Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots: Pats-Packers Recap, Isaiah Bolden update, O-line and More from Mailbag

Starting point is 00:00:00 Key takeaways from the Patriots-Packers preseason matchup and a positive update on Pat's cornerback, Isaiah Bolden. Stick around for Mailbag Monday, because 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. Welcome to the Lockdown Patriots podcast. We are a proud part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.

Starting point is 00:00:50 So subscribe or follow for free on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts to get the latest episode as soon as it's available. I am your host, Mike DeBate, and I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. So reach out to me on the Bird app, on Twitter, on X, whatever you want to be calling it these days, at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L. And while you're out there showing some love to the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well

Starting point is 00:01:16 at L-O underscore Patriots. And today's podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. If you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. Visit BetterHelp.com slash LockedOn today to get 10% off your first month. And Patriots fans, thank you for joining me here today on the pod. Hope you all had an amazing weekend. And a special shout out as always to all of you LockedOn everydayers out there. Those of you who make Locked On Patriots possible,

Starting point is 00:01:45 unending appreciation to you. I'm always honored and always humbled by your support. And Pats fans, today on the pod, it is hashtag Mailbag Monday, and we've got some great thought-provoking questions breaking down the New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers matchup Saturday night at Lambeau Field. Of course, we do have an update on Pats cornerback Isaiah Bolden. And also, whether Saturday night's game might be a further indication that the Patriots

Starting point is 00:02:12 might not be done adding or subtracting from this roster before final roster cutdowns next week on August 29th. So all of that Pats coverage needs another voice. And what better way to kick off Mailbag monday than make it a hashtag locked on murph monday that's right the green king of sting the monster master of disaster the count of murphy fisto himself the legendary thomas murphy of e2g sports.com and murph's gonna pop in just a moment to help me open up the locked on patriots mailbag and you know something without further ado let's welcome him in thank you for

Starting point is 00:02:45 coming to me in friendship and thank you for joining me today on hashtag mailbag Monday Don Murph oh always my pleasure Michael always my pleasure Michael um Mondays is is this is the reason I look forward to Monday absolutely there's no other reason to get out of bed there's no Monday night football there's no you know you can't even get out of bed for Monday night football these days. But Mailbag Monday and a chance to sit down here and talk a little Patriots with you. That'll get me up every week. Absolutely. And you know what? There is no better place to be on Monday than here on Locked On Patriots, because the mailbag is always robust with amazing questions.

Starting point is 00:03:23 And once again, folks, we got a couple of great ones for you to share today that made the cut that really are worthy of entire segments, Murph. And we're going to dedicate the time and the energy that they so richly deserve. But ordinarily, here on a Monday, New England Patriots earning their first preseason victory. Murph, that'd be the lead storyline taken from Green Bay, Wisconsin, and the Patriots' 21-17 victory over the Green Bay Packers. But it really appropriately paled in comparison to the events that unfolded at the end of that game on Saturday.

Starting point is 00:03:58 And that's health and the collective concern shown by both sides for Pats rookie Isaiah Bolden. Of course, folks, we're talking about 10.38 left in the fourth quarter. Isaiah going in for a tackle and unfortunately and inadvertently colliding with the elbow of linebacker Calvin Munson immediately went to the ground. Isaiah was promptly looked after by the doctors and training staff, immobilized, loaded onto a stretcher, and carted off the field where he would go to a local hospital for observation. Thankfully, Isaiah,

Starting point is 00:04:31 after all of the observations, diagnosed with a concussion. He is still on the mend, but in good spirits, according to Bill Belichick on Monday morning. Murph, a scary moment in NBA, and really, I think, as Matthew Slater eloquently put after the game, reminds you of the fragility of life and the secondary nature of football. Obviously, all of our thoughts, our prayers, our best wishes go out to Isaiah and his family right now. Glad to see him on the men's side. Yeah, exactly.

Starting point is 00:05:01 You know, all the good karma out to the entire Bolden family. Really dodged a bullet here. I thought he'd run into Munson's thigh at first. You know how that happens. You know, it's football. But, no, they made the right decision. They got a little pushback from some fans about whether or not they made the right decision. No, it's a preseason game, people.

Starting point is 00:05:30 They made the right decision. Even an in-season game, they made the right decision. I don't care what you have, you know, down on the game, what bets you put in. It was the right thing to do. Yeah, without question. Absolutely the right thing to do. I still, for the life of me, cannot understand how the argument can be made that it wasn't the right thing to do. Yeah, without question. Absolutely the right thing to do. I still, for the life of me, cannot understand how the argument can be made that it wasn't the right thing to do. And again, I'm glad you mentioned the betting and whatnot. I mean, that is so

Starting point is 00:05:53 insignificant compared to the health and well-being of a fallen teammate out there. You're not sure what's going on. A lot of uncertainty. You could see the concern in the eyes and on the faces of all his Patriots teammates. And kudos to the Green Bay Packers as well. I thought they handled that situation in class from Matt LaFleur, the coach, to all the players on the field. This was a matchup that came in with a lot of tensions rising, a lot of chippiness. Even before the game, there was a little bit of a dust-up at midfield, and people were thinking these emotions are going to really spill over into this game. You really saw the NFL as a brotherhood come together at that moment. You're definitely proud to see all of the outpouring of support for Isaiah, but glad to

Starting point is 00:06:35 see him in a situation where he'll be able to recover and Patriots will unquestionably give him the time he needs, but a very difficult and very scary situation that could have been a lot more horrific than it was. And you're right. It was a chippy set of practices that happened in Green Bay. At one point, there were like four fights on four consecutive snaps, I think. And, you know, that happens. And, you know, especially in these joint workouts, you sit there and you get the guys that are on the roster bubble trying to make a freaking an impression on somebody. They're hitting at 100 percent instead of 85. And that that tends to tick people off. Yeah, it really does. And, you know, Isaiah was making such a strong case for himself to earn a roster spot. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:07:23 All of the great things that he was doing on the field, not just on the field as a cornerback, but also as a kick returner. These things, I think, always have a way of putting things in perspective. And you heard that word used an awful lot from Patriots players postgame, whether it be Mac Jones or Jalen Mills or Matthew Slater or even Bill Belichick, really understanding what truly is important. And it was the health and well-being of Isaiah Bolden. We were glad to see that cooler heads prevailed,

Starting point is 00:07:50 that they were able to come to the agreement to spend the rest of the game, a preseason game, but a game nonetheless. And also, I think the Patriots making the right decision to suspend two days of joint practices with the Tennessee Titans, give these players an opportunity to spend time at home. Yeah, exactly. And regroup and then be able to go at it and give it a full tilt on Friday night when the Patriots take on the Titans. But Murph, there was a game that was also played and through three plus quarters, we did see some things on the field that were promising for the New England Patriots. I'm sure we saw things that were concerning.

Starting point is 00:08:26 Let's start with the positives because we're trying to keep things positive here. What were the positive takeaways from you on Saturday night? What did you see from the Patriots that you really enjoyed from a game-playing perspective? From a game-playing perspective, I liked the way Mac Jones went out there and handled his business. He looked much better underneath center this week, even though, even though he was pressured a little bit, I think he got sacked twice.

Starting point is 00:08:50 But he's somebody he's going through his progressions. He's, he's using his check down when he needs to. And I liked the shots that he took downfield. Unfortunately, they just didn't connect. Yeah, absolutely.

Starting point is 00:09:02 Especially the shot to Devante Parker and. Yeah, come on, dude. Well, it's a preseason game. If that were in a regular season game, I think Devontae makes that catch. And you know who else believes that? Devontae Parker himself, who responded to our good mutual friend, Taylor Kyles on Twitter, who tweeted out something similar and says, I think Devontae hauls this in if this is regular season, to which he said, facts. So I think that Devontae right now understands that. I needed to see it then. I really did. All right. Yeah, but after what happened to Tyquan Thornton, you really want him injuring himself on a play like that. You know he can make it. You know he can make it.

Starting point is 00:09:40 The fact that he was there in a position to do it, I think proves more. Now, if this is in a regular game setting, I'm right there with you. There is no excuse for him not hauling this in. But in a preseason setting, I'm kind of willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on this. No, no, no. I'm with you there. I'm with you there. And once again, Thornton is banged up and laid up.

Starting point is 00:10:01 And there are other guys out here. Keyshawn Butte had himself a fine game in the one pass that he was able to connect with. I thought that was fantastic. There are guys moving up the depth chart here while Thornton is just kind of hanging in limbo and hanging on to a rung. This kid needs to get healthy he needs to get out there and um you know just rolling back to parker you know you know like like he said in in game situation he probably catches that but i you know using using parker as a uh as a stretch weapon i'm thinking is is not quite the way that you really want to go with him.

Starting point is 00:10:47 Yeah. Okay. He's a contested catch guy. He's an outside the hashtags guy. You know, he runs his digs. He runs his slants really well. And he's just not that individual that they're trying to, you know, for lack of personnel, put him into. And there are just better ways that he can be used.

Starting point is 00:11:09 I'm glad that you said that. And I think that's absolutely correct. Because Devontae Parker is not the speed weapon that you want stretching the field. He's very good at being able to make catches at the point of attack. That's his specialty. He may get you a yard or two afterwards. He's going to fight for it. He's not necessarily going to be that juju-like threat that's going to give you several yards after the catch, but Devontae can give you a couple, but he's not the guy that

Starting point is 00:11:35 you want stretching out there on the field. That's a guy like Taequann Thornton. And one of the things that I think the Patriots are liking from this pair of rookies that they're seeing with Demario Douglas and Keyshawn Butte is an opportunity for the both of them to kind of play that yin and yang type role that the Patriots are going to, I think, really enjoy this season. I said here on Friday, all Keishon needed to do was go out there, make a couple of catches, prove his worth. And then I thought he was in the driver's seat for proving his worth on the roster that 42 yard slant from great pass by bailey better catch yeah absolutely really want to give him a lot of credit for that as well i mean you know you take him in the slant you take it 42 yards for the score

Starting point is 00:12:16 that to me proves an awful lot about what this kid can do and his burst after the catch and giving you that extra is something that I think the Patriots are really going to like from him. So yeah, you're hoping Taekwon's going to get back on the field. We're hearing that it's not extremely serious, that he's week to week, but right now, yeah, only a couple of weeks left. You definitely hope that he gets out there sooner rather than later, unless the Patriots have already seen enough when it comes to him. Another thing on the positive side, how about Kendrick Bourne? Whether it was catching passes or throwing blocks, it was immense watching this guy.

Starting point is 00:12:55 You know, we've been begging for this. We've been pleading for this. He spent last year in the clown's doghouse for whatever reason from off the get-go and we did not get we didn't see him last year the year before he had a career year and then we didn't see him last year but seeing him out there in his element doing his thing with the number ones it was it was really refreshing to see yeah without question absolutely uh three passes 34 yards was the stat line on the night his highlight obviously coming on the 17-yard strike from Mac Jones. That was on a third and eight, folks.

Starting point is 00:13:30 That was the block that he threw that sprung Ramondre. Was it Ramondre? Yeah, it was Ramondre. It was the block that he threw that sprung Ramondre. It was fantastic. Bill eats this stuff up, and this is what was missing last year, was that block at the next level. Get this kid out there and keep him out there. Yeah, absolutely, and that was his highlight of the night.

Starting point is 00:13:51 If you want to talk about what his best catch was, yeah, then I think my argument makes a little bit more sense there. 17-yard strike from Jones on a third and eight. Give a lot of credit to Mack, too, because Mack Jones of old probably would not have thrown this pass. He wouldn't have given that extra time for for uh Kendrick to extend his route a little bit and be able to put himself in position to make that catch uh but Kendrick was great in this game and that block that he threw to Ramondre is textbook folks if you're coaching a team you want to show them that

Starting point is 00:14:19 this is how you get the job done and great stuff for the New England Patriots on the offensive side of the ball uh we've talked about the New England Patriots on the offensive side of the ball. We've talked about the positives in this game. Anything that concerns you walking away from this game for the New England Patriots? Yeah, we, we talked last week, it was Friday or Saturday that, you know, what we were looking for in this game. And I didn't get much of what I was looking for in this game. I did not like the play of the defensive front seven at all. I

Starting point is 00:14:46 thought it was, I thought it was passive for lack of a better word, especially the linebacking crew. I thought it was stupid at times. And I did not get that push from the offensive, from the defensive line that I was looking for. You know, I talked about Christian Barmore and how I needed to see him step up and get that push from him. It didn't happen. So that's the first thing I want to touch on. What about you, Michael? Very good point.

Starting point is 00:15:15 Absolutely. And I'm in complete agreement, especially when it comes to defending or adjusting to what I think Green Bay does very well, and that's running zone concepts. The outside zone, the split zone, the Patriots did not have an answer for that. And I understand that this is preseason and you're dealing with backups,

Starting point is 00:15:34 but this was a situation that plagued the Patriots all night long from the time that they were playing their starters into the time that they were playing their backups. Luke Musgrave had a very good game, really dominating Josh Uche and Lawrence Guy. And I think Guy had a subpar game by his standards on Thursday night. Give a little credit to Emmanuel Wilson, who I thought ran the ball very well. I thought the Patriots struggled to adjust to him. 63 yards on 15 carries, including that 14-yard rip through a large gap in the Patriots' defensive line.

Starting point is 00:16:07 And that goes to your point, Murph. They need to shore that up in the next couple of weeks. Set an edge. Philadelphia is going to exploit that. Set an edge. It was week two of preseason, and I'm screaming set an edge. All right? I don't want to be doing this all year long.

Starting point is 00:16:23 I don't want to keep cutting that key on Friday for them to, to go back to. And you, you mentioned the zone concepts. I mean, a lot of the guys struggled in this, not, not just the front seven, but but my, my man glue Gonzalez, you know, glue Zalas is, is you know, had a little bit of a, of a hiccup there when they were, when the Patriots were in zone. He did fantastic. And I thought the flag that was thrown at him was really ticky tack. And I don't, I'm not sure that you would get that during the season,

Starting point is 00:17:00 but he had a little bit of trouble in zone. Yeah, I agree with you. And this is the knock on him coming in from, you know, from college, where is he going to be able to translate that into zone? We know how good he is in man-to-man coverage. And that's really, I think, exactly where you're going to see him coached up a little bit. So, yeah, I think all in all, folks, some offensive and defensive ups and downs for the Patriots in this one. But if you're looking for promise and you're looking for potential,

Starting point is 00:17:30 this was a game that I think you can take more positives from than negatives from the field for the New England Patriots. And Murph, conspicuous by his absence from this segment, let's talk about the offensive line. Everybody's talking about the offensive line. We're getting there. It's either dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria, or it's everything is wonderful and we're ready to roll. I think Virtue lies in the middle a little bit on this one, and I think the offensive line maybe was a little bit better in this game, but there's still a ways to go.

Starting point is 00:18:00 Well, a good friend of ours, a great friend of the program, a contributor here on Locked On Patriots, and a beloved one, seems to feel the same way. And he wants answers. And you know, when Colonel Jessup wants answers, he gets those answers. Actually, it's Kathy that got the answers, folks. But bottom line, Murph and I will be giving the answers to your questions when hashtag Mailbag Monday kicks off right here on Locked On Patriots, a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team, every day. Today's episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Sometimes in life, we're faced with tough choices,

Starting point is 00:18:34 and the path forward isn't always clear. Let's face it, folks, we live in complex times, and every choice seems to have a ripple effect. Whether you're dealing with decisions around career, relationships, or anything else, therapy helps you stay connected to what you really want while you navigate your life so that you can move forward with confidence and excitement. Trusting yourself to make decisions that align with your values is like anything. The more you practice it, the easier it gets.

Starting point is 00:19:00 If you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. It's entirely online, designed to be convenient, flexible, and suited to your schedule. Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist and switch therapist anytime for no additional charge. Let therapy be your map with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com slash locked on today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P.com slash LockedOn. Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on Hashtag Mailbag Monday. And the first question of the week was obvious, and it was the most popular question we had by far.

Starting point is 00:19:43 What are your takeaways from the Patriots preseason matchup with the Packers? But Murph, one of the takeaways that we did not talk about in the previous segment, even though we talked a lot of offensive defensive ups and downs, was the offensive line. And I know a lot of people still saw the quarterbacks running for their lives at time. The coverage, especially on the left side, was not as tight as we like to see it. But our good friend, Andrew Carraway, who has contributed many times here, has been a guest on these airwaves on Locked On Patriots. Truly one of the great listeners and the great contributors to this program and a member

Starting point is 00:20:16 of the Locked On family. Please give him a follow. Absolutely. Follow him on Twitter at Carraway6. And he submitted a great question when it comes to the offensive line and the Patriots and what these guys need to bring to the table and what we need to see from them in the coming days leading up to the start of the regular season. And Andrew's question is as follows. The Patriots starting OL will be fine. Actually, he's a little more optimistic than most Patriots fans are on this situation right now.

Starting point is 00:20:45 But I think Andrew's on to something here, and we'll get into that in just a moment. I digress, folks. Andrew has major concerns about the depth of this unit. It would be nice to see Kevin Harris and Pierre Strong run behind the ones, because I don't even think Stevenson would have much success behind that putrid second unit. Yeah, there's the negativity we're coming to know and love here in new england do the pats need to go find some ol health murph there's a lot to unpack there your specialty is talking about the prowess the depth and also the needs of this group of

Starting point is 00:21:19 round men that you love to describe have added and. And Andrew's estimation, is he on the money? And what do you think this team needs to do to improve? He is on the money. He's right on the money. They need to go out and find some help for this offensive line. City South is not ready to be a starting right tackle in this league. All right. Antonio May needs to seriously go down to the school of dance, the Foxborough School of Dance, to work on his footwork.

Starting point is 00:21:52 Maybe we can get him to stop stopping. Because every time this kid goes to punch somebody, his feet stop. Stop that. Stop doing that. Keep your feet moving. I've been telling you this since you were eight years old. Keep your feet moving. Yeah, there were there were issues here. They had a really difficult time picking up any stunts this week. I found that, you know, distressing, you know, for for even even for a group of second stringers, you've got to be able to go out there and pick up the stunts and the picks that you're going to see all year long.

Starting point is 00:22:31 And this is the reason that our quarterbacks were under so much pressure. And yeah, I do think that they need to go out and get a little better in the depth department here. And maybe we'll talk about that in another segment as to, you know, who might be out there. Yeah, absolutely. And I have a funny feeling that we're going to be talking about names that we've discussed here on Lockdown Patriots, maybe a few that we haven't. That's the beauty of talking about a subject like this.

Starting point is 00:22:57 But when it comes to O-line fundamentals, once again, I think you're absolutely right on the money. One of the big reasons why, folks, we saw Mac Jones and even Bailey Zappi on Saturday night fall victim to pressure is because you see a lot of collapsed pockets. They're forcing these guys from their comfort zone. That's going to lead to a lot of miscommunication and a lot of difficulty. The best blockers on this team the other night were J.J. Taylor and the aforementioned Kendrick Bourne. Absolutely. And J.J., give a little love to J.J. Yeah, man. How about J.J. picking up guys getting passed off. J.J.'s smaller than my

Starting point is 00:23:36 big toe. And he was out there laying lumber. Loved it. Loved it. Ricochet rabbit. Loved it. And showing an ability to run the ball as well. That 88-yard drive from Bailey Zappi in the second half that culminated with Bailey running it in himself. A big part of the reason why the Patriots gained that many yards was Bailey being able to hand the ball off to J.J. Taylor, who did a great job. And credit Bailey for picking up a lot of the scenes

Starting point is 00:23:59 that he noticed in the Packers' offense. I'll just get lost back here behind this sea of backsides and then find a hole and get through it, man, JJ. Absolutely. It's the reason why JJ Taylor has been around with this team for four years, folks. This kid is a very good running back. Don't let the fact that he's ending up on a lot of cutting room floors on 53-man roster projections fool you.

Starting point is 00:24:22 Patriots would love to keep this kid around. I think it's a numbers game. And admittedly, he's been on the cutting room floor on a couple of my projections as well. But that's not because we don't like his game. I love JJ Taylor and love to watch him. Anytime he gets the opportunity, he takes advantage of it and you have to respect it. But when it comes to the starting offensive line, breaking down Andrew's question here in terms of parts, starting O-line that we saw on Saturday night, Trent Brown at left tackle, big upgrade there. No question about it from what we saw a week ago. Even with the false start, first play, Trent.

Starting point is 00:24:55 Come on. Come on. We're going to let him have that. But, no, I agree with you. I mean, these things need to be shored up. That is one thing can't let slide even in a preseason game. Trent's got to be better than that, and he will be better than that. So without question, I agree with you on that one.

Starting point is 00:25:11 But Antonio Mafia at left guard, once again, not holding his positioning well because of the footwork, folks. These are things that can be taught. It doesn't mean Antonio is a bust. I heard that a few times over the weekend on social media. Not what it means at all. It just means he needs more training. He's a rookie, and you have to expect that.

Starting point is 00:25:31 David Andrews at center, solid as a rock. There's nothing wrong with the center position. Riley Rafe playing right guard a little bit, moving inside. Seems to be a, I don't know, I don't want to say a decent change. Let's see what we got here. Yeah, but I mean, overall, I don't know, I don't want to say a decent change. Let's see what we got here. Yeah, but I mean, overall, I don't think he played too badly for having to kick into a position. He hasn't played much in training camp so far. You mentioned the problems with City, so at right tackle.

Starting point is 00:25:55 I was a little surprised to see Bill Murray out there playing some tackle, but did not surrender a pressure in this game. PFF reported it. I didn't see it in the first viewing and then i went back and i took a look and they're absolutely right on this one folks he actually looked pretty good out there i still don't think you're going to see this regularly but it's nice to know that they have a swiss army knife over there to be able to utilize is he moving up the ranks because of his versatility murph or maybe a little bit yeah maybe a little bit you know it nice to be able to

Starting point is 00:26:25 play a multitude of positions and Jason Hines let's give Jason Hines a little little dap here he he had he had himself a nice evening he did he absolutely did and he's showing you that type of prowess that he had at LSU and all the things all the great things that we said about him last year when the Patriots picked him up and having that type of massive lineman that could make a nice bookend with Michael Wainu. Promising news on Wainu. Maybe he will be ready for week one. We've been saying a pup candidate could be posturing by the Patriots. We're not sure yet.

Starting point is 00:26:58 I still think right now, man, I'm going to jump in with our good friend Evan Lazar and, you know, and really get move up the car in the train, you know, move up a couple of cars into whether or not he might get kicked out to the right tackle. Yeah, absolutely. It's really it's really bugging me. It's really bugging me right now. And he's played there. I mean, it's the situation where he wouldn't be in an element that he has not played. He played very well. There was one of the highest graded tackles at the time that he played the position by pro football focus. So if this has to be the way it

Starting point is 00:27:35 is folks not necessarily a terrible thing for the Patriots, especially if you want to go with the five best guys on your old line, I think you have to, if you're the new England Patriots at this point. And that's what it comes down to is getting the five best athletes out your O-line, I think you have to if you're the New England Patriots at this point, Mark. And that's what it comes down to is getting the five best athletes out there. And, you know, like I just said, you know, a second ago, you know, Chasen Hines is, you know, he's a really, really good run blocker, Michael. Yeah, he is. He's really good. And he did well in pass pro the other night.

Starting point is 00:28:03 You know, much better than I've seen in the past. And just keeping him there, whether as a starter or depth, and kicking outside, it's just looking more and more like the way this team is going to have to go. Yeah, Jason Hines, definitely a stock-up type player. Steve and I played a little game of stock-up, stock-down last week. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I would say Jason is definitely helping his cause this week. Maybe Bill Murray popping back over into the stock-up side.

Starting point is 00:28:34 Andrew Stuber, unfortunately, stock-down after this one. Easily bypassed by J.J. Anagbare for the strip sack on Mac Jones. That was just awful. Those types of moves just cannot be tolerated. No, the only thing that I can compare that to is North Dallas 40, when you're sitting there in the locker room, and who's Stallings? You know? They cut Stallings.

Starting point is 00:28:57 Who's Stallings? You know, Junior, you're not getting it done. You're not getting it done. Absolutely. And we have some high hopes for Stuber, and I still think he's a solid player and I'm not going to sit there and drag him through the mud because there have been moments during training camp and even during joint practices where he's looked pretty good, but you're not seeing an in-game setting. And unfortunately, that's a practice squad ceiling for a player like him. Who knows, maybe with a little bit

Starting point is 00:29:21 more training at that regard, he can definitely, you can definitely boost that up. But if you're looking at guys that are trying to make this roster and make an impression, probably suck down on him a little bit. So bottom line, Murph, even with the practice struggles seeping into the game settings, which is what I think is most concerning, New England knows what the problem is. They know they have to work diligently to correct these issues. Start of the regular season is coming up. We heard last week Adrian Clem saying continuity was the key. The moment he said that, I thought of you immediately because you've been pressing this over and over again. That's what the Patriots need to work on this week, folks. Joint practices or no joint practices, they're going to be working on continuity without

Starting point is 00:30:03 question here heading into this final preseason tilt against the Titans on Friday night. Murph, based on what we've talked about when it comes to the offensive line, you would think that the New England Patriots might be at least open to the possibility of maybe adding a little bit of talent or two. As a matter of fact, Andrew's question hints at that. Well, one of our good friends, one of our most valued friends, submitted a question over the weekend that I think is very poignant, and it sparked some heated debate on the X app or the Bird app

Starting point is 00:30:35 or whatever you're calling it these days. I wanted to carry that over into today's show because I think this is an interesting point that a lot of people are wondering. Will the Patriots look to the trade market to make an addition or perhaps a subtraction heading into this coming season? Well, we're going to discuss that question and more when this episode of the Lockdown Patriots podcast wraps up right here on the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Lockdown listeners, today's episode is brought to you by our good friends over at FanDuel. Football season is about to kick off and FanDuel gives you the chance to win all season long. Because right now, when you bet on a Super Bowl winner, you can get bonus bets every time

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Starting point is 00:31:48 of murphy fisto the legendary thomas murphy takes time out of his busy schedule to join us here and break the wisdom and council meter when it comes to wading through the waters of the monday mailbag murph we talked in the previous segment about the offensive line the ups the downs the needs and the deficiencies and a lot of, the ups, the downs, the needs, and the deficiencies. And a lot of people are thinking that the deficiency along the O-line may tip Bill Belichick's hand in going out and acquiring some talent on this offensive line. Or maybe just dipping into the trade market to begin with. And who better to be able to ask a question like this than someone who knows the Patriots books very well? Inside out, forwards, backwards, you have a finance question, folks.

Starting point is 00:32:30 He is your man to go to. He is the pharaoh of Foxborough finance, the great and powerful wizard of Benz on himself, the Pats cap. Miguel chimes in for this week's question, and he wants to know, do you expect a current Patriot to be traded between now and the Eagles game week one do you expect the Patriots to trade for a player if so at what position Murph this is always a lot of fun we love playing what ifs here on locked on Patriots I know they're 50 50, but the fans seem to like them, and it's always fun to prognosticate. I ask you first, will the Patriots make a trade, and if so, who might they have their

Starting point is 00:33:12 eye on prior to the end of training camp slash preseason? All right, yeah, I think the Patriots are going to make a move either via trade or a free agent on the offensive line. And, you know, I'm going to start off with the trade and the Cleveland Browns, James Hudson has really become a bit irrelevant over there with what some of the moves that Cleveland has made. It's nice to have a good backup swing tackle, but they've got three of them. And, you know, let's go out there. We could make that move. I'm not sure what it would cost the Patriots, maybe a third or a fourth round pick to get that

Starting point is 00:33:50 done. But Hudson, somebody who could come in here and possibly start on the right-hand side. Another guy, you know, if we want to keep talking there, Jackson Carmen of the Bengals might be available. You know, the Bengals have a lot of options. You know, Orlando Brown Jr. is over there on the left side. Williams is on the right. The Al Collins continues to work his way back to good health. And there's a third guy. So Carmen could be available.

Starting point is 00:34:21 And, of course, there's my old buddy, Jamarco Jones, who's just out there waiting for somebody to call him. You know, the poor kid just wants to go to the prom right now. Somebody pick up the phone and call him. And that by somebody, I mean, you, Bill, pick up the phone and call him. The second part of the question is as to who might get traded. I mean, Nick Folk is, you know, even a couple of people commented underneath the question itself. You know, Nick Folk could be on the move, and Dallas would be a great spot for him. Absolutely. Dallas would be a great spot. Homecoming of sorts for Nick Folk.

Starting point is 00:34:56 They're in need of some help at the kicker position. And you know that the Cowboys aren't afraid to throw some capital around to get what they're looking for, especially when you have guys like Rob Gronkowski declaring that the Cowboys are a Super Bowl favorite. Yeah, all of a sudden, Jerry Jones is starting to feel like, hey, you know what? Maybe we can use that era of good feelings, the Patriots connection,

Starting point is 00:35:18 and go out and get a position we really need. So, yeah, keep your eyes on that one, folks. Right. And after the unfortunate injury to Bolden, I got a little bit deeper because we were both under the impression that, you know, the Patriots were giving Bolden a good look because they were going to depend on him this year. We're really not sure what's going to happen right now with that third, fourth cornerback spot, nevermind, you know, talking about, you know,

Starting point is 00:35:46 what Jones is dealing with with his court dealings, you know, right now. So I went out and, you know, I – Andrew Booth Jr. out there in Minnesota is somebody that could be available. You know, the Vikings signed Byron Murphy during free agency, and then they drafted Mekhi Becton in the third round, which was a fantastic pickup. You know, they have that kid Evans that they grabbed last year and has been taking reps with the first team.

Starting point is 00:36:20 So, you know, Andrew Booth Jr. is somebody that could come in here and possibly be a good depth piece at cornerback. But with Bolden going down and not really sure when he's going to be coming back after dealing with a concussion, those could be, you know, long term things. They might want to think about about looking at at cornerback as well. And then, you know, of course, there's, know, just to, just to make Claire's day. Okay. Let's, let's just make Claire's day. What if we, what if we looked at another tight end? I didn't see Washington. Did you, did you notice Washington in the game on, on Friday night? I did not. I didn't see his name in the snap count.

Starting point is 00:37:00 And while we were, while we were talking about that you know um it we we brought up uh you know almost ad nauseum the lack of blocking from the tight end position in in this but you know mo alley cox down there in indianapolis i know the rivalry is back on and everything but you know he might be available and a good uh depth option for the patriots at six, five, he's a really good red zone target and he's a fine block and tight end. And that's something that the Patriots could definitely use. Yeah. I think the rivalry with any team is back on until the price is right. And then all of a sudden rival, right. Put in the drawer. So I think you're right. I think the Patriots still have a move or two that they're going to make. I think

Starting point is 00:37:44 if they are going to jettison a player, it will be by trade. And I think maybe Falk could be a trade piece, somebody that could fetch a little bit of a return for them at this point. But, yeah, with offensive line, it's so difficult because you look at what's available on the free agent market and you say, like, OK, well, the Patriots might go there and they don't have to surrender anybody. Jamarco Jones is a guy that you've mentioned. Jason Peters now is someone that's on the market that could be a possibility. We've talked about guys like Dalton Risner here on Locked On Patriots before and players that are still available.

Starting point is 00:38:20 And, you know, obviously Taylor Lowen is someone who might be out there. Injury history there as well. But he's a left tackle that obviously the Patriots have a solid, you know, player at that position. Would he be interested in coming in and being a backup, you know, tackle or a backup option at that point? Some options, but not a whole lot. So then you look to the trade market and I'm glad you mentioned Cleveland as a trading partner because this could be something that the Patriots look for. This is obviously their biggest position of need right now, and I think the Pats are going to be open to all possibilities.

Starting point is 00:38:53 And corner is very intriguing to me because you look at their depth chart and you say, okay, well, if Isaiah is going to be compromised for a little bit and he starts the season kind of physically unable to perform or there's issues there um sean wade obviously is someone that can play he's played here for the last couple of years does he move off the depth chart does a mere speed get that look now that uh you know that isaiah was going to get they look pretty stacked at that but the patriots are always looking for veteran talent players that can come in and automatically make contributions. And I think if a guy like that is available, the Patriots do it.

Starting point is 00:39:30 So, Miguel, I think an excellent question. Yeah, I do believe the Patriots will be active looking, and I think you're going to see a new name in here before the end of it all. Whether or not it's by trade or by free agent, that's still a matter of conjecture. But I think they will look to trade. And I think the likelihood of Folk maybe being the guy could be the possibility. I think the Patriots would like to accommodate him and try to maybe see if they can recoup a little bit in the interim. Chamarco. I want Chamarco. You know, it's just too easy, you know.

Starting point is 00:40:09 And after that, you know, I would really like to see them go and maybe spend a little draft capital and bring James Hudson in here. He even lines up as a tight end in the jumbo package. How do you like that, Claire? Absolutely. And you've got to love those guys that are versatile, especially the tight end slash lineman types. Always a lot of fun to watch the New England Patriots try to build a roster. And that fun will continue into this year without any question about it.

Starting point is 00:40:34 And that's why we have the cap space that we have. Absolutely. There I go again. Okay. We've talked about this many an occasion. Why does Bill go in? You know, it's a routine thing with him to go into the season with 10 or $15 million worth of cap space so he can work these deals

Starting point is 00:40:53 and keep things lively in the discussion. And it also is no surprise that Miguel was the one asking this question who knows the cap space better than anyone. And again, you go from the source of financial knowledge to the source of all knowledge sitting next to me. And that's exactly why we bring it all together here on Locked on Patriots. So folks, drop us a line in the comment section below on YouTube

Starting point is 00:41:17 or send us a message, a post, if you will, on the new social media bird slash X app that we're dealing with right now. Let us know who you think the Patriots should be targeting or if they should be targeting anyone. And if there's going to be a new face arriving or an old face departing, we'd love to hear your thoughts. Chime in on already an interesting conversation on the bird app. Check that out. But what can I say, my friend? You're always there for the Bird app. Check that out. But what can I say, my friend? You're always there for the handoff, and I appreciate you

Starting point is 00:41:46 lending the wisdom and counsel the way only you can here on Locked On Patriots each and every Monday because the mailbag would not be what it is without it. So before I let you go today, my friend, please let everyone know where they can interact with you and what you have coming this week from the great

Starting point is 00:42:02 pen, the great voice of Thomas Murphy. Well, of course, you can follow me on the Bird app at TeamMurph207. And you can check out whatever I'm doing over there. Got a nice little Red Sox-Yankees piece up this morning. Sweeps. We love sweeps. Even if it's to keep you out of last place and to put the Yankees in, we dig the sweeps.

Starting point is 00:42:25 Real hard time for the Red Sox coming up. The schedule gets really tough as they're heading into Houston. They've got another matchup with the Dodgers and yada, yada, yada. A little revenge of the former Red Sox coming in here. And, of course, you know, I'll be back here anytime that Michael wants to talk. Right now, one Patriots place is on hiatus. And we should be back before the season starts, I hope. Absolutely, folks.

Starting point is 00:42:50 And definitely check that out after you've listened to Lockdown Patriots, of course, because One Patriots place is like a second home to me. It takes a near and dear position in my heart and I can't wait to see it

Starting point is 00:43:00 back out on the airwaves. One of the truly great listens. So be sure to subscribe and follow because you don't want to miss a second of the action when Murph is back on the microphone, but at the same time, don't miss any of the great written work he provides for the Patriots, the Red Sox,

Starting point is 00:43:14 anything Boston sports related for E2G sports, go ahead and check that out whenever you can, and of course, folks, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking time out of your busy Monday slash Tuesday morning to spend with us here on Locked On Patriots. You are all truly amazing, especially all you everydayers out there.

Starting point is 00:43:31 All of the support you provide to this podcast is truly a heartwarming experience for me. And I can't thank you enough for that. And also, we continue to send our best wishes to the Bolin family and Isaiah's quick and complete recovery. Isaiah, we're pulling for you here on Lockdown Patriots. So in that vein, folks, continue to stay locked into Lockdown Patriots for all the latest information regarding your New England Patriots from Foxborough. On behalf of my good friend, the Count of Murphy Fisto himself, I am Mike DeBate reminding you to stay safe and to stay well and to be the change that you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone, and we'll see you back here again tomorrow

Starting point is 00:44:13 on Locked on Patriots. More juju. Need more juju. We do.

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