'll be calling Josh out every fucking day. And you know that's going happen. He's going be shy about it. He'll be like, hired you to run a fucking offense. Like, that's, you know what mean? So, get ready for fireworks if that happens. And i just pray that doesn't happen.
00:51:25
Savage Boston
We've lived it for the last couple of years of horrific teams. Just please, i can't I can't do the horrific team thing again. I just can't do it. So, anything you have to add to that, Snoopy?
00:51:34
Bret
Okay.
00:51:36
Snooty
but I mean, that's your answer right there. The second that it's Kraft at all, the honour it to me, the owner should never be have any influence on the coordinator hires. To me.
00:51:46
Savage Boston
I think he probably didn't.
00:51:46
Snooty
Never. Should never.
00:51:48
Savage Boston
I mean, you don't think he had – dude, he's down there every day.
00:51:49
Snooty
Nope.
00:51:50
Savage Boston
It's like Jerry Jones.
00:51:51
Snooty
No, no. Kraft did.
00:51:53
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:51:54
Snooty
To me, the owner shouldn't.
00:51:55
Savage Boston
Yeah, yeah, I got you.
00:51:56
Snooty
Should never.
00:51:57
Savage Boston
Yeah, yeah.
00:51:57
Snooty
You should never.
00:51:58
Savage Boston
But you're great you're agreeing that he didn't have an influence.
00:51:59
Snooty
Head coach, 100%, right? that's That's, you know, GM and all that.
00:52:01
Savage Boston
Hold on, but do you think he did have an influence, though?
00:52:04
Snooty
Oh, yeah, clearly.
00:52:05
Savage Boston
Okay.
Conclusion and Strategic Adjustments
00:52:06
Savage Boston
well
00:52:06
Snooty
Literally.
00:52:06
Savage Boston
All right.
00:52:07
Snooty
He brought in people that he worked with.
00:52:07
Bret
ah Agreed.
00:52:08
Savage Boston
All right. This is the Savage Agreement podcast.
00:52:09
Snooty
Every other coach, every other coach he he brought in with a direct tie that he had worked with before, except for McDaniels.
00:52:16
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:52:18
Snooty
And then I think, yeah, no, I know.
00:52:18
Savage Boston
And who in the front office?
00:52:21
Bret
Oh, yeah, well.
00:52:22
Snooty
He brought in Elliott and Groh.
00:52:23
Bret
And Groh is still there, too.
00:52:25
Snooty
Yeah.
00:52:26
Savage Boston
Macro. Macro does like fucking compliance. He's in accounting.
00:52:30
Snooty
I said this fucking after they fired Bill. I wanted them to completely clear house. on'm on Front office, coaching staff, whole nine.
00:52:38
Savage Boston
He should have.
00:52:38
Snooty
All of it. Gone. All of it. They didn't do it.
00:52:41
Snooty
And then, I mean, if you really want to go down the rabbit hole, I'll take you down. I'll wade you through the fucking negative waters. I think they're not going to fix anything until Bob Kraft steps down and Jonathan Kraft actually runs stuff. I think he's the only one who will have the balls to cut the complete ties from the dynasty era.
00:52:41
Savage Boston
Unbelievable.
00:52:51
Savage Boston
That
00:52:55
Snooty
He'll cut ties with everything because he's not... 100% attached to it. He's the only one. So if Rabel fails, it's going to have to be Jonathan Kraft stepping in going, we're done.
00:53:03
Savage Boston
would be a big story.
00:53:03
Snooty
We're done. All this shit is gone. done
00:53:05
Savage Boston
Whenever John, Jonathan does take over, obviously he will. And I think maybe that's something that needs to happen sooner than later. But like Robert's down there every day. It's his office every day. he talks to the fucking coaches and players every day.
00:53:20
Savage Boston
he is like a very, very involved owner. There's a lot of absentee owners. He's there all the fucking time.
00:53:26
Snooty
Look, see, we said we going overreact, and now I've just fired everybody, and Bob Craft has given up control of the team.
00:53:26
Savage Boston
So
00:53:30
Savage Boston
we've just fired entire team. All right. I'm ending the podcast there. Okay. Thanks for tuning in, everyone. See ya.
00:53:37
Bret
Peace.
00:53:38
Snooty
yeah