Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Locked On Patriots - August 30, 2019: Pats-Giants Recap, Snowman Talks Suitors

Episode Date: August 30, 2019

The New England Patriots put the finishing touches on the 2019 Preseason with a 31-29 loss over the New York Giants on Thursday.  With the team looking ahead to setting their 53-man roster, Brian Snow of ArenaSportsNet joins host Mike D’Abate to discuss the preseason and who might  challenge the Pats in the AFC, this year?  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 champion 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, and you can also reach out to me on Twitter at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-F-P-C, and while you're at it, please be sure to follow Locked On Patriots on Twitter at L-O underscore Patriots.

I am excited for this show, a great show on tap for you today. Brian Snow of Arena Sportsnet and Snowman in the Morning and Snowman Unfiltered will join me shortly to help break down a little bit of the Patriots preseason wrap-up with the New York football giants on Thursday evening at Gillette, and I will seek some of his pearls and wisdom on who might be the contenders to the Pat's throne in the AFC in 2019. But first, we start with the news of the day, and we start with breaking news out of Foxborough this morning. According to Ian Rappaport, who confirmed with a source earlier this morning,

just a little over 10 minutes ago, Patriots cornerback Duke Dawson has been traded to the Broncos. He is a former second-rounder for the Pats, came in with a lot of hype and a lot of expectations, but just seemed to be a numbers crunch that did not fit in the roster. A lot of people had him securely on the bubble. He was one of the guys that I had mentioned last night that could be a potential roster bubble guy, and now we see that he has been traded. So still waiting on word for compensation and what they got back from him from Denver, but Duke Dawson apparently out

in Foxborough, headed to the Denver Broncos, and possibly a new beginning from him from Denver. But Duke Dawson apparently out in Foxborough, headed to the Denver Broncos, and possibly a new beginning for him as well. And we definitely wish him the best. I know Duke had some issues with getting on the field in terms of injury, and I think it just set him back in his development here. So we'll continue to monitor the situation and bring you updates. But right now, Duke Dawson is out in New England and has been traded to the Denver Broncos.

As for last night, there was a bit more at stake than just the throwaway contest at Gillette Stadium during the fourth and final preseason game for both the Pats and the Giants. Patriots rookie quarterback Jared Stidham bolstered his bid to be Tom Brady's backup through two touchdown passes for the Patriots. However, it would not be quite enough as the Giants scored on the final play of a 31-29 victory over the Patriots. Stidham connected on both of his touchdowns to Demarius Thomas, one for 35 yards and the other for three yards, respectively. Now, the fourth-round draft selection out of Auburn has looked very impressive these last couple of preseason games.

But there have been times where he's looked like a rookie as well. And we'll get into that in a little bit when I welcome in Brian in just a moment. But Stidham's final stat line was pretty impressive. He went 18 of 28, 225 yards against the Giants, also rushed for 50 yards. That's becoming a very common thread with New England Patriots quarterbacks in the preseason. We saw Danny Ettling rush for a 90-yard rush last year, and a really, excuse me, 80-yard rush last year. Got a little ahead of myself there.

But in any case, it's unclear if he really did enough to impress upon head coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots brass to unseat the incumbent Brian Hoyer. And right now, Hoyer still stands as the Pats' primary backup, but a lot have speculated that Stidham may have done enough to leapfrog. I myself have gone above and beyond and flip-flopped on this numerous times, and I'm embarrassed to say that, but it is true, simply because there seems to be new developments at every turn with this. And we'll talk to Brian about that in a moment. But I also wanted to remind everyone that

the Pats also welcomed back wide receivers Josh Gordon and Julian Edelman to the mix last night, as well as Demarius Thomas. Now, Edelman's return was short-lived. He left the first drive following an injury scare to the same hand that caused him to miss the first three preseason games. He sat out the majority of the preseason with a broken left thumb. Edelman caught a 20-yard pass on the first series. Immediately following the catch, he got up wincing a little bit, was looking at his hand, and the trainer came right over to him on the sideline, and he remained on the sideline for the rest of the game. Edelman took the glove off and did not return to action, but it should be noted that he was in good spirits, didn't appear to show any signs of being treated for any additional injury,

and Ian Rappaport confirmed again this morning that Edelman's hand looks to be just fine and he'll be okay, should be good to go for the Pats season opener against the Steelers on September 8th. Gordon looked pretty solid as well. He had two catches for 30 yards and six targets. Don't forget, this was his first game in action after being reinstated by the league on August 16th. Hadn't seen any type of game action since December 20th when he was placed on the commissioner's exempt list and suspended indefinitely. Thomas, on the other hand, looked very impressive. He made seven catches, 87 yards,

was the Patriots' lead receiver last night, and he did have the aforementioned two touchdowns. The first was on a really beauty of a back shoulder pass from Stidham for 35 yards. The second was a three-yard snag and stood him through on the move while rolling left. So look to have a good synergy there. You can only imagine what Thomas might be able to do with Tom Brady. Did he show enough to make the roster? We'll find out Saturday at 4 p.m. when roster cutdowns need to happen. But the Patriots didn't escape that game without an injury concern either. Undrafted safety Malik Gant was carted off the field late in the second half with a leg injury.

The Pats were a little thin at the defensive backfield, so they turned to special teams fan favorite Gunnar Oshelski. And he played in the secondary. Oshelski had actually played cornerback at his Division II alma mater in college, so he has played the position. He was beat pretty bad on the final play of the drive. Kyle quarterback for the Giants, Kyle Lauletta, drove his team down to the Patriots 14, He has played the position. He was beat pretty bad on the final play of the drive. Quarterback for the Giants, Kyle Lauletta, drove his team down to the Patriots 14,

and as time expired, he threw a touchdown pass to Alonzo Russell, who was being covered by Oshelski. But it was a cap of a Giants rally from a 29-10 deficit, so credit them. But Oshelski did look a little suspect on the coverage. But if there's any silver lining for Gunner, I don't think he is looking to make this team as a defensive secondary backup. He's looking to make this team as a punt returner and possibly a wide receiver. So in just a moment, I'm going to welcome Brian to the show, but allow me just a single moment of your time to remind all of you

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and don't forget to use the promo code LOCKEDON when creating your account to claim the bonus. Bet, win, and get paid with MyBookie. My guest today is not only a good friend of mine, but he is one of the most knowledgeable in the business across the NFL landscape. You know his great work from shows such as Snowman in the Morning and Snowman Unfiltered. He has many exciting ventures on the horizon for

Arena Sportsnet and also Snowman Unfiltered and a new afternoon show coming as well and I'm proud to say that I will be a part of some of these ventures and I could not be more proud or happy to do so. He is Brian Snow and I'm honored to welcome him to Locked On Patriots today and selfishly

as a long time fan of Smoking the Bandit I am so excited to welcome him to Locked On Patriots today. And selfishly, as a longtime fan of Smoking the Bandit, I am so excited to ask him this question. Snowman, you got your ears on. Talk to me, partner. I do have my ears on. You always do. You always have your ears on, and you always have your ear to the ground. It really is my pleasure to welcome you to the show today,

and I'm so happy that we're going to have a chance to end the week on a high note, which I always try to do. And I'm so gracious to all of my guests. But this is one I've been looking forward to for a while. So we'll get right into it. And I definitely want to absorb some of your wisdom and counsel. We started the show by breaking some news regarding Duke Dawson heading to the Denver Broncos. And last night's game against the Giants for the Patriots is definitely a showcase.

I saw a lot of guys out there that were playing meaningful minutes, and it looked like they were making their best case to either remain on the roster or possibly be someone that could be showcased in a trade. In the NFL landscape, roster cutdowns are really tough. It's a very tough time of year. Guys develop personal relationships with their teammates, and it's tough to see some of these guys go. With the NFL landscape the way it is right now, and we've seen certain erosions happen

in public sentiment about whether or not these types of preseason games are even you know necessary any longer i know a lot of people have speculated that they may cut them down uh they may you know shorten the games themselves from your perspective where do you see the preseason in the nfl heading into subsequent, 2020, and then, of course, 2021, with the collective bargaining agreement looming. Do you see it continuing on as is, or do you see some significant changes or even minor changes to the system the way we have it right now? I see a couple of changes coming, especially with the collective bargaining agreement

looming on the horizon. I would not be surprised if they, A, struck a deal early, and B, chopped the preseason down to two games instead of four. But on the opposite side of that coin, there's also been talk about raising the schedule from 16 games to 18 games. And I don't think that should be done. For the simplest of reasons, you're already seeing these players putting their body through everything. And to do it, basically the rookies and the second-year players,

they're putting their body through hits for what turns out to be 20 weeks, if not longer. To cut it down, to make it to 18 weeks, and to have the players put their body through that kind of vigorous workout, all those kinds of hits, that could still be a sticking point for the CBA. So I do see them cutting down the preseason games, but they're also trying to make it up on the back end

and increase the regular season games. Yeah, I completely agree. I really think that you hit the nail on the head in a couple of points there. First of all, adding regular season games I don't think is something that the NFL players would want to agree to. You see these guys go down with injuries all the time, and having two more meaningful, impactful games on the schedule definitely puts their health at risk and in the preseason i think it does make sense to

cut these down you're seeing the emergencies of joint practice in these uh in these preseasons and i think that coaches and teams alike are getting a lot more out of the joint practices than they really are out of the games themselves uh you saw Malik Gant go down last night for the New England Patriots. It doesn't look good for him. Anytime the cart comes out in a preseason game, you know it's going to be a difficult road ahead. Brandon King, who is a stalwart on the special teams here for the New England Patriots, is done for the year after an injury. We've seen guys go down routinely. Julian Edelman last night got up shaking his hand. Everybody in Foxborough was collectively holding their breath, hoping that he was going to be okay.

Don't forget just a couple of years ago on the field in Detroit, he suffered a season ending injury to his, his ACL and he was gone for the year. So these injuries can definitely, you know, gone for the year. So these injuries can definitely go to the next level and can be a definite difficulty and a huge problem moving forward. So I would agree. I think that it probably will, and I think it will help for roster evaluation as well. I think a lot of these guys will be able to show what they can do in-house. They can control the environment, and they can

try to keep these guys healthier and give them a little bit more. Plus, the preseason does tend to drag. We saw a lot on social media last night of fans that just couldn't wait for these games to end so that way they can get into regular season mode. Speaking of regular season mode, we've talked a lot in the past on your show

about potential suitors that could end up challenging the New England Patriots in the AFC this year. I'm going to put you on the hot seat in just a minute, but beforehand, I just wanted to get your thoughts on something that is really a hot topic of conversation in New England this morning, and that is the backup quarterback position. I myself have flip-flopped on this several times, and a lot of my colleagues in the New England media up here have as well. It's simply a very difficult decision to make for Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. What it comes down to is having the security of a guy like Brian Hoyer, who is very adept at being able to do what he's able to do, and that is run the

team effectively in the event that he would need to step in for Tom Brady. Jared Stidham has definitely shown signs, and he looked pretty good again last night. But you see rookie mistakes happen, and it really is very difficult for a team to put all their faith in a very young, very untested quarterback, knowing that your starter, as prolific as Tom Brady is, and you know, we've spoken several times before, I'm probably one of his biggest advocates in terms of what he can do on the field,

but the man is 42 years old, you have to be realistic. So a lot of people are thinking that they may end up carrying three quarterbacks. I guess we'll find out at 4 p.m. tomorrow. But at this point, Hoyer has been the subject of some trade conversations as well, and there's a team that you're very familiar with in the Indianapolis Colts. And Hoyer has been rumored to be possibly on the trading block if they decide not to carry three quarterbacks.

In your estimation, do you believe that Hoyer could be a good fit in Indianapolis? And do you believe that if it is decided that the Patriots are only going to carry two QBs, do you think he could be added to the Midwest and possibly to the Colts? My answer is yes to both because you need that

veteran presence. I mean, Jacoby Brissett has a great grasp of the offense. Chad Kelly does also, but it could be the Colts that wind up carrying three quarterbacks, especially if the trigger is pulled and Brian Hoyer does head to Indianapolis with the situation that happened there with Andrew Luck retiring. I know we're talking about that. But Indianapolis may wind up being the team carrying three quarterbacks

because Chad Kelly proved himself last night in their preseason win over Cincinnati. Jacoby Brissett, you know, he played in New England. He backed up Tom Brady, especially in 2016 when Brady was suspended for those four games. Brissett came in and performed well. And everybody wants to rain on Jacoby Brissett's parade before he even plays a single regular season down,

and I don't think that's fair. So it might be Indianapolis that may wind up carrying three quarterbacks out of necessity. I think that's a great point. And again, I share your sentiment on Brissett. I know a lot of people are down on him, but for those of us that covered this team up here in New England and saw him regularly in training camp and were able to see what he could do prior to his being traded to Indianapolis, this is a kid that did have a good amount of pedigree.

And he was able to run the offense quite effectively when Tom Brady was out and when Jimmy Garoppolo went down as well. I mean, don't forget, Brissette was a third-string quarterback. He's looking at a guy like Tom Brady, who did face the four-game suspension back in 2017. Also, he had the difficulties with, I should say, Garoppolo ended up having injury difficulties

and going down, and Brissette had to step in and be able to do that. The game against the Texans, he looked phenomenal. He looked very, very good. He looked very comfortable. He was young. Granted, there was some, and people will point to the game plan that Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels used to utilize his strengths, but don't forget, that's also a very formidable

Houston Texans team that they played as well, and he made it look pretty easy. I think he does have the ability to be able to lead this team where he needs to, but you're right. Chad Kelly proved his worth, but a guy like Brian Hoyer, who really has a tremendous amount of special teams and scout team acumen, I can't say that enough. Him being able to come in and mimic a lot of what the top quarterbacks in the league can do, like a Patrick Mahomes did last year for New England, and also Jared Goff in the Super Bowl. And let's not forget, you don't back up Tom Brady without learning a few secrets and without learning tips here and there. So that could help and help keep Indy in the hunt for a playoff spot.

And that leads me into my next question, my friend, and that is, the New England Patriots have a stranglehold on the AFC East, no question. They've been a contender for the AFC Championship mostly every year. Most people expect that to continue this year, but there are a few teams out there that put together some very good off-seasons and could put together some challenges to the Patriots this year. I know we've talked about the Colts, and I do imagine they are still on your list, but who else besides Indianapolis, giving the opportunity for you to talk a little bit about Indy as well,

but what other teams do you see that have made strides, made good enough strides to be able to challenge New England in the AFC? Two reside in the same division, the Chiefs and the Chargers. They're going to be beating each other up and battling for AFC West supremacy. Both of those teams are high on the list that could challenge New England. But the one team I keep coming back to, and we've talked about it a lot, even given the retirement of one Andrew Luck, that's the Indianapolis Colts. I mean, who expected them to get to the playoffs last year, part one?

Part two, they lost in Jacksonville, but then ran the table, including a Sunday night win in Tennessee, and then they went to Houston and they beat Houston in the wild card playoff before they got beat by Kansas City. So the expectations are still very high as far as I'm concerned for the Indianapolis Colts. Baltimore may make some noise, and Baltimore may wind up stealing that AFC North division. Cleveland could make some noise.

You know, you and I have talked about the roster that the Cleveland Browns have put together. They may make some noise. Already spoke of Pat Mahomes in Kansas City and Phillip Rivers and the, forgive me for saying this wrong, San Diego Chargers. Okay? The Chiefs, the Chargers, the Ravens. You can't count out the Steelers. You can't count out the Cleveland Browns.

But for me right now, the top of the list is the Indianapolis Colts, and no one is going to expect them to get there. But I totally see them, if not in a divisional round, it could be the AFC Championship where Brissette, where student meets teacher, Brissette meets Brady. It's funny, you know, it really is amazing. I think a couple of years ago when Jimmy Garoppolo got traded to the San Francisco 49ers, everyone up here in New England had visions of a Brady Garoppolo Super Bowl. San Francisco versus New England. Old Lion against Young Lion. Teacher versus student. Miyagi versus Daniel Son. We've heard them all up here. And it really, really was hilarious. And it really made a lot of

people happy. But the insiders and whatnot knew that the chances of that were probably unlikely, at least at the beginning, simply because Jimmy was going to need about a year to kind of get his feet wet in San Francisco. I think they'll be all right, and the next time I have you on, I'm going to pick your brain on the NFC, because there's a couple of teams out there as well, as well as a team that you know very well, the San Francisco 49ers, and a certain midwestern town that starts with a C. Begins with a C, ends with an O, and a Hickok in the middle.

Know them very well. Absolutely. Dut bears. But I had to get that. You know I had to get that in there. But in any case, I think you make very, very interesting points with, obviously, the Chiefs and the Chargers are going to be right up there. I think the Ravens and the Steelers and the Browns all have a shot.

But the Colts are a team that a lot of people have decided to try to sleep on, and I would really, really issue caution to that simply for three reasons. If you don't think that the quarterback play is going to be as good as it was under Andrew Luck, I can probably give you that, and it is going to be as good as it was under Andrew Luck. I can probably give you that, and it probably won't be. Luck was a generational talent, and we don't know if Brissette is going to be able to carry that load. However, the Colts have a very formidable running game. Marlon Mack has emerged as one of the better running backs in this league. They have a three tight end set in Indy that is very formidable, So that could help take some of the pressure off of Brissette or whoever is running the

offense in Indy as they try to find their identity, really, on the offensive side of the ball. And the biggest reason, I think, is the offensive line with the Indianapolis Colts. They will be able to block and provide a lot of time for whomever the signal caller is. If it is Brissette or if it is someone that they decide to bring in outside the organization, I think they can do that. And we haven't even mentioned their defense yet,

which is vastly improved from where it was a year ago. Darius Leonard, the rookie of the year. Absolutely. It starts at Anthony M. Yeah, absolutely. So there are a lot of reasons to be. I know there are a lot of fans up here that, you know, listen, there's no love lost between Colts fans and Patriots fans.

We've talked about it several times. There's the Deflategate thing, and there's the Peyton Manning and Tom Brady rivalry, and, you know, the whole Ryan Grigson era, and, you know, the people going back and forth about Jim Irsay and Robert Kraft. It's definitely contestuous, but I can tell you that in the circles that really follow the game, there is a lot of mutual respect between these two franchises, especially now with Frank Reich and with Chris Ballard running the helm in Indy.

It should be interesting and should be an awful lot of fun. Brian, what can I say? The half hour flies by when we talk, my friend. It's always, always interesting and always insightful. I do appreciate your insight and giving our listeners a little different perspective on who they may have to keep their eyes on this year throughout the season. Before I let you go, my friend, I just wanted to give you an opportunity to let our listeners know where they can find you on social media

and where they can hear and read some of your great work. Twitter is where you can find me the most, my morning show, at SIT Morning. My podcast, Snowman Unfiltered, search that on Twitter, and Snowman

on Sports will premiere in November. Going to push it back a little bit. I had plans of starting that in October. Going to push it back to November. Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, you know,

the ID SIT morning for snowman in the morning. And you can catch my work on arena sports net on Twitter at arena sports net and arena sports net.com. Excellent. And always, always a blast and a pleasure to welcome you in. I, for one, am extremely honored to be a part of some of the great work that you do. Being able to join you each and every week throughout the season and also contribute some of the work that you'll be posting is really an honor.

You're one of the great guys in the business, and I consider myself a better journalist and a better man for knowing you, my friend. So thank you for joining me again today. My pleasure, my pleasure. And you will definitely be back on because we need to get your pearls of wisdom for the NFC next time around. As for me, I will be back on Monday. And I realize Monday is a holiday, but I will be back on Monday

because at that time we will know the Patriots 53-man roster, and I'll be here to break it all down for you. What are some of the surprises? What are some of the expectations? And what can we expect from the New England Patriots as they get set to defend their Super Bowl championship one week from this coming Sunday on September 8th in Gillette Stadium against the Pittsburgh Steelers. 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'm Mike DeBate. I thank Brian Snow for joining me. I thank you so much for listening today and have a very happy Labor Day weekend, everybody, and enjoy the day.