Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Fox on Friday Before the Fourth: New England Patriots Hot Topics Heading Into Camp — 7/2/2021

Episode Date: July 2, 2021

The New England Patriots are just under one month away from the start of 2021 Training Camp. Although there are several compelling storylines surrounding the team, two stand out among the rest. Joining host Mike D’Abate is Tanya Ray Fox of FS1 and the Almost Shameless podcast. The duo discuss the fate of Stephon Gilmore in New England and the potential quarterback battle between Cam Newton and Mac Jones.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. 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 Friday, July 2nd, 2021, and it's time to bring you into your holiday weekend 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 for all of you fantasy football fans out there, after you listen to today's episode

of Locked On Patriots, check out Locked On Fantasy Football. Winning your league starts with the right data. My colleague here at the Locked On Network, Vinny Iyer of The Sporting News, provides you the edge you need in your fantasy football leagues. Locked On Fantasy Football is a daily podcast all year round, so your fantasy team never fails. Subscribe to the Locked On Fantasy Football podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Greetings and salutations, Patriots Nation.

It is finally Friday, and thank you for joining me here on Locked On Patriots to help close out your week in style. 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, your comments, and your 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 M-D-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L and while you're out there giving that weekend nod and saying how you doing to the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account

as well at L-O underscore Patriots. Patriots fans, it is 4th of July weekend. And for the first time in nearly two years, we found out earlier this week that the Patriots will welcome fans back to the Gillette Stadium practice fields as they open 2021 training camp. Veterans are scheduled to report by July 27th. And that means that the team will be holding its first training camp practice on Wednesday, July 26th. The team also confirmed practice dates for Thursday, July 29th,

Friday, July 30th, and Saturday, July 31st. All four days of practice will be open to the public, so if you're interested in heading out to the stadium, definitely check the Patriots training camp website for more details in the coming weeks. Practice times have yet to be confirmed, but the start times of these are usually mid-morning. So again, folks, keep a sharp eye on the Patriots training camp website for all of the details. And of course, the start of training camp means the start of the 2021 regular season. And two questions that Patriots fans will be asking up until training camp and all through training camp. Will Stephon Gilmore continue to be patrolling the defensive backfield,

and who will be taking snaps under center? Well, those are the two questions that we're going to be answering on today's episode of Locked On Patriots. And luckily for us, we have one of the very best in the business at providing spot-on insight with razor-sharp wit. That's right, folks. It's Friday. So to help close out your week in style here on Locked On Patriots, we're turning this holiday weekend episode into a Fridays with Fox. Tanya Rae Fox of FS1 and the Almost Shameless podcast will join me here on the hot seat. And Tanya and I will be discussing Stephon Gilmore's fate in Foxborough.

How recent information this week may indicate that the two sides are closer than ever to coming together and finding an agreement in order to keep Stephon Gilmore in a Patriots uniform, at least for the 2021 season. We'll also flip the script and talk about the offensive side of the ball, specifically the quarterback position. The battle between Cam Newton and Mac Jones will likely get a lot of the camp headlines. But is it really a battle to begin with? Does Cam Newton have the inside track? Or does Mac Jones have a legitimate shot to unseat the incumbent and be a rookie starter for this New England Patriots team?

Folks, an action-packed agenda. It's always fun when Tanya joins me here on the hot seat. And in just a moment, my good friend Tanya Rae Fox will join me here on the Patriots hot seat talking Stephon Gilmore, Cam Newton, Mac Jones, and more when this holiday weekend episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Locked On listeners, when it comes to repairing or maintaining your vehicle, why would you spend 30%, 50%, even 100% more for the exact same auto parts at a chain store or a new car dealership? It's still possible to take pride in your ride and even save a little in the process.

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blue check marks to help you close the week in style here on the pod one of those check marks is very well deserved and she joins me today one of our favorites here on the pod, someone that is the best at providing spot on insight with razor sharp wit, you know, our great work from platforms such as USA today, NFL network, NBC sports, Boston, just to name a few.

She's currently providing amazing work for FS one and her podcast. The almost shameless podcast is sincerely highly recommended by yours truly. The incomparable Tonya Rae Fox is back here on Locked on Patriots. Thank you for joining me today, my friend. Well, you know, thank you for having me on. As per usual, pleasure to be here. Best way to start my weekend. That never changes.

I, you know, I wake up with my cup of coffee. I get on the mic with my boy Mike. And it's just, it's honestly always a pleasure. And as you said, we are both so verified. I don't know if the fans can feel it. I don't know if the listeners can hear our verification in our voices. But it is there. We have graduated to being blue check marks.

So now we are better than everybody else and that is no i'm just kidding but you know we did discuss that it's going to change our intro for fox with you know fox on friday so you know i i feel as though at some point we have to set a new goal for ourselves i don't know what it. I think we'll find it organically over time, but we can't just be sitting around with no, you know, no call to action to the listeners. We're going to have to figure something out. Absolutely. And I think we should figure something out. Maybe we'll leave that to the listeners over the weekend to let us know exactly what our new call to action should be with our newfound power and responsibility that come with these blue check marks. Now, look, all kidding aside, it really has been a great journey with the Verify TRF hashtag.

No longer needed there, but now we'll discuss something new. And I think that that works out well. And this is something that I've been looking forward to since you earned that check mark. And then a couple of weeks ago, I actually was able to get mine as well, which is a pretty cool thing. So we'll take it. I love it for us. Absolutely. Yep. Yes. I'm really, I'm thinking in my head about that Paul Rudd gift right now, where, you know, it's just, he's sitting there, look at us, look at us. I mean, it really is.

And it fits, it fits perfectly. That is perfect. It is. It really, really is. Tanya, we know the Patriots season getting closer by the day. The team announcing earlier this week they've set the first dates for training camp. July 27th, all veterans will report to Foxborough. On July 28th, the boys are back in town already.

Four practices set open to the public. Football's coming back, and there's a lot of anticipation in the air a lot of excitement but if we're being honest there are two storylines that will really continue to dominate the headlines in Patriots media both heading into training camp and during camp mea culpa I wrote about one today for Sports Illustrated so I'm feeding into it myself all eyes are on the quarterbacks, and we're going to get into the Cam and Mac show in just a bit, folks, but let's start

on the defensive side of the ball. When the Pats held their mandatory mini-camp last month, Stephon Gilmore not in attendance, and reportedly, Tanya, it was the result of a contract dispute. Stephon, of course, entering the final year of his contract, only the 25th highest possible cash intake at his position as his contract currently constitutes. So Stefan knows this very well. He pointed it out by quote tweeting a CBS sports graphic showing the top paid players at the position. Conspicuous by his absence, Stefan's name is not there,

despite, in my opinion, him being at the top of the list or near the top of the list when it comes to talent. He's looking for a new deal or at least an adjusted deal without any question. It remains to be seen how this situation is going to be resolved. It seems like both sides are open to working out a deal, however. At least ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported that yesterday, stating that on SportsCenter, the two sides are expected to intensify contract talks soon. So, Tanya, to me, this just makes too much sense for both sides. I personally don't believe that a deal will not get done here, but there are some obstacles in the way, and it's not a 100% certainty. When you look at the Stephon Gilmore situation right now,

what are your thoughts and which side do you believe has greater leverage? Well, I think in every contract negotiation with the Patriots and Bill Belichick, Bill Belichick has the ultimate leverage purely by the fact that he is the least likely to feel like he's losing out on a deal. If Stefan were to leave or hold out or whatever were to be, like whatever were to happen, Belichick, like he moves on pretty quickly. He's not super emotionally attached to these kinds of things. So like by that measure, you know, Belichick's always going to have more leverage because he's always looking to the future. But I actually agree. Like, I think this is a pretty easy call to make in terms of whether this is

going to get done or not. Once again, I said on this podcast, on my podcast, on Twitter, this is a team built to succeed right now. Belichick went out and spent a lot of money to improve this roster in the offseason. And Stephon Gilmore is a big part of that equation. And I mean, I know they brought in Jalen Mills and they have these different, like, you know, they're like, they always have ways of securing the secondary. And I'm not ever really super worried about that group, but you know, there is a still like a massive leap from Stephon Gilmore

to the next best cornerback on the team. And as far as I'm concerned, like Stephon Gilmore is a perfect example of someone that Belichick generally will consider extending or renegotiating with based on his history. Like if you are at the top of the pack in terms of your positional value across the league, he'll consider that extension or a renegotiation to get you more money, whether it's through incentives or through, like, you know,

adding years and doing all the weird stuff that, you know, Pat Kapp knows a lot more about than I do. But, you know, he's done it with Vince Wilfork. He's done it with Logan Minkins, who held out until he got his money. He's done it with, you know, obviously with Gronk. He's done it with, like, I think he did it with Gerard Mayo. So, like, there's been a lot of these contracts where they're at the top of the heap. And so I don't think there's a genuine concern on his part that he'd be overpaying per se. And I also think that, you know, for the most part,

Belichick doesn't let players on big contracts, which when he signed Stefan Gilmore to this contract, it was a big contract. People were really surprised that he got as much money as he did at the time from Belichick. So he doesn't usually let players play through the end of their contract and just leave, especially if it's not on a rookie deal. So sign him now, give him some money, make him feel valued, which he should.

He should not be out of the top ten highest paid. He's way down the list. He should absolutely be making more money this year pay him they have the ability to move the money around to do it and then you know have a get some value back for him if you end up wanting to trade him after this season because if you just let him play out this comp this year on this contract first of all that that's under the assumption that he will play or that he won't hold out. And secondly, you don't get anything in return. So get the best of both worlds.

Get Stephon Gilmore this season. And if you don't want to keep that contract long-term, you trade him. And even if he had a down year, he's still a super tradable asset. So I just think it's a win-win for them to come to some sort of agreement. And I think if they weren't, if fellowship didn't have any intent on re-signing him, he'd already be gone. Yeah, absolutely. So well said. And I completely agree with you on the point where if Belichick and the Patriots had any desire to move on from Stephon Gilmore, he wouldn't still be here.

Essentially, what these guys are trying to do is come to a middle ground, really take a look at what this team has done personnel-wise and monetarily, and then come to a happy medium. You mentioned the offseason moves that the Patriots made, and I think that's the perfect point. And really, I think the most indelible type of argument for Stephon coming back is the type of investment they made in the defense, particularly in the interior of the defensive line. You don't make those types of upgrades on the defensive line the way the Patriots did, bringing back ball-hawking linebackers like Kyle Van Noy, bringing in someone like a Matt Judon at the linebacker position, signing people like Devon Godshouse, someone like a Henry Anderson.

You don't make those moves without expecting to have a top-notch corner in this league and a top number one corner being able to help these guys play to their potential I love JC Jackson and I think he has the potential to be a number one I still don't think he's there yet and I think at that point Patriots are looking at this knowing that Stephon Gilmore does need you know a little bit of an adjustment and I think it's just the process that takes time. So that does lead me quite nicely into my next question for you. And it sounds like we're in agreement that the Patriots and Stephon will come to a happy medium. They will come to an agreement. But hot seat time, my friend.

First, assuming a deal does get done, do you think this deal gets done prior to training camp, or could this extend into training camp with maybe Stephon flexing his muscle and holding out a little bit until these two sides are ready to come together? Yeah, I think we could see even maybe like a situation similar to what happened with Aaron Donald and the Rams a few years ago, which is like everybody's on good terms no one's really that mad but on principle and as part of the sort of negotiating tactic and sort of like i have to flex my muscles you have to flex yours but like there are sort of conversations being had um especially because he is such a veteran player he doesn't need to learn anything on the defense. Like, he could do this with his eyes closed. Like, I could see something like that happening. The way that things are trending, like, just the reporting on this and how things are going, I didn't see, you know,

we saw Stephon Gilmore's tweet with the eyeballs at, you know, the highest paid cornerbacks. And, you know, he finds that interesting and whatever. I didn't see that as so passive aggressive as it was necessarily maybe like just optimistic in terms of like, all right, this is just another thing that's on my side. This is kind of the stuff we've been talking about behind the scenes anyway. These kinds of stats when you're in contract negotiations aren't surprises. Stephon Gilmore didn't find that information out on Twitter that he was

like, you know, the 18th highest paid cornerback in the league or whatever, whatever it is. Like he already knows that that's leverage they're using in negotiations. So I think more than anything, it's just it's reminding the fans and everything like I'm working hard to come back. And like, this is, these are the things you're seeing that I'm seeing too.

And this is why I'm holding out. So there's a chance that it could go into a holdout situation, And like, this is, these are the things you're seeing that I'm seeing too. And this is why I'm holding out. So there's a chance that it could go into a holdout situation, but if it did, it would only be because it's like, it's, there's so much going on, even still recovering, coming back from COVID, like there's protocols and things that are still in place that are pain. Like there's so much to re-negotiate in terms of just getting back to normalcy in football that like it just might delay. But it wouldn't be a sign to me that there's going to be a long-term issue with him holding out into the regular season.

Absolutely. And you're actually pulling into a lot of what I wrote about today for Sports Illustrated when it comes to the Stephon Gilmore situation. I got a chance to use one of my favorite quotes. Tanya, you know I love my godfather quotes. It's not personal. It's strictly business. This is exactly what the Gilmore and the Patriots are doing, even if this does extend a little bit.

I saw Stefan's tweet the other day. I didn't find it to be inflammatory or, you know, either ambiguous or cryptic or anything else like that. I found it to be very straightforward, like, okay, this is it. This, you know, we know what we have to do, like almost like a reminder, like when you, you know, you wave someone down and you're like, okay, you know, still here, see this, we got to get this done. And I think that's what's going to be the precipitous for these two sides coming together and getting the job done there are some obstacles to you know work out um you mentioned covid you mentioned all of that you know and planning out uh not to mention the fact that he is coming off of season-ending quad surgery last year so there has to be medicals and things of that nature reportedly everything looks good with

stefan i don't think there's any type of lingering medical problems there, but I think the Patriots just want to cross every T, dot every I, like they always do, and come to an agreement. So folks, if this does extend, if we're a couple of days away from training camp and it hasn't been announced yet, no reason to get up on the soapbox or think that, you know, Stefan is leaving or he's heading elsewhere. I do end up really thinking these two sides come together, and I don't really think it's going to be that much of a surprise when they do. So it sounds like we're like-minded on this, and I like that. Big surprise, but we usually come to a pretty good conclusion. So I'll take it, my friend.

I will definitely take it. Bottom line, you know, we've talked about arguably the best player on the Patriots roster in Stephon Gilmore, Tanya. But what you know as well as I do that all eyes are going to be on the quarterback position. In just a moment, folks, Tanya Ray Fox and I will discuss the new look Patriots quarterback room. And my good friend will tell you as only she can on who she believes would be the Patriots best bet at signal caller in 2021. More with verified TRF when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Locked On listeners, get all the latest news, odds, and info for all of your sporting needs, including Major League Baseball, the NBA, NHL, all of your UFC, MMA action, and of course

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First off, it indicated that the team was likely to move forward with him in the driver's seat at the quarterback position for at least 2021. It also indicated to me that because it's a one-year deal, very little guaranteed money, a very low-risk contract for the Patriots with the potential for a high reward, Cam signing this deal tells me that he's betting on himself. He wants to improve upon the performance he had in 2020. It also indicated that the Patriots were likely to dip into the quarterback well in the draft, try to secure a quarterback of the future, bring in someone that can learn from Cam,

develop, and eventually take the reins when they're ready. And that someone ended up being Mac Jones. Patriots taking him number 15 overall in the 2021 draft. Now, Cam's struggles last season have given his detractors some ammunition. Basically, they've gone on to say that anyone would be better than Cam Newton, a quarterback. And you and I both know that's completely untrue, but we know the narrative exists. There are people out there that are using it on the Twitterverse. Cam did struggle last season. There's no question about it.

There were reasons for it, but you have to be honest and say that he did struggle at times. And you know the chirping is going to start. In some circles, it already has. Cam had a rough first couple of days at mandatory minicamp. He did finish with a strong performance on his final day. In direct contrast, Mac Jones was absolutely the opposite. Looked great in his first couple of days, struggled in the last day. Natanya, we both know

it's futile to evaluate quarterback performances in minicamp. That's a time to learn. That's not a time to be playing for your job. Nobody's wearing any pads. There's no contact to speak of. So based on Bill's words shortly after the draft, I don't think minicamp did too much to change the fact that quote unquote cam still our quarterback Bill's words, not mine. But I also believe you and I both know that Bill's going to do what's best for the football team. He'll start cam. He'll start Mac, he'll start Jared Stidham, even Brian Hoyer, if he feels that it gives him the best chance to win. Based on that assumption, my friend, how much pressure is on Cam Newton to perform well in camp in order to solidify his position as the starter? So it's interesting. There is a lot of conversation about the pressure being on Cam, which I completely understand. And because, as you said, he faltered last season and we saw him struggle in certain places. And we know, like you've heard all of the excuses I've made for Cam. I still believe in them. But that doesn't take away the fact that he did struggle. arm was off his accuracy was off there were definitely

issues so i understand that heading into this offseason it feels like all the pressure is on pam he has certainly taken that pressure on himself he is accepting that this is like a chance for him to prove himself however realistically this team the offense that Belichick has built in the offseason is catered to Cam Newton. The tight end, like him bringing in the tight end so that he can run these tight end sets and have a nice depth chart there, having a burner like Nelson Aguilar, someone who's an actual deep threat, which is something that Cam certainly really needs because that's one big part of his passing name that actually is intact from last season.

His deep ball looks really good. All of the ways that he's built the offense are to benefit Cam Newton. He did not build this offense for a rookie quarterback. He did not build this offense for Mac Jones specifically. So is there pressure for Cam to perform and live up to that? Sure. I mean, I can't imagine that it's any more pressure than Cam has faced

at various points in his career. I don't think that it's something that he is necessarily feeling as heavily as maybe we are feeling it because we have all this post-Brady winning a Super Bowl with another team anxiety that kind of amps up the conversation around the quarterback battle. But make no mistake about it. Matt Jones would have to beat Cam outright, no questions asked. He'd have to just be the better player straight through training camp and preseason for him

to get the starting job in week one on an offense built for Cam Newton. This offense is catered specifically to Cam's talent. And, yes, of course, you can, like, bring in any other pro quarterback to use the talent that they have and, like, succeed. I'm not saying that that's – I'm not saying otherwise. But I just – I think, you know, more and more as the offseason goes on and I think about what Belichick did this offseason, I really do think that Belichick sees an opportunity

to do something genuinely special this season. And drafting Mac Jones 15th and then hoping that he turns into some sort of rookie phenom that takes him deep into the playoffs is just not a Belichick thing to do. He's not, like, he did not draft Mac Jones thinking, this is how I'm going to redeem myself after Brady left and went to a Super Bowl and won another ring. That's just a crazy thing to think.

So you're a hundred percent, right? If Mac outperforms Cam outright, he will absolutely start him because he's going to put the team in the best position to win. And if, and if Mac is the one to do it for them, then Mac will earn that job. And I've said, I think that if anything, if Mac outperforms Cam Newton in an offense designed for Cam Newton, you know, this guy is an all-time great athlete. If he outperforms him and wins that job outright, I think Patriots fans will be really excited. And I will be really excited because it will mean that Belichick sees something really special.

And the fact that Belichick believes in Cam so much will only give us greater confidence that Mac like has really done something special to impress Belichick and so this is kind of like to me a win-win you know there's some there's a weird like sense of doom and gloom around the quarterback battle it's like, we either have crappy Cam Newton or a rookie who like, yeah, we can get on board with, but how far can we go with a rookie? And I don't really see it that way. I don't, I would personally don't want to go into

the season with a rookie quarterback. I don't like, I've said it on this podcast, like the best rookie quarterbacks in the league don't go to Super Bowl. They just don't, it doesn't happen. So I don't want to see that happen. I want to have Super Bowl hopes, at least for a little while, even if it's only for a month. You want to have that.

And rookie quarterbacks are just a death knell for that. But if he wins the job and it's the new era with Max Jones and he has this great team, great. The pressure to me is on Max Jonesones to like outperform uh you know a former mvp and a heisen winner and a guy who like is coming into someone else's offense as far as i'm concerned yeah absolutely i think that's a great point to make in that the pressure that everybody seems to be putting on cam newton oh he's got to perform well in order to save his job i don't think there's anybody that knows that better than cam newton and i don't think there's anybody that knows that better than Cam Newton,

and I don't think it's necessarily because he feels Mac Jones breathing down his neck. He knows how he performed last year. Cam is probably his toughest critic. Quarterbacks usually are. I said that about Tom when he played here, having covered him, you know, even briefly when Jimmy, you know, was given the keys to the car for a couple of games. These guys are always their toughest critics. They're always going to look at themselves with the sharpest critical eye.

And Cam knows that. He's working with George Whitfield down at Georgia Tech, and he's continuing to work with his – and for those of you that don't know, George Whitfield Jr. is Cam's quarterbacks coach. And he's worked with him for a number of years, back to his days in 2015 when he first started in the league even before that uh when he came in with the carolina panthers he's been the guy that cam has really relied upon to help with mechanics help with arm coordination help with footwork things that he struggled with

last year again there's part of it that can be blamed on covid there's part of it that can be blamed on the lack of preparation time. Those are big factors, folks. They're not just excuses that people are trying to run out for Cam Newton. These are factors. Anyone who's played the quarterback position knows how difficult it is to come into a system, especially a system that was run so well by Tom Brady for nearly 20 years, and be expected to perform in that system when Josh McDaniels didn't make that many changes to it.

A lot of people say, oh, well, you can just run it differently. Look at the offense that the Patriots ran. Yes, they incorporated a few more RPO. Yes, they incorporated a little bit more zone read, but it was still pretty much the same offense. And asking Cam Newton to come in with very little prep time to do that does cause some difficulties but ultimately cam's going to take accountability for the struggles he had and the preparations that

he's making with george whitfield to me tells me that cam knows that better than anybody so he's going to be his own toughest critic and i think that's where the pressure is coming from it's not necessarily from belichick or from mac or from Jarrett Stidham or anybody else that might be pushing Cam to play better. He's going to fuel into that. And he even said that earlier this week. I use it to feed my focus. I feed the hate that I get. That feeds me, but I don't feed into it.

And that's a healthy attitude to utilize when you're going into a season, especially one that's going to give you more prep time. So based on that, I'm counting on Cam having a much better season, and I'm counting on him going into the season playing much better. So last but not least, my friend, it's hot seat time again. And I think you've kind of tipped your hand here, but I'm going to give you an opportunity to answer this again. After all is said and done, assuming good health for all parties involved, we're ready to start the season

week one, Miami Dolphins. Who's taking the first snap under center for the New England Patriots? Yeah, Cam Newton. Yeah, for sure. Like I said, I'm not going to predict, I'm not going to be one of those people who wants to be first

and predict that Mac Jones is the next great savior of the NFL. Like, people make insane predictions just in case it turns out right, and then they repeat themselves. And it's like, I could predict tomorrow that, like, a solar eclipse is going to cause, like, a hailstorm. And if it happens, I'll look like a genius. But it's just a guess. It's random stuff that people are throwing out there.

Realistically, everybody, even people who don't think Cam Newton will finish the season, think Cam Newton will at least start the season. So, you know, I think there's very few people who would predict that Mac Jones is going to be the person they're going to roll out, especially because they have such hard games early on. Like, it's not an easy road. You've got division games.

You've got the Bucs game early on in the season. Like, I just, I cannot in a million years imagine Bill Belichick rolling Mac Jones out against Tom Brady in week four. It's just, man, if that happens, I'm going to tell you, that'll be the most nervous I've ever been in my life. It'll be that day. Because if they're going into that with a rookie quarterback, basically like this smaller, crappier-looking version of Tom Brady,

just no thank you. I can't go there, Mike. I cannot take myself to that dark place. We must enter the season with Cam Newton in order for me to keep my sanity. Well, in order for Tanya to keep her sanity, Bill, do us all a favor. No, I'm only kidding, folks. No, bottom line, look, and I'm as high on Mac as anybody. I scouted him throughout the offseason, pre-draft. I was able to accurately

predict that the Patriots would take him at number 15 without having to trade up for him. So I'm definitely a Mac Jones guy, but I completely agree with you when it comes to starting the season and going through the season. The best case scenario, and I said this the night that Mac was drafted, the best case scenario for the New England Patriots is that Cam Newton has an amazing season, that he is able to maintain the starting job for the entirety of the season. I'm not saying that the Patriots are a far-gone Super Bowl conclusion, even if Cam has a tremendous season the way we hope he does. But at the same time, it gives Mack a chance to learn.

So if you're a Mac Jones fan you can still be a Cam Newton fan I'd really want to put that out there we talked about this the last time that's probably screaming into the wind at this point but I would like to at least reiterate the point that rooting for both of these guys to do well is not a bad thing folks but getting back to Cam and Mac Cam obviously is coming in with a chip on his shoulder he's coming in motivated and i believe that's going to lead to something better he has the ability to play with guys that he's you know played with in the past you've mentioned guys like nelson agalor kendrick bourne i think they're perfect compliments to the way cam newton's passing game

shakes out i think having the two tight end set is going to be such a help for him this year it's going to open up so much with play action. Cam's going to be able to utilize that to his advantage, get the running game going. To me, this offense right now is tailor-made for someone like Cam Newton. And not to mention the fact that Cam having a good season is also going to help Mac develop in the long run. And it's going to give him the opportunity to learn, to be able to develop new phases of his game, and to be able to move forward from there. So I agree with you.

Like you said, I'm glad that you mentioned the Tom Brady game and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coming to town in early October. Getting back to Stephon Gilmore, like I said earlier, you don't want to go into that game without a Stephon Gilmore back there in the, in the backfield defending against Tom Brady. And you also don't want the keys to the kingdom handed to a quarterback who is going to face an uphill battle,

regardless if you're a rookie, that's the easiest way to blow confidence. So cam can handle that pressure. He's beaten Tom before and who knows, maybe he's got it in him to do it again. But yeah, that's actually, that's a great, that's a great point.

And the point of the fact that like how demoralizing what's, what's the one thing you could do to a rookie quarterback that might set him back, you know, six months, have him lose to Tom Brady in Gillette stadium, have him be the first guy to lose to Tom Brady in Gillette stadium and see how that does for his psyche. They're 100% right. And Cam Newton can handle that pressure. He's not afraid of big moments. Like, it's just, yeah, I love that point,

and it's something I'm totally going to steal moving forward because it really is like, I mean, we've talked about it. The big thing with Mac is, like, giving him a year on the bench to learn and grow and see what that does for rookie quarterbacks, not quarterback not to mention like the kind of quarterback that Newton is the kind of leader that he is for other players like it really is such win-win if Mac is going to be a success in New England like this is the best way to do it it's best for everyone involved and like you said then we don't have to watch this poor kid go out with his tail between his legs in that stadium against that quarterback and have that legacy on his shoulders that's just that's the now i'm even more nervous mike because that's

it's just that's such a great point so yeah i love that i appreciate that and yeah i mean i wish i could take credit for it it is a point that is out there you know without any question but having someone like mac have to start this game and if he falters or if he struggles you know it really will it does play with your psyche and i think mac has a very strong will i think he's a very strong-willed quarterback i don't think he buys into it too much i think this is a kid that can take the pressure i've talked to several people that have scouted him in alabama that have covered him that know that this kid's makeup is a kid that can take the pressure. I've talked to several people that have scouted him in Alabama that have covered him that know that this kid's makeup is a little different than most. So you can knock him down and he'll come back up and he'll hit you back and he'll try to

hit you harder than you hit him. But still, I mean, you don't want to be that guy that has to falter to Tom Brady and, you know, and have that thrown in your face. It really can be a detriment. And I know people say, oh, don't buy into it. That's what they're paid for. They're quarterbacks. They have to do it for a rookie.

That's extremely tough. And that could be a tough blow for him. So all, you know, all things considered and all cylinders clicking, hopefully Cam will be the quarterback for that week and beyond. And we'll continue to see great things from this team. I'm looking forward to seeing them offensively, defensively. Training camp is going to be a blast in Foxborough this year, folks. And Tanya and I will continue to cover that here on Locked On Patriots.

We'll continue to chat throughout the offseason and into the regular season because you know you're a part of the Locked On family here, my friend. And I, for one, could not be more happy to see that blue checkmark next to your name. And thank you always for taking the time out to join me here on Locked On Patriots. Before I let you go for the holiday weekend, please let our listeners know where they can find you, your great work, and what you have coming up from the great pen and the great voice of Tanya Ray Fox. Yeah, so you can always find me on twitter and instagram um at tanya ray fox and my podcast feed is shameless trf on both those platforms my podcast is back up and running um we'll be doing you know uh patriot stuff always whatever it's very boston centric we go into other topics as

well you know me mike so i'm always there's always been like if there's a big social justice story or if there is a larger story at play in the sports world we hit on that so my last uh you know my last episode we hit on Carl Nassib we hit on some of the talk from Jay Williams about the first black head coach for the Celtics and sort of the like mechanics of how we talk about race in Boston like I hit on bigger topics as well. So, you know, tune into that because we keep it pretty diverse over there. And, you know, we have to have Mike on the relaunched Almost Shameless podcast. So when I do have Patriots content and when I am covering a big Patriots story, Mike,

you're going to be one of my go-to guys as well. So we're going to be doing a lot of cross pollination. So you guys can look forward to that, of course. And yeah. And in the meantime, you'll just, you know, my, my takes will be all over the internet as per usual and always feel free to, to come debate with me. Well, thank you very much for that invite. And it'll be my honor and it'll be my privilege to join you as well.

And I look forward to that continuing on with the Patriots coverage, for that invite and it'll be my honor and it'll be my privilege to join you as well and i look forward to that continuing on with the patriots coverage but folks i can tell you and most of you already know as you know as a frequent guest here on locked on patriots anytime you listen to her content read her content no matter what she puts out it's always quality work and it's always the top-notch kind of work that doesn't just give you the information that you need it makes you think about the information and then help you make an informed decision if that's not the definition of a journalist i don't know what is so that blue check mark is well earned well deserved my friend and again the almost shameless podcast no matter what she puts out check it out you'll be better sports fans i think you'll be better people in life by doing it so just

continue to uh to feed into it. Take a look at what she's got going on because it's always, always great. And I'm proud and honored to be along for the ride on that as well. So have a great holiday weekend, my friend. Thanks again for coming on here to help us close out the week in style. And we look forward to talking with you again here on Locked on Patriots, again, very soon prior to training camp. Thank you, Mike. You're the best. And we'll talk soon at the Illuminati meeting for verified

Twitter users. We'll keep it, you know, well, that's the kind of a side thing. We don't usually talk about it, but, you know, we'll be in touch. Absolutely. You'll know me. I'll be wearing that jacket that Tom wore to the Summer Award show a few years ago the one that made him look like he was about to ask uh everyone in the uh the crowd to uh suspend uh their imagination for the evening so uh I'll be wearing that jacket I don't think I can pull that off as well as Tom did believe me I'd like to see you try I really would let's do it well you know what let's do it maybe I'll show up for training camp dressed like that one day provided it's not a sweltering hot day in the fields of foxborough maybe i'll be able to rock that look uh so uh yeah folks tune in for that or don't tune in for that

based on your tastes but uh yeah i like it i like the idea i'm game for it i'll try anything all right mike well thank you again i appreciate you indulging my goofiness on this friday morning and i will talk to you soon absolutely sounds great Well, thank you again. I appreciate you indulging my goofiness on this Friday morning, and I will talk to you soon. Absolutely. Sounds great, Tanya. Thank you so much. Bye. Just like that, Patriots fans, we put a bow on the abbreviated week here on Locked on Patriots. And before we take you into the holiday weekend, even though Locked on Patriots has you covered with all the news, notes, and analysis you need from Foxborough, get all the sports news you need in under 20 minutes with the Locked on Today podcast.

Host Peter Bukowski updates you on the latest news in every major sport with the help of our local experts. Follow the Locked on Today podcast on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. And as for Locked on Patriots, be sure not to miss a single second of the action next week. And we'll be amping it up and talking everything and anything related to the Patriots as they march toward training camp. 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 my good friend Tanya Rae Fox of FS1 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 next time, Foxborough faithful, stay safe, stay well, be the change you wish to see in the world, have a safe, happy, healthy holiday weekend, and happy 4th of July, everyone.