Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Joe Meets Mac; Two Steps Back? — Mac Jones, Joe Judge and the New England Patriots Fate — 5/18/22

Episode Date: May 19, 2022

As the New England Patriots march closer to the 2022 season, many are wondering if the Pats can build on the promise they showed in 2021. Joining host Mike D’Abate is Clare ‘ClazzyClare’ Cooper of PatsPropaganda. The dynamic duo discuss the ability of Mac Jones work with Joe Judge. Clare also provides her thoughts on the toughest games on the 2022 schedule in 2022, and whether the Pats have been displaced as the second best team in the AFC East.Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-patriots-daily-podcast-on-the-new-england/id1140512627 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFmwg3WbfxAU3tR5Ve?si=k196wH-yRqifUcQQz8SjIQStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-patriots And follow host Mike D’Abate on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans.On Twitter: @mdabateNFLSupport 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.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!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

Patriots fans, the 2022 NFL season is fast approaching. Will Matt Jones and Joe Judge, the new de facto quarterback's coach? I know it sounds weird, but will they be able to coexist? And with the schedule release now a week in the books, who is the Patriots' toughest opponents coming up on this schedule? And has an AFC East rival surpassed them in the standings? On Mike Debate, we'll discuss all of this today. You are about to be locked in to the Locked On Patriots podcast.

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, and thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Once again, my name is Mike DeBate. I am your host of Locked On Patriots. And, of course, you can follow Locked On Patriots on Twitter

at LO underscore Patriots. You can follow me on the Bird app at MDABATENFL. It's Wednesday here on Locked On Patriots, so that means it's time to add a little clazz, a little pizzazz to the show. As you can see, my co-host today on Wednesdays, as always, is the illustrious columnist extraordinaire from Pat's Propaganda, as well as hosting her very own podcast, A Claire Perspective, a Patriots podcast,

which, as I say each and every week, folks, is an absolute must-listen. Smash the subscribe button wherever you get your podcasts. You won't be disappointed. One of the most entertaining and informative listens anywhere in Patriots media. My good friend Claire, Klazzy Claire Cooper, joins me from West Midlands in the UK.

Claire, thank you for joining me today. Welcome back to Locked On Patriots here on your resident Lady of Locked On Day. No, thank you very much for having me, as usual. Absolutely. And folks, I know I haven't gone through the rundown of Claire's many list of names. You can find those in volumes one through seven.

They will be posted on the Twitter account. No, all kidding aside, you know I'm going to sprinkle them in as much as I possibly can today. Because the Empress of Tight Endage herself gave a master class, a true clinic, the last time that she was here. We talked about the tight endage position, Claire, and we really went up and down the board of course right after we did that the patriots sign or claim the tight end off of waivers matt sulkel coming over from the detroit lions los angeles chargers jacksonville jaguars a couple of tours of duty they're probably not going to move the needle much but we'll see and we will continue to talk some tight endage later on um in the process uh when we get to a little closer to training camp but today claire uh the question on everyone's

mind is the patriots assistant coaches and how they're going to work with players on the field especially on the offensive side of the ball defensive i know a lot of people are still screaming about steve velichek and hiscalling abilities and how Gerard Mayo needs to take a more active role. But it's a lot of status quo on the defensive side of the ball. Not too much turnover. Can't say that about the offensive side of the ball. Josh McDaniels, Carmen Brasillo, Bo Hardegre, all gone, all in Las Vegas right now. Boy, I envy the three of them.

Boy, I really envy the three of those guys taking their talents out to las vegas but the patriots have brought in some familiar names some prominent names when it comes to the coaching staff uh but not a whole lot of pro level experience of doing what they're going to be asked to do this year notably matt patricia coaching the offensive line in speaking with the coaches this week matt kind of unofficially confirmed that uh he didn't really come out and say it i know there's been a very common theme throughout a lot of these press conferences where they're not revealing their true titles but matt did reveal that he's working very closely with the old line but what we want

to talk about today is joe judge and his role in coaching the quarterbacks and he's mentioned several times this week that he is working very closely with Matt Jones and that the two of them are trying to develop that relationship. Claire you've talked several times and made great points about Brian Hoyer being the de facto quarterbacks coach on this roster even though he's a player that that role is going to be vital in helping Mack continue his development. Because say what you will about Josh McDaniels, I think we can all agree that he did a great job with Mack last year, developing him in his rookie season. Joe Judge doesn't have a whole lot of experience in this area.

He played quarterback in Mississippi when he was playing in his playing days, but not a lot of experience working one-on-one with quarterbacks when you take a look at this situation Matt Jones coming into his second year Joe Judge kind of being a novice what are your thoughts on this how do you see this relationship playing out in 2022 maybe even beyond well as you mentioned Judge hasn't coached quarterbacks as people do mention as you mentioned he played quarterback in high school at mississippi but i mean do we really believe that someone with the prowess and the football experience of bill belichick would put the fate of his potential

franchise quarterback the guy who heads the team you know the future of the Patriots in the hands of a doofus. I mean, come on, seriously. Is there a worry that Mac Jones is going to turn into Daniel Jones? I mean, I would really be surprised, but I guess there are some people that are concerned with that in all fairness. So they've made that link. But seriously, Mac appears to be a very good football mind. He could be way better than we even realize at this stage and i mean you know than we know internally as fans as you the media that kind of thing i mean there was this

lovely rumor that i've read that mac jones was teaching cam newton the playbook now obviously that's going to have been refuted by cam newton of course however if there is any seed of truth in that it would sort of show how you know football smart our current quarterback is you know not to mention that Mac with the um helped Bill O'Brien with the playbook in college I mean come on this kid has kind of old past his years as they sort of say so I mean don't forget as you as you like as you touched upon and I'm glad you mentioned Hoyer because I got his kind of name down Jojo isn't going to be the only voice in Max Eer I mean let's not take away from the fact that this is the Patriots system folks and as much as he does

get kind of like bad press Brian Hoyer is a precious sorry i get the words there a precious commodity in that system 14 years in the nfl that's nothing to sneeze at granted several teams but he he did three years in new england then a gap and then another four years in new england and in all fairness when he was in New England he was under several different offensive systems he wasn't always under the same offensive coordinator so he's going to be the most consistent of the voices in Max Eer he's also one of the most experienced in all fairness and even more so than a coach as we kind of know he's got that little bit more access to max ear as you like um than even joe judge will anyway so they do say those that can't play teach and maybe this is brian hoyer's speciality in new england it's gonna be that i mean people

are gonna say that i know we joke about it and and it's it feels a shame to sort of say these things, but we saw Brian Hoyer play. He isn't the best out there kind of thing. But if any of Mac's success last year is to be credited back to Hoyer, and I know that I'm pretty certain that Mac sort of did credit some of his success back to Hoyer in sort of press conferences and things like that. I don't think I'm remiss in remembering. I may be, so if I'm remembering wrong, folks, apologies, but we all know that I've got a terrible memory.

But, yeah, you know, in all seriousness, he's a consistent part of the Patriots. Why? And he's going to be there. And so we're sort of not looking at, you don't need to look at sort of the Joe Judge, Matt Jones in a vacuum because it isn't going to be in a vacuum yes he he's gonna he could possibly be if we put labels on it which I know Bill sort of isn't but if we do put the label on it that he is the quarterback

coach you would say well he's the most predominant he's the he's the guy that's going to be sort of telling Matt what to do and all that but I don't think it's quite as cut and dry as that so I don't think we sort of need to be as concerned and as as I said at the beginning, is Bill Belichick, the great and almighty Bill Belichick, really going to risk sort of everything by giving Matt Jones to somebody who isn't going to be able to, you know, kind of grow him in the system? Absolutely. I completely, completely agree with you when it comes to that. I think a lot of people are misjudging that fact. And some are trying to maybe twist the narrative a little bit by saying, oh, well, yeah, Bill is kind of letting his ego get the best of him. And he believes he can wear every hat in the building. And Steve Belichick, his son actually did say that

those exact words when we spoke to him on Monday. And he says, well, Bill wears in the building he's still the final say and i think that's important to let everyone know that that bill billich still has the final authority on this team and that's exactly how it should be he's the head coach he's the general manager the buck should stop at his desk but at the same time you also look at the people and the coaches that he's now surrounding his team with there's a common theme amongst a lot of what the coaches are saying this week it's really all about the fact that they're football coaches first and foremost and when i look at joe judge even though he's had his hiccups as head coach of the giants he's been a tremendous special teams coordinator here for a number of years that special teams unit that he had was among the best in the league every single time

they took the field. That's not by accident, folks. That's not by happenstance. That's by design. Joe is definitely someone that's capable of getting players to play for him. But when you're a special teams coach, it puts your hand into every aspect of the football game. It puts it into offense, defense, special teams. You're coaching everything. You're coaching all of those areas, and you're involved with all those players. So the fact that he's played quarterback will definitely help him. I think Joe is going to lean very heavily on Brian Hoyer, like you said, because there is that familiarity, that synergy. But at the same time, I also look at it and say, okay, well, Joe still brings stuff to the table.

This is a former head coach in the league. This is a former special teams stalwart when it comes to coaching in this league, and also someone that is capable of communicating well. And say what you will about Joe Judge, the last two days I've had an opportunity to, you know, be in on those, on those conferences. And he communicates very clearly, very thoroughly and very well. There is no question when you talk to Joe Judge about what his point is going to be, very much unlike myself. He gets to the point, he stays with it and he really hits it head on.

And I admire that. That's a skill that I, you know, I try to aspire to. And That's a skill that I try to aspire to, and it's a skill that he definitely has inherently. So see, folks, I made her laugh. That's one good thing I can do. So in any case, bottom line, I agree with you in your assessment with Joe Judge. I think it's going to be inherent upon Mac to be able to take that step as well.

I think everybody is missing the point, and I think you articulated it perfectly that at the end of the day, it's got to be Mac Jones that makes that jump. It's got to be him that takes the lessons that Josh McDaniels gave him and put them into practice. He's not quite the, okay, I'm going to take you by the hand and I'm going to lead you. The training wheels are off. Mac Jones is a starting quarterback in this league. He played well enough to get his team to the playoffs last year. That takes that aura, that mystique about being a rookie quarterback away from you. Now you have to go out there and you have to perform. I definitely think Mac is up for it

by all accounts. He's definitely showing that on the field. He's showing that in the locker room. His players are saying that there's a level of leadership they see in Mac this year that they didn't last year and that he's grown several, you know, by several leaps and bounds. So I think that's going to be just as important. But for those of you that are squeamish about Joe, I get it. And I understand that a lot of you will continue to be until we see this team on the field. And I think it's fair game to question it. No question about it.

I'm not saying buy into it or just blindly go along with the end. Bill, we trust. And yep, that's it. Damn the torpedoes. Full speed ahead. Just give it a chance. And I think if you give it a chance, I think you'll see that maybe these guys that are in charge are not quite the novices that you think they are. And I think the Patriots

coaching staff will be just fine. Just my opinion, but we'll see what happens. Claire, it's always fun talking about these matters with you, and we've kicked things off here in style on Locked On Patriots. However, the schedule is now been out for almost a week. It was released last Thursday,

and we've kind of delved into it here on Locked On Patriots a little bit. Murph and I have given our grades, we've given our thoughts, but today I need some wisdom and counsel from the Lady of Locked On, the Countess of Clas herself, will give us her opinion on the schedule, primarily whether or not a key AFC East rival may have leapfrogged the New England Patriots when it comes to the AFC East standings.

I know we haven't played a game yet, but have they narrowed that gap or overtaken the Patriots as the second best team in this division? Claire and I will talk about that in just a moment when this Wednesday episode of the Locked on Patriots podcast continues. But first, Claire, we all know that this is a great time to be a sports fan right now. There's NBA playoffs. There's NHL playoffs. The Preakness is coming up.

If you're a horse racing fan, there's just a lot going on. Football is not quite in full swing yet but we're getting there everybody loves to be a sports fan if you're listening to this podcast you definitely love to do that and what better way to continue or cultivate your sports fandom and to make a little on the side on that well to do that visit our good friends at betonline.net because they are your number one source for all of your sports betting stats and sports information. Find the latest developments, league reviews, and news, including this year's basketball playoffs, the hockey playoffs, and, of course, Major League Baseball.

BetOnline is your continued source for all of your sports wagering information, from live betting to playoffs, esports, and more. Head to the website today or use your mobile device to learn more about the trends and the action. Bet online where the game starts. Locked On Patriots listeners, listen up, special notice here for you. In this competitive business environment, could you afford to have a portion of your workforce

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the resident lady of LockedOn, the only guest that can add the Clas and pizzazz the way only she can here to LockedOn. My good friend, Claire Classey, Claire Cooper of Fats Propaganda and her very own Patriots podcast, The Claire Perspective. Definitely check that out wherever you get your podcasts. Claire, we talked a little bit about Mac and Joe and going back and forth and how Mac Jones and Joe Judge are going to coexist on the field, but ultimately the Patriots fate is going to be in the hands of all 53 players and all the coaches that are on the sidelines when the regular season begins thanks to the schedule makers and the powers that be over at the nfl who make a night of a schedule

release which we've got to give credit to the marketing department there boy i mean to get a schedule release and make this a multi-day event is really just remarkable to me but it is and fans love it we love it i mean i'm far from being complaining about it. I just, I'm amazed that they've made this the event that it's become. Bottom line, the schedule is out. We know who the Patriots opponents are going to be. We know when these games are going to be.

I know, folks, I know there's a possibility for flex and stuff like that, but for the most part, that schedule is set. And Murph and I talked about the primetime games earlier this week last week we talked about some of the highlights that are going to be on this schedule but one thing that stood out to me is the AFC East matchups this year and how the AFC East teams have really closed the gap for two decades the New England Patriots ran roughshod over this division. Bill Belichick, Tom Brady caused a lot of sleepless nights in Buffalo, in Miami, and in Jersey, New York, wherever the Jets play. Sorry, folks.

But you know what I mean. You know what I mean. Bottom line, the Jets have gotten better. I know I'm probably upsetting Murph right now by saying that but they have they've closed the gap a little bit I still believe that Zach Wilson is going to take that next step I know Murph has some harsh words for him a little bit earlier this week I maybe didn't correct him the way I should have but uh I think he'll be better I do think there is uh you know some talent there and especially now with the talent that they're surrounding him

with I think Robert Sala is taking that team in a better direction uh the miami dolphins have definitely grown in terms of a team on paper i see the parsing of the lips so i'm going to give you a chance to kind of flush that out in just a moment um and i think we can all agree that until someone unsuits them or unseats them i should say the buffalo bills are still the class in this division. But the Patriots challenged the Bills for the division last year, challenged for a top spot in the AFC. This is not a team that's going to be run over without any question.

Not when you've got Bill Belichick on the sidelines. These guys are not going to roll over. The big question I think in the AFC right now is not so much can the Patriots catch the Bills. I think it's whether or not the Dolphins have caught the Patriots. And they've had some additions, whether it be Armstead on the offensive line or whether it be Tyreek Hill at the wide receiver position. Tons of new running backs in Miami.

Mike McDaniel loves his fast running backs, and he's got Raheem Mostert over there. Now he's got Chase Edmonds. Now Sonny Michel going to run. When you look at the dolphins and i know you don't enjoy looking at the dolphins i know it's going to be painful for you claire um when you look at the dolphins have they closed the gap or dare i say have they overtaken the patriots as the consensus second place in this division right now well as you aforementioned it's very difficult for me to look at dolphins because as

some of you may know some of you listeners may know some of you may not i really really hate the dolphins that's why i asked you this question folks yes i know he did this on purpose just to make me suffer folks so yeah you know where to direct all the all the not very nice man i'm only joking i would not ask you to do that at all but yes I am not a big fan yes of course there's AFC East rivalry as there always is so I do genuinely hate the Finns the Bills and the Jets as well but in a different order to some Patriots fans I hate the Dolphins because it was my first ever game at Gillette Stadium my only unfortunately at the moment but to Trudy won't be but my first game at Gillette Stadium we played the, unfortunately, at the moment, but to Trudy, it won't be. But my first game at Gillette Stadium, we played the Finns and they beat us

and it was terrible because then we didn't get the bye. This was the end of 2019. So the Patriots didn't get the bye. So then they moved on to play the Titans and then they got knocked out. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So I hate the Dolphins.

Passionately, I hate the Dolphins. I passionately hate the Bills as well. So we'll get onto that in a little bit, folks. But still, as you mentioned, the Finns coach, I mean, he looks great he looks great but we just don't know I mean who's to say at this very point who's going to be what because on paper the the Finns yes they seem good all the names that you mentioned Tyreek Hill you you kind of missed out the Jalen Waddle he's second year very good player they re-signed Di Secchi tight endage I've got a massive respect for him he's, very good player. They re-signed Jacecki, tight-ended. I've got a massive respect for him. He's a very good tight-end,

even if I do hate the fact that he's a Dolphin. Mike Jacecki, very good tight-end. So there's also history. History isn't on the Patriots' side here. I mean, last season, the Finns beat the Patriots in both meetings. In the first probably something like 20 years, I think, if my research was correct.

But I mean, what you haven't touched upon i know you mentioned the bills and i'm glad you did because this feels like more of an afc east discussion than just a dolphins discussion in all fairness the loss of could hit the bills in quite an you know more than expected because we're talking here as we mentioned in the previous segment how the patriots are going to suffer under a new offensive coach particularly matt jones we just you know what that was more course about coach but yeah particularly matt jones surely that you could say the same unrest situation is in buffalo with their new offensive coordinator leaving for a head coach with sorry with their previous offensive coordinator leaving for a head coach job. So you're actually putting them in basically the same kind of situation

as the Patriots, yet you're not sort of saying, oh, well, are they going to still be as good? Granted, they've got different weapons to the Patriots. They've got a quarterback that's been in their system for a longer time. But you've still got a team in a situation of, shall we say, unrest, if you like, you know, for want of a better phrase, because they've got some coaching differences.

Now, you've got to look at the Jets as well, as much as Murph never wants to. And that's just because he doesn't like babyface that well. And he's just got a problem with him because he's, you know, a little cutie guy. Not really my jam, but, you know, that's what Murph always calls him. So I know he's got an issue with him and just in general as well so yeah fair enough but you've got to look at them as well when you look at the AFC East and they drafted really

well or you could argue they drafted really well with Source Gardner, Jermaine Johnson II, Garrett Wilson and they even took one of the titans that i thought was really good in regards to jeremy ruckett now i know he wasn't a top titan but he's still a titan that they took that i really liked because he looks really good so yeah hold your heart on that one folks but you still got zach wilson at the center of it all now i have heard that he has beefed up in the off season from from another podcast that i that i like to listen to that covers the whole of the nfl apparently zach wilson has done some work on himself in regards to that but you're still looking and i know you kind of put positives towards the organization but you still look at

an organization that haven't had the best record i mean um last season they went what did they go oh i thought i'd got it written down i haven't never mind we'll move past that show folks yeah we'll forget that bit but i mean the afc is definitely in flux at the moment sorry the afc east is definitely in flux at the moment with all the changes at the coaching staff so you can't if you're going to put that onus on the patriots in regards to oh that's you know their offensive staff is in is in disarray or whatever you're looking at the same situation in regards to the bills and you've also got a new coach in as the fins and you've got the same organization that you had previously that's that had this bit of unrest so in all fairness not to sort of dodge your question you know you know because it kind of looks like i am but the afc is to me i don't

think you can look at this moment of oh well they're above them or the Finns are catching the Patriots because it's too I think it's too difficult to say at this point in regards to you you you're sort of judging the Patriots with their coaching unrest we need to judge the Bills as well so the Bills definitely going to be at the top because you're going on what you looked at the Bills last year well this Bills team well so the Bills definitely going to be at the top because you're going on what you looked at the Bills for last year well this Bills team isn't the Bills that we saw last year because they've got different coaching staff and things like that so I think it's it's too much of a disarray and I'm not very good at saying like the Finns are better than the Patriots anyway even if they are because I hate them so much uh so you know you're catching me on a you know you're

looking at the the fanness of me now and, you know, the irrational fandom, shall we say. So to be fair, I don't think at this point, honestly, in all seriousness, I don't feel at this point you can put them in an order because I think there's been too many different changes. And like we said, the additions that the Jets have had, you put them at the bottom, but would you still? That kind of thing. So I think it's a question that can't actually be answered at the moment, and I'd like to put a pin on it and come back to me in a couple of games into the season. Okay, fair enough. We will definitely put a pin in that one, and we will come back to you on that.

No, I'll get against that. I think you make some great points. I did tip my cap to you when you mentioned Brian Dayball, and you mentioned his absence now and a new coordinator coming in in Buffalo it's an uncertainty there's no question about it I mean and it's something that to ignore it and just you know treat it like it doesn't exist is not doing it a service anytime a new coordinator comes in anytime that you have a quarterback that has the the synergy that Josh Allen had with Brian Dayball and try to replace that,

it's going to be difficult to do so. Now, the one area where I will say that that may not be a like-for-like comparison when it comes to Mac Jones is Josh Allen has a few years on Mac. He's more of a seasoned veteran. He's been around the league a little bit more. He's seen most of these teams now. He's been to the playoffs. He's been battle-tested into championship games. So he's got a little bit more battle-tested metal in in him and i think he'll adapt to that a little bit better than someone without as much experience like a mac jones now the other part of that is that mac has a meticulous ability to prepare for games he's known for it and he does have an ability to read defenses he you know is a student of the game picks things up very quickly and that will

i think you know be a feather in his cap so maybe you're looking at a wash in a situation like that at best but i think it's a good point that you made and i'm glad that you made it uh yes i'm hearing the same things on zach wilson as well that he did beef up a little bit in the offseason maybe that helps him um before i get to my points on the Dolphins, I noticed that you had a little bit of a thought there. Come back. Yeah. Something that I wanted to say in regards to,

so Josh Allen obviously is more seasoned in that system. That could work as a negative because it could be that Mac is more pliable. He's younger. He's not used to the, you you know the systems as he's been so he could actually sort of adapt to the changes in regards to coaching that maybe josh allen would have a few more issues simply but now i'm not saying this is true i'm just saying a possibility because josh allen's been in it for longer he might actually find the transition of a new coordinator of a new offensive caller that kind of thing,

actually more difficult than someone like Mac Jones. So it could actually rebalance the scales, and you could actually find the Patriots on top, then the Bills, then the Finns, then the Jets. It's definitely possible, and I'm glad that you made that point. That is a very good point to make, and it could. It could have a ripple effect. It could end up benefiting Mac because he is a little bit you know more susceptible to coaching

he is a little bit more accepting to that and he's still learning the game at the pro level so that may end up working to his advantage sometimes someone is seasoned as josh allen even though he's not a grizzled veteran in the league he's been around a few years now uh sometimes you get set in your ways it's difficult to be able to adapt some of the great ones have been able to do it we'll see if josh allen belongs in that conversation he's definitely trending in that direction but you won't really know until he actually gets something of tangible um you know uh winning uh i should say you know any type of tangible windfall uh and then we'll be able to put him up in that echelon as well so good stuff

when it comes to that and i'm glad that you mentioned that quick point on miami before we move on i think one of the reasons why everybody loves the miami dolphins right now on a national level is because of all of the off-season acquisitions that they made primarily tyree kill that kind of put them on the map and people wanted to look at that and say wow boy miami's miami's going for it. They're going all in. They're pushing all their chips on the table right now. Ultimately, I think Miami is going to go as far as two entities that have been in Miami right up until this point. I don't think it's the offseason acquisitions that necessarily are going to move the needle for them. It's going to be,

first of all, Miami's defense, which is very good. If they come out and they play as well as they did last year, you have a very good chance of cont come out and they play as well as they did last year, they have a very good chance of contending for a playoff spot, maybe even nipping at the heels of the Patriots or maybe even the Bills for the division. But ultimately, it's going to come down to Tua Tagovailoa. It is Tua, the quarterback that Miami Dolphins fans hope he is. Some Miami Dolphins fans, I should say. Not everybody is on the the tour bandwagon down

there but is tua going to be able to lead this team they've certainly surrounded him with all the weapons he should need in order to be successful they've beefed up the o-line they've given him talented receivers you mentioned waddle i didn't mention him earlier because he's not a new acquisition but you can make the argument he's the best receiver on that team. I'm glad you mentioned him. I mean, they've, they've given him a core of running backs that he can do an awful lot with. He's got one of the better tight ends in the league in Mike Kisecki. He has all of the necessary intangibles to be able to succeed.

If that offense is not clicking on all cylinders, then you have to look at the common denominator. And that unfortunately for Tua is always going to be the quarterback, and he's going to bear the brunt of that. So if he comes out as a good season, then, yeah, Miami's going to be a tough out for the New England Patriots. That's going to be a dogfight for that second spot. But if Tua does not come out and play well and he struggles,

that's going to fall squarely on his shoulders. And then I think you're looking at the Patriots probably being the best team to possibly challenge the Bills for unseating them in the AFC East. I can't believe you missed an alliteration. You said the two are bandwagon and you should have said the two are train. The two are train. That's it. Unfortunately,

I'm slipping Claire. And that is why the Countess of Clas always joins me here on a Wednesday to bring me back in. Just when I thought I was out, she pulls me back in. So in any case, folks, now that we've talked AFC East, now that we've talked Mac Jones, we're going to get Claire's perspective. I got that one. We're going to get Claire's perspective now on the schedule and the New England Patriots'

ability to be able to contend within this schedule. What does Claire think of the schedule and what are some of the toughest opponents or toughest matchups that the New England Patriots have on this 2022 season slate? We'll talk about that in just a moment when this Wednesday episode of Locked On Patriots wraps up. But first, Claire, summer is coming. The weather up here in New England last weekend was absolutely summer-like. It's going to be downright summer-like this weekend.

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promo code lock 15 built.com patriots fans it's almost time to wrap things up here on locked on patriots each and every wednesday i have the esteemed honor and the privilege of being joined by our resident lady of lockdown, the Empress of tight endage, the Queen of TE, the Baroness of blockers, the principal of positivity and the Countess of class. I told you I'd get them all in. Claire Cooper joins me here today as she always does. Columnist extraordinaire, podcast host extraordinaire from patspropaganda.com and a Claire perspective a podcast Claire we've talked a lot about the Patriots and their place in the AFC East and what's going to happen between Mac Jones and Joe Judge but when it comes right down to it the Patriots fate of the season like I said to open the last segment is going to come down to

the games on the schedule can they win more games than they lose? Can they get into the playoffs based on their season schedule? Most of it depends on the team that they put out on the field. But if we're being honest, the schedule has a lot to do with it as well. Do they draw easier opponents? Do they draw tougher opponents? How are we going to determine the Patriots season? When you look at the schedule, top to bottom, what are the games that stand out to you? What do you think are going to be some of the toughest matchups for the Patriots heading into this 2022 season slate? Well, I'm glad you specified for the Patriots

because if you just asked the question very generally, I would say to you, the latest stint of the season is going to be very difficult for us UK people because of the whole 8-20, 8-15, 8-15 and 8-20 games. It's going to be very difficult for us Patriots fans. I don't know about the actual Patriots themselves, but us Patriots fans after the bye have got a really hard stint. So all you US people please do send some good karma and some best wishes best wishes and some coffee and some coffee exactly to us UK

people dealing with the kind of weeks 12 13 14 and 15 because it's gonna be tough folks but from a Patriots perspective because that's what we are, I had a look at this and I found this really interesting in regard to the schedule, however you want to pronounce that word, because I love how there's difference in English language when it comes to American English. But still, I had a look at this and I found this very interesting because there was a lot of teams that you would say have got not necessarily unrest, uncertainty yeah uncertainty at their

quarterback position which obviously you know looking at the NFL in general looking at football in general you kind of look at that as the starting point yes the quarterback isn't the whole team we all know this as fans we all know this as Patriots fans as any fans as any sports fans you know that you know that the team if it's a team sport it's the sum of the parts it's not team we all know this as fans we all know this as Patriots fans as any fans as any sports fans you know that you know that the team if it's a team sport it's the sum of the parts it's not just one entity but you always look at the quarterback first and you always look at the strength of the quarterback first which is why you kind of give the whole Tom Brady the go you know even when the Patriots weren't as good as the team as a whole they had Brady to kind of

carry them a little not completely I'm still very much a it's a whole team so when you look at the at the the schedule the schedule I don't know which way to say it now um on the whole thing there's there's a lot with the sort of difficulty uncertainty at quarterback so the Steelers with their are they going to take their kind of are they going to use Kenny Pickett initially or are they going to go the Trubisky route I mean you're looking at a very different team in regards to not having Ben Roethlisberger there who's been you know such a long sort of long time continuing entity ravens now very passing team very injured prone at running back very significant big weakness there the packers they've still got aaron rogers as much

as i can't stand the man as much as i genuinely sorry sorry packers fans sorry just really can't stand that guy um it it does pay me i do find he these very difficult to have this sentence come out of my mouth he's not a bad quarterback he's quite a good quarterback now you i know you have me recorded saying that but i probably won't say again for a very long time so if you heard it folks you aren't going to hear it again for a while just because i don't like him so much so yeah that i got the snippet folks don't worry i think it's gonna yeah that's gonna be a win you know for any the Lions now I've got a little bit of like oh for the Lions because their head coach he seems so passionate and stuff like this and they drafted quite well but they had a 3-13 season last year so I think they're

still in the in the pains of having to sort of build themselves back up so I kind of pin that down as a not quarterback unrest although i don't know how much people like derek goff in all fairness i mean i'm not you know he's not high on my list either so it's not unrest at quarterback but is it kind of talent at quarterback i'm glad this isn't a ram show because an online show because i get in a lot of trouble the browns they don't necessarily know who's going to be their quarterback we all know that they took on the whole Deshaun Watson thing but we don't know whether he's going to be playing if he's going to be allowed to be playing is it going to be penalized so unrest for them the Bears Justin Fields rookie came in I heard so much good stuff about him from some of my friends

and I wasn't convinced not sure how convinced they are in all fairness so you know they did a 6 and 11 last year so not so not too sure about those you've got the Colts Matt Ryan distinguished quarterback good quarterback in a new system quarterback older quarterback in a new system so uh you know you're talking more new there's a lot of teams that have got a lot of new and i'm not saying this is unusual but looking at the schedule when you look at it as a whole there's a there's a lot of teams that have got a lot of uncertainty the vikings okay they haven't made a change but the vikings are the vikings so you know and then cardinals is ky Kyler Murray coming back?

Wasn't this a big off-season thing for people that tend to watch non-Patriots, NFL sort of podcasts, TV shows, that kind of thing? There was a lot going on with if he's going to be a Cardinal or not. So, you know, when things are sour in the house, you don't really think that it's going to really perform that great. You don't know. He might be happy. He might be fine because they put on a brave face and say it's all great but and i know that doesn't actually reduce the performance of the team granted but it's still

when you've got a situation like that it's just not nice is it and you kind of want things to run like a well-oiled machine and if you've got a little part that's got a little bit of unrest in regards to that it isn't necessarily going to work that way so again a very good team who have lost one of their um no they've lost one of their weapons in oh no his name's gonna oh and i think he's really good deandre hopkins he's um yes on suspension for the first four or six games and yes again he's he's just the sum of parts he's not the whole team but he's a he's a very good weapon as people like to say so you you've got you've got a lot in utilization of that going forward the raiders now yes on paper this raiders team could be really good but you have a new team under new management and it's not a slant on josh mcdaniels

because we all know what a great offensive coordinator is. Is he going to be a great head coach? Has he got what he needs to make a great team in the Raiders? On paper, possibly. But again, it's all new. It's all inconsistent for them. And then the Bengals, they're the ones that I think are really good. And if that kid's got a good offensive line,

I think he's going to really go places. But that poor, poor kid ended up on his butt so many times last season that I really hope that in regards to his offensive line, although they took Ted Karras. So I don't like them very much. So in conclusion, I think the schedule is really so much out there more than what we would think just by looking at the names simply because the teams have got all those changes that I just mentioned that I just listed for you I really hope I didn't bore any of you folks I really hope you found that as interesting as I did because I found it really interesting looking into that it's I don't see

many as a given in all fairness to look at it. Even Buffalo, which I know last season, you know, they were a great team. I'm still saying that was last season and that was under Dable and it's different now. So I think looking at the whole list of everybody that the Patriots are going to play, there is so many teams that have so many internal issues of their own that they're dealing with that I think it kind of puts the the Patriots ones in a little bit of a in a shadow in all fairness because they've still got they've got that quarterback you know they've got him growing that kind of thing they've still got the the coach in Bill Belichick so they've still got some very significant pieces there that these are

the teams that the Patriots are going to be playing don't and have got changes to so I think in all fairness as much as we kind of like to tick off oh yeah that we think that's a definite win or I mean it's difficult to be decisive when you haven't seen any of these teams play this season anyway of course so you don't really know you could say oh well the Packers are great because they've still got Aaron Rodgers yeah but the rest of the team could completely fall apart and you you won't know that until you see it in the season and and granted so that's why you know we're all just speculating when we say they're going to go 10 and 7 or 11 and 6 and all that kind of thing but I think something that I've noticed for this year that I do find interesting is the way that so many teams

have got so many changes as I mentioned so many things to to contend with to deal with in regards to quarterback that I don't really see it very easy to put any of these down as a given other than the Patriots need to be in the Jets. Well, I hope that's a given. New England right now, when you look at this schedule, and obviously a lot of eyes are going to be on the last five games of the season, really the last six games of the season. When you think about starting on December 1st when they take on the Buffalo Bills on a Thursday night,

that's going to be a gauntlet of games that is going to be so important for the Patriots to be able to win. You come home to play Buffalo, two on the road, Arizona and Las Vegas. Both of those games are going to be on the road. Patriots reportedly going to stay on the West Coast for those games. They're not going to make the trip back and forth. That may make things a little bit easier. I like the points that you made on Arizona because this is a team that I think a lot of people were enamored with early last year they kind of petered off a little bit toward the end of the season and then some offseason question marks we don't know if Andy Isabella is going to still be there how are they going to be able to you know Chase Eddins no longer there there's a lot uh to digest there with

the Arizona Cardinals as well and there's still a lot of talent on that team but without DeAndre Hopkins to begin the season that's really going to limit their capabilities offensively I mean one of the better offensive players on that team one of the better wide receivers in the league when you're missing them is not going to be easy and this is the point that Murph and I were coming back to earlier this week on Green Bay you articulated this perfectly Aaron Rodgers is still there he's still very much a top tier quarterback in this league but you know who's not there for the Green Bay Packers Devontae Adams and this is a guy that is considered by many to be the de facto best wide receiver in the game right now

he's going to be out in Las Vegas catching passes from Derek Carr which is going to make things more difficult on the Patriots when they face them on Sunday night football. So there's a lot to still go into this. But the ultimate point and the point that I'm so glad that you made, and if we had one of those point ranking systems, it would have broke the meter off at that point, was this is why they play the games on the field, not on paper. We can prognosticate all we want to. It's fun. It's part of the job. Everybody has to do it. Fans love it, and the media loves to do it, but at the end of the day,

you don't know what version of these teams you're going to be facing when it comes to this season. Cleveland may not have Deshaun Watson. Without him, are they a formidable opponent? Do they pose much of a threat to the New England Patriots? The Pittsburgh Steelers, like you said, do they go pick it? Or do they put Trubisky in there early on in the season? How does that change the dynamic? Indy is kind of like the media darling right now in terms of teams that could make that next step in the AFC. But you don't know how Matt Ryan is going to take to his new teammates either. Very seasoned quarterback, very good veteran quarterback, but in a new system this late in his career,

not a slam dunk and not a given. So there are different ways to go and look about it. I agree with you. I think the Bengals may actually be, other than the Bills, I think the Bengals may be the toughest opponent

that the Patriots have on this schedule right now, where barring any injury, you can count on a good effort from both sides of the ball especially that offense is really going to challenge this Patriots secondary that late in the season it's going to be a tough draw for the New England Patriots especially if Jamar Chase Joe Mixon are playing well and if that offensive line is giving the protection that Joe Burrow

needs and having Ted Karrasin there is going to be a big part of that. That could be a really tough draw. So I think I know I see the pout on Claire. We don't like when the countess is displeased on this show, but you know, Claire, I think I think Cole Strange and Michael Waino are going to do a decent job at guard. I think they're going to step up to the challenge and

at the very least, you can always hang your hat on some good tight endage, which the Patriots will once again be employing. And we talked about last week. But that is that last week. And this is this week. And I thank you once again, Countess, for lending your wisdom, your counsel, the way only you can here on Locked On Patriots.

We had a lot of fun back and forth and we kid each other. But I mean it from the bottom of my heart. I'm always honored to share the microphone with you. And I thank you for joining me here today and each and every Wednesday on locked on Patriots folks. Definitely check out the great work that Claire does. You can check out her Twitter feed. Absolutely.

At classy Claire, always check her great work out her written work at Pat's propaganda.com. Some great pieces up there from Claire and all the great writers they have over at Pat's propaganda. But I can't say it enough. A Claire Perspective, a Patriots podcast is a phenomenal listen, folks. If you like the snippets of Claire that you get here each and every week, check that out. You will definitely not be disappointed. It's a phenomenal listen. One of my favorites, not just in Patriots media,

but anywhere. I'll listen to that whether I want to be entertained or whether I want to be informed. I always come away with both. Claire, what can thank you so much appreciate you and I'm always honored to share the microphone with you no thank you so much as always I love coming on to lockdown it's lovely the listeners and everything I have so much fun I get to talk about everything that I really want to talk about it's great and I get to talk about it with you one of my most favorite favorite favorite patrons people oh Oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Too kind. Too kind. Too kind. But no, I thank you. I really do thank you for that. And speaking of which, we do appreciate all of the interactions that we get here on Locked On, whether it be from the Twitter account or whether it be through the YouTube comments. And good, bad, or indifferent, all the feedback is taken.

It's definitely put into a place where we know you want to make the show better and we want to make the show better. And one of the best ways to do that is to answer some of your questions. And I know there are a lot of them out there. Folks, stay tuned to the Patriots Twitter account in the next couple of days, because we'll be soliciting questions that Claire and I will be answering next week here on a special Wednesday mailbag edition of Locked On Patriots.

That's right. The midweek mailbag comes back to Locked On Patriots. Finally, and myself and the Countess and Klaas will be answering your questions. So make sure to get them in. Put the questions in the comments section on YouTube or on the Twitter account. One of the two. Definitely make sure to submit those and we'll do our best to get to them, each and every one of them, here on Locked On Patriots. But in the meantime, Countess, thank you very much for joining me here today. It's always been a blast. And most of all, folks, we want to thank you, the great listeners of Locked On Patriots, for all of your support and for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage, and hopefully your first listen every day. On behalf of the esteemed, illustrious Countess of Glasgow herself, Claire Cooper, I'm Mike DeBate.

Stay safe. Stay well. Be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, folks.