Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Clare and Convincing: A Perspective on the New England Patriots - 10/14/2020

Episode Date: October 14, 2020

Although their bye-week has been marginally disrupted, the New England Patriots are cautiously optimistic to return to the field on Sunday to host the Denver Broncos. Joining host Mike D’Abate is columnist and Patriots fan Clare Cooper, who shares ‘A Clare Perspective’ on the good, the great and the areas in need of improvement for the 2020 Patriots, in what was to be New England’s bye-week.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON,” and you’ll get 20% off your next order.MyBookieINVEST IN YOUR INTUITION. USE PROMO CODE LOCKEDON AND DOUBLE YOUR FIRST DEPOSIT. NEW PLAYERS GET UP TO $1,000 IN FREE PLAY - DESIGNED TO ADD MORE EXCITEMENT TO THE SPORTS YOU LOVE AND THE GAMES YOU BET. YOUR WINNING SEASON BEGINS TODAY...ONLY AT MYBOOKIE!BuiltGoVisit BuiltGO.com and use promo code “LOCKED,” and you’ll get 20% off your next order.RomanGo to getroman.com/lockedon TODAY. If approved, you’ll get fifteen dollars off your first order of ED treatment. 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 Locked On Patriots podcast, and it is makeshift midweek bi-week 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. Locked On Patriots is presented today by Visa.

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My name is Mike DeBate, your host of the Locked On Patriots podcast, which of course 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 greatly encouraged. Feel free to share that feedback anytime by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at M-DATEFPC. And while you're out there giving the midweek nod and saying, how you doing to the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Lockdown Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots.

Patriots Nation, I know, it may sound a little weird for me to introduce today's show as makeshift midweek bye week. After all, the bye week was canceled. The Patriots very much have a game this Sunday coming up against the Denver Broncos. And that full week that the Pats were looking forward to having to rest up, get healthy, maybe even take a little mental break from football, not happening, folks. Your New England Patriots continue to return negative COVID-19 tests across the board, and that means facilities are back open in Foxborough. But that

doesn't mean that it's full speed ahead just yet, and I'll get into that in just a moment. But because today would have been the midway point of the bye week, it's a good opportunity to take some stock into what the Patriots have accomplished on the field. What improvements must be made in order to keep them in contention. And of course, for the second time in as many weeks, we'll turn our sharp eyes toward the Denver Broncos. And today on Locked on Patriots, I have a special treat for all of you.

In order to find the wisdom and counsel I needed to make today's show as all-encompassing as it possibly could be, I went across the pond, all the way to West Midlands in the United Kingdom. And if you've listened to Locked on Patriots in the past, you know exactly who I'm talking about. Today on the pod, we will get a Claire perspective from our good friend and frequent contributor here on Locked On Patriots, Claire Cooper. And most of you out there know Claire from the great contributions she makes to our midweek

mailbag episodes here on Locked On Patriots. But she is also a very accomplished writer. Claire's column, aptly titled A Claire Perspective, is proudly found on fullpresscoverage.com slash patriots. And she is also a frequent guest analyst on great podcasts such as Patriots 4th and 2 and 2 Patriots Place. It is truly my honor to share the microphone with Claire today. And I think you'll enjoy her perspective on anything and everything related to your New England Patriots. And folks, if Claire's joining the show, you know it's a pretty good bet that we're going to talk some tight ends. So sit tight, settle in, and prepare to be enchanted by the wisdom and counsel of Claire Cooper in just a

moment. But as I alluded to earlier, your New England Patriots are sort of returning to practice today on Wednesday, not quite in the fashion that we had expected. Most expected the team to hold a full practice session considering they haven't seen the practice fields all that much lately however the Patriots are taking a very cautious approach to this only doing workouts and they're being let into the facilities in small groups Patriots doing everything they can to limit the spread of COVID-19 and protect their individual players and coaches from having any further type of health issues. Again, we continue to get good news on that front. As I said to open the pod, the Patriots once again turning in negative test results across

the board, and maybe, just maybe, we can finally feel optimistic about this Sunday's game being able to be played as scheduled against Denver. As for the personnel on the field, we still haven't heard any definitive word on Cam Newton or Stephon Gilmore. A lot of rumor and innuendo out there about these guys being able to suit up and play on Sunday, but we haven't heard anything official. Until it's official, folks, I would say remain cautiously optimistic, but be prepared for either one or both possibly having to sit this one out.

As for the coaching staff, they're in full swing of making preparations and adjustments. Don't forget they had game plans put in place last week, fully expected to play, until the COVID-19 test came back positive for Byron Cowart, and it essentially put the brakes on this one having been played on Monday. That's very much on the mind of Bill Belichick, who, when he spoke to the media, said, quote, We continue to make adjustments here on a regular basis, so we will make the most out of the opportunities this week, and we'll be ready to go against Denver here for Sunday. Hopefully we can stay on track and continue our preparations from last week. They'll obviously roll over into this week with some adjustments, but those will

be relatively small compared to the overall scope of the preparation. Looking forward to getting back to playing here and coaching. And of course, from Bill's statements, we know that's definitely true in the Patriots locker room. I would assume it's definitely true for Vic Fangio in the Broncos locker room as well. Those guys are fired up and they're chomping at the bit to play. They're not happy about their bye week being canceled either, and I can't blame them. Keep in mind, they're not the only ones that had their bye week canceled. Your New England Patriots did as well. So expect emotions to be high in this one, and I fully anticipate a hard fought and maybe even a little bit of a chippy game on Sunday between these two teams. But before we jump into the future with both feet, it's time to get a little bit of a

retrospective look on what's happened throughout the first four games. And to help us take a look into the past by gazing into our Belichickian crystal ball, and also help us prognosticate for the future, is Claire L. Cooper. And she will join me momentarily here on the hot seat when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. But first, Locked On listeners, we all know that this football season will be different, and Pepsi is here to get you ready for game day,

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Pepsi, made for football watching. Patriots fans, here on Locked On Patriots, and really across the entirety of the Locked On Podcast Network, we pride ourselves on being your team every day. And that means we greatly welcome and strongly encourage invaluable and knowledgeable feedback from your amazing listeners. Sometimes that feedback is so great that those listeners can even become your colleagues. And today, a name you know very well will become a voice that you know very well too. From West Midlands in the UK, the UK correspondent

of Patriots 4th and 2, the newest voice of 2 Patriots Place, and a special contributor for full press coverage, Patriots, as demonstrated in her column, A Claire Perspective, it's my honor today to welcome Claire Cooper to Lockdown Patriots. Claire, thank you so much for joining me today from across the pond. No, you're welcome. Thank you so much for having me. What an introduction. How amazing. Thank you so much.

You're very welcome. Well-earned, well-deserved. And it absolutely is my honor to call you my colleague. And the feedback and just the support that you have provided to Locked On Patriots has been so amazing. And I thank you for all of that and for all of your great contributions that you provide to the show and so many other Patriots outlets throughout the medium. And Claire's contributions to our mailbag episodes

here on Locked On Patriots are always greatly appreciated. She shows great insight, folks. And if you've read her column, you know she brings a wealth of insight into the Patriots roster. If you haven't read it yet, I strongly suggest you do so. Claire, this was supposed to be the bye week, but the Patriots

have a game coming up against the Denver Broncos on Sunday. I will get your thoughts on that game in just a bit, but because bye weeks tend to be a time of reflection, I thought we'd seek a Claire perspective on things today. And we'll start with your thoughts on where the Patriots have impressed you most throughout the season thus far. Obviously, Cam Newton has been even better than advertised. The running game has been solid. The defense has played very well. Overall, Claire, what has you optimistic about the Patriots as they move toward a stretch of 12 straight games to close the regular season. Well, firstly, I'd just like to say that I kind of feel that all the teams in the NFL should be praised for just doing their best to bring us football and help us break up just how miserable 2020 has been for us. I mean, it's just they're all all the teams, even if they've had issues or whatever, naming no names, I do think the kudos should go out to all of the football teams

just to say thank you as fans for putting on games for us, really. The Patriots, they've had to re-evaluate their whole offence during an international pandemic and a lockdown. So to be 2-2 with a game that was so close to winning as well against the Seahawks, then playing the Super Bowl champions at home with their fans and to lose because of maybe some quite easily avoidable mistakes, mostly perhaps if we'd have had our MVP quarterback there. It is enough to give, I think, hope as a fan. I really do, as a fan, feel that we've made some strides and we've got hope for the season. I feel personally that there is light maybe at the end of this tunnel. And as you touched on, our defence and our running game,

I think, really have got to be the main points of praise there. I think they've been really strong. And surprisingly, the defence coming off the initial of 2019, we had the boogeyman and we were looking really quite solid defence. And then it really seemed to peter off. Then we lost a lot of the guys in the off season, leaving us to go to other teams and things. So then there was this concern surrounding the defense. Can we really build back up to what we had before? And I do think that when watching them, they've been so strong and rushing at the quarterback and stuff. I really do think it's praiseworthy there.

I agree with you. And I think in a lot of ways, I think what we've seen is the adaptability of the Patriots roster come into full fruition. You mentioned the losses that they experienced on defense. I mean, you lose guys like Kyle Van Noy, like Jamie Collins, Alandon Roberts, Duran Harmon. These are all solid contributors to the Patriots defense for players that were so much of an important part of what they did on defense last year. All of a sudden they're all gone. Now, now you add in the loss of Dante Hightower, the loss of Patrick Chung,

these guys opting out, all of a sudden players have to step up and they have to assume a role that maybe at some point in the off season, they didn't anticipate they were going to have to assume guys like Juwan Bentley, rookie Kyle Duggar comes in, plays the safety position. Juwan Williams has done a good job in that role. Adrian Phillips has come up and played a hybrid linebacker. There are a lot of guys that have stepped up.

And I think that to me has been the biggest pleasant surprise for me when it comes to the Patriots, independent of what we've seen out of Cam Newton, because I think Cam has definitely exceeded expectations. He looks healthy. He looks comfortable in this offense. Love seeing him do what he does on the field. But to me, the defense has been the pleasant surprise. They still look like such a solid, formidable unit.

And we saw that against the Chiefs. And I think you eloquently touched on that. But for maybe, you know, a couple of calls that went here and there and things that happened, the Patriots were in a very good position to be able to win that game without their best player on the field in Cam Newton. So great insight, Claire, you fill us with a lot of optimism. And that's one of the big reasons why I've been, I've been very much looking forward to sharing the microphone with you. But, you know, Claire, five weeks usually give you an opportunity to select a first-half MVP. And normally I would ask you to assign that, but it's been only four games into the Patriots' season.

That's not exactly easy to do after such a small sample, considering we still have 12 games to go. And if I'm being honest honest it's really not fair to ask you to assign an MVP at this point I don't think we've seen enough for the Patriots yet so I'll ask it this way what has been your favorite moment of the Patriots 2020 season so far considering we're in this unofficial slash official bye week well I mean straight off the bat if you ask me MVP I'd be like yeah it's got to be Izzo I'm joking I'm joking folks I'm joking I know everybody knows I've got some love for Izzo but um yeah he I mean he's made some improvements

he has I think he's been solid as a blocker this year we'll get into that in a little bit i don't want to steal your thunder here but give a little lion is all right you know in all seriousness um i think i know you actually haven't asked it but mvp why is it um michael on when you really just deserve some kudos because okay can't say he's an mvp um like you said it is too early to say it's way too early to say but that guy has been versatile he's been fluid for us I mean you know he's moved around and he's created um plays for us so he does deserve sort of a gold star maybe for the first few games of this season. As for actual moments, it's difficult. I must admit, I found this difficult. Plus the fact that I'm so indecisive as well. So you're asking a very indecisive person to pinpoint one thing, really.

I think the thing that I take away mostly is the surprise that, like you said, Cam Newton has been healthy and he's been what he's been i wasn't expecting him to be what he is i didn't expect him to be this guy that integrated in in integrating himself into the the team so well it wasn't something i was expecting i'll admit i didn't really go on much I actually thought maybe he was he had too much of an ego sort of thing but I've been so humbled by the way that he's become a patriot by how he's treated all the players by all the nicknames and things I mean some people hate it some people love it I'm not really fussed either way with

all the nicknames and stuff to me it seems like a lot of work to try and remember all those really but that's because I've got a terrible memory but the way that it's just um the moment that he scored the touchdown and he gave David Andrews the ball to do the spike after his touchdown it was the second game of the season wasn't it the second game of the season it was yeah this is how bad my memory is I apologize listeners I do apologize um yeah when he did that I did I'll admit I'm a bit of a sap I did get a little bit of a lump in my throat I did get kind of like the little bit of goosebumps thinking he felt a complete patriot for me. Then I realised who he actually was and not just this facade that I'd sort of thought about that had been conjured up from the past and that kind of thing.

And everybody was concerned about his health. And he seems to have worked ridiculously hard at bringing it back for the season and I think that's one of my surprises and my most favourite things about it is that we've got we went into the season having no real clue what our quarterback was going to be like we thought it was probably going to be Stidham I was happy to go behind you know be behind him and and look for the rebuild and support the young guy building himself up that kind of thing I was ready to do that as a fan but having Cam come in as as an MVP and really produce it it's been um a pleasant surprise and something I genuinely

didn't expect 2020 was going to give us well you know they say great minds think alike and if I had to select a moment I would probably select that moment as well it was actually from the first game of the season against the Dolphins I was Cam's second touchdown so no it wasn't your bad you said second game I was thinking second touchdown we got second right we just didn't quite get the moment right but you know what Claire we talked through it we got through it together that's the most important thing but in any case I think in a lot of ways, you've hit the nail on the head. Cam Newton coming in has provided a lot of indelible moments. And it has been a little bit difficult for him to be able to ingratiate himself into Patriots Nation, considering he's

taking over for a legend in Tom Brady. I mean, there's no one that really has ever ascended to that type of level in New England Patriots folklore than TB12. I mean, he's been the main Patriot for so long, for two decades, and you can make the argument that he may be the most popular athlete in Boston sports history, probably upsetting some Celtics fans and Red Sox fans when I say that, but I think you can make the argument that Tom Brady might be the face of the Mount Rushmore of Boston sports. For Cam to come in and ingratiate himself into the fan base as quickly as he has is a sign of his humility. It's a sign of his professionalism, and it's a sign of just how great he's been on and off the field.

So I think your moment is excellent, and I'm glad that you selected that, and I think it is one of the more heartwarming moments of the 2020 season. But the Patriots are a team that's always looking to improve. And, Claire, you've always been able to identify those improvements, and you have a great eye for that detail. And even though we've talked about a lot of pleasantries so far, there is still work to do. And we've discussed again, a lot of pleasantries regarding the New England Patriots, but in just a moment, folks, Claire Cooper will provide her thoughts and insight on where the Patriots might need to improve in 2020. And if you know, Claire, like I know Claire, you might have a pretty good idea of where she's going to go with this one,

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Claire Cooper. And again, whose column, A Claire Perspective, may be found on FullPressCoverage.com slash Patriots. Keep plugging that, but I can't do it enough because it's a great column, folks. It really is. I love it. You'll love it the minute you read it, I guarantee it. And Claire, as I can't do it enough because it's a great column, folks. It really is. I love it. You'll love it the minute you read it, I guarantee it. And Claire, as I said in the previous segment, we've talked a lot about the highlights of

the Patriots season thus far. Kind of an early retrospective, seeing that the bye week was moved. But once again, the Patriots are always looking for that next man up mentality, that areas of improvement. And you always have a great eye for being able to identify these. Again, I have a feeling as to where you're going to go on this one, but I could be wrong. So I'll ask the question not to steal your thunder. Claire, when you look at the Patriots, what are the areas that you would like to see the team improve in

throughout the rest of the season? Well, we're all going to know that i'm going to be talking tight ends but i'm just going to put a pin in that just for a minute just so i can talk about something else just quickly first by all means the backup quarterback situation and i mean with the situation as it is now with you know within certain times of covid and our backup situation is severely lacking and i obviously it's not an easy fix it's not a quick fix i don't even know if it is fixable in all fairness um but it's something that is a major weakness for us we saw hoya just not be the veteran quarterback that I think he could be or he has been. I mean, I may be wrong and I know a lot of people will disagree.

He's been in the league for, what, 12 years? And he really hasn't made much of an impression on anything to have moved around as much either. I mean, I've heard a lot of things. He's a really great guy and things like that. Don't get me wrong. I'm not just trying to slate his name here at all it's just that we all saw him do things in that Chiefs game that a veteran quarterback of his experience it's just not acceptable to do particularly over and over again a mistake it's acceptable obviously we're all human but to continually play the way

that he did just you know it shouldn't be done um Stidham came in and I have I have high hopes for the young quarterback I really do and I believe that the Patriots see something in him it's just that we haven't really seen maybe what they see in him. And unfortunately, he threw an interception. And that never goes down well with anybody anyway. And we all know how Coach Bill hates those. So it's just unfortunate that our backup quarterback situation is quite dire, really. I can't necessarily disagree with you on that. Look, I've been a very big proponent of Jared Stidham.

Claire, you know from listening to the show, as all of the listeners that have listened to Locked On Patriots before, I was firmly on the Stidham stump. I was ready to say this kid is ready to make that next step. He can go ahead and he can lead this team. And I thought he would lead them to a respectable record, maybe not immediately into the playoffs, maybe not even a playoff berth, but he would have this team at least winning half of their games, if not more. I think Jarrett still has that capability, and I do because I've seen him on the practice fields.

I know the kid's got the arm. He steps into his throws well. He's very accurate when he throws. He can put it on a dime. The problem with Jarrett Stidham is the problem with a lot of rookie quarterbacks is when you get pressure on him and you force him into making a quick decision, he's having difficulty processing. That's something that comes with practice. That's something that comes with a little bit of seasoning. Some quarterbacks are able to do it right off the bat. We've seen Justin Herbert in Los Angeles with the Chargers be able to do it quite nicely coming in.

He's got a little bit more pedigree than Jarrett had when he came in from Auburn. But the one thing that I do love with this kid is that he doesn't seem to be phased or rattled by any type of difficulty. He will learn from it and he'll be better as a result of it. A lot of people point to the negative interceptions. You mentioned those. One of them was definitely not his fault. One of them was on Julian Edelman. And as much as I love Julian, I always have that one did go through his fingers that One of them was on Julian Edelman. And as much as I love Julian, I always have that one did go through his fingers that you can't put on Jared. The second one was all on him.

It was a poor throw, a poor read and just a poor decision. And rookies are going to make, you know, they're going to make mistakes like that. And I know Jared's not a rookie, but in a lot of ways he is, he saw very,

very limited action under Tom last year, came in through a pick six against the jets. We never saw very, very limited action under Tom last year, came in, threw a pick six against the Jets. We never heard from Jared again for the rest of the year. That's really what the unfortunate part of this is. But with a little bit of seasoning and a little bit of preparation, don't forget, he did not know he was going to be coming into that game as early as halftime. He said that halftime there was no discussion with him about going into the game.

Hoyer makes the second turnover. Bill comes over, looks at him, and went, all right, get ready. You're going in. And that was pretty much it. That was his level of preparation for that, thinking that, you know, Hoyer was there. A quarterback always has to be ready, and I'm not saying that's not his job, but a little more preparation time could have meant a better part for him. And, of course, for Brian Hoyer as well, you look at

it, he didn't have a chance to practice with the first team. He found out basically a day and a half before that he was going to be starting in place of Cam Newton. They had practiced with Cam all week. That was a very disjuncted game. So I think before we get on this situation, always remember that. But I agree, the backups have to be better because if cam does go down he's got an injury history you need competent quarterbacks ready to take the uh the ball and ready to be able to do so the moment we've all been waiting for claire i know you're dying to get into some tight end discussion i know you want to talk about your boy ryan iso uh devon osi osi and dalton keen we've seen little to none of them on the field. Keene, I think, has been a little bit more of a strategic, healthy scratch, a little bit of injury history there.

Asiasi has been confusing me. Claire, what are your thoughts on the tight end position and where the Patriots go from here? Well, obviously, I couldn't be on here without discussing my hot topic. We all knew this. All you listeners out there, you knew this was coming. So don't turn that dial because you knew it was coming. We knew it. We've all been waiting listeners out there you knew this was coming so don't turn that dial because we know it we've all been waiting for it you knew it i mean whilst iso has improved

um you've got to give the guy credit he has worked hard and even other people that have seen him properly in practice obviously i won't name drop but you know the the professionals out there you guys have all seen him and it has been said by several people that he you can see that he's worked hard that he's bulked up that you can see that he's he's worked on his on his strength and his blocking has been really great and he's even been getting open but he's not been thrown to that much. I know he's not some sparkling, wonderful tight end. He doesn't rank in the sort of top five, top ten. I appreciate that, and I won't actually sort of say that he's much more marvellous than he is,

but I'm always ready to fight his corner when I can see that the guy is trying, that I can see that he's working hard. So that's why I'm always kind of jumping back on the bandwagon and saying, well, yeah, okay, so he's not Mr. Superstar, but look, you know, I can see that he's working at trying to be a good tight end. And his blocking ability has been really great.

I mean, I've sat and re-watched some of the games and just watched where he's blocked. And some of the holes that he's made have been playmaking for us and have been, you know, touchdown making for us. So we've got to give him credit as much as you even if you don't really like Izzo you don't really think much of him you know that's that's cool I can appreciate that but you do have to give the guy some dues to say that he's actually done you know what he's done but I mean we put such high expectations on the two rookies that might have a lot to do with the simple fact that we need tight end so much 2019 was like a what the heck year we missed grunk and it was

almost acceptable really you know because he grunk so epic, you can't replace him. To hit year two with a coach renowned for the kind of outside the box to tight end play action on the field, you know, to be so void of tight end action, tight end play, sorry. It's just not okay. It was acceptable year one. We were trying to work things out. We'd got Lacoste and we'd got Izzo I know we had Ben Watson came back for us and Lacoste and Izzo they were they had injuries and stuff so they were kind of on

the field off the field kind of thing we had no fluidity there we had and you know no with with with that position but this is the second year we knew Gronk has got he's been gone now that's it you know he's a book player now anyway so we've got to work on we've got to develop our tight end play and it's just not happening and we don't really know why we brought these two rookies in like you said Keane was um he's been on the injury list like you said injury scratch so but I really don't understand the Asiasi situation um other than they need to build him up in his sort of more professional career that's why they're only using him as a blocker because we had such these massive hopes for him I mean I'd heard such great things I must admit I hadn't seen a lot I don't get to see a lot of college football and I always admit that I don't get to see a lot of the guys at the college stage other people people do. So I didn't really know what he was going to be like really that much coming in. But I heard so many good things about him that I'd already built up this major expectation of, wow, this guy's going to be great.

And we just start getting to see him. It doesn't mean he's not great. We just haven't really seen it. Maybe the expectations were just so high because we're just so desperate to get, you know, that tight end play out there. Because we know that the Patriots have done so well in that in the past. Yeah. That's a great piece of insight. And I'm glad that you mentioned about Ossie Ossie and Keane coming in with such high expectations. And New England Patriots fans really clamoring to find the next Rob Gronkowski. Folks, Claire and I have discussed this.

And she knows this as well as anyone. There will not be another Rob Gronkowski. Unfortunately, that's a once-in-a-lifetime talent. That's a guy that is magical in what he does at this position. And now he's down in Tampa Bay. We're seeing that he still has some left in the tank. He's not quite the player he used to be, but he is still a formidable tight end. And unfortunately to put those expectations on the shoulders of guys like Devin and Dalton that are coming in more. So I think on Devin, I think a lot of people are looking at keen as

someone that can come in, be the H back, um, you know, type role where he plays that hybrid tight end fullback. And I really expect to see that out of him this year, especially with Jakob Johnson playing well. It might give the Patriots a nice compliment to be able to give Jakob a rest every now and then. So I look for Dalton to be a bigger part of this offense going further. I think a lot of it has been trying to get him back from fighting a neck injury. You don't want to push that. You don't want to force it. I think he's been healthy, but I think the Patriots are taking a very wait and see cautious approach with the rookie and developing him almost as like a fullback, like a running back would. And we know the Patriots are very slow in developing their running backs. Asi Asi, I don't know why they're doing that or what

they're doing with him. It, you know, there's been moments where he's been open on the field. I don't know if he's just not being found. Maybe he's not running routes correctly. Maybe he's getting open, but it's not the play call that the Patriots are looking to implement. I think he should be a much bigger target. And I think he will be. I think as you start to see Cam maybe get more comfort with him, I think he'll seek

him out because Cam loves to use tight ends. We saw him use Greg Olson so well in Carolina that I think it'll be able to do it. And last but not least, I really, really like the analogy that you have with Ryan Izzo. Look, Ryan's not going to be a pro bowler, but he is going to be a very formidable force in this offense. He's going to be a great blocker. He will get open. There were a couple of times where he had the ability for a big game catch in the game against Kansas City. Both of those throws were way too high for him. He needed, as I said in the postgame recap, he needed rocket shoes to be able to catch those. They were far too over his head. You can't put that on Ryan. I think he's done a good job this year and he'll be a serviceable guy in the tight end position. So excellent analysis on tight ends as always, Claire. We waited for it.

We wanted it and you did not disappoint. And I thank you for that. Oh, you're welcome. You're welcome. Well, it wouldn't be a true visit here to Locked On Patriots unless I put you on a little bit of a hot seat. And there is a game coming up this Sunday, believe it or not. The Patriots are finally going to host the Denver Broncos at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. It's going to be the third attempt to play this game clear. Everyone's hoping that this game gets played as scheduled. All indications right now, folks, are that it will be, so I don't want to make anyone nervous. But I won't put you

on the spot completely and ask you for your game prediction just yet because murph and steve will be very upset with me if i do that no just kidding but just some preliminary thoughts heading into this one what do you expect to see from the patriots on the field as they prepare to take on the broncos wow that's a really tricky one I suppose some of it is we don't actually do we know 100% who we're actually going to have at quarterback good question no we don't no we don't so very astute observation trying to put me on the hot seat here with no information whatsoever I tried to trick her but it didn't work I'm kidding um obviously it goes without saying that we all hope it's Cam, I think,

to be honest with you. No disrespect to Stidham or Hoyer at all. You picked up before. I mean, I didn't want a Stidham bash. I didn't. I wasn't actually what I was doing. I was always looking to get behind that guy too. But, you know, it's difficult to sort of say that we'd prefer him to start

over Cam, really, when we've just seen the production that we've seen in the early part of this year, really. So a lot of it is going to depend on who we get to play at quarterback, I guess. If we're assuming it's going to be Newton, then I'm a lot less worried about the game than I would be if it is sort of Stidham or Hoyer I think our rough offence is superior the statistics she says

say that you know really and we've got we're quite at depth with running back we've got guys that are sort of looking to break out and make their name really I suppose because you've got Taylor and Harris, and they're all fighting for a position. Sony's fighting, I think, for his own job, really,

because he's only on IR now, if I'm remembering incorrectly. Sony is still. He'd be eligible to come off after the week, but he is still on IR, yes. That's it. My apologies, listeners. Do apologize. It's okay.

Very, very bad memory. But we've got the run game there that i that we need to i think we need to just continue plugging with that because i think that's one of the the strength that has come out of this year is our running game has has developed um and just i said it previously in one patriot's place or two patriot's place if like, when they were doing the keys to the game last week when we thought we were having a game. I called it sticky gloves and I wasn't actually being literal that we need to change our gloves. It was just the drops that we had weren't acceptable. A lot of it came from the quarterback play. But I mean, Edelman, he has several drops a year and we all know this and we kind of all write them off as

it's okay because he's such a trooper and it's almost like all we will accept so many drops from him because he is so good but obviously as he gets older and and that kind of thing the more he does the less acceptable it's going to be I guess you could say not that I'm hating on Edelman don't get me wrong I completely love the guy I really. But it's definitely something that we must be tighter on, is the whole, the sticky gloves, the whole dropping situation. I agree with you. And I think in a lot of ways, the Patriots will shore that up. They're having a little bit more time.

Hopefully, they'll get some time on the practice field that they didn't get last week to be able to work on those improvements and be able to make the improvements for the game that we're going to see on the field. Don't forget the Patriots getting a little more healthy. If Cam does come back, there's a shot that Stephon Gilmore may play in this game. Ultimately, though, the Broncos are going to get healthy as well. They're going to to possibly get Drew Locke back there. They might get Noah Fant they may get KJ

Hamler guys that weren't supposed to play against them last Sunday may have an opportunity to be able to you know get back on the field so it'll be interesting but I think the Patriots definitely saw a lot of opportunities for improvement last week against there were two weeks ago against the Kansas City Chiefs and they'll put those into action. I was going to say, oh yeah, that was two weeks ago, wasn't it? No wonder I can't remember very well. It was. It was. Well, Sunday it will be two weeks since they've taken the field,

so it really has been. It feels like longer considering all of the just uncertainty regarding the Patriots' health and know, health report every single morning. Have there been positive tests? Will we get this game finally looking like it's going to move ahead? We keep our fingers crossed when we say that, but hopefully football will return to Foxborough on Sunday. And Claire,

this has been an absolute blast. I thank you so much for joining me today, taking the time out insight as, spot on and entertaining and just everything we could have hoped for here by having you on the Lockdown Patriots. And I also want to thank you for joining me today, despite the time difference. Claire is joining us at a much later hour than we're recording here in New England. But she is a true pro, a great trooper, and a great writer, folks, and contributor for the New England Patriots. Claire, please let our listeners know how they may find your great work and regularly enjoy your wit, wisdom, and counsel throughout the Patriots season. Sure. Well, thank you very much, obviously, for having me, Mike. It's been a blast. It's been very cool. I do appreciate it.

So I've made the occasional appearance on patriots fourth and two russ very kindly refers to me as their uk correspondent so you might find me occasionally on there you'll catch me with the magnificent murph and steve on one patriots place on a friday now dubbed two patriots place and of course please head over to fullpresscoverage.com for tons of great sports stuff and you'll find my column there a Claire perspective so I need to thank all those people for giving me the opportunity to basically do something that I just absolutely adore about the team that I am passionate about so I'm sure you've heard me around so yeah go and check me out on those places very well said

very humble but Claire doesn't have to be as humble as she sounds, folks. Her work is top notch and second to none as far as I'm concerned. Her column, A Claire Perspective, is always one of my favorite reads. I always look forward to seeing it on fullpresscoverage.com. Her appearances on Fourth and Two and, of course, Two Patriots Place are, again, great listens. You've heard a little bit about it today, folks, and you definitely want to check that out. And I guess we're adding the magnificent Murph now to his list of many nicknames. My good friend has got a lot of them. Of course, a lot of them are all tongue-in-cheek nicknames that I provide him, whether it be the Count of Murphy Fisto or the

Green King of Sting. All kidding aside, I call him my benefactor in this business, and that's really more of a truth than it is a nickname. He's truly one of the greats, as all the other guys that you've mentioned. But, Claire, this is definitely not going to be the final time we welcome you to Locked On, Patriots. You will be a regular contributor here. You always are. We look forward to your wisdom and counsel once again. I tell you, stay safe, stay well, enjoy the game coming up on Sunday, and thank you again humbly

for joining me here today on Locked On Patriots. Thanks for having me, Mike. Thanks for having me, listeners. Take care. And just like that, Patriots fans, we are over that work week hump and we now head into the home stretch

as the Patriots prepare to take on the Denver Broncos this Sunday in Foxborough. And last week was so nice, we decided to do it twice. Well, not exactly. If I'm being honest, the league made us do it twice. But in any case, it is always an honor to share the microphone with my good friend Cody Rourke of Locked On Broncos.

And while the intentions for both teams remain the same, some circumstances have changed a little bit. So Cody and I will discuss some of the Broncos' changes in personnel, some of the Patriots' changes in personnel, and how those changes will affect the product we'll see on the field on Sunday. So, to ensure that you do not miss the Locked On Patriots, Locked On Broncos crossover Thursday sequel, be sure to download Locked On Patriots wherever you get your podcasts.

Subscribe and or follow on platforms such as Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. Just make sure that you're staying locked in to Locked on Patriots. Once again, my name is Mike DeBate. I thank my guest today, Claire Cooper, for her time, her insight, and her appearance on Locked on Patriots. But most of all, I thank you all so much for listening and for making the Locked On Patriots

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