- 4 months ago
It's cut day! Who do you believe is on the bubble? Who should make the Patriots? Rob Ninkovich joins! Ninko
discusses what it's like during 'cut day' as a player!
discusses what it's like during 'cut day' as a player!
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SportsTranscript
00:00That our pal Rob Ninkovich listening to the radio show while enjoying a breakfast burrito this morning and it's called, how is it?
00:14It's terrific actually and I'm having a peach tea with honey. It's amazing.
00:20Oh, lovely.
00:21Now the breakfast burrito, where'd you get it?
00:27Uh, so there's, in Menden, I work out at this place called Barbell 88. It's a great spot. And in Menden, they have this little tea shop and it's, they have really great breakfast. Um, and it is, hold on. It's called Serenity. Get that Serenity?
00:46Very nice.
00:47Yes. And Menden, very good spot.
00:49Yeah. Oftentimes I feel like the breakfast burrito, if there's too much burrito, if there's too much, uh, wrap.
00:58It's the corners. Too much in the corners of all wrap. You need to make sure that that's full of eggs.
01:05Spot on. Spot on. It could be so good, but it could also be so bad.
01:11It should just be a vessel.
01:12It could be a throw out the, it could be a throw out the window, but not at Serenity.
01:18I have a, I have a free business idea for Serenity.
01:21Yes.
01:22If you want fast delivery, you can order Serenity now.
01:25Oh, yes, yes, you could.
01:27Good reference.
01:29Um, or it could be a massage parlor.
01:32Uh-oh.
01:32Uh-oh.
01:34So, uh, listen, uh, I, I know you have an opinion on this.
01:39Uh, yes.
01:40Some, some of the, the national folks, uh, say this is a playoff team.
01:47Take the over.
01:49The, some of the locals say they're going to stink.
01:52Where, where, where are you currently on this New England Patriots team?
01:56I, I, I'd say I'm, uh, I'm a realist and I like to look at things as a former football player.
02:04And the schedule, so this is a good thing.
02:07The schedule is pretty weak for them.
02:09They're not going to be playing a crazy strength of schedule.
02:12Um, I think the start of the season, they could start fast.
02:17You know, you're playing Vegas, which right now, you know, what are they going to look like?
02:22I don't, I don't know.
02:23Like, what's their identity?
02:24They're going to try and run the ball, right?
02:25They got a great running back.
02:27So, you got to stop the run.
02:29You could come out here and you could start fast.
02:31And you could get a, you could get a pretty good run going in the first four games.
02:34So, I'm not thinking 10 wins.
02:38I'm not saying they're going to win 10.
02:40But I also think that eight and a half, like, they could be at like nine.
02:44It sounds good.
02:46Nine sounds good.
02:47Yeah.
02:48I think that's fair.
02:49Now, that's fair.
02:51And they had four wins last year.
02:53They spent a lot of money in the offseason.
02:55And I'm going to just give three things that, from my perspective, are going to be make or break for this team this year.
03:04Okay.
03:04Number one is going to be the offensive line.
03:07So, it doesn't matter who you are.
03:10If you're Tom Brady behind a bad offensive line, it's going to be tough.
03:15So, Drake May going into his second year with a great offensive coordinator.
03:20We know Josh is great.
03:22They got to protect the quarterback.
03:23That's so big.
03:24And not only, you know, I know Campbell's great and he's nasty and he plays hard, but he is a rookie.
03:31He's a rookie.
03:31So, he's going to be going against, you know, one of the best pass rushers in the league in week one.
03:37He knows that challenge is coming, right?
03:40So, he's going against Max Cross.
03:42Nasty.
03:42He's going to be a great.
03:43He's going to be nasty.
03:45Nasty.
03:47I'm going to protect my quarterback.
03:49So, health of the offensive line, right?
03:53You went out and you got Moses.
03:55He's got to stay healthy.
03:57Campbell's got to be great.
03:59He's got to be nasty.
04:00And the offensive line has to do amazing, okay?
04:03Number two is going to be the receivers beyond Diggs.
04:08Now, Diggs is coming off the ACL.
04:11We don't know where he's going to be at start of the season.
04:14Who else can be the guy that is going to separate and going to make plays?
04:19Like, you're going to have to have a number two that's reliable and can go make plays.
04:25So, of the receivers, who's going to be the star?
04:28Like, that's going to be such a big factor in 2025.
04:32Who's going to be the receivers?
04:34And my third and most important thing is defense is all built on pressure.
04:41Who's going to get to the quarterback?
04:42Like, we need a pass rusher that can get pressure on the ball.
04:45I hope the corners are great.
04:48I think they're going to be great.
04:49But you also have to marriage your coverage with your rush.
04:53So, if that is a good marriage and they can get to the quarterback with some great coverage,
04:57their defense is going to be so much better.
05:00Because last year, they struggled at getting to the quarterback.
05:01And then the last, I know that's three, but the wild card here that nobody talks about,
05:08the wild card is going to be the quarterback taking care of himself.
05:12He started 11 games last year.
05:14He only finished nine.
05:15He was knocked out with two concussions.
05:18So, he can't take extra contact.
05:21He cannot put his head down and try and gain that extra two yards and get hit in the head again.
05:25Because that will be, you know, three concussions in a year.
05:28So, he has to make sure he takes care of himself.
05:30Get out of bounds.
05:31Don't try and get the extra yard.
05:33Get down.
05:34Save yourself for the next play.
05:36Wait, Rob, wasn't the only game he missed with a concussion the second half of the Jets game, right?
05:40The other game he came out early was the Bills game because he played, like, the first series
05:44and they got sacked and three and outed.
05:47I think he got, I think he had two.
05:50But that's just from me watching the game.
05:52Yeah.
05:55You know, when you hit the ground and you come up
05:57and then you go off and you don't come back, it's usually that.
06:02Rob, I'm always fascinated with the business side of the league.
06:05And as a former player, cut day, like, what is this day like for players?
06:10The anxiety that must be just riddled throughout everybody?
06:14Courtney has a lot of anxiety.
06:15Well, I just, I think we, as we, we're looking at it from the outside
06:21and we're just waiting to see who's getting cuts.
06:23But this is changing guys' complete lives.
06:25You're feeling for Bailey Zappi this morning.
06:28Yeah.
06:28I know you are.
06:29Tommy DeVito.
06:30Yeah.
06:31Yes, yes.
06:32I mean, it sucks.
06:33It's terrible.
06:34I always thought, you know, when you're young, when you're a young player,
06:39you always think, okay, I'll have another opportunity.
06:42But it's, as you get older and if it's your second or third opportunity,
06:47that's when it's really hard to digest because you'll see guys that have
06:52potentially been on three different teams in three years,
06:55but they never really made a team.
06:58So you never really make that much money.
07:01You know, if you're on a team all offseason and then you go through the
07:05whole offseason program and then you get onto a team and then you go through
07:08the preseason and then you get cut and then you're hoping to get on practice
07:12squad, you're not making anything.
07:14So there's guys that potentially, you know,
07:17go from a team that don't get on a practice squad.
07:20They maybe go a couple of weeks on practice squad.
07:22Then they get cut.
07:23Then they come and they get on a team for the offseason.
07:25Then they go through a full offseason.
07:27Then they get, and then that same thing happens again.
07:29So I feel for the guys that have been on three or four different teams and
07:33they're in their third or fourth year, but they've never played in any game.
07:37So they have no credited seasons.
07:39They have no pension credits.
07:40They have nothing.
07:41And they really don't have any money to show for it.
07:44Those are the guys that I, you know, I feel, feel for, uh, when it comes to
07:48the optimism about this team, this season, how much of that is the
07:54Rabel factor?
07:55Cause I, I was, we were all accused of, uh, of ball washing him this morning,
08:00but I, uh, how much of that is Mike Rabel and what he brings?
08:06I think everyone has the, it's, it's, it's human nature, right?
08:10You're, you're attracted to the fact that he was here when they were winning and
08:15won the Superbowls and, you know, has that connection with the old Patriots, but
08:21you know, just realistically, they have to create their own new chapter, their own
08:27Patriots.
08:28And, you know, Rabel, I think he's going to be great.
08:31Everything he's doing, he looks like he loves, he, I mean, doesn't look, he, I know he loves
08:35football.
08:36So he's got the pads on and he's out there with the guys and he's taking shots to the
08:41chest and he's loving it.
08:42And he's smiling, you know, like that's, that's, that's the passion.
08:46Like he loves football and that for him to dedicate his life to the game.
08:52And yeah, when you're a coach, you're, you know, long, long days, sleepless nights, you're,
08:58you know, dealing with the media and you're doing it with dealing with being here, trying
09:02to, trying to replicate what they did in the two thousands, the early two thousands, you
09:08know, um, you have to have a love for the game.
09:11So I think that the, the Greg Hill calls it ball washing.
09:16I think it's a, it's appropriate because of what Rabel has done here and his career.
09:22And, you know, I think he's going to hopefully do a great job, but at the end of the day,
09:27it comes up, it comes down to the players executing at a high level.
09:31And, you know, Rabel's already, he's never going to make another tackle.
09:35He's never going to hit the quarterback ever again.
09:37You know, he's going to be out there coaching guys to help them get to the quarterback.
09:41or help them make plays.
09:42So, you know, hopefully with all that experience and his coaching career and coaching experience,
09:48he can get this team to play at a high level, which will replicate what they were, um, when
09:53we were winning a lot of football games.
09:54I'm very grateful that we have been engaging in appropriate ball washing because I would
09:59not want to do inappropriate ball washing.
10:01But you just need it.
10:03We need another statue.
10:05That's we just need another statue.
10:06What's the, who's the next statue going up?
10:08What do you think?
10:09After the comments to Bolin, I don't think it'll be Bill anytime soon.
10:13Probably not going to be Bill, unfortunately.
10:15It has to be.
10:16We need a, we need a Greg Hill statue.
10:18A Greg Hill statue.
10:19Yes.
10:20Right in front of the radio studio.
10:23Dirty glasses and all.
10:24Yeah.
10:24Small head.
10:25Short arms, deep pockets, and a small head.
10:27And one chin.
10:28Just one chin.
10:30In those Gucci shoes.
10:32But, Nick, you have a better experience and understanding than anybody about teams that
10:39have a culture and teams that don't.
10:42Could you just, when you got to the Patriots, what was it like in that run-up to get to that
10:47Super Bowl?
10:47How do you create a winning culture from a team that's been losing?
10:53Accountability.
10:54Being accountable for your actions on what you do on the field, off the field.
10:59You know, I've been on teams where there was no accountability and there were guys that
11:03didn't really care.
11:05They didn't have, like when I talked about Vrabel, having passion and love for the game.
11:10Because when you love, when you love the game, you take care of everything that you need
11:16to take care of.
11:17You take care of yourself off the field.
11:18You take care of the stuff that you need to in the practice field and film study.
11:22And then when you get on the field, you take care of business.
11:25And I think when you're accountable and you have a group of guys that are like-minded
11:29with that accountability to understanding, I'm going to do what I need to do and the
11:35guy next to me is going to do the same exact thing.
11:37And then together, we got each other's backs.
11:38I think that's what you're trying to build, a culture of accountability.
11:43Well, we'll let you get back to your breakfast burrito.
11:47But you know you are always welcome on this radio show.
11:50You're missing your car.
11:53You need to be back on television or on the radio full time.
11:56I know you're collecting cars and you're parenting and all that stuff.
12:02But we need you on on a regular basis.
12:07I mean, I'll get on.
12:09You know, the thing is, there's always sacrifices when you do anything.
12:16And, you know, for me, when I sacrifice my body and mind, I did it for the family.
12:21So now I'm trying to give it all I got for the family to make sure I'm around, you know,
12:26taking care of my kids.
12:27I'm coaching my kids every Sunday because we never know when our last day is, right?
12:32That's true.
12:32You just got to make sure you make them count.
12:34But I would love to come on the show more if you'll have me.
12:38You know, I'll jump on the show.
12:39We'll have a good time.
12:40Anytime Wiggy takes a day off, I'll jump on for Wiggy.
12:43Awesome.
12:43All right.
12:44That sounds great.
12:45One week we'll get you picking against Shine.
12:49Maybe one of these weeks.
12:50Yeah.
12:50And, Nick, I know you won't rip the place, but I'm watching Mike Tannenbaum on ESPN talk
12:54about how to build a winning team and you're not there.
12:57And I just find that to be absolutely insane.
12:58Yeah, great.
12:58Absolutely insane.
12:59Does he have any hair left?
13:01Because remember how he used to pull his hair when he was with the Jets?
13:04Just pull his hair out?
13:05The next thing they're going to do is bring in Marv Levy on how to win a Super Bowl.
13:14Well, I don't watch that program much.
13:16Yeah, neither do I.
13:16Let's just put it that way.
13:18How many wins does Bill Belichick get this season?
13:22Ooh.
13:23Hold on.
13:24We're losing connection.
13:25Still afraid?
13:30Still afraid.
13:31No, I just – I haven't seen the schedule.
13:34I just know – I know TCU – I don't think they're going to win week one.
13:38Let's just put it that way.
13:39I think week one is going to be rough.
13:41How about that Hulu promo, though?
13:43I mean, if that didn't get the juices flowing.
13:46Oh, man.
13:47Yeah.
13:47I want to just forge a birth certificate or something.
13:51Go back to college.
13:52It would be great.
13:53All right, Robert.
13:54Great to talk to you, bud.
13:56We'll see you soon.
13:57All right.
13:58See you guys.
13:59Okay.
13:59Rob Ninkovich, excellent.
14:01He's awesome.
14:02Unbelievable.
14:03He's got the over, sounds like to me.
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