Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Training Camp: Kyle Dugger Contract Extension, Mac Jones and the Red Zone Offense on Day 2

Episode Date: July 28, 2023

The New England Patriots were back on the fields adjacent to Gillette Stadium for the second day of training camp practices on Thursday. However, the future of camp standout Kyle Dugger in Foxboro may be among the hot topics in the coming days and weeks. Joining host Mike D'Abate is Thomas 'Murph' Murphy of E2G Sports to discuss the potential for a Dugger contract extension. They also provide their thoughts on Bill O'Brien, Mac Jones and the challenge of fixing the team's red zone offense.Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-patriots-daily-podcast-on-the-new-england/id1140512627Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFmwg3WbfxAU3tR5Ve?si=k196wH-yRqifUcQQz8SjIQStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-patriotsAnd follow host Mike D’Abate on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans.Twitter: @mdabateNFLSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!BetterHelpThis episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. If you’re thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. Visit BetterHelp.com/Lockedon today to get 10% off your first month.eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit. eBay Motors dot com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.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.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.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) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The first day was so nice, the New England Patriots decided to do it twice. Day two of Patriots training camp in the books, breaking down all the action. Did we just get a hint that Kyle Duggar may be staying in New England after all? 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, Sparrow faithful.

Welcome to the Lockdown Patriots podcast, a proud part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Subscribe or follow for free on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts to ensure that you 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 if you've got to me, let me know what's on your mind

on Twitter, on X, whatever you want to call it, 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 at L-O underscore Patriots.

And Pats fans, thank you for joining me here today and making us your first listen each and every day. Special shout out as always to all of you locked on everydayers out there. Love all of you Loyalists. I'm always honored and grateful for your support. And your New England Patriots return to the practice fields for day two of training camp sessions in Foxborough.

Partly cloudy skies, warm temperatures as your New England Patriots continue to progress toward the 2023 season and putting in the work on the field to do it. But there was more than just a handful of aesthetically pleasing plays that were worth noting on Thursday. Patriots safety Kyle Duggar, who we all know is set to see his rookie contract expire at the end of the season, has commented on his future. And here's the even more interesting part, folks. So has Bill Belichick.

Also, the Patriots continue to install their red zone offense, and it's led to a few miscues. But the good news is, folks, is that it's no cause for concern. Helping us to break down all of these topics is our good friend the counter murphy fisto himself the legendary thomas murphy of e2g sports.com gonna pop in here in just a moment so stay locked in you're not gonna want to miss murph's takes but first here are some of the highlights from the second day of patriots camp sessions and as was the case on Wednesday, the only notable absences were offensive tackle Michael Wainu and special teamer Cody Davis.

They continue to remain on the physically unable to perform list. Offensive tackle Calvin Anderson also absent. He's currently on the non-football illness list and present and accounted for, but in limited action, running back Ramondre Stevenson and linebacker Matthew Judon. So two pretty prominent Patriots in limited action on Thursday. Going to be worth monitoring heading into the weekend, especially on Friday. Keep a sharp eye out, folks.

We'll continue to bring you the very latest right here on Locked On Patriots. But the quarterbacks once again taking center stage as always. Mac Jones had some early struggles, but he shook some of those off to turn in a serviceable day. He went 0-4 during 7-on-7 drills, but completed 6-of-10 passes during 11-on-11 drills with an interception. And more on that, folks, in just a moment. And some of you are probably listening to those stats and saying, 0-4 in 7s, no, that's not good.

Something is still wrong with Mac. Please keep in mind that a lot of Jones's incompletions can be attributed to attempting what we like to call low percentage passes, meaning that there are a lot of corners, a lot of fades. These are difficult passes to complete in any situation, especially when you're trying to install a new offense in the red zone. Again, folks, it's only day two of training camp no need to panic but one thing that i did notice during max progressions is he does seem to still be forcing the ball at times and that really became evident when he threw his interception which was on the

final play of 11 on 11 drills tried to throw across his body intercepted by kyle duggar who was in perfect position read the quarterback all the way, and made the play. Kyle is definitely standing out among the rest when it comes to training camp, and we're going to talk a lot more about Kyle Duggar and his potential future here in New England when the Count of Murphy Fisto pops in here in just a moment. But Mack knew better than anyone else that he had messed that throw up. As a matter of fact, he immediately took to the ground, did some push-ups, really a self-imposed penalty but again these are the types of things that you see early on in training camp he did manage some highlights touchdowns are not necessarily tracked all that much during this time

of year but if you're counting would-be touchdowns he had a pretty nice one to Juju Smith-Schuster and arguably I think his best throw of the day came on a deep crosser off a play action to Devontae Parker so Mack ended up rebounding during the 11 on 11 drills but still a little ways to go for all of you Zappy maniacs out there Bailey Zappy had a much better day on Thursday than he did on Wednesday got a little more playing time out on the field he connected on six of 10 passes during 11 on 11s and he also completed three of four in seven-on-sevens. Now, he did most of his work against the second-team defense. That has to be noted.

But Zappi's best throw came on a touchdown strike to tight end Matt Sokol. In tight coverage, Matt went up, made a great contested catch. And really, the takeaway here is that Bailey is not afraid to throw into coverage so a solid day for Bailey Zappi as well veteran Trace McSorley he got a couple of throws in at the quarterback position saw limited action was 0 for 2 and 7 on 7s and completed 2 of 4 during 11 on 11 so overall not a great day for the quarterbacks not a terrible one either a little bit of a middle of the road with the Patriots offense. And one of the big reasons why the quarterbacks were a little bit up and down on Thursday and even on Wednesday is because they're focused almost exclusively on installing their new

red zone offense. That's something that's very important to this team. After all, they finished dead last in red zone efficiency in 2022. Nowhere to go but up. They intend to go up, and Bill O'Brien's influence is already demonstrating a significantly greater amount of cohesion than we saw at any point last year, even deep into the season, but there's still a lot of work to be done. Patriots quarterbacks continue to struggle to develop timing with their pass catchers, and that's where you're

seeing some of the miscues, that's where you're definitely seeing some of the incompletions but it should be noted that both Jones and Zappi again were attempting to complete passes like crossers corner fades things of that nature that really have a high degree of difficulty based on that at least in my opinion to provide a more thorough assessment or any kind of judgment on the team's offensive performance really can't be possible until the start of padded practices. So keep a sharp eye out for that, folks. That's when you're really going to start to see the New England Patriots pop a little bit. Also on offense, I wanted to give a little love to Matt Sokol because the Patriots are clearly looking to utilize more 12 personnel

this year. Hi, Claire. I know she's excited, loves the tight endage, and you're going to see a lot of it in 2023. But if you're going to be running 12 personnel regularly, and Claire and I said this earlier this week when she joined me, you're going to need a third tight end, someone that can come in in the event of injury, or if one of the guys are having a bad game you need to be able to run that efficiently and right now Matt Sokol is leading the pack I thought it would have been Anthony Ferkser but Matt Sokol is doing a great job he's using his system knowledge to his advantage and to enhance his skill set and you can't ask anything more of a tight end or any player than to do that in addition to blocking in some select packages,

Sokol is making plays in the passing game. He had a very nice contested catch touchdown off of a Bailey Zappi pass, went up into tight coverage over Jalen Mills, and just to put a little icing on the cake, he had a very nice diving catch over safety Joshua Bledsoe. Both of those came on Zappi throws. Sokol is starting to separate himself from the rest, so that's a positional battle to keep in mind. As for the defense, I think they once again took the game ball today, folks, and one of the big reasons why, Christian Gonzalez. He once again remains at the top of the team's depth chart. Christian took all of his reps with the starting unit on the opposite side of the perimeter Marcus Jones

got the nod today interestingly enough and Jonathan Jones saw time in the slot but again all eyes on the number 17 overall pick he spent much of the morning mirroring Juju Smith-Schuster and this was a great matchup to watch two guys that are very good at what they do and they're starting to feel each other out and you can really see Christian starting to emerge. You can also see how well Juju is going to fit into this offense. He did surrender the touchdown catch in tight coverage, but Gonzalez also broke up a Mac Jones pass intended for Juju. So both of these guys are getting the better of one another

on various points throughout practice, and it's fun to watch. But one thing I can tell you is New England is leaving very little doubt about who the alpha in the cornerback room is going to be this year. Yeah, folks, it's going to be the former Oregon Duck himself, Christian Gonzalez, already ingratiating himself into the Patriots' defense. And overall, the defense had a solid day, once again winning the battle with the offense. In addition to Kyle Duggar's interception off of Mac Jones, Jack Jones contributed two pass breakups, and he continued to play against the

second team offense, but you can see that a lot of engagement. He's playing a little bit better than some of the competition he's playing against. That could end up benefiting the Patriots if Jack's not going to miss any time on the field. We're all hopeful for that. But again, Gonzalez contributing a pass breakup, Jelani Tavai getting in on the action, and defensive back Rodney Randall Jr. A lot of people have penciled in for a practice squad spot. Well, he's been playing pretty well the last couple of days. So don't sleep on anybody right now, folks.

It's anybody's opportunity to seize a roster spot. If you prove it and you play up to that level Patriots are going to give you a second look so those guys definitely standing out Davai had a good day not only did he get the pass breakup but also registering a would-be sack and Josh Uche did as well getting back into action after being one of the Patriots sack leaders in 2023 behind Matthew Judon Patriots fans we've only scratched the surface with training camp storylines and two of the most prominent topics of discussion center around safety Kyle Duggar and the installation of the Patriots red zone offense.

Thomas Murphy of E2G Sports is just two minutes away from popping in here and helping us discuss those hot topics and maybe even lend a little Murphy and hijinks. When this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues, a proud part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. Locked On listeners, our partners over at eBay Motors have teamed up with Locked On fantasy football host, Vinnie Iyer to bring you some of the best fantasy picks each week,

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Patriots fans, thank you once again for taking time out of your schedule to join us here on Locked on Patriots. And we continue to break down day two of New England Patriots training camp. And in the previous segment, I broke down all of the highlights from day two on the field in Foxborough. And one guy that continuously is standing out among the rest is safety Kyle Duggar. And with the recent retirement of team captain Devin McCourty, the Patriots are searching

for that guy, that one guy among that next generation of select players that can carry the Belichickian matrix of leadership. Duggar continues to emerge in that area, and who better welcome here today to help me break down everything related to Kyle Duggar and the Patriots' offensive installation that we'll get to in a little bit as well is our good friend, the Count of Murphy, Fisto himself, legendary thomas murphy of e2g sports thank you for coming to me in friendship today don murph welcome to day two of camp coverage here on lockdown patriots day deuce we love it we

love it murph patriots fans are having a blast so far in the first two days of training camp maybe this hasn't been the easiest couple of days for the Patriots offense. We're going to get into the offense in just a moment, folks, because Patriots are installing a little bit of a new look down in the red zone and these things can take time. And Murph and I will discuss why in just a moment. But the one guy that continuously stands out, as I said, to open the segment is safety Kyle Duggar murph you and i were very big fans of this pick when it was made you especially you really came into this draft saying that duggar had the opportunity to come in and learn the encyclopedia of bill tanica as you like to put it fairly quickly he came in with almost all of it memorized and he's really put that into practice on the

field one of the guys out there that is consistently making plays, he's the only player to pick off Mac Jones twice so far. No, it's a limited sample size people, but Duggar is always in the right place at the right time to make plays. That's not by happenstance. That is by design. And by all indications, Kyle's enjoying himself out there on the field as well.

He seems to be very happy here in New England. We had the chance to speak to him after practice on Wednesday, saying, quote, Murph, I'd love to play ball here. As far as everything else, I kind of leave that to my agent. I'm just focused on playing ball while I'm here. And of course, my question to you is twofold. We both know that Kyle D duggar's contract is going to be up at the end of the season and a lot of questions as to whether or not he's resigning

or he might find greener pastures elsewhere hearing this from kyle duggar what does that tell you one about what he feels is in his best interest right now in terms of his contract situation and then the other part of that is how great is it to hear him mention that he's focused on playing ball while he's here? What does that tell you about Kyle Duggar, the player? That he's fantastic, whether he's on the field or in front of a microphone, the man's brilliant. He's just brilliant. He knows exactly what to say and exactly what to do in every single situation. And that's keep all doors open and um you know i believe uh duggar when he says that he loves playing here that he loves being here he loves the coaching staff that

he's had to deal with nothing but consummate professionals over there on that side of the ball since he's walked through the door and he would probably like nothing better than to stay here for the rest of his career yeah i think I think that's a great point. And look, bottom line, the New England Patriots would love to have this guy in a Patriots uniform long-term. Of course, all things being equal. We'll get into all things being equal in just a moment, but 15 games played last year in 2022, 78 solo tackles, five of which went for a loss, eight passes defended, three interceptions, two of which, by the way, folks, he returned for touchdowns, one fumble recovery for a score. And again, that knowledge of the Patriots defensive schemes keeps him out there on the field. You take a look at the snap counts

from every game last year, Kyle Duggar is near or at the top of that list every single week because of the fact that he knows the defense so well. And now with McCourty being absent, it's going to be a big part of his game. Murph, there is the situation about his contract. And we know the New England Patriots can be difficult sometimes to deal with midseason. It doesn't necessarily mean that a deal can't get done, but they're typically not inclined to make these types of negotiations while they're playing. So what we're probably looking at is something at the end of the season. We had a chance to speak to Bill Belichick this morning on Thursday, and Kyle Duggar absolutely came up because of his performance. But Bill was

a little more candid than he usually is in his comments about Kyle Duggar. And I'm going to read you a quote, ask you what your thoughts are, then we can discuss it a little bit more and bill's quote was kyle does a great job he's big he can run he can tackle cover blitz those guys are great that's why they go high in the draft there's a premium for them and they get paid a lot of money that's what they bring we usually don't hear bill belichick invoke financial responsibility to these types of quotes right what do you make of that is this this a good sign for Kyle coming back? Or is this a harbinger of things to come where Belichick may be trying to warn about the amount of money Kyle Duggar may be in? That's a great question. That's a fantastic question, Michael. Thank you so much for asking. You always ask the best questions. I think it goes to show that Bill Belichick is not tone deaf when it comes to this.

Bill Belichick recognizes talent, and that's why he drafted him in the first place. And he knows that this young man has just grown and gotten better and better. He's like Wiley Coyote, super genius out there. You put the man anywhere. You just put the man anywhere. Only he defies gravity. There's nothing that's going to fall on him or he's not going to fall off the side of a cliff. No, I think this is a good sign. I really do. I think that Bill knows that this is coming.

It would probably be better to get something done sooner rather than later. But as we've said before, I'm not expecting that because I don't think Kyle Duggar's agent is going to allow him to not get to free agency. Unless Bill and the Patriots blow him away with something and his agent comes back and says, look, man, this is going to be at the top of the market at the end of this season. Bill knows how good you are. He's showing you the respect. Let's get it done now so the Patriots can spread this out over a maximum amount of years and get you even some more cash than you might have on the open market. But no, at the end of the day, I really think it's going to end up to going down in the same way that Bill has done with many contracts, like he has done with Donta Hightower, like he has done in the past with Julian Edelman. Go out there and see what you can get and then come back and see me and we'll get it done. Very good point. And again,

the thing that made me a little optimistic when i heard bill say this this morning was the fact that he did mention the money and i think he absolutely knows that that is going to be an issue here and something that the patriots have to address they have to be willing to give big contracts to guys that are important to their roster and bill typically in these situations will diffuse it. He'll go, oh yeah, Kyle does a great job for us, but all the guys out there are working hard. They're doing this, they're doing that.

He made it a point to list all of the qualities that he does well. When Bill does that, he's trying to make a point. There usually isn't much that Bill Belichick will say off the cuff, usually a very pointed message behind it. And I think that's what you saw this morning, letting everyone know that, yes, Bill Belichick is well aware of the fact that this kid is very difficult to replace. No one's irreplaceable, but this is going to be a kid that is going to be very, very difficult to fill someone's shoes.

I know people are saying that they brought in Marte Mapu as insurance for Kyle Duggar's departure. I think there's a little bit of truth to that because I do see a lot of Mapu's game. I do see a lot of similarities between Mapu's game and Kyle Duggar's game. But you're going to be hard-pressed to find someone that can blend the speed, the length, the size, that can play in the big nickel, that can play in the dime nickel that can play in the dime packages um you know cover a lot of ground match up with the tight ends be covering the backfield receivers did you see him in coverage yeah today did you see him out there in coverage it was sick absolutely and he read mac jones so well to the pass across the body and i talked about that to open the show today and talked a

little bit about how kyle duggar was just in the right place at the right time to make that play and some are saying oh well we don't know what Mac was throwing at that was just kind of haphazard and Kyle was right there no Kyle read that he knew that Mac was forcing the ball and put himself in a position to make a play on it that's what great players do we're seeing that consistently from Kyle Duggar I think Bill Belichick realizes that if they are going to keep him here, this is a guy they may have to back up the Brinks truck for. And the fact that he mentioned it shows that he's at least thinking about it and considering it.

So folks, if you're thinking this might be a bad thing for Kyle Duggar and the Patriots future together, I say the opposite. I actually think this is a good thing coming from Bill Belichick and we'll see what happens from there on. And the Patriots have the cap space to do it. They absolutely do. And heading into next season, they're very well equipped. Season after, season after. We're talking hundreds of millions of dollars in cap space.

This is going to get done. He is going to be here. I cannot see Bill letting him, letting Duggar walk away. Yeah, especially again, coming back full circle. McCourty not being there. You need someone in that backfield that can direct traffic and command the type of respect, both with his skill set and his leadership abilities. Kyle Duggar already does that. And yeah, maybe they do have a guy marty mapu that could take on some of those responsibilities but murph what's better than one of those guys than having two of them

in that exactly you know you can't ask for more than that and the patriots always predicate themselves on defense so we're not we're not talking about the quarterback position when you have two you don't have one not not not here we're talking about we're talking about a defensive quarterback absolutely and you can never have too much offensive firepower Murph well the Patriots offensive firepower was pretty non-existent in 2022 however they're making strides toward building that offense back up one thing they need to get better at is red zone efficiency. As I said twice here on the pod yesterday, Patriots finishing dead last in that category in 2022. They need to beef that up. And the Patriots red zone has been the focus of the first two practices. They're installing a little bit of a new red zone offense.

But why do the Patriots seem to be struggling with it? Well, Murph and I are going to discuss why that is a problematic issue at the beginning and whether or not these Patriots are going to figure it out and be okay by the time it really counts. I think you're going to want to stick around for this, folks, because I think Murph and I are going to have some good information for you. It's going to allow you to feel more comfortable about all this. We discuss the Patriots offense when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues, a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining me here today on Locked On Patriots.

As always, whenever we need the wisdom and counsel, the great wisdom and counsel, we always welcome my good friend Thomasomas murphy of e2g sports.com who's already hitting us with all kinds of knowledge bombs when it comes to kyle duggar and his potential future here in new england but murph one of the other things that is a big observation amongst a lot of us that have been in attendance observing training camp reading recaps you know absorbing all of the content that's out there with regard to training camp is that the Patriots offense has been struggling a little bit early, especially in seven on sevens. Some has contributed and kind of spilled over into the 11, 11 drills. But one of the big things that

the Patriots seem to have had some difficulty with offensively is installing a little bit of a new look in the red zone. They're installing their red zone offense. They don't have anywhere to go, but up under Matt Patricia and Joe judge last year, the red zone offense ranked 32nd in the league in efficiency. That's dead last dead last. That's not acceptable to bill Belichick. It's not acceptable to Matt Jones,

not acceptable to the fan base, very much not acceptable to Robert Kraft, who was in attendance at Patriots camp today. But the Patriots are trying to test the envelope a little bit, see what their players can do and what they're going to be able to do in a game setting. Incompletions and miscues are going to be a part of that. And we saw that on the field, both on Wednesday and on Thursday. But it's still very early. And this is a complex type of learning curve early on in training camp. How concerned should Patriots fans be with the difficulties the Pats are having

with installing the red zone offense right now? That much. That much right there. That much. That much right there. Zero. None. Goose egg. Yes, exactly. None.

There are a lot of new moving parts on the offensive side of the ball this year, and they're ironing those things out. And it starts with the offensive line. Look, guys, people are out there in helmets and T-shirts. Let me tell you right now if an offensive lineman doesn't have somebody to hit then we we we tend to stumble and fumble just a little bit you know because you're walking through things all right we we need contact we need that tactile um thing happening as to and that that, that, that filters out to everybody else.

And like I said, there are a lot of new moving parts here, even though we're hearing about, you know, Mike Gusecki and, and Hunter Henry and, and for the, you know, the, the Patriots are not all these new moving parts on the offensive side are going up against a well-oiled machine. That was probably one of the best red zone defenses in the NFL last year. That was one of the best defensive backfields in the NFL last year. There is absolutely no threat that they're running the ball up the middle. So you completely take that, that, you know, right out of the equation and everybody knows where they're supposed to be and what they're supposed to know. You have nothing to worry about here. Now, now Michael brought up the fact that the Patriots were dead last in, um, in 2023 and, uh,

at 42% in 2022. I mean, in 2021, in 2022, they were dead last. In 2021, they were fifth in the league at 63%. There were a couple guys tied at fourth. They were fifth at 63% of red zone efficiency. I fully expect this year's number to be closer to that than what we all were forced to go through last year. Um, each, each and every week I, uh, when I write my keys to the game and each and every week last year, it was get it done in the red zone. Okay. Expand the red zone because things got worse. The closer they got into, uh, into the red zone, the closer they got to the goal line, things got worse. They actually had a better offensive position

outside the 20 than they did inside it. I was talking about let's stretch it out into the pink zone at the 25. Let's start going for the score from the 25 instead of inching it in and inching it in the way they had for so many years and so many years under Tom Brady here. So no, they, you folks have nothing to worry about. These are the first two days of camp, a lot of new pieces. Folks got to understand their job and what's going on in front of them.

What audibles are being called down there? No, this is just going to get better it's the first two days of camp relax yeah very very well said and look when it comes to either mac jones or even bailey zappy who we saw him a little bit more in action on thursday than he did on wednesday these guys are attempting to complete passes that are called low percentage throws folks you hear that in that term thrown around a lot low percentage throws are crossers corners fades things of that nature patriots tried to install a lot of those especially on thursday there's a high degree of difficulty and again a low percentage of success even when these things

are clicking on all cylinders so if you're looking at mac jones's total and going oh he only went five for ten today that's not good uh or you're looking at bailey z total and going, oh, he only went five for 10 today, that's not good. Or you're looking at Bailey Zappi and his output from Wednesday and saying two of eight, that's terrible. That's not exactly indicative of the work these guys are putting in. They're trying to get used to making these throws, making these plays. So that way, when a game setting comes in, they're more equipped to give you more than what was a 40% efficiency when it comes to the red zone.

And I think Murphy hit the nail right on the head. Providing a more thorough assessment of that, providing more of a judgment of the team's offensive performance, really not going to be possible until the start of padded practices. That's when you're going to start to see if these guys are learning, putting these things into practice, and really what they're doing against the defense up until now. Because the defense does have the upper hand so far, folks, but these types of drills always favor the defense, especially when you're down right in the red zone. That's going to be very, very difficult for any offense to grab.

The defense is always ahead. It's always ahead. They're standing there. They know what's coming at them they just relax relax absolutely yeah i think it's one thing they weren't running the scout team out there against the the first the first team on the offense put it that way absolutely very well said my friend and to wrap up our talk on the offense today murph a couple of people are starting to pop a little bit,

things that I wanted to pick your brain on because we've talked about them before. Ty Montgomery getting a lot of run with the wide receivers on Wednesday. He looked good. Four receptions, two would-be touchdowns from Mac Jones. Did a little bit more work with the runners on Thursday because Ramondre was limited in his action on Thursday. But the other guys that are popping a little bit that really are surprising me, Matt Sokol at the tight end position.

He's looking like he might emerge as that tight end three. And in terms of positional battles, Bill Murray for the second straight game. Cinderella story. I know I said it yesterday. I'm going to say it again, folks. He's out there at right guard from Michael Wainu right now. So going to be interesting. And Riley Rafe, second straight day as well at the right tackle position. Any of these that I've mentioned stand out to you as having the potential of lasting through training camp into the season?

Yeah, Bill Murray. I know I had him on the cutting room floor in my predictions, but, you know, it's not happenstance that he's the man that they have out there. He knows the system. He knows what is expected of him. And no, that's the guy at the end who, you know, could push somebody off over to the other side of the bubble. This is a really good sign for Bill Murray to be out there. Absolutely, folks. It definitely is a good sign. This is not dogs and cats living together in mass hysteria.

This is good stuff coming from the New England Patriots because Murray has paid his dues. We started to see it last year in training camp when he was getting extended runs with the offensive line to see him out there starting in the right guard position albeit we know that Michael Wayne who was going to come back to that position right he's healthy but it does say a lot about Bill Murray getting a chance to earn a spot as a reserve guard on this team this year and look he's got a lot of competition Murph and I have talked about it. We both carry 10 offensive linemen on our respective 53-man roster predictions because of the talent they have here. And I also really like to hear that Ty Montgomery is being spread around

because that just means to me that Bill trusts him in a myriad of different ways. And he can use him in just about any kind of situation. I've also heard great things today about Pierre Strong and Kevin Harris and what they've been doing out of the backfield. So, you know, tip of the cap there. And it just goes back to, you know, what I've been saying for weeks and weeks. We don't need another running back. Yeah, and I think the Patriots are starting to realize that they have sufficient talent barring any injury i know cooks is coming

back in for another visit supposedly but i'm really happy with this group yeah definitely dalvin right now uh is a wild card of course we all know the highly publicized visit he's expected to have with the new york jets and it'd be interesting to see what happens there, folks. But if the Patriots are going into battle with these four in their running back core, meaning Ramondre Stevenson, Ty Montgomery, Pierre Strong, and Kevin Harris, I think the Patriots are satisfied with that. And I think that's going to be a much better unit than people believe. Expect big things from the second year guys and from a veteran like Ty.

So Murph, it's always fun, always an honor, always a privilege to break down camp. But folks, we are not done yet because the Patriots are hitting the practice field once again on Friday, and we're going to continue to bring you all the very latest from Foxborough. Once again, we will definitely do that and protect them to stay cool because it's hot up there in Foxborough right now, Murph. It's hot. Yeah, it's hot up there in Foxborough right now, Murphy.

Yeah, it's hot. It's definitely, definitely a hot box, but no question about it. The fans are excited. The players are excited. Everyone's staying hydrated and the action on the field may be hot, but it's keeping everyone in the stands cool. So if you are headed to Gillette, plan accordingly, make sure to stay hydrated. But bottom line, I am always,

always honored when the Count of Murphy Fisto takes time out of his busy schedule to join me here on Locked on Patriots and letting the wisdom and counsel that we all crave. Before I let you go, my friend, please let everyone know where they can reach out to you and what you got cooking from the great pen, the great voice of Thomas Murphy. I've got nothing cooking. It's actually tournament time here for Team Butchie. The 15 youths are storming through their tournament. We're playing a game every single week. So that's my laser focus right now. I will be here. And of course, One Patriots Place is going to take a week off. So you can just check me out right here once, maybe twice a week. Get those mailbag questions in. Absolutely, folks.

Mailbag Monday will be a thing this week. It's back to Mondays. Get the questions in. Don't delay. Do it today. Get them in. We definitely want to hear all of your camp questions, contract related, anything and everything on your mind when it comes to your New England Patriots. Send it in and Murph and I are happy to feature it right here on Monday on Locked on Patriots. But in the

meantime, folks, please continue to stay safe and stay well and to be the change that you wish to see in the world. On behalf of my good friend, the Green King of Sting, the Monster Master of Disaster himself, Thomas Murphy, I'm Mike DeBate. Have a great day, everyone, and we'll

see you back here again tomorrow on Locked on Patriots.