Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Jonnu Smith to Make a Jump; Mac Jones Becoming the New England Patriots Franchise QB — 3/30/22

Episode Date: March 31, 2022

The New England Patriots will need some high-profile players to step up to be successful in 2022. Host Mike D’Abate welcomes Clare ‘ClazzyClare’ Cooper of PatsPropaganda to discuss the 2022 outlook of tight end Jonnu Smith and the development of quarterback Mac Jones in the upcoming season and beyond.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-yRqifUcQQz8SjIQ Stitcher: 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.Athletic GreensTo make it easy, Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 yearsupply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/NFLNETWORK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Patriots fans, Mac Jones is coming into his own in year two in Foxborough, and is this finally the breakout year for Jonu Smith? That's right, Claire, I just said that. I'm Mike DeBate, and you're about to be locked in to the Locked On Patriots podcast. You are... You are... You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team every day. To all of you, Foxborough faithful, and thank you once again for making Lockdown Patriots

your first listen every day. Remember, Lockdown Patriots is free and available on all platforms, folks, including YouTube, which you might be viewing this podcast on right this very moment. I am your host, Mike DeBate. I also cover your New England Patriots for Patriot Maven of Sports Illustrated. So if you want to reach out to me, interact with me, let me know what's on your mind.

Do that on the Bird app, on Twitter at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L. And while you're out there giving some Tuesday love to that Twitterverse, even though it's Wednesday, folks, you can definitely follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. Pats fans, once again, thank you for joining me here today on the pod, and we have an action-packed show here for you. A lot of news coming from Foxborough. Jabril Peppers is now a member of the New England Patriots.

Mac Jones coming into his own in year two in Foxborough. And, of course, Jonu Smith in the news a lot lately. He'll be hanging around for OTAs this year. What does that mean for his development? Here today to discuss all of these topics with me is my good friend, our esteemed Lady of Locked On here on Locked On Patriots each and every Wednesday. She is the Empress of Tight Ended. She is the Queen of TE, the Baronessess of blockers, the principal of positivity, the countess of class herself, a phenomenal columnist.

Morepatspropaganda.com, also host of her own podcast. Folks, one of the best listens in Patriots media anywhere. A Claire Perspective, a Patriots podcast found wherever you get your podcasts and of course i can't forget she is also the third voice probably the calming voice on one patriots place alongside our good friends thomas murphy and steve balistrieri countess welcome back to the seat here today on wednesday the illustrious claire cooper as you can see is joining me here for this wednesday episode thank you for joining me, Connors. Oh, you're welcome. Thank you so much for having me. Claire sits there so patiently as I go through my introductory spiel. She does it with a smile

on her face. You know, really, this is the reason why we absolutely love you. She comes in through, regardless of the technical difficulties we may have with the openings or whatever she handles it like a pro because she truly is a pro and claire i thank you for joining me here today obviously the new england patriots continue to be in the news claire uh even though a lot of people are saying that they're not making the big ticket signings that everyone hoped they would make the new england patriots are still doing their business of building a roster yesterday folks obviously Patriots making a significant move for them shoring up their defensive backfield while also bolstering their punt return capabilities Jabril Peppers signing with the Patriots on a one-year deal according to field the eights of ESPN that deal worth up to

five million dollars big signing for New England a lot to unpack there Jabril is capable of playing all over the field whether it be in the box whether it be at the free safety position he can align at both the slot and wide corner he's lined up as a hybrid linebacker I've even seen Jabril Peppers line up on the defensive line this kid can do it all and it's a good fit for the New england patriots defense on the other side you heard me mention punt returns he can return both punts and kicks he's done it well over a hundred times throughout his career a little bit more suited for the punt return and as we all know claire this was a sad moment for me that meme is going away here in new england no more who made

that man a gunner each and every sunday Definitely a very, very traumatic thing for my heart. But Jabril Peppers coming in, and I think he's going to fill those shoes nicely. We're going to be talking a little bit more about Jabril Peppers here tomorrow on Locked On Patriots. But you heard me say in the introduction, Claire did as well, that Mac Jones is coming into his own in year two. Let me explain a little bit what I mean by that. Jones right now is at a crossroads. He is a rookie that came in from last year. A lot of expectation. Number 15 pick overall. He settled into his role quite nicely. And I've heard people say that, you know, he was good,

but not great. Well, I thought he was pretty good for a rookie quarterback. I thought he was pretty good for any quarterback. 67.6 completion percentage, 92.5 passer rating, 22 touchdowns, completed at least 70% of his attempts in nine games and twice through 300 plus yards through the air. That's not an easy task, Claire. This is something that Mack really worked on his development, really kind of honed into himself and Mac is trying I think in every way possible to make that jump in year two we heard Robert Kraft talk about this yesterday when he spoke with reporters at the NFL's annual meeting in Palm Beach Florida saying that he feels that they have the right quarterback behind under center and that the team that they're putting in front of him is going to put him in a position

to succeed. When you look at Mac Jones's development, when you look at what his development needs to be, you said something very interesting to me offline where you said, it's really, it's on Mac. Flush out a little bit what you mean by that and what you see from Mac Jones's development from year one into year two well I think the key factor in the development of Mac is himself I think he's completely lord of his own destiny in the fact that he's a great football mind his physical development his strength accuracy range of movement a lot of that is all training so that's less of the department of kind of like Bill Belichick Joe Judge Matt Patricia I mean come on if Mac needs to give up ice cream that's less of the department of kind of like Bill Belichick, Joe Judge, Matt Patricia. I mean, come on, if Mac needs to give up ice cream, that's going to be on him.

Maybe his girlfriend. But, you know, obviously, I jest. The most significant thing is Mac. He's the driver of his own development. OK, could the loss of McDaniels set him back? Yeah, of course. I mean, Mac is a rookie who just developed within a system. And the guy he that he worked most closely or maybe second most closely that can be up for debate has left after the first year and now there's a different guy in there and I mean however the head coach is still the same and the system is still the same so or mostly still the same and I mean that ultimately that is the Patriots way

absolutely I think that's a great point and that is the Patriot way when you look at how players are developed and it's not just at the quarterback position Claire you and I both know that when players are brought into the system here in New England whether it be as a rookie or whether it be as a veteran you hear that all the time things are done differently in New England Devon Godchow said that Matt Judon said that guys that were high profile free agent acquisitions last year really acknowledging that things are done a little differently here in New England so for everyone that wants to use the Patriot way as a punchline still don't understand why that's done he especially here in New England but you know I digress that's a conversation for another day

it really is a little bit of a different animal. And you can see Mack doing everything that he can on the field to increase his productivity. I expect in training camp this year, arm strength is going to be one of those things that he's working on. Bill Belichick is probably going to have him working out in adverse conditions. These were knocks on Mac last year when you heard about what he could possibly do to increase that but I love what you said about the Patriot way and I love what you said about Joe Judge Matt Patricia and Bill Belichick kind of

being that triumvirate of coaches that are going to help his development because we are going to talk a little bit about more about Mac and a little bit about what the coaches might do to try to help his development. But first, folks, as you can see, coffee is still kicking in for me. And at that point, you want to reach for a little bit more energy. Folks, what I should have done this morning is reached for a Built Bar because you can definitely count on the energy and the protein it provides with half the calories, but all of the taste. Built Bar puts out a phenomenal product. I am absolutely in love with these bars, have been since the moment I've tried them, and you cannot go wrong. Built Bar does an amazing thing. They take a bar that is healthy for you, but they start with the taste first. They make it taste even better than a candy bar, and then they figure out how to make

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You heard me stammer through the first segment, but my guest right here was on point as she usually is, bringing the rationalization, bringing the clarity back to Locked On Patriots. I should call you the Countess of Clarity because you really do help to translate when I find difficulty finding the words that I need to find. All kidding aside, the illustrious Claire Cooper, columnist extraordinaire for PatsPropaganda.com joins me here today. And Claire, in the previous segment, you brought up a little bit about Mac Jones and his development. We started off talking about that, and I want to come back to a point that you made that I thought was really, really interesting,

and that you mentioned the coaching staff, and that, yes, ultimately, Mac's development is going to be on him. We're seeing a maturity in this kid already. Such a heartwarming story yesterday here in New England. Mac Jones going to a local area, Brockton Boys and Girls Club, spending time with the kids that were there, really enjoying himself. If you haven't checked out the video, folks, it's on patriots.com. Please do it. Mac looked like he was having as much fun or more fun than the kids that were there. And of course, donating $100,000 to the Boys and Girls Club for them to put to good use. So you're seeing that maturity. You're seeing that investment of himself in the community, which leads you to believe

that Mac truly believes he'll be here for the long haul. That's a good thing for the New England Patriots. But one thing that you need to see is that progression on the field, and even though it is internal, there is still guidance that needs to be provided. I think we all forget, myself included at times, because the poise he shows that Mack is still a rookie. He's still owning that skill in. Bill Belichick spoke to the media earlier this week, talked a little bit about Mac Jones, and Bill was cryptic as usual in his delivery of or being forthcoming of the details. But essentially what he said was that ultimately Mac's development is going to be on him as a head coach.

He mentioned Matt Patricia by name. He mentioned Joe Judge by name, even mentioned Nick Cayley as a possibility, and even Troy Brown. When you look at this coaching staff and the task they have at hand how do you see them being able to move Mac forward from point A to point B now as a sophomore really for all intents and purposes in the NFL Mac's not going to have the same rookie excuse that he had in year one well there's something that you're kind of completely missing in regards to kind of coaching and that's Brian Hoyer now I know he isn't down as a quarterback coach of course not but he helps in the continuity in regards to development I know he isn't the greatest quarterback we kind of as Patriots fans don't want him throwing but he seems to be a solid and consistent support for Mac maybe in a behind

the scenes kind of way and that's a strength or or something that maybe other NFL quarterbacks don't have Hoyer may not be a great quarterback but he's been in the Patriots system for a long time and that's significant the other thing is he isn't sort of shall we say threatened by Mac Hoyer knows his place he knows his role he know he isn't competing with Mac Jones for that kind of QB1 position he Mac isn't there taking reps away from from Hoyer and so that is significant he knows his role is something else within the team his role isn't necessarily just backup quarterback now I mean ultimately Mac is still surrounded by people that have helped his development within the first year just not his initial player coach kind of play caller and

whilst yes that is still significant it may end up not being as big a deal as perhaps some it you know initially would appear if these guys are good coaches they're good coaches and even though they haven't been as much on the offensive side of the ball they still know the Patriot system so by that I do kind of really mean just Patricia and judging that in that element but obviously Kayleigh knowing he's sort of offensive being the tight end coach that element but obviously Kayleigh knowing he's sort of offensive being the tight end coach that's a little bit different I'm sort of referring to Patricia because they are the two that are mostly under the spotlight in regards to that position that you know that role that offensive coach kind of role although Bill Belichick doesn't like

titles so yeah as we know but I mean pull it this way Belichick may not be utterly perfect but he knows football he knows how to succeed and whilst yes plenty depend upon what he has around him to utilize such as players and coaches it isn't going to sort of set up the team the system the quarterback he's not going to put them in a way that he believes wouldn't be of a success he's not going to throw Matt Jones to sort of to the Lions by leaving Matt Patricia and Joe Judge to sort of work with his development he's going to have confidence in that even if they are kind of from the defensive side of the ball so although the offensive coaching guys may be defensive coaching guys, Bill must know that there's a skill there. There's a skill set there that he can tap into to help produce just overall success,

not just Matt Jones's development. So as much as there's a lot of uncertainty still because of the fact that they're defensive guys, there's no proper titles and this, that and the other, I think Matt can still grow and improve whoever the play caller is because going back to the initial sort of what we said at the very beginning the driver of his development is going to be himself and I think there's a lot of confidence in him there because he's a rookie because he came straight from the draft and he started and yeah the Patriots didn't do kind of what everybody else wanted to do but he's a rookie, because he came straight from the draft and he started. And yeah, the Patriots didn't do kind of what everybody else wanted to do,

but he was a rookie in his first year who took them to the playoffs. And ultimately, if you backtrack before the draft last year, he wasn't even projected to go that high in the draft. If you look back the history of it, he wasn't projected projected to go that high in the draft if you look back the history of it he wasn't projected to go first round he was a oh you know maybe kind of a second early second round that kind of thing so to look at that to see where he's come there's obviously something with the kid that drives within himself to be able to produce, to be a rookie, to start in the NFL, play all those games and succeed. Yeah, it wasn't perfect.

I'm not kind of trying to shine it here. It wasn't amazing. It wasn't brilliant. But there's obviously that core within him that Bill sees, and I think that is going to be the key with his development. Not necessarily who is around him. Yes, that helps. I'm not saying it's not.

But I think the key, the significant key here is the inner Mac Jones. And I think that is what we're going to see is the most important thing. Absolutely. Could not have said it better. And I'm glad that you mentioned the draft because this is something that I don't think people remember enough. They hear Mac Jones going in the first round. They automatically think of the San Francisco 49ers training up. Everybody thought they were going

after Mack Jones as opposed to Trey Lance. They ended up going with Trey. And when it looked more obvious that Trey Lance was going to be their choice, a lot of people thought, well, that's it. Mack is going to fall out of the first round. I was one of the very few people at the time that actually thought the Patriots would zero in on Mac Jones. I predicted it here on the ultimate mock draft for locked on last year. And it was basically left that by a lot of my colleagues and also a lot of the fans by saying, no, they're not going to do that. No, that's way too high. No, you're you. They've got more needs than that.

They're not going to go for a quarterback that is quote unquote. And we heard it at the time, middle of the road. And I'm probably being a little bit more generous. And people were saying worse things heard it at the time middle of the road and I'm probably being a little bit more generous and people were saying worse things about him at the time but Mack is that type of self-motivated player and I think we saw that on the field last year not a lot of people gave him a shot to come in and be able to unseat Cam Newton as the starter most people myself included thought Cam was going to get the keys to the kingdom at least originally and then they would reevaluate on the fly and try to bring mac in slowly and maybe by mid-season you'd see mac jones in a starting role with the new england patriots

he won it right off the bat because the patriots saw something in him and they knew this was the time to strike he this kid was ready and he was motivated self self-motivated to do it. Now, yes, you did mention McDaniels. McDaniels' influence was definitely a big part of Mac moving forward, but there's still that core, that nucleus. And I am so happy that you mentioned Brian Hoyer, because that to me is such an indelible part of what Mac is going to be able to do from year one to year two. That continuity, you hear mac talk about brian and i heard him talk about him a lot this year it always seemed like brian's name came up in press conferences zoom calls post game pressers whatever mac always went out of his way to mention

brian as a top influence in his career and in his development so him coming back to the new england patriots even though i know it elicited a groan from a lot of the fan base and again I understand that's a reaction to what he does on the field but I don't think people really realize the value of this guy in the locker room and what he can do and the knowledge he has of this system outside of Tom Brady I don't think anybody knows this system better than Josh McDaniels or Brian Hoyer. And with McDaniels going to Las Vegas, they needed to keep Brian around. So excellent point, Claire, as always. And Claire has been racking up the excellent points here, folks, not just today, on a weekly,

monthly basis. That's why we love having her on. She is our expert on Wednesday and our lady of lockdown, the voice of positivity that we do need. Coming up, we are going to delve into, yes, folks, you've been waiting for it. We have all been waiting for it. Mostly my guest has been waiting for it. We're going to talk some tight endage here on this Wednesday.

And Jonu Smith making the news a little bit, talking about his hanging around to participate in OTA this year. Is it going to make a drastic difference in his development? Claire and I are going to discuss that point in just a moment. But first, folks, you know that it's been a long winter, but the summer months and the warmer months, I should say, are coming up just around the corner. It's always a good opportunity to do some spring cleaning. You know, get yourself back into shape a little bit. Do some things that are good for you. Well, one of the things that you want to do is make sure that your ride is in good shape going to be doing some travel in this summer you want to do it behind your wheels and the best way to do that is to keep

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Go and explore their easy-to- use website today to find the solution for all of your auto parts needs. Go to rockauto.com right now and see all the parts available for your car or truck. Make sure to write locked on in there. How did you hear about us box? So they know that we sent you amazing selection, reliably low prices, all the parts your car will ever need. rockauto.com Patriots fans, it is Wednesday. It is Virtue Lies in the Middle Wednesday here on Locked on Patriots. And who else but the virtuous Claire Cooper

joins me here today of patspropaganda.com and her very own Patriots podcast, a Claire perspective of Patriots podcast. Folks, smash the subscribe button wherever you get your podcasts. Claire puts out a phenomenal listen. And some of the pearls of wisdom that she's dropped here today on Locked On Patriots are just the tip of the iceberg of the wisdom and counsel she provides each and every time

she hits the microphone with some of the greatest guests you can find anywhere in Patriots media. So, Claire, that being said, we appreciate you choosing to join us here on Locked On Patriots and lend your wisdom and counsel in the middle of the week here. Claire, we're going to talk your favorite subject. We know we always kind of gravitate toward this, but tight endage is very much in the news and in the frame of consciousness right now for the New England Patriots. Earlier this week, ESPN's Mike Reese reported that tight end Jonu Smith, the tight end we talk about here often on Locked On Patriots, will be attending all of the Patriots' offseason workout program in 2022.

This is a little bit of a departure from what he did in 2021. Of course, COVID-19 was a big part of players either deciding to go to these workouts not going to these workouts um Jano actually had a very good reason for not attending OTA last year was awaiting the birth of his daughter rightfully so can't argue with the decision there he did the right thing but from an on-field perspective and again folks I'm just speaking from an on-field perspective when you're a new player learning a new system especially a complex offense like the new england patriots when you're a tight end and you're counted on to block you're counted on to run routes

there's a lot more responsibility for new england tight endage than there are in a lot of other systems including tennessee where he came from even though he's got the Mike Vrabel background folks they're not running the like-for-like system that the Patriots run it did set him back a little bit and I think that may have been one of the reasons why Janu had some difficulty acclimating himself into the Patriots offense Claire you're a tight end sage you have that tight endage Belichickian crystal ball that you can look into and you see things us mere mortals don't. When you hear about Janu sticking around in New England, going to go through the offseason workout programs, what do you think this is going to mean for his development into a more

prominent role, hopefully a more prominent role in the Patriots offense in the upcoming season? Well, as you mentioned, last season in the Patriots' offense in the upcoming season. Well, as you mentioned, last season, Johnny sat out much of the preseason, the workouts and stuff. And I think it is fair to say that at that time, people saw it maybe as possibly a bit of a negative move. I won't lie, at the time, I wasn't especially impressed, obviously, being a tight-endage enthusiast.

I mean, it felt like perhaps he thought maybe he didn't need to integrate himself into the team quite as much maybe he was sort of too good and but it's since been reported that as you said that the main reason he didn't was due to COVID concerns about with his daughter being born so that completely puts a different light on it many guys sat out the season in 2020 for the safety and well-being of family and such and that you know there's there's no kind of disrespect or judgment towards that and I wish that maybe it'd been reported more at the time because some of that did shape I suppose my kind of sort of perspective a little towards him as a player and towards his attitude now the the one thing that was significant

in regard to that is when he did kind of did come in towards the Patriots he suffered an injury and I understand that it's a bit of a soft tissue injury and another thing that I understand um maybe incorrect always but is that with a soft tissue injury those are the sorts of injuries that can maybe possibly be avoided if you're sort of training in the right way and so that makes it even more unfortunate that it was like, well, he wasn't with the team, so he wasn't training properly. So then he lost more time with injury. And you really kind of, as you add those sort of issues to it, it kind of pushes him further and further away from the nucleus of the team. I mean, it's no secret that he didn't perform to his expected level

and price tag. And I know that you wrote something about this recently, about this topic recently for SI Patriots Maven and I mean McDaniels even Josh McDaniels even said at the time how year one was a foundational year for the tight end and I mean this still kind of sticks in my craw a little bit if I'm being brutally honest with you guys Smith isn't a rookie yes it was his first year within the team but you would think after four years and then the first with New England being his fifth year the guy knows how to play football yes it's renowned that the Patriots have a tough system they have an intense playbook and the tight end position as kind of we all know not just like being an enthusiast as I am

it's one of a high level of difficulty due to the you know extreme involvement in the offense and with the pass and the run game and I think that's why for me um it's a step up or step out maybe in 2022 for Smith so him doing this him taking this opportunity to show look I'm gonna you know be there I'm gonna start right from the beginning is significant now I have no say in this obviously although I knew a couple of people think I do no I'm just kidding okay but seriously Smith demanded possibly a high price tag and they want value for money which is why kind of I go back to the you know it needs to be we need to see it in 2022 and I know some of that can all fall on coaching play calling I get that not all

of his performance is solely on his shoulders but it isn't just about his impact of numbers it's about his impact on the game and he did have some I that. It's a bit of that Aguilar thing that I know that we've talked about. He was maybe a little bit more effective than appears on paper, except in that Saints game, which we won't talk about. But I think the fact that he needs to put the work in is good. It's a good attitude. More work with the team, that's always a good thing. I think that what may be important to how much it

could lead to his improvement in performance actually depends on who he trains with and who he works out with where will Jones be Hoyer Hunter the receivers I don't think it'll be the most important factor obviously but it might sort of have an influence on sort of which group of individuals he gets to have that time with so really in a nutshell it's the more Smith is with the team in training you know the more opportunity he's got to develop and the better that's always a good thing so this the news that's come out that he's going to stay in Foxborough shows that he's determined to prove that he maybe is the guy that coming into last year people expected him to be and that he has got the drive to be you know do the Patriots way and to perform in that way so ultimately it's a good it's going to be a good thing it just still hinges on a couple of little

factors that we just need to kind of you know hit me up in September when he's been on the field and then we'll sort of see how much we can judge it yeah absolutely and I love that you mentioned about uh you know Jean-Luc not being a rookie and coming in as a a veteran and coming in with uh you know added pedigree that's something that I think a lot of fans uh you know hop on a little bit bit in terms of Jono's development and saying, well, you know, he's been around, you know, the league, he's, he's knows the ropes, he can come in, he should be able to pick things up. Josh McDaniels addressed that in a press conference back in, I believe it was November when he talked about this and mentioned, because Jono was really getting his share of

negative feedback from, you know, colleagues of mine in the media and a lot of the fan base that was not happy with the way he was progressing and some of the difficulties that he had had. And Josh really outlined this very well. And I included this quote in the piece that you mentioned that I wrote for SI. Thank you for doing that, by the way. I appreciate that. Folks, if you haven't checked it out, it's called Mr. Smith Goes to Foxborough. Yeah, you know me and my puns, folks. I can't help myself. But if it makes you want to watch a Jimmy Stewart movie, by all means, check that one out. One of his best.

But see, Claire likes that. See, she laughs at my jokes. That's a different show. That's a different show. Exactly. That's right. But bottom line, I mean, what the New England Patriots system is when it comes to tight endage, run blocking is a huge part of it. Claire knows this.

Pass receiving, pass protection. You have the alert. You have the motion that you need to watch when it comes to, and you need to master when it comes to this offense and how your role is going to smith even as a veteran as opposed to a rookie because the vernacular that uh the patriots use is a little bit different from what you see in different teams throughout the league including the tennessee titans where he spent you know a few good years over there and really was a productive player that being said i think claire makes an interesting point in that now that he is going to be absorbing this pre-season wisdom and counsel from the time OTAs begin right through uh you know training camp this is going to be big for him and it's not just for his you know mental acumen and being able to pick up different nuances of the game because

let's face it folks in OTA it's really more about physical conditioning than anything else that to me is where Claire hit the nail right on the head countess a phenomenal point about him needing that time to be able to physically get into shape for the type of tasks that he's going to be asked to perform on the field with the New England Patriots this year some of the soft tissue injuries can be avoided if you do go through that type of off-season workout under the tutelage of Patriots doctors, of Patriots trainers, and Patriots coaches, folks, who know what the physicalities are of the type of, you know, tasks that he's going to be asked to produce. That, to me, is a very, very big part of this.

So, Countess, once again, you knock it out of the park. You always bring the knowledge when it comes to tight endage, and I, for one, could not be happier to welcome you. Folks, she is Claire, Clazzy Claire Cooper, the Countess of Claz herself. Definitely check out the Locked On Patriots Twitter account. There will be a laundry list of all

of her nicknames, which is growing by the day and by the week, but we love it. Pretty soon, I won't be able to remember half of them, and if you've gotten through this show, you'll know that's a pretty well losing battle. But at the same time, we are definitely glad that she chooses to be here each and every Wednesday. Claire, what can I say? Thank you so much for joining me here today. Before I let you go, please let everyone know where they can find you, interact with you, and what you have coming on the horizon from the great pen and the great voice of claire clazy claire cooper well thank you so much as you said

you can find me on the bird app just down there yeah patspropaganda.com please check us out we're doing some draft content and stuff like that so you'll always find a bit of tight endage on there from me and in the season i do the game recap so yeah please check out patspropaganda.com for all that as you mentioned a clear perspective my podcast is now pretty much twice a month so it's pretty much every two weeks now and that's good to see a full press coverage.com so my new one should be out hopefully fingers crossed next week but it until if you can't wait until then you can always hit last week's it which was with the lovely mike diso from patriots.com and even the one before that with the fantabulous mike giardi so yeah please check out my back catalogue because there's there's some really fun guests there so yeah that's a clear perspective on fullpresscookies.com and if you need us each and every week on a

tuesday pretty much you'll find thomas mur Ballesteri and myself for E2G Sports for one Patriots place absolutely whether it's voice to microphone folks or whether it's pen to paper Claire's work is always point click must watch must read material you'll be a better pan you'll be a more informed fan and you'll be entertained what more can you ask for that's one of the big reasons why we love having her on each and every Wednesday. We're better informed, we're better football fans, we're more knowledgeable, and we're thoroughly entertained. Claire, once again, thank you

so much. We look forward to talking ball with you again here next week on Locked On Patriots right here each and every Wednesday. But in the meantime, folks, I once again would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for continuing to make Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. And once again, if you

want to make Locked On Patriots your first listen every day, download, subscribe to, and follow the Locked On Patriots podcast on platforms such as Spotify, Google Podcasts, the Odyssey app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. Just make sure that you are

staying locked into Lockdown Patriots. On behalf of my good friend and colleague, Claire, classy Claire Cooper, I'm Mike DeBate. Thank you once again. Stay safe, folks. Stay well. Be the change that you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone.