Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Latest Mike Vrabel Hire Revolutionizing The New England Patriots

Starting point is 00:00:00 The latest Pat's hire should have everyone excited. That's where we start on this episode of Locked On Patriots. You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. What's up, Patriots fans? I am your host, Nick Cattles, born and raised in New England, your New England Patriots expert, host of the Everything Pats podcast, co-host of the Greg Bedard Patriots podcast with Nick Cattles, and also a sports talk show host veteran. On today's episode, diving into the mystery man, currently calling the defense.

Starting point is 00:00:42 And the future doesn't sound promising for one young patriot but first the latest hire that should have us looking forward literally and figuratively. We appreciate you joining the show making us your first listen and for being an everydayer the Lockdown Patriots podcast is a proud partner of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day and a quick reminder we're going three days a week, three days a week until July 14th. So Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, three episodes a week

Starting point is 00:01:10 for you until we get back to five shows a week on Monday, July 14th. And this episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKDOWNNFL at MonarchMoney.com for 50% off your first year. The latest hire by Mike Vrabel is a big step, a big step towards revolutionizing the Patriots. What am I talking about?

Starting point is 00:01:35 Well, Mark Daniels of Mass Live wrote this morning, the Patriots have hired Akine Olakonma as the team's director of coaching analytics. Olakonma comes to New England from San Francisco where he worked as the 49ers football R&D coordinator for the last two seasons. After working as a data scientist and data analyst, he entered the NFL working as a coaching research and development analyst fellow with the Baltimore Ravens during the 2021 season. According to San Francisco's website, Olakonma worked on different analytical projects

Starting point is 00:02:12 for the coaching staff that included self-scouting, opponent research, metric creation, and player evaluation. When we talk about building a program, that was the conversation when Mike Vrabel was hired by the Patriots. It's the top reason why I wanted Vrabel to be the hire of the New England Patriots. It's because he has been here before. His years in Tennessee, I'm not talking about being in New England before, I'm talking about being an NFL head coach before. He understands what's going on. And so his time in Tennessee taught him how to build the program.

Starting point is 00:02:47 His time in Cleveland last year helped him understand how to build a program. And when we talk about building a program, we're not just talking about on the field. We're not just talking about player turnover and trying to fix the roster. We're talking about the coaching staff. We're talking about about trying to build a culture Within the 53 we're also talking about a front office structure Who's the top banana? Who's making the final call who is underneath that person making the final call and when you look at? What Vrabel has done since being hired in January? It is slowly,

Starting point is 00:03:25 methodically building out a program for year number one, the coaching staff, all the different coaches they have brought in with different backgrounds from different teams, different experience levels. The fact that they have turned over the roster as much as they have done during this off season, the culture drafting and signing guys. Who truly get it between the ears for the most part. The front office structure hiring Ryan Cowden within 24 hours after his introductory press conference, hiring AJ Highsmith, making promotions within that front office, trusting Elliott Wolf, and

Starting point is 00:04:01 building a relationship with Elliott Wolf. And now we look at analytics. Analytics is another piece of the puzzle. Analytics is part of building out a program if you want to do it right. And obviously, Vrabel wants to do this right. When you're in professional sports, you chase every single edge that you can get. If you can get some kind of advantage, even if it's a sliver of an advantage, if you get a 2% better chance of winning a football game on Sunday, because of for example, analytics, then it matters. Because yes, 2% doesn't sound like it's that big of a deal. But if it helps, it helps. And and as we know professional coaches professional athletes They're always trying to find that extra edge and analytics is not the entire puzzle

Starting point is 00:04:51 It is a piece of the puzzle when we talk about analytics I'm not talking about walking around Gillette like a robot and just saying analytics analytics I'm talking about having it be a piece of that puzzle and That's what it is. How many one-score games do we have in the NFL? Week in and week out, a ton of them. How many one-score games has this football team lost the last two years, which has led them to back-to-back

Starting point is 00:05:19 four-win seasons? That little edge, the extra from the analytics could help you in those one score games. And with this organization, this has been the case for years. Analytics has been a big, you might even say huge, you should say ginormous area of need for this organization. Mark Daniels wrote about that in a 2024 survey conducted by ESPN. The 49ers were voted one of the top analytically advanced teams in the NFL and you just hired one of their guys. In that survey, the Patriots were voted among the least analytically advanced and only trailed the Buccaneers.

Starting point is 00:06:06 So when you look at analytically advanced teams in this survey done in 2024 by ESPN, the Patriots were 31st in the league, second to last. My goodness. Under Mike Vrabel, this department has been expanded in Foxboro. The Patriots analytics staff includes Director of Research Richard Miller, Director of Football Strategy Marshall Um, and Vice President of Football Operations and Strategy John Stryker. Good ol' stretch. So Vrabel is building the infrastructure. He's building the coaching infrastructure. He's building the front office infrastructure. He's building the coaching infrastructure. He's building the front office infrastructure. He's building the roster infrastructure. He's also building the analytical

Starting point is 00:06:52 infrastructure, something that has not been happening in many years. I mean, Richard Miller was the only guy that people would bring up when the analytical questions would be asked about who helps run that department. Is there a department or is it just one person doing what he's doing? Vrabel learned a lot about analytics during his one year in Cleveland throughout the 2024 season. He has obviously adapted some of their ideas and understands that you have to build the infrastructure out at all levels and look how they're doing it. Look who they're bringing in.

Starting point is 00:07:36 Ola Conma again is somebody who is coming from a San Francisco 49ers organization, which is analytically driven and seen as one of the best, one of the leaders, one of the teams at the forefront of the analytical drive in the league. And you poached one of their guys. Look at how good San Francisco has been on balance for the past five or six years. They have been one of the most successful programs in football. Not a bad idea to poach one of their guys, is it?

Starting point is 00:08:12 And then you think about where, where Ola Conma came from before he went to San Francisco. He was with the Baltimore Ravens. Another incredibly successful program that has built an infrastructure that has done things right. Eric D'Acosta, one of the best GMs in all of football, taught by Ozzie Newsome, one of the best talent evaluators in football. The Ravens know what they're doing.

Starting point is 00:08:41 So if you can take somebody who's learned under the Baltimore and San Francisco learning trees, I'm all for it. And Olakonma has a good reputation. Back to Mark Daniels for one more note. In that ESPN survey, people were asked which analytics staffers would become general managers. Olakonma was among 14 people to receive at least one vote. So he's respected throughout the league. One of 14 guys that work in analytics departments across the league that in that survey received at least one vote as a future GM, somebody who knows what

Starting point is 00:09:21 he's doing. It's a big hire. It's a big hire. And this is how you change the foundation. This is how you change and revolutionize a program. And you bring it into the modern day, hopefully to push it into the future. This is a hire that will go overlooked by many talk shows won't talk much about this But it's a big move. It is a significant move What it means is

Starting point is 00:09:54 Very important It's time to discuss the mystery man who was currently calling the defense that's coming up next as we continue with today's episode of locked-on Patriots part of the locked- on podcast network your team every day. Ever check your bank account and wonder where did all my money go between dining out online shopping and entertainment. It's easy to lose track. You know it. I know it. That's where Monarch Money comes in. Your personal CFO giving you full visibility and control over your finances. Monarch Money isn't just a budgeting app, it's a complete financial command center. You can track all your accounts, investments,

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Starting point is 00:11:37 And having your defensive coordinator stuck in Detroit like the Patriots have currently, working with the team via Zoom, not ideal. It's not what you want. Not the end of the world, but not what you want. And that brings us to Zach Kerr, because Zach Kerr is the guy that is on the field during these OTAs. He will be on the field, I would expect, next week for a mandatory minicamp, and he is working in person with this defense.

Starting point is 00:12:03 He is your de facto defensive coordinator right now. And so who is Zach Kerr? What do we make of Zach Kerr? What do we know about Zach Kerr? Well, let's go to the defensive coordinator in title, Terrell Williams, who said this about Kerr in May. Zach's unbelievable. He's an unbelievably smart guy.

Starting point is 00:12:26 He's going to be a superstar in this league. Smart, and more than anything, he has the ability to connect with players. That is Terrell Williams. So again, it's not the end of the world. And this is a great opportunity for Kerr to prove himself while Williams is not around. But there are plenty of questions that I have

Starting point is 00:12:48 about this arrangement and how it currently is working over at Gillette Stadium. Let me start with communication. Now I understand that Terrell Williams will tell us it's all been great. Mike Vrabel will tell us it's all been great. Kerr will tell us it's all been great. I don't think any of those three guys

Starting point is 00:13:05 is going to come out and say, man, oh man, this has been a disaster. This has been an abject failure. We are concerned about what's going on. They're not going to say that. If they feel that, they're not going to say it. Football coaches are not in the business of telling the truth at all times.

Starting point is 00:13:24 They're not gonna come out and tell you and tell me, yeah, this isn't working great. We have some trouble here. We've got some questions. So one of my questions is the communication that's happening. Now we know that Terrell Williams is communicating with the team, as I said a few moments ago via zoom. And I think this is a challenge for the players because you have the guy who is your defensive coordinator, but he's not here in town. He's working with you via Zoom. Then you leave the Zoom and you go onto the practice field and you no longer have Williams working with you.

Starting point is 00:14:03 It's not like they have one of those, you know, Walmart robots or whatever that can follow you. They don't have a robot with Williams face on it. Although that might be pretty cool. That's not what's happening. Zach Kerr is out there. He's on the field with you at practice. He's working with you hand in hand, one on one.

Starting point is 00:14:23 So you go from Williams via Zoom to the practice field with Kerr, but you also have Mike Vrabel hanging around. And I don't want to say lurking because lurking, I feel like it has a negative connotation to it, but you have Vrabel hanging around. And so you go from Williams via Zoom to Kerr during practice as your quote unquote interim defensive coordinator, but yet your head coach is also a defensive guy who has been a defensive coordinator and would likely have a pretty big hand in what's going on on that side of the football, especially with Williams, not physically here. So it's got to be a challenge for these players because you've got three different guys and

Starting point is 00:15:09 I don't know how different their personalities are, but you've got three different guys, three different voices that you're working with. And that's not always the easiest thing. Now, of course, coaches understand they relay the message to each other and they're all trying to speak the same language. I'm not saying that there's mass hysteria out there on the practice field. It's just a challenge to be able, if you're a player, to take the information that you get from Williams through that Zoom, take it onto the field, work with Kerr, and also get some advice from Vrabel because there's just three different people speaking with you.

Starting point is 00:15:47 I think right now that the structure of all of this and what's happening, I could actually believe that there isn't much of an issue yet. And the reason why I could believe that and the reason why I mostly do believe that is because of the time of year Late May early June getting ready for mandatory minicamp next week You have time You have time to speak to the players you have time to slow things down for certain players if they're not picking it up

Starting point is 00:16:22 You can hold a practice for 10 seconds, say, wait a minute, we've got to work on this. So the time that you have allows you to make sure everybody gets what you're trying to give them. And the structure during May slash June is less of a big deal, because you can go right back in that meeting room and speak with Williams and Williams and Kerr can talk constantly and Vrabel and Kerr can talk constantly and the three of those guys can talk every single

Starting point is 00:16:56 day not worry about it. They can schedule out time and so during this time of the year, I don't think it's that big of a deal. And I would believe that things are going okay. But as we get closer to actual football, that's when it can get a little funky and clunky. You're going to get closer to camp. And during training camp is Williams going to be here? If not, is Kerr ready to lead a defense during an NFL training camp? Is he ready to lead a defense during joint practices?

Starting point is 00:17:36 If he's not ready for either of those two things, how much does Mike Vrabel step in? Because he will step in. We know that variable. he likes to be involved. He enjoys being involved. And so if he sees any kind of slack happening, he's going to step in. So is Kerr, is he, is he there yet to run a defense on the field during a camp? Is he there to run a defense during a joint practice or Or is Raible going to have to take away from some of his duties and responsibilities as the head coach to help cur out if Williams is not back just yet? And then when you get into the games, you got game bullets. Things

Starting point is 00:18:16 are happening fast, even in preseason games. You have to adapt, you have to adjust, you have to understand what's going to happen before it happens. It's a whole different world than the structure of an OTA. When you know that it's a passing down day for the offense, you figure that out. You can rely on veterans. But when you get to camp, you get to joint practices, you get to preseason games, that's when the coaching starts to matter even more. And so inevitably, the million dollar question is whether or not Williams will be back by camp. And we certainly hope so. And we certainly hope that he's healthy and is going to be

Starting point is 00:18:55 able and capable of coming to New England and fulfilling the role that Vrabel hired him to fulfill. Because when you look at Zach Kerr, as much as Williams wants to pump his tires, his coordinator experience has been all on the offense, which is interesting. He was the co-offensive coordinator at James Madison years ago, and then he was the offensive coordinator

Starting point is 00:19:19 at Texas State years ago. So his coordinator experience has been exclusively on the other side of the ball. Now I trust Rable. I think he'll figure things out. And if Williams isn't back, I believe they will continue to tweak the system and make it as good as it can be. But it is far from ideal no matter what anybody wants to say. And we should keep that in mind as we get closer to the football mattering more.

Starting point is 00:19:54 One young patriot seems to be well on the outside of the roster and looking in. That's coming up next as we continue with today's episode of Locked On Patriots, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. After Mike Vrabel was hired, one of the big questions we had right in that area before we got to free agency, before we continued on with the draft, one of the biggest questions that I think most of us had, if not all of us had,

Starting point is 00:20:26 was the future of the young receivers on this team. Namely, Jaylen Polk and Jayvon Baker. We all know what happened last year, we don't have to relive it. Could the Patriots somehow, someway, revive one or both of their careers? That was one of the bigger questions that we had. And right now I can tell you,

Starting point is 00:20:47 it seems that J. Von Baker is absolutely buried on this depth chart. Why do I say that? Andrew Callahan earlier this week posted the following, in team drills, Baker continues to rep most often with Ben Woldridge, which reflects his current status in the receivers room. Javon Baker is working with your third string quarterback. That's what he's doing. He's getting most of his work with Wooldridge, not even Josh Dobbs. He's not even working with Dobbs.

Starting point is 00:21:28 And this is obviously an ominous start for Baker if he was hopeful to make this roster. I'm not going to write him off. It's early June. He's got plenty of time to make some of this up. But Baker repping with a third string quarterback, that should tell you where Baker is right now.

Starting point is 00:21:47 And it's even worse when you truly think about it. Why? Because Callahan is posting about the third OTA practice in front of the media. And I will remind you who was not working on the field with May during these 11 on 11s and with Dobbs during these 11 on 11s and with Dobbs during these 11 on 11s. During Monday's practice, Stephon Diggs was obviously off to the side. Polk was off to the side. Kendrick Bourne was not at practice. Mac Hollins was not at practice.

Starting point is 00:22:21 Four. Four of your top six receivers or so were not available on Monday. But yet Baker is still getting the vast majority of his work with Woolridge. That ain't good for him. That ain't good for him. And he has to leapfrog at least three guys on this roster. Baker was drafted last year to be an ex receiver. That was going to be his role.

Starting point is 00:22:51 He's going to be the outside guy, you know, try to take the top off the defense. All those things people say, try to make contested catches downfield, try to make acrobatic grabs down the field. That was going to be his role. Well now you've got K. Sean Bo booty who stepped up last year and played pretty well Baker has to leapfrog him Mac Hollins was signed as a free agent. We all expect him to make the team. He's a big-bodied ex receiver That's his role and then the Patriots draft at number 69 Kyle Williams who has been playing almost exclusively if not

Starting point is 00:23:21 exclusively in front of the media at least on the outside. So Baker right now is already behind Booty Hollins and it looks like even Kyle Williams and he's not getting reps with the starting quarterback when four of the top six guys at the position are not available. the top six guys at the position are not available. You want to talk about uphill climbs. This for Jayvon Baker is like climbing up a mountain with a refrigerator on his back. I guess it's possible, but I would just have to imagine it's really tough. I got a bad back. I ain't trying to climb mountains, especially with a fridge on the back. And the fact that Baker is not working with May

Starting point is 00:24:06 to red flag, if you're the Patriots and you want to see if you could get the most out of Baker and you wanna get him going, I just have to believe you would have more urgency to get reps involving Baker and May to give Baker a chance. And the fact that Diggs and Bourne and Hollins and Polk are unavailable and Baker's not out there

Starting point is 00:24:35 getting passes thrown his way by your starting quarterback. This is the guy who was drafted in the fourth round last year. He was supposed to be a part of the young nucleus. He and May were supposed to be attached at the hip and now he's not really getting any looks out there with May, which means there's no urgency. There's no urgency from the team to try to establish that chemistry. There's no urgency from the offensive staff to try to get Baker on the same page as May, which speaks volumes. There's no urgency when there's staff to try to get Baker on the same page as May,

Starting point is 00:25:05 which speaks volumes. There's no urgency when there's no digs, no born, no Hollins, no poke, no urgency. No Baker with May. And the less reps he gets with May during this time, the less opportunity. This is the time he should be getting some reps. If he has a fighting chance, he should be getting reps with the starting quarterback. Now, maybe he is. I want to point this out. There's only been three practices in front of the media. So maybe when Baker is not in front of the media and the team is practicing, maybe he's

Starting point is 00:25:43 getting more shots with May. But the fact he's out there with Wooldridge when all those other guys are unavailable, that's hard to believe. And if he's not getting the reps, he's not getting the opportunity. And if he's not getting the reps and not getting the opportunity, and we're now closer to mandatory minicamp, which begins after this weekend and goes for only three days, then how in the world is he going to be able to develop that chemistry by the time you get to camp? I'm sure you can try to work with May off to the side.

Starting point is 00:26:17 Maybe Drake May will have his own little passing camp with a few dudes and maybe Baker will be a part of that. But if Baker's not making headway right now, it's really tough to imagine that he makes headway in July, because you certainly anticipate Kendrick Bourne being at camp. You would think Jalen Polk will eventually get over this shoulder surgery and he'll be available. Mack Hollins will certainly be available. And Stefan Diggs based off what we saw earlier this week, he looks closer to ready than we might have thought when he signed. And you have more time for

Starting point is 00:26:51 Kyle Williams to figure out the offense and to get going. So if you're not getting reps in May and you're not getting reps in June, you got to do a lot of work. I mean, F'ed and Chisholm is getting reps with Drake May. You've got to do a lot of work to just get on the base level with your starting quarterback by camp, let alone out there getting a decent amount of reps to give you a shot. So right now, it looks like Baker is buried. And I don't know if it's just strictly on the field stuff learning the playbook who knows but we do know that Baker was a distraction last year and maybe the Patriots are a little concerned about Baker and whether or not he's mature enough to handle the NFL.

Starting point is 00:27:47 Maybe they're saying to themselves, we can't throw him out there with me because we don't know if we can trust this guy fully. And if he's going to be a distraction, we can't allow him to take reps from other players. Or maybe it's just a football decision. Simple. Maybe he's just not practicing well enough. Maybe he's not learning the playbook. But right now, if you're looking at this, I mean, it certainly comes across as Baker not having a great shot at making this 53 man roster. We're kind of barreling towards Baker not making this team. And I wouldn't say that that would be a shock because I've had him on the outside looking in, but he might be further on the outside of this roster bubble than we first thought.

Starting point is 00:28:36 He might have to do some miraculous work to get going. It's still early and we don't know what those practices are not in front of the media. We got to remember that But right now this is not where you want to be I can guarantee you J von Baker is not happy Getting reps with Ben Wooldridge That wraps up this edition of lockdown Patriots, let me know your thoughts on today's topics reach out to me on Twitter at Nick See radio. Don't forget to throw a comment in on the YouTube channel and while you're on YouTube checking it out Don't forget to hit a comment in on the YouTube channel. And while you're on YouTube, checking it out, don't forget to hit that Like button and subscribe. Thank you for making Lockdown Patriots

Starting point is 00:29:09 your first listen today. For your second listen, check out Lockdown NFL Scouting. Kyle Crabs, Joe Marino, make you the most informed NFL fan of this off season. Find Lockdown NFL Scouting on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. Have a truly great weekend and we will see you on Monday.

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Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Latest Mike Vrabel Hire Revolutionizing The New England Patriots

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