New England Patriots fans have witnessed plenty of mistakes this season. But one of the gaffes some saw this week didn’t come from what may very well be the worst team in the NFL, but rather one of the team’s most prominent media members on Tuesday’s episode of NBC Sports Boston’s Quick Slants.
As he set up the start of his show, longtime Patriots columnist and host Tom Curran compared New England’s latest first-round quarterback to its last one.
“Mac Jones was a piece,” Curran said. “Drake Maye is the piece.”
Fair enough.
Curran, however, nearly took his fixation on pieces a step too far as he attempted to use it as a transition to introduce Kayla Burton.
“Speaking of — no, I don’t want to say that,” Curran said, presumably stopping himself from referring to his female co-host as a “piece.”
“No, get in here Kayla,” Curran continued before greeting her with a fist bump.
“I was wondering where that was going,” Burton said with a laugh. “I’m a piece — of the show.”
Crisis adverted.
Had Curran continued with his original train of thought, that segment — and this article — would have looked a whole lot different. Instead, it serves as a humorous clip and a good reminder to think before forcing a transition while on air.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.