And tonight, he's the reason why they're going home with a loss.

Yeah, and it's funny, and I'm just going to seize on the word unglued for a second.

He was poised in many junctures, running for first downs, picking stuff up, managing.

But you're right, he came unglued in critical situations, the throw downfield to Dobbs.

Really not that necessary.

He had his feet planted.

They were in a position of 10-3 ahead.

And then when he had to make the right decision on a number of occasions, he obviously did not.

And tonight, he's the reason why they're going home with a loss.

Yeah, and it's funny, and I'm just going to seize on the word unglued for a second.

He was poised in many junctures, running for first downs, picking stuff up, managing, but you're right.

He came unglued in critical situations to throw downfield to Dobbs.

Really not that necessary.

He had his feet planted.

They were you know, in a position of 10-3 ahead.

And then when he had to make the right decision on a number of occasions, he obviously did not.

Why? His teammates didn't vote for

him.

And I think Mike Reese's question was, was it a player's vote? Did he say that? Yeah.

Because I didn't hear that.

He did.

He said, player's vote? And he goes, yeah, always.

Okay, my fault.

I don't know if anyone's ever asked him before.

And I think Mike

Reese's question was, was it a player's vote? Did he say that? Yeah.

Because I didn't hear that.

He did.

He said, player's vote? And he goes, yeah, always.

Okay, my fault.

That's okay.

I don't know if anyone's ever asked him before.

What do you make of that specific guaranteed money? Because I feel like that's been the biggest issue with this whole contract situation.

Yeah, that has been omnipresent throughout.

Since Robert Kraft said we have the biggest offer that's ever been offered to a cornerback in the NFL and the biggest offer a Patriot has ever gotten, everyone has basically said, well, what's the fine print? is there fine print to be really gleaned from this? And then last week, the report from Adam Schefter saying that they're far apart and it's not even in the neighborhood.

So now we have conflicting reports.

And certainly the crafts are not getting in touch with Schefter and saying, yeah, our offer's not even in the neighborhood.

So one would think it came from Camp Gonzales.

So if that's the case, this is another offering from Camp Gonzales that kind of flies in the face of that.

And it's really trash.

The one-on-one stuff, Tom, the one-on-ones with the receivers and DBs and the offensive linemen, defensive linemen, people would eat that stuff up.

What you need, I think, Ted, and it's a great question too, is to Who would be the guinea pig, the willing guinea pig to open up the practices? And it has to be a team that's compelling.

You can't just say, all right, well, let's have, and they're not an incompetent team, but they're on the TV in front of me right now.

Let's have the Bengals and Titans do it.

Well, great.

Who cares? The Eagles and Patriots would have been a prime opportunity to say, we're coming into your place with our ESPN and NFL Network cameras.

and we're going to shoot all these reps, and we're going to do them live.

How realistic is that?

I have no idea.

I have no idea.

I mean, I've heard Albert Breer say it's guaranteed money.

I've heard other people say it's first two years money.

So there's any number of things.

And the business has changed.

I can't call up Jack Mills, who used to be Ted's agent, probably still is.

How realistic is that?

Horrendous

...

if he's the 18th best backup quarterback in the league, that makes him the 50th best quarterback.

What are we looking for out of the guy? He's short.

That's why he couldn't get a job, but if you're looking for a guy who could actually move around the pocket, know where the ball's supposed to go, throw somewhat accurately, take a hit, which he did, and complete, like, a 40-yard pass downfield, then what else are you...

Uh, and if you're saying that my saying horrendous is a mis- misrepresentation, well, then what is sucks? You said he sucked.

They just could have done better at this position.

I, I, I just love the conversa- It's fun because we all know the quarterbacks.

You look at those guys and say, "Okay, if we're gonna pay three guys $140 million starting next year, we're probably gonna have to lop off some of these veterans who are really important players to us, but are some of our more expensive pieces on the team." That's not gonna happen with Henry, so I wonder, you know, where they're gonna get the space or the m- it's not about the cap space, it's really about the actual dollars in order to pay those three guys that we talked about.

Yeah, I, I think some of those names weigh in also maybe, for instance, Christian Barmore, but it's a position, tight end, that's important, so you have to make sure that that position is somewhat staffed.

You know, I, I look at the Gonzalez deal, and he wants to set the market.

And, you know, Robert Kraft has been the only one to show any urgency by saying, "Hey, we got a contract out there." I really feel like Gonzalez, in his intimations, is, "I'm fine.

I'll play." And then when you see Ian Rapoport mentioning that, you know, he could play this year on that deal and, and maybe do it next year, I wonder how much of this is linked to the fact that Gonzalez doesn't want his contract to de- be- become obsolete in six months.

So say, for instance, they sign him to a 33, $34 million deal.

Next year the salary comes out in March, salary cap, and it goes up 40 million.

That's all.

... think, you know, uh, we should expect from, from this kid, if anything, this year? But, I mean, you, you do see him flash, haven't you, in camp?

Yeah, but the, the interesting thing is, Ted, and today was the first day they were out there in pads, and there's a lot of good news to get to, believe it or not, from this practice for anybody who was wringing their hands, but one of those things was Eli Rairdon.

Because when he was at the rookie mini camp and at the mini camp, I was not bowl- bowled over by any stretch, and it's a hard position to learn.

So he looked okay, not exceptionally athletic, but- Excuse me, I shouldn't say that.

Not exceptionally dominant physically, and he wasn't dominant physically today, but he looked way more comfortable.

And when we talked to him after, he said, "Yeah, I'm playing way faster.

I, I have started to understand what I'm supposed to do." He didn't seem tentative.

Where do you, uh, where do you sort of see the situation going with him, and where is the team with him right now?

... think, you know, uh, we should expect from, from this kid, if anything this year? But, I mean, you, you do see him flash, haven't you, in camp?

Yeah, but the, the interesting thing is, Ted, and today was the first day they were out there in pads, and there's a lot of good news to get to, believe it or not, from this practice for anybody who was wringing their hands.

But one of those things was Eli Rairdon because when he was at the rookie mini camp and at the mini camp, I was not bowl- bowled over by any stretch, and it's a hard position to learn.

So he looked okay, not exceptionally athletic, but...

Excuse me, I shouldn't say that.

Not exceptionally dominant physically, and he wasn't dominant physically today, but he looked way more comfortable.

And when we talked to him after, he said, "Yeah, I'm playing way faster.

Where do you, uh, where do you sort of see the situation going with him, and where is the team with him right now?

Curran, how's he look so far in camp?

Great.

Two, uh, two practices of note today was just a walk through, and again, they're in shirts and helmets, so it's not full contact.

But, you know, he moves great, he has made plays.

Christian Gonzalez has been checking him.

Really, the first play of camp was an out that Christian Gonzalez was able to break up, and really, that might have been the play that, uh, Vrabel highlighted and said, "Come back to the ball a little bit more.

You're, you're a possession- not a possession receiver.

... round draft pick?

Whose fault is it that this guy doesn't seem like he's going to be playing this season? I wouldn't go that far

at all.

It could be a redshirt season in that, and I would imagine Bird meant that there's a lot for him to overcome in terms of the learning curve.

But that being said, if he signs tomorrow, and even with that learning curve, He's going to play.

They need edge help.

It's not like they can just have him sign and say, we have plenty of players.

We don't need you out there.

How do you anticipate the Christian Gonzalez contract lingering kind of thing out there? How do you feel that's going to get resolved, and what does that look like for training camp? I

Whose fault is it that this guy doesn't seem like he's going to be playing this season?

I wouldn't go that far at all.

It could be a redshirt season in that, and I would imagine Bird meant that there's a lot for him to overcome in terms of the learning curve.

But that being said, if he signs tomorrow, and even with that learning curve, He's going to play.

They need edge help.

It's not like they can just have him sign and say, we have plenty of players.

We don't need you out there.

How do you anticipate the Christian Gonzalez contract lingering kind of thing out there? How do you feel that's going to get resolved, and what does that look like for training camp? I

And, yes, Tom, you showed me around my first Super Bowl I ever went to, uh, the first Patriots-Giants Super Bowl, for an outfit called nbcsports.com, uh, which no longer exists.

[chuckles] What's up, everybody?

Sean McVay spoke on Wednesday about the adversity that they've overcome.

overcome....

I, I think what's been reflected it is that we've been, you know, strengthened through our scars.

I mean, I think you look at it, and, and you guys have asked me about it.

There was a handful of games that we had, or a few games that we had, where you maintain a lead, um, and then they come back, and then you're not able to kinda make the plays that are necessary to be able to finish it.

Well, that hasn't been the narrative in each of our first two playoff games, and so don't know exactly how this game's gonna unfold, but I do think our guys have become more resilient.

"... we believe in you guys."

And I'm highlighting that today because (clears throat) we're getting a "We believe in you guys" speech.

Meanwhile, Daniel Jones is standing in Indianapolis saying that, "Boy, it shows how much confidence they have in us to go out and get a player and make a run." It's not all one way or the other.

As I said (clears throat), regarding, regardless of the, uh, pregnancy comment, which I don't think is totally accurate, I'll tell you what I think it's closer to, um, when we get off the air.

However, (echoing) you know, you don't work really hard at something, come away with nothing, and not have a measure of disappointment.

It's okay to, to kick the tires on opportunities to increase depth, so.

But here in New England, it's very much all or nothing, you know, we're s- hearing from media because we do have a very voracious media appetite up here and, uh, a lot of content is generated, and we're hearing, "Well, I guess they don't believe in the team.

I think, oh, it's just him and Rodgers will be the only ones to have done nine games in a row with 200 yards or more and passer rating of 100 or higher.