The Patriots are better than we thought after 6-2 start | Sports Final

The Patriots are better than we thought after 6-2 start | Sports Final

All right. Well, my guys are all here. Mike Reese, Christian Foyer, Dan Roach. Patriots are now six and two, guys. And let me tell you something. Week eight into the season. You didn’t predict six and two, Christian. I know you didn’t. No, I did not. I mean, raise your hand if you did. I thought they would win, you know. Of course he did. He never picks a game. You don’t even count. Hey, let me tell you something. I had them for at least 10 wins. You picked eight and0. I didn’t pick. I didn’t pick 8 and0. You picked 16. Listen, nobody needs to brag about it. The reality is that they’re better than we thought. The schedule is worse than we could imagine, which is a benefit to them. Um, and they have a all the issues that they had earlier in the season for the most part have gone away. There’s still some things they need to clean up, Mikey, but for the most part, you got to feel really happy about where they’re at. I just I can’t believe it. First of all, I have to be honest. Like, no, I really can’t believe how fast it’s turned around, guys. And I think the region is wide open. Like you look around the league. Anyone can win this thing. They are getting better. Yeah. And what what’s refreshing about it is uh coming into the season, the expectations were eh from the Patriots fans. So now the fans are really into it and there’s just a good feeling around everywhere. I kind of look at the wide receiver group as the example of what coaching and of what confidence and what a guy like Drake May can do for a group. It’s their confidence grows week in and week out, getting better and better with the same group of guys that were basically here for the last two years. Dan, you mentioned that wide receiver group and I got to give Josh McDaniels a whole lot of credit. The way he’s spreading the ball around. Drake May’s making the passes. McDaniels, he’s using his mindset to spread the ball around and these guys are not dropping the football, Mike. And these guys are coming up with big time catches. Tight ends are coming up with big time catches. Taan Booty is now Drake May’s go-to guy on the deep threat. And I I like what you said about Josh because I thought Josh did some great things at halftime of this game, right? At halftime, you’re thinking to yourself, man, they’re they can’t block Miles Garrett. They’re having trouble getting a yard. It was just hard, right? And then it was like everything changed. And so I start with Josh and then Christian on the receivers. To me, Diggs is the tone setter. Like he’s the guy, right? like well you you need an alpha obviously but what I see is so to your point though I do want to touch on this because you mentioned it the first series in the third quarter seven plays 77 yards and a touchdown you think about what Josh McDaniels decided to do let’s get the ball out on the edges let’s give let’s toss the play let’s get under center let’s get them there in a hurry let’s remove the edge players ability to disrupt the play and string it out right so then they do toss play toss play then they do jet sweep to the other side and now you got the defense the complete the Browns defense on their heels. Then you go pop pass and then you go run and they have no idea what is coming. That is to me the beauty of Josh Daniels. I just like feel like once he kind of figures it out and he computes everything, he’s like just building information, right? And then he finds an opportunity with the double passes, all the trick plays that we’ve seen for years that Amida and Edelman did. He’s throwing them out there. And the thing about the receivers and now shut up. No, they all have a role. Yeah. An easy identifiable role. Here’s what I’m good at. I’ll wait. I’m happy for you. You’re happy for me. And nobody’s jealous. And I think what I what I like about it all is it’s led by Drake May, right? This we’ve been saying for a long time. This is a coach quarterback league. And to watch the emergence of May has been incredible. Cleveland haven’t Cleveland hadn’t allowed a 300yard pass in 34 straight games and I think he threw for about 280 today somewhere around there. So with the three touchdowns and Steve listening to Pat Kerwin on the NFL network earlier this week and I followed it up and looked up some numbers. Drake May threw uh now eight games rushing, 40 uh 51 attempts for 250 yards, two touchdowns, and 19 first downs. 19 first downs when he runs with the football. Tua the last four years. Yeah. Has 20 less yards total and 15 first downs. So he basically every time Drake runs he runs with a purpose and that’s to get yardage to get a first down. But but they’re not designed runs. They’re broken plays. So what you see teams doing defensively, they’re all going to have a spy. They have to devote one player to literally just sit there and watch what he does because he gets say that about a Josh Allen. Well, now you’re saying about a pitcher and it it just it just they evolve and you get more guys open. I get favorable matchups and he has this uncanny ability to find the seam get open Mike and I tell you the only issue is I get nervous about how how often he gets hit and how he falls. That’s something he needs to absolutely work on. I absolutely loved the way you broke down what Josh McDaniels did in the third quarter and how he attacked that that fires me up. The other thing that fires me up, Steve, did you hear it? MVP. MVP. What are your thoughts on that? I said is in the conversation. I said that. Let me tell you something. I said that earlier today and Christian did this. Bump the brakes. Bump the brakes. How could you not after today? Did you not do that? I did, but I used my right. I used my right foot. I’m not trying to be so kind to me even if you let me say it. You’re so nice to me the bridge. I Are you still pumping? Are you still pumping? No, it’s a real thing. He’s in the conversation. But you need Listen, there’s some blueb bloodoods. I keep talking about it. How can he not be in the conversation? There’s Josh Allen. There’s Patrick Mahomes. There’s guys that have Daniel Jones. The story lines are just as good. Keep get keep getting those stats. Keep winning. Keep making memorable plays and being the difference making. Keep upright. touchdown to interception ratio all matters. You’ll be in the conversation in the end. Like absolutely. That’s just that I’m still, you know, No, you got to pump less. I’m just I’m in second gear right now. Pump less. I also love I love how he responded to the adversity of the interception. First interception since week and he grinds. He’s only got what? Three picks on the season. Yeah. Week eight, three picks. Yeah. And how many touchdown passes? He had 12 coming in today. He’s got 15. Plus three. Northwest is right there. We go.

Steve Burton, Dan Roche, Mike Reiss, and Christian Fauria share their thoughts on the 6-2 New England Patriots after the team’s fifth straight win. They discuss Drake Maye’s emergence and ability to run, the unselfish nature of the wide receiver group, and Josh McDaniels’ work with the offense.

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