Esiason: Top To Bottom, 2014 Patriots Better Than 2007 Version
BOSTON (CBS) - CBS Sports football analyst and WFAN radio host Boomer Esiason made his weekly appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich Monday morning.
The Patriots were off this past weekend after finishing the regular season 12-4 and earning themselves a first round bye, so football fans in this region were tuned into the wild card games on Saturday and Sunday. The big news from the weekend was the controversy midway through the fourth quarter of the Cowboys-Lions game, where an official threw a late flag on a blatant pass interference, which was later picked up without explanation.
Fred and Rich spent a good portion of the 6am hour discussing the play, and later in the show Esiason weighed in too.
"I have never seen a pass interference call like that picked up in a moment such as that. I thought it was pass interference. I thought the Lions got robbed," Boomer said matter-of-factly. "Quite frankly, if I were a Detroit Lions fan I would be livid waking up this morning."
There's a strange sense of panic from Patriots fans now that the divisional round matchups are set. New England is faced with the task of the Baltimore Ravens Saturday afternoon at Gillette, and while Baltimore is a team that squeaked its way into the postseason, they're a confident bunch that's had January success in Foxboro.
Why are the Ravens so tough? Esiason explains.
"That defensive line [of Baltimore] is where it all emanates from. From the outside linebackers to the interior players, they are all men. And I mean big men that are experienced guys, that won't be intimidated no matter what challenge is in front of them. Then you take Joe Flacco, for whatever reason, is an average quarterback during the regular season who raises his level of play in the postseason, which is good news for Ravens fans and bad news for Patriots fans."
Despite the history, Esiason expects a Patriots victory on Saturday.
"Even the year the Patriots went 18-0 and lost in the Super Bowl to the Giants, that was a great team because the offense was so great, and Randy Moss was such a powerful figure. This [2014] Patriots team, I believe, overall, top to bottom is better than that team," said Esiason. "You should beat the Baltimore Ravens, because you literally are the better team."
Listen below for the full interview, and hear Boomer discuss the other games as well:
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