Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Latest: Morgan Moses Struggles | Drake Maye Excels | Kyle Williams Dazzles

Starting point is 00:00:00 One of the most important editions of this offseason struggles mightily at day one of camp That's where we start on this episode of lockdown Patriots You are locked on Patriots your daily New England Patriots podcast part of the locked on podcasts network your team every day. What's up, Patriots fans? I am your host, Nick Cattles, born and raised in New England, also host of the Everything Pats podcast, co-host of the Greg Bedard Patriots podcast

Starting point is 00:00:34 with Nick Cattles and a Sports Talk Show host, veteran. On today's episode, despite challenges from his supporting cast, day one of camp was a huge win for Drake May. And speaking of supporting cast, the wide receiver room provided some day one surprises. But first it was a long day for one crucial veteran. We appreciate you joining the show, making us your first listen for being an everydayer. The Lockdown Patriots podcast is a proud partner of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.

Starting point is 00:01:05 And today's 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. It's day one. Let's get that out of the way. Day one, no pads. So it's tougher to truly evaluate offensive and defensive line play. But if you had questions about this upgraded offensive line, and I have had some questions,

Starting point is 00:01:34 if you were like me walking into this camp with some questions about this offensive line, well, day one didn't help because day one saw those questions and compounded some of them. Mike Giardi posted, pass protection was less than optimal. Some would even say subpar, a lot of heat off the tackles. Greg Bedard wrote, rough start for pass protection, especially Morgan Moses. I counted five sacks combined with May

Starting point is 00:02:05 getting sacked all five times and it wasn't like he was holding on to the ball too long. The pressure was quick. Moses allowed two sacks, Demandre Jacobs, Remandre Stevenson, and Will Campbell allowed one each. Moses was replaced after the first sack and his playing time was very inconsistent for the duration of the practice. Let's start with Morgan Moses. I'm going to give Morgan the benefit of the doubt. He is a 34 year old veteran. He's been playing for a long time. He understands that this is day one of camp. I'm not saying he took it lightly. I'm sure he didn't take it lightly. What I'm saying is he should not allow a tough day one to impact the rest of his camp. He understands

Starting point is 00:02:55 the ups and downs that you can have. So a tough day one doesn't mean that he's going to have a tough day two. He could come back on day two and be a completely different guy. Another reason why I'm going to give Morgan the benefit of the doubt is because he had a surgery. Let's not forget, get off to a slow start at OTA's mandatory mini camp. Wasn't out there at the very beginning because of that surgery.

Starting point is 00:03:21 So he's not only in his mid thirties, but he's been dealing with something and he's not only in his mid-30s but he was he's been dealing with something and he's trying to fight through that but I am going to even though I'm giving Moses the benefit of the doubt I'm going to stick a pin in this and I'm gonna look at day one and I'm gonna continue to have questions buried in the back of my brain about Morgan Moses. He's 34, he's coming off surgery, and let's not forget that last season, if you look at Pro Football Focus,

Starting point is 00:03:52 was one of the worst evaluated seasons of Morgan Moses over the past five or six years. His play with the Jets, in many instances, would signal a decline from somebody who is getting older like all of us. But not like Morgan Moses, because I'm not attempting to play in the NFL. So that decline in 2024 leading into a surgery, leading into some mistime at the very beginning of the early phases of camp and a tough day one stick a pin in it. Now it's quite possible that Moses is off to this slow start because of the surgery and it's quite possible you might even argue that it's probable that Moses last year his play declined

Starting point is 00:04:39 because he decided to continue to play for the Jets even though he was clearly banged up. And you would hope that a fully healthy Moses, if he gets there in the next few weeks, will look like a different guy at the beginning of the 25 season. But we're gonna remember this day. And if Moses starts to stack bad day after bad day,

Starting point is 00:05:01 that's when I'm going to get truly concerned, because frankly what is the option at tackle on the right side if Moses doesn't work out Kaden Wallace he was playing left guard day one of camp so that mandatory mini camp time where we saw Wallace playing guard that was not necessarily a mini camp experiment Wallace was playing at left guard again, day one of camp. Is the Montre Jacobs going to be your answer? He gave up a sack day one of training camp, we saw who he is and what he does last year. He

Starting point is 00:05:39 at best is a backup, probably best as a third guy, maybe practice squad dude, Is it Jack Conley undrafted free agent from Boston college? So what are your options if Morgan Moses doesn't work out? That's the concern. So hopefully this is a blip on the radar. Hopefully Moses slowly gets healthier and we see a different guy. Let's jump to Will Campbell, because Will Campbell, everybody is watching Will Campbell, everybody is asking questions about Campbell, is he really left tackle? What kind of camp is he going to have? I'm going to pump the brakes on the Campbell stuff.

Starting point is 00:06:16 I'm not going to sit here and smash the panic button. After day one of camp, I'm not sitting here going, Oh, my God, it's all over. Will Campbell gave up a sack. He's a rookie. It's his first day of training camp. He gave up a sack to Keon White, which isn't really something that you should be ashamed of. You don't want to do it, but Keon White is pretty darn good. He is tough to handle. So giving up one sack on your first legitimate day of training camp, not that big of a deal to me. I'm not going to overreact. The way I'm going to grade Will Campbell this camp is the balance of the summer. I'm going to grade him on the balance of his summer from OTAs to mini camp through training camp, joint practices, preseason, if he plays,

Starting point is 00:07:06 that's how I'm going to evaluate the rookie left tackle. I'm not going to lose my mind if he gives up a sack or two. I am not going to sit here and do cartwheels in front of this camera. If he has a great day. What we saw from the early phases of camp was that Campbell was getting better. He was progressing and he had a pretty good OTA. He had a pretty good mandatory mini camp. So let's see what he does in camp. Let's see what he does when the pads come on and when they get to joint practices. A few other notes about the offensive line play and the sacks given up. Remondre Stevenson has to be better. If he's going to be the guy on first and second down, he has to be better protecting the quarterback. He has to make

Starting point is 00:07:52 sure he knows what he's doing out there. If a team is going to blitz on an early down, he better be ready. Ramon Drey can't give up a free hit on Drake May. So Dre has to be better. We know that Antonio Gibson isn't very good at pass protection. We know that Trevion Henderson was drafted in part because of his pass protection. You can't allow the guy who you're going to call a quote unquote starter, most likely. You can't allow him to be bad at blocking. You just can't. So he has to be better. He's not a rookie. He's got to be better. Now, the good news is land Larison, the undrafted free agent apparently picked up a blitz that a really good job. And again, Henderson is very good in past protection, but Stevenson is going to be out there. He's going to be playing

Starting point is 00:08:42 a decent amount of football for this team. And he's got to make sure he takes care of the ball. And he's got to make sure that he protects the quarterback when he needs to. Demontre Jacobs, the sack he gave up, whatever. He's Demontre Jacobs. Back up at best. Now also, let's look at the Keon White impact. Let's give Keon White some love before we move on because we can sit here and we can

Starting point is 00:09:08 pick apart Morgan Moses. We could talk about Campbell and Ramadre Stevenson, but we also should give credit to White. Mike Giardi posted that White was around the quarterback. He saw a lot of White around the quarterback, but Dard mentioned that White blew past Campbell for the sack against the rookie. And so if you're buying stock with Keon White, if you're buying into that stock, it was a good day for Keon by all reports. And Keon, a lot of expectations with him going into his third year with this particular coaching

Starting point is 00:09:44 staff. He needs to pop and he popped that times last year towards the end of it. He grew inconsistent but day one of training camp Keon White was putting in the work. That's the good news. That's the silver lining. Alright despite past protection issues Drake May showed out and will tell you why it had very little to do with his statistics that's next as we continue with today's episode of locked on patriots part of the locked on podcast network your team every day this episode is presented by yahoo fantasy fantasy football is back fire up

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Starting point is 00:11:30 We've broken it down. We've talked about it from pillar to post, but there's a difference between potential and mastering the art of the quarterback position. It's the difference to me between details in backyard football, in the way that you're playing, in the way that you're playing, between potential and mastering the art of the quarterback position. It's the difference to me between details and backyard football. See you can have all

Starting point is 00:11:51 the raw potential and that's going to bring you to a certain point but if you want to be one of the best of the best you've got to understand the game at a different level. You have to master those details or else you're gonna be running around like a chicken with your head cut off playing backyard football and if you can last 10 years good on you but it's unlikely. Well day one of training camp what we saw from Drake May was obvious progress and let me explain how and why. Let's begin with this. It's not just about statistics, especially during training camp. Drake may could throw go, you know, 19 of 20 for a bunch of yards and a bunch of touchdowns. That's great. Because you do want to see the stats, you do want to see

Starting point is 00:12:35 the production, you still you do want to see the accuracy, but I'm looking at the other things with May. Year two is not about the potential of the arm. It's not about the potential of the athleticism. It's not even about his toughness or his competitive spirit, his work ethic. It's about the details. It's about the little things. For example, diagnosing defense is pre-snap. Big part of the job, something that may has to improve on doing just like every rookie to sophomore jump. We want to see that improvement from May when it comes to the pre snap diagnosis, the blitz recognition. Who is coming?

Starting point is 00:13:20 Where are they coming from? What are they trying to get you on? Is it a simulated pressure? Creeper pressure. What is a defensive coordinator trying to do to mess with your brain? And how can you combat that? And do you see it? Because that's how you begin to combat that. You understand what you see in your head, you diagnose it, and you're able to respond to what that DC is trying to do to you. Blitz recognition, pre-snap diagnosis. And here's what Greg Bedard wrote today about May versus a Blitz.

Starting point is 00:13:57 May saw a slot Blitz from Marcus Jones coming and found Antonio Gibson in the flat. I talked about this on Tuesday's episode, the pocket awareness. The pocket awareness needs to improve if you're Drake May. And what helps the pocket awareness is the pre-snap diagnosis because if you're more comfortable with what is coming at you, if you understand what is coming at you, then you are able to react in due time and find your out. And that's all about reading the Blitz and understanding who's coming open when that Blitz is coming. That's what it's all about.

Starting point is 00:14:41 It's having the outs versus the coverage. Whatever the defense is trying to show you, understand what it truly is, and then recognize who your outs are going to be. Is it going to be the running back out of the backfield? Is it going to be a quick pass to a wide receiver? Are you actually going to look at the tight end in a certain situation. Find your outs, understand those outs, and quickly get to them. Here's more bedard on Drake may I had may finishing five of five with five sacks. Even on those quote unquote sacks, he was four of five finding an outlet. He spread the ball around to digs Kyle Williams, K Sean booty, and Hunter Henry. So even though he's dealing with a lot of pressure, even though there's

Starting point is 00:15:33 chaos somewhat happening in front of him. Today, at training camp, he was able to understand what was happening. And he was able to find his outlet on four of the five, quote unquote, sacks. That's progress. It's called taking a profit. Don't try to do too much. Don't try to always run away from the pressure. And go to your automatic scramble mode, figure it out. Figure out what you got to do. Find a friend. And so taking a profit in 2025 is going to be significant when we talk about May's progression, his improvement. Something else, giving your guy a shot versus an unnecessary risk.

Starting point is 00:16:25 I have no issue taking a shot with one of your teammates. You believe in that guy, you want to give him a chance. That doesn't mean throwing into a double team or a triple team. And when we mentioned the turnover-worthy plays earlier in the week, that's what we're talking about. You can take a shot. You can show, you can show commitment and conviction to one of your teammates. You can show that belief.

Starting point is 00:16:51 But it doesn't mean you try to force it into a ridiculously small window or a coverage that it's just not going to work. Live to see a better day. And that's what Drake's got to be focused on. Live to see a better day And that's what Drake's got to be focused on Live to see another day live to see a better day So you could take that shot But don't go unnecessary and

Starting point is 00:17:25 An example of this from day one of camp is when May threw it to Kyle Williams. Third round draft pick. We all know rookie lot on his plate. I think a lot of hope on the plate of Williams, his ability to cross our fingers, play the X receiver position at some point and really get a grasp on that and never let it go. Well, Andrew Callahan wrote about a pass that may through to Kyle Williams. Williams secured the second most impressive grab on a comeback route along the left sideline,

Starting point is 00:17:50 shielding off Christian Gonzalez, who was on his back, trying to knock the ball away. Instead, Williams held strong and tucked out of bounds, drawing well-deserved praise from his offensive teammates and coaches. May discuss the play with the media after the practice. He said the following according to Mike Reese backside one on one with Gonzo. He made a big time catch strong hands.

Starting point is 00:18:12 I told him to maybe sell it a little more just try to give him a go route feel. So some instruction for the rookie. He's coming along. He's looking good. I told Gonzo. Hey, I'm going to come at you backside. I'm not going to leave him out here bored at practice So one-on-one against one of the best corners in football

Starting point is 00:18:32 May has to throw a back shoulder throw to Williams and It pays off see that to me is giving your guy a shot It's not an unnecessary risk back shoulder throw against one of the best corners, your guy versus their guy quote unquote. And you see if the young man can come up with the play and he did. And the other part of that play that I love is May trusting his rookie receiver against an all pro.

Starting point is 00:19:03 This isn't like Kyle Williams was being defended by a JAG, some random undrafted free agent. That's not the case. He was being covered by Christian Gonzalez, and Drake May showed the confidence and the trust and the belief in his rookie receiver and said, I'm going to go back shoulder against Gonzo, and it worked. That is no doubt going to boost the chemistry it's all about this for May control the controllables don't play outside yourself don't try to do too much understand the game at a higher

Starting point is 00:19:36 level start playing chess would be the obvious advice and And so may finished eight of nine. According to Andrew Callahan, Andrew Callahan, four would be sacks others had five sacks. So maybe may finish nine of 10. He almost threw a pick may almost threw a picture, bro peppers nearly picked them off. A deep attempt to pop Douglas may said after the practice that that was the one football he wanted back. But all in all, especially with the offensive line issues and the sacks that were coming his way, all in all, Drake May had a really good day, a sharp start to camp. And we focus on the little things, the pre-snap diagnosis, blitz recognition, finding your outlets taking that profit not taking unnecessary risks, but giving your guys a chance. And that's what may did.

Starting point is 00:20:32 We'll be talking about the wide receiver room all camp and day one provided a ton to talk about including a surprise or two. That's next on today's episode of lockdown patriots part of the lockdown podcast network, your team every day. Ever wish managing your money felt easier? With Monarch Money it can whether you're growing your savings or planning a big purchase. Monarch puts you in the driver's seat. It's like having your own personal CFO giving you full visibility and control over your finances. Monarch Money is more than a

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Starting point is 00:21:26 your money on a day to day basis. Well, you don't have to imagine it. Monarch Money is it. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKDONNFL at MonarchMoney.com for 50% off your first year. That's MonarchMoney.com code LOCKDON on NFL for half off your first year. We are going to be talking about this wide receiver competition being heated all camp long. It is the very definition of a fluid situation aside from Stefan Diggs, even Kyle Williams, who was drafted. He gonna make the team, but how about reps? How about where

Starting point is 00:22:07 he's playing, this is going to be very, very fluid. So let's talk about what happened at day one of training camp at the position. And let's begin with some kind of a surprise. I wouldn't say this is a huge surprise. But I would say that it's at least mildly surprising. when I saw this on the old phone, so wait a minute, really? K Sean booty got the first shot at X receiver day one of camp. Now part of the reason why I am at least mildly surprised is because we heard that K Sean

Starting point is 00:22:39 booty was on the trading block right around draft time. It felt like this coaching staff was ready to move on from Kaishan. Maybe not, maybe not. Or maybe this is just a case of we really want Kyle Williams playing X, but we're not just going to hand over the opportunity to the rookie, he's gotta earn his living.

Starting point is 00:23:04 He's gotta earn that position. So it could be some of that. It could be some of the the playing the games. And also, let's not forget, as a background to everything we talk about regarding the wide receiver position, Josh McDaniels loves moving his guys around. They've got Pop Douglas playing on the outside going deep at times. So he's going to move guys around digs can move around. pops gonna move around. I'm sure Kyle Williams is going to move around. So booty starting at the X doesn't necessarily mean that hey if if tomorrow was the beginning

Starting point is 00:23:38 of the season booty is going to play 80% of the snaps at that position. But the fact that he was part of the starting group, that is absolutely noteworthy, whether it's because they don't want to just give the opportunity to Kyle Williams and want him to earn it or not. I'm just looking at what happened. Not the why I'm looking at the what and the what is that booty started at the X on day one of camp. Maybe it's they look back at 2024 and they say, yeah, he could have been more efficient. He could have been more productive with those deep shots down the field, but we still feel pretty comfortable that he's capable of doing

Starting point is 00:24:18 it. And so let's get him some reps in camp. Let's get him going because we believe he can be an impact player on the outside. Maybe that's it. Or maybe this is just simple. Maybe this is all happening because Mack Hollins wasn't practicing. That is quite possible. Maybe if slash when Mack Hollins comes back and reportedly looked like he was ramping up at practice. He comes back and reportedly looked like he was ramping up at practice. He comes back relatively soon. Maybe he's the guy starting at X. Again, the wide receiver

Starting point is 00:24:55 room aside from Stefan Diggs playing the ton is a very fluid situation. Speaking of Diggs, he didn't miss a beat. he tore his ACL about nine months ago this guy's out there ready day one and he looks like he hasn't missed a day of football it is truly incredible watching these videos and reading these reports Phil Perry wrote the following about digs digs got the first catch of camp from May very first one he caught two of May's eight completions looks healthy Greg Bedard wrote this about digs digs got the first catch of camp from may very first one he caught two of may's eight completions looks healthy greg badaw wrote this about digs digs was heavily involved with the top unit

Starting point is 00:25:32 and caught the first pass from a in the first team period of camp looks good and then there was an interesting note let's let's remember this let's put this down on the notepad but dar wrote josh m McDaniels had digs going in motion often. Interesting, because one of the things that McDaniels has been criticized for when you look at the analytics is that he has not utilized motion nearly as much as some of these other savant play callers.

Starting point is 00:26:07 But at day one of camp, McDaniels had digs in motion, quote unquote, often, according to Bedard. Some tweaks. Also read from Andrew Callahan that there was a good chunk of zone run happening day one of camp. That would be a tweak to the McDaniels offense. So whenever we see these little nuggets of possible tweaks to the offense from McDaniels, we have to take a note of it.

Starting point is 00:26:40 So Diggs not only was heavily involved, not only caught the first pass of the day from May, he was also in motion often. Mike Giardi posted didn't detect any hint of a limp from digs and Giardi put in parentheses he had a little hitch this spring. Giardi finishes by writing moved well. No setbacks, no problems, no limps, no hitches, not going half speed through any kind of drills. He's out there from play one. Matter of fact, he's catching the football on the on the first pass from the quarterback. So all things moving ahead for digs. And it's a great thing to read that digs in May, they start working on their chemistry immediately. Of course, digs went down to Charlotte, spend time with Drake and some of the other pass catchers during that little get together. So I'm sure there was conversations there, I'm sure there was the beginning of the chemistry happening. But now you get to day one of camp and right away it's made of digs. It's made of digs.

Starting point is 00:27:52 So it's really nice to see that immediate chemistry between your young quarterback and the projected number one wide receiver. Here's some other good news today. Kyle Williams popped. Williams had a good day. He had a good day. Now, of course, you know, as Andrew Callahan wrote, Diggs caught May's first pass, Hunter Henry, and Kyle Williams caught his best. Williams had one of the best catches of the day. It was on that comeback route, back shoulder we talked about just a little while ago the fact that may trusted and believed in his rookie that was the play Evan Lazar posted that Kyle Williams showing up working with May Williams caught an underneath drag and turned up the sideline for Yak

Starting point is 00:28:39 Then finished through God's I want a back shoulder It's the back shoulder throw. Just want to make another point about that. It is a fantastic sign because of the trust in the early chemistry between Kyle Williams and Drake May. That kind of stuff doesn't happen on a whim. It happens because you've worked on it. It happens because you've talked about it.

Starting point is 00:29:02 So Kyle having a good camp would be a huge coup for this team. If Kyle Williams can steadily improve throughout camp and we're talking about somebody in the first month of the season who could actually contribute at the X and in other places that would be a big time coup for the early portion of the season for this offense. Now let's get to the not so good news. Jalen Polk was not involved. He wasn't involved at all in this practice. According to Bedard, Polk did more in the offseason talking about OTAs and mandatory mini camp. And at day one of training camp, he just rehabbed. And Bedard questioned, you know, I'm not sure if he had a setback or not. So what happened? Vrabel didn't mention anything in either press

Starting point is 00:29:51 conference he had with the media about Jalen Polk. So what is going on with Jalen Polk? Got to keep an eye on it. I will tell you this wide receiver is not the position that you want to be missing days during this camp. It is just not the position. And for poke, especially he can't have a lost camp. He can't have a lost 2025. If he has a lost camp, he's done. You can't come back from the 2024 that you had in that rookie season and come back and just be a big old mystery during training camp that next year. It just can't happen. So I think his roster survival depends on whether or not if he can get out there and show something anything. So hopefully day two, day three, he's out there. All right, check out the Everything Pats podcast

Starting point is 00:30:38 for my thoughts on the left guard competition at day one of camp had a lot of those during that live stream. That wraps up this edition of lockdown Patriots reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C radio and don't forget to throw a comment in on the YouTube channel and don't forget to hit that like button And subscribe the lockdown NFL top 100 by the way is still available on lockdown sports today Voted on by NFL hosts of lockdown subscribe todown sports today on YouTube or wherever you get your podcast Have a great day and we will see you tomorrow

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Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Latest: Morgan Moses Struggles | Drake Maye Excels | Kyle Williams Dazzles

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