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Five and 12. Five. Where are you getting those five from and how the hell do you see that happening? So I just don't think they're going to be as horrifically offensively as we think. I think they're going to be able to establish some sort of run game at some point whether it's right out of the shoot or whether it's into the season a little bit. And quite frankly even though we've seen the flaws of Jacobi Brissette over the last two, two and a half weeks sort of come to roost again like he's not going to be Mack. He's not going to be Bailey. Sure about that? Yes. Should I throw? I feel confident about that. We forced it to Hooper. What's up? Hooper's fault. You see the other throws? One to four. Look. I left the one to Hooper for the third down that he just flat out missed him. It's not perfect. Okay. He's good. No, I don't want to be a pessimist. You got five minutes? No. I would think the five wins is actually not exactly being high on the football team. No, but it's over the Vegas. Vegas four and a half. You get the over. I saw one of those random emails you get from these random casinos that want you to promote their stuff. I'm not going to. I'm just going to say the number. I believe the Patriots were the third most bet in terms of money under this offseason. So most money is on the Patriots winning four games or fewer. That's where my money lies. People who were listening earlier in today's podcast heard me predict two and fifteen. I didn't actually predict 0 and 17 because it is hard to go 0 and 17. So I'm giving them a little bit of a buffer there with two wins. And do I think they could squeeze out or maybe if all things go right? Yes. Just like I think they could squeeze out a big zero turd and go winless on the season. Well said. Do you feel better, worse or the same as you expected to feel about this team now that we are in week one of the regular season as maybe you did when Mayo took over, when they drafted May, when they started the process, do you feel better, worse or the same right now? Slightly worse. I think in the spring, I thought, you know, when they assembled their roster after the draft and free agency, I was like, I think it's a six win team. Which I think you also mocked me for that. I did. I'm still mocking. And then I think there was a point during camp, probably right around the joint practice against Philadelphia where I was like, this is a four win team, Max. And then I sort of came back around a little bit just, again, I think the defense, well, they're not going to be a top 10 defense. I think it's going to be impossible without bar more and we don't expect them to play this year. You know what? We don't have any official word on that. And obviously trading jude on. I think people have placed unreal expectations on Christian Gonzalez to be this, they already think he's this elite number one corner that should be talked about with sauce gardener and Patrick Sertane and whoever else you want to put in that conversation. He's not that yet. So, but I still think they're going to be, call them a top 12 top 14 defense, which I think if they can be semi competent offensively, I'm not even looking for competent at this point. I think that's where you squeeze up the five points. So obviously the biggest talking point heading into the regular season is no longer the quarterback in a weird way because I actually thought Gerard Mayo after he forgot to include Jacobi Bursett among the captains a day later on the Greg Hill show and WEI. I thought had his best meeting of the year with the media answered questions pretty definitively. I didn't think there were many brush fires. I have one. Okay, you got a brush fire. Let me guess. Actually, no, go ahead. So, he talked about we don't want Jacobi to feel like someone's nipping at his heels. Yeah, that's the one. But, and I was like, what would no, no, stop, just stop right there and look, we've made a lot about how he has approached his media duties. I think he has been at times honest to a fault and it's got him in trouble and he's had to, you know, reel it back in a couple of times. I said it was, I didn't really mean we're going to spend a ton of cash, all those sorts of things that he's done. And I think that was another one where as soon as he said that he should have just stopped. We're going to talk about Drake and I'm going to do it in a different part of this, this press conference. But right there right now, hey Jacobi, don't worry, we got your back, you don't have to worry about anyone nipping in your heels. Even though we all know that absolutely Drake may nipping in his heels. The only thing I, and I would agree that was the one thing which pales in comparison to prior mistakes he's made. But also, I thought if my memory serves me right, he kind of generalized it and said healthy stress. And that's really for all players, he kind of bella-chicked it and said, everybody yeah is fighting for their jobs or everybody has to prove it and keep their jobs. So that would the one out that I would give him there. But I think the biggest question now we turn our focus to, we know Jacobi Brissette is starting. I think the biggest question now is like, so who's playing on the offensive line? We've reached a world where Bradarian Lo not being out there is a problem and we're just getting lots of tackles in the background here. We take a live six-ring podcast here to let Stadium that the offensive line remains the biggest question, concern. If the line can perform as I think they are hoping Jacobi Brissette performs that level, this will probably be a better football team than maybe many of us expect. Where are you on the offensive line? What are you expecting at left tackle? I know the depth chart was put out the unofficial, all caps, underlined, bold, unofficial. They want you to make sure it's unofficial was put out and they had chukes of Corifor. So we just returned to pre-draft weekend where Elliot Wolf said chukes is the left tackle. What do you expect at left tackle? What is the bar for the line and could it be one of those cases where we expect so little that they overachieve? So some of the parts are like decent pieces like and when it was not an all-pro level player as some people have made the claim, but he's a good guard. We do that a lot. Yeah, we really do. That guy's a pro bowler. He never made one. That guy's all pro, never was. And also the pro bow means absolutely Jack squat because Matt Jones made the pro bow and he was like the 12th quarterback. Except Julian Edelman never did. Well, you know, look. Although they'll tell you he was a 17th injury placement one year where he didn't play, it was a place later, but he would have been, could have been, should have been. Solid podcast though. I like it. Yes. So I think in when I was a good guard, I think he is passable as a tackle. I think some people feel like he was a good tackle last year. No, he was just better than what you had. And if you have to put him out there, you'll get okay play, but don't expect anything great. What does he weigh these days? He says he's 350. I think he is broad. I think the claim of him being 80 pounds overweight was typical Mike Lombardi hyperbole. And obviously we know Mike has an axe to grind because his best friend resource, they'll bell check with coop can by the Patriots. So there's that. I think David Andrews is still a good football player. Now, how much more does he have left in the tank? I don't know, but I, I wouldn't bet against David. He's just a tough dude. City so is a, a decent run blocker who needs to improve a lot as a pass blocker, but obviously they felt like he's in barring health, obviously, which is a problem. I thought laden Robinson probably might have been their best offensive lineman for the better part of training can. So that gives him another piece. And then it really is about figuring out what left tackle is all about. And if look, if you feel like your average to above average at four of the five spots, which I think you could probably, I can probably get there, can't you block around a bad left tackle? I mean, it will impact, it'll impact your often some, but it's, it's different than having two problems. Like they did last year, they had right tackle left tackle was an issue, right? Like even, you know, for all the PFF grades on city. So took city so a long time before city so was a, to me, a passable guard in the league. Like we're talking like late November, December. So I think it's not ideal, but I never thought they would fix the entire, the three big needs, right? Quarterback wide receiver and left tackle. I didn't think they were going to be able to fix them all in one officer. I had a dream, but it was impossible. Yeah. And, and, and especially when you looked at the free agent class of left tackle. So like it wasn't even like you could throw your money there. They tried to throw money at Ridley to a certain degree and we know what happened there. Then the question becomes, did the resources they put into the wide receiver position in the draft? Are those guys going to be worth it in the long run? Right. So, okay. So a lot of questions there. Things to touch on. Just the left tackle spot. I've come to believe that maybe L.A. Wolf's biggest, biggest mistake. Forget the name because there's not a lot of options and names out there. I think the run in the draft affected some things at the left tackle position before they were able to swing back around potentially Jonah Williams. I do think if you had Jonah Williams, you'd be better off right now. I would have done it. I would have done it. That was the one I would have done. I don't know how I missed this. I didn't realize he signed basically a two year, $30 million contract for a team that has a boatload of cap space, short term deal. You could have had him here for one year as a starter and then hell and overpaid back up for a year. Exactly. So that contract. But to me, just the bigger issue was not getting a left tackle. This idea that a right tackle can be a left tackle, whether he's a college right tackle. Chukes of Corifor right tackle. But to me, if you're going to criticize Elliott Wolf, maybe it's not the specific names. It's just get a left tackle. Don't get project, project, project because projects generally don't work out well. Yeah, I wrote about that at the time, you know, I talked to Peter King or Mike Geordie were talking about. As I wrote today. Well, they got, there are people around the league that felt like they got caught with their pants around their ankles when the when the tackle started to run in the 50s, right? So Patrick and the media corps that have the pants around their ankles when they go to the bathroom. Let's not touch that. You know, Kingsley Suo Matea, I can't pronounce his name. He's like someone I like and they sort of like waited too long and then all of a sudden was like, okay, well, the best tackle on the board left is Caden Wallace. And even though he's a right tackle, maybe some of the footwork would play a left tackle. And that's how you end up with a situation where, hey, look, he might be a really good right tackle. But that's not what you tried to sell us on. Okay, so you sold me on a positive there because in a previous podcast, I used sort of the analogy of a car where you're like, yeah, the four fish of the offensive line is good. And I'm like, yeah, a car with three wheels doesn't go anywhere. But you just maybe sold me that they have that little donut spare. You can't go far and you can't go fast, but you can move. You can get home. You can go pick your kids up and then you call AAA. Not complete disaster. Right. You didn't crash. You didn't flip. You know, six times and end up in the ditch on the side of the road. Okay. I'll be putting on that. So the Patriots, I feel like you're a little more optimistic than I am at two wins. You've got five wins. Let's go into the entirety of the NFL because I do think this is our little preview podcast. We got Thursday night football. We got Friday night football. We got a full slate of games. So I'm going to ask you a question. I'm going to throw some teams at you of the teams that I include San Francisco, Philadelphia, Detroit, the Jets, Houston, I think all teams that a lot of people believe are pretty good football teams. Throw Baltimore in there that a lot of people think are pretty good football teams. That core group of not and Kansas City, obviously, I put kind of in their own because to me, I don't, I'm never going to call for them to come up short because I don't think they're going to come up short. They're the Patriots. They are. So this other group of wannabe contenders, if you want to throw since in there, whatever that group of handful, half dozen teams is, give me one of those teams that you think is every bit going to live up to the hype and is going to be a legit final 14 and give me one of those teams that you think, maybe the hype has gotten ahead of the reality a little bit. So I would put Detroit in that mix. I just think the way they built in which mix in the, they're going to be every bit as good as the hype. Okay. I think I know. I know. That's the one. His name is Jaggoff. Do you know 15 of their 17 games in the regular season are being played in domes this year? That's good for golf. Yes. So like that's just something I can't overlook. You're prepping for the season. I mean, even tell them we're doing this. So that is to me, like, you know, one of his biggest concerns when you talk about Jaggoff is him playing outside, playing outside in the cold, I can have to do that very often. And I think with the kind of team he has around him that they're probably going to end up battling if not the one seed, the two seed. So that means you're home until at least the NFC Championship game. I actually have them as I did the projections as the home team in the NFC Championship game. So you're playing indoors the entire time, and I just think they're sort of built to win now. They've done a great job of holding the Drew Brees, Peyton Manning path to success. 100. 100%. So I just think there's enough pieces. Dan Campbell, coach of the year. DJ Reader was a really under the radar signing, and I know he just came off the PUP like a week ago, but he's like, I just have, I mean, ask anybody who tried to block him in Cincinnati. When he's on the field, he's hard to block. So they just add him to the middle of that deep line. Buy into the Lions. Danny Ventura will be very happy. I do. Buy into Baltimore because I am a huge believer in Lamar's talent. And even though he has come up short in the postseason, which is the narrative, right? He's got to, he's got to defeat that. And last year, they should have beaten the Chiefs had he played a representative game had Zay, Zay Flower's not fumbled to football and he not thrown the interception in the end zone. I just feel like his talent's so good and Harbaugh is a good enough coach that eventually he's going to break through. Right. So I put them in that same mix of like, I have Baltimore versus Detroit and the Super Bowl just for those. Okay, credibility purposes. I do want to throw in there because I think physically speaking, the mesh point of Lamar and Derek Henry on like a read option zone read, something like that might be the most challenging in the history of the game. And I'm not exaggerating. Can I just tell you? So we did on, on, on my podcast, the all 32 projects. We did our preview yesterday and I brought up that point and I said, I remember Patriots team that went in there eight no right and got smacked on I think it was a Sunday night. Yep. One of the things that jumped out to me about that game in particular was Patriots defenders were so locked into Lamar and Lamar keeping the ball that there and the way he handled the ball that there were many times where he put the ball in the belly of Mark Ingram and Mark Ingram was at the linebacker level before the linebackers and anyone else realized he had the football right. So Mark Ingram was a really good football player, Derek Henry might be on the back nine of his career, but like at six foot four 240 pounds, it keeps himself in phenomenal shape. He might have some wide ass open running lanes and like, okay, good luck to the nickel corner or the safety who has to come up and try to tackle him when now he has a full head of seat. Yeah, I really do think that right there because you're right. Is he as good as he once was? No, but he might be in the best place to not be as good as he once was working with Lamar and the opportunities that's going to afford him other than Mike for able just handing it to him and saying run up the middle. He still had over a thousand yards and people say, well, he wasn't the same player. They're offensive line the last two years. He's been absolute dog crap. This is not a dog crap line. So let's flip it. Now go the other way. One of those core contending teams that you're not necessarily buying into or believing. So I'm having a little bit of a problem right now with Cincinnati because I just think it's been a, it's been a upset alert. Well, it's, it's been a an odd off season for them, right? They're best defensive players. Andre Hendrickson, he hates his contract, he sat out for a while, he came back because they basically told him we're not doing anything about it and he can't afford to miss game checks. But how happy are you going to be? T Higgins is playing in a franchise deal. Everyone expects he won't be there next year that they won't pay him. He'll be here. And Jamar. Well, perhaps part of the Andy Hart plan, you can read about it. And so then I wonder about a guy like that who has a history of like soft tissue stuff. Sam, you know what? My hand needs a little sore today. My quads a little sore. I want to go out there and be 65% or 70% against a good corner look bad and then that cost me dollars in the end. And then of course, Jamar. Hey, oh, no, he'll, he's going to play. And then he shows up the next day back and shorts and the teacher and it's like, I never said that. That didn't come out of my mouth. Zach Taylor pulled a, to Rod May when he first reversed it a little bit. Yeah. I mean, he did. He said, I got ahead of myself there. So, you know, like, does he play this week? Does he sit out? I mean, it's crazy now that after three years, he's already demanding. Making an extension, which can't kick him until two years from now, but like, that's where we're at. If he wants more money than Justin Jefferson, I don't know. Okay. So I have this little theme I've been thinking about that I believe this could be the year of the running back in the national football league. Maybe as much as ever. We saw the off season of a little bit of value brought back to those guys. We saw some carousel of, we just talked about Derek Henry, Josh Jacobs goes to the Packers, Daquan goes to the Eagles, which I still think a lot of people don't realize he's on the Eagles. That's why he's my pick for offensive player of the year, because I think in that offense, potentially there's opportunities for him, because I also think you just referenced Jamar Chase and T Higgins in weird spots. CD Lam sat out most of the summer. Brandon Iyuk sat out most of the summer. I believe all of those guys, at least one of them will pull a hammy in this six weeks, maybe more than one of them, because I still think it's hard to just show up and play NFL football. I think if you look at history, there's a lot of examples of those guys having down years after off seasons like this. Do you think there is a chance, and here even, I'd say Ramondre Stevenson is a different level, but in the mix to be the best player on this football team, Bijon Robinson in Atlanta now has a quarterback to pair with the weapons. I feel like he could be a breakout candidate. These guys that Christian McCaffery, if he doesn't get hurt, is still living the life of the centerpiece of that great offense. Is that a theme you think, because we all fixate on quarterbacks, and that's for good reason. It's the hardest, most important position. Anything to my idea that the year of the running back, 2024, because it's funny, and you mentioned the contract part of it, we got to a point where the money got so dumb on them that it was like, wait a minute. He's, Saint Quan Barkley is too good of a player to not pay him $12 million a year or whatever the guarantee was there. Paying receivers 36, and I can't pay him. Yeah, for three years, I can't give him $26 million guaranteed or whatever it was. Yeah. I like that idea, and especially for Saint Quan and Philly, just because of- Yeah, everybody's got a client here. Quiet. That was Andrew Callahan at the Boston County. Oh, no, no. His podcast sucks. Yeah, so I could see him having a massive year in that system, you know, with hurts, with the idea of the run pass option, and obviously having the two weapons that they have outside, like, that's a scary team offensively when they click it. And now you added a real game-breaking type running back. So yeah, I can totally see that they're running back. I mean, clearly here, they want to be a run first football team, which should mean a heavy dose of Ramandra. I mean, I look at, was it Chubb, I think, had in his last season before getting hurt last year. I think, yeah, 320 carries. So I don't know if they'll go that high with Ramandra, but I think- No chance he lasts that. I mean, I'll tell you what, I'm feeding him the ball that much. Yeah, he won't make it. So B. Antonio Gibson and Frickin, Joe Michael, and my guy, Harris, will be coming off the practice squad. Okay. We're going to end with some optimism. So we know you have them with five wins, which in this day and age is semi-optimistic, actually, as to what's going on out there. Give me a couple of guys that you think, and beyond the obvious ones. Like, obviously, the hope is Drake May plays and Drake May is exciting. Jalen Polk plays, Jalen Polk's exciting. Gonzales answers some of the questions, and he heads into year three as a legit reason to believe he's a number one corner. Give me a couple optimistic names for Patriots players that fans will be like, "Huh, I kind of like him. He's added himself to the core mix." Do I dare try to pronounce Ox's name? Just call him Ox. That's what Jonathan Jones called him. Yeah. He's a fan now. Yeah. Everybody's getting- I mean, fan favorite. There's- I've talked to a few people who- and the organization is like, "You know, there's a little something there, and obviously with Judon not being a part of the equation, someone's got to eat some of those snaps, and maybe he's the guy who gets to eat some of those third down snaps." And Kian White is something we've talked about. I'm just kind of excited to see him get a- I think he's going to get a ton of snaps, and I want to see if he can just unleash that inner demon that he has. Yeah. He's- he's a bad man. He spent all summer working on sort of like some finesse moves, because he knows his power works, so it was all about trying to finesse stuff. We'll see if that plays, so I'm excited to see him. Look, he's one of my favorite guys on the team. He's talked to him, and he's just- he doesn't pull any punches, very direct, very open, and I appreciate that. And I'll give you one that I have major questions about, but I'm going to be watching him because he's getting treated as if he's done a lot in this league already, and that's Marcus Jones. Marcus Jones is like unquestioned the nickel corner, when we last saw Marcus Jones playing corner back for the football team two summers ago, and into the preseason, and then into the regular scene before he got hurt quickly, he wasn't good. Correct. I'm talking bad, but they invested this pick in him and they think we have criticism, and I feel like we've had sort of the same summer where it wasn't bad, but he's hurt a lot. I have no idea what kind of player he is. He might just be a punt returner/kick returner, and maybe someone that you design something for him on offense to get him a bump screen or two, but like as a corner, I don't know, but they're clearly counting on him, so he gets- he got a lot of my focus. And finally, real quick prediction for week one score. I hate week one games. I think they're the hardest thing to predict. You can't have week two without week one. You understand? I will take Cincinnati, but I say it's close. I say they cover. Closer than the experts think. Yeah, how about 23-17? 23-17, five wins. That's a semi-optimistic Mike Giardi. This is six-rings and football things. Beginning our weekly beat-writer chats here at Gillette Stadium. It's game week. The season is underway, Thursday night football, football's back, baby, six-rings and football things there for it all. 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