- 9 months ago
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00:00Are you ready for the Houston Texans?
00:02Bring on the Texans, Jones.
00:04That's a nice defense.
00:05That is a nice defense.
00:07They're violent.
00:09They really get after you a little bit.
00:10I think you saw it last night.
00:12Yeah.
00:12Why?
00:13Pretty good.
00:14And maybe this is the one thing the Jones and Keith standings did,
00:16was identify the Texans.
00:17Oh, we sniffed that right out.
00:18I think before anyone else.
00:20Yo-yo.
00:21The Texans defense is no joke.
00:25And you saw that last night.
00:26Now, Rodgers can't move, and he's probably done,
00:28and his career is probably over.
00:30No, I don't think the Steelers are very good.
00:31I mean, the Steelers and the Chargers are kind of a similar kind of team.
00:34But you saw what that defense can do,
00:37and that defense has shut down Josh Allen,
00:38and, I mean, it doesn't really matter who the quarterback is.
00:41They are, I think, the best defense in football.
00:44It's them or the Broncos, and I would lean them.
00:46So their defense is legit.
00:49But at the same time, and I've been a big C.J. Stroud guy.
00:52Yeah, hard to like that.
00:53We're going to revisit our quarterback rankings
00:55and head coach rankings from last week coming up,
00:58later on in the show today.
01:00Like, Stroud was abysmal last week.
01:02He fumbled five times.
01:03He only lost two.
01:04Five fumbles.
01:05He fumbled five times.
01:06He threw another brainless pick.
01:09So, look, I don't really want to face that defense.
01:12I think that's going to be a dogfight and a war,
01:14and it's going to take a chunk out of the Pats.
01:16Yeah.
01:17But I still think they're going to win the game.
01:18I think they're the better team.
01:19Yeah, I'm still fairly confident that the Patriots
01:21can win the game on Sunday,
01:23but this also proves why I was rooting for the Steelers,
01:25just because the Texans are a better team,
01:28and it's going to be a tougher matchup.
01:30You know, you can tell right away.
01:31They're doing, like, the player intros,
01:33and you're like, all right, they have an all-pro up front.
01:36They have an all-pro linebacker or whatever,
01:38pro-bowl, pro-pro snub.
01:40Yeah, I think Al Shire's a pro-bowler.
01:41Yeah, and then, like, an all-pro corner.
01:43You're like, okay.
01:44And Daniil Hunter made nothing,
01:46and Daniil Hunter's a stud.
01:47And he's terrifying.
01:47So, like, but I think any time you have a defense
01:49that has a legitimate top whatever five player
01:52at their position at each level,
01:54that's what all the great defenses have.
01:56You know, go back to, like, whether it's the Ravens
01:58or the Bucs or the Broncos from years ago.
02:00You have that.
02:01You can kind of do everything.
02:02You can get after the quarterback.
02:04You can stop wrong games.
02:05Yeah, you can shut down a wide out if you need be.
02:08So, yeah, they're pretty devastating.
02:10I think we knew that, though.
02:11Like, from afar, we were watching them,
02:12and we were like, oh, that's a team to keep an eye on.
02:14That was a team.
02:15We were doing the exercise for really the last four weeks
02:17of the season.
02:18What teams did you not want the Pats to play
02:20in the first round, right?
02:21That was one of them?
02:21Oh, yeah.
02:22Well, yeah, that was one of them.
02:24Texans and Chargers and Bills were the three wildcard teams.
02:28We were thrilled with the first-round matchup
02:30with the Chargers.
02:31You knew it was going to get more difficult
02:32as the rounds go.
02:33And guess what?
02:34If you beat the Texans,
02:35it's going to get even tougher the next round.
02:36That's fine.
02:37That's how it goes.
02:37It's the playoffs.
02:38Yeah.
02:38But, no, but just watching them a full game,
02:41you could tell.
02:42They are a pretty scary defense.
02:44Josh McDaniels, Drake May will have their hands full.
02:47They will.
02:48And, you know, the Pats,
02:50it's not like they lit it up against the Chargers
02:51this past week offensively.
02:52The defense was incredible.
02:54And the Chargers have a good defense.
02:56The Texans have a great defense.
02:58Yeah, so it's leveled up from there.
02:59So it's going to be that much more difficult.
03:01It's going to be that much more important
03:02for Drake May.
03:03And you heard the highlight from Drake May,
03:0540-yard touchdown to Keyshawn Booty
03:07in his first start.
03:08They can use that again.
03:09The Houston Texans a year ago
03:11is when that went down.
03:13Last October, he made his first start
03:14against this defense.
03:15He had three touchdowns.
03:16He had three turnovers in the game.
03:18He giveth and he taketh away.
03:20They lost, I think it was 42-21,
03:21something like that.
03:23So he'll have an opportunity to,
03:26well, I mean, right that wrong, if you will,
03:28but also show the strides he's made
03:29from his debut,
03:31which even when you look back at it,
03:32really wasn't that bad.
03:34It was turnover prone.
03:34Yeah, yeah.
03:35But he came out and made plays
03:36from his very first start
03:38against what was the makings
03:40of a very good defense.
03:41I don't think they were this a year ago.
03:42We did the glitter guns
03:43just days before that day.
03:44We were stoked about it.
03:45Yeah.
03:45But right away, you're like,
03:47oh, this is what a playmaking quarterback
03:49looks like.
03:50Even right away
03:51against what's eventually
03:52an elite defense
03:53in his first career start,
03:55right away, you saw it.
03:56But this is going to be
03:57a tougher test for sure.
03:58For the Patriots,
03:59we're talking about it all day long.
04:00Here on Jones and Keith,
04:02you can dial us up.
04:02617-779-7937
04:06on a Tier Tuesday.
04:08We're going to tier off
04:09NFL head coaching candidates
04:11for some of the vacancies out there,
04:12some tied to New England,
04:14some jobs that will have an impact
04:16on New England as well.
04:18It's also a Tom E. Tuesday.
04:20Tommy Curran, NBC Sports Boston
04:22joins us at high noon
04:23as he does every Tuesday.
04:24Plus, we'll have a Kiefer Madness
04:26for you at 1245, I believe.
04:28It's a follow-up on something
04:30we discussed yesterday.
04:31Yeah, well, a legend in the field
04:32of cryptozoology
04:34has stepped aside.
04:36I'm very much excited for that.
04:38That's at 1245 today.
04:40Interact with Jones and Keith
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04:42at Jones and Keith.
04:43Watch along and chat
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04:49Do the same on YouTube.
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04:55What do you think of the matchup, Keith?
04:57I think it is going to be really tough.
04:58I think it's going to be a slugfest.
05:00It's going to be a, you know,
05:02whoever wins the game
05:03is going to earn that game.
05:04There's not going to be any,
05:05oh, that team wasn't very good
05:07or like, oh, look at that
05:08or they lucked out
05:09or easy path
05:10or anything like that.
05:11I think Houston is
05:13really impressive defensively.
05:15They've built up a little bit
05:16of a playoff pedigree too.
05:18Like we were looking at
05:19D'Amico Ryan's going into the year
05:21and he's gotten,
05:23he's made the playoffs
05:23every year.
05:25They win a game every year.
05:26Now they lose the second game,
05:27right?
05:28They will lose
05:29in the divisional round,
05:30but the guy they just beat last night
05:32is going to go into the Hall of Fame,
05:33Mike Tomlin.
05:34He hasn't won a playoff game
05:36in a decade
05:37and this guy wins him every year.
05:38So he wins the game,
05:40but then he loses him.
05:41I think D'Amico Ryan
05:42is a good coach.
05:44CJ Stroud though,
05:45you look at that
05:45and you say,
05:46all right,
05:47the quarterback advantage
05:48that the Patriots have,
05:49I think is pretty significant
05:50and maybe even more significant
05:52than we thought it was
05:54going into the postseason.
05:55Oh, definitely.
05:56So I like,
05:57I like Drake May
05:58and he certainly wasn't perfect
05:59in his first playoff game,
06:01but I would expect him to play better.
06:03Now,
06:03I'm not saying he's going to have
06:04these gaudy numbers
06:05because he's going up
06:06against a really good defense,
06:07but if he can hold on to the ball,
06:10maybe take a sack or two less,
06:11even though it is going to be
06:13a really good pass rush
06:14on the other side,
06:15I'll take my chances
06:16with Drake May
06:17and with Mike Vrabel even,
06:19you know,
06:19scheming something up.
06:20They did a really good job
06:22at stopping Justin Herbert.
06:24So I feel like the Patriots defense,
06:25which is going to get
06:26probably the rest of this week,
06:28probably is going to get
06:29not pushed aside,
06:32but I don't think
06:32it's going to be talked about
06:33as much as the Houston defense.
06:35Like nationally,
06:35it's going to be all Houston defense.
06:37Patriots defense
06:38just allowed three points
06:39to Justin Herbert.
06:41I think they're going to be able
06:42to give CJ Stroud
06:43all he can handle.
06:44Plus,
06:44we'll see what happens
06:45with Nico Collins.
06:46They're legitimate
06:47best wide receiver,
06:49best playmaker.
06:50He smashed his face
06:51on the turf,
06:52had to leave the game
06:52on a cart with a concussion.
06:54So I think that obviously
06:56helps the Patriots as well.
06:57But yeah,
06:57I think it's going to be
06:58a real like dogfight
06:59of a game,
07:00low scoring game,
07:01but I like the quarterback
07:03advantage for the Patriots.
07:04So I think you,
07:05you hit on most of it,
07:06to be honest.
07:07I would say
07:08May made his postseason debut
07:12and I'd expect May
07:13to be better based on
07:14more experience
07:15and getting more opportunity.
07:16I'd also expect Stroud
07:17to be better than last night.
07:18I mean,
07:18I know it wasn't his debut,
07:20but I don't expect him
07:21to fumble five times again.
07:23I mean,
07:23that was especially horrible.
07:25You can't count on five fumbles.
07:26And that pick,
07:27he was so rattled in the game,
07:28you could see it.
07:29He was rattled.
07:30And if the Patriots
07:30get after him
07:31and blitz him
07:32like they did
07:33with Herbert last week
07:34and the Texans
07:35do not have a great O-line,
07:37it's not as bad
07:37as the Chargers,
07:38but the Texans
07:38don't have a great O-line.
07:40If you can rattle him
07:41and get him off his spots
07:42and have him,
07:43you know,
07:43tap in the football
07:44and happy feet
07:45like he had last night,
07:46then I guess you can have him unravel,
07:48but I don't know
07:49how you could possibly
07:49expect that again.
07:50Rich Keefe stats and info.
07:52Yes.
07:52So this could be,
07:53take this with a grain of salt.
07:54Yep.
07:54This was a quick look.
07:55CJ Stroud
07:56without Nico Collins.
07:58Oh.
07:59Eight games,
07:59nine touchdowns,
08:01five picks,
08:01QB rating of 85.9.
08:03Okay.
08:04Not very good.
08:05No,
08:05I mean,
08:05it's not,
08:06it's not like
08:06he completely drops off a cliff,
08:07but that's definitely not good.
08:09And I think Nico Collins
08:10is not going to play.
08:11It didn't look good.
08:12Gonzo to me is,
08:14is better chance.
08:15It's a question.
08:16Right.
08:16You know,
08:16Reese had a good detail on this
08:18the other day
08:18against the Baltimore Ravens
08:20in week,
08:21what was it?
08:2116.
08:22The Pats had three different players
08:23leave with a concussion.
08:25Travion Henderson
08:25played the following week,
08:27missed no time.
08:28Kayshawn Booty
08:29missed a week in between,
08:31came back after that.
08:33And then Jared Wilson
08:34didn't even play
08:35until they got back
08:35to the postseason.
08:36Yeah,
08:36no,
08:36you have no idea.
08:37That tells you a lot
08:38about three guys
08:39who suffered an injury
08:40on the exact same day
08:41in three different ways.
08:42I would imagine
08:43there's going to be
08:44added urgency on his side
08:46and the team's side
08:46to get him out there.
08:47So if I had to guess,
08:49I think Christian Gonzalez plays,
08:51but I'm not sure about that.
08:52Yeah,
08:52this is where the Sunday game
08:53helps compared to the Saturday game.
08:54No,
08:55he also suffered it a day
08:56before Nico Collins did.
08:58Collins has one fewer day
08:58to get ready.
08:59It's the second concussion this year,
09:01second known concussion this year.
09:03Right.
09:03And he got carted off last night.
09:04So I think there's no way he's playing.
09:06Yeah,
09:06no,
09:06that did not look good.
09:08And I know Christian Kirk
09:09had a really good game,
09:10but Nico Collins
09:11is like a legitimate top 10 receiver
09:13in the NFL.
09:14He's been their leading receiver
09:15every year with CJ Stroud
09:16and with D'Amico Ryans
09:17and all their success.
09:17So you remove him
09:19from the equation
09:19and we'll do the tail
09:21of the tape again
09:22later in the week.
09:23That's one where like
09:24with Nico Collins,
09:25I think that's a checkmark
09:26for the Texans.
09:28If he's not playing,
09:29that really evens things out
09:31and maybe even gives
09:32a slight edge
09:32to the Patriots
09:33at that spot.
09:34CJ Stroud,
09:35lifetime in the postseason,
09:36by the way,
09:36three and two.
09:38So he's won a game,
09:38as you mentioned,
09:39every postseason.
09:40Five touchdowns
09:41against two picks.
09:42One of them was last night.
09:43Quarterback rating
09:44of almost 98,
09:4597.5.
09:46Okay.
09:47What else do you want to know?
09:48Complete 66% of his passes.
09:49Obviously one touchdown pass
09:50per game,
09:51which,
09:52you know,
09:53you're not going to hang
09:54your hat on that,
09:55but when you have
09:55such a good defense,
09:57you might be able
09:57to get away with that
09:58and you run one in.
09:59They're not looking
10:00to do a shootout.
10:02If it's a shootout,
10:03something went really wrong
10:03for them in their defense,
10:05right?
10:05Because even yesterday,
10:06you look at the final score
10:07and maybe you didn't watch
10:08Monday Night Football,
10:0930-6 was the final,
10:11but they had two
10:11defensive scores.
10:12That was not an offensive
10:13showcase by the Texans
10:15at all.
10:15Rankin's just ripped one away
10:17and rumbled down
10:19to the other end.
10:20He was kind of mean.
10:20He shouldn't have taken
10:21the ball like that.
10:21And then who was the other one?
10:22Bullard had the pick six.
10:24He had some good footwork
10:25on the sideline,
10:25got right in.
10:26At that point,
10:27they were laying it on thick.
10:28So Houston's defense,
10:29and again,
10:30it's kind of the two sides
10:31of this coin.
10:32What's Stroud going to look like
10:33coming off that game?
10:34What's Stroud going to look like,
10:35Keith, to your point,
10:36I assume,
10:37without Nico Collins?
10:38Tough.
10:39That's one side of the coin.
10:40The other side is
10:41Houston's defense,
10:42which, and I'm reading
10:43from Andrew Callahan here,
10:44I agree with him,
10:45will be the toughest test
10:46of Drake May's career
10:48based on the defenses
10:49he's going against.
10:50Yeah, I would agree.
10:51The Houston defense
10:52is first in dropback EPA.
10:54They are second in DVOA,
10:56second against the pass,
10:57second against the run,
10:58second in dropback success
10:59rate allowed,
11:00third in takeaways,
11:02fourth in yards per play allowed.
11:03So those are a lot of
11:03advanced metrics
11:04that tell you how good
11:05this defense is.
11:06Or you can just watch them,
11:07and it's either them
11:09or Denver
11:10and they are,
11:11I think,
11:11easily the top two defenses
11:12in the field
11:12and you might face them
11:14back-to-back weeks.
11:15Yeah, all right.
11:15What's the answer prior to the,
11:16or what's the answer right now?
11:17What's the best defense
11:18he has faced
11:19to this point?
11:22Chargers got to be
11:22on the short list.
11:23Chargers are on the short list.
11:24Okay.
11:24And he did not look great.
11:25I was going to say Browns,
11:26maybe just Miles Garrett
11:28specifically.
11:28Yeah.
11:29I mean,
11:29Garrett terrorized him that day
11:31because the overall defense,
11:32because this is another thing
11:32that got brought up
11:33and there was so many stats
11:35being tossed around
11:35during the MVP discussion,
11:37but top like pass defenses,
11:41he went up against a lot of them.
11:43So I think even like
11:44the Falcons and the Saints
11:45ranked pretty high
11:46on pass defense,
11:47but like overall defense,
11:48if you're just looking
11:49at points per game,
11:50I mean,
11:52Seahawks are number one,
11:54slight,
11:54slightly,
11:55they gave up three
11:55total points fewer
11:57than the Houston Texans
11:58followed by the Broncos,
12:00then the Patriots
12:01and then the Eagles.
12:02Those are top five
12:03defenses so far.
12:04So as far as teams
12:05that the Patriots faced,
12:06if you're just going
12:07off that metric,
12:09it would have been
12:09the Chargers
12:10who they just played
12:11and didn't look great
12:12against for a while.
12:12I have even more respect
12:14for the Chargers defense
12:15coming out of the game.
12:15I thought that was
12:16a good defense going in
12:17and I think they're
12:18a good defense.
12:19They're not this.
12:20No,
12:20this is a step up
12:21and that doesn't mean
12:22the Patriots can't win.
12:23I'm picking them this week.
12:24I think they're going
12:24to win,
12:25but it's not going
12:26to be easy
12:27and I think that was
12:27on display last night.
12:29Do you know the line
12:30to look it up?
12:31Well,
12:31I saw this morning
12:33or maybe it was late
12:33last night.
12:34I saw that they were
12:35favored by three initially.
12:36I don't know
12:36where it's moved.
12:37I think that moved
12:37down at just a half point.
12:39I think a few of them
12:40moved slightly.
12:41Oh,
12:41no,
12:42this place.
12:42Anyway,
12:42I'm looking at three
12:43three.
12:44That's by three.
12:44Okay,
12:45that's what I saw last night,
12:46but I admittedly
12:47didn't check it this morning.
12:49This is an interesting
12:49sidebar that I hadn't
12:50even considered.
12:51You guys are forgetting
12:52about Diggs going
12:53against his former team.
12:54I love it.
12:55Another revenge game.
12:56Well,
12:57put it on the board.
12:57Yeah,
12:58sure.
12:58And the Texans
12:59clearly did not want him
13:00back.
13:01They didn't want him
13:01back.
13:02I wonder,
13:02and this is where my
13:03mind goes,
13:04so you're going to
13:04revenge game.
13:05Revenge game.
13:05And Vrabel revenge game
13:07again.
13:07Oh,
13:08Vrabel revenge game.
13:09They should have
13:09hired him.
13:10Well,
13:10maybe.
13:11Yeah,
13:11I mean,
13:11that's fair,
13:11but it's not like
13:12he was their head coach.
13:13Yeah,
13:13but he hates him.
13:15No,
13:16do you think we get
13:17any stories out of
13:18Houston this week
13:18about Diggs?
13:19Like,
13:19do you think we finally
13:20like maybe get some
13:21answers?
13:21Because we know
13:21what happened in
13:22Buffalo.
13:22We know what
13:23happened in Minnesota.
13:24We don't really know
13:25what happened in Houston.
13:26We just know that
13:27they wanted nothing
13:28to do with them.
13:28Kind of hoping for
13:29not a lot of Diggs
13:30stories.
13:30Well,
13:30it's true.
13:31I wouldn't be surprised
13:33if we get a little
13:33something about that this week.
13:3431 on an ACL
13:35on a one-year deal
13:36they didn't want to
13:37It could be,
13:38but like,
13:39I don't know.
13:40You know who might
13:40have some good
13:41inside info
13:41is our guy Ted Johnson.
13:42He was down in Houston
13:43for a while.
13:43Ooh,
13:44yeah.
13:44Get some Texans
13:46tails.
13:47I'm not there.
13:47What's going on?
13:48He knows,
13:48well,
13:49I know,
13:50I,
13:50I,
13:50Keith Bragg,
13:51know some of the media
13:52members there in Houston.
13:53I started.
13:53Oh,
13:54do you?
13:54Is that right?
13:55You know about this,
13:56Nick?
13:56I unknowingly kicked
13:57a real hornet's nest
13:58years ago,
13:59trashing Jadeveon Clowney
14:00going into a playoff game,
14:02and I had to,
14:02I had to call into
14:03their morning show.
14:04Wait a minute.
14:05They were like,
14:05hey,
14:05you made fun of Jadeveon Clowney,
14:07and then they were like,
14:08you gotta face the music.
14:09They were like,
14:09hey,
14:09come face the music in Houston.
14:11Yeah,
14:11I went on the morning show.
14:11What did you say about
14:12Jadeveon Clowney?
14:13I was like,
14:13he's never done anything
14:13in the NFL.
14:14He's famous because
14:15he knocked somebody's
14:16helmet off in college.
14:16Oh,
14:16he killed that guy in Michigan.
14:18That guy never even got up.
14:19I'm like,
14:20he's so overrated
14:21because one time
14:22he knocked somebody's
14:22helmet off in college
14:23and he's living off that.
14:24He was.
14:25And people in Houston
14:25did not appreciate it.
14:26And guess what happened
14:27when they played in the playoffs?
14:28You didn't notice
14:28that he had Clowney one time.
14:29No,
14:30he was,
14:30yeah,
14:31he's pretty overrated.
14:32He didn't,
14:32he was the number one
14:33overall pick.
14:34He was really a lot of like,
14:36hey,
14:36he could do this.
14:37That,
14:37you know,
14:37Mario Williams
14:38was also number one
14:39picked by them,
14:40who I feel like later on
14:41in his career
14:41actually did get pretty good.
14:42Oh,
14:42he's good.
14:43Yeah.
14:43Buffalo,
14:44eventually he was a killer,
14:45but not so much.
14:46Yeah.
14:46Sean Pendergast,
14:47maybe is that his name?
14:47I'll ask Pendergast.
14:48I just remember they have
14:49John McCain.
14:50Yeah.
14:50Not that John McCain.
14:51No.
14:51No.
14:52McClain?
14:53McClain,
14:53maybe.
14:54I think he's McClain.
14:54Oh,
14:54I'm thinking Die Hard.
14:56Yeah.
14:56But yeah,
14:56John McClain,
14:57he's like their Bob Ryan,
14:59right?
14:59He's been there forever.
15:00I think he's covered the team.
15:01Actually,
15:02the team's not all that old.
15:03Oh,
15:03two?
15:04Yeah,
15:04he's covered them
15:05the whole time.
15:05He's covered the whole time.
15:07I think he was covering
15:07like the Oilers.
15:08Like he was like a Houston.
15:09It's like covering the Boston fleet.
15:11It's like you've been there
15:13the whole tenure.
15:14This guy's been here
15:14the whole time.
15:15The Connecticut Sun
15:16have been around
15:16the whole time.
15:18Wow.
15:18Okay.
15:19Yeah.
15:19Well,
15:19anyway,
15:19they're very sensitive
15:20in the Houston media,
15:21but yeah,
15:21maybe we can get
15:22some pointers there.
15:23But anyways,
15:24I like the Patriots this week.
15:26Earmuffs Houston.
15:27617-779-7937.
15:30That's how you get in touch here
15:31with Jones and Keith.
15:33What do you think of the matchup?
15:34How significant
15:35is that Nico Collins concussion?
15:37Because I don't think he's playing.
15:39And well,
15:39is Drake May ready for the test?
15:41Because I think the O-line
15:43is going to be an issue for him
15:44as it was on Sunday.
15:46Against the Chargers,
15:47How Concerned Should We Be?
15:48We'll get to that
15:48right after Trending
15:49with Billy Lanny.