Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Locked On Patriots - August 23, 2019: Baxter’s Expertise, Pats-Panthers Recap,

Episode Date: August 23, 2019

With Preseason Game Three in the rearview mirror, host Mike D’Abate recaps the New England Patriots’ 10-3 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Thursday, as well as the latest on the Patrick Chung legal situation, and the injury to Brandon King.  Pro Football Guru’s Russell S. Baxter joins Mike to offer his take on the Pats prospects in 2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

and hello to all you Foxborough faithful and welcome to your Friday edition of Locked On Patriots your daily home for news notes analysis and the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions 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 M-D-A-B-A-T-E-F-P-C, and be sure to follow Locked On Patriots on Twitter as well, at L-O underscore Patriots.

I'm excited for this Friday edition, and again again a great show on tap for you today. Honored to welcome Russell S. Baxter of Pro Football Guru will join me shortly to help break down some of last night's 10-3 victory for the Patriots over the Carolina Panthers at Gillette Stadium and I'm also going to pick his brain a little bit on some of the still existing position battles on the Pats roster and a little bit of who might challenge the Patriots in the AFC this year. But first, we start with some breaking news that was reported this morning by Jim McBride of the Boston Globe, and that is regarding special teams ace Brandon King. Brandon left last night's game on a cart after falling to the turf and clutching his left leg, and that's never a good sign.

And unfortunately this morning word broke that he is likely out for the season with a torn quadricep. League source confirmed that to Jim in multiple sources this morning. So Brandon is a real stalwart up here in the special teams realm. He's also a very key member of the community up here. So on behalf of Locked On Patriots, we're all wishing him a speedy recovery and hope that Brandon recovers very soon. Additionally, tight end Ben Watson is in the concussion protocol now this morning as well.

Took a shot to the head last night on the late hit from Panther safety Eric Reid. So keep in mind now that Watson is going to be out serving a suspension for the first four games of the regular season. So recovery should not be an issue here, but King's injury is significant, and I will get into that in just a moment with Russell. However, I also wanted to just briefly address the situation surrounding New England safety Patrick Chung. For those that may not have heard, late Thursday, word broke yesterday, late Thursday morning, I should say, that Chung had been indicted in New Hampshire on a felony charge of cocaine possession. The court documents show that he was indicted on August 8th for

possession of a controlled drug, according to a court filing by the Belk County Attorney's Office. Now, the charge stems from a June 25th incident in Meredith, New Hampshire, when Chung, according to the police report, did possess or have under his control a quantity of the controlled drug cocaine. That's according to the court documents. Now, Meredith officers were originally called to respond to Chung's residence on a day that he had had a tripped home alarm, and when entering the premises, they obtained the evidence which had led to the current charges being filed. Now, Chung was not arrested at the time,

but prosecutors sought an indictment following the police investigation, and that's the word that broke yesterday. Chung is scheduled to be arraigned this coming Wednesday in Beltnapp County in Superior Court in Laconia, New Hampshire. The Patriots issued a statement yesterday just basically letting everyone know that they would not be commenting while Chung's judicial proceedings were taking place. And an NFL statement shortly followed that that said that there would be no additional comment, that they would continue to monitor developments in the law enforcement

matter. And Chung's agent offered no immediate comment on the situation. Now, after the 2018 season, Chung did sign a contract extension through 2021 with the Patriots. So he's very much under contract with this team. And out of respect for Patrick and the legal proceedings, I'm not going to speculate on what this means legally for Chung. However, this might lead to some developments for the Pats roster. If Chung does indeed miss time here, and that's not a definite, folks, simply because of the fact that he might be allowed to play while we wait for a resolution to the legal aspect of all this, but should he face suspension, either by the league or by the team, who's going to step up and line up alongside Devin McCourty in

the defensive backfield at safety? Well, De'Ron Harmon immediately comes to mind based on his experience. Terrence Brooks, who's been seeing time among the first-teamers, has really showed a lot lately, both in practice and in preseason tilts. So it's likely that he will be an addition to this roster as well. This could also open up a spot for a player like Obi Melonfanwu, who actually might even benefit from Brandon King's absence now. Obi is a very key special teams player.

We saw him take a lot of special teams snaps last year, especially in the tail end and even toward the playoffs. So this could be some developing roster news down the line that we may need to keep our eyes on here. But all in all, Chung provides intangibles that make him very difficult to replace. There's no question about it. He's a guy that is very much dialed in and locked in, pun intended, to the Patriots secondary. But this is a guy that is very much dialed in and locked in, pun intended, to the Patriots

secondary. But this is a secondary that's very deep, and it's a position at which they can take a hit and remain standing. Bottom line, if you're a Patriots fan, you hope for a position resolution in every aspect of the story, and a positive resolution, obviously, for the legal matters, but ultimately that's not within the Patriots' control. And here on Locked On Patriots, we'll keep you updated on any and all situations regarding the legal proceedings and the roster developments, most definitely as we head toward the regular season.

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My guest today is among the most well-respected journalists in sports media. He's been such a help and a mentor to me in my endeavors, and I can't thank him enough for that. You know his amazing work and objective analysis from outlets such as ESPN, Fan Sided, and NFL Spin Zone. He is the co-founder of PFG Vibe, along with the great and talented Julie Voigt, and he is the founder of Pro Football Guru. It is my honor and privilege to welcome Russell S. Baxter to Locked On Patriots. Russell, thank you so much for joining me on this Friday in late August.

Well, first, thank you for that introduction. Second, let me call DoorDash and order you a filet mignon for that kind introduction. So that's very kind of you, Mike. You know, as you and I have talked about oftentimes, you know, I've been doing this a long time. I love what I do. I try to bring a little passion, a lot of passion and objectivity to the table. And this is still fun for me. You know, truth be told, I'm just about ready to turn 60 years old the first week of September. And I still feel like I'm, what, 59? 25? I mean, it's fun. It's football.

We get to do something for a living that we enjoy. Well, hey, you know, age is not a factor, especially up here in New England. Our starting quarterback just turned 42, and he still looks like he's about 25. So you know what? You're only as old or as young as you feel, and believe me, you've got the enthusiasm and the grit of a guy in his early 20s. So keep going, keep plugging away, and we will keep absorbing your great wisdom and counsel

every time you either take to the Twitter board, the microphone, or the pen to pen some of your great work. And a pre-happy birthday, by the way, as well. Russell, obviously Patriots Nation this morning woke up to some news that they kind of saw coming if they did see the game last night. I opened the show with Brandon King's injury, and the minute it happened and he fell to the turf clutching his left leg, you saw players surrounding the cart, patting him on the shoulder, trying to give him encouragement, and that's never a good sign when you see the cart drive out in a preseason game.

We saw Kyle Van Nooy go down a little bit. He got up, was running around, and then he was back within the game. So we knew he was going to be okay. But Brandon King is such a key cog in this team's special teams unit. And special teams are a premium up here in Foxborough. We've seen them win games time and time again with very key special teams play. So the mantra of next man up is once again going to be put to the test. And again, with the potential or possible legal troubles of Patrick Chung, this may free up a couple of roster spots

that the Patriots may not have had available prior. In your evaluation of the Pats roster, how well equipped are they to weather any of these potential roster storms? Are they better equipped than they have been in the past, or is it just business as usual up here in Foxborough under Bill Belichick? You know, it sounds like a cliche answer to say business as usual, Mike, but it is, and they prepare for so much. I mean, there's only so much you can prepare when it comes to certain injuries. But I like what you said about the specialty is being teapot of this. And that's what, you know, again, cliche. Isn't it

funny? A lot of the cliches that we hear attached to the Patriots and even some of their, you know, do your job and we're on to, you know, name the team and so on, which everybody likes to get a chuckle about. It's exactly why they are who they are, because that's the mentality. It's not for show. It's how they address their business on a week-to-week basis, their week-to-week game planning, et cetera, et cetera. And, again, let's be honest. You know, Tom Brady burst onto the team in 2001. They did not win the first Super Bowl. They won over the Rams without some sympathy.

Adam Demetriere, Troy Brown, blocked punt return for a touchdown, or blocked field goal, I think it was, in the AFC Championship game. Special teams have always been a big part of Bill Belichick, and that's why they're such a well-rounded team. That's why they can beat you in so many different ways. Remember when they beat the Bears last year in Chicago? Their special teams played a huge part. And in fact, that

game early in last season, that kind of reminded me of the 2001 team. They got off to that slow start last year. They lost to Jacksonville. They lost to Detroit. They managed to piece together some wins. They blew out Miami, but then the back and

forth with the Bears. But without the special, without the special teams plays against the Bears, they might not win that game. So, yeah, for them, it's all of the above. It's next man up. It's business as usual. You don't do what they do for almost two decades without absorbing a few blows. And, you know, I'm not sure what they'll do, if they'll make a roster move or anything like that.

But to me, they always get the benefit of the doubt, regardless of the situation. And that means injury, legal, suspension, whatever it may be, they find ways to adapt. I mean, it's almost like the organization semi-thrives on being written off on a yearly basis. And, you know, it's funny that you mention that because it really is the patriot way. We hear that term bandied about so much. And it really, really is.

It's the next man up mantra and being able to say, just when you don't think we can do it anymore, we'll do it. It seems like that's Tom Brady's mantra. It seems like it's Bill Belichick's mantra. And really the slogan, I think, that could really be all-encompassing for this organization is proving the doubt and being able to compete year after year after year. Now, you did mention special teams. That's absolutely correct.

Special teams be such a big part of the Patriots' Super Bowl victory, and in Super Bowl 50, Ryan Allen, who is now no longer employed by the Patriots, arguably putting his best performance in a Patriots uniform. The punts that he put together and the ability that he had in that game was really amazing. So it goes to show you the depth of special teams that the Patriots have. And you want to give credit as well. You give a lot of credit to Bill Belichick, rightfully so. You want to give credit to Joe Judge as well,

who was the special teams coach of the New England Patriots. Does a great job with that. So we'll see what happens with Brandon King. I had mentioned Obi-Wan Bono as a possibility of someone that might see a roster light at the end of the tunnel now, whereas maybe a few days ago I didn't think he had had much of a legitimate shot. That could be considering his special teams prowess. So we'll see what happens with the Pats, and it's always, always interesting. But last night's game, Russell.

I'm sorry, go ahead. I was going to say, I think this is one of those times that the advantage of the – we don't have the cut down like we used to. That first cut down, waiting for the big cut down. It's one cut down now. And I think this is where this comes in very, very handy. I mean, look around the league right now, okay? You're still seeing some veteran

players who were out of work for the last four or five months getting picked up because teams are still tweaking their rosters and so on. And, you know, don't be surprised if they feel he's going to be gone if they go after somebody who especially is

special teams. You can't have enough of those guys. And I guess I giggle a little. Over the years, you know, there have been people who have been trying so hard to take the kick at a football. And I don't think they understand sometimes the ramifications of onside kicks and block field goals and block punts, how they change field position, how they set up teams and so on.

It's all part of the game. It's what makes the game great is the fact that you can, you know, you can, I saw the Houston Texans in their first year in the league gain something like 40-something total yards, Mike. All right. Okay. And win a game in Pittsburgh and score 24 points. Yeah.

It's absolutely right. And you see field position be such a big part of what the teams do here. Obviously the team up here in New England is a case in point when it comes to kicks onside, being able to place the ball, and then placing the value on a guy like Matthew Slater, who I profiled in a team captain's profile series that I'm doing last week, being able to down some of these punts inside the 10, that was such a big part of last year's game. And really, in the Super Bowl, you saw that come up very, very big. So I agree with you.

Special teams is huge, and it is a big part of what the Patriots do. And it wouldn't surprise me to see them go out and look for a special team specialist as well when the cutdowns in this roster do happen so always always interesting times and we'll see what the Patriots do from there on in to fill the shoes of Brandon King who really does have big shoes to fill he may not be a household name for a lot of NFL fans I can assure you Patriots fans do know who he was. I saw a lot of the reaction on Twitter last night when he went down. If there's any silver lining on that, it made me smile to see that so many people knew about the type of guy

that Brandon King is. And the work that he does here in the community is phenomenal. So while it's a loss, the Patriots will put that next man up to the test. There were some standouts in the game last night, and before we get into some of the ramifications down the line for the Patriots, I just wanted to get your take on one quick thing. One surprise to me is that we did not see quarterback Brian Hoyer at all last night. Jared Stidham took all the snaps that were not taken by Tom Brady. And you always have a level head in all matters, so this is why I'm glad I get to ask you this question.

If you're a Patriots fan, do you think anything should be read into the fact that Stidham took all of the second and third team snaps last night, and do you believe this might be the end for Brian Hoyer in New England? I don't know if I read necessarily into it other than the fact that I think they're very, very impressed with what they've seen, and they want to continue to see it. You know, I don't know. You know, you know the roster a little better than I do.

You know the situation better than I do. Maybe they really feel strongly about him. But that also could mean he could wind up on this practice squad this year. Or maybe not take the chance. You know how it is. When you have your cutdowns, those players are on waivers. They're kind of a little free game for a while. And by the way, when you're on a practice squad, correct me if I'm wrong,

you can go to somewhere else. Absolutely. Okay? So practice squad doesn't mean necessarily – it's not like the old days of pre-free agency, which I'm sure you remember. Oh, yeah. I know one team in particular would stash players on injured reserve because the injured reserve rule was a lot different.

They would call it scholarship. Okay? Right. One franchise has some pretty prominent quarterbacks on scholarship for a couple of years. Obviously, you can't do that anymore. I think it's very clear of how they feel about him. And I don't know if they're really

quite comfortable yet with cutting ties with Brian Hoyer because of what he brings to the table and so on. But I think they feel like they have a real gem in this rookie. And I think they want to do everything they can to make sure he doesn't get away from them, if that makes sense. No, I think it makes perfect sense, and that was my assessment as well. I had William Bendenson from Best Pass Coverage on yesterday, and we were talking about Stidham, and he is extremely high on him, and I think the Patriots are as well. There's a lot of upside. I watched this kid in training camp develop.

He's got a great arm, holds onto the ball a little bit too much. There's some decision-making, growing pains that he's going to have as a rookie. However, as a whole, I think he does offer a lot to this team. However, I also don't necessarily believe that just because we didn't see him last night that it means the end of Hoyer in New England necessarily. I think they know exactly what they have in Hoyer. I think they'd like to see what they have in Stidham, and I think that's why you're seeing him play, especially getting a chance to play against guys that are seasoned veterans, maybe not so much in, you know, with Brady's snaps last night. Obviously, he played against the first-teamers,

but Stidham was out there against legitimate NFL guys that are roster locks for the Carolina Panthers. So it was good to see him be able to work through some of these and try to move forward. So, as always, we expect the unexpected in New England, and I guess we'll find out within the coming weeks. Well, the other thing you have to also keep in mind here, Mike, is the preseason model that we have come to know for a long time,

this four-game preseason and five for the team to play in the Hall of Fame, it has rapidly changed over the last three or four years. Okay? This third game was supposed to be the dress rehearsal. Okay? And teams, more teams yearly now, I'm seeing them play less and less veterans in the third game. Okay?

So I think you're spot on. They know what they have in Hoyer. It gives them a chance to see a rookie who they're very, very high on against some higher-level competition, and they're going to take advantage of that. And, you know, you can't be nothing but impressed from what you've seen from Stidham so far. So, again, Hoyer knows the system.

He knows the in and out. And who knows what's going to happen in the fourth game, okay, which to me is always the strangest game of them all because everybody plays on Thursday. It's almost like a buzzkill, for lack of a better word, leading into the opener because there's like a downtime for a week and a half, unless you're the Packers and the Bears. I think they're very high on him.

I think they want to give him as much chance to show what he can do in live action, per se, as possible. And I'm not ready to read anything into it unless you feel like you can move Hoyer and get something for him. One of the biggest reasons why I love your work so much. If that made any sense whatsoever. No, it did. It absolutely did. I don't think it's cut loose Brian Hoyer, okay?

And we are seeing, I mean, look at the Philadelphia Eagles who, you know, have gone through, they're already gone through their share of backup quarterbacks, and now we're on Josh McCown. Somebody's always looking for a season. So what if you get a seventh-round draft choice for him? So what if you get a sixth-round draft choice? My goodness, what could the New England Patriots do with an extra sixth-round draft choice? Well, I happen to know of a certain six-round draft choice

that ended up working out pretty well up here. It had a pretty good run, 19 years. That's not a bad career so far up here. So, you know, the Patriots definitely know how to turn late-round draft capital into something special, and that might be interesting to keep your eye on. But again, one of the reasons why I love your work so much, Russell, is you always have a balanced and level-headed approach to sports media across the plane.

And, you know, fan bases, especially the Patriots up here, they can be territorial. And while a lot of fans here will always believe that the sun rises and sets in Foxborough, there are more than a handful of teams this year with championship aspirations. In your opinion, who among the usual suspects do you see challenging the Patriots for the AFC crown in 2019, or could it possibly be an unusual suspect this time around? Well, I mean, I look at the playoff team from a year ago in the AFC, okay? I'm not quite sure what to make of the Baltimore Ravens,

and it has less to do with Lamar Jackson and the running game. It has more to do with who's going to rush the passer in Baltimore. Who is their linebacking core in general? Z'Darrius Smith, Terrell Suggs, C.J. Mosley, all gone. And I know Baltimore over the years has given New England, you know, beaten them a couple times in playoff games up in Foxborough, which not a lot of teams can claim they

have done. Houston, they need to fix the offensive line. Are they making progress in that regard? They overhauled their secondary. Now we get to the other teams who I think might be the playoff teams, and then there's a couple, I think,

lurking to keep an eye on. Kansas City, I think they're going to the 4-3 this year, Mike. Steve Spagnuolo, who goes back with Andy Reid years and years ago in Philadelphia, a lot of wholesale changes on defense. You know, depending on who you listen to, fans, media, et cetera, et cetera, I'm always leery when I hear that, well, they only need to play a little better defense than they did. No, they need to play good defense.

Okay? It doesn't work that way. That high-scoring thing doesn't work. The Chargers, the loss of Derwin James until November, I think, really hurts them. The absence I think, really hurts them. The absence of Morgan Burden hurts them. But I will say this, that's a very deep football team. And I have to go to the Colts.

Okay, if there's one playoff team from a year ago, and I know Andrew Luck's health is what it is, but their offensive line is fearsome with Quentin Nelson. Their defensive personnel has gotten a lot better. Darius Leonard was a machine last year. That's an up-and-coming team, and Chris Ballard has built them for the long haul for the next couple of years. I think you can never count out the Pittsburgh Steelers, even though they have made wholesale changes.

And in the AFC East in particular, I'm kind of keeping an eye on Buffalo, because I like what they've done in the trenches, which I thought were their biggest shortcomings last year. Absolutely. I really like the fact that you've brought up both the Colts, who I've been singing their praises for the better part of the offseason, Brian Snow, who does Snowman in the Morning and Snowman Unfiltered. I'm his regular NFL insider, and we talk about this team constantly. And yes, the health of

Andrew Luck is paramount. However, having covered the Patriots for the last couple of years, I've seen what Jacoby Brissett can do. This kid, given the opportunity and given the offensive line he's being given now in Indianapolis, could mean some special things there. We've seen him do some good work over there when Andrew Luck was having difficulty with his health. So I believe that even if Luck is going to miss a couple of games, and I don't necessarily know that's going to be the case, if he does, the shift can still remain on target

with Brissette taking snaps under center. And the Buffalo Bills, to me, are a team that I think a lot of people are sleeping on and they really shouldn't be. I like Josh Allen as the quarterback of this team. I like what they've done with that defense. And they've got some offensive weapons that can really make some things interesting. So if I look at a team that might challenge the Patriots this year in the AFC East, I'm looking at Buffalo even more so than the Jets.

I know Miami, a lot of people are looking at that as a rebuilding year, probably the case, but you never really know. That's why they play the games on the field and they don't award division championships on paper. Russell, again, I can't thank you enough for coming on today. You're always, always informative, always someone that gives a level-headed approach. And selfishly, I just love the opportunity to talk to you as much as I can get. We always have a lot of fun when we hit the microphone together. Before I let you go today, can you just take one opportunity to let our listeners know where they can find your great work and going forward where they can follow you on social

media as well? Well, follow you on social media as well. Well, I'll do social media first. Bax Football Guru is my Twitter account. And as you alluded to, Julie Boyd and I, by the way, Julie noted underscore PFJ, have a project called PFG Vibe. We do podcasts, proud to say that we had you on earlier this year. And by the way, Vive, how did we come up with Vive? Voice Insights, Baxter's Expertise, V-I-V-E.

It just fell into place. And I have to thank the fine people at Stop and Shop for having a parking lot that I pulled into one day, and it just popped into my head as I was going in to buy some groceries. That's the true story of how I came up with the name Vibe. I love it. In any case, follow us on Twitter. Just so you know, right now Julie and I have a project that we're doing. And, again, Mike, you're a part of this.

Actually, your piece was the first to air on. We have 32 different writers writing 32 team previews, all giving their unique perspective on this. And this morning the Packers were out, and the Seahawks just came out a few minutes ago. I think we've got 22 online and 10 more to go. They're outstanding. I can't thank the writers enough who took the time

and took the initiative to help us out with this. It was something we talked about almost like in, you know, as an afterthought, and it became a reality. And again, you, so many other people, you know, the fine staff at Our Turf Football, a lot of your colleagues at Full Press Coverage. Everybody's kind of chimed in and really embraced it, and it's been a lot of fun. But as I tell people all the time in the voice of Liam Neeson, follow me on Bax Football Guru. I have a unique set of skills.

I will look for you, I will find you, and I will follow you back. And who could ask for a better way to end the show today than with a quote from Liam Neeson from one of my favorite movies taken. Absolutely love it. And Russell, it's always, always a pleasure. And again,

I want to thank you for the platform, uh, for being a part of such a talented group of writers, these 32, uh, NFL writers. I was very fortunate to be chosen as the Patriots writer, and I can't thank you enough for that.

It's been a blast, and I look forward to continue working with you on various projects throughout the NFL season and beyond. You and Julie do amazing work, and I wish you guys nothing but success in the future. As always, I will be back next week. I will be back on Monday as we take a look ahead to preseason game four on Thursday when the Patriots host the New York Giants. We'll try to keep you updated as much if there's any breaking news on the Chung situation,

on injuries, or any roster updates. You can keep it right here to Locked On Patriots, and we will bring you the coverage as only we can do it here on Monday morning. So, as as always make sure to join us each and every day on the Locked On Patriots podcast and subscribe to Locked On Patriots via your preferred podcast provider

once again I am Mike DeBate and I thank you so much for listening today have a great weekend everybody