00:00So after seeing AJ Brown and Max Crosby and listening to him talk Max Crosby on his Rush podcast or
00:07something like that, I am praying and I'm hoping that Robert Kraft understands he has to put the full-court
00:15press when it comes to getting guys of that caliber.
00:19I love looking for guys in the draft and see if you can grab a guy, but there are certain
00:24positions where you have to say, okay, we might not be able to wait because of where we are in
00:30development of our team.
00:33And when you start to see guys like some of the top players in the league talking about, hey, New
00:39England is now a destination, it is full-court press time.
00:42I know we're only a few weeks away from free agency and the National Football League, so I'm hoping that
00:48Robert Kraft, Mike Vrabel, Elliot Wolfe, all the, you know, people, power movers, don't make the mistake.
00:55You think AJ Brown is going to be playing somewhere different next season, right?
00:58There's no way you...
00:59So if you're willing to part with the capital, you're willing to pay the guy, whatever it is, 30 million
01:04bucks or whatever, you can get him.
01:06Right. How many guys go on podcasts and talk about potentially playing at other places when they know that they
01:12want to be back at the place they're at?
01:14None.
01:15None, right. So if you're doing that, and if you're the Philadelphia Eagles, you don't look at this and go,
01:19wait a second.
01:20We don't want him.
01:21Yeah, we don't want that. We don't want a guy who doesn't want to be here.
01:24Yeah.
01:24So I'm telling you, this offseason is going to be critical in that sense of what you're going to do
01:30when it comes to full-court pressing some of the top guys in the NFL.
01:35And I'm not talking about the Tyree Kills, the Mike Evans. I'm talking about real, real players that we would
01:41be like, oh, man.
01:42Where do you think Robert Kraft is this morning when it comes to spending? He has historically been reluctant to
01:50spend.
01:50I mean, what's 31st out of 32 over the last 20 years or whatever, Curtis?
01:56I think it was actually last over the entirety of his ownership, according to Seth Wickersham and Donovan.
02:02Okay, last.
02:02I think that's changed.
02:05You think he understands that without Tom Brady, he's going to have to spend and put things around Drake May.
02:11Because Drake May is not at that level yet, right?
02:13You can get away with it maybe with Josh Allen. You can get away with it, Patrick Mahomes.
02:17I don't think you can get away with Drake May just yet.
02:19And I think he was embarrassed for the seasons that they were so bad.
02:23Like, I think that Robert Kraft felt embarrassed.
02:25And so now he's saying, all right, I have to spend the money.
02:28He's like, I got a really good coach. I got a really good quarterback, but they're not Bill and Tom.
02:34Yeah, I don't think he's going to spend much money this offseason.
02:37If he does, it'll be an—if he doesn't, it'll be an absolute disappointment.
02:41We've said that every year, though.
02:43Every year we get to this point, we're like, they need to spend.
02:45And then outside of last year, they have to spend to be compliant with the CBA.
02:48But like Greg said, the difference is the reason why you didn't is because you had Tom and Bill.
02:53You don't have that no more.
02:54And you've seen success without those two.
02:57And I feel like success is, I got to spend.
03:01I spent on Milton Williams.
03:02Yeah.
03:02So I got to spend.
03:03Okay.
03:04Well, Greg, let's begin with A.J. Brown.
03:06He popped on Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski's podcast, Dudes on Dudes.
03:11And here was the discussion with A.J. Brown.
03:15First, there was a little back-and-forth comment about we're all Patriots.
03:19And then A.J. Brown talked about Mike Vrabel.
03:22Just remember, we're all Patriots.
03:24You know that, right?
03:25Are you going to be a Patriot?
03:26Oh!
03:26Are you going to be a Patriot?
03:29What's a team meeting like with Vrabel?
03:31It wouldn't be as comfortable as we are right now.
03:33Let's start there.
03:34But Vrabel is the type of coach, he's going to call on you in the meetings.
03:38He's going to make sure that you're staying engaged.
03:40And he's going to go over the keys to victory of the week.
03:42And you better know him, like, to the back of your hand.
03:44I used to write in my notebook, because at the time, I didn't really like Vrabel.
03:48I admit that.
03:49He knows that.
03:49So I used to write, I hate Vrabel.
03:51I hate Vrabel.
03:52I hate Vrabel.
03:53Right?
03:54But I was doing that to pretend like I was taking notes to look like I was engaged.
03:59But because he was so hard on me when I was a rookie, and I didn't really understand it.
04:03And so it was at the time I told Vrabel, I was like, hey, like, I'm humble already.
04:06You don't got to humble me.
04:07But I really didn't understand what he was trying to push me to be.
04:10And another little quick thing, he showed a clip.
04:12I ran like a band gate, and I scored.
04:14And he praised me.
04:15And so I was kind of feeling good about myself, right?
04:16I'm a rookie.
04:17A couple plays later, he showed me another play with a band gate, and I get tackled.
04:20And he's like, what's the difference between the first play and the second play?
04:23And he was like, you're tired.
04:24That's not going to cut it, you know?
04:25And he was like, that same mentality, what you show on the first play, you should do that
04:28all the time.
04:29Okay, if you didn't get to see it, they were hooping and hollering because when Bubz Edelman
04:34said, we're all patriots, A.J. Brown gave a big, gigantic wink.
04:39So I think it sounds like he would have interest, certainly, here.
04:47Question just becomes, are you willing to part with the draft picks?
04:52And then are you willing to pay him?
04:55And so those are two questions that only Robert Kraft can answer.
04:58And the other thing you have to realize this, right, and we talked about it earlier, a guy
05:03who is currently on a team doesn't go on a podcast and talk about how great it was playing
05:09or potentially playing for another team, right?
05:12They just don't do that because the organization he plays for is going to look at that and go
05:16like, what are you doing?
05:17Then the other thing you have to think about, if you know, like I think, A.J.
05:22Brown's not going to be in Philly.
05:23Who else needs a wide receiver?
05:25The Buffalo Bills, the Kansas City Chiefs.
05:28I don't know about the Baltimore Ravens.
05:31I think they're cool with Zay Flowers.
05:32But you have to start looking at these other teams that are in your conference,
05:36potentially in your division.
05:38So if you don't get A.J.
05:40Brown, let's say A.J.
05:41Brown goes to Buffalo.
05:43Yeah.
05:43That's a problem.
05:44Right.
05:45Now, you have no worries whatsoever about adding a player who can sometimes be difficult
05:53to this football team.
05:54None.
05:55None?
05:56None.
05:56I don't.
05:57Did you hear how he talked about, like, going on and on about how, like, I didn't really like
06:01Vrabel, you know, but he motivated me when I was a rookie.
06:04I was like, what's wrong with him?
06:06He gave me such a hard time.
06:07Yeah.
06:07Like, this is a guy who knows who your head coach is, who knows how much of a hard ass
06:12he is, and knows how to get the best out of you.
06:14Like, he knows what he's getting himself into.
06:16Is Steph Diggs, for those who might be concerned about it, I know Curtis mentioned a few weeks
06:21ago he's worried about adding A.J.
06:23Brown to this roster.
06:24Is the sample size good enough when it comes to Steph Diggs and the way Mike Vrabel has helped
06:30him avoid being a problem in the locker room if he was one before?
06:36I think that this is strictly performance.
06:39Steph Diggs is not as good as A.J.
06:41Brown.
06:42They needed an upgrade.
06:43They're going to cut Steph Diggs to save that money, and they'll reallocate it to A.J.
06:48Brown or other places, because nobody thinks the Patriots are better with Steph Diggs or
06:52A.J.
06:53Brown, and I don't think A.J.
06:54Brown comes here with Steph Diggs.
06:56Yeah, and I look at the Steph Diggs situation, and I've said this before, I think it's the,
07:02especially now, right?
07:03Everybody knows everybody in the league.
07:05You get whispers, get back to everybody.
07:07I think a lot of guys in the league, you know, when we saw Max Crosby, you see it with
07:12A.J.
07:12Brown, you see it with Steph Diggs, will say, man, that Vrabel is a hell of a dude to play
07:18for.
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