Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Training Camp: Mac Jones, Bill Belichick and ‘Trust’ — Day 1 Recap

Episode Date: July 27, 2023

At long last, the New England Patriots returned to practice, officially kicking off 2023 training camp. Host Mike D’Abate breaks down the Pats first training camp practice, including some standout ...performances from safety Kyle Dugger and receiver Ty Montgomery. Mike also provides his thoughts on the ‘trust’ between Mac Jones and Bill Belichick, as well as the team building insight shared by Director of Player Personnel, Matt Groh.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

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 For the New England Patriots, returning to their winning ways this season may be, in the immortal words of Billy Joel, a matter of trust. Stick around, you're about to be locked into this opening day of training camp edition of 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.
Starting point is 00:00:50 We are a proud part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Subscribe or follow for free on YouTube or wherever you listen to 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 reach out to me and let me know what's on your mind on Twitter or X depending on what you're calling it these days you can find me at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L and while you're out there showing some social media love to Lockdown Patriots follow the account as well at L-O underscore Patriots. Patriots fans today's episode of Lockdown Patriots is brought to you by
Starting point is 00:01:26 eBay Motors. A championship team is about each player being a perfect fit, and it's the same thing with your vehicle. So for the parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit. eBayMotors.com Let's ride!
Starting point is 00:01:42 eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to U.S. customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. Fats fans, thank you for joining me here today on the pod, and of course for making us your first listen today. As always, a special shout out to all of you Locked On Everydayers
Starting point is 00:01:57 out there. Always honored and grateful for you and your support. As you can see, video difficulties continue here on Locked On Patriots, but not enough to derail us from bringing you the very latest from Foxborough. Because as you all know, training camp has arrived. The Patriots hitting the practice field adjacent to Gillette Stadium for their first training camp practice of 2023.
Starting point is 00:02:20 And today here on the pod, we'll have all the highlights from practice, as well as the media getting a chance to talk to quarterback Mac Jones and director of player personnel, Matt Groh. Each of them had some interesting things to say, and we'll break it all down for you here today on Locked On Patriots. So stick around and stay locked in. But first, as your New England Patriots walked off the practice fields on Wednesday morning, I could almost hear the words of Commander Mike Metcalf from Top Gun. You know him better as Viper, played very well by Tom Skerritt. Gentlemen, you had a hell of a first day.
Starting point is 00:02:55 And the Patriots did have a hell of a first day because at long last, your New England Patriots have hit the practice fields and 2023 has officially begun. Over 6,000 fans packing the bleachers near the practice fields, and 2023 has officially begun. Over 6,000 fans packing the bleachers near the practice fields, and it was a great atmosphere if you're a Patriots fan, great atmosphere if you're a football fan. And Wednesday's session, if we're being honest, was more of an extension of minicamp than really a simulation of game action. Still a little while before the pads come on,
Starting point is 00:03:23 still a little bit before we start seeing some of that competitive chirping that we all know and love but you are seeing some seedlings of potential camp battles to come including a stellar performance by the Patriots defense but the theme of the day unquestionably folks was trust and it was something that Mac Jones was very adamant about when we had a chance to speak with him just after practice. We're going to get to Mac and his trust issues in just a little bit. And of course, you've all been waiting for it. His much anticipated debut, Juju Smith-Schuster, making his presence felt already becoming the hype man for the New England Patriots, running alongside the bleachers, sprinting, as a matter of fact, alongside those bleachers, getting the crowd going, and the crowd definitely responded to him.
Starting point is 00:04:08 You can tell Juju is excited to be here in New England. The fans are excited to have him, and it really is infectious. You saw guys like Kendrick Bourne and Devontae Parker feeding off of that energy. Patriots looking like they're having a lot of fun out on the practice field. Imagine, folks, Murph and I talked about this yesterday. I thought no one has fun in New England. There's no such thing as fun in New England. Yeah, you know who says that? Idiots. But I digress. Back to the discussion at hand. The New England Patriots definitely showed some promise out on the field. And where else are we going to start? The
Starting point is 00:04:39 quarterback position. Mac Jones got off to a little bit of a shaky start. He threw an interception in his first pass, but still finished the day completing four of seven passes in 11-on-11s and one of three in seven-on-seven drills with an interception in several throws that would be scores. Not an overwhelmingly great day for the Pats quarterbacks. As a matter of fact, not an overwhelmingly great day for the Patriots offense as a whole. Might as well talk about the negatives first. Mack Jones's pick again comes on his first pass of the day. This was during seven on seven drills.
Starting point is 00:05:17 It was a pass intended for tight end Mike Gusecki, and it was headed for the end zone. And I'll get back to that in just a moment. But Kyle Duggar want to give him a lot of credit. Got the jump on Gusecki in the end zone. Hopped ahead of him, making the nice pick, showing his competitive spirit early on. And folks, I'm telling you, Kyle Duggar, expect big things from him this year. He's already in mid-season form when it comes to hype level and when it comes to engagement. If you're thinking you're going to see big things out of Kyle Duggar this year, yeah, I think you're onto something there.
Starting point is 00:05:41 Definitely, by the way he played today, he looks ready to go. Now, I did talk about the pass to the end zone intended for Gusecki. The thing that I loved about this move is that Mack right away was testing his ability to get to the end zone. And the Patriots focused a lot of their drills today on red zone efficiency. And if you're scoring at home, that's a good thing because the Patriots finished dead last in red zone efficiency in 2022. It does not surprise me at all that Bill O'Brien, Bill Belichick, all of the Patriots offensive brain trust is going to be spending a lot of time working on efficiency in this area. Patriots have nowhere to go but up, but I don't think they're going to just go incrementally up. I think this
Starting point is 00:06:21 team is going to make a big jump, and one of the big reasons why is someone like Gusecki. So it's good that Mac Jones is utilizing him early on. You just want to see him keep the ball out of the opposing defensive back's hands. But all in all, not a terrible day for Mac. He ended up settling down, and again, he threw a few nice scores. One of them I thought was the play of the day. It was the touchdown pass to Hunter Henry, pinpoint throw and tight coverage over Christian Gonzalez, who also had a good day today, folks. I'm going to get back to Christian in just a moment, but Mac's throw, I thought was the best, but Mac's throw Hunter Henry was exactly what you want to see out of Mac Jones. Tight coverage, threading the needle, putting it only where the receiver can get it, and then the receiver, or in this case the tight end, goes up, makes a phenomenal catch. That, to me, was the play of the day.
Starting point is 00:07:09 And Mack also had a couple of nice throws, which would be scores, to tie Montgomery, who aligned a lot more with the receivers than he did with the running backs. All you Bailey Zappi fans out there, Zappi struggled a little bit, especially during 11-on-11 drills. He only connected on two of his eight passes, but he also completed two of three and seven-on-sevens. He looked much sharper in these types of drills. If you're all wondering about quarterback competition, there certainly wasn't one on Wednesday. Mack Jones looking like the clear starter, Bailey Zappi looking like the clear backup.
Starting point is 00:07:39 But folks, things can change. So that's why it's important to come back, take a look each and every day, and see what the Patriots are planning and how each of the quarterbacks is handling their drills. So some good stuff, some not so good stuff from the quarterbacks. A little bit of a mixed bag from the Patriots signal callers. But all in all, not a terrible day for the offense, just not a great one. Other things I saw in my offense observations on Wednesday. Getting back to Juju Smith-Schuster and again folks I know a lot of you are sitting out there saying yep he's going
Starting point is 00:08:11 to be the hype man he's going to be the energy man yeah he's going to you can already see it and the fans are going to love him for that but the Patriots are also showing a lot of confidence in his ability he let off positional. He caught his first training camp practice touchdown with Mack Jones as his quarterback. And the most important thing about Juju, folks, that I saw is that he showed no visible signs of being hampered by that knee injury, which had kept him off the field until Wednesday. If he's healthy and he's locked in, expect him to make a big-time difference in the Patriots' this year I for one cannot wait to see what Juju Smith-Schuster brings to the tables but that being said he may have some
Starting point is 00:08:49 unexpected company in that wide receiver core because Ty Montgomery yeah the same Ty Montgomery that I and a lot of my colleagues in the media have been saying is the heir apparent to that number two running back spot vacated by Damian Harris? Well, Ty was aligning a lot more with the wide receivers on Wednesday than he was with the running backs, and he actually looked pretty good doing it, settling into an offensive option that will see him get looks on third down, maybe a little bit out of the backfield. Do not discount that. Still think he has the ability to be a dual threat,
Starting point is 00:09:21 but he was also the Patriots' most prominent choice as their third Z receiver option, meaning he was lining up off the line of scrimmage, and he looked great doing it. Montgomery led all pass catchers before receptions on the day, including two would-be scores from Mack Jones, so keep a sharp eye on Ty Montgomery, folks. It's a good possibility we may see him a line-up wide receiver before the year is said and done so you want to know about the offensive line the most concerning area regarding your New England Patriots this year and even though there were a lot of questions about both his presence and his role recently I am very happy to report that offensive tackle Trent Brown
Starting point is 00:10:02 appeared to be a key component in this Patriots offensive line. He looked to be in good shape. He was engaged. And he manned the left tackle position for the better part of the day on the Patriots primary unit. So if you're wondering who's going to start at left tackle for your New England Patriots, I think we got our answer today. It looks like it's going to be Trent Brown. And that's good news for the Pats.
Starting point is 00:10:23 That is great news for Mac Jones. A locked-in Trent Brown and that's good news for the Pats that is great news for Mac Jones a locked in Trent Brown protecting his blind side can't ask for a better guy in the league to do it when he's locked in and healthy as for the rest of the line Cole Strange aligning at left guard no big surprise there David Andrews once again the main man in the middle handling the center duties and then here's where things get interesting right guard of course is vacated right now by Michael Wainu he's on the pup list Bill Murray trying yet for another Cinderella story I wish I could do that impression folks I really do but we're just going to have to settle for the Caddyshack line right now but he played right guard and then veteran Riley Rafe lining up at the right tackle position. And this was interesting to me because we all know, as much as I like Bill Murray and
Starting point is 00:11:07 the Patriots seem to like him as well, Michael Wainu is going to take his rightful spot, right guard when he's healthy. But the right tackle position right now, I think is up for grabs. And it could be up for grabs between three or maybe even four different players. Riley Rafe is in the mix. And judging by the fact that he got the nod on opening day, I'd say he might be the favorite. But don't discount Connor McDermott, who actually played the best right tackle of the offseason programs, meaning OTAs and minicamp.
Starting point is 00:11:34 He's going to be in the mix. Calvin Anderson, I think, is going to get his shot when he comes off of NFI. Don't be a bit surprised to see rookie City So get some looks there before all is said and done. That, to me, is the only area right now where the Patriots might have some question. The battle for right tackle could end up being a pretty good battle, and definitely one that I think a lot of Patriots fans should be keeping their sharp eye on. This one could get hotly contested. So, again, folks, we're going to be watching it very closely, and our interest is clearly going to be piqued.
Starting point is 00:12:04 But it wasn't all about the offense. In fact, folks, if we're giving a game ball, I would probably say that the defense won the day, and that is because of their secondary. And I know one day is hardly an adequate sample size, but the Patriots secondary showed enough to me to prove that they will be a formidable unit to deal with this season New England's defensive backs collectively breaking up seven passes with Sean Wade surprisingly leading the way with two and I'll be honest the last couple of 53-man roster projections that I've done has Sean Wade on the cutting room floor maybe he's trying to prove something a lot of talent there who knows maybe he's a dark horse candidate to find his way onto that depth chart and onto the
Starting point is 00:12:48 roster. But if we're being honest and we're talking cornerbacks, we are talking about Christian Gonzalez. And a lot of eyes were on him on Wednesday. He did not disappoint. Again, he did surrender the touchdown. But at the same time, I think that's much more of a compliment to Mac Jones's throw to Hunter Henry's catch as opposed to it being bad coverage from Christian.
Starting point is 00:13:09 Honestly, the coverage was about as tight as you can get for any player, let alone a rookie. But Christian Gonzalez was aligning all day long with the starting unit, and that shows a lot of confidence from the Patriots right off the bat. I believe he's going to be your starting perimeter corner on day one, and nothing I saw on the field on Wednesday leads me to believe anything different. So bottom line, a very good day for the defense, so-so day for the offense, but an amazing day for all of the fans that join the New England Patriots on the practice fields adjacent to Gillette Stadium, and they'll do it all over again on Thursday morning, starting at 930. But as we said to open the show, one of the big themes about Wednesday's practice was the word trust. And quarterback Mac Jones used that word quite often. But in what context did he use it?
Starting point is 00:13:55 And why did he mention it specifically when it came to head coach Bill Belichick? We'll talk about that and more when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues a proud part of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues, 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, and the path forward isn't always clear. Folks, we live in complex times, and stress is all around us each and every day.
Starting point is 00:14:23 Whether you're dealing with decisions around career, relationships, or anything else, therapy helps you to stay connected to what you really want while you navigate life so 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 00:14:42 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 therapists at any time for no additional charge. Let therapy be your map with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com slash LockedOn today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp. H-E-L-P dot com slash LockedOn. Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining
Starting point is 00:15:15 me here today on LockedOn Patriots, breaking down day one of training camp. The Pats are in full swing, and again, a very good day for the defense. The offense, well, it's had better moments, but it's definitely had worse moments as well. But the one common theme that you saw throughout the day is the New England Patriots are dedicated to being much better than they were in 2022. And one of the things that it's going to take to get there is having trust. Trust in each other, trust in the coaches.
Starting point is 00:15:42 The coaches need to trust the players. There needs to be a circle of trust in Foxborough. And no one knows that better than starting quarterback Mack Jones, who appears ready to turn the page from both his and the team's disappointing finish to the 2022 season. Now to do so, the Patriots have to rebuild a collective faith in each other. And let's be honest, that type of trust that the Patriots needed, that was lost last year, especially towards season's end. The process is not going to be easy and it's not going to be quick. But Mac Jones knows that the first step begins with him. And he said that when speaking to the media shortly after practice wrapped up on Wednesday
Starting point is 00:16:19 morning. And I'm quoting Mac directly. That's the big thing. As quarterback, at the end of the day, when we're on the field, they need to feel confident in me and I need to feel confident in them. I think that's built through trust. I think the big word here for this training camp is trust. And he's absolutely right. Even though Mac Jones was very impressive in his rookie season, he struggled to rekindle his previous success in his second year, whether it be from faulty coaching or whether it be from a lack of comfort in the Patriots' offense.
Starting point is 00:16:54 There's a lot of reasons for that. He missed three games due to an ankle injury in October, displayed notable discomfort in New England's new offensive system under Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, and let's be honest, we all remember, at times that disconnect between the players and the coaching staff was so overt. You could see Mack on the sideline hurling expletive laden frustrations, and that was in the direction of his coaches. And Mack's performance on the field suffered as a result. He finished the season with 2,997 yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Most likely a far cry from what he wanted his second season to be. But in speaking with Mac on Wednesday,
Starting point is 00:17:29 you're starting to see some of the confidence come back into him. And he knows that in order to successfully move forward, he had to repair some of the damage that was done last season. Now, Mac is very popular among his teammates. They seem to have his back last year. They definitely have his back this year. But the coaching staff is another story, and sometimes rebuilding the trust that you've lost can be very difficult. Mack knew that there was a fractured relationship between he and Bill Belichick for whatever reason. Not going to go into all the unsubstantiated trade rumors that circulated throughout the offseason. Those turned up to be a lot of hogwash, but there is a relationship to be repaired there, and Jones was very quick to quell any lingering questions about his connection with Belichick when he was asked on Wednesday once
Starting point is 00:18:11 again quoting Mac directly here folks I think we're good that's Jones talking about he and Bill Belichick I think the biggest thing that we've all talked about is just having a fresh start I think there's a lot of learning experiences from last year that we've talked about, and this year, it's all about just working together. You've got to come up with a plan, obviously talk about it, and then execute it. I'm excited for that part of it. And this is definitely good. You want to see coach and quarterback on the same page.
Starting point is 00:18:39 But in addition to Belichick, Jones was also very vocal about his gratitude for the opportunity to work with Bill O'Brien and Evan Rothstein, who's serving as an assistant quarterback's coach. Mack went on to say that he thinks Bill O'Brien is doing a great job laying out what the Pats need to do well and also what they're going to be learning every day. Mack said, we're going to learn every day what we do well, and then from there, you keep moving forward and executing the plan. And that seems to be a common theme. We heard the same thing from David Andrews and Kyle Duggar and
Starting point is 00:19:10 Juwan Bentley and Matthew Slater and a lot of the players who've spoken to the media thus far. It's about learning in the moment, absorbing the small details, and putting them into practice. This is how the New England Patriots built their dynasty. This is what they predicated it on. You're starting to see some of that come back, and I really hope that it translates to better execution on the field. So far, it's already looking better. And of course, we all know that Bill O'Brien's hiring is definitely going to give Mac Jones the opportunity to run the type of offense that he runs very well. We've already seen it. He's wasted very little time in demonstrating that progress on the field. Back in mandatory minicamp, you saw greater accuracy, greater command, added strength on nearly every single one of his throws, and you also saw a lot of confidence in his abilities. Now, he did get off to the shaky start on Wednesday.
Starting point is 00:20:03 We all know about the interception to Kyle Duggar. His naysayers are going to attack that. But he did finish the day strong. And through it all, Jones is beginning to develop a solid relationship with Bill O'Brien. And he's also being given greater responsibility to command the offense at the line of scrimmage. That, to me, is going to be the biggest difference between 2022 Mac Jones and 2023 Mac Jones. There's confidence. Now you're starting to see confidence from the coaching staff in him, and it's only going
Starting point is 00:20:31 to build him from there. Mac is not someone that's going to go and he's going to jump into things haphazardly, though. He's keeping his feet firmly on the ground. He's taking it one moment at a time, which is very Patriot-like, and I know Pat fans are glad to see that, but he finished up by saying, for me, I'm just trying to be really consistent, try not to ride the wave, just stay my course, and hopefully everybody on our offense feels that too, and I think that's exactly what you want your quarterback to say. It's exactly what Patriots
Starting point is 00:21:03 fans want to hear from their quarterback. And to be totally honest with you, I think it's what Bill Belichick wants to hear as well. Contrition, taking things one day at a time, knowing that the coaches know more than you do, and absorbing that knowledge. I think that's where the trust was broken last year. That's where the disconnect happened, when it seemed like the players knew more about what to do than the coaches.
Starting point is 00:21:24 That's never a good thing thing for a lot of reasons. It creates chaos. It creates mistrust. And most importantly, it cultivates a society where neither side is able to reach its potential. Under Bill O'Brien, you're going to have much more structure. Does that mean that this year's offense is going to suddenly rival what we saw in 2007 from the Patriots? No, not even close, folks.
Starting point is 00:21:44 But what it will mean is a far superior product on the field than what we saw in 2007 from the Patriots? No, not even close, folks. But what it will mean is a far superior product on the field than what we saw last year, and I think that's something that all Patriots fans can be grateful for. So once again, it's all about trust. Mack has to have it in himself. Mack has to trust the Bills, meaning Belichick and O'Brien, and O'Brien and Belichick have to in turn trust Mack. And it goes for all three phases. There has to be a level of trust in the players with their coaches and the coaches with their players. That I think is going to be one of the biggest themes of this training camp. And I'm looking forward to seeing that trust continuously build toward what we all hope is going to be a
Starting point is 00:22:18 much better season in 2023. But Mack Jones wasn't the only one to speak with the media on Wednesday. We got the special treat of being joined by Director of Player Personnel Matt Groh. And as usual, Matt was very enlightening about a lot of different subjects. But one thing that really caught my ear today was listening to Matt Groh talk about team building and most importantly, the thought process that goes into it. When we return here on Locked On Patriots, we're going to talk a little bit about what Matt Groh had to say and how it might be relevant to the Patriots operations in 2023. This and more when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast wraps up right here on the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.
Starting point is 00:23:00 Patriots fans, thank you once again for taking time out of your busy schedule to join us here on Locked On Patriots. And once again, we will continue to bring you coverage of Patriots training camp right here tomorrow on the pod. So stay locked in, download, subscribe to follow wherever you get your podcasts. And to me, one of the greatest things about training camp, aside from getting the chance to watch these guys on the field and build together as a team, I always appreciate the opportunity to speak with both the players and the coaches to get their insight on how the team is going to be built for the upcoming year. And on Wednesday, we got the chance to hear from Patriots Director of Player Personnel, Matt Groh. And for those of you that don't know, folks, Matt Groh is one of the best interviews in new england sports he has the ability of giving you all the information you need without revealing anything he shouldn't it really is truly an art form if you haven't had a chance to check out some of his previous media
Starting point is 00:23:54 availability definitely do that i'm sure some of it's still available on patriots.com trust me you won't be disappointed but this latest round of q a was no exception and matt was asked about a number of topics including cash spending of all topics and we're actually going to save his comments on that subject until our good friend the pats cat miguel benzon joins us here perhaps as early as next week folks so keep a sharp ear and an eye out for that and matt was very forthcoming he was asked very bluntly about DeAndre Hopkins. Of course, we all know DeAndre ended up signing with the Tennessee Titans. And yeah, there's a level of disappointment with the Patriots that a player of his caliber did not
Starting point is 00:24:34 choose them as their destination. But at the same time, Matt Groh also said that there was simply a level, a contractual level that the Patriots were not comfortable deviating from. DeAndre got the offer that he was looking for elsewhere, and that's why he's a Tennessee Titan. But he was even asked about Dalvin Cook. And I was actually a little surprised that Matt Groh answered this, but he did essentially admit that the Patriots are interested in Dalvin, that they've at least kicked the tires, at least inquired about him, and they're going to explore as many options as possible. And especially when it came to Cook, I was really surprised that Matt was as candid as he was, acknowledging that this is a unique situation, really with both of these players,
Starting point is 00:25:15 including DeAndre Hopkins, because you don't typically have players of this caliber available at this time of year. He made the comment about a lot of minimum contracts being handed out at this point, and Dalvin Cook and DeAndre Hopkins are not minimum contract players, so in order to satisfy everyone's requirements, you have to take a lot of things under account. How the playing time splits are going to happen, contract sensitivity, that can be really tough for highly decorated players coming in after training camp begins. But it also goes for the players that the Pats recently worked out, including guys like Leonard Fournette, Daryl Henderson. These are players that probably won't cost you what a Dalvin Cook or a DeAndre
Starting point is 00:25:54 Hopkins would, but it can still be complicated, even when you're dealing with all of the other things that go into contract negotiations. And Matt was asked plain and simple about that, and he was very good about answering and saying that you can never have too many good players on your team obviously they work these guys out they're interested in them but at the same time they're going to continue to work out players just like every team in the league and again it all goes back to exploring every possibility that they can to make the patriots as strong of a roster as possible. And Matt even used the example of the Kansas City Chiefs in saying that he doesn't think
Starting point is 00:26:29 they're saying after winning a Super Bowl last year that, oh yeah, we're good. We don't need to find ways to get better. They're always looking for ways to get better. The Patriots did it for two decades up here in New England. That's how they continued to stay relevant. That's how they want to be relevant once again. So Matt Groh going into this type of detail really showed that the philosophy of winning in Foxborough hasn't magically disappeared. It's still there. It's still in Bill Belichick. It's still in Robert Kraft.
Starting point is 00:26:56 It's in Matt Groh. It's in all the coaches on the field. And it's even in the players. And that's something that has to come together. Once it does come together, you have a united front. That's going to be very difficult to beat. And no matter what type of fancy roster you want to put out there, the team that is united by one common goal is very difficult to beat,
Starting point is 00:27:16 no matter what the talent level says on paper. So something to remember there with your New England Patriots before everybody starts writing them off before the season begins. And to me, the most interesting part of what Matt had to say on Wednesday, and my favorite part of the interview, was when he was asked about the Patriots adding free agents and the talent that's still out there, and about his sales pitch, why he believes that Foxborough is still an attractive destination in the NFL. And Matt Groh answered this very diplomatically, and I think very matter-of-factly, and also very much on point. And I thought Matt's answer to this was perfect. He said, quote, because I think guys who love football know that this is a place for guys who
Starting point is 00:27:55 love football. There are guys out there that like to work, that like to put in the time. I think they know that the locker room that they're going to be coming into, there's going to be other like-minded guys, just like it would be difficult for me to go somewhere else and have to adapt to that culture. This is the kind of way that I know. This is what I grew up around as a kid. If you love football, this is the place to be. And Matt, as someone who also grew up in this area and around football. Amen to that. Patriots fans, it is always an honor to bring you the very latest from Foxborough and Patriots training camp. And don't miss tomorrow's episode where we do it
Starting point is 00:28:32 all over again because your New England Patriots will return to the practice fields adjacent to Gillette Stadium at 9 30 a.m. on Thursday for their second training camp practice of 2023. Who are the standouts? What's the breaking news? Who showed up? Who didn't? We're going to cover it all here tomorrow for you on Locked On Patriots. So be sure to stay locked in to the Locked On Patriots podcast. And once again, a very special thank you to all of you everydayers, all of you casual
Starting point is 00:28:59 listeners, and any of you first timers checking out Locked On Patriots. We definitely appreciate your support. Be sure to join us here again tomorrow. But in the meantime, please continue to stay safe and stay well and 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 on Locked On Patriots. Thank you.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.