Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Cornerstones: Patriots Must Start Building 2021 Foundation — 1/5/2020

Episode Date: January 5, 2021

The New England Patriots 2020 NFL Season might be over, but the process for building their 2021 squad is just beginning. Joining host Mike D’Abate is Steve Balestrieri of PatsFans.com. The pair discuss the young talent in New England’s defensive backfield, the possibility of a shift on the offensive line, and the best course of action to repair the void at the tight end position.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 “LOCKEDON,” and you’ll get 20% 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.  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 into the Lockdown Patriots podcast. Today is Tuesday, January 5th, 2021, and it's time to hear from our resident voice of reason 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.

Thank you so much for joining me here today on this Tuesday episode of the pod. 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 because it's your team every day, that means your questions, comments, and feedback are always welcomed and very much appreciated. Feel free to share that feedback anytime by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at MDABATEFPC. And while you're out there doing some Tuesday traveling through the Twitterverse, please

be sure to follow the Lockdown Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. Pats fans, I know, each passing day is yet another day removed from Patriots football. And until the league year of 2021 begins, our football fix will have to be satisfied by watching other teams in the playoffs. But rather than cry over spilled milk, you reassemble the team. And that's exactly what the New England Patriots are beginning the process of doing. A lot of self-scouting, a lot of internal evaluation, with the ultimate goal being putting together the best possible team you can in 2021, and hopefully one that returns your New England Patriots to the playoffs.

Now sometimes the best way to do that is to evaluate your most recent performance. And although I can't speak for the Patriots' brain trust, though I'm pretty confident they're doing this as we speak, that's exactly how we're going to approach it right here on Locked On Patriots. Yesterday, my good buddy, the Green King of Sting himself, joined me here on the hot seat, and Thomas Murphy and I discussed the fate of Cam Newton, potentially as the quarterback for your New England Patriots in 2021.

Now, neither of us were too optimistic about that possibility, but that doesn't necessarily mean we're right about that. And in the coming days and weeks, we'll know exactly what the New England Patriots plan is moving forward. Until then, I will continue to bring you my best educated guess on what the Patriots might do, as well as welcoming the opinion of several special guests here on the pod, some of which whose voices you know, some of which whose voices you haven't heard here before on Locked

On Patriots. Let's just say, I don't think you'll be disappointed. But here today on the pod is a voice you know and love. He is our resident voice of reason. My main man in Patriots Paisan, Steve Balistrieri of Patsfans.com, drops by today for his weekly appearance as we discuss the New England Patriots' performance against the New York Jets. And as Murph and I discussed yesterday when it came to Chase Winovich being a possible cornerstone of a new young Patriots defense, the Pats have a number of players in that defensive

backfield that could also fill that role as well. Three in particular caught my eye on Sunday. Kyle Duggar at the safety position, cornerback Miles Bryant, and hybrid safety slash cornerback Jawan Williams. Now obviously Duggar had the most impressive season out of all three of these players. But is there a place for all three of them on the Patriots roster? Well, Steve and I will discuss that very point, as well as flipping the script a little bit and talking about the heart and soul and the backbone of the offense, the offensive line, and, this one's for you, Claire, the tight end position. I've got my theories on what the tight end depth chart as well as the O-line depth chart

may look like in 2021. But what does Steve think about all this? Well, I'll seek the wisdom and counsel of our resident voice of reason on these very subjects and more when Steve Balistrieri joins me here on the hot seat in just a moment when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. But first, Patriots Nation, even though our New England Patriots will not be taking an NFL playoff snap this year, I know you all still love your football.

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Pets fans, today here on the pod, we get our weekly dose of reason and accountability. And to help me further break down Sunday's season finale in Foxborough, including what it means for the Patriots going forward, is MyPatriotsPyZone, an amazing columnist for PatsFans.com, and as I always say, one of the best guys in this or any business. Steve Balistrieri joins me today. Happy New Year, my friend, and welcome back to Locked on Patriots. Happy New Year, my friend, and welcome back to Locked On Patriots. Happy New Year, Mike. Hey, at least they ended things on an up note, and that's what we were talking about

last week. We were hoping we'd have something positive to enter that long, long winter into spring before the NFL draft comes in with some good news. Absolutely, without any question. And it's always good to end on a high note. I know some fans are still a little upset that the Patriots ruined their draft status by slipping from 12 to 15 with the win over the New York Jets here. But I think it makes for a better offseason heading in with a win and a little bit of

promise. So you know what? All in all, we're going to try to take the positives away from this. And Steve, the Patriots finished the season with a 7-9 record. I sound like a broken record when I keep saying this is unfamiliar territory. It doesn't feel right to be out of the playoffs. You know what? It's kind of a moot point at this point. To quote Bill Belichick, it is what it is. The Patriots season is over, and now we look ahead to 2021. And our good mutual buddy joined me here yesterday on the pod, and we talked a bit about the Patriots' 28-14 win over the Jets on Sunday. And as you can imagine, we talked a lot about Cam Newton, the likelihood of him not returning to New England next season, what this means for them going forward. And we even sprinkled in some Chase Winovich talk and how he might be emerging as a cornerstone

of the next great Patriots defense. And I thought we'd start today talking about that Patriots defense. And one player that we mentioned briefly, but we didn't really get a chance to discuss that much, was Kyle Duggar. And Kyle has really been a great story this year I think we're seeing the development of one of those type cornerstone players that the Patriots always love to employ in their secondary and I think Kyle has really emerged he's played a lot of different roles this year but he was deployed primarily in the box for

the most part and that's where 53 of his 63 snaps that he took on Sunday were taken, especially after the injury to Adrian Phillips, which, of course, folks, you all know, and which I regard, I hold Adrian keeping a sharp eye on that one, even though the Patriots season is over. We hope he'll be OK and we certainly hope he'll be back. But the fact that Kyle has really emerged as that type of Swiss Army knife safety that the Patriots love to employ, I think has been a really good positive. There's no doubt that he's a downhill enforcer against the run. He has the range. He showed the range all season long to play sideline to sideline.

And I think he's even starting to emerge as a pretty good coverage player. I was talking with Evan Lazar a little bit about Kyle earlier this year, and we discussed his development. We agree that Kyle's next step is improving his zone drops from that second level and then improving his technique and man coverage, two things that I think he can work on and really take some steps on in the offseason. Steve, when you look at Kyle Duggar as a whole, especially where the Patriots drafted him,

the expectations put on his shoulders this year, and how he's performed on the field, do you think he's ready to take that next step next season? Or do you think Bill Belichick and the Patriots' brain trust may take a more measured approach to his development? Well, coming into this season, I thought they were going to do that this year, but because of different factors, the COVID, the opt-outs, injuries, I think that they kind of threw him in the deep end of the pool to see what he can show them in his rookie year. I think he's ready. I really do.

I think, yeah, he's going to have to work on some things. I believe that. You know, you already mentioned that. Some of his coverage techniques, especially in zone, I think still need refining. But, you know, you look at this guy, I can honestly say I did not expect him to play this well. Coming from a tiny Division II school in North Carolina. And trust me, I've been there. That's a tiny, tiny school.

Stepping in right from that into the NFL and playing with the Patriots and playing a really large role this year, I thought it was amazing. I didn't expect that at all. I thought he would have a little bit of, you know, that learning curve. But I think overall, the Patriots have to be thrilled with what they got out of him this year. Without question, Kyle's football IQ is far beyond his years, in my opinion. He really shows a football intelligence on the field that you see few rookies employ. And I think Kyle did it as well or better than any other rookie this year. Is that

going to earn him Rookie of the Year nominations or anything like that? No, folks, that's not what Steve and I are saying. But what we are trying to say is that the building blocks that he's put out in his game really lead you to believe that this kid is on the cusp of something big and something really interesting. And I think with an off season where he can train a little bit more, maybe if Patrick Chung decides he's going to, we know he wants to return to the game. If Patrick Chung is still on this roster next year, tutoring and mentoring him alongside a guy like Adrian Phillips really can set up Kyle Duggar, I think, to end up being one of the premier safeties in the league. And I know fans might roll their eyes when I say that, but go ahead and take a look at some of the film that this guy's put out this year.

And I think you'll agree without any questions. So yeah, Kyle Duggar, definitely a bright spot. And I think taking that step in 2021 is something that could be interesting and maybe even exciting for Patriots fans down the line. Steve in this game on Sunday a lot of fans were screaming to let the kids play and the Patriots did that especially in the secondary where guys like Miles Bryant and Jawan Williams got pretty extensive playing time. Bryant took 44 snaps on Sunday. Williams took 36. And each of them had their up and down moments. But there might be a spot for both of these guys on the 2021 roster,

especially the way they played and the upside that they've shown. Steve, do you see upside there for both of these players? And who actually have you been more impressed with up until this point? Well, I think the answer to both of those questions is yes. I think there's definite upside with both of these guys. I think Bryant probably showed a little bit more, although he had that one sequence that he probably would like to throw out of the tape where he had an interception kind of taken out of his hands.

Then he got a personal foul penalty, I believe. Then there was a missed tackle in there somewhere. But other than that, I thought he accounted for himself very well. And the Patriots have been using him a lot down the stretch. You know, they're very deep in the secondary, and it's going to be tough for guys like him and Jawan Williams to break into the starting secondary. But, you know, you can never have enough good secondary players.

And honestly, I could see the Patriots maybe in the spring kind of transitioning Williams to a deep safety role. Now, I know that was Duggar's position in college, but they were using him, you know, because the Chung opt-out. They were kind of using him in the box. And even if Chung returns, they might be easing Duggar more into that Chung type of role. And, you know, with Devin McCourty leaving,

you have this big, tall corner who can play with people in front of him. I think, you know, that would be an interesting scenario to see if they do that. Maybe they don't. I don't know. It's just, I see that this kid can play. He's had his struggles, and part of it is he gets very little experience, but I like both of these guys, and I think both of them can do that. Yeah, I like both of them, too. I really and truly do. If you're asking me, you know, back against the wall to say who i was a little more impressed with this year i would probably say brian considering that i didn't expect a whole lot out of him all due respect to our good green friend who really sang the praises of miles brian from the time that he was signed and put on this roster uh and there's no one questioning uh you

know that capability there but i think b think Bryant had some nice moments this season. He did have a few teaching moments. You mentioned the interception, Jamison Crowder, you know, was late kind of coming over with Chris Herndon's touchdown, drew the flag. You mentioned the penalty flag, which I thought was kind of a bogus flag, but maybe I'm just being Homer at this point. But I thought that miles uh did have a few teaching moments but ultimately uh the fact that he was in position to make those plays does spell i think a good amount of uh you know the promise for him moving forward into 2021 uh i noticed that they tried miles a little bit out at free safety uh on sunday and i still think he's at his best when he's covering man

to man, either in the box or playing over the slot. He's got a little bit of a lack of length, maybe a little lack of range at this point. I think that's going to make him difficult or make it difficult for him, I should say, to play deep middle. So I don't think free safety is necessarily a spot where Miles Bryant can flourish. I think he's a true natural corner, and I think that's where he's going to be employed. Williams is an interesting case for me because I do think that playing that deep safety role is where he might be at his best. That does spell problems for him, though, when you take a look at a guy like Kyle Duggar, who's natural in that position. If Kyle does end up playing in the box, then maybe Juwan can be slotted down

and into that deep safety role. But there's some question about his effort. And I think that's where this is going to need to be cultivated in the offseason. Patriots are really going to need to keep their eye on how Williams is developing and playing. Whether or not he's going to be able to crack the rotation, I think, is basically up to the point where if he's able to play to his strengths, be physical at the line, use his length to destroy that catch point, then I think you're looking at a guy like Juwan Williams making a significant impact. But to me, if it's not going to be in the safety role, then I think he's going to have a

difficult time cracking the cornerback depth chart for the reasons that we see. And not to mention that Jason McCourty has been essentially being played over Juwan Williams a lot this season. There's got to be a reason why. You have to think that maybe some of those effort issues are things that the Patriots are seeing in practice. So back against the wall, I think Miles Bryant may be a little bit more impressive at this point, but there is a lot of talent in Juwan Williams, folks, and the Patriots know that better than anybody. They spent second-round draft capital a couple of years ago to bring this guy in.

You have to think they saw something, and maybe the Patriots have two budding pros and really two budding stars, perhaps, in this secondary. Buddy, we always have fun when you drop by the pod every week. And as much as we like to talk defense, there are a ton of offensive questions on this roster heading into 2021 as well. We're all going to let the quarterback talk rest today, but we're going to talk some O-line and some tight ends. That's right, Claire.

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All the parts your car will ever need. RockAuto.com. Locked On listeners, NFL analyst Brian Peacock and former NFL scout Matt Williamson host Locked On's 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. Pats fan Steve Balistrieri joins me today here on the pod. And Steve, in the previous segment, we talked a lot about budding stars on this defense, particularly Kyle Duggar, Jawan Williams, Miles Bryant, some of the younger members of this defense emerging

and helping to continue that tradition of stout Patriots secondaries. But as the old saying goes, defense may win championships, but offense is going to get the headlines. And this year, I think it's going to be that case in the offseason as we head into 2021. We're going to talk a lot about Cam Newton in the quarterback position in the coming days and weeks here on the pod.

So I thought we'd shelve the quarterback discussion for a little bit today and give some love to what I believe is the backbone of the Patriots' offense, and that's the offensive line. But we'll begin with the tight end position. So, Claire, if you're listening, this is a segment you'll definitely want to pay attention to. And we know she's listening. Claire listens every day. She's one of our great listeners and also a great contributor to this podcast as well. Steve, the tight end position has been virtually non-existent for the Patriots all season long.

The rookies, Devin Asiasi, Dalton Keene, didn't quite round into what we hoped. Some of that was due to injury. Some of that was due to lack of preparation time. I think Ryan Izzo came in and tried to do the best he could playing tight end one, but really with the arsenal of a tight end three at best. So the Patriots certainly did not utilize the tight ends the way we had hoped this year, but this is an offense, especially if Josh McDaniel sticks around, that is predicated on tight end capability of making catches. The two tight end sets that the patriots have run in the past have been pretty impressive and they didn't get anywhere near that this year i like what i see out of devon asiasi had a nice touchdown catch on sunday there's promise there maybe

dalton keen emerges into that fullback type role that james devlin played so well uh for the past few years. No disrespect to Jakob Johnson, who I thought did a great job this year in that role. But maybe that's what they're molding Dalton to become. I think the Patriots need to go out and spend some capital to bring in a tight end. Now, whether that's through the draft, I know Kyle Pitts has been the pie-in-the-sky name that's thrown out there. But I think they're better off going with a veteran option. And if your insight is where I think it is,

you can probably figure out where I'm going with this one. But I'm not going to steal your thunder, my friend. You are the guest today. In your opinion, what can the Patriots do with the tight end position this offseason to make sure that that is a position of strength for them heading into 2021? Right. And, you know, Murph and I talked about this last week. I mean, you have to wonder whether they would use a lot of draft capital again. They'll kind of triple dip into the tight end pool. But if a guy like Kyle Pitts is available at 15,

it'd be tough to say, oh, well, let's, you know, go in another direction because I think this guy can be a generational talent. But I do agree with you. I think that they're probably going to go for a veteran, a guy who's proven. And the first guy that comes to mind is the guy Dolichek was just all over after their game with Hunter Henry. And, you know, if a guy like him is available and they can bring him in, I think they'll probably do that. And then Asi Asi and Keene can probably, you know, resume a normal type of progression,

which this year they were kind of thrown into the deep end as well. They didn't react well to that so far this year, but by no means I think are the Patriots going to wash the hands of those guys that quickly. I think they'll probably go for a veteran guy. The guy I would like to see is Hunter Henry

if they do decide to do that. But if they sign Henry in the free agency time frame and then a guy like Pitts does become available, then what do you do? It's going to be really interesting to see how they do this. But, you know, I think, like you said,

the Patriots offense is predicated on solid tight end play. They haven't got it for two years in a row. And I think once they actually finally do that, things are going to start to change quickly for this offense it will it will think that these things will start to change pretty quickly for this offense and if you heard me chuckle when steve mentioned hunter henry's name it's because i was chuckling with a grin from ear to ear that's exactly the direction that i think the patriots are going to go and look i could be wrong i know a lot of people are probably going to say

oh well pitts is the guy you've got to get you mentioned the term generational talent I know Mark Schofield and I have talked several times offline even a little bit right here on this podcast about how good of a fit Kyle Pitts might be in this offense and look I think he would be a great fit here but if you look at his game the way he's predicated right now, I compare him more to a Travis Kelsey than I do a Rob Gronkowski. And traditionally, the Patriots offense has been predicated on guys that can put their hand in the dirt. I'm not quite sure that Pitt's game right now fits that mold. And again, maybe it's something that I'm missing. Maybe I'm trying to, you know, pump the tires of a guy in Hunter Henry who I've coveted for years here in New England. Maybe I'm looking at things through, you know, powder blue

colored glasses, I think maybe is the best way to put it. And some of that old Chargers thought process is coming back into mind. But look, I think this move makes too much sense to not happen. Bill Belichick loves Hunter Henry. He is that complete tight, tight end. He is, you know, that traditional in-line tight end that can put his hand in the dirt, be an effective blocker, but also be a weapon in that offense and make catches in the middle of the field, be a red zone threat. Very similar to what Rob was up here for a number of years. So I think that the Patriots have that capability to be able to, you know, put Hunter into this offense and make him a threat right away. He's also

somewhat reasonable in terms of his price tag. The Patriots, according to our good friend, the Pats cap, Miguel Benzon, projected to have anywhere up to $60 million in cap space available. I think his latest projection is 59.5 million. If that's the case, Hunter could be had for a price tag of about 10 million a year. That's not an exorbitant amount for a player of his magnitude, and you know he can do it at the NFL level. Pitts has the chance to be a generational talent without question, but we heard that a couple of years ago, too, about guys like T.J. Hawkinson and Noah Fant and, you know, some of these not-missed tight ends that really have the ability to come in and be a huge part of these offenses. Can they do it? You

know, the jury might be out on a couple of these guys, so maybe going with the surefire tight end here might be the best way to go. I know, Claire, if they bring in Hunter Henry or draft Kyle Pitts, it's likely the end of Ryan Izzo's time here in New England. And I've been an advocate of this kid. I think the kid did the best job he possibly could this year. But if you can bring in a generational talent like a Kyle Pitts or sign a guy like Hunter Henry, that's a no-brainer. You have to bring that person in,

and I think the Patriots will look to improve that position. So we'll see. Asi-Asi and Hunter Henry or Asi-Asi and Pitts being that two tight end set, that's pretty lethal, and I think that'd be pretty interesting to see here in New England for a number of years to come. But lastly today, I wanted to talk about what has been, I think, the star of this offense all season long, and that's been the offensive line. This offensive line might look drastically different next year. It might look similar, but with some different moving parts, and right now,

the two big question marks are David Andrews and Joe Tooney, both pre-agents. Right now, due to the cost of what it would take to re-sign both of these guys, I think their common move is going to be to re-sign David Andrews and let Joe Tooney walk. I think that's the best business decision. But when you look at this offense and you look at this offensive line, what do you expect the Patriots to do, and are there any surprises in store for what we might see in the Pats offensive line in 2021?

Well, as you know, when it comes to Bill Belichick, he surprises us all the time. But I think he hit the nail on the head. I think they'll try to retain Andrews, which they'll probably be able to do. And Tooney will just be priced out of their, you know, I won't say out of their, you know, what they, I won't say out of their price range because they have the money, but I think it'll be more than they're willing to spend. You know, as we saw last year, they couldn't come to an agreement.

He played under the franchise tag and they, they couldn't even come to an agreement after, you know, he signed his franchise tag. So I don't see them doing that again with him. I think they'll, you know, they'll let him seek his own level and they'll ask him, you know, if they can match. But I don't think they will. I think Tooney will be gone this year. And, again, that'll be something that they'll have to address,

whether it be in free agency or in the draft. You know, for all the talk about Bill not drafting well, he drafts offensive linemen very well. I do believe that, you know, they'll try to make something work with Andrews. I just don't think they're going to be able to with Tooney. And they've drafted well, and they've, you know, been able to identify really good pieces for the offensive line and I think they'll do that again this year yeah without question and I completely agree with you on that look I there is no one that has more respect or I shouldn't say no one but uh no one has more respect for

Joe Tooney than uh than I do in terms of what he means to this offensive line. And look, I know he's very, very well respected. There may be people out there that have just as much, but that's just my way of saying that I really value what he brings to this team. But I think you're absolutely right. The offseason last year was a perfect opportunity for them to work out a long-term extension. They weren't able to do that. I think the Patriots were smart to franchise him, especially with a new quarterback coming in. You wanted to maintain continuity and stability and veteran leadership on that offensive line. But they do have a guy right now that looks like he

is capable of taking over that type role, and that's Michael Wainu. I know he had a great season as a tackle, but he's more of a natural guard. He's going to tune into his natural position. I think he has a higher ceiling there. I think that's an opportunity for him maybe to erase some of the concerns that he has about his lateral mobility him as a guard I think can be a very very formidable type role for him in 2021 as for the tackle position well I think Justin Heron can probably slide into the right tackle position. Isaiah Wynn right now is very good when he's healthy, but he hasn't proved that he can be for a full season. That's a question that the Patriots may have to address in the offseason and keep an eye on maybe some backup tackles that can play and protect the quarterback's blind side. That's assuming that our next quarterback is going to be a right-hander.

You never know for sure with Bill Belichick and the brain trust. That's not a solid, you know, you know, solid lock for 2021. But I agree with you. If I'm thinking the offensive line right now, I'm envisioning Isaiah Wynn at the left tackle position, Michael Wainu as the left guard. I think they re-sign Andrews, bring him back as the center, probably look at Shaq Mason at the right guard position. And then in terms of right tackle, I think you might see Justin Heron get a real shot to become the starter there,

or maybe a rookie or an offensive lineman that they bring in by a free agency. But Patriots always do things interestingly, and it will be interesting in Foxborough. Steve, what can I say? Thank you so much for joining me today here on the pod. Continue to bring your wisdom and counsel each and every week here on Locked on Patriots. But before I let you go, please let our listeners know where they can find your great work and what we can expect from the great pen of Steve Balistrierii in the coming days and weeks well thanks again for having me uh you can find me on twitter at steve b7 sfg and starting this weekend um since the patriots aren't involved in

the playoffs i'll be starting to look at you know the their own free agents that are coming up. They have quite a few of them. And we'll try to figure out which ones we think that they're going to keep. Absolutely. And you know what? It is going to be a daunting task for the Patriots this offseason, a very big offseason for New England. And Bill Belichick is at the helm for it once again for either a reload or maybe even dare we say it a rebuild here in New England but Steve thank you so much for joining me

today stay safe stay well and we look forward to talking ball with you again next week all right thank you and so Patriots Nation just like that we're almost halfway through your work week and I know it's probably been a tough one getting back into the swing of things after possibly And so, Patriots Nation, just like that, we're almost halfway through your work week. And I know it's probably been a tough one, getting back into the swing of things after possibly having some time off for the holidays, knowing that your New England Patriots will not take the field again until August at the very earliest. I know, none of us up here in New England like this not making the playoffs thing. And I'm sure that you have a lot to say on the subject. You've got questions, and you want answers.

What better way to kick off the new year than by opening the midweek mailbag for the first time in 2021? That's right, folks. Your questions, comments, and feedback take center stage on tomorrow's pod. So keep a sharp eye on the Locked On Patriots Twitter account, as well as my own personal Twitter account, for the invitation to submit your questions, comments, and feedback to be featured right here on tomorrow's episode of Locked on Patriots. And to make sure that you do not miss a single second of the action,

download and subscribe to the Locked on Patriots podcast on platforms such as Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. Just make sure you're staying locked in to Locked On Patriots. Once again, my name is Mike DeBate. I thank my good friend Steve Balistrieri for his time, his insight, and his 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 tomorrow, Patriots Nation, stay safe, stay well, always be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone.