00:00Cap, I want to ask you about Sam Darnold.
00:02I want to know what you've seen from last year to this year.
00:07And when you talk to former players, specifically Hoyer and the quarterbacks,
00:12what have they seen in his development?
00:14Because last year he played great in the regular season.
00:17Those two games at the end, he seemed to implode.
00:20But we see a different quarterback this year, don't we?
00:24Joe, you do.
00:24Now, the thing that you have to love, and I get it that they were home against the Rams,
00:30but it was absolutely Darnold's finest hour.
00:33His best game as a professional.
00:35And to play as well as he did against the Rams, it's just shocking.
00:40And Joe, he made some throws that you're like, I can't even believe he attempted it.
00:45That's when you know a guy's feeling it.
00:48Now, this matchup for Darnold is much harder.
00:50The Patriots, they're probably going to play more man coverage than they typically do.
00:56That's been their history.
00:57Now, if they do that, they have to double JSN.
01:01And then here's the thing.
01:03If they're covering JSN well, okay, which, look, it's hard.
01:09It's going to be very, very difficult.
01:11Darnold cannot handle the football long.
01:13He just can't do that.
01:15That's been the story of his career.
01:16When he failed, whether it was with the Jets or the Panthers, he stares down past targets,
01:22and then he moves unnecessarily, and he struggles.
01:25And this is where Clint Kubiak, who's done a brilliant job,
01:28it's a big reason why he had a ton of interest in him to be head coach,
01:31obviously going to be the Raiders head coach after this game.
01:34Clint Kubiak's got to help him.
01:36If Darnold's struggling to get out of the football, get the football out of his hands,
01:41he's got to change things up here.
01:42This is the thing.
01:43If this is where Coach and Joe comes into play, both coordinators have to react
01:47if their quarterback is struggling.
01:50Yeah, I think that that is, again, some people, though, Cap,
01:55don't think there's any way Darnold can struggle because he played good
01:57in the NFC Championship game.
02:00So, oh, how could he, how could Sam Darnold ever struggle?
02:04I don't know.
02:04It's been a, it's been a long, it's been a long week, Cap.
02:07But when, when you size these two teams up, though, right, we talk, of course,
02:14about the coaches, we talk about the quarterbacks, you have one defense who has
02:19been arguably the best in the league all year long, certainly top three in
02:23Seattle, but a New England defense that, I mean, they've been unbelievable in this
02:28postseason.
02:29And we could talk about the opposing quarterbacks, but it's not like they were
02:33giving up anything to these quarterbacks.
02:35They were forcing turnovers, making plays, and they were, you know, well,
02:40Milton Williams was a big deal when they brought him in.
02:42And it's a big deal whether he's out there or not.
02:45He spent some time injured this year.
02:47How do you feel these two defenses match up in this game?
02:51All right.
02:51You know, what's interesting about that?
02:52If you look at EPA, it's remarkable.
02:55Two of the top four teams are playing in this game today.
02:58They've been, it's, it's just remarkable.
03:00But, but, but as you saw Stafford absolutely ripped that you're talking about in his
03:08last two games, Stafford against the Seahawks, you're talking about for from for
03:12nearly 800 yards.
03:13So it's not like they're, they're not beatable.
03:16It's, this is the way I, not only I see it, other folks that I've, I've asked or
03:21really respect who, who, you know, in the game around the game, it's up to the
03:26Patriots to be able to protect.
03:28They gave up their offensive line has been mostly really poor in pass pro, but it
03:34didn't matter against Denver because you couldn't throw the football, but they've
03:38given up five sacks in each one of their playoff games, ton of quarterback
03:42pressures, way too many of them.
03:44Will Campbell, I've told you all season, this is where you worry about those short
03:47arms.
03:48He's about an inch and a half short.
03:50That matters.
03:51Fractions matter in the National Football League.
03:53Their ability to protect.
03:54I know you looked at that prop for Drake May over one and a half touchdowns.
03:58If they don't protect, he's not going to throw a touchdown.
04:00If they protect, he absolutely, you can beat Josh Jobe.
04:04It was a fifth corner for the Eagles guys.
04:06Fifth corner.
04:08And Rick Warren's given a place.
04:09He's given a place.
04:10And he almost was benched in the regular season guys.
04:14So, but the problem is teams can't protect the Seahawks.
04:17Their pitchforks are phenomenal.
04:18And I also look forward to seeing how Nick Emanwari, obviously playing with this ankle,
04:25how do they match him up?
04:27How do they use him in this game?
04:28Because he's going to be playing with a bad ankle.
04:30But again, can the Patriots protect?
04:33That is the number one story for the Patriots.
04:36Can their offensive line protect?
04:37That is the number one story for the Patriots.
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