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00:00Joining us now on the phone is Tommy Curran, who on WEI Afternoons is brought to you by Drains by
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00:08by your New England Chevy dealers, Together Let's Drive, by Shaw's and Star Market,
00:12proud to be local since 1860, and Tommy Curran is powered by Verizon.
00:17Mr. Curran, how are you, sir?
00:19I'm great, thanks for having me. How's everything today with you, Kat?
00:23We're good, buddy.
00:23The fellows are good. We're feeling very patriotic today, Tom,
00:26because the U.S. hockey team's start and Olympics are going on,
00:30so it's kind of helping our Patriots post-mortem right now, having that.
00:35Okay, well, we'll all be okay. We'll all be okay. Springs around the corner.
00:39Now, let's get right into what happened on Sunday.
00:42The baseline question I want to start with, Tom,
00:45what was the one biggest differentiating factor between the Patriots and the Seahawks on Sunday?
00:52Poise, maturity, physical strength.
00:56You said one.
00:58Keep going.
00:59You did. No, you said one.
01:01So I think it would be they were ready.
01:05They were ready mentally. They were ready physically.
01:08They felt – I think the Patriots might have run into a little bit of an imposter complex.
01:14Is that what it's called?
01:15I think so. Yep, that's what it's called. Yep.
01:17Yeah. I think they might have run into that a little bit.
01:20But, you know, they talked themselves into being one thing,
01:23and they started to realize early in the game, holy crap, we're not really that team.
01:27And when you watch the mic up, which I'm sure many Patriots fans will,
01:30and they're going to enjoy it because it's going to give you great insight into,
01:35you know, how this 2025 team and the great story that it was unfolded.
01:39But you can hear it in Mike's voice as he's talking to them during this 41-minute NFL films thing.
01:45I think it might have just come out today.
01:48He's basically just trying to convince them, we got this.
01:50Relax. We're okay. We're okay.
01:52Hey, the same way many of us may have said to our kids coming back to the dugout after they
01:58just saw a 12-year-old throw at 71.
02:00That's so true.
02:01Dude.
02:02You're okay. You're okay.
02:04You know what? He's not going to hit you.
02:07You might not get a hit, but you're not going to get hit at least.
02:11Hey, Tom, I'm just – you know, I'm curious.
02:15Look, you know, we talked about it after the game in our postgame the other night.
02:18You know, the blame pie, who do you blame it on?
02:21So there's blame to go around for that offensive performance.
02:24But just specifically about Josh in that game, you know, is it an excuse that you're willing to hear
02:34when you maybe hear people say, well, hey, the QB is only in his second year.
02:39The left tackle is only 22.
02:41They started two rookies on the left side.
02:43When it comes to not having the adjustments, not maybe going to hurry up, not going to empty,
02:48maybe not having just answers to what the Seahawks were doing.
02:52Is that an excusable excuse to say that, hey, there's young guys and they couldn't –
03:00there's only so much they could do.
03:02Is that something you sign off on?
03:06Yeah.
03:07It's plausible to start there.
03:10It is plausible to start there.
03:12But, you know, with your nine-year-old who just came back and saw a 71-mile-an-hour fastball,
03:18you might want to talk to him about trying to get a butt down.
03:23Exactly.
03:23Maybe put your shoulder out there.
03:25I mean, you have to come up with some kind of a different strategy.
03:27And I do understand what was difficult, I think, for Josh in terms of making the pivot
03:35was that they would have blips of competent play.
03:39Hey, you'd get a six-yard run from Ramondre.
03:42You'd think that you were – like the first two drives, those were the most prolific drives
03:45of the game.
03:46I think they gained 58 on the first drive before bogging down thanks to a 10-yard sack.
03:50And then when they come back to the sideline after that, Teddy, I'm sure that, okay, well,
03:54if we just held up on that and they didn't take a 10-yard sack, it would be 3-3.
03:57Or, hell, it might be 7-3.
03:59But then it kept happening one play every drive that would short-circuit what they were doing.
04:06Not like they were ripping off yards, but they'd be progress, progress, boom, done, off.
04:12So my long way of saying this is it seemed like I understand him being slow to adjust
04:18because it felt like they believed that we're just not performing the way we can.
04:27And, in truth, it was they were just not capable of performing the way that they thought.
04:33And Josh maybe should have had a better break glass in case of emergency plan than the one he employed.
04:40I mean, they tried to roll him out.
04:41He got caught when he tried to roll out.
04:43He tried to scramble.
04:44He got caught in ways we didn't see.
04:48They couldn't run up the middle, but they gained nine yards with Travion Henderson on one run.
04:52I think he gained nine yards, and then he gained zero, and then May throws it too hard to booty,
04:57and you have to punt.
04:59It's just Josh definitely deserves, and I'm sure he's going through it himself,
05:04second-guessing of, you know, why'd they get out of that faster?
05:08So, yeah, it's absolutely fair.
05:11It's not a cop-out to say that they're young.
05:14There were injuries.
05:17I don't think that that's a bad place to start, but you also have to prepare for worst-case scenario.
05:23Tom, were you surprised with the way that Drake May struggled in the game?
05:28And going forward, do you believe the way the Seahawks played him and the Patriots' offense
05:34and the game plan that they had, that that offers a blueprint to how to defend him
05:39and that possibly reveals holes in his game or armor?
05:45I wasn't necessarily surprised because it's not like I have never seen Drake play like that before.
05:52That's how he looked against the Steelers.
05:55You know, those were mistakes that he kind of made against the Raiders.
05:58Those were panicky plays.
06:00It's been months since I saw him play like that, and in neither of those games did he never have
06:07a look of competency.
06:11I mean, there was a look of terror and resignation.
06:15Terror overstates it.
06:17There was a look of concern, profound concern, that, holy crap, I don't think I'm going to be able to
06:23do this.
06:24Again, I'm overstating.
06:26Holy crap, this is harder than I thought.
06:31That I haven't seen really all year.
06:34So that was a little bit of a surprise, but I could see it because I think that all of
06:38us in anything we do,
06:39when we're having a hard time, we might feel the same way.
06:42So that is part.
06:44And, no, I don't think there will be a blueprint because it was pressure-related, I believe.
06:52I think if you see something work, if you do something, Fitzy, that works week after week after week, and
07:01then it doesn't work, you say,
07:05okay, well, if I go against this and I have to do this, I can get better at that.
07:09He played a harder course.
07:10With golf, he played a harder course.
07:13You know, yeah, too much wind.
07:15Too much wind.
07:15Okay, I'm not going to hit driver in the wind like that.
07:17I'm going to knock something down.
07:20So he played a harder course, and he'll be more ready for that course the next time he plays it.
07:24Tommy Curran, NBC Sports Boston, with us here on WEI Afternoons.
07:28Tom, on the defensive side of the football, another performance in which the Patriots defense had an opposing quarterback on
07:36skates, at least.
07:37I think a worse QBR than Drake May for Sam Darnold during the course of the game.
07:41So what about the Patriots game plan against Seattle defensively stood out to you and impressed you most?
07:47I just think their ability to get the very most out of their people because it's the game, because it's
07:54the way they work.
07:54As Teddy would tell you, hand and glove, everybody, every finger seems to know what the other fingers are doing.
08:00Yeah, they lost contain a couple times.
08:02Anthony Jennings lost contain early on a run.
08:04I'm not sure who was on the right-hand side on that long Kenneth Walker run where Christian Gonzalez ran
08:09him out of bounds.
08:11But I thought overall they played really well like a hand and glove.
08:17And maybe as the game wore on, they decided they needed to try and make plays.
08:21It's interesting, there wasn't a massive time of possession gap for a fair portion of the game until later on.
08:27So I don't think that they were getting tired.
08:31But I just think that they, I do think that they play, their collective talent plays above their individual talent
08:37because of the ability of Zach Kaur.
08:41I think we should credit now, given all that he's done, of him to read the game.
08:46And to read what is working and to stick with it if it is.
08:50You know, Tom, I'm curious.
08:52I just still got, I feel like we could be moving on to the future, but I just still have
08:56more questions about this game.
08:57No, no, it's a good, I love the Super Bowl.
09:00It's great, it's everything, it's a culmination.
09:02Let's keep going then.
09:03All right, so just some of the decisions, the coaching decisions.
09:06I thought the offense was very conservative to start.
09:09You know, and okay, all right, to start, I can see them maybe doing that, being conservative.
09:13But then to start this third quarter and down 12-zip, you know, they come out and go three and
09:19out.
09:19And then they have a chance on their own 41-yard line to maybe go for it on fourth and
09:23one.
09:24They opted to punt right there.
09:26Did you agree with that?
09:27Did you think they could have been more aggressive in their decision-making?
09:32They didn't challenge what I thought maybe an early out-of-bounds catch by the Seahawks.
09:37Just your overall thoughts on the coaching in that game.
09:43I thought it was protective of the situation.
09:48All right, well, we can go for it here, fourth and one.
09:51But we're not getting dink right now.
09:55So, we go for it.
09:56We give them a short field and they're 12 yards away from another three points, at least.
10:02It's 15, then we're screwed.
10:04Why don't we just punt it away?
10:05Defense is playing great.
10:06They're not moving the ball.
10:07They get 12 yards after we punt it, then we're still okay.
10:11I guess I would say they're extending their – and this is the reality of it.
10:17Okay, we're going to extend the drive for what?
10:21It's a weird way of looking at it, but okay.
10:23So, now we have first and 10 at our own 43.
10:26It's not like we're knocking on the door.
10:28Right, right.
10:30And that's the way I felt, you know, Brian was talking as the game went along.
10:35Brian Hoyer, when we were in there, he goes, ah, this turnover's killed us.
10:38I'm like, ah, I don't know.
10:40I don't think they did.
10:41I don't think if you didn't turn the ball over on those occasions, you were about to embark on a
10:46drive that was going to get you points.
10:48It really felt like a bleak offensive existence.
10:53And I think, Teddy, there was a realization that it was going to be hard offensively.
10:59And as a result, they were going to play as aggressively as they could on defense and not do anything
11:04to compromise themselves on offense.
11:06And it kind of worked.
11:08When you think how long it's stated, 3-0, 6-0, 9-0, 12-0, they kind of were getting
11:15away with it for a while.
11:17It was interesting, though.
11:18There was a, on this mic'd up, which, again, I suggest you guys listen to, one of the Seahawks defenders.
11:25And they were appropriately confident on their sideline.
11:28I don't think they were cocky or ridiculous.
11:32They go, they know they can't move the ball on us.
11:34They know they're screwed.
11:36And that was kind of clear.
11:41Yeah, so, Tom, watching the offensive line struggle as mightily as they did, not just against the Seahawks, but on
11:48the postseason on the whole.
11:50I mean, they gave up 21 sacks, obviously, and Will Campbell sort of became the lightning rod or the linchpin
11:55of people's frustrations with the offensive line.
11:59What would you gauge your level of concern?
12:02I don't know.
12:02Go 0-10 with it.
12:03Your level of concern with needing to fix or adjust the offensive line going forward following a difficult postseason run.
12:14If you want to win a Super Bowl, it has to be a 9 or a 10.
12:18If you want to win eight games, it's probably a 3.
12:22I mean, you have to get younger at right tackle.
12:24Not that Morgan Moses was a disaster all year by any stretch of the imagination.
12:29But if you want to get back to the Super Bowl, I don't know if you want a 35-year
12:32-old guy as being your full-time answer.
12:37And one who's going to probably lose a little bit of weight and get a little more mobile.
12:41I'm sure that the notion of moving Jared Wilson into center, although Garrett Bradbury had a really good year.
12:48You know, all of it has to be investigated if you want to be a Super Bowl team.
12:52That's it, 50.
12:53I mean, you want to be good?
12:54You want to be fine?
12:55That's okay.
12:56If you want to be an elite team, to go right to left with a 34-year-old, a heavier
13:04fella, a castoff from Minnesota who played great, a guy who's physically not prepared, and another guy who's in Jared
13:13Wilson, and another guy who was playing with an injury and does have some less than ideal measurables, but a
13:20number of great other attributes, you've got to try and get better the way you can.
13:25Again, that's 9,000% the reason every time people bring up J.J. McCarthy, you want to do J
13:30.J. McCarthy?
13:31No, I didn't.
13:31I wanted a friggin' tackle and a quarterback.
13:33I couldn't watch it anymore.
13:35I could not watch games not even be able to be participated in by the Patriots offensively because they couldn't
13:42block anybody.
13:43So that, to me, it's always the offensive line, or you're going to come to a point where you cannot
13:48friggin' compete.
13:50Tom, we led the show talking about the case of Stephon Diggs, who, despite having a three-year deal, a
13:56lot of guaranteed money now paid out, so there are limited penalties against potentially parting ways.
14:02So the two-parter, based on our conversation earlier on today, how integral was Diggs to the team's success, both
14:08on-field and off, and how certain are you he is a Patriot in 2026?
14:13I think it was vital in terms of giving a level of veteran confidence swagger to the team, and I
14:21know that Bill often would scoff at swagger over the years so that after 20 years, we didn't come to
14:27really believe that it mattered.
14:29But I think on a team like this, this year, the ability to believe in yourself before you've seen something,
14:34as Mike said a couple different times, I think Diggs helped with that.
14:39I think Diggs might have helped these guys think, Diggs, you know what, you can do this, but I've never
14:43done it.
14:44Ah, you're fine!
14:46I think that Diggs helped with that.
14:49So I think he was integral to the success of a team, and probably to Drake May, too, because the
14:57cultural aspect of the team, too, where Diggs is a superstar in the league that Drake May has watched, and
15:03his ability to speak to May and bump him up probably helped.
15:07The likelihood he's on the team next year, everybody's replaceable, as Frabel said the other day very well.
15:13They're looking for better and cheaper all the time, and the veterans have to figure out a way to send
15:19that off and make that search harder.
15:23So the Patriots could get better.
15:25There are better wide receivers out there than Stephon Diggs.
15:29Are they less expensive?
15:31Probably not.
15:32So what do you want from your lead wide receiver?
15:37That's what they're going to have to answer.
15:38I don't want to put a percentage on it, because I haven't really talked to anybody, and I don't have
15:42a sense.
15:44Okay, Tom, last question for me, and this is not me asking this.
15:50I'm asking this question for a friend.
15:52Would the Patriots have been better off losing in the divisional round or in the AOC championship game, as opposed
15:57to going to the Super Bowl and getting embarrassed like they did?
16:00What do you think?
16:02Does your friend have an opinion?
16:04What's that?
16:05Does your friend already have an opinion?
16:07He has a strong opinion on it.
16:08Mighty unpopular one, some would say.
16:11Oh.
16:13Well, if your friend says that, no, you always want to get to the Super Bowl and get to the
16:17final game, because only a coward would want to lose before they get tested completely,
16:24then I agree with him.
16:25If your friend says that it's best to hide under your little tent before somebody shows, like, your friend is
16:35probably somebody who wouldn't mind seeing somebody have a clear path to dunking in an NBA game.
16:43As opposed to being the guy who's like, you know what?
16:45They're paying me to challenge this guy who's trying to dunk.
16:47I'm going to challenge him.
16:48And then he goes, oh, you're going to put on a poster.
16:51Damn, he's doing his job.
16:54Hey, no, but all kidding aside, just real quick.
16:57Like, the cycle, and I'm not going to tell, I don't want to tell my friend what you say, because
17:01he'll be horribly embarrassed because he respects the hell out of you.
17:04He'll never hear it.
17:05Well, he probably thinks I'm an idiot, didn't he?
17:07Just the psychological, like, I mean, like, okay, they lost, all right?
17:12You don't see them having some hangover.
17:14This, like, Drake May all of a sudden is going to be, you know, ruined from this.
17:19This is just a...
17:20I mean, Teddy, think about it.
17:22What would be more disastrous?
17:24Losing to Jarrett Stidham.
17:25You want that?
17:26And I'm not yelling at you.
17:27What do you want to lose at home to Houston with C.J. Stroud vomiting completely down his jersey?
17:34Yep.
17:34You...
17:34I agree.
17:35I mean, you want to lose in the last game and say you got there and then have people wonder
17:39whether or not you're the worst Super Bowl representative of all time.
17:42And they're not even close, by the way.
17:44No.
17:47So, no, you got to get to the last game.
17:49The last game.
17:50I mean, you want to play Pebble Beach.
17:52You want to play in the last group on Sunday.
17:54You might shoot an 88.
17:57It's so true.
17:58But you were out there.
17:59It's so true.
17:59You may have to pull a 10-cup McAvoy and put 12 in the water before you get that hole
18:03-in-one.
18:04There, Tommy.
18:05But, you know, do what you got to do.
18:07Last one for me as well.
18:09Yeah.
18:09I get you.
18:11Last one for me real quick.
18:12Just your final thoughts on the job Mike Vrabel did this year.
18:15I thought the glimpses into the way that he conducted and composed himself, winning coach of the year, that heartbreaking
18:24but incredibly inspiring video of him saying 307 days, boys, we're all going to get pissed off together.
18:30And then thanking the media for the great job you guys did.
18:33I almost had to, like, rewind and play that bet.
18:35Did the head coach of the Patriots just thank the media for the job they did?
18:39I thought it was – I give him such an A-plus for everything, but I just wanted to give
18:43you a quick chance to offer final thoughts on the job Vrabel did this year before we turned the page.
18:53Good enough.
18:54Oh.
18:55Lots and speechless.
18:56Wow.
18:56We lost him, man.
18:57All right.
18:58Sorry.
18:58No, no, no.
18:58You got me.
18:59You got me.
18:59You got me.
18:59You got me.
19:00You got me.
19:01Okay.
19:01I had to get up to TV, so I was turning on the shower, and I didn't want the shower
19:04noise to come on while you were talking.
19:07I love it.
19:07So I hit mute, and then my wife –
19:08Inside radio, I love it.
19:09Oh, yeah.
19:10Then my wife called in, so all I could see was hold and accept and then accept.
19:16And you know how that question totally flumasses you.
19:18You're like, what does that mean?
19:19What if I do this?
19:20And then I froze.
19:21Wow.
19:22We've all been there.
19:22Just a window into the creative process.
19:25I think that Mike – I don't know if he'll ever be able to have a season like that again.
19:33He really tapped into what I think is – we'll find out, but might be his superpower as somebody who's
19:43able to relate, motivate, connect.
19:46In fact, he totally deserves Coach of the Year for really imbuing these players and coaches like Zach Kaur, for
19:57instance, with a sense of we can do this.
20:02We're all right.
20:02We can do this.
20:03Look at all these guys.
20:04You know, does Doug Marone really know Josh McDaniels?
20:08Did all the other offensive line coaches really know each other?
20:13Probably not.
20:14They probably didn't know each other very well at all.
20:17Did the players know each other?
20:18No, they didn't.
20:20Garrett Bradbury probably didn't know Morgan Moses and Michael Wynum.
20:24All down the line.
20:25So really a remarkable job and appreciated the chance to cover him the same way that I appreciated all the
20:34opportunities to cover the successful teams that Bill ran.
20:37And the great years that I had covering Bill when he was engaged and transparent – and he was at
20:45times for a long portion of his tenure – and able to articulate things to us and help us understand
20:51football.
20:51So I couldn't be luckier to cover this franchise.
20:55And I mean that when I say I don't care if you covered the 20s and 50s Yankees or the
20:59Canadians or the Celtics or whoever you covered.
21:02I don't think there's ever been any better franchise to cover for the experience in this one.
21:08All right, Tom.
21:09We've kept you from your shower long enough.
21:11So thank you for the time today and congratulations on another great season following along with this team.
21:16We'll talk to you again next week.
21:17Thanks, TC.
21:18All right, guys.
21:19Talk to you soon.
21:20That is Tommy Curran joining us here on WEI Afternoon.
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