Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Offseason Strategy: Key Moves, Potential Targets; Final Super Bowl Thoughts

Starting point is 00:00:00 A new champion has been crowned in the NFL. Every team now resets to zero wins, zero losses. Are the Patriots getting an aggressive start to the 2025 season? 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

Starting point is 00:00:37 and hopefully your first listen each and every day. I'm your host, Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for the Patriots country 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 while you're out there showing some love to Locked On Patriots social media style follow our X account there as well

Starting point is 00:00:56 at L-O underscore Patriots and of course you can catch me over where the skies are blue at Blue Sky at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L dot B-Sky dot social and pats fans today's episode is brought to you by fan duel right now new fan duel customers can get 150 in bonus bets if your first five dollar bet wins that's fans 2025 hasn't officially begun on the NFL schedule yet, but with the crowning of a new champion in Super Bowl 59, every team resets to zero and zero.

Starting point is 00:01:29 A familiar face has been re-signed. What does it mean for the Patriots' off-season agenda? It actually may tell you a little more than you think. We're going to discuss that today on Locked On Patriots, and of course, we'd be remiss if we did not give some much-deserved laurels to the new king in town, the new Super Bowl 59 champion Philadelphia Eagles defeating the Kansas City Chiefs. We're going to talk about what the Chiefs' loss means and how it all affects your New England Patriots. And lastly, the game to be played on the field on Sunday was fun from start to finish,

Starting point is 00:02:01 but it was also a great opportunity to scout some potential free agents. And your New England Patriots have a lot of holes on this team that have to be filled. Who among those that took the field in New Orleans on Sunday might look good in Patriot blue? We're going to discuss all of that today. So stick around, folks. You are not going to want to miss a single second of the action. And of course, I say we, because joining me today is my good friend,

Starting point is 00:02:26 my Patriots by Zahn, the only man that can lend the reason, the wisdom, the counsel we need is my good friend, Steve Balistrieri of Patsfans.com and the Patriots 4th and 2 podcast. But welcome back to the pod. Thank you so much for joining me today. Yeah. You know, it's, it's always a bittersweet moment at the Superbowl because you get to watch, you know, the biggest game of the year, but now football is over until

Starting point is 00:02:54 August. I mean, uh, you know, so now we enter that off season stuff and, you know, it's right around the corner next week, you know, we you know we'll be in Indy and watching the players at the combine but you know congrats to the Eagles I mean what a absolute dominant performance and I don't think anyone saw that kind of score coming yeah I have to agree with you there I know even the most diehard Eagles fan will probably tell you that they believe their team could win, but maybe not for seeing it happen in that fashion. Eagles dominating this one from start to finish. A lot of talk about legacy still to come here on Locked On Patriots, folks. Stay locked in. You're not going to want to miss a

Starting point is 00:03:40 single second of that action. But Steve, obviously a new season is about to begin in the NFL. A new era is about to begin for the New England Patriots under Mike Grable. And we keep hearing about a return to aggression for the New England Patriots. I'm an unabashed fan of the Karate Kid, Cobra Kai. I haven't made that a really big secret here on Locked On Patriots. The Pats want to return to vintage Cobra Kai. They want to strike first. They want to strike hard. They want to show no mercy. Now, you have to have the personnel to do it, so it's going to take a little bit of time to get there, but one thing that we keep hearing is that the Patriots are going to return to

Starting point is 00:04:19 aggression, at least on defense, and take a look at some of the moves that they've made and say, they are moving in that direction, at least conceptually. Mike Vrabel coming in as the head coach. Mike is a strike first type of head coach. We've seen that before. We've seen him as a strike hard type of player out there on the field. He's going to make sure that his team is properly motivated and they're getting after the quarterback. They're getting after what they need to in order to stop an opposing offense. Terrell Williams coming in. This guy has gone on record by saying that he promotes violence among his players. That's a trait he's looking for in his linemen.

Starting point is 00:04:58 Well, the Patriots may be also getting a head start on that on the field, folks, because defensive tackle Jeremiah Farms jr was set to be an exclusive rights free agent so essentially folks that means that the patriots would have had the right to keep him in a patriots uniform anyway however they're signing him means that he is clearly going to be a key cog when it comes to building the depth along this defensive front. Farms coming back to the fold, Steve, indicates to me that this team is serious about getting guys on this roster that are aggressive when it comes to defense. Say what you will about Jeremiah Farms. There may still be seasoning left to provide on him in order to become a complete football

Starting point is 00:05:41 player, but he's an aggressive defender, and this kid has a nonstop motor. I really like this re-signing for the Pats. I think this is a good way to set the table for what may be coming here in New England. Yes, and you know, Farms is a great story, right? The guy was overlooked, right? And then he played in the USFL and another like

Starting point is 00:06:08 really minor football league, but he got a shot with the Patriots. He had a work on the practice squad for a year or so. And then they, you know, they brought him up to the 53-man roster. And I thought he flashed quite a bit last year with a new aggressive style of defense. Who knows? I mean, the numbers that they signed him to were really modest. But that's not going to matter a bit to Farms because he wants to play. And, you know, if he continues to practice and to play, hopefully with better coaching this year, then, you know, he's gotten, who knows, he might blossom into every down kind of guy. With this new aggressive style of defense,

Starting point is 00:07:01 which I think we're all sure is coming. I mean, that's probably music to his ears oh guaranteed and i love the fact that you mentioned the fact that he wants to play because i think that was the catalyst for a move like this being made so early one thing about jeremiah farms that you have to give him he was not one of the patriots players uh who had his effort questioned last year this guy gave an A-plus effort on every single snap, every single down. He went out there and played hard every single day, and that's the type of player right now that Mike Vrabel and Terrell Williams want to try to help

Starting point is 00:07:37 build around. Now, I'm not saying he's a generational talent here, folks. I'm not going to go above and beyond to talk about his impact on the defense. Jeremiah is a guy that can start for you, and I believe he does have that potential in this league. I think his most prominent role is going to be playing a depth role along that defensive front, and I think that he has the ability to do that, and he will do that job well. But again, this is someone that has had to overcome adversity for a better part of his career you know some questions about his size his talent level people thought that maybe he couldn't translate to the nfl jeremiah has shown that with hard work you can overcome that and if anybody's

Starting point is 00:08:17 looking to see what this kid can do on the field when he's dialed in and really feeling it go back to week 10 against the bears last year i think that's probably a great film to watch if you're looking for something to hang your hat on when it comes to Jeremiah Farms. A sack, two hurries, five total tackles. I think his best performance as a pro, arguably, but I think most people would probably fall into line with that argument. You can correct me if I'm wrong, Osage. I always defer to you on

Starting point is 00:08:45 matters of this type when it comes to defense, but that is the type of guy that you want to see if you're the New England Patriots. So Jeremiah Farms coming back is a great story. He's a great guy, a great kid, very humble, and I think very appreciative of the role that he has here on this team. To me, if you're Mike Vrabel and Terrell Williams, you're looking at this kid and saying, okay, yeah, this is a great first move to make. It shows that we are committed, like you said, to an aggressive style of defense. And it also tells me a lot about the type of players that they're looking to bring in. I think this sets the tone perfectly for New England to begin free agency in over a month. Absolutely. And again, I mean, we're not saying, you know,

Starting point is 00:09:28 he's going to be a generational type of talent. But, you know, one of the hallmarks when the Patriots were successful is bringing in what Bill used to call the middle class guys, right? They're not superstars, but they're going to work hard, play every down like it's the last play of their career, and they're deaf guys who fulfill a valuable role. And, you know, you can't have an all pro at every position on the 53 man roster. I mean, that's just an impossibility, but you need guys like this. And I think it's like you said, I think it's a great first move for them. And let's hope it's followed by better ones.

Starting point is 00:10:21 A new era in Foxborough, but Steve, as much as we try to turn the page and move on the patriots legacy continues to be top of mind with everyone in the nfl universe if you looked on social media during super bowl 59 you kept seeing one number pop up all over your timeline and that's number 12 some say the debate over who is the greatest of all time was settled on the field on Sunday when Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs bowed to the Philadelphia Eagles 40-22 in a game that sounds a lot closer than it really was, folks.

Starting point is 00:10:57 Has the GOAT debate been put to bed? I think a more poignant question might be, what does this mean for the standing of the Patriots' legacy? Well, Steve and I are going to discuss that and more when we break down our thoughts on Super Bowl 59 and what it means to your New England Patriots when this episode of the

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Starting point is 00:12:43 Unofficially, 2025 has already begun, and the Patriots are already off to a start in retaining some of their internal talent. Jeremiah Farms is back in the building when it comes to the New England Patriots, and it is only the first in a long line of moves that needs to be made. Were there some potential Patriots

Starting point is 00:13:01 playing on the field in New Orleans on Super Bowl Sunday? Yeah, we're going to discuss that in just a moment. And I say we, because joining me today is my good friend and Patriots bison and our resident voice of reason here on Locked On Patriots, Steve Balistrieri of Patsfans.com and the Patriots 4th and 2 podcast. Steve, before we get into the players that we saw on the field and whether or not they'd look nice in Patriot blue I think we'd be remiss if we didn't take a moment to just revisit exactly

Starting point is 00:13:32 what we saw on the field on Sunday obviously the NFL has crowned a new champion Philadelphia Eagles capping their season with a dominant 40 to 22 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. Eagles now earning their second Lombardi trophy in the process, squashing the Chiefs' chances for a three-peat, a feat which had never been accomplished before. And according to a lot of people, this may have hurt the Chiefs' legacy in their efforts to overtake the greatest dynasty that we've seen in the NFL to date. And I say that without hesitation, folks. The New England Patriots from 2000 to 2018 were the most dominant force the NFL has ever seen. And here today, on February 11th, that statement is a true statement.

Starting point is 00:14:15 Now, as you watch this game unfold, and as you saw Patrick Mahomes struggle, as you saw the Chiefs' offensive line drastically struggle, and then you saw this defense start to break down a little bit with an aggressive style of offense that the Philadelphia Eagles had been really, I think, employing all year long and really got the opportunity to showcase it on the world's biggest stage. Did it give you a new appreciation for the Patriots dynasty? And what were your thoughts when it came to what you were watching

Starting point is 00:14:46 and how it related to being not only a member of Patriots media having covered these dynasty teams, but also as a fan watching them over the course of the last two decades? Well, you know, it starts with a lot of the media today, and it's not just in the NFL. It's across all sports. There's always this recency bias okay we see it every year team wins a championship and the first thing you see the next morning is this the best team of all time and you know i get so tired of hearing that. Look, you know, they made so much of a deal with Mahomes and the Chiefs

Starting point is 00:15:29 going to three straight Super Bowls. And it's incredibly tough to do that. Now, they had a chance for a three-peat. But, you know, as we all know, the Patriots went to three straight Super Bowls. And the one in the middle, you middle, they lost by one score. The Patriots were one score away from having a three-peat. Think about that. Ironically, against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Starting point is 00:15:59 Against the Philadelphia Eagles. It is so cyclical. It really is. It's amazing. Right? It is so cyclical. It really is. It's amazing. Right. And, and now, now this game, this wasn't even in the realm of,

Starting point is 00:16:10 Oh, they were almost there. They got demolished and you have to give the Eagles an absolute ton of credit. I know watching the game, uh, Mike Vrabel, Terrell Williams,

Starting point is 00:16:30 and our good friend Murph must've loved it because it was all in the trenches. The Eagles absolutely dominated both sides of the ball in the trenches. They never blitzed Mahomes once, but they had, was it six sacks? You know, they sacked him six times. He was under duress all game long. And let's face it, I mean, this game was over by the midway through the third quarter. And, you know, he got a couple of touchdowns late, but those really did amount to a hill of beans that, you know,

Starting point is 00:17:04 those were just garbage time scores. Let's call it what it was. But, you know, I thought, you know, if they really wanted to be fair, and I'm not taking anything away from Jalen Hurts, who I thought was outstanding, but

Starting point is 00:17:21 to me, the most valuable player was those four guys on the defensive line absolutely because they they just set the tone right from the beginning and uh you know they just dominated and and like uh we said at the outset this uh this game nobody nobody saw it coming. We expected it to be a close, hard-fought game. But, again, you know, and going back to the Patriots, I mean, you know, the Patriots won six Super Bowls. The Chiefs have won three. And, you know, by all these constant comparisons, I mean, really,

Starting point is 00:18:02 what are we looking at here? I mean. It's true. comparisons. I mean, really, what are we looking at here? I mean, you know, they went to nine Super Bowls in 18 years. And, you know, that is dynasty stuff, you know. And, you know, in regards to Patrick Mahomes, I mean, again, he's a great football player. He's a great quarterback. But, you know, you're comparing him to a guy that's won seven Super Bowls, you know, and even if he won on Sunday, yeah, he'd have the three-peat. But he's still three more Super Bowls behind Tom Brady.

Starting point is 00:18:42 Right. Thank you. You know? And Brady beat him twice in the playoffs, had to add. And the only two times they met. So, I mean, I just think it borders on ridiculous, but, I mean, we've seen crazier stuff, haven't we? Absolutely.

Starting point is 00:18:57 We've seen crazier stuff. And look, you know, when you look at the accomplishments of both of these franchises, and I am not taking anything away from what the Kansas City Chiefs have done. Again, we've both acknowledged that what they've done going to three Super Bowls in a row and having the type of success they've had within such a compact period is extremely difficult. It's something they deserve a ton of credit for. Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelsey, Steve spagnuolo the chris jones you can throw in there as well all of these guys that come together to bring a team from success to dynasty level success is something that every chiefs fan should be extremely proud of and look

Starting point is 00:19:38 i think it's extremely short-sighted to write the epitaph for this chiefs team right now knowing what we know about what the Patriots have done and their ability to reinvent themselves. So anyone thinking that we're going to come over here to throw dirt on the grave of the Kansas City Chiefs, that's certainly not what we're doing here. What we're saying when it comes to the New England Patriots is that sustained level of success that they had under Tom Brady.

Starting point is 00:20:02 You mentioned Brady played in 10 Super Bowls. He won seven of them. That puts him in rarefied air and puts him alone atop the mountain, as far as I'm concerned, right off the bat. But then you look at the Brady-Belichick era and what this Patriots team was able to accomplish in that time. They played in nine, more than any other NFL franchise at the time. They won six of them, tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers,

Starting point is 00:20:31 for the top in NFL history in the Super Bowl era. 19 consecutive winning seasons for the New England Patriots in that time. 17 division titles. They won 11 straight AFC East titles during that period as well. 13 appearances, including eight consecutive in the AFC championship game. The Patriots appeared in half of all the Super Bowls played during Brady's 18 seasons as the primary starter here in New England. They won two thirds of those that they played in. That in itself speaks for itself. That type of greatness is rarefied. And do the Kansas City Chiefs have it within them to try to make a run and make a challenge at that time will tell but from the output that we saw on the field on Sunday compared to what we've seen

Starting point is 00:21:11 from the Patriots in those big moments yeah the comparison definitely took a hit you can't look at that objectively and say that the Chiefs dynasty hopes that Mahomes being considered the greatest of all time those arguments that are so prevalent right now in sports media I don't think you can look at those objectively at this point from what we saw on the field on Sunday and still say that he has the same odds they took a hit on Sunday for better or for worse oh yeah I mean and and again look at it I mean Brady lost three Super Bowls and and all three of those when when he came off the field, the Patriots were ahead. And that's something you need to remember. And those three Super Bowl losses were, I think, a total of 15 points.

Starting point is 00:21:56 Yeah. And Mahomes has now lost two Super Bowls by a combined total of 40 points. That, to me, Brady was never blown out in the super bowl now at times in that atlanta game it looked like they were about to but that's the difference right mahomes had his shot to come back and you know do brady s things in that second half and come from 24 down like Brady came from 25 down against Atlanta. But, you know, he wasn't able to do that. So you have to take all that into consideration.

Starting point is 00:22:33 But it doesn't take away. He's a great quarterback. But they still have a long way to go. But I think, honestly, you know, I think the window of the Reed, Mahomes, Kelsey championship era is starting to close. Because I think Kelsey will probably play one more year and then he's done. And Andy Reid said he's coming back next year, which kind of leads me to believe that he's now leaning toward retirement as well. And, you know, that will be the ultimate test, right? When they have to, you know, like the Patriots just kept retooling through those 18 years. Now that, you know, with the Chiefs, they're going to have to do that retooling.

Starting point is 00:23:26 And we'll see how it all plays out. But they have a great team. And I will say, I know it's being a little petty, okay? And I'm going to be a little petty here. But Steve Spagnuolo from Grafton Mass, who I covered, I mean, Grafton football, you know he he discombobulated you know the patriots in 2007 when he was with the giants and it was kind of nice to see him discombobulated by the eagles on sunday night i got a little bit of pleasure out of that and like i said i know

Starting point is 00:24:03 it's petty but that's the fan in me coming out. Yeah, I'm glad that you mentioned that because I think a strong tip of the cap to Nick Sirianni and being able to lead this team, this Eagles team, to a championship, well-deserving of that. But you need to put a lot of respect on the names of Kellen Moore, who did an amazing job with this offense in Super Bowl 59, and Vic Fangio, who did an incredible job of being able to flummox one of the best there is out there that you'll see anywhere in any era. I think it's only fair to talk about why Patrick looked so out of sorts in this game.

Starting point is 00:24:39 21 of 32, 257 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions. Now, those three touchdowns came when the game was completely out of reach. So I think that's a little bit misleading in terms of saying, okay, well, he finished with over 250 yards. He finished with three touchdowns. It couldn't have been that bad. No, it was bad folks. It was bad. And a lot of that does have to be placed on Patrick shoulders, but that Eagles defense provided relentless pressure on Patrick Mahomes. That offensive line for the Kansas City Chiefs broke down, and you talked about this last week when we talked about a potential preview and having Joe Tooney move over and play the tackle

Starting point is 00:25:15 position. Tooney is held in the highest regard here in New England, but that is not his natural position. It definitely had an impact, and six sacks on Mahomes, 38.1% pressure rate. That pressure got to him early. It got to him often, and it completely took him out of his game. Once again, what Steve said absolutely falls into line. All of that contributes to a quarterback sport performance, and it definitely flummoxed Patrick Mahomes but if you're going to be considered the greatest of all time and that is a very very heavy crown to wear you have to rise above that and that's something that Mahomes acknowledged himself now it's going to be how do you rebound from adversity if he can come back reinvent himself lead his team in situations like that

Starting point is 00:26:02 yeah I think you can put him back in the greatest of all time discussion. But right now, I think that discussion belongs to Tom Brady and to Tom Brady alone. Yeah, you know, and the thing that surprised me, you know, we look at the Chiefs this year, and, you know, every game for them was tight, you know. They had so many close games this year and that that begins to take a toll on you now it also builds the confidence that you need right but at the same time you know they they were in a lot of close games this year and Mahomes all year you know the one thing that he was doing was he was taking what was there right right? Might not have been the big flashy plays, but he took what was there

Starting point is 00:26:48 and, you know, he got them at crunch time down the field to win games. In this game, as soon as they fell behind, it seemed like he was going after every big splash play and he wasn't taking what was there. And I thought that's a sign of a guy that's being rattled. Yeah. Right. Absolutely.

Starting point is 00:27:08 He feels like, okay, we got to strike big and deep in this. And, and, you know, it played right into the Eagles. I mean, rushing four guys, dropping seven, you know, I thought that was such a great, you know, game plan and they were able to pull it off. I mean, tremendously. But, you know, I, again, I look at at my homes and he didn't take what was there. He was going after those big splash plays. And I found that a little bit surprising um and you know I go

Starting point is 00:27:47 back to a couple of Tom Brady's Super Bowls again you know we're comparing the two but you know I I'll go back to that one against the Eagles in the first half the Patriots offense didn't do really anything but he adjusted and they came out in the second half and they really chewed them up. The game against Atlanta, obviously they were down 28-3 in the third quarter and then he brought them back and at the end of that game, you know, when it finally went to overtime, I was thinking if they win the toss, this game is over because Brady had commenced chewing them up. And that was the hallmark of his career.

Starting point is 00:28:32 You know, he was able to change on the fly, adjust, and always took what was there in front of him because of his preparation. And Mahomes is still lacking, I think, there. Exactly. of his preparation and Mahomes is still lacking. I think there. Yeah, exactly. That's such a good point to make because Patrick actually acknowledged that after his Superbowl loss and the chief Superbowl loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a couple of years ago at the hands of Tom Brady, you look at what Todd Bowles did in that game. And that was the blitz machine. That was the Tampa Bay blitz machine where they were consistently blitzing him at all times and patrick acknowledged that because of the pressure he was under it rattled him to the point where he reverted back to the backyard type football style and i'm

Starting point is 00:29:15 quoting patrick directly when he said that is this now a blueprint because you saw the eagles employ a similar type of strategy now not the similar game plan folks they didn't blitz the way that uh tampa bay did they use the four-man rush like steve said with dropping seven in the coverage that was brilliant because it did throw patrick off of his game but again because he got rattled he reverted back to that backyard style football that can be a blessing and a curse in a lot of different respects sometimes you can ride it to success. The Chiefs had no success in being able to do that on Sunday. Credit the Eagles for being able to contain,

Starting point is 00:29:53 but this is something now, again, Patrick Mahomes needs to go back to the drawing board, take a look at what he's done over the course of the last few years, and now rise above that, increase that preparation each and every Sunday to be able to tackle some of these difficulties. Again, if he does, I'd like the Chiefs' chances of being able to be right back in the position they were this season. That's going to be, I think, his biggest challenge is can he rise above the adversity he's facing right now? Can he get from arguably one of the low points of his career right now and bring this team back to a

Starting point is 00:30:25 level of championship contention they have the talent on both sides of the ball they've got the coaching staff as long as these guys remain in place they've got the quarterback he is the best in the league and i say that without hesitation um it's just a matter of you know bringing him back up to where he needs to be to get back into that rarefied air that only Tom Brady is breathing, Steve. And at least for the next year or so, I don't think you're going to hear a whole lot of comparisons between the Chiefs overtaking the Patriots as great as Dynasty of all time. And I don't think you're going to hear a whole lot of chatter about Patrick Mahomes overtaking Tom Brady as the greatest quarterback of all time. Those two pantheons are safe in Foxborough right now, folks.

Starting point is 00:31:07 And I guess as Patriots fans, tip of the cap to the Philadelphia Eagles for securing that for us for at least a little bit longer here in New England. But Steve, it's always fun to revisit the past and talking about Brady and Belichick in the early days of the Patriots dynasty. But one thing that I think the Super Bowl did give us a good look at was some potential free agents. And there were free agents that were on the field on Sunday in New Orleans, both from the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles that might look pretty good in a Patriots

Starting point is 00:31:38 uniform. Steve and I are going to talk a little bit about potential new Patriots, some pie in the sky options, and maybe some more realistic options when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast wraps up right here on the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Locked On listeners, when the game tips off, the NBA action is just getting started, and there's no better place to get in on it than FanDuel, America's number one sports book. With FanDuel, you can place live bets throughout the game. So even if you miss the opening tip-off or want to bet on a fourth quarter comeback, you can stay in on the action. And if you're looking for a bigger payout, you can even combine your live bets into a same game parlay. I love using FanDuel's live betting feature

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Starting point is 00:32:51 That's FanDuel.com for your shot at $150 in bonus bets. Make every moment more with FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on Locked On Patriots. As we continue to break down the Patriots' move into the 2025 season, joining me here today to break it all down is my good friend Steve Balistrieri of Patsfans.com and the Patriots 4th & 2 podcast. Steve, as of March 13th, all NFL free agents are going to be free to sign with whichever team they feel is going to give them the best fit to showcase their talents.

Starting point is 00:33:32 More realistically, they're going to sign with the team that gives them the most money. So, Steve, in that regard, the Patriots are very well set. My good friend, our good mutual friend, the Foxborough finance guru himself, Miguel Benzon, the Pat's cat, joined me here on these airwaves on Friday and declared the Patriots' financial state to be very healthy. As a matter of fact, he expects them to be very active in spending that $120-plus million that's burning a hole in Robert Kraft's pocket right now. Mike Vrabel, Ryan Cowden, Elliot elliot wolf going to be very aggressive in trying to bring guys in we know that there are top of the line free agents that could be available but there

Starting point is 00:34:10 were a number of players that were playing in super bowl 59 on sunday in new orleans that are scheduled to be free agents both on the kansas city chiefs and on the defending champion philadelphia eagles so in this regard i'm going to put your reason your wisdom your counsel to good use my friend and i'm going to ask you who among the players that you watched on sunday that are potential free agents caught your sharp eye as possible patriots targets well i think it starts with josh sweat right um and, you know, Derek Havens on our podcast, we've mentioned him. And, you know, he's a guy we would love to see, you know, the Patriots be able to maybe hand him an offer he can't refuse, right?

Starting point is 00:35:00 And, you know, bring him to Foxborough's outside linebacker. I think he would fit in quite well with, you know, what Frabel and Williams are probably going to install. And boy, you know, it was nice to see him just explode. And we mentioned that the Eagles didn't blitz at all during the game um and people said well how did josh sweat get a sack well it's because they you know they they mixed it up they only rushed four and you know alignment stayed on the line of scrimmage and sweat rush um but i'll tell you besides besides that sack, and again, I'm going to revert a little bit back to the game,

Starting point is 00:35:49 was the fact that, you know, I saw the worst attempt at blocking an edge rusher on that play with Travis Kelsey. He just kind of allayed him right into the backfield, and he came around the edge and then sacked Mahomes from behind. But that being said, I really, really like him. I think he would fit in quite well. We'll see if the Eagles can maybe keep him there.

Starting point is 00:36:24 But the other Eagles linebacker you and I talked about offline, Zach Bond, what a great interception that was. I mean, you talk about a guy who, you know, just found a home there and he fit right in with the Eagles. It looked like he's been there forever, you know. What a great football story that is and i mean i don't see any way possible that uh they're gonna let him go right you know you never know stranger things have happened and a guy from the chiefs uh interior offensive lineman which the Patriots need, you know.

Starting point is 00:37:07 Obviously, it's not Joe Tooney. You know, that was a mistake. You know, when I look at Trey Smith, the guard from the Chiefs, you know, a guy that was a six-round draft pick, and he's turned into one of the better guards, I think, in the league. And the Patriots need help on the offensive line, not just, you know, at tackle, but, you know, interior as well. You know, maybe they can do the Chiefs an even, you know, even Steven where, yeah, they took Tooney away from us,

Starting point is 00:37:44 but we're taking Smith, you know, away from where yeah they took tuning away from us but we're taking smith you know away from them yeah absolutely i agree with you i mean if you're looking pie in the sky you're looking at the champions first you're looking at the philadelphia eagles i would love to see josh sweat here in new england i would really love to see zach vaughn i don't see the eagles letting either one of these guys go. I think they find a way to bring them both back because I think the Eagles believe that they're building a budding dynasty in the NFC. And look, the NFC right now is full of teams that can arguably be had any given Sunday. You know Detroit's going to try to make their push once again, feeling that injuries cost them their

Starting point is 00:38:21 opportunity at a potential Super Bowl berth. And the Washington Commanders are also an interesting team to watch. So a lot to really keep an eye on when it comes to the NFC folks. It'll be interesting to see which one of these guys gets brought back. This could mean that some of the second-tier free agents that the Eagles have available, a couple of them coming on the offensive line, guys like Mekhi Becton, Fred Johnson, they may become available for the patriots to take a look at um eagles offensive line was one of the best in the league this year i think arguably you could say they were the best in the league this year at providing protection for uh

Starting point is 00:38:55 jalen hurts and also allowing saquon barkley to run comfortably through those lines so anybody that you could bring in that could potentially bolster this Patriots offensive line, I say you do it. On the Chiefs, I think there were a couple of defenders that I'd like to see poached from that Chiefs defense. One of them, Tom Brady, mentioned very prominently on Sunday, someone that continued to make his life difficult, and that's linebacker Nick Bolton. This kid has an aggressive style that he plays. I think he'd fit very well into this Patriots defensive concept. Maybe Justin Reed as a safety,

Starting point is 00:39:30 someone who could provide a little bit of pop back there in the defensive backfield. But what can I say? I always appreciate you dropping by, lending your wisdom, your counsel, and all of your insight when it comes to the Patriots dynasty, past, present, and future.

Starting point is 00:39:45 And of course, what it holds for the future of' dynasty, past, present, and future, and, of course, what it holds for the future of our New England Patriots. Before I let you go, please let everyone know where they can reach out to you, interact with you, and what you've got marinating in Steve's kitchen, La Cucina Bellastrari between now and when we welcome you back next week, bud. Yeah, you can follow me on Twitter, SteveB7SFG. I write for PatsFans.com. Derek Havens and I are doing our Patriots 4th and 2 podcast tomorrow. So we'll be talking about many of the same things you and I just discussed here.

Starting point is 00:40:19 Right. And then we'll be looking at free agency. I mean, I know a lot of people want to jump to the draft and talk about draft possibilities, but everything you do in the draft is driven by what you do or don't do in free agency. So I think free agency has to come first and we'll be looking at that. But it's going to be an exciting spring because I think they've built a great staff, you know, we'll see how it all plays out. But I, you know, I, I'm in the opinion that I'm a lot more, I think, optimistic about the staff than we were a year ago where, you know, there was some, obviously some questions with

Starting point is 00:41:07 so many new faces, but I think this staff is going to be good. We'll be looking at free agency, how they build a team, and that will show us their true vision. Yeah, I think that's such a good point to make, and folks, definitely keep that in mind. Free agency is the first step, but it's a major first step in determining the type of team that's going to be fielded, not just on the field this season, but beyond. How many guys are coming in on multi-year deals? That's going to determine exactly what type of vision Mike Vrabel, Ryan Cowden, Elliot Wolfe, ultimately Robert Kraft, all of the New England Patriots brain trust is going to have to help move this team forward and back to a level of respectability.

Starting point is 00:41:51 It all begins with free agency. And of course, we'll continue to break all of that down and fear not. If you're a draft fan, folks, we're not going to shelve the draft talk until March. There's no question about it. We're going to continue to go at it as Steve said with the combine fast approaching and all of your mock drafts coming in here to Lockdown Patriots we cannot wait to discuss the 2025 NFL draft and upcoming free agency with you right here on Lockdown Patriots but Steve again I always encourage Pats fans to check him out at Steve

Starting point is 00:42:22 B7SFG on Twitter. And anytime he puts pen to paper, voice to microphone, it's appointment reading, appointment listening. You'll always be well informed. I can guarantee you that. And you'll walk away each and every time with a piece of insight you didn't have prior to reading or listening to what Steve Balistrieri has to say and has to write. So on that basis, thank you, my friend, for joining me here today. Folks, thank all of you, all of you everydayers that continue to make Locked On Patriots a

Starting point is 00:42:50 daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Sincerely, thank you from the bottom of my heart. In the meantime, I'm Mike DeBate, and I remind all of you to stay safe, to stay well, to be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone. On behalf of Steve Balistrieri and I, enjoy, and we'll see you back here again tomorrow on Locked on Patriots.

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