The Ref Show Ft. Alex Barth - Do Your Pod Episode 17

We picked the perfect guest for an otherwise down holiday week for Patriots fans in general. Alex Barth of The Sports Hub is a guy I've come to know from talking to him at Patriots training camps and picking his brain. As well as his and Evan Lazar's Patriots Press Pass channel on YouTube. If possible, he's even more optimistic when it comes to the Pats than I am, and I don't say that lightly. 

We start where a good, responsible, professional Patriots podcaster should, with the state of the defense. Alex gives Nick and myself his in-person take on where they went wrong against the Bills as well as the Indy game. We find what few bright spots there were given that they didn't force a punt and had one tackle for loss the entire afternoon. We switch over to other side of the ball, Mac Jones in particular and ask whether the dreaded Rookie Wall exists and if so, if he's hitting it. Alex makes a great point about what the last like, 18 months or so have gone for Jones and his opinion on how the rookie's mental approach and work ethic are built for handling a long season. We bash the unconscionable officiating on Sunday and try (in vain) to make sense of the Taunting rules and how they're being enforced. We take a great big dive into the deep end of the N'Keal Harry Frustration pool. And maybe my favorite part was Alex's point about putting this season into perspective in the grand scheme of things. And lastly, he lets me cheat off the homework he's already doing on the Draft, a good month before I'll so much as look at a single scouting profile. Believe me, I'm making note of the names he gave us, especially the special teamer he and Nick love. 

Finally, we wrap it up with a couple of voicemails. Leave yours for next week's pod at 929-273-0520. Slainte'.