Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Lil’Jordan Humphrey at Tight End? New England Patriots - Las Vegas Raiders Joint Practices

Episode Date: August 26, 2022

As the New England Patriots prepare to close out their preseason slate against the Las Vegas Raiders on Friday, they will do so with one fewer tight end on their roster. Following the release of Dalton Keene, is Lil’Jordan Humphrey up to the challenge of a positional change? Joining host Mike D’Abate is Clare ‘ClazzyClare’ Cooper of Pats Propaganda. The duo discuss the potential changes at tight end, as well as the Pats and Raiders performances at joint practices.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!DaveDownload the Dave app from the App store right now for an Extra Cash account and get up to 500 dollars instantly. For terms and conditions go to dave.com/legal. Instant transfer fees apply. Banking provided by Evolve. Member FDIC.LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFLBuilt BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” 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!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.BriteCoThe guys at BriteCo Jewelry Insurance made buying insurance for your engagement ring, your watch, or whatever so easy you can get covered in 2 minutes on your cell phone. You won't find a better deal on coverage that's so affordable. Go to https://brite.co/lockedon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hunter, Henry, Jonu Smith, and Will Jordan Humphrey? Well, the Patriots, we're going to be talking about the tight endage room and two days of joint practices with the Las Vegas Raiders. I'm Mike DeBate. You're 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 and also your first listen every day. Remember, Locked On Patriots, free and available on all platforms, including YouTube, so download, subscribe to, follow Locked On Patriots wherever you get your podcasts. And, of course, smash that subscribe button on YouTube. Folks, today's episode is brought to you by Brightco Jewelry and Watch Insurance. Brightco brings you comprehensive, fast, and affordable jewelry insurance

for as low as $5 per month. Check out your special offer for Locked On listeners and get covered in under two minutes at bright.co forward slash Locked On. That's bright.co forward slash Locked On. Pats fans, thank you once again for making

Locked On Patriots a part of your Pats coverage today. I am your host, Mike Devate. I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. Drop me a line. Let me know what's on your mind on the Bird app at MDABATENFL. And while you're out there showing some Twitter love to the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Lockdown Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots.

As you heard in the opening, Pats fans, the tight-ended room may look a little different for the New England Patriots. Yes, John O. Smith and Hunter Henry are going to be the headliners, but a certain player at another position is making some noise to be the third man in that group, and it's not Devin Asiasi. If we're talking tight-endage, you know we are contractually obligated and forever grateful to bring you the wisdom and counsel of the only guest that can bring you tight endage information extraordinaire she is a columnist extraordinaire

for pat's propaganda and also the co-host excuse me the co-host of another great podcast the patriot one patriots place with our good friends thomas murphy and steve balistrieri and of course the host of her very own Patriots podcast, A Claire Perspective, a Patriots podcast. Folks, one of the best listens you'll find anywhere. Smash the subscribe button, download, subscribe, follow, wherever you get your podcasts. Trust me, you're going to love it.

The illustrious Claire, classy Claire Cooper joins me today. Claire, thanks for joining me from across the pond. Welcome back to Locked On Patriots and your weekly home here on the pod. Oh, well, thank you, as always, for having me. And thank you, listeners and viewers, for listening and viewing. It's always good to be back at Lockdown. It is. And it's always great to have you here at Lockdown.

I told you, you bring a little levity to the show. You bring a lot of knowledge and a lot of firsthand accounts. And that's something that we're going to be doing today, Claire, because we're right up your alley. We're talking tight endage and we're talking New England Patriots tight endage to a tee. So this is really going to be within your wheelhouse. Yes, I know Ryan Izzo is out there on the free agent market, although he did work out for the Indianapolis Colts on Wednesday. So we're keeping Izzo watch right now here on Locked On,

and we're continuing to monitor that situation. But if I'm being honest, I'm not extremely confident that we're going to be seeing Ryan Izzo walk through the tight-ended doors at one Patriots place in Foxborough anytime soon. That being said, we know who will not be in the Patriots tight end to this year. And that is tight end Dalton Keene. Dalton was released on Tuesday and the Wingland Patriots, or I should say he was released prior to Tuesday. And Claire, we've talked about Dalton several times here on the airwaves. We've talked about him and his prowess and what he could bring to the table. Injuries will be the story of why Dalton Keene never worked in New England.

But when you look back now and you look at what we've talked about before when it comes to Dalton, when you look at what the Patriots need out of their tight ends, in your opinion, what went wrong? And what do you see, if any, a future for Dal Dalton Keane in the uh in the NFL right now well it's really difficult because one of the things that that was pointed out I think it was actually Matt Chatham was the first person I saw pointed out was how Dalton Keane didn't sustain or didn't lose any time any and he didn't lose any game time due to injury at his time at Virginia Tech so this is a situation where this guy hit the NFL he hit the pro level if you like and unfortunately was riddled with injury we saw I think it was in

2020 he had his neck injury so he didn't play a full season then he had something like I think he he appeared in six games for something you know the numbers are quite small five targets three receptions 16 yards that kind of thing said play six games 2021 he unfortunately pretty much lost the season on IR due to a knee injury and then he had I've got to make sure that I pronounce this correctly because I'm not good meniscus surgery so that was pretty much kind of like season ending for him cartilage bone that sort of thing so he didn't have a 2021 either and then coming out of 2022 all I've really read is an undisclosed injury at the first OTA practice in May and it was like it kind of felt like even back then it felt like that was the nail in the coffin

sort of thing but they you know they sort of eked it out they stretched it out and they didn't get released until recently and I think that was probably because maybe they were trying to see if they could give him a chance because this you know this guy yes he was a third round pick and people a lot of people are saying he was a wasted pick and I can see why you would be saying that because they didn't get anything out of him he had the potential he had good potential we talked about it as you mentioned plenty of times that he was very versatile you know kind of in the slot in the backfield we were looking at him as quite a hatchback maybe the fullback replacement with a sort of hybrid nature to his play and And we just didn't really get to see it. And I think it's more, it's unfortunate.

It's a very unfortunate situation when any player is injured. But to have your career, and I kind of want to put it in inverted commas because the poor guy doesn't really seem to, he hasn't got much down as a career sort of thing, to be plagued by injury it's something that you wonder if it's very bad luck is it a conditioning thing is it something that this guy was predispositioned and it didn't show up in his college career it may be that we'll never really get the answers um you know that we're hoping for this 2022 I can't really see him him going anywhere and it's unfortunate because that will be sort of another year out of the NFL

in another year away from it sort of thing so to look back into like next season 23 to 24 sort of season he won't really have played in the NFL for almost sort of his three years career kind of thing so to be picked up it just the odds just don't look good for him and that's got nothing to do with his ability and everything to do with his injury history which is very unfortunate but you know I hate to hit the kind of cliches that I know Patriots fans are used to but Bill Belichick you know famed for saying availability is like the best ability or sort of one of the best abilities and unfortunately for what circumstances what we might not be aware of as I said we may never be aware of is

Dalton Keane just couldn't be available and it all I can think of at this point I know a lot of people will say oh well it's a wasted draft pick what another waste of time you know another costly error but nobody can foresee I think even Matt Chatham kind of went on to say this when he was discussing I think it was a social media post that even you know even Dalton couldn't foresee that he was going to have a career played with injury you know no nobody can foresee that much in the future and you know you know, you work hard and you try and be the best that you can be. And these things just unfortunately happen. He isn't the first player to be plagued with injury and to have a career kind of cut short by injury. And unfortunately, he won't be the last.

And it is such a shame because I think he did really have something. And he had this potential to be very versatile. And that's something that as a Patriot, as you know, Bill Belichick really likes and, you know, the potential was really there. It's just very unfortunate that it hasn't come to fruition. And I hope we do get to see him. I'd really like to see, you know, really see that versatility put out there on the field, you know, as an NFL player. But if I'm honest, if I was a betting woman,

which I'm not really, but if I was, I wouldn't really put my money on it at the moment it's tough it really is it's it's a difficult situation and i think matt did articulate that well and i think you articulated that very well too and that no one can really foresee what a player's injury history is going to look like especially beforehand and you're taking a look at a guy that in Virginia Tech did not have a large injury history. This was a very durable human being that was on the field, took a lot of versatile snaps. He aligned as a pass catcher. He aligned as a blocker.

He aligned as an inline tight end. He aligned sometimes as a move tight end. It's a guy that could basically do it all. I think probably route running was his least marketable skill. But when he took the ability to be able to line up in the H-back, full-back type role, which is what we thought he had the potential to do this year, you looked at his potential, you looked at his history as a Hokie, and you said, okay, well, this is what he can bring to the table here. But when you have the type of injury bad luck, and I'm sorry to say it, folks, it is bad luck that

Dalton has had when it comes to injuries and also the lack of a professional resume it's going to shy teams away so he's going to face an uphill battle to try to battle and get back on the field I mean we've as you just said we even mentioned sort of several times how you know the possibility of let go of um Jakob Johnson could be making way for this versatile tight end to be utilised for Keane to be used as this full-back

toyed around with something that we've seen a number of times because of his versatility. Because versatility was obvious coming to the draft. We because of his versatility, because his versatility was obvious, sort of like coming to the draft, the draft that was being held, we expected maybe Jakob Johnson to have moved on, but he said Mason and to utilise Dalton in that, you know, spot.

So the Patriots couldn't even foresee that this injury would happen. You know, they didn't have the hindsight. None of us can have the hindsight of the injury. And they're the ones that really know what they're talking about in regards to the, you know, the coaching, you know, the scouting and the personnel of the team. So if they can't see it coming, then, you know, nobody really can. And, you know, we jest because, yeah yeah it's something that nobody could foresee anyway but it is unfortunate and and I do hope that he does get something out there it'd be such a shame to see such a career cut so short when you're so young when when you're so versatile but as you

mentioned once he's out it's very difficult to get back in yeah it is it's extremely difficult and I think he does face that uphill climb. But look, there is still something there, I think, in terms of being an NFL player. And if that's the case, Dalton has to prove to his new team, whoever that may be, one, that he can stay healthy, that he can get out there on the field, and two, that he can be a reliable pro because he does have pro level skill set, like we said before, that will allow him to be an asset to a team. So while he might be looking at a long 2022, maybe out there trying to get his name out there, it's an undisclosed injury. So we're not sure what the nature of it is.

If there is a situation where he would miss time, if he signed with a new team, or is he going to take the time to heal and then try to catch on? We'll see. But ultimately, the Dalton Keene era has come to a close in New England, and it may have given birth to a new era of tight-endage countess, something that we will talk about here in just a moment, because not only is Devin Asiasi trying his best to be that third man in the tight-endage room for the New England Patriots, a certain wide receiver who not a lot of people talked about prior to his signing here in

New England might be making the case to be the third man. And you know what, Claire? He might just be the best option they have at that level right now. I'm going to talk a little Jordan Humphrey when we continue here on this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast. But first, Claire, I've got a little story to tell you actually today. We all have seen proposal videos online. We've seen them on YouTube.

We've seen them, you know, make the rounds on SportsCenter. Some people, you know, put the, you know, the proposal up on the big jumbo screen at a sporting event. I happen to hate that, but I mean, people do like it. People do enjoy it. I was watching one the other day, and this poor guy had everything really planned well. You could really tell he was trying to do everything he could to impress his significant other.

Took her out in a rowboat, really romantic setting, really looked nice. But the problem is, is the area where he took her out into the river there was an airport that flies you know in that area where planes fly overhead regularly well i guess the plane flew a little bit too low and it caught the attention of his fiancee who whipped her head around very quickly to see the plane and when she did that the momentum carried her over she went overboard he went overboard most importantly claire the ring went overboard as well so not a good situation uh not a very very good moment he tried but just didn't think ahead didn't use his head so folks here is the lesson you don't want to be that guy and you don't want it captured on youtube and plastered all over the internet

you definitely don't want to do that the good news is't want it captured on youtube and plastered all over the internet you definitely don't want to do that the good news is is the guys at brightco jewelry insurance company will make sure that you get a replacement for the full value of that ring no matter if it's lost if it's stolen if it's sleeping with the fishes or you just can't figure out what happened to it go to brightco.com that's bright bright.co, C-O, forward slash, locked on. It's the fastest, easiest, and cheapest way to cover yourself whenever you need jewelry insurance. They have the best jewelry insurance in the business. Folks, let me tell you, it won't even take you two minutes on your cell phone, and it'll be the best decision you've made to make sure to cover the valuable jewelry in

your life and especially in the life of your significant other so definitely right now go to bright.co forward slash locked on for more patriots fans we are here today as always as we do during the week talking a little tight endage with the illustrious Claire Classey, Claire Cooper of Pat's Propaganda and the Claire Perspective of Patriots podcast. And Claire, we are talking tight-ended. You can see the smile on her face, folks. She's definitely happy about it.

She loves this subject, and you are the best in the business at it. So that's why we definitely want to go ahead and talk that today. We talked a little bit about Dalton Keene in the previous segment, Claire. And unfortunately, his time in New England has come to a close. But it's given rise to a new rumor, a new scenario, if you will, about who might be that elusive third tight end for the New England Patriots. Some will argue they don't need a third tight end, that they're just going to roll with Jonu Smith and Hunter Henry. And I think that in terms of talent, you can't really get too much better than those two guys at the top of your chart but there's injury history for both Hunter and Jonu and if

you're going to run two tight end sets and with the zone run offense that the Patriots are incorporating you know they're going to run more of it this year than they did last year so because of that they're going to need someone that can run the routes, be that receiving tight end, or really play both options. Well, a name that's surfaced other than Devin Asiasi, who is actually having a pretty decent camp so far. I don't want to make it seem like Devin has no shot at this. He clearly does. But a name that's emerging is someone from the wide receiver depth chart, and that is Lil Jordan Humphrey. When he came over from being a free agent, spent some time in New Orleans,

you look at what this kid can do, and he's got the size to be a tight end. He's got the prototypical build. He also is showing evidence of route running ability and the ability to make big catches in the open field, something the Patriots are really loving about this kid. Belichick's praised him. When you look at Will Jordan Humphrey,

being the tight-ended expert that you are, Countess, having studied the position for a number of years, do you see tight-endage in Will Jordan Humphrey? And could this experiment work for the Patriots? See, I think you're going to be a little bit surprised because I'm not really on kind of on board with him being branded a tight end and I think that's more because it doesn't really need to happen see the situation is as you said size wise if anybody doesn't know um he's

down a 6'4 255 pretty standard tight end statistics that you've got there as you said good route runner that kind of thing the thing is to to brand him as a tight end it's really kind of superficial because he hasn't got the skill set of what we sort of know what I like to sort of look at as the traditional tight end the very wide tight end um you know as as we've mentioned millions of times Gronk is the sort of the one that I got into the tight endage for and he was a very traditional tight end really Hunter Henry another one he kind of ticks that traditional box sort of thing I think little Jordan is more of the the sort of the route runner the ball carrier that kind of thing. He hasn't got the blocking prowess, shall we say. And I think what's important for New England at the moment in a tight end

is that versatility of performance and blocking because of what we're looking at on the offensive line. It kind of ekes out away from sort of the wide receiver, just try and talk. And it does have to sort of seep into the things that we're looking at on the offensive line, because there seems to be a little bit of unrest, it seems a little bit suspect at the moment. They haven't got it all kind of buttoned in

because there's been injury, because there's talk of Isaiah Wynn sort of moving on or maybe being traded that kind of thing with the O-line not secure you need you need that sort of extra tight end to be able to step up and help with the blocking I believe my opinion in this matter at the moment and as as talented as little Jordan is, and he is talented and we've seen it, to fit on the Patriots, branding him as a tight end, I don't think is, I think it's fruitless, as I mentioned at the beginning. People have seen that he's good and they want to make him fit. And I appreciate that.

And because he's that little bit bigger than a wide receiver, he's a little bit kind of,'s maybe not as as quick off the line as the taekwondo that you know the patriots have looked in to get in now it's like oh let's make him fit by making him a tight end because there's so much depth at wide receiver but we want to keep him maybe we can make him fit on tight ends and i can see why people want to do that because of his size but I just don't really think it's worth coming to fruition now do I think the Patriots should move on from him certainly not he has performed quite well it's just unfortunate as I said unfortunately it's terrible that we're looking at a depth of unfortunateness at the moment but because there's such depth at wide receiver because there's so many names out there of, oh, well, he's quite good

and he's performed quite well and he's quite well, it's difficult to make this guy fit. And then you kind of look at special teams and can they make him fit on special teams? But the Patriots are renowned for having good special teamers and they've got that in Bethel and Cody Davis. And then you'd have to move on from one of those guys to make Humphrey fit into the the special teams, you know, that sort of thing.

So I think it's just come from a need of this guy's good. We want to keep him. Where can we fit him in so that we can keep him? And I think it's a little bit more of that than really looking at this guy thinking he is tight end. That's what he should play. If you were looking at it where the Patriots maybe didn't have depth at wide receiver just for argument's sake and you were looking at this and you were like oh well you know they've got little John Humphrey and he seems to be performing well we wouldn't really be talking about can we put him as a tight end or I don't believe we would in my opinion I should you know I should stress that in my opinion I don't think that they would be talking about putting him in

as a tight end because you wouldn't need to. You'd be looking at the tight end position and sort of either saying, well, has Devin Asiasi got it this year? Should the Patriots pick up another veteran who's a good blocker? Should they be putting someone in like that? I think it's really more circumstance that's given way to this talk of Little Jordan being a tight end more than the guy actually really sort of should be a tight end. But as I mentioned, that is just in my humble opinion. I think that's a little more than just a humble opinion. I think it's a very good opinion.

And look, bottom line, folks, I think Claire is right on the money here. I think Little Jordan has done a good enough job of earning a roster spot and i think he will earn a roster spot i think it's going to be as a wide receiver now can i see him lining up prototypically as a wide receiver and maybe getting some snaps as a move tight end in certain situations especially in the red zone absolutely he's got the size 64 225 this kid can definitely play that role and he's a very good route runner so he may get some looks in the middle part of the field and being a bigger guy like that it's going to give him an advantage over some of the defenders that he's going to be working with especially some of those hybrid safeties that tend to be a little bit

shorter a little more compact he can take their hit a little bit better the other thing is even if he is sort of branded this this tight end he won't be going necessarily to different meetings he'll still be sort of working out the same way that he would be if he was being a wide receiver because he's still going to run the same sort of routes as you said because of his size because of his athletic ability because of the way that he plays he is still going to line up it just means that somebody's got to put a te in front of it instead of a wr he's not going to be doing anything different he isn't really a blocker as we said i'm sure he you know he's probably not not capable i haven't looked at his as he's blocking ability i haven't studied it so i can't indefinitely say but just looking on what I have seen recently he doesn't seem that sort of he would play that kind of role not really the

hands in the dirt kind of guy so he isn't going to be actually his job won't technically be different for him he will line up he will be in the meetings that he would have been if you'd have left WR in front of his name. Yeah, absolutely. And I think at the very least, we've seen a guy that can come in and run this offense and be effective in this offense against the Panthers the other night. And I know it's exhibition. I know it's against lesser material,

but he is going up against pro level guys and five catches, 71 yards, was targeted six times, caught five out of six of them for Bailey Zappi. So this kid is definitely someone that's rounding into his own. I think he makes the roster. I don't necessarily think it's just a prototypical tight end, but they will give him the opportunity to align there somewhat. I just don't think it's going to be a permanent move.

So I think you're right on the money with this, and we'll see what happens with the Patriots and how they align because they do have a finale to their preseason slate coming up, folks. This Friday, 8.15 p.m. Eastern, your New England Patriots will take on the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada. They've been out in Las Vegas for the last couple of days doing some joint practice work. Claire and I are going to discuss what we're taking away from the situation when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. But first, folks, as you gear up for fall,

you need the right people on your team to help your small business fire on all cylinders. And that is where LinkedIn Jobs can come in to make it easier to find the people you want to talk to faster and for free. Create a free job post in minutes on LinkedIn Jobs to reach your network and beyond to the world's largest professional network of over 810 million people. Then add your job and the purple hashtag hiring frame to your LinkedIn profile to spread the word that you're hiring so your network can help you find the right people to hire. Simple tools like screening

questions make it easy to focus on candidates with just the right skills and experience so you can quickly prioritize who you like to interview and you'd like to hire. LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to faster. Did you know every week nearly 40 million job seekers visit LinkedIn? Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash locked on nfl that's linkedin.com slash locked on nfl l-o-c-k-e-d-o-n nfl to post your job for free terms and conditions apply patriots fans we are ready to wrap things up here on this Thursday edition of the Locked On Patriots podcast here with the illustrious Claire Classey Claire Cooper of Pat's Propaganda and a

Claire Perspective a Patriots podcast and Claire we've talked a lot of tight endage on this episode but there are other things going on in the world of the New England Patriots, primarily two days of joint practices with the Las Vegas Raiders. And the Patriots are ready to close their preseason slate coming up this Friday against the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. joint practices and we look at the what the new england patriots have the tendency to want to do how they're going to be a part of this uh the count of the countess is wagging her finger at me okay let me stop you there mike as you mentioned the patriots have done one two days joint practice with the raiders and as the kind of the beat reporter for Patriots SI, as the Locked On Patriots host, you've seen what's been going on. So come on, tell our listeners and our viewers, what have you seen in these last two days at joint practice with the Las Vegas Raiders? Well, let's put it this way.

Reports of the Patriots demise offensively I think are being greatly exaggerated the first thing that you're going to hear from a lot of the boots on the ground there is that the Patriots offense looked woeful especially on the first day we saw that a lot in a lot of the tweets that were being circulated this is not good Patriots are looking terrible I've never seen a Patriots offense look this bad this deep in a training camp. We've heard it all. But what the whole story will tell you is that the Patriots did struggle at the beginning. There's no question about it.

But they're looking sharper in an area where they struggled last year. That is in the two-minute drill. That is in the red zone area. And that is where I think a lot of what the patriots are going to be doing operating into this season is going to be where you're going to see the biggest amount of growth for the new england patriots particularly with mac jones and i think in a lot of ways what you're seeing from mac is a better communicator and this is something that we're seeing come out of these practices especially in the two-minute drill it's so easy to lose a team when you're not prepared when you're out of sorts

when you're not ready to bring everybody back into the fold if you struggle early you can get that like Shane Falco would say quicksand one thing goes wrong then another then another then you're in over your head it's like quicksand Mac Jones is not doing that. He's being able to right the ship and take his team from performing poorly early and be able to move them forward. That's a very positive sign of growth. Mac talked about this yesterday when he met with the media, saying that there is better communication between he and the offensive line, that they're communicating better in terms of what to expect when those next level blitzes are coming from the defense when they're aligned maybe in a different formation that he's not used to seeing when they want to try to run the ball and get the running game going but the

opposing team is stacking the deck and making that impossible Mack and the offensive line and his pass catchers are working on ways to be able to do that and you saw him do it yesterday whether it be hitting Hunter Henry in stride or whether it be hitting Kendrick Bourne for a touchdown or Jacoby Myers for arguably the play of the day, the over-the-shoulder catch that Jacoby made. These are periods of growth that we're seeing. So if I'm looking for the biggest offensive takeaway

from this, it's that the Patriots can do the job under pressure. And that's something that is rewarding, I think, much more so rewarding than a detriment to them. So are they going to have struggles? Yes. Is it still a work in progress? Absolutely.

But it's not the doom and gloom that the Patriots or their fans are hearing about on a regular basis. I think they're hearing more negativity than positivity. And I think that does the team and the fans a disservice. Just my opinion. And that's why people have to tune into Locked On Patriots to get the positive, the real spin, the real, you know, the let's not be all doom and gloom. Let's look at what is good and what is going right. Absolutely.

And, you know, I mean, look, bottom line, there are, you know, again, there are situations where it's going to be a little bit of a work in progress. And I think fans have to expect that. But ultimately, if they want to take away something from these two days, it's that even with the difficulties that they have, and even with the growing pains that they'll have on offense, they're still going to continue to show what they can do and how they can do it. And I think because of that, I think Mac Jones is really, I think the perfect guy to lead this team because he's got the proper temperament. He also has the proper savvy to be able to run that hurry up type of offense that he ran so effectively in Alabama. This is going to be a good fit for him. So they'll be okay. Also, I know I get a lot of questions on the defensive side of the ball count.

So I'll indulge that for just a moment. We all heard about the woes of Jalen Mills trying to cover Devontae Adams. I got news for you. You can throw anybody else out there on Devontae and they're going to struggle against him. This guy is the number one wide receiver in the league. I don't think people are going to question that. Some may. I happen to believe my opinion that some may i happen to believe

my opinion only but i happen to believe that he is the best and most complete wide receiver in the game so before anybody gets on jaylen mills for being an also ran remember who he's defending um but jaylen did struggle on tuesday and i'm not going to lie about that but he also bounced back nicely on wednesday and this is something that you're looking for in a number one, very similar to what I said about Mack and the offense and him bouncing back and showing leadership. Jalen showed a lot of leadership as well in his first rep versus Devontae Adams. He got revenge. He got a pass breakup on him.

Something to prove that, you know what, you may have gotten the better of me yesterday, but you're not going to get the better of me every time we line up he had another later on in the drills uh forced an incompletion so these two types of things really i think stand out to me as the patriots as rocky balboa would said it's about taking the hit and keep moving forward um and look see i knew i knew i was going to get her with that, folks. I knew she was going to be frustrated with the movie quotes, but I couldn't resist. It's about how much you can take and keep moving forward.

That's how winning is done, and that is how winning is done. And I think the Patriots are on to something there. So are they going to have a Herculean, Rocky Balboa-type moment this season? The jury's still out. I think this team still has a long way to go before they reach that plateau but there is a lot more positive than you would think when you read some of these reports and that's something the patriots fans can hang their hat on this team may take a shot but they're going to come back and they're going to come back strong and smarter well i was going to say it ain't all sunshine and rainbows but it we're trying

to flip the script and say that he's kind of a bit of sunshine and rainbows. That's good. You should drop that in. That's a good thing. And thank you, Michael, for the brilliant kind of training camp coverage. So in sort of the way that you normally do things, please, Mike, do tell everyone where they can follow you and where they can find your great work too you're liking this aren't you you really are liking this aren't you i can tell i can tell by the laugh folks she's liking it it's very funny absolutely the countess is pleased well i am very always honored and humbled to share the microphone with claire and you all know where to find me it's's right here. I say it every day here on Locked On Patriots. But

I am going to yield my time to the illustrious countess on the other side of the screen right here to say, folks, if you want to follow someone who is not only positive but knowledgeable when it comes to all things New England Patriots, you definitely want to follow Claire without any question.

At Classic Claire on Twitter. The work that she puts out for Pat's Propaganda. I say it again, best recap in the business, bar none. It's always my favorite read of the week, and it will be yours too when you check that out. Also, be sure never to miss the columns that she writes for Pat's Propaganda. Great work that all of their writers are doing over there. Tom and all of the crew do a phenomenal job, so check them out. And and of course a clear perspective of patriots podcast one of the most positive one of the most informative listens that you'll find anywhere check it all out you will not be disappointed indeed thank you very much mike you're very very welcome anything to add countess before we take our leave for the day well you have kind of already plugged me but just

to sort of take it to the next level um yeah folks please do check out a clear perspective i have had a special come out that was kind of an extra one so not just a patriots coverage one so i did one that was about patriots with nick fitzy stevens and then i did a women in the nfl with karen gregian so i'm hoping to expand on that so i'm hoping to get a couple more women to talk to so please keep your sharp eye as mike likes to say out there for a clear perspective specials they will be classed as special editions as they will be more focused on not really the patriots maybe a little bit but still about women in sports women in sports media women in the nfl that sort of thing so i hope you do go and check out the specials and obviously my regular episodes will be still dotted around as normal with

Boston sports media type people discussing what is going on with the Patriots. I do hope to bring something to you after the preseason game with the Raiders a few days, maybe. And then hopefully once the season has kicked off, I'll get you some info after the Finns game. So yeah, basically please just check out the Twitter handle for all my work,

really. Yeah. All kidding aside, folks, top of the line, top notch stuff, some of the best in the business and excellent, excellent stuff. Check out that show that she did with Karen. Karen is a legendary columnist of the Boston Herald, someone who is held in the highest regard here in these parts. And if you follow New England sports, you've read Karen Garigian's work. So definitely check her out and check out Claire's great work every single time. She puts pen to paper or voice to microphone. But most importantly, folks, thank you all so much for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage and also your first listen every day.

Now that you've made us your first listen, make the second listen, Locked On Fantasy Football with my good friend and colleague Vinny Iyer. Over 20 years of fantasy football coverage. Vinnie is the top of the line, best in the business. You'd want to hear what he has to say, so check that out shortly, wherever you get your podcasts. On behalf of the Countess of Klaas herself, Miss Claire, Klaasie Claire Cooper of Pat's Propaganda, and a Claire Perspective of Patriots podcast, I'm Mike DeBate. Stay safe. Stay safe. Stay well. Be the change that you wish to see in the world. Have a

great day, everyone.