N Magazine: Turning to the Patriots, how do you rank Drake Maye among NFL quarterbacks? Is there a chance he’ll be a top 10 quarterback?

Felger: He better be. If not, I think there’s trouble. He has absolutely all the natural ability to be a top 10 quarterback in the league. I don't think anyone can dispute that. His level of greatness is going to come down to a lot of the intangibles—his head, his heart, his football intelligence, his leadership, his toughness, his ability in clutch situations. All of those things that don't show up in a scouting report. That's what it's going to come down to. Mac Jones did not have the arm talent. He didn't have the natural physical ability. But I think Mike Vrabel is a good guy for [Maye], because I think he’s a good motivator, and he gets it.

N Magazine: What’s your season prediction for the Patriots?

Felger: I have them at seven to nine wins. To me, if they are anything less than seven wins, they failed. If they have less than seven wins, something went wrong. I know the roster is still in the bottom third of the league, but they have an easy schedule, and if Maye is good, they have to be at least average. There are very few bad teams with good quarterbacks. It just doesn't work that way. If you have a good quarterback, you're at least middle of the pack, and that's what I expect.

N Magazine: Can you definitely say whether it was Brady or Belichick? Does Belichick’s legacy hinge on his success at UNC?

Felger: It’s not even close. It was Brady. I think Belichick’s legacy took a hit with what happened post-Brady. After Brady left, Brady won and Bill didn’t, and not only did he not win, he didn’t come close. Belichick is still going to be in the Hall of Fame. He's still going to be considered one of the greatest coaches of all time, and as we get further on in history, people will look back and he'll be considered one of the greats, so maybe this stuff here at the end won't even be considered. But here and now, he's taking a hit. But make no mistake, I am rooting for him. I would love to see Bill have success at UNC. I would love to see him come back to the NFL. I would love to see him win again at a high level. That would be a great story, and would flip the narrative one more time, so I hope he does it.

N Magazine: The Red Sox also have the number-one prospect in baseball (Roman Anthony) and a potential Cy Young winner (Garrett Crochet) in their rotation. What are their chances of winning this year?

Felger: Baseball has shown that unless you're really willing to spend at a high level, it can be fleeting. Baltimore was supposed to be in that spot too, and they've fallen right off. Something tells me it's because maybe they relied too much on what they had, and they're not spending enough and not bringing outside talent. If you have a good young roster, which Boston does, there’s a chance. But is John Henry willing to spend like he used to?

N Magazine: Will they spend like they used to, or have they become a small-market team?

Felger: About 20 years ago, they prioritized the Red Sox. They cared about winning championships and beating the Yankees. Somewhere around 2018 I think they became more like a business. Their sports portfolio grew. It's kind of easy to see. They bought [Liverpool FC], they bought the racing team, they bought the Pittsburgh Penguins. They really want to diversify that portfolio. Having an English Premier League champion is a pretty sexy deal. That's a pretty big deal internationally. If John Henry is more interested in Liverpool than the Red Sox, it’s hard to blame him from that standpoint. That’s what's happened, and I don't see how it changes. I don't see Henry looking at the Red Sox like he did when he first bought the team.

N Magazine: Are you optimistic at all about the Bruins?

Felger: No. I'm not sure what there is to be optimistic about. They’re starting from the bottom third of the league here. They're going to have some high draft picks here, but their system has been so depleted for so long. I do not think it's a strength of [Bruins general manager] Don Sweeney, and now this is how they're rebuilding. His draft picks have not been stellar, and now we're going to turn around and say he has to hit on all these picks.

N Magazine: With the millionaires tax in Massachusetts, has it become harder to attract athletes?

Felger: Maybe a small factor in a very few cases. I don't want to say it's a zero factor, but it's not nearly the factor that some people think. If that were the case, how do the Dodgers land free agent after free agent after free agent, because their taxes in California are worse than ours. If you want to bring in an athlete, you can pay him a little bit more to make up for what he was going to lose in taxes if he signed in Massachusetts versus Texas, so you could just pay a premium for the player.

N Magazine: From a consumer’s perspective, what do you make of the streaming wars that have forced fans to purchase more than a handful of streaming platforms?

Felger: It's getting to the point that I almost want the government to look at it. The consumer has been done such a disservice by what's going on with streaming in general, but specifically the sports fan for the cost of it, the complexity of it and the confusion of it. We have been screwed so badly by what's going on here by the streaming services, that it's consumer fraud. If this were another industry selling another product, and the consumer was put through the ringer the way sports have been put through the ringer, I think there would be a congressional hearing on it.

N Magazine: How do you balance being a fan and having a healthy skepticism in a sports team?

Felger: There isn't much of a balance. We're very rarely homers, so we’re not that balanced. I think sports radio is at its best when it's critical and people are complaining or critiquing. I think that's the DNA of the medium, it’s just how we're wired. Tony and I both worked at the Boston Herald 25 years ago, which was a scrappy, controversial, critical talking tabloid, and I think Tony and I bring that to the radio. That's really what it's about. For me, it's easy. I'm not from here, and while I do want the teams to win, they're not my teams. I'm not a traditional fan of them. I don't lose any sleep when they lose. So it's easy for me to find that place.