Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots: Drake Maye, Antonio Gibson, Chad Ryland and More — MidWeek Mailbag

Episode Date: June 6, 2024

Since the start of their offseason workouts, New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo has been cautious to advise that rookie quarterback Drake Maye is still in the developmental stages of his pro career. However, might his progress allow him to take the reins as New England’s starter sooner than later? Host Mike D’Abate welcomes Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy to discuss Maye’s timetable, the acquisition of Antonio Gibson and the potential battle at kicker between Chad Ryland and Joey Slye on MidWeek Mailbag. #nfl #patriots   Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFm... Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-... And follow host Mike D’Abate on X, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans — @mdabateNFL  Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! BetterHelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON today to get 10% off your first month. eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotors.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply. FanDuelFanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning GUARANTEED That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – with any winning FIVE DOLLAR BET! Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

The calendar may read June 5th, but is it going to be May sooner than you think for the New England Patriots? Stick around, 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. And also your first listen each and every day. Remember, Locked On Patriots is not only a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

But we are also free and available on all platforms, including YouTube. So smash that subscribe button and download and follow Locked On Patriots wherever you get your podcasts to ensure that you're getting the latest episode as soon as it's available. I'm your host, Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots. For Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated, reach out to me. Let me know what's on your mind on

X at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L. And while you're out there showing some love to Locked On Patriots social media style, please follow our account there as well at L-O underscore Patriots. And Pats fans, today's episode brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime

app, create an account, and use the code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. And Pats fans, a little bit of a hiatus over the weekend, but we are starting things off strong with a midweek mailbag, a trio of amazing questions once again. And if it's mailbag day, you know we are contractually obligated. But most of all, we are honored and humbled to have the man alongside us that's going to help us answer all your questions and solve all your problems in Patriots Nation. The legend himself, Thomas Murphy. Thank you for coming to me in friendship on this midweek mailbag day. Oh, I'm happy to be here, Michael.

Happy to be here. You know, midweek mailbag, the Pony Express hump day, you know, whatever you want to call it, I'm here for it. Absolutely. And you know what? It's not mailbag Monday, but it's still midweek mailbag. And that's still enough alliteration for me to kind of hang my hat on. So I like it. And folks, we're going to dive right into it. And three great questions from our everydayers, Murph. They always find a way to keep their finger on the pulse of Pats Nation. You are Pats Nation, folks. So bottom line, if it's on your mind, it's on everyone's mind here in Patriots Nation. And where else do we begin, Murph? The quarterback battle. Patriots took the field for OTA's last OTA practice that was available to the media.

Now the Patriots ramp things up, and they'll be starting mandatory minicamp this coming Monday. A whole slate of shows coming at you next week, folks, so definitely stay locked into Locked On Patriots. You're not going to want to miss our coverage, boots-on-the-ground coverage in Foxborough for mandatory minicamp. But, Murph, it was interesting to see the quarterbacks work out. Gerard Mayo took to the microphone before practice and said that Drake May is heading in the

right direction. Alex Van Pelt says he's been really impressive thus far. Both of them stress that there's still a lot of work to do. But prior to yesterday, we had seen Jacoby Brissett take the first team snaps. Then Bailey Zappi comes up. He'll get the snaps. And then Drake May was coming in. Penciled in at quarterback number three. That changed yesterday. Drake May was the second quarterback to take reps yesterday behind Jacoby Brissett, Bailey Zappi third, and then, of course, Joe Milton coming in at number four. But it got a lot of Patriots fans thinking, and at the 11th hour, it got one of our everydayers thinking, and that's the first question that we're going to ask today from our good friend,

John in Brookline, Massachusetts. And he wants to know, Murph, Drake May was the second quarterback to take reps on Tuesday. Does this mean he may challenge to be the opening day starter? Yeah, John got a great question in here at the 12th hour. You know, he obviously paid attention to what was happening yesterday, like everybody was, you know, just hanging on every single word that comes out of Foxborough. Every single snap is paramount in what's going on. And to answer your question, John, no, no. It's really, it's not going to happen. Um, Jacoby reset was, was brought in here to, uh, to teach Drake may how to ride the bike. He's, he's, he's in the driveway and he's pushing them from behind. Go ahead. Go ahead, kid. Pedal, pedal, pedal and trying to get them up to speed. But no, they, Drake may is not going to end up being the starter week one unless something catastrophic happens and Jacoby Brissett is unable to go.

Yeah, I think there are a lot of Patriots fans that are nodding along. Some may be not so happy with that response, but I think a lot of Patriots fans are looking at this and saying maybe Mac Jones was forced out on the field a little too early. Maybe the Patriots need to take a temperant approach. And a lot of what Alex Van Pelt had to say yesterday really supported that theory. I know a lot of people looked at him saying he's really impressive. He's made strides with his footwork, very quickly adapting to what we're teaching him. Folks, that's exactly what you want to hear if you're a Patriots fan. That's exactly what you want to hear if you're Drake May.

Everyone looking around to find out whether or not this kid has got it absolutely can rest easy. The Patriots coaches are very impressed with what they see from Drake May, and they know they've got a good quarterback on their hands. They're not going to do anything that's going to disrupt that progress, and they're not going to do anything to derail his development. Where Van Pelt, I think, got interesting was when he stressed the fact that it's not a sprint, it's a marathon. You can't throw a guy out there expecting to succeed right away and saying that Drake is being asked to do a lot of things that he did not do in college. And Murph, we talked about this a couple of weeks ago when we first saw Drake's mechanics

and him leading with the left foot out of the shotgun as opposed to the right foot, all the tape on him from North Carolina, he's leading with that right foot. Now he's leading with the left. And the reason being folks is that it does help with rhythm. It does help with protection. Alex Van Pelt knows what he's doing and knows what he's talking about. That to me, I think is um i thought that went hand in hand with what we've seen on the field so far so i agree with you i don't think it necessarily tips the scales in may's favor right now but i will ask you this murph if drake may continues to progress in the right direction and we see him i don't want to say on par, but maybe close enough to Jacoby Brissett right now to make things interesting heading into training camp, and that continues to progress and progress.

Is there something to be said for starting this kid when he's ready, if he's ready on opening day, or do you still take the temper and approach even though he's showing maybe more progress than these coaches thought he could? Look, man, Bailey Zappi threw two touchdowns yesterday. We're not talking about Bailey Zappi starting week one. A lot of red zone work was done yesterday. They hadn't done that earlier. They wanted to get a better look at the kid down there in the red zone with some better options to throw to, and he did well.

He did. He did well. But as I said, Bailey Zappi threw two touchdowns yesterday. Nobody else did, and the defense ended up winning the day. Folks, this is going to come down to how things shake out on the offensive line. Now, if Drake May is close to Jacoby Brissett or exceeds Jacoby Brissett, do you really want to send him out there on a team that doesn't have a left tackle? That's a fair point.

All right. I understand, you know, here's Murph running home to mama again. But, you know, this is, you know, that's what you do. That's where the good dinner smells, in your mother's kitchen. And right now I am still not happy with this offensive line, the way it's working out, the shuffling around. There's no left tackle right now. There's no real left guard right now.

We'll see what happens. I am not thrilled with the progress that these offensive linemen have made to this point. It's early, though. Shut up, Murph. It's just June. You know, give me a break. So we'll see what happens.

But if this line does not come together, if the Patriots do not do something either in the trade or free agent market, there's still a couple of guys out there that they could bring in that have actually taken snaps at the NFL level on the left-hand side. And if they do something, that could change. But right now, I'm not putting my young franchise, face of the franchise quarterback out there behind this offensive line. Yeah, and I think that's a fair point. And that's not to say that this offensive line can't develop into something, but you need to see what you have, what you're working

with before you make that decision. And I think you make a great point about this being training camp preseason. You're not going to fully know what this line can do until you see it go against NFL competition in a regular season setting. And I don't think you're going to know that for at least the first couple of weeks. And you know, there are still growing pains that Drake is going through. And these are not things that I'm looking at in terms of being negative folks or trying to pick out red flags. Every quarterback has these, every rookie quarterback,

especially miscommunication down in the red zone yesterday with he and Antonio Gibson. Apparently Drake thought he saw man coverage. The back thought they saw zone and that didn't really lead to uh to a whole lot of Kyle Duggar oh my god yeah exactly and Kyle Duggar just absolutely jumping all over that but see these are the growing pains and these are the types of lessons that Drake May needs to learn in order to get better and when the Patriots start to see him turning the corner and making these moves and making the correct reads and doing what he needs to do to avoid situations like that, that's when he's going to be ready, folks, and that's when the Patriots will put him out there.

So try not to get hung up on a timeline. Try not to get hung up on, yes, he's the number three pick. We've got to throw him out there. This is the future. See what the kid's got. I'm all for that. But at the same time, you also do not want to derail what could be a very valuable career uh just for the sake of throwing him out there because the fan base wants to see him or the

media wants to get a look at him we have a friend coming no macek agrees no macek agreed with that i think that's exactly how no macek would play that right no macek yes and that's that's good yeah he's a man of few words and a man of fewer screen time, folks, but we always love it when he drops by, and we always love it when Murph drops by, too, because the pearls of wisdom and counsel, my friend, right on the money. I think the offensive line is a big key to that as well, and that's why I think Murph and I are in agreement, John. We're probably still looking at at least a couple of weeks into the season

before Drake May gets the keys to the kingdom and may even be mid-season before we see that but one thing I will say is Patriots fans should rest assured from what I've seen of this kid from what we've all seen of this kid so far Patriots have a keeper there you want to make sure that he maintains and keeps moving in the right direction so John excellent question to kick off midweek mailbag, Murph, but you know what? We're not done yet because we mentioned Antonio Gibson and we got an interesting question on the Patriots' new RB2. Are we maybe overlooking that type of acquisition and what he can do in New England this season? Murph and I are going to talk about that and much more when we continue

our discussion on midweek mailbag day here on the Locked On Patriots podcast, a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Listen up, Boston sports fans. Your favorite green team in the hub is just four wins away from bringing home Banner 18. You're excited for the nba finals you want tickets but you're not quite sure about how to get them well good news because game time makes getting nba finals tickets even faster and easier prices on the game time app actually go down the closer it gets to tip off i'm thinking of going and it's a lot that I'll be using GameTime to get there because with their last minute deals, all in

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on the midweek mailbag episode of Locked On Patriots. And before we continue right here on the midweek mailbag episode of Locked On Patriots, I just have one question for you. Are you tired of having to turn down the volume with all that shouting going on when all you want is your daily sports news? Well, it's time to make the switch to Locked On Sports Today,

a free 24-7 sports streaming channel programmed for you every day to bring you the biggest stories without all of that screaming. Lockdown Sports Today brings you can't-miss analysis, opinions, and news. Streaming 24-7 on YouTube or the Amazon Fire TV channels app. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. And it's just like Lockdown Patriots here. Your team every day. A proud part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. And it's just like Lockdown Patriots here, your team every day, a proud part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. And we are a proud host of an amazing guest today, one of our very favorites, one of the

best in the business, and the only man that can help us drag in those amazingly heavy mailbags each and every week. Because you know, Norman's not going to do it. You don't work in the rain. He doesn't do anything else but drive the truck my good friend thomas murphy the legend himself joining me and murph in the previous segment we talked a lot about drake may and his readiness to lead this team uh when we may see him taking starting snaps at quarterback but you and i both know that this offense is only going to go as far as their

running game because that's what alex van pelt loves to do it's an offense predicated on a strong running game and that helps to open up the passing game most likely the play action use the intermediate areas of the field and take deep shots utilize all of your weapons patriots have a very good top running back to be able to do it our good good friend Ramondre Stephenson looks fantastic already, and he's going to continue to look fantastic. And he does. He is a dual threat in every sense of the word, folks. This guy can be your every down back. He already is. He can be a receiver out of the backfield. He can do it all, but you want to be careful not to burn him out. And the Patriots needed a solid complimentary piece in order to be able to make sure their running game continues to be the driving force behind this offense. And the Patriots went out and signed Antonio Gibson from the Washington Commanders to a free agent deal earlier this year.

Some Patriots fans were lukewarm on the idea, but I can tell you the more I watch this kid in practice, the more I watch what he did in Washington, he has a real chance to be someone that I think Patriots fans are going to really take to and really adapt to sooner rather than later. And Murph, that is the second question that we get today here on Midweek Mailbag. And it comes from, and I had to put this exactly how he put it in the email. It comes from a Pats fan stuck in Indianapolis. Yep.

Poor guy. And, you know, the saving grace right now, Pats fan, is you are very close to that amazing cocktail sauce that they serve down at St. Elmo's. It's really what drives the combine, and it continues to be one of the saving graces of the city. But, you know, bottom line, Murph, we have our fun, but I think this Pats fan has a great question. And that is, is Patriots Nation underestimating the addition of Antonio Gibson? And Gibson's name didn't come up in a conversation I recently had with Steve Malastreri about underappreciated Patriots. And we talked a lot about guys like Jelani Tavai, and we talked a little bit about Ramondre Stevenson. But would you put Antonio Gibson into that list?

Not necessarily underappreciated, because he hasn't played a down for New England yet. But do you think Patriots fans may be sleeping on this signing a little bit? Do you see Ezekiel Elliott anywhere on the Patriots depth chart? He's back in Dallas. He's back in Dallas. He's back in Dallas. It's fantastic. Zeke had a fantastic year here last year. Yeah, he did. A really, really good year. I was shocked that they didn't bring him back. I was shocked that more people didn't show interest in him. I don't know

his agent, so I'm not really sure about that. But he ended up back in Dallas, and it's because Antonio Gibson was coming in here, and the Patriots are thrilled to have him. I think that the nation is underlooking this a little bit. He is going to be a good option to have back there. He is going to be able to give Ramon Dre the spells that he needs to hopefully make it through an entire season. Because I think he's talented enough to be a pro bowler if he makes it through the entire season. He can definitely do it. But what Antonio Gibson can do is he's not a one-trick pony, folks. This is a guy that can line up in the backfield run up through through tackle so he can get out outside and get to the edge and uh and get up field and

most importantly he can catch the ball out of the backfield and he can even line up on the outside you know this is somebody that like i said is not a one-trick pony. There's more than one club in his bag, folks. He can definitely contribute on special teams as a kick returner. Absolutely. I think that's a – in the way that the NFL has screwed up the kickoffs now and are going with the new thing, I think he could find a nice role there too, you know, if, if at least as a backup, because, you know, we lost a kick returner last year, if you don't remember. And, and there were other guys that, that were trying to fill in and didn't do quite as well. I think that Antonio Gibson

is going to be a significant part of this offense. And yes, I do think that Patriots Nation is underestimating the value of bringing this young man in. Absolutely. Could not have said it better. And once again, I think this is, yeah. And that's a big key to this as well. A veteran presence, someone who has done it at the highest level, done it consistently.

We were all impressed by the 90-plus yard return that Jalen Rager put on the Bills last year. But when you talk about consistency, that's a great point because Antonio Gibson has done this since 2022, returned 35 kicks for 826 yards, averaging 23.6 yards per return. Positive numbers that are consistently out there. And like Mike said, we all love that kick return. It was a beautiful thing. But when you can get a guy that can give you 23 on every one, why not go for it? Especially with these new rules that I still am scratching my head over. Yeah, I think we all are.

It's a polarizing subject for so many people and it continues to be for us here as well on lockdown patriots you haven't seen the last of it as we get closer to the season folks we'll be breaking down a lot of that here so stay tuned you don't want to miss that but i think it's also interesting that you put into um i to me murph i think you make a phenomenal point and the point that I want to come back to that you made as well is it also is going to help prevent burnout we talked about burnout in the previous segment we talked about it a little bit with from Andre Stevenson Antonio Gibson can help prevent burnout from Marcus Jones let's not forget that Marcus is coming back from a labrum injury

I know it's not something that's affecting his legs but you don't want to start having him back there returning both punts and kicks on a regular basis. It puts his health in jeopardy, and it also runs the risk of burning this kid out by mid to late season. He's got amazing energy and amazing speed like I haven't seen, but he's human, as everyone is. You need that balance, and I think Antonio Gibson can provide it. With this line, Antonio Gibson's one hell of a blocker. He is. He really is.

Whether it's out in a pattern and he's setting a block for another wide receiver or springing somebody or just in the backfield giving a chip or lining up to pick up a blitz, this kid can do it. And that's something that you really don't want to have Ramon Drew Stevenson doing time and time and time again. Also, you know, don't forget that I'm really liking this running back room. Kevin Harris is still on this squad. And I think that, you know, not bringing Ezekiel Elliott back is a good omen for this guy.

He's also going to be able to be a part of this mix and give the top two guys a little bit of a spell. Let's see if he can start catching some passes himself. Yeah, definitely. I mean, Kevin is definitely going to be a threat in the red zone. That's where you're starting to see him emerge. He's a power runner. He's built very solidly low to the ground and it goes back

to what Antonio can do not only is this guy going to be a weapon in the return game folks he's going to be a weapon on offense and maybe an early down weapon 2643 yards on 642 attempts 22 touchdowns during his career in Washington but here's where he's going to make his bones so to speak Murph to quote the godfather uh receiving out of the backfield. And Murph put this very well. He's a very good blocker, even in the backfield, you're going to see him deployed there. But when his number is called, this kid is a phenomenal route runner. Go back and take a look at some of the routes and some of the catches that he made when he was a Washington commander. This kid can run all the routes on the tree.

And that's something that I think Alex Van Pelt is loving about this. I think Jacoby Brissett's going to utilize him very heavily. Don't forget, these two are former teammates in Washington. These guys have the ability now to complement one another. And I think you're going to see that. And bottom line, this kid can catch the ball. 172 passes caught, 1,283 yards, seven touchdowns during his time in the nation's capital.

And I love Juco guys. You know, I really do. I love guys that are Juco transfers and just, like, keep climbing the ladder. They're hungry, and they want more, and I dig that. Well, that's it. I mean, and Ramondre Stevenson was a Juco guy, too. That's what these guys have in common.

Stevenson attending Cerritos College in Norwalk, California. Gibson, East Central Community College in Mississippi. So these guys have a bonding and they've already said that. I remember Antonio telling us when we first met him after signing that he contacted Ramondre right away. And he says, we're both Juco guys. There's a lot of respect. These two guys are going to push one another competition wise, they're on the same team they have the same goal and i think that's going to make a good complimentary pair in the backfield so to answer your question

my friend pats fan in indianapolis yes i do believe that antonio gibson signing is going to pay big dividends and maybe not getting the press or the love it deserves, but it definitely should be. This kid's game is going to be a very big factor in the Patriots offense taking that step forward this year out of the doldrums we saw it for the last couple of years. Murph, once again, our everydayers hitting a tremendous question and getting us to discuss players that we don't normally discuss all the time. And that leads us quite nicely into what will be our final question here on

midweek mailbag day here on locked on Patriots. We're going to talk about the kicker position and whether or not a brewing competition might be budding in that room. Patriots right now have two kickers on this roster, which one is going to make it out of camp. Murph and I are going to give our conjecture on the matter and much more when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast wraps up right here on the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

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Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on this midweek mailbag episode of LockedOn Patriots. Once again, a brief hiatus over the weekend, but that will not be the norm, folks. A lot of action-packed shows coming at you each and every day during the week, so make sure to stay locked in to Locked On Patriots. As always, a special tip of the cap for all of you everydayers

for hanging in there with us. You are phenomenal fans of the show, and we really could not do this without you, and we wouldn't even think about doing this without you. know Murph a lot of people say that the accolades of many is what may sustain you but it's the loyalty of a select few that truly touch your heart and that really I think definitely sums up the fan base that we have here on Locked On Patriots you all really just tremendously show your appreciation to myself and to Murph and our regulars here

on Locked On Patriots. So we appreciate you and we thank you very much. And Murph, we are almost ready to close up that mailbag, but we're not quite ready just yet because what better way to round out a midweek mailbag

than to talk kicker? Yeah, that's right, folks. We're going to talk a kicking battle. Kickers count. They absolutely count. And we in the media had an opportunity to talk to one of those kickers last week, and that is second-year kicker now Chad Ryland and the potential kicking competition that he might have going with veteran Joey Sly,

who was signed last month by the New England Patriots. A longtime valued everydayer of locked-on Patriots, Melissa in Coventry, Rhode Island, would like to know, can Joey Sly out-duel Chad Ryland for the kicker position this season? Murph, I leave this to you. Is this a genuine kicker competition? Do you believe Chad Ryland's job could be in jeopardy? And what does it mean

for the Patriots special teams in the long run? In the long run, I'm not sure what it means. If Sly beats him out, we could be going through this again next year. But I mean, Chad Ryland is, you know, what he is right now. They, you know, he's kicked 64% last year. 16 of 25 field goals. We have him to thank for getting Drake May here. If he hadn't missed that game, we wouldn't have Drake May here. Chad Ryland is somebody that I had really high hopes for. He had a great career in college, and I thought was, you know, quite frankly,

worthy of the pick that he was taking. You know, I know I'm in the minority there, but he had rookie jitters, and it was a real problem. Joey Sly, we are looking at somebody who is, what is this, 82% career kicker. He had a nice season last year. He made 19 of 24 field goals at 79%. So that's not bad. He could push and he could end up taking this job. But I really don't think that's going to happen. I think he was brought in here to push Chad. And I think, you know, Chad won't be hanging this year.

Very good. You can see that right on the side of the screen, folks. Absolutely. And for the benefit of those of you who are listening, not viewing this on YouTube, our side placard today reads hanging Chad or on the sly. Yeah, I know bad puns folks, but I mean, it does, I think really kind of fit in to the discussion that we're going to have on these two kickers. And look, there's no question about it. Joey sly is a very good veteran kicker. He's a reliable veteran kicker. Murph said it. He has an 82.3% career, um, the make percentage

on field goals made a 61 yarder last year for the commanders. That was his career high. So you know this guy can kick for consistency. He can kick for distance. The question is whether or not Chad Ryland rounds into that type of resume, rounds into that type of hype that he got coming in here. Because let's face it, this was the earliest drafted specialist that the Patriots brought in

in their 71 year history this kid can kick with consistency take a look at what he did with the terrapins his final year he only spent one year right maryland but made a phenomenal impact on this program and really i think made a very strong impact on this program 82.6 percent of his field goals he He was nine for nine from under 40 yards, which let's face it. I know a lot of people scoff at that roll their eyes, but if you're an NFL team, your job is to try to prevent your kickers from having to make 50 plus yard field goals. Not always the case. I know that is part of their job description, but he made a 53 and a 52 yarder in September of those years, made 39 of his 40 extra point attempts, and he was selected to

second team all Big Ten honors. That's a pretty decent resume coming into the league, especially for a big time school like Maryland. You want to talk about what he did at Eastern Michigan. He still is the career leader in points scored in that program with 309. So even though he didn't play the full gamut, he still walked away with a record that stands to this day. So anyone saying this kid just can't get the job done? No, that's not the case. This kid has done it on a big level and on a strong stage. I think he just needs the confidence and the ability to round in the form. And it sounds like he's pressing all the right buttons so far. I mentioned that the media had an opportunity to talk to Chad earlier this week.

He's making the kicks when he needs to. He's getting out there. He's competing, but he's taking accountability for it. He's getting up to the microphone and saying, if I kick it, I own it. I know I have to be better. You love to hear that. You want to see that type of productivity go onto the field and really, I think, make him a better kicker.

I think that's going to help him. But ultimately, Melissa, if you're asking whether or not Joey has a genuine chance to unseat Chad, yeah, I think there's always the possibility if Chad comes into training camp and he's not making kicks and Joey is, Patriots are not going to hesitate. They're going to go with the hot foot. They always do. They always go with the guy that gives them the better chance to win. But I think if these two are running neck and neck, I always believe that the guy you have draft capital invested in is the guy you're going to go with. I think the tie at this point would go to Chad

Ryland. And of course, if Chad beats him out, it just makes it an easy decision. I would like to see Joey hang around on the practice squad though. I don't know if it's going to be possible, but I would love to see this kid be able to hang around because the Patriots have been keeping kickers on the practice squad lately. It is a position that does matter, like Murph said, and it's always good to have an ace in the hole for you, especially a veteran. Bottom line, folks, what are your thoughts on the kicker position? Do you think the second-year kid has what it your thoughts on the kicker position do you think the second year kid has what it takes to take the Patriots into the next level or would you go with the savvy veteran at this point I think there's arguments to be made for both Murph and I have kind of tipped our hand

that we're looking at Chad winning this position but Joey Sly is a very good veteran and it would not shock us to see him wearing a Patriots uniform on opening day for the New England Patriots this season. But bottom line, once again, Melissa and the Pats fans stuck in Indianapolis, and of course, John and Brookline for kicking us off today. A major tip of the cap for three amazing questions to start this mailbag. And Murph, what can I say? There's nobody else that I want riding shotgun here when it comes to opening the mailbag,

cultivating the mailbag, cultivating the mailbag, and of course, bringing the answers, bringing the wisdom and the counsel the way only you can to our listeners here on Locked On Patriots. Before we let you go today, my friend, please let everyone know where they can reach out to you, interact with you, and what you got cooking in Mert's kitchen from now until the next time you grace us here on Locked On Patriots. Well, you can follow me on Zitter at TeamMurf207, and you can read anything that I'm up to over there at DieHardBostonSportsCup.com.

Absolutely. And folks, again, whenever Murph puts voice to microphone, pen to paper, you want to check it out and you want to enjoy it. You're entertained and you're informed, and there's nothing more that you can ask for. And of course, we always love having him here on Locked on Patriots and he'll be back very shortly, but we're not done yet this week, folks. More expert analysis coming at you as we break down the Patriots and take an early look at mandatory minicamps.

So stay locked in. Make sure to smash that subscribe button and download and follow wherever you get your podcasts to make sure that you're getting the latest episode as soon as it's available. In the meantime, I'm Mike DeBate, and on behalf of my good friend, the legendary Thomas Murphy, I remind you all to stay safe and to stay well and to be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone, and we'll see you back here again tomorrow on A Lot on Patriots.