Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Locked On Patriots March 15, 2019 - Ides of March

Episode Date: March 15, 2019

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Hey there everybody, welcome on into a Friday installment of the Locked On Patriots podcast. Mark Schofield here in the big chair for today, Friday, March 15th. The Ides of March are upon us, ladies and gentlemen. And look, keep your head on a swivel today, alright? Be looking over your shoulders. Check those corners when you're moving around hallways and things like that. You don't want to meet seizures fit, all right? I'm just saying.

Keep your head on a swivel. Big show for you today. Again, Friday here in the offseason, we're going to keep it nice and tight. We're going to talk a couple of moves at the wide receiver position, some things we'll be watching there. Briefly get into free agency winners and losers as well. I know look, the NFL landscape, NFL history is littered

with teams that won Super Bowls in March. But the games don't get played until September. So we can still sort of talk about winners and losers and say, hey, these teams have made some nice moves. These teams look like they're floundering. But until the games get played, none of the grades we give out during March matter,

but Hey, they're fun content. And it gives me something easy to talk about on a Friday. But before we talk about any of that reminder to follow me on Twitter at Mark Schofield, check out the worker places like inside the pylon.com pro football weekly, the score, Matt Waldman's rookie scouting portfolio,

big blue view, part of the SB nation family of websites, bleeding green nation, and the QB Scots show part of the SB Nation family of websites, Blading Green Nation and the QB Scosho, part of the SB Nation family of websites, and of course, Pat's Pulpit, where I opine on the Patriots for SB Nation. Yep, a lot of work, titles, titles, titles. Let's talk wide receivers here for a moment. Patriots made one move and are looking to make another. At least that's what we're hearing right now. Philip Dorsett coming back to New England on a one-year, quote, prove-it type deal. Ian Rappaport, source, wide receiver Philip Dorsett, is headed back to the Patriots on a one-year deal.

An opportunity to prove it and hit free agency next season. Dorsett told Mike Reese of ESPN a few weeks ago that he was looking for an expanded role moving forward either in New England or elsewhere. I want to be a key contributor. I want to be a starter. That's always been my goal. Kevin Duffy also addressed the sign-in on Twitter, Kevin Duffy, a Beach reporter for the Boston Herald, saying that Dorsett was seeking an expanded role with his next team. And the Patriots, Josh Daniels in particular, made him feel comfortable with the possibility of that happening in New England. And so there's an interesting thing to think about. Maybe they're going to look to give Philip Dorsett more of a role in the passing game.

And look, they might. Because right now, only guys that are active on the New England roster, under contract, are Dorsett, Edelman, Matthew Slater. Those are the only guys that have caught passes. And so they might need some help from him. Obviously, the Josh Gordon situation is sort of waiting in the wings. Now, two other receivers linked to New England. One is not going to happen. That is Adam Humphreys.

He is staying with the decision to go to Tennessee. Apparently, New England sort of upped their offer. Evan Lazar had it on Wednesday evening that there were some second thoughts that the Patriots went up to $10 million for Adam Humphreys and his services in their bid for him. But ultimately, he had made the decision to go to Tennessee, and he didn't want to back out on his word. He didn't want to go back on his word.

And so Adam Humphreys, the salt receiver, he is going to be a Tennessee Titan. That window of opportunity for New England perhaps closing. Interesting that the Patriots were pretty aggressive with Humphreys. But in the end, they couldn't get it done. He didn't want to go back on his word. That brings us to Golden Tate. If you were banking on Golden Tate, or imagine this.

Imagine if you had pre-recorded sort of an episode talking about how Golden Tate might have been a good fit for the New England Patriots. He's had it in the can in case he went. And, well, I got some bad news. Golden Tate going to the New York Giants. Interesting move. I guess, look, they needed a receiver. And so it's Golden Tate going to the Big Apple and not to Foxborough. The Patriots did make a move at the wide receiver spot. Bruce Ellington. Yeah, there you go. Bruce Ellington joining the New England Patriots, which I guess is, look, it's a low-cost, low-risk kind of move, slot-type guy. Patriots signed him to a one-year deal per Ian Rappaport.

Now, look, he's been around the league a lot, was drafted in the fourth round, played with the 49ers, then went to the Jets for a couple of days. Then he was picked up by the Texans, played for Bill O'Brien in 14 games. That year in 2017, he caught 37 passes for 422 yards and three touchdowns. Then he was put on injury reserve, was released. The Lions picked him up. He had like one good game for the Lions last year, finished last year with 31 reception for 224 yards, one touchdown.

He's a piece-type guy. He's a kick-returner-type guy. Not going to really move the needle too much, but more than anything else, this wide receiver free agency group is starting to thin out. And it's not a great group right now. So they might have to address it in the draft,

or maybe we're all just sort of banking on Braxton Berrios. The other sort of bit of news from a New England perspective, Malcolm Brown. He will no longer be a New England Patriot. We sort of wondered, you know, between Brown and Shelton, if one or both of those guys were going to be back.

And, well, Malcolm Brown signs a three-year deal worth $15 million down in New Orleans to play for the Saints. Saints get somebody to help them on the defensive front. So you get an interior defensive lineman that you might need to lose out on, but they got some help from guys like Lawrence Guy and Danny Sheldon did play a little bit better down the stretch. And so this one doesn't move the needle for me too much, but I guess the Golden Tate situation, the Patriots didn't get a chance to sign him wide receiver group seems to be thinning out luckily if you've been doing mock drafts on your own whether it's at fanspeak or the draft network you know it's a deep wide receiver group you can get into the fourth fifth sixth round and find good value at the wide receiver position and so you might get a chance to double dip at the wide

receiver position the Patriots might have to so at the wide receiver position. The Patriots might have to. So there you go. Better news on the Patriots front. Up next, we're going to talk winners and losers in free agency on this Ides of March installment of the Locked on Patriots podcast. Mark Schofield back with you now on this Ides of March edition of the Locked on Patriots podcast. We'll be declaring some emperors victorious and then I guess stabbing some people in the back by declaring some winners and losers here when it comes to the early free agency part.

Let's start with winners. And I think you've got to say Cleveland and Oakland are teams that have made some pretty good moves here in this free agency period. And yes, acquiring big-time offensive wide receiver weapons always makes a splash. And so acquiring Odell, I think, is a fantastic move for the Cleveland Browns. That offense is going to score points in bunches.

You look at how they were able to play under Baker last year. I think he's going to be a tremendous fit with Odell Beckham. You see some of the routes that Odell runs and Baker's success on those throws lead you to believe that, look, it's a perfect parent. And so I think Cleveland has done a fantastic job. Again, look, what do you want to do? You want to maximize that rookie quarterback window. Fantastic move by them. You make your run and then you fill in some pieces around it. And they've also made some other moves that I think shouldn't be overlooked. First, let's consider this. They still have Kareem Hunt.

I know that was last season. You know, technically it didn't just happen, but they're going to get him back at some point. And whatever you want to say about Kareem Hunt, the person and what he's done away from the field, Kareem Hunt, the football player, is a nice offensive weapon to have. Olivier Vernon is a nice acquisition as well. Now you get that pass rusher to sort of pair with Myles Garrett. You get Sheldon Richardson as well on the inside. That is going to be a very good front. And let's not forget, yes, look, they lost Jabril Peppers,

but he was playing on a different planet. So he wasn't even basically a part of that defense. He was playing so far deep in the middle of the field, like 30, 40 yards off the ball. This was a defense last year that at times was extremely opportunistic, but the problem was the offense couldn't capitalize. I remember at one point looking at the numbers, and they had created the most turnovers in the league, but they turned them into points the fewest out of any team in the NFL.

So that sort of like points after turnover situation was a bad one for them. But now you've got an offense that can put up points. And so if that defense is anywhere close to as opportunistic as they were last year, now you've got the offense that's going to capitalize on those moments. That's how you win games. And it's easy to sort of crown them as, you know, AFC North champions right now. The football has yet to be played, but yes, here in March, they look fantastic on paper. As for Oakland, Antonio Brown is a fantastic signing. We know what he can do as a wide receiver. The Tyrell Williams part of this, I don't think

should be overlooked as well. I thought he was a tremendous free agent wide receiver. I would have loved to have seen him in New England and now you've got a situation where you've got two really good wide receivers to sort of run with and you've got the pieces behind him like a Jordy Nelson a Seth Roberts and others that you can sort of work in as wide receiver three wide receiver four types and so that's a tremendous move and obviously yes look you probably figured out the left tackle spot because you got Trent Brown there too and so you're filling in the pieces on the offensive line if they hold on to Jared Cook maybe they don't do maybe they don't that's going to be very nice as well and you have

to address defense I'm sure but with three picks in the first round and I think they have what five of the first 35 or 36 picks they have the firepower draft wise to do it and in acquiring Antonio Brown they didn't have to give up much to do it and so tremendous job by them I think you know the Raiders and the Browns have made some really nice moves here early in free agency a potential winner we'll have to see how it pans out but Jacksonville got their quarterback I think and whatever you want to say about Nick Foles yes he's a high variance type player he's had some great games he's had some bad games I think they got the guy that they needed and let me put it to you this way you know a lot of people said that maybe Jacksonville once they figured out

they were going to be out on you know, once they figured out they were going to be out on draft a rookie quarterback, or they were going to be out on Blake Bortles, it was, oh, they were going to draft a quarterback at seven. They were going to draft Dwayne Haskins, or they were going to even try to get up and get Kyler Murray. But I think this was a bit of sort of self-discovery here. And let me tell you what I mean by that. I think Jacksonville now has an opportunity to turn this around and turn it around pretty quickly because you still have that defense in place.

It was a very good defense. We know this. This was a team that was a couple years away, you know, removed from getting to a Super Bowl. They just couldn't finish the deal in Gillette against the Patriots. But they needed to fix the offense. They needed to fix the quarterback position. They still have that defense.

And so, yeah, you could have gone the rookie route, but would a rookie quarterback be the best situation in that locker room, in that environment? Maybe. Maybe not. I mean, let's not forget, that situation sort of went south last year with Bortles, that defense, we heard rumblings of sort of locker room altercations

and things like that, where that defense thought that they were not getting any help from their offense, and maybe at times they were right about that. And so maybe Tom Coughlin, David Caldwell, they looked at that roster, they know their team, and they said, we could go get a rookie, but if we struggle or he struggles, this might not be the best situation. well they looked at that roster they know their team and they said we could go get a rookie but

if we struggle or he struggles this might not be the best situation maybe it's smarter knowing ourselves knowing this organization to go get an established guy and from everything we've heard and read about nick foals he's got a good locker room presence everybody loved him he's kind of a heady guy he's been through it before he a veteran player. And so if there are bumps along the way, better to have a guy that's sort of been through situations like that than a rookie figure in his way. Maybe that's the calculus. Is it worth $50 million guaranteed?

That's the difficulty with the quarterback position. Either you draft the guy and you get it right, or you've got to go pay more than you might want to to fix it. And that's the route Jacksonville went. So, interesting to see how that sort of ends up playing out. But I think this was the right move for Jacksonville. Yes, it seems like you spent too much money on Nick Foles. But that's what you've got to do if you don't get it via the draft.

Finally, two teams I'll mention just quickly. The Jets and the Bills. Look, what you got to do, we're seeing it with Buffalo, you build around the rookie quarterback, right? You get him some help, right? And so the Jets, look, they get Le'Veon Bell, and they get Jamison Crowder, and they get Josh Bellamy. That's some pretty decent help.

You bring Robbie Anderson back. I think he's a nice vertical threat. And on the defensive side of the ball, look, you get C.J. Mosley, which is a nice sign-in. You get Henry Anderson. You bring him back. And so I think the Jets have added some nice pieces. It would have looked better if they got Anthony Barr, of course, but these were some nice moves by them. And so I think the Jets did a pretty good job. I think the Bills, again, they've added some nice pieces as well. Maybe they're not huge names, but John Brown is a nice vertical-type threat. Cole Beasley, he's a very good wide receiver. I remember studying him for the NFL 1000 Project a couple of years ago, and he was always open.

Now, are these the two biggest weapons out there? No, but I think they're nice little pieces. You add in Mitch Morse. That's pretty nice. They had already added sort of Spencer Long, Ty Neskey, guard John Feliciano. That's a kind of good group. And Frank Gore as well.

Yes, he's not the best running back out there. But these are some nice pieces. And so I think those two AFC East teams, they did a pretty good job. Up next, the losers. And we might just talk about one team, but maybe we'll get in a couple more. Ahead on this Ides of March edition of Locked on Patriots. Mark Schofield back with you now here to close out this Friday installment.

And this week here at Locked on Patriots, don't forget we'll be back Monday with Mock Draft Monday 4.0. Going to be toying around with the Mock Draft simulators, having some fun with those. Maybe we'll do something wacky. Who knows? Maybe we'll just draft players that have an A in their name. I don't know. We'll have some fun with it. But I know if you're listening to this show that maybe you don't have room for one more podcast in your life. But if you do, I would invite you to make the QBSco show part of your podcast rotation.

That's a podcast that I host along with Michael J. Kist over at Bleeding Green Nation. We do it once a week. We talk mostly quarterbacks. We work in some historical references, some Game of Thrones stuff. We have some fun with it. And in lieu of making a full-on historical reference to open this week's show, I posed a question. Who is the worst decision maker?

And for sort of a historical flavor, I put in Napoleon. For sort of a Game of Thrones reference, I put in Ned Stark. And I added Dave Gettleman. And I think you can make the case that I'm probably not spoiling anything here by telling you that Ned Stark lost his head and that's a big L to take. I'm probably not spoiling anything by telling you that Napoleon, for some of the wins that he got, you look up biggest military blunders of all time and Waterloo and his invasion of Russia are at or near the top of the list. Even though those two gentlemen, one obviously fictitious and one not made some blunters they probably don't compare to what Dave Gettleman has done in the past year

just in this offseason alone you have lost Landon Collins and you've lost and traded away Odell Beckham arguably the best wide receiver in the game and let's not forget that the Odell trade was after they signed him to an extension last year. And they were the ones that did it. This wasn't a situation where he comes in and

the previous regime had signed him to this new deal and now you're stuck with it or you just trade him and you eat the cap loss. They did it. Why? I don't know. Was he that much of a malcontent over the past eight months that you just changed your view of him? I don't think that could have been the case. It seems like they are without a plan. They are sans.

They are planless at this point. And Getterman's out there saying that, look, we've got a plan. And people like Mike Francesco are out there saying, this is how you build teams. Again, you've got to nail it now at 6-17. And if you draft Daniel Jones at 17, I said it when this trade happened, oh, my goodness, the tweets. Oh, the tweets that will fly.

They'll be like little birdies. Atherin, Dave Gettleman into nothingness. And maybe they get it right. And on the QB Scosio, I put out this potential scenario. What if you do this, okay? What if you realize that you're not going to get the quarterback you want and you realize, you come to your senses and say, Daniel Jones is not that guy at 17. And Ed Oliver falls into your lap at 6, and then at 17 you go and you get a Williams,

the tackle from Alabama, or Taylor, the tackle from Florida, or Cody Ford, one of those guys is there. And you've added Seether. So that would give you four of the five offensive line spots locked up now. With Solder, with Will Hernandez, with Zietler, and now with your drafted right tackle. And then next year, even though I'm Mr. Development is not linear guy, you make it work this year with Eli and you get your quarterback next year. That could theoretically work. Or if it's two years down Eli, and you get your quarterback next year. That could theoretically work,

or if it's two years down the road and you get Sunshine, a.k.a. Trevor Lawrence. But that's still a long-term plan. I mean, that's like one of the five-year plans. I'm not saying that Dave Gettleman is Stalin or anything like that, but, I mean, that might be a situation where you're like Sashi Brown and you've set them up and you're retired or on the Cape or broadcasting, doing color analysis for the Ocho. And you don't get to reap the reward like Sashi Brown in Cleveland.

So it just seems like they're lost right now. And maybe they get it right. And if you're a Giants fan listening to this and I know there are some that listen to this show I I'm sorry you look a little lost right now and you know it I've talked to a ton of Giants fans my DMs are filled with Giants fans my I've been added by Giants fans on Twitter I feel for you I do it's tough Hopefully they get it figured out. It doesn't seem like they're going to. This is like invading Casterly Rock when you should have taken

Highgarden. Just throwing that out there too. Other team I'll mention quickly, the Baltimore Ravens. Yeah, you got Earl Thomas. That's a nice little sign-in. But, Eric Weddle? Gone. Z'Darriaria Smith, gone.

Terrell Suggs, gone. C.J. Mosley, gone. Yeah, you bring in Mark Ingram, I guess you're going to run 14 personnel. You just run four tight ends out there. Max Williams, Nick Boyle, the two guys you drafted last year. You know, you draft Mark Andrews in the third round,

which might have been the better tight end, and that was after you drafted in the first round Hayden Hurst. Who wants to be a wide receiver in that offense? They've got time to figure it out. They can address some stuff up front um they they've still got i think a good secondary now which could be great i mean jimmy smith tony jefferson earl thomas marlon humphrey it could be a very good secondary you'll need some help up front you need to get lamar jackson but some head scratchers of moves here by the baltimore ravens also a head scratcher

why i'm still even talking kids it, it is Friday. Go have fun. Enjoy happy hour. Enjoy the weekend. St. Patrick's Day. Look, St. Paddy's Day. I know. I'm a man. I'm 42. It's a marathon, not a sprint. You got to hydrate. You got to be smart about things. Take care of

yourselves this weekend. Don't do anything too crazy. Keep it locked right here to the Locked on Patriots podcast throughout. If news breaks, I will hop on the mic. Until next time, have a fantastic weekend, a fantastic St. Patrick's Day, if you choose to celebrate or acknowledge. I will be back Monday. Until then, keep it locked right here to me, Mark Schofield,

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