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Book your virtual visit today at joinmidi.com. That's join M-I-D-I.com. Time now for the six rings post-game show. Breaking down everything Patriots now, here's Fitzy and Hart on W-E-E-I. Couple run plays that I've hit. [CROWD CHEERING] Good movement. Look out. Get out of there. [CROWD CHEERING] Fans love it. They love it. There it goes. [CROWD CHEERING] [MUSIC PLAYING] Uh-oh. Uh-oh, everybody. Do we have a quarterback controversy in New England? Where were you on the night, the legend of Bazooka Joe. Joe Milton, the third, was born. As somebody who grew up on the south shore, I never used to think much of when I would get on '93 and head into the city and pass by the sign entering Milton. But if you were excited to see Jacobi Brissette and Gerard Mayo take the field, new coach, returning veteran quarterback, if you were excited for the debut of Drake May, the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, I understand. And you know what? They were fine. They just went out there. They did what they did. The defense looks good. The Patriots are now not officially the worst team in the NFL. They are the 31st worst team. Or at least they're not at the bottom, because the Carolina Panthers absolutely stink. They stink like picnic trash. Raccoons would possibly turn their nose up at the Carolina Panthers. Of course, Bryce Young didn't start tonight. That's fine. Be that as it may. But I'll tell you, the best juice I have felt in this building in a long time-- and no, I'm not trying to stir up controversy. And no, I'm not trying to make something out of nothing. We're just having a little fun on what was an overcast, dreary, dismal, rainy night for approximately 30-ish thousand fans-- and I might be generous by a couple thousand there as well-- but how can you blame them? The most electricity in the building tonight for the first pretend season game with the weird new kickoff rule and all. Down at Gillette Stadium earlier tonight, the most exciting moments were delivered by the one and only Joe Milton III. He can scramble. He can scoot. He can move. He can throw. He can run. He can gun. It's a nice little backup quarterback prospect they have there. Sure, people are going to talk about, here comes the problem. Here comes Joe Milton. How do you don't start-- how don't you start him? Why doesn't this happen? You know what's going to happen, and we'll be taking your calls all night up until 12 PM here on the "Six Rings" post game show with your pals, Fitzy and Hart, 617, 779, 793-7. We will break down each and every element of tonight's preseason debut. Looks like it is to be a win for Gerard Mayo in his coaching debut. Once again, it doesn't count, but his first preseason game as HC of the NEP looks to have gone better than expected. You're a final from the Razor, 17 to 3 new England Patriots. That's a-- as far as the game went, sure, only four or five highlights, four or five signature plays, four or five things that you're going to see pop up on the gram that you're going to want to quote, tweet, or comment on later on. It's the nice pass from Bailey Zappi, who got a lot of run tonight. Might that be his last run as a quarterback of the Patriots? May you see more Bursette? May you see more May next week? May you see more Joe Milton? Perhaps that's the case, and maybe Bailey Zappi got his farewell tonight with almost three quarters of action. Could be his swan song under center for the Patriots. You got a great scramble and run from Joe Milton. You got a nice touchdown pass from Joe Milton as well. Get a nice run by Terrell Jennings. And Joey slide the backup kicker or the kicker that is competing right now with Chad Ryland for the starting kicking job on the Patriots. And Ryland's in the lead because he's the incumbent. It's hard to spend a fourth round draft pick on a kicker one year and then kick him off the squad for a veteran that's been on at least three to four teams previously. Final score now once again. It's going official 17 to three Patriots in preseason game number one. Nice long field goal for Joey Sly as well tonight. Not a night full of highlights. Drake May looked fine-ish. Jacobi Bursette under through, I believe it was, Tyquan Thornton on a deep ball early in the first quarter as well. Again, the conditions were a little sloppy. The ball was kind of wet. People were having grip issues, both throwing the ball and receiving the ball. But he under through Tyquan Thornton would have easily been what would have easily been the signature play for Tyquan Thornton's career. Now this is his third year in the NFL. Hopefully his third year with the New England Patriots. If he is in fact able to stick with the Pats, he had about three four steps on someone in the first quarter against Carolina. And unfortunately, Jacobi Bursette under through him. You know, Drake May went out there tonight. Ball was a little slippery. Real NFL game action, you know. First and second unit players for the Carolina Panthers. Again, as F-4 mentioned, not exactly a great football team. I can't imagine that they're going to make significant strides in major improvements under first year head coach Dave Kanales, the former offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That's all right. They are who we thought they were. Not a very good football team. Patriots are not a very good football team yet either. That's OK. But you had to go into tonight. You had to come into this game tonight as a fan. Whatever hat you chose to wear coming into the game. You had to come into it just hoping you could see. All right, Drake May, I saw Drake May under center. Hey, he got his first walkout. That was cool. You'd want to see a little something from Joe Milton to think, hey, that's awesome. Hey, we got a fun little backup. We may have a fun little project to develop here because Jacobi Bursette likely not to be here after the 2024 season as well. You wanted to see the rookie receivers. Javon Baker got a catch, Jalen Polk. Great contested catch himself, I believe, in the third quarter as well. Ramondre got a nice run earlier. Didn't necessarily have a lot of sacks or major protection issues. The defense looks stout. And of course, this is a defense that is currently-- I'm not sure. Is it with or without the services of Matthew Judon? Judon was out there, sort of in hanging shells. He did not see the field tonight. There were plenty of people that are going to see significant action this year for the Patriots that were not out there tonight. Obviously, no Christian Barmore because he's dealing with the unfortunate blood clotting issue. We hope he gets well. No update yet as to when we're actually going to see him back on the football field. But the defense looked good. Offense made a couple of plays over the course of the night. They made no major mistakes. And the best thing, as we welcome Andy Hart into the program now that the game has officially gone final, the best thing is Andy. Guess what? The Patriots didn't do anything tonight. No significant mistakes. The Patriots didn't do anything that made you say, oh, boy, and it may be a long season, Andy. Who knows? But it is more probable than not to use triggering New England exponent deflate gate talk. It is more probable than not that it might be a long season. That said, we were told, collaborative environment. We were told some new vibes. And guess what? They didn't make a lot of mistakes out there tonight. They went out there, did their job, got the win. We saw a lot of good things from the team. I right now, as fan and co-host of the program with you, I'm pretty happy. Yeah, I think you should be happy for taking care of business. Now, I would push back on the mistakes. They were littered with penalties, just like we've seen all summer on the practice field. Delay again, fall star, screwed everything up that you could screw up, making third and longs all over the field. But yeah, you played a horrific football team that played their backups and you took care of business. I'm not going to criticize it. I mean, I think you'd be an a-hole to criticize that. And I thought they needed a win. I thought they wanted a win. Now, the Drake May thing is going to be the takeaway, the story of the game, you know, what the hell they're doing with QB reps and all of that. But guys competed from good players, like Cramandre Stevenson, One Run, 11 yards, I love it. If you average 11 yards a carry, this ground game is going to be awesome. Oh, yeah, buddy. David Wallace, a guy who's kind of stunk on the practice field, makes a play in the punter turn game. And as I joked in the story I posted on the website, like, we've seen unheralded receivers return punts in the preseason before and turn that into opportunities in careers. So I'm not saying, but I'm saying. And those guys have to be-- Oh, yeah, would that have been a form-- would that have been a form of quarterback out of Kent State? Yeah, little white guys do that in the preseason. And then Welker goes, I don't care. He can have it. And Bill's like, I hate you someday where we're going to get rid of Compete. I thought he said, wait a shot, wait a Compete, Welker. Nope, nope, it was I hate you someday. I'll get rid of you. I must have seen a different cut of the NFL films than you. Yeah, it was the director's cut. It was Fellini cut. No! Joe, yeah, talk about the Hard-O-Meter. All right, so before we go. But yeah, no, I liked it. And obviously you people are going to latch on to Joe Milton and have fun with that. As you should, I don't know that we need to promote it any more than it's going to be. Because I actually think Joe Milton is going to be a problem for Drake May. I really do. It's going to be a problem. Oh, oh, oh, wait, hold on. Nico, producer extraordinaire of tonight's six rings post game show, please write down. It was 10/11 in the eve. A misty, sultry, dewy, summer's eve. After the Patriots took care of business against the Carolina Panthers, 17 to 3 year final from Gillette. Gerard Mayo's coaching debut. It was 10/11 p.m. When Andy Hart proclaimed, I think Joe Milton is going to be a problem for Drake May. Wow. Copy that. You people? That's a-- so it's my people. Yeah, yeah, you people are going to latch on to him. And the first time Drake May has a little hiccup or doesn't develop the way you want or is scuffling, that other woman is just standing right over there. And that other woman is tall and athletic with a massive cannon of an arm. And you're going to all lust for that pre-existing arm. Yep, yep, I was careful there. And you're going to just remember that pre-season game. And he was running all over the field. And he was hitting-- who the hell did he hit? Jekwai Jackson. Yeah, hey, number 82 in the program, number one in your hearts. Yes, definitely number one in my heart, Jekwai Jackson, as I read you off the roster, because that's the only way I'll know your name. But no, this is-- it's weird, because we started bitching about the quarterback play, because I thought Jacobi Brissette was kind of crappy in his one series. Kind of crappy? Yeah, kind of crappy. He overthrew Taikwon Thornton by 10 yards when he was wide open. And what have we been saying? You told us a couple of weeks, like last week on the midday show, you told me and Andy Gresch, take the cheese. It's officially now Taikwon Thornton season. I know I got fooled once. Jemon, you fooled me twice, shame on me. And that would have been the signature play to say, look, he can get open against mediocre coverage. He still has super fast speed. He's like, a train from the boys. Shout out Rich Keefe, who hopefully is listening in the car ride on the way home. And he overthrew it. Like, he was so unremarkable. He just looked fine. Granted, yes, I know. It's like one or two series on a dismal rainy night with a half full stadium in August. But that said, this is his ninth year in the NFL. Isn't he supposed to make those plays, regardless of competition or attendance? But it was raining, that's what people told me on Twitter that we're defending him. I just, I'm with you. If I'm Taikwon Thornton, I'm fighting for my professional life here, I'm fighting for my reputation, I'm fighting snarks on the internet. That's a chance for me to have a big play in legit time. The first series of the game with the guy who's supposed to be the starting quarterback, I'm behind the defense. And you under throw me by fight. If anything, I also believe that that old cliche, like, when you have speed burners, don't under throw them. Over throw them. Give them a chance to go get it. Don't make them stop because they're skinny. They're usually not the best at fighting for the ball. Let them just go out and get it. So yeah, I thought Bursette was bad. I thought the decision to only go one series for May was bad, even though I thought he looked more than fine. Fine pluses, I've dubbed it. In his series, then we're all bitching. That's a new term. That's a great term. Yeah, I made it up. That's my new term for Drake May, fine plus. And then we all bitched for whatever it was. Two plus quarters. Bailey's happy. Why are we seeing him? If you're going to play him, maybe you should actually practice him. All the bitching that we did. And then I thought Joe Milton sort of saved the night at the quarterback position with just a fun performance. Fun preseason action. That's what we got. OK, so there are a lot of parallels to last year. And I know we have to catch a commercial and do some trending sports news. Nico, do you have a little trending action ready momentarily? Oh, yeah. We got tons to talk about. I love that. So you know what's nice about Nico? Effortless. No, you don't have to worry about anything. Andy, just like he takes care of it. I shame on me for even. I didn't doubt. I just had to ask just to make sure. But on a night, Andy, that was very reminiscent of last year's preseason debut. Like, there are so many strange parallels to it. Now let's hope the season doesn't parallel last season because boy, that was a season and a half to forget. I felt like at least a season and a half. Last year, preseason debut number one, the only home game in the preseason last year, Andy, crud weather on a Thursday night, OK? We also had a quarterback in the fourth quarter stir up far from a controversy, but provide the only true electricity and excitement of the night. Last year was Malik Mania. I think he might now be the third string quarterback in Baltimore. Maybe not. I haven't checked. Don't really care. And now we have Joe Milton. Joe Milton, the third entering Milton, comes in, rouses the fans, stirs up the pot, gives us a little excitement for the night as well. But you think it actually goes a little further because last year, there was truly no Malik Mania. Like, there was no Malik Cunningham controversy. It was just, oh, God, the season's going to suck. Give us something to be excited about. You actually think this could be an issue for Drake May, even though he was fine plus. Have you been in the city of Boston before? Have you listened to Sports Talk Radio in Boston? Have you been on Twitter before? I dabbled with it. OK, because all of those places, this is just fresh raw meat named Milton. And we know as soon as you scuffle, as soon as you struggle, there is a guy that is perceived to be bigger, stronger armed. I like him more. He does back flips. Fans were in love with him already just because he could do back flips and training camp. He was popular. Oh, he was the star. So now you mix in a touchdown pass. Now you mix in a crazy highlight scramble, which he runs like 60 yards to get 13. And everybody knows him. Like, he came into the league with an aura. He's the only guy in yellow on the Giants draft board. Like, what does that mean? He's golden boy. He's the golden child. Like, I just think this is fodder for you people. And it doesn't mean it's smart or right, which, by the way, I'm also not saying he couldn't develop into a legit NFL quarterback. I don't rule that out. It would be impressive because he's been at two schools. He's older. You know, it would sort of be like the year five jump in a way. But I just think he is going to present the alternative. And the cliche has always been, especially for losing teams. And as you said, this is probably going to be a losing team. If Drake May gets in there and they're losing games, and Drake May is throwing interceptions, which rookie quarterbacks do, there's going to be a certain portion of the fan base that's calling for Joe Milton. I don't know how big-- I don't know how big you people and your group is. But they're going to be out there. I promise you they will be out there. OK, in the time that it took-- in the time that it took for the two of us to get the game-- to get the post-game show going, I've already received texts from friends saying, I didn't expect to be feeling this way after the game. But I do. And Joe Milton has made it weird. Oh, absolutely. I got texts from people that are older than me, professionals, and coaches in the high school level who are like Icky Beluki about Joe Milton, 11 and 7 with Milton, move over C.J. Stroud. He's this year's Zappi. And then I got my son who was at the game. I've seen enough, Joe Milton is a franchise guy. Like, young and old, they're Ickyl or tonight. Well, I mean, we're-- all right, I'll just ask this question. Weren't we told Drake May was-- and this all the way up to most recently, C.J. Stroud was on a podcast saying Joe-- excuse me, Drake May of all the rookie quarterbacks in the NFL this year. Drake May is the most pro-ready. And yet recently, we've come to-- and that Joe Milton was supposed to be the long-term development chip. He was supposed to be the prospect in the project. And now tonight, granted, he's going against third stringers on what I think is the worst team in the NFL. Not the Pats, but the Cats. He's going against third stringers. Lights him up, runs around all over-- regardless of what kind of defense he's playing against, his physical ability, his ability to improvise and scoot and scat and scamper all over the field is certainly impressive. He got more time in the field than Drake May did. So now tonight, Drake May looks like the project. And Joe Milton looks like the prospect. Well, Drake May didn't look like a project. I thought Drake May ran the operation just fine. He throws a nice screen pass. He hits Jaylen Rager in the hands on what should be a nice completion. He chooses not to catch it. He has a dump off. He went through his reads. I thought he was fine plus in the way he ran the offense. And people are just going to disregard the pick six that Joe Milton tried to throw that if an NFL corner was on the field, he would have been dancing in the end zone, celebrating the touchdown, thanks to Joe Milton. Right. Well, there was that as well. Oh, oh, oh, did you forget about that? Oh, that little silly play? Yeah, you know, there's got a lot of moving parts, Andy. I'd also say the scramble. Maybe he can't scramble quite as well. If it's not fat guys, that'll be at Sonny's car wash next week on the field. And it's actual NFL defensive lineman and linebackers. How could you? I'm sorry. I stole Paul Perleault's line line. Oh, I saw him earlier tonight when I was down at the stadium. He said hello, and by I said hello, he flipped me off. So I believe that he's in. He's already in mid season for him. So it's good. It's good to know we're back. It's great to be back. We're happy to have you guys back with us here on the Six Rings post game show. Gerard Mayo is currently speaking doing his post game presser. We will effort some of that audio. We will try to play a portion, if not the totality of Gerard Mayo's first post game presser for you later. See if we can get you some other fresh audio as well. And of course, your calls here on the debut of season three of the Six Rings post game show here on WEEI. The number if you'd like to call in and join the Joe Milton Appreciation Society. Talk about Drake May. Talk about the defense. Joey Sly, the weather. You could be Andy's son driving home and talk to your dad and say, you know, dad, hey, on the way home. Could maybe pick me up a Joe Milton jersey, whatever works. We're at 617-779-7937. There's your telephone number. And here's your trending sports news with the one and only Nico. Selling a little or a lot. Shopify helps you do your thing, however you chaching. Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell at every stage of your business. From the launcher online shop stage to the first real-life store stage, all the way to the did we just hit a million orders stage. Shopify is here to help you grow, whether you're selling scented soap or offering outdoor outfits. Shopify helps you sell everywhere. From their all-in-one e-commerce platform to their in-person POS system, wherever and whatever you're selling, Shopify has got you covered. 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My friends still laughing at me to this day. Not everyone gets B2B. But with LinkedIn, you'll be able to reach people who do. Get $100 credit on your next ad campaign. Go to LinkedIn.com/results to claim your credit. That's LinkedIn.com/results. Terms and conditions apply. LinkedIn, the place to be to be. Now, back to the six rings post game show on WEEI. Oh, nice look. [CHEERING] That's a part of it. [CHEERING] [INAUDIBLE] with the reset, 38-yard touchdown. The Jackson, David with a little stunner on the outside. Joe looked right at the reset, let him slip up that left boundary. Take it from here. We're going to look at it. Look at this replay here. [MUSIC PLAYING] From the television broadcast of tonight's Patriots pre-season win, a dub in the debut of Gerard Mayo, who we'll get to in just moments. That was Scott Zolak and the McCordy brothers, a broadcast that was unique, shall we say, Andy, in its formatting. We'll get to how we felt about the broadcast a little bit later. But that was their description of the touchdown pass that the now surging legend of Joe Milton through to Jaqui Jackson, I believe? Yes. Yes, Joe Milton is now speaking. We'll try to get a little bit of that. Wow, fascinating. Joe Milton, first QB up at the podium after Gerard Mayo spoke. We'll get to that audio a little bit later. But Andy, it was about a couple minutes' worth of Gerard Mayo speaking and taking some questions from the media. He just wrapped up momentarily. We have that in its totality. Let us go to the audio tape in honor of the great Warner Wolf and play you what Gerard Mayo had to say after his first win as head coach of the Patriots. Look, let's start off. I thought the guys went out there and competed, played hard. Definitely room for improvement. All week, we've been talking about this game doesn't count, but it does matter. It matters from an individual point of view and also from a team point of view. And all that matters really is the guys in those rooms. And it's not just me, it's we. And that's my message to the team. Raise your hand, we'll pass mics to you. Start with Chris Price. Gerard, can you walk us through the thought process behind using the quarterbacks in the way that you did today? Yeah, we wanted to see Jacoby obviously go out there and operate as well as Drake, mixing them in there with the ones, the rest of those guys like Zappia and Joe. They went out there and finished up the game. Thought they did a good job, but that was kind of the thinking. So next week we go, we have the Eagles. So we'll practice against them. And who knows, the reps will probably change a little bit. And then we'll see what happens in the game. But that was the thought process. Take care. In the middle? Oh, sorry. [INAUDIBLE] Gerard, you mentioned getting Drake into the game. What went into the decision to pull him after one series tonight? Yeah, that was always the plan. The plan was to get him in there for one series, to get Jacoby in there for one series. And then really, turn it to the Zappi show and then the Joe show. That was the plan going on. [INAUDIBLE] Hi, Gerard. Thank you. Was there any trepidation over having Drake in another series performing in front of with his, like, the second offensive line? Was that part of the decision? That's always a consideration. If he's in there, you want him in there with the starting offensive line. We've got to protect that guy. Not saying we don't have to protect the other guys, but that absolutely did go into it. And do you feel you're going to get enough of seeing him in live action going about it like this? Yeah, like I said, this is the first preseason game. We still have two left. He'll have plenty of opportunities to go against other teams, the two other teams before the regular season. [INAUDIBLE] Gerard, are you-- just your thoughts on what you saw from Joe Milton, are you ready for also Sports Talk Radio feedback all week with Joe? Well, first of all, I don't even listen to that stuff. But honestly, if Joe went out there, we know he has a big arm. He has the athleticism. He's getting better with his reads every single day. He has natural leadership ability. But once again, it's not just about one game. It's about the full body of work. So you can come out here and play well, but you also have to do it on a day-to-day basis in practice. And you've got to gain the confidence of not only the coaches, but also your teammates. And this was a step forward for him. So if you go on in the park right here. Hi, Gerard. I was just curious. Obviously, you said the plan was to do one drive for both percent and for May. What came down to the decision to pull Zappi when you did and to put Milton in when you did? Was there any thought process behind that? Yeah, it was just about opportunity. It was about opportunity. And Zapp went out there. Look, he's won games in the NFL before. But then just putting Joe in at a time where we needed a spark and he provided that spark, which I thought was good. I do particularly all in the middle. Gerard, what was it like for you first game as a head coach? Yeah, I just felt like I was just in my element. I felt great to be out there. Nothing else really mattered to me. And when you don't have to worry about substitutions and things like that, you kind of see the game from a different perspective, which I thought was great for me today and is the first time I really got a chance to experience that. So hopefully, it keeps going the same way. And we do a good job with the subs, with our assistant coaches. And I can kind of focus on the game and totality. [INAUDIBLE] You know, it was more excitement. It's almost like we get on a roller coaster and you just hear that click, click, click, click. And then you get to the top and it kind of-- it's go time. I mean, at this point, you're so far along, we have nowhere else to go. So I wouldn't say butterflies, just excitement and pure joy, honestly. Josh, over here. Gerard, any players specifically that exceeded your expectations going into tonight just the way they showed in the game? Honestly, I need to go back and watch the film. The easy answer would be Joe. Joe went out there and he's been along. I don't think we've ever seen a quarterback here run around as much as he did and still was able to get the ball down the field. He's one of those guys. So it was Joe. And you're far right, far right. Drought over all the way, right? Far right. Keep going. I didn't know they were over there. It was like empty chairs out here. I just wanted to-- it's kind of pre-season for you guys on the coaching staff as well. First time out, I was just wondering how the communication and all that kind of went for the MVP to Marcus, everybody. I would love to tell you that the communication was 100% on point, but there are definitely things that we need to work out. But for the most part, it was pretty clean. [INAUDIBLE] Last season, you mentioned you talked about the progress that you'd see in Jeremiah Farms make over the course of his career in New England. What did you see from him tonight in terms of putting it together on the field? Look, anytime he steps foot on the field, he takes advantage of that opportunity. His story is remarkable. A guy just on the street. And he was here with moving the full back. He played defensive tackle. He played guard. Played all those positions. When you find a player that just loves the game of football, no matter what the coach asks him to do, it's a great player in my mind. And Farms displays that. Your coat of rain on your far right. Drought. After pairing Drake with the top offensive line tonight, do you anticipate giving him more time with the top line in practice this week? I mean, look, the reps, I mean, that's something to talk to AVP about. At the same time, I would say, this is a huge week for us against Philly. We'll see what happens in practice, and then also in the game. But he's ready to go. When he's ready to go, we'll put him in. Chris, I'm far left. Drought, you mentioned that Joe's performance stood out tonight. Just curious what role does preseason games versus, say, practice play and training can't play in the evaluation process. We're trying to get a total view of how a player, whether it's a quarterback position or another position, can affect winning and make a squad. Yeah, I mean, we always say there's nothing more important than practice. We continue to stress the importance of the process. Obviously, you would want that to show up on the field. Sometimes it does. Sometimes it doesn't. But practice is the number one thing for all these guys as far as the evaluation. It's not only on the field during practice, but also in the classroom. Hey, Geron, just a quick question. I'm right over here. I'm getting blinded. Oh, here we go. Hey, Geron, just some quick thoughts on the defensive line. Thought they got after tonight, played with a lot of energy. What were your thoughts on those guys? They played with a lot of energy. We were, I would say, as a whole, the most physical team on the field today. And it starts up front, starts with the offensive line, and starts with the defensive line. I thought those guys performed well. Final question, Dan Road from the back. Geron, you talked about this being a big week with Philly coming in for the joint practice and the game. How will you use your joint practice with your ones and so forth going into this week? I mean, look, we want to see what these guys can do. If it's ones versus ones, that's one thing. But you also need to see what your second string and third string can do against some of their good guys. So I'll talk to Coach Siriani and we'll have a plan on what we want to see. I'm sure he wants to do some things as well to evaluate his own team. And then the game is also very important. So we'll see how it goes. Thanks, guys. All right, and there you have it, the complete words and questions, the Q&A following Geron Mayo's first game as head coach of the New England Patriots, a game that technically didn't count. Andy, I did like this line that he delivered earlier. Actually, he's sort of opened with it. This game, like we said all week, this game didn't count, but it matters. That's a good line. That's a good approach. No one's going to remember who the champion of the preseason is. This is not the in-season tournament in the NBA. And as we know, that's thoroughly inconsequential as well, except for a little payola that you get at the end should your team be the champion of that. No one cares about the preseason, except that you try to emerge from it healthy, that you forge a bond and identity and chemistry on your football team. You try to improve to get ready for the rigors of the almost five months of grueling contact collisions in sport that is the NFL season. But when you're a brand new team with a new defensive coordinator, a new head coach, a new offensive coordinator who hasn't called plays since Barack Obama was an op-- since Barack Obama had just taken office, I should say. Excuse me, a new quarterback, new receivers, do everything. The fact that the Patriots sure made some mistakes, but that there were some players that flashed and popped positively, that does matter. And it was nice to hear Mayo upbeat in his opening presser. Yeah, and that resonated. David Andrews brought that up when he did his in-game interview on the WBZ broadcast with Steve Burton that struck him, that mentality. Thing that stuck out to me was another Mayo slip up, when asked about, because he brought up the fact that he wanted to see Drake May with the ones, which everybody's been clamoring for, talking about, when's it coming, it happened, he looked pretty good. And then he was asked if he wanted to keep doing that. And he kind of hemmed and hawed, talked to Van Pehl, and he said, he's ready to go. When he's ready to go, I thought it was an interesting slip up, because I think he means he's ready to go. I think he means he's ready to push the development and see where it is and be with the ones, maybe against the ones. And so this is a key week for him. And I think your head coach just slipped his way into telling us that he also feels that Drake May has been fine plus in his development. Yeah, this is a huge, huge week for him as well. But I want to go back to one thing. It's a huge week for the football team to have a potential playoff team, a playoff team from last year, a team that could very well have Super Bowl aspirations again, depending on how their defense performs in the form of the Philadelphia Eagles for the joint practices on the 12th and the 13th in anticipation of the game next Thursday and 7 o'clock at Gillette. Correct me if I'm wrong. And I will. You're never afraid to do with that. I know. But correct me if I'm wrong. But did some not chalk up some of the awkward, dare I say, janky play of the hesitations of Drake May this preseason and in training camp thus far to running with second and third offensive line units? Yeah, I think some have. I don't know how much to make about that. Because I don't know how much of a difference there is, especially at the tackle positions between the second and first unit because it depends on the day. Sometimes those guys are second. Sometimes they're first. So it's like a mystery game. It's like the mass singer. Right. And I actually-- and Gerard kind of tip-toed through the idea that we want to be able to protect him. We want to be able to protect everybody. He kind of started to say, yeah. Because he made a clear divide, basically, tonight, that there was one series for both Brissette and May, and then we wanted to see the Zappi and Milton show. He basically told you, we have two guys that are vying for the starting job, and then we have two other guys. And there's a clear divide between the two, despite the way people may feel after watching this game and Joe Milton and all that. Or the way people probably feel that Milton and Zappi are very different in their minds. Mayo made it clear that May and Brissette, they're up here. The other two guys are down here, and it was time to get those other two guys out on the field after getting the first reps with the top guys. So I thought that differentiation was interesting, but I really did leave that press conference with Gerard Mayo feeling better about Drake May and the night and where his development and evolution is going this week. But this is-- I mean, you can't get-- other than them having the 49ers coming to town this week, you can't get a more dramatic change from, you played against the backups from, as you said, probably the worst team in football. And I do believe they're the worst team in football. I think they're worse than the Patriots. The only reason I'm picking the Patriots to win zero games potentially in Carolina to win one, or they play in a much worse division. I think they're going to have opportunities to maybe win games in the South, where you put the Panthers in the AFC East, and I'd be picking them to win zero football games. But you go from the Panthers-- maybe a negative bet on fan. Right. You're going to go from the Panthers backups. I believe the number I saw was 33 players didn't play for them, and it's like, they're not that good. Why are you resting all that bunch of bad players? Anyway, to the Eagles, one of the most talented all-around teams in football, and a team that's looking to prove something had a really weird year a year ago, and their quarterback and head coach don't get along, this is a really interesting challenge for the defense. It's going to be an interesting challenge for Drake May to see a defense that has a really formidable defensive front. This is a critical week, but I would also say it's an opportunity. If you're Drake May and you go out there and you perform against that Eagles front, I think you're feeling pretty good about yourself. And I think you may just be making some strides, because I've said all along, Andy, and we see your calls lining up at 617-779-797-937 to talk about tonight's preseason game. And when I say tonight's preseason game, I mean Joe Milton. So we'll get to your Joe Milton calls in just a minute and let him have a night. This is what the-- Why are you doing that? Why are you promoting the idiocy? Andy, all the calls that are on the screener have Joe Milton as the subject. But I'm not promoting idiocy. You started it with your damn tweet. I saw it. What did you write in your tweet? Which one? I didn't over tweet tonight, it was like 7 or 8 total. No, what was your tweet? I jokingly called this evening's version of the "Six Rings" post-game show, the first meeting of the Joe Milton appreciation. You can't do that. You know how they tell you don't joke about a bomb when you're in TSA? Don't do it. Don't joke about Joe Milton when we're in the Drake May development era. The freaking team has his highlights. Wall paper all over their twix. I can't control them. I can try to control you. You cannot control me on my own damn adult, or at least I pretend to be sometimes. Look, it's fun. OK, here's the thing. OK, here's the thing. It's fun. It's fun crushing Drake May. No, we're not crushing Drake May. We're giving Joe Milton his props. You're the one who said earlier in the program, you think Joe Milton is going to be a problem for Drake May. If Drake May is developing appropriately, if Drake May is comfortable in his development and his confidence, and it's not rattled by the fact that the backup came in and had a nifty joystick play in tech mobile, and then threw a touchdown against the seventh unit from the Panthers in the rain when no one cared with five minutes left in the fourth quarter, then that's a Drake May issue. The kid is going to be fine. It is fun for Joe Milton to have his night tonight. I want Joe Milton-- he was the first quarterback up. He was smiling during his post-game presser. That's awesome for him. You know what else this also means? We don't have to worry about Bailey Zappi being the third stringer, because the Patriots will probably be very happy to have seen the strides Joe Milton's made, or at least his physicality and his tools and skills on display. That's a beautiful thing. If it ever actually became a problem, it would be a good problem to have, because that would mean the Patriots have possibly two starting caliber quarterbacks that are rookies. One of them is almost 25, the other one's 21. They don't right now. I will say this, and I kind of wanted to just sort of float this one your way as we go to break. I have said, time and again, I am fine-ish, fine-adjacent. In the neighborhood of fine with Jacobi Brissette starting the season, because I don't want to see Drake May get killed. I don't want to see him mauled by a bad offensive line. I don't want to see that confidence and develop marred by a team that's not prepared. That said, I don't know if I really need to see Jacobi Brissette. Well, Jacobi Brissette is still your starter, you know. I know. Now, I am starting. I have trended upward. After last week, I admitted a little disappointment. Basically, the first five days of practice with Drake May. I think he's trended in the right direction. I really do. I think he's started to look more comfortable in his reads and in his throws. And I think he's hit a lot of guys in the hands that need to start catching the football more often. But I really like where he's trended the last week. And if he can keep that moving, I'm not eliminating him starting from day one. I really am not. Can I tell you that I was borderline-- two emotions I had on that first pass play of his, his first professional pass in a game that didn't count but mattered in the words of his head coach. I was so proud that A, he took the check down when it was available. And there was a little bit of a scrum at the line. And he couldn't see a receiver open as the pocket was breaking down. And two, it was just nice to see Antonio Gibbs-- excuse me-- Antonio Gibson make a play. But to just have a competent third down back who can scoot and scamper himself, cut the first down. I was like, yeah, I haven't seen that since James White was healthy. Boy did I miss that. That was a nice play. I was very proud of both of them on that play. It was a great play. You should be able to run a screen pass and pick up some yardage. And it's predictable. But sometimes if you're just decent, predictable can get you the first down. And sometimes, as we saw for years, if you get the first down, that sets a drive in motion. And you can build off of that. And he would have if Jalen Rager had caught the damn ball. Damn it. Well, it was wet out. Yes. Oh, oh, I thought they were professionals. And I thought they were playing a game. I didn't know we were making excuses. What? Oh, my gosh. We're already in mid-season four minutes on the August date. God love all of you. God help us at the same time. 617-779-7937 is your number. We'll take your calls on all things, Patriots, and more. When the Six Rings post-game show returns, here on Boston Sports Original 93.7 FM W. At ALMA, we know the connection between you and your therapist matters. But if you're already feeling stressed and burnt out, the idea of trying to find a therapist you really connect with can be overwhelming. That's why ALMA is focused on helping you find the right therapist for you. When you browse their online directory, you can filter your search based on the qualities that are most important to you. Then you can book a free 15-minute consultation call with any therapist you're interested in seeing. So you can get a feel for whether they're the right fit before you commit to a full-length session. ALMA also makes it easy for mental health care providers to navigate insurance. That's why 95% of therapists in their directory accept insurance per sessions. 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So with those big new purchases like that car, that house, you want to be thinking about long-term coverage and protect the things that you love. And the key here is being able to customize. State Farm has the options to fit your unique needs, which means you can talk to your agent to get the coverage you need and have coverage options to protect the things you value most. Plus, you can file a claim right in the State Farm mobile app and reach a real person when you need to talk to someone, which is super key these days. So when you need help protecting the things that matter most, remember to say, like a good neighbor, state farm is there. (upbeat music) ♪ Breaking down the game that was ♪ ♪ This is the six rings post game show ♪ ♪ Here's 50 and hard on WDI ♪ - Hey Drake, just kind of on the emotions of taking the field for the first time you mentioned, you kind of took it all in. What was that like? Were there nerves? Was it some anxiety about, you know, wanting to make a first impression? How would you describe, you know, those moments for you when you first took the field? - Yeah, I think always a little nervous. You know, I think, you know, you're not getting nervous. If you're not nervous or something, you mean something to you. That's, you know, I look at it. So I think nerves are a good thing. And after you get that first snap and the play, they blow the whistle then in the first play, you kind of settle in. So I think, you know, being out there, like I said, just run on the field. It's just a different feeling. It's hard to emulate that in practice. You know, it's nothing like that. So getting a chance and finally getting hit. I think I'm gonna get touched, you know, for the first time on the third down, on the last third down, kind of got hit. So it kind of felt good to get a hit under my belt. And other than that, just, you know, fun to be out there with the guys and to be somebody else. [MUSIC PLAYING] Did I just hear Drake may say emulate? Wow. Well said, young man. Good job, Drake May. That was Patriots rookie quarterback, Drake May. In his post-game presser, of course, he came out after Gerard Mayo and Joe Milton, who had himself a night and were thrilled for him. That's Drake May talking about the emotions of taking the field for the first time as a professional. Now, of course, he's had some training camp practices, and he's been a professional now since the Patriots took him third overall back at the end of April, 2024, in the NFL draft. But even on a night, Andy, when the weather played a factor in the attendance, the energy, and the crowd attending here, honestly, I'll say, I don't know what the final attendance was. If I had to guess, 35,000, 37, tops, maybe? Yeah, probably something like that, similar to Bill Bell. A little over half. A little over half? Like, did your son have tickets in advance? Or did he decide today, like, hey, let's go the game? No, yeah, I got him for him yesterday. But last minute, I mean-- Right, sure. Yeah, good dad, not hard. So, yeah, that's the thing. There were plenty of seats in Christ saw Christian Fourier's tweet before the game. Plenty of seats available. Come on down. So anyway, on a night where the weather plays a factor, it's early in August, people may still be away. It's the first preseason game. It's never usually the sexiest as well. Drake may get to get out there and get those emotions and check. He's got-- like, that box has now officially been checked. Now he can say, hey, I've taken a snap in the NFL. Hey, I've seen what it's like at play speed. Again, lousy team, first and second unit defense for that lousy team. But that's a big moment for him. Now, back to what you said in the previous break, I think the fact that they have a possible playoff team and/or Super Bowl contender from the NFC coming to town this week with a bad attitude and probably a lot to prove because they had such a disappointing second half of their 2023. They had dysfunction and issues with coach and quarterback. They've improved their defense. I think they're going to come in here with a chip on their shoulder. Could be the best thing in the world for the Patriots, maybe for Joe Milton, maybe for Drake mate, the team on the whole, a big old serving of humble pie wit and whiz in the form of the Philadelphia Eagles. Yeah, I think it's probably a little big of a jump, in my opinion. If you were honestly kind of planning out a progressive development of a team of a young quarterback, a coach, of a staff, to go from Carolina to Philly is probably a big jump. You'd probably like to have sort of a middling team in the middle there. I think the Giants, they play the commanders last. It would have been nice to go Panthers, commanders and Eagles. Flip those, flip those two. And I think it would have been a nice sort of progression towards regular season play and games that do count in the standings. But at some point, you've got to find out. You've got to find out, does your line stink? You've got to find out, is our defense good? I mean, there were a lot of dropped balls early. The Panthers were just dropping balls. Like, there was one that a guy deflected and then hit Gonzalez. But it should have been a catch. If you're a real NFL quarterback to a real NFL receiver, that's a catch in front of Gonzalez. So, you know, those, when you face, if you face Jalen Hurt, well, you're going to face Jalen Hurt on the practice field and AJ Brown and then maybe in preseason action, maybe not. Those are the challenges. You can't just count on the other team. I mean, the Panthers had, well, one first down through three quarters. They were like one of 10, one of 11, something like that. They were, I mean, I thought it was Jake Plummer and it's Jack. I don't even know who Jack Plummer is. He's probably going to be a Plummer soon. I'm going to be honest, who the hell is Jack Plummer? He's going to be a Plummer. You'll call him soon to fix your pipes at something. Relative of John Sewer? Yep. Circling the drain. Geez, Louise. Hey, let's wrap up hour number one of tonight's six rings post-game show by going to the phone, 617-779-793-7. David is in Auburn. He's hanging in there our first caller tonight. How are you, David? Hi, I got two things to say to you guys. One, Joe Millen is our guy. He's better than Drake. He's better than Jacoby. He's better than Bailey. Cut Bailey. Why is he even in there? And one thing for you, Andy, you're a short little twerp that nobody likes. And nobody likes you because you're a bad reporter. Nobody wants to hear your voice anymore. Screw you. Thank you. Appreciate it. [LAUGHTER] I'm not laughing at you, Andy. There's no chance this guy just made this up a few minutes ago and called in. He's just been waiting. He's like, I'm going to call in and I'm going to give Andy Hart the business. One of these nights. I love our post-game shows for night games pre-season or regular season. There is nothing better. I think we got three drops out of that one. [LAUGHTER] Oh, that was great. That was something else. Well, what a way to cap our number one of the post-game show. Andy, when we come back, I would like to discuss-- I don't know if it's necessarily a conundrum. Should we call it the Bailey-Zappy issue? What should the Patriots do with Bailey-Zappy going forward? Did he get his final showcase tonight? Does it do any good for the team to give him meaningful snaps in these precious pre-season games of which there are two left? I'd also like to ask you and the audience at large, what did we really learn tonight? Not just about certain players, like Jalen Polker, JVon Baker, or Marcellus Dial or Terrell Jennings, Wallace and all. What do we learn tonight about the way and how these Patriots may play this season? I want to ask those questions and more plus-year calls. When we come back, hour number two of the six-rings post-game show following the Patriots defeat of the Carolina Panthers and pre-season game number one is coming up here on WEI. Don't you go anywhere? All-star, closer, Ken Lee Janssen. We have a question. What's the best podcast of all time? This boy isn't boring, baby. I'm Rob Radford, and every single day I'm sitting down with the biggest names to show you this great game is the greatest game. It's my podcast. It's my passion. It's a cause I started more than two years ago, and it's now the most prolific national daily baseball pod. There is another fact. So jump aboard the BIB Express. 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Nick “Fitzy” Stevens and Andy “Jumbo” Hart react to the Patriots’ 17-3 preseason victory over the Panthers. The guys delve into Joe Milton’s strong debut and discuss how he COULD pose challenges for Drake Maye in the future. Plus, hear from Head Coach Jerod Mayo and get their take on Drake Maye’s brief showing.
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