Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Finished with the Fins, On to the Jets: Patriots and Tight-Endage Talk with ClazzyClare — 9/15/2021

Episode Date: September 16, 2021

As the New England Patriots move on to Week Two of the 2021 NFL Season, many Pats fans are wondering if we will be seeing more of the team’s new tight end duo of Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith. Joining host Mike D’Abate is Clare ‘ClazzyClare’ Cooper of PatsPropaganda and Full Press Coverage Patriots. The duo discuss the abilities of Mac Jones, the team’s offensive and defensive areas of improvement and…of course…’tight-endage.’Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.ManscapedFellas, don’t gamble on shaving your balls with the wrong tools! Choose MANSCAPED™, Your Balls Will Thank You™! Get 20% off + free shipping with the code LOCKEDON at manscaped.com.RunYourPoolCheck ‘em out TODAY and get $10 off at RunYourPool.com and usepromo code LockedOn at checkout. 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. It is Wednesday, September 15th, 2021, and it may not be alliterative, but it is time to talk some tight endage on this Wednesday 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. And don't forget, the Locked On NFL Draft podcast relaunches September 20th with brand new hosts. Eric Crocker brings the

player scouting. Ryan Tracy brings the analytics. Follow the Locked On NFL Draft podcast on YouTube, the Odyssey app, or wherever you get your podcasts. Greetings, salutations, and happy hump day, Patriots Nation, and thank you for joining me here today on this midweek episode of the pod. My name is Mike DeBate, and I cover your New England Patriots for Patriot Maven of Sports Illustrated. I am also 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 very much encouraged. So share that feedback, send it to the internet by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at MDABATENFL. feedback send it to the internet by reaching out to me and following me on twitter at mdabatenfl and while you're out there doing some wednesday wandering through that twitterverse please be sure to follow the locked on patriots account as well at lo underscore patriots pats fans at the midway point in the week it is almost time to leave those pesky Miami Dolphins in the rearview mirror and turn our attention fully toward the New York Jets this coming Sunday in a week two matchup in East

Rutherford, New Jersey. But before we do that, there's still a positional grouping on this team that we haven't discussed yet when it comes to their performance against the Dolphins and what we might expect to see against the Jets. We haven't talked tight endage yet here on Locked On Patriots. That all changes today. And you can probably guess who my guest is going to be. That's right, the Countess of Clas, the Empress of tight-ended.

Folks, if you're scoring at home, know she doesn't quite have as many nicknames as Murph, but she's getting there. The figuratively and literally lovely Claire, Classy Claire Cooper, is my guest today on Locked On Patriots, and we will be talking some tight endage, including the manner in which they were utilized on Sunday, they being Jonu Smith and Hunter Henry. But we'll also talk a lot more with Claire today. We'll be discussing her impressions on quarterback Mac Jones and what she'd like to see the Patriots do differently on offense and on defense to make sure that they're on the winning side of the ball this Sunday against the Jets.

Folks, an action-packed agenda today here on the pod. Always my honor and always a blast when Claire joins me here on the microphone in the hot seat. And without much further ado, Claire Cooper and I will discuss Patriots tight endage as we say farewell to the Finns and hello to the New York Jets when this Wednesday episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Locked On listeners, we're back and better than ever. All eyes are on the gridiron as teams are back to start another football season. As always, BetOnline is your number one spot for all the pro and college football action this season. With a new updated site and interface, even more odds, props, and contests, BetOnline.ag continues to be the number one source for everything football.

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it's probably a safe bet and a safe assessment that you're also a fan of my guest today, because I know I am. Her wit, her wisdom are a staple here on the pod, and hers is a voice, an accent, and definitely a giggle that you all know very, very well. From West Midlands in the UK, she is a Patriots writer for Pat's Propaganda, the third voice of One Patriots Place, and a special contributor and columnist for full press coverage, Patriots, where she also hosts her very own podcast, A Tremendous Listen, Pat's Fans, a Claire Perspective. This is a must-listen, Pats fans. Definitely highly recommended. Some of the guests that she has on are tremendous and she holds her own with some of the best in the business. It's my honor today to welcome the Countess of Clas herself, Claire, Clazzy Claire Cooper, back to Locked On Patriots. Claire, thank you so much for joining me from today from across

the pond. Welcome back to Locked On Patriots. Oh, You're welcome, Mike. Thank you so much. I had to bite my lip there where you say a giggle because I try not to giggle in the middle of the introduction and completely spoil it for you. But I did nearly giggle on call then with the whole the giggle that people might know. See, that's what we love to hear. Just let it flow. It's fine. It's okay. You know what? It breaks it up. It gives them something else to listen to than my monotone droning. So I guarantee you they're looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to it. Clara, it's always an honor sharing the microphone with you.

You know that. No matter the topic, no matter the circumstances, whether we're breaking down a win or a loss like we're going to do today it's always fun and uh i know we like to have some fun at your expense regarding you being an expert on tight endage as i've said several times you've got your own t-shirts out there now folks by the way visit patspropaganda.com if you want one of claire's t-shirts i assure you they're great great t-shirts and uh who knows i'd love to see some of these popping up in and around Gillette. So, folks, you know, let's get this going. Let's see if we can get some of these spotted at Gillette Stadium the next time this team comes home to face the New Orleans Saints in a couple of weeks.

But, Claire, we're going to take our leave from the week one loss to Miami. 17-16, a one point loss definitely hard for the fan base to digest to absorb um our good friend murph was on on monday he was clearly not happy about this game nothing really cheered him up he's kind of in a fun mood he's always grumpy what are you talking about i work with him he's always flipping grumpy well he's actually happy to come on the show on monday we give him his own hashtag he's got his own brand of chair i mean he's doing very well here in the locked on not in the locked on studios i'll do anything for my godfather you know that but in any case it makes him insufferable

for the record folks claire said that not me um but in any case um our resident voice of reason stopped by here the pod yesterday steve valistrieri and i talked a little bit about patriots performances at certain positions and uh claire even though it might be cliche you knew we were going to talk about it today we did not mention the tight ends on monday or tuesday and there's a reason for that because i was waiting to discuss this position group with you today. The Patriots had Devin Asiasi inactive for this game. I was a little surprised by that, considering that the Pats love to spread that 12-man personnel on the field, and they did that on Sunday, running the two tight end sets quite often.

But without that third tight end, it made it a lot of a workload for Hunter Henry and John O'Smith. Now, anyone that was concerned about their health really shouldn't be any longer. These guys look like they were moving well. They looked like they were hitting their assignments. Maybe the scoring production wasn't there the way we hoped, but for lack of a better term, the tight end position is back in New England. When you watch this game on Sunday and you watched specifically John O'Smith and Hunter Henry out there on the field, what was your reaction to their performance? And what do you think this says going forward about the Patriots offense with Mac Jones utilizing that 12-man personnel? Well, you're completely right. Obviously,

Mike, they didn't utilize the tight endage quite as much as maybe we expected but they they utilized it pretty much more in this one game than they did probably the whole of last season as you know I don't quite have the same opinion of last year's tight end as most but you know let's not go there we'll put opinion there that's the past Henry was used quite considerably as a blocker as I wrote recently in my game recap for patspropaganda.com he is a great blocker um he played 54 snaps um he had three targets as well for 31 yards it's not a lot but it is a start and I mean Smith is much more of inverted commas a weapon Hunter is your traditional tight end as I'm sure everybody knows but he makes plays and I'm hoping that the shoulder injury isn't something

that niggles and that the reason that people keep comparing Hunter and Smith more to kind of Gronk Hernandez is because we barely see them both in the game together because see that was something that was an issue back then. Neither guy could be healthy at the same time, or often at the same time, to have them both on the field at the same time, to really cash in on the dynamic of that series, you know, two-time package.

Smith, as I said, he's more of a weapon that people are looking for. I genuinely think he's the reason, or one of the reasons, some of the reason that the Patriots did what they did at wide receiver or kind of lacking of what they did really a lot of people expect sort of big things from him I'm not an not an exception there he was utilized in most forms of play to be fair but just a little bit he was he blocked he had five targets five receptions in the passing game and he had a rush for six yards the problem is in a way the o-line just really did i know we'll talk about that later but they didn't really do a great job and kind of resulted

in the utilization of the tight ends in having to block more so hopefully going forward this is considerably rectified so that we can see these guys as two full targets and we can have that year of tight endage that we're sort of really hoping for absolutely i think that's great analysis and look for all of the talk about these two seeing the field at the same time together claire you hit the nail right on the head they were on the field together on 32 of new england's 70 offensive plays 31 of those were in 12 personnel so you look at what they're able to when they're running that 12 man personnel they're having johnny smith and hunter henry out there and i think that's exactly how Josh McDaniels wants it.

He catches 73 yards, not exactly lighting the world on fire, folks, in terms of offensive output. But there were flashes, especially in the third quarter. You look at some of the advancements that they made and these guys getting a chance to get isolated and man coverage. Hunter at one point was isolated and man coverage on an option route, and he had the choice to break off the route or to sit there and to be able to make the catch. With the defender on the outside, it was difficult for him to do that, but Hunter read the play very well, and he does read the route very well and was able to make the reception. One thing that you notice, though, is that even though he was covered, there was a little bit of coverage, and Mack mac took a chance getting the ball to hunter and he got the ball very effectively on the opposite side jones is wide open at that point for a big play so excuse me smith is open at one point

for uh for the big play smith jones is i'm gonna be the alias smith and jones this year it's gonna be crazy keeping track of of these names no folks i'm only kidding that was a freudian slip and i'll own that but uh all kidding aside um you know john smith out there on the outside wide open this is what 12-man personnel does and this is something the patriots didn't have last year not because ryan is always a poor tight end folks claire and i will die on that hill i like ryan not as much as claire does but i do i i do like ryan as much as claire and i will die on that hill i like ryan not as much as claire does but i do i but i sympathize with ryan and i really i think he tried the best he could to utilize the skill set that he had but he's not someone with the skill set of a john smith or a hunter henry and

he had no one else on the outside that was going to be able to help him really kind of form that tight end tandem that the Patriots could utilize that Josh McDaniels loves to do. So they're going to need more out of their two tight end packages to get their offense going. Maybe, as my good friend Evan Lazar says, take the training wheels off the offense and Mac Jones a little bit. Let him utilize this. Let him cook with these guys and I think there's going to be a really really budding um relationship between he and his tight ends that's really going to make this offense illuminate and you saw that in some of the usage that he had with the wide receivers he can incorporate the tight ends into this well especially in the red zone this is going to be a fun team to watch so we live in hope Claire it's going to take a lot I'm not saying that automatically everything's going to be fixed this week.

No, but I think I think we're we're on to something. I think that's a significant thing that you mentioned is it's it's the first game. Don't forget, you know, let's not forget that there may have been flashes like like you said, and there was some great flashes. But some people would argue, well, there were only flashes. flashes you know we want we want more from them there was a lot of money dropped on them that kind of thing but this was the first game we you know let's sort of give it chance the journey has only just begun so let's kind of just get excited for for where we're going to end up rather than where we feel we might not be now absolutely and i think you're absolutely right when it comes to that.

Hit the nail on the head as usual. And that first game, don't forget, it wasn't just Mac's first game in a Patriots uniform. This is Johnny's first game in a Patriots uniform. This is Hunter's first game in a Patriots uniform. And Hunter didn't even play any of the preseason. Sorry, I didn't mean to talk heavy. But Hunter didn't even play in the preseason. Like you said, he didn't even suit up for the preseason.

So this was kind of Hunter's first game in the NFL for, you know, for a bit since last year kind of thing. So, yeah, sorry for the Patriots, not for the NFL, since last year. So, yeah, significantly the fact that there were proper, if you like, proper plays made surely is just the most, you know, take a positive from that. But I am a kind of tight-ended enthusiast so i'm always going to look on the plus side more than anything

that's very full rather than half full oh well i think the glass is definitely more full when it comes to the tight end spot than half empty uh in terms of what this team is going to bring to the table and i agree with you i really think there's a lot to be excited about and who knows maybe we'll start to see some of those uh blocks take shape into a foundation this Sunday when the Patriots take on the New York Jets. Staying on tight endage a little bit, but not quite. We're going to transition a little bit into the quarterback position because, as I said before we went on the air, I'm basically contractually obligated to ask everyone that comes on Locked On Patriots about their opinion of rookie quarterback Mac Jones. And Mac, I thought, put in a solid rookie performance.

I thought he put in a solid performance for any quarterback. But when you look at what this kid was able to do, especially as a rookie, it's really awe-inspiring to know that, especially in the second half, that he was able to navigate through the blitz as well as he was. When you look at Mac's performance as a whole, Claire, what impressed you the most about him in terms of skill on the field? And what type of intangibles did you see from a leadership perspective that leads you to believe that Mac Jones was the right choice to start the season at quarterback well I was always on the fence prior to when they named Mac Jones a starter and they and they let Newton go I was on the fence because I just couldn't quite decide what was best for the team and I always say that I sat on the fence with one foot in the Mac camp because I liked what I saw from him in preseason. Obviously, the release of Newton sort of takes all that away.

And I was completely fine with that. And that's nothing against Cam Newton and all to do with Mac. I mean, he was mostly cool, calm and collected. And considering that it was his, what, 17th or 18th football game as a starter full stop he's you know he's first in the NFL if this is a sign of things to come if that is if that is how he is this is truly the real Matt Jones that we've seen then I'm totally in I mean 39 attempts for 29 completions I think my math is awful but I think that worked out as a 74% completion rate. And if I worked it out correctly, I worked out Tua's and he was like a 59%. And I mean, he's been in the NFL for a year over, Max. So he had some problems.

I'm not going to sit here and say he was perfect because I can't anyway, because I watched the game that everybody else watched. He's not perfect out of the gate. Some of the pressures that he took may have kind of been on himself and he did make a few in inverted commas very rookie kind of plays but the you know the majority were at the commencement of the game so you could always put that down to it was the beginning of his first ever NFL game whatever the kids said on the podium about kind of nerves and stuff like that he in his press conference sorry then you know he still probably was kind of

affected by them at least a little bit the one thing that I'm concerned over that I know other people have sort of mentioned is the concern of breaking him in all fairness you know it's a bit of a cliche as it may sound but he seems so NFL ready and he really did and and I hope that is something that we we do still see going forward and it's just yeah I just if this is his flaw, then his ceiling must be amazing. And honestly, I mean, I've heard that almost exactly stated several times this week. And every time I hear it, I completely agree with it, because a lot of people, especially some national pundits, have said that his ceiling is not that high. And Mac is going to be average and he's going to be this. It'll be that.

I don't know what the ceiling will be for Mac Jones, but I do know that his ceiling is a lot higher than people believe. And having observed what he can do on the field on Sunday, really only solidified the point that the Patriots made the right decision. And this is coming from a guy that said all off season long, that I believe Cam Newton was the right choice to start the season, that the Patriots were going to be better off having Cam play this year, lead this Patriots offense, be able to cultivate this team into one that Mack would be able to take over next

year and take it over with a pretty good amount of, you know, style and a pretty good amount of prowess. But when you look at the way Mac is able to handle this offense, and we've said this several times, Claire, this is an offense that's predicated on vertical routes with quick, accurate throws that reach the target as intended on time and only where the receiver can get it. And Mac Jones did that several times on Sunday. And to do that right off the bat in your debut is very impressive for a rookie. And again, you do it against the Blitz and against pressure.

14 of 18 for 129 yards against the Blitz. Those are incredible numbers for any quarterback, let alone someone who's making their debut. He went 9 of 12 for 89 yards on third down, which is another very difficult thing for a rookie quarterback to do to calm yourself, get collected and be able to deliver a strike when needed to get your team across the first round marker and be able to advance the ball. That was very impressive as well. And of course he met seven of 10 with a touchdown when he was under pressure. So these are types of statistics that will spell well for Mac Jones. Bottom line, he also has the leadership intangibles. You saw right after Damian Harris, and I think you saw this on the broadcast, if memory serves me correctly. I didn't see the broadcast on Sunday.

I had to watch it again on Monday with kind of a lazy eye, not a sharp eye, folks, because I was doing multiple things at once. But I do recall seeing him going to the defense, right over to the bench, right after Damian Harris' fumble late in the fourth quarter, motivating them, clapping, getting these guys going and motivated, keeping their spirits high and saying, this is not over yet. That's it. It's one play.

We're going to come back from this. Ultimately, they didn't. But you want that in a quarterback, someone who's willing to go that extra mile. Even something as simple as just refusing the ball from Nelson Aguilar in his first touchdown saying controversy hit with that didn't it really oh my gosh what a way to get talked about it really did but I thought Mac summed that up very well post-game you know they you know we asked him about that in the media and he was very forthcoming and said, look,

it didn't matter. That's one touchdown. We needed more at that point. He wasn't interested in the individual accolades. The only time I think the moment got too big for him was the first snap. He fumbled that a little bit. You don't want that to be your first snap in the NFL, but once he did that, he had a calm and a poise that I think is beyond his years. So great stuff from Mac on Sunday. If you're a Patriots fan, you're taking away from the loss a bitter taste in your mouth, but feel good about the quarterback position and feel good about the tight end position as well. And I hope Claire and I have been able to at least give you some optimism heading into

our coverage now of the J-E-T- jets, jets folks. It's always a lot of fun when the countess of class herself stops by the pod, but we're not done yet folks, because in just a moment, the countess herself will give us her keys. Sorry, Murph. I won't use that term. I told you before I'll retire that term in your honor. She will give us her impressions on exactly what the Patriots might need to do differently on offense and on defense to stifle that pesky gangrene on the green side of the Meadowlands on Sunday. More with Claire, Classy Claire Cooper, when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Locked On listeners, does this sound familiar? You've got one device that lets you catch the game live, another device that lets you stream your favorite shows, you're watching sports

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to get 15% off your next order. That's promo code LOCKED15 for 15% off at Bilt.com. Patriots fans, the Countess of Clas herself has graced us with her presence today. Claire Clasie, Claire Cooper is my guest on locked on Patriots for this midweek episode of the pod. And Claire, we talk tight endage,

big surprise. And I think that everybody knew we were going to talk tight endage when they saw that you were my guest today. And you know what? It's unabashed. We don't care. We had fun. That's all that matters.

And I know people liked it and you provide great information. So it's always a win-win. I don't care. We also talked about Mac Jones. There's another surprise. I think everybody knew that we were going to talk Mac Jones. It's just the topic of the year here on lockdown. Patriots will continue to do that.

But when you're a jet, you're a jet all the way. And the jets now are going to be the Patriots week two opponent. And it's time to take our leave of the Dolphins, leave that image of the porpoise in the rearview mirror, or however you want to put whatever colloquialism you want to put to that, folks. It's now time to look at the Jets. And the Jets are coming off a loss of their own against Carolina on Sunday. They're also sporting a new rookie quarterback in Zach Wilson. A lot of difficulty on the offensive line for the Jets.

A little bit of a weakened defense now with Mekhi Becton going to be out for this game. Looks like he'll be having surgery and he may be out for the foreseeable future. Claire, I'm not going to ask you to go into depth on the Jets just yet, because we'll save that for tomorrow when I talk to my good friend John Buchko, host of the Locked On Jets, and we'll bring you up to speed on exactly what to expect from gang green. But when you look at the New England Patriots now, in terms of things that they did on Sunday against the Dolphins,

what are you looking for in terms of improvement? We'll start on the defensive side of the ball first. We'll give some defensive talk, and then we'll bring it all home with some offensive talk. On defense, what do you think the Patriots need to do in order to put out a better showing against the Jets than they did on Sunday against Miami well firstly yeah I'll let the the Jets guy do the Jets type things rather than you know trying to steal the show or anything but I mean I did I did want to comment um how they have a young secondary and this could give Mac a great advantage to be to really get the ball downfield Carolina did get

some pressure from the Jets on the front line so the Patriots offensive line will need to ensure it tightens things up more on that later and their running game isn't exactly a strength but ultimately even if the Jets don't play great the Patriots still they still need to win and you said defense I mean there were such great additions in the offseason with the likes of Godchow, Anderson, Judon Mills there was all these kind of defensive guys brought in but I really don't think we had a defense that was advertised should we say I mean maybe expectations were too high the wind the the things wide receivers were out there as if they were coated in butter you know they were that hard to contain

I mean the secondary had such inconsistency and I think that is a concern I don't know if it's just a kind of Stefan Gilmore absence syndrome or if JC just really isn't kind of he just isn't number one he just can't be number one nothing against him I'm just saying maybe that's just not the position sort of thing Anderson Baird he played Judon did well mostly although I do think one of the eight penalties that were called um one was on him I mean but some would say you know that that's kind of him doing his job in all fairness because i know that he it's been said that he's got this kind of aggressive nature about him and i don't mean that in a negative sort of

way but they had 84 eight penalties for 84 yards and four called fumbles and i mean obviously i know that's not just the defense that's just the figure putting out there but the Patriots they just seem to play really messy and they can't carry on that way surely we should be utilizing the signings that we had you know like I said I hate to repeat myself but they really weren't as advertised and it's a concern as to why and it's answering the question of sort of why were they in in that respect absolutely and look you know i know there's been some publicity given to the patriots defense and especially a lot of the upgrades that they made free agent wise bringing in devon godchild bringing in henry anderson bringing in matt judon those are three significant players on this defense although henry anderson took very few snaps on Sunday.

No, I think that will increase. Yeah, I think that will increase on Sunday against the Jets being his former team. Maybe Belichick playing a little bit of, you know, coy on that a little bit. But there's also, you know, some merit to the fact that Henry's been learning the playbook, you know, gradually throughout training camp. But obviously the Patriots have rostered him. They know that he brings a great deal to the table. So we'll see what Henry's able to bring to the game on Sunday. But I thought you hit the nail right on the head

when you mentioned the offensive line and the Jets and their difficulties there. If the Patriots defensively are going to be able to get after Zach Wilson, show him exotic looks and confuse him, that will help them to be able to get after Zach Wilson, show him exotic looks and confuse him. That will help them to be able to get the edge, but ultimately they have to get home against him. They have to get after him. They have to knock him down and they have to be able to get after the quarterback. And that's where guys like Kyle Van Noy, Matt Judon, having Dante Hightower in the middle of that defense really helps them to be able to get into position to have guys like Dietrich Wise, like maybe even a Chase Winovich, set the edge.

So that way, guys like Devon Godshaw and Lawrence Guy and even Henry Anderson mixed in can be able to stop the run and prevent the Jets from being able to run the ball. If they make the Jets one dimensional, that plays right into the patriots hands and then we can see the secondary go to work a little bit which a little bit thin there but uh you know against a team like the jets maybe uh their aggression against uh that um that um jets offensive line might be able to give them some difficulty that's analysis sorry you touched on that's another concern is high tower went off's another concern is Hightower went off with a bit of an injury at the very end of the Finns game and a few people have said that he's been playing a little bit rusty is something that I've heard so it's kind of just like another sort of thing to be worried about going into it in all fairness sorry not to throw like negative

onto the fire or anything no I mean it's not, it's not a, it's not a negative. It's an accurate assessment, I think. And I'm glad that you mentioned that, uh, Dante did look a little, uh, you know, uh, rusty on the field on Sunday. There's no question about it, but having his presence and him being able to dictate, uh, where players need to be as something he's still doing very well. And ultimately that gives him a value that I think may eclipse any type of field rusts that he has. And he'll be back into it because Dante Hightower is a true pro, knows how to play the game and knows how his physical capabilities and his skill set are going to be able to accentuate what the Patriots do on defense. So good stuff, but good analysis. And I'm glad that you brought that

point up on Dante because that's one of the keys that I'll be looking for as well to find out how he's progressing as the, uh, the days and the games go on last, but certainly not least Claire, um, we'll flip back over to the offensive side of the ball and the Patriots scored 16 points on Sunday. Obviously they're looking for greater offensive output against the jets. And you mentioned, uh, a young looking for greater offensive output against the Jets. And you mentioned a young secondary for the Jets. I mentioned Mekhi Becton possibly, likely, in fact, I think definitely now being out with an injury that he suffered on Sunday. If the Patriots are to move the ball well and effectively against the Jets, what's something that you'd like to see the Patriots do a little bit better than what they were able to do on the field on Sunday to be fair it's probably I hate to sound general but it is as a whole the offensive line in all fairness I mean the initial front seven are strong you've

got on when you Andrews win and such you know they're names that you look at as a lineup and think that offensive line is pretty darn good but then we lost Trent Brown and it really kind of went a little bit downhill from there they brought in Haran and then I think he went back out and they brought in Durant I believe it is yes it's just when you like I said when you look at the list of names initially it's like that's that's a serious lineup that's really when you, like I said, when you look at the list of names initially, it's like that's a serious lineup. That's really great. You only need to remove one significant brick and the wall crumbles. And unfortunately, I think maybe that's what we saw. Trent Brown was removed and then it kind of crumbled a little bit.

And I think that's a massive concern because protecting your young quarterback is key. Max shown that he's got this you know the sort of speed and accessibility but he still needs protecting he still can't take the sort of the hits that he did and whereas you can't put everything on the offensive line because some of it would have been the receivers not getting open quick enough and some of it would have been on himself as well but I think a lot of the blame shall we say averted commas not that I really want to use that word but I think it's the only way to describe it is going to be on that line and it really needs tightening up in all fairness to you know do anything against the Jets without question uh the offensive line i think is a good place to start and i agree with you when it comes to that analysis and i think

that's very astute because automatically people are going to look at the offensive skill positions and oh they need to get more production out of the wide receivers which i think nelson aguilar had himself a solid game yes he did yeah, they're going to need more effectiveness in the red zone with the tight ends. They need to get them into the end zone, get them to score. Yeah, there's some truth to that as well. Virtually everyone is agreeing that they need to do a better job with ball security and keeping themselves away from unnecessary and ill-timed penalties. But one of the things that really contributed to some of the Patriots' struggles was when

Trent Brown did go down. I like Justin Heron. There's no question about it. I think he's a very good swing offensive lineman and a backup. He's a good third option. But he struggled mightily on Sunday. And he struggled mightily on Sunday against a very good Dolphins defensive attack. Sunday might be a little bit different this coming Sunday against the Jets.

They're not as aggressive at the line, but at the same time, they can get after the quarterback as well. This is a pro level defense, folks. And, you know, the Jets are able to, you know, to put forth that that effort and they can get after Mac. And we heard Carmen Brasillo say it today. Sorry, we heard Carmen Brasillo say it today. Sorry. We heard Carmen Brasillo say it yesterday when he spoke to the media, David Andrews, you know, when he spoke to the media as well on Monday

and made those comments. So when you look at what the Patriots are doing and you look at what they need to do a little bit better, it's getting production and getting protection from that offensive line. And even though it looks like Trent Brown's injury is not going to be season threatening or serious, or even allow him to be placed on IR he's day to day right now, there is still a chance. He may not be able to suit up in this game on Sunday. And if that's the case,

Patriots are going to need better production out of that right tackle position, which means maybe Yasser Durant gets the start and maybe Yadnik could juice this active. Maybe hisadnik Adjoust is active. Maybe his hamstring injury is shored up. He looked like a very good swing tackle in training camp. Maybe he can provide some protection. And Jaron has to get back on the horse and prove that he can do it at a top level because

he did struggle on Sunday. And that is a concern. There's no question about it. That, I think, is a concern for the Patriots alongside the obvious of ball control and keeping those penalties down to an absolute minimum I think it's you said about the production from the wide receivers and the tight ends and things like this I think I feel like it starts with the offensive line I feel like you start there to tighten it up and then the rest will come and I'm not saying that the offensive line I feel like you start there to tighten it up and then the rest will come and I'm not saying that the offensive line are completely responsible for the whole

game don't get me wrong I just think that you if you can solidify that better strengthen that more you'll get that bit more from every from every other area because Mac will be have more time or he'll be able to read better or whatever and I think it's such a knock-on effect from that position from that start point that it'll go forward and you'll be able to see it more so I get what you're saying about sort of wanting better production and things but I really think you need to start it's almost like starting at the bottom sort of thing and working upwards with it in all fairness but that's just my opinion that's just my two cents on the matter no and your two cents is worth a lot more than that i assure

you and i'm not talking euro or pound conversion rate we're talking actual worth uh when it comes to uh declare his opinion and uh it's second to none count as i always say that and i mean that sincerely great analysis and i'm glad that you mentioned the offensive line because I think that's something that true Patriots fans, when they watch this game or they watch replays or they take a look at the analysis that has been done on this one, you'll find that that's probably key to some of the difficulties that they've had. And again, when you hear your offensive line coach, like a Carmen Brasillo,

and your team captain, David Andrews, say, Matt got hit way too much on sunday we can't have that continue you know they're going to be looking to shore that up and it starts on wednesday in practice at gillette stadium for the new england patriots as they prepare for the jets jets jets see i'm not just about tight ends see i can do offensive line as well. It's not just tight ends. Absolutely. It's a plethora of opportunity here on Locked On Patriots for you to really stretch your analysis skills. And I continue to be more and more proud each day and more and more impressed each day by the work that you put out.

And I sincerely mean that. I truly do, folks. Claire puts out excellent work with both press propaganda and full press patriots for the benefit of our new listeners countess which we do have several now that the nfl season has begun please let everyone know where they can find you uh where they can interact with you on social media and a little bit of a preview of some of the great work that you have coming on the horizon from the great voice and the great pen of Claire Cooper. Of course. Well, I'm known as the crazy Titan lady.

No, not really. Well, actually, I probably am known as the crazy Titan lady because I'm known as like the queen of Titans, the empress of tight ended, you know, that kind of thing. So, yeah, but I don't just talk Titans. I do talk Patriots as a whole because it is my passion you will find me at patspropaganda.com at patspropaganda you'll find me um at fullpresscoverage.com and and that's for as you said for full press patriots which is at fpc underscore patriots you'll find me on twitter um at clazyclare which is c-L-A-Z-Z-Y-C-L-A-R-E. I have, as you said, a Claire perspective, which is my own podcast, which is that I interview members of kind of Patriots beat writers, Patriots media. A couple of guests that were just kind of NFL, not just Patriots, as I was very lucky to interview Mark Sester a few months ago. So there's a few different different people

in there I have just recorded with Mike Giardi that dropped yesterday so my interview with Mike Giardi discussing the Patriots with the game against the Finns so that's out now you'll find that most places that you'll find download your podcast as you mentioned I am part of One Patriot's Place with Thomas Murphy and Steve Balistrieri, regulars here on Locked On. So I know a lot of the fans out there will kind of know those guys anyway. And yeah, I work with them once every week. You'll find One Patriot's Place out there. So I think that pretty much sums up everything. I do a game recap now for Pats Propaganda. I did a couple of the pre-season ones and they seemed well received.

So I now kind of do my next day game recap for Pat's Propaganda and that is patspropaganda.com and my podcast will probably be out again in a couple of weeks when I get my next guest for Full Press Group Reach. So there you go, there's stuff waiting for you. Sounds good and we look forward to every bit of it. And folks, I do sincerely mean it when I say that anytime Claire puts pen to paper or puts voice to microphone, it's always point, click, learn material. You'll be entertained. I guarantee you that. You'll be well informed as well. And that is something that is rare in this business and something that she does so well. Claire, I can't thank you enough for taking the time out to join me here today on the pod, especially the great time distance

between the US and the UK. You always make the time to come here on Lockdown Patriots, and it's always a lot of fun when we share the microphone. We'll be sharing it again very soon here on Lockdown Patriots. But in the meantime, thank you again. Stay safe and well. And we look forward to your next visit here to the pod. You again stay safe and well and we look forward to your next visit here to the pod oh you're welcome it's always so much fun to come on on lockdown and get to you know interact sort of thing and for the listeners and things like this so i appreciate everybody for listening i really do and thanks ever so much for having me on and i hope to see you again soon excellent we sure will thank you so much. And just like that, Patriots fans, we are more than halfway through your work week,

but we are just getting warmed up when it comes to Patriots coverage here on Locked On Patriots. Tomorrow is Crossover Thursday, and that means a visit from our good friend, John Buchko, host of the Locked On Jets podcast, as we break this one down from a Patriots perspective and a Jets perspective. So to be sure that you do not miss a single second of the action, download, subscribe to, and follow the Locked On Patriots podcast on platforms such as Spotify, the Odyssey app, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts, just make sure that you are staying locked in to Locked On Patriots.

Once again, my name is Mike DeBate. I thank Claire Clazzy Claire Cooper for her time, her insight, and her appearance on today's pod. But most of all, I thank you so much for listening and for continuing to make Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Until tomorrow, Foxborough faithful, stay safe, stay well, be the change you wish to see in the world.

Have a great day, everyone.