Holley: Why teams should FEAR the Patriots

Holley: Why teams should FEAR the Patriots

The Patriots are 10 and2. You see they own the best record in the NFL. They go to Buffalo. They beat them. They beat the Buccaneers in Tampa. They haven’t lost the game on the road. It’s, you know, you take take some uh some check some checks. Uh they they’ve they’ve hit some of the checkpoints, some of the the markers of a healthy franchise. Tom, is anybody afraid of the Patriots? No. You know why? Why not? They should be because they they haven’t seen Ted Johnson demolish Jerome Bettis in an AFC Championship game on a key fourth down play. They haven’t seen Rodney Harrison play at the level he did following up Malloy. They haven’t seen Willie McInness or Dion Branch or you name it. Those guys did it. You have to do it on these biggest stages to make people say, “Oh, Matt. Hollands isn’t just a role player having a good year. He’s good.” So they need that so that people start saying, “Oh, okay.” So Tom Curt says, “Yeah, teams probably do not fear the Patriots around the NFL. Should they fear the Patriots?” Chris Casper, should they fear them? I would say no. I should they they shouldn’t fear them. They should respect them. They should know they’re going to be in for a dog fight with them. But I mean, fear, you fear Tom Brady. You fear Ray Lewis. You fear greatness. And they’re not there yet. you should definitely respect them. You should say we’re gonna have to play one of our best games to beat them. And then the other thing that I think Current hit on there is there’s also fear of someone who is intimidating, you know, physically. Um the game’s changed. There aren’t a lot of guys like they don’t even want those guys in the league anymore. So that’s hard. But but I I think fear at this point, and here’s the other reason I’d say fear maybe isn’t the right word. They said this on the broadcast yesterday. The Patriots have led at halftime the last 10 games in a row. In order to fear a team, I think you’d have to think, “Oh man, even if we get on top of these guys, h that might not be enough.” So, you might fear Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City, you might fear another team that has a longer track record and say, even if we get up on top of these guys, they’re not done. We haven’t seen that indication from the Patriots yet, which is credit to them. They haven’t put themselves in that situation. But until you’re in that situation, I think fear is a difficult word to use. Again, the the word I would use is respect. And team should definitely respect them. I think they should fear them. Okay? I think they should fear them. Let me tell you why. Um, sometimes you don’t know that you should fear someone until after the fact. So, if we go back to Patrick Mahomes, the first time he was in the playoffs, nobody feared him. the first time he’s in the playoffs. Uh even the Patriots and they play them uh uh in 2018 in the AFC Championship game. Hey, you know, go to Patrick Mahomes, he got all these numbers, but he hasn’t played us. He hasn’t been against Bill Bich. And then you look back and you see what he did in that second half and you look at what he has done since. You’re like, well, I should have I didn’t know well enough to fear him. So, I I I I guess I reject the argument that, you know, you fear somebody once they put something on paper. Well, that’s easy, right? Okay. Yeah, I know that. How about fearing them just based on what they’ve done in the regular season? Sometimes the regular season is a predictor of what’s going to happen. So, you said Casper, well, they’ve led at halftime in most of their games. Okay. Flip side of that is they’ve led at halftime in most of their games. They’re good enough to leave at halftime. They’re good enough to be undefeated on the road. Everybody says beautiful things about Mike Vrabel. I mean, I I keep hearing that Drake May is an MVP candidate. If you put all those things together, yes, I fear that. If I if if all of those things are true, then I’m not excited to play a team that has a great coach, a great quarterback, and hasn’t lost a game on the road. Okay. So, do you fear the Detroit Lions? uh they don’t have a coach of the year candidate. They’ve lost games on the road and they don’t have an MVP candidate, but but they have a track record the last couple years of being one of the most physical teams in the league. They have one of the most talented rosters. They have a very good quarterback. They have a head coach who turned that thing around and is very good. So, you’re you’re saying you don’t fear them even what I’m saying is like based you can’t you can’t have it both ways. All the things I’m reading and hearing, yeah, can’t be true. And then you turn around and say, “Well, don’t worry about the Patriots.” Well, well, stop writing the articles about how Mike Vrabel is the coach of the year. Stop telling me that Drake May is has done things that no quarterback has ever done before and then say, “Well, you know, I’m not really excited. I’m not really scared of the team.” I I think that a lot of people probably haven’t seen Drake May do it against the toughest of competition and and once he has an opportunity to do that, I think a couple of these games coming up, maybe then they become a team that that other teams fear. Uh I think Mike Vel though should be definitely heavily considered in that because I think he’s one of the best coaches in the conference. So he’s not going to screw the game up. Like he’s not going to make some of the basic mistakes you’re seeing other coaches make on a week- toeek basis. But but hasn’t he kind of proven if you look at the Vrabel part of this uh this whole fear conversation? Vrabel came in as a a coach with a reputation of taking what you give him and maximizing it. Now I know that didn’t happen at the end in Tennessee. He had a long losing streak and there’s some dysfunction beginning either but but if you look at Vrabel taking Ryan Tanahill and getting to a conference championship game coming into Foxboro and beating Tom Brady in his last game as a Patriots. So that was his rep that was his reputation. Isn’t he proving that now that he is a coach that could take something that you’re not that impressed with and make it presentable? So you’ve already he’s a heck of a coach. So you I’m saying but you’ve already got that part of it from Vrabel. You’ve got May who was and I look back at this Gasper the the the real 33rd team, not the one in North Carolina, the real 33rd team. There’s a website 33rd team. But they were looking at the quarterbacks in the 2024 draft and one of the scouts there said the best quarterback in this class is Drake May. Said Drake May and they gave him a grade that was off the charts. So great May Drake May is living up to the the hype that was that was predicted for him. So if you put all these things together, maybe it’s happening and we just don’t see it. That’s possible. I would just say this on it though. It’s like were the 2001 Patriots feared like during that run? And they weren’t and they should have been. But were they feared in 2002 when they didn’t went 9 and seven and didn’t make the play like the Patriots weren’t feared as the Patriots until 2003 takes some time. So maybe it’s just that got to earn the respect which is the word the respect the Patriots have already earned. I think it’s harder to earn I think it’s harder to earn fear than it is respect. Respect the Pat give the Patriots their respect. They should be respected. But fear to me I think you got to have a little longer track record to to fear from other professional athletes, other coaches. Fears like for me fear is like I feared Kobe Bryant. I feared Larry Bird, you know, I feared Tom Brady, these all these Michael Jordan, all these great guys. Joe Montana with the ball at the end. You fear that because they earn that reputation. But I feared Jordan before he even won anything. That’s cuz you’re But I also grew up in Cleveland. Yeah, you’re That’s different. That’s Cleveland. Yeah, that’s cheating. And here’s why the Patriots are already earning the respect that that Gasper’s talking about. Maybe you should uh be feared as Holly mentions the latest AFC playoff picture. They’re the top seed at the moment. Broncos had a buy. So Patriots don’t worry about that. doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter to these people 10 and two, nineame winning streak. Don’t don’t fear it. It’s not real. And also winning games when when not playing well. The Colts remain third, but they dropped a game to the Chiefs. Uh Ravens taking over the top spot in the AC North. I don’t think that’s a surprise to many. The Bills are now the seven seed behind the Chargers and the Jaguars. You got the Steelers, Texans, and Chiefs. They’re all on the outside looking in. Yeah, that’s kind of the fascinating part here. So, who are going to be the teams that are out? Like, who is not going to make it? I I I was thinking about this today. I think there’s a good chance the Bills are out because if you look at their schedule, they have the Steelers, then they have the Bengals. Joe Burrow is going to play in that game, we think, and they have the Patriots, and they still have to play the Eagles. and the way they’re playing right now, how disappointing their season has been, the lack of weapons on offense, what’s happened with Keon Coleman there, Drake May, Josh Allen turning the football over, sort of reverting there. He’s trying to do too much and they’re turning the ball over. That game against the Texans was a that was a streak. Three straight games now they’ve turned the ball over three or more times. They haven’t done that in almost 20 years. You have to go back to 2006. I would not be surprised if the Bills missed the playoffs. Yeah, I mean that’s a good one. And you look at it, they have a it’s going to be really difficult for them, Giles, to win the division. They’ve got two losses in the division already. And one of those divisional losses is to the Patriots. And the Patriots have a real lead on them. So, you know, the Bills have a tougher schedule than the Patriots. Even with the injuries to the offensive line here to Jared Wilson and Will Campbell, it looks good for the Patriots. So, if they’re now if they’re now out of the divisional conversation, and I think they are. Yep. I think they are too. Yeah, they’re agree. So now you’re in a you’re in a dog fight and you tie breakers and conference record. I think that’s a really good call uh on their part. By the way, with the Chiefs and the Steelers, too. I think the Steelers Oh, yeah. Steel I I got the Steelers out as well. I I I would be surprised if they made it. The The question though with the Chiefs on the outside looking in, is there any chance that they don’t make it? Do you think there’s any chance? There is a chance there because their schedule’s tough. They have They’re just six and five. That’s it. I know they are. They they have three relatively easy road games left on their schedule. The three home games are relatively tough games, but again, that means those teams have to go into Kansas City in December, in January, where if their season’s on the line, the guy you fear is Patrick Mahomes, right? That’s the guy you’re talking about. So, so I I I think they still find a way in. The Texans are a team that interests me based on what we saw on Thursday night. Not just because they beat the Bills, it was just how they beat the Bills. Davis Mills. And that defense, by the way, how many best defenses in football are there right now? It feels like there’s like Denver’s up there. Houston’s up there obviously. But but Houston might legitimately be they might have the best defense. I think they do. I mean, they’re great at every level. The numbers say they are. The numbers say they’re the number one uh defense in football. And I mean, you saw what they did to what they did to Josh Allen was just just crazy. And here’s here’s the thing that really stood out to me. They got those eight sacks against Allen and most of the time they sent four. Yeah. They weren’t they weren’t sending extra guys. It was just like, “Hey, we got we got our guys in coverage. We’ll beat you on the defensive line. We will kick your ass on the defensive line.” And that’s what they do. So, I would say, you know, the Texans are interesting to me. I I think the winner of that Chiefs Texans game, which is coming up, that team’s going to make the playoffs. So, so it’s a playoff game in its own. Yeah, I feel like it is. And I feel like the Chiefs are going to win it. So, I feel like the Chiefs ultimately are going to find their way in because here’s the thing, too. You look at some of the numbers. The Chiefs defense is their numbers are good. The issue has been more on offense for the Chiefs, believe it or not. Even with Patrick Mahomes, they they can’t really run the ball. They rented a ton yesterday with Kareem Hun. And then the weapons are not the greatest, but their defense is still pretty good. And I know uh Patriots fans, this is a story for another day. I’m going to say this quickly. I know Patriots fans, especially when there was a thought of the uh Chiefs possibly winning three straight Super Bowls, it was like a threat to the It’s a threat to the dynasty. Mobilize. They can’t take over our dynasty. But this is why the Patriots dynasty is so impressive. The Chiefs have won, I think, nine straight AFC West titles. It’s either nine or 10. They got nine and on their way to 10. They’re not going to get to 10. The Patriots had a streak of 17 out of 19. It’s unbelievable in the division. So that’s seven more than what the It just shows how hard this is to do. It’s just impossible. some of these numbers and what the Chiefs have done is dynamic, but the Patriots is is still at another level. Of course, there was never a Justin Herbert in the, you know, AFC East that whole time. That’s right. True. Not not a Justin Herbert. Not even a not even a really respectable Bo Nicks. No. And you want to bring up Gino Smith? Chad Pennington. There was a lot of Gino Smith. Chad Pennington. He literally was including Gino Smith playing himself. Gino Smith as himself. Tuesday at 6 movie. Catch another edition of the Patriots Talk podcast. Tommy Kern’s got the latest on the pass after their win over the Bengals.

Michael Holley and Chris Gasper debate whether teams should fear the Patriots, who sit at 10–2 on the season.