Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Training Camp Recap: Christian Barmore, Matthew Judon, Drake Maye and More

Episode Date: July 31, 2024

In addition to the start of padded practices, the New England Patriots have had eventful start to their first full week of training camp. Host Mike D’Abate welcomes Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy to discuss Christian Barmore’s health scare, the latest on the Matthew Judon contract situation and Drake Maye’s recent struggles at quarterback. #nfl #patriots  Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFm... Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-... And follow host Mike D’Abate on X, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans — @mdabateNFL  Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply. eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotors.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply. FanDuelFanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. As playoffs wind down, the sports stop sporting like we want them to. But this summer, FanDuel is hooking up ALL CUSTOMERS with a boost or a bonus, DAILY! That’s right, there’s something for everyone, every day, all summer long! Visit FANDUEL.COM/LOCKEDON and add a big win to your summer bucket list! FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

Two days into padded practices, the New England Patriots struggling on offense. Who would have guessed defense was their biggest problem right now? Stick around, you're about to be locked in to the Locked On Patriots podcast. You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful. Thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part, not only of your New England Patriots coverage,

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latest episode as soon as it's available. I'm your host, Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country, so reach out to me. Let me know what's on your mind on X I'm your host, Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country. So reach out to me. Let me know what's on your mind on X at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L. While you're out there showing some love to lockdown Patriots social media style, follow our account there as well at L-O underscore Patriots.

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And Pats fans, the pads are officially on. The games have begun. As Terry Silver would say, now the real pain begins. The New England Patriots practicing in earnest on the practice fields for the past couple of days. Offense still struggling at times. Quarterbacks, one is definitely emerging as the frontrunner, and my good friend and I here on the pod called this several times throughout the past couple of months.

The offensive line getting a new look, perhaps a new left tackle. All of that and more happening on the field, including something you don't see every day. Contract negotiations, heated contract negotiations right on the practice field. Yeah, folks, a lot going on in Foxborough right now, but if we're being honest, all eyes, all hearts, and all concerns right now are primarily with Patriots defensive tackle Christian Barmore, who on Sunday was revealed was treated for blood clots. Scary situation emerging out of New England. Christian had not been a regular participant in practice since Wednesday,

the team's first practice. The Patriots medical staff were not happy with what they had seen. Christian was brought in to Mass General Brigham, one of the best facilities in the country for all types of hematology care and, of course, clotting disorders. They diagnosed Christian with blood clots and he will be out indefinitely. Definitely a scary situation without any question and joining us here today to talk about all of the comings and goings, all of the ins and outs and the ups and downs right now out of Foxborough is my good friend, the guy Murphy Fisto himself, a legend, Thomas Murphy. Thank you for coming to me in friendship today in a myriad of problems for the New England Patriots right now, Don Murph.

Yeah, send a good karma out to one Christian Barmore and let those blood thinners do their job and take it easy. And when you get back, you get back. Just like Mayo said, we'll be waiting for you. Absolutely, yeah. We want to definitely stress right now, folks, no timetable being set for Christian's return. I don't think anyone expects that right now or probably not in the foreseeable future have to give this kid an opportunity to be treated and to heal he is out of the hospital and there is good news on that respect so definitely good to see that gerard mayo telling the media on monday morning he's in good spirits you definitely

love to see that christian has sent some well wishes out to all of the fan base thanking them for their support on social media so positive steps in the right direction but still a long way to go for this kid Murph and it really does speak to the fragility of life here's a kid who signed a four-year contract extension 92 million including 41.8 and guaranteed money and at this point he looked like he was coming in ready to dominate and the Patriots were hoping that they were going to get that dominant force in the front seven Patriots may be without that force for quite some time maybe even the full season we'll talk about that in just a moment but your thoughts on Barmore first and foremost Murph your thoughts when you heard what had happened to him and just what it means

personally. Yeah, personally, it just means, you know, he's going to need all the support that he can possibly get right now. It sucked the wind right out of me, to be quite honest. It's not something that you think about sidelining a young man like this. It's just very fortunate that the Patriots were on top of this, saw that there was something going on, and decided to delve a little deeper and get some more professional opinions. Not necessarily that the ones that they were giving were, um, were of a, an amateurish type, but no, they, they recognized and they knew that this needed to be kicked up the ladder. Um, so yeah, no, I'm, I'm just sitting back and, and hoping that this young man is going to be able to, uh, bounce back from this and, and live

a full and productive life because everybody talks about, you know, well, get on the blood thinners and then get back out there. It's not always that simple, folks. It's really not always that simple. I'm not a doctor and I don't play one on television, but I'm telling you right now that with somebody with 15 years in the medical profession, not the medical, I wasn't a doctor, of course, but that 15 years in the healthcare industry that I know it's not always cut and dry. You never know what's going to happen. So we're just going to keep sending those prayers,

sending that good karma over there. And like I said, when he can come back, he can come back and everybody will welcome him with open arms. On the football side of it things just got really thin with with the big round guys uh really really thin and uh the patriots are going to need to scramble and um and get some holes filled see who those uh next guys up are and uh and hopefully get a deal done with with one uh Devon gotcha absolutely and I'm glad that you mentioned the on-field void because that is a big part of this and the Patriots have to

address it and it's going to be something that will weaken this defense but before we do that I do want to go back just a moment uh to what you said about each individual recovery being different when it comes to blood clots the easiest thing to think about is what the normal treatment is. And you look at David Andrews a couple of years ago in 2019, he was treated, went through the process, went on blood thinners, was able to recover and he came back. And since he's come back, thankfully he hasn't had another recurrence or another issue. He's been very healthy with the exception of, you know,

a couple of injuries last year, but his internal mechanism has been very healthy uh with the exception of you know a couple of injuries last year but his internal mechanism has been very healthy so that's something where if you're christian barmore that gives you motivation that gives you hope and that gives you an example of the way that this can work out and work out positively even though we had to lose a year christian is still going to come back strong if that is indeed the case but i think it it's important to remember that just because David recovered that way doesn't necessarily mean that Christian is going to recover that way. There are so many different factors. And Murph said this. There's family history.

There's any type of medical history that you may have had, preexisting conditions, body chemistry, body type. All of these contribute to how you're going to be able to recover from this. The important things with blood clots are to remember what caused them and to remember that how they're going to be treated and the type of treatment that needs to be made. That's going to determine how quickly Christian will return to the field. So it's possible. I have spoken to some medical professionals this week that say it is possible he could return before the end of the year if everything works out the way they'd like. I know that's best case scenario. The likely scenario is that he probably would have to sit the year in order to give his body a chance to fully heal, depending on the degree in which these clots were discovered and how serious they could have been. Barmore's agent Cole Lynn taking to social media shortly after the Patriots

released their statement on Christian, really thanking Patriots trainer Jim Whalen for his diligence, his persistence, his diagnosis. So tip of the cap and a sincere tip of the cap to Jim Whalen and all the Patriots training staff for identifying that there was something going on and then getting the proper treatment for it. So we all here at locked on Patriots, myself,

Murph, the whole team here at locked on wish Christian, nothing but the best in his recovery. Take your time, get well, get healthy because as Gerard Mayo told the media on Monday, when he addressed us before practice, this is not about football.

It's about the man. And that's exactly who the focus needs to remain on for Christian, for the Patriots, and for all parties involved. So, Christian, we wish you the best. And we hope to see you back out on the field as soon as possible. But most importantly, we want you to be 100% healthy when that happens. But, Murph, it is a life goes on league. And whether we like it or not, it does have to go on.

And you mentioned a particularly significant void for the New England Patriots now that they have to fill. If the Patriots are going to go with what's beyond Christian Barmore in the interior of line, you're looking at Devon Godchild, like you said. Look for him to take on a bigger role. But guys like Daniel Aquale, Armond Watts, the newcomer from Pittsburgh, Sam Roberts, Tristan Hill, Jeremiah Farms, new arrival Josiah Bronson, who the Patriots signed, former New Orleans Saint coming in. Maybe he gets a couple of extra looks and reps. He's been out there with the team so far. Where do you think the Patriots go in this situation to try to mitigate the loss?

Because you don't replace Christian Barmore. No, you can't. You can't replace Christian Barmore. No, you can't. You can't replace Christian Barmore with everybody that we've listed here. Christian Barmore is a very special talent, a talent that should have been a pro bowler last year in my estimation. And so it's going to take a while. It's going to come down to maybe a change in defensive philosophy. Maybe we're going to end up seeing a lot more 3-4 than we were going to see 4-3.

They'll slot in different guys to see how things shake out, and they're going to keep a really close watch on that waiver wire. Yeah, folks, definitely over the course of the next couple of weeks, that will absolutely be a focal point for the New England Patriots. Players start getting cut loose before the end of camp where teams are quote unquote doing veterans a solid and trying to give them an opportunity to catch on, get a little training camp time, get a little preseason time before having to learn another system on the fly. That could be something for the Patriots to take a look at because they will

need a veteran presence. You're not going to replace Christian Barnmore, but you have to learn how to mitigate the loss. And I think Merce hitting the nail right on the head. And just don't be surprised if they don't jump on the first name that's out there. Okay. Right now they're number four in the waiver wire pickups and,

and they might be holding onto that to be able to use it on the other side of the ball for other big round guys. I'm sure we'll be talking about that in a minute. Absolutely. We certainly will because the Patriots don't just have woes on the defensive line, continuing their woes along the offensive line. Maybe they're starting to figure things out a little bit.

Murph and I will delve into that question in just a moment. But the defensive problems continue, Murph, because beyond the unfortunate and unforeseen loss of Christian Barmore for the foreseeable future due to health reasons, they may be missing another one of their top defenders. The New England Patriots and Matthew Judon with a literal showdown on the field when it comes to his contract.

Yeah, folks, interesting times in Foxborough. Murph and I are going to break that down in just a moment when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team, every day. Listen up, Locked On Podcast Network, your team, every day. Listen up, Locked On listeners. I know you love sports. I love sports.

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Here is truly my debate of Patriots country. And of course, joining me as always is my good friend, the legend himself, Thomas Murphy. Murph, in the previous segment, we talked a lot about Christian Barmore and the loss that the Patriots are going to have to suffer. On the field, this is going to be a nearly insurmountable task to be able to overcome but i think in a lot of ways people looked at what happened with christian barmore as maybe a catalyst an unexpected catalyst an unfortunate catalyst but one nonetheless to try to motivate this team to maybe get something done with devon godchild keep him

as motivated and as focused as possible because you're going to need that presence in the middle and devon is a very good player at what he does and let's face it the patriots right now are devoid of a big presence when it comes to christian varmore on the interior of that line so that being said devon showed up for practice on monday wearing shells, not the lower part of the pads. Did not take part in a lot of the drills, but was out there and looked to be in decent spirits. And there was someone else out there with him, his agent, Drew Rosenhaus. Looked to be like a little bit of a contractual negotiation going on out on the field as things spoke now we don't know that for

sure uh from my vantage point i could not tell what the gentleman were talking about but there was a lot of chatter between he and elliot wolf and matt grohl when i say he folks a lot of glad hands exactly well one thing that was fairly easy to pick out is some of the conversations that took place after that and that involved arguably the Patriots best defensive player, maybe the face of the franchise right now. Yeah. Number nine himself, the red sleeve man, Matthew Judon. Murph, I haven't seen anything like this in a Patriots situation since I've covered the team and really even back to my fandom days.

And I really can't remember a situation like this that we saw on monday but emotions reaching a fever pitch during monday's practice matthew judon having a pair of what is being described as animated chats one with gerard mayo the other with elliot wolf and matt grow each time stormed off in an agitated state, left the field, came back, talked a little bit again, this time a much more in-depth conversation it looked like with Wolfe and Groh. And then Matthew going back to the locker room, did not return to the football field, and on Tuesday he did not show up to the facility at all. No, he has not returned back yet.

I was getting text messages early this morning that said, you know, Mandem is not here. Murphy's not in the building. OK, so, you know, they are about as far apart as they have been since since contract negotiations started. What happened yesterday really strained things on both sides of the aisle here, for lack of a better term. And as I said before, you know, to about Gerard Mayo, it's different when you're sitting at the head of the table. It's different when you're wearing the big man's hat. OK, and he had to go over and say something to Matthew that Matthew obviously didn't like. He probably asked him to leave the field. And Judon wasn't happy about that.

He left. He came back. And then he left again. And he is still not in the building as we record this. A large void. No question about it. The Patriots already feeling the void from Christian Barmore. But we've talked several times about how Matthew Judon is a facilitator in this defense, how his play elevates guys like Barmore and even Devon Godchow and obviously Joshua Uche.

Everybody is better, and that's why I really don't understand what the holdup is with this, unless Judon is just asking for the moon in a five-year deal at his age and with his injury history. I really don't understand it. This is something that needs to get done. And right now it's become even more apparent that his presence on the field is needed. All right. This is a man that that wants to be here. OK. And right now in this rebuilding process, along with the other, you know, re-signings that you've done already, I understand there's been quite a few, but it's going to be really difficult to to lure free agents here to New England right now, okay, with everything that's going on, with the fact that the team is not exactly being led by the greatest quarterback of all time and the greatest head coach of all time. You're going to have to secure people that already know that, yes, this is a good head coach. It's somebody that I'm willing to play for. so just go out and get it done. It's going to be, you're not going

to replace him off the street. There's nobody in the, you ignored the defensive side of the ball in the draft this year. And right now, so you're going to have to pay the fiddler. And right now, Matthew Judon holds the fiddle. Very good point. And I like the analogy as well. And it does bring up a question that I've wanted to ask you since this happened yesterday on Monday. And that is, we reported here last week and Matthew said it himself when he spoke to the media. I'm going to honor the contract. I signed it. I'm not going to be a distraction. We're all expecting Matthew to come in and be a good soldier now we expected there to be some acrimony behind the scenes i don't think anybody thought these two sides were

going to come together and it was going to be you know back slapping and really like you know harmonious to the point where things were going to escalate to that level what do you think changed within the last few days here with mat? What's the sudden change in approach? I think he was under the impression that, yeah, things would get done. It would be done by now. I think with Rosenhaus coming in, it sent kind of a sign that, yeah, we're working on Gottschall, but, you know, you're still on the back burner here, which I think is kind of ridiculous. As much as I want Devon Gottschall in a Patriots

uniform for the rest of his life, this is a man that comes to work every freaking day, every Sunday. He doesn't miss time. But Judon has missed time. And I think that's in the back of the mind of Elliot Wolfe. And other than that, I just don't. I know he thought that things were going to be much closer before they put the pads on. And I think when yesterday rolled around and it was the first pad at practice, this is the first time that it really hit him that I could go out there and get hurt on day one. And what do I have? I have nothing in my back pocket. I have no security.

There's really not a lot of guaranteed money left on his deal for this year. And I think that gave him pause. And I think he's like, yeah, I I'll be here I'll go to the meetings I'll watch practice and see what I can pick up I'll even help everybody but you know he went out there and sat down and before any before you could blink you know Gerard Mayo was over there saying I got to have you off the field if you're not going to be playing. I agree with you I think that Matthew came in knowing that he needed to push the envelope a little bit.

If he's going to get something done, he had to rattle the cage. I think a lot of the animation that you saw on Monday wasn't necessarily premeditated. I think it was precipitated. It's just frustration. Yeah, by watching Rosenhaus out there and knowing why he was there, it makes it seem like, oh, okay, well, you're going to take care of him. You've extended 11 players already.

I'm speaking as if I'm Matthew Judon. You've extended 11 players. You're at or near the top of nearly every cap estimate that's out there in terms of available space. You're going to make Devon number 12. That's fine, but I better be lucky 13 or we're going to start having problems. And I think that came to a head. That really came to a fever pitch on Monday. number 12 that's fine but i better be lucky 13 or we're going to start having problems and i think that came to a head that really came to a fever pitch on monday now we'll see if cooler heads

prevail if the time away from the field allows the patriots to get a fresh look at things allows matthew to maybe get a fresh look at things both of these sides come back together i stress this in my writing earlier today for Athlon Sports Patriots country. There is still a chance, folks, for a peaceful and productive resolution here. But the two sides have to come together. They have to be willing to work together. And they have to come to an accord on a fair deal for both sides. The longer these sides remain apart, that possibility grows less likely each and every day. And to be quite honest and in thinking like a like an agent, you know, I have to I have to think that, you know, with more leverage in their back pocket with with Gottschalk and now Judon and what's happened with Christian Barmore, that if they've stepped back and said, well, wait a minute. You really need me a lot more than you did yesterday.

It's a terrible thing to think, but I'm thinking like an agent. OK, so there's there's also that in it. I don't think that had anything to do with what happened yesterday with Matthew. But, you know, this is the way agents think, folks. This is the way agents think folks this is the way agents think so the patriots right now are at a crossroads when it comes to investing in this team we'll see if devon godchow signs a contract extension and what that means for matthew judon a lot of sides with a lot of leverage right now murph it's going to be interesting to see and we'll continue to watch

that side of the ball but we haven't even talked about the offensive side of the ball yet and Murph it hasn't been all that pretty in New England since the bats came on Patriots experimenting with a new look offensive line and clearly one quarterback emerging as the likely opening day starter you've been listening to lockdown Patriots here for the past couple of months you're probably not surprised by that but Murph and I are going to talk about Jacoby Brissett, Drake May, Caden Wallace, and that whole line when we wrap up this discussion here inside Patriots Training Camp right here on the Locked On Patriots podcast,

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today. Last minute tickets, lowest price, guaranteed. Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on Locked On Patriots, taking you inside training camp. Of course, I'm your host, Mike DeBate, and joining me as always to break down all the important stories here in New

England. There's no other man we'd welcome to cover these many big stories in one episode than my good friend, the Count of Murphy Pistol himself, the legend, Thomas Murphy. Murph, we've talked Christian Barmore. We've talked Matthew Judon. A lot of big stories, a lot of big headlines with those two gentlemen in the last couple of days.

But something to remember is that the New England Patriots have a season to prepare for that beyond just one man. And the pads are on now in New England, starting to get a little more physical padded practices, always bring out a little more physicality. You start to see the seedlings of what this team could actually look like on the field. If you're judging the Patriots by what you saw on Monday,

you're probably hitting the panic button right now. Drake may his worst practice by far. I would say worse than anything we saw in rookie minicamp, mandatory minicamp, and training camp thus far. The New England Patriots experimenting with a new look offensive line that includes Caden Wallace at left tackle and Chuk Sakara for at right tackle. Murph, before we get too far into analyzing what we've seen here in New England, let's talk a little bit about padded practices and what realistic expectations are and what the expectations are put on these by people like us, the media, fans, whatnot. When you look at what the Patriots have done thus far,

knowing that it's only two training camp practices in, how panicked should the Patriots fans be about the product they're seeing on the field? Or is this normal for the growing pains of a team that's struggling to find its own identity? Yeah, it's normal for the amount of change that is going on in New England right now. OK, there's a new blocking system. There are new pieces all over the offensive line. And there are new pieces as pass catchers that are all trying to – there's going to be days like Monday.

I told you – I told everybody out there going into this that Drake May has not played a lot of football. He hasn't. He hasn't played a lot of college football. He didn't play a lot of high school football, people. All right. He lost time due to covid and, you know, took an entire year off instead of transferring somewhere else and playing somewhere else. In college, he hadn't played. He did not play a lot of football. And he was drafted basically on his skill set and his athleticism. I told you before that I was never comfortable with any of the three top quarterbacks coming out this year going that high. I thought that they should have attacked this draft in a very different way than they did. It's going to take time. And I've said

since the beginning that if he starts at all this year, it should be after the bye week, week nine, or next year. This is a kid that is going to need time. I also said that there would be days where he looked better than Jacoby Brissett, okay, throughout this training camp. But it wasn't going to be the first day that pads came on. I told you to sit back and wait until he got under center and was able to look across the line and decipher what he was looking at. And on Monday, it did not look like he was able to do that at all.

Yeah, no question about it. Anybody that watched Monday's practice, and believe me, it was painful at times, did see a kid that looked uncomfortable at times. He looked like he was reverting to old bad habits when it came to his footwork, when it came to his decision-making. Folks, Drake May is a rookie, and I think it's important to remember that we all have a tendency to elevate. I've been guilty of it.

I buy into the hype. You see him make a few nice passes. It's really exciting to get into that and to think about the fact that, yeah, this kid's going to be it. He's the number three pick but i think people need to remember that because drake was the number three pick doesn't automatically assume that the patriots picked him to be their immediate starter you can pick guys that high and wait until they're ready the patriots picked him on potential talent they didn't pick him on present current availability,

much different than what they did a couple of years ago at number 15 with Mac Jones. And I know we're hearing the term ghost of Mac Jones thrown around a lot throughout the media. I don't think that's a very valid comparison here. I really don't. It was just an off the cuff comment that didn't really, doesn't really match the situation that's going on here. All right.

Drake, Drake may has a lot to learn. And school is open. Just don't expect to hand him a diploma on day one or week one or week eight or week ten. Just sit back and wait for it to happen. I think this kid is smart. I think there's a reason other people wanted to trade up with the Patriots to grab him. But it's going to take time. And it's going to take patience.

I asked you guys for patience the last couple of years, and it didn't happen. And, you know, everybody started making these moves. Now you have no choice. Right. Okay? Because we're dealing with a kid off the street. You're basically a kid off the street. You might as well have grabbed somebody from Foxborough High School

and sat them down across that line of scrimmage to look at one of the better defenses in the NFL and try to decipher what they're looking at. And when you go over to his immediate competition in Jacoby Brissett, this is a seasoned veteran. Whether you like it or not, whether you agree with the fact that he's one of the 30 best quarterbacks in the NFL or not, I do. I think he's one of the 30 best quarterbacks in the NFL. I think there are a bunch of teams, not just New England, that he could start on simply because of the career that

he's had. He's had a very nice career, you know, seven years of knowledge, you know, backed up there. And right now he is running an offense that he has run before. So yeah, he is going to look that much better than Drake May. That was just, that was a given. And anybody that's surprised about that is, you know, didn't give him enough credit. Great point. And again, Jacoby Brissett out there, especially on Tuesday, looking like he can be even more than a bridge quarterback for a couple of games this year. Maybe a guy that can lead them deep into the season maybe the entire season so yeah jacoby brissett definitely coming into his own and you knew that he would show that veteran savvy and he is showing that veteran savvy right and he's looked good with drake you can't necessarily take

a look at what happens with drake and say oh well look mac jones was you know further along than drake was well first of all he was two practices and he was and there were reasons for that first Drake and say, oh, well, look, Mac Jones was, you know, further along than Drake was. Well, first of all, we're talking two practices. And he was. And there were reasons for that. First of all, he's coming from Alabama. He's coming from that Crimson Tide pedigree. Second of all, and I think people miss this a lot, Mac Jones was NFL ready coming out of the box.

He had that type of preparation. Now, what the Patriots thought was that that ceiling for Mac Jones could have been much higher than it was. I think maybe the ceiling was overrated and that maybe he had already peaked to the level that he was going to, maybe a little bit of growth, but not much more. Drake May is not like that. I think his ceiling is much higher than what Mac is going to be

as a quarterback in this league. Don't necessarily think that the sins of the past are going to come back to get the future this is part of the Patriots game plan this kid's got to go through his growing pains once he hits his stride he'll be fine the talent is there I can tell you that I've seen it on the field Murph's seen it on the field we've both taken a look at this kid and know the arm skills we know the ability to get down the field, this kid will be a very good quarterback. Just have to be patient. It has to be patience that really wins out here.

It takes time for it to click, okay, at every level. You can go all the way back to anybody in the world when they step on a Pop Warner field, okay, and then two years later it just clicks and that kid works and it you know in high school you know you're you're on the jv squad and then all of a sudden you know in your sophomore season your junior season it just clicks okay and it becomes second nature and the same process has to happen in college and again in the pros just wait for it to click absolutely so well there it's just the knowledge and and being able to see the field and

knowing what you have around you and when you're going to have it and when your arm strength the other thing he's going to learn is that that he's just because his arm strength was that good in college it doesn't mean it's going to be that good in the pros. And you're not going to be able to make all those same throws. But I'm convinced that he's going to learn that. He's going to learn when he can drop a dime and when he can't. When it comes to Drake May, folks, be patient. Things will get better.

But Jacoby Brissett looking good. Patriots receivers actually starting to pop a little bit. We're going to talk about them a little bit later in the week here on Locked On Patriots, but you didn't think we were going to get through a full episode without talking about those round men up front that Murph loves to talk about. Yeah, we're going to talk about a little bit of a different combination for the offensive line. Murph, on Tuesday, the fourth day in a row, Now, yeah, we're going to talk about a little bit of a different combination for the offensive line. Murph, on Tuesday, the fourth day in a row, David Andrews taking a couple of veteran rest days.

He's entitled to them. He should. He's definitely earned them without any question. Let the kids play. You're right. Michael Wenner still continuing to the line at right guard, at right tackle. Chook Sikora for what we thought was going to be the starting left tackle. On the left side, City So is man to be the starting left tackle on the left side City so is manning down the left guard position in the absence of Cole Strange yeah

and we knew it was coming and now it's coming with the pads on Caden Wallace getting snaps at left tackle he's been getting some good reviews from his teammates uh from the media watching him the athleticism the strength showing it off yeah Mur, four practices in is not a true sample size to automatically hand this kid the job and say, you've got it. But is this a sign that the Patriots may be pleased with what they've seen so far? No, now is the time to panic. Okay?

I knew he was going to say that. The time to panic is now. All right. The fact that Wallace looks better than Chooks over on the left-hand side, there's a lot of different things going to do. The fact that, you know, Chooks is going, is flipping over to the other side after playing his entire adult life over on the right, and he's trying to relearn a position.

And quite frankly, with the illness, injury, and holdouts that's happening on the other side, you know, Wallace is not going up against the A squad, okay? He's going up against the A squad. Okay. He's going up against the C squad. It's not even the B squad for it's the C squad. And, um, and I still don't think that I'm wrong about this kid. I think he's a right tackle. I think he'll be a very good right tackle. I don't think he's going to be more than a serviceable, um, left, left tackle. It's, it's, it's not there. And while teammates can pick you up and dust you off, when things get real, when we start seeing joint practices, you're going to see this kid reaching, bending, stepping with the wrong foot. Am I saying that he could never end up being a left tackle?

No, he could end up being the left tackle opening day for this team. But if he is, you know, you don't want Drake May under center. You don't. You don't want the future of the franchise under it. Yes, he has looked good. He has not looked great. I wouldn't expect that, you know, considering that he's coming over from the right-hand side.

I just don't know that once it's full speed that you're going to see many people in the media, knowledgeable people, talking about the steal that Elliott Wolfe got here. That's a point that I think Patriots fans need to remember, Murph, is that there is a difference between performing well early in camp and sustaining that and knowing that a positional switch is possible. As someone who's played along the offensive line, obviously you've aligned at center, but you know a great deal about what it takes to win on the right side

and on the left side, both in the guard position and in the tackle position. Do you think the Patriots are falling in love right now with what Wallace is doing one-on-ones? Because I'll be honest, he looks great in one-on-ones. He does. He really does. But there is a difference. Do you think that's it, more so than the lack of competition? There's a humongous difference, and it's almost like you reached into my mind

and pulled my next comment out, that, you know, technique and power can get you through almost anything as an offensive lineman when you're going through one-on-ones. You're not really sure the moves that the guy across from you is going to take. But yeah, if you are a good tackle or if you are a good guard, you can end up looking like an all-pro on those days. It's very different when you have to line up next to somebody and remember what you're going to do on every single play except blow this guy off the ball with a good punch.

Now that Caden has really kind of become a regular at left tackle and we've seen him four practices straight, it's going to be interesting to see if this continues on a regular basis, or if we start to see a shift. Very noticeable. We didn't see Michael Wenu take a snap at right guard until toward the end of mandatory minicamp, even though we watched these guys align in rudimentary type drills during

off season workouts. So always something to keep an eye on. And I always come back to what the head coach has to say. I always did it when Bill Belichick was here. I do it now with Gerard Mayo. Gerard made it a clear point to let people know on Monday that we don't have starters out here yet, folks. We're trying combinations.

We're trying to see what works. We want the five best guys out there. We're still playing chess. Exactly. We want the five best guys out there. We're still playing chess. Exactly. What's going to work? Still a long ways away before the Patriots set their O-line, but we needed to get the wisdom and counsel and very valuable insight. Insight I am confident, folks,

that you're only going to find here on Locked On Patriots from the guru himself, my good friend Thomas Murphy, who knows a thing or two about big round men up front. He was one for a number of years and a very good one. So I would definitely heed what he has to say. Shut up and snap the ball, Murphy. It's better than shut up and set the table, right? Look what happened to Carlo.

Yeah, we don't want that happening, folks. But thank you so much for your professionalism, your insight, and for joining me here today. Before I let you go, my friend, please let everyone know where they can interact with you, reach out to you, and, of course, what you've got in Marinate and in Murph's Kitchen. You can check me out on Zitter at TeamMurph207. Of course, all day today I'm on the wire checking. Of course, today I'm going to be sitting there checking in on the trade deadline, see what the Sox have done, and whether or not that's making me happier.

It's just a little more green. It's an ebb and flow when it comes to being a Red Sox fan, folks. Any of you here in New England know that. So continue to cheer on your favorite team in Fenway and continue to cheer on your favorite team in Foxborough and do so each and every day with the Locked On Patriots podcast. On behalf of my good friend,

the Count of Murphy Fisto himself, I'm Mike DeBate reminding you all to stay safe and to stay well and to be the change you wish to see in the world. Of course, to all of you everydayers, keep it right here for the very latest inside Patriots training camp with yours truly right here on the Locked on Patriots podcast.