Patriots BUZZ From the NFL Combine | Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast - video Dailymotion

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In the latest episode of the Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast with Nick Cattles, Greg and Nick delve into various topics surrounding the New England Patriots. They discuss whether the Patriots already have a plan in place for their future, with Greg expressing some skepticism. The conversation then shifts to the top three quarterbacks in the draft and whether any of them fit Eliot Wolf's vision for the team, as well as the possibility of drafting a QB given Mac Jones' uncertain future. They also touch on Belichick's fondness for Jayden Daniels and express confidence in Eliot Wolf's decision-making. Additionally, they cover Jerod Mayo's recent comments about Belichick and the team's financial situation, the potential for JC Jackson to return on a reduced contract, and the Patriots' poor ranking in the latest NFLPA survey.  0:00 Patriots Have a plan already? Greg disagrees 8:25 Top 3 QBs do they fit Eliot Wolf's vision? Will they draft one? 10:03 Mac on way out, Will Pats take QB 21:00 Belichick loved Jayden Daniels 22:09 Eliot Wolf knows what he’s doing 26:33 Mayo walks back Belichick talk and cash to burn 32:00 Sounds like JC Jackson could be back on reduced contract 33:20 Patriots get slammed on NFLPA survey  ﻿Check Greg's Coverage out over at www.bostonsportsjournal.com, for $50 on BSJ's annual plan. Not only do you get top-notch analysis of all the Boston pro sports, but if you're a Patriots junkie — and if you're listening to this podcast, you are — then a membership at BSJ gives you access to a ton of video analysis Bedard does on the coaches film, and direct access to him in weekly chats.  This episode of the Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast w/ Nick Cattles is brought to you by:  PrizePicks! Get in on the excitement with PrizePicks, America’s No. 1 Fantasy Sports App, where you can turn your hoops knowledge into serious cash. Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100! Pick more. Pick less. It’s that Easy!   Football season may be over, but the action on the floor is heating up. Whether it’s Tournament Season or the fight for playoff homecourt, there’s no shortage of high stakes basketball moments this time of year. Quick withdrawals, easy gameplay and an enormous selection of players and stat types are what make PrizePicks the #1 daily fantasy sports app!

Transcript

00:00 This is the Greg Bedard Patriots podcast with Nick Cavins.

00:08 Greg's back from Indy, hopefully with better internet service.

00:11 But first, let me tell you, the Greg Bedard Patriots podcast is brought to you by our

00:15 friends at PrizePix.

00:16 PrizePix, the largest daily fantasy sports platform in North America.

00:21 PrizePix is the easiest and most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports.

00:24 It's just you against the numbers.

00:27 Greg, welcome back to good old New England, lots of buzz today.

00:31 All of a sudden, a bunch of stories.

00:33 We got a story from the Athletic.

00:35 We got a story from MassLive.

00:37 Andrew Callahan and Doug Kite at the Boston Herald just jumped in.

00:40 Lots of buzz about the Patriots, their desire for a quarterback at three.

00:46 Have they made up their mind?

00:47 Have they yet to make up their mind?

00:48 What did you hear out there at Indianapolis?

00:53 So basically, they have not made up their mind yet.

00:58 This is so early in the process.

01:00 To me, this is absolutely ridiculous.

01:03 They're just talking to these guys for the first time this week.

01:06 And then you also have, you'll have pro day, you'll have interviews at the pro day or around

01:15 the pro day.

01:16 And the biggest thing is going to be the top 30 visits.

01:18 And I can almost tell you, they'll probably bring in at least, I don't know, eight quarterbacks

01:23 into Foxborough to get a full day with them, along with the medicals that are going on.

01:29 To me, it's just, to me, it's ridiculous that we're talking about the Patriots making a

01:34 decision.

01:35 Now, do I think that they want to take a quarterback at three?

01:39 Yes, absolutely.

01:42 Am I almost 100% sure that they will take a quarterback somewhat high, either the first

01:46 or the second round?

01:48 Absolutely.

01:50 You know, halfway through the combine, after just sitting with these guys, do I think they're

01:56 settled on this is what we're going to do?

01:58 We're going to draft a quarterback at number three?

02:00 No, I think that's absolutely ridiculous.

02:02 It just is.

02:04 And so these are the things that I know.

02:07 The Crafts absolutely love the quarterback on a rookie contract.

02:11 They think it's the biggest deal in the world.

02:14 They think it's a cheat code.

02:15 They think it's all this stuff.

02:16 That is absolutely a fact.

02:19 Mack Jones will no longer be here, probably in a trade at some point.

02:24 Bailey Zappi is likely to go at some point in time.

02:27 That could take a while, because they've got to figure out what they have.

02:31 And the first step in all this is free agency, trading period, stuff like that.

02:36 And that's even before we get into the draft.

02:37 So yeah, I mean, are they going to get a veteran quarterback?

02:41 Yeah, no duh.

02:42 I mean, you know, what are they going to do, not have any quarterbacks next year?

02:45 So look, and here's the other thing.

02:49 The Patriots have the number three pick.

02:54 There is a very clear line between the top three quarterbacks and then the rest.

02:59 The Patriots are in a power position at number three.

03:04 The best way to do business, and Elliot Wolfe, he's experienced.

03:09 He knows what he's doing.

03:12 He is going to keep all options open as far as the number three pick.

03:17 And what better way, if you're looking at this as a, not long-term rebuild, but a definite

03:22 rebuild here, what better way then to kick that off than say, all right, maybe when they

03:28 get done with the quarterbacks at the end of the day, maybe they like some guys in the

03:31 second group.

03:32 And if somebody's going to come up, be Atlanta or the Giants or whoever, wants to come up

03:39 to number three and they, you're selling, oh yeah, we're taking a quarterback at number

03:43 three, the Patriots, I'm sure we'll get a report at some point in time.

03:46 The Patriots love all three quarterbacks at the top of the draft.

03:50 You know, it would be a dereliction of duty as a general manager, not to have people thinking

03:58 that you want to take a quarterback at number three.

04:00 You know, it's liar season.

04:02 The Patriots, even if they hate the top three guys, are going to sell that they love the

04:05 top three guys just to get those offers.

04:07 So I think Elliot Wolf at the end of the day wants all options on the table and then he'll

04:13 proceed accordingly.

04:14 All right.

04:15 A lot to unpack there.

04:16 First I would say that my reading of these reports today is not necessarily, oh, this

04:22 is going to be a guarantee, especially Jeff Howe and Chad Graff.

04:26 Now maybe mass live went a little bit deeper, but when I'm looking at the athletic report,

04:32 it's very similar to Andrew Callahan.

04:34 It's very similar to what you're saying, which is, look, do they want to?

04:38 Yes.

04:39 They would love to draft a quarterback at number three if that quarterback checks all

04:43 the boxes.

04:44 And so I think there's a difference between want and a guarantee they will do it right.

04:51 They want to get a quarterback at number three and a perfect world.

04:55 All of these guys would check those boxes and they would draft Mayor Daniels at three

04:59 and they'd be doing jumping jacks in the war room.

05:02 So I think there's a difference between wanting something and saying that somebody is going

05:07 to do something.

05:08 Secondly, as far as craft and the rookie scaled contract with a quarterback, I'm not saying

05:13 that Greg, you're saying this, but I just want to make sure because of a lot of the

05:17 things that have been thrown out there recently about craft being cheap and lack of money

05:21 and the NFL PA survey, which I'm sure we'll get to a little bit later on.

05:26 A lot of owners love the idea of a rookie scaled contract that quarterback pretty much

05:31 every owner loves that idea because you don't have to pay that guy 40 million a year.

05:36 So everybody in the league loves that thought aside from the quarterback themselves.

05:42 And the last thing I would say to Greg about the power position, I was thinking about this

05:46 earlier today during my podcast, Nick cattle show, you can check it out on YouTube.

05:51 I was trying to figure out the smoke screen agenda and I'm not sure if this would be leaked

05:57 if the Patriots wanted to try to get as much for the pick as, as possible.

06:03 Like to me, if you were trying to sell the giants or another team on the idea of moving

06:09 up for a quarterback, would you not put out there that you actually weren't that interested

06:14 in the quarterback to, to let them know and to, and to say, Hey, highest bidder, I'm not

06:19 looking for the quarterback.

06:20 So if you want the quarterback, you better move your ass up to the third pick.

06:23 Wouldn't it be the opposite if that was what they were trying to do here?

06:28 I don't think so.

06:29 I mean, I think, I think when you're talking about the top of the draft and trading up

06:34 there, like say for example, like the 49ers did with the dolphins, um, that it's a quarterback

06:40 spot and that you're selling it as a quarterback spot.

06:42 To me, it's, it puts a premium on the, on the value and you get more out of it.

06:47 I mean, I just, if I'm a GM, I'm putting out there that, that we love all the quarterbacks,

06:53 but you know, we'll listen to offers to, to see if anybody wants to jump off and give

06:58 us sort of that, that grandfather trade, which is what I would be looking for, especially

07:03 in, in, it comes down to your evaluation of the next tier, the rest of the quarterbacks

07:08 in this draft.

07:09 I mean, who knows, they might get to the end of this and say, you know what, really relatively

07:14 like we love JJ McCarthy or Pennix or Bo Nix.

07:18 And you know, the best thing for us is to trade down a little bit, maybe get the tackle,

07:22 then get the quarterback next, um, that sort of thing to set us up for success.

07:28 As far as the first report this morning, we should say, um, and that was from the athletic,

07:34 we should say that, you know, as far as McCarthy and Penix and Knicks, those guys were brought

07:37 up in the story and nowhere in that story, did it say the Patriots weren't interested

07:42 in those guys or didn't like those guys?

07:45 It was more, Hey, you know, McCarthy's likely going in the first round, so he's not going

07:49 to be there in the second round.

07:51 Bo Nix might be actually, you know, kind of creeping up towards the latter portion of

07:55 the first round.

07:56 So if the Patriots were to wait until the second round, Penix might be the only guy

08:00 that remains available.

08:01 Again, it wasn't the Patriots would not be interested in Penix.

08:04 It was just kind of trying to set up the framework of how this might all fall together.

08:09 With all of that said, Greg, I mean, I really don't know anything about these reports other

08:12 than that.

08:13 I heard about the mass live report, but I don't know about the other reports.

08:16 I'm just telling you what I heard at the combine is sort of where I think the Patriots

08:20 are.

08:23 With that in mind, Elliott Wolf said earlier this week that, you know, he looks at toughness.

08:28 He pushed toughness, toughness, toughness, toughness.

08:31 When looking at the quarterback position along with body language, any idea if these top

08:35 three guys fit that Wolf criteria?

08:38 Yeah, Wolf was, he said it in front of us, the general media as a general, like quarterbacks.

08:46 It seems like all these guys are meet their sort of toughness trait that they're looking

08:51 for.

08:52 He actually meant all all three of the top three quarterbacks.

08:55 Now, I don't know what he thinks about the rest of them, but I could tell you the top

08:58 three guys, they think they they all check the box for the toughness thing that they're

09:03 looking for.

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10:03 Let's continue with the quarterback conversation.

10:05 So the idea you mentioned that, Mac, I think, you know, pretty much everybody's come out

10:09 at this point said Max gone.

10:11 The likelihood is he's going to get traded.

10:14 Patriots could get a fifth round pick, maybe form.

10:17 They might try extra hard for a fourth round pick, but Mac is as good as gone from many

10:22 people on the scene there in Indy.

10:25 Would the Patriots be content, Greg, if they did draft a quarterback at three?

10:30 Would they be content with that quarterback in Bailey's appy remaining on the roster as

10:34 well or is that be gone too?

10:38 I think Zappi is the type of situation that you either go through the offseason, whether

10:43 it's OTAs or mini camp or even in the training camp where you evaluate things.

10:49 And I will think that I would guess that Zappi would appeal to Alex Van Pelt in certain ways

10:56 because Alex Van Pelt loves play action.

11:00 He's one of the best play fakers ever at the position from from his playing days.

11:05 And Zappi is really, really good at that.

11:07 He is.

11:08 And it's something we've talked about in the past, about how like I liked Zappi over Mac

11:13 Jones.

11:14 Like Mac Jones is a terrible play faker.

11:15 It drove me up a wall and Zappi is really good.

11:19 And I think that's going to be part of their offense.

11:22 And so could it.

11:24 And plus, you know, his his contract is, you know, his draft contract.

11:28 Like it's it's cheap, you know, depending on depending on what happens in the draft.

11:34 I mean, if they just get one quarterback in the draft, I mean, I don't preclude them from

11:39 maybe taking a later round pick that they like some of their traits, because I remember

11:43 I was in Green Bay when Wolf was there and one of the first drafts that I covered when

11:49 they were there.

11:50 And this is when they already had Aaron Rodgers.

11:53 I think it was I think it was the draft after Favre was gone and they drafted both Brian

11:59 Brom and I want to say about the third round and Matt Flynn late in that draft.

12:04 And it didn't take very long that you were like Brian Brom stunk late, you know, and

12:10 so he didn't last all that long and Flynn overtook him.

12:14 So I wouldn't preclude the Patriots from from doing something like that.

12:19 Brian Brom catching strays on the pod today.

12:21 All right.

12:22 Here's here's a here's a smoke screen I got about this stuff coming out today.

12:27 And all of this is just look, trying to set up a plausible scenario.

12:31 Greg, you mentioned maybe it's trying to build the value of the third pickup.

12:37 Is it possible?

12:39 Is it possible that the Patriots not knowing if these guys are going to check every box

12:44 for them, right?

12:45 Not knowing if the guy sitting at three could check those boxes?

12:49 Is it possible that these reports coming out today are more of a smoke screen for free

12:55 agency trying to get somebody's price tag down?

12:59 Is that a plausible city?

13:01 We've read in some places Jeremy Fowler was was somebody, you know, at ESPN who mentioned

13:07 Baker Mayfield.

13:08 I'm not telling you that Baker like Baker's likely going back to Tampa.

13:11 But is it possible that this is a smoke screen to some some free agent out there saying,

13:16 hey, if you think you're going to hold us over a barrel for 40 million a year, we love

13:21 the quarterback options and we really want to draft a quarterback at number three.

13:25 Is that at least plausible here?

13:28 I mean, I guess, but I just don't I don't see Wolf and those guys operating that way.

13:34 I think they they are more, you know, and really, if you're Baker Mayfield, for example,

13:41 since we're talking about him, I mean, you know that the Patriots might draft a quarterback

13:45 like I don't really think it affects you or your market.

13:49 I mean, he's going to have a market at least three or four teams competing and then it

13:53 then it comes down to to how much money.

13:56 All right, let's move on from the quarterback situation, because there's other people on

14:00 this football team, other people may be leaving this team.

14:04 So aside from quarterbacks, Greg, any intel on Michael Wenu and Kyle Duggar?

14:08 Yeah, I think it's pretty clear.

14:12 And you know, some of this is from Wolf's comments.

14:14 Some of this is from talking to people at the combine.

14:18 You know, it's very clear that they are these guys view this as a rebuild, at least like

14:25 sort of resetting the foundation in the direction.

14:30 And I really think that they are more prone to spend somewhat.

14:36 And we even heard Gerard Mayo started to back away from his.

14:40 We have cash to burn comment at the combine that that they're more likely to invest in

14:48 their own free agents, you know, spend a bulk of their money.

14:52 They're look for some guys in free agency that makes sense from a long term view.

14:58 Like these guys are taking the long term view.

15:00 They're not going to they're not looking short term to bring in somebody to put them over

15:04 the top.

15:05 They're going to look for term age ability to have them here.

15:11 Certainly affordability.

15:13 And so I think they're going to I think they're going to try to bring back a bunch of their

15:16 guys.

15:17 I don't think that like Josh is going to be back.

15:19 Not necessarily.

15:20 I think that a winning will be a priority.

15:23 I think that Duggar will be a priority.

15:25 Whether that happens or not, we'll have to see in terms of his market.

15:29 You know, guys like Anthony Jennings, I think they're going to try to they're going to try

15:33 to spend a bulk of their their money in free agency on re signing their guys, look for

15:39 similar younger guys on other teams that are perhaps getting overlooked.

15:43 And then they're going to rely on the draft and they're going to rely on this coaching

15:46 staff to to develop these guys.

15:48 They're going to I could see them blowing out a large portion of their wide receiver

15:54 room, Devante Parker, Juju Smith, Schuster.

15:57 And you know, you can use your cap on dead cap to just reset everything.

16:02 And I think that's what they have in mind.

16:05 So would you rule out any outside big ticket item, for example, Calvin Ridley?

16:11 Would you warn fans to temper their expectations and say not really much of a shot at a name

16:17 coming in like that?

16:19 No, I look, it's going to depend on the market for a guy like that.

16:24 I mean, I think that's the type of guy, you know, first guy out in free agency getting

16:29 his first big money contract.

16:33 That's the type of thing that they would do because he would be here three to five years.

16:38 So I think they will look long and hard at that.

16:41 You know, whether they're going to be top of the market, I don't know.

16:44 It'll be I'm very interested to see how Elliott handles this, because I'm not sure if we talked

16:49 about this before.

16:50 I definitely talked about it, I think, on my solo pod when I couldn't get any Internet

16:56 access with you.

16:57 But, you know, Ted Thompson, when he was with the Green Bay Packers, used to give his front

17:01 office executives like the whole front office used to take the first weekend of free agency

17:06 off on purpose because he's like, we're not we're not spending funny money now.

17:11 Times have changed.

17:12 There wasn't the tampering period.

17:14 I mean, you sort of have to be in on the tampering period to get anything because those guys

17:18 get checked off.

17:19 And, you know, by the third day, even before true free agency starts, you're you're on

17:25 to the second wave, basically.

17:26 And I but yeah, I think I they will they will be in on guys like a Ridley, like not a Mike

17:34 Evans.

17:35 I would be stunned if they did like a Mike Evans, a 30 something wide receiver who you

17:41 don't know how long he's going to be at the top of this game.

17:43 But a Calvin Ridley, who hasn't played a whole lot of football, is just sort of, you know,

17:49 perhaps coming into his prime.

17:51 Those are guys that I could see them bidding on, but I don't think it's going to be multiple

17:55 guys.

17:56 I couldn't I can't see them reenacting what happened in twenty twenty one.

17:59 Just one note on Ridley.

18:00 I know a lot of people are like, oh, he's he's twenty nine or he's going to be twenty

18:04 nine.

18:05 But let's not forget this dude missed almost two years of football.

18:08 So he's got fresh legs.

18:09 He's got young legs.

18:11 So don't overlook that.

18:13 Don't just look at the age.

18:14 Think about his specific situation and the fact that he missed almost two years.

18:20 And those legs are a little bit younger.

18:21 I would also say, Greg, to go along with what you mentioned about long term fix versus quick

18:26 fix and all that stuff.

18:29 Karen and Chris and who am I missing?

18:32 Oh, Mark at Mass Live.

18:34 Part of that story was that even if the Patriots do pick a quarterback at number three, they're

18:40 not going to rush the quarterback.

18:41 And I'll tell you, I love that.

18:44 I love the fact that if that is true, if you draft Drake May and you feel like May needs

18:51 a year of seasoning and he's not quite ready to take over.

18:56 I love this idea of the Patriots front office and Elliott Wolfe and Gerard Mayo looking

19:01 at the big picture and saying this isn't about 2024, this about 2025 and beyond.

19:07 And if we've got to sit this guy for a year, if that means his development is going to

19:11 go better and he's going to be better in the long term for us, then by all means do it.

19:15 Because I think that really is putting the football team first, Greg, and not trying

19:19 to satiate some of these fans that that want wins right away with this new crew.

19:25 Yeah, I completely agree.

19:27 I mean, I think these guys are going to be disciplined and diligent about how they rebuild

19:33 this thing.

19:34 And, you know, if if the guy's not ready, like if Drake May, who's on the younger side

19:39 of these prospects, is not quite there in terms of his footwork and and mechanics and

19:46 things like that, and you have, you know, Alex Van Pelt and Ben McAdoo and TJ, TC McCartney

19:54 as the quarterbacks coach, and these guys know what they're doing with the quarterback

19:58 position, they're they're not going to they're not going to rush it.

20:01 It's the long term view.

20:02 You're building this this thing back into a contender.

20:06 And just because it might be exciting to have the rookie quarterback out there and, you

20:10 know, what are we left to play for?

20:12 You know, now that we're, you know, four and ten, let's put the kid out there.

20:17 They're not going to do that.

20:18 They are looking at this as a long term, not long term, but, you know, definitely a rebuild

20:24 where they're going to build this the right way.

20:27 And it's going to be brick by brick all over the place.

20:31 And when they feel like they're ready for the rookie to play, when they feel like he's

20:35 ready, they'll bring him along.

20:37 And I do think that's the right thing to do for this team.

20:41 Too many teams get into it.

20:43 And, you know, we talked about it with the whole Mac Jones things about how to ruin your

20:46 young franchise quarterback and five easy steps.

20:49 And the Patriots ace that with the former regime.

20:53 You know, these guys know what they're doing in terms of how to how to bring up a quarterback

20:59 the right way.

21:00 Before I forget, I just want to slide this in as well.

21:03 What'd you make of Bridget Condon yesterday on the NFL network saying that Bill Belichick

21:07 loved the Jaden Daniels and that he was really kind of at the top of Belichick's mind when

21:13 it came to the draft and that he was going to be willing to do anything that it would

21:16 have taken to get Jaden Daniels here in New England?

21:23 I don't really have much of a comment on it.

21:27 You know, now Bill's not even here and we're giving him credit for the it's just to me,

21:31 it's like sort of the same nonsense that we we heard before about like Bill gets all all

21:36 this credit and he for things that aren't really under his purview or in his control.

21:42 And but I do find it interesting that I'm pretty sure she's Tom Condon's.

21:49 Tom Condon's daughter who Belichick and Tom Condon hated each other.

21:53 And I would be interested to see which quarterbacks Tom Condon is representing this year in the

21:59 draft and wondering if that's a plant for the benefit of one of his clients.

22:06 Interesting.

22:07 All right, let's move on here.

22:08 I know that you did a quick pot on Tuesday from Indy about the Elliott Wolf press conference.

22:14 Any leftovers that you might have not brought up?

22:16 Anything more that you've thought about over the last couple of days regarding what he

22:20 had to say and how he handled himself?

22:25 Not really.

22:26 I mean, look, I just I think Elliott was really good.

22:29 I just think, you know, you can tell that this is a guy who knows what he's doing, who's

22:34 been thinking about for a very long time that if he was put into a power position like this

22:39 with an organization, he has a very clear plan for what that's going to look like, how

22:44 he's going to execute it.

22:46 And I think it's it's a it's a great deal for the Patriots.

22:51 I mean, even talking to people in Indianapolis and people have worked with Elliott or people

22:56 who know of Elliott and also Alonzo Highsmith, who was there and, you know, definitely Alonzo

23:04 is one of these guys who everybody knows, who everybody loves.

23:07 And I just think like those two guys, plus Matt Groh in a power position with the Patriots

23:13 is is a really good thing.

23:15 And I think it's it's good for doing business with the Patriots.

23:19 I think that I'll be interested to see how the trades are done, like, for example, you

23:26 know, one thing that I've picked up in the last couple of weeks is that, you know, one

23:30 team to keep an eye on for Mac Jones is the Seahawks.

23:34 Now, you know, why would that?

23:36 Well, certainly Elliott Wolfe and John Schneider work together in Green Bay.

23:40 So that's easy.

23:41 It'll be interesting to see who Wolfe and Highsmith sort of do trade with.

23:46 You could see John Dorsey, who is basically Elliott Wolfe's mentor, is in Detroit as a

23:52 senior personnel executive.

23:54 You know, they have Jared Goff.

23:55 He's not getting any younger.

23:57 Of course, they have Hennon Hooker on their team.

24:01 So we'll have to see how he develops and things like that.

24:04 But I think John Schneider is a guy who, you know, looks back at his college evaluations

24:10 of players.

24:11 I think that he liked Mac Jones coming out.

24:14 I think a lot of people are questioning what exactly happened to him here.

24:17 And they're probably doing due diligence with the Patriots on that.

24:20 But John Schneider is one of these guys who's always looking for a good deal.

24:24 And you know, Gino Smith is not their franchise quarterback for multiple years.

24:29 So you know, why not take a chance, a flyer on a Mac Jones to get him evaluated?

24:34 And I think one of the things, Nick, when we talk about compensation, and this goes

24:38 for like Justin Fields as well.

24:42 So these guys that are going into the last year of their contract, whether or not you

24:45 pick up their fifth year option.

24:49 You know, when you're looking at a Mac Jones, because you're probably not going to pick

24:55 up his fifth year option because you're bringing him in to sort of be a backup, sort of see

24:59 what you have.

25:00 You know, about a fourth round pick or fifth round pick would be sort of the sweet spot

25:05 because if he walks, you could get a compensatory pick for him.

25:10 If you bring him in for one year and he does some things and people hear nice things, they

25:15 sign them in the offseason.

25:17 Now you're basically you haven't lost anything on the deal.

25:20 And that's the type of thing that Schneider likes to do.

25:23 It's a smart point.

25:24 I'll just say this about Wolf.

25:27 I thought he hit a home run.

25:29 I really do.

25:30 And people might say, oh, Nick, you're going overboard.

25:32 No, I'm not.

25:33 And I'm also not telling you that this is going to work.

25:36 I'm judging him off of the press conference.

25:38 Right. Actions versus words.

25:40 What he had to say this week in Indy, I thought, you know, what else did he have to tell you

25:47 for you to believe that he knows what he's doing?

25:50 Doesn't mean that he's going to do everything right or this is going to end up being successful.

25:54 But I mean, he went in depth about his philosophy.

25:56 He went in depth about the quarterback position.

25:58 He went in depth about the you know, how they're going to change and how they have changed

26:02 the grading system.

26:03 He went in depth on, you know, the idea of culture.

26:06 He answered every question, I think.

26:09 That everybody wanted answered.

26:11 He answered the Robin Glazer question.

26:13 He answered the ownership question.

26:15 If you walked away from that press conference saying, oh, I feel like he didn't say enough.

26:21 Then nobody can win.

26:23 Nobody can win a press conference.

26:24 Just forget it.

26:25 You're not happy.

26:26 You're not going to be happy.

26:28 And don't even watch or listen to the press conferences.

26:30 That would be my suggestion.

26:32 As far as Gerard Mayo.

26:35 Maybe said a little bit too much, Greg, early on in his head coaching tenure, because Gerard

26:42 he's walking some things back.

26:44 Of course, yesterday he said, you know, we compare ourselves.

26:48 So when we're talking about being different, we're not taking shots at at Bill.

26:52 And then he also with Karen Guerizian in the at Mass Live walked back is cash to burn statement.

27:00 What's your reaction to Mayo addressing those two things and walking them both back here?

27:06 Yeah, he's just he's new at this and this is what you get.

27:11 And he's going to, you know, walk into some minefields, I'm sure.

27:14 And it's, you know, it's a lot different as a head coach than it is as a player.

27:22 As far as, you know, their quote unquote shots at the Patriots or or the Belichick way or

27:28 whatever you want to say.

27:31 I think people got to stop being so freaking sensitive.

27:34 I mean, thank you know, but this is also what you get when you choose when you readily choose

27:40 to succeed a legend.

27:42 This happens all over the place, whether it's, you know, the Cowboys or the Dolphins or whatever.

27:48 When you follow a legend like people are going to be sensitive and it comes with the territory.

27:54 So you have to be prepared for it.

27:57 But I have no problem with anything that they've said.

28:00 They needed to be different from the way Belichick did things, especially post Tom Brady.

28:08 You know, they wanted to a lot of people wanted the culture to change.

28:13 And I don't mind them saying that that we're changing some things.

28:18 And you know, if if people want to be sensitive about that, I just think it's it's ridiculous.

28:24 They they did need to change things from Bill.

28:26 They'd gone downhill, especially in terms of personnel and how they developed players,

28:31 which they stopped doing.

28:33 And you know how they coach the players and the atmosphere in the building and how Bill

28:38 didn't listen to anybody in terms of personnel and a lot of different things.

28:42 It's a new day down in Foxborough.

28:45 And I think that shouldn't be embraced.

28:46 The past is the past.

28:47 No one's saying like the past wasn't good and all that stuff.

28:50 But it was in the past.

28:51 It was a long ago in the past.

28:53 And so that they're moving forward and not afraid to talk about how they're going to

28:57 be different.

28:58 I have no problem with that.

28:59 I'm so tired of this.

29:01 I am.

29:03 This is my chance to let something off of my chest here because I'm not on one of the

29:07 two radio stations and I'm not part of these echo chambers and the voices out there.

29:12 So I just want to take this as my opportunity quickly to address the nonstop.

29:18 Oh, they're taking shots at Bill and they're going out of their way to take shot.

29:23 First of all, the number one priority for Mayo and Wolf to me out of what they can control

29:30 right now was to change the perception of what this franchise had become under Belichick.

29:37 It was to draw the line of delineation.

29:40 This is how we're going to be different from the last guy because we just won four games.

29:44 We were just under 500 combined the last four years since Brady left.

29:49 So this is how we're going to evolve.

29:53 And you have to explain that to the fan base.

29:56 I think you have to explain that to free agents that you're looking at prospective guys that

30:01 might be on the roster next year.

30:03 You have to explain that to guys like Duggar and a winnow because they've got to make decisions

30:08 on whether or not they want to stay here long term.

30:10 So yes, it's somewhat of a PR campaign, but the whole idea is that you are trying to differentiate

30:17 yourself between the last regime.

30:20 And if you sat there, here's another thing, Greg, and I don't know if you agree with this

30:23 or not.

30:25 If Gerard Mayo and Elliott Wolf were both up there singing Belichick's praises, I'm

30:32 going to make you a guarantee.

30:34 The guarantee is that at least some people that have been picking apart everything that's

30:39 been said and saying, oh, they're taking shots.

30:41 I can guarantee you that some of those same people would say, wait a minute.

30:47 Well if Belichick had it all figured out, why did you fire him?

30:50 If the culture was great, then why did you move on from him?

30:54 Look at these guys.

30:55 Same front office.

30:56 Gerard Mayo only knows one thing, New England.

30:59 We're going to have a bunch of Belichick clones running around here.

31:02 You can't have it both ways.

31:04 You can't bitch about some of Belichick's culture and say things need to change.

31:08 And then when the guys who get hired tell you how they're going to change it and what's

31:13 going to make them different, bitch at them for saying that.

31:16 So nobody wins in this situation.

31:19 It's utterly ridiculous.

31:22 Just think of this in the real world before I move on.

31:25 When a manager takes over, when a new manager comes in, in any walk of life, they will have

31:32 a meeting with employees.

31:34 What does that manager do?

31:36 The manager explains to you how things are going to be done differently, how you might

31:41 be handled differently.

31:44 It's in every walk of life.

31:46 So I agree, Greg.

31:47 And the whole hard ass thing, you don't think Belichick knows he's a hard ass?

31:52 Everybody calls Belichick a hard ass.

31:54 Now it's too much of a shot to go out there and say we're not going to have the hard ass

31:57 vibe?

31:58 Just give me a break.

32:00 Give me a freaking break.

32:01 All right, let's jump on to J.C.

32:04 Jackson here and that story.

32:07 Mayo kind of sounded a little wishy washy, a little undecided on Jackson.

32:12 Does that tell us that he might be back and they're just trying to figure out this contract

32:16 situation with him?

32:17 Yeah, I asked both Wolf and Mayo about J.C.

32:22 Jackson, and I was a little bit surprised by their comments.

32:27 To me, it sounds like they might be trying to find common ground and that Mayo talked

32:31 about how basically that J.C. was hurt last year and wasn't moving around very well, which

32:37 he absolutely stunk on the field for the Patriots.

32:40 He was one of my worst graded players for the time that he was he was here.

32:46 You know, that's encouraging.

32:47 And perhaps J.C. will realize that he doesn't have much of a market.

32:54 So is it better for him to?

32:56 There's no question he can't stay at.

32:58 And I think his cap number is like 19 million like that.

33:00 That's not happening.

33:01 And, you know, maybe he stays here in a system and with people that he knows and on a short

33:09 term deal, renegotiate his contract, basically rip it up and start a new one and sort of

33:15 go short money for a couple of years to maybe get another chance down the road to be a free

33:20 agent.

33:21 All right, let's get to the NFL.

33:22 PA's report card came out yesterday.

33:26 Was not nice to the Patriots, Greg.

33:29 Just when you when you looked over that, any surprises, any thoughts about, you know, Belichick

33:35 and Kraft?

33:36 They were both I know their grades were different, but the rankings out of the 32 Belichick was

33:42 twenty seventh out of head coaches.

33:44 Robert Kraft was twenty seventh out of owners.

33:47 Just just kind of your reaction after after seeing what was written in the in the grades

33:52 that the team got.

33:54 I think my biggest surprise, Nick, was, you know, we last year was the first time we did

33:58 that with that.

34:00 We saw those results and you saw certain thing with the Patriots, especially in regards to

34:06 the family situation at the stadium, whether there's child care, whether there's a family

34:10 room and stuff like that.

34:11 And the Patriots like failed last year.

34:13 And in my mind, I'm like, OK, I'm sure ownership doesn't love this stuff coming out, but at

34:19 least it's right there in their face and they see how they compare to the rest of the league.

34:24 How do you how do you not correct that?

34:27 How do you let it go on for another year that those are still failings for the team that

34:31 you can't even like you have a designated family room for your people or or child care

34:38 and things like that?

34:41 To me, that's just flat out embarrassing.

34:43 A lot of this stuff was flat out embarrassing.

34:45 I mean, you build a three hundred million dollar lighthouse that people can go to, but

34:50 you can't treat your people correctly.

34:52 Now, look, I'm not I think the results of this stuff and what it means gets pretty overblown

35:01 at the end of the day.

35:06 Like we always say with free agency, if you give somebody the biggest contract, they're

35:10 coming here.

35:11 It doesn't matter what the what the situation is.

35:13 I mean, they do have, you know, good food.

35:15 I mean, the weight room is what the weight room is.

35:19 It's not the greatest.

35:20 I am surprised that it's so low because they have expanded it a couple of times, at least

35:26 in the time I've been here.

35:28 But to me, they have all that.

35:31 They have all that land at.

35:34 At Patriot Place at Gillette, that whole area, you know, they built the Rebs like a little

35:38 facility on the campus like how do they not just like just revamp everything and build

35:46 the Patriots like this, you know, special training facility that we've seen the Dolphins

35:51 and other teams do.

35:52 I just it's not a good look for the crafts.

35:55 It really isn't.

35:57 And quite frankly, I don't want to hear them bitching about, you know, people referring

36:03 to them as cheap and stuff like that.

36:05 If you if you come up with grades and something like this, like this every single year, like

36:10 I don't want to hear you bitching about it.

36:11 Like put your money where your mouth is.

36:15 Real things.

36:16 It's awful.

36:17 It's it's embarrassing.

36:19 Some of the things on here just inexcusable, especially what you mentioned that the daycare

36:24 stuff and the the treatment of families and Belichick also was really hit on this thing

36:30 for for not, you know, giving players enough time to have conversations and not willing

36:35 to listen to certain players, which I think really tells you that another reason why Gerard

36:39 Mayo and Elliott Wolf have been pumping the culture thing is because they're well aware

36:44 of the the reputation that was built, which was Belichick's a hard ass.

36:48 He doesn't listen to you.

36:49 He doesn't really want to talk to you.

36:51 You know, it is what it is, as he would say.

36:54 The other thing, though, I would point out.

36:57 I was watching Patriots unfiltered with with Fred Kirsch and Paul Perillo, and I don't

37:02 want to put words in the in the Fred's mouth here, but I don't know if you'll have time,

37:07 Greg, to check it out today's pod that they did.

37:10 But Fred was hinting towards something and he wouldn't go far with it.

37:15 He wouldn't really finish the thought.

37:17 And at one point, Paul said, I don't know if we want to, you know, go that far or something

37:22 along those lines.

37:24 But it certainly sounded to me like Fred was saying that there might be something bigger

37:31 coming down the road at some point here and talked about how facilities are now different.

37:36 They're you know, how a lot of NFL teams have revamped facilities.

37:41 They've also built facilities kind of close to the stadium.

37:44 So again, Fred said it.

37:46 I wouldn't bring it up if he didn't say it.

37:47 It does make me wonder if the crafts are well aware and they have a much bigger plan.

37:52 And that's why they're kind of putting this, you know, the new touches here on the weight

37:55 room for now, but not doing a lot else.

37:58 Maybe they do have a plan that, you know, two, three years from now, you're going to

38:02 have the, quote unquote, Taj Mahal, a facility.

38:06 Maybe, but right now that doesn't justify what was on this report.

38:11 And it is absolutely embarrassing for the crafts.

38:14 And I mean, you've got to do better by the players.

38:16 And by the way, I'm not going to say this very often, but let's give Trent Brown some

38:20 flowers here, because remember what when Trent Brown spoke to A to Z, Sophie Weller at A

38:26 to Z sports, Trent said some of this stuff like, you know, the travel, how families are

38:34 treated in stuff and how players are treated.

38:36 It doesn't mean that Trent Brown is a hustler on the field at all times.

38:41 It doesn't mean that he deserved the big fat contract extension.

38:44 I'm not telling you that Trent Brown doesn't loaf a lot.

38:46 OK, all I'm saying is he said that stuff publicly.

38:50 And I think some people were like, oh, yeah, Trent Brown, all he does is bitch and he's

38:54 lazy.

38:55 Well, you can be lazy and all of those things can be true.

38:59 And also, Trent Brown could have been spitting a lot of truth to us publicly about how players

39:04 feel about the operation there at Gillette.

39:08 Yeah, I mean, you know, I forget what Trent's comments were, but the bottom line for me

39:15 is the Patriots just need to do a lot better and they their own facility revamping the

39:22 practice field, the locker room, like getting out of the stadium like that stuff.

39:27 It's it's you know, and maybe it was affected by covid and also the lockout at one point

39:32 in time.

39:33 But that stuff needs to be rectified if they really want to back up their words that they're

39:38 a first class organization and all stuff.

39:40 And, you know, it's just not all for show and empty words.

39:44 Like if they're going to do that, they need to back that up.

39:46 All right.

39:47 One last thing I wanted to ask you about since you were an indie.

39:51 There's some steam behind this idea that Caleb Williams might not go number one overall.

39:57 And it seems like, you know, Jaden Daniels is starting to get propped up a little bit.

40:01 Is that just the usual combine posturing, the usual smokescreen, the usual stuff that

40:05 happens this time of year?

40:07 Yeah, I mean, look, I can't tell you whether Caleb is definitely going to go number one,

40:12 but I can just tell you like there is just going to be a whole lot of nonsense spewed.

40:19 It's liar season, whether it's free agency or the draft and all that stuff.

40:24 And yeah, I mean, the teams that I talk to, the teams that where I know people and I talk

40:32 to them at the combine, to me, they were basically all on the same page.

40:36 And this goes for the Patriots that they were just like, yeah, so we're eager to get in

40:41 front of these guys and start talking to these guys and diving into that stuff.

40:44 And that, you know, they're so far from, you know, a definitive decision on what they're

40:49 going to do.

40:51 You know, but most people think that it's very clearly going to be Caleb at number one

40:54 now, whether that's the Bears or somebody else.

40:57 If somebody else wants to trade up, we'll have to see.

41:02 But to me, I think there's a little question that Caleb's going on number one.

41:05 Remind all of you, B.S.J.

41:07 Fifty bucks for the year, but Darden Giardi crushing the Patriots coverage.

41:10 You don't want to miss that again.

41:12 Fifty bucks for the year, Boston Sports Journal.

41:14 And also thanks to PrizePix, our new sponsor for jumping on board here with the podcast,

41:19 the largest daily fantasy sports platform in North America.

41:22 He's Greg, I'm Nick.

41:23 We'll talk to you next week.

41:24 [Music]

Patriots BUZZ From the NFL Combine | Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast

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