Patriots DB room in TURMOIL Midseason Awards and ANTI Awards | Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast - video Dailymotion

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Tune into the Bedard Patriots Podcast featuring Nick Cattles where they unpack a series of recent events concerning the team. Greg and Nick explore the Patriots' choice to exclude JC Jackson from the Germany trip and the benching of Jackson and Jack Jones during the Commanders game for tardiness. They also delve into Adrian Klemm's health-related departure from the team, present their midseason accolades as well as their anti-awards, and look ahead to the Patriots vs. Colts game in Germany.  0:00 Intro/Teaser 1:26 JC Jackson left home, Jack Jones also benched vs. Commanders for being late 8:57 Adrian Klemm not with the team… 11:03 Patriots in Germany … will Krafts keep a low profile? 16:42 Midseason awards 46:03 Quickie Colts preview: Colts -1.5, 43.5 o/u  Check Greg's Coverage out over at www.bostonsportsjournal.com, for $50 on BSJ's annual plan. Not only do you get top-notch analysis of all the Boston pro sports, but if you're a Patriots junkie — and if you're listening to this podcast, you are — then a membership at BSJ gives you access to a ton of video analysis Bedard does on the coaches film, and direct access to him in weekly chats.  This episode of the Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast w/ Nick Cattles Podcast is brought to you by:  Fanduel Sportsbook, the exclusive wagering parter of the CLNS Media NetworkRight now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning FIVE DOLLAR MONEYLINE BET! So, visit https://FanDuel.com/BOSTON and kick off the NFL season. FanDuel, Official Partner of the NFL. 21+ and present in MA. Hope is here. First online real money wager only. $5 pregame moneyline wager required. First online real money wager only. $10 first deposit required. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable bonus bets that expire 7 days after receipt. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. GamblingHelpLineMa.org or call (800)-327-5050 for 24/7 support. Play it smart from the start! GameSenseMA.com or call 1-800-GAM-1234.  ODDS-R! Ever wished you could navigate the betting field with the confidence of a pro? Enter OddsR. They're not a sportsbook, but they're the sports betting advisor you've always needed. It's like having a playbook for smarter bets right in your pocket. Go get it at https://oddsr.com/BEDARD  Visit https://factormeals.com/BEDARD50 to get 50% off your first box! Factor is America’s #1 Ready-To-Eat Meal Kit, can help you fuel up fast with ready-to-eat meals delivered straight to your door. #patriotspresspass #clns #patriots

Transcript

00:00 You know, I think all the talk about Bill possibly being fired if they lose this game,

00:04 it I think is utterly ridiculous. Now we did talk in the last podcast about like,

00:09 I think the, you know, the only possible outcome where Bill doesn't have his job after this week

00:16 is if he, if he just takes one for the team, takes one for his people and says, and I'm going to do,

00:23 I've always done what's in the best interest of this team and my players. And right now,

00:28 the way this team is playing, the best thing is for me to step aside and let Gerard take over

00:33 and see what he can do for the rest of the season. That's the only scenario. And so,

00:39 yeah, I think, I think you're right. I think the crafts are just, things are,

00:43 things are best left unsaid. If you don't have anything good to say, don't say it at all

00:47 and just let the season play out and then, you know, make your moves.

00:50 The Greg Bidard Patriots podcast is brought to you by FanDuel,

00:55 the exclusive wagering partner of the CLNS Media Network. He's Greg, I'm Nick. We have

01:01 more Patriots issues to discuss. Not too surprised by this. We'll get into it in a minute, but first,

01:07 this episode is brought to you by FanDuel, the exclusive wagering partner of the CLNS Media

01:11 Network. And right now, new customers get $150 in bonus bets with any winning $5 Moneyline bet.

01:18 And of course, our friends, Odds Are, an app that combines AI and machine learning to suggest

01:23 smart sports bets. All right, Greg, JC Jackson's been left at home. He's now making the trip to

01:29 Germany. Jack Jones was also benched against the Commanders for a little bit. Both guys causing

01:35 some issues. Your thoughts? Not a good place to be, obviously. You know, I think this is

01:43 emblematic of, you know, lost teams or losing teams and that's where the Patriots are.

01:50 You know, there's a sort of a lot to dive into with, you know, Bill Belichick denies after the

01:56 game that they're being benched. Mike Pellegrino goes on with the media and says that, you know,

02:03 instead of talking about who wasn't out there, talk about who was out there and Sean Wade and

02:08 what a great job he's done and all this stuff. And OK, fine. OK, coach. Then why did he only play 13

02:15 snaps? If he was the best cornerback for the team, why didn't he play more? Why didn't why did those

02:22 guys come in and take his snaps? I mean, it's I don't know. It's just it's it's starting to look

02:26 like a clown show down there. And it's disappointing. And, you know, from from what I hear and look,

02:33 this is I'm not reporting anything. You know, I'm just sort of for the sake of conversation.

02:42 And this is a podcast. I wouldn't write something like this, but just there's there are a lot of

02:48 rumblings that this is sort of the I guess how would I term it? This is sort of the tip of the

02:57 iceberg with what's going on in the secondary room that there might be more coming out in the next

03:02 day or so about either or and or J.C. Jackson and Jack Jones and what's going on in the DB room.

03:11 You know that Jack Jones hasn't been spotted at practice. That's pretty suspect. It you know,

03:20 you would think, you know, I'm just going off of my history covering the league and I'm not

03:25 I'm not reporting anything. This is pure speculation and just my gut feeling from

03:32 from watching this from afar that there could be some sort of suspension coming, you know,

03:38 whether that's gambling or PEDs or, you know, you know, an internal suspension from something

03:46 that happened with the team. I mean that that I mean, Jack Jones at least is with the team

03:50 and practicing. So that I guess is good on his part, but that J.C.'s not anywhere to be found.

03:57 I don't know. That's kind of sketchy. I mean, even if he was hanging back, you know,

04:03 wouldn't he be practicing? And so I think there are a lot of things going on and you're just

04:08 fearful that, you know, more could be coming and how that's going to reflect on Bill Belichick

04:14 and all that stuff. I just it's just this is what happens when you're two and seven.

04:19 If there were seven and two, nobody would be hearing about this stuff. Nobody would

04:23 really care about this stuff. But when you're two and seven, this is the stuff that gets talked

04:28 about. It speaks to the desperation of Belichick trying to win games right now. The fact that both

04:34 of these guys played last weekend, just desperate. He knows he doesn't want Sean Wade out there

04:41 playing the whole game. He doesn't want to elevate somebody from the practice squad with all the

04:46 issues, the defensive backs right now. It's a desperate team. It's a desperate coach who's

04:51 trying to get every win he can to get closer to Shula. Inconsistencies too, Greg. How in the world

04:57 can you look Pop Douglas in the eyes after you benched him because you tried to make a play

05:02 against Miami and then you put him in mothballs for a few weeks? How can you do that to that guy

05:07 who has seemingly done everything right away from the field, on the practice field? You bench him

05:13 and you treat him like he's a joke because of the fumble against Miami. But here you are playing both

05:19 Jackson and Jones after these guys seemingly don't give an ish about anything. It's a lack of

05:24 consistency from the head coach and a lack of accountability. He goes up to the podium last

05:30 week. He had an opportunity. I'm not looking for him to bury his players, but he could have sent

05:34 a message. Instead, he defended him and he did the same old Belichick. Nick, to further your point

05:42 and sort of illustrate how these things, these "minor things" become big issues on the team,

05:49 what if you're Adrian Phillips on this team, who is a veteran, played a lot of good football

05:54 in this league for this team? He could barely get on the field. Jalen Mills, all right, he doesn't

06:01 have quite the esteemed history that Adrian Phillips does, but the same sort of guy,

06:05 a well-respected veteran player, has been around, doesn't have much of a role on this team, can't

06:12 get on the field, yet Jack Wagon One and Jack Wagon Two can do whatever the hell they want and

06:18 they get on the field and play like 40, 50 snaps. If I'm Adrian Phillips and I'm Jalen Mills, I'm

06:24 like, "What the hell am I doing here? What is the point of this?" That's when dissension in the

06:30 ranks, guys start talking amongst themselves, like, "What are we doing here? Why are we putting

06:36 in the work? The old man doesn't know what the hell he's doing anymore." This is the stuff you're

06:42 talking about. This is the stuff when you're inconsistent and especially treat younger

06:48 "talented" players this way, but you screw over veterans who are there every day, do everything.

06:55 Remember that first year that Adrian was in New England and he basically had to play sub-linebacker

07:03 because they had no linebackers? The dude used to get pummeled by tackles and guards every single

07:10 game, yet he was always out there doing his job. He does those things for this team and he doesn't

07:17 get rewarded for it. Then these guys who obviously aren't doing what they're supposed to be doing in

07:23 a variety of ways for multiple years get treated like this. It's not right. You're setting a

07:32 precedent. The other guys in the room, they're looking at this and they're saying, "All right,

07:39 if those guys aren't going to be held totally accountable, if they're going to do what they did

07:43 and they still play against Washington, then why do I have to be a goody two-shoes? Why do I have

07:49 to do everything the coach asks me to do?" Those guys aren't doing it. I'm not saying a lot of

07:55 those guys in the locker room will do that. They're professionals. The vast majority of

07:59 this locker room gets it, but it just sets a precedent. It's so bad. It's so bad on so many

08:08 levels. It begs the question, Greg, of how many yes men are surrounding Belichick. There's no

08:13 checks and balances. He does whatever he wants to do. I'm sure not everybody agreed with Jackson

08:21 and Jones playing last weekend. How could you? It doesn't matter because Belichick's got say.

08:27 We know the owner's not stepping in in the middle of the season where football matters. He didn't

08:30 step in during the deadline and you ended up holding on to Josh Uche instead of getting a

08:35 fifth round pick when the guy played 20% of the snaps. So Kraft's not stepping in.

08:39 The Bill Belichick bubble, it is solidified in New England. He's got sons and former players

08:46 on his staff. They're not going to step up and challenge him. He's going to do what he wants to

08:50 do. He's a guy who's absolutely desperate to win every game he can right now for a two and freaking

08:56 seven football team. Adrian Clem is one of those coaches, Greg. Not with the team sounds like a

09:02 health situation as far as what Belichick shared yesterday. Yeah. A couple of thoughts on this.

09:10 If Belichick wasn't caught in a lie this weekend with the Jones and Jackson conversation,

09:17 you'd just be like, okay, it's definitely a health issue. I'm guessing that it is.

09:24 It's just when you don't tell the truth on something, then it snowballs. Now you're like,

09:31 well, if you protected these guys now, what is he doing? Is he doing that with Clem?

09:35 We don't know. Hopefully Adrian Clem is doing okay, but you also have to put in,

09:41 you also in this situation, you have to factor in his past. Given that Belichick didn't tell

09:48 the truth on Jones and Jackson, and given that Adrian Clem didn't last a season in Pittsburgh,

09:54 that when it became clear to him that he wasn't going to be brought back the next year

10:00 by Mike Tomlin, he started looking at other jobs around this time last, when he was with the

10:06 Steelers. I have no insight on this. I can only, I think it's fair to bring up just with the way

10:16 the offensive line has gone. Maybe Clem's looking at this like, it looks like Bill's going to be

10:22 out of the job. He brought me in here. I don't know what my future is, what have you. Look,

10:29 it's probably a legit excuse, but when people have certain histories, you have to bring it up.

10:37 Until it's ruled out, it's sort of there. I would hope that Belichick's not using health

10:44 as some kind of a crutch to get out of it. That would be brutal. Hopefully he's not doing that,

10:50 and hopefully Clem's okay. I will say it'd be weird timing if it was Clem looking elsewhere

10:56 or something like that, because the offensive lines actually played a bit better the last two

10:59 weeks since a winner who slid the right tackle. Maybe Clem's getting them going a little bit.

11:04 Patriots and Germany, obviously on Sunday morning, Greg. A high profile game for the league. Only

11:11 game on at 9.30 in the morning, last time I checked. It begs the question though, Robert

11:16 Kraft, Jonathan Kraft, especially after what we saw the video, all the posts about what Jonathan

11:22 said to his father in the suite, do you think the Krafts will be visible this weekend, or will they

11:30 hide in the shadows out there in Germany and enjoy some Brats and Marsens? To me, Nick, that's the

11:37 most interesting thing about this whole trip game. Who the hell cares? Two and seven Patriots against

11:44 the Colts. Nobody really cares. To me, the most interesting aspect of it is, I'm sure you'll

11:51 agree, that if the Patriots were seven and two, first place in the AFC East, still the Patriots,

11:59 you know Robert would be all over the place. On NFL network, talking to the fans, all over the

12:10 place pregame, glad-handing with everybody. You know he would be doing that. He would be

12:15 just taking his victory lap. Now at two and seven, with an embattled coach,

12:21 a team in a terrible spot, a lot of questions about the future, how many, they've won one

12:29 home game against the Bills, otherwise they've lost, they've gotten blown out at home.

12:33 You know, I could see the Krafts keeping a very low profile. I'll be very interested to see if

12:42 Kraft goes on NFL network or one of those pregame things this week. Normally he would. If he does,

12:50 how does he answer the questions? Because those people, sorry NFL network, you have to do your

12:55 job. You have to ask the question about where the team is, you know, about like, you know,

13:01 Bill Belichick's future, is it secure? You know, you have to ask those questions. So to me,

13:07 that's the most interesting aspect of all this is how visible are the Krafts and what do they say

13:13 if questions get put to them? It'll be fascinating. Of course, they haven't said a lot during the

13:19 year when they've had the opportunity to, even at certain points when Kraft usually would speak,

13:24 he hasn't really spoken. So I don't think you'll see a lot of Kraft on TV this Sunday if he has a

13:32 say so, but we'll see. Nick, would you take that as a, so if that happens, if Kraft keeps a low

13:38 profile, doesn't answer any questions, isn't that visible? What does that say to you?

13:43 I think it could say a couple things. I think it could say that he's just embarrassed about where

13:50 the team is at right now and would rather just not talk about it. I'd also say that that is the very

13:58 opposite of the vote of confidence in Bill Belichick. If he was steadfast in keeping Belichick

14:04 and confident in this program, then he would go out there and say, "Yeah, it's not great this

14:09 season right now, but we feel pretty good about things and where we're at." The fact that he's

14:13 not speaking to the media, not showing his face an awful lot, would tell me that he's probably

14:18 stewing about what's going on and is going to say to himself, "You know what? Some things are

14:23 better left unsaid, especially during the season. I'm going to let this puppy lie." And then when

14:28 the season's over, we're going to cut the cord. I agree with you. If he doesn't say anything,

14:36 it's just like us answering questions. There's no way they're going to win answering the questions

14:44 at this point. Any way he says it, if he just comes out and says, "Look, we're disappointed,

14:53 but there's still eight games left in the season. We're looking to see some improvement," or

15:00 something like that, that's going to piss off the fans. If he takes a harder line,

15:06 then that's going to irritate Belichick. I think all the talk about Bill possibly being fired if

15:14 they lose this game, I think is utterly ridiculous. Now, we did talk in the last podcast about,

15:20 I think the only possible outcome where Bill doesn't have his job after this week is if he

15:27 just takes one for the team, takes one for his people, and says, "I've always done what's in

15:35 the best interest of this team and my players. And right now, the way this team is playing,

15:40 the best thing is for me to step aside and let Gerrard take over and see what he can do for

15:46 the rest of the season." That's the only scenario. I think you're right. I think the crafts are just,

15:52 things are best left unsaid. If you don't have anything good to say, don't say it at all.

15:58 And just let the season play out and then make your moves.

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16:35 the NFL. -

16:37 All right, Greg, let's talk about some mid-season awards. Pretty difficult to pick some of these,

16:49 given they're two and seven, but let's roll with it. Let's start with the offense, offensive MVP.

16:54 - Okay. So I have crunched my numbers. This is all mostly based on my film evaluation.

17:01 So for offensive MVP, not a whole lot to pick through. I would say that guys who were

17:15 nominees for this would be Hunter Henry, Kendrick Bourne, Trent Brown, David Andrews.

17:24 I'm going with David Andrews. I think on a per-snap basis, this season, he's been the most

17:32 consistent and best offensive player. The least amount of mental mistakes, he was put in a terrible

17:38 position to start this year, basically being between two rookies and everything else that

17:44 was going on the offensive line and the constant changes. And while the popular opinion among NFL

17:52 scouts, which puzzles me a little bit, but I've heard it so often that I have to listen to it,

17:57 is that they think he's slowing down. But I'm sorry. I think he's still a really good player

18:02 for this team. And given the circumstances, I think he's been really good for this team.

18:06 - I haven't crunched many numbers. I haven't watched the all-22. I'm going with Kendrick Bourne.

18:13 I had a feeling you might go with David Andrews. I'll go with Kendrick Bourne before the injury.

18:18 I thought he was producing. He's not consistent all the time with the route running. We've talked

18:23 about that. But this is somebody who I want to give him credit. It sucks that his year ended

18:28 the way it did because this is somebody who didn't have a good year last year. He took

18:33 accountability. He talked about some of the things that he had to straighten out, especially off the

18:37 field. And he came in this year ready and prepared and practiced hard and played pretty well. So I

18:45 give a lot of credit to Kendrick Bourne. He didn't tap out. He didn't whine. He came back,

18:49 and he played well. All right. Offensive least valuable player, Greg?

18:52 - Vidarian Lowe. I feel bad for him. He was put in a bad position late ad and camp.

19:03 You know, didn't have much practice time. But I mean, at this point, he's played, let's see,

19:09 317 snaps. He leads the team by far, even though Antonio Maffi's not far off. 24 total quarterback

19:20 pressures allowed, including four sacks, six and a half run stuffs. In my ratings, he's a minus 14%,

19:27 which is certainly on the bottom for the offensive line. You know, put in a bad position,

19:34 but look, he was not good when he was out there. - I'll go with captain fingertips, Devontae Parker.

19:41 Sweet extension, Bill. Sweet extension, bro. Offensive surprise, Greg?

19:48 - Pharoah Brown. I think that he's done a really nice job blocking occasional big plays,

19:57 he looks like a prototypical number two tight end, a guy who was added extremely late, but,

20:03 you know, fit in rather easily. I've been, I was a little perplexed that he didn't have

20:10 much of a role this past week, you know, but I think he's been a really good player for them.

20:15 - Michael Wenu. I look at this differently. Surprise in the idea that he actually was moved,

20:23 that Bill acquiesced and moved him to right tackle, and he's played pretty well there. And I

20:27 know we'll get into this discussion much later on, Greg, but I'm the Patriots, I'm keeping him at

20:32 right tackle, I'm paying him this offseason, and I'm going into next year with Michael Wenu at my

20:37 right tackle, and if I can get Trent Brown on an incentive-laden deal, I bring him back and I

20:41 draft a young tackle. That's my offensive tackle plan. A Wenu, Brown, and a young guy, maybe out

20:46 of the second round, depending on what you do in the first. That's what I would do. So a Wenu,

20:51 the fact that they actually played him at right tackle, and sounds like they're going to keep

20:56 him there. All right, offensive disappointment. - Mac Jones. You know, he just, he has not played

21:04 good football this year. He has, especially of late, outside of the fourth quarter against Buffalo,

21:12 which ended up pulling up his final grade to a positive. Before that, the first three quarters,

21:20 he was a negative. I mean, he's just been, what's interesting is that it has actually improved. Now,

21:26 I was very frustrated with him this past weekend, but Dallas was the worst, the Saints wasn't much

21:33 better, Vegas was a little bit better. Of course, he had the fourth quarter against Buffalo. Miami

21:38 was a little bit better than Vegas, and then Washington was a little bit better than Miami.

21:42 So I guess he is getting a little bit better, but overall, he just has not played winning football

21:49 over the last six weeks, for the most part. - Ra'mondre Stevenson's first six weeks.

21:56 Last two, three weeks, he's looked like a different guy. He's had that, I don't know if there was an

22:01 injury situation. Of course, it really wasn't popping up on the report, but I think the last

22:08 two or three weeks, he has shown more juice. He's had better finish to his runs. Even last week,

22:14 as a receiver, it looked like he had a little bit more going on there. But the first six weeks,

22:18 I was very disappointed. I think Ra'mondre is a very talented guy, and I was disappointed the

22:22 way he looked. Most improved. - Kendrick Bourne. Not that I think he's all that different than

22:29 he was his first year here, but considering where he was last year, under Matt Patricia,

22:35 basically in the doghouse, couldn't get on the field. When he was on the field, he was pressing

22:41 a little bit. The difference to this year has been immense. As you illustrated earlier, he's been

22:49 a really good player for this team. He's my most improved. - I'll stick with Bourne as well. Least

22:57 improved. - Least improved. Tyquan Thornton. I don't even know what to say about him. I know

23:09 he's missed a lot of practice time, but can't you learn by watching film or watching practice?

23:16 Can't you still get better? Why is he still in the same place? I know practice is important,

23:24 being out there, seeing what you're doing on film, and then making corrections. I understand that.

23:29 This guy is nowhere right now, Nick. - Somebody tweeted at me, "I wish I had their handle."

23:38 I laughed out loud when I saw it. I think they called them Twinkle Toes. I got Twinkle Toes

23:44 Tyquan too, with the little tap dance, Michael Flatley river dance route that he ran last week.

23:50 - The top of that route last week? Oh, yeah. That was something. - What a joke.

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25:13 to win. Go get it. All right, so that was the offense. It was tough. Not much better the defense

25:21 lately, but let's go to the defensive side of the football, Greg. Your defensive MVP.

25:26 So this might be a little bit of a surprise, but Matthew Judon is still my highest rated

25:37 defensive player on the team. Christian Barmore was certainly in the conversation, and I considered

25:44 him, but I just think they've really missed Matthew Judon's finishing touch as far as pass

25:52 rush. They've had to blitz a lot more when he's been out. That has stressed the secondary. They've

25:57 given up a lot of big plays the past couple weeks, which has really ended up costing them in these

26:04 games. So to me, even with the amount of time that he's missed, and I think it's illustrated it,

26:10 Matthew Judon is the most valuable player on this defense. I'm going Barmore. He's becoming a beast

26:16 in front of our eyes. Barmore, Duggar, and Gonzalez are the three guys I would say are the future of

26:23 this defense. Start working around with those three, the middle. Put Duggar back in the box.

26:30 Stop with the free safety plan, which is just a disaster. Put Duggar where he's the strongest.

26:37 Extend him. Get Barmore in extension. Get that done early. Bring back Christian Gonzalez healthy

26:43 next year. At least you have three young guys who, and I know Duggar's not that young, but three

26:49 younger guys who can give you at least some hope defensively moving into next season. Defensive

26:54 least valuable player. JC Jackson. He's been really bad since he's been back. Some of it's

27:04 been good, but the way I grade Nick is it's hard for, most of the time I don't give a plus or minus

27:13 for defensive back unless they're involved in the play. So their pluses and minuses are always less

27:22 than any other position. There will be the occasion when I think the quarterback wants to go

27:27 to the guy in his first read, but he's well covered. I give them plus. He ends up throwing

27:31 at somebody else. But to put it in perspective, so he's played basically like half the snaps of

27:38 most people in the secondary. I have them at this point for three plus plays, 15 and a half negative

27:47 plays. To put that in perspective, Miles Bryant, who everybody loves to kill, has 10 plus plays

27:54 and 10 minus plays. JC Jackson's been bad. He deserves to be benched. He deserves to be sent

27:59 home. He deserves to be cut, frankly. Like you illustrated before, the only reason that he and

28:08 Jack Jones are even out there is because Christian Gonzalez is hurt, Marcus Jones is hurt, and they

28:13 have nobody else out there. They don't want to put Shawn Wade out there no matter what Pellegrino

28:18 has to say. So to me, it's tough because he's just got here and he hasn't played a ton,

28:26 but he has not been good. Yeah, I had Jackson down as my guy too.

28:30 And when the trade was made, I really liked it. I said, "Look, if you could get like 80% of what

28:35 JC was the last time he was here, it's an obvious upgrade over Shawn Wade." And he's still probably

28:40 an upgrade over Shawn Wade. But I thought, you know, low risk, high reward. Well, apparently

28:47 not. I mean, the risk, this guy kind of, I don't want to say ruining the locker room because that's

28:54 way too strong, but being the problem he is being, there is some risk to that. More risk than I

29:01 thought. I thought this guy would look at it and say, "Man, I sucked with the Chargers. Yeah, maybe

29:06 I feel like I was misused, but I have some pride on the line here and I want to continue to play

29:11 football and then prove to people that I'm not that guy." And it hasn't worked out that way.

29:17 Defensive surprise, Greg. Defensive surprise. Keon White. Now look, we were both high on him

29:26 after his preseason and training camp. We knew he looked really good. We just wondered how much

29:36 playing time he was going to get, which really held in the early part of the season until Judon

29:40 went down. So he's gotten the opportunity to play more standing up on the edge. That was something

29:47 that we weren't quite sure about either. He played with his hand in the dirt a lot in college. So the

29:53 combination of him playing from a two-point stance, getting more frontline edge reps,

30:00 I think he's done really well with them. I mean, he hasn't been a complete beast on the edge and

30:06 sometimes he's gotten his butt whooped, but that happens as a rookie. Life comes at you fast when

30:12 you're in the NFL, but he's a smart kid. He cares a lot. He's going to learn. But I've been

30:18 a little bit surprised at how effective he's been. And I will say this, the other thing is

30:24 his mental errors aren't very much. They're very minimal. And so I think he's done a really good

30:31 job. Yeah, I screwed the pooch. I have to add Keon White to the other guys that I talked about

30:37 just a moment ago. Duggar, Gonzalez, the younger guys, that young Barmore. You can add White onto

30:44 that list of young defensive players that should have you excited. So yeah, he's been good. My

30:50 surprise is the secondary and just how bad it's been. I know Gonzalez isn't there. I get it.

30:59 But last year, this defensive backfield wasn't giving up chunk play after chunk play after chunk

31:06 play. And Gonzalez was at college. So just how bad they are back there. It's just missed assignments,

31:14 coverage busts, bad tackling. It's just not good. Defensive disappointment.

31:23 Josh Huche, he's in a contract year, plenty of reps against the pass. I think I have him for

31:32 seven total quarterback pressures at this point. Just not anywhere good enough, anywhere near

31:41 good enough. He needs to be more impactful. He's just running by the quarterback or just running

31:46 up the field more often than not. And so to me, I figured in a contract year, he'd be a complete

31:54 beast this year. Hasn't happened. Yeah, I'm with you on Huche. I'll give you another one,

31:58 just the free safety position. This will go down in the line of Belichick not figuring out

32:04 how to handle a position when somebody leaves. It goes back to the grunt,

32:09 tight end days. It goes back to the right tackle situation. It goes back to quarterback.

32:16 Uh, you know, this idea of we'll replace Devin McCourty with pretty much just a bunch of people

32:21 and throw them against the wall and see who sticks hasn't worked out. Most improved.

32:26 Most improved. Um, Christian Barmore, you know, not that what he's doing is, was not expected.

32:35 It's just, you know, where he was last year and he lost a lot of time last year when he,

32:40 as we've illustrated in the past, when he did come back at the end of the year, he actually

32:44 played a lot better than people, you know, understood. Um, you know, so to me, you know,

32:50 where he was last year and to where he is now, especially where he's at the way he's played over

32:55 the last, uh, five or six weeks, uh, I think he's been, uh, vastly improved and it's becoming the

33:02 player that we figured he would become. Anthony Jennings. Yeah. He, he went from a guy who wasn't

33:08 really part of the plan at all. It's going through injuries and stuff like that. And since Judon's

33:13 injury, it's done a pretty good job. He's accounted well for himself, plays the edge well.

33:17 So I'll give Jennings some credit there. Uh, least improved.

33:20 Kyle Duggar. Um, he, you know, in my ratings to this point, he is dead. Even same number of plus

33:28 plays, same number of minus place. He is tied for the most big plays allowed. Uh, he, I think he's

33:35 given up the most touchdowns, uh, with three. I'm sorry if, and this is the same conversation

33:42 we've had for years about Kyle Duggar. You know, he is extremely talented. Do I think he's been

33:47 put in the best position to succeed by this coaching staff? No, especially with the whole

33:52 free safety stuff that you brought up, you know, having him back there, like he should just be a

33:57 box safety. He should be there. Jamal Adams. And they're just not doing that enough. If they did

34:02 that, he would impact more games, but they're not doing it. So it's not all his fault. But the

34:07 bottom line is he's, he's not playing winning football often enough. You know, he just, he,

34:14 he needs to be on the plus side a lot more and he's just not, he's just sort of as many places

34:20 he makes, he gives up and it's been the same way throughout his entire career. He's 27 going on 28,

34:28 like it needs to be better. So to me, he's the same exact player he's always been. So to me,

34:34 he's the least improved. Yeah, he was on my list as well. He was my guy. And I know I just said

34:39 that he should be a part of the fee. I still feel that way, but as, as Greg said, make him a box

34:43 safety, you know, put them out there to do what he does best. It's kind of similar. Like Marte

34:49 Mapu, you draft map who in the third round, he played in the box at Sacramento state.

34:55 Why are we not trying to play that guy as an athletic linebacker on the second level?

35:00 You're, you're throwing them out there, free safety, and then playing them in the back end

35:04 where he's just, he's giving up big plays two weeks in a row. I just, I don't get so much about

35:11 what, what they're doing right now. With that said, just kind of your overall thoughts on the

35:16 program here at the halfway point. So two things I wanted to bring up and sort of, you know,

35:23 ask you as well. So you basically like, what, what are the things, what's the thing that you're most

35:30 optimistic about with this team? And it's, it's a tough question. I, I find myself going back and

35:37 forth, but my, my first, and this is going to seem strange considering what we started off this

35:42 podcast talking about and what we've talked about sort of sporadically in this podcast.

35:48 I actually feel okay about the cornerbacks. Now, hold on.

35:52 You know, so let's just, mostly it's about Christian Gonzalez. Like I, you know, I think

36:01 they, I think they hit a complete home run with that kid. I think he's unbelievable. I gave thought

36:06 to giving him defensive MVP for how good he was early on in the season and how things have sort

36:12 of fallen apart. I think, you know, with, with Christian Gonzalez, with Jonathan Jones, and I'm

36:18 just going to leave Jack, JC Jackson and Jack Jones off to the side for a second, but just

36:23 Gonzalez, Jonathan Jones, and Marcus Jones. Now, Marcus Jones, before he got hurt, wasn't doing

36:27 that great, but I, I have confidence in the kid. I think he has a lot of skill. I think he can get

36:34 there. Is he getting the right coaching? I don't know, but I will say just because of Christian

36:39 Gonzalez, I feel a lot better about their, their future at the cornerback position than I did going

36:45 into this year. And if they can somehow get Jack, JC Jackson and Jack Jones on the reservation,

36:51 which I am not optimistic about very much, I would rather see those guys gone, you know,

36:56 bring in another cornerback to sort of bring up that depth in the off season. But with Christian

37:04 Gonzalez, I feel good about their cornerback position for now. The makings of a, of a pretty

37:11 good, talented offensive, defensive line, rather the idea of Keon White, he continues to develop

37:18 and improve just him and Barmore both playing significant stats, snaps on that defensive line.

37:24 Judon coming back from the injury. We'll see how they handle his contract situation, but, you know,

37:29 Judon coming back, even somebody like Jennings, who has proved that he can be a rotational guy

37:34 on the edge. You know, you, you go out and you find another pass rusher who can, who can play

37:39 the edge better than Uche, you know, via the draft or free agency. Your defensive line isn't,

37:45 isn't looking too bad. So I think they've got some pieces there that they could work with.

37:49 And also Pop Douglas. I mean, I think we should all be optimistic about Pop given the situation,

37:57 you know, what he's been dealing with. I think he has shown some of that potential that everybody

38:02 was discussing in the preseason and during camp. And you already mentioned Gonzalez,

38:07 he stays healthy. He's a stud. Biggest frustration.

38:10 Well, I mean, there's so many things with so many things with this team.

38:16 But you have to look at the, yeah, yeah. Let's just start with I would say the offense just

38:26 overall the future of the offense. Like what's the future. What are the building blocks

38:33 as far as the offense, like maybe interior offensive line. I mean, cause look at it,

38:39 you know, say Trent Brown and Michael winning or playing, playing well at tackle this year.

38:46 They're both free agents. They both could be gone. There's no tight ends, not even Farrell Brown or

38:51 under contract for next year. They could be gone. Kendrick Bourne, who's your best wide receiver

38:56 is a free agent. You know, you got Devante Parker and Juju Smith-Huster wonderful,

39:02 you know, at the position. And then of course, you know, there's of course there's Mac Jones who,

39:07 you know, has improved slightly over the last six weeks, but it's been like,

39:13 you know, incremental. And so it's, it's, you know, a lot of people have wondered, you know,

39:20 and Nick, I'm sure you get this a lot too. You know, people are just like, you know, I was asked,

39:26 I'm asked on either Felger or Maz or on TV last night, like, are you out on Mac Jones?

39:31 And, and I, I haven't said that I'm totally out yet. And people will get, why don't you say,

39:36 what are you waiting for? Like, you know, because first of all, I care about the opinion I put out

39:44 there. Like I'm not a talk show host that I can just say one thing one day. And then it's proven,

39:48 it's, it's proven to be the opposite the next day. And just everything just keeps going. Like,

39:52 you know, I don't say anything until I'm reasonably sure. And I've seen things happen

39:58 in the NFL where, you know, right now, Mac Jones, and I don't know the reason for it. You know,

40:04 every, you could talk to different people around the NFL, around this team, they will have different

40:09 opinions on why, you know, Mac Jones's career has gone the way it's gone. You know, there's the

40:16 whole Matt Patricia stuff last year, there's his attitude, there's this, there's that.

40:20 All I could tell you is that the promise in terms of his mind and decision making

40:28 has evaporated. It's like his wiring got screwed up. Now, do I know it was always there at the

40:35 beginning? No, I don't. Because I know Josh McDaniel staged managed him very tightly that

40:42 first year, probably more than people realize. And so was he ever going to be able to take off

40:48 the training wheels fully and become a fully formed quarterback? I can't tell you that.

40:52 All I could tell you is where he is right now. And that is, he's all messed up in the head. He's not

40:58 reading out plays. He's not sticking with plays. He's not delivering the ball where he should.

41:02 He's not doing the things that I've seen him do at times during his career. And that's where he

41:08 is right now. But that's not to say that, you know, this week against the Colts, for whatever

41:13 reason, the light could go on. It happens. It happens in the NFL. So I'm not going to completely

41:19 write him off. But I do think if it doesn't get appreciably better this week against the Colts,

41:24 yes, I think his job is on the line. Yes, I think his future in New England is on the line. But I'm

41:28 not ready to say I'm totally out on him. But just, you know, in general, the thing I'm most frustrated

41:33 about is that because of Bill's attitude towards offense, this team is nowhere on offense. They

41:42 have no future. They have no present. And it's all because of Bill and his attitude towards offense.

41:48 And it looks even more outdated in today's game. So I guess my biggest frustration is with Belichick

41:55 and offense and how he's left this team with no future on that side of the ball.

42:01 My biggest frustration is they stink. That's it. They stink. Two and seven. As far as,

42:08 I talked about this on my podcast yesterday, The Nick Cattle Show, if you want to check it out.

42:13 And thanks to everybody who has subscribed and followed the show, jumping from here to there

42:17 to keep an eye on my solo stuff as well. I appreciate it. But, you know, I talked about,

42:22 I'll give you the gist. I don't think this quarterback plan is really that

42:25 difficult to figure out. I don't think this is rocket science.

42:30 Mac Jones has not earned the job to be QB1 next year. Nobody would say that he has.

42:37 You have to earn that position, right? If you have a top three pick, a top five pick,

42:43 and you think you can get a generational quarterback, somebody who would be seen as a

42:47 top eight QB at the NFL level, you can't pass that guy up. The only way you can pass that kind of guy

42:53 up is if you have somebody who already is a top five to eight quarterback in the league.

42:58 So if you're sitting there in the top three and Drake Mays there, you run the cart up to the

43:02 podium. This isn't difficult if you think that generational quarterback's available.

43:07 If you don't have a shot at one of those guys, and we talk about that next tier of quarterbacks,

43:14 then you pick one of those guys, you bring them in next year, and you have a competition between

43:21 them and Mac. You spend a third round pick or a fourth round pick on a rookie quarterback,

43:26 like you did on Zappi. You missed on Zappi. Belichick, hopefully, is not picking the next

43:31 guy in that third or fourth round. You bring that guy in. Maybe you even sign a veteran quarterback,

43:36 and you have a quarterback competition in camp next year. That way, you bring in more talent

43:43 offensively. You have, whether it's Bill O'Brien coming back or a new offensive mind, however all

43:49 of that shakes out, you then start and say, "We've got Mac under $3 million. We've got a

43:55 middle-round, young, projectable, possible starting quarterback, and we've got this veteran guy who's

44:02 kind of hung around. Let's see who plays the best. Whoever plays the best starts week one."

44:08 That, to me, is what you do. You don't reach for a quarterback. You don't scramble for a quarterback.

44:14 If you're in position to land one of those guys, you land one of those dudes, and you say, "Okay,

44:21 we're going to move on from Mac now." You can even try to have a competition and let the

44:25 young dude win the job in camp if you'd like, but I don't think it's really that difficult.

44:31 I don't think Mac Jones is a complete waste. I still believe that he could be a quarterback

44:38 in the league. We talked about it last pod. Confidence is shattered. I don't think he trusts

44:44 the guys that are out there for the most part. The head coach has embarrassed him,

44:51 reportedly alienated him. I think Mac needs to get away. Commercially, you need to get away.

45:00 I think he needs to get away. He needs to get away, clear his head, go to Tom House again,

45:08 like he did in '22, or maybe go to somebody else, work on his mechanics, get his feet right,

45:14 get his mind right, and get away from Bill Belichick. I just think those guys are just—it's

45:20 just—I don't think Mac feels confident. Some of that's on Mac, no doubt, but I do think it's

45:27 all a part of the story, the last two and a half years, of how he was handled and what was done.

45:33 If you think he sucks, fine. Opinions are cool. I have them. You have them.

45:38 I would just say I don't think he was given a chance to prove to the world that he could be

45:43 a legitimate starting quarterback in this league by what he was given. It's unfortunate. It is what

45:49 it is. He hasn't earned a job for next year. That's how I would roll with it.

45:52 This episode is brought to you by FanDuel. We'll get to the Colts in a minute.

45:56 The exclusive wagering partner of the CLNS Media Network. New customers receive $150

46:00 in bonus bets with any winning $5 Moneyline bet. All right, quick Colts preview for the

46:05 people out there, Greg. So this is a very game Colts squad. I mean, they don't have Anthony

46:11 Richardson at quarterback. He's out for the year. They have Gardiner Minshew, who's—I don't know,

46:18 he's always one of my favorite players to watch. You never know what you're going to get that's

46:22 good and bad. But I think Shane Steichen has done a really nice job. I think you look at—if you put

46:30 a lot of stock into DVOA, which I do, the Colts are a better team than the Patriots. They're

46:37 ranked 17th overall, and I think they're 12th in offense, 12th in defense. They're bad on special

46:43 teams, but so are the Patriots. So I think this is a tough matchup, and I think this is—the

46:49 long plane ride and all this stuff, and it's a little bit longer for the Colts. But this is when

46:56 you need a little bit of youth, a little bit of enthusiasm that we're going in the right direction,

47:02 and I think that's more the Colts than the Patriots. I could see the Patriots laying a big

47:07 fat egg on Sunday. One thing to watch, and I'll be—I haven't watched a ton of film on him,

47:13 but I know that Bernard Raymond, the left tackle for the Colts, according to PFF, he's one of the

47:20 top left tackles in the league. I find that interesting and noteworthy because guess what?

47:25 The Colts made him—I wasn't sure—I remember him coming out in the draft in 2022. We weren't sure

47:31 whether he—he was sort of a project out of Central Michigan. We weren't sure whether he was

47:34 going to be a left tackle or right tackle, but looked like a good developmental prospect.

47:39 The Colts took him in the third round in 2022, and now they have their future left tackle. This

47:47 is what I've wanted the Patriots to do for a couple years running, and just something to note

47:52 when you're watching this game. Good, solid defense. DeForest Buckner is a game wrecker

48:00 on the interior. Kenny Moore's a really good cornerback. I like the weapons on this team.

48:07 Josh Downs is another young slot jittery guy that I liked in the draft that'll be interesting to

48:13 watching him in this game. Taylor, the running back, should get more of a load in this game,

48:19 Jonathan Taylor, but Moss has also been really good. They run the ball creatively. The Patriots

48:25 are pretty good against the run. They got to get the ball—get the game into Minchu's hands and

48:31 hope he isn't hot. Like, he can get hot at times and really rip you up. So, I like the Colts in

48:39 this matchup. They're favored. I like the Colts probably by a touchdown in this game, but I do

48:45 like—actually, no, I don't like the over. I like the under. With those guys traveling, the legs,

48:52 you know, jet lag, all that stuff, I think it's going to be a sleepy game.

48:56 Great. I will probably be hungover as shit down here in Virginia Beach. So,

49:03 what I will say is, I'm not picking the Patriots the rest of this year.

49:09 Spite, bitterness, couldn't care less. I'm angry at them. I keep picking them to win games,

49:16 even against teams that I thought they should beat. Like, last week against Washington,

49:20 that's a winnable game. Until they actually start proving it, I'm done. So, and I think the Colts

49:27 are a tough matchup. So, I'm done with picking the Patriots. I'm picking the Colts, lay the point

49:32 a half, and I'm going to go with the over. Just because this defense is giving up so many chunk

49:39 plays, I got to believe that the Colts might be able to put up a 24 or 27 spot. So, I'll go with

49:47 the over, and I'll go with the Colts. Don't forget, BSJ, 50 bucks for the year. Bedard, Giardi,

49:52 Corrales, Haggerty, all sorts of stuff happening there. Check them out. BSJ, best sources around,

49:57 giving the most accurate reporting on your football team, especially with Greg and Mike.

50:02 All right, we'll see what happens on Sunday morning, back on early next week to recap things,

50:08 and hey, the way this thing's going, maybe more drama. We'll talk to you then.

50:13 FanDuel is the exclusive wagering partner of the CLNS Media Network. Right now, new customers get

50:19 $150 in bonus bets with any winning $5 Moneyline bet. FanDuel, official partner of the NFL.

50:38 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Patriots DB room in TURMOIL Midseason Awards and ANTI Awards | Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast

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