Hour 1: Eagles’ Dysfunction, Rodgers’ Week 12 Status, plus Patriots Insider Tom Curran

21:42Rich Eisen:I'm sure Hurts can play better, but come on, man. Come on, man. You just look up the turnpike at another team wearing green where they're like, let's try Justin Fields. Oh, let's bench him for a two-win team that can't beat anybody out of the state of Ohio for Terod Taylor before we go into Baltimore. Let's go do that. You want that? 844-204-RICH, number to dial. Or just keep looking even further up. Maybe the New England Patriots, who are finally coming out of a five-year window in which the Eagles went to the Super Bowl twice. Tom Curran is going to join us to tell us the state of affairs of the New England Patriots when we come back.

22:24Rich Eisen:844-204-RICH is the number to dial.

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23:07Rich Eisen:And engineered EVs with ultra-fast charging capability. And we're still doing it every day. Because the future isn't some far-off concept. It's already here. Next starts now. Hyundai, an official partner of FIFA. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. Rich Eisen show on ESPN Radio presented by Progressive Insurance. Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston and all things New England Patriots. The insider himself back here on the program. Good to see you, Tommy. How are you? It's Tom Curran. Hey, what's going on? You know, if your name is Skip, your ability to bigfoot another man is significantly reduced. I always need to check in with New England for a little bit of an ego boost except in my own house listen Tom 9-2 is way above anybody's expectation level correct?

24:02Rich Eisen:9-2? Cam actually has a point and I'm not positive what outlet he's worth either I'm sure it's ESPN but I don't know what show but here I saw it earlier in the week strength of victory rich. So the win-loss percentage of the teams that you've beaten, the Broncos is actually the lowest at.354. Patriots are at.359. Colts is.366. On and on. Most of the teams at the top have beaten teams that have collectively not done great. But the win-loss percentage of opponents, the Patriots is .369. So the teams that they have played have collectively at this juncture only won 37 % of the games. Broncos is at.423.

24:46Colts is at.423. 31. Generally speaking, if you're at the top of the conference, the teams that you have played will have lower collective records because you beat them. So they're worse. But he's not wrong.

24:59Rich Eisen:Except for this fact, though, Tom, and I appreciate you pointing out this, those facts is the Patriots over the last two, three years were in no position to beat the teams that they're supposed to be no they earned this 100 in the last few years they were not in any position of oh we're better here we're better there just watch us go ahead and execute and go win the games not at all and then you've got i don't care how many times mike vrabel has previously won coach of the year he's a new coach and there's a new system and there's new terminologies and there's new cultures and there's new receivers and there's new rookies and and maybe the patriots have taken advantage of being able to get on the same page and get some momentum going in a way that if they played teams with better records they wouldn't have been but when they went into western new york the bills were still you know super bowl worthy bills which they are as of just this week again you know what I mean?

26:04Rich Eisen:You can't discount that. You can't discount it. You can't. I'm defending Cam's take from a 30 ,000 foot view. Sure. If you're going to be a national pundit, which he is, you might not know the Patriots season story inside. Now, you might not be aware that they've dispatched everybody with relative ease, and even in the games in which they were challenged, they showed great resilience to win those games that they play efficiently. They have some Achilles heels, but it's the nature of these wins. They're not dumbing into 9-2. They're not seeing doinked field goals by the opponents and myriad turnovers and just vast ineptitude.

26:47They're not seeing good teams, but they're beating them. They're not lucking into them. So that's the fine print about these Patriots right now. Rich, I've said this. I keep waiting for the egg to get laid. And it's just not popping out. Just none of these weeks. I said, Jets, they're going to lay an egg. Tampa, there's got to be an egg. No eggs.

27:12Rich Eisen:Eggless. I mean, I guess the eggs were the two losses. Losing to a Vegas team that, as we know, has not been able to shoot straight since. And then a Steelers team that they easily could have beaten had they held on to the football. And then Carolina's only gotten better since you've seen them. New Orleans popped Carolina in Carolina in a division contest where you throw records out, similar to the one that, in all honesty, I don't care that the Jets have only two wins. You usually do that sometimes in a short week game. So what is it? You know, obviously coach quarterback and top-notch coordinator together will work out.

27:55Rich Eisen:Let's take it one at a time here. Sure. Is Vrabel different, you think, a 2.0 version of him in a way that Belichick was more 2.0 when he showed up in New England? He just seems to be, again, a little bit more, he's throwing arms around people, or is that just because it's such a different way of seeing a Patriot coach handle business after Belichick for 20 years? I think that every coach on a second time around, Rich, I'm not telling you anything you don't know because you've covered as long, or if not longer, than me, But I think they're all different because they have said, OK, these are the things I need to stay away from.

28:33These are the things that I can do. And they had a year. That was important, I think, for Mike to be in Cleveland for a year to kind of self-audit and watch how somebody else did it at the NFL level. You know, he saw it in Houston. He did it at the NFL level. He did it in Tennessee. He saw where the potholes, Pratt Falls, landmines might exist. Watched it in Cleveland. And then when he got here, one other aspect I think that is extremely important to what he's instilling and installing is he knows the area. He knows the media. He knows how to approach us, which is to give us a bunch. But we're thirsty little, you know, Robin, baby Robins out here.

29:13Just give us anything. So giving us just enough to satiate us will be great. Treating us pretty well. But be good. And if you're not good, and this was always the way it was with Bill Rich, believe it or not. If the team wasn't good, all we wanted was a candid reflection on reasons why. And if he wasn't going to give it at the podium, could we have a conversation on the side and you can explain some of this stuff to me? And he didn't do that in the last few years. It was just, I don't need them. And that's okay. It's the media. I'm not trying to oversell us. But I think Mike's comfort level coming in here with a variety of things, fan base, ownership, media, the way he wanted to message and having a very strict plan has all helped him a lot.

30:00So if you want to hit three things, I cannot talk for four minutes about the next two.

30:04Rich Eisen:Well, then let's talk about Drake May. Give me your favorite story you've heard about him this year that can potentially encapsulate his ascension, his professionalism. his otherworldly ability to throw a deep ball or say that ball to Kyle Williams that he threw for a touchdown against Tampa. What story have you heard that can potentially shed some light, Tom? I can only give anecdotally what I observed was last year, a guy who actually performed poorly at the ends of games, put the ball into harm's way. He came into training camp. He didn't throw pick for like 160 passes. I mentioned it. I mentioned it to him.

30:48He immediately went out and threw a pick to begin an inter-squad stadium scrimmage and to end it. Then he goes out in the first preseason game and he has a moronic strip sack fumble on the first drop back. Then he comes into the Raiders game in the opener and he gets picked down the middle of the field when they have the lead at the beginning of the second half. Then he plays good against Miami. He goes to Pittsburgh. They turn it over or five times. He was again befuddled. And then it's gone. All of it. The stupidity, the lack of poise and being too amped up at the beginning of games. That to me is one of the most remarkable things.

31:30And I've been lucky enough to have seen some remarkable things from the quarterback position. That to me is one of the most remarkable things I've ever seen to go from a guy shooting 83s to shooting 68s.

31:44Rich Eisen:Like I said, the coin dropped in the machine after week three into week four. The coin just dropped into an MVP machine, Tom? It's unbelievable. It really is. Look at the downfield throws. Look at the yards per attempt. Look at the guys he's throwing to, not to be smirch. Look at the offensive line. Again, not to be smirch, but they're not loaded with experience and high-level talent. It's remarkable. So is that McDaniels getting through? I mean, what is it? Okay. Yeah. I think it has a ton to do with it. And it's, again, not to besmirch Alex Van Pelt, who did diagnose a lot of the fundamental problems that May had at North Carolina and stripped it back down to zero and started to fix them so that, you know, his privates were not pointing completely down the field on every throw.

32:33You know, stay a little bit closed and then open up, I think was one big thing because when he was opening up, he was dropping down and he was losing a lot of accuracy. And again, that's from watching Brady, how long he would stay closed on his throws and how much he would just make it hip oriented. So he improved it. And. But McDaniels, I think met him more than halfway across the aisle to say, all right, well, you're not like Jimmy Garoppolo or Jacoby Brissett or even Tom Brady. I'm going to need to do things a little different with you because because you do things differently than them. And it's been a mutually beneficial relationship, I think, in that way.

33:10Rich Eisen:Has it ever, man? Who are some of the other guys we're not talking about? Because obviously team game here, defensively, other guys on offense we're not talking about. Milton Williams has been great. Robert Spillane, he gave me the green light to call him Bobby. Bobby Spillane. Bobby Spillane has been a weapon. That sounds better up in New England, you know what I mean? Bobby Spillane is much more of a New Englands than Robert Spillane. Who were you out with last night? It was just me and Bobby Spillane. Right. It just rolls. It rolls off. It rolls off. Yeah. Okay. I got you. I see. Robert Spillane's been really good.

33:44Right. Gonzalez is smooth as hell. Oh, Marcus Jones, slot corner. He had the two return touchdowns in one game a few weeks back, but he's played tremendously well at slot corner. The one thing about him, Rich, that is different is the number of young players they're getting contributions from. Will Campbell has been everything you'd want in a left tackle after so much scrutiny. Jared Wilson, taken in the third round, has been the starting left guard. We thought that was going to be a disaster. You've got two rookies next to each other. He's been more than fine. Greg Woodson's been a starting safety.

34:17Their kicker is Andy Borogales. He's been fine. Kyle Williams had a touchdown catch. He should be okay.

34:24Rich Eisen:I'm missing other people. I mean, Pop Douglas has really come to the fore for sure. You know, and obviously Mack Hollins. Listen, this – all right, screw it. I'll go here. There's a lot of connective tissue between this and 2003, Tom. I mean, honestly. I mean, 2001. My bad. There's a lot of connective tissue between here and 2001. Second-year quarterback, you know, coach second time around, bunch of guys he's throwing to that, you know, obviously fantasy football wasn't going down back then, but a lot of guys that weren't the bold-faced names, no offensive players of the year on this team, right?

35:06Rich Eisen:The ironic thing. Defensively, a bunch of guys that collectively, the collective is just kicking your ass, and everybody's thinking, fool's gold, to be honest with you. And then, boom, look what happened. No? Again, it's the Cam Newton take, and I'm not being a dink. It's from 30 ,000 feet, you're exactly right, when you really get into it, which I love, because it's been my job. And I should have a doctorate in this stuff because I've been doing it. The reason it's different is when the Patriots were by far the 30th best team in the league. Were they 30? No, 31st best team in the league because Houston came in the next year.

35:43They were the 31st best team in the league by a fair amount. The reason, when Bledsoe got hurt, you're going to a sixth-round quarterback. you're already dealing with a coach who was a disaster in cleveland who went five and 11 now you're oh and two um they were horrendous in free agency previously they were not expected to do anything they were five and five at the midpoint after just hanging around with thest louis rams i was enthused by the team because they were watchable and you could see that there was subtraction there and i knew that believe it or not because i was not a big bledsoe guy by that point i knew that brady was going to be their quarterback once he started playing um because he was just that freaking good but that team overachieved in a bizarre way they didn't have the third overall pick they didn't have a guy who was a former you know coach of the year but that team did have some real talent on defense they had law they had malloy bruski They had the Guinness.

36:45Rich Eisen:Will Fork, all of them. He was not there yet. Oh, Will Fork wasn't there yet. I'm a doctorate. I told you. My bad. I should let you talk. My bad. I've done enough. No, no, no, no. So where does this wind up? I mean, is there reason to believe that the gold is real at the end of the day? Yes, there is. There's reason to believe. For this year, right now. I mean, right now, you and I are talking. They are ahead of the Buffalo Bills. They're ready to break that streak. in the division, and they are threatening for the conference. They're threatening to put the road to the playoffs through Gillette again.

37:21Rich Eisen:This is happening right now, Tom. Look, the Achilles' heel for Denver is they don't have a really strong offense. They're sputtery, as we know. The Colts, I still don't know if I'm a Daniel Jones guy. Bills cannot stop people on the ground. All those other teams, they have an Achilles' heel. So the Patriots' Achilles heel is red zone offense and defense. They suck. They're like worst in the league defensively. You get inside the 20, you're scoring touchdowns. You get inside the 10 100 % of the time. If you have first and goal, you're scoring a touchdown. So if you get behind, and they fall behind in games early on every time, the first drive is usually a touchdown or field goal for the opposition.

38:02If you get behind Kansas City or Buffalo, even if you're home, and you give that first touchdown up, and then they get down the red zone again after you had to go 3-0, you're down 14-0. They haven't been there. So those are things I'm concerned about for them. But other than that, I just haven't seen the ineptitude in terms of fundamentals. They're not making stupid mistakes. They're not missing tackles. They're healthy as hell. You know, this injury to Milton Williams is the first one, and that's the main reason they won in 2018. it wasn't Sonny Michel and Brady and Edelman and Gronk. I mean, they helped obviously, more than helped.

38:44They were the drivers. But that car does not get over the finish line if the engine wasn't intact. And they lost like two guys the entire year to IR. I think it was Jeremy. Who was that running back from the Bengals? Jeremy Hill?

38:57Rich Eisen:Yeah. And Jawan Bentley, who had never even played. That's it. They had everybody else. So in the minute I have left, is this Trevion on Henderson's gig now? Because he's a hot hand, man. And I know there were a lot of New Englanders, including the one that just across the way just got on my ear and saying, why'd it take so long? You know, what are we? Because, I mean, he is really, he could be another difference maker in the last six, seven weeks. And when we're getting cold, you roll the Buckeye downhill and look out, man. That could happen. It'll be Ramondre. It will be. Okay. Chris, check it out.

39:28If you look at it, and again, not to give a hard time to the little fella, but his explosive runs are really buoying his yards per attempt. Those two long. Totally agree. So I would give the ball to Ramondre on first and second down. If somebody is going to get 18 carries, make sure it's Ramondre. But I do think that Henderson really built up a lot of confidence in the number of things he was able to do in the last couple of weeks. Say, all right, I got this now. Tommy Curran, say hi to Bobby Spillane for me.

39:58Rich Eisen:Okay. Bobby, I was talking to Richie, Richie Eisen. Yep. That's it. Thanks, Tom. Great to chat with you, buddy. Everybody check him out. A New England Patriots insider on NBC Sports Boston, his podcast and all the things that he writes. Check him out. 844-204-RICH-NUMBER-TO-DAL. Back here on the Rich Eisen Show in a moment.

40:24Rich Eisen:Rich Eisen here. And summer's here, too. And that means it's travel season. My favorite summer trip last year was to Sao Paulo, Brazil. With so many fans traveling for the Los Angeles against Kansas City game, they got to see how lively the city is. I love the culture and the amazing food that I'm still craving. Those memories remind everyone that it's that time of year to plan a little getaway. And that's why summer has a way of turning weekends into big events. One minute, it's a normal week. And then all of a sudden, a huge concert, sporting event, or festival brings people in from all over.

40:56Rich Eisen:And when that happens. Visitors start looking for places to stay all across your city. So if you're already planning a summer trip of your own, you could list your space on Airbnb and earn a little extra cash while you're away. It doesn't have to be some big year-round commitment. It's about making the most of a busy weekend when your place would just be empty otherwise. I can tell you, people love finding a place that helps them feel connected to the city that they're visiting. If your city's about to have a big summer moment, this is a great time to maximize your space. Your home might be worth more than you think.

41:30Rich Eisen:Find out how much at airbnb.com slash host. This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome, that's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required. Compatibility and availability varies 18+. You thought this was your run club era. Turns out, it was more of a thinking about run club era.

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42:32Rich Eisen:The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast. ESPN Radio, we're back on the air, presented by the Progressive Keys to Progress program, gifting cars to veterans in need. All right, Chris, what'd you make of your Patriot update right there? Well, I follow Tom on everything, so I'm seeing what he's saying throughout the season. So, yeah, that kind of hit. It's real. Yeah, it's totally real. And, again, I understand all the people coming at me in the comments, who they really played. Well, their two hardest games of this year were on the road, and they won them both pretty easily. So, yes, while they have a low strength of victory, again, you can only play who you play.

43:11But, again, in the years past, those are games that they don't win or maybe struggle to win. And those games that they should win this year, They are dominating and winning handily, so that's encouraging. It's fun to be a Pats fan again, and I apologize for the obnoxiousness that's surely coming in the next few years.

43:29Rich Eisen:Let me just ask you a question. Philadelphia, two losses this year, one of them at the Giants. Is that a game they should have won? Right, of course. Okay. Let me see. Let's keep going here. Denver's losses at Indianapolis at the Chargers. That makes sense. They won at Philadelphia. They've won games that they're not supposed to win. Were the Patriots supposed to win in Buffalo on a Sunday night? No. That's where they were supposed to be, like, nice 500 start you got here. Yeah, fun start to the season for the kids. Yeah, that's when you just had against Carolina, scoring 40 after they shut out their previous opponent, which, by the way, is close to a record of scoring against a team that just shut somebody out.

44:05Rich Eisen:With all due respect, Dallas, Monday night or against Arizona at home. Should they have won that one? You know what I mean? Like, everybody that we root for, you who might be pointing out, Lieutenant Weinberg, you, talking about your team is better than New England because of who have they beaten. They're not one of those teams that came in the year 15-1 last year where these are all games they're supposed to win, even though they're against teams that are struggling. I mean, their Vegas win total this year was eight and a half. Like, it was the highest of high optimism that they were going to have over 500 records this year.

44:52And they got that mid-November? Yeah.

44:57Rich Eisen:I mean, another one, the Chargers, were they supposed to be Jacksonville and Jacksonville? Yeah. How about getting wiped, having the floor wiped with them? These things happen to everybody, you know, pretty much. And they haven't really happened in New England yet. No, that's what Tom kept saying. Kept waiting for the egg, which could have happened at any time. You know, the Jets trap game. All these other games that pop up in the schedule. And you're like, oh, okay, they won't. They just keep up. Drake may have made another big play. Mack Hollins is making plays. You know, they're not doing it with the sexiest of names either.

45:27It's Stefan Diggs has really come on in the last month as he's gotten healthier. And that's obviously been a huge, huge boost to the offense. But, you know, it's from Andre Stevenson and all his fumbling issues. And it's a rookie running back. they had it Antonio Gibson got hurt and is out for the season you know it was a huge blow how

45:44Rich Eisen:about this one I was saying that the an earmark of the Patriots back in the day not just a head coach in his second year and a quarterback in his second year or a coach in his second time around as well in his second year with a quarterback in his second year and you know and a lot of the connective tissue to the last time we've seen a movie like this um used to be you know the The Patriots are going to take on a tough opponent or a tough player, and that player is injured or suspended. And I'm like, oh, here comes Cincinnati without Jamar Chase. How about Joe Burrow being a full participant in practice yesterday?

46:18Yeah, is he going to play on Sunday?

46:20Rich Eisen:I don't know. No. I mean, Flacco was listed as limited with an injury, and Burrow was full. Okay. He's back. So Joe Burrow's showing up against New England. That's fun. With the season on the line. Your game just got a little bit. You just sat upright in your chair a little bit, right? All right. Now that would be an impressive win in Ohio if it's Joe Burrow saying, look who's back, everybody. Yeah. The Patriots could say we are. The Ridge Eisen Show Podcast. MLB.tv on ESPN is your home for every out-of-market game, live or on demand. Catch your favorite teams and players, plus MLB Network and ESPN app features like Multiview, syncing your stats, key plays, bets, and fantasy, all in one place.

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