Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Locked On Patriots - August 19, 2019: Pats-Titans Recap, Gordon Returns

Episode Date: August 19, 2019

The New England Patriots had a busy weekend, and host Mike D’Abate provides his take on the Josh Gordon return, the Dontrelle Inman departure and Saturday's Patriots-Titans game on Saturday.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello to all you Foxborough faithful and welcome to your Monday edition of Locked On Patriots, your daily home for news, notes, analysis, and the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champion, the New England Patriots. Locked On Patriots, as always, is a part of the Locked On Podcast Network. I am your host, Mike DeBate, and I cover the Patriots for FullPressCoverage.com, which is where you can always find my written work. You can also reach out to me on Twitter at MDABATEFPC, and be sure to follow Locked On Patriots on Twitter at LO underscore Patriots.

I hope that everyone had a great weekend, and since Locked On Patriots wrapped up for the weekend on Friday, there has been plenty of news regarding your New England Patriots. Wide receiver Josh Gordon is back. Wide receiver Dontrell Inman has bid farewell to Foxborough. And football is about to return to Gillette Stadium in team competition for the first time since the Pats' AFC Divisional Round victory over the Los Angeles Chargers back in January.

So a lot to cover today as always. However, before we get to the periphery news of the weekend, I wanted to start with some sweet win music. And while my Shawn Michaels impression leaves a lot to be desired, folks, I know, the Patriots rookies definitely did not leave a lot to be desired on Saturday night. Opened a lot of eyes over the weekend, really making an impression, not just on the local media, but also national media as well. A lot of new sensations surrounding the New England Patriots this year, and some good reason to feel optimistic and excited about a lot of these young guns, as they're being called, again, in the local media definitely, but also some some national circles, these guys are turning a lot of heads, and they're really

doing so in dramatic fashion, and well-deserved. Some of these guys are really, really playing well and deserve a lot of the credit that they've been getting. Their progress is evident on both sides of the ball, and albeit preseason, and we do understand that right now it is only preseason, and these guys do have a little ways to go. But that being said, there's still plenty of reason to believe that the 2019 Patriots draft class could end up being pretty special. And it begins and ends with guys like defensive end Chase Winovich, running back Damian Harris, cornerback

Juwan Williams, and of course quarterback Jared Stidham, these guys all turned in stellar efforts in the Patriots' 22-17 victory over the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. Now, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows in the Music City on Saturday night. The Patriots committed 12 penalties, yielding 99 yards, so you know that head coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots' brain trust were not happy with that effort. Definitely look for them to make improvements, especially coming up in the next couple of preseason games that they have. However, the Patriots did regroup from a somewhat sloppy effort behind their strong collection of rookies. And as such, they improved to 2-0 on the 2019 postseason, heading into that dress rehearsal game, which I know a lot of people

hate to refer to it as, but it really is accurate in terms of what the Patriots are going to bring to the table on Thursday night when they take on the Carolina Panthers at Gillette Stadium. But we begin with the rookies, and I'm going to start with Stidham because Jarrett Stidham took over for Brian Hoyer in the second quarter. And despite looking shaky at times on Saturday, he did throw two near interceptions, did have some decision issues, held onto the ball a little bit too much, which is something that we've seen from Stidham in training camp. He's gotten better at it, but it still is an issue that he's working through. But it was very impressive that Stidham

showed poise. He finished the night 14 of 19 with 193 yards. Obviously, his highlight of the night was a 23-yard touchdown pass to Damone Patterson with about 4 minutes and 12 seconds left in the game. This was a perfectly placed pass. Nice catch by Patterson as well that I'd like to add to that. But this completed a 99-yard drive, which saw the Patriots come back and rally from a 17-8 halftime deficit. Stidham showed, again, great poise in being able to do that.

This is a kid right now that looks like he has the ability to put aside some of the difficulties that he might have, whether it be an interception or a bad play, be able to shake it off and move forward. That's a great trait to see in a young quarterback and definitely impressed with Stidham's poise and definitely, I would say, a stellar game for him on Saturday night. At the receiver position, Jacoby Myers continues to make a strong case for a roster spot, and I would say he's coming close to being in that roster lock position and with great

reason. He is an undrafted rookie, so technically he's not part of the 2019 Patriots draft class, but you have to include him in this impressive group of rookies. He finished the game with six receptions for 82 yards and a two-point conversion. And Myers played very deep into the fourth quarter, which really surprised a lot of people, myself included. You want to try to keep this guy healthy and upright, folks. But I think he is developing a nice synergy with Jarrett Stidham.

And I think there's a reason why Bill Belichick had him in the game late. You want to see what Stidham can do with Myers. And while make no mistake about it, folks, Myers is going to be catching his passes from Tom Brady this year. The relationship between Stidham and Myers is definitely worth keeping an eye on. This could be a connection that we might see two, three, four years down the line. That's how much talent these guys have, and they're showing a lot of faith in Myers, meaning the Patriots are, and with due cause. Myers is definitely rewarding that faith every

day he steps out on the field. He just keeps getting more and more impressive with his knowledge of the playbook, his ability to make receptions, and his attitude. He continues to impress, and Myers is definitely having himself a great preseason. It would be a shock of all shocks to see him not on the final roster when the Patriots make the final cut down, but expect to see Myers in that role. Another rookie that impressed me on Saturday night was running back Damian Harris. Now, Harris did not see any action in preseason game one against the Detroit Lions. But myself and a couple of our guests last week, Dave Brown in particular, also Miguel Benzon from Boston Sports Journal,

and Steve Balistrieri earlier in the week, did all agree that we would probably see a heavy dose of Harris in this game. And we did in the early on portions of the game. He made the most of his time on the field. Harris finished the game with 14 carries for 80 yards, including a very impressive 20-yard run in the first half. So Harris definitely making his case to be a big producer on this team this year, especially in a deep running back core. You still have Sonny Michel.

You have Rex Burkhead. James White is a guy that they can always rely on as well. Can't forget James Devlin either. I mean, it's tough to include fullbacks among the running backs because he might play some tight end sets as well. But this is a very deep core. But Harris is definitely in the thick of that mix and will be a big contributor to this team this year as well. However, if you were going to issue a game ball for a performance of the night,

you'd be hard-pressed not to give it to Chase Winovich in this contest. Look, Winovich is definitely becoming a cult hero in New England, and there's a lot of reasons for that. His personality, he's jovial, he's kind of taking over that Rob Gronkowski role of being the star of the postgame press conference. But look, since being drafted in the third round of the 2019 draft, Winovich came in with a lot of pedigree. And you're seeing that on the field.

You've heard the term high octane describing his playing style. You've even heard the term high motor when it comes to him, that this guy just chugs along and doesn't give up. Bill Belichick has also described Winovich as having a high motor. And seeing him in preseason, seeing him in training camp, and now in a couple of these preseason games, you can absolutely see that that's not just a moniker that was kind of thrown out there to help him become, you know, a little to help marketing terms. He's earning that.

That impressive motor helped power him to six tackles, one sack and three quarterback pressures, including a really impressive 15 yard chase down of a Titans running back who I apologize. His name escapes me at the moment. But Winovich continues to improve and impress. And he's not only making a case to be a roster lock for this team, but also a very key contributor on the defensive line in 2019, perhaps even a starter's role.

So keep your eye on Chase Winovich. This kid is a star. He brings it in all aspects of the game. And he's going to be an exciting player to watch in 2019 without question. And lastly, while we're hoping nothing serious, the Patriots did not escape Saturday night without some minor injury concern. Linebacker Shaliqua Calhoun was taken to the sideline medical tent with a right leg injury early on in the game, followed up shortly after that by defensive end Derek Rivers, also suffering a right leg injury.

He was taken to the locker room. Now, neither player returned to action after exiting the game, and further information on each of their respective statuses is expected within the coming days. Perhaps we might hear something on Monday a little bit later in the week, but it's definitely worth keeping an eye on, particularly Rivers, who's had some issues with injuries throughout his career. Just seems like the poor guy can't seem to put it together when it comes to getting on the field.

So we're hoping that both players are going to be OK, but definitely something to keep an eye on this week. In good injury news, left tackle Isaiah Wynn continues to make progress toward his return from a torn Achilles in 2018. A lot of high hopes for Wynn to take over that starting left tackle position vacated by Trent Brown earlier this year. So they're hoping for big things on Wynn. And Wynn looked pretty good on Saturday night.

He did see some action. He played three series. He was strong as a run blocker. He was strong as a pass protector. Barring any setback, I think he looks poised for a starting spot on the offensive line for week one of the regular season. So good news when it comes to win. Hopefully he'll continue to progress and he'll continue to play at a high level and be a big contributor on this offensive line. Now, as I had stated to open the show, the Patriots did have some roster comings and goings this weekend, and we will get to those in just a minute. But before I did so,

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Visit BlueChew.com and get your first shipment free when you use our special promo code MLB. Just pay $5 in shipping. Again, that's B-L-U-E-Chew.com, promo code MLB, to try it for free. Blue Chew is the better, cheaper, faster choice, and we thank them for sponsoring the podcast. The Patriots weekend kicked off on Friday with some big news. Around 6 p.m. on Friday evening, the NFL released a statement,

and they advised that wide receiver Josh Gordon was about to be conditionally reinstated to the NFL. Now, this comes after a five-game hiatus for Gordon, which included two regular season games and three in the playoffs. Now, Gordon had been serving an indefinite suspension for yet another violation of the league's substance abuse policy, and this has been something that has plagued Josh Gordon throughout his career. He missed two full seasons as a result of this when he was playing with the Cleveland Browns, so he's definitely no stranger to the policy and no stranger to its discipline. However, this was a good sign for Gordon and for the New England Patriots. First off, the league had to feel that his mental health and substance

abuse issues that he has experienced in the past were at least in working order at this point. Again, it's a good sign for both the player and the person because it allows him to be able to try to put this behind him and move forward toward a bright future. The Patriots were smart in keeping a space open for him, offering the second round tender for a little over $2 million, which is what Gordon ended up signing for. So it was a situation where they did anticipate the fact that he might come back and they wanted to keep him under control when he was indeed reinstated. So Gordon is definitely a popular teammate among his New England teammates. Tom Brady has had glowing things to say about Josh Gordon. You've heard Matthew Slater really kind of go above and

beyond to describe what it's going to be like to have Gordon back with the team. So this is something where the team is definitely rooting for him to succeed, and everybody around the league is really rooting for Josh to succeed, including the commissioner. And look, New England Patriots fans, media alike, don't always have great things to say about Commissioner Roger Goodell, but the way that he's handled the Gordon situation has definitely earned him some praise. Now, there is also a little bit of vagueness in the statement that was provided, so we'll get into that in a little bit. But you do have to applaud the fact that he is giving Gordon every opportunity to turn his life around and make a positive step forward in the right direction. So kudos to everybody around, and ultimately, football aside, we all hope that

this time Josh is mentally and emotionally strong enough to be able to move forward toward a new and better life and a really bright future because this kid has a great, great future ahead of him on the football field, provided he can stay healthy enough to remain there. Now, from a football standpoint, we're all wondering where do the Patriots go with Josh Gordon from here? Does he automatically receive a slot on the roster and a very high up spot on the wide receiver depth chart. Well, it really isn't that clear cut.

During the offseason, NFL insiders were reporting that the Patriots would welcome Gordon back, but they weren't counting on his presence. So you have to wonder what that's going to mean with the emergence of some guys like Maurice Harris and Nikhil Harry, obviously the rookie wide out that they drafted in the first round. And of course, Jacoby Myers has really come on very strong and making a strong case for the roster spot. However, Gordon's talent puts him a cut above all of the rest.

However, he hasn't seen any game action or competitive action in months. So conditioning is going to be a concern. And this was actually something that was put in the commissioner's statement, that Josh would be subject to some conditioning quotas that he would have to meet in order to be able to join his team on the field. That confused a lot of people, and rightfully so. It was very vague, and it left room for speculation and even some interpretation as well. Essentially, what this means is Josh Gordon is going to need to prove that he is physically fit to rejoin his team in activities such as formal practice and in-game action. Out of respect for Josh and the league, I don't want to speculate on what that might mean in terms

of either substance testing or anything else on that respect. The statement itself was very vague when it comes to that, and I'll leave that to the league and Josh for the interpretation on that one as well. But from a physical standpoint, from a conditioning standpoint, Josh looks like he's been putting in some work this summer and looks like he probably is in some pretty good physical condition. Back in July, we saw a social media picture of Josh with former Olympic gold medalist Tim Montgomery, and the two were working out in Gainesville, Florida. And Gordon, who was already in good shape, training with the Olympic gold medalist can really lead to quite the transformation.

Josh looked to be in tip-top physical condition, looked very strong. Dare I say, the guy looked ripped. He looked ready to go, And he looked very, very impressive physically. Montgomery has had some issues to work through as well. So before we start to anoint Tim Montgomery as the savior of Josh Gordon, he was tied to Balco. He was tied to the PED scandal. Since retiring from athletics, he's been tried and convicted for his part in a New York-based check fraud scheme and for even dealing heroin in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia.

But before I turn this into a bashing session on Tim Montgomery, since 2013, he has been free and working to try to turn his life around. He's been doing some great training with some athletes, and far be it from me to say that the guy doesn't deserve a second chance. He actually has been doing some great things with Josh Gordon. And if you take a look at some of the pictures of his physique, you can see the transformation and the impact that he's had on Josh. But he and Josh Gordon can identify with trying to leave a troubled past behind and move forward.

Each of them seem really dedicated to doing just that. And while I admittedly don't know a lot about Montgomery's history other than just what I reported, anyone that has had trouble with addiction, and thankfully I have not, but I do think we all know someone that has and probably been close to someone that has, finding a support system that you can relate to is so important in the healing process. So perhaps Montgomery and Gordon have developed a kinship here in moving forward toward a bright future. But it's definitely interesting that conditioning is a part of the commissioner's statement. Because from a purely physical standpoint,

Gordon looks to be in great condition. So you have to wonder if there might be language in there that refers to something else. Look, bottom line, with Josh Gordon's conditioning now, it actually does work to his advantage. I know a lot of fans are very eager to see him out on the field and to see what he can do. And it's true that conditioning should really be up more to Josh and the team rather than the league. However it does, it protects the league, there's no question about it,

because it allows them to monitor what Josh is doing on a daily, weekly basis and how his progress is coming along. But it does protect Josh as well. He needs to get back into football mode, which basically means learning his timing, getting back to being acclimated with plays, learning the intricacies of what this team is going to do on a daily basis. So by allowing him right now to focus solely on conditioning and not worry about getting into practice and game situations, it allows him not to overwhelm himself and kind of ease back in. And let's be honest, folks, there's a steep learning curve in New England, not the easiest system to grasp at first. So while Josh did a really great job with it last year, and no one's questioning that, every year is new. And coming off of the difficulties that he's had to endure

these last few months, it's definitely smart to ease him back in. So that conditioning clause may end up working to his advantage as we progress toward the regular season. But without question, Josh Gordon is a dynamic talent on the field. And if healthy, he's definitely going to have a spot on this roster. Now, we've already seen a roster casualty as a result of Josh's reinstatement. And I'll get to that in just a moment. But ultimately, I think this is going to force the Patriots to carry at least six wide receivers on this roster. And I also saw that my good friend, Steve Bellistrieri, who joined us on the show last week, agreed with me in his column for patsfans.com on Monday. It looks as if this will make the Patriots think twice about carrying an extra roster spot for a wide receiver, maybe at the expense of a tight end or another position player, simply because of the fact that they have to factor in Gordon's history. But if he's healthy and he's locked in, this could be an extremely fun team to watch this

year. So naturally, Patriots fans, myself included, we're all rooting for Josh to do well, and we wish him the very best this year on the field. Really look forward to seeing him return. And as good of news as it was to see Josh Gordon come back to New England, one player was also making his preparations to bid ad back to New England. One player was also making his preparations to bid adieu to New England over the weekend, and that was wide receiver Dontrell Inman. And this really wasn't a move that surprised a whole lot of people. Inman is a very talented

wide receiver, but it looked like he was really struggling to find his niche in New England. He requested his release from the New England Patriots on Sunday. ESPN's Mike Reese reported that this was done very shortly after he learned that Gordon would be returning to the team, perhaps reading some of the tea leaves into this or whatever, but Inman asked for his release and the team thought highly enough of him to grant that request and allow him to seek employment elsewhere before the final roster cut down. The Patriots made the move official on Sunday evening, and then shortly after that, the newly reinstated Josh Gordon was placed on the team's NFI or non-football injury-related list.

So Inman's release essentially opened up the roster spot for Gordon. However, keep in mind that Josh Gordon right now is not actively practicing, or he's not actively in game action as long as he's on that NFI list. So it temporarily does thin the roster a little bit at wide receiver. Now there have been some guys that have really kind of leapfrogged Inman and one of the big reasons why Inman saw the handwriting on the wall and asked for his release. Guys like Maurice Harris, Jacoby Myers, and even Braxton Berrios were quite frankly just more impressive than Inman in minicamp and in training camp. So those are some of the reasons why a

talented receiver like Dontrell Inman just seemed like he struggled to find his footing in New England and tried to find a home here. But make no mistake about it, Inman is very talented. In nine games and four starts, Inman recorded 28 catches and 304 yards with three touchdowns for the Indianapolis Colts last year. And he was very reliable for Andrew Luck down the stretch. Frank Reich, who spent some time with Inman during his time in San Diego when he was with the Chargers, absolutely loved the guy. And he was a big factor in the two playoff games for the Colts. So Patriots fans need to realize that this may be a guy that will contribute to a team

somewhere when he catches on. But ultimately, it just was not going to work out for Inman here in New England. So we all wish him the best. We all hope that he has a very productive career elsewhere. But unfortunately for Inman and for New England, it just wasn't going to work here. But fear not, there's a lot of talent on this wide receiver group. And I think we're just scratching the surface when it comes to that. And before we wrap up with the news of the day, I just wanted to take a moment to extend

my condolences and on behalf of Locked On Patri, to the family of former Bears running back Cedric Benson, who tragically passed away late last Saturday night, the result of a motorcycle accident. Benson and another woman were killed and two others were injured in the crash. Benson was a former Texas Longhorn. You can make the argument that he may have been the greatest running back in Longhorn history. He finished with 5,540 rushing yards during his college career,

ranked sixth all-time in NCAA Division I-A history. That's second only to Ricky Williams in team history. He received the Walker Award as the nation's top running back in 2004 and was a consensus All-American. That led him to being selected fourth overall in the 2005 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears. Benson played for eight years in the National Football League. He rushed for 6,017 yards and 32 touchdowns for the Bears, the Cincinnati Bengals, and briefly with the Green Bay Packers. He had his best year as an NFL player in 2009 with the Bengals, where he rushed for 1,251 yards and

six touchdowns. Benson last played in the NFL with the Packers in 2002 after suffering a Lisfranc injury to his foot. He was just 36 years old. Just a tragic, tragic situation. And we offer again our thoughts and our condolences to the Benson family during this very difficult time. As for me, I will be back tomorrow with a recap of the Patriots news and notes,

and I also have a special guest lined up as well as we start to look ahead to the third preseason game. Again, the dress rehearsal that so many hate to call it, but the Pats and the Panthers will do battle on Thursday as we likely will get our first look at Tom Brady and some of the other Patriots starters such as Tiffon Gilmore and some of the others that haven't seen

a lot of action or any action in the preseason thus far. Make sure to join us each and every day on the Locked On Patriots podcast and subscribe to Locked On Patriots via your favorite podcast provider. Once again, I'm Mike DeBate.

Thank you so much for listening and have a great day, everybody.