W- where would you say he is in terms of that progression? Is he at 100%, uh, somewhere between that and zero? Wh- where is he in terms of getting up to what he's fully capable of?

I wouldn't say it's 100% yet.

I think he is still part of...

You know, part of that is the late start, like you mentioned.

Obviously, didn't...

You know, joining to pr- training camp late, missed a couple days there in the beginning part.

So I think part of that is catching up.

What's kinda your thoughts on this three-game stretch coming up to close out October?

He's directly responsible for the two losses.

And two of his turnovers as well have come in the red zone.

Yep.

Interceptions in the red zone.

I know.

This team has been awful in the red zone.

They haven't scored a touchdown on any of their red zone trips down the road.

Was there any indication that we would be sitting here three games in going, what the heck is wrong with this offense?

He's directly responsible for the two losses.

And two of his turnovers as well have come in the red zone.

Yep.

Interceptions in the red zone.

I know.

This team has been awful in the red zone.

They haven't scored a touchdown on any of their red zone trips down the road.

Was there any indication that we would be sitting here three games in going, what the heck is wrong with this offense?

How does he look in practice? Does Drake look any different in practice to what you're seeing on the field?

You really don't see much of practice from the media standpoint once they get going in the regular season.

It's really just attendance, and he's throwing against air, so it really Really kind of hard to pass any judgment from him.

He looks fine throwing against Aaron.

I'm sure he does before the games as well, throwing against Aaron.

It's when you get a rush in front of him.

I mean, the whole team's a disaster right now.

He's directly responsible for the two losses.

How much of this do you believe is on Josh McDaniels?

I think he deserves some blame for it, obviously.

This was a year that they were supposed to take a step forward.

And Drake May, talking to you guys a couple weeks ago, was saying how excited he was for that continuity with Josh McDaniels.

He hasn't had the same offensive coordinator in consecutive seasons in four years since he was a sophomore at North Carolina.

So you're expecting him to kind of look more comfortable, take a step forward.

And obviously the A.J. Brown injury complicates this.

I can't go back to last year.

How much of this do you believe is on Josh McDaniels?

think he deserves some blame for it obviously like this was a year that they were supposed to take a step forward and drake may talking to you guys a couple weeks ago was saying how excited he was for that continuity with josh mcdaniel's he hasn't had the same offense coordinator in consecutive seasons in four years since he was a sophomore at north carolina so you're expecting him to kind of look more comfortable take a step forward and obviously the a.j brown injury comp complicates us yeah we talked about it after week one where the offense looked completely different without a.j brown that carried into this week against the steelers but The offense did have some positive plays yesterday afternoon.

Week one, their longest play was 19 yards.

It was a pass to Matt Collins in the fourth quarter.

They had six plays of at least 24 yards yesterday.

But immediately after having those explosive plays, they went backwards.

Whether that was a turnover, the Ramondre fumble came off one of those explosive plays.

I can't go back to last year.

What's your takeaway from yesterday's win?

It was ugly.

It was very ugly.

But you take those, especially early in the year.

Everyone knew these first four games were going to be difficult.

And I think that was the one that people looked at and said, this should be the easiest out of the first four.

Obviously, you're facing four playoff teams from last year, including three divisional opponents, three division winners, rather.

How much of this do you believe is on Josh McDaniels?

the guy that we've seen over the last several games?

Well, I think no matter what the answer would be is you have to see it against an elite defense.

You have to see it against some of these top defenses that he saw throughout the playoffs and they saw again last night.

So until we see that, I think people are going to be hesitant to buy in on him.

But I think there is a strong enough sample size of what we saw last year that you can believe that he can be that player.

And even dating back to his rookie year, he showed flashes on a really bad team where it's like, okay, this guy has... that kind of factor about him that he has this elite talent just raw talent that he can kind of tap into so yeah obviously you're going to need to see him do it against these top defenses and he hasn't necessarily been able to do that but to to give him a little bit credit for last postseason i know a lot of people are the critics are very hard on him for like the way he played and it's rightfully so like he was not good enough in the postseason i'm a realist but when they need they needed to play throughout the postseason last year he tended to make it.

What was appealing about it? What's his

upside? Well, I think the upside is the speed that he has and his ability to get off the line quickly.

let's do the haters guide to drake may because i want to look at the other side of things right now drake may was awful yesterday he's the reason they lost that no no um but that's we got five bad games in a row with him and i know there were injuries at the end of last year there's really no excuse for this What can you tell me that will convince me that he is truly the guy we saw during the regular season last year, and he's not the guy that we've seen over the last several games?

I think no matter what the answer would be is you have to see it against an elite defense.

You have to see it against some of these top defenses that he saw throughout the playoffs and they saw again last night.

So until we see that, I think people are going to be hesitant to buy in on him.

But I think there is a strong enough sample size of what we saw last year that you can believe that he can be that player.

And even dating back to his rookie year, he showed flashes on a really bad team where it's like, okay, this guy has... that kind of factor about him that he has this elite talent just raw talent that he can kind of tap into so yeah obviously you're going to need to see him do it against these top defenses and he hasn't necessarily been able to do that but to to give him a little bit credit for last postseason i know a lot of people over the critics are very hard on him for like the way he played and it's rightfully so like he was not good enough in the postseason i'm a realist but when they needed they needed to play throughout the postseason last year he tended to make it.

What was appealing about it? And I really do

think, well, I think the upside is the speed that he has and his ability to get off the line quickly.

It's a little bit of a head-scratcher about how they're going into the season with the edge position.

Yeah, you're going to go into the year starting Draymond Jones and Elijah Ponder.

And to your point there with Ponder...

He played 15 games last year, and most of it was special teams, but he did not feel like he was out there for 15 games last year, just looking through his game log.

So you feel like Draymond Jones can kind of replace Calevon Chason.

You hope he can.

He did have eight sacks last year.

What are you expecting from Gabe, and what do you feel the senses about him around the team?

position is going to kill the patriots uh i

still really worry about their linebacker depth like what is behind christian ellis and roberts pauline if one of those guys go down you're in a lot of trouble I think tight ends another one, but because you're putting a lot of pressure on Eli Raredon, obviously a rookie tight end who showed flashes both as a blocker and a pass catcher in the preseason.

But it's a lot different once you start playing teams once.

The Patriots didn't see any starters in the preseason.

For all the talk about the Patriots not playing their starters, they didn't see any either.

So what difference would it really have made? So cornerbacks, another one.

Obviously, you feel really good about the duo or the trio if you had Marcus Jones in there as well with Chris Gonzalez and Carlton Davis.

Alright, so what did you make of this whole thing? What do you think he was trying to do, and what did you read into the Celtics not being there?

I

still really worry about their linebacker depth.

Like what is behind Christian Ellis and Robert Spillane? If one of those guys go down, you're in a lot of trouble.

I think tight ends another one, but because you're putting a lot of pressure on Eli Rared and obviously a rookie tight end who showed flashes both.

as a walker and a pass catcher in the preseason, but it's a lot different once you, you know, start playing teams.

Once the Patriots didn't see any starters in the preseasons for us, all the talk about the Patriots not playing their starters, they didn't see any either.

So what difference would it really have made? So a cornerbacks, another one, obviously you feel really good about the duo or the trio.

And I've not seen Vera Tucker on the field yet.

How

do you negate that? You blitz and you are able to cover.

If you're going to be a coverage team, you need Christian Gonzalez out there, and I think he would be out there, but are you going to get him at his top self, at the top tier Christian Gonzalez, or is it going to be a lesser Christian Gonzalez who's not as physical and doesn't really want to tackle, doesn't really want to be in the mix of that because he's still in the middle of a contract discussion.

So if you're going to be a coverage team, you need him out there.

Alright, so what did you make of this whole thing? What do you think he was trying to do, and what did you read into the Celtics not being there?

thought it was a pretty cool event honestly i think you have to kind of separate the two when you're having this conversation where his connection with the city is different than his connection with the team and this was more about giving back to the city which has been something he's tried to do since he arrived in boston 10 years ago it's always been a point of emphasis for him being in the community and trying to you know make those outreach and do what he can to make the community a better place so i think this was just his way of putting a bow on that in a way.

And I know a lot of people are kind of talking about the music, but they're also giving out free haircuts to kids for back to school, giving out free backpacks.

So I think it was just his way of giving back to the community one more time.

Terp, I would like to hear yours.

I mean, Kevin Durant can obviously still play.

He was a second-team All-NBA player last year, averaged 26 points per game.

But I just don't know if he necessarily fits their timeline, right? Like, he's 38 years old now.

He turns, what, September, I think, his birthday? So he'll be 38 in September.

So I just don't know if he necessarily fits the timeline.

It would be kind of like fulfilling the prophecy because I feel like every year it's like, oh, is Kevin Durant? There's some ties to Kevin Durant, obviously dating back to before he signed with the Warriors when they sent Tom Brady and Isaiah and all those guys to recruit him.

Do you agree with Jason Tatum's dad that the roster is indeed S?

Terp, I would like to hear yours.

I mean, Kevin Durant can obviously still play.

He was a second-team All-NBA player last year, averaged 26 points per game.

But I just don't know if he necessarily fits their timeline, right? Like, he's 38 years old now.

He turns, what, September, I think, his birthday? So he'll be 38 in September.

So I just don't know if he necessarily fits the timeline.

It would be kind of like fulfilling the prophecy because I feel like every year it's like, oh, is Kevin Durant? There's some ties to Kevin Durant, obviously dating back to before he signed with the Warriors when they sent Tom Brady and Isaiah and all those guys to recruit him.

Do you agree with Jason Tatum's dad that the roster is indeed S?

I

think.

It was telling when Gonzalez was talking about it the other day.

He said, there are certain things in a contract that a player wants, and my team has made those clear.

We have made those clear.

They know what I want in this deal.

So that, to me, is what everyone's been talking about.

Now, obviously seeing that Christian Gonzalez is a major part of that, how much of a drop is it if Christian Gonzalez isn't out there, especially in these first several games in Seattle? I mean, my God, the weapons that they're going to have going out there, how big of a drop is it in quality?

Terp, do you think that there is a kicker problem on this team?

I'm not going to jump into that off just one preseason game, especially because I think the first two are really testing his range.

He missed what? It was 54 and 56, and then he missed, obviously, the go-ahead, what would have been the go-ahead that was closer in the 40 range.

But Rabel tested him on Saturday, that first practice after the preseason game, right in front on the small, skinny goalposts, which are probably about half of a regular goalposts.

And he was six for six.

And he has been good in the two-minute drill the last two days.

They've ended those drives on field goals, and he's made those as well.

And

Terp, do you think that there is a kicker problem on this team?

I'm not going to jump into that off just one preseason game, especially because I think the first two are really testing his range.

He missed what? It was 54 and 56, and then he missed, obviously, the go-ahead, what would have been the go-ahead that was closer in the 40 range.

But Rabel tested him on Saturday, that first practice after the preseason game, right in front on the small, skinny goalposts, which are probably about half of a regular goalpost.

And he was six for six, and he has been good in the two-minute drill the last two days.

They've ended those drives on field goals, and he's made those as well.

So he has been better since then.

So I like hearing that from you, Terp, that that's something that you've seen in the arsenal that's working.

Terp, do you think that there is a kicker problem on this team?

I'm not going to jump into that off just one preseason game, especially because I think the first two are really testing his range.

He missed, what, it was 54 and 56, and then he missed, obviously, the go-ahead, what would have been the go-ahead that was closer in the 40 range.

But Rabel tested him on Saturday, that first practice after the preseason game.

right in front on the small, skinny goal post, which are probably about half of a regular goal post, and he was six for six.

And he has been good in the two-minute drill the last two days.

They've ended those drives on field goals, and he's made those as well.

And to that point, I know a

And I'm wondering how much of the conversation about what they did during the regular season against lesser defenses, how much that's come up versus what they did offensively in the postseason.

Oh, the schedule talk is absolutely real.

And it was real all last year when you're looking at the teams they played.

And then to your point, when they played higher competition, how much they struggled at times offensively.

So that's definitely a real conversation.

And I think a lot of people, you know, at least locally, I feel like there's a lot of excuses being made for the way that they played in the playoffs last year.

A lot of people are pointing towards the weather.

How do you think it shakes out, and who do you think becomes available, if anybody?

Let's figure this thing out so we can go win another one."

That's exactly how I was.

I mean, there's...

Since those two became a duo and were playing together, there's no one in the NBA that had more wins than them two.

Obviously, they got it done and won a championship.

They went to five Eastern Conference finals together.

That's more than some franchises have.

How do you think it shakes out, and who do you think becomes available, if anybody?

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Oh, the schedule talk is absolutely real.

And it was real all last year when you're looking at the teams they played.

And then to your point, when they played higher competition, how much they struggled at times offensively.

So that's definitely a real conversation.

And I think a lot of people, you know, at least locally, I feel like there's a lot of excuses being made for the way that they played in the playoffs last year.

A lot of people are pointing towards the weather.

How do you think it shakes out, and who do you think becomes available, if anybody?

What do you think about his rebound and just his overall mental makeup when you see him and talk to him in the locker room? What's he like?

Yeah, just zooming out even further, he's hit safely in 31 of his last 44 and since the end of May is hitting 304 with 20 extra base hits.

It's just incredible what he's been able to do.

And I give him a ton of credit because it's not easy when you're coming here, obviously filling the shoes of Bregman, which were then previously – So occupied by Raphael Devers, you come in and you have to be that guy.

And it's not easy to be that guy, especially when you were just coming off your rookie year with Milwaukee.

No one really knows who you are.

They wanted Bregman back like everyone thought he was going back.

Can you kind of give us an idea of what, on the best day, who Hugo Gonzalez can comparatively become at his best?

What do you think about his rebound and just his overall mental makeup when you see him and talk to him in the locker room? What's he like?

Yeah, just zooming out even further, he's hit safely in 31 of his last 44 and since the end of May is hitting 304 with 20 extra base hits.

It's just incredible what he's been able to do.

And I give him a ton of credit because it's not easy when you're coming here, obviously filling the shoes of Bregman, which were then previously – So occupied by Raphael Devers, you come in and you have to be that guy.

And it's not easy to be that guy, especially when you were just coming off your rookie year with Milwaukee.

No one really knows who you are.

They wanted Bregman back like everyone thought he was going back.

Can you kind of give us an idea of what, on the best day, who Hugo Gonzalez can comparatively become at his best?

What are you hearing, and what does that say to you about how this whole thing ended?

I mean, yeah, there's certainly something there.

I mean, that would partially explain some of the urgency, right? At least Jason Data might not have went to the Celtics and said, I want Jalen Brown gone.

But he didn't say, I want him here, because otherwise he probably would be here.

That's the one thing I really can't wrap my head around here still is, Why now and why for that package? You could have done this deal in August.

You could have done this deal next year.

I don't understand why it had to happen now.

Could you see there be some sort of potential – for things to implode over in Philadelphia?