- 7 weeks ago
- #nfl
"It's the poise" #NFL legend Boomer Esiason joins! What impresses Esiason the most? What grade would he give Drake Maye? Why didn't Derrick Henry run the last two Baltimore series?
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00:00Boomer, good morning.
00:01Courtney, so much better to talk to you than Greg.
00:04And by the way, that had to be the longest intro in radio history.
00:09Yeah, yeah, you know what?
00:10And by the way, good morning on a Victory Tuesday, I might add.
00:13Oh, well, it is still Monday.
00:15Oh, it is Monday.
00:15It is Monday, yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:17I know, holidays, very confusing.
00:20And let me tell you right off the bat,
00:21Wiggy wearing your Victory Monday Under Armour sweatshirt.
00:24How does he look in it?
00:25He looks pretty good.
00:26He's in the red one.
00:27Looks very, very nice.
00:28Nice, I'm glad.
00:30Shout out to you, Boomer, for hooking it up, baby.
00:32I was going to wear the blue one, but I said, you know what?
00:35It's, you know, it's Christmas time.
00:37I'll drop on that red one.
00:38So shout out to Boomer for the Victory Monday.
00:40I love it.
00:42You know, three teams this week.
00:43What a week it was, right, guys?
00:45Week 16, there were teams that were down 10 or more points in the fourth quarter,
00:50and it was amazing.
00:51The Seahawks defeated the Rams.
00:53The Bears defeated the Packers.
00:54And, of course, your Patriots defeated the Ravens last night.
00:57I mean, largest fourth quarter comeback since the Super Bowl versus Atlanta when they were
01:03down 11.
01:04We can all remember that, right?
01:05Yes, we can.
01:06And I was going to bring up, Drake, the stat line really good at the end of the game and
01:10did the comeback even better.
01:11But, overall, what would be your grade for him?
01:14I'd give him definitely a B-plus.
01:16Winning on the road in Baltimore, not easy.
01:19And I know he had two early turnovers.
01:21But, man, just having the poise to hang in there.
01:24You know, not every game is going to be pretty.
01:25The great Phil Simms used to tell me all the time, it's not a game of perfection.
01:29And, certainly, last night wasn't the perfect game.
01:32But the more important message, I think, that was sent is that, number one, they came back
01:37from the Bills' loss, which is good.
01:39And, number two, the amount of guys that were injured last night and the other amount of
01:43guys that had to step up and have an impact in this game was significant.
01:47And that's always a good sign.
01:48Yeah, I was going to say, any of those flubs early, you can chalk up to the O-line being
01:52banged up and the injuries at the Pats' face right now?
01:55Yeah, I mean, it all goes part and parcel.
01:57The one thing that really concerns me about the New England Patriots right now, as we sit
02:02here, is just the run defense.
02:04And, you know, that's always the backbone of a defense, stopping the opposing team, especially
02:08in cold-weather games, late in the season, playoff games.
02:11The Patriots have always had a knack when they were good, when Bill Belichick and Tom Brady
02:15were there, Mike Vrabel was playing, coming up with that key turnover at the key time.
02:20That's one of the things that happened last night.
02:22So, seeing some of those attributes reappear now all of a sudden shows you that,
02:27this is a team that can handle getting behind against a good team, and also a team that
02:31can come up with a huge turnover at the right time.
02:34But when we actually talk about the running game, listen, I'm a Pats fan, so, you know,
02:38seeing them win is always a great thing.
02:40I don't get why they take Derrick Henry out of the game, up 11, and are not running him
02:47if you're the Baltimore Ravens.
02:48Was there something that I was missing there that maybe you saw?
02:51I don't know if he was banged up or not, Jermaine.
02:54You know, he's such a physical runner.
02:58The other aspect of it, too, is they may not trust him.
03:01I know that they were talking about it last night incessantly on the broadcast about how
03:06he had to carry this team, and it looked like for a while he was going to.
03:10But, I mean, to entrust Tyler Huntley over Derrick Henry when you don't have to, you know,
03:15that, to me, is a huge mistake on offense, assuming that Derrick Henry was healthy.
03:21Boomer, first time in the history of the Patriots that they have won 12 games in a season without
03:26Tom Brady as their quarterback, and Chris Collinsworth at the end of the game was
03:30heaping the praise on Drake May, saying that there's only one other guy that's done this
03:36for the Patriots in his second year.
03:38What have you seen from Drake May, and what about his performance this year has impressed
03:41you the most?
03:42Well, you know, he's right up there with the MVP voting, that's for sure.
03:45I think he might have dropped a little bit.
03:47I think Matthew Stafford is probably a little bit ahead of him right now with Matthew Stafford's
03:51staggering numbers, but, you know, I just think it's the poise, and I go all the way
03:56back to when we started this year, and we talked about how I thought they were going to make
04:01the playoffs simply because I thought their schedule, you know, was a little bit easier
04:05than most of the teams, but as the season wore on, Drake May got better and better and
04:12better, and I think that's what Chris is kind of alluding to.
04:15And when you see the poise, you see his athleticism, and you know, he doesn't want to run first.
04:19He wants to throw first, and he gets back there, and maybe the most important hire other than
04:25Mike Vrabel was Josh McDaniels, and that pairing has created this offense, and this offense has,
04:32for the most part, been balanced throughout the year.
04:34It was a little heavy pass last night just because they got behind, but he is clearly the leader.
04:39He has clearly arrived. The light has gone on. He sees everything. He reacts to everything
04:43properly, and I don't see an ounce of nervousness in him, and to say that about a second-year
04:50player is pretty significant.
04:52And that's this week's Drake Take from Boomer Esiason presented by your New England Chevy
04:56Dealers. Together, let's drive. Steph Diggs had an awesome game yesterday as well. Boomer, we were
05:01kind of sold that Steph was past his prime. He was a problem in the locker room. He was a problem with
05:05coaches and teammates. What has changed here in New England that you can see that's brought him
05:11back to life?
05:12You know, Courtney, I'm so glad you asked me that because last time I'm watching this game,
05:15and I, too, wondered about the signing of Steph Diggs at the beginning of the year, especially
05:20coming off of a knee injury. This guy can still play at a really high level, really high level,
05:25and this reminds me of the Steph Diggs that we saw in Baltimore, I mean, at Baltimore Buffalo,
05:31when he was at the top of his game with Josh Allen. I mean, he makes incredible catches,
05:36he's still very quick, he's still a great route runner, and he is as competitive as they are as
05:42a wide receiver. He may be a little bit different personality from day to day. That's one thing
05:48you got to deal with, but for the most part, when things are going well, he still looks really,
05:53really good. So that signing has turned out to be aces for the New England Patriots, along with a lot
05:59of other signings that they had in the offseason, as we remember that they were the team that spent the
06:04most money in free agency this year.
06:06Boomer, when you look at the two games left in the season for the Patriots, and you start to look
06:12at the AFC and kind of how it's shaken up, if I asked you, what's your power rankings in the AFC,
06:18how would you go, especially based off of yesterday, seeing what Jacksonville was able to do and go up
06:24to Denver? Kind of how would you line up this AFC in power rankings?
06:28Well, you know, it's interesting. I always, I want to start with quarterback coach tandems,
06:33and I have to say there are three right there at the top, and it's going to be Vrabel and May.
06:38It's going to be Harbaugh, and it's going to be Herbert, and Liam Cohen now all of a sudden with
06:44Trevor Lawrence. Those teams look pretty damn good, as do Mike Tomlin and Aaron Rodgers. But I still say
06:52defense is what wins. And what was a little bit shocking yesterday was Denver's defense getting
06:58shredded by Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars. The other defense that goes under the radar and had a
07:05huge game yesterday was the LA Chargers. You know, they held that Dallas Cowboy offense to 17 points
07:11and shut them out in the second half. So, I mean, there's a lot of reasons why that number one seed
07:17is going to be so important to play your games at home. And coming down here at the end and seeing that,
07:24you know, who they got, they got the Jets and they got the Dolphins, and they're both away. Now, these are
07:29teams that they should win. And if you would have told me before the season that they were going to end up
07:35with this record, I would have said you were crazy. Now, I would have thought maybe 11 wins,
07:39but this is quite the season that the Patriots have going on. That's why that number one seed
07:43is going to be really, really key for them. Boomer, we did it for 20 years, Tom or Bill.
07:48If you had to say today who was most responsible for the turnaround, would you give it to Drake or
07:53to Mike Vrabel? Well, I give it to Vrabel first and foremost. You got to have a head coach that
07:57people respect and that you command a room and can talk to players both offensively and defensively.
08:03I see he's very aware of when a player's hurt, he's out on the field. When a player does a good
08:08play, you know, he's, you know, slapping fives when they're coming off the field. Even when the
08:13defense got steamrolled there at one point by Derrick Henry and gave up a touchdown, you know,
08:18he's on the sideline and he's trying to talk to his defense and he's trying to pump them up. So
08:22first and foremost, you got to have that guy. His next hire was Josh McDaniels. That's the next
08:27important guy. And then comes the quarterback because the quarterback has to be in a really stable,
08:32stable situation. And right now I would say this is about as stable a situation as there is in the
08:38NFL when it comes from, you know, the front office to the coach to the quarterback. And that's one of
08:43the reasons why they won this many games this year thus far. Boomer, you obviously are plugged in when
08:49it comes to Cincinnati and you're plugged in in the AFC when you start to look at some things. Just
08:54kind of give your take on where do you see the Cincinnati Bengals, you know, moving forward? It seems like
09:00Joe Burrow, you know, can be a little, he's a little bit disappointed in maybe how the organization's doing
09:05things. Where do you see them and where do you see the Kansas City Chiefs? I ultimately think that maybe it
09:10might be time to move on from Andy Reid. What's your take on those two teams that have been kind of
09:17dominant in the AFC for the past couple of years and the direction they're headed in?
09:21Yeah. Andy Reid basically said that he's coming back next year regardless. So, you know, even no matter what we
09:26think, I, you know, he's a lifer, he's Bill Belichick, just wearing red and a little bit
09:30more of it. But I will say that he's not going anywhere. You know, as far as Joe Burrow is
09:35concerned, you know, if they beat Buffalo two weeks ago, we're not having a therapy session on
09:39Wednesday. And then, you know, then they get smoked by the Ravens in a game in which he didn't show up
09:45and he even said it was his worst game as a pro. And then yesterday he comes back and throws four
09:49touchdown passes. So I'm sure he'll feel a lot better this week and he'll have a lot more fun playing
09:54football and spending all that money. So, you know, I don't think he's going anywhere. The
09:58Bengals are not going to trade him. You know, he's their franchise. The Bengals have always treated us
10:03as starting quarterbacks really, really well. They've paid us usually at the highest levels of
10:09the NFL. When I played for them, believe it or not, twice I was the highest paid player in the league
10:13for about six months. So they have always taken care of their quarterbacks. This doesn't seem like
10:19a Carson Palmer situation to me. I know he's great. I know people are out there fantasizing that the
10:24Jets or the Giants would trade all these number one picks for him. My sense is that he's not going
10:30anywhere. Maybe the coach could be and maybe they would hire his college offensive coordinator,
10:35Joe Brady, who's the offensive coordinator for the Bills now. That may be a possibility, but he's not
10:41going anywhere. Boomer, have you ever seen an ending of a game quite like that Steelers-Lions game
10:45yesterday? You know, the moment that there's offensive pass interference, essentially the
10:51game is over. Unless there's a defensive penalty where you would have offsetting penalties and then
10:56you'd run the play over again. But the moment there's offensive interference, the game's over.
11:03So there's no question that Amon Ross-St. Brown committed that penalty. It was exciting to watch,
11:09but I will say, like I was just saying, we had a number of games. I thought the Seattle game was insane.
11:15You know, with the loose ball as opposed to the fumble and then New York getting involved and
11:20essentially awarding the two-point play to the Seattle Seahawks. So, I mean, this weekend had
11:26just about everything and hopefully the next two weeks follow suit. Well, let's get to the question
11:31of the week for Boomer presented by McFarland Energy, the region's most dependable provider of
11:35home heating, oil delivery, and expert HVAC services at McFarlandEnergy.com. Speaking of the Steelers,
11:41they make it 22 consecutive seasons over .500, but it's still another season with fans, national media
11:48calling for Tomlin's job. Did he save it once again? Like, what's the deal here? Yeah, I don't know
11:53why national media doesn't like Mike Tomlin. I know the Pittsburgh Steelers fans are frustrated
11:58because they're like Yankee fans. You know, they think they should win every World Series or every
12:02Super Bowl. And all they get is winning football. And sometimes, you know, they don't go far enough.
12:08But the problem with them has been they haven't been able to replace Ben Roethlisberger. And they
12:12keep trying to do it like a lot of other teams do it with stopgap quarterbacks. And it just so
12:17happens they're lucky to have a future Hall of Famer in Aaron Rodgers. The question is,
12:23can they go through one of these teams on the road in the playoffs? They may win their first home
12:29playoff game depending on who that, you know, that fifth seed is going to be. But after that,
12:34if they got to go on the road, I think they're going to be hard pressed to go, you know, deeper
12:39than one game unless injuries happen, which they always do to teams. But I think it's a great story
12:45for Mike Tomlin and Aaron Rodgers to make the playoffs, which I think they will. But I don't
12:50necessarily know that they can go as deep as, you know, maybe maybe one game and then lose in the
12:55divisional. All right. Well, Boomer, Merry Christmas. I hope you have a great holiday. Your family
13:00continued to grow this year with the twins. So I hope you have quality time with them
13:05sometime this week. Man, this holiday shopping is getting expensive. It is crazy.
13:11I bet. We love the gifts, Boomer. Yeah. The heated massage back thing. Unbelievable.
13:17Well, look at this. This year, I get pats on the back for the gifts. That's nice.
13:21Wiggy's your biggest kid. Oh, man. I love it. It's fighting it away from my two boys,
13:26though. That's the hottest problem is because they can't, they love it just as much as I do.
13:30Well, listen, I love you guys, man. I love working with you guys. And man,
13:34hopefully you have a deep run in the playoffs and look forward to it come the new year. Happy
13:38new year, guys. And I'll see you on the other side. All right. Thanks, Boomer.
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