Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Mac in the Groove, Patricia the Play Caller, N’Keal the Tight End and More from New England Patriots Mandatory Minicamp

Episode Date: June 9, 2022

The New England Patriots have returned to the practice fields adjacent to Gillette Stadium, as they opened the final phase of their offseason workout program. Mandatory Minicamp 2022 has begun. Joining host Mike D’Abate is Clare ‘ClazzyClare’ Cooper of Pats Propaganda. The dynamic discuss the big day for Mac Jones, Matt Patricia’s play calling, Isaiah Wynn’s positional switch and N’Keal Harry as a tight end?Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-patriots-daily-podcast-on-the-new-england/id1140512627 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFmwg3WbfxAU3tR5Ve?si=k196wH-yRqifUcQQz8SjIQStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-patriots And follow host Mike D’Abate on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans.On Twitter: @mdabateNFLSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.Blue NileMake your moment sparkle with jewelry from Bluenile.com, and LOCKED ON SPORTS listeners get $50 off purchases of $500 or more using code LOCKEDON.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New England Patriots fans, a big day for Mac Jones on opening day of mandatory minicamp. Matt Patricia at the command and McKeel Harry a tight end. Our subject matter expert weighs in in just a moment. I'm Mike DeBate and you're about to be locked in to the Locked On Patriots podcast. You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful, and thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage.

Also, your first listen every day. Remember that Locked On Patriots, free and available on all platforms, so download, subscribe to, and follow the Locked On Patriots, free and available on all platforms. So download, subscribe to, and follow the Locked On Patriots podcast wherever you get your podcasts. And smash that subscribe button on YouTube so you do not miss a single second of the action. I'm Mike DeBate. I am your host of the Locked On Patriots podcast.

I also cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. You can reach out to me, interact with me. Let me know what's on your mind on Twitter at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L. And while you're out there showing some week-long love to that Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at L-O underscore Patriots. And as you can see, it is Wednesday, folks. And that means the middle ground has joined us to bring some class and pizzazz to this show the way only she can.

Columnist extraordinaire for PatsPropaganda.com, the host of one of the more amazing podcasts you'll listen to in any realm, any form of sports entertainment. But really, if you're a Patriots fan, this is a must-listen, folks. Download, subscribe to follow smash the subscribe button to a clear perspective a patriots podcast and also you can catch her each and every week on one patriots place along with our good friends thomas murphy and steve valastrieri the illustrious claire clazy claire cooper joins me today thank you for joining me from across the

pond and thank you for adding the claz and pizzazz to our show each and every Wednesday, Compass. Well, you're very welcome. It's nice to get an introduction myself for a change. You know, I'm a bit worn out this week in all fairness. Well, you definitely deserve that introduction and we are always glad to have you here on Locked On Patriots each and every Wednesday. I joke about the clads and pizzazz. Well, actually, it's not a joke. It really is true. But I use the flowery language to describe clads and pizzazz. But really what you do is give us a sense of a middle ground opinion

that's always spot on and always razor sharp. So, Claire, let's dive right into it. The New England Patriots are in full swing of mandatory mini camp right now. One practice down, two practices to go at the time we're recording this podcast. And let's start with Mac Jones. Yesterday, a huge day for Mac. The consensus amongst the reporters that were in attendance did say that Mack really looked to be in top form. I mean, this was really one of his best sessions that he's had in quite some time, maybe arguably

his best practice session as a New England Patriot. He looked sharp, he looked accurate, but he also looked like he has increased his velocity, had a lot of extra zip on the ball, not checking the ball down as much. Mack was definitely in his zone and played extremely well, I thought, in terms of where he needed to be and what we were expecting to see. But that being said, there were plenty of storylines yesterday in the first day of mandatory minicamp. The one good thing that you can take away from this, Bill Belichick telling everyone in attendance that there were no unexcused absences.

Every absence was accounted for. Every absence has been excused. Guys like Isaiah Wynn, Matt Judon, back in the saddle, back in, you know, on the practice fields and back in uniform. That's a big thing. We had some players that were taking, you know, practice and punt return. There was a lot going on yesterday when it came to the New England Patriotsots and mandatory minicamp and i know you've had your sharp eye it's a little bit difficult for you to be able to keep your sharp eye from across the pond with the time difference but you do it

and you pull it off i don't know how folks it's like the folks over at bill bar i don't know how she does it but she does it and she does it better than anybody so um your thoughts on day one of mandatory minicamp from all the observations that you've been able to get and all of the extensive coverage that you've been able to, you know, absorb and then provide yourself. What are your thoughts on the first day of the Patriots mandatory minicamp? Well,

I'm not so sure about like being really great and the extensive coverage because I have to like piece it together from kind of everything that most fans really have to, as well as compete with the time difference as you mentioned it's really difficult to watch mandatory minicamp when you're trying to prepare dinner and things like this and not burn things or burn yourself even even worse so i wouldn't recommend it folks just do one thing at a time it's it's much much safer but yeah things that i picked upon the sort of the main points if you like the the main topics definitely up there was the the return shall we say of isaiah win and the lining up of

him at right tackle so i've got to say this kind of excited me because it puts trent brown over at left tackle now i know time will tell if these positions really fit these two individuals because it is a bit of a mix-up but I gotta say being the the left tackle being kind of that extensive protector of the quarterback having the hulk of a man that is Trent Brown lining up there really has me feeling really good for the for like the looking after of Mac that a huge knight in shining armour kind of thing. I do like that. So that mix up of the offensive line,

because there was a lot, I hear there was a lot of sort of swapping and changing, but those are, you know, the main things that we are, we're looking at the main things that maybe we're zoning in on because they feel most important is Wynn going over to the right side as he did kind of much earlier in his career. The same for Trent Brown, I hear that. I understand that the left tackle was something that he took upon earlier in his career as well.

So I'm looking forward to how that sort of sticks and how the offensive line does sort of mould together. Last season, there was a lot of shuffling in regards to the offensive line. And obviously they've lost Shaq Mason and they've lost Ted Carey so there's there's still those elements that are coming in and out of the line in regards to Haran and and the new guy from the CFL uh Drew Dijale I always get to call him Alex it's very strange I do apologize um but yeah so there's still a lot of pieces to to move around but of, we're talking about day one. So we still, as you said, as we're recording this, we've only had day one under our belts.

So there's still plenty of time for all that to sort of go about. So key things there definitely had me excited in regards to Trent Brown being left tackle, as I said. So yeah, the spreading, I did like how Bill has been spreading it around himself in the offense and the defense and working on as an edge rusher. Don't you just love it? I mean, there's always that part of you of the fan and not to sort of be disrespectful, but to say he's getting older.

Do you really want him to do that much work? But there's always that element of a fan of enjoying seeing him sort of getting down and dirty in there sort of thing. So it is good. it is good for a fantasy but there's always that yeah that little moment of okay but you know make sure he's you know he's okay and everything wrap him in a bit of cotton wool you know we want to keep him really safe i understand that the new rookies heinz and stuba uh still haven't made an appearance granted you said that all absences were um was the terminology that

you used were excused excused they have been excused yeah so you know maybe it's nothing to to worry about but it's it's that element of wanting to just see all the rookies out there to see what they've got these are all unknowns for us to be it's just a case of wanting to see what we have got. I understand that Jack Jones has been working seriously hard as a returner at every practice that the media has attended. I understand that he did bubble one attempt yesterday, but it sounds like this kid is ready to prove himself. Granted, he was taken sort of lower in the draft

and he's got those off-field issues, shall we call them. I know it's, you know, a minor thing, but, you know, you don't want to make too much of it. But everybody's got a past. Everybody's got, you know, these things that they sort of wish maybe never happened, that sort of thing. And it doesn't necessarily reflect anything of what this guy is going to give us on the field. So, you know, you give everybody the shadow of the doubt on this and that. But I understand that he's been working really hard hard so that element of fighting to prove yourself I don't think that's a bad thing especially in a rookie right you want to see that you you want to see these guys want

to fight for their places because you do that that's the one thing you want as a fan I'm assuming as a coach as well but as a fan you want to see players on the field you want to root for players that want to be there that want to be in that system that want to work hard so it's kind of to justify the fandom if you like to justify the emotional investment that we put into these into these players it's always sort of more impactful when you've got a guy like that who's ready to work for your sort of admiration, shall we say, for want of a better phrase. So yeah, I understand that Bledsoe got some reps maybe because the new addition or be veteran of Jabril Peppers, sorry, is still limited coming back off the tour in ACL. so bletso has had some time which

again is another thing that i don't think is a bad thing granted i don't think pepper's having to be limited is a good thing please don't get me wrong but we didn't get to see much of if anything of bletso last year so the more that we can see the more that he can be with the team this year the more key that is because potentially going forward, you know, he's the next sort of safeties of the future, that sort of thing. You mentioned Mac. I got my notes here to say that. I hear that Mac was a little bit uneven, but he still looked very good. So I understand maybe his consistency was a little, but bearing in mind that this is day one and how much do you expect from people from places on day one

of anything um you know another key factor so i'm not concerned at this point i understand that he had some very good very good throws he had a good day even if he was a little uneven a little inconsistent in all fairness but the good thing about this is the one key difference from this year to last year granted he's got a year under his belt of course there's always that but going into last season going into last year sorry they didn't know that the team was max team because cam newton was still taking the predominant of the snaps this sort of thing now it is max team and we know this and it's it's good that they can get that time of him being you know qb1 integral the the time to

have this these practices these gellings together because there's always that thing of when they haven't been together for a while they haven't played football for a while there's still a getting back into the swing of things when you don't do something for a period of time regardless of it being your job you're telling me that when you go back to work after two weeks vacation you can remember your password i know that i very rarely can so it's only going to be something that's very similar he's kind of coming back off his vacation and things need to gel things need to you need to remind yourself of that password of your locker combination and things like that.

So it is, I'm not concerned at this stage of any sort of, for want of a better term, negative press about Mac, because I think we've still got plenty of time and I've, as a fan may be sounding biasly, but as a fan, I've got kind of,

sorry, I've got every faith in him as a quarterback. He is my quarterback. So I'm not really sort of concerned at this point in regards to that. And it's just lovely to see the dynamic of your quarterback with the rest of the team. It's just enjoyable. It's what we've been waiting for since the end of last season is to see this. So even if we're seeing it sort of at just minicamp

in kind of no pads or you know whatever it's it's just good to see we just like it we just eat it with a spoon don't we as fans anyway so another thing that I was very happy to hear didn't witness myself so I'm only going on here say if you like is that Jake Bailey was kicking bombs yes crushing it apparently um as I said I didn't witness this myself so I'm I am only going on what I have heard Jake Bailey was kicking bombs. Yes. Crushing it, apparently. As I said, I didn't witness this myself, so I am only going on what I have heard. But the fact that he may have been suffering with an injury last season, that may, you know, kind of transpire, come to light.

I do like me a bit of Jake Bailey, and I was very concerned that he maybe sort of moved along to try and open up cap space. Although the addition of Matt Ariza would have been very interesting, granted, and when the Bills picked him up, I was very unhappy about that. I wouldn't have been unhappy if he'd have come to the Patriots because I find him very interesting. But to hear that Jake Bailey is doing good definitely warms the cockles of my heart, shall we say. So, yeah, mini sum up of mini camp of sort of the positives that are out there the one thing that i didn't mention uh was kendrick bourne was

not present but as you said there was no unexcused absences now folk and nordine were not spotted however i've heard some conflicting reports that nordine was there and some reports state that the number two that was there or the guy that was wearing number two should i say is the new kicker that's coming christian vis viscano i believe it's pronounced yes tristan viscano yep okay i'm not good with with yeah, okay. Not great with pronunciation. That's okay, you were close enough. I was close enough. Look, I nailed Djalé. Once I got that, I was like, that's it, I'm fine for this year.

I've got me a Djalé, so quite like that one. Yeah, so I'm not actually sure which kicker was there, personally, from what I've seen. So maybe you can shine a bit more light on that for us, because obviously you were there. If Nordin was there, or if it was this sort sort of new brought in possibly for Camp Kicker or if he was brought in simply because Nordean and Folk aren't able to be available sort of thing. So, yeah, maybe maybe you can clarify that for us, Michael. Yeah, I think in a lot of ways, especially with that yesterday, I did not spot him when i had written up my um my recap uh and i had you know filed it i had not spotted uh quinn so that's originally

why i had reported that there are reports out there some say they did see him some say they didn't but the number two jersey was being done by tristan viscaino former kicker of the los angeles chargers who apparently is in training camp on a tryout basis. Bill Belichick was very clear to say that there have been no roster additions, so he has not signed a deal with the New England Patriots. Again, that's at the time we're recording this contract, recording this podcast. By the time you listen to it, that contract may indeed be signed or that may not be signed. Now, there are reports that if the Patriots don't sign him this week, that he is expected to do something very similar with the Baltimore Ravens when they open their mini camp next week. So there is still a chance that Vizcaino is here just to see what he can do for the Patriots to give him a look and then see what's what from there. I do think it's

interesting that we haven't seen Quinn Nordeen on the practice field yet during the off-season training regimen. I wrote about this a little bit on Sunday for Sports Illustrated. And given all of the hype that Nordine had last year and then the abdominal injury that kept him out of the season, it's interesting to see that the Patriots are actively looking to keep their options open when it comes to the backup kicker position. Two years, $5.6 million dollars for Nick Falk he's your starter folks there's not a kicking controversy like there was last year where a lot of people myself included thought that Nordean had eclipsed Nick Falk and in a lot of ways he earned the spot

on the 53-man roster I know why they cut Falk last year because it was easier for them to put him into the practice squad than it was Nordean uh they could protect though they couldn't protect Nordean and Folk was a veteran that kind of slipped through the cracks no way that was going to happen this year after the year he had last year so Patriots locked him up he's your starter but in terms of the backup or a practice squad guy that the Patriots would like to keep around keep a sharp eye on that because this guy you know can kick he's pretty uh he's pretty accurate uh very well uh you know built and i think in a lot of ways this could be interesting to see a little competition brewing between he and nordine when he gets out there on the field so excellent point claire and that was it i didn't see him yesterday so i can't

specifically say whether he was there or not i know there are some reports out there that he either was or wasn't but but from my vantage point, I didn't see him and I can't confirm it. So that's where I'll stand on that. But I thought that you made some excellent points in terms of what you saw. I thought it was interesting that you said about inconsistency or maybe, you know,

up and down nature of Mac Jones. To tell you the truth, and I don't want to be a homer in this regard, but I didn't see a whole lot of inconsistency with Mac yesterday. I thought he was very much on even keel. I thought he was throwing the ball with command a little bit more vigor, like I said, to open the show. But statistically, I had him tracked, and I know some of my colleagues would agree with this. I saw similar numbers, 11 for 12 and 11 on 11 drills 14 of 14 and 7 on 7s completed 23 straight passes at one point including a bomb that went well over 40 yards to trey nixon which i thought was the

play of the day and that consensus has been the play of the day i thought mac looked really good from start to finish and um in that regard if people are looking for maybe a little bit of positive note on his arm strength and how this kid is able to get the job done, I would look at it and say he definitely played well yesterday. So Wednesday and Thursday, going to have my sharp eye on Mac to see if that continues as a trend or if, you know, the practice start to amp up a little bit. Maybe he gets a little bit more competition. You know, then things can things can change. Obviously, no contact in these drills. practice start to amp up a little bit maybe he gets a little bit more competition um you know then things can uh things can change obviously no contact in these drills so it's going to favor the starter and it's going to favor the passer uh but that could be interesting as well um i've got

to admit i hadn't seen those numbers sorry i hadn't seen those numbers prior to us recording i just sort of i'd seen little bits of his throws and his throws as you said were really strong i just heard that he also had a few uneven patches so maybe it's just like because obviously i'm gaining different bits of information from different sources i wasn't there i didn't see 100 so i hadn't seen those numbers in all in all honesty so um but even so it was still a case of not being worried even if some reports are coming out of a more uneven nature. Because you're going on, you're also going on opinion when on, you know, eyeballing type thing. You're going on people's opinions of, well, it looked a little bit shaky, whereas from another perspective, it looked really strong.

So you're always going on on subject opinion. And that's really just what what i was pulling from so i apologize i hadn't heard those numbers that's very interesting because it does it sort of it does prove he is less and even that i was initially led to believe like i said i'm only piecing together but ultimately it was day one again so yeah you don't want to rave too much about it either it's one of those so you don't want to go either way until you've seen that a little bit more I understand that he was staying after practice um with with Zappi to sort of keep going and wanting to be the one out of the building and things like that so I hope that he doesn't burn himself out uh as well so but yeah definitely Mac is the one everybody's keeping their shop on as well sure absolutely without question and look no need to apologize because i mean everyone is entitled to their opinion of what

they've seen uh there probably were some inconsistencies or maybe some uh you know balls that may not have looked as uh you know as as well as maybe they should have early on before the drill session started so maybe that could be where some people were reporting. Or, you know, a lot of it is subjective. It really is. And some people see things that others don't. So if there are reports out there, you know, that he did look inconsistent at times, I'm definitely not refuting those folks

or I'm not, you know, pouring, you know, cold water on those. I mean, analysts see what they see. And every analyst is different in terms of that. Just from my perspective, when the drill started, I thought Matt looked pretty sharp. So we'll see. We'll continue to watch that throughout the week, and I'm looking forward to doing that. You did mention earlier about Bill Belichick, Matt Patricia, you know, coaches getting into things. We're going to get into that in just a little bit here, folks, because Matt Patricia took an active interest in play calling on Tuesday.

Even Bill Belichick getting into the action as well on the field. Last week in OTA, we saw him drop back in a defensive back position. He was doing some snaps, Claire, on Tuesday, and it was a lot of fun to watch. We're going to talk about that and much more when it comes to Matt Patricia and the play calling and a mysterious walkie-talkie that everybody's talking about in just a moment. But first, summer is coming, Countess, and it's the time to make memories. And at BlueNile.com, folks, you can celebrate all of life's special moments, from creating the custom engagement ring of your significant other's dreams to gifting a classic and timeless jewelry piece all at prices you won't

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So use the promo code locked on to get $50 off purchases of $500 or more. That's code locked on L O C K E D O N. Plus every order is insured ships free and arrives in discreet packaging that won't give away what's inside shop stress-free and find your forever peace. Go to blue Nile.com today. Patriots fans, the illustrious Claire Clazzi. Claire Cooper joins me here today as she does each and every Wednesday. The Lady of Lockdown adding clazz, pizzazz, wisdom, and counsel. The whole package, folks.

She brings it to the table each and every Wednesday. And I really could not be more uh you know happy or more grateful to share the microphone with you as I do each and every week here on Lockdown Patriots Claire in the previous segment we talked a lot about opening day of mandatory mini camp talked a little bit about Mac Jones we even got some kicker talk in there we got some punter talk in there it was all good all great subjects but the one big subject that everybody in Patriots fandom right now keeps talking about is the play calling of your New England Patriots and let's just say not a lot of people are happy about what's going on in Foxborough they don't

like the recent reports that Matt Patricia has taken the upper hand and looks to be the play caller or the front runner for the play caller in on the offensive side of the ball well no official announcement has been made that probably will not come for quite some time if it ever does but matt patricia yesterday that front runner type report that jeff howe filed over the weekend for the athletic really looks like it might have a lot more legs than maybe fans want to acknowledge um joe judge and he had both had active roles in coaching the offense on tuesday joe did take some um you know spins at calling plays it wasn't all one-sided but patricia did take on a more prominent role if i'm being honest uh he was relaying plays from inside the offensive huddle so he's inserting himself right

in there he's calling the plays and in my opinion that really stuck out to me because he was much more involved in this than anyone else and bill belichick is still taking an active role in this offense he spent much more time with the offense than the defense yesterday uh that's the same that we've seen in the other two OTA practices that were open to the public. He even snapped the ball to Mac Jones on a couple of occasions. Watch out, David Andrews. We've got a backup center in the roster,

and it's not anyone that's on the roster. It is Bill Belichick that apparently has the ability to do that. And you mentioned this in the previous segment, Claire. It was hilarious seeing him get out there and really at 70 years old, he still has that vigor, that love, and that desire for the game. And it doesn't look like it's slowing down anytime soon.

We watched him line up as a defensive back a couple of weeks ago in OTA. And now here he is, you know, snapping the ball to a starting quarterback. But that being said, this looks like it's Matt Patricia's job, unless something changes. And in Foxborough, anything and everything is possible.

So I always caution people not to take anything for face value. But if, in fact, this is the case, what are your thoughts on Matt Patricia taking on this active role? Is this the better choice than Joe Judge? Or is this a situation where any way you slice it, the Patriots are at a disadvantage not having Josh McDaniels or at least a dedicated offensive coordinator? Well, firstly, who wouldn't want to be David Andrews?

He's so fabulous. Bill's going to want to try and be center because the love for David Andrews is huge. So I'm not surprised really that he's trying to line up there to get a piece of that love for David Andrews pie. Who would blame him, folks? Who would blame him? But play calling. Firstly, it's day one.

Day one, folks. Let's not worry about it too much just yet. It's a little bit early to say that it's definitely now i know there's reports have come out and and that's all that's all yeah completely fair understand that there's other factors to think about in regards to patricia isn't the only one that could be there to to do the play calling yes it could be joe judge as time would transpire we don't know it could also be be Bill Belichick even. You know, there's still that chance that he's going to be the play caller

because he's not going to need a sheet because he's going to know it all in his head. So there's still time for this to come out. Now, I understand why that would make people nervous because you just want to get these positions in place to get them working, to get them rolling because it's a new a new situation for this season not having McDaniels having somebody else the other thing is sort of the should we really worry if it is Patricia just yet anyway I mean okay so he wasn't necessarily the

most successful of head coaches but he was a head coach for several years i understand that the the great bill belichick was not necessarily fabulous at head coach the first time around either so you know and look what he's turned into the goat of you know of all things coaching so maybe let's not panic about that bit either just yet he must have something in his tank to you know to make him be able to be a head coach i mean you're talking a head coach in the nfl you're not talking anything like too big really are you you're talking about somebody that's got a job that's pretty much high up there yes he wasn't successful in his first stint a lot of them aren't you know experience is something that we you know, experience is something that we, you know, we all need, you know, we all benefit from. We don't know how Matt Patricia is going to pan out as a play caller.

There isn't anybody sitting like we are that talks about it. Granted, everybody is entitled to their own opinion, but there is nobody sitting there who really knows that Matt Patricia will be unsuccessful. They can have the opinion that he's not the best at that kind of thing, but nobody really knows until it happens how successful he's going to be. We don't know that 2022 season rolls around and Matt Patricia is the best thing that's happened to play calling since sliced bread sort of thing. We don't know this.

Yes, okay, the chances are perhaps not because of his history, that's happened to play calling since sliced bread sort of thing we don't know this yes okay the chances are perhaps not because of his history but history is what it is history we're talking about now we're talking about what this guy's working on now so we just don't know yet and i understand why people are concerned but i'm just not because i'm just ready to see to give him a chance to see what happens if he is the play caller we there's another thing we do that still don't know exactly right now we've we've got a good idea as you said jeff howe wrote but we don't actually know the other thing is he it's not like he's never done offensive coaching ever in his lifetime he was um um offensive coach assistant coaching assistant back in 2004.

And the Patriots won their third Super Bowl. If you want to talk history, that's not bad history, is it? You know, it depends what you want to look at. And granted, I'm not knocking anyone for having a negative opinion of Matt Patricia. We all have our own opinions of our own things. And that's fine and dandy. It's just when you say that you know he's not going to be good because you don't know that you don't know how well he's going to be at play calling as we said we don't know right now that he is going to be the play caller but if it's looking like that we don't know that he's not going to be successful and i would just like

to kind of wait a wait a beat to see if he if he does turn out to be a successor in that role. Give him a chance, you know, as people say. So if Matt Patricia is the play caller, let's just wait and see. Yeah, I completely agree with you on this. I know it's not necessarily the ideal situation that fans are looking at and saying, here's a guy that was a defensive coordinator that I don't think Matt ever really got enough credit for being the prominent defensive coordinator that he was. People look at Super Bowl 52 and they lay that directly on his shoulders and say,

call a terrible game, just wasn't prepared, things of that nature. And I know that, you know, people are going to start looking at that as a negative and as a knock toward Matt Patricia and his time here as a defensive coordinator. When he got the job in Detroit, I think in a lot of ways, what that did was it gave him the opportunity to showcase that he was a complete coach. And because of the difficulty he had in Detroit, people are automatically assuming that, well, not so great as a defensive coordinator, definitely not good as a head coach. He's going to come here now as an offensive coordinator, and he's going to fall

flat on his face. And a lot of other fan bases right now are taking victory laps in looking at the fact that Matt Patricia is going to be the offensive coordinator. I think that's a mistake. Matt looked very engaged in the offensive game yesterday. And the argument to that is, well, he's an offensive coach. He should look engaged. Well, he did. I mentioned the walkie-talkie earlier. He looked like he was relaying plays and whatnot. Bill was very much in there as well. So for anybody thinking that it's just going to be matt patricia and bill's just going to let him go and say okay matt i trust you you can go ahead and run this show kind of like he did with josh in a lot of respects in some circumstances um you're definitely mistaken that's not the case bill belichick is going to be much more hands-on and for all intents

and purposes folks for anyone who thinks that josh Josh McDaniels had complete carte blanche here in New England, he didn't. We asked Josh a couple of times last year about calls, things that happened, and ultimately he said, look, Bill is the final say on this. He's the head coach. So Bill always had that overarching capability. But I think you're going to see more of it this year because Patricia is not a well-versed offensive coordinator. That being said, Claire, you hit on some amazing points, and I'm so glad that you did. His experience working on offense previously, his experience as a head coach, and also his ability to coach defense is something that I think is so frequently overlooked when it

comes to being a good offensive coordinator. How else are you supposed to know how to be able to utilize and exploit holes in a defense than someone who's coached defenses and knows what offensive lines and offensive skill position players will do to neutralize the defense? Keep your friends close, your enemies closer. Maybe Matt Patricia, keeping his enemies on the offensive side of the ball close for a number of years will help him do what he's doing here so great stuff it looked great yesterday to see uh those guys on the field we'll see if that continues now but definitely something to continue to monitor if he continues with that walkie-talkie you know you know we're on to something claire there is one quick point because something else

that we're not really taking into consideration or maybe people aren't taking into consideration is the fact that do we really think that the great Bill Belichick will put his offense in the hands of somebody that doesn't know what they're doing in perhaps his last few years of coaching bearing in mind the thing that people are going to remember is his final few years because it's what's closest to your memory so you really think that the guy that no I don't want Bill Belichick to retire but there's going to be a day that he's going to need to. And unfortunately, those days are getting closer as he's getting older. It's just a fact of life.

So do we really think that Bill Belichick wants the end of his career to be reflected in the fact that he put in charge of his offense, in charge of his kind of second year rookie quarterback that could be a franchise quarterback that could kind of take over the world if you like in the hands of somebody that just doesn't know what he's doing he's just a bumbling idiot when it comes to offense because he's mainly a defensive mind and the other thing is that chap's pretty uh you know he's pretty intelligent i understand he's some kind of rocket scientist so i don't think we should sort of, I mean, NFL rocket science, two different things, of course,

but you've got a guy who's very intelligent. And so I think he really needs to be given some benefit of the doubt, given some chance that he can work this out and be, I think he's got the potential to be a really good offensive play caller. And I just keeping my fingers crossed that I can kind of come back in October and say, see folks, you should have just listened to me from your lips to the ears of the powers that be claire we're definitely hoping along the same lines and you know bottom line folks i mean i know matt patricia is kind of in a thankless spot right now because if he does

succeed people are going to say okay well it's because of bill belichick or it's because of mac jones or it's because he's got Brian Hoyer in there. They'll come up with something. But if he does fail, it's going to be squarely on his shoulders. So Matt understands all of the pressure that's going to be put on him this season. And I think it's going to make him a better coach. I think it's going to make him a sharper coach. And I also think it's going to keep him on his toes.

So you know what? Maybe that's where he needs to be on the edge, keeping himself sharp where he's got to be. If that's the case, we'll see what happens. I think it leads to better output on the offensive side of the ball than maybe a lot of fans think I could be over optimistic. And if I'm wrong, I'll definitely eat crow on that. But at the same time, I still think there's a chance here for this to work out and to work out a little better than most people think so have some faith folks one thing um i don't have much faith in claire is another report over the weekend that i thought would be right up your alley that word that's right folks we are going to talk some tight endage or are we going to talk some tight endage um a patriots player uh in the position right now or in rumored to be uh switching positions

uh to go to the tight end position we're going to talk about that in just a moment and why i don't think it's a great idea but there is some basis for it and it wouldn't be the most crazy thing you've ever heard of we'll discuss that with our resident topic uh expert our subject matter expert in just a moment. But first, Claire, as I said before, summer is coming. And in addition to finding those special moments, you also want to be able to stay energized for all of the summer plans that we all have planned and going on right now. And to do that, you're going to need some food on the go. Built Bars are the perfect snack to take with you on family vacations, outings,

business trips, wherever you want to make sure that the great product at Built Bar is always within your grasp. Throw them in your bags, your kids' backpacks, make sure everyone has a bar so you're fueled for your summer adventures. The best part about Built Bars, Claire, is that they're healthy and they're delicious. No more sacrificing delicious food for health any longer. With Built Bar, you get both. And it's easy. All you have to do is go to Built.com and order now. And all of their great products, whether they be the traditional Built Bars with some amazingly great flavors, check them all out there, folks.

You won't find a dud among them. They're all delicious. The Built Puffs are really incredible. I happen to make great s'mores, by the way, so keep that under your cap. a dud among them. They're all delicious. The Bilt Puffs are really incredible. Happen to make great s'mores, by the way, so keep that under your cap. And also the new Bilt Granola Bars. They're all covered in 100% real chocolate. That means that with Bilt Bar, you can eat healthy

and you can actually enjoy doing it. So don't delay. Do it today. Head over to Bilt.com and enter the promo code LOCK15 for 15% off your next order. That's LOCK15 is the promo code at Bilt.com and enter the promo code LOCK15 for 15% off your next order. That's LOCK15 is the promo code at Bilt.com. Patriots fans, we are about to wrap things up here on this Wisdomous Wednesday with the illustrious Claire Klazzi, Claire Cooper of Pat's Propaganda

and a Claire Perspective of Patriots podcast. And Claire, the Wisdom and Counsel meter broke off a long time ago. You've been bringing it today like only you can. The Class Pizazz, Wisdom, Counsel, it's all here, folks. And it always will be as long as she decides to grace our presence here on the microphone each and every Wednesday on Locked on Patriots. But there was one subject that happened over the weekend, Claire, that I've been dying to pick your brain about and dying to get your opinion on.

It was reported over the weekend, ESPN's Mike Reese. I shouldn't say reported. It was more suggested. I don't want to put words in Mike's mouth. And Mike is really, I think, the pinnacle. Most of us can agree that he is at that top echelon of NFL reporters in any realm, certainly with Patriots media. and I thought he made an interesting point about much maligned much beleaguered wide receiver Nikhil Harry making a move to the tight end position if in fact the Patriots have difficulty moving on from Nikhil and trading him there are certain drawbacks to trying to trade Nikhil Harry first of all finding a trade partner that is probably what the Patriots are finding most difficult right now we know that Nikhil is not 100% locked in see what I did there folks um to being here in New England so if he does want

to move on it is problematic because the Patriots don't want to just necessarily release him outright take a pretty substantial cap hit and get nothing in return. They feel if they can get something for him, it's worth it for them to explore. The problem is, is there's a log jam now at the wide receiver position. It's not like it was last year where Harry basically had the opportunity to come in, make the team. And, and, you know, he had a pretty decent camp if I'm being, if I'm being honest, last season. That didn't translate to the season, the regular season in 2021. So now with Tyquan Thornton as the rookie coming in, Devontae Parker,

he faces an uphill battle trying to leapfrog those two guys for a roster spot. But at tight end, all of a sudden you go from the top two in Hunter Henry and John O'Smith, and now you're looking at Devin Asiasi, who hasn't necessarily been up to expectation. Dalton Keene, who, by the way, yesterday, Dalton spent a lot of time with the first-timers out there on the field. I know because he hasn't been on the field, the Patriots are still treating him

like maybe he does have rookie tendencies, but let's not forget this is year three now for Devin Ossoff for Dalton Keene excuse me for him to be working out with the with the the rookies and those that don't have much experience that could be a telltale sign Matt Sokol I think is a solid camp body probably not much else so when you look at Nikhil Harry and the build that he brings to the table six four solid build a lot of people thought that he could take some snaps at the tight end position. That being said, I don't necessarily know if this is the ideal fit for him to keep him around. Claire, what are your thoughts on this? Can you see the Patriots making this positional switch?

Does it have a chance to succeed, or would this only be to increase his trade value see to be honest with you as a tight-ended enthusiast you'd think i'd be like yes get everybody's a tight end but no i'm really quite against that other than as you mentioned the trade value now i appreciate if they sort of facade him as a tight end to make out that he's more versatile that sort of thing then you know it ups his stock it ups his value and it gives them a benefit as regards to actually utilize him and actually having him down in the Patriots roster as a tight end it's a really big hard note from me because as you mentioned the wide receiver depth is quite significant I know a lot of fans would still like to shout that

the wide receiver one isn't there and and i can sort of see why they would a lot of people would say that parker is that so even if you don't look at the fact of a one two three sort of situation if you just look at the wide receiver core itself there are so many names that you list and i even started to forget the names when I was looking at the sort of list of wide receivers because you've got Kendrick Bourne and Nelson Aguilar from last year that they paid then you've got Parker that's come in like from last year that a lot of people as I mentioned would say wide receiver one you've still got the very successful Jacoby Myers you start to kind of do this and you're like well where's Nikhil Harry going to

fit in roster spots are limited so you start to get the well what you know what is his skill set going to be what's really going to be utilized now granted there may not be another wide receiver on the roster of his stature and sort of of his skill set as we believe but we haven't seen a lot from this guy and that's why he's got sort of, should we say negative press around him? The other thing that doesn't help this chap in matters is the sort of the attitude that he's brought. Now I know a lot of that could say he's more reflected from his agent than actually him as an individual.

And I know that the lines that could be blurred, we don't really know. You only get so much reported. you only get given so much information. So it may be that Nikhil Harry's attitude within the team is fabulous, it's perfect. And it's really his agent that's reflecting in a negative way, sort of back in regards to that. But you get the impression as a fan, maybe as media, that he sees himself as the first round draft pick. Unfortunately, we haven't seen him perform as that first round draft pick. Now, again, you could say that it isn't all reflected on him as an individual because it could be the system in which he has been.

It could be the way that Josh McDaniels did or didn't use him. It could be that under a new offensive regime shall we say even though we to understand a lot of it is going to be the same he might be utilized better which is made that there's this there's there's these whispers sorry um of him talking being a tight end you know utilizing him in a little bit of a different way but i think then you're still looking at okay so if you look at the tight end roster you've got Johnny Smith and you've got Hunter Henry and Nikhil Harry doesn't really match up to either of those guys when it comes to skill set or athletic ability he isn't

really sort of the the wide tight ends that Hunter Henry would be and yeah he is a bit more of a Johnny Smith if you like but if you're telling me that they put Nick, if you've got one spot and you've got Nikhil Harry or you've got Johnnie Smith, I cannot imagine anybody in Patriots Nation is going to choose Nikhil Harry over Johnnie Smith. Now, I'm not saying that they are like the same player. Don't get me wrong. But what I'm trying to do is in a comparison of skill set, when you're looking at a whole roster that you need to build,

when you're looking at skill sets that you need to tick boxes for you've got Nikhil Harry is really if you're looking at putting him at tight end then he's up against Jonu Smith and and as you said all day long everybody's going to take Smith even the unprovenness that we've had of Jonu Smith at the moment you're still going to take him over Jonu you're still going to take Smith over Nikhil Harry sorry then you've got Devin Asiasi. Now, okay, he was a healthy scratch last year. I have not been quite insane. I don't know if they think he's really got something.

However, I cannot see Nikhil Harry having more tight endage than a tight end. So, the fact that Devin Asiasi was a healthy scratch last year, but wasn't let go,

can't really sort of put him anywhere behind Nicky O'Harry as far as I can see, really. So the wide receiver depth chart is fully stacked. He doesn't necessarily have a place. And although the tight end chart isn't exactly stacked, he doesn't really necessarily measure up to those there that he would be compared against or the spot that he would take over so unless Asiasi really is gone and they're looking at it saying that they want a fourth tight end maybe there's some room there but as I as I aforementioned in regards to attitude I think you're sort of looking at it to compensate for

the fact that he was the first round pick and maybe that you don't want to just give up and I don't think that's a good enough reason to sort of force this wide receiver in this tight end hole in all fairness so he's not going to be the sort of full back position he hasn't got that although he's got athletic ability he's got some blocking prowess he hasn't got that ball strength that you see in the more full-back role so I can't even see him being sort of utilised in in that respect whether or not they keep Dalton Keane because you know there's all there's the concerns over injury and as you mentioned he was sort of working out with the rookies you know maybe their confidence in him has waned a little bit or or they're just not sure what they've got they're just not sure of his injury so I can't really see Nikhil Harry being in that sort of

mold so again that's more of your John O'Smith-ish sort of situation. So you're looking at a roster and there's only a few spots and he just doesn't really seem to fit quite in any of the roles. And that's nothing necessarily against him as an individual. I just don't see it of what they've got, what they need to use, that making him into a tight end would be worth anything other than on the surface of utilising him to say, look, this guy has got some versatility, we know of from on paper that he has we just haven't sort of seen it highlighted particularly in games just little scraps here and there so whether or not it's been used as i said on paper

to help sell him that's the only real reason that i can see as a tight-ended enthusiast that we can tag tight ended against nikhil harry is to help you know drive up his price tag shall we say but when it comes to the roster when it comes down to that 53 and it comes to whose te's and whose wrs i don't really see nikhil harry having a patriot slot anymore i hope that he moves on to a team that he can be successful because you know he's not a terrible NFL player we all know this else he wouldn't have been taken in the first round but it's just not Patriots fit and I think they need to I think it's it's the time to accept that and let him move on and just move on as I said there just isn't the room when it comes down to it it's just it's um a numbers game absolutely it

really is a numbers game and i think that is part of what mike's suggestion in the report definitely hammered home at is that this makes him a little bit more marketable it makes him a little bit more versatile people may have a reticence to bring him in as a wide receiver because the fan base that inherits him is automatically going to say the same things about what the Patriots fan base said about him disappears in big moments not really able to run routes correctly uh really never hits his spots that well this is something that has always been the knock on the keel Harry the one thing that everybody is pretty well uh you know in alignment when it comes to giving him his praise for what he can do well is be effective in short yardage situations, be a contested catch weapon. And the fact that he

does have that size, that strength that could make him an effective weapon in short yardage situations, whether you line them up as a receiver or in a tight end pack. And he also demonstrated prowess as a blocker last year, which I think a lot of people look at and say, okay, well, if he can do that, maybe he can be a blocking tight end maybe he can be an occasional you know threat out there in the uh in the open field if that is indeed the case it does make him more marketable but i agree with you right now when you look at what this team has at wide receiver and putting that aside when you look at what this team has a tight end whether it be jonah smith and hunter hen, those guys aren't going anywhere.

Nikhil Harry is not supplanting either one of those guys. But when you look at Asiasi, when you look at Dalton Keene, when you look at Matt Sokol, it's hard to make the argument that Nikhil Harry does enough to be able to unseat any one of those having a backup role in the tight end position at this point. So because of that, I think that Nikhil might be better off operating outside his comfort zone finding more consistency with another NFL team and we'll see if that works either prior to training camp or maybe it works you know a little bit down the line into the season or into the preseason but I think his days here in New England are indeed numbered and I think

the Patriots will have no other alternative but to move on from him because of that numbers game and you can already see it Nikhil is present on the field he was there for mandatory minicamp day one so he's in attendance which does say something about somewhat about his attitude and his dedication he took it seriously enough to be able to show up realize that he was obligated to be there and he is uh didn't work out with the uh with the first team offense yesterday and i know it's minicamp is really not a first team second team but didn't see him take any reps with mac jones yesterday at all i think that might give you a little clue as to what maybe the patriots have in mind for him this year claire it's always a blast always my honor always my privilege to share the microphone with you uh the Klaas Bazaar's Wisdom Council that you've provided here today, second to none.

And I definitely thank you. It is not easy, folks, to be able to gather information, comment intelligently, and then offer a valued opinion when you're so far away, miles and miles away across the pond. But she does it, and she does it extremely well and again i thank you for all of your insight today on minicamp and on training camp and i thank you as well for joining me here each and every wednesday before i let you go countess please let all of our listeners know where they can find you interact with you and what you have coming up on the horizon from the great pen the great voice of claire classy claire cooper oh well as always

you're you're so very welcome you know how can i not be here i've got to say i don't know about all the listeners but i'm just ready for something nice and shiny from blue nile and and i've got hankering for a built bar so yeah you guys have got me hungry and wanting shiny things so yeah but yes you can find me as you mentioned clear perspective. My podcast is out courtesy of fullpresscoverage.com. Last episode was out last week with the lovely Paul Perillo. And this week's is, it should be dropping in a couple of days. So keep your eyes peeled.

As you like to keep a sharp eye out for that. Yesterday's one Patriots place live was so much fun. We had the wonderful from Patriots.com, Fred Kirsch, the boss man himself. So that was a very good laugh. So please do from patriots.com fred kush the boss man himself so that was a very good laugh so please do check that out if you get chance that's on youtube and on all places that you download your podcast courtesy of e2g sports as you mentioned i write for patspropaganda.com so keep an eye on patspropaganda.com for what's what's coming up

i mean people say off season what off season i exhausted. I don't know about anybody else, but I need a vacation or something like that. I'm off-season. What off-season? So, yes, you'll find me all. I am taking no breaks, folks. You will find me on Lockdown Patriots. You'll find me on One Patriots Place Live. You'll find me on Eclair Perspective.

And you'll find me here, there, and everyone on patspropaganda.com when I get a chance to write. So, yeah. No days off, folks. As you can hear, I'm going to be busy right now because I have to make Claire's gift list now for the rest of the year, which includes bill bars, shiny things on Blue Nile.

If anyone wants to send me, I love shiny things, so go over to Blue Nile. If you want to send over via Lockdown, then do get a chance to. She's got class. She's got pizzazz. And she likes shiny things, folks. Remember that.

We will definitely be looking forward to Claire coming back and making our Wednesdays here a bit more shiny, a bit more slee here on. Let's see. You almost made me say one Patriots play on Locked On Patriots here today. Thank you so much, folks, for all of your support for the show, and thank you once again for tuning in to Locked On Patriots each and every Wednesday, each

and every day. Make sure to continue to download, subscribe to, and follow Locked On Patriots wherever you get your podcasts, and also, now that you've listened to Locked On Patriots, make your second listen of the day, the Locked On NFL podcast. All things NFL, mini camps, free agency, all of

the latest news, notes, and analysis from all over the league. The folks over at Locked On NFL do a phenomenal job. So hit the subscribe button to that show as well. Until next week, Countess, thank you so much for all of your wisdom, your counsel, and I appreciate that, and we will see you here next week. Folks, for all of you, until the next time

here on Locked On Patriots, continue to stay safe, stay well, be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone.