Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Mid-Week Mailbag: Kyle Duggar, Marcus Jones, Tight Endage and More — 5/25/22

Episode Date: May 26, 2022

The New England Patriots are in the midst of OTAs, and the process of preparing for 2022 is underway. Joining host Mike D’Abate is Clare ‘ClazzyClare’ Cooper of Pats Propaganda. The dynamic duo open up the Locked On Patriots Mid-Week Mailbag, and discuss topics such as the season outlook of Kyle Dugger, whether rookie cornerback Marcus Jones will become the Pats new do-it-all weapon, the improvements needed for New England’s defense and Clare talks a little ‘tight endage.’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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Coaching conundrums, Marcus Jones as a rookie, a lot of stuff to discuss today, folks. We're opening up the midweek mailbag here on Locked On Patriots. My special guest, Claire Cooper, and I will tackle all of your questions. 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 your first listen every day

and a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Remember, Locked On Patriots, free and available on all platforms wherever you get your podcasts, including on YouTube. So smash that subscribe button, download, subscribe to, and follow wherever you consume your audio podcasts. I am your host, Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated.

I also am your host of Lockdown Patriots, which, of course, is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And folks, it is Wednesday here on Locked On Patriots, meaning only one thing. We tackle the middle ground, we bring virtue,

we bring a little class and a little pizzazz to the show each and every Wednesday, courtesy of my illustrious co-host today, columnist extraordinaire for PatsPropaganda.com, the host of her very own Patriots podcast, A Claire Perspective, which again, folks, defines the term must listen. If you haven't subscribed to it, please smash that subscribe button. You will not be disappointed in one of the great listens that you'll have anywhere in Patriots media. My good friend Claire, classy Claire Cooper, joins me here today as she does each and every Wednesday.

Thank you for joining me today, Miss Lady of Lockdown. You're welcome. Where would I be? It's Wednesday. Where else could I be than in the Lockdown Patriots studios? Folks, that will not be one of the questions we're answering today because that could be an extensive list. But at the same time, I cannot wait to open up the Lockdown Midweek Mailbag. It's been a long time since I've done a mailbag show here on Lockdown. And Claire, I figured Wednesday is the perfect day to do it. Midweek Mailbag. I still can, you know, maintain that alliteration that I do love after all you did dub me the admiral of alliteration at one time see I can't it's been so long I can't

even say it anymore um but uh no all kidding aside it really is something that I've been looking forward to I know you have been as well and with OTA kicking off this week in Foxborough a lot of Patriots players back in action some are not. But there's a lot of questions that Patriots fans have. And we received some excellent questions. Thanks in part to Her Majesty's Loyal Subjects right here. We really and truly did receive some amazing questions.

I want to take the time to thank just a few of you who submitted, of course. Joel Shapiro at Joel Shapiro 20. Joel from Hull, you know him on from Twitter. Great fan of the show. Great friend of the program. We always appreciate that. Chris at

CG the Jedi Master. Chris, tip of the cap to you, my friend. Excellent questions. Phenomenal, phenomenal work. Really, really enjoyed some of these questions. We will get to them today. Tucker, Bradyboy12 at Tucker Roscon on Twitter as well. enjoyed some of these questions we will get to them today uh tucker bradyboy12 at tucker raskan at um on twitter as well tucker is a great friend a great uh friend of the the show and of course

uh big support of the work that i've done over the years and of course claire as well so some really great questions here today claire and where else should we start but the coaching staff? It's been covered ad nauseum. Earlier over the weekend, I should say, I was able to do a solo show where I talked about my concerns about the coaches and what these new coaches are going to bring to the table, how this is all going to work out. I know there's been a lot in the media. I know there's been a lot going on. So the Jedi Master was the one that asked, I think, the question of the day of the week of the month here in New England. Let's start off with that one. And his question reads, with Bill, meaning

Bill Belichick, not naming any defensive coordinator or offensive coordinator, is this a media hang-up or an indictment on the coaches that Bill hires? I've got my thoughts on this, Countess, but I'm going to let you tackle this one first. Based on Chris's question, what do you feel is more of the reason why maybe there's an uproar about the coaching staff? Is it just much ado about nothing and job titles and not giving writers that much to write with or is this really a concern that the Patriots may not be as prepared as they need to be for this season I think we touched upon this ever so slightly last episode more so in regards to Joe Dredge specifically but generally speaking in regards I don't think it's to be honest with you as a fan I don't think it's, to be honest with you, as a fan, I don't necessarily feel at this stage it's a cause for concern

because it's just, it's quintessential Belichick, isn't it? It's label this football. It's, you know, this kind of thing. Yeah, as a fan, it's frustrating. We want to know. We want the information. You know, it's always that. We always want to know kind of what's going on with the team that we adore but at the end of the day it's really not that key for us

because our job is is to spectate the sport and their job is to play the sport in all fairness and so what they decide that they're going to do is kind of on them and I really don't think that Bill Belichick is going to just leave it all to chance and just, oh, let's just, you know, shoot it in the wind and see what happens kind of thing. Throw it against the wall and see what sticks. I like that one. So, you know, I think it's a lot of much to do about Nathim. And Bill Belichick always kind of likes the media, should I say, to be in a stir because he doesn't like to answer the questions

and this, that and the other. So I think it is a frustration. As a fan, I can see that it's a frustration. But I also just kind of feel like, oh, well, you know, as long as they know what they're doing, then that's what's important. That's what's key. And I do believe, and it may seem naive to some people, and that's, you know, in all fairness, that's fair enough, my opinion.

I think it's, they know what they're doing. Even if Bill hasn't labelled them, they know what they're doing. They know the processes they're going through. And the one thing that Bill did say this week, Bill Belichick, that he did say this week, the key thing is it's only May. They don't play proper football until September. Some people would argue they don't play proper football until Thanksgiving. You know, that's only May. They don't play proper football until September. Some people would argue they don't play proper football until Thanksgiving.

You know, that's debatable. But it just feels like it's a little bit too soon to really kind of get concerned about what they are and what they aren't doing now. We haven't had football for a long time. So this is the first sprinkles of football that we've had for a while to have something to sort of worry about and concern about and debate about so I can you know I can see why it's such a big thing at the moment but for me personally I see it as they know what they're

doing Bill the coaching staff if and if they don't know what they're doing now they will kind of by September I'd be surprised that they don't know what they're doing at all you know considering it's such a fundamental organization you know long-standing organization that kind of thing and you know the NFL isn't just a flash in the pan sort of business so to think that they would be set as prestigious as they are and not really know what they're doing I'd be quite surprised but ultimately if it is that sort of instance they're going to know by the time that they need to and that's really what's key so I think I can see why fans are up in arms I can see why it's a concern personally my perspective my eclair perspective is let's not worry too much just yet let's kind of see what's going to happen in all fairness i agree i absolutely agree and i know there's been a lot that's been bandied about especially

this week too uh where bill was maybe not as forthcoming as the media would like him to be monday when when he kicked off uh you know i'm surprised that people are still surprised by this um you didn't think that he was going to sit down and give you a long dissertation it wasn't a question about the long snapper this was a question about intricate details about what's going to happen. Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, there are things that will get Bill Belichick talking. There's no question about it, but this is not one of them, even though it's a very basic question. And in the media, we do have an obligation to ask those questions. I'm definitely not faulting anyone for putting that question out there. That has to be asked. It's our job to do that. But at the same time,

it's also not Bill Belichick's job to answer it necessarily the way that we want to. As much as it may hurt, it really isn't. And Bill Belichick has done more, seen more, forgot more football than I'll ever learn. I can't speak for anyone else but I will say that confidently Bill knows exactly what he's doing there's not a lot of aimless dart throwing going on in the offices at one Patriots place right now that's certainly not the case and anybody that's implying that that thinks that is being coy on Monday was about his own vanity I actually read that earlier this week and I wish I could get the moments of my time back in my day for, you know, kind of wasting my time reading

something like that. But really, I mean, it's just, this is how this business is done. This is how it's operating. And just because we may not get it right now, just because the fans may not get it right now, it doesn't mean that there's not a plan in place Bill Belichick's not going out there and going oddly by now if you want to criticize that plan about whether it's the right one or the wrong one that I think is a different argument then you may have something to bite onto there but to sit there and to say he's clueless he doesn't know what he's doing I think is that utterly ridiculous I mean considering the resume that Bill Belichick has, there's no way he's going into a season without any type of a plan or just kind of flying by the seat of his

pants. That's never been the way this guy does business. And why would he start now at 70 years of age, you know, deciding that he's going to do that. So I believe that there is definitely a plan in place. That being said, Cle Clem Chris asked a very interesting question a follow-up question to this which really I think lends itself into whether it's defensive whether it's offensive is there a particular coach on this staff that you're looking at right now that concerns you a little bit because that's what Chris's question was do any of the current coaches concern you going into 2022 to be honest not really and I say that because I don't feel that I've got the experience to be able to judge somebody doing a job that I know that I could do sort of thing so I'm not concerned in regards to I can see why

people are because I know that they look at Matt Patricia and Joe Judgey's kind of um history as head coaches and they utilize that to judge them going forward and I appreciate why you would do that me personally I'm not concerned at this stage I want to see what these guys have got in their positions when everything's all together and it's on the field in September because that's when it matters that's when it's going to be a part of games and that's when it's going to be key. So I have to admit, what happened in the past in regards to Patricia, Judge, that kind of thing, doesn't have me concerned at the moment.

Again, I might be being naive because I don't have the experience with these, you know, I'm kind of still say that I'm in my rookie season. I'm actually on an extended rookie contract now, in all fairness. I've been with the team for kind of well over five years, but I know that there's fans that... Watch out, that option's coming up.

I know, yeah. This is it. They're probably going to trade me to the Texans. I mean, they trade everybody to the Texans, don't they? So, yeah, I'll be on my way over to there soon. But no, seriously, I know that there's fans out there, kind of diehard fans since they were in diapers and that kind of thing and full respect to those they have seen a lot more that judge has

done they've seen a lot more that patricia has done to to make these kind of accusations to to form these opinions on these coaches and and i you know i haven't got that kind of wealth of experience behind me i've only got these handful of years sort of thing but even so what happened in the past sort of feels in the past to me the team itself the Patriots team itself is very different you you've got it under a rookie well a second year sorry I suppose Matt Jones isn't technically a rookie but you know you've you've got this second year quarterback that they haven't had for such a long time because they had Tom Brady for 20 years, that kind of thing. So there's a lot of different about this team.

And I think that it's difficult to judge performances in regards to that until we've really seen it. So at the moment, Chris, no, I've got to admit, I'm not really concerned. I'm interested to see how it can unfold and I'm sort of fully aware that it could really crash and burn in regards to kind of Patricia not doing that great and that kind of thing so you know with him being a defensive mind and in the offensive situation all those sorts of things and I appreciate all of those in all fairness but kind of for me personally to answer the question I'm not at this stage concerned I'm actually interested to see how they work how it unfolds and sort of what we've got in store as Patriots fans yeah I agree I think that in a lot

of ways I think most Patriots fans are maybe concerned about the coaching staff but I think we can all agree that there's not a crisis in New England and I know that's the national narrative that everybody's kicking up now but you look at guys like Matt Patricia like Joe Judge and we will flip it over to the other side of the coin too and Stephen Belichick and you know the job that he's doing in coaching the outside linebackers and also you know coaching the uh you know the really I mean being the defensive play caller there are a lot of questions around a lot of these guys and I know there are fans right now that are not happy with the decisions that have been made in foxborough with the coaching staff this year but to sit there and to say that any one coach gives me any more concern than the other really

i i don't think is fair and that's not something i'm willing to go out on a limb on and say right now i don't have i have questions about joe judge and what he's able to do. We saw a very, very limited sample on Monday, but he did work very closely with Mac Jones. He's been saying that. Mac's been saying all the right things. Joe's been saying all the right things. We'll see how that relationship progresses. Patricia was very much involved in the offensive line coaching. Each of these guys took a little bit of a turn calling the plays and kind of directing traffic during seven on sevens, 11 on 11 drills on Monday. So this is going to be something interesting. And

who kind of gains the upper hand here? Who ends up doing more work as these camp practices really kind of progress? We haven't even gotten to minicamp yet. So that's going to be interesting to see. And on the defensive side of the ball, I do think you're going to see Gerard Mayo take on a little bit more responsibility in those areas this year, but Steven Belichick is still going to do this. And at the end of the day, I wrote about this the other day for sports illustrated, Bill Belichick is still the one. He's still the guy at the top of that list in the red zone in the final two minutes, Bill Belichick was the one calling the offensive plays. He was getting his hands in there. Spent a lot of time on offense.

You know that he's very concerned about that. And when he puts his hands in the pot right there, you know that he's trying to get these guys on the same page. So concern for the coaching staff, maybe. Crisis for the coaching staff, definitely not. And I think we both agree on that. And I hope you guys agree on that too. And if you don't, I understand where you're coming from from just rest assured that it'll all be worked out in the wash

as OTA mini camp and then training camp progress as the Patriots head toward the preseason. Claire we're only scratching the surface right now with some of the great questions that we've got. Claire and I are going to talk a little defense in the next segment exactly what's going to happen with that defense that faltered down the stretch after a promising start in 2021 we'll get to that Marcus Jones Kyle Duggar and a whole lot more but first today's episode is brought to you by the great folks over at Athletic Greens they put out a fantastic product folks that I have been proud to say I've been using every single day let's face it we all want more energy the days are getting longer the weather's getting warmer summer is

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columnist extraordinaire and podcast host extraordinaire for Pat's Propaganda, and a Claire perspective at Patriots Podcast, respectively, lending her wisdom and counsel, her clazz and pizzazz the way only she can. And Claire, in the previous segment, we got the coaching talk out of the way, but good questions and solid questions by the Jedi Master himself. And I appreciate those questions, Chris. We both do. But at the same time, it's not just about coaching. It's not just about offensive concerns. There are concerns about the

defense of the New England Patriots because at the end of the year, last year, Claire, this defense did look a little older, a little slower, maybe a step behind. Uh, and at times they looked like they were going to have difficulty stopping some of these high-powered, high-octane offenses that we know they're going to see again this year. Buffalo's not going anywhere anytime soon. Baltimore is going to be right there with Lamar Jackson. They're going to have their offense.

Miami has beefed up their offense in terms of speed, adding Tyreek Hill and a whole host of fast running backs, whether it be Raheem Mostert, our old friend Sonny Michelle, Chase Edmonds. They're going to have guys that can really get after it. Obviously, Kansas City is always going to be in that mix as well with Patrick Mahomes and some of the great players they have. New England is going to have their fair share of competition this year, and I know Kansas City's not on their schedule, but when you look at this Patriots defense, and again, the Jedi Master once again, you know,

powered this great question. He wants to know if we're concerned about the makeup of the Patriots defense considering how badly they got burned by Buffalo, for one, as his example. Your thoughts on this defense coming up this year, Claire, what changes do you expect to see the Patriots make? It's all about concerns with you, Chris. We need you to be more positive, less concerns, more excitement. As regards to concerns for the team as a whole, not just the defense,

the team as a whole is different this year they've got a lot of new pieces there's a lot of pieces particularly on the defense that were in the system last year but weren't utilized concerns no sorry i don't mean to be like the um the power of positivity and this that the principle of positivity as you like to call me but I at this stage it just feels kind of too early to be concerned because we don't really know what we've got or what they've got should I say in regards to the Patriots yes last season the defense wasn't great against the run and this that the other and they need to set the edge and all the things that you guys like to sort of say with the keys to the game and stuff like that but that was last season this is this season and we've got new sort of, we've got new blood. We've got new situations.

We've got new teams that we're playing kind of on the schedule this year. You know, there's a lot of new to sort of be excited about. Let's not be concerned about things. Let's be excited. Let's anticipate what they've got to do. And yeah, there's a good chance that this year might not so you know we may still be in that rebuilding stage as I know people like to say but it's Mac's second year so who knows he had a really good first year for a rookie so

his second year if he just improves on that that's great in regards to the offensive side we've got guys on the defensive side that were in the system that hopefully are going to be utilised this year in regards to kind of Bledsoe and McGrone, that kind of thing and other names that are now just going to escape me while I'm looking at the camera just to make me look like a complete dummy. But yeah, there's all those guys that we had sort of last year that have been in the system.

So they've learnt the system, which is great. And now hopefully they can hit the system which is great and now hopefully they can hit the ground running and sort of perform so in all fairness to answer the question i hope it doesn't sound like a cop-out but no chris i don't really have concerns at this stage i just have the anticipation of seeing how it's all going to pull together and looking forward to when the season does start to see what they do have yes there's always the worry that those you know who are in the fold may not perform because we didn't see them last year the new the new add additives from the draft may not be you know up to scratch that kind of thing the ones that they've kept in regards to mccordy that kind of thing may may kind of be should we say past their prime i'm

not saying he is but there's there's these chances that the ones that they've retained are kind of getting into the stages of you know too far into their into their careers that kind of thing there's always possibilities there's always chances of this but at this stage we don't know so I just like to sort of look forward to seeing what they have got and just sort of hoping that it is really successful and it comes together of course there's a chance there's not and there's a lot of people that don't like to be sort of too positive about it and you know saying it's unrealistic and I completely respect that but at this stage for me my opinion if you're asking me the question it's no sort of not concerned looking forward to the anticipation mild excitement to see see what they can bring and what's on the field excellent I. I'm glad. I'm glad that you're, you know, got that optimism and that's always, always good.

I'll play contrarian over here. And I'm not saying that you're wrong here. So I don't want to give that impression. The concerns that I have about the defense are not concerns that I think are insurmountable goals. I think the Patriots can shore this up. But one concern that I have is the middle part of that interior of the defensive line, because I don't think the Patriots quite got the nose tackle performance that they were

expecting out of Devon Godchild last year in order to be a run stuffer. Lawrence Guy, I thought, had a very good season. Christian Barmore really emerged as one of the best rookies last year. I mean, there were times where it looked like he was almost neck and neck with Mack for top rookie on the team with the way he was playing at some knee injuries down the stretch that kind of slowed his production. And really, I think took the focus off of what he was doing when he was commanding a couple of guys and being double teamed that freed up Matt Judon to get after the passer and the Patriots pass rush looked that much better as a result of it. Now you're looking at a team that maybe did look a little bit older and slower last year because

they didn't have those linebackers those people in the middle part of the defense or edge rushers that could pin their ears back and get after the quarterback in the style that they wanted to play that can be a problem so how do the Patriots go ahead and address that I haven't seen too much addressed on the defensive line so that's why that's still a concern for me I'm not as worried about the linebackers as a lot of people are because Patriots have three good young linebackers on this staff in that vein that I think can really make a difference on this team I'm going to put Anthony Jennings aside for a moment because I think he's versatile enough to be able to play on the outside or the inside. And I think it's going to determine as to how he's going to be groomed during training camp to see what the Patriots have in store for

him. But in terms of guys that can add that speed into this linebacking core, obviously, Mack Wilson coming over from Baltimore is a big – excuse me, from Cleveland. Freudian slip there. Freudian slip there. They used to be Baltimore at one time. Baltimore and Cleveland do have a history there, so it's not completely off the radar there.

I apologize for that one, folks. But Mack coming over I think is going to be interesting to see. This kid does have the type of sideline speed that the Patriots have lacked, and I think he's a better fit in this defense than Chase Winovich was. I love Chase. I wish him nothing but the best in Cleveland, one of the great guys that I ever covered here in New England, just forthcoming, easy to talk to.

But I don't think his skill set necessarily fit in the way the Patriots hope they could fit him in. I think Matt comes in and he's a very good player for that system. Josh Uche is someone that I think really needs to step up because the film that I watched on him from his days at Michigan, he can play in the 4-3, he can play in the 3-4, he can switch when the Patriots want to maintain different switch alignments. He can get into the 4-2. He can even play a 5-1. These are the types of different defensive sets and defensive fronts that the Patriots

like to put out. They tend to be married to that 3-4, but we see them switch it up all the time. Boucher can play in any one of these, and I think he's going to have to prove that in order to be the solid player that he needs to be. Cam McGrone is another one that really, I think, could have been a much higher draft pick in 2021 if he was healthy. The Patriots lucked out with this kid, and I think you're going to see that on the field,

and you're going to see what he can do. The other player that I do want to mention is also Raekwon McMillan, who had his season cut short last year by an ACL injury, but he was enjoying a solid camp performance on Monday. He was out there working with those linebackers as much as anyone, and he continues to improve. I really love what I've seen out of Raekwon, and I think he's going to continue to bolster. So to answer your question, Chris, yes, there are concerns, and I do have that concern about the middle part, and I'd like to see the Patriots address that

or see how they're going to address it in OTA. But right now, that's still my outstanding concern. But I think they will get faster and I think they will get better with the linebacking core. And that leads me quite nicely into, I guess, a combination final question here on the defense. And Chris had a good question. And also, I also wanted to give um

tucker a um a little bit as well because these guys ask questions on specific players and um actually joel i'm sorry i apologize joel joel was the one that asked the question on kyle duggar we talk about hybrid linebacker type versatile safeties, Claire, whether it be Adrian Phillips, whether it be Jabril Peppers, who's coming over now as a free agent. But Duggar, to me, is that guy that was brought in here to fill the shoes of Pat Chung. And I think he's done a phenomenal job of doing that. He really is settling into the box safety and that that star role that that he would like to play. He and Adrian, I think, do a great job of working off of one another joe wants to know if we think he may make a significant leap in production this year over last year with the patriots incorporating more speed into their

linebacking core does this mean do you believe that this means maybe a bit more action for kyle well i had to mull this one over in all fairness because I wasn't too sure in regards to if he's going to make a leap because I know that whenever it gets talked about in in this people are looking for the significant difference and I don't know if we're going to see a significant difference in his performance because of the sort of the other players that are around him as you said the developmental into speed that sort of thing it's all going to be in regards to his pitch count how many snaps this guy takes and it's not going to be so much his performance it's more to do with how much they need to sort of use him don't forget we've still

got Devin McCourty in his final seasons over there. So there's more bodies in camp to possibly take away snaps. And obviously a reduction in snaps is going to be a reduction in stats. So I don't see him as someone that necessarily needs to make a large leap in his skill set. He's a good player. We've seen that he's a good player as you said taking on the patrick jung role reasonably nicely so i don't necessarily have him down as a name or an individual that you're looking to have way bigger numbers from of course you hope there's an improvement you always hope that sort of players improve year on year developmental you know grow within the team integrate within the

team better that sort of thing so but i don't really see him as an individual i personally team as an individual to have a concern you know a chris concern shall we say a concern about you know worried about his performance in regards to his second year sort of within the team so looking for a vast expanse of difference I don't really see it myself personally I don't think it's sort of necessarily necessary there's a lot of other players that are sort of going to be you know on that half of the fields that we're going to look at and are looking to increase in their stats and to increase in their skill set I think he's he's he's a good player and as long as he kind of sort of moseys on his merry way and continues to be sort of the best version of himself that

sort of thing I'm not worried um he's not somebody that I'm pinpoint looking at as I said because he's going into his third year I don't really see him as a player that needs to have that jump in the year because he hasn't been sort of so underperforming that we've necessarily seen and there's a lot of other players to sort of keep your sharp eye on at the moment that we're looking at sort of with more intrigue because we sort of don't know what they can do whereas we sort of know what that guy can do and we're happy with it and just sort of want him to see him sort of going forward just improve the way that any sort of regular player would improve year on year absolutely very very well put and look bottom line with Kyle Duggar and this is the thing that I believe he's going to continue to get better each and every year a la Devin McCourty uh who really I the games are not similar and I'm not

comparing them like for like folks so this is not what I'm trying to get at with this comparison but being a student of the game and being able to pick up the playbook being able to understand the nuances of a defense that is complex like the one that the Patriots run is something that not every player can do and I remember talking to a couple of scouts after Kyle had been drafted and everybody in New England was up in arms that they took a division two kid Lenore Ryan no one ever heard of the school most people had and our good friend Steve Balistrieri had heard of it several times but most people hadn't really heard of Kyle hadn't really heard of what he had done I scouted him a little bit pre-draft that year and I remember thinking this would be the ultimate Patriots pick very very similar to Cole Strange this year.

I didn't think he'd go as high as he did, but I thought he'd be on the Patriots radar. And it didn't surprise me that they had drawn a beat on this kid because the scouts told me this is a man among men. And I think what they meant by that was his ability to interpret what an offense is going to do and read an offense and be able to incorporate what he can do well into the into the defensive structure that a team has in place is something that this kid had already mastered by the time he stepped on a football field in college i know the knock on him was that he played against division two competition he's proving over the course of the last couple of years he can play against the highest level competition at the pro level

kyle was excellent he was very instrumental being able to shut down some very difficult um you know players that he played against he knows how to defend the tight end which i know you you know you have a pension for don't worry folks we're going to discuss tight endage today you didn't think we were going to get through the mailbag episode without doing it. No way. The countess would not allow it. And when the countess is displeased, we don't know what to do here. So we have to always keep that in mind.

But in any case, I think Duggar being able to take that step forward is something that I think he'll continuously do. So, Joe, excellent question. No question about it. I think that everyone is looking forward to seeing what this safety set can do. Patriots have a hell of a trio in the box this year that I can't wait to see how they divvy up these reps, whether it be Kyle Duggar getting them, whether it be Adrian Phillips in the star position, or whether it be Jabril Peppers now coming in and maybe acting as a hybrid linebacker. These guys are all so versatile that it allows the Pats to do a lot of different things. And very similar to when Adrian came in a couple of years ago, people were wondering

how they were going to deploy him. Everybody thought he was going to be just a special teams player. And I kept beating the drum on him and saying, no, Bill Belichick brought him in to play defense folks. He didn't bring him in just for special teams. He sees something in him. Not something he did a whole lot of with the Chargers, but he's really doing a great job of it here in New England.

Had to get my Adrian Phillips plug in there, Claire, I hope you don't mind. Folks, we are almost ready to close the mailbag here on Lockdown Patriots, but not just yet, because we still have to discuss Claire's favorite subject, tight endage, but we're going to kick off the next segment with a question from one of Claire's colleagues. That's right, folks. We're going to talk about the rookies

in just a moment here on Locked On Patriots as we continue this mailbag, midweek mailbag episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast. But first, as you know, it is a great time to be a sports fan. There's so much going on, whether it be basketball playoffs, hockey playoffs, Major League Baseball, it's all going on right now. And if you're like me, you love to have your sports fandom

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and are relatively new, or with a scheduled repair or replacement timeline. Earn up to $1 per square foot per year in lease payments. Go to catalystpower.com slash LockedOnPatriots to learn more. Patriots fans, once again, we are delving into the midweek mailbag here on Locked On Patriots. I am always, always honored and humbled to be joined by my illustrious co-host today,

Claire Classey, Claire Cooper of Pits Propaganda and Claire Perspective of Patriots podcast, lending wisdom, counsel, class, and pizzazz the way only she can. And Claire, we've talked a lot about some various topics, whether it be coaching, whether it be defense. We've talked a little on the offense, but the one thing that we haven't honed in on that much yet is rookies. And I understand that a colleague of yours had a question for you specifically about which rookie you're looking forward to seeing out there on the

field enlighten us countess um who asked you that question first of all and um we're all waiting to hear the answer yeah well just a big thank you to tom shaw mellers my colleague um at pats propaganda.com tom's doing a great job over there and he's a he's a lovely work colleague i absolutely adore working with him so yeah he sent me um a late question he missed the mailbag but being being my you know my uh bro in work then i let it slip through and he asked about the rookie that i was most excited about on the patriots now this is a very complex question and a very complex answer because the rookie that I am most excited about isn't even on the Patriots and he's not even a rookie for this year he was a rookie from last year and it's Pat Frameth the tight end for the Steelers no I'm only kidding although I am still

very very very sad that he's not a Patriot in all seriousness my drafted this year rookies that I'm most interested in again aren on on the patriots because they're two tight ends and they both went to the flipping giants i hate the new york giants now they took daniel ballinger and austin allen so greedy of them how rude to take both tight ends that i was really interested in i know the patriots were never going to actually like draft one but an undrafted one seriously people an undrafted free agent would it have been so difficult but anyway moving my sort of rage along in all in all seriousness as we like to say excuse me yeah the the patriots rookie that i am most interested

in is actually quite surprisingly probably to most people And a lot of people are going to grow now and put their head in their hands and everything. And I can fully appreciate why. But I am an offensive line girl and I am really looking forward to Cole Strange. Now, he plays the kind of sort of football that I like. He plays, they say that he plays angry. And it just, I'm just interested to see how the offensive line is going to look with him and I think he's going to be pretty much a starter now I don't know if he's going to be a sort of a whole season starter with him being a rookie but he's kind of one of the one of the

individuals who's going to be a plug and play so so we're led to believe I must admit um so I'm really interested to see how our O-line looks with this big guy in it and that's the kind of sort of bit of the game that really excites me is the offensive line and the tight ends and stuff like that so yeah that's personal indulgence so he's definitely somebody that I'm interested in and some of it is probably because of the fact that he's one of the sort of most NFL ready of the guys that they have they drafted because you've got such things as Marcus Jones now I understand that he probably would be a plug and play but he's returning after a shoulder injury so it doesn't sound like he's necessarily going to be a initial season beginning

starter and sort of the the other guys that that were taken the sort of undrafted and things like that all the sort of those individuals that they drafted are not necessarily ready kind of as as we're led to believe I must admit I'm only kind of going on things that I've heard and seen then they may start um Thornton straight away and with his speed and stuff like that but led to believe with the later round picks and stuff like that they're more sort of practice squads that kind of thing so cole strange to me seems to be the most guaranteed of the initial starters of the drafted individuals now i'm probably completely wrong and they start all of them and that's fair enough it's just in regards to being a higher round pick being his skill set

being what I've heard what I've read about him he looks like the most NFL ready individual so to me it's sort of a bit of a safe bet that he's going to be probably the most one of the sort of most guaranteed starters but genuinely he is in a position of what I am interested to see and I hope that he really solidifies that offensive line because I think it's such a key element in regard to the team is getting that line strong protecting that quarterback giving Mac time to throw even if Thornton can throw really really quickly sorry run really really quickly Mac if Mac hasn't got time to throw to him it doesn't matter how fast that guy could run down the field.

He can be running out of the stadium for all we know, in all fairness, because if Mack's on his bum, he can't throw the ball. So the offensive line I see is a very important key. So that's probably why I sort of verge towards Cole Strange. I'm interested to see all of the starters. I really am. I didn't really scout say scout scout very generally

um in regards to research and stuff like that is what i mean by when i say scout obviously my scouting abilities but yeah i i didn't really look into any of the guys that they did take i know a lot of people didn't either so it's i have that element of interest and intrigue to see what they've all got how they all work within the system that kind of thing but putting it down to just one guy my answer on that particular question tom would be i am interested to see what cole strange has got for our offensive line so mike rookie are you most looking forward to seeing strange days coming for uh for claire apparently all kidding aside i think that is i mean obviously you know you know, you go in the first round. I mean, you're definitely going to have all eyes on you.

You know, I always gravitate toward the defense, and I still think the biggest hole on this team is a corner, and I still think that there's still the most question marks surrounding that position. So who am I looking forward to? Marcus Jones. I love this kid. I absolutely love this kid. I scouted him beforehand.

Murph and I went back and forth a little bit on him early on in the days where we were, you know, kind of musing everyone's mock drafts and whatnot about whether or not Jones was going to be a fit here. And I just always liked this kid coming in. I know a lot of people say, oh, you know, lack of size, only 5'8", not going to be an outside presence, but that's not what he's coming here to be. I think he's a phenomenal athlete. Breakaway speed for this kid, great athleticism, really shows that he can get after the target in pass defense.

I love his ability to tackle in the open field as well, which I think can make him an effective weapon in the slot, maybe even on the perimeter on occasion, because he plays a lot bigger than his 5'8 frame. Elite return skills. I think they've definitely gotten their gunner replacement and i'm gonna have to find a new meme for this kid but eventually i will folks don't worry i'm on it uh but was it painful for you to say that mike we need to know was it painful for you to say that he's the gunner replacement it really really is i'm still you know at this point i think i'm still gonna like just tweet out random space ball stuff but uh not you know obviously not that one i had to retire

that uh well i shouldn't say that because the patriots do play the steelers in week two of the season this year so maybe i'll get a chance to uh you know resurrect it for that game uh but i really love what marcus jones can bring to table. But an outside part of me is also loving the fact that the Patriots were able to pick up Jack Jones on the through Arizona state. This kid, I think has enough versatility to play on the inside. He can play on the outside as well. Really I think worked very prominently with the defense on Monday. That shows a lot of faith in a rookie coming out and playing very early on.

I know it's OTA and I know these aren't meaningful snaps, first of all, but this is something that I think is worth monitoring. I love the way this kid can play. He's a man cover corner. And I think if the Patriots find out that they want to play more man and incorporate more man coverage, I think signing Malcolm Butler was kind of a, I don't want to say a giveaway that they were going to look to play a little bit more zone, but they're going to have to play some

man. And at this point, I think Jack Jones may be one of the better players on this staff right now that can do it. Are we seeing the new Steph Gilmore then? You know, I don't necessarily know if he's going to be you know stefan 2.0 i hold stefan gilmore in such high regard uh one of the great players i've ever had a chance to cover um and i just to me he's on a different pedestal but when you look at what jack jones brings to the table he's you know 511 adequately sized maybe some people would say a little bit undersized to be an adequate outside corner in this uh league but i think again he's a guy who plays a lot bigger than his frame and i

really like what they've done here uh with the uh with the tool jones is here with the dual dual generation of jones is in the defensive backfield and you got jonathan jones right now is the elder statesman in the slot so i know this can really be interesting uh but that was a great question and that actually also leads me quite nicely into the next question that we received from tucker tucker raskin brady boy 12 on twitter and that is is marcus jones going to align at wide receiver at any point this season can we expect to see him maybe take a few snaps tucker i believe he will uh i think that the patriots love trickery they've just because josh mcdaniels isn't there doesn't mean that's going away uh bill belichick likes to catch

teams off guard as well so that lends i think very nicely into that point and uh you know tucker i really appreciate you asking that question because i do believe you're going to see him align. Now it's going to be in very select packages. You're not going to see him on the depth chart, but at the same time, I think you're going to see him align that wide receiver on occasion, because this kid has blazing speed as the ability to get out there after it, you see both he and Taequann Thornton and, you know, lining up, that's going to be really interesting to see what the Patriots can do. So just because they don't have the names necessarily at wide out doesn't mean the Patriots don't have the talent to be able to do it.

You pick your poison at that point. Marcus Jones can catch the ball, folks. So that should be interesting to watch, and it should be a lot of fun. Claire, it's almost time to close up the midweek mailbag here but we could not do it in good faith without talking a little tight endage and you had a question directed to you on YouTube this earlier this week um by one of our good friends uh over in uh over in YouTube land um and the question directed to you from the uh it question directed to you from the, it was directed to you from the count,

to the countess from King Kato 21, which I absolutely love that screen name, by the way, on YouTube. Does the lack of bringing in a tight end mean they are thinking Asi Asi can make a third year leap? Claire, this one's all you.

I am going to give you the baton countess. Take us home. What, what, what are your thoughts on this tight-endage thought, and how does it lend in to what you believe will lead to maybe a more productive year for some of the tight ends out there? Well, to be honest, thank you for the question, first of all. Love the tight-ended questions please youtube people keep them coming so that mike has to ask them for me so thank you very much so yeah i've got to admit as i think i may have mentioned in an episode probably a little while ago now i don't necessarily see this as a year for assy assy now i am going to be proved wrong we all know this because as soon as the words drop from my mouth bill goes right that's it we're am going to be proved wrong. We all know this because as soon as the words drop from my mouth,

Bill goes, right, that's it. We're definitely going to have to do the opposite of what she's saying. It always seems to happen. But to be honest with you, for me, although I know I said earlier in the show about the past kind of being the past and we're going to see what we've got moving forward, I have to say 17 games as a healthy scratch for a whole season just seems a lot and this is something that I know that we've talked about that I've talked about I talked about

it on my show my recent episode of a clear perspective with Paul Perillo in regards to sort of a whole year as a healthy scratch does that not show something kind of indicate something in regards to it and paul had a really great answer and i'm not going to kind of spoil it so i hope that you all go and listen to a clear perspective episode 32 with paul forello wherever you can get your podcasts so i'm not going to spoil his answer my personal opinion of it is i don't necessarily feel that they have seen in asi asi kind of what they want so why they haven't moved on i'm not really so sure but bearing in mind i'm still in my rookie contract what do i know kind of thing but a lot of people say it's a make or break year for him yeah it's going to be

because it's his third year in the system they have brought in another tight end uh we haven't really sort of covered him in all fairness and i'm gonna mispronounce his name uh so call he hasn't actually played a matzo hole thank you he hasn't from what i understand he hasn't actually suited up for it as an in an nfl game um he's been on practice squads because i know he's came from the Lions um and previous to that he was on oh I knew this before I came on air um it fails me the Lions was his second team anyway so they brought in a more a veteran a more veteran-ish tight end if you like I don't know I just I'm torn between sort of what I kind of think and what I sort of want.

And that the what Klazikla wants kind of seems to be pushing out what she thinks all the time, what's logical, because I just want them to clear the cupboard out and I just want them to get some new tight ends. But they didn't take anybody as an undrafted free agent. So that kind of threw that one out the window as well and made me very cross, as you all can tell. Yeah, if they're going to keep Asiassi this has got to be his year to perform but it's you could argue well they're going to let him perform because he was a healthy scratch for 17 games we haven't been able to see what this kid can do granted they've seen what he can do and they obviously don't completely hate him else they would have traded him there's still time yet folks so yeah keep your eyes peeled on that one

I'm very much of the idea that the asiati might still be a trading free agency it's highly unlikely but there's still these possibilities i just i don't know it's one of those conundrums that keeps kind of coming back to me that i keep kind of pinging back and forth because all i can keep thinking of is as i keep repeating is the 17 games is a healthy scratch when When you've got Jono Smith not in the system properly, not gelling in the system properly, sorry, and Hunter with, you know, injury niggles, Jono Smith injury niggles. You've got two, yes, you've got two very big name tight ends that were paid a lot of money. So they were paid to play. And I fully appreciate that.

But to not give either of those guys a little bit of a rest a little bit of respite with a young kid that had been in the system for two years at all just it seemed so glaring to me it seems such a beacon of obviousness of is he not sort of what they want in the system for them to not utilize him at all a little bit okay but not at all really threw red flags for me in all fairness so i don't necessarily see this year as sort of being any different i'm still hoping waiting to see if they bring somebody else in over in free agency you never know folks they might ring up the steelers and say we really need pat frimuth on our. What do we need to do to get it done? Yeah, Claire wants that more than you could possibly imagine, folks.

She so does. You know, I love the fact that you are the principle of positivity. I really agree with you. I haven't even run down your names yet. We've had so many great questions here today. Don't worry, folks. We'll publish another volume of Claire's names in a little while. But no, all kidding aside, Pat Fr fram up is not coming to new england i know i say

this now watch two years from now you're gonna play this back you're gonna shove it right in my face and say see i told you he was coming here um who knows i mean i thought that about more chance of iso coming back and he ain't coming back so we've got you know so you know what i never thought covering hunter henry as a rookie when i've got you know what i never thought covering hunter henry as a rookie when i was covering the chargers i never believed that i would actually see him in a patriot's uniform i looked at this kid and said no he's going to be a charger for life they're going to lock him up i would love to see him in new england yeah and sure enough here he is he's in new england so you never know stranger things have happened but at the same time for me yet

there is hope there is, on this anyway. We don't know about everything else. Really? There is no hope for me, folks. Send cookies. But in any case, in any case, I do think that you make a great point

on Asiasi. I think he really faces a very, very difficult camp right now. Obviously, the Patriots have stockpiled at a lot of different positions. I think he really faces a very, very difficult camp right now. Obviously, the Patriots have stockpiled at a lot of different positions. I was very impressed with what I saw from Ty Montgomery on Monday. So they're going to look to fill positions where they know that they're going to need depth and a tight end. When you have two guys like Hunter Henry and John Smith that are capable of carrying the load, there may only be room for another tight end on this roster. Is Asiasi's skill set enough to overtake what Dalton Keene can do in versatility?

That's going to be the big key. And I think that that's something that we'll continue to monitor. And we'll be back up at Gillette next week to, you know, take a look at what the Patriots have in store for week two of OTA, heading into minicamp, which starts in June. June 6th, I believe uh is going to be the first day uh for uh for this uh squad uh coming into mandatory mini camp and then we'll really see what the team is going to start to look like heading into training camp but don't worry folks

i don't need to be at gillette to keep a sharp eye on those titans so i will be reporting back for you as much as possible absolutely claire has feed. She's tapped into it. She's all set. She's got a radar. It's like an ESP type thing with Claire. You know, she sits there and she receives the signals and they just kind of like, you know, magically appear. It really is.

It is. It's great. It's, you know, it's us all keeping her informed in the pipeline, folks. But she really does have a radar and a sixth sense. And, Conis, that's why they're asking you the questions. They want the wisdom. They want the counsel.

They want the class. They want the pizzazz. Claire, what can I say? You've delivered all four of those. You broke the meter off when it comes to all of them. And it's always my honor, my privilege, and my great pleasure to join you on the microphone each and every Wednesday. Folks, thank you so much for taking the time to submit the great questions that you have

for this week's mailbag. Ran a little long today, didn't get to every one of the questions that we got, but I specifically want to thank Chris. I want to thank Joel. I want to thank Tucker. I want to thank Cato for the great questions that they put out either through YouTube

or through our Twitter channel. So please be sure to continue to stay locked into Locked On Patriots. Follow us on Twitter at LO underscore Patriots and also don't hesitate to smash that subscribe button and download, subscribe to, and follow the Locked On Patriots podcast on all

of your favorite platforms. I thank my esteemed, illustrious co-host today, Claire Clasiclair Cooper. Follow her on Twitter folks, at Clasiclair. Check out all of the great written work that she does at Pat's Propaganda. Her and Tom run a phenomenal program there. Always must-reads for the both of them.

I can't recommend highly enough following them, checking both of them out, and definitely reading their work. And of course, if you're not subscribed to A Claire Perspective, a Patriots podcast just yet, you've got to do it. You absolutely have to do it. It's one of the great listens you will have anywhere in Patriots media. Countess, until next week, I look forward to joining you on the microphone. But until tomorrow, Foxborough faithful, stay safe, stay well,

be the change that you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone.