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00:00And as I promised earlier, every Tuesday we talk to Brian Hoyer, former Patriots quarterback, our buddy.
00:07He was out. I saw him making the rounds at Media Row with Ted and Company.
00:13So, Mr. Hoyer, how was your trip to San Francisco?
00:16It was quick. It was busy. It was quick. And I got in there. I got out.
00:20I had to be back on Saturday for a father-daughter dance, the last one my daughter had before she switched to school.
00:26So, I got out there, got my business done, and got back. And then, unfortunately, sat there, did the pregame show, and watched the game.
00:34And I had to get up and walk out. And I got back to the postgame show early because I knew it was going to be tough to talk about.
00:41Okay. So, it is tough to talk about. I think a lot of us are surprised that it went so poorly, especially offensively.
00:50I got to start there. Like, I mean, there's a lot of candidates for what went wrong.
00:54Drake May didn't play well. Will Campbell didn't play well.
00:57Our guy, Josh McDaniels, I don't think had his best day.
01:01So, when you boil it down, why did it go so wrong?
01:05Who are you sort of pointing the finger at, I guess, is the question?
01:08Yeah. I mean, look, as a team and having been on teams where you don't perform well and you have a result like that, it's never just one guy.
01:16Obviously, it becomes glaring with the quarterback and the left tackle when he's getting that much pressure.
01:21But I would say all of the offensive line took their turns at having a bad play.
01:27You know, Drake, I think more than anything else, I think the previous three weeks, you know, you have as a quarterback, you have this internal clock in your head.
01:36And, you know, you get a two-week break. You're prepared. You feel good going in.
01:40And then the first pass play of the game, you take the snap and go one-two to throw the ball on the swing route.
01:46And there's someone in your lap. And you're thinking to yourself, all right, this is what it's going to be.
01:51And I think that was just in his head.
01:52And there was times where, you know, when they could stay on the field and sustain a drive, which didn't happen very often.
01:58I think Seattle's defense wore out a little bit.
02:00They weren't getting as much push. But when you would go forward and then go backwards, you know, it's just too hard to stay on the field.
02:07And Seattle's defense was refreshed. They kept coming at them.
02:11And there were times where the protection was good.
02:13But when you're a quarterback and it's been bad, bad, bad, and all of a sudden it's good, your internal clock is like, well, I got to get through this route.
02:20So now all of a sudden that first read pops up and he's not, you know, out of his break yet.
02:26You're like, I got to progress. And so I think that's where his feet got a little out of sorts.
02:31We hadn't seen that from him a lot. And ultimately, you know, it just starts to add up.
02:35And we used to have a saying like on offense, you need all 11 guys basically to do their job well to have a successful play.
02:43On defense, you could blow a coverage. It's away from the play.
02:47A defensive end can fall down, but you're running the other way.
02:50On offense, when one guy makes a mistake, it usually is a glaring mistake and the play doesn't perform well.
02:56And I think everybody just took a turn having a mistake here and a mistake there.
03:00And if everybody does that a few times, you're talking about 40 to 50 mistakes in the game.
03:05You just can't win.
03:06Brian, what did you think of, did you feel like the shoulder was an issue at all?
03:10I mean, I'm thinking about that play second and three with nine minutes to go.
03:14And he basically threw up a fair catch, you know, a punt to the other team.
03:20And I just thought, is that his shoulder or was that him just losing focus?
03:24Because I just thought that was a horrible play.
03:26You know, you know, you think, OK, that looks like Brett Favre just kind of saying,
03:30I'm going to try and catch it all in one play here just by and throw it up there.
03:34Did you think that was shoulder related?
03:35Did you think the shoulder was an issue at all?
03:37Or and what did you think about that decision and that play in particular,
03:40that interception he threw there on second and three with nine minutes to go in the fourth?
03:45Yeah, yeah.
03:46I mean, I think, look, the shoulder, clearly he's getting an injection,
03:49which I'm assuming was a toward all, you know, before the game.
03:52So you can get through and and, you know, usually that makes you feel pretty good.
03:56And I thought he had some zip on some of the passes.
03:58The one to booty early in the game, there was actually another one to booty
04:01where he almost overthrew it.
04:03He threw it so hard he couldn't get his hands on it.
04:05So I'm sure with the adrenaline toward all, he wasn't feeling it.
04:08He probably felt it afterwards.
04:08But I think on that interception, I actually believe based on the coverage,
04:13and a lot was made of this whole discussion.
04:15Oh, they're going to play cover six.
04:16They don't have an answer.
04:17He's throwing to the right guy.
04:19But on that play, and it's happened multiple times,
04:22Will Campbell gets a chip by the tight end.
04:25He doesn't get he doesn't close the distance.
04:28And all of a sudden, that left end is closing on Drake.
04:31He's got to step up quicker than he would like to.
04:34And now he's in the well trying to find, you know,
04:36he reads the front side of the play.
04:39He sees them jump down on the in cuts.
04:41So now you know you have the post across the field.
04:44And I don't know if a lot of people understand this.
04:46When you're playing quarterback sometimes, you're reading coverage,
04:49and you're throwing to a spot where you believe the guy's going to be
04:52because you can't always see your receiver.
04:55And I think he stepped up.
04:56He couldn't get anything on the throw because he's got the interior lineman
05:00right there in front of him.
05:01And he would have liked, if he had, you know, better protection,
05:05I bet he launches it across the field, and it's a big play.
05:08So he's going to the right place.
05:09He's not able to make the right throw that he needed in that moment.
05:13Former Patriots quarterback Brian Hoyer here on WEI Afternoons.
05:16Josh McDaniels, you love him.
05:19I love him.
05:20He's our buddy.
05:20We talk to him every other Friday.
05:22Big fans.
05:23But I don't think he had his best day.
05:26And one of the things that stood out to me is as the game plays out
05:30and you're kind of swimming upstream,
05:31it never felt like he found a trick play or went no huddle or tempo
05:36or something to inject life in the offense.
05:41Why did we not see really any adjustments on the offensive side of the ball?
05:46I think we did.
05:47I mean, they came out in the second half,
05:48and you saw some more outside runs.
05:50And I think the one thing that gets discouraging,
05:52and even though the game was close, you feel like you're never in it.
05:55And I think as an offensive coordinator, and I remember Josh saying this,
05:58like the worst thing you can do for a play caller is to go backwards, right?
06:02Because if he's getting ready to call a play,
06:05and all of a sudden you take a 12-yard sack,
06:07and now it's, you know, third and 15, you know, good luck,
06:11especially against a defense like this.
06:12And what makes that Seattle defense so hard to deal with
06:15is the fact that they're only bringing four most of the time.
06:18And so if you can't block those four and they're getting home quickly
06:22and Drake can't go through progressions,
06:24you really start to get limited in what you could do.
06:26I mean, John Gruden was on with Portnoy on Wake Up Barstool,
06:31and Portnoy was kind of asking the same thing,
06:33like what adjustments could they have made?
06:35And Gruden basically got to the point and said,
06:37look, you can do all these things,
06:39but eventually you've got to block the guy across from you.
06:41You can give as much help as you need,
06:43but then it starts taking away from other people.
06:45And so, you know, I thought he tried to put some draws in there
06:48to take away the quickness of their pass rush.
06:51That didn't really do anything.
06:52No, that didn't work.
06:54No, it didn't work.
06:55Like there was a screen in there.
06:56That didn't work.
06:57I hate to say it.
06:58Sometimes, and Ted, you know this,
07:00sometimes like you meet a team and they just overpower you.
07:05And I think even though it was only 12, you know, 12-0,
07:09then it became 19-7,
07:11you feel like you are climbing up Mount Everest.
07:13And every play you get,
07:15if you get a positive play, you feel good.
07:18But the moment you go backwards,
07:20it feels like you just got knocked down 300 feet.
07:22And so it's frustrating.
07:24I thought, you know, at the end they fought
07:26and the one thing you saw,
07:28like on the touchdown drive to Matt Collins,
07:31they were able to get some positive plays
07:33and stay and go tempo.
07:34And Seattle's defensive front got tired out.
07:36That's why the pass protection was that much better.
07:38So you would have liked to establish that early on,
07:40but there was too much going backwards.
07:43And when you go backwards against an elite defense,
07:45you might as well just sit there
07:47and punt the ball every time.
07:48Yeah, so true.
07:49Brian, I'm curious.
07:50I maybe should have asked you this off the air,
07:52but I'll do it on the air.
07:54I'm worried about me asking a dumb question.
08:00But so Devin Witherspoon, you know,
08:03blitzes six times, four times he's unblocked.
08:06They're talking about,
08:07they see things maybe from the offensive line
08:09that's tipping them.
08:11Like, is there anything that a defense can get
08:16when he calls the mic call, you know,
08:18and he points, does he point to,
08:20can the defense maybe get a key off of who he calls the mic
08:25and then blitz from the opposite side?
08:27Because does the offensive line slide to where the mic call is?
08:31And so, because they were blitzing.
08:32Not always.
08:33Okay.
08:33All right.
08:34Not always.
08:34And then the one good thing I would say about the Patriots system,
08:37as opposed to many others,
08:39because the quarterback makes those points,
08:41you can call the same protection
08:43and you could block it three different ways.
08:45Gotcha.
08:45Gotcha.
08:45And so I think that's the one thing.
08:47And honestly, I never looked at,
08:49and this is my experience in multiple systems,
08:52the one thing you would say about the Patriots system is,
08:55because the quarterback controls it,
08:56he tells them where to go.
08:58And I think what happened,
08:59what got away from Drake a little bit,
09:01was if you make the call one way
09:03and you know that leaves you an issue the other way,
09:06you got to confirm that when the ball snapped.
09:08And there was twice.
09:09Yes.
09:10One was on the strip sack
09:11and one was another one where Witherspoon came in,
09:13where according to what I saw in the film,
09:16what Drake did,
09:18he probably should have, you know,
09:19went to a hot route or a sight adjust.
09:21But I think the one thing with Seattle,
09:24because they blitz so rarely,
09:26sometimes you get lulled to sleep
09:27and you're like, all right, I made the right call.
09:29Let me drop back.
09:29And all of a sudden there's Witherspoon in your lap
09:31and it kind of catches up on you.
09:33So, you know, he could say that they had a tell or whatever,
09:36and you would know better than me from a defensive perspective.
09:39Is it a way the guy's in a stance?
09:40Is it a way, you know, the way they're communicating?
09:43Maybe you could definitely get something like that.
09:45But the way that that protection system works,
09:47you can call the same protection
09:49and based on how you mic it,
09:51you could do it three different ways.
09:52So I don't know if that's what it was
09:54or if it was the stance, whatever that might be.
09:57Brian, so, you know,
09:58the press conference is down at Gillette today.
10:00Drake spoke, Mike spoke,
10:01and there was a lot of big picture stuff being talked about.
10:04And in particular to Drake, I want to ask you,
10:07you know, you made a comment, I think,
10:08in week three maybe,
10:10where you said Drake had grown like three years worth
10:13in one year.
10:14Well, now he has all this experience under his belt.
10:17He is the franchise QB.
10:18He played in a Super Bowl.
10:20What can he accomplish this offseason?
10:22Like, what can he learn from Josh McDaniels
10:23year two in the offense?
10:25Like, how big can this offseason be?
10:28I think it's huge.
10:29I mean, sometimes actually,
10:30I think getting away from the game
10:32and not even thinking about it.
10:34Like, if I'm Drake May,
10:36it's been a long year.
10:37You're 23 years old.
10:39You basically took over midseason last year,
10:42and it's been a whirlwind since then.
10:44And people don't realize,
10:45like, you've basically played football
10:47for an extra, you know, two months.
10:49And it's a lot of football.
10:50And I would get away.
10:52I wouldn't watch, you know, any film.
10:54I wouldn't think about football.
10:55And sometimes, like, there's, like, this weird, like, osmosis
10:58where you come back after not thinking about it
11:01on that first day.
11:02And it just sinks in your brain.
11:04It's like going to sleep at night
11:05after studying for a long test
11:06and just letting it sit in.
11:08And I think when he comes back,
11:10he's talked about having to feel like
11:12he had to earn the right to be a leader.
11:14Well, he's earned it now.
11:15And I expect him to come back
11:17and basically hold everybody to a standard
11:19that is a championship standard.
11:21And to be able to do that at 24 years old,
11:23coming off the season that he's had,
11:25I mean, they're going to start stacking
11:27these years together.
11:28And his ownership over the offense
11:30is going to be accelerated because of that.
11:33You know, Brian, I'm just, I am curious.
11:35You're right.
11:36I expect him to be more different
11:39than he's ever been, more confident,
11:42more just, I don't know, verbal.
11:45And I guess what I want to ask you is,
11:48what do you think his,
11:50based on, it's a small sampling, just two years,
11:52but when you watch him,
11:53what do you think he's capable of?
11:55Like, what do you, when he, his skill set,
11:57his demeanor, his disposition,
11:59his intangibles,
12:00his overall skill set,
12:02what do you think is the potential for him
12:05in this league?
12:08And if not next year, but just in a career,
12:09like, what do you see out of him
12:11that you think he could be this type of player?
12:13I mean, I expect him to be year in, year out,
12:17a candidate for the MVP.
12:18I expect him year in and year out
12:20to push this team to be contenders,
12:24not only in the AFC East,
12:25but in the entire AFC conference.
12:27And I think the beauty of Josh's situation
12:31is he's not trying to leave anytime soon,
12:34I don't think.
12:35And I don't, and I think that's great for Drake.
12:37I think the way that the offense will grow with him
12:40and his understanding of how, you know,
12:43it's his response to,
12:44like, he basically got thrown in the fire this year.
12:47I mean, people forget he only had, you know,
12:50whatever, 12 OTAs and one training camp
12:52to figure this out.
12:53And then along the course of a season.
12:55So I think the ownership over the system,
12:57it's going to continue to grow in his skillset.
13:01I think the one thing that he can continue to work on
13:03is his feet in the pocket
13:04and really settle those down.
13:07And then the ability to know when to take off and run,
13:10he's already shown that he's kind of
13:12got a good feel for that.
13:13So really the sky is the limit.
13:15I think you're looking at a guy
13:16who is going to be considered a top five quarterback
13:19for the next 10 to 12 years.
13:21Brian, you know that life comes at you fast in the NFL.
13:23One day you're in the Superbowl
13:24and then a couple of weeks later,
13:25it's the combine and free agency
13:27in the off season team building.
13:29So if I made you, I'm giving you Elliot Wolfe's job.
13:32See you Elliot.
13:33Yep.
13:33Brian, come on in.
13:34Brian, come on in.
13:35What are the three areas you are targeting most
13:38for the Patriots this off season?
13:41Well, first and foremost, I looked at it today,
13:43you know, upcoming free agents.
13:44I'm trying to lock up chase on right now.
13:47I thought that guy played his butt off
13:49and earned the right to be able to get paid.
13:52Now I'm not going to break the bank
13:54and make him a, you know,
13:54a top 10 highest paid edge rushers,
13:57but I'm signing chase on.
13:59I think you have to sit there
14:00and I know Mike came out today
14:03and said, Will's our left tackle.
14:05Okay, fine.
14:06I'm okay with that.
14:07He stood by a lot of,
14:08a lot of guys this year
14:10and they, it paid off for him.
14:11You know, Mondray, Boragallis.
14:13Okay.
14:13I'm making sure that Morgan Moses is 35.
14:17What does that mean?
14:17And so maybe you draft a guy
14:19who's another tackle free agency.
14:21Are you looking at maybe trying to add
14:24a true number one receiver?
14:26And I've kind of been along the lines.
14:28Like I like the group that they have,
14:30but is AJ Brown become available?
14:32I don't know.
14:33I'm definitely, you know,
14:35leaving no stone unturned there.
14:37And then ultimately,
14:38I love the tight end position,
14:40but can you find a guy who can be young
14:42and kind of use that youth
14:45to really push that group?
14:46Like Hunter's awesome.
14:47I love Austin Hooper,
14:49but can you find some injection of youth
14:51in that position,
14:52in that position group?
14:54The defense to me,
14:55like you're going to have to pay Gonzalez.
14:57I'd pay him right now.
14:58I'd offer him, you know,
14:59the highest paid contract
15:00for a corner out there
15:01because it's only going to get higher.
15:03He's a true star in this league.
15:05Like I'm focusing on the homegrown guys first,
15:08and then I'm going through the draft
15:10and looking at maybe adding some more youth,
15:13especially in the skill position rooms
15:15to grow with Drake May,
15:17because you know,
15:18Drake's going to be here for a long time.
15:19Try to find some young talent.
15:21Keep putting those guys around him.
15:23All right, Brian.
15:25I'm fascinated to see how these contracts go.
15:27Oh, yeah.
15:28Are you going to pay up?
15:29So is Gonzo.
15:29Robert, are you going to pay up?
15:31I mean, Gonzo, like he's top two,
15:34and I don't think he's two anymore.
15:36I mean, just what he did to JSN.
15:39You got it.
15:40Like the longer he does,
15:41we've seen this in the league.
15:42The longer you wait with these guys,
15:44the more expensive it gets.
15:45Look at what Micah Parsons
15:46and what happened down in Dallas.
15:48Like sign, I would pull Gonzo in right now
15:51before he leaves the office.
15:52I'm like, what do you want?
15:53Let's do it.
15:54Let's get it before, you know,
15:55someone else pays somebody
15:57some ridiculous money,
15:59and we know that you're better than they are.
16:01Brian, what do you think of that,
16:02the coverage he had?
16:04I mean, where he almost intercepts the ball.
16:05He undercuts JSN on the goal line.
16:08I was thinking with those field conditions,
16:09because you could tell
16:10it was probably a little bit wet,
16:12and he planted that foot
16:13and broke and undercut it,
16:15almost intercepted it.
16:16That's high-level stuff, right?
16:18He's just, you know what it is,
16:20and it reminds me so much of Steph Gilmore.
16:21He's so confident in his skills.
16:24He never panics, ever.
16:25Like, it takes a very unique person
16:27when you're covering the best guy in the league,
16:30the Offensive Player of the Year,
16:33and to let him go past you.
16:35Right, right.
16:35And to know that he has the ability
16:37to get back with his speed and undercut.
16:39I mean, look at the one on Shahid.
16:42I mean, Shahid's arguably the fastest guy in the NFL.
16:45Had a step on him.
16:46Yep.
16:46He had a step on him.
16:47He never panics.
16:48He goes like he's with,
16:50he's like the receiver
16:50and bats the ball down.
16:52Like, to me, Gonzo's not going to be a guy
16:54who gets a lot of picks.
16:56The reason why is because
16:57no one's going to want to throw his way.
16:58So, he's like Steph Gilmore.
17:01He's like Revis.
17:02He's big.
17:03You know what I love about him?
17:04And I know you do, Ted.
17:05You do too, Ted.
17:06He comes up and hits the running backs.
17:08He's not afraid to tackle people.
17:10Like, he's, the way a corner should play
17:13is exactly everything Christian Gonzalez is.
17:15Love it.
17:16Brian, want to thank you
17:17for the entirety of the season.
17:18Awesome stuff, brother.
17:19You've been great giving us insight
17:20into Josh and Drake
17:22and everything.
17:23Awesome.
17:23You guys, you and Andrew's podcast
17:26in all offseason.
17:26Does that keep going?
17:27Is that year round?
17:28Yeah, we recorded the final one
17:31for the season today.
17:32We will have, like,
17:33probably a free agent special,
17:35probably a draft special,
17:36hopefully some offseason stuff.
17:38We're trying to get out
17:38on the golf course
17:39and do something fun
17:40and get some players out there
17:42and, you know,
17:42have a few holes
17:43where we get out there with them
17:44and, you know,
17:45get a little more fun with it.
17:47That's the thing that I want to do.
17:48All right, Ted's in.
17:50Ted's chomping at the bit.
17:51Yeah.
17:51Dude, I want to ride
17:52y'all's coattails.
17:53You and DA, man,
17:54y'all have crushed it.
17:55Good, good congratulations
17:57and good luck, bud,
17:58and thank you again
17:59for joining us all season.
18:00We've gotten a lot smarter
18:02and we appreciate your time, bud.
18:04Hey, man, I appreciate it.
18:05You guys are awesome.
18:06Thanks, Brian.
18:06We'll talk to you.
18:07See you, man.
18:07See you, man.
18:08Patriots, former Patriots quarterback
18:10Brian Hoyer
18:11with some insight there.
18:12Up next, we'll get your phone calls
18:13and react to a couple of those things
18:15that Brian Hoyer said
18:16here on WEI Afternoons.
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