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Mike Dussault from Patriots.com joins Christian Arcand with the latest on all things Pats.
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00:00like a Buddhist. Christian Arcand Show here at WEEI. Live in our Brighton studios.
00:09Patriots putting out their injury report, contradicting their head coach a little bit,
00:15and flying high here after a big win in Orchard Park. And for more on that, let's bring in our
00:19guest from Patriots.com. On the guest hotline, of course, the great Mike Dussault, who joins us here
00:23on the Christian Arcand Show. Deuce, how we doing tonight, buddy?
00:26No, I'm doing great, Arcand. Thanks for having me on.
00:28Of course. Great to have you, and great to be talking to you after a win, a much-needed win
00:33over the Buffalo Bills in Buffalo, a game that I think is going to, if this season continues
00:39in a positive direction, be looked at as the real turning point, much like that same game
00:43last year. It does seem like these two seasons are playing out very similarly, does it not?
00:48Yeah, it was a remarkable effort. I mean, I don't know if anybody saw that coming from Drake,
00:54where it seemed like he seemed to turn things around in a game, but it was great to see
00:58him looking comfortable in the pocket, you know, connecting with Dobbs. And it wasn't
01:03perfect, but they showed some resilience, and it was impressive, and, you know, great
01:07to have Buffalo their first loss there at Highmark Stadium.
01:10Yeah, no question about it. A Buffalo team that certainly contributed to their own demise,
01:14I would say. But as far as what the Patriots did well, it begins and ends, certainly, with
01:20Drake May. What did you see from him that had been lacking in the first three games?
01:25Yeah, I just, I thought it got kick-started when he broke the pocket there and had a nice
01:30run right off the bat. I feel like that kind of helped him maybe settle in, but, you know,
01:34his legs were a factor. That was great. I think he's always more effective when he's, you know,
01:39able to run a little bit. And you saw him just looking comfortable in the pocket, going through
01:43reads, finding, you know, Dobbs for that touchdown, going through things, getting on the, you know,
01:47the backside there. It was impressive. And just, like I said, encouraging to see, oh,
01:52there it is. That's the guy that, you know, was just about the MVP last season. So, great
01:57effort. And, you know, hopefully he can continue to build on it, but really promising.
02:02Were things starting to take a turn over there? I asked Doug Kyde this the other day, because
02:06I think him and Callahan do a good job of capturing what's going on in that locker room. But getting
02:11off to the start that they got off to, getting pants the way they did against Jacksonville,
02:16did you get the sense that there was not like a mutiny beginning, but that just, you know,
02:20guys were down that, you know, maybe a little bit more than they were at this point last year
02:23after a couple of tough losses? No, not really. I think, you know, these guys know, sometimes it's
02:29up and down early on. You don't really know who you are. And, you know, I think they had some
02:33injuries right out of the gate. I think they were really hoping, I mean, we all had high hopes for
02:37A.J. Brown. He looked great in the summer. And, you know, demoralizing to have that happen to you.
02:42So, you know, I think you're seeing a play out around the rest of the NFL. And, you know,
02:46something usually to be expected. Sometimes teams race out to this great start. Everybody feels great.
02:50And then, you know, things can go sideways. So, like I said, hopefully they can use the
02:54Buffalo win to continue, you know, to build on that. But it definitely felt like they needed
02:58that game for sure. And, you know, one and three, looking up at Buffalo, that'd be a tough
03:03spot to be in, you know, at this point in the season. No question about it. We're talking with
03:07Mike DeSalle here, Patriots.com. The Patriots taking on the Raiders next week. And an interesting
03:12thing happened today. Early this morning, you heard Mike Vrabel say that there was no chance
03:18that Ramondre Stevenson was going to practice today, that he might be able to play on Sunday,
03:21but there's no chance he was going to practice today. And then the injury report came out and
03:25he practiced today. He was a limited participant in practice today. He wasn't a DMP. What happened
03:30there? And how come Vrabel didn't know the status of his running back?
03:34Yeah, well, it's interesting. I mean, I think that it all goes down to how much, you know,
03:37leeway there is to limited. And, you know, I know he wasn't out there at the start of practice
03:40for, you know, the part that reporters get to see. But, you know, did he come out later? I mean,
03:45that's happened a lot during training camp where, you know, especially veterans like Morgan Moses,
03:49all of a sudden, you know, halfway from practice, when things really pick up, he comes up. So,
03:53you know, I thought it was a promising sign. I mean, Ramondre Stevenson is such an important
03:57player to this team, you know, especially on, you know, all three downs on offense,
04:01pass protection. And I think you saw him start to pick up a little steam. So it'd be a big
04:06blow,
04:06you know, if he is injured. So I just, I thought it was promising that, you know, maybe he was
04:10at least
04:10able to get out there and do a little bit. Certainly same way with Matt Collins, getting
04:15to see him in the locker room today. I mean, you know, we all kind of thought that looked like
04:19a
04:19major injury when he pulled up like he did. So great to see, you know, that they're at least
04:24around, but I mean, still four cornerbacks mispracticed today. So that's a major area of
04:29concern right now. Yeah, certainly on the offense, we'll get to the corners and what's going on in
04:34the defense here in a minute. But as far as the offense is concerned, Dan Graziano today wrote that
04:39the Patriots could be in the market for offensive linemen, potentially. We heard the Tyreek Hill
04:44rumors a couple of days ago and Vrabel answering questions about maybe getting the wide receiver.
04:48And then we find out Jamal Williams is working out with the Patriots here at running back.
04:53Is there any fire to this smoke here? I mean, is there potentially just to counteract these
04:59injuries, maybe a move on the horizon, Deuce? I mean, I think right now it points to injuries
05:05to me. I mean, especially with Ramondre, like I said, I mean, he's so important and, you know,
05:09it brought Corey Kiner in and, you know, he's had a little bit of flash, but hasn't gotten many
05:12opportunities. You know, we did see A.J. Brown in the locker room today, too, though. So I think
05:18that is the big piece that you're kind of holding your breath on before you start thinking about
05:23making moves. But, you know, as far as the offensive line, I thought Ben Brown did a pretty
05:27good job. You know, they've gotten some depth there. Hopefully those guys are able to, you know,
05:31hold the fort on when he's a big loss there.
05:34Yeah, certainly. So it sounds like you're saying probably not. You're not anticipating
05:39because the Ravens just made a trade. They just traded for Pro Bowl Center. So, you know,
05:42there is a market right now. There is some stuff buzzing around. It's not like it's completely
05:46out of the question, right?
05:47No, no, absolutely not. I would just say let's hold out a couple weeks and, you know, get a sense
05:52of if A.J. Brown's able to come, you know, start practicing next week and signs are pouring
05:56towards him returning, then, you know, great. But I think one thing we've seen in the last couple
06:01years especially is that they're always kind of aggressive. I mean, any time like these
06:05receivers have come available, they seem to be in the mixed form. So I expect they're always
06:09doing their homework. You can definitely use some depth at running back too with questions
06:14around Ramondre.
06:15Yeah, no question about it. All right, let's talk about the defense because while May and
06:19the offense got all the attention, the defense without two pretty important guys, both named
06:23Christian, in the lineup was able to really do a great job limiting Josh Allen on his feet,
06:28limiting those tight ends, those two great tight ends that they have there in Buffalo
06:32and you're about to play a team in the Raiders who have this triple-pronged tight end attack.
06:37What were your impressions about this team defensively and can they withstand these injuries for
06:41another week here?
06:43Yeah, I thought they pulled it together really well against, I mean, Josh Allen, it's always
06:47a roller coaster with him and you know it, you know, at any second he might go right down
06:51the field and score on you or he might hand you a gift. And so I thought they fought well.
06:56I thought Zach Corr had a really good plan, mixed and matched really well. I mean, they
07:01snuffed out one third down with really good disguise. So I think right now they're playing
07:06really coordinated football. It wasn't perfect and it never is at this point, but I think,
07:11you know, especially where you're trying to fill in with Christian Gonzalez. I mean, my
07:15God, it's totally different not having him out there, but I think they've done a good
07:19job. They seem like they're playing together and they got Josh Allen a couple times.
07:23So the young edges have been really promising too. So I think there's really good things
07:27on the defense. They just need to get healthy right now.
07:30Yeah, no question about it. All right, let's talk about the general NFL here. Deuce, I know
07:34you pay close attention and this team coming up here, the Raiders considered one of the
07:38biggest positive surprises in the NFL. Do you think they're the number one? Would you
07:42give it to maybe Cleveland? And how about on the other side, teams that are off to bad
07:46starts? What are the two biggest shockers for you so far at the quarter poll here?
07:50I mean, yeah, Cleveland's a good one. I mean, I thought they were, you know, dead and buried
07:54right out of the gate, but they've pulled together and they're showing some promise
07:57with, I mean, I think they've just been stacking good drafts and anytime a team does that, once
08:02they solve the quarterback, you know, all of a sudden it all comes to life. So I think
08:06you're seeing a little bit of that in Cleveland with Deshaun Watson kind of suddenly showing
08:11some of his former self. You know, certainly that's a big one to me. You know, as far as coming
08:17up with the Raiders, we'll see. I mean, they're definitely getting that little bit of a Patriots
08:21bump like they got last year. They went out and got a lot of free agents. So they have
08:25good, you know, competent NFL players pretty much across the roster now, starting up, you
08:30know, up front with Linderbaum at center. And, you know, what a great thing for them to
08:34have Kirk Cousins playing really well. They can be patient with Fernando Mendoza. You know,
08:38we know what that's like with Drake Mange and Kobe Brissett. So it's all the tight ends and
08:43the running back in the passing game, that seems like the big engine. And that's the
08:46question. If the Patriots can, you know, slow that down and, you know, who are they going
08:50to have a corner? Maybe it's a good week to, you know, have cornerback injuries because
08:54they really don't have outstanding threats at wide receiver. It's all, you know, Brock
08:58Bowers and company.
08:59Deuce, before we let you go here last week, the talk of everything was Drake May's shoulder,
09:03Mike Vrabel's comments about Drake May's shoulder, and then Drake May's shoulder appearing
09:07on the injury report. It's back on the report again here now. Still a full participant.
09:12It hasn't limited him in any way that's been recorded. Where do you sort of stand with all
09:17of this? And do you think that maybe what we saw on Sunday in Orchard Park wasn't so much
09:22his shoulder healing and feeling better, but maybe him clearing out the cobwebs mentally
09:27more so?
09:28I mean, I've been spoiled by like Tom Brady being probable on the injury report for like
09:3420 years. So it doesn't even faze me at this point, which is maybe a bad thing. As far as
09:39I know he looked A-OK last weekend, and hopefully he looks the same this weekend here back in
09:44Foxborough.
09:45Yeah, certainly. And so just in terms of his big turnaround, would you say that didn't have
09:50as much to do with maybe a bum shoulder as it did, you know, him being more confident
09:55or just stepping into more throws, just doing some of the smaller things better?
09:59I know you. I wish you could point to one thing, but that's what, like I said, it was
10:02so remarkable how we kind of turned around and, you know, you can say, oh, it was this
10:06or that. I mean, he ran better. He was more patient in the pocket. You know, he wasn't
10:10really drifting into pressure. They weren't really, you know, throws that he was, he was
10:14guying over people. He was, he was on target. And, you know, like I said, he looked like
10:18old Drake. So what was the secret sauce? I don't know. I mean, hopefully whatever it was,
10:24he's doing it again this week.
10:25All right, Deuce, come on down and see us. We're going to be at Six String on Sunday
10:28at 10 a.m. I don't know. When do you have to go on the air on Sunday?
10:31Oh, yeah, I can get down there. I'll swing by.
10:33All right, come on over. We'll be up on the stage. Just walk over. Everybody thinks you're
10:36Zoe already anyway.
10:37Zoe and also, yeah, they do think you're Zoe. And also, I pointed this out to you. I don't
10:41know if anyone else told you this. The Big O has a, has a podcast and his picture looks
10:45like you. It looks like he's trying to look like you is what it looks like. Has anyone else
10:49pointed that out to you yet?
10:51You're the only one. Now, when I've also gotten Rick Schroeder in my past.
10:55Ricky Schroeder, yeah.
10:57Ricky Schroeder.
10:57Silver Spons.
10:58Yeah, hopefully. But I have gotten mistaken for Zoe quite a few times. It's pretty funny.
11:02I would imagine. All right. Well, we'll see you at Six String on Sunday. Great to talk
11:06with you, buddy. Thanks so much.
11:08All right, I can't be good.
11:09All right. That's Deuce, Patriots.com, joining us here on the Christian Arcand Show. And maybe
11:14see him over at Six String, hanging out with the boys and with Meggo, too.
11:17But do a double or triple check just to make sure. Make sure. Make sure it's not Ricky
11:21Schroeder from Silver Spoons. The Big O somehow. You know what it looks like the Big O did
11:27with his picture? It looks like, you know that movie The Fly with Jeff Goldblum where he
11:33goes, he becomes a fly, basically. It looks like Big O went into that machine in The Fly
11:39and the scientist was like, all right, I'm going to pull this switch and it's going to
11:43make you look like Mike DeSalle. And then he pulled the switch and then he died before
11:47he could pull it all the way. And so it like halfway turned him into Deuce, but he still
11:50looks like Ordway. So he's like stuck in between, like Jeff Goldblum in The Fly. That's what
11:54it looks like. This is a great analogy if you know what Deuce looks like. And if you know
11:59what I'm talking about with Ordway's new podcast and the graphic on his podcast, this is the
12:02most accurate analogy maybe there's ever been in the history of radio. You just really
12:07got to know what I'm talking about.