Boomer Esiason joins the show!
Boomer has a lesson for us. Can the Pats rely, this heavily, on the run all season? Does this Pats team need more playmakers?
Boomer has a lesson for us. Can the Pats rely, this heavily, on the run all season? Does this Pats team need more playmakers?
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00:00Hey, good morning. I know it's it's not as good as uh Monday
00:03morning as last week but again, another competitive game by the
00:07Patriots and you know, here's the lesson we should all learn.
00:10If there are no turnovers in a game, an NFL game is gonna be
00:15tight no matter who's playing. Well, very close. I mean, I I
00:18the the problem for me is gonna be and I you're the expert so I
00:23I want I want your response but um can you rely on just running
00:27the football all season long if you're the New England
00:30Patriots. Um you know, going into the season, I think we
00:33talked about this just exactly what they were gonna be on
00:36offense and it was gonna be anything uh exciting that it
00:39was gonna be plotting and it was gonna be close to the vest.
00:42They don't really have that many playmakers. You wanna talk
00:45about Hunter Henry having a career day. That's one thing
00:48but you know, when you look on the other side and you see
00:50Metcalf and uh Smith and Jigba, you you see, you know, top tier
00:56talent at wide receiver and the Patriots really haven't had
00:59that player since Randy Moss. So, you know, that's how far
01:02back that goes and that's part of the Patriots problem but if I
01:06were uh Gerard Mayo and I had what I had and this would be
01:11the way that I would have to play. The question is, when is
01:13Drake May gonna hit the field? Uh he's not gonna hit it this
01:16week. Maybe after this week, he hits it. Uh you know, I don't
01:19know but they just don't really have any game-breaking
01:22playmakers right now on offense. Well, Boomer, I I mean,
01:26we can clearly see that we don't have the DK Metcalf, the
01:30established wide receiver. The problem that I think the issue
01:33might be is we don't know what we have at wide receiver
01:36because you know, we can't push the ball downfield. We can't hit
01:40some of those fifteen-yard dig routes because everything is
01:44check downs and tight ends in the flat. So, I think that's
01:47the biggest question is because of the limitations of the
01:50quarterback, we don't know what we have at wide receiver.
01:53Yeah, that that could be part of the problem but II mean, in
01:56all practical reality in the NFL, I still think the Patriots
02:00are doing the right thing by, you know, putting Jacoby Preset
02:04out there. He's trying to play a very clean game. It's not
02:08pretty. It's not exciting. You know, if I, if he were throwing
02:11three interceptions in a game, I would sit here and tell you
02:14they gotta get him off the field and I gotta put the
02:16rookie out there cuz you know, this doesn't make any sense to
02:19but if he's gonna play a conservative, careful game and
02:22not turn the ball over and give his team a chance to win late
02:26in the game, then I gotta tell you, if I am the coach, I'm the
02:29coaching staff. I'm sitting there on the sideline. This is
02:32our best way to win and they almost did it 2 weeks in a row.
02:35That that's the reality of what's going on here. So, again,
02:38short, I'm sorry, short week and there's no way Drake May is
02:42in this game unless Jacoby gets hurt but I'm, it's just the way
02:45that they're playing. Yeah, Boomer, I was gonna bring up
02:47the fact that you look around the league. You see Bo Nix, you
02:50see Caleb Williams. They have two interceptions in their both
02:53games this week. So, if you're Gerard Mayo, you see Jacoby
02:55Brissette out there not making mistakes, having the ability to
02:58escape with an offensive line that seems to keep breaking
03:01down. So, for you, even 2 weeks from now, if Jacoby keeps
03:05playing the way that he is, why would you take the risk of
03:08putting out Drake? Yeah, I mean, it all, it all depends on what
03:12the, the, the situation is that they lose this week to, to the
03:15Jets on a short week. Then, all of a sudden, things may start
03:19to change and internally, they may start to change and they may
03:23see more on the practice field from Drake May and you know,
03:26this is all valuable stuff for Drake right now. I know, I know
03:29it's frustrating for fans not to see their top draft pick and
03:32to watch, you know, Caleb Williams last night or watch Bo
03:35Nix yesterday struggle in these games. It's, it's, it's, it's
03:41frustrating for those fans too because they're not winning
03:43their games. So, again, it's, there's just, just ways to
03:47handle quarterbacks a little bit differently. I, I always go
03:50back to the fact that Carson Palmer never played a game his
03:53rookie year for the Bengals and turned out to be really good.
03:56Patrick Mahomes played one game his rookie year. Aaron Rodgers
04:00barely played for two and a half to three years. Same with
04:02Jordan Love. So, every situation's a little bit
04:04different but I, all I can say is that the Patriots are, I
04:08picked them to cover, I picked them possibly even win this
04:11past, win the game yesterday just simply because of the way
04:15that they can play and the way that their defense can keep
04:18them in games. They're gonna bend and bend and bend and
04:20they're gonna give up some big plays but they're a lot of
04:23times, they're gonna keep the opposing team out of the end
04:25zone which is I think the recipe that they're trying to
04:29invoke right now to win football games. Speaking of the
04:32Jets, which quarterback gets credit for that win yesterday,
04:35Aaron Rodgers or Will Levis? Will Levis, another bonehead
04:40play of the year, man. I mean, it's just, I I don't know what
04:43they're gonna do with him down there but his his penchant for
04:47making mistakes in big spots especially in the red zone and
04:50throwing the ball backwards. I I mean, it's just, it's so
04:53bizarre and somehow you gotta sit these kids down and you
04:56gotta tell them you can't do crap like that. So, I I thought
05:00that Aaron Rodgers actually played really well in the
05:02second half. This is the second game in a row where we've seen
05:05glimpses of the Aaron Rodgers that we saw in Green Bay when
05:08he was at the top of his game. So, the team is good. They lost
05:11one of their best defensive lineman in Jermaine Johnson. He
05:14looks like he tore his Achilles yesterday. So, that's a big
05:17loss for them. They still have the holdout for Hassan Reddick.
05:20I I doubt he'll be back on a short week playing for the for
05:23the Jets. So, the Jets have a myriad of problems but they are
05:27a good team and Aaron Rodgers looks like he's finally
05:29settling in. Boomer, just about the Patriots one more from
05:33from yesterday. Is this the ground floor of the rebuild
05:37even though it's year five after Tom? Like, is this
05:40because the way I've watched this this team this year has
05:43been better than I expected but totally bereft of talent and I
05:49see the way in which Jacoby Brissett is managing the game.
05:52No, no highlight reel plays but it feels like they just trying
05:54to get some space, some ability to build around that offensive
05:58line to get the offense going in a certain direction before
06:01putting Drake Mayen and if that's the start of the rebuild,
06:04I guess I understand it. Yeah, I I listen, they had to take
06:07Bill Belichick out of the building and you know,
06:10replacing all that he had done for all those years that he was
06:14there is not gonna be easy and it is bereft of talent
06:18especially on office, especially at wide receiver and
06:20especially at offensive line. I mean, they're juggling linemen,
06:24linemen are leaving and taking off and not coming back. I mean,
06:27like, it's crazy what's going on up there and I can imagine
06:30that every time they sit down and they start talking about
06:33their offensive line, their rookie, what Jacoby Brissett is
06:37trying to do. I mean, it's I'm sure it's so frustrating but
06:41they also realize the reality is they don't wanna put a rookie
06:45out there and get him hurt especially if that rookie is is
06:49just not ready yet and only they know internally whether or
06:52not his communication skills, his huddle command, all of
06:56those things that are so important to the offense are
07:00ready to take over an offense that's built like this. So,
07:03yeah, you're right. It's it's a frustrating rebuild. There's no
07:06question about it but I gotta say, for two weeks now, they
07:10have been supremely competitive and more competitive than I
07:13thought they would be. Is Brian Dayball still employed this
07:16morning? Uh he's gonna be, you know, go through the season.
07:19This is gonna be a tough one for him this morning. I mean,
07:22they did something that nobody's ever done in the NFL
07:25and that is score three touchdowns in a game and give
07:27up seven field goals and lose the game. And uh and the
07:32kicker, the kicking situation, everybody down here is like,
07:35how do you not have a backup kicker on the field? How do you
07:37know? I'm like, how many teams actually have a backup kicker
07:40if the punter can't kick? So, I remember back in Cincinnati, we
07:44had a punter. His name was Lee Johnson and we had a kicker Jim
07:47Breach and if Jim couldn't make a kick, say from fifty-five
07:51out, Lee Johnson would attempt that kick. So, we had a backup
07:54kicker so to speak just in case something happened to Jim
07:57Breach and that's usually the way it goes in the NFL. The
08:01fact that, you know, you have this practice squad elevation
08:04situation going on and the Giants do have a rookie kicker
08:07on their practice squad and they didn't elevate him knowing
08:11that there was a problem with Gano's groin going into the
08:14game and then Gano gets hurt on the first kickoff by pulling
08:17his hamstring. You just can't make it up. I mean, it's it's
08:20the way the Giants have gone the last three, four, five,
08:23seven years, I think and I think Brian Dable is probably
08:27on thin ice for sure. Boomer, I think the reality of it is
08:31based on the way the Patriots play defense and run the
08:34football and if you look at the landscape of the rest of the
08:38NFL and I know it's only week two and I could be getting
08:42ahead of myself but there isn't a team that really stands out
08:45and goes, okay, they're far superior than everybody else.
08:49You look at Cincinnati plays Kansas City closed. The
08:52Patriots obviously beat Kansas City in week one. Cowboys get
08:56blown out. Cowboys get blown out. Ravens own two. Ravens
09:00lose. I think the reality is that you have a good football
09:04team but your inability at the quarterback position to throw
09:08the football could be taking away from your chances to
09:11actually making a legitimate run rather than say, okay, this
09:15is a rebuild. Yeah, I you know, it's interesting. Their last
09:19three drives of the game yesterday. I think they missed
09:22the field goal and then they punted twice and that to me is
09:27the highlight of or the low light of the Patriot offense
09:30like the game is right there. You take the lead twenty to
09:33seventeen. You know, in past years, Tom Brady would, you
09:36know, just eat up the clock. They'd end up kicking a field
09:38goal or scoring a touchdown late and they'd win by ten and
09:43yesterday that that just did not happen. I mean, they end up
09:45missing a field goal, of course, and then they, you know,
09:48then they punt on their last two series and and that's
09:51really the crux of the game coming down to the fourth
09:55quarter. There's no turnovers. The game is tight. Which
09:58quarterback is going to make the play or which offensive
10:01player is going to make a great catch or make a long run and
10:04that just didn't happen for the Patriots and Patriot fans for
10:07twenty years. We're used to those situational parts of the
10:11game to be to be, you know, made all those plays were made.
10:15So, I, I, you know, it's it's a it's a very close league.
10:18There's no question about it. I would also remind people that
10:21the first four weeks of the season, the first month of the
10:24season, we are still in preseason mode football wise in
10:28terms of understanding who everybody is, what these teams
10:31are going to look like, and there's going to be a lot of
10:34inconsistency along the NFL through the first four or five
10:37games of the season. The question of the week for Boomer
10:40Siason is brought to you by McFarland Energy, the region's
10:44most dependable provider of home heating, oil delivery, and
10:47expert HVAC services at McFarland Energy.com. Boomer
10:52reports over the weekend are that Tua will wants to return
10:56to play talking to specialists about how quickly he can come
11:01back. If you were he, would that be what you were doing?
11:04Yeah, I would. I mean, you know, he's got a lot of money
11:06on the table. There's a lot to look at. There's a lot of
11:09nuance in the contracts. I know he wants to play. I know that
11:15I don't I don't think the Dolphins are going to let him
11:16play initially. I think maybe a short-term stint on the IR,
11:20maybe four weeks, and then he comes back in five weeks. That
11:23that's what I would expect, but I've said this a million times
11:27and maybe Jermaine agrees with me. Even knowing what I know
11:31now, if I knew all of what I know now when I was playing
11:35back in the 80s and the 90s, would I have done it all over
11:38again? And my answer to that is unequivocally yes. I would
11:42have played. I I love that my every moment in the NFL, every
11:46concussion that I took, every injury that I sustained were
11:49part of a decision that I had to to make to go out there on
11:52that field and and I loved it. I love all 14 years losing,
11:57winning, being around the guys going out on that football
12:00field every Sunday was such a high that I don't think
12:03anything could ever replace that. So I understand where two
12:07is coming from. My own personal feeling is that if I could
12:10play, I wanted to play. So it's his decision. It's his family's
12:13decisions. The real question is will the NFL allow him back on
12:17the field if he is not cleared by an independent neurologist?
12:20That's where it would get interesting. How many is too
12:23many though Boomer if you're a player and you have three
12:27diagnosed ones in your in your NFL career and you're that
12:30young and you have two little kids and a wife like how many
12:33is too many concussions to say wait a minute II do need to
12:36walk away from this. You know Cordy. I think every player is
12:39different. Every family is different. I would say through
12:42high school college and pro, I would imagine somewhere between
12:47seven and ten concussions for me. Everyone was a little bit
12:50different. I took a really bad one in 1995 much like Tua and
12:55Bruce Smith hit me under the chin and I missed four games
12:58and I think I was the first player in concussion protocol
13:00believe it or not back in 1995. So and I came back to play 4
13:05weeks later and oddly enough, it was against the Bills in
13:07which I that was the team I took the the concussion again.
13:10So look there are long-term effects. You know we all live a
13:15certain way. We all do things in our life that are dangerous
13:19and we all respect and understand the responsibility
13:23that comes along with a decision like this and I'm sure
13:26Tua and his wife are talking about it and again. I just it's
13:29not about always about the money, but this is a
13:32significant amount of money that if the if the league tells
13:35him he can't play or an independent rheumatologist says
13:38he cannot play, then he'll get his injury guarantee money. If
13:42the league clears him and allows him to play and then he
13:45decides not to play, then that's where it really gets
13:48sticky when it comes down to the guaranteed money because
13:51it's almost like receiving a a signing bonus and then retiring
13:57in the middle of that of signing bonus proration and then
14:01the team claws back the money that they gave you because you
14:04did not fulfill your end of the contract. So like that
14:07those are a lot of a big part of what he's gotta think
14:10through and his family's gotta think through and what what
14:13makes more sense, you know his total health and well-being or
14:17the amount of money that he would be leaving on the table.
14:20So I think that's a big part of this whole thing and I can't
14:23even put myself in that situation to make an accurate
14:27decision as to whether or not he should be playing. Well,
14:30just last one for me. If you were to put yourself in a
14:33position of a new broadcaster who potentially got a phone
14:37call from an incredibly talented roster with a
14:39quarterback out with a concussion, would you respond
14:43with a yes if you were Tom Brady in the Miami Dolphins
14:45call? Wow, I you know II heard that II heard that immediately
14:50after he was hurt. As a matter of fact, there was a meme going
14:53out around out there that had Tom Brady in that Miami
14:57uniform and as a matter of fact, we all know that Stephen
14:59Ross tried to hire another Michigan man way back when
15:03about four or five years ago and it didn't happen. So that
15:08that's a really good one. I don't think he would come out
15:10of the booth, but and by the way, I thought his game
15:12yesterday he was much better than his game previous. So he's
15:16already improved significantly, but you know that would be an
15:19interesting one. II don't think it's going to happen though.
15:23What about after Saturday can can we determine that the best
15:27Manning family member is still to come to the NFL? Yeah. How
15:31about that run man? That was amazing and I was I was texting
15:34with Archie Manning of all people who said that he misses
15:38me and Phil on Sunday's NFL today and I said, you know,
15:40Arch, I I appreciate it. Great sentiment. I'm playing golf.
15:43I'm having a great time. That's that's your those are your
15:46people, right? Yeah, exactly and you know those people you
15:51know have lives too. They're Greg and you're not that far
15:54behind by the way. So II said II see you got another super
15:59stud coming up in the family. What a legacy that guy has
16:02left unbelievable, right? Unbelievable. Yeah. Alright.
16:06Well, listen short week. It's it's Pat's Jets. We appreciate
16:09you taking the time as always Boomer. Alrighty guys. I'll
16:12talk to you next week. Have a great one.