Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Big Blue Crossover: Patriots end OTA, Will Host Giants in Joint Practices — 6/11/2021

Episode Date: June 11, 2021

The New England Patriots are set to open mandatory minicamp on Monday, June 14, 2021. However, Thursday’s OTA practice sessions provided a nice primer for the next phase of New England’s offseason program. Host Mike D’Abate breaks down Thursday’s practice and welcomes New York Giants beat reporter Patricia Traina, of SI’s Giants Country and host of Locked On NYG to discuss the joint practices with the Pats and Giants to be held in Foxboro in late August.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.StatHeroStatHero, the FIRST Ever Daily Fantasy Sportsbook that gives the PLAYER the ADVANTAGE. Go to StatHero.com/LockedOn for 300% back on your first play. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you Foxborough faithful. You are now locked in to the Lockdown Patriots podcast. It is Friday, June 11th, 2021, and it's time for a little joint practices crossing of the streams here on your daily home for news notes and analysis infused with the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. Greetings and salutations, Patriots Nation, and thank football in Foxborough, it is Friday.

I am your host, Mike DeBate, and I cover the New England Patriots for Patriot Maven of Sports Illustrated, and of course, Locked On Patriots is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And folks, because it's your team every day, that means your questions, comments, and feedback are always welcomed and very much encouraged. So share that feedback. Send it to the internet by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at MDABATEFPC. And while you're out there giving the weekend nod and saying,

how you doing to the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. Pats fans, after a brief break, we are back here on Locked On Patriots as the Patriots wrap up the offseason workout program or organized training activities, otherwise known as OTA, on Friday, June 11th. Friday's session was closed to the media, but Thursday's session was not. And there were several highlights from yesterday's practice, so without further ado, let's get to it. And of course, the big news, the return of Dante Hightower to the practice field. Hightower making his first appearance in a Patriots practice uniform since 2019.

Of course, Hightower missed the entire 2020 season after opting out amidst concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. But Dante was back out on the practice fields on Thursday, and per the reports by those media members in attendance, he looked limber. He was comfortable while taking reps with the first team defense. Don't forget, it's his first practice since 2019, already out there taking reps with the number ones, and this is great news to see Dante back out on the field. He's not only the Patriots on-field defensive signal caller, but he's one of the most prominent leaders in that locker room. His presence is definitely going to enhance the productivity of the Patriots front seven and all of the defense, and I for one, as most of Pat's nation, are thrilled to see him back. Despite some confusion surrounding his status for the upcoming season,

Dante Hightower appears to be ready and willing to play in 2021, and that's great news for Patriots Nation. Of course, when practices are open to the public, the sharp eye is always going to be on the quarterbacks, and why wouldn't it be? After all, the QB is the highest profile position in all of sports. Cam Newton, as expected, was absent due to a hand injury, but the quarterback contingent still provided some noteworthy contributions on Thursday, and it started with veteran Brian Hoyer, who connected on deep throws to Isaiah Zuber and Devin Asiasi,

also found wide receiver Kendrick Bourne in tight coverage near the sideline. Good to see Bourne making catches in tight windows like that. Hoyer ended up finishing the day going 11-13. Jarrett Stidham also took to the practice field. Stidham added a deep shot of his own to wide receiver Christian Wilkerson. Stidham also had a nice pass into tight coverage, very similar to the one Hoyer threw to Zuber. His completion was to Jacoby Myers. Jarrett ended up finishing the day going 11 of 14. Wondering about the rookie Mac Jones, well, he saw reduced action on Thursday. Only went 4 for 5 in 11 on 11 drills. He attempted only 8 throws total on the day. He was also sacked once. And Mac is a rookie, folks. He's still learning the ropes, so don't read anything into the reduction in reps. Mack himself spoke to the media shortly after practice yesterday and went on to detail that

there is still a lot that he's learning. In fact, one of the big takeaways from Mack speaking to the media yesterday is that he's absorbing so much new information that he's putting it into quote-unquote two buckets. The bucket of stuff that he knows and the bucket of stuff that he's still learning. Kind of simplistic, but in a lot of ways, it makes sense. Mack also dropped a tidbit that I know all of Patriots Nation has been dying to know. What nickname has Cam Newton given Mack? Well, you can probably deduce that when your name is Mack,

Cheese is not going to be following too far behind. That's right, Cam Newton's nickname for Mack Jones, Mack and Cheese. But Thursday's practice wasn't all about jovial feelings. In a moment that did cause some concern, new Patriots tight end Hunter Henry appeared to injure his left leg during 7-on-7 drills when he apparently seemed to awkwardly cross legs with safety Adrian Colbert. Henry worked with a trainer on the sideline but did not return to action for the remainder of the day. He watched the rest of practice from the sidelines. Luckily for Patriots Nation, it appears to be a pretty benign situation. NFL Network's Ian Rappaport followed up on Henry's injury early Thursday evening, indicating that it was, quote,

just a scare and nothing serious. Great news for Patriots fans, even better news for the Patriots team, and pretty good news for me. Anyone knows out there, I've been dying to see Hunter Henry in a Patriots uniform, and I still get to live out that dream. But of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't say that the person who's probably taking this news the best is my good friend, the Countess of Klaas herself, Miss Claire Klaasie Claire Cooper. Fear not, Claire, it appears at least for now, Hunter Henry is going to be able to deliver some stout tight endage when it comes to the 2021 season. And last but certainly not least, one of the headline making news items from Thursday from Foxborough was that the New England Patriots will in fact be re-entering the realm of joint practices when it comes to training camp. And although this has been rumored for

quite some time and the Patriots might choose to indulge in this with another team. Right now, it does look like that it's a done deal that the New England Patriots will be hosting the New York Football Giants here in Foxborough at the end of August, and that will be in preparation for the two teams' preseason matchup that is scheduled to take place on August 29, 2021. And yes, those practices will be taking place in Foxborough, even though the Giants will be hosting this year's perennial preseason game at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands. And in honor of the New England Patriots crossing the streams with the New York football Giants this year, we're going to close the week in style here on the pod by welcoming in my colleague, not just at the Locked On Podcast Network, but also at Sports Illustrated, Patricia

Trena, editor and lead beat reporter for the New York Giants for SI's Giants Country, and also the host of the Locked On New York Giants Podcast. And Patricia is not only a dear friend of mine, but also one of the best of the best when it comes to Big Blue coverage. Today, we'll be crossing the streams in terms of a Giants perspective and a Patriots perspective, giving fans some helpful hints on what to keep a sharp eye on when it comes to the joint practices between the Pats and the Giants coming up at the end of August. Folks, an action-packed agenda, a lot to get to, so without much further ado, let's cross

the streams with Patricia Trena of the Locked On New York Giants podcast when this episode of the Locked On New York Giants podcast when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Locked On listeners, we've all heard the phrase often imitated but never duplicated. It's a part of the sports fan's lexicon, and that's because only the best athletes and sports teams can provide you with the best possible moments. And in that vein, the only ones who could provide

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They're going to be doing so for joint practices in anticipation of their preseason matchup at MetLife Stadium. That sounds like a great opportunity for a crossover here on Locked On Patriots, doesn't it? Well, I thought it did. It sure does. And here today to cross the streams of bitterly is my good friend and colleague here at the Lockdown Podcast Network. And now she is also my esteemed colleague at Maven Powered by Sports Illustrated. She is the editor and lead beat reporter covering the Giants for Giants Country of SI. And of course, the host of Lockdown New York Giants, the illustrious Patricia Trena joins me today.

Patricia, welcome to Locked On Patriots. Well, thank you so much, Mike, for that warm introduction. I'm not sure if I'm worthy of it, but I appreciate it all the same. Patricia, it is well-deserved. You're more than worthy of just that praise and then some. You're a valued friend, a valued colleague, and I'm so excited that the Patriots and the Giants are going to be doing these joint practices because it gives us an opportunity to cross the streams, have a little discussion back and forth, and talk some Patriots-Giants football.

It doesn't really get much better than that, of course, unless you mention 2007 and 2011, but you know what? We're not going to get into that today. I'm not going to get negative. We'll leave that for another day, let's just say. But it does look like we're going to be sharing the media booth in the practice fields adjacent to Gillette Stadium here in Foxborough at the end of August, because the Pats and the Giants are going to hold joint practices together. And Patricia, these two teams are not strangers to each other. They've done this in the past. I can recall being a young

child and going to watch Patriots training camp at Bryant College at the time, which is now Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island, and seeing some of the Giants players come in, guys like Lawrence Taylor, and your eyes get really wide. And it was amazing to see players like this, because at the time, Patriots weren't quite the dynasty that they are now but this year's incarnation of the Giants of the Patriots are going to be interesting to watch we'll flip the script in a little bit and I know you're going to put me on the Patriots hot seat in just a moment but the Giants are coming off of a 6-10 season in which they did finish second in the NFC East but they also missed the playoffs And even though they did miss the playoffs,

the Giants did turn some heads. A lot of people looked at this team as a team that was on the cusp of possibly contending or making some noise. And I, for one, am going to have my sharp eye on the Giants this year to see what they can do in the NFC East. I think they may have a chance to make a little noise. But from a Patriots fan perspective, it'll be fun to see another team come into Gillette, mix it up a little with the Patriots on the field. From a Giants perspective, because you have your sharp eye closest on the Giants, my friend, what should Patriots fans be looking for when it comes to either scouting or just observing the New York Giants here in Foxborough in late August? Well, I'm sure everybody's going to probably want to see Joe Judge, you know, who of course came from the New England staff, which by the way, thank you

for Joe Judge. He's fantastic. So yeah, that's definitely going to be, I think, a storyline when the two teams do get together. Joe Judge in his first year, basically, you know, I'm, as a reporter, as a writer, I'm very opinionated as, you know, my listeners and my readers probably know. And I can usually find, you know, little things to nitpick on if I really wanted to. And when I look at the job that Joe Judge did in his first year as Giants head coach, there's only one thing that I found myself disagreeing with based on a decision he made. And that was his decision to let Daniel Jones play when it was pretty obvious Daniel Jones couldn't even walk properly, let alone play. But for the most part, Joe Judge has just been a godsend. He's a guy who has come in. He's a guy who has a plan, who knows how to execute the plan, and who knows how to adjust on the fly. And, you know, some people, I had one person actually say to me, well, who does he think he is? He's got the biggest staff in the NFL, and he walks around like he thinks he's the king and whatnot. Yeah, but there's a reason for the big staff.

And that is he's smart enough to know that one person can't do 50 million things. And if you break up the larger tasks into smaller tasks and you delegate them, you'll become more efficient and you'll improve at the end of the day. So Judge has done a lot of things right. I mean, even, you know, and a hot topic right now is will Saquon Barkley be available to play or practice in the preseason? And Judge refuses to give any kind of timeline to that. And the reason for that is, is he doesn't want Barkley to, you know, to feel pressure to get back because, oh, coach said I'm going to be ready by training camp. So I got to push myself to get ready for that.

So just everything Judge has done has had a reason behind it. And it's not hard if you sit and think about it. It's not hard to see what the reason is. So I think that's going to be the number one story. Another story that I'm sure people are going to, you know, if you're looking for a giant Patriot type crossover story, Patrick Graham, the defensive coordinator, who was also on Bill Belichick's staff. I don't remember if it was for one year or two years, but I know he was, he was on that staff for a little bit. And Patrick Graham is developing into, you know, quite the pleasant

surprise. I've got to admit, when they first hired him as a defensive coordinator, I thought, oh, you know, he's coming from Miami. And, you know, I just, I thought they could have done better with the choice. But I love what Patrick Graham has done with this team, with this defense. I love how creative he has been, how he's gotten these guys to play at an optimal level. And he's got an absolute embarrassment of riches at defensive back and pass rusher now. And I cannot wait to top of the mind on Joe Judge. Judge is someone that always walked with that type of command no matter where he was. Watched him for a number of years here in New England, really evolved into a head coaching type. And we had the opportunity to speak on Locked On Giants when Judge was first hired by the Giants. And I remember you asking me, what are some of the attributes? What are some of the abilities that he's going to take with him

that will make him a good coach in the NFL? And the one thing that I kept coming back to was a no-nonsense approach, a very straightforward, straight and narrow attack. And that's exactly what you've seen Joe Judge do in New Jersey in the Meadowlands with the Giants. He's absolutely doing that. And this is something that I think that he endured him to Patriots fans all over the place. And it really, I think, gave him that ability to take what he learned from Bill Belichick, but put it into his own style. He's not simply following the Belichickian playbook. I'm noticing that he's doing things his own way. And he has that

confidence. One of the big reasons why is, I think, because he came doing things his own way and he has that confidence one of the big reasons why is I think because he came from a special teams background and we talked about this as well you're involved in every aspect of the game when you coach special teams whether it be returns whether it be offense whether it be defense it all factors in so you're dealing with players from both sides of the ball you know the mentalities you know how these players need to be coached and I think that's one of the reasons why he know the mentalities. You know how these players need to be coached. And I think that's one of the reasons why he's doing so well. So you're welcome, by the way, for Joe Judge.

And we're always happy to see him do well. And he had a lot of fans up here, and he still does. And that'll be a great thing to see when he finally does come back up here for a homecoming of sorts in late August. The Giants do have – Yeah, I mean The Giants do have – I'm sorry. And you know Judge – I'm sorry. I was going to say, and you know Judge will – it won't be about him. You know, he'll get asked about it, but he'll turn it away and say it's not about me.

It's about the team. It's about, you know, getting both teams ready. So that's just the humility that this man brings, And I can't say enough good things about him. Obviously, you know, at some point you've got to win. You've got to start producing the results. But everything he has done so far, I think he has them on track to turn around what's basically been an awful decade. I mean, the Giants have had just a terrible decade since that 2011 Super Bowl win. And just turn that around and finally get the team back on track.

Yeah, for the record, folks, it was Patricia that brought up the 2011 Super Bowl win, not me. So please reserve your hate mail. No, I'm just kidding, my friend. All kidding aside, all kidding aside. No, it is. It's something that I do believe he did take with him. And with the Giants now, I think you're going to start to see those wins. Once you change the culture or you enrich the culture, because the Giants have always had a rich tradition there's no question about it but they've gone through some lean times as of late

and now when you start to change the mentality of the guys in the locker room and Joe Judge is so good at doing that it festers something and I mean that in a good way. It gives birth to a new dawn, basically a new attitude, and I think that's what you're going to see with the Giants this year. And I'm looking forward to seeing it as well, and I think a lot of people are because the Giants are one of those teams that people are saying do not sleep on. A good friend of ours, a good mutual friend of ours, Russell Baxter joined me here on Locked On Patriots last week,

as a matter of fact, and he said do not sleep on the New York football Giants. This is a team that could be sneaky good this year, and we're looking forward to seeing what they can bring to the table in New England when they come to New England at the end of August. Patricia, the Giants have several new faces on this roster, most notably Kenny Galladay at the wide receiver position, Adore Jackson as a corner, and Kyle Rudolph as a tight end as well. I know Kyle is not the name he once was,

but I think he might be headed for a renaissance of sorts here with the Giants. I think he's a great tight end to bring in to really accentuate the talents of Daniel Jones, a quarterback. How much are Giants fans looking forward to seeing these new faces, and how do you believe they're going to blend with the current talent that the Giants have on roster already? Well, I think Giant fans are really, really excited about what they have done in the offseason. I mean, nobody expected them to go on the spending spree that they did.

And if that doesn't speak to how committed they are about getting this team back on track and helping the offense, which, you know, the Giants had the 31st ranked scoring offense. They were only ahead of the Jets last year. And I think they averaged about 17.4 points per game. I mean, if you're going to be a playoff team, you've got to get your average up to around 25 or so if you're going to be successful. So these additions on offense, I think they're going to help Daniel Jones. And here's the other thing. The Giants, while they are confident that Daniel Jones is indeed their franchise quarterback of the future, there's still a small percentage of doubt because you look at his production, you look at his progress, and you still see things that make you wonder, okay, is he ever going to take that next step?

Well, now they've eliminated just about any conceivable excuse as to why, you know, oh, okay, Daniel only threw 10 touchdowns this year, but it was because, you know, so now they've eliminated those reasons. And, you know, so now they've eliminated those reasons. And, you know, they're going to, they've got to make a decision on Daniel coming up, not this year, but I think the year after they've got to decide whether or not they're going to pick up his fifth year option. And you're not going to know unless you give the kid everything he needs to succeed. And I've made this point several times with, with quarterbacks, you know, you look at the Pat Mahomes, you look at Justin Herbert, you look at some of the other young quarterbacks around the league, and they came into situations that were stable. You know, the offense was in place.

It wasn't a brand new system. They had some decent receiving weapons, whether it be receivers, tight ends, or a combination. They had a decent running game, you know, a pretty good offensive line for the most part. So really it made for an easy transition for a young quarterback to step in and grow into the role. And you saw that last year with Josh Allen up in Buffalo. You saw that with Baker Mayfield out in Cleveland. So the Giants, in looking at that, probably said to themselves, okay, let's finally get this all fixed and give Daniel the support we should have had in place for him before we even

drafted him. Absolutely. And such great insight when it comes to the relationship between some of the new players and what the existing players are also going to bring to the table, because it is a quarterback league. And I do have a sneaking suspicion that when Patricia and I flip the script in a minute, folks, she's going to ask me some quarterback questions. So I'm prepared for that. But it is something that I think a lot of Giants fans are eager to see in Daniel Jones, because since he's taken the reins of the quarterback position with the Giants, we've seen growth. We see continual growth on the field, but also growth in terms of mentality, in terms of becoming battle-tested. Such an important part of playing the role this year, and not just this year, but in this generation, in this league, the way it's currently constituted.

It's so important to have that, and that insight is something that I think Patriots fans will find very interesting, especially when they look to see Daniel Jones on the practice fields here in Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Before I do flip the script on you a little bit, my friend, I'd be remiss if I didn't bring up the name of former Patriot Logan Ryan, who, Patricia, Logan was always one of my favorite players to cover up here in New England. Started off as a fan when he was drafted by the Pats back in 2013 and getting a chance to see him interact and get to know him a little bit. Logan is just a tremendous person and really a tremendous player. And I think Giants fans are warming to him in a way that really warms my heart because I have a tremendous amount of respect and like for Logan Ryan. But there are a couple of other

former Patriots on this roster as well. Danny Shelton, obviously, coming over as a free agent. Cam Fleming, just off the top of my head, comes to mind. But I do want to bring it back to Logan for just a minute. When you look at the impact that he's had, especially the synergy and the knowledge that he brings to the table, having played for Joe Judge in the past, how much of or how happy of a marriage has this been in New York for Joe Judge to have someone like Logan Ryan bringing all that patriot pedigree with him? Oh, my goodness. It's been huge. Absolutely huge. And can I just add that I am a huge fan of Logan Ryan. I mean, not only is it not only is he a great guy to interview and offer, you know, great quotes and stuff like that, which makes your job as a reporter so much easier, but he speaks from the heart. He, and he's honest. He's honest with,

you know, within reason, he's not going to air the dirty laundry, mind you, but he's honest as can be. And you appreciate that. And you also, you see the sincerity in him and you also see the leadership in him. And, and, and he's, he's the type of guy And you also, you see the sincerity in him and you also see the leadership in him. And, and, and he's, he's the type of guy, you know, we were talking to him this past week after the mandatory mini camp, and he was telling a story about how he felt that he had room to grow as a leader. So in paying homage to some of the great giant defensive backs of the past, he reached out to the Corey Websters, the Jason Seahorns, the Antrell Rolls. And he said, hey, what can you tell me so that I can be better

as a player, as a person, as a leader? And you talk about Webster and Roll and Seahorn, those three right there, different circumstances, but all were highly thought of in the organization during their particular eras. And just to see that, to see that humility come from Logan Ryan and how he took that and he organized the defensive backfield summit, if you will, down in Florida, where I think he had pretty good attendance. I think most of the Giants defensive backs attended that. And even Joe Judge was happy with that. He says, look, anytime they're getting together and they're bonding, he says, that's good. He says, you know, he didn't say it like this, but it's like,

so what if it's not under the same roof? He trusts Logan Ryan to do right. And Logan talked about, you know, how they would go fishing, how they would just hang out, play cards when they were, you know, when they weren't working out, just getting to know one another. And I don't have to tell you, Mike, that communication is so underrated, yet so important. And it doesn't matter what position on the football field you are playing, when you can line up next to a guy and something happens and you can look over and say okay i know exactly what that guy's thinking and how he's going

to react so i'm going to react this way that allows you to play faster and that's what logan ryan was trying to do with these defensive backs because they do have you know they have some new guys you know um adori jackson was added um they have a couple rookies that they drafted in Aaron Robinson and Rodarius Williams. Xavier McKinney, who missed most of last year with the broken foot. You know, he's still kind of wet behind the ears. So I just like how Logan Ryan is going about his business. And, you know, it's funny. I was trying to think of who does he remind me of?

Because, you know, at this point, I've been covering the Giants for almost 30 years. And usually I could say, oh, this guy reminds me of that guy. I see a combination of Andrew Rowe, Deion Grant, and Corey Webster in him. You know, these are recent guys. You know, Jason Seelan was a little bit earlier. I could see some of that, some of him in Logan as well. But Role, Deion Grant and Corey Webster are the ones that come to mind. Role, because Role wasn't afraid to speak his mind. He was a very outspoken leader and he said what needed to be said. And it didn't

matter if he was going to hurt your feelings or not. Corey Webster was the quiet type, but a guy who always put his nose to the grindstone and was always, how can I get better? What can I do to be better? And Deion Grant, just because the experience, the confidence and the calming factor that he had on the defensive backs in his day, which is similar to what Logan brings to the Giants defensive backroom. It's like, okay, you got burnt on this play., okay, you got burnt on this play. Julian Love, you got burnt on this play. Don't worry about it. Put it out of your mind. You're going to get them next time. And you can't have enough guys like that on your roster.

Absolutely. And I completely agree. When it comes to someone like Logan and getting a chance to see him grow and see him evolve, like I said, starting off as a fan and then getting a chance to cover him, it really was amazing to see his transformation into being a leader on the field. And when he did leave New England, it was very bittersweet because he was very well revered here in the locker room. Like you said, he's a great interview, someone that is very forthcoming, someone that is very easy to talk to. But the leadership that he provided on the field and off the field is something that really, I think, is indelible. And it's just in him. And to see him in an organization now like the Giants under the tutelage of Joe Judge, you can see a revitalization in him. And Patriots fans absolutely love to see it. So take good care of him for us.

I know you guys will. But bottom line, it really is great to see Logan Ryan doing great things. And it'll be great to see him back up here in New England when they come back up for joint practices in 2021 in the end of August. Folks, Patricia is the best of the best when it comes to Giants coverage. I've said that before, but I'll say it again. And here you're hearing the reason why today. But this wouldn't be a true crossover unless we flip the script a little bit and she puts me on the Patriots

hot seat. When we return in just a moment, Patricia Trena will get my take on the 2021 New England Patriots and what she and the Giants might be most interested in seeing when these two teams share the practice fields. Find out when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Locked On listeners, get all the latest news, odds, and info for all of your sporting needs, including Major League Baseball, the NBA, NHL, all of your UFC MMA action, and of course the NFL, with the only place that has you covered and the only place we trust. Bet online. Bet online is the fastest and easiest way to bet on all of your sports action.

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Head over to their website or use your mobile device to sign up today and receive your 50% welcome bonus on your first deposit when you use the promo code LOCKEDON. Bet online, your online sportsbook experts. Pat's fans Patricia Train, a host of Locked On Giants, joins me here today talking Pat's Giants joint practices. And while we're going to save, I think, our game preview for closer to this contest, my friend, we've been talking about what the Patriots fans might find interesting in the New York Giants when these two teams get together in late August, but that's only one perspective. And

I know that there are Patriots questions that you and all of Giants country have for me. So let's flip the script, Patricia. When it comes to these joint practices, what will the Giants have in store? What will they be keeping their sharp eye on when it comes to the Patriots this season? Well, I mean, Bill Belichick, his teams, I mean, it goes without saying, he's got his teams always ready, always prepared. You know, Joe Judge made the comment that I know what I'm going to get by practicing with Bill because, you know, he knows Bill. So I know one of the things I'm interested in seeing, and I'm going to put this question to you, my friend, Joe Judge just sounded like he was such

a bigger part of, you know, the Patriots organization. You know, when he came here, a lot of people were like, well, who is this guy? You know, a lot of people didn't know him, but he was pretty big up there. So I'm just kind of wondering, another member of the Belichick coaching tree that has gone on to bigger and better things, how have the Patriots rebounded from that? Have they kept a lot of what Joe taught them? Have they gone in a different direction? Just how have they evolved as a staff and just as a special teams unit since losing Joe? That is a great question, Patricia. And look, you'd never really get over the loss of someone of Joe's stature. He is someone that came in, had such a command of the special teams here in New England,

such a command of the players, not just what they did on the field, but also a command of them, that camaraderie that you need as a special teams unit to coexist and to work. As we said in the previous segment, you have offensive players, defensive players, core special teamers that are playing alongside one another, and they all have to coexist. They all have to be a part of one cohesive unit. The one thing that I think has helped the Patriots rebound or at least be able to somewhat mitigate the loss of someone like Joe Judge is having quality special teams players on staff. And of course, it begins and ends with the special teams captain Matthew Slater. I can't say enough about how valuable Matthew Slater is to this team, not just from a leadership perspective, not just from an on-field prowess

perspective, but from a spiritual perspective. He really does have his hand in every aspect of the New England Patriots franchise and organization. Matthew is someone that I've had the pleasure of interviewing on a few occasions. He really is one of the great guys that you'll meet in this business, in this game that we both cover. And one of the things that I think has helped is that he's taken the lessons that you've learned, that he's learned personally from Joe Judge, and be able to put them into action, almost taking over as a de facto coach on the field and helping players get into the right area, be in the right place at the right time. They've got core special teamers, players that are pro

bowlers on the special team level, people like Justin Bethel, Adrian Phillips, who I covered in Los Angeles as a member of the Chargers. These guys just have an innate ability to be able to know where they need to be, know what needs to happen, and then go out there and do it on the field. So the competent players that they've had have definitely helped out tremendously, but I also want to give an awful lot of credit to Cameron Ashford, who's taken over as special teams coordinator for the Patriots. You can have all the great players and all of the direction out there on the field, but you need competent people in the coaching realm to be able to bring it all together. And Cam, I think, has really followed the Joe Judge playbook, given a little bit of a special twist to his own strengths and his own abilities. But at the same time, he's running a very similar ship to what Joe did while he was here.

And the Patriots special teams unit was a phenomenal special teams unit last year once again. And that's a testament to what Joe was able to build here in New England and the blueprint that they were able to follow. Gunnar Ryszewski was a Pro Bowler last year. So was punter Jake Bailey, who continues to wow, you know, Patriots fans and media alike. My colleague Alex Barth over at 98.5 The Sports Pub published a list of Jake's hang time punts yesterday out on the field at OTA. And it really is a joy to watch these special teams units come together. So I think the Patriots have weathered that storm so well because Joe left them so well prepared when he took his next opportunity in New York.

And, you know, Mike, speaking of coaches, there's a belief around the NFL that for as good as Belichick is, and there's no question he's a Hall of Fame head coach. We can probably all agree on that. But the branches of his coaching tree haven't always worked out. Some have, some haven't. Why do you think that is? Is that just boiled down to the individual, the circumstances? Why is it that somebody like Matt Patricia goes on to Detroit, doesn't work out? Mike Vrabel goes down to Tennessee,

so far he's working out. Joe Judge at the Giants, so far he's working out. Josh McDaniel, when he went out to Denver, he didn't work out. So what do you think is happening there? Is it the individual, the circumstance, or what? That's a great question, and one that I'm asked on a regular basis, and I'm glad that you did ask me this because I'll do my best to answer it. This is going to sound like a cop-out or a dance around, folks, but I assure you it's not. I think in a lot of ways, it's the message of Bill Belichick and how you interpret it and then how you put it into action, both in the locker room and on the field. Bill is a very straightforward coach to cover. For a lot of the vitriol he gets in the media about being truculent or whatever, there really is a rhyme or a reason to covering a Bill Belichick team.

You know that you're going to get someone that has a command of the locker room, immediately demands respect. And I get it. Some of that is from previous reputation. I guess Phil Jackson, you know, in basketball or like a Joe Torre in Major League Baseball with Tony La Russa, someone to that nature that already has that pedigree coming in. Bill Belichick has that cachet. So naturally, just the name itself is going to carry that type of respect. Guys like Josh McDaniels or Matt Patricia are still aspiring to that, even though they are a part of the Bill Belichick tree.

It's all about, I think, the right mix of getting the players that can play for you, the players that are willing to play under the system that you're dictating, and then also your approach, your style of being able to deal with players. Some players take well to a heavy hand. Some don't. You have to know that. You have to have the finger on the pulse of the players that you're coaching. And someone like a Joe Judge or even a Brian Flores down in Miami,

you mentioned Mike Vrabel in Tennessee, these guys get it. They understand the value of walking that fine line between being a player and a coach, where that line needs to remain and where that could be crossed at times as well. There's so much that's made about, oh, this guy is a player's coach or this guy is not a player's coach. And he's, you know, the type of coach that the players love to hate and they come together just to hate their coach. There has to be a blend of that. There has to be a balance between it in order to be successful. For all of the hard-nosed reputation that he gets, Bill Belichick walks that line very well. His players like playing for him. They

respond to playing for him because he knows the value of remaining a player's coach, but also listening to his players and getting a finger on the pulse of what's going on in their lives and in their heads when it comes to the football field. So people like Joe Judge and again, like a Brian Flores or Mike Rabel, I think get it. That's not to say that Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia didn't get it, or even previously guys like Charlie Weiss or Romeo Cornell, who you've known for years as well. These guys have had varying success based on the places in which they've been, really because of the players, the buy-in from management. There's a lot of different factors involved.

I think if you can find a happy medium, then you're able to do it. And I think that's why Joe is having such success down in New York. And I think that's why Bill has had so much success up here in New England for the past two-plus decades. There's a synergy between he and Robert Kraft. They understand one another. And the players that Bill brings in are players that he knows can handle the type of environment that he sets out. Those coaches are the ones that succeed maybe a little bit more than others

that try to impose their will onto others. That's a really, really detailed answer. Thank you so much for that, because that, I got to admit, that was a question that I'm like, how is it that, you know, some guys are succeeding and some guys aren't? And I never quite, you know, could figure that out. I thought it came down to the individual, and I guess it does to a certain degree, but it's not all on the individual. You know, Mike, you teased this earlier in the program about quarterbacks that, you know, would I have a question about the quarterbacks? And I do. I actually do.

It's actually a two-parter, if I may. Tom Brady, when Tom Brady left the Patriots, a lot of people were like, okay, we'll see just how good Tom Brady is without Bill Belichick and the system that Brady has run for years. Well, we got our answer. He goes down with Bruce Arians and does well. Meanwhile, the Patriots bring in Cam Newton, who I always thought was more of a system quarterback that fit what Carolina did for the longest period of time. And not necessarily, you know, a guy who, let's put it this way,

I had question marks in my mind about how he would fare in New England. And, you know, he had his struggles last year. When you look at Cam Newton, is it the system? Is it Newton's skill set? Why do you think he struggled so much in an offense that historically has just been so good. I mean, or maybe it was just Brady that made it look good. I don't know. But what do you think stood reason there?

Yeah, I think in terms of the offense that the Patriots have run, a lot of credit and the lion's share of the credit, in my opinion, does need to go to Tom Brady. I mean, he ran this offense for two decades and ran it to perfection. But there were growing pains and bumps in the road that Brady had to go through to ascend to being the Tom Brady he is right now you look at the way Tom Brady managed a game in 2001 and it looks drastically different than what you saw in 07 where he set all the records or now what he's doing down in Tampa Bay so a lot of that does have to go through Brady but there is also something to be said about the system that's put in place as well like the type of offense that Josh McDaniels likes to run in terms

of a fit I do think that Cam Newton can fit what Josh McDaniels does like to do I think that there are elements of Josh's play calling that show that he's not afraid to get in there and mix up zone reads and put in RPOs things he couldn't really do under Tom Brady that he now has the option to do with Cam. Obviously, Cam had some throwing mechanics issues last year. Now, whether or not that was mechanical, you can talk about foot placement, you can talk about him skipping passes in the dirt. Some of that may have been due to a lack of preparation. And I don't say that negatively toward Cam. He didn't really have the time that he would require to prepare and be able to run an offense that had been run so well by a different style quarterback for so long.

And also, he didn't have a lot of time to learn the playbook. He came in in late June. There wasn't the benefit of OTA. There wasn't the benefit of minicamp and training camp and preseason games to kind of work out a little bit of the rust. This was on the job training. He was dealing with the players that he would be throwing to, you know, limited practice because of COVID-19 and then throwing himself right in there. Naturally, a couple of weeks go by, looked like he was starting to get more comfortable in the offense. And then Cam has to miss some practice time due to covid that also i think had a little bit of an effect maybe more than some of my colleagues in the media

would care to uh cater to but it is a factor so bottom line i think cam with more preparation time this year will give himself an opportunity to learn the playbook i always come back to the fact patricia that cam newton signed a very similar deal to what he signed in 2020. Limited money, low years, not a lot of guarantees. I know a lot of that, and his detractors will say, well, that's all he could get because he was terrible in 2020. I don't think he was quite as terrible as some people would lead you to believe, but at the same time, that also tells me that Cam is willing to once again bet on himself and prove that he still has it. One thing that you have to give Cam Newton, whether you're a fan of his or not,

is his determination is palpable and it's infectious. And I think in a lot of ways, that's something that I think he's going to bring to the team this year. I look for a better 2021 out of Cam Newton than we saw in 2020 because I think he's going to be more comfortable in this offense. And he has skill position players around him now that can make plays he did not last year. Mike, final question from me regarding the joint practices. And I know it's early, but I'm just going to put it out there anyway. And we can certainly revisit it when we get a little bit closer or perhaps start the joint practices. But Joe Judge purposely chose the Browns and Patriots for the joint practices because he knows the coaching staff. He's good

friends with Kevin Stefanski. Obviously, he has a relationship with Bill Belichick. But let's look at the personnel here for a moment from the Patriots perspective. The Giants are basically looking to open up their playbook, get more out of Daniel Jones, kind of really stretch their sea legs, so to speak. The Patriots defense, as I recall, was pretty good last year, especially the defensive secondary. Can you just talk a little bit about, you know, the early matchup that we might see there, you know, and again, it's not a competition, I get it. But how can that defense that Patriots defensive secondary in particular, what kind of challenge are they going to give to the Giants offense, you know, the Giants with a young offensive line, obviously, a quarterback who still needs to take that step

forward, and all these new pieces that they need to kind of fit together into some kind of plan how are they going to be challenged you think by that Patriots defense well I think the Patriots defense this year is going to be a lot more aggressive in two things trying to stop the run and trying to set the edge that may mean that we may see a little bit of the Patriots defense trying to shut down Saquon Barkley, which obviously is not going to be an easy task. That's something that I think the Patriots will be up for. But I think you're going to see the Pats try to make that attempt this year.

And what better way than to be tested by one of the best running backs in the NFL? I think the Patriots, that's a good opportunity to see if they have improved in that area. I think it's also going to be interesting to see if guys like Dietrich Weiss and Chase Winovich can benefit from having new faces in the interior of that defensive line. Guys like Devon Godchild, somebody like Henry Anderson, Lawrence Guy being re-signed. This will solidify and fortify the middle part of that interior so that way the edge rushers can break free and they can pin their ears back, try to get after the quarterback and set the edge. Well, in terms of the defensive secondary, you're going to see Stephon Gilmore and you're going to see

JC Jackson try to mix it up and continue to be in the mix when it comes to wide receivers like Shepard, like Galladay. I think a lot of these guys look for these types of battles. So you may see a little bit of a contentious battle there. Wide receivers and corners like to go at it in training camp. I, for one, can't wait to see it. But I think the Patriots, first off, are going to try to stop the run, set the edge. And if they can do that, they'll know that their defense has improved from the unit we saw in 2020. Going to be fun, my friend. I can't wait. I can't wait either. And Patricia, thank you so much for taking the time to join me today here on Locked On Patriots. Folks, for the benefit of our listeners, can you please, Patricia, let everyone know where they can find you and your

great work. And once again, my friend, thank you. We look forward to the end of August. Yes, absolutely. Same thing here. Folks, you can find me on Twitter at Patricia underscore Traynor. You can find my written work at Giants Country, which is part of the Fan Nation Network over at SI.com, where Mike is now managing the Patriots site. Yay.

Glad to see that. And of course, I am the host of the Locked On Giants podcast. Right now, we're doing three shows a week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, since we're in a summer schedule. But we'll be picking up five days a week very, very soon. Be just before the start of training camp. And can't wait to reconnect with Mike and all the locked on

hosts as we get a little closer. And so Patriots fans, we put a bow on the week that was here on the locked on Patriots podcast. And because weekends are such a great time to catch up on podcasts, be sure to check out my colleagues, NFL analyst, Brian Peacock and former NFL scout, Matt Williamson, as they host locked on Peacock and Williamson every Monday through Friday. Brian and Matt give you the national perspective

all around the NFL, covering all the latest news and insight on every game, every team, and every move around the NFL. Get your picks, previews, and much more every weekday with the Peacock and Williamson podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. And before I conclude for the week, I just want to take a moment to thank each and every

one of you for continuing to make Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. As I said earlier this week, and Patricia and I touched upon this briefly in our conversation, this week marked my first week as the lead New England Patriots reporter for Patriot Maven of Sports Illustrated, and the experience has been amazing. So many of you have been so supportive, sending some of the kindest and sweetest messages that I've had the opportunity to read. I have done my best to answer each and every one of them.

I know there are still some that I haven't gotten to, and I promise you I will this weekend, but before I signed off this week, from the bottom of my heart, I just wanted to thank all of you for your amazing support and for your willingness to continue on in this journey, not just with me, but also with SI Patriot Maven and, of course, Locked On Patriots. Once again, my name is Mike DeBate. I thank my good friend Patricia Trena for her time, her insight, and her appearance on today's pod, but most of all, I thank you so much for listening and for continuing to make Locked On Patriots

a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Until Monday, Foxborough faithful, stay safe, stay well, always be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great weekend, everyone.