Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Dueling Rosters: New England Patriots 53-Man Roster Projections - 9/1/2020

Episode Date: September 1, 2020

For all 32 NFL teams, roster building is a difficult process. The added complexities of the tumultuous year that has been 2020, have made this one of the most challenging offseasons in recent memory. However, by 4:00pm on Saturday, September 5th, the New England Patriots must trim their roster to the 53 members, with which they choose to march into the upcoming season. Joining host Mike D’Abate is Steve Balestrieri of PatsFans.com to compare and contrast their attempted gazes into the Belichickian Crystal Ball at the Patriots’ projected final product: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Patriots fans, you are now locked in to the Locked On Patriots Podcast. I'm going to show you how to make a beautiful and beautiful flower. I'm going to use a small flower pot. I'm going to use a small pot Hello to all of you Foxborough faithful. It is Dueling Rosters Tuesday here on the Locked On Patriots podcast, your daily home for news notes and analysis infused with the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions,

the New England Patriots. Thank you, Patriots Nation, for joining me once again today here on 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 folks, because it's your team every day, that means your questions, comments, and feedback always welcomed and greatly appreciated. Feel free to share that feedback anytime by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter

at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-F-P-C. And while you're out there navigating through the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at L-O underscore Patriots. And folks, you did hear me correctly earlier. Today is Dueling Rosters Tuesday here on the pod. And before you conjure up any images of this, including banjo music, fear not.

Today's show is all about 53-man roster projections. And with the final cut-down deadline for all 32 NFL teams, including your New England Patriots folks, coming on Saturday, September 5th at 4 p.m. Eastern, the time for prognostication when it comes to roster building is just about over. Each of the Patriots' positional depth charts is now starting to come into focus, and earlier this week, I gave my best attempt at gazing into that Belichickian crystal ball and projecting

the Patriots' final product. That written projection is posted out on my Twitter feed, I encourage all of you to go out there, take a look at it if you haven't. Some of you have already provided some great feedback. If you haven't seen it, no worries. At some point, check it out this week. I would love to hear your thoughts on what I might have gotten right and what I might have gotten wrong. But I am far from being alone with submitting roster projections this week.

Just about everyone in the sports media business who covers the NFL will be putting out some sort of final thoughts on the Patriots 2020 training camp, whether it be a written roster projection, podcast discussion, or a monster keys column, just like yesterday's guest and my good friend Thomas Murphy did yesterday. And folks, if you thought Murph was fired up yesterday, definitely take a look at this column. Find it on Twitter at TeamErf207. But in any case, it's time to talk about who deserves to be on this roster and who earned their spots. And I thought today would be the perfect opportunity here on the pod to play a little compare and contrast. And who better to join me on the opposite side of the table today than someone I've covered Patriots

training camp alongside for the last three years. Of course, that's before COVID-19 derailed our plans for a fourth, but I digress, folks. Steve Balistrieri of Patsfans.com joins me here today on the hot seat. And to no one's surprise, least of all my own, Steve submitted a great 53-man roster projection. As you can probably figure out, there were a great deal of similarities between our projections. For example, each of us have the Patriots carrying three quarterbacks.

We also have the Patriots carrying three tight ends. And, Claire, you'll want to listen up for this, both of us chose Ryan Izzo as the third and final member of that positional grouping. Our defensive backfields, meaning the cornerbacks and the safeties, were identical. We also had two of the same very difficult cuts, running back J.J. Taylor and wide receiver Jacoby Myers, two players we've praised an awful lot here on the pod, will provide you with the reasons why we chose to cut Taylor and Myers, and in an area in which we differed, I'll talk about why I believe undrafted rookie

free agent Jeff Thomas is simply too good to leave on the cutting room floor. And Steve will tell you why he believed that cutting Thomas might be worth the risk in trying to stash him on the practice squad. And the differences didn't stop there, folks. Steve and I do have differing opinions on what the offensive line and the defensive line will look like this year. And last but certainly not least, which player do Steve and I see winning the kicker competition?

Well, if you look at our final products, you'll see that we're of differing opinions on that as well. Or are we? Well, folks, the good news is you need not wait too long for the answers to these questions and more, because in just a moment, I will welcome Steve Balistrieri to the hot seat as we play a little 2020 New England Patriots dueling rosters right here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. But first, folks, as New England Patriots fans, we've all heard the phrase often imitated,

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But when you add in the complexities of the tumultuous year that has been 2020, it makes this one of the most challenging off-seasons in recent memory. As for our New England Patriots, well, the post-Tom Brady era is about to begin. And by 4 p.m. this Saturday, September 5th, the team must trim its roster to the 53 members with which they choose to march into the upcoming season. Today on the pod, we will attempt to gaze into the Belichickian crystal ball and prognosticate the Patriots' final product. I say we because I am not alone. And in fact, within minutes of each other, my guest today and I published our 53-man roster projections.

And while we are mostly like-minded, there were some variations. And that's why I welcomed him here today, to discuss those variations. He's one of the best and most knowledgeable columnists that you can find in Patriots media anywhere. You know his great work from Patsfans.com, as well as being the co-host of two amazing podcasts, Patriots 4th and 2, and One Patriots Place with our great friend and yesterday's guest, Thomas the Count of Murphy, Fisto Murphy. Back for what now is his weekly appearance here on the pod, Steve Balistrieri joins me here today on Locked On Patriots. Goin'a stay, Paisan.

I'm doing great, Mike. Thanks for inviting me on the show, as always. And I was thinking of you just a few minutes ago, because while I was waiting for a countdown to begin the show, I was watching A Bronx Tale with Chaz Palminteri, which is one of my favorite mob films. And I know it's one of your favorites as well. So, you know, I think I set myself up in perfect order. Absolutely, Steve. And you know what?

It begs the age-old question, is it better to be loved or feared? And, you know, I think that might be a good question for Bill Belichick. If we get the opportunity to ask him a question here within the next couple of days, we might want to ask him that question. But all kidding aside, first of all, I want to thank you for the Cash Me Outside reference in your 53-man roster prediction. I think our good buddy might have something to say about that. Of course, I hope for all of our sakes, mostly for Cash himself, that he makes the roster. But all kidding aside, Steve, great job on your roster selections.

Folks, Steve put together a great potential Patriots roster for patsfans.com. And surprise, surprise, we agree on much of the selections. We have the Patriots rostering three quarterbacks, three tight ends, with Ryan Izzo parlaying a strong camp into the tight end three spot. We are in sync when it comes to the Patriots secondary, six corners, five safeties, and we selected the same choices for our respective rosters. It wasn't all agreements, though. And you know what they say,

buddy, variety is the spice of life. And we'll discuss our variances in just a bit. But I thought we'd start by discussing a pretty high profile area in which we did agree. And that is the running back depth chart. We agree that Sonny Michelle, Damian Harris, Rex Burkett and James White are making this team. In fact, I think few, if any, are arguing that to the contrary. I think most people believe those four are pretty much roster locks. Lamar Miller definitely has a high upside, but when you don't see the field until training camp is nearly over, I think it's hard to give that guy a nod. One of my hardest cuts was J.J. Taylor, and he's been fun to watch this summer. He has the ability to play bigger than his frame, which is only listed at 5'5", inches tall.

He really does bring a lot of fire for a guy his size, an exciting style he brings to the position. In fact, we've heard Patriots running backs coach Ivan Fears already nickname him Little Deion, as in Deion Lewis. He does remind me a lot of his game and what he brings to the field. Now that doesn't necessarily hurt, but at the same time, it also means that Taylor has received an awful lot of press and Steve, my worry here is that the talent and the hype that has surrounded him for the past few weeks heightens the risk of losing him on route to the practice squad. Don't forget when the Patriots make these guys available or decide to cut them from the roster and try to stash them on the practice squad,

they're still able to be signed. Am I just being paranoid here, Steve, or might the cat be out of the bag when it comes to JJ Taylor and would the Patriots be at risk of losing him if they leave him exposed? Oh, I think you always run that risk and that that's the issue I had with him because I think he's such an intriguing talent and as well as a couple other guys who we're going to get to I know very shortly but you know Taylor is one of those guys that you know whenever he's on the field your eyes are kind of drawn to wherever he's at. And he's just exciting when he has the ball in his hands.

And, you know, Ivan Sears is kind of, he's one of those that is, like Belichick, is very spare with his praise when it comes to his running backs, especially the rookies. To hear him talk about Taylor in such glowing terms as he did it's kind of rarefied air which makes me think that you know hey this guy has has some intriguing upside and I hope they find a way where they can keep this guy because I think he has a future as well and the way he runs the style that he brings to the table uh being able to be that little engine that could type runner that the patriots have employed at a number of different

um points during out uh the brady belichick era and now obviously into the post-tom brady era i think taylor could be someone to keep an eye on so again yeah i'm a little worried about some of the press he's gotten uh they haven't exactly gone out of their way to quote-unquote hide him. And that kind of leads me very nicely into my next question. The fan base is largely skeptical beyond Julian Edelman, even when it comes to Nikhil Harry, which, Steve, for the life of me, I cannot understand the fan base's desire to see this guy struggle. I just don't understand it, but I digress. We talked a lot about Jeff Thomas, and I included him on my roster for the same reasons that we just discussed about Taylor.

I think the Patriots have a greater need at receiver than they do at running back, so that's why I chose to leave Taylor on the cutting room floor and put Thomas on this roster, simply because I think the risk of losing him is too great. But something that surprised me was that we both left Jacoby Myers off our finished product. And Myers was the story in 2019. We watched him during training camp last year emerge as the guy that was going to take over that next title of being the undrafted free agent, keeping the streak alive in New England about putting an undrafted free agent on the roster. And Myers came in with a lot of pedigree.

And for all intents and purposes, he had a decent 2019, but never quite lived up to the hype. There have been a lot of health issues that have been rumored about when it comes to Jacoby this year. But it went a little beyond that for just me. There seemed to be something more to Jacoby's inability to stay on the field and make an impact in training camp this year. The productivity just didn't seem to be the same. Steve, when you look at Jacoby Myers this year as opposed to last,

what do you see as the difference? And do you think it could be more than just injury? No, I'm thinking it's just a health thing. And I don't think they're going to, you know, allow him to hit the waiver wire. I think they're going to probably put him on short-term IR and, you know, because he has been banged up. And I thought he was pretty productive for a rookie last year he caught was it about 29 passes so you know for a rookie in the patriot system that's not bad not bad whatsoever so you know i i kind of have the feeling that they probably might put him on

i will see what happens this week i mean there's still what four days to go so uh before they have to make a decision but yeah i think uh i think it's mainly health with him and it probably is i think maybe my paranoia is getting the best of me when it comes to jacoby myers simply because i enjoyed watching him so much last year and i really would love to see him continue to be with this team but i agree i think there is and i did allude to this in my 53-man roster prediction, that he is a likely candidate to start the season on IR with a designation to return. I think there seems to be something off. From what I've seen from him on the field, which really isn't all that much,

he did return to the practice field on Sunday, caught three out of four passes, but really seems to be behind guys like Gunnar Ryszelski, Demir Bird that have been out there really impressing the Patriots brass. It may be tough for a guy like that to crack the roster this year. And if he is ailing, then this does give him an opportunity to be able to heal up, you know, practice and then be able to get back on the football field because they do have those designations to return to allow a player to come back in.

We spend an awful lot of time talking about the offensive skill positions. We haven't even really mentioned the tight ends or the quarterbacks because we are in agreement of those players that will make the roster at those given positions. But we both know that championships are won in the trenches. And I mean the lines folks, and even some special teams. You didn't think we weren't going to be mentioning the boots now, do you folks? In just a moment, Steve and I will discuss the Patriots offensive line and defensive line, and including that age old question about whether upside might be able to eclipse reliability.

What do I mean by that? Find out when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Patriots fan Steve Balistrieri joins me today on the pod for a little dueling rosters discussion. And relax, folks, neither one of us are going to be playing banjos anytime soon. But Steve, we did talk about the offensive skill positions in our previous segment, but we had some variations on the lines that we selected as well. And I figured we'd start on the offensive line. Steve, you had the Patriots housing eight roster members of their or eight members of their roster on the offensive line this year. You had them giving Corey Cunningham the nod and making the cut. I went with nine, leaving Cunningham on the cutting room floor

in favor of both Yadni Kajust and Michael Onwenu. In this case, it seems to me like this is a textbook example of going with veteranship and reliability over youth and upside because I think in terms of excitement, maybe ceilings Kajustan on Wayne who seem to have a stronger and higher ceiling than that of a Corey Cunningham when you leave Cunningham on are you looking at training camp encapsulated or is this more the Patriots really need reliable veteran bodies on that offensive line and they can't really be too concerned about upside this year especially in a year like 2020 where the rookies have had a very tough learning curve

yeah you know when you're looking at this and and again i mean i think you hit the nail on the head you know bill belichick you know all things being equal he'll go with those uh those veteran type players because they've been there. He knows what he can expect from them. They might not have the upside as, like, the two players you just mentioned. And I really was intrigued with Michael Arnwaneta. I can never say his name correctly. And Yanni Caduce.

I mean, you know, he was a high draft pick last year, but he hasn't played football in nearly two years. And, you know, the rust was showing with him. So, you know, it's a tough call because, again, you know, if the Patriots feel like all he needs is a little bit of seasoning, you know, where, you know, a little bit of time to get his feet under him. Then you risk losing him to another team that can feel like the same way. Hey, we'll stash this guy, you know, as a backup until he's ready to go. And then, you know, we have ourselves a really good offensive lineman. I kind of weighed those two things and I put those two guys on the cutting room floor. But I mean, I could easily see both of those guys, you know, making the roster and then making

cut elsewhere. It's a really tough call. But I went with the veteran Cunningham because I just think that Bill tends to favor those guys, you know, all things being equal, which right now it's a tough decision because they didn't have those preseason games to base anything off. Yeah, that's a very good point. And my whole point in including guys like Onwenu and Kajus, I included Onwen new simply because I just think the massive physical specimen that he is create so many opportunities for the Patriots, especially if they're able to cultivate him along the offensive line and make him a solid depth

piece and perhaps even a starter years down the line. Uh, the guy just has a massive wingspan and I can't see linebackers being able to get around him once he figures out how to anchor himself and be a productive member in that in that offensive line we've seen guys that have kind of taken that Foxborough flu route and I'm not saying that's going to happen here folks but we've seen guys be able to maybe take a year as an unofficial red shirt and learn the ropes in what can be a very productive Patriots offensive line. And even though Dante Skarnecchia is no longer there, you still have to have some level of confidence in Popovich and Brasillo and what they're going to be able to do along that offensive line being students under Dante for so long. Cunningham is someone that started very strong in this training camp

and actually looked like he was playing his way into a roster spot, but he's tailed off considerably and I think really very much cooled. He hasn't looked great, especially the last couple of weeks. He's routinely beat in one-on-one drills, and to me I think that makes a guy like Kajus maybe a little bit more valuable in terms of what he can bring and that upside, because it's looking like we know exactly what we're going to get from Corey Cunningham. Whereas maybe there is still a little bit of mystery when

it comes to a guy like Yadni Kajust or even Michael Unwainu. So good points there. You know, again, variety is the spice of life. We agree to disagree. And I, for one, I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do on the field and maybe being more productive than we ever thought he could be. So good stuff on the offensive line. But we did have some variance on the defensive line as well, especially the front seven. Your selections of an undrafted rookie like DeJuan Harris, Shaliqua Calhoun, who I that again, that was a very tough cut for me. I went with Rivers in favor of Calhoun and I'll get to my reasons for that in a minute and you also included Bo Allen in the active roster who's largely been MIA I don't see the pats cutting Allen I think he might be an IR candidate as well

simply because of the fact that we just haven't seen him on the field when you look at this defensive line what is it about specifically about guys like Harris and Calhoun who I'm seeing on a lot of roster predictions, and both of those guys were off that, were off mine, I should say. Help me to see what others are seeing that maybe I'm just not seeing here. Well, you know, when it comes to Calhoun, I think the Patriots, they really like this kid. In fact, Murph and I were talking with Karen Garigian yesterday on the podcast that we do together.

And Karen was saying that the Patriots just love that kid. And I think he has a lot of upside. And he's been playing a ton of reps so far this summer. So that's like a big thing. I mean, I think, you know, they like him. I think they know what they have in him. And I think he has a lot of upside. With Harris, I just went because I think, you know, again, he's a little bit, you know, kind of an athletic kind of guy.

And, you know, on the interior linebacker positions or inside linebacker positions, they need some depth there. And I know they have Copeland, Uche, and Jennings who can obviously slide over. But I think they're going to keep Harris as well. I think they're going to hold on to him and, you know, present themselves enough versatility where they can mix and match. I think you make a good, you know, point. And I'm glad that you made the point on Calhoun because his resume really does speak for itself. And in preparation for today's, you know, pod,

I found myself looking a little bit more into some of the versatility that Shaliqua Calhoun brings to the table. He serves primarily as an outside linebacker. That's where his bread and butter is. But he's seen some time at the defensive end as well. He can be that type of rotational edge defender that can align on both sides. He's even moved inside on occasion, and he's played off the line of scrimmage every now and then. So this kid can definitely do a lot on that Patriots defense. And Bill loves these Swiss Army Knife players that can be versatile and play all over the field.

I've lauded the prowess of Adrian Phillips for being able to do that because I've watched him do it in Los Angeles. This is a kid that is doing a lot of the same things in New England, albeit at a little bit of a different position. But Shalikway definitely gives that type of versatility. He's also very valuable when it comes to special teams. And had I maybe done a little bit more checking into, and that's on me, folks, into his special teams prowess. He might have been even a greater difficulty to cut on my 53-man because he's seen action on all five units. He played in punt and kickoff coverage, was used on both return squads, and also saw action on the field

goal and the extra point blocking teams. That may give him an edge in terms of making the 53-man roster. Again, much like with the offensive lines, I went with Rivers simply because of the upside. You look at how close he's been to really making an impact on this team several times. He flashes that amazing pass rush ability, really shows you in training camp what the Patriots saw when they drafted him and everybody thought they had a steal the biggest knock on Rivers is being able to stay on the field so it's reliability at that point uh versus upside and I went with the upside here uh you know you probably took a more level-headed approach when it comes to that and we'll see uh you know but I

think you make a good point for Calhoun and I'm glad that you helped to give me a little bit more perspective and forced me to do a little more homework. So you made me a little more smart today, my friend. I really appreciate that. But last but certainly not least, I could not let you go without talking about the kicking position, which really is one of the hottest topics when it comes to the New England Patriots right now. Justin Rohrwasser has been underwhelming, but the Patriots spent a fifth round draft capital to pick him up. That's a lot to walk away from when they haven't even really given the kid a chance to either win or lose the job. I did go with Nick Folk here. And the reason why I went with Nick Folk on my projection

is because I think there's something with either mechanics or something with his delivery that is really evident that Rohrwasser is ailing physically in some way. And I can't put my finger on it, but it just doesn't look like there's a whole lot of oomph behind what he's doing. And I think it may be a little bit of an injury that that that hurts him so I think the Patriots may utilize an opportunity to put him on IR and give him the opportunity to kind of you know kick into his own so to speak you went with Rohrwasser on the um on the final product so I guess my question to you Steve is do you believe that he's he is healthy and is capable of doing this and do you think he's that much better of a selection than a guy like Nick Folk at this point?

Well, and again, it's a tough decision. They invested a draft pick in this kid, you know, where a lot of people had him going undrafted. So, you know, when you look at the big picture, okay, they obviously liked what they saw. He does have a big leg. He can kick off. That's important. I think he has a much bigger leg than Nick Folk does at this point in his career. Folk was very steady for the Patriots last year. So, you know, I was kind of looking at, and again, you mentioned it earlier, You're looking at the big picture with, you know, possibilities rather than what you have right now.

I went with the younger guy because I just think that, you know, I don't think he's right physically right now. And, again, he could be another guy. You could see on short-term IR and bring him back around midseason. I don't know. We'll have to see with this but uh i wasn't in favor of drafting him in the beginning you know i i like to either baits or uh the kid from georgia but you know they went with this guy i so i figured i'd stick with him yeah i was surprised

when roerwasser was the selection and look look, that comes from a Rhode Island native, and he did some kicking here at the University of Rhode Island. And there, you know, I can't say that he was someone that I had never heard the name before, but I had never really put him together as being an NFL starting caliber kicker. Then I watched some of the film on him that the Patriots had seen during his kicks at Marshall,

and I keep coming back to that kick against Western Kentucky in very difficult conditions. I think that is essentially what opened the eyes of the Patriots brass. They saw him work out at his pro day. One of the few guys, again, folks that had the opportunity to conduct a pro day prior to COVID-19 shutting everything down. So I still think there's promise there. And I don't think the Patriots will cut him, but it could be a situation where they do look at maybe giving him a little bit more time through the IR,

you know, route to be able to kind of kick into his own. And if that is the case, I said this yesterday, I think the Patriots could do a lot worse than Nick Folk, who may not have the flash and the pizzazz of some of these guys, even the players that we talked that you just talked about um either tyler bass or rodrigo blankenship how the hot rod himself uh were two

of the hot names when it came to kickers and i thought it was either going to be one of those two guys um but nick folk can definitely come in and be steady and reliable and he's proved that he can actually put the uh the ball through the uprights from beyond 50. We've seen him do it a couple of times now in camp. So maybe that knock on him that his leg won't be able to go the distance past 40 might just be a little passe. Steve, what can I say? I always appreciate you coming on to talk Patriots. Thank you for joining me today to do this little dueling rosters battle that we had going back and forth. Before I let you go my

friend i think all of our fans do know where to find you but again please let everyone know where they can find you and what is coming up here within the next week from the great pen of steve balistrieri well thanks again for having me mike always a pleasure my friend uh you know this week we'll be looking at those final cuts with the roster, and we'll be looking at this initial, and I say initial because the 53-man roster we'll see on Saturday won't be the one we'll see around Thanksgiving. It's always a big change. So we'll be looking at that and how all the pieces are going to fit, and then, you know, start looking at, believe it or or not a week from sunday we'll be looking at

the miami dolphins so we truly will it is amazing all of the preparation and all of the uncertainty surrounding this offseason is pointing toward an on-time start for the nfl season and uh that's remarkable and exciting in its own right and uh yeah next week when you join us here on the pod, we'll probably have a little something to discuss in terms of our roster selections and how right or wrong we were. And I look forward to cutting those down. But once again, my friend, thank you. Stay safe, stay well. And we look forward to talking football with you again here next week, bud.

Okay, man. Thank you. And so Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on Locked On Patriots for a little game of dueling rosters between myself and Steve Balistrieri of Patsfans.com. And I hope that we were able to lend a little insight on the roster building process

and maybe even answer some of your questions in the process. But being the conscientious fanbase that I know you are here in New England, I know you have more questions. And for that reason, one more time before final roster cut down, I will be opening the Locked On Patriots mailbag for some midweek Q&A when it comes to all of your New England Patriots roster questions. Keep a sharp eye out for the Twitter notices,

and submit your questions to me on Twitter at MDABATEFPC or feel free to submit them to the Locked On Patriots account at LO underscore Patriots. As is always the case when we open up the mailbag here on Locked On Patriots, those questions that are selected will be answered right here on

tomorrow's pod. So to be sure that you do not miss a single second of the action, subscribe to Locked On Patriots on Apple Podcasts. Follow us on Spotify. Download and listen to the Locked On Patriots podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Once again, I'm Mike DeBate. I thank Steve Valistrieri for his time, his insight, and his appearance today, but most of all, I thank you so much for listening and for staying locked into Locked On Patriots. Stay safe. Stay well. Always be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day

everyone.