Esiason On Toucher & Rich: 4 Reasons For Patriots Remarkable Turnaround
BOSTON (CBS) - CBS Sports football analyst and WFAN radio host Boomer Esiason called 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich Monday morning to discuss the Patriots win, next week's showdown with Green Bay and other pressing topics around the NFL.
The conversation obviously started with the Patriots, who at 9-2 sit atop the AFC and are tied with Arizona for the best record in the league.
After starting the season 2-2 and looking like they were dead in the water after a humiliating late-September defeat on Monday Night Football, it's been quite the turnaround for New England.
Boomer Esiason points to four reasons for the remarkable turnaround.
"First and foremost I think you have to go back to that Kansas City Monday night game, and how embarrassed they were that week and how animated Tom Brady was that week, and how ticked off he seemed to be when people questioned his ability. That's the way this whole season has gone for a lot of teams," said Esiason.
"The remarkable turnaround I think is tied to a couple things. They have a healthy secondary, a highly motivated Tom Brady, an offensive line playing about as well as expected and a healthy Rob Gronkowski."
The Patriots have shown an ability to win in multiple ways this entire season.
They can win nail-biters, they can win in blowout fashion. They can win by running the ball, passing the ball or strictly on defense and special teams. They can beat division-winners and they can beat the cellar dwellers too.
The Patriots' ability to be multiple and versatile is something not lost on Boomer Esiason.
"Nothing tells me more about the New England Patriots than the fact that Jonas Gray didn't even see the field yesterday," Esiason said of the reigning AFC Offensive Player of the Week.
"The Patriots are able to do whatever they want. If they want to run the ball against a team like the Indianapolis Colts and control the game, they can do it that way. Or they can throw the ball like they did yesterday and abandon the run. Very few teams in this league can do both those things and do that a very high level. That's why right now the Patriots are the best team in football, the most balanced team in football and the toughest team to game plan for."
For his money, Esiason called next week's matchup in Green Bay "the midseason Super Bowl" and expects to see a game in the high twenties, low thirties.
"Both [New England and Green Bay] are very difficult to game plan against," said Esiason. "This will be a classic, late season kind of game between two quarterbacks playing at a high level. It should be a great game in Lambeau next week."
Listen below for the full conversation, including the Broncos eking by Miami, Robert Griffin III and much more!
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