Latest / The Tailgate Cam Podcast / Dylan Painter Joins the Tailgate Podcast. MLB Weekend Recap, Tailgate Talk: Why should you care about Preseason? And Full AFC East Preview and Predictions.

Transcript

Dylan Painter Joins the Tailgate Podcast. MLB Weekend Recap, Tailgate Talk: Why should you care about Preseason? And Full AFC East Preview and Predictions. · The Tailgate Cam Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_02: On this episode of the Tailgate podcast, we are proud to announce our new sponsor, Death Charts, the most innovative site to track player movements, ratings, where those NFL players stack up on their own teams, and they also have some pretty awesome custom team merch.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_02: I like to think of it as PFF meeting our lads, but with a little bit more depth.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_02: Check them out at death dash charts dot com or depth underscore charts on Twitter and Instagram.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_02: It's me, your host, Cameron Clark, and I am back for another edition of the Tailgate Cam podcast.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_02: Let's get into it.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_02: We had a pretty interesting UFC fight night this weekend.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_02: The UFC main event featured lightweight contender Mathews Gamrod, who's fighting somewhat of a newcomer, Queelan Stalkid, in the 155-pound class.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_02: Stalked actually got a pretty quick rear-naked choke submission in the first round.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_02: Mathews Gamrod had been a surging competitor in the lightweight division.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_02: This is certainly going to send it set him back quite a bit, I would think, in that lightweight race.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_02: But uh Stalkid really probably raises a lot of eyes here with what he was able to do to an established name like Gamrod.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_02: A few other notable performances from this UFC fight night.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_02: Uh Diego Ferrara won by unanimous decision against longtime UFC veteran Billy Quartillo in the lightweight division as well.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_02: Um and Amanda Limos took a loss to Alexia Tanera in the women's straw weight division.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_02: And speaking of the women's straw weight division, that title will be up for grabs as McKinsey Dern will be fighting next weekend.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_02: There's a big UFC numbered event, UFC 330.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_02: Um that's August 15th, next Saturday, August 15th.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_02: The headliner, though, is Islam Makachev and Ian Gary, who are going to be competing for the welterweight title.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but yes, the co-main event, it's also McKenzie Dern, who is putting her women's straw weight title on the line against challenger Gillian Robertson.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_02: There's a few other really exciting fights on that card, but two title fights always gets eyeballs in the UFC.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_02: So if you're looking for something to watch Saturday night, August 15th, UFC 330 is exactly where your eyeballs should go.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_02: Now let's get to a little bit of baseball talk.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_02: The Los Angeles Dodgers came into this series really struggling.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_02: They were losers of six straight games coming into this series.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um, ended up losing Friday night and Sunday.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_02: They squeaked out kind of a weird game on Saturday night.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_02: They gave up a leadoff triple in the bottom of the ninth, a second triple right after that leadoff.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_02: So the Diamondbacks tied the game one-to-one in the bottom of the ninth, and no more runs were able to cross the plate.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_02: They were able to strand that leadoff or second man on third and fourth extra innings where the Dodgers were able to squeak out one game, but still they are on a bad losing streak.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_02: Edwin Diaz is a mess of a closer in the back end of that bullpen, and they have lost eight of their last nine games.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_02: Elsewhere, the Braves took on my New York Yankees, and the Yankees got a nice early series win by winning Friday and Saturday.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um, the Yankees were actually being shut out through eight and a third innings on Friday night.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_02: We were able to tie the game two to two in the bottom of the ninth before eventually winning in extra innings.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, powered on Saturday by rookie sensation, a guy that I could not be more excited about, George Lombard Jr., who is the Yankees' top prospect in the organization, a move that generated a lot of attention in the baseball world when they sat sent down uh former top prospect, fellow shortstop Anthony Volpe, for the sake of George Lombard, who has been amazing and in five games with the Yankees just this week, already has two home runs, a handful of great, tremendous fielding plays at shortstop.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_02: And we got some more great pitching from the Yankees.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_02: Max Fried made his first ever start against his former team in the Braves, and Garrett Cole also had a great game on Saturday.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_02: The Yankees ended up winning a very important series for them.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_02: To their division rivals, the Boston Red Sox.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_02: They came into this series very hot, winning eight straight games, but lose the series to the A's despite winning the opener on Friday.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_02: The A's were led by some strong pitching, most notably from rookie Phenom Gage Jump and JT Jinn.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_02: Tyler Schoterstrom also had three hits in the series, two of which were home runs with three RBIs to push the A's past Boston for their first series loss in quite a while.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_02: The Minnesota Twins also took on league leaders Milwaukee trying to keep pace in that AL wildcard race.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_02: Josh Bell powered them to a nice strong win on Friday night with a homer and three total RBIs.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_02: But the Brewers are the best team in baseball right now by record for a reason.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_02: They figure out ways to win games.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_02: And when you figure out ways to win games, you figure out ways to win series, which is exactly what they did.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_02: They got a strong start yet again from stud all phenom, Jacob Mizarowski on Sunday, and Jackson Cherrio, star outfielder for the Brewers, hit two more home runs in this series, and the Brewers take Saturday and Sunday to take two out of three for the Minnesota Twins.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_02: A really important clash going on in the Ale Central.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_02: The Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Guardians, very tightly contested Ale Central race right now.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_02: Um, the White Sox really struggled of late coming into the series after getting swept by Boston and losing the first game of this series, but ultimately they found their winning ways again by winning on Saturday and Sunday, finding some more power from uh rookie sensation Muneta Murakami and Colton Montgomery, carrying them to a two-game to one advantage in that series in the Ale Central.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_02: There is still some Sunday night baseball to come with the Houston Astros and the San Diego Padres.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_02: So far, that series has already concluded the first two games, which were split.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, the Astros won on Friday, the Padres won on Saturday.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_02: Again, the series finale will occur after this recording to decide who ends up taking the claim of that series.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_02: But both of these teams have their eyes set on the postseason.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_02: So very important series this weekend between Houston and San Diego.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_02: The Rays were able to go up to Seattle and get a strong three-game sweep on the Seattle Mariners.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_02: They won two runs, one-score games on Friday and Saturday, and then finished off the sweep on Sunday to take a game, a half-game advantage on the A on the Yankees who lost on Sunday.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_02: I also want to get into some tailgate talk today before we have our guests join us.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_02: And what I wanted to talk about in this tailgate, this is kind of a new segment I want to bring into the Tailgate podcast.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_02: And in my tailgate talks, they could range from anything on players or rumors or um big storylines that are going on, or just sometimes something I want to get off my chest.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_02: So the tailgate talk for today is centered around NFL preseason.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_02: And the thing I want to talk about is NFL preseason as a fan important?
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_02: Obviously, it is important to players.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_02: You know, they're auditioning for their jobs, fighting for roster spots, fighting for their positioning on the depth chart.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_02: But as a fan, if the game doesn't really matter and all the players don't really play, is it important to watch it?
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_02: Well, there is the aspect that, you know, if you just love football, you don't really care who's playing, you'll watch Canadian football, you know, the UFL, if you're a fan of the UFL, arena football, you know, if you just want to watch football, there's your answer right there.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_02: But beyond that, I kind of like to think about it two different ways.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_02: If you have a team that you root for and you're dedicated to, that's obviously why you watch preseason.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_02: You want to watch your team, how guys are coming back from injury, how guys um who you just drafted look fitting into your team, how veterans that, you know, maybe had a down year the year before could bounce back, new coaches, and how the offense might look, even though it's gonna be a reduced version of what your team's gonna look like during the regular season.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_02: But it's still fun to see, you know, I'm a Jaguars fan, and I am so excited next weekend to see the Jaguars take the field against the New Orleans Saints and finally be on my TV again and just give me something to root for.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_02: Like that is all I care about as a football fan.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_02: The other side, too, that I think gives people a good reason to watch preseason and why it's important to turn into tune into preseason games, and that's fantasy football.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_02: If you play fantasy football, if you're in a league with your work or your friends or your family, that's why you watch the preseason because you can get a sense, maybe not in every single game.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_02: They play three games in the preseason, and maybe not in every game, you're gonna get a great sense of it, but in a lot of those games, you're gonna see how these coaches feel about guys sometimes by who comes out onto the field first, but sometimes a lot more uh key takeaways can really be derived from who's still in the game when that game is in the fourth quarter.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_02: You know, if you see that guy that's been hanging around um on the roster at the end of the season, um, a veteran that might be declining in play.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_02: One guy that I like to think about, a guy that I actually really liked when he was with the Jaguars, was Alan Hearns.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_02: He was a wide receiver that played for the Jaguars for a few years.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_02: I remember there was the last year that he played for the Jags before he got cut, he was playing in some preseason game, and it was in the fourth quarter, and he was still out there running routes.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_02: And to me, that was all I needed to know what they felt about Alan Hearns, that he was not going to be a relied upon player for the Jaguars that year, because they wouldn't have him out there in the fourth quarter of a preseason game if that was the case.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_02: So my tailgate talk is preseason worth it as a fan?
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, you just have to figure out why it's worth it.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_02: If it's rooting for your team, seeing how your team has developed over the offseason since you last saw them, or if you just want to get an edge for your fantasy football draft by knowing what running backs are getting the first touch for a team, or what receivers are the first look for a starting quarterback in those games that the starting quarterbacks play, or how the offense gets called.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_02: That's why you that's why you tune into preseason.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um coming up, we're gonna have a special guest, Dylan Painter, is gonna join me in the tailgate to help me break down the AFC East.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_02: We're gonna preview all the teams, the Bills, the Jets, the Dolphins, and the Patriots.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_02: And then I promise we will give you our tailgate predictions for how we think that division shakes out.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_02: Stick around.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_02: The tailgate is excited to welcome in another guest, my good friend Dylan Painter.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_02: Dylan, what's up, man?
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_01: What's going on, Cam?
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_02: How you doing, man?
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, I am not too bad.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_02: We are we're just talking about it.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_02: We are we're technically mid-football season.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_02: We've seen a game.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_02: There's a final score that's on the record.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_02: We are by definition mid-football season.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_02: How how good does that feel?
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, if there was football on TV, it's football season.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_02: Um, well, go ahead and introduce yourself to the tailgate, a little bit about yourself, you know, what sports you like, who your favorite teams are, maybe something outside of sports that you're also interested in.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, Columbia Mo Native, uh big Patriots fan.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_01: So we'll we'll get into that a little bit later with that AFC East.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, we both share that big love for the UFC, of course.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: And then when it comes to basketball, pay attention to to college basketball a little bit more.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_01: Love our Missouri Tigers.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then other hobbies, uh, obviously, you know, big, big music fan.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_01: So love going to concerts, uh, love talking to music, and and I think we also share a little love for film as well.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we yeah.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_02: I I think you summed it up pretty well.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_02: Me and Dylan have known each other for uh five or six years, maybe.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_02: I think I think we met each other right before COVID, and um we met through a good friend of mine.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_02: Shout out to Keith Duncan if you're listening in the tailgate.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_02: Um, we met through a good friend of mine, Keith Duncan, several years back.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_02: And me and Dylan have been friends of ever ever since.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_02: Dylan, is that how you remember how we met?
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: I I mean, I would say like the one experience that really like brought our friendship together was probably the like of the Ozarks trip with the boys.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you know, just being on our best behavior down there on the road.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_02: That's exactly right.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_02: Well, uh Dylan, the reason I thought it was appropriate to have you in the tailgate with me today is we're gonna be talking about the AFC East, a division that you are intimately and emotionally familiar with.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_02: So, what we're gonna do is we're gonna, as we've been doing on all the other division previews, break down each one of the teams, give you guys all some overviews of what they've changed on their team, their rosters, their coaching staff since the offseason started.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_02: And then we're gonna rank them out, tell you what we think the AFC E stacks up like.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_02: We'll see if me and Dylan share the same view of the division.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_02: So, how's that sound?
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_02: You ready to get started?
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, let's do it, man.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_02: All right, so in alphabetical order, I promise this is not by any bias.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_02: This is in alphabetical order, my friend.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_02: We're gonna start with the Buffalo Bills, who last year went 12-5, did not win the division.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_02: That was that division crown was won by your New England Patriots, Dylan.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, the Buffalo Bills enter this season with an over-under of 10 and a half wins, the highest in the division.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_02: They have a new head coach, uh, but not new to the building.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_02: Joe Brady, who has been the offensive coordinator, the quarterback's coach the last several years for the Buffalo Bills, takes over for uh replaced and fired coach Sean McDermott, who spent nine seasons at the head coaching job for the Buffalo Bills.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_02: I'm just gonna start there.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_02: Do you think that this is a big deal to the Bills that Sean McDermott is not their coach?
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_02: Or is having a guy, you know, when we talk about the top of the top quarterbacks, is having somebody like Josh Allen make them immune to, you know, the drop-off of a typical coaching change?
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_01: I I would say they're gonna be okay, um, especially with Joe Brady already being familiar with Josh Allen.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: You would also hope that a guy like like Josh Allen, you know, had some input when it came uh to who was gonna be you know stepping into that head coaching role.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um you know, and and you you needed to see the Bills make a decision like that just because of of the how stagnant they have been, you know, and and last year, you know, really felt like it should have been their year.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you weren't gonna see Mahomes in the playoffs.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but for some reason, you know, they they just you know came up short.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_01: But I I think no matter what, like you know that Josh Allen is he has proven time and time again he's gonna be the guy that is gonna make the play that needs to happen.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um it's gonna come down to everything else coming around him, um, especially I think that defense too.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_01: Like that that defense has to step up.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think I agree with pretty much everything you said there.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_02: I I share the same belief about at least the structure of what the Bills will look like, at least this year, um, that their offensive focus should be very similar.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_02: They love to lean on the run, both from Josh Allen himself and James Cook, obviously.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_02: They were fourth last year in points and fourth in yards, actually.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_02: They also brought in through trade uh wide receiver DJ Moore.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_02: And I I did kind of feel like they they lacked, I don't know if I would say that DJ Moore is an elite receiver, but he is a guy that can make you know differential kind of X factor splash plays in a game.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_02: Do you feel like DJ Moore dramatically changes the outlook of the offense?
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_02: Or is that kind of like an under-the-radar type of move that could just help raise the floor of what they could do?
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I I think it definitely raises the floor.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think he's gonna come in there and like wow you and have the season that you thought.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_01: You know, like when Chicago traded for him, you know, people, especially in Chicago, were like, yeah, like DJ Moore's gonna come in here, he's gonna be that wide receiver one.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think he's gonna be that at Buffalo, but I think he's an upgrade to like a Brandon Cook, you know, that that that wide receiver room was lacking.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: They they lean heavily on James Cook, um, which has made that offense better, has helped Josh Allen in the long in the long run.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um I think DJ Moore is a guy that you know he could be a focal point in the offense.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_01: He may he could hit like a thousand yards.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_01: But I don't think I don't think we're at the threshold of if your wide receiver has a thousand yards that he's a wide receiver one.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_01: I think there's a lot of like twos, very good twos that are hitting you know, a thousand yards.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_01: That's just where we're at in the NFL now.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I think he could be productive and and help them um and and push them forward for sure.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_02: Totally agree.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_02: And besides the DJ Moore edition, a lot of their other offseason acquisitions were really kind of building around the edges of this team.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_02: They didn't really replace any key starters along the offensive line.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_02: They obviously bring back quarterback Josh Allen, running back James Cook.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_02: Most of their defense is back.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_02: Um, some of their notable names that they did bring in a couple offensive line uh reserves, Austin Corbett, Lloyd Cushenberry.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_02: They did bring in Bradley Chubb from Division uh Rival Miami, uh, as well as Chauncey Gardner and D.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_02: Alford to kind of shore up some of their back end issues that they experienced towards the end of the season.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_02: Would you just kind of given like where the team is, especially, you know, they fire the coach, it seems like they realize that their window is shrinking.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_02: Would you have liked to see them be a little bit more aggressive?
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_02: Or do you think that, you know, kind of like you already said, the changing the voice in the locker room and having a new coach, that kind of does enough to push this team over the top?
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_01: I I definitely wanted to see them be a little bit more aggressive.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think they they needed to, but and ultimately you're not going to be able to fix everything in a in one offseason.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you need to see what you have with with Joe Brady as a head coach before you want to go out there and spend a ton of money and bringing guys in.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um also, I mean, this free agency pool, I mean, I it wasn't you know wowing you on who was out there.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: So you don't want to just go you don't you don't want to just go blow money to to blow money.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I also I don't think they were uh in the best spot financially to be able to do that.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_01: But again, I think um you probably want to see what you have in Joe Brady first, you know, as your head coach before you go out there and and really try to like revamp the offense.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_01: They're gonna be good, they're gonna be one of the better teams in the AFC.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_01: You know that you have Josh Allen at the helm.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um so yes, they need to be more aggressive, um, but I kind of understand, you know, what their offseason moves, you know, and why they and why they stuck uh to do in that.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_02: So if you look back at the Bills' history as a franchise, it's it's it's honestly just disappointment after disappointment after letdown after letdown, and that's not been any different the last decade.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_02: They have made the playoffs for seven straight years, and they have not made it past the AFC Championship game, and they've only made it to one AFC title game with Josh Allen, which they lost.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_02: So is this the year that they I mean we're gonna rank this division out in a second, but is this the year that they can reach their ceiling, or is this another one of the same for the Bills?
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_01: I I I don't think that that this would be the Super Bowl roster that the Bills, you know, would be able to win a Super Bowl with.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um I think they could figure out if Joe Brady is gonna be a head coach.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um they're obviously have every opportunity to make a deep run.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_01: I you don't know how like injuries stack up in the AFC as well.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um so of course they could always make an AFC championship game just because Josh Allen is is just so good.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um but I don't think this is the roster that has the formula to win a Super Bowl.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_01: I know it's kind of funny, you know, you you talk about like disappointment, you know, with being a Bills fan and being a Patriots fan.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: Know recently, you know, with you know the Mac Jones era and stuff and getting kind of beat up by the Bills, you know, people were always like, Man, like you must really like not like the Bills.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, I look back on it, not really.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we we kind of just beat up on them all the time.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_01: It was kind of like it was kind of the dolphins who would come in and like ruin the game for you, you know, as a Patriots fan.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_01: So like I kind of just feel bad for the Bills, you know.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you touched on a lot of good things there.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_02: The last thing that I want to address before we move on to the next team is this division is kind of unique in that it probably has I I don't even know if it's probably I would say it's definitely two of the best four or five quarterbacks in the NFL, and maybe two of the bottom four or five quarterbacks that are starting in the NFL.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_02: So do you think Josh Allen, in terms of fantasy football, is the best quarterback this year in 2026?
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, for yeah, for sure.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_01: For sure.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, he's like he is just gonna make plays even when things aren't there.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_01: Like we we know that we know that that's what Josh Allen is gonna do.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_01: He's also a guy that could come out, play really bad for two quarters, and then you know, the third and fourth quarter, he's giving you 30 fantasy points.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_01: You know, he's just he's just that guy.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_01: He's just gonna he's just gonna make plays.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um that might be a hint.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_02: And who me and Dylan share a uh fantasy league that is super flex, and the little little advice for anybody that might be listening, Dylan holds the first pick in that league, so maybe he's sharing a little bit of insight here.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe we'll have to see, we'll have to see.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_01: I do I do love my boy Drake May as a fan shopper when it comes to quarterback.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_02: So well, let's move on to the only team in this division that doesn't have to deal with snow in their uh weather forecast, and that's the Miami Dolphins.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_02: Probably the most turnover of any team from a front office perspective, from a roster perspective in the entire NFL.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_02: They brought in new head coach, Jeff Hafley, who spent time with the Green Bay Packers the last couple years as their defensive coordinator.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_02: He also previously before that was with Ohio State for several years.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_02: He also uh at one time was the head coach for Boston College, and he did not have a very successful run there.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_02: But Miami also, you know, exercised a good amount of synergy.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_02: They hired GM John Eric Sullivan from Green Bay as well.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_02: So you would imagine that there's gonna be some um similarities in terms of what players, what attributes, you know, the characteristics of how Green Bay likes to build a roster.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, we already saw it just kind of jumping ahead here with bringing in former Green Bay backup quarterback Malik Willis.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_02: So I just want to list off just some of the you know transactions in case anybody isn't as up to date with the Dolphins.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_02: They released their, you know, five-year six-year starter to Otagailoa, took an NFL record in dead money on their uh cap from cutting him.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_02: 67 million of that was just in 2026.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_02: They also moved on from wide receiver Tyreek Hill.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_02: They traded Jalen Waddell to the Denver Broncos, they also traded Jalen Phillips.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_02: Bradley Chubb is gone.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_02: As we mentioned, he went to the Bills and center James Daniels left.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_02: That is a lot of names, and maybe you know, five years ago that would worry me if I was a Dolphins fan.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_02: Does any of that seem like it was bad business to you?
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_01: I I think the Dolphins did exactly what you should do when you're in in that scenario as a franchise.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_01: Just wipe it clean, start it over, you know, and and they did things right for the most part with Tua and Mike Udano.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_01: You know, they went and got Tyree Kill, they drafted Jalen Waddle, like they brought pieces around, it just didn't work.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_01: For whatever reason, it just didn't work.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: You you just you clean you clean house and you just you just try again, you know, and then you can't keep, you know, essentially, you know, like we talked about with the Bills, they just keep kind of running it back.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um obviously the Bills the Bills have had more uh success than the Dolphins, but sometimes you just gotta wipe that thing clean and just start over top to bottom.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um to me, this also oh go ahead, go ahead.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so I'm just I'm not I'm not worried.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_01: I I think that I think what they did is good for the franchise and hopefully is it's gonna push um that franchise forward.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_02: To me, this also shows like a pretty significant more so than like any of the individual players that came and left, but a pretty significant change in who the Dolphins want their identity to be as a team.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_02: You know, when you go from Mike McDaniel and you know, wearing custom sneakers on the sideline and all the bling that he does, and having Tyree Kill and Tua, like you have a very specific identity as a team, even if those are three individuals that make up a much larger pool of people that contribute to what the team looks like, those are where they're faces of their franchise.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_02: And they created the identity.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_02: And like you said, that identity, more often than not, let them down.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_02: We saw it in the playoffs against Kansas City when they got into the cold.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_02: We've seen it in the playoffs against the Bills for them.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, when you look at the the moves that they did bring in, they brought in free agent wide receiver Tutu Atwell, another free agent wide receiver, Jalen Tolbert.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_02: They also signed some kind of under the radar defensive help, Josh Uce, David Ojabo, Willie Gay.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_02: But specifically, we touched on Malik Willis earlier.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_02: Do you think that there is a pathway for Malik Willis to be a viable starting quarterback this season in the NFL?
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think there's a very good chance that with Malik Willis, they could absolutely win seven games again, eight games again.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um because you know, obviously you would you would want a high draft pick if you were the Dolphins, but it's very hard to employ these people and then be like, hey, like don't perform.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_01: Because a lot of these guys are gotta perform because they want a job next year somewhere, you know, even if it's not with the dolphins.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um but I think you know, with Malik Willis, I think that defense uh could be a little underrated, could be better.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um that they they could sneak up and and win seven or eight games or something, you know, especially you know, they played the Jets twice.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um so yeah, I I think for sure uh we could see Malik Willis being a viable starter.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_01: He's showed it, you know, a handful of times.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think he might be a better option than what they had last year.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_02: Um, yeah.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_02: I from what we saw towards the end in Miami from Tua and then when they started rolling out Quinn Ewers last year, I mean, it was just pretty unserious at most times last year.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_02: I do think that there's gonna be a little bit different maturity level.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_02: He's been in the NFL on two different teams.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_02: He, for those that may not know or remember, he was a second-round draft pick out of Liberty.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_02: It's not like Malik Willis has no pedigree to his name.
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but another thing that I want to touch on before we move to maybe the most important player on this team is you kind of already alluded to it, but they really had to focus on building through the draft.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_02: They were not in a position to shell out a bunch of cash.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_02: They drafted offensive uh linemen Caden Proctor from Alabama in the first round.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_02: They had a second first-round draft pick, which they used on Chris Johnson as a as a corner from San Diego State.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_02: Um, a few other notable draft picks, Jacob Rodriguez, who was the Big 12 defensive player of the year last year from Texas Tech, as well as his college teammate, Caleb Douglas, uh, and another wide receiver who I really was a big fan of out of Louisville, Chris Bell.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_02: Anything that you've noticed from their draft picks that kind of stood out to you or any of those guys that kind of raised some red flags as a Patriots fan?
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I I I like them trying to address the offensive line.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I think that's very important when you're a team that doesn't have a quarterback just yet.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_01: I think sometimes getting some pieces in place for you're probably going to be drafting um pretty high, and you're probably gonna take a quarterback.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um if if things align, you would hope that there would already be pieces there for off for an offensive line that that rookie quarterback could step in and be comfortable.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_01: And the biggest thing is is also having a defense that that is kind of ready and and can help that young quarterback not feel so pressured, you know, and and be able to take and alleviate some of the pressure off of that that young quarterback that hopefully you get.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_02: 100%.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um so obviously the star, you know, kind of the engine that will drive this Dolphins team, both last year, but especially this year, is Devon A-Chain, their star running back.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_02: Um, he enters his fourth year.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_02: He actually just got a new contract extension recently.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so that man is not leaving Miami.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_02: Besides A-chan, I mean, everybody knows the name value.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_02: He's a you know, first round caliber, maybe second-round caliber fantasy pick.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_02: Is there anybody else on this team from a fantasy aspect that you have any interest in starting or even rostering at the start of the season?
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, maybe if you're in that, you know, a two-quarterback league and you you want some some depth and you want to keep Malik Willis there.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, maybe he might he might be viable for fantis.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_01: There's a very good chance he's athletic.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um and they're gonna be losing a lot of games.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so he could just be slinging it and he has nothing to lose.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, right, right.
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_02: I think that's a pretty good call.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe Dylan is showing some more of his draft plans than he anticipated.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_02: So um let's let's move back on to uh the northern side of the country.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_02: Let's move up to the New York Jets.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_02: Last year they finished in last place in this division with first year head coach Aaron Glenn.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_02: They're over-under this year.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_02: It's not giving them a lot of positive feelings and vibes heading into the season.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_02: They're over-under is set at five and a half wins.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_02: They replaced and moved on from, you know, the experiment that was yet again Justin Fields, who seems to have found his proper place in the NFL now, which is a backup for the Chiefs.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, they moved on to former Raider, former Seahawk in kind of a funny full circle moment, former jet draft pick Gino Smith.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_02: Is Gino capable of leading this to be a you know uh a moderately successful offense?
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_02: They were fourth to last in points last year.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_02: Do you think this offense is capable of being above that with Gino leading the charge?
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_01: I I I would I would say yes.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um I don't think you want them to if you're you know the Jets.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_01: I think you want to take a shot at just getting another young quarterback again.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_01: Gino is is a guy that you know if he's not turning the ball over and you can establish like the run with him, um, and the defense can pick up a little bit of the slack, they could they could be better.
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um but I don't think the roster is is is good enough that's gonna that's gonna be able to complement uh Gino.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um they obviously needed someone to start there.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_01: You don't want to just you know have no one or have no answer at the quarterback position in the National Football League.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um but yeah, I mean I think I think you're gonna see them try to to be super competitive early on with Gino, just try to establish a culture, but I think I think things also go back to trying to figure out if you know maybe if they have the right head coach or not.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_01: I do like um the tight end that they drafted in the first round.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I'm blanking on his name.
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_01: Sadiq from Oregon.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes, I do.
• 33:55
  SPEAKER_01: I I think I think they got a good tight end um in the draft.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_01: And I honestly I felt like their draft wasn't wasn't that bad.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like they they did they did pretty well.
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um so yeah, I think it really comes down to seeing what Aaron Glenn does uh this year and just you know kind of what the culture is gonna look like, you know, for the Jets.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, Gino's not the long-term answer for them.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_02: 100%.
• 34:20
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, you mentioned their tight end, Kenyon Sadiq.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_02: They also had two other first-round draft picks, which one of them was the second pick, which they used on another Texas Tech defensive player, Edge David Bailey.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_02: They also took star Indiana wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_02: with the 30th pick in the first round, as well as his college teammate in one of the best corners, not only in the Big Ten, but in the whole country last year, D'Angelo Pons.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_02: I liked a lot of what they did in the draft, kind of like you said.
• 34:51
  SPEAKER_02: I thought they really attacked, you know, guys that can come in and make a real impact.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_02: They really kind of swung for the fences.
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_02: When you draft a 5'8 corner that was all Big Ten, you're you're taking the risk that that guy might be really good or really bad.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but their star on this offense is Brees Hall.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_02: Is he, you know, he's been involved in a lot of rumors from trades to contract extensions.
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_02: He finally got some new money.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_02: Is he positioned to be an RB1 in fantasy?
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_02: He's currently going um in 12 team leagues as RB14.
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_02: So just barely on the outside of RB1 territory.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_02: Do you think if we were having this conversation in five months, Brees Hall falls into the top 12 in running backs?
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_01: I I I wouldn't put him there.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_01: I don't necessarily trust that offensive line, and I don't think that they're gonna be in positions and in games to just be running the ball heavily with him.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I was a big Brees Hall stand, you know, especially like early on, uh like his rookie season and stuff like that.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but no, I I I just I don't think he he's gonna be in a position to be able to showcase like his real uh abilities, unfortunately, just because they're gonna be trailing in a lot of games.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I absolutely agree there.
• 36:09
  SPEAKER_02: Uh Garrett Wilson is kind of the other star on this team.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_02: He returns for his fifth season with the Jets, which gosh, you kind of feel bad for that guy.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_02: Like he's not had an easy go in four seasons with the Jets.
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_02: They did finally bring in a little bit of help.
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_02: I mentioned Omar Cooper Jr., you talked about Kenyan Sadiq, who they drafted in the first round.
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um, they also brought in free agent receiver Tim Patrick from the Jaguars, and they acquired Adonna Mitchell midseason last year from the Colts.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_02: I don't really want to focus on any of those guys.
• 36:43
  SPEAKER_02: Garrett Wilson is obviously the lead receiver, the lead target share getter on this team.
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_02: Is Gino enough to help Garrett Wilson get that?
• 36:51
  SPEAKER_02: You know, there were plays last year.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_02: I I don't remember what week it was.
• 36:55
  SPEAKER_02: I think it was like week five or week six where the Jets were down on the goal line with maybe 10 seconds left.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_02: And Justin Fields threw an air mailed pass, and Garrett Wilson starts like trotting back to the huddle, like, oh man, we are gonna lose.
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_02: Do you think that this year he can get some of that kind of the ugly that stink off of him from Justin Fields, or is it just gonna be kind of another frustrating year for Garrett Wilson?
• 37:25
  SPEAKER_01: I think Garrett Wilson will be playable in fantasy for sure.
• 37:29
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I think you you know what you're gonna get in Gino, and I think that's a lot.
• 37:35
  SPEAKER_01: You're gonna be able to get more out of the passing game with Gino than you were uh Justin Fields.
• 37:39
  SPEAKER_01: And also, like, let's let's talk about yeah, like Garrett Wilson since coming into the league has just been dealt with, you know, not a lot to work with at the quarterback position and the Rodgers.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_01: And truthfully, he's he's really handled it like as a professional, too.
• 37:55
  SPEAKER_01: You get those like young wide receivers who could also start becoming a problem because things aren't going right.
• 38:01
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I I don't feel like we've heard a ton of that with with Garrett Wilson over there.
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_01: He's just kind of just kind of dealt with it.
• 38:07
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I think he was hopeful that the Aaron Rodgers experiment was gonna work out.
• 38:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I uh I I think I you know, as someone who's in the division, you see him a lot, kind of got to tip your cap to him that he's he's been just a massive professional since coming in into the league and with handling uh you know everything that's going on over there in New York.
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_02: One of the last things I want to touch on before we move to a team that you're probably much more excited to talk about.
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_02: Uh Garrett Wilson's currently going around 40th in 12-team fantasy drafts, kind of sandwiched in between Tettero McMillan of the Carolina Panthers and a guy we previously talked about with the Dolphins and now on the Broncos, Jalen Waddell.
• 38:47
  SPEAKER_02: So between Jalen Waddell, Tettero McMillan, and Garrett Wilson this off this season, from a fantasy perspective, which one of those guys do you feel strongest about?
• 38:59
  SPEAKER_01: Jalen Waddle.
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, they they spent some some some big assets to go get him.
• 39:05
  SPEAKER_01: They're gonna they're gonna make sure he's featured.
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think they're gonna be better in the passing game, of course, just because that off the line is better, the roster is better.
• 39:13
  SPEAKER_01: So I would say I would say Jalen Waddle.
• 39:16
  SPEAKER_01: Nice.
• 39:17
  SPEAKER_02: Well, uh, let's move on to the team that won the division last year, made it to the Super Bowl, and they returned head coach Mike Vrabel.
• 39:26
  SPEAKER_02: They were 14-3 last year.
• 39:28
  SPEAKER_02: They're over-under this year, is set at nine and a half, placing them second in the division.
• 39:33
  SPEAKER_02: But the biggest story this offseason, I don't think it's a question unless you're gonna say something else.
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_02: I think it's AJ Brown.
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so we can just kind of start there.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_02: What does AJ Brown, what difference does he make for the Patriots this year from an offense and from a team perspective?
• 39:51
  SPEAKER_01: I think you're bringing in a guy who does compliment Drake May.
• 39:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, they they are a team who wants to push it downfield.
• 40:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and I don't think they had someone um who was just a world beater, you know, downfield.
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_01: And and you know Kayshawn Booty had a had a fantastic season for what he was asked to do.
• 40:10
  SPEAKER_01: He catches everything that comes to him, but he's just he's not the athlete that that AJ Brown is.
• 40:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um and one thing that I I was very excited from watching uh Drake May in college is is the way he could throw you know these cornerballs.
• 40:25
  SPEAKER_01: And he really hasn't done that since coming into the league because he just hasn't had anyone uh that wins like that.
• 40:30
  SPEAKER_01: And I think with AJ, he's gonna be able to do that.
• 40:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um he's gonna be able to put AJ in positions of of just kind of go and and and get it, you know.
• 40:39
  SPEAKER_01: And I I think that's the the biggest thing with AJ is they finally have someone that that can stretch the field.
• 40:45
  SPEAKER_01: Not only is he just gonna he's obviously not just gonna burn you, you know, with his feet, but he's just he's such a big guy.
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um and Josh McDaniels always does a very good job on on getting these guys like AJ Brown, you know, Randy Moss, Brandon Marshall that he's played with um in positions to catch the football.
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_02: Totally agree.
• 41:05
  SPEAKER_02: And I I also try to think about things not only from what kind of impact does he make on the defense or on the offense, but what kind of impact does that make on the defenses that the Patriots are going to play against this year?
• 41:18
  SPEAKER_02: And to me, like the biggest thing about bringing a guy like AJ Brown compared to what the Patriots had at what wide receiver already is that he's just a different type of receiver.
• 41:29
  SPEAKER_02: You know, like he's a different physical body shape, he's a different, you know, kind of athlete in general.
• 41:36
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that alone kind of gives him a really strong place to make a strong impact on this offense.
• 41:43
  SPEAKER_02: He is a little bit older right now, like he's definitely coming in to like solidify the position.
• 41:48
  SPEAKER_02: There's not a lot of questions that he will be the guy.
• 41:51
  SPEAKER_02: Is he still in that wide receiver one range for a fantasy purpose this year?
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_02: Or do you expect him just to kind of, like you said earlier, um, when we were talking about the the um the Bills with DJ Moore, is he kind of in the stage where he's just gonna get a thousand yards and contribute to a good offense, or is he gonna be the star that he's been with Philly?
• 42:14
  SPEAKER_01: I I think pairing him with with Josh McDaniels and then Drake May skill sets can put him into being one of the top wide receivers in football, you know, productivity, uh for sure.
• 42:26
  SPEAKER_01: Like he the they're they're gonna get the ball to him downfield, but if there's one thing that Josh McDaniels is known for, like I said, is putting those type of wide receivers in good positions to catch the football.
• 42:36
  SPEAKER_01: He's not gonna stay stagnant, he's not just gonna linger outside, he's gonna come in and play slot.
• 42:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um and McDaniels is the one who compared his body type, you know, that of to like a Gronk.
• 42:48
  SPEAKER_01: So he's gonna play next to next to the tight ends, too.
• 42:51
  SPEAKER_01: So he's just gonna be moving all over the field.
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_01: And most wide receivers nowadays don't want to stay stagnant.
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_01: Like most wide receivers don't want to just be lined up outside, they want to move around the formation.
• 43:02
  SPEAKER_01: That's how you keep you know the defense honest.
• 43:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I think he's just gonna get a lot of different looks.
• 43:08
  SPEAKER_01: I think they brought in a Romeo Dobbs who complement what he uh AJ Brown is gonna do for the offense very well.
• 43:14
  SPEAKER_01: You know, they didn't bring in two AJ Browns, those are very different wide receivers.
• 43:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think that's also what is gonna help him is I think he has some other pieces like a Romeo Dobbs, um DiMario Douglas around him.
• 43:26
  SPEAKER_01: That is just gonna complement him really well in that offense.
• 43:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 43:31
  SPEAKER_02: You mentioned Romeo Dobbs.
• 43:33
  SPEAKER_02: I I really from a draft perspective and a free agency perspective, it's kind of funny.
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_02: We both uh sort of alluded to the fact that we wish the the Bills had been a little bit more aggressive, kind of knowing where their window is.
• 43:47
  SPEAKER_02: And I almost feel like the Patriots were the most aggressive team in this division in terms of you know going for it.
• 43:53
  SPEAKER_02: Obviously, the AJ Brown trade, they traded the 2028 first round pick for him, but they brought in like some pretty key.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_02: Players that should all have a pretty strong role on this team.
• 44:04
  SPEAKER_02: You mentioned Romeo Dobbs.
• 44:06
  SPEAKER_02: They also brought in Elijah Vera Tucker from Division Rival, the New York Jets.
• 44:10
  SPEAKER_02: Draymond Jones comes in to help the defensive line, but that was already very good last year.
• 44:15
  SPEAKER_02: And then Kevin Bayard comes in from Chicago, who I think he was either the leader in interceptions last year or tied for the lead in interceptions.
• 44:25
  SPEAKER_02: Out of from just the free agency side of things, do any of those guys kind of you mentioned Dobbs, but do any of those guys really stand out above the others to you?
• 44:35
  SPEAKER_01: AVT is great.
• 44:36
  SPEAKER_01: I like having AVT next to uh you know Will Campbell.
• 44:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because like last year you had two rookies playing on that left side uh of the offensive line, um, which is just a lot.
• 44:49
  SPEAKER_01: And what and that that right or that left guard, excuse me, uh Jared Wilson, he's also he's a center.
• 44:55
  SPEAKER_01: He was drafted to be a center and then got asked to play guards.
• 44:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um so I think putting AVT, a veteran guy next uh to Will Campbell will be great for continuing his development.
• 45:06
  SPEAKER_01: And then the Kevin Bayard signing was one of my favorites of the offseason outside of uh of AJ Brown, of course, just because that secondary is already really good.
• 45:15
  SPEAKER_01: And then you put a guy like Kevin Bayern in there, who he's getting older, obviously, but he just he knows where to be, where to put himself in position to be able to get turnovers and his familiarity with Mike Rabel.
• 45:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, that that Kevin Byron signing, I was very, very thrilled uh with that one.
• 45:35
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you touched on the offensive line, and the Patriots uh attacked the offensive line again in the NFL draft this year.
• 45:41
  SPEAKER_02: They drafted Caleb Lomu, who I was a big fan of coming out of Utah in the first round.
• 45:46
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, they also drafted another guy that I really liked.
• 45:49
  SPEAKER_02: I really wanted the Jaguars to draft him, um, and that was defensive edge Gabe Yakis out of Illinois, and then they took Eli Rarodon in the third round to help uh kind of fill in that tight end room a little bit.
• 46:01
  SPEAKER_02: Though did any of those guys or anybody else from their rookie class stand out to you that you are really excited about?
• 46:09
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I was happy to see that they went after another tackle on Caleb Lomu.
• 46:13
  SPEAKER_01: I think he uh I think their vision for him now is to uh alleviate some of the time from Morgan from Morgan Moses as Morgan Moses is getting older.
• 46:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um he's not gonna be able to play wire to wire.
• 46:25
  SPEAKER_01: So if you can have a guy like Caleb Lomu who can come in, um, I don't think he's gonna come in and and and start over Will Campbell.
• 46:34
  SPEAKER_01: I think they're they want him to be the the right tackle that eventually takes over uh for Morgan Moses.
• 46:40
  SPEAKER_01: And then uh Gabyakis, obviously a lot of drama uh here in the offseason with him.
• 46:46
  SPEAKER_01: He was, I think, the last uh second round pick to sign to his team.
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_01: I think there was uh I think there was an injury uh that the Patriots didn't know about that he was taking care of uh away from the team.
• 47:01
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so getting his deal done uh took a lot of extra time.
• 47:05
  SPEAKER_01: I think the Patriots put a lot into that contract to kind of like uh essentially you know save themselves if for some reason he has an injury uh that that could that could linger around.
• 47:17
  SPEAKER_01: But they needed someone badly on the edge that was just kind of like a like a freak athlete that was just massive.
• 47:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um because they didn't have that.
• 47:25
  SPEAKER_01: They had they had they had speed on the edge with you know uh with KV on and Harold Landry, but those guys just weren't running at you and running through you.
• 47:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um so very, very happy to see them attack Edge.
• 47:38
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and then grabbing uh one of the better tight ends uh in the draft, very exciting to see him and he can mature next to you know Hunter Henry.
• 47:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um but all you know, all these guys have question marks, you know, you know, when when it comes to you know what they're gonna be in the in the NFL.
• 47:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um but very, very excited about the gate about the Gabe Yakis uh pickup.
• 48:01
  SPEAKER_01: I I really hope he turns into someone that can be plug and play and and be productive for them uh kind of immediately.
• 48:10
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's interesting.
• 48:11
  SPEAKER_02: I didn't know that uh contract issue that was going on.
• 48:15
  SPEAKER_02: I wasn't aware of that, so that's interesting to hear that from you.
• 48:18
  SPEAKER_02: But he was the guy.
• 48:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, he just like he just signed his contract like right before camp.
• 48:26
  SPEAKER_01: He had been like away from the team.
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they didn't know if it was like injury or if he had like there was something else going on.
• 48:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um yeah, that was a that was a big storyline for the for the Patriots outside of AJ Brown finally signing, and then it was like, hey, like what's going on with Gabe Yakis?
• 48:42
  SPEAKER_02: Interesting.
• 48:43
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I was not aware of that.
• 48:44
  SPEAKER_02: And he, like I said, he I agree with you.
• 48:47
  SPEAKER_02: He was the guy when I look at their rookies that they brought in that I was the biggest fan of, just in terms of who they were in college last year, he's a real difference maker.
• 48:56
  SPEAKER_02: You know, when you are getting double-digit sacks on an Illinois defense, granted, I mean, Illinois is not what they used to be.
• 49:02
  SPEAKER_02: They're a good physical football team with Brett Bielama, but Yakis is a difference maker, and I I loved the fit, kind of like you said, a different body type on the edge for the Patriots.
• 49:14
  SPEAKER_02: We talked a lot about guys that were not on the Patriots last year, from the rookies to the free agents into the trades of AJ Brown.
• 49:22
  SPEAKER_01: There's there's actually one more addition that I want to talk about that we can give it to him for a free agent.
• 49:27
  SPEAKER_01: This guy coming from the Buffalo Bills, Reggie Gilliam, the fullback.
• 49:32
  SPEAKER_01: I think that is I think I think that is a very good signing, especially we know that Josh McDaniels loves fullbacks, he loves fullbacks that can get out and catch passes.
• 49:43
  SPEAKER_01: He he loves fullbacks and Reggie Gilliams, one of the one of the best fullbacks in the league.
• 49:48
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 49:49
  SPEAKER_01: So I think he comp so I think he compliments that Josh McDaniel's offense really well.
• 49:53
  SPEAKER_01: Very underrated signing for them.
• 49:55
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, can't wait to see what what Reggie's gonna do for the Patriots.
• 49:59
  SPEAKER_02: Dude, only at the Tailgate podcast do you get fullback hype.
• 50:03
  SPEAKER_02: Only in the Tailgate podcast.
• 50:05
  SPEAKER_02: That is a great pull.
• 50:06
  SPEAKER_02: He is, I mean, there's not a lot of teams that run fullbacks out there anymore, but he's the guy that like randomly, you especially if you're thinking like about fantasy football, that would catch a touchdown from Josh Allen and everybody at the party would turn around and be like, who just caught that?
• 50:21
  SPEAKER_02: Who just scored for the Bills?
• 50:23
  SPEAKER_02: So he's always the guy that kind of shows up and makes an impact in a game, both from a blocking perspective and a pass catching perspective.
• 50:30
  SPEAKER_02: So I love that.
• 50:31
  SPEAKER_02: And that's a great point, too, about McDaniels being able to feature a fullback well.
• 50:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um, because like I said, not a lot of teams run fullbacks out there in 2026.
• 50:40
  SPEAKER_02: So it definitely gives them kind of a different approach, something that defenses have to plan for and account for.
• 50:46
  SPEAKER_02: So that's that's a great pull right there.
• 50:48
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but like I said, we've we've covered a lot of teams, even down to the fullback, or a lot of players, even down to the fullback that were brought in this offseason.
• 50:57
  SPEAKER_02: But I want to start a different conversation about a guy that was already there, and that is um Ann Ann Michaels' husband, Drake May, and he was fantastic last year.
• 51:10
  SPEAKER_02: He was right next to Josh Allen as the best quarterback in the division and one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
• 51:16
  SPEAKER_02: He was an MVP, MVP finalist in 2025.
• 51:20
  SPEAKER_02: Do you feel like he's going into year three now?
• 51:24
  SPEAKER_02: The team is gonna be very good and competitive again.
• 51:27
  SPEAKER_02: Do you think that he takes a step forward from what we saw in 2025?
• 51:32
  SPEAKER_02: Or do you think that there's any regression there, or are you gonna see a similar performance, I would say, to what we saw last year?
• 51:40
  SPEAKER_01: I think you kind of got to detail what you think like a step forward or regression looks like.
• 51:45
  SPEAKER_01: Because if you if you look at him, I mean he had a phenomenal season, his first four years starting, he went to the Super Bowl for most of the regular season.
• 51:54
  SPEAKER_01: It was just kind of between him and Matthew Stafford on on who was gonna win MVP, who was playing the best uh football at that point.
• 52:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um I think a step forward for Drake would be seeing him have more control of the offense at the line of scrimmage, uh pre-snap, being able to get into the Brady-esque role of of really commanding uh what he wants, you know, seeing the defense, getting him in the perfect play.
• 52:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then of course just knowing that sometimes the best play that you can have is is an incompletion.
• 52:33
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you when you have a guy like Drake Mae, Josh Allen, these guys that can make every play, sometimes sometimes just not making the play is is is best.
• 52:41
  SPEAKER_01: Like sometimes just getting your punt team out there, flipping the field, and and giving your defense a chance, um, and then just you know running it back again, you know, because sometimes the kid just wanted to force some plays, and then that's where you would see a fumble or um you know an interception.
• 52:57
  SPEAKER_01: But I I do think one thing that I I will give Drake credit to is um you know, if he's struggling with it, you can usually kind of see like a correction in it, either like the next drive or the next game.
• 53:09
  SPEAKER_01: Like he he he puts an emphasis on not making the same mistake uh over and over again.
• 53:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um so I think a step forward for him is commanding the offense, um being he doesn't need to be you know winning MVP to to have like a better year, but just keeping his his foot on the pedal, um getting them back to the playoffs, uh having a chance to win in the division.
• 53:35
  SPEAKER_01: I I think that's that's still a very good year, and that shows progression because the kid's so young, he is so young.
• 53:42
  SPEAKER_02: And for me, like one of my I was the guy that was trying to toot the horn on Drake May all year last year, and he had a phenomenal regular season.
• 53:52
  SPEAKER_02: I think, and some of this is just kind of bad timing, you know, or even like bad luck, like when everybody's gonna have bad games.
• 53:58
  SPEAKER_02: Even if you win the MVP, you're gonna have games where you're not very good.
• 54:01
  SPEAKER_02: And I think from a narrative perspective, it did hurt his, you know, the way media, I would say, fantasy people, regular football people talk about the way that he he was injured in the playoffs and the way that he played in some of those games at the end of the season.
• 54:17
  SPEAKER_02: I think sometimes that kind of sticks in people's minds over the 18 other games that happened before that.
• 54:23
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so for me, like the thing that I would like to see is just that at the end of the year that he's playing the best version of himself out of the entire season.
• 54:32
  SPEAKER_02: You know, to me, that would be that was always the Tom Brady, New England Patriots, you know, even if the Patriots somehow started the season three and three, you know, you just knew that there was going to be a switch that gets flipped, and all of a sudden Brady was going to carry that team to win after win after win and be the engine driving the team.
• 54:54
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that's really like kind of a you know, if I'm the guy was an MVP finalist, he was the runner up in the MVP.
• 55:01
  SPEAKER_02: So you do kind of have to nitpick to find the areas where they can get better.
• 55:05
  SPEAKER_02: And to me, that's where I would like to see him improve is at the end of the season and when those games get more important later on that he delivers his best performances.
• 55:15
  SPEAKER_02: Um, anything else you want to say on Drake before we move to another guy on this offense?
• 55:22
  SPEAKER_01: Uh yeah, I I think another year on the McDaniels offense is gonna be good for him.
• 55:26
  SPEAKER_01: He's a guy that at uh UNC uh he had a different offensive coordinator both of those years, came into the the league um and immediately got a new offensive coordinator his second year with Josh McDaniels.
• 55:37
  SPEAKER_01: So this is the first time going into another year where he's had continuity of who's gonna be in the headset.
• 55:43
  SPEAKER_01: So I think I think that's that's massive for him.
• 55:45
  SPEAKER_01: He's gonna be more comfortable in that offense because that's uh the the uh the verbiage of that McDaniels offense isn't isn't easy.
• 55:52
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you have guys like Brian Horrier who talk about it all the time.
• 55:55
  SPEAKER_01: They're like it it takes quite a bit.
• 55:58
  SPEAKER_01: And even your first year in it, um, you're almost you're just getting all the baby steps um in that offense.
• 56:05
  SPEAKER_01: So he's he's in a second year with McDaniels.
• 56:08
  SPEAKER_01: You would hope that there's gonna be more comfortability, he's gonna understand it.
• 56:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and and hopefully we see you know a much more mature Drake May at the helm of the offense.
• 56:18
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's a that's a great thing to point out, too.
• 56:21
  SPEAKER_02: The consistency there is so key, especially with like these younger guys.
• 56:24
  SPEAKER_02: Like obviously, I'm a big Trevor Lawrence fan, and him having the same head coach this year makes me really excited.
• 56:30
  SPEAKER_02: Same off of scheme.
• 56:32
  SPEAKER_02: The same thing applies to Drake.
• 56:34
  SPEAKER_02: Having a Super Bowl champion and Josh McDaniels back again.
• 56:38
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, Super Bowl champion and Mike Grable, too.
• 56:40
  SPEAKER_02: I don't want to slide him there, but uh, but having a Super Bowl coach and and Josh McDaniels back again, I think that only serves him well.
• 56:49
  SPEAKER_02: One last guy that I want to touch on on this Patriots team before we actually list out our predictions is Trevion Henderson.
• 56:56
  SPEAKER_02: So he kind of was in a split backfield last year with uh other running back Ramondre Stevenson.
• 57:02
  SPEAKER_02: He's currently going as running back 24 in fantasy drafts.
• 57:07
  SPEAKER_02: I know what my take is on this.
• 57:10
  SPEAKER_02: Do you think that that is fair for him to be at the back end of RB2?
• 57:16
  SPEAKER_01: You know, as a Patriots fan, especially recently, I always get the questions about Trevion Henderson.
• 57:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um unfortunately, it's Ramondre Stevenson's backfield, unless he just absolutely loses it.
• 57:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think Trevion has like all the characteristics of like past Patriot running backs that you love.
• 57:38
  SPEAKER_01: But last year and in uh pass blocking, he was he was just a liability at times.
• 57:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and quite frankly, like his vision just wasn't there last year sometimes.
• 57:49
  SPEAKER_01: He just was not seeing the holes.
• 57:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um he obviously has that that breakaway speed, um, and he's you know he's great in the passing game, but that's another thing that Ramondre Stevenson is really undervalued in is he's a really good receiving back, he is excellent in pass protection, and he he is very hard to bring down.
• 58:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um he went through that fumbling problem early in early in the season, and he's had a fumbling problem in his career, but but man, like there are not a lot of running backs that are asked to do as much um that that they asked Ramondre Stevenson to do.
• 58:23
  SPEAKER_01: And he's he's just very productive.
• 58:25
  SPEAKER_01: So again, it's gonna be his backfield um to lose.
• 58:30
  SPEAKER_01: They're gonna compliment Treyvion in there um just because you know they spin a second round pick on him.
• 58:35
  SPEAKER_01: He is talented, but this is still Ramondre Stevenson's backfield.
• 58:41
  SPEAKER_02: Before we put pen to paper and list out how we think the division plays out, other than like wins and losses, I ask I've asked everybody that's been on the podcast so far, give me your the I mean like the spiciest hot take you could give me.
• 58:57
  SPEAKER_02: If we're sitting at a tailgate, drinking a beer, getting ready to watch the Patriots play, what is your you know, something that most people listening to this would be like, wow, that is an opinion to have.
• 59:09
  SPEAKER_02: What's your hottest take on the Patriots this year?
• 59:13
  SPEAKER_01: I would say it's it's a take that I I've been saying all offseason, especially with the additions that they uh made um for the defense.
• 59:24
  SPEAKER_01: Everyone you know wants to talk about AJ Brown, Drake May, and this offense, but I think there's a very good chance that this defense is gonna take a bigger step forward and and might be the driving force of of this team.
• 59:38
  SPEAKER_01: Like that, like the defense might be the best part of this team.
• 59:41
  SPEAKER_01: That defensive front is really great.
• 59:43
  SPEAKER_01: If they get some juice on the edge, I mean I think that that defense is gonna be a top unit in the NFL.
• 59:51
  SPEAKER_02: I love it.
• 59:52
  SPEAKER_02: Well, uh, let's put some pen to paper.
• 59:54
  SPEAKER_02: Let's make our predictions official.
• 59:57
  SPEAKER_02: So we'll kind of go ping pong style.
• 59:59
  SPEAKER_02: So I'll go first and start with my fourth place team in this division.
• 1:00:04
  SPEAKER_02: And I don't think this might actually be a surprise to some people.
• 1:00:07
  SPEAKER_02: The the odds on favorite to finish as the last team in this division is the Miami Dolphins, but I actually have the Jets in last place.
• 1:00:16
  SPEAKER_02: I am not a believer in Aaron Glenn.
• 1:00:19
  SPEAKER_02: I think there's a better than significant chance that he gets fired this year.
• 1:00:23
  SPEAKER_02: I thought there was a chance that he got fired in the middle of last season when they started 0-7.
• 1:00:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um, Gino, while it does raise the floor of what they could be as an offense, he is still a journeyman.
• 1:00:35
  SPEAKER_02: Like he's been on the Seahawks, he's been on the Raiders the last two years.
• 1:00:39
  SPEAKER_02: He's now on his third team in three seasons, his fourth team overall.
• 1:00:43
  SPEAKER_02: And I just don't think there's enough firepower.
• 1:00:45
  SPEAKER_02: I don't love their offensive line from a protection standpoint.
• 1:00:49
  SPEAKER_02: You talk about like their issues run blocking and being able to open up holes for Brees Hall.
• 1:00:54
  SPEAKER_02: And I don't think that they've improved that defense enough to pull them out of the cellar.
• 1:01:00
  SPEAKER_02: I just don't think that there's enough like to work with there for them to actually stack wins on top of each other.
• 1:01:07
  SPEAKER_02: So I have the Jets finishing in fourth.
• 1:01:10
  SPEAKER_02: Who who do you have in last place in this division?
• 1:01:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I I agree with that.
• 1:01:14
  SPEAKER_01: I think I think the Jets as well.
• 1:01:16
  SPEAKER_01: I I think we're we're you were kind of spot on there.
• 1:01:18
  SPEAKER_01: They just they're not gonna have the firepower.
• 1:01:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um and and yeah, we're we're we're gonna see if Aaron Glenn is gonna be, you know, their quarter or their coach, you know, the following season.
• 1:01:29
  SPEAKER_01: You know, could be that you know, could could happen that he does get fired halfway through the season uh this year, too, because that was a real possibility last year.
• 1:01:37
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, they when they started, they were they were really struggling with that that 0-7 start.
• 1:01:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um I'm also not a huge fan of firing coaches midseason.
• 1:01:47
  SPEAKER_01: I think sometimes you just need to see it through and then um you know then have your offseason.
• 1:01:53
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, I think the Jets at at fourth place is uh is uh is exactly probably where they're gonna be.
• 1:02:00
  SPEAKER_02: So in third place, then this kind of spoiler alert, I did not see an upset happening in this division.
• 1:02:06
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so I have the Dolphins in third place, and while from an odds perspective, they probably like I like we talked about when we previewed the team, they're probably one of the teams that are most favored to land the top pick in the draft.
• 1:02:20
  SPEAKER_02: But I what I really like about this team, at least from a mindset perspective, because that can help win you a lot of games.
• 1:02:27
  SPEAKER_02: Like if another team is asleep at the wheel, I do believe that this team is going to be focused and hungry to, you know, from an individual perspective, trying to secure their roster spots, their careers, a guy like Malik Willis.
• 1:02:40
  SPEAKER_02: But I think that this coaching staff, this front office, is going to be aggressive in trying to improve this team and not give games away.
• 1:02:47
  SPEAKER_02: And that that's ultimately what I think the difference is between them and the Jets, that they're it's much more sound leadership now in that building that can be.
• 1:02:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't think there's a lot of pressure.
• 1:02:58
  SPEAKER_01: There's not a lot of pressure on them, you know.
• 1:03:00
  SPEAKER_01: Like this, this is you know, they cleared slate.
• 1:03:02
  SPEAKER_01: This is their first year, you know, they're getting guys in, you know, they brought in Malik Willis, like Aaron Glenn, like the Jets, you know, they want to see can can you win us some ball games, um, you know, as our head coach.
• 1:03:15
  SPEAKER_01: Like the Dolphins are are worried about that.
• 1:03:18
  SPEAKER_01: You know, they're they're they're gonna try to put their culture together.
• 1:03:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so there's there's just no real pressure on them to like be great.
• 1:03:26
  SPEAKER_02: 100%.
• 1:03:27
  SPEAKER_02: That's a that's a great um factor to bring up too.
• 1:03:31
  SPEAKER_02: So that brings us to the top two spots in this division.
• 1:03:34
  SPEAKER_02: So we'll see if we see this the same way.
• 1:03:37
  SPEAKER_02: I have the Patriots finishing in second place in this division.
• 1:03:40
  SPEAKER_02: I do have the Patriots in the playoffs as a wild card.
• 1:03:43
  SPEAKER_02: I think they're gonna have, like you said, another really strong season from this defense.
• 1:03:48
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but kind of conversely to you, I do think that Trevion Henderson is going to make a pretty substantial impact, both from a touchdown scoring perspective, but also I think he does end up stealing some of that pass game work as the season work wears on from uh Ramondre Stevenson.
• 1:04:06
  SPEAKER_02: And well, I'll get into it when we talk about the Bills, but I just think ultimately the Bills represent a lot of we see it a lot in other sports, especially in the NBA, like guys that are like regular season warriors almost.
• 1:04:19
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that the Bills share a lot of those characteristics from how their offense operates from it seems like always from a luck and health perspective, but the Bills seem to master the ability to successfully navigate a regular season.
• 1:04:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but again, I'll I'll get into that more in a second.
• 1:04:38
  SPEAKER_02: So who do you have finishing in second place in this division?
• 1:04:43
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, there's gonna be some bias to here, but I do think it's the Bills.
• 1:04:46
  SPEAKER_01: And again, it's just because I just don't think that their additions this offseason like wow me.
• 1:04:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um I again, not gonna be surprised if they win the dis the division or you know get to like an AFG championship game.
• 1:04:59
  SPEAKER_01: I just don't think they have a roster um that that is that is gonna compete for a Super Bowl.
• 1:05:05
  SPEAKER_01: And I think at this point, the Patriots the last not even just this offseason, but the offseason uh prior, I think they have just been making better moves for their rosters.
• 1:05:16
  SPEAKER_01: I think the Patriots have a better roster overall.
• 1:05:18
  SPEAKER_01: I think it'd be really hard um uh to see the Bills uh win this win this division.
• 1:05:25
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, you have to show them respect because they are they have been king of the castle for you know since Brady left, but I I just their off-season accusations just did not just not just not wow me.
• 1:05:38
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I I actually agree with most of what you said.
• 1:05:42
  SPEAKER_02: I I think that the Patriots from top to bottom have a much stronger roster.
• 1:05:47
  SPEAKER_02: I think there's a lot more confidence to be had in Mike Vregle than we have in first year head coach Joe Brady.
• 1:05:52
  SPEAKER_02: I also don't think that I have the opinion that the Bills are going to make it to the Super Bowl or even to the AFC Church.
• 1:06:00
  SPEAKER_02: Championship game.
• 1:06:01
  SPEAKER_02: Again, I really think that the Bills end up ending the regular season on top because that just seems like what they are good at.
• 1:06:08
  SPEAKER_02: You know, almost like the James Harden of the NFL.
• 1:06:11
  SPEAKER_02: And I hate to do that to Josh Allen, but until he gets over the hump, he is kind of like the empty stats guy, you know, and that always tends to show itself pretty well in the regular season when, you know, week to week he can really carry the load.
• 1:06:27
  SPEAKER_02: But after 18 games of that, it seems like every year it wears him down.
• 1:06:31
  SPEAKER_02: And I do think that they strive to win the division because they saw how difficult it was to one come to Jacksonville and win last year and then go again on the road to Denver.
• 1:06:42
  SPEAKER_02: But ultimately, I don't think it gets them to a Super Bowl.
• 1:06:44
  SPEAKER_02: But I do think that they put pedal to the medal and tried to win this division.
• 1:06:49
  SPEAKER_02: And that's really like kind of the separating of the tea leaves there.
• 1:06:53
  SPEAKER_02: So give give us your reasoning why you think the Patriots win the division.
• 1:06:58
  SPEAKER_01: I I think they they made the right moves on bringing pieces in on the offensive side, especially in the wide receiver room, uh, to try to help Drake.
• 1:07:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um I I think you touched on it.
• 1:07:11
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Drake had an injury in the playoffs.
• 1:07:14
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know how severe it was, how much it was bothering him.
• 1:07:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I think another year Drake's healthy in the McDaniels offense, he's gonna be bringing that maturity.
• 1:07:25
  SPEAKER_01: And then I think I think overall we're gonna see that offense take a step forward because I think the run game should be better with offensive line um pickups that they made in the offseason, which is gonna help them out in the passing game.
• 1:07:39
  SPEAKER_01: Because the Patriots last year, when they needed to run the ball, they couldn't, they just couldn't um you know, whether that be the they just had some undersized linemen who just weren't great in run blocking, which I think was part of the issue.
• 1:07:53
  SPEAKER_01: You had a center in Garrett Bradbury who um did a wonderful job for what he was asked to do, but he's just he's he's just a serviceable center, he's undersized.
• 1:08:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so you're gonna be able to swing over Jared Wilson to be your center, you're gonna be bigger there.
• 1:08:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you brought in AVT, um, and then and then obviously Will Campbell is gonna be healthy.
• 1:08:13
  SPEAKER_01: I think the offensive line is gonna be better, the run game should be better.
• 1:08:17
  SPEAKER_01: That's gonna make uh that passing game uh stronger as well.
• 1:08:22
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I I like I said I agree with a lot of what you said.
• 1:08:25
  SPEAKER_02: Really, this just comes down to what is important to these teams in my eyes.
• 1:08:30
  SPEAKER_02: And to me, like I think the Bills just value the regular season a little bit more than Mike Variable's been in this as a player, as a coach on multiple teams.
• 1:08:40
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I just don't think that that's as big of a concern.
• 1:08:42
  SPEAKER_02: And the Bills' schedule is a little bit easier, so they might have an easier chance of racking up some of those early season wins.
• 1:08:48
  SPEAKER_02: So just to recap, so from the top down, I have the division shaking out with the Bills on top, the Patriots in the wild card, the Dolphins missing the playoffs, but having a little bit better than expectations uh from them from a win-loss perspective, and then the Jets kind of spiraling a little bit.
• 1:09:07
  SPEAKER_02: Dylan has the Patriots on top.
• 1:09:10
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, did you have the Bills in the playoffs, or are they gonna miss the playoffs?
• 1:09:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, no, no.
• 1:09:15
  SPEAKER_01: The Bills will make the playoffs.
• 1:09:17
  SPEAKER_02: So the Bills in the playoffs, and Dylan also has the Dolphins in third place, kind of similarly to me, and then the Jets in last place.
• 1:09:25
  SPEAKER_02: So the last thing I'd like to ask everybody, did you enjoy your time in the tailgate?
• 1:09:31
  SPEAKER_01: The tailgate was phenomenal.
• 1:09:32
  SPEAKER_01: I hope to be back.
• 1:09:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um, obviously, love talking ball with with the boy, um, and and of course love talking about my Patriots.
• 1:09:41
  SPEAKER_02: Um well, maybe we'll uh just just to tease the tailgate a little bit and all of our listeners, Dylan is gonna be joining me for a in-person extravaganza, I should say, at the New England Patriots Jacksonville Jaguars game this year.
• 1:09:59
  SPEAKER_02: So there might be a chance that we do a live podcast perhaps before the game.
• 1:10:06
  SPEAKER_02: So if you're following along the tailgate, that might be a good episode to tune into uh as we are tailgating the tailgate.
• 1:10:14
  SPEAKER_01: And that's gonna be a very big game for AFC exceeding.
• 1:10:18
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, oh yeah, there those are gonna be two teams, you know, late in the year.
• 1:10:23
  SPEAKER_01: That that game's gonna that game's gonna be very, very big for seating.
• 1:10:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so totally agree.
• 1:10:29
  SPEAKER_01: So, so excited to come down to Jacksonville and see you and and watch Drake May in person and get the vibes from Jack's Beach.
• 1:10:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 1:10:39
  SPEAKER_02: I can't wait.
• 1:10:40
  SPEAKER_02: It's gonna be a good time.
• 1:10:41
  SPEAKER_02: Um well again, I appreciate you jumping in the tailgate.
• 1:10:45
  SPEAKER_02: I love chopping it up with you and going through the AFC East.
• 1:10:49
  SPEAKER_02: And uh like we both said, this is really a two-team division from a fantasy perspective.
• 1:10:54
  SPEAKER_02: There's really two teams that you really want to invest a lot in, and that's the two teams that we talked the most about.
• 1:10:59
  SPEAKER_02: That's the Bills and the Patriots.
• 1:11:01
  SPEAKER_02: They're the two classes of this division.
• 1:11:03
  SPEAKER_02: There's two teams that are rebuilding.
• 1:11:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but Dylan, I appreciate you jumping in the tailgate and chopping it up with me.
• 1:11:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, thanks for having me, Kim.
• 1:11:21
  SPEAKER_02: Well, that was awesome having Dylan join the Tailgate.
• 1:11:26
  SPEAKER_02: We were able to go through the entire AFC East.
• 1:11:29
  SPEAKER_02: Now, to wrap up the Tailgate episode today, what to watch for this week.
• 1:11:34
  SPEAKER_02: So Hard Knox came back last Tuesday.
• 1:11:38
  SPEAKER_02: The second episode actually debuts this coming Tuesday, August 11th.
• 1:11:43
  SPEAKER_02: Um, for those that are not familiar, Hard Knocks is kind of an in-depth behind-the-scenes show documentary style, um, all centered around training camp.
• 1:11:53
  SPEAKER_02: And they pick one team each year, and it's on HBO, um, narrated by Liv Shriver.
• 1:11:59
  SPEAKER_02: It's a it's a great show, and this year they are um focused on the Seattle Seahawks, the Super Bowl champions.
• 1:12:05
  SPEAKER_02: Another um what to watch for, a very good baseball series this week.
• 1:12:12
  SPEAKER_02: The Milwaukee Brewers are going to take on the San Diego Padres, both a very entertaining series with a lot of star pitching, relief pitching, um, but also very critically important.
• 1:12:24
  SPEAKER_02: We've met we've talked a lot about the Brewers recently.
• 1:12:27
  SPEAKER_02: We've talked a lot about the Padres being active buyers of the trade deadline.
• 1:12:31
  SPEAKER_02: So it'll be interesting to see who's able to take that series this week between Milwaukee and San Diego.
• 1:12:36
  SPEAKER_02: And lastly, we always love to give a gold star with every tailgate.
• 1:12:41
  SPEAKER_02: Our gold star this week goes to Cubs, Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow Armstrong.
• 1:12:48
  SPEAKER_02: This week, he went 10 for 26.
• 1:12:52
  SPEAKER_02: That's right, you heard me.
• 1:12:54
  SPEAKER_02: 10 for 26 with two home runs, four steals, six runs batted in, seven walks.
• 1:13:02
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, and not to mention the Cubs went six and one and swept the Dodgers.
• 1:13:06
  SPEAKER_02: So, Pete Crow Armstrong, you are our gold star of the week.
• 1:13:10
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much to everybody listening to the Tailgate.
• 1:13:13
  SPEAKER_02: I am your host, Cameron Clark, and we'll be back later this week with another special Tailgate episode.
• 1:13:18
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much.
• 1:13:19
  SPEAKER_02: Bye-bye.