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00:00I am joined by Robert Griffin III, James White, Field, Yates, Mina Kimes.
00:10All right, so first play we're going to look at, second and two, one of the Patriots' first
00:14offensive plays.
00:19What's going on, everyone?
00:20Mike Kadlik, Taylor Kyles here for CLNS Media, back after the weekend with another episode
00:25here of Pat's Daily, powered by GameTime and PrizePix.
00:28We'll hear from them later, but Taylor, we're going to do a mailbag here today and the way
00:35we're doing it right now.
00:37It's Monday.
00:38Patriots just went back to the practice field today, so we're going to give a quick recap
00:41on that.
00:42Then we're going to answer some of your mailbag questions you guys submitted last week.
00:45We're going to wrap that up, get those out there.
00:47Then we're also going to come back on Wednesday with another mailbag, which we're going to
00:51kind of get into our weekly schedule here on Pat's Daily.
00:55It's a little different this week because we don't have any opponents to recap from these
00:59next two days, so we're kind of workshopping the next two days.
01:02We're going to come in on Wednesday with a mailbag, with a guest, who we're not going
01:05to tell you who the guest is yet, but we're going to try and have guests every Wednesday
01:09on a mailbag with some opponent questions, any Patriots questions you guys might have.
01:16We want to get to your questions as much as possible throughout the week.
01:19Right now, though, we're going to talk about what happened down in Foxborough today, the
01:23Patriots.
01:24Again, back on the practice field after three days off.
01:25I spoke to Gerard Mayo this morning.
01:27The Patriots named some captains today.
01:30He told us, gave us a little bit more insight into the reason why Jacoby Brissett was named
01:37the starter over Drake May.
01:39Taylor, anything come out to you today?
01:43Anything, I guess, pop out from what Gerard Mayo had to say?
01:48Week one, we tried to get more clarity on what the quarterback plan was.
01:52I asked if there ever was any real consideration that Drake may start in week one, because
01:57I know we keep basically recycling the same question, but I feel like we still haven't
02:00gotten the definitive statement.
02:02To Gerard Mayo's credit, he has consistently said that it is going to be a competition
02:06and all these things, but externally, of course, for us, it's kind of hard to see it that way
02:10when he admitted that Drake had outplayed Jacoby late, but it does also seem like ... He
02:15also mentioned once again that they're taking the entire summer and spring into consideration,
02:20not just the last couple of weeks.
02:21And frankly, I think most people can agree that it makes sense to start Jacoby week one.
02:26Even if he isn't the most talented option, I think he still is the best option because
02:30of the experience and all the things he adds there.
02:32And frankly, I'd like to see what he can do when he has more chemistry with his receivers
02:36and they get a little bit more time, because obviously, training camp, you want to get
02:39a lot of that under your belt, but it also takes live game reps and being able to adjust
02:43and all those things on the fly.
02:45So that was one where I wish it was a little clearer, but I think at this point, we just
02:49have to accept that that's the explanation he gives, and that while they would have considered
02:53Drake May starting week one, maybe he had to be even further along, like have blown
02:57away their expectations, or maybe started to show a little earlier, because he did mention
03:01it really kind of came down to the wire a bit there.
03:04Some other things, just going through my notes and the things that I tweeted.
03:08For the captains, one, Jabril Peppers, captain, been saying this since last year, baby, finally
03:14happened.
03:15And I think, I mean, it's not exactly surprising.
03:17We all know that he's an extremely vocal leader.
03:20Last season, he really came into his own with this team.
03:23One as a player, obviously, stood out as one of their biggest playmakers.
03:27And I think you started to see him more comfortable, didn't get voted captain last year, but then
03:30I think even more of this season, seeing what kind of command he's taken, it makes a lot
03:35of sense.
03:36Interesting, Hunter Henry is not a captain this year.
03:38He was voted a captain for the first time last season.
03:40Then who else do we got, Jacoby Brissett, who Trot actually forgot briefly when naming
03:44the captains, and he was almost like, I don't know, I'm starting to do a thing.
03:48So all right, we talked about last week how this whole thing's new for Mayo, and you got
03:55to get your feet under you.
03:56You got to get used to it, and you're going to take your lumps.
03:57And how he's kind of gone back and forth with some things he said in the media and stepped
04:01in a little bit.
04:02Like today's press conference, I thought was so good.
04:05And then that, except for that part, I'm like, you just got to get through a perfect press
04:10conference at some point here, and he just couldn't.
04:12And it's like, of course he forgets Jacoby, because that's kind of the most controversial
04:18one.
04:19Not controversial, because he's a leader and he leads the offense, but it's like, if by
04:22week five, Drake May's starting, you're going to have your backup quarterback with a headset
04:25on and a C on his jersey.
04:26And so it's like, of course he forgot to mention Jacoby Brissett.
04:29Harmless mistake.
04:30Again, another example of him just kind of not batting a thousand at the podium.
04:37And showing his self-awareness to call himself out and say, that could have been really bad.
04:40And then Joe Pagone, a first time captain, he's one of the longest tenured players on
04:44this team.
04:45So that was really cool.
04:46I thought it might go to somebody like Brendan Skorer, obviously, because of his on-field
04:49performance.
04:50Won the Ron Burton Award for his work in the community and with people who are battling
04:56cancer.
04:57I got to speak with him really briefly about it.
04:58It seems like it's something that he's really passionate about, wants to start a foundation
05:01down the road.
05:02And then, just to round it out, so captains, Drake May, kind of just going over that again.
05:07He also mentioned Drake May on this.
05:08Actually, I'll get more into that, because it ties into a question that will be asked.
05:11And the last one I would say, oh, the Javon Baker situation.
05:15I feel like we got to talk about that.
05:18So Javon Baker, in case you didn't know, went live on Instagram after receiving some type
05:23of traffic ticket or whatever.
05:25And didn't have the nicest things to say about Massachusetts police.
05:30And Drogne was asked about it.
05:32He said, yes, that's being handled internally.
05:35Basically said it was an issue with maturity with Javon and that he will be disciplined
05:38internally.
05:39He's not going to miss a game.
05:40But it was something that they did think was a lot of pocket, to put it in our own words,
05:45and something they needed to address.
05:48Which makes this pretty much what I think would be the second time they probably spoke
05:51to him.
05:52Because obviously, when he got drafted, he had the videos and Instagram and all those
05:57things with him being very much himself and how he felt about being a later pick.
06:03So it's disappointing.
06:05You'd like to never hear from rookies in this kind of way for an entire season.
06:10And now this is starting to feel like the decision making with Javon Baker, not great.
06:14Which is only exacerbated by the fact that at least as much as we know externally, he's
06:18not really doing the whole lot behind the scenes to do is what Gerard Mayo said when
06:22he was drafted.
06:23Where it's like, yeah, you can talk as much as you want, but if you don't show it on the
06:25field, people are going to lose respect for you.
06:27I'm not saying that's happened.
06:28It's still super early.
06:30It's just an unfortunate way for Javon Baker to start his career.
06:33Hopefully, he can turn it around and be the kind of player we want to see him be.
06:36But that was another thing, obviously, we have to address.
06:38And City, so taking it day to day, avoided a serious injury, and then in practice today,
06:44he wasn't there still.
06:45But Darion Lowe appeared to be one.
06:47Yeah, the Baker thing, you can kind of look at it one of two ways where it's like, okay,
06:52he's young, he's a rookie, he's learning.
06:55Take your lumps, if you will, make mistakes, learn from it, get punished, blah, blah, blah.
07:00Hopefully the rest is history.
07:01It never happens again.
07:02You move on.
07:03But the other way to look at it is, well, he's a rookie, and he's already doing this
07:07stuff.
07:08It's like there's no filter really on that Instagram, frankly.
07:12The first thing you do, is this the smart thing to do?
07:15Ask yourself, should I go on Instagram live right now?
07:18Clearly that wasn't asked, and if it was, he made the wrong decision.
07:21And so again, one of two ways, regardless, learn from it, use that talent, be a great
07:28receiver down the road.
07:29We'll see what happens there.
07:30Like you said, Mayo mentioned that he's not going to miss the game, but there will be
07:32some internal discipline for Jayvon Baker there.
07:36The other thing quickly with Mayo too, is the Captains.
07:39They're also going to be wearing the Captain's patches on their jerseys this year, which
07:41is something new that Bill Belichick did not do in the past.
07:45He said it's going to be, or he treats it like a badge of honor, where he was saying
07:49that he was a Captain here seven out of eight years when he played, and that they never
07:53did it.
07:54And it kind of felt, this is me kind of putting, maybe not putting words into his mouth, but
07:58it kind of seemed like he felt that.
08:00My interpretation was that he earned the right to be a Captain, and he was a Captain, and
08:06he led the team, but you didn't really see that on the jersey.
08:10And so for them to bring that back, or not even bring it back, for them to do it, it's
08:13the first time we'll see those C's on Patriots jerseys.
08:15It'll be pretty cool.
08:16Jabril Peppers told us in the locker room today, he's excited that it does look pretty
08:20good, so I have a feeling that they might have showed them their jerseys with the C
08:23on it.
08:24So that was this morning.
08:25Mayo talked about, or talked this morning about a variety of things.
08:28Practice, like you mentioned, Taylor Bedarian low there, but limited.
08:33City so still not there.
08:35He said, he talked in the locker room as well, said that he is lucky that he, frankly, he
08:41was worried about tearing his Achilles, rather, in his ankle, and they checked that out and
08:44said he's good to go.
08:46So he sounds like he's on the mend.
08:49They obviously didn't use one of those short-term IR spots on him, so we'll see if he plays
08:54this week.
08:55He didn't practice today, so that's just sort of something to monitor with the Patriots.
09:00Christian Ellis returned as well.
09:01He was limited last week in practice, not wearing a helmet with a head injury.
09:05He was back today, a full participant.
09:07You looked like you had one more thing from practice.
09:09I was just saying, the City so still kind of leads us in perfectly to our first mailbag.
09:13Perfect.
09:14So we're going to get to the mailbag.
09:15What are we?
09:16Nine minutes in.
09:17So first, we're going to get to the mailbag in a second, but first, let's hear quickly
09:21from our friends over at Game Time.
09:26NFL season is back.
09:28I'm trying to do something else.
09:29Hold on.
09:30Give me two seconds.
09:31We're going to get you to Game Time.
09:32Any funny comments?
09:33NFL season's back.
09:34There we go.
09:35There's our B-roll.
09:36And the Patriots are playing the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
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10:03We're going to do a live read right now, Taylor, with the B-roll, and I'm going to
10:06go on the Game Time app on my cell phone and check out just how much time or how much money
10:12you can get into Paycore Stadium for.
10:14Right now, it's looking like Patriots at Bengals.
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10:58That's Game Time.
10:59All right.
11:00Let's get into our mailbag, Taylor.
11:03Taylor has all the questions loaded up, so he'll show them.
11:05Maybe I'll read them.
11:06Maybe he'll read them, but we'll both try and give our best answer possible.
11:08So Taylor, I'll read it.
11:10Best guess at the starting offensive line for Sunday week one in Cincinnati.
11:13What do you got?
11:14Yeah.
11:15So City, so in Vidarian low, obviously with their status is up in the air.
11:18The way it's looked is the right side has been consistent from what we saw in Washington
11:22where you've got Leighton Robinson at right guard, Mike Inwenu at right tackle.
11:26I don't love that in pass protection because, again, I think Mike Inwenu is a pro bowl guard
11:30in pass protection.
11:32He's an okay tackle where he's not really going to be the reason that these guys get
11:35sacked or get hit or anything, but there's also going to be some ugly reps where he has
11:38to run and chase edge defenders just to make sure he forces them around the edge to give
11:43his quarterbacks time.
11:44Right.
11:45Then, obviously, center, David Andrews.
11:47Left side is where things have been kind of interesting.
11:49You still have Tuksel Korafor as the left tackle because pretty much now we know he
11:54is the backup left tackle behind Vidarian low.
11:56They don't seem to want to put Caden Wallace in quite yet.
11:59And then at left guard, we've seen Nick Levrette, but also today we saw practice squad member
12:03Michael Jordan rotating at that left guard spot, and then Nick Levrette also took some
12:08snaps at center.
12:09What it looked like, what my interpretation is, I think that we can expect Michael Jordan
12:13to be a practice squad elevation, so he'll be, obviously, the backup just in case something
12:17were to happen to David Andrews.
12:19Then Nick Levrette would most likely slide inside, and I think Liam Fornadel right now
12:23is their backup center.
12:24I was just going to say, he got some reps.
12:26He was like the sort of second guy there.
12:28I saw it, because when they did that first line with Michael Jordan there, then they
12:35went to the two as a lever, went to guard, and Fornadel went to center.
12:38I thought that was interesting.
12:39Yeah, and I think that they really want Nick Levrette as their top backup for all the interior
12:44spots, although obviously for center it's not great.
12:46But I will add that to the practice squad, they clearly did notice that they had some
12:51trench issues, both on offense and defense.
12:53I'll just mention offense specifically this time.
12:56And guys, they added Brian Hudson.
12:58Very interesting player, has five position versatility, at least according to an interview
13:03that Justin Mello of the Draft Network did.
13:05It was a really great piece.
13:06I liked some of the stuff that I saw from him on tape.
13:09He's a guy who, actually him and Jerome Carvin, another practice squad addition, had a clean
13:13track record snap in this preseason, which the Patriots centers outside of David Andrews
13:18cannot say the same.
13:19So a little bit of reinforcement there.
13:21And then really quick, just to address the defensive line additions to the practice squad,
13:25they added O'Shaun Mathis, I believe is how his name is pronounced.
13:30Really interesting profile.
13:31He's got super long arms, massive hands, kind of going to be an interesting project for
13:35Joe Kim and defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery.
13:39And then Brevin Allen, who's more of a true defensive end type.
13:44Not as exciting for me as O'Shaun Mathis, but another guy to just add some trench depth
13:48there.
13:49But Patriots to the practice squad did try to address some of the issues that we all
13:52saw this preseason on the edge for the defense and its center and interior period for the
13:57offensive line.
13:58And even getting guys with a lot of positional versatility, because outside of Leverett,
14:02you don't really have another guy on the Patriots who you're truly comfortable playing center,
14:06playing guard on both sides and all that kind of stuff.
14:08And I think they added that on the practice squad.
14:10But just to wrap it up, week one, it looks like that offensive line is going to be from
14:15left to right.
14:16Chooks Okorafor, Nick Leverett, David Andrews, Leighton Robinson, and Mike Unwinow.
14:21Yeah, that seems like the best guess to me, too.
14:23The interesting wrinkle you mentioned that already is, is if Michael Jordan can overtake
14:27Leverett as a practice squad elevation and then take over left guard.
14:31But it felt more of, like you said, a contingency plan depending on if, you know, who's the
14:35backup center and how those interior guys rotate.
14:37The one thing I'll ask you, if Vardarian Lowe is healthy, right?
14:42He came back to practice today, limited fashion, wasn't running for drills or anything.
14:47But at this point, Monday going into Tuesday, they'll have Tuesday off, Wednesday they practice,
14:52Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
14:53If Vardarian Lowe is healthy, who do you roll with?
14:55Is it Lowe or is it Okorafor?
14:58Great segue into the next mailback question.
15:00What exactly are you playing for the offensive line?
15:02So once again, the week one lineup looks like it is going to be on the left side, Chooks
15:06Okorafor with Nick Leverett.
15:08I think long term, whenever Vardarian Lowe is healthy, I think we saw the combination
15:12they want.
15:13I think they want Vardarian Lowe on the left side, Chooks on the right side.
15:17And then I think they want Mike Nguyen at right guard and left guard will be a competition
15:20between City So and Leighton Robinson.
15:23Leighton Robinson probably has the advantage right now based on his preseason.
15:27They were both up and down in that last game, but I think Robinson, although obviously he
15:30was playing some inferior competition, was more consistent.
15:34So that is what I think they'd like the plan to be.
15:36If one of those two guys at the left guard spot, City or Leighton, either one of those
15:40young guys can truly earn it and be a net positive, I think that's huge for you because
15:45I know that people don't like Chooks Okorafor because he's not Chona Williams, although
15:49I really think people need to understand the difference between them isn't huge, especially
15:54if you look at just the numbers.
15:55Is Chona Williams line up?
15:58He's a right tackle anyway.
15:59He's got a lot of tackle experience, but you know, that's just the trickery thing for me.
16:04But I do think that Chooks, he's been a starter for six years on the right side.
16:09I think he's good enough to get you by for a season until Caden Wallace hopefully can
16:12maybe even take over midseason and give you a little bit better run blocking there.
16:16Invadarian Lowe is still a massive question mark as much as I liked how he bounced back
16:20in the second preseason game against the Eagles.
16:24We still don't know really how far he's come along, how he's going to look against a starting
16:28defensive line.
16:29And also how much this back injury and missing that time is going to hurt him.
16:32So the left side is really where I think your big question mark is just because there's
16:36so many young guys and unproven guys in this system.
16:39But I do like what you've got on the right side where Chooks is good enough.
16:43You know, he's not going to be a world beat or anything, but he's at least a stopgap option
16:46for you.
16:47And then Mike can run you as an elite guard.
16:49But I do think that's what they want you to be long-term.
16:52And I wonder like, you know, if Invadarian Lowe gets healthy this week and you want to
17:00bring him back, like you mentioned, you would rather, okay, well now we have a core full
17:04of play, right tackle, and then we can bump Mike inside.
17:07It's like, it's almost like it's already too late where you want to have a consistent offensive
17:11line.
17:12And we talk about it all the time where get five guys in there, just get the same five
17:15guys.
17:16And obviously you want your best guys too.
17:17But if you're practicing with Chooks on the left, Mike on the right, and then Robinson
17:22inside, and then all of a sudden Wednesday comes, Thursday comes and Lowe's like, I can
17:27play.
17:28I still think you roll with this offensive line for this week.
17:32Maybe Lowe's healthy enough to be your swing, your backup tackle.
17:35But once that next plan comes in where, okay, Lowe's in, we can move Mike inside.
17:40Like that sort of feels like a next week thing to me because I feel like they've already
17:43been practicing with this, you know, these five, four long enough where run it, get comfortable.
17:49And then we can kind of make adjustments as we move on.
17:52Also I'm such an idiot.
17:53I just realized I missed your lining up joke.
17:55I already, my, my longterm memory is terrible.
17:57I would just go with Chooks lining up on the, uh, I knew I missed something and I was like,
18:02what the hell?
18:03I'm like, something's not clicking here.
18:04That's on me.
18:05Whatever.
18:06It was a good joke, buddy.
18:07Good stuff.
18:09Yeah.
18:10And that's the other thing I wanted to address.
18:11Oh, the offensive line combinations, because I actually spoke with Regan, uh, pretty extensively
18:16about this today.
18:17I know that we all do want that starting combination.
18:20And I think the team wants that as well.
18:22I think everybody wants that.
18:23The reality is the Brown staff last year.
18:26So Alex van Pelt, Scott Peters, and then the Patriots were both teams that had almost a
18:30dozen different offensive line combinations.
18:33As much as we want there to be continuity.
18:35The reality is you're talking about a position where the attrition rate is unfortunately
18:39very high just by the nature of the position.
18:41Like if you look at the Darien low in city, so those were two of the most consistent guys
18:45the entire summer.
18:46And then sometimes shit happens and guys get hurt and you got to find a way to still make
18:50it work for everybody.
18:52And I agree.
18:53I do think that Mike and when he was probably a better fit at right tackled and having to
18:55go with the Kate and Wallace, because he's still coming along.
18:58And at least with Leighton Robinson, he is sandwiched between David Andrews and Mike
19:02So his mistakes won't be quite as glaring because ideally he should be able to have
19:06some help most of the time and they can compensate for some of the mistakes he'll make.
19:09So I totally understand how frustrating it is that they just keep plugging in these pieces
19:14and moving guys from one side to the other.
19:16But that's also the system.
19:17You need to have positional versatility, especially in the league nowadays because of the attrition
19:21on the offensive line, the lack of opportunity to work together.
19:25You do need guys to have some experience, even if it's little at different spots and
19:29working together.
19:30Otherwise you're not giving a whole lot of value because if you can only line up one
19:32spot, it gives them less options to find that best starting combination.
19:36So a part of this that I think is fascinating and it makes perfect sense why people are
19:40annoyed, but you really do need to find these different permutations just in case, you know,
19:45if X happens, then we get to Y and it seemed crazy when they did it that one day at training
19:49camp and we're like, wait, what the hell is going on?
19:51Why is everyone doing so much?
19:52And it seemed crazy.
19:53And then not even a couple of days later, they're actually proven that they had to happen.
19:57Yeah.
19:58Right.
20:00Yeah.
20:01What else we got?
20:02Oh, this.
20:03And also in the comments section, there's been a lot of talk about people, the Patriots
20:04should get.
20:05So that leads us into this.
20:06The last or second to last offensive line question, any available offensive tackles
20:10we're bringing in.
20:11I'm going to make this quick.
20:12Okay.
20:13If an offensive tackle who'd be good enough to be on this team and you know, I don't want
20:17to say good enough to knock out the Darien Lokes, we still don't know, but if he's going
20:20to be good enough to knock out shoes, he's not going to be on the parket.
20:24Yeah.
20:25We are in September.
20:26We are a week away from the regular season.
20:27The guys that are on the market are on the market for a reason.
20:30They are either old, they have significant injury concerns, or the league doesn't think
20:35they're good enough to play or some combination of all those factors.
20:38Like David Bakhtiari, we all know he seems like a perfect scheme fit because he comes
20:43from that Packer system, but the guys played very little football in the past few years.
20:47So do you really want to create this whole controversy and mix and match or whatever
20:51in the offensive line room?
20:53When these guys are older, might not even want to join your team and might end up getting
20:57hurt anyway.
20:58And I know that people don't love to so core for, but guys, 26, 27 years old.
21:03He's still very young.
21:04He's athletic.
21:05He doesn't maybe have the sands you want for an offensive tackle, especially on the right
21:09side.
21:10He doesn't get the movement you want.
21:11The discipline as we've seen is also an issue that he's going to have to get corrected,
21:14but he's going to be able to do more for you than like a Charles Leno, who's coming off
21:17a major injury or again, the David Bakhtiari.
21:20So in Trent Williams is not coming here.
21:23Please stop.
21:24Like that dude is trying to finish his career on a good team.
21:27The amount of money that you can throw at him, that he's going to come to fricking new
21:29England after we've already seen a parade of great players be like, I have no interest
21:34in going to Texas.
21:35When you guys aren't even, when you have no projectable future.
21:38So please, we have to stop with this.
21:41Like our, I understand wanting to know what options are available.
21:44Hey is telling you, everybody wants good offensive tackles.
21:47If they're still available, they're probably not very good.
21:50Well, so, and I can't remember when we asked this mailbag question because we were going
21:54to do this at some point last week.
21:56So I don't remember if it was before or after roster cuts or the claims that went through,
21:59but like the guys that were available and worth bringing in were Zach Thomas and Demontra
22:04Jacobs.
22:05And that's who they brought in.
22:06And that was the quality on the market where these guys were more worth bringing in than
22:12now granted Bakhtiari and Leno might cost a little bit more money because they have
22:15more experience and you know, this, that, and the other thing.
22:17But Zach Thomas, like they, they made their moves.
22:20They have the depth pieces they thought were worth bringing to the 53.
22:24They're working with what they got.
22:25Elliott Wolfe told us that, you know, he has confidence in this group and you know, whether
22:29you do or not, and I don't mean to put it bluntly as fans, but I guess it doesn't really
22:33matter because it's Elliott Wolfe's job and he's the one who comes in and makes these
22:36decisions and you know, you got to give them that chance.
22:39And then when it, when it does ultimately go bad, if it does, then you hold their feet
22:43to the fire.
22:44But for now, they've made some moves.
22:45They bring in Zach Thomas, Demontra Jacobs, they're rolling with those, what we think
22:48are the starting five and we're going to go from there.
22:51And it looks like just for clarity on what those guys are going to do or who they are.
22:55Cause I know maybe some people didn't see on Twitter.
22:56If you want like clips, I uploaded clips for almost all the guys they added to the practice
23:00squad.
23:01Some guys I haven't gotten to yet, but most of them and the ones I think are the most
23:04interesting, they should be on my timeline.
23:06Demontra Jacobs, big, long, also all of these offensive linemen and defensive linemen they
23:11brought in are long and have big hands.
23:14Clearly a thing that we're looking for, especially with the strike system.
23:17The whole thing, the strike system is basically just a way of communicating how Scott Peterson,
23:22the coaches want these guys to go about pass protection.
23:25So how you want to set, how you want to initially attack and how you want to counter based on
23:29what the defensive linemen do to respond to what your initial strike was.
23:33And a big part of that is being able to have long arms, hit guys hard enough that you disrupt
23:38their rush and you can take control of the rep.
23:40Demontra Jacobs really fits that mold.
23:42Zach Thomas, more of an interior guy.
23:44Like he was repping at guard today, repped on both sides, but at guard in the preseason
23:49for the Rams.
23:50He literally played tackle for them in one game last year against the Bengals, ironically,
23:54and it was pretty ugly.
23:55And it was also, he was just put in a tough situation.
23:58So just those two guys, I don't know if we've really talked about them much.
24:01Jacobs is a great guy I'd love to see maybe develop into like a swing tackle option, maybe
24:07a spot starter.
24:08I love his tools.
24:09Zach Thomas, I didn't love his tape quite as much, but I also can see how he fits their
24:12system and what they might have in mind for him.
24:15Love it.
24:16All right.
24:17What else we got?
24:18Wait, what dream did I crush?
24:19Yeah.
24:20Yeah.
24:21Just bringing in different guys.
24:22All right.
24:23Last O-line question.
24:24Maybe we can do an ad right after this, just to wrap it up.
24:27What do you think Cole Strange fits into the future of the O-line when he gets healthy?
24:30I want to hear what you think.
24:31So I think we're on the same page.
24:32I think we're on the same page and I want to give you credit for this.
24:38Cole Strange seems like there's a chance that they could use him at center along the line.
24:43And I forget if it was said by a coach or a player or whatever, but I heard it floated
24:49elsewhere this weekend where they have the guards kind of not figured out, but they have
24:54who they think are their guards right now and in the future.
24:57And clearly Cole Strange isn't necessarily in that rotation because he's been out for
25:01so long and he's out, has been out with a knee injury for some time.
25:05But David Andrews is getting up there and he signed a two year deal and they don't have
25:10a real backup center right now.
25:12Nick Leverett's their backup center and we saw Nick Leverett in Washington with the amount
25:16of tough quarterback center exchanges between him and Drake May.
25:19So like if Cole Strange can snap, turn that guy into your backup center and make that
25:2429th overall pick from 2021 or 2022, whatever it was, make it worth your while.
25:29Cole Strange isn't a bust just yet.
25:32Like he is a, he's been injured and that's too bad.
25:37But when he's been on the football field, he's been pretty good.
25:39So if you can make him and turn him into your center of the future, I'm all for it.
25:45Now his contract situation and where he's at, it might make it tough because if David
25:50Andrews is here for two years, you're not going to put a 50 or option on Cole Strange
25:55or just that that number is not worth it.
25:56But if he's willing to resign here and be a developmental interior offensive lineman,
26:02rotate in at guard, be in the guards conversation while working on snapping a football and understanding
26:07line calls and how the system works and things like that.
26:11I can see him being that next option behind or your next center when David Andrews hangs
26:16it up.
26:17A hundred percent.
26:18Isn't the fifth year option for it's just offensive line, right?
26:20It's not position.
26:21Yeah.
26:22Yeah.
26:23So that's, yeah.
26:24That would be insane to use that on him.
26:25And again, I think also Gerard Mayo told us last week to go to Randall and asked him
26:30about it that they did see Cole as somebody who had center versatility.
26:33Yeah.
26:34And we always talk about how he's not great against power.
26:38Cole knows that.
26:39So he's going to have to wait last off season and try to compensate for that.
26:42If there's one position where maybe not being the sturdiest is going to hurt you the least
26:45it's center because most of you're very rarely in one-on-one situations.
26:49And when you are, it's usually in some kind of blitz look where the quarterback knows
26:53they need to get the ball out of their hands pretty quickly.
26:55And also he is a smart guy.
26:57He's crazy athletic.
26:58Like he's athletic enough to play tackle technically.
27:00If you just look at the measurables, I don't know how he'd actually look.
27:03I know people have floated that around.
27:04I think it would be crazy to try to ask a guy who's played guard for so long who hasn't
27:08played tackle and so long because he did it at Chattanooga.
27:11But I think it was only briefly yeah.
27:13Center I think makes the makes the most sense for long term.
27:16All right.
27:17Let's talk.
27:18Let's hear from our friends over at game time.
27:19Then we'll get to the last bit of these Patriots questions before we head into Tuesday.
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28:53So all right, let's let's finish up these questions.
28:56All right.
28:57Some Drake may talk.
28:58Let's go.
28:59Drake can develop his ability to recognize disguised as a defensive schemes while watching
29:03film and practicing as a backup.
29:05And it's you this the other day or did I say it on the show?
29:10We were talking about the comment or the notion where you only learn football by playing football
29:16and how there's been so many vanilla defenses or or there's vanilla.
29:20Not so many, but there's vanilla defenses in preseason.
29:23Especially when you watch the Jets and the Niners, et cetera, over the last four weeks
29:27or the next four weeks when you're Drake may.
29:30Can you truly diagnose stuff just by watching it?
29:32And they have the VR stuff that may help.
29:37But at the end of the day, you kind of just have to get thrown into the fire, don't you
29:40think?
29:41A hundred percent.
29:42And I think when it comes to.
29:43So I asked Drake about this in the locker room last week, whether it was more safeties
29:47and how they try to trick you on the back end or if it was more pressure schemes.
29:51I figured it was pressure seems because the Patriots use all the disguises in the book
29:55on the back end.
29:56Like there's very little.
29:57I don't want to say very little, but he's seen a lot when it comes to disguise and coverages
30:02from the secondaries perspective, and he does a really good job responding to those he has
30:06since college.
30:07He mentioned that it's not so much about that, although that does play a factor.
30:10It is the pressure schemes because teams do things so differently.
30:13Like if the way that Todd Bowles is going to like blitz, you is going to be very different
30:17than what you get, even from the Patriots.
30:19And I think there's just so many different ways.
30:21Like some people use like the Bengals, for example, they like to send their safeties
30:25and their slot corners, depending on the certain look, you know, against some under center
30:28formations, they'll send their linebackers and some teams like won't let you at all.
30:32Some teams are going to send pressure from depth.
30:34Someone to send it.
30:35You know, if you have a boundary corner, they're going to send that guy or they'll send two
30:37corners.
30:38There's so many different schemes that he's never even seen yet.
30:41Right.
30:42So I think to a degree, just knowing what they look like and what the tells are like,
30:46you know, if Alex Van Pelt's telling him, if you see a safety who's lined up directly
30:50over a slot corner, that's a lot corner is going to blitz you because obviously secondary
30:56always wants to disguise, but there's only so much you can do while staying structurally
30:59sound.
31:00So being able to see those things on tape will give him a leg up.
31:03So you say, oh, you know, I'm game planning for this.
31:06I know what it looks like, but yeah, there's also the fact that you want to actually be
31:09able to do it.
31:10And then it's one thing to say mentally, okay, I throw hot or whatever.
31:13And then it's different to actually execute that because, you know, oh, I got to throw
31:17over the guy.
31:18Oh, I got to throw around, you know, my feet have to be there.
31:21Things like that.
31:22Yeah.
31:23It's just, there's millions of permutations to being an NFL player and that's what it
31:26is.
31:27It's every rep.
31:28You learn something.
31:29And those are the things where I think, yeah, Drake may is going to have to do that at some
31:31point.
31:32I do think there's some value to being on the practice squad.
31:34Like Drodd Mayo mentioned today, the show team, I was just going to, I was just going
31:39to line you up with this question from the chat, Taylor.
31:43Is Drake playing scout team or what are your thoughts?
31:45So yeah, go ahead.
31:46So he is going to be the scout team quarterback.
31:48Drake touched on it.
31:49Drodd Mayo mentioned it as well.
31:52So Drodd did mention that while it's going to be helpful to emulate the quarterbacks
31:57are going to be facing like Joe Burrow, Gino Smith, Brock Purdy, Aaron Rodgers, his idol.
32:02It's going to be helpful for him to learn how certain guys do certain things and guys
32:06who've obviously had success in the NFL.
32:08But he did mention that the way that they want the reads to happen is going to be how
32:12the Patriots want those reads to go.
32:14So that there's not a, you know, nothing gets lost in translation.
32:18I do think that he's still going to be shadowing Jacoby to a degree.
32:22But I do think at the same time, because you only have a certain number of quarterbacks
32:25that you are going to see Drake more handling those scout team duties.
32:29He's got a lot on his plate.
32:30I mean, if it's going to be shadowing Brissette a little bit and understand getting some of
32:36those first team ish reps, right, because it's going to be Jacoby who gets the bulk
32:40of them, but you still need your backup to be ready for it.
32:43You know, you have to learn what the Patriots offense is going to do against the opponent's
32:46defense that week.
32:47Then you have to take your scout team reps, then you're helping someone mentioned today
32:50or asked me if he'd be like running, you know, meetings.
32:53And I don't think that's going to be like a majority of what may does, but there's going
32:56to be, he's getting a lot thrown at him and he has to be a sponge because he's going to
33:01learn the other, I guess the other team's offenses too, to a degree.
33:05I mean, mostly it's just off the cards, but like you said, they want you to emulate those
33:08guys.
33:09So he's going to be taking in a ton of information over the next four or five weeks until they
33:14think he's ready to go, which it's a lot mixing in with the top Mayo mentioned, he's going
33:18to be mixing in like he was in the summer as well.
33:20Right?
33:21Exactly.
33:22So it's, it's a good thing.
33:23You just, you gotta, you know, you gotta be ready for it.
33:25You gotta take everything in.
33:26You gotta be a very good note taker.
33:27I think you're a guy like Drake Bay who needs to, you know, keep all not your priorities
33:32and drag, but you know, what what the team wants you to do and how you can kind of mold
33:37what you're learning from other guys versus being yourself and also the next quarterback
33:41of the Patriots.
33:42So it's a, it's, it's a good development plan, but it's, it's, it's going to be a lot.
33:48So it's tough being a quarterback in the NFL, especially when you also the fact that Gerard
33:53Mayo said 100%, I don't think it's a shock because of the quarterback, but he did say
33:58if she Kobe got hurt, Drake would be the guy and he is the second stringer.
34:01So I do think they still are going to have it in the back of their mind.
34:04Same thing could happen to Jacoby because we've known Jacoby got banged up in the preseason.
34:08He got hurt for the commanders last year.
34:10He's not someone you can necessarily rely on to play all those games.
34:13So there is a chance that they have to pay for where Drake is going to have to go in
34:16for emergency.
34:17Yeah.
34:18There's, and there's no, no quarterbacks on the practice squad.
34:20So it's those three guys, two rookies in Dakota reset.
34:23So they're comfortable with, you know, if, if shit hit the fan and Jacoby goes down earlier
34:27than they'd expect there, they sound confident that, okay, well we still want to keep this
34:32development plan going for Drake may and not put them in there just yet.
34:36But if we have to, we're ready for it and we'll be prepared for it.
34:39So we'll see where it goes.
34:40All right.
34:41Do you think that Drake may is mentally tough enough to go through the ups and downs?
34:45And when does he go through the ups and downs when he does eventually start?
34:51I, I don't like to like, uh, I would never say he doesn't until we see it.
34:59Right.
35:00I mean, we, we saw towards the end of the Mack Jones tenure where, you know, he's spiking
35:04his helmet and he's yelling at Matt Patricia and there's, there's a bunch of like, there's
35:08the, you know, the, the ups and downs, the, the, that comes out of guys, he was yelling
35:12in Arizona on the sideline and you know, all that stuff.
35:15Right.
35:16And so, but until up until that point, I felt like Mack Jones was, you know, mentally strong
35:20and could handle the, the ups and downs, his rookie year, you know, things like that.
35:25Uh, and then it comes out of you when the worst comes to worst.
35:28So to sit here and look at what I've seen from Drake may and, and assume that he's,
35:33he's going to turn into a teapot and burst.
35:35Like I don't think that's going to happen for me, from my vantage point, he seems like
35:39a, an even keel, not too high, not too low, really, really athletically sound quarterback
35:45who is smarter than even, I think we thought as far as understanding the offense and how
35:50quickly he's picked it up and how quickly he's, you know, transitioned his footwork
35:54and, and things like that.
35:55So at least on the football field, the mental side of things, he's got it.
36:00Um, I don't see why he wouldn't be able to go through the ups and downs, but that's,
36:03that's one thing where it just kind of has to happen, right?
36:06Because it's not going to be perfect.
36:08Um, if he does have to get thrown into the fire, if reset goes down, like that's going
36:13to be different than, you know, a perfect start where the team's not doing great, but
36:17you get him ready for 10 days and things like that.
36:19So it's just, it's kind of a wait and see thing, but from everything I've seen, I don't
36:23see why you would have, I don't see why anybody would think that Drake may is not mentally
36:27tough.
36:28And of course, like you said, you don't really know until, you know, but at the same time,
36:33I think that mental toughness was the thing that Ellie Wolf and Gerard Mayo kept hammering
36:38home when they were talking about what quarterback they were going to pick, kept talking about,
36:41yeah, the physical traits are awesome.
36:43I felt like such a shot at Mac Jones too when they said that, but he literally did mention
36:48the body language.
36:49He said, not getting too high or too low.
36:52He's called Drake may even keel.
36:54Drake may always talks about keeping the main thing, the main thing, which is hilarious.
36:57If you are watching the bachelorette this season, there's a fun little tie in there.
37:01Like a hilarious contestant was saying that I'm like, Oh my God, it's reminding me of
37:05Drake may.
37:06Anyway.
37:07I do think that all the work that the Patriots did to find their quarterback really had,
37:11he had to check the boxes of being someone who's mentally tough to go through the rigors
37:15of an NFL season.
37:16Of course, you never know what that looks like.
37:18Drake may is someone who also has a history of getting down on himself when things don't
37:22really go right.
37:23Not in a bad way.
37:24Like, I feel like Mac kind of did that, but also it started to come outwards.
37:28I think what Drake, it really is.
37:29He's just very hard on himself and wants to be better.
37:32And it's going to take some massaging from Alex van Pelt and Jacoby Bursette to be like,
37:36Hey man, it's not that serious.
37:37I think it happened at one point, Jacoby mentioned that he tried to make sure that Drake didn't
37:40get down on himself.
37:41It was like, Hey man, you finished practice on a great note.
37:44You won the day, keep that and grow from it.
37:46So a big part of it is going to be that supporting cast around him, TC McCartney, maybe Ben McAdoo
37:51as well in that equation, making sure that mentally he's in a place where he understands
37:55the context and is ready to get to the next week and, you know, keep moving forward.
38:00And I think that baseline, he should be okay, but every young guy needs support.
38:04And I think that's going to be big.
38:05Absolutely.
38:06And it's critical to, I think one of the things we've talked about here is once you go to
38:10Drake, you can't go back.
38:11That's something that can, you know, can screw with the guy's head a little bit.
38:14I think where, uh, Jacoby, Jacoby plays poorly and then Drake comes in, he plays worse.
38:21It's like, well, you've already ripped the bandaid off.
38:23You can't put Percept back in now and bench Drake May.
38:26And again, maybe Drake May would handle that.
38:28Okay.
38:29But you don't know.
38:30And I think that that is such a shot to the confidence where you go back and forth and
38:34back and forth with the quarterbacks.
38:35And it's just, it's not fair to either guy, frankly, because at that point in time, you
38:40know, Mayo is telling us now the whole team, the organization behind your goal reset.
38:44Once you take him off the field, you're essentially saying that, okay, we are now behind the kid.
38:49And now if he thinks you go back to what we're like, Hey, actually, we kind of want you back
38:53in there.
38:54It's just, that's not, that's what can't happen.
38:56Go ahead.
38:57I think if Jacoby got hurt and they put Mac or they put Drake in and he struggled, I do
39:01think there'd be some consideration of saying, Hey, we did this because our quarterback was
39:05hurt.
39:06We didn't really want to put Drake man.
39:08I think in that situation gap, the media is probably going to eat him alive for it, but
39:12I would have a logical decision because you don't want to put Drake may in that soon,
39:16but he is the best option on your roster.
39:18Like, yeah, you could sign somebody off the street, but is that guy going to be better
39:21for you?
39:22Even if he has taken the hits or whatever, like, I think there would be some consideration
39:25of yes.
39:26If Drake has to go in because of injury, we'll pull him if, you know, Jacoby's healthy and
39:30he clearly is our starting option.
39:32But I don't think if you put Drake in because he's playing better, right.
39:36Or if he does go in because of injury and then plays, well, yeah, that's what I think
39:39the cat's out of the bag.
39:40And it's, you have to kind of ride with him because he's showing you that he can do great
39:44things.
39:45And again, if you're not worried about his confidence and he's showing you some progress,
39:49then it's a very different conversation.
39:51It's also to let you think about it this way, where, okay, Saber set goes down for like
39:55four weeks and may goes in there for like a month and isn't playing great.
40:01It's almost like, do you just leave them in there?
40:03Or like, cause then you go to back to Jacoby and it's okay, Drake, you were put in too
40:07soon.
40:08And even when you were given a trial by fire chance, you failed.
40:12Like that's still a shot to the confidence where we're going to go back to the veteran.
40:16And now, now you have to yo-yo with that again.
40:18So again, we hope reset doesn't go down and we hope this, this whole thing works out according
40:22to plan, but there's a chance that it doesn't.
40:25And then, you know, that's kind of why we have to talk about all these contingencies,
40:27but they've still said Jacoby percent is their best option and they're all about transparency.
40:31So if that happens and they're like, Hey, we still think that Jacoby is better equipped,
40:35but we do want to give you an opportunity because you are a second best quarterback.
40:38Yeah.
40:39Again, I would love to hear other opinions as well.
40:41I don't think this is one that's very cut and dry, but I think injury is one that may
40:45kind of change the dynamic of how they go about wanting to, you know, protect Drake
40:51from himself and from any shots of confidence.
40:54Okay.
40:55We've got to go speedish round for the rest.
40:57I want to get to a couple in the comment section before we pull out of here.
41:00Um, are the current inconsistencies with Drake Mays footwork and stepping into trouble
41:03that JT O'Sullivan pointed out in his video concerning, can they be corrected?
41:08So I love JT O'Sullivan.
41:10He brings up so many things that I either completely miss or sometimes think in the
41:15back of my head, this is kind of odd.
41:17Like route spacing was one where there were two times in the commander's game.
41:20They were in breaking routes to the same depth.
41:23And I'm like, I don't know that's supposed to do that, but you know what?
41:26I don't make plays, so I don't want to necessarily make it public.
41:30Um, and things like that, he does help with Drake may stepping into trouble.
41:33There is some truth to that, but I also was confused because sometimes you're talking
41:37about like a five-step drop where you're getting so deep, especially from shotgun.
41:42That's essentially a seven-step dive, the deepest you can take, where you're getting
41:45so far back.
41:46You have to usually hitch up at least once, usually twice, twice typically is as your
41:51progression of the first hit, you don't like your option.
41:53You take one more and you get ready to throw.
41:55I felt like there was some gray area where even after listening to JT, I was like, I
41:59don't really know if this is a time where you can really get upset with Drake.
42:03It seemed more like sometimes the center gets pushed back.
42:05And if you're taking a five-step, it just, then you're stepping up and the center's getting
42:09pushed back.
42:10It's, you know, that's going to happen.
42:12Um, but I don't want to say there's no truth to it.
42:14I do think it's something that we should keep an eye on whenever he does take the field
42:18again.
42:19And I will actually be recording a video with the athletics, Derek class and very good friend
42:24of the podcast.
42:25We're going to break down some clips from Drake made us preseason.
42:27So look forward to that.
42:29That is coming, uh, sometime this week and we're going to dive deeper into that.
42:32So that's just my quick evaluation of it.
42:34Derek will be, is much better equipped to talk about that kind of thing.
42:37So I'll leave it to him, but any other thoughts you have?
42:39The only thing I'll add is the question that towards the end is, can they be corrected?
42:43Of course they can.
42:44Drake made us 2022 and this is some, this is a work in progress.
42:48And I think for stepping in, the starter has made that clear.
42:51They still, they still want to work on Drake made his game, um, and kind of get those kinks
42:55out of it.
42:56So, uh, yeah, Drake will be fine.
42:57And even JT, I think mentioned, this is a correctable thing.
43:00It's just difficult because it's how you navigate the pocket.
43:03And that's so much of that is subconscious where reps obviously help, but that's when
43:07we're like, you get better football by playing football.
43:10It's going to get hard not to learn and not step into a condensing pocket when it's not
43:14really an issue.
43:15You have to worry about practice.
43:16Yep.
43:17All right.
43:18I want to read this one.
43:19Sure.
43:20Uh, Jay Lynn Polk and KJ Osborne seem to be a cut above any of the X's on the roster.
43:26Uh, what are the advantages of starting your ally Taekwon Thornton over them?
43:30And are the route trees different from those two positions?
43:33So one actually check out, look up Taekwon Thornton on my Twitter page.
43:37He was getting open this preseason and I think he was also getting open in training camp
43:40from what we saw.
43:42There just wasn't a ton of on ball production, at least not the kind that you would expect
43:45from someone like Taekwon Thornton who can take the top off and, but you still saw the
43:49flashes of it, I think as a separator.
43:50And that was one thing.
43:51Remember we're talking about buff Taekwon.
43:54Is there any reason that we should be excited about him?
43:56And I was saying with these new coaches, with Tyler Hughes and with Taekwon Underwood, let's
44:00give them a chance to see if the route running can improve because obviously it was ugly
44:03last year, but Troy Brown was given a new title for a reason.
44:08They brought in new receivers coaches for a reason.
44:10I think you're seeing some of that payoff.
44:12Obviously the work that Taekwon's putting in has been huge.
44:14Um, I think at the exposition specifically, they just want somebody who is a true vertical
44:19threat.
44:20Whether that's Taekwon Thornton, Jalen Rager, Jayvon Baker, Kayshaun Booty.
44:25Those are guys with more of a track record of doing that.
44:27Now Jalen Polk, I think is kind of similar, but I just don't think they see him as a Z,
44:31maybe because of his body type skillset would have you.
44:34But also to that point, they use a lot of formations where basically the X and the Z
44:38are both outside the numbers and on the line of scrimmage where you're essentially doing
44:41the exact same thing.
44:42If your route tree is more limited because of where you're aligned and they love their
44:47vertical routes, they love their comebacks and all that kind of stuff.
44:50Um, when it comes to X versus a Z's route tree, there is overlap because in their system
44:54there is some interchangeability there.
44:56The biggest distinction is the X receiver in their three by one formations will be isolated
45:01by himself.
45:02Yeah.
45:03So that's really where, and even sometimes the Z on the other side is doing the same
45:06thing, but when you're isolated, it almost guarantees that you're going to have a one
45:09on one matchup unless the defense is saying, we can't leave this guy one on one.
45:14We're going to try to find some way to create a bracket situation.
45:16And I'd say in terms of what the difference is between the two, that's it.
45:19Um, I'd agree poke and Osborne in terms of their production were definitely better.
45:24I think we're going to see some formations where poke or Osborne are in the slot and
45:27then the other guys outside.
45:28Um, but I do think they really like Taekwon Thornton as well.
45:32I'm willing to hang back and wait and see if when the ball does come his way, he can
45:36capitalize consistently.
45:37Um, but I also just think right now those are your three and not their three best shooters
45:41because obviously DeMario Douglas, but he's limited schematically.
45:45So they're going to rotate these guys.
45:47There's going to be a ton of that.
45:48But I do also think because of the role that a Taekwon plays as that X is probably going
45:52to be getting more snaps maybe than the other guys.
45:55I think so too.
45:56And I think it's, you mentioned the receivers or the receivers coaches rather, um, give
46:02Taekwon a game, two games, like a full, you know, full 60 minutes, right?
46:08Because we only saw a couple drives in the preseason and you know, he wasn't very productive,
46:12but you, you, you tweeted the whole, the whole reel of his, um, his kind of highlights.
46:17He was getting open.
46:18They just weren't getting the football.
46:19So, you know, if, if they can see that, uh, look at it, correct it, Jacoby knows it, Taekwon
46:24knows it, this guy's open, let's get him the football and he's productive, then there you
46:29go.
46:30And if he's not, and he's, you know, the regular season comes around and he's not as productive
46:33as you'd like, then you start to, you know, maybe see a Jalen Polk move transition to
46:37X a little bit, or maybe, I mean, Jalen Rager kind of gets some reps in there once he's
46:41a little, excuse me, elevated from the scout team, uh, or things like that.
46:45But for now I agree with you, you know, give, give Taekwon opportunity to show that, you
46:49know, this is a different, a different player than we've seen the last couple of years.
46:54100% baby.
46:55All right.
46:56Gonzo being shaky in the preseason worries me about him and Chase on an Island week one.
47:01How much help do you think the Pats send his way or do they let Gonzo work?
47:04I know I said quick fire, but this one's kind of, this is kind of a loaded, uh, question.
47:08It's loaded.
47:09Yeah.
47:10Because we don't know if tomorrow Chase is going to play this week.
47:12He was at practice today.
47:13He was not in pads, uh, in Cincinnati.
47:16He is in the middle of a contract, uh, dispute, I guess you want to call it.
47:19I mean, he's there, he's, he's hanging out, but he wants to get his money, a guy who's
47:23two years into his four-year rippy deal, but, uh, he apparently funny.
47:27We're talking about this today too.
47:28He wants to get paid one cent more than his friend, Justin Jefferson up in Minnesota,
47:32which I like it.
47:33It's funny.
47:34It's petty.
47:35It's all in good fun.
47:36So long story short, we don't know if Jamar Chase is going to play.
47:39Uh, I think he will.
47:41I think they get it ironed out.
47:42I feel like these things happen.
47:44And eventually once, once the games come around, he'll either play on his current contract
47:48or they will find a way to, uh, to get the deal done because look, it's the Bengals and
47:53as good as they are as a team, they've had slow starts to seasons in the past.
47:58And if you're missing a Jamar Chase, that just makes that, uh, the likelihood of that
48:01happening even greater.
48:03So, uh, loaded question, like they hold their ground in these situations, really like the
48:1149ers where they always find a solution.
48:14Like sometimes they don't.
48:15So I really, yeah, that's true.
48:16T Higgins is still playing on the franchise tag and he had to suck it up and is now is
48:20now playing on it.
48:21And frankly, I heard it doesn't seem too happy about it either.
48:23So he shouldn't be the only guy.
48:26I think you got the tag and it didn't get a new deal.
48:28Right?
48:29Yeah.
48:30So nasty work.
48:31But all right.
48:32Let's say Jamar Chase does play.
48:33What are your thoughts on Gonzo, uh, and his, his matchup with him this weekend?
48:37That's going to be one of the toughest matchups he's going to have in his entire career.
48:40Yep.
48:41Now I will say with AJ Brown, I kind of liked that we at least saw that cause I think AJ
48:46Brown is the perfect receiver to really give Christian Gonzalez a challenge cause he's
48:50just massive.
48:51Right?
48:52So strong.
48:53He's so physical.
48:54He's so good.
48:55Almost 50, 50 jump ball opportunities.
48:56And we still saw Christian Gonzalez.
48:57It wasn't perfect by any means, but he didn't let him get behind him.
49:00And that's going to be the biggest thing with Jamar Chase is what scares you the most.
49:03And one thing he moves around a lot.
49:05So it's going to be interesting if the Patriots say, you know, Gonzo, you're going on the
49:08boundary, whether it's T Higgins or, uh, Jamar Chase, you'd get that guy or do they truly
49:13have him shadow and follow Jamar Chase in the slot where he was used last season.
49:17But the biggest things with Jamar Chase that you don't want are him to beat you deep and
49:21you want to tackle him after because he's one of the most dangerous yak receivers in
49:25football, despite his profile being an ex receiver and a big guy, you wouldn't really
49:28think of him that way, but he's crazy in that regard as well.
49:31Um, I think it would be a challenge obviously, because he's such a talented player.
49:35Like these are two unicorns athletically.
49:38Um, I am not reading into, we talked about this, so I'm not really going to beat it over
49:42the head.
49:43I'm not buying into Gonzo, you know, this summer was so bad.
49:45We need to worry about him.
49:46If it happens on the field.
49:48Yeah, we can bring all that up.
49:49And I think it's important to acknowledge, but we also need to acknowledge that these
49:52guys are working on things in practice and there are certain nuances to this, like in
49:56one-on-ones where there's certain routes that they're not even worried about because
49:59they're like, I wouldn't, you'd be running into leverage in a real game.
50:02I don't really care.
50:03I just don't want to, I, I, I'm not worried about Gonzalez right now.
50:07I do think it's going to be a battle.
50:08I think both guys are going to have their wins, but I don't think you give them any
50:11help unless you absolutely need it.
50:12I think they're going to game plan is maybe there are some split safety looks, you know,
50:16you want to mix those in the Patriots, like they're covered to disguise as cover one.
50:20But at the end of the day, I think they're going to treat it like they do with AJ Brown,
50:22where it's like, yep.
50:23Gonzo do your thing.
50:25Be a great freak athlete, you know, insanely poised young corner.
50:29It's game week now.
50:30So that's, that's where I'm at too, with it where, you know, may say his camp wasn't great.
50:34You can think of what you want.
50:35I personally, I'm not reading into it.
50:36I wouldn't even be one to say that it wasn't good, but now it, now is where you get paid
50:40and now it's where it matters.
50:41So if that kind of, that inconsistency carries over, then we start to get worried.
50:45But for now it's game week, get out there, shut down to March 8th and prove why you're
50:48the Patriots.
50:49So, yes, sir.
50:50All right.
50:51Let's go to the next question here.
50:52Actually quicker.
50:53Del Pettis, mainly a special teams player.
50:54Or will he get playing time?
50:56I think he will be a core special teamer, but we saw Jalen Mills and even Adrian Phillips,
51:01which was due to injury.
51:02You could tell the Patriots didn't want to put Adrian Phillips on the field very much.
51:06But we have seen with these three safety packages, all it takes is for one guy to go down.
51:10One guy needs a breather, gets banged up, what have you.
51:13Del Pettis is the next man up.
51:14So Martin Mapu getting healthy is obviously going to make things a bit more challenging
51:18and we'll see how that shakes out.
51:20But I would not be surprised if we see Del Pettis getting some actual playing time in
51:24some of those three safety nickel and dime packages.
51:27Del Pettis over Brendan Schooler at that role?
51:29Yeah.
51:30For sure.
51:31Yeah.
51:32For sure.
51:33Yeah.
51:34I agree.
51:35I think he's a course.
51:36He'll be out there on special teams, but they like to mix and match.
51:38And even like week two last year, you saw Martin Mapu go from a linebacker, fringe starter
51:45in and out to being one of the core guys in that three safety shell they used against
51:49Miami too.
51:50So it could get could get interesting for Pettis pretty quickly.
51:53Yep.
51:54All right.
51:55Then this last one, and then we're going to do an actual rapid fire before we get out
51:57of it for like two minutes from all your guys in the comments, because you've been awesome.
52:01Also for all the people who have been saying nice things in the comments, we see them.
52:04We appreciate you.
52:05Honestly, I've got to do that Derek Lassner interview right after this.
52:08I'm a little pressed for time, but much appreciated everybody.
52:12Bryce Behrens, you're going to be a top three punter in the league this year.
52:14I think maybe.
52:15I think so.
52:16And I also want a quick reminder that tomorrow we're doing our Pats beat Pats daily punters
52:20draft live on Patriots CLNS 730 podcast.
52:24We're going to talk about what happened at Patriots practice at 730.
52:27We're going to transition into our punter draft at 8 PM.
52:31So I guess we'll see if we think Bryce is the top three punter because maybe he goes
52:36in the top three of our punters draft tomorrow, but yeah, that guy's a wagon.
52:40Also a real quick UDFA.
52:42Yes.
52:43Dale Pettis was the undrafted free agent to make the roster.
52:44The streak is alive again.
52:46It's not really a streak, I guess it's just one, but it's there.
52:49All right.
52:50You want to do the rapid fire questions?
52:51Yeah.
52:52Let's see what else we got here.
52:53Man, a lot of it is just crapping on the Patriots.
52:58Here we go.
52:59Patriots wide receiver who will have the best fantasy season?
53:02I think it's, oh man, it's either Pop or Jalen Polk.
53:06Yeah.
53:07I'd go Jalen Polk because I think he can actually stay on the field and will be on the field
53:11more than Pop.
53:12Okay.
53:13That's fair.
53:15Hunter Henry also sneaky, just touchdowns.
53:19If like his tight ends, I feel like it's such a tough position to get somebody who's good.
53:22If Hunter Henry's healthy, he's probably catching a touchdown.
53:24Yeah.
53:25All right.
53:26Draft talk already.
53:27Would you rather they reach it off an attack on the first round or take a wide receiver
53:29and not reach at that position?
53:31I think it's go.
53:32Sorry.
53:33My bad.
53:34I'm sorry.
53:35Nope.
53:36No, I want to, I want to hear it.
53:37I'm so sick and tired of talking about tackles.
53:38Take the fricking tackle.
53:39Yeah.
53:40I got your great quarterback.
53:41Get some complimentary receivers.
53:42Protect him.
53:43So we don't have to talk about this anymore.
53:44I'm so tired of it.
53:47Taylor loves tackle talk.
53:48Um, what's their best return option?
53:51And then this is our last one.
53:52Cause then we, we, Taylor really has to go, uh, best return option as a kick returner
53:56and as a partner.
53:57Kick returner.
53:58Another one that I posted on Twitter, Antonio Gibson sneakily because it was him and Jalen
54:03Rager.
54:04It was Antonio Gibson, mostly blocking, but Gibson was the second guy on the return team.
54:07So you wonder if now it's going to be him and then Kevin Harris, who was the other returner
54:11when David Wallace was a kick returner, uh, Gibson actually had a big return last year
54:15against the Pats where he, uh, broke a tackle from Brendan schooler and then outran Matthew
54:19Slater for a big gain.
54:20So that was pretty cool.
54:21And then Paul returned.
54:22It's gotta be Marcus Jones.
54:23I don't, I just don't know if Mark Jones is a good kick returner.
54:27We haven't really seen him do it in a competitive setting.
54:29So I just don't really, they're different things of a Paul returner.
54:32It's it's Marcus Jones with a bullet.
54:34Yeah, I agree.
54:35I'll also, I, I've probably mentioned it three, four or five, six times on this podcast now,
54:38but I want to say I was able to get in the mix if he does end up on the active roster
54:42at some point, uh, as a kick returner, one of the best in college football a couple of
54:45years ago.
54:46So we'll see how that plays out.
54:47All right.
54:48That's going to do it.
54:49Uh, DK Metcalf, cause he's the better player.
54:52Super easy.
54:53Do you get that?
54:54I love it.
54:55All right.
54:56And then he's your accent.
54:57Then you don't have to worry about, we don't have to worry about making excuses for Taekwon
55:00anymore.
55:01All right.
55:02All right.
55:03You don't have to make excuses for Taekwon.
55:04Fingers crossed.
55:05True.
55:06All right.
55:07That wraps up our Monday mailbag here on Patriots Daily.
55:09We'll be back tomorrow, uh, scheduled TBD, but we're going to be back Wednesday for another
55:13mailbag.
55:14We'll ask for your questions.
55:15Bengal centric stuff, matchup centric stuff.
55:18Uh, so we'll get to all that stuff with a guest on Wednesday as well.
55:21So, uh, then we're into game week, we're going to have a bunch of other cool stuff for you
55:25coming down the pipe.
55:26So make sure to rate, review, subscribe to the channel, like the video.
55:28Like I said, last time helps us out a lot, uh, and read all our stuff at cnsmedia.com
55:34until next time.
55:35Take care of yourselves.
55:36Take care of each other.
55:36We'll talk to you soon.
55:37Peace out.