Three-time National Sportswriter of the Year Peter King on 2024 expectations for Patriots and more

welcome to ion Foxboro I'm Karen gigian and today I am honored to have legendary sports writer Peter King with me Peter was most recently with AB NBC's football night in America he wrote a very well- read weekly column uh prior to that he was with Sports Illustrated uh where he's noted for his Monday Morning Quarterback he's a three-time national sports writer of the year and a selector in the Pro Football Hall of Fame hello Peter Ken it's so nice to talk to you it was great seeing you last week in Foxboro it was you know I I want to also say that that Peter's been a great mentor to Young Sports writers in the business coming up and I've always valued and treasured your opinion on things so thanks for joining me sure and uh you know it's weird Karen in the past I'd probably join you and have a real strong opinion about whether Drake May or jacobe brassett should start but quite honestly I have no clue because you know when you're retired and when you've had a bunch of other things occupying your time I don't really I don't I don't know who should start at quarterback obviously May will at some point but opening day I mean who knows you know it's interesting I Tom Brady on another show was talking about uh you know young quarterbacks shouldn't start because they just don't know that much and especially compared to how you know he spent a year on the sidelines and he learned he learned a lot from Bill Bella check do you have a take on young quarterbacks just in general and their Readiness to to start because you know we saw CJ stoud do great things but we've seen other quarterbacks you know who have been hurt uh by starting too soon you know Karen I go way back in time maybe not back as far as some people will think when I say this but I go back um almost three decades um to a time when pton Manning and Ryan Lee for the first two quarterbacks picked uh in the 98 draft and I remember something when I went to Chargers training camp that summer and Ryan Leaf was having a rocky start to training camp which portended all sorts of things for the future and I remember Bobby bethard I said well you know it sounds like maybe you we'll should ease him in to the job and he goes oh my God he said we we probably are going to play him right away and and we should you know people are clamoring for him our franchise been down a little bit and you know been looking for a quarterback and now we got him and people are paying for luxury boxes and everything like that he said we're we're going to play him and I always thought and look Bobby bethard was a fantastic NFL general manager but I think sometimes that kind of attitude is what people think about in the NFL when it's a classic case of putting the card before the horse your job in my opinion is to judge when a quarterback is ready to play and also to think about 6 8 10 years down the road and not opening day you know opening day really is is not that significant in the grand scheme of things when you look at all the great quarterbacks who have ever played including players who've played right away and players who sat for a while I mean in 2003 Carson Palmer sat his entire rookie year in 2017 Patrick Mahomes sat all but one late season game and you know if you look at the those two situations Carson Palmer was coming off of a a classic college football career at USC Pro style offense all that and he if anybody was ready he should have been ready and the Bengals said we're not sold on quarterbacks playing as rookies he's going to watch and so he did and Patrick Mahomes you know even though he was in a much different offense he you know Andy Reid thought we got Alex Smith we don't need to rush momes uh and he let him sit for a year and honestly Karen I think I've never heard a good argument for why it hurts a quarterback to sit for a year I I've never heard one and so when in doubt in my opinion unless a guy is so precocious and I don't care if you're backup is is awful you your only concern when you draft a quarterback high in the draft the way the Patriots is Patriots did your only concern should be uh what is the best thing for Drake May so that he'll be ready in 2026 28 30 to be the franchise quarterback we've laed well I think you like hit it hit it on the head and of course people in New England uh s you know are clamoring for Drake made a start you know there's been this lull post Tom Brady uh they had a four- wind season last year so people are revved up to you know see the next star but I you know you know Elliot wolf you know his dad Ron wolf very well uh I think between him and Gerard Mayo they'll have a level head about it um do you do you agree with that knowing Elliott as you do well you know I know Elliott but I think his track record is really not apparent yet because you know this is his first chance really to be the boss and but you I sort of look at the way Ron wolf uh did his job and and look he he got Brett Favre out of a bad situation personally and professionally in Atlanta uh trading for him uh when he first got the job in Green Bay in the early 90s and so it's almost unfair to look at what the Packers did with Brett Favre because he already had been in the NFL when he got traded to Green Bay um but my feeling is if you look at the tradition of how Green Bay has done quarterbacks uh you know under uh Mike Sherman uh Ted Thompson uh Brian gudakunst uh they're all sort of Ron wolf people you know they're all very much uh Ron wolf disciples and you know if you look at it's it's ironic that Aaron Rodgers and uh uh Jordan love both basically sat for three years which is a long long time to sit certainly and so you don't expect any quarterback today to sit for three years unless you've got a really good quarterback ahead in front of them and you know the Patriots don't have that with Drake May so I I I suspect that Elliot wolf is going to air very much on the side of caution and again I would think it's most likely that the final decision is going to be up to the head coach you know on the quarterback and when he plays but uh the way that the tree that Elliot wolf came from the general manager always has uh the ability to put his thumb on the scale so that's my gut feeling that Elliott will probably want to slow walk Drake May into the lineup but again you know who knows uh we'll see how he develops uh and how fast he picks everything up yeah another factor that I think will weigh into this decision is the status of their offensive line uh you were at the Joint practices uh where jacobe and Drake got sacked like 15 times and you know they're trying to come up with the right combination of of of players you know to protect the quarterback but how tough is it nowadays in this league to put together a good offensive line I I just don't think there are enough tackles to go around I mean it's it's absolutely amazing you know just watching some of the highlights from the pre-season uh the other day I I was watching the Steelers highlights maybe they they should be called low lights because they drafted a left t a right tackle from Georgia last year a guy who supposedly is very Pro ready you know uh and and they drafted him last year uh I think brck Jones if I'm not mistaken that's his name and holy cow he looked awful on Saturday night and this is a guy who is supposed to be a Just Add Water NFL tackle Karen you look around the league look at the New York Giants they have devoted so much time energy resources money to building an offensive line and as of today you know this team that has uh I don't know how many high draft choices an awful lot has one position solid on the line and that's Andrew Thomas at left tackle every other position they're SC trying to Scotch tape together now they hope that Evan can be a good right tackle has not shown any sign of that yet U but all these teams Karen every team that devotes a lot of time energy and resources and draft Capital uh so many of these teams are hu end up to be hugely disappointed in my opinion the offensive line is the is the position that shows the benefit of good coaching more than any position in the game and I'll give you a good example if you look at who the uh Philadelphia Eagles start on the offensive line you know their their left tackle is a guy from Australia who never played football before he came to the United States Jordan Mada and essentially Jeff stoutland the offensive line coach invented a left tackle in George Mada and so that's why you know over the years with the Patriots you know you say gez David Andrews he's he really became a great player uh look at all the guys they've they had on the offensive line who really developed a sound foundation and really protected Brady for years and years and years why look at Dante scaria Dante scarn to me is one of the five best offensive line coaches of all time and he would always figure out uh how they were going to put a line together that was going to protect the quarterback always always always and so to me I if if I were an NFL team I would look around right now at the four five five six coaches in the NFL starting with stoutland um who have done the most with the least resources and I would look at all those guys and I'd go out and I'd vastly overpay them and I'd bring him in with with a for a lot of money and with some Advanced Title assistant head coach whatever to get him to jump from whatever team he was to come to my team yeah yeah I it makes a lot of sense uh I know Scott Peters he came from the Cleveland Brown system he worked under a very good offensive coordinator there uh but again will that translate you know right now uh they're mixing and maxing matching M mixing and matching trying to come up with the right formula so you know we'll see how that goes um so that's obviously one concern for not throwing Drake May out there right away another concern is the weapons he has and I think the Patriots did a good job in the draft uh with a couple of the receivers they took Jaylen pulk in particular but it would make such a big difference if they had that number one guy um you know a difference making threat uh they tried to lure tour two of them to Foxboro R Calvin Ridley being one in free agent um and now Brandon iuk and it looks like it's going to take the Patriots a while especially when it comes to free agent Talent like that for them to want to come to Foxboro and it's a vast change from the from the Brady bellich days course yeah um Karen I would just say this I I don't think it's bad that it's going to take a while because I think Brandon iuk for 31 million a year having that uh lead weight on your cap with a bad offense and hoping that he can catch 105 balls for 1,800 yards and 16 touchdowns that's a pipe dream uh with this offense the way it is now with the quarterback I think who's going to be under some fire this year and in an Ideal World your time to get a great wide receiver is when your team is almost there uh or when you have a lot of the pieces in place I mean and and so I think honestly Patriots should be grateful they didn't get Brandon auk it's almost like putting the cart before the horse a little bit right uh when it comes to that kind of talent what what's your take uh you know having covered Alex Van Pelt for years yeah what are the what are the Patriots getting in him as an offensive coordinator he's a guy who players really like to play for uh very conversational easy to get along with exceedingly smart about the position uh understands what works and what doesn't work work um I think I I've always been sort of curious about why he has been so well traveled because if you're well traveled in the coaching business it usually means that you you know wherever you were that it's time to move on or you're forced to move on um but I think this is a good job for him because this is a growing franchise it's not an impatient franchise you know the owner is not going to be impatient the head coach isn't going to be impatient um and I think he probably is the right guy for this time he's a teacher who uh is going to get his point across and I just I think the most important trait that he has had if you talk to people who have been around him is he's he's a patient guy and a good teacher I also think um he's not like one of the the young young stud offensive coordinators who were going to be uh with a team for a few years and then bolt yeah you know and I think that continuity is going to be important now especially for Drake may not having to go through coordinator I I know Tom Brady always says it was important he had the the same coordinators the same offense year after year after year so I you know I think I think me personally that might be a good thing in the long run to De developing a Young quarterback Karen I remember talking to Tom Brady after the Patriots won their second Super Bowl and it was clear that his star was on the rise and uh bill bellich made the right call and basically picking him over Drew bledo and you I'll never forget one of the things I asked him about I said have you ever thought about what would have happened had you gone to some other team rather than New England and he said you know really if I had gone to let's say the Raiders or the Cardinals both of whom at the time were kind of downtrodden he said had I gone to the Raiders or the Cardinals um I'd probably be on my second or third team now if I was even if if I would still be in the league and I think his whole point was I had a year to sit and learn and I've got you know the ultimate smart teacher in bill bellich and I know I've got good teachers on the offensive side of the ball and I think he was fortunate particularly uh to have Josh McDaniels for whatever it was 14 or 15 years I forget how many years but for a long time and I remember one time he said to me later in his career that I just know Josh is gonna have the you know and I'm this is not an exact quote but in essence he said Josh is going to have all the eyes crossed uh all the eyes dotted and the te's crossed he he's going to he's going to solve all of the issues that need to be solved going into a game that's why you know Karen it's kind of funny not that we're talking about this but I've always kind of thought over the last few years that if somebody says well which one of Brady's uh Super Bowls was the most impressive what what was his biggest win biggest surprise whatever and I think most people would say well coming back from 28 to 3 but I really think that if I press to the wall that I'd say the Super Bowl he won in Tampa because it was a totally different world in Tampa and uh I think he had uh great affection and and he really liked playing in Tampa but Bruce Aran uh was just totally different head coach than Bill bichi and Byron Leftwich was a different coordinator than Josh McDaniels was and I think there was a lot more on Tom's plate I'm not blaming them but they wanted to do what Tom Brady did well not necessarily inventing the offense themselves you know they wanted to fit it around him so I think that was a real real challenging year for him and it ended obviously in trying it sure did um how do you think Gerard Mayo is gonna Faire through all this as the head coach obviously he's you know inheriting a four- win team the the the talent on the roster is considered uh down the bottom of the league and yet uh Robert Craft has entrusted him with bringing them back to life yeah I think the good thing about this year and look nobody's gonna come out and say it Gerard Mayo certainly isn't Robert Craft isn't but everybody on God's green earth knows that this is a rebuilding year for the Patriots and they aren't going to have a really good year I'll be surprised if they win six or seven games um in part because look at the division they're in you know they have three on on on you know on a good day they got three of the top 10 quarterbacks in football um and they all have the ability to be in exceedingly explosive and the Patriots have the ability to be plotting you know so I I don't think it's going to be a great year for him but that is not what football today in New England should be about this should be about looking at this team and saying how are we going to be the best that we can be on opening day 2025 and nobody wants to hear that fans don't want to hear it players who have limited shelf life they don't want to hear it but any responsible person would look at this team this season and say this should be about building this should be about making sure your young players are a lot better in week 17 than they were in week one so and look as I say nobody's gonna say it but they know it and you know they're not going to try to lose but I think they're gonna play this year more to develop players than they would in a in a normal season where you're trying like heck to win every time time you go out on the field yeah I I agree with that and you know patience is going to be the big thing for fans but yeah it's about as you said developing these players and hopefully by the end of the season you know you see you see signs of that progress I mean it happened when Bill parcel's took over they weren't good right away and they built into something it happened when Bill bich took over they weren't great right away but toward the end of these Seasons you know things started to click in players you know started to develop and you could see the progress so that like in year two they were something right and you know the other thing I think that is really important to think about when you're trying to chart what this year is going to be like so you know most people when they look at either a draft or a rookie class and you draft a quarterback high in the draft that's all they care about but I guarantee you that is not all that uh the Brain Trust cares about um I I mean look I have absolutely no idea I don't know these players I don't know what's going to happen with any of them however I think this year year if if if by the end of the year you don't see one of the one of the down the road players and I'm not talking about the second round pick that receiver from Washington I'm talking about maybe the they I think they took a receiver in the fourth round um from c yeah yeah yeah Baker um and and then who knows Joe Milton you never know I mean he's he Joe Milton's got incredible tools to me I I think it's crazy lasted till late in the sixth round that's that's to me it's nuts but whatever uh you know you've got all of these new guys and everybody's G to be fixated on Drake may I I would be significantly more fixated or I would be as fixated on you know the depth of this draft um and I think there's one other thing look I think the Patriots didn't they get a three for judon from Atlanta yes um so uh you know to me if I'm Elliot wolf uh and at the trade deadline my team is not very good uh I am going to do everything to take a veteran player and try to get another four or a five in this draft so that for instance you know right now they've got an extra pick in the third round I mean great general managers great general managers find ways to improve their team even in the middle of uh the sort of desolation of a Bad season and so if I'm Elliot wolf I'm thinking hey in late October I gotta go out and steal a four or five or maybe even a three if all goes well somewhere so those are the other things I'd be looking for this year uh I I brought up Bill bellich check's name uh he's out of well he's out of coaching uh this year uh which is a bit of a surprise do you see him coming back and you know is he going to still be a a wanted commodity uh for some team well that's a great question Karen and I just like you was very surprised just like everybody this year uh was very surprised that he didn't get a coaching job but I think I look at it and say okay next next year bill bellich on opening day of the football season in 2025 will be 73 and a half years old and not that I'm I'm just trying to make a point when I say the half that you know how many how many coaches I'd be curious to know whether a any coach in NFL history ever moved on and began a new job at 73 and a half I don't I doubt it I know Romeo crenell was really old when he took the Kansas City job but in general even though bill is a young man at heart I think there are a couple of other questions that he's going to have to answer one is you know does he still want to be king of the castle does he still want to make every decision um and number two will he be more accepting of analytics modern football uh the changes in the game than he was late in his career in New England will he want to be an autocrat you know and so those are the kind of things he's going to have to answer I think he's doing the right thing this year with all these media jobs to basically try to show people hey look everybody out there thinks I'm you know an iron fist personality lless guy um and I I can I can be different than that if I need to be so we'll see what his image is like after this year but I think Karen the other thing to think about is where will the jobs be open at the end of this year who's gonna have an opening well would the New York Giants have an opening uh would the maras consider or John Mara would he consider uh bill bellich I mean there's a good question uh would uh would other teams consider Bill bellich and there were it just didn't seem to be a lot of franchises this year that felt they were a good fit with uh with Bill bellich so it's got to be an owner who's going to be comfortable with hiring an old man quite frankly uh regardless of how young he seems uh you know in how he acts and and all that I think he's going to have to prove that he can be more of a getalong guy than he was late in his career and almost through his entire career in New England yeah I totally agree with that and I think like you said it has to be the right fit and whatever the team is has to understand his age and know that maybe they're only getting him for a couple years or until he passes schula and is it going to be worth blowing up the staff or whatever they have to do you know to bring him aboard you know so we'll see I I I do think the Giants uh would be something that would tempt him I think he wants to stay on the East Coast so you know we'll see how that sh what happens if the bills fire sha mcder I don't know if they'd be interested but that's one that I would about yeah um not that I think the bills are going to fire him but look this is a very fast you know things change fast in football um so I think you have to look at all the options for him at the end of this year I think he certainly is going to want to get back in it and then we'll see if there's a better match than there was this year yeah I totally agree uh Before I Let You Go Peter um I want to talk about something you're involved in you're from Enfield Connecticut and they've had some massive budget cuts to the school system there uh and they've basically wiped out uh middle school and freshman Sports and you have a GoFundMe for uh to try and raise some money to help get those kids back on the playing field yeah Karen I got called a couple of months ago by uh I lived in Enfield till I was 18 years old and left for college and have never lived there since then but obviously I'm tremendously uh I I'm indebted to the town that that raised me uh along with my family and especially you I I don't know how people in your audience feel but the vast majority of my memories from Junior High School and High School are sports memories are being on the you know getting a big uh hit against East Hartford High School uh when I was a senior uh to win a big baseball game to you know I played soccer in in and uh you know we had a lot of big games we were a pretty good team back then but I those are so many of my best memories and so there there was a budget cut of almost $10 million uh in Enfield the town has really changed significantly the super Acting Superintendent there told me that you know that about 52% of the kids who will go to school there this year live at or below the poverty level and you know the the town needs help uh it needs outside help and so three uh friends of mine who still live in Enfield uh contacted me about two months ago and said hey can you help us try to raise this money so we started a campaign to bring Sports back for the 2526 year uh school year uh we've been told that if we raise 100 ,000 they will bring 17 Sports back with you know 279 kids on these teams so what you don't want to happen is you don't want this to become any sort of permanent situation because what are these kids going to do after school we need to be conscious that we got to get kids away from being buried in their phones and you know buried on the couch watching TV and and all that they need to be active and I just I hope that we're able to impact this we're at about $23,000 and the GoFundMe right now uh it it's on GoFundMe it's called restore and field sports and field School sports so I hope that people especially if people are listening who are in New England uh really care about the futures of 279 kids that they might be able to help a little bit but thank you so much for for bringing that up yeah so if anyone wants to help out it's uh www.gofundme.com restore Enfield School sports support 279 kids uh good luck with that Peter Karen thank you and it's great great talking to you and I'm so glad to see you're still at it and to see you up in Foxboro thanks so much Peter take care and enjoy retirement okay hey thanks a lot Karen