The Matt Thomas Show with Ross - Voice of the Patriots Bob Socci Joins The Show

Episode Date: January 14, 2026

Voice of the Patriots Bob Socci Joins The Show 

on Sports Talk 7-90. Let's spend 10 quality minutes with a long-time voice of the New England Patriots. A young Bob Sosha and I were doing college games at the University of Houston and Rice when Bob was doing the Naval Academy. And now he is... Oh, really? Yeah. You guys didn't have like an anchor man and a beef?

I don't think so. That's good. Let me ask Bob. Bob, we've gotten along over these years. Have we not? Yes. Matt, we have gotten along famously. And I think the history dates back to, dare I say,

say, 1996, 97, Navy at Rice in men's basketball? Yeah. As a matter of fact, I sent you the University of Houston Athletic Director, glad checkup to Navy to finish his career. So that was a gift from me to you. How about that? Well, he paid me to do my job and, you know, will allow me to continue to do it.

So I appreciate that very much. And a little known fact, Ross, you don't know this. Bob has offered his spare bedroom when Carly's playing volleyball next fall. So I'll be staying with him for multiple months. So there it is. Hey, let me ask you this, and you've heard this. You've heard New England didn't play anybody. They're going to get their come up and come playoff time.

So how much of that is now, and in my opinion is that's all to spit. It was kind of a mushy argument to begin with, but how much of that was erased with beating the Chargers last weekend? I think for a lot of people it was, and I'm sure, Matt, for many, it still hasn't been erased. And certainly this will be the most difficult test. The Patriots offense and Drake May are going to, face up against this Houston defense. And I think that for a lot of people who've made the

argument, the Matthew Stafford is this year's MVP, they've based it largely on the schedule the Patriots played in the kind of defenses that Drake may want against. And certainly he's going to have the opportunity, obviously on this stage, won't count toward the MVP voting. That's already been done. But nonetheless, I think in terms of the perception of the outside. To me, I think with any team in the NFL, it's just the nature of the league, the way the schedule is formatted from year to year and upstart is going to benefit from a weaker schedule. The test of the Patriots, when it comes to the schedule next year will be far more rigorous than it was this season. But the way the team played against the Chargers, the defense dominated granted a very porous offensive line and really a quarterback in Justin Herbert. who was beaten and battered coming in, and certainly by the end of that game,

was a guy that was really defeated, and I don't think, had a lot of help around him, no running game. The receivers were very unimpressive at times with the effort, in fact. So, you know, I think even with Houston, whether they have Nico Collins or not, and despite the struggles for C.J. Strau the other night, that's going to be a far more rigorous test for the Patriots defensively this week. Bob, the Texans and the Patriots met last year in the regular season. And there were some signs that Drake was getting his first real golden opportunity and threw three touchdowns against the Texans. But I'm going to count that.

Tell me where he made his biggest step up. It may be just be playing time. Maybe just reading defenses. And then the only thing I think that gives perhaps people some optimism here is his interception count is not high. But there have been some throws that maybe he's made like any other second year quarterback that make you go, Oh, that could have been a lot worse than it eventually turned out to be. Yeah, Matt, I think first I'll answer that latter question and then get to the first part of the question with regards to May's growth and development.

What we saw on Sunday against the Chargers with an interception and a couple of fumbles was the early Drake May from last year and as well the first part of this season, for example, against Pittsburgh. There were five turnovers by the Patriots, and there was a fumble. very much like the two that he had against the Chargers that Eddie New England's hopes late in that game when Drake didn't protect the ball in the pocket and then of course there was the interception

the other than a tip ball to line of scrimmage turning the ball over to the Chargers at the 10-yard line. But for the most part, what we've seen since that Pittsburgh game in week three until the other night is a guy who's protected the football in the pocket. He's had two hands on the ball when he's been able to maneuver in the pocket

and hasn't tried to do too much even as he's been able to do an awful lot in extending plays. He's made some remarkable off-platform throws, and he certainly hurt the chargers significantly with a couple of long runs on Sunday night. What I think the Patriots are looking for in this game is for the Drake May,

who was their quarterback between weeks four and the AFC Wildcard round. Now, as far as the other part of it, there's so much to get to when it comes to his growth and development, because the team that played the Texans last year outside of Drake May and a handful of other guys is almost completely different. Personnel around him, the offensive line, the wide receiver room, the presence of Travion

Henderson in the backfield. But most notably, it's the offense that he's in and the play caller who's orchestrating that offense from the sideline in Josh McDaniels. And that, to me, is the most remarkable thing about May's continued growth and development this season is that he's really started to master a new offensive system that puts far more on his plate than the West Coast offense of Alex Van Pelt from a year ago. And Drake has been able to handle this offense and really take command of the team. I think his ability to exercise leadership that's been a big part of the Mike Vrable

influence on him as a quarterback. It's reflected by the play of the team, I think. There's around him. And, you know, he's been able to, like I said, just really develop in so many different ways. we saw glimpses of the athletic ability last year. We saw some spectacular plays, but we saw an awful lot of instances where he was a young guy that had only promise and potential

and certainly was far from really being a sure thing. And I think after this season, for sure, there's no denying that Drake May is this team's face of the franchise and one of the elite quarterbacks in the NFL right now. Ross, with you here as well, Bob. And sticking with Drake May, but talking about more as the matchup with the Texans defense, which of course we know one of the best units in all of football.

But where the Texans have struggled sometimes is quarterbacks who can take off and run with the ball. So just if you will, your thoughts on how mobile Drake May can be and will need to be in this matchup. I thought it was interesting the other night. There was a play late in the game where Aaron Rogers was dropped by that Texas defense that really suffocated him. as the game went along, and I believe was Troy Aikman at one point said, you know, if that was the Aaron Rogers of old, he would have escaped that rush. And that's what the Patriots, I think, you know, have an advantage in Drake May over Pittsburgh, and it certainly a diminished Aaron Rogers. And it goes beyond that, too, I think that, you know, for this Patriots team, they've got to take advantage of the aggressiveness of the Texans at times. play action has got to be a big part of, you know, what they do, I would imagine on Sunday

that I think and I would imagine it would be a big part of the game plan going into Sunday's game against Houston here in the divisional round. That's certainly a big factor that the Patriots, you know, have that the Steelers didn't the other night in terms of that mobility of the quarterback. But at the same time, the Patriots offensive line, particularly the left side with two rookies, Will Campbell at left tackle, and Jared Wilson at left guard struggled immensely with the Chargers pass rush. And in particular, have had a difficult time all season long, going back to the preseason, in fact,

with stunts and games up front, twists, tackles, and ends on the defensive line. And they have to shore that up, certainly, against this Houston team. I said to people, the Chargers were a good defense, but to me, this Houston defense is vicious. And the speed with which they play is really overwhelming at times and certainly overwhelming. on the Steelers. But at the same time, the Patriots have got to try to take advantage of that as well with that aggressiveness. Bob Sochi with us here on a sports talk

790. And I'm curious your perspective on Mike Vrable obviously has come in, has won, did win with the Titans. And what is it? If I'm correct, he does not call the defensive plays, correct? He does not. No. Zach Corpore is a defensive coordinator.

Yeah. So Acting coordinator, Terrell Williams has cancer. Prostate cancer he's been dealing with. What is that that Mike Vrable went as far as a leader of men, culture, all that type of stuff? Can you explain it kind of in more detail why it's different when Mike Vrable comes in the building? It's all of it. It's the culture. It's the confidence that he's been able to cultivate within the team.

He's a guy that, for example, with Romare-Stevens in early in the ear, remodries had a history of fumbling issues. I think seven fumbles last year. and during the course of his career, it's been a recurrent problem for him going back to his rookie season. And with Mike Rable, he stuck by him, and a lot of people thought, get rid of this guy. I mean, that was, you know, the large part of what we heard on sports talk later. But Rable continued to stay with him. And, you know, even the other night against the charges, Drake May commits a fumble, runs off the field. Mike Vrable is there, you know, to slap him on the butt when he gets to the sideline and reassure him in that moment.

Now, he certainly said a different method to have the game, obviously, to be better with ball security. But I think to me the thing that stands out about Mike and his staff, and it really extends into some of the people that he brought in on the front office, is that this is a team that's being developed in his vision, true to his identity as a player, resourceful player, tough player, smart player, and a guy that I think has instilled a lot of old school values, if you will, in the Patriots, with a new school. approach. He's a player's coach in a lot of respects. I think the players, you know, really appreciate

the way that he encourages them to celebrate. We saw that a couple of weeks ago. Guy intercepts a ball late in the game and they run to the sideline and Mike Rabel says, no, go back out there and celebrate. He wants them to enjoy it. And he's invited the fans in to experience

this too, I think, and, you know, the social media presence the Patriots have now in what Rable done, I think, to try to re-energize the local fandom after some really depressing seasons. I know the Patriots, we've been spoiled here for a long time, but the last couple years, you know, especially last year was kind of a rudderless season for the team on the field. And I think Rabel's just had an effect on all those different areas. And I mentioned as well, the leadership that Drake Mays exercised, I think, influenced by the head coach,

it has really stood out. And on top of all of that, they've brought in players in the draft. and hit on almost all their picks. All the rookies who were drafted have been on the roster at one point or another in the season. And they've had free agents come in. And almost all of them, if not all of them, have really made positive contributions, including Milton Williams first and foremost. And I think, you know, Rabel and his staff deserve a lot of credit for the evaluation of those guys,

but also the development of the young guys. Bob, final question. I mentioned this a little bit ago on the show. this could be the battle of which concussion cost the team the most. You've got Christian Gonzalez and concussion protocol. You've got Nico Collins.

And again, I know you won't have a definitive word about Gonzalez until later today when the injury report comes out. But it was like the Patriots didn't happen for much of that game over the weekend against the Chargers. How do things change if Gonzalez is not clear for the game on Sunday? Well, I think that, you know, first of foremost,

he put out a post last night on social media that a lot of people read into, it was a cryptic post that seemed to be encouraging. You know, I think when we saw Nico Collins carded off, a lot of people jump to conclusions about him, and I don't think we should do that about either player. If both are available, you know, certainly it's going to be a great matchup. Now, this Patriots team hasn't played as much man coverage over the course of the season, as we've been accustomed to seeing Patriots defenses, particularly under Bill Belchitt, and the really strong Patriots defense is the way we saw Stefan Gilmore, Dorel Revis,

some of the other better cornerbacks they had during the two-decade-one, Thai law going back to the first part of the dynasty for the Patriots. So Gonzalez is a guy with that capability, it seems, but over the course of the season really hasn't been utilized in that particular way. It's been a different kind of defense, more zone coverages, some match coverages as well. but if Nico Collins is out there and Christian Gonzalez is out there, it's going to be a fascinating matchup to watch,

and I think we will see more of that. We did see more of it against the charges with Gonzalez and Carlton Davis tried to tighten things up before Christian left the game. If neither is available, to me, and this is maybe my own bias, I think it impacts the Texans

far more than it does the Patriots because Collins is such a special, special player, and I think the Patriots can do some things defensively against the rest of that receiving corps that will allow them to compensate for the absence of Gonzalez. So that's the way I see it from a New England point of view.