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00:00Drake May's performance, how did he look? Did he look confused? When you analyzed it, what did you see from him?
00:10I saw a lot from Drake. A lot that I didn't like. I thought overall it was just an okay performance.
00:16I already mentioned the play under pressure, which was really, to me, the difference where, again, 0 for 3 in the first half.
00:23Second half, 4 of 8, 3 sacks and a pick whenever he was pressured. It's got to be better than that.
00:27Yeah, you had some missed throws that were short here and there. Didn't love it.
00:31But for me, he just seemed a little busy-headed.
00:35And I don't know if it's the offense. If Rabel said this yesterday, we've got to figure out maybe if we put too much on his plate.
00:40I think he's capable of that. But there are things that, over time, you can't live with him as the quarterback
00:46if you're going to surprise the season, have a winning season, or even make a surprise run to the playoffs.
00:51So it's a little disappointing, I'd say, from Drake.
00:53And do you think it was the McDaniels, him being too in his head about the complexity of the offense,
00:59or do you think it was just being rattled by what the Raiders were doing?
01:03I don't think it's the complexity of the offense because I know that McDaniels has had to change how he teaches it to these guys.
01:09Like, when Rabel was in Tennessee, one of the first things they did is they brought in old high school teachers from Nashville
01:14to sit in on their meetings.
01:15And he had an old defensive coordinator by the name of Dean Pease who would go on and on and on.
01:19He was a good coach.
01:20He was here.
01:20But, yes, he was here and went to Baltimore and then Tennessee.
01:23And he would have these hour-long breakdowns like one play.
01:26And the teachers go, look, the kids today need breaks.
01:30It's got to be 15 minutes.
01:31Give them a little bit of phone.
01:32Let them get up.
01:32Let them do these different things.
01:34I don't know how McDaniels was running his meetings before, but I know it's not like –
01:37I know that's exactly how it is right now.
01:39So the complexity seems to be fine.
01:41The offensive lineman didn't blow many blocks or the receivers didn't run routes where I'm going,
01:44ooh, that was an issue.
01:45It's just he has so much on his shoulders because of the pressure, because they're not running the ball,
01:52and you're playing behind against a defense that knows they can throw anything at you.
01:55It's a lot.
01:57That's what it is.
01:58Okay.
01:58And so it's a talent issue.
02:01No, it's not talent.
02:02It's just –
02:02Not with May, but with the team.
02:04Yes.
02:05It's a talent issue.
02:06Yes.
02:06Okay, let's do this exercise.
02:09If May's on the Vikings, what is the success – how does that affect his success?
02:16Personnel and coaching.
02:18I mean, I think he probably makes the playoffs like they did last year with Sam Darnold.
02:23Because, I mean, that team is – you talk about talent, like Stack.
02:25That was a team that should – almost had the one seed had they beaten the Lions in that last game last year.
02:29I think they probably won on the road against Chicago like J.J. McCarthy did,
02:32playing worse than Drake May did, I think, aside from the finish, which is really important.
02:36But, you know, it's hard to say.
02:39Because the guy that we've seen – we've talked about this before – his development now for going on a third straight year
02:45is behind a bad pass-protecting offensive line.
02:47That lends itself to bad habits.
02:49So when I see him a little frenzied at a time or busy-headed Sunday,
02:53I don't know if that's a one-game sample in September, which we know by now not to trust,
02:57because the Patriots beat the Bengals last year,
02:59or are these habits that they're trying not to get ingrained but are there
03:03because he's a guy who just constantly has to worry too much about pressure.
03:06Do you see mechanical issues with him?
03:09A lot of people have been discussing that.
03:11You know what's funny?
03:11It's like if the guy's completing passes – if a pitcher, for example, is throwing strikes
03:15and you're like, oh, that's not really how you're supposed to wind up and throw the ball to the plate,
03:19you threw a strike.
03:20The issue comes up – we love to do this.
03:22When the result isn't what we like, you kind of run it back and be like, oh, it was the mechanics.
03:26No one cared about this when he had good games last year.
03:28I don't love it.
03:29I think there are some throws where his feet get a little too happy,
03:32but it's not something consistent where I'm worried about that.
03:36I'm more worried about the protection and what it does to him mentally.
03:40Okay.
03:40And so do you think that they were negligent in the offseason
03:45because they are actively creating bad habits?
03:51No, I think they – bad habits stem from the offensive line play.
03:55That's what I'm saying.
03:55Do you think they were negligent in terms of building the offensive line?
03:58No, they tried.
03:58No one just wanted to come here.
03:59I mean, just like Chris Godwin, they gave Ronnie Stanley or offered Ronnie Stanley
04:02way more than he actually signed for to stay at Baltimore.
04:05Same with Godwin and Tampa Bay.
04:06They tried an interior offensive lineman, someone of whom went to Minnesota.
04:10Instead, they got Minnesota's leftovers and Garrett Bradbury.
04:13Yeah, Bradbury, he came in with a reputation of being terrible.
04:18Not a good pass protector.
04:19I will say, though, he was the only one I didn't have down for a pressure let up Sunday.
04:23Like, talk about September when you go, I don't know what to expect.
04:27This is largely not meaningless.
04:29The games count.
04:29But I can't extrapolate anything from this for the long term.
04:32That's an example.
04:33I'm not going, oh, Garrett Bradbury is going to be this outstanding pass protector
04:36the rest of the season.
04:37But he was a good Sunday.
04:38Okay.
04:39Go ahead.
04:39Now, I was just going to say, defensively, this, you know, this was the half of the team
04:45that was supposed to keep them in games.
04:48So they had some real, a couple of weapons to face against the Raiders.
04:54But, and we had a disagreement about this on Monday.
04:58I didn't think the secondary looked all that good.
05:00I thought the third and 20 that they gave up at the end of the game was pretty much inexcusable.
05:07Hawkins redeemed himself, you know, after the touchdown by getting the interception.
05:13Overall, though, defensively, what did you think of this team?
05:16Does it have the markings of a defense that will be able to keep them in games?
05:21So the secondary played up to my expectation, which I think is to say it was passable,
05:25if not a little bit better than that.
05:27The issue, you bring up the third and 20, and I think this goes right in concert with
05:31the third and 11 we saw in the first quarter.
05:32The play calling it sometimes was just way too aggressive.
05:37And the third and 11, the touchdown, you remember Christian Barmore and Milt Williams,
05:40you're maybe two best pass rushers, drop into coverage, and Geno Smith throws this ball
05:44to Jalen Hawkins, who's covering Trey Tucker.
05:46I go, yeah, Jalen Hawkins should have covered Trey Tucker better, but I'm not asking a middle
05:51league safety.
05:51He shouldn't have fallen down, yes.
05:52Yeah, not asking a middle league safety to stand up, but cover a small, speedy guy.
05:57Like, why would you ask him to do that against Pop Douglas in practice?
06:00Yeah, yeah.
06:01That's a scheme thing.
06:02That's a play calling thing to me.
06:03You send the house on third and 20, like, what else is he going to do?
06:06He's going to throw along because he's got nothing to lose.
06:08It's an arm punt.
06:09So I wouldn't have made those calls.
06:11To me, if you had Christian Gonzalez, this would have been a different game because they
06:14would have put him on Brock Bowers on third down, and that would have, you know, obviously
06:18shorted some of their drives.
06:20But ultimately, I don't think that's why they lost yesterday.
06:23Tackling was a bigger issue and play calling in big moments.
06:26So it seems like something that you could fix, though.
06:28If you're too aggressive with the play calling in and you're making mistakes in terms of
06:33personnel and matchups, do they have enough talent on the defense if they fix those things
06:39that the defense can keep them in game?
06:41Definitely.
06:41Absolutely.
06:42I mean, I'd say they did keep them in the game yesterday.
06:4520 points?
06:46You should be able to do that against a Raiders defense that was not good last year.
06:49You should, but also, what are your expectations for the offense?
06:53And look, you're not going to win a ton of games if you sit down and say, okay, we've crunched
06:57the numbers, this is it.
06:5817 points is the most we can squeeze out of this offense in any given week against any
07:03given opponent.
07:04You're going to be terrible.
07:05You're going to be terrible.
07:06But that might be what it takes.
07:08I think 20 has to be a four, but something close.
07:13Yeah.
07:13Like, you've got a good quarterback.
07:15You've got better offensive linemen.
07:17You've got better receivers.
07:19Good tight ends.
07:20Deep running back room.
07:21Like, let's get it to go.
07:22So, let's move.
07:2420 points should be the minimum of what you're shooting for on Sunday.
07:28This team doesn't score points.
07:30When was the last time they had 30?
07:312022 with Bailey Zappi in Cleveland.
07:33Yeah.
07:34Okay.
07:35So, I mean, this is what we're talking about here.
07:38I mean, you say you hold the team to 20.
07:40I think you've got to hold the team to 14.
07:43Right.
07:43But this is not that team, though.
07:44Bailey Zappi is not Drake May.
07:45The end of Bill Belichick losing his mind and Gerard Mayo are not Mike Vrabel.
07:50And Josh McDaniels, as we know, is not Alex Van Pelt.
07:52So, the talent is the talent.
07:54Don't get me wrong.
07:54And I'd love to say that exact phrase to remind people they've got a ways to go.
07:58And the offensive line, still an issue.
08:00But it's better than what they had then in the most important places.
08:03So, to me, that means no excuses when it comes to just scoring 20 points.
08:06Well, if you want to feel better, the Eagles held the Cowboys.
08:10The Cowboys allowed 24 points and lost.
08:15The Chiefs allowed 27 points and lost.
08:19And the Falcons allowed 23 points and lost.
08:24So, there you go.
08:26There you go.
08:26That makes you feel better.
08:28The Saints allowed 20 points and lost.
08:31So, these are all things that you can feel good about.
08:34Go ahead, Jonathan.
08:35Okay.
08:35We were talking about this before you got here.
08:38This game in Miami, technically north of there.
08:41But this road game against the Dolphins this weekend, Patriots don't always play.
08:45In fact, they never play well down there.
08:47A lot of weird things have happened to good teams down there.
08:50They're 0-1.
08:51If they lose this game to a Dolphins team that's beat up, probably is going to have their coach fired during the season.
08:59Tyreek Hill's got all sorts of problems throwing tantrums on the sideline already.
09:03He wasn't voted a captain.
09:04There's a leadership issue.
09:05I could go on and on.
09:06If they go and lose this game, this is a very winnable game.
09:11If they lose this one, I fear we're in store for another four or five-win season.
09:16I fear that's what we'll hear a lot of next week.
09:20I want to remind folks that they have not won there very often and that they're underdogs going into Sunday.
09:26And it's a marathon, not a sprint.
09:28You can still get to it.
09:29Look, quiz time.
09:30Two games into an NFL season is equivalent to how many games in an NBA season?
09:37Oh, jeez.
09:38I can tell you this off the top of my head.
09:39Okay, go ahead.
09:40It's 10.
09:41Okay.
09:42It's 18 or six series in a Major League Baseball season.
09:460-2 is bad.
09:47If they go down and lose to Miami, John, you're right.
09:49What's the percentage of teams that start 0-2, though, that make the playoffs?
09:53That's when it starts getting scary as a fan.
09:55It's low, 14%, 15%.
09:56But you have been at the front of the bus going,
09:58anyone who thought this team was going to win.
10:00I don't think they're making the playoffs.
10:01So it's not something you should concern yourself.
10:03No, no.
10:04No, no, no, no.
10:04There's a difference between improvement in six or seven wins and another 4-13 season,
10:09which is what I feel would happen.
10:10My problem with...
10:11They're not going to be 4-13.
10:12Yeah, I don't think so either.
10:13But my problem with the Miami thing is that it appears that Miami's falling apart.
10:20You've got to admit, this is McDaniel.
10:22This is his last year as the coach.
10:25And I like him a lot, which it's sad to me that he's losing the job.
10:30I mean, there's mutiny on the sidelines.
10:33They're trading away a ton of...
10:34I mean, they treated the offseason like they didn't want to win this season.
10:38Jack Jones is their number one cornerback at this point.
10:42So you're going into a team that's at the height of toxicity.
10:47Like, if you were asking me today, and not just based on week one, but based on the offseason
10:53and then throw week one in, but that's part of the formula, Miami's in contention for the
10:59number one overall pick in the draft.
11:01I really believe that.
11:02Like, New Orleans...
11:04Cleveland.
11:05And Cleveland...
11:07But they played Cincinnati, so...
11:08I think Cleveland's going to be a little better than that.
11:10Well, maybe not.
11:11But Cleveland, New Orleans, it's fair.
11:14But Miami's in that echelon, based on coaching, offseason, and first game.
11:20If you have improved, you should win this game.
11:23It would be...
11:24Look, doing sports radio in Boston, I'm hoping they win on Sunday, because it's going to be
11:32very difficult.
11:33I really do hope they win on Sunday, because if they don't show against Miami, then you...
11:42I think we're on the same page with the amount of wins, but we also are on the same page about
11:48in December, like, being technically in the hunt.
11:52That's all you really want.
11:53Yeah.
11:54And that if you don't win that Miami game, now you're getting in a situation where, look,
11:59it's great for the team if, at the end of the season, they finish stronger than they
12:03started.
12:04That's what you want, too.
12:05But you do want it...
12:07You don't want to mathematically add things.
12:09No, you want some...
12:10In December, you want some Felger-Mazs path math.
12:13You want to have the...
12:13You want to be able to have the conversation.
12:16Yeah.
12:16Technically, it's still possible.
12:18That's all.
12:18I want to be crystal clear.
12:19If they lose at Miami, this is very bad.
12:22An 0-2 start, if they have the same problems with tackling, certain plate calling, Drake
12:26may under pressure.
12:28That portends poorly for the season.
12:30I'm not going to be happy as a guy who has believed in May and in Vrabel.
12:34The issue for me, whether they win or they lose, is extrapolating anything from the two
12:39weeks in the NFL season that mean less than all of the rest.
12:42Now, there is something to be said for when you lose these winnable games in September.
12:46I was texting with Chris Mason at MassLive about this yesterday.
12:48That when it comes to December, and you mentioned, or we talked about 2022 a couple of minutes
12:52ago, they lose to Cincinnati.
12:54And a reminder of Stevenson Fumble on Christmas Eve, and they were this close to winning that
12:58game, and they finish 8-9.
12:59You really would have loved to have beaten the Dolphins in their season opener that year.
13:03Those games, these games that they just lost on Sunday and might do again this week, come
13:07back to bite you.
13:08I'm just not going to freak out because I still believe in what I see from this team in the
13:12most important positions.
13:14And September tells us nothing.
13:16Okay.
13:16What do we know about Gonzalez?
13:19Not much more than I knew last week, which he's not practicing, hasn't practiced in over
13:23six weeks now by the time whenever we see him on Wednesday.
13:26And to me, that doesn't seem like a guy who's ready to play on Sunday.
13:28What are the odds we see him tomorrow?
13:30I would say probably pretty low.
13:33And to me, here's the simplest thing about Gonzalez.
13:36The most likely thing to happen with him is he had a setback because he pushed himself
13:40too hard or the team pushed him too hard.
13:42That's what happens with injuries and with that soft tissue injuries too.
13:47And if it's a grade two hamstring, which it's certainly not a grade one because this is
13:50more serious than he's actually at the back end of his recovery timeline for how bad those
13:55are.
13:56Yeah.
13:56I remember a couple of weeks ago, we're sitting there.
13:57It's like, yeah, he's, he's really banged up, you know, and he's going to sit, just plan
14:02on being out for Miami too.
14:03You don't even need him for Miami.
14:05Now they shouldn't, but I'd want it for me.
14:07I'd want him.
14:08I'd, I'd actually really want him for Miami.
14:10I mean, you have receivers that technically should be good.
14:13That's the strength of their team is, is their receivers.
14:16Now the quarterback's ability to get to the ball, to get them the ball is of question.
14:21And his, in, in the fact that every time he gets hit, it, it seems almost like it, like
14:26a cruelty.
14:27But if I'm remembering that was the conversation, you should be able to get to a quick enough
14:31to where you're going to negate his receivers and their speed on the outside.
14:35So having Gonzalez, I like this style of defense against Miami too, better than what the
14:39Patriots used to run when they get the ball up that quickly.
14:41And this defensive line is, we just got to go in and screw stuff up.
14:44That should help them.
14:45I think schematically.
14:46Yeah.
14:46I mean, look, man, you're right.
14:48I mean, 0-2 at the beginning of this schedule didn't seem like an ideal two games to lose
14:54because it seemed like it was weighted pretty, you know, the, the, the weight of the easiness
14:59of your schedule was early, but.
15:01Yeah.
15:01And you still got Pittsburgh and Carolina, but it's yeah.
15:04If it's 0-2, John, I agree.
15:06It's going to be pretty bad.
15:07Pittsburgh, good luck against it.
15:08I mean, you got Aaron Rodgers is up to his Hall of Fame.
15:12He can play now, huh?
15:13He was victimized by the Jets.
15:15I would say you got Carolina, New Orleans soon enough.
15:18Browns are down there, Titans in October.
15:20Yeah, I know.
15:20They have an easy schedule.
15:21All right, but, but you got to win the games.
15:23For all the latest from the Sports Hub, download the app at 985thesportshub.com.
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