RANKING the Top 10 Patriots Players | Pats Interference - video Dailymotion

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Andrew opens a six-pack of Patriots thoughts by ranking the top 10 players on the team today and projecting who the top 10 will be at season's end. Later, he gets into Davon Godchaux's hold-in, the one Pats assistant who could swing this season, training camp tips to know and an inside look at his day fishing with David Andrews.   0:00 - Top 10 players on the roster  3:56 - Christian Gonzalez impact and potential 6:13 - Jabrill Peppers' role evolution 12:07 - Reliable player excelling in blocking roles 14:27 - Contract dispute with Devon Godchaux 17:31 - Potential contract negotiation strategies 20:49 - Impact of special teams coordinator on Patriots' season 24:30 - Patriots' training camp dates and schedule 26:34 - Joint practice with the Eagles on August 13th 29:10 - David Andrews' perspective and fishing experience 32:44 - Experience at the Celtics championship parade 35:00 - The joy and community at Boston's celebrations   ************************************************ Patriots Content Brought to you by....  Prize Picks - PrizePicks.com/CLNS Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100!  Gametime - https://gametime.co Take the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets with Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Download Gametime today. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed. Terms apply.  Merch Store - https://shop.clnsmedia.com

Transcript

00:00Alright, it is Friday, Friday June 28th, and we are in the deadest, the slowest, the most

00:20boring point of the NFL calendar.

00:23And that puts a big smile on my face.

00:25Not because I'm not outside working.

00:27I love being outside of the practice fields at Gillette, sweating, note-taking, squinting

00:33my eyes to tell if that's a 67 or a 69, nice, on the back of these jerseys for every single

00:37player, which we have a lot to look forward to this summer.

00:40But because it's late June, we can do things like this, which is open up a six-pack.

00:45And I'm not just talking, where hopefully you are, on a boat, at the beach, ideally

00:49not grocery shopping and drinking.

00:51But you get the point.

00:52We have a six-pack of Patriots thoughts, so we can talk about whatever we want.

00:55And today, what we're going to be talking about are things that I think you can kick

00:58around at home.

00:59Who are the top 10 players in this roster?

01:01Who are the top 10 players going to be on this roster when the season's over, probably

01:06in January?

01:07How about new contracts?

01:08Reminder, Stevenson just got one.

01:10That happened right after we dropped the last episode, in the kind of way that I'm going,

01:14we should probably rerecord.

01:16Are we going to rerecord?

01:17No, because again, summer.

01:20And then Devon Godshow, who does not until maybe when we finish recording this podcast

01:24and post it, either Friday night or this weekend, does not have a new contract.

01:27Plus thoughts on training camp, inside my story with David Andrews, which dropped last

01:31week.

01:32We went fishing, spent a whole day together.

01:34I encourage you to read that.

01:36And then some Celtics story time from, look, I've been in this town now for six years.

01:40I've scored zero points for any teams that have been in two parades.

01:44And the job, as I see it, is to take you guys places you cannot go and tell you things you

01:49cannot know.

01:50So that's the story time.

01:51It's not self-indulgent, but if it comes off that way, leave it in the comments and we'll

01:54cut out story time.

01:55Though people seem to like the Scandinavian stories and me almost getting into a fight

01:58with, that's aggressive.

02:02Telling a Norwegian man hitting my wife that I box when I do not.

02:06You guys like that part of the story time.

02:08So story time today is going to be shorter, but first the top 10 list.

02:11Let's get to it.

02:12So the best players in this roster ranked.

02:17For me, until he loses the belt, the four-time pro bowler, face of the defense, certainly

02:22voice of this team, Matt Judon.

02:25He gets it.

02:26I get that he's recovering from a season ending injury, but he's out there minicamp.

02:30I expect this dude, especially in a contract here, to continue to be the best player in

02:33this team for the foreseeable, meaning weeks and months, not years and years, but Matt

02:38Judon, number one.

02:39Number two, going to offense, Mike Onwenu.

02:44Not only is it just a positional versatility where he's an above average player at right

02:47guard and right tackle, right tackle, obviously being a premium position and getting paid

02:51$19 million per year would tell you what the larger league thinks of him.

02:55That was his market.

02:56That's what he got.

02:57He's come back.

02:58He's ascending.

02:59He's entering his prime.

03:00He's also often very healthy.

03:02He's a dominant run blocker.

03:04And so for him, he gets a slight edge over Christian Barmore who checks in here at number

03:08three because Barmore does have some positional versatility, but when you look at the traditional

03:14stats, really eight late in the season, in a way that we've talked about before, it's

03:18a shoot day, not on this list, against bad offensive line.

03:21So he broke out in the Denver game, monstrous performance, and there are a lot of underlying

03:25numbers that would suggest that Barmore is doing more than those eight and a half sacks.

03:29Again, talking about traditional stats would indicate, and that's true, taking on a lot

03:34of double teams, anchoring well, shedding blocks, contributing to run stops.

03:38So as far as it stands right now, Friday, June 28th, Mike Owenu, more starts, more productivity,

03:47gets a slight nod over Christian Barmore, but you'll see where Barmore goes in the second

03:51top 10 list, which is the second item in the six pack.

03:54Moving on, number four, Christian Gonzalez.

03:56If we're going based on talent and potential, number one on this list, far and away, no

04:01question, but right now, as you've heard me say many, many times, can I just see him play

04:05a fifth game?

04:06Until then, he's still a top five player of this roster, which is much a commentary on

04:10those three and a half games that he played last year, and the rest of his teammates,

04:14in both very different lights.

04:15Rounding out the top five, Kyle Duggar gets a tiny, tiny, tiny nod over Ramondre Stevenson,

04:22because big track record, productivity, more versatility.

04:26And you look at the way that he was paid, very similar to Ramondre Stevenson, who came

04:30in as the sixth or seventh highest paid running back in the league, just as Kyle Duggar was

04:34with his extension that he got, just like where Duggar's at right now.

04:39And when you look at Stevenson, yes, he was banged up, but coming off of a year when he

04:42averaged four yards per carry, Duggar even also had a slight dip last year, relative

04:47to 2022, gets a slight nod.

04:49No disrespect, though, to Ramondre Stevenson, number six is a fine place to come in on a

04:53top 10 list.

04:54Okay, you can make a top 10 list, you're probably doing something right anyway, but Stevenson,

04:58with this contract, as I mentioned, four years, $36 million, only 17 million of that is guaranteed.

05:05So when you're averaging this out, it's about 4.25 million per year, guaranteed.

05:09And that's not, you know, he gets a lot upfront, right?

05:11So that's not evenly split, but as far as the money that matters, and how much they're

05:16investing in him, generally, yes, I agree.

05:19All the critics of this deal, you don't want to pay running backs, he's a guy in his prime.

05:24Okay.

05:25But my question to you would be this.

05:28How would you like the Patriots to treat their sixth best player, when they are projected

05:32to be one of the worst teams in the league?

05:35He'll walk out the door, entering a contract year, or extend him and give him this money

05:40and at least keep him in house when you have the most cap space, and are scheduled to spend

05:44the third least amount of cash in 2025, when he would have been up for a new deal anyway.

05:49You have the cash next year, you have the cap now, this is a good time.

05:53I would agree, it's probably a slight overpay.

05:56But for a team that we've criticized time and again, for not spending or using its cap.

06:01Yes, bring back the sixth best player in this team, who should statistically be better this

06:06upcoming season than he was last year.

06:08Jabril Peppers, number seven on my list.

06:11Pretty self-explanatory, right?

06:12Like the guy has found a home in the league.

06:15This is his final form, I think his 28 year old safety.

06:18He never should have been in that free safety spot, as I talked about with Brian Barrett

06:21last week, off of the camera, not just in the TV view.

06:26I'm talking about the all 22 of those old Greg Williams defenses in Cleveland, where

06:30he was a late first round pick, God's chosen one in high school football in the years before

06:35he goes to Michigan, as the number one recruit in the country.

06:38And just was one of these players who, I described this to Jono Smith in a very distant kind

06:43of analogy here, is better in theory than in practice.

06:47The theory about Jabril Peppers is gone.

06:50And the reality is sweet, a thumping, playmaking, hard nose, box safety.

06:55We know what he is.

06:56He's found his role, he's found his system, seventh best player on this list.

06:59The last three, Juwan Bentley, similar deal, not as far as the theoretical part, but just

07:04you know what he is, run stuffing linebacker, very smart, good instincts, enough range.

07:09I don't think he'll ever crack the top five of this list, and if he does, the Patriots

07:13are in trouble.

07:14But he's still someone you want on your roster, certainly a net positive, whether you look

07:18at the box score stats or some of the deeper stuff.

07:21He's never gonna shine in coverage, but the way that they've aligned their defense, and

07:24he's even played a little bit more on the edge here and there, protects him against

07:28that.

07:29So Jabril, good player.

07:30Hunter Henry, nine.

07:31This is a, you know, again, you don't like to break the ties with the box score stats,

07:37but Henry is neither a great run blocker nor receiver.

07:42He's about above average in everything.

07:44And he definitely got slightly overpaid this offseason.

07:48He brings to this offense as a two-way tight end, as a leader in the locker room, someone

07:52who just wants to be here, and you would find in a top 10 list, top 12 at worst among tight

07:56ends in the league.

07:58You bring him back.

07:59He's number nine in this list overall.

08:00And number 10, you know, you can go in a lot of different directions here.

08:05I'm gonna go with David Andrews.

08:06And it's not because of all the stuff that I've written about, the time that we spent

08:09together, the more stories I'm gonna tell a little bit later.

08:11It's just, he's as steady and as durable as they come, kind of like Hunter Henry in a

08:16sense.

08:17He's not gonna wow you as a run blocker.

08:18He's not stonewalling you in pass protection, but he's there often enough.

08:23And with the smarts and tying the whole line together, I mean, all of this disaster falling

08:26around him, he checks in at number 10.

08:28If you want to make a case for a Kendrick Bourne, fine by me.

08:33Pop Douglas does not make this list.

08:35Two concussions last year has me pretty scared.

08:37He's more limited in terms of his role.

08:39Super dynamic after the catch, as we know.

08:41But if you're looking at just best NFL players, track record, production, what I expect from

08:47them in the next couple of weeks and months, Andrews knocks out Pop Douglas.

08:50But hey, make your own list at home.

08:52Story time.

08:53A couple of weeks ago, juggling the Celtics, this podcast, Patriots coverage for the Herald.

08:57I said, why not?

08:58Let's add the Red Sox too.

08:59My cousin was in town.

09:00So were the Yankees.

09:01So we went to a game at Fenway.

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10:22And while you're making that list, here's number two.

10:25Top 10 Patriots by season's end.

10:26We're not going to spend a ton of time on the guys I just mentioned.

10:29This list will sound familiar, but it's in a different order.

10:31So Patriots finish 3-14, 4-13, 5-12, 6-11, whatever it is.

10:38Here's the best player on the team.

10:40It's Christian Gonzalez, flat out.

10:42I think if he's healthy, you will see a shutdown man to man corner, someone who's got good

10:47zone instincts, 6'2", fluid hips, long speed, everything.

10:51He's going to be the best player on this team.

10:53Right behind him, Christian Barmore.

10:55I think he leaps.

10:56Matt Judon, who comes in third, very good productive season for Judon.

10:59I think you start to see some of the explosiveness slip a little bit.

11:02It's just a fact to be in 33.

11:04I'm not looking forward to that in a couple of weeks myself.

11:07After him, Michael Nguyen with four, Stevenson at five, because I think not only is this

11:12the best part of his career, but he's in the best shape of his life.

11:17We're checking off a lot of the bingo squares here for training camp cliches, but he's dropped

11:21his body fat percentage.

11:22Stevenson leapfrogs Kyle Duggar, who's number six, and here's Pop Douglas.

11:27By the end of next season, I do think he makes the top 10.

11:30He will lead them in catches, I believe.

11:31Fingers crossed, both of them do your toes as well.

11:34No more concussions for him for this 5'9", 180-pound jitterbug, year two leap, all that

11:39good stuff.

11:40Hunter Henry goes up to eight.

11:42He leapfrogs Jabril Peppers, who's at nine, eight, nine, whatever.

11:46You can switch them around if you want.

11:47It's my list.

11:48This is how it goes.

11:49And Siddy Sal comes in at number 10.

11:52He knocks off David Andrews from this list.

11:55Also falling off this list was John Bentley.

11:57I think Siddy Sal, what he showed at the end of last year, and the fact that he's going

12:01to be able to go back to his normal position in college at left guard, played right guard

12:05last year after the experiment, and right tackle win, is a player that they can really

12:09rely on, not only just in run blocking, but in pass protection, someone who is in his

12:14mid-20s now.

12:16So there's not a whole lot more development to go, but the developing we did see last

12:19year and the fact that he's already been slotted in as a starter shows you what the team thinks

12:23of him.

12:24I can tell you he's been at Gillette as recently as this week, working out.

12:28So he's a player that I think overtakes David Andrews, obviously, in the back nine of his

12:32career.

12:33And you look across the line, you'd love to say Caden Walz is the best player in this

12:37line.

12:38You'd probably like to say Michael Wenu, who obviously was on this list.

12:40He was number four.

12:41But after on Wenu, I think it is Siddie South who's the second best player.

12:46And so I take that back.

12:47You'd love to say Caden Walz and Michael Wenu are close.

12:50I just don't think it's going to happen.

12:51It's on Wenu, then it's South, David Andrews.

12:54But no knock on anybody else.

12:55I just think he's going to be that good at the guard position this year.

12:59Honorable mentions.

13:00Keon White, another year two leap argument.

13:04Not as refined as I thought it would have been.

13:06Again, he implemented more than just a straight bull rush and an inside move by the end of

13:11the season.

13:12He's just a player that I think we're going to know pretty early on.

13:15Is it there or is it not?

13:16Because a lot of their 2023 draft picks, excluding Christian Gonzalez, these are dudes in their

13:21early to mid-20s.

13:22They're advanced, older prospects, partly COVID, partly just guys who kept playing in

13:26college.

13:27And so for him, there is some more development there, some real talent, but we're going to

13:32know it early on.

13:33And I can't bank on that in a way that I think Siddie South showed me more last year than

13:37Keon White did.

13:38David Andrews.

13:39Kendrick Bourne.

13:40Dylan Polk and Jayvon Baker.

13:41I know folks would love to throw these guys on this list.

13:44I just think, even though they're going to play more, we talked about this a lot, the

13:47tie is going to go to the kids when it comes to playing time.

13:50This is part of the Packer way.

13:52It's hard for them to overcome NFL coverage, specifically some of these corners that they're

13:57going to see in the AFC right away and produce.

14:01They might be a top 10 player in this roster in December, maybe November and December,

14:05but right away for the whole season.

14:07I think it'll be Pop Douglas and then Kendrick Bourne and one of those two guys fighting

14:12for the number three job.

14:13And then their year two leaps, I think will be the best version of these players that

14:16everyone expects and hopes to see as rookies.

14:19It's just going to be a lot right away.

14:21I could be wrong, but hey, make your own list.

14:24Okay.

14:25Number three in the six pack, Yvonne Godchow.

14:28So again, it's been a long time since we recorded.

14:31I don't know.

14:32I know I said this on TV that night when I was looking at him going, okay, he's got

14:38his helmet on backwards.

14:39He doesn't have a jersey on and he's just chilling.

14:42So yeah, he might be rehabbing, but he's not going down to the conditioning field.

14:46He has no guaranteed money left on his last year of his deal.

14:50This is a holding.

14:51Okay.

14:52That's what I've got my eye on.

14:53Lo and behold, the next few days of minicamp, bear that out.

14:56Yvonne Godchow is holding in it because, as I just mentioned, of his $7.15 million base

15:01salary this season, none of it is guaranteed.

15:04He also has a $1 million roster bonus, but this is a dude who's going to turn 30 in November

15:10and wants his money guaranteed or perhaps extended with an extra year.

15:14And let's stop and celebrate for a second that we can call this what it is in a way

15:19that we did not last year.

15:21Whether you were Bill Belichick, whether you were Matt Judon, whether you're a bunch of

15:24fans that my mention is going, oh, it's not a hold in.

15:27They said it wasn't a hold in.

15:28Well, it was.

15:30And Judon since confirmed that as we all watched it, because players who were just hanging

15:33around at training camp are not just hanging around for a reason, in this case, minicamp

15:37with Godchow.

15:38And that's fine.

15:39OK, but that's what it was.

15:41That's what this is.

15:42Even though people don't want to hear about it, sometimes you have disputes within teams,

15:46contracts or otherwise.

15:48And this is it.

15:49So, as I said, Godchow turns 30 November.

15:53The depth behind him is not great when it comes to nose tackles.

15:56You could put Christian Barmore there.

15:57Again, we talked about anchoring against double teams, which he did a lot more of last year.

16:02More double teams, honestly, the most defensive tackles in the league.

16:04But you don't want your best interior pass rusher playing that role full time, right?

16:10You want to free him up with picks and stunts and certain looks and let him go to work one

16:15on one, not one on two.

16:17So the issue for Godchow is not just that Barmore, my neighbor in this defense got paid

16:24highest paid Patriot ever outside of Tom Brady.

16:26It's that I'm at a time now where I need to lock up my next deal.

16:30It might not come in free agency based on how my tape is.

16:34And my agent, Drew Rosenhaus, was always the agent you wanted if you needed an extension

16:38or a new contract with Bill Belichick.

16:40They always found a way, for the most part, to make those deals work.

16:44Going in saying, okay, this is going to happen.

16:46We just need to find out what it looks like.

16:48Bill Belichick, obviously not anymore.

16:50So and for the record, back in the Rosenhaus, it's not that all of those deals ended up

16:55being team friendly.

16:56Antonio Brown was a massive misstep with things that you couldn't have seen in 2019.

17:01But Rosenhaus client, you look at someone like Judon, that was a good deal for the Patriots.

17:06So if you're Rosenhaus, if you're Devon Godchow, if you're Elliot Wolfe, first of all, I think

17:11this is a good move by Godchow because Elliot Wolfe, as we all know, has been handing out

17:14extensions left and right.

17:16But there are a few different options here.

17:18And I would assume that Godchow wants more years tacked onto this, meaning two or more.

17:23If you're the Patriots, it would be hard pressed to see them being excited about that without

17:28getting some concessions in the front end.

17:30So this could be as simple as, hey, we'll guarantee most of that 7 million, but that's

17:34it.

17:35So that's money in your pocket.

17:36You don't have to earn necessarily playing week after week after week.

17:39You could do a partial guarantee in 2024 and extend them in 2025, which would also be not

17:45fake money, but non-guaranteed base salary.

17:48You could partial both years or give him this two year extension through 2026 and say, yeah,

17:53I'm turning 30 in November and it'll be 32 at the end of this contract.

17:57But the tackles tend to age better because this is not a position or a type of player

18:02that's dependent on that explosion.

18:04Right.

18:05He's big.

18:06He's strong.

18:07He needs to stay put.

18:08OK.

18:09And occupy blockers.

18:10And that's it.

18:11I mean, shit, like 20 years ago, Ted Washington, almost 40, was one of the most important signings

18:15to the 2003 Patriots to go on to win the Super Bowl.

18:18So how does this end?

18:19I don't know.

18:21I would expect Gotchow to get some form of new contract, the Patriots lead the league

18:24in cap space.

18:25Again, we just talked about the cash that they are scheduled to spend in 2025 is bottom

18:29five in the NFL, even after the Stevenson extension.

18:32But because of those different pathways, all of which I think are reasonable, the more

18:36years, though, the less he's guaranteed, I think, up front.

18:39So it's a matter of what he wants and what he's coming to the table.

18:42But he's paid is about the 30th best defense in the league right now.

18:46I think he's in that range.

18:48He does not.

18:49So we'll see how long this goes.

18:52There's a hold in.

18:53There is a middle ground to be found.

18:55It's just what does that look like?

18:57And I would expect it probably to get done if I had to guess no reporting, no aggregation

19:00on this for a second week of training camp, because they can find him in the ground and

19:05don't have to pay back any of that in a way that's official or under the table or anything.

19:10But it'll be interesting to see how he is valued post Belichick, who obviously loved

19:14him, called him one of the best defensive linemen in the league.

19:17Not only just Elliot Wolfe, but Rod Mayo and Marcus Cummington, two defensive coaches

19:22who know him better than even Belichick did as far as working with him on a day-to-day

19:26basis as a defensive line coach and a backo coordinator last year.

19:30Okay, from defense, let's go to special teams, because I talked about this earlier.

19:37There's a coach I think could swing this season in a way that's not Alex Van Pelt.

19:41It's not Rod Mayo.

19:42There could be a lot of them.

19:43Marcus Cummings called defensive plays.

19:45Jeremy Springer is the forgotten man of the Patriots coaching staff, and this is not a

19:49sexy topic.

19:50Special teams never is.

19:51Well, let's think about it.

19:53Chad Ryland last year as a rookie kicker made 64% of his field goals.

19:58If he had made one against the Colts or the Giants or maybe even later against Kansas

20:04City, the Patriots do not finish four and 13.

20:06They're able to score.

20:07They're able to tie the game.

20:08They're able to win at least one of those games, if not more.

20:12There were two and six in games that he missed field goals.

20:15Not exactly totally telling them they were four and 13, but 64% stinks.

20:18That's the point here.

20:19And as I understand it, Ryland was working through some new techniques, some new approach

20:23last year with Cam Accord and Joe Houston.

20:26If all Jeremy Springer does as this new first year, first time special teams coordinator

20:31in the NFL is fix the kicker, takes him from 64% to 84%, that will flip inevitably in a

20:38league built on close games.

20:41The Patriots from whatever win total they'd be destined for now to an extra win or two.

20:46It's that simple.

20:47Now let's go to kickoffs.

20:48Obviously, the new rules, a lot of uncertainty.

20:52Could you have safeties like Justin Reed in Kansas City who supposedly will try kicking

20:56off the Chiefs?

20:57Could it be Jabril Peppers here?

20:59That's my number one.

21:00That's my number one choice as the alarm goes off to keep talking about special teams.

21:04What does that look like?

21:06We don't know.

21:07What I think we will see though in the NFL is a ton of chaos in the first few weeks.

21:10I think special teams coordinators are going to withhold their plans in the preseason.

21:14They'll get in these plans and techniques and practice as much as they can in training

21:19camp, joint practices, and then everyone is going to copycat.

21:22So if Jeremy Springer is willing to go, hey, I don't know how this is going to go, but

21:26let's get as zany and out of the box as we can.

21:28Whether it's with the Peppers kicking off, whether it's worth some dual lateral plays

21:33on the return or two returners are deployed.

21:37Whatever it is, he can do that because you look at the depth of returners.

21:41Marcus Jones, Jalen Rager, who took a kick return back for a touchdown last year.

21:45Pop Douglas even.

21:46Kyle Duggar.

21:47There are a lot of players on this team that can take the ball and go to the house.

21:52And as we know, especially for offensive start teams like the Patriots will be, that can

21:56flip a game too.

21:58So I'm not guaranteeing anything about Jeremy Springer.

22:00Again, young dude as far as coaches go in his mid-30s, high energy, mostly spent his

22:05time in college, two years with the Rams.

22:07Now he's got the full-time job.

22:08Okay.

22:09This could bottom out, but the Patriots know what bottoming out feels like.

22:12They were dead last in league by special team CBOA in 2022.

22:16They were 29 a year ago.

22:19If all Jeremy Springer does is take the kicker or even the rest of his special teams back

22:23to league average, this is a Patriots team that should outperform in ways that we're

22:28not just looking at Drake Maine.

22:30When's he going to play?

22:31Or Jalen Polk going to catch X amount of touchdowns or Christian Gonzalez is going to be an all

22:34pro.

22:35It's on the third phase.

22:37It's with Ryland.

22:38It's with Marcus Jones.

22:39It's with Jeremy Springer, who is a coach you are all overlooking.

22:42And that will be probably the most exciting special team segment I do for months.

22:46Okay.

22:47So in a little while, we'll all be boning up on fantasy football.

22:50Where can I get a reminder of Stevenson?

22:51Is Hunter Henry finally going to break out like Callahan has been saying so for years?

22:55What about Drake May?

22:56Jalen Polk?

22:57Pop Douglas?

22:58Javon Baker?

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24:30Moving on.

24:31Number five.

24:32This is quick.

24:33Training camp dates were announced.

24:35Day one, July 23rd.

24:37This is not a practice.

24:38It's for players to report, take physicals, condition, then they hit the field day two.

24:43I say day two because that's how it's written in the CBA and what the CBA says is you cannot

24:48have any padded practices by a normal schedule, you know, going day one to day two, three,

24:53four, five, six, seven until day seven.

24:56So if the Patriots day one is Tuesday, July 23rd, day seven is going to be Monday, July

25:0129th.

25:03If you are at all inclined to come to Patriots training camp down in Foxborough, and I would

25:07encourage it.

25:08This is awesome.

25:09Up close looks.

25:10You have bleachers.

25:11You can sit in the hill.

25:12You can get drinks.

25:13They're all the practices are at 11am.

25:15Come to that one.

25:16This should be a padded practice Monday, July 29th.

25:20I would also advise August 1st, which is a Thursday or August 2nd, which is a Friday.

25:25They're coming off of a few off days and there's this acclimation period is what they call

25:29the first few days.

25:30If you come down, they're not going to be padded.

25:32You're not going to have live tackle, which, you know, it's a lot of hit and stop anyway.

25:38But in those practices, you'll see one on one pass rush.

25:41You want to see if Keanu White is going to prove me wrong.

25:43Boom.

25:44There he is.

25:45Christian Barmore going one on one with these offensive linemen.

25:47You will see Jalen Polk and Jayvon Baker going one on one with Christian Gonzalez and sometimes

25:53right up close.

25:55And those are the best days.

25:56Pads are on.

25:57Stakes are high.

25:58Second week camp is starting to kick off here with day seven again, Monday, July 29th.

26:03Come to that practice or August 1st and 2nd, the Thursday, Friday, all in the same week.

26:08Those should be at least two padded practices in those days.

26:11So one on one for receivers and corners, one on one for pass rushers.

26:14Also 11 on lemons.

26:15Obviously, Drake Mays, the big headliner and the goal line periods.

26:19Oh, these are sweet.

26:21Ball at the two.

26:23Defense knows what's coming.

26:24Offense knows what they have to do.

26:26Who gets it done?

26:27You will see a lot of that on those days.

26:28So come to those days for training camp.

26:30And if not, Tuesday, August 13th, is there.

26:35This is like watching YouTube.

26:36I don't know why I'm doing the Bernie Sanders like finger point with two fingers, your pointer

26:40and your thumb held together.

26:41Anyway, Bernie Sanders has come to the Tuesday, August 13th practice.

26:46It's a joint practice with the Eagles.

26:48They're only doing one because Gerard Mayo reportedly was a little bit concerned about

26:51a second day of joint practices, which we know.

26:54And I think this is a fair concern, often lead to a ton of fights.

26:57They don't want that.

26:58We saw this a couple of years ago with Panthers players getting kicked out left and right.

27:03Just no good.

27:04So that's what I would say one more time, Monday, July 29th, Thursday and Friday, August

27:111st and 2nd.

27:12Come to Foxborough.

27:13See a training camp practice.

27:14You won't regret it.

27:15You'll have a good time.

27:16And it's football up close.

27:17What could be better?

27:18Number six in the six pack, before we get to a quick Celtics story time, the David Andrews

27:23story.

27:24So I laid everything out in this article from me approaching him last year about the story

27:30that was about a card game he used to run within the locker room.

27:33It was once or twice a week, a couple of guys, keep things light.

27:36They're going for 13.

27:37Just have some sort of camaraderie, some joy.

27:39You got a mix of veterans, rookies, backup starters.

27:44And as I'm talking to him, we had to put the story down, which is not like, hey, let me

27:48surrender my credential or my journalistic integrity here.

27:52It's just the story could not be told in the right way as far as who's going to talk and

27:55be able to talk about it.

27:56Fine.

27:57Whatever.

27:58So he said, David Andrews, someone I've known now six years, mostly surface level conversations

28:02in the locker room.

28:03How can I make it up to you?

28:04I said, I don't really know.

28:06Don't worry about it.

28:07So he ends the season, is uncertain about his future.

28:13Is there four and 13?

28:14Next day is Monday, locker room clean out, how it's every year, unless you win the Super

28:18Bowl.

28:19And I said, hey, what did we just went fishing this offseason, figuring if he's retired,

28:24we'll chat.

28:25If he's not, I'm really curious what this dude wants.

28:27He's going to turn 32 next month.

28:30He went to the Super Bowl in three of his first four years.

28:33He won two of them.

28:34And now at the end of his career, championships are just off the table.

28:38It's not going to happen this season.

28:39It's not going to happen next season.

28:40If he hangs around for a third year, he might not even be the starter.

28:43What does he want as a student who has been at the center of the peak of anyone's career,

28:48going to Super Bowls, playing with Tom Brady, okay, someone who's made a career that will

28:52go into the Patriots fame and is now going to have to endure not only just a rebuild,

28:57but a full on teardown to the studs.

28:59And he's sticking around.

29:00Devin McCourty's done, Matthew Slater's done.

29:03He is one of the last relics, him, John Jones, Joe Cardona, the only ones with multiple Super

29:07Bowl ranks in the soccer.

29:08What do you want, David Andrews?

29:11So we did go fishing, showed up 5.50 on the Cape.

29:15There's this annual tournament, the Patriots Alumni Association, separate from the franchise,

29:19runs every year.

29:20Pete Brock, old offensive lineman from the 70s and 80s, organizes it.

29:24They bring current players, former players, obviously it's an alumni association, and

29:28fans who can pay to be on these 15, sometimes 20 boats at Falmouth on the Cape to just fish

29:34with them, hang out.

29:35And all the money goes to Tommy's Place, which is this foundation that gives money to set

29:41up vacation homes for kids with cancer who live on the Cape.

29:44So we go.

29:45Again, I encourage you to read the full story, but this was David Andrews, a seven time captain,

29:50like I had never heard him before about those Super Bowls, about what he wants now, about

29:57how things have changed him.

29:58Again, at the literal center of all the disaster with the offensive dysfunction and the bad

30:02coaching and the locker room risks, and what he wants now moving forward.

30:05And the gist of it was a lot of little joys in the things that you find, and I don't think

30:10we appreciate it right enough about, from a human interest standpoint, about guys like

30:14him who are sticking this out.

30:16And part of it, yes, is to get the Patriots back, former glory, big part of that.

30:20But even he had been, as he's laying out this kind of vision for me, you know, Drake May

30:24throwing a touchdown pass or Jalen Polk catching that touchdown pass in the Super Bowl.

30:29You tell yourself you're a part of it, but you're really not.

30:31I think if the Patriots get back there, it will be part of what David Andrews did this

30:35year.

30:36And if he comes back next year, he did get a contract extension for one year.

30:39The Patriots are lucky to have him.

30:41I don't say that.

30:43And it's very easy.

30:44So media, right?

30:45Treat us, give us free food.

30:46Oh my God.

30:47You're the best person I've ever met.

30:49This is a good human being, a great leader, and someone I was very, very glad to get.

30:53And look, we spent seven hours in a fishing boat and caught one thing.

30:56So it's not a day that, you know, I think most days like that, that you enjoy.

31:03And so it was really good to talk with him and get to know him and have him open up and

31:07trust with that story.

31:08And we chatted since, you know, just to kind of follow up on a couple of details.

31:12So a good dude, please read the story.

31:13It's on thebostonherald.com.

31:14I've tweeted about it.

31:16And you're not going to find any story like that so far written this year.

31:19And I would be surprised if you see something from anyone the rest of the season.

31:24I'm not saying Celtics story time.

31:26I'm not a big parade guy.

31:27And I don't say that much anymore.

31:32Because just being at the center of the Celtics championship and everyone coming out.

31:38I got to write this because we lost our Celtics writer Steve Hewitt at the Herald a couple

31:41of months ago.

31:42I say, all right, I'll pitch in.

31:43Let's hire someone.

31:44They don't.

31:45They still haven't.

31:46I don't get it.

31:47But anyway, I cover them as well as the Patriots the last couple of months.

31:53So there's one spot for media.

31:54If you're a cameraman, obviously panning out to the crowd and the whole environment.

31:58If you're a writer, I had Jared Weiss from The Athletic behind me writing what this was

32:02like.

32:03And it is a little awkward.

32:05Our truck, it was a pickup truck that they said, you know, small stadium style seating.

32:12So you're just like strapped in, the tailgate is down.

32:15And you're looking behind you at what are the duck boats.

32:18So in front of us is these long, you know, tractor trailers that the cheerleaders are

32:22there, the confetti machine, whoever's running the music.

32:24Then there's us in this weird white pickup that looks like it was OJ sneaking into the

32:28Celtics with a bunch of random white guys in the back.

32:32And then the duck boats, Joe Muzzolo and everybody.

32:34So the awkward part is you can hear the music, the truck's going out ahead of you.

32:39And everywhere you look around, people are screaming, they're fist pumping, they're so

32:41happy.

32:42And like you had nothing to do with it.

32:43I, again, six years, zero points, two parades.

32:47But what you soak in, in the middle of that, and you can't help but smile and keep your

32:50journalism objectivity.

32:51Look, I'm glad the Celtics won.

32:53That was a lot of fun.

32:54I had a really good time.

32:56It's just, this is what it's about.

32:58It's not just the parade.

33:01It's the connection.

33:02It's the joy.

33:03It's the community.

33:04And I remember rereading a column I had read, written after the Patriots parade, my first

33:09year in the B. And the way I described it then, I think it was a fair characterization.

33:14Patriots beat the Rams 13 to three, they come back a few days later.

33:17It's cold, but it's like a good February day.

33:19This was a defiant celebration of, you remember that season?

33:23We're still here, too old, too slow, still here.

33:28Kind of subtle F you, a salty defensive team, obviously with an older Tom Brady, that beat

33:33the Rams again.

33:34One of the most explosive high-flying offenses in NFL history.

33:38True story.

33:39Moved here to golf as a quarterback.

33:40And so coming back to Boston, it was like a full circle from their first Super Bowl

33:43win of just, we can do this, even if you don't think so.

33:47And again, it wasn't like double birds out, but there was just like a saltiness to it.

33:52A defiant celebration on a brilliant day in Boston.

33:55This was all joy.

33:56This was seeing Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum grow up and graduate.

34:00This was a coronation for players like Al Horford.

34:03This was Chris Tapps for Zingas draped in the Latvian flag, celebrating in a way that

34:07like that dude was playing for the Wizards a year ago.

34:10So it was all of these things all at once, and to be at the center of that, even for

34:13a very brief stint, 45 minutes, rolling down from Causeway to Boylston, was spectacular.

34:18So I wrote about it and was also in the locker room post-game for game five.

34:23And I like these scenarios.

34:25I start to learn more covering, you know, Penn State won a Big Ten championship once

34:29and you're on the field and people are talking to you and normally there are very strict

34:32rules as there were with Belichick about who you can talk to and when, if you're media.

34:36And this is also like a free-for-all, like you want to talk to whomever.

34:39And not in a way that's like, oh, please give me a quote, yada, yada.

34:42It's just like, hey, congrats, spraying champagne everywhere.

34:45So I had a recap of that.

34:46And it's just, I would say if you're not a parade person, the reason I bring this up

34:50is it's worth the wait.

34:53It's worth the day, the skipping work, the traffic, the whatever it is.

34:57Because if you get to be at the center of it, you are at the center of what I would

35:00only describe as what it feels like, what it sounds like, a buzzer beater at the garden

35:06in a playoff game.

35:07It's just unending waves of sound and joy in Boston.

35:12And this was Boston at its best.

35:15It was an incredible day.

35:16So look, it only been five years since the last one.

35:21We'll probably have another one in the next five years, Cs, Bs, maybe Cs, probably not

35:24the Pats, maybe the Pats, if David Andrews gets his wish.

35:27But I would just, you got to make it out.

35:30You got to make it happen.

35:31And I'm incredibly lucky to be in the middle of that, but I hope some of that made sense.

35:35If not, again, read the stories and definitely the David Andrews piece, get to know him better

35:38than you ever have, what he wants, what's coming next, and a lot of touching stuff about

35:42his son.

35:43He's about to have a second son coming up in July.

35:45All right.

35:46Coming up for us here in this podcast, Fitzy, finally, for our third annual Patriots scrimmage

35:51draft, right?

35:52He and I have a team, we're picking players freestyle from the Patriots roster.

35:58I go, he goes, I go, he go back and forth, who has a better team?

36:02We will have that for you next week, plus a tweeted version, actually, we might do this

36:06on YouTube too, a pick-by-pick how the teams went.

36:10You tell us who won the third annual Patriots scrimmage draft, and then we'll be back the

36:13following week with more Patriots stuff.

36:15But so long, this has been your Patriot Six Pack, enjoy the weekend, stay safe, be well.

36:32We'll see you next week.

36:33Bye-bye.

RANKING the Top 10 Patriots Players | Pats Interference

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