Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Fall to Philadelphia Eagles in Preseason: Drake Maye, Offensive Line, and More

Episode Date: August 17, 2024

Making his only his second appearance on a pro football field, New England Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye ran for a touchdown while leading the Pats on two of their three scoring drives. However, New England could not overcome a late-game rally, which resulted in an eventual 14-13 preseason loss to the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium. Host Mike D’Abate welcomes Steve Balestrieri of PatsFans.com to discuss Drake’s big night, the status of the Pats’ offensive line, and the defense structure without linebacker Matthew Judon. #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! LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply. 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. 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. 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. As playoffs wind down, the sports stop sporting like we want them to. But this summer, FanDuel is hooking up ALL CUSTOMERS with a boost or a bonus, DAILY! That’s right, there’s something for everyone, every day, all summer long! Visit FANDUEL.COM/LOCKEDON and add a big win to your summer bucket list! 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)

To paraphrase comedian Jerry Seinfeld, the Drake was great for the New England Patriots on Thursday night, even if only for a brief moment. 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. Thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage and also hopefully 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, download and follow Locked On Patriots wherever you get your podcasts to ensure you're getting the latest episode as soon as it's available. I'm your host, Mike DeBay. I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Athlon Sports. So reach out to me and let me know what's on your mind on X at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L.

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and use the code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. And Patriots fans making only his second appearance on a pro football field, New England Patriots rookie quarterback Drake May ran for a touchdown. He also led the Pats on two of their three scoring drives. Unfortunately, New England could not overcome a late-game rally from their opponents, the Philadelphia Eagles, resulting in an eventual 14-13 preseason loss at Gillette Stadium. Patriots now 1-1 on the exhibition season. But despite the loss for the New England Patriots, there's an era of good feeling surrounding

Foxborough, and it has a lot to do with the way Drake May played on the football field. We need some reasonable analysis here, some wisdom and counsel that comes from our resident voice of reason. And, of course, we are lucky enough to have him each and every Friday here on Locked On Patriots. My good friend, my Patriots bison, columnist extraordinaire of patsfans.com, as well as the host of another amazing podcast, Patriots 4th and 2, alongside the great Derek Avins. He is Steve Balistrieri. Steve, welcome to the pod today. Thank you for joining me to help break down Pats Eagles. Oh, it's a good day. I think even though the score, because preseason, we don't really worry about scores.

I think we saw a lot of good things last night out of their rookie quarterback. And I think you could say the sky isn't falling after a tumultuous week for them. Yeah, it was. It was a rough week for the New England Patriots. I mean, a 17-3 victory over the Carolina Panthers, you'd think that the Patriots lost 17-3 to the Carolina Panthers to open up the preseason, but Matthew Judon chipped off to the Atlanta Falcons for a third-round pick. We're going to get into that a little bit more in just a moment, folks, about the Patriots' strategy and the way it's going to look without Matthew Judon so stay tuned you're not going to want to miss that but bottom line when it came to Drake May everyone

was looking for him to have a little bit more playing time and throughout the course of the joint practice that the Patriots held with the Eagles on Tuesday Drake looked up and down there were a couple of moments where he did throw the ball well but in the closing moments of that taking three sacks to close that session and a lot of question marks were starting to fester and a lot of people were starting to wonder whether or not this New England Patriots offense was even going to be competent this year let alone an offense that could produce points well after playing only one series last week Drake comes in gets an extended look against the Eagles, and for the most part, for much of his time on the field, Steve, he didn't disappoint.

I thought Drake looked very solid. I thought he looked calm. I thought he looked cool, collected. And you saw him making plays that the Patriots haven't seen from the quarterback position in quite some time. As you were watching things unfold from the moment Drake stepped on the field to his final snap during the third quarter, what were some of the things that were going through your mind as you're watching the rookie? Well, I thought he looked so poised out there. You know, we had heard all the, of course, it was played up ad nauseum, you know, about all the sacks on Tuesday. And then everyone was, you know, before the game was worried that he wasn't going to survive.

Right. Because, you know, he was going to get swarmed under. But you know what? He was not flustered whatsoever. He looked cool, calm, as you said, in the pocket. And what I really liked was, you know, he was able to go through his progressions for the most part. They had some breakdowns for sure. But, you know, he was able to go through his progressions. He looked really good.

His footwork looked really good. I loved the way he delivered the ball. And the athleticism was on full display. Very well said. And if you take a look on his first drive, eight plays, 38 yards, resulted in a 51-yard field goal by Joey Sly. That gives the Patriots their first points of the game. And then you take a look at the second drive.

I think the most memorable drive of the night for both sides, even though the Eagles ended up getting the win. Drake really engineered this drive. Another eight-play drive, this time for 49 yards, 23-yard pass. You've got to give a lot of credit to Jermichael Hasty on that. I thought he looked great. I thought he looked shifty. Hasty is someone that can make plays happen,

and I really like what I'm seeing from this kid. Depends on how the Patriots are going to stack their roster, but he's going to be an awfully tough cut if I'm New England. But bottom line, third and goal, less than two minutes remaining. Drake takes a quick fake. It's a zone run. You know Alex Van Pelt loves to run these. Takes it across the goal line for a

four-yard rushing touchdown. That was the signature moment of the game, and you look at what happened around Drake. You see all of the rookies that were drafted around him that were in there. Layden Robinson, Jalen Polk, Javon Baker, Jaheim Bell, all of these guys are in there, and they're essentially sharing this moment with their new quarterback drake said afterwards he saw all these guys and he felt like the future and it felt like they're all going to kind of grow up together and grow into this role did you feel a little bit of that as you were watching drake last night that we are seeing the seedlings of what this future offense could look like oh yeah because you know because, you know, these were all the attributes that,

you know, we heard about when he was in North Carolina. And now we're getting to see them in a Patriots uniform. And it was just a small glimpse. But at the same time, it gives you hope that things are going to turn around. And, you know, they really haven't had a quarterback as athletic as him in quite some time. And so it was great to see that on display because, you know, even like not so much the touchdown run, which was excellent, by the way, but, you know, the way he was sliding in the pocket, you know, those small moves where you buy time, you get your feet settled,

and then you're still able to keep your eyes down the field. I thought the best play he had all night long was an incomplete pass, the way he was able to slide. And then, I mean, that arm strength was on display. That was about a 50-yard pass, and it was right on the button. I thought Baker made a great play on it because he was actually able to haul it in the ground when he hit, caused the ball to pop out. But I thought that was a great play. I thought it was a great throw by Drake. And, you know, as soon as I saw that, I was like,

I don't care if it's incomplete. Those are going to start being hauled in. Yeah. And this offense is going to be better. It might not be tomorrow. It might not even be next month. But it's going to be better. And we saw the future last night.

You know, I think Drake ultimately stole the show last night in New England, regardless of who won the game, regardless of what the final stats were. I mean, he finished the game 6 of 11, 47 yards passing, 15 yards rushing, four carries, and, of course, the touchdown. But to me, the true story of the night here, Steve, when it comes to what the Patriots did and it comes to what Drake May did, it's poise, it's control, it's field savvy. And I think he showed all of that to his doubters and his fans as well.

This kid knows how to navigate a football field. There's a lot of learning still to do. He's not where he needs to be. He still has a ways to go. But if he's showing this type of prowess especially in the passing game early on hitting Javon Baker for a 12-yard pass hitting Jalen Polk for a six-yard pass but these are the things these are the building blocks that you see in a young quarterback and what I thought was very interesting last night too is watching him kind of get through adversity when he needed to throw

the ball away he threw the ball away he's not forcing the ball into areas and trying to make plays happen that aren't there we saw him do a lot of that at UNC last year this is something that he's learned and this is something I think he's focused on I even thought it was nice that he got a couple of off script passes under duress Nolan Smith was on him a couple of times and I know we got the sack on him but ultimately there were times where he was able to evade that. I thought he showed tremendous growth and I think maybe a wisdom beyond his years in those moments. That made me feel great about Drake May moving forward. Absolutely. You know, like I said, I was a little concerned when he came in because, you know, the offensive line had been so leaky.

You don't want to see him get hurt in a preseason game. But at the same time, you know, he needs to get his reps in. He needs to get that experience. I thought he handled himself extremely well in that first half. You know, two drives, two scores, field goal, and then a touchdown. And I'm thinking to myself, this is a really good sign for them. You know, the fact that he's athletic enough where, you know, when he has some breakdowns in the offensive line,

he's able to move around, you know, and still keep his eyes downfield. That was the thing I wanted to see. We know he can run. But, you know, you really want to see your young quarterbacks keep their eyes downfield. That was the thing I wanted to see. We know he can run, but, you know, you really want to see your young quarterbacks keep their eyes down the field and look for targets, and he did that. And that third down conversion I thought was a great play, nice throw, and that throw to Baker deep down the field I thought was his best moment,

even though it wasn't complete. But again, I mean, you're looking at the future. Who knows how quick it's going to come upon us. Gerard Mayo said today that the quarterback competition is not over. So we'll see what happens. And leads me quite nicely into my final question for you on the subject before we take our leave and talk a little bit about the offensive line and what that's going to mean to who's starting the season at quarterback.

Jacoby Brissett last night, a little bit of a struggle early on. Didn't see, I think, the sharpest Jacoby that we've seen. Do you think that his play may have contributed to Gerrard's sentiments on Friday morning and even post-game on Thursday to say this quarterback competition is not over? Do you think that his chances of locking up the starting job may have been hurt a little bit by his performance on Thursday? Oh, I definitely think so. I mean, he struggled last week against the Panthers, and then he struggled again, you know, through that bad interception.

And I was kind of surprised. I thought Gerard Mayo threw him under the bus a little bit with his comments, you know, that he made about that. And, again, I think it all ties into the offensive line. You know, Jacoby is very steady, and that was very unlike him because he's usually very careful, you know, with the football about, you know, throwing turnovers. But, you know, the offensive line issues, I think, play a big role in his struggles

because he's not as mobile as Drake May or even Joe Milton. Those guys are a lot more athletic, and maybe they're looking at it from the aspect, until we get this offensive line straight, maybe Jacoby isn't the best guy to have in there. That's an interesting point. And I think a point that a lot of us, myself included, have all been making to the contrary to this point. It's if there's problems up front in the offensive line, you don't want to get Drake May injured. You don't want to ruin his confidence.

You want to make sure that the veteran is out there that knows how to play through these things. Put Jacoby Brissett out there. It's almost looked a little bit in reverse that maybe some of the problems that the offensive line are having can more easily be masked by a more mobile quarterback like a Drake Mayer, even a Joe Milton. So that's an interesting point. And I think that's one that Patriots fans need to watch. But one thing I would say, folks, is the New England Patriots quarterback competition is not over. Very much take Gerard Mayo at his word. And I know it's still early, Steve, but there's already plenty of reason to love the Drake in New England. And that's exactly what you're going to hear all throughout the week until the Patriots make their final preseason stop in the nation's capital against the Washington Commanders on the 25th of August.

But, Steve, we mentioned the offensive line, and there were bright moments. There were not so bright moments. But overall, I think a better showing than they made a week ago against the Carolina Panthers. Have they found the right five guys to lead this team onto the field in Cincinnati for Game 1 of the 2024 regular season on September 8th. Steve Balistrieri and I are going to talk about that very subject and more when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues,

a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team, every day. Listen up, Locked On listeners. Your beloved boys from Boston have a homestand coming up at Fenway. You want tickets, but you're not quite sure how to go about getting them. Well, you're in luck because GameTime is an authorized ticket marketplace of Major League Baseball, which makes getting tickets faster, easier, and prices on the GameTime app actually go down the closer you get to the first pitch with killer last minute deals all in prices and views from your seat and of course their lowest price guarantee game time takes the guesswork out of buying major league baseball tickets

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Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on Locked on Patriots, and thank you for making us a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. If you're an everydayer of Locked on Patriots, and we are so fortunate to have each and every one of you, and you make us your first listen each and every day. I encourage you to make your second listen our good friends over at Locked On Fantasy Football. Our fantasy football experts want to help you win your fantasy league by giving you all the latest analysis, stats

and so much more. You can follow, download and subscribe to Locked On Fantasy Football wherever you get your podcasts. Much like Locked On Patriots, Locked On Fantasy Football is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And speaking of your team, we're talking about your favorite team in Foxborough, nursing a 14 to 13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, but not many people were talking about that,

folks. We're all talking about the Drake, and with a lot of good reason. Drake May, looking solid, looking good. I got on the placard here for those of you that are listening to this podcast and not viewing it. The overlay reads, Drake looking pretty, pretty, pretty good. And there have been a lot of Curb Your Enthusiasm and Seinfeld references here today, Steve.

As Steve Balistrieri of Patsfans.com joins me to break it all down. Steve, we talked a lot about Drake in the previous segment, but I wanted to segue into the offensive line because how this team looks on offense is going to depend on what that offensive line looks like. Darian Lowe, left tackle, City So at left guard, David Andrews at center. Michael Wenu at right guard. And Chuk Sakora, four, at right tackle. And they're doing that as the opening unit. Their job is to protect Jacoby Brissett.

Eventually, maybe their job will be to protect Drake May. But I thought the collective effort of the unit this week was better. But there's still some element of concern. But before I get into my concerns, I wanted to get your thoughts because you take all of this with a reasonable approach. When you look at this offensive line from one week to another, what impressed you in terms of improvements and what still concerns you with areas of improvement? Well, I think the interior guys are holding up pretty well um there's still some concerns with

right tackle they had some struggles there um but i i really think caden wallace is going to be the guy before too long i think they're just getting him prepared for that and and makes those i mean it makes a ton of sense you really don't want him playing left tackle because, you know, by all accounts from what we're hearing, the Patriots are going to draft a left tackle next year. So why have Wallace learn a new position to go back to his old position next year? So I think he's going to be the right tackle.

And then until they either get the left tackle position square away or they make a move for a trade or pick somebody up off the waiver wire and, you know, next Monday, right, I think they're just going to have to live with what they got. Now, I noticed that they gave Vardarian Lowe some help with some chips, but then he misplayed the one where he went too far outside and, you know, was it Nolan Smith? It was Nolan Smith.

Yeah, he saw that and just cut to the inside an easy pancake sack um that's the big issue there is left tackle i think so you know until they make a move or they get it squared away and somebody steps up, they're just going to have to live with that. They might have to keep a back end to chip. If that's the case, so be it. You want your quarterbacks upright. Maybe it'll take away some of the targets to your running backs, but that's what you're going to have to do. To me, the left tackle is the biggest issue.

And the other is the backup center. They had three bad snaps last night. Nick Leverett had one of them. And the other two went. The guy whose name I can never remember, but he begins with an F. And I apologize to him for that. But that is – that to me, I mean, those bad snaps killed some drives as well as, you know, some leakage in the offensive line. But you can't have that.

Your quarterback has to get his hands on the ball. And I don't blame Bailey Zappi whatsoever for that last one. I mean, that thing was a hopping ground ball. It was a ground ball. Yeah, from the start. You know, when it went by him, I was like, I'm getting Bill Buckner, you know, flashbacks here. That was just, that wasn't his fault.

And, you know, but to me, it still comes down to left tackle and backup center because I know they want to manage David Andrews' snaps. And you've got to have somebody in there that can put the ball in the quarterback's hands. Very good point. And I'm glad that you mentioned backup center because we're spending so much time talking about the left tackle and the right tackle, too. I mean, because there are uncertainties at both tackle positions right now. I agree with you.

I think Wallace will eventually settle into that role. Juke Socorro had some issues where he was bypassed by some pass rushers last night. Mostly, I think the problems came on the left. We saw Berdarian Lowe get beat on the edge. You mentioned that. Nolan Smith comes right in. It automatically results in a sack on drake may if that's a regular season game you're definitely concerned about that because the hitting is a little bit harder in the regular season than it is in the preseason so yeah these are things to definitely

be concerned about but the backup center position is a concern and right up until last night it looked like nick leverett had kind of wrapped that up. He had been very good throughout training camp. He looked like he had the ability to earn that job, especially with Jake Andrews being out for the year now on IR. You started to see some cracks, some fissures in the way he was playing football throughout the course of the week on the practice field. And it really became evident last night in the bad snap. Antonio Mafi, I think he's forcing it a little bit too much.

He's having his difficulties. So these are guys right now that are trying to play their way onto the roster but unfortunately it seems like no one wants to go up and grab that brass ring. The Pats are going to need someone reliable because I agree with you, especially into the regular season. You need to limit David Andrews' snaps, make sure he's healthy, make sure he's in there. It's so vital for a rookie quarterback, especially if they're going to give the ball to Drake May sooner rather than later to have a guy that's been to the puppet show and see the strings to quote Rod Didwell. That's something that I think the Pats would really love to do when it comes to Andrews,

and they need someone reliable that can take on those snaps. Maybe Leverett is the guy. Maybe it's just a bad night for him last night, but they're going to have to figure that out because beyond him, I'm not seeing what I need to see from guys like Moffey in order to be able to put them into that role. That's an excellent observation, Steve, and definitely something that bats need to be concerned about. Yeah. And you know, it's just one of those things that you take for granted that the,

you know, the center's just going to snap the ball right back in the quarterback's hands. But you know, those, those, those bad, you know, snaps there, they were drive killers. And you can't have that, especially with an offense that's going to take its time. And that's the big thing is patience, right? It's going to take a little while. I think it's going to take the first four games until they find people, you know, that sweet spot.

Use another baseball reference, you know, that sweet spot to, you know, what they do best and how we can utilize that in the offense. And, you know, it's going to take time and it's going to take a lot of practice time and it's going to take some game time. And, you know know eventually they'll get it figured out that i expect the offense to be better this year it's not going to be all the way better it's going to take another off season but i think it's going to be better than last year and it's just going to take some time i like this system that van pelt runs. The more I see it, the more I like it.

And, you know, they're putting some players out there that fit it. Oh, absolutely. And it begins and ends with guys like Ramondre Stevenson, who are so well-suited to be that lead back in an Alex Van Pelt offense, utilizing the run to set up play action, to take deep shots down the field. We've talked about this so many times when it comes to what Alex Van Pelt loves to do, and now you've got the receivers, the tight ends. You're running a lot of two tight end sets to get the run going.

This is what the Patriots envisioned, and you're starting to see it come to fruition. And if they can start clicking on all cylinders, that's going to make this offense go. But you need continuity, and you need cohesion on the offensive line. We're starting to see seedlings like that could be a possibility, but the bats still have a good amount of questions to answer when it comes to the top five or the final five, the best five that they want to put out there on the field opening day. Again, I think Caden Wallace right now is being groomed for one of those positions. If it were up to me, I would keep him on the right because I think it's his best fit. But it's going to be interesting to see if he's earned some snaps or earned the chance to take some snaps on the left this week.

I'm going to really be watching him closely in practice to see if that actually comes to fruition. But he's been, I I think their most athletic option along the line uh this time definitely at the tackle position and he's shown I think again a wisdom beyond his years and being able to pick up the plays and the types of blocking schemes that the Patriots want to employ so good stuff for the Pats uh offensive line last night again certainly not a perfect performance but if you want to hang your hat on something, after the Carolina Panthers sack party that they threw a week ago, the Patriots' first two units on the

offensive line, folks, only allowed one sack, and that was the sack of Nolan Smith on Drake May, and that was really just a breakdown from Vardarian Lowe. So, better things ahead for Scott Peters and the New England Patriots offensive line. But, Steve, when we talk about lines and holding the line, the defense had a little bit of a different look last night. The man with the red sleeves no longer in Foxborough.

So what did that mean for the Pats? Who was the next man up who stepped it up in his absence, and who's going to continue to step it up in his absence as the regular season approaches? Steve Balistrieri and I are going to continue to step it up in his absence as the regular season approaches. Steve Balistrieri and I are going to talk about the Patriots defense sans Matthew Judon in just a moment when this episode of the Lockdown Patriots podcast wraps up right here on the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Lockdown listeners, when you're hiring for your small business, you want to find quality professionals that are right for the role.

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Preseason loss, that is, folks, at Gillette Stadium on Thursday night is my good friend, my Patriots bison, a columnist extraordinaire from Patsfans.com, Steve Balistrieri. Steve, we've talked a lot about the offense. We've talked about Drake May. We've talked about the offensive line and the ripple effect that the line has, not just on the quarterbacks, but on the running backs, on the receivers, on the tight ends, all the way around. Patriots offense looking better, but we've been very vocal about the fact that if this team is going to be competitive

in any of the games it plays this year, it's going to have to rest on the shoulders of the defense. And one of those sets of shoulders that was attached to a pair of very popular red sleeves is no longer going to be in Foxborough anymore. That's right, folks. With Matthew Judon having been traded to the Atlanta Falcons earlier in the week for a third-round draft selection in 2025, the Pats needed a next man up to step up, and the Pats actually had several in this game step up as New England continues its prowess on the pass rush.

Steve, when you look at this defense last night, without Matthew Judon in there, I think all of us expected Keyon White to take center stage, and I think he did that, and I think he showed why the Patriots have a great deal of faith in him and why he was certainly worth the second round pick that Pats put on him a couple years ago when they chose him and Bill Belichick made him a New England Patriot, but at the same time, it was guys like Joshua Uche, Anthony Jennings, O'Shane Zimenez, guys that are stepping up to make plays and be able to,

I don't want to say, and not fill Judon's shoes, but help to mitigate his loss. What were your thoughts on the manner in which the Patriots tried to go out and operate without Matthew Judon in the lineup? Yeah, I thought they were very aggressive last night. They were showing blitzes from different parts of the field. You know, they had a corner blitz. They had a safety blitz.

They blitzed from the linebacker position. And, you know, I was impressed. Granted, you're talking a lot of backups, you know, with the Eagles offensive line. But still, you know, pardon me, Dietrich Wise got home. You know, Keon White. Isaiah Bolden got a sack. Who am I leaving out? Joshua Uche.

You know, he got a sack all in the first half. And they sacked Kenny Pickett four times. And any time he wasn't doing the check down to a running back, he was under duress. They were bringing a ton of pressure on him. And you just have to be impressed by that because that's, you know, what you're going to have to do this year. You know, you don't have that big guy, you know, anymore.

And regardless of how you want to write it up, I mean, we're the Patriots justified and, you know, building for the future when Judon isn't part of their long-term plans. You can make that argument, but I still hate to see him leave because he's such a great football player on and off the field. And, you know, without him and Christian Barmore, who I think were the top two guys on defense, they're going to have to manufacture sacks,

and it's going to have to come from all over. And I think they did a really good job of that. Ox, as you mentioned him earlier, O o'shane jimenez you know he he got a sack later in the game so uh and he's showing himself to be pretty impressive as a pass rusher i think we'll see more of him in that mode as well and you know you can never have enough too many you can never have too many uh pass rushers and uh i i like what i've seen from him and that's what they're gonna have to do this year yeah i think it's gonna have to be a team effort i think you hit the nail right on the head and kevin mccourty talked about this a little bit last night during the game broadcast and saying that

where the patriots are going to miss matthew judon most is on third down because that's where Matthew makes things happen he's going to pin his ears back yet after the quarterback but he also has the ability to draw the double team draw the attention away from other potential pass rushers or guys that can make plays happen on defense whether it be aligning himself close to Christian Barmore and allowing Christian to get loose and maybe go after the quarterback or help stuff the run, or if he's aligning alongside Joshua Uche and he's taking on the double team, that frees up Josh to get after the quarterback. So now you've got a double threat. Patriots don't have that in Matthew Judon anymore. He's not walking through that door. So if you can't control the pass rush on third down, that means that the Patriots are going to have to rely on their other linebackers, on their defensive backs to create stunts and to be able to, like you said,

disrupt what the other team is trying to do, try to get into the head of the offense. So by doing so, I think what the Patriots did last night has proved that a lot of different players can do that. You mentioned O'Shane Zimenez, Joshua Uche, Dietrich Wise, Keon White, all logging sacks last night. You mentioned the pressure that they put on Kenny Pickett. They sacked him four times in the first half, two of which came on back-to-back plays, and the last of those came from Dietrich Wise in a four-man rush.

And he was able to get to pick it no problem, and they turned the ball over on downs. That's what this team can do when all of these elements are working together. Once again, you have to be impressed by what you saw with Keon White. There's no question about it, creating a lot of interior pressure on the Eagles' line, getting a sack on Pickett, a loss of 12 yards, one of the better plays that I saw him have out there. But these are the types of things that the Patriots are seeing

on a daily basis in that unit. And one of the big reasons why I think they felt comfortable making the trade of Matthew Judon. I've been vocal a few times here on Locked On Patriots and saying I would not trade Matthew Judon. I stand by that. If I were the GM, I would not have done it, but it's hard to lay off a third round return.

You got to give Elliot Wolfe credit for that. And we'll see if it pays off on the field, but I think they're betting on the fact that it can because of guys like Keon White. Yeah. Keon White. And, you know, another guy who stood out, he was all over the field was Rayquan McMillan. And, you know, another guy who stood out, he was all over the field, was Raekwon McMillan.

And, you know, he's finally healthy. And you can see what Bill Belichick liked in him so much when they signed him. Because when he's healthy, he's all over the field and he was laying some lumber on people. And he's very versatile. He can play in different positions. You know, I think they may utilize him at times as a pass rusher. You know, interior blitzes like they used to do, you know, with Hightower and Jamie Collins.

He's not that type of player. But, you know, where they utilize the A-gaps and shooting the linebackers utilize the A-gaps and shooting the linebackers up to A-gaps, he's got that quickness and speed where he could do that. Yeah, without question. I think you're going to see a lot more from him. And another guy I think you're going to see a lot more of as well, and this is a player that you've been in his corner since day one from the moment he walked through the

doors here in Foxboroughborough is Anthony Jennings. I think his role increases because of the trade of Matthew Judon. Look, we all knew Jennings was a stout run defender. He was great in that last year. Sets the edge pretty well. He can serve as a playmaker, mostly against the run, but I think you're going to see him hone in a skill that he started to develop a little bit last year, and that's being a stout pass rusher. He's got an underrated mix of quickness, change of direction ability, he's got some power, and he's got great instincts. And you credit a lot of that to the Alabama program,

but this is a very smart football player, and I think you're going to see him showcase that talent a little bit more this year. We know his toughness, we know his tenacity. That's what's going to carry him forward, but I think someone like Jennings could rise above the rest and really, I think, show that he's capable of being maybe an every-down linebacker or at least a starter on this team long-term, and I'm glad you mentioned McMillan because you're finally seeing what Bill Belichick saw in this kid and why he kept getting extension after extension. And people were wondering why he's hanging around

because he's so injury prone. There's a reason for it, and I think he's fitting very nicely into this defense. Yeah, I was very impressed with him last night. You know, he was all over the field. He had, I think it was nine tackles, and, you know, he played on special teams i just you you love seeing that a guy flying around the field like that and you know he was

i think uh gerard mayo called him this morning a tone setter and i think that was a very apt description yeah absolutely very well said and again ste, this is kind of the reality that the New England Patriots are setting up on defense. We know at some point Christian Barmore will be back in, whether or not that's this season or whether or not it's later this season or the following year. We know that Christian Barmore will probably be back on the field for this team, but we know Matthew Judon has said his final goodbye to New England. Before we leave this subject, what do you think is going to be his lasting impression here? Well, you know, I consider him a force multiplier. I mean, he just made everyone around him so much better. And he, you know, he was such a great leader on and off the field. That's why I'm so sorry to see him leave. Because I think he elevated everyone's game around him. And I think that's his legacy. He could do a ton of things, but he also made the players around him better. And he was such a positive influence.

He was. And he still is. And he will be for the Atlanta Falcons. They're getting a great one without any question. Boy, are they upgrading that defense. Not only are they having Matthew Judon walk through the door, but now Justin Simmons is going to be in that defensive backfield. They're serious about wanting to contend in Atlanta, and it's going to be interesting to watch that team. I'll do my fair share of keeping my sharp eye on them for Matthew's sake, because I'm going to miss him up here in New England. He was truly a joy to cover. He was always honest and always forthcoming, and he was always appreciative

of the respect that he got from people, but mostly from the fan base. That really drove him. That really energized him, and you could see the real love affair that he had developed with the fans here in New England. I have no doubt that he'll continue to do the same down in Atlanta, but the fans up here are going to miss him, and with due cause. The team is certainly going to miss him for all of the reasons that you've mentioned, not just his ability on the pass rush, but also his ability to be a facilitator,

whether it be to the defensive line or his fellow linebackers. He has the opportunity to make the players around him better, like you said very eloquently, Steve. And I think that's something the Patriots fans will take with them as they now move on and Matthew moves in a different direction. But folks, there are a lot of exciting players on this Pat's defense, and it looks like they're going to be okay based on what we saw. We hope to continue to see that type of progress each and every day out on the practice fields into the final preseason game coming up.

In the meantime, we're going to continue to break down all the ins and outs in Foxborough right here on Locked On Patriots. And joining me each and every week, as he always does and he'll continue to do, is my good friend, Steve Balistrieri. Steve, what can I say? Thank you so much for joining me here today. Before I let you go, please let everyone know where they can interact with you,

where they can find your great work for patsfans.com and Patriots 4th & 2. And last but not least, what you got marinating in La Cucina Balistrieri between today and the next time you join us here on Lockdown Patriots. Thank you, as always, for having me on. You can find me on Twitter at SteveB7SFG. I also write for PatsFans.com, as you mentioned, and do the podcast. We did our weekly podcast earlier this afternoon, so be sure to look for that. But, you know, this weekend, we're just going to be rehashing a lot of this same stuff. We're going

to take a deeper dive and rewatch the game film from, you know, the Eagles and see if there were things that, you know, as the game was unfolding that we might have overreacted to or underreacted to. So we'll be taking a look at that and putting it out on our Sunday column. Absolutely. And folks, the Sunday column that Steve writes each and every week is referred to as the Sunday paper by our good friend Thomas Murphy. I assure you that's not an exaggeration. It's anticipated each and every week. as the Sunday paper by our good friend Thomas Murphy. I assure you that's not an exaggeration. It's anticipated each and every week.

It's one of the best reads you will find in Patriots Nation. I put it right up there with Mike Reese's weekly Sunday column. Steve, you're one of the best in the business, a better man than you are a journalist, and that's saying something because you are one of the best in the business. So thank you for joining me each and every week here on Locked on Patriots. And we're thrilled to have you back aboard for the ride. And folks, we are nearing that date where New England Patriots football will become real football once again, Sunday, September 8th.

And the Patriots taking on the Cincinnati Bengals. But in the meantime, there's still a preseason contest mix in there. And of course, final roster cut down. So keep it right here on Locked On Patriots for the very latest. You're not going to want to miss a single second of the action. Thank you for making us a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Don't forget to check out our good friends at Locked On Fantasy Football for your next listen right here on the Locked On Podcast Network.

But in the meantime, on behalf of Steve Balistrieri, I'm Mike DeBate reminding all of you to stay safe, 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 Locked on Patriots.