Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - On to Miami: New England Patriots Prep for Week 1 of the 2022 NFL Season

Episode Date: September 6, 2022

The New England Patriots are on to Miami Gardens, Florida and a Sunday date with the Miami Dolphins as they open the 2022 NFL Season. As the team prepares for Week 1, they are adding a pair of potential productive pass-catchers. Host Mike D’Abate breaks down the signings of receivers Lynn Bowden, Jr, and Laquon Treadwell while giving his thoughts on heading to South Florida early … to stay ahead of the weather.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/id1140512627 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFmwg3WbfxAU3tR5Ve?si=k196wH-yRqifUcQQz8SjIQStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-patriots And follow host Mike D’Abate on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans.On Twitter: @mdabateNFLSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFLBuilt BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!BriteCoThe guys at BriteCo Jewelry Insurance made buying insurance for your engagement ring, your watch, or whatever so easy you can get covered in 2 minutes on your cell phone. You won't find a better deal on coverage that's so affordable. Go to https://brite.co/lockedonPrizePicksFirst time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDONTuroDitch boring rental cars and find your drive at Turo.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The New England Patriots add some potential firepower to the wide receivers room. That's right, folks. It's game week and we've got you covered. Stay tuned. You're about to be locked in to the Locked On Patriots podcast. Our 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, and thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage

and also your first listen every day. Remember, Locked On Patriots is free and available on all platforms, including YouTube, so download, subscribe, follow Locked On Patriots wherever you get your audio podcasts and smash that YouTube subscribe button. Folks, today's episode of Locked On Patriots is presented by PrizePix. PrizePix is a daily fantasy made easy. Pick two to five players, and if they score more or less than their PrizePix projection, you can win up to 10 times your money on your entry.

First time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with the promo code LOCKEDON. That's prizepix.com, promo code LOCKEDON. That's fans greetings and salutations. Thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage as well as your first listen every day. I'm your host, Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. Follow me on Twitter. Let me know what's on your mind at MDABATENFL. And while you're out there doing some wandering through that Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots.

And Pats fans, I hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day weekend. Apologies for this not being a visual episode on YouTube. We're still coming at you on YouTube, but as you very well know, floods in the area on Labor Day on Monday prevented this from being a visual, but we're still coming at you audio. So if you're listening to us on your favorite podcast listening device, it's definitely great to be back with you. And we will have you covered all week long as the Patriots march toward the start of the 2022 NFL season

and a September 11th date on Sunday with the Miami Dolphins. The Pats and the Dolphins squaring off on opening day for the 11th time in team history, the third straight season. Of course, we all remember what happened last year on opening day for the 11th time in team history, the third straight season. Of course, we all remember what happened last year on opening day. Patriots dropping a 17-16 contest versus Miami September 12, 2021 at Gillette Stadium. Now, the Patriots are opening this season in Miami for the first time since the 2014 season. A little more on that in just a moment. But the Pats and the Dolphins are meeting for the second time in the 2014 season. A little more on that in just a moment. But the Pats and the Dolphins are meeting for the second time

in the regular season on January 1st at Gillette Stadium. Last season, Miami swept the season series for the first time since 2000. And the last time that the Patriots opened the season, the same opponent, meaning the Miami Dolphins or any same opponent, three straight years, it was 1981, 82, and 83 against the Baltimore Colts. So it's been a minute since the Pats have had three straight opening weekends with the same opponent. Now, as we all know, the Pats did lose the season series to Miami last year.

17-16 fell in the opening week. Of course, the season finale in Miami, Patriots dropping that one 33-24. And while their performance on the field is ultimately going to determine the outcome in this one, folks, Patriots coach Bill Belichick, well, he's hoping to reverse that trend of four showings in Miami. We all know this has been a house of horrors for the Pats in years past, and Patriots are trying to reverse that trend. The Dolphins have won seven of their last nine at home against New England, and with heat, humidity, and unfortunately rain, folks, expected to play a role in this upcoming Pats-Dolphins matchup. Doncha confirmed early on Sunday that the team was going to be traveling to South Florida,

where his team due to the weather. And to help mitigate the effects of the potential conditions, the Pats are traveling on Tuesday. They're leaving first thing on Tuesday morning, rather than their customary Saturday departure for a Sunday road matchup. And this makes an awful lot of sense, folks. If the Patriots are worried about playing in the heavy heat and humidity down in Miami, having a couple of days to get used to it is a smart move and Bill Belichick was asked about this when he spoke to the media on Saturday morning and I'm quoting Bill Belichick verbatim here he said I think there is a combination of factors but in the end it all looks like it's set up fairly well here we We'll travel on Tuesday instead of on Saturday. We'll already be down there.

We'll just be able to focus on the Dolphins. And we all know Bill Belichick is all about just focusing on his next opponent. We all remember on a Cincinnati, and that's exactly how he's approaching this. And again, like I said, I think this makes some sense. A lot of weight in that hot, humid afternoons, especially in South Florida, it does get that way. And that can pose a challenge for a team that is used to the cooler temperatures of New England. I know there's been some humidity this year in the region, but ultimately it's not anything compared to the humidity that the Patriots are going to be seeing

this week down in Miami. Muscle cramping can happen, fatigue, dehydration, just some of the factors that the Patriots have to consider in terms of conditioning. And those are the types of conditions they're going to face on Sunday in Miami. So last week, Belichick was asked about the potential effect of the weather on his team. And he kind of gave a little more than he gave on Saturday, saying, quote, we've certainly had a good opportunity to be in some warm weather this year.

I was up at Gillette for a few of those practices, and let me tell you, they did get hot at times, especially the ones in the late afternoon. Belichick goes on to say, I'd say this has been a little bit warmer than usual training camp. I can definitely speak to personal experience and say, coach is right there. And then, of course, the time in Vegas. Yeah, that's pretty radioactive i did not travel with the team but stories i heard from those reporters that were

in attendance it wasn't really a pretty sight but at the same time the new england patriots did get a chance to practice in some heavy heat felice concluded by saying i think that's one of those things that you don't really know until you get into playing in it. It's different to train in it. And then it's also different to actually play. And he is absolutely right on the money. And when you actually play in it, you're giving 100% of yourself each snap, each play. That's when bad things can happen. That's when you need to stay hydrated. That's when you need to stay rested. You need to stretch. You need to stay limber because muscle cramping can occur, muscle pulls, injuries, all different kinds of things can happen due to dehydration or poor conditioning. The Patriots want to make sure that they're at their best and they're playing at their

best. So this extra time in Miami, folks, I think is going to be a good move for the Pats, and I think it's only going to help their cause. But Belichick knows better than anybody, and we all know better than anyone, that weather can play a role in a game's outcomes, not just the heat. We've been on the fortunate end of that several times with some of the cold temperatures, the snow up here in New England. We were on the unfortunate bad end of it last year up in Buffalo, but it can have an adverse effect. Weather conditions can affect your team,

and Bill Belichick always wants to make sure that his team is ready for any and all conditions, whether it's oppressive heat and humidity, whether it's that unforgiving cold condition of the weathers we get up here in the Northeast. Belichick prides himself on fielding a team that is indeed ready for anything, and he spoke about this last year, just prior to the Patriots taking the field to face the Buffalo Bills in what would be a playoff contest. We really don't have to discuss right now. We all know what happened. It wasn't a pretty sight, but Belichick summing up of what the weather means to his team, I thought was very poignant. And I really do think it's very applicable here. And I'll quote it again and he says quote we practice in a

variety of conditions from the start of training camp to the end of the preseason so whenever they come up they come up we learn from those those may or may not be what we get that particular week somewhere along the line it could come into play we talk about it how it would affect certain plays situations ball handling etc it's kind of a continual conversation that we have on that. And that's, I think, where Bill Belichick is coming from. He realizes that the weather forecast calls for temperatures in the low 90s, very high humidity, possible rain, which it looks like it's likely at this point. Not exactly great conditions to play sound fundamental football, but it could

also be a lot of fun down there when the weather gets like this as well. So if the Patriots play their cards right and they're ready for it and conditioned for it, could end up playing into their advantage. We'll see. Obviously, Miami has the upper hand playing in this types of conditions all the time, but I still think the Patriots have the opportunity to maybe make that less of an advantage for the Miami Dolphins heading into this one. Folks, there's no question about it. The Patriots are looking for any advantage they can possibly get, and one thing they're going to try to do is try to beef up their offensive firepower, and over the course of the last couple of days here, they've actually done that. But Miami is also struck back with a little move of their own, taking a special team stalwart

and making him into one of their own. We're going to talk about that in just a moment when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. But first, folks, we are at that time of year without question where you want to know what current entries you have how much have you won what is going on with your favorite team and how can your fandom work for you well that is where our friends at prize picks come into play you can pick two to five players and if they will go score more or less than their prize picks projection, you can win up to 10 times your money on any entry. There's no competing against other people.

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Florida, they're adding some veteran depth to their arsenal of Patriots pass catchers. Now, Patriots last week added the services of Wynn Bowden Jr., former Miami Dolphins wide receiver. And we're going to get into that in just a moment. But on Monday, they made sure to add another piece to their practice squad. And that is Laquan Treadwell. He is a former first-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings. He's also spent time with the Atlanta Falcons, the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Patriots had had him in for a workout on Monday, and they ultimately chose to sign Laquan to a practice squad deal. So now, Patriots become the fourth team for which he has played in his seven seasons in the NFL. Once again, folks, a lot of upside here, potential high reward with a very low risk. 27 years of age, still a good amount left in the tank, no question about it. Entered the NFL as Minnesota's first round draft pick,

number 23 overall, Ole Miss guy coming out of the Ole Miss in 2016 and during his four seasons with the Vikings he appeared in a combined 56 regular and playoff games Treadwell caught 65 total passes for the Vikings 701 yards and two touchdowns so not an extreme I guess the best way for me to put it would be not a very overly impressive resume, but it was respectable, but it didn't quite live up to his lofty draft status. He really failed to establish himself as a regular contributor to the Vikings offense. And as a result, Minnesota declined his fifth year option, making Laquan Treadwell a free agent prior to the start of 2020. Now, Treadwell eventually signed with the Falcons.

He appeared in five games while moving between the practice squad and the active roster, and he did so during the pandemic-shortened season of 2020. Well, not really shortened, but altered. Do you get where I'm going here? But it was definitely a different season no question about it but with atlanta he caught only six passes for 49 yards two touchdowns again not exactly blockbuster numbers without a surprise they chose not to resign him in the offseason so in 2021 treadwell found himself signing with the jack Jacksonville Jaguars and starting the season

on the practice squad was not exactly the best way for him to endear himself to the Jaguars faithful but he did end up seeing action in 12 regular season games for the Jaguars 33 catches 451 yards one scoring reception so his best season as a pro by far. And even though he had his most productive season, Treadwell's services were not retained. Jacksonville did resign him in the offseason, but ended up cutting him ahead of roster cut down in late August. So as a result, he finds himself here in New England. And the Patriots currently have a full 16-member practice squad. So you know another transaction is coming,

and it's looking like the Patriots will probably announce that on Tuesday when they depart for Miami. Now, that corresponding roster move could be one of a few things. It could end up being someone who is released from the practice squad, and Treadwell comes in, takes their place, or it could be a call-up because the Patriots do have one roster spot open on their 53-man roster because over the weekend, Tyquan Thornton was placed on short-term injured reserve. He's out for at least the first four games, but we know it's likely going to be beyond that. We're hearing six to eight weeks on his recovery, and hopefully when Tyquan comes back, he's

ready to roll. But at the same time, who is going to ascend to the Patriots top level? Will there be a call up or is this a matter of just swapping one for one on the practice squad? Treadwell himself has some upside. He's definitely a pretty good hands catcher. He came out of Ole Miss with a lot of promise, but again, didn't quite live up to his expectations or the team's expectations. So he becomes now the third former first round pick in New England's wide receiver room this year. For everyone who says the Patriots don't have talent on this wide receiver squad, they truly do. They just have untapped talent or maybe unrealized

talent. Can the Pats brain trust bring it out of them? Well, wide receiver hasn't exactly been their top position in terms of bringing out talent, but they've got it and there's no question about it. Devontae Parker was a first rounder in 2015. So was Nelson Aguilar. So by bringing in Treadwell, maybe they can spark or bring something out of him. Of course, the Patriots also have Jacoby Myers on staff. They also have Kendrick Bourne. Now, Myers has been banged up a little bit and has been limited in practice. Leads me to believe that this could be a situation where maybe Treadwell comes in to spell the practice squad,

and they make a practice squad elevation on Sunday. Oh, I should say on Saturday. That's when the elevations will be made and maybe one of these guys gets into the game and jacobi might be a an unfortunate scratch for that game just something to keep under your hat that's not any inside information that's simply my opinion based on what i've seen the last couple of days very possible jacobi suits up and this is simply just a practice squad move, but one to watch nonetheless. With regard to the practice squad, the Patriots right now have

Jordan Humphrey, Trey Nixon, Lynn Bowden Jr. that we just talked about a few moments ago for the Pats. Who gets that spot, or are one of these guys in trouble? I don't think any one of these guys are in trouble. I think the Patriots are going to elevate someone for this game from the practice squad, probably a wide receiver and at that point, somebody from the practice squad will then ascend and it'll give Bowden, it'll, I should say, it'll give Treadwell the chance to be able to hook on. So, keep an eye on what happens with the Patriots wide receiver room because

anything and anything is possible when it comes to the Pats kicking off against the Dolphins and this is shaping up to be a real fun one at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens Florida it's going to be a fun maybe even more fun than we think right now because this is going to be a battle of some former Patriots going against some former Dolphins always seems to happen in these divisional matchups but there's a lot kind of going back and forth between the former mates. And I'm going to close out the show by telling you what's going on

and what to watch for when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Fats fans, thank you once again for spending part of your day here on Locked On Patriots as we run down what you need to get ready for the Patriots matchup with the Dolphins. Week one, Miami Gardens, Florida, Hard Rock Stadium. The Pats and the Dolphins hooking it up on Sunday, September 11th at 1 p.m. Eastern start time. Week one of the 2022 NFL season.

Who would have believed that, folks, we actually got here and it's going to be interesting and a lot of fun to see what the Patriots are going to look like this year. And the one thing that I always look for in these games is former Patriots and former Dolphins or whoever team they happen to be playing going against each other, going to see some old mates, people that I've covered, people that we've all cheered for, and then getting a chance to see people that are on this roster that may have played for the enemy last year well things are about to get interesting in South Beach on Sunday because as you know last week the Patriots signed hybrid receiver rusher Lynn Bowden Jr. to their practice squad and immediately upon him signing it began speculation running rampant all over Patriots and Dolphins Twitter that Bill Belichick had once again sneaked behind enemy lines to snag the services of a valuable insider, meaning that Bill is going to sit this guy down and pick his brain about everything that's going on in Miami.

There's probably little to no truth to that. I've never been one that bought into the hype of picking someone's brain to find out what's going on behind the scenes. Coaches always have alternative plans, and they always have things that they're going to be working on the week of a game that really don't involve anything that went on in training camp, but it's fun to think about, and there's definitely some insight that Bowdoin can bring to the Patriots, but I don't think it's going to be all that significant. And it sounds like Miami's head coach, Mike McDaniel, agrees with me because when he spoke to the media last week, he didn't seem like someone that was so worried about what the Patriots coaching staff was going to find out from Bowden.

Specifically, when they asked about Bowden signing with the Patriots, meaning the Miami media, McDaniel revealed that he was just happy for Lynn to be able to get another opportunity, and went on to say that he wasn't really worried about the implications of the signing. I'm quoting Mike McDaniel directly here, folks. He said, I feel like that was a concern early in my career, but considering that you can go online and buy almost every playbook that I've ever worked on, no, it doesn't concern me at all. I would assume that they, meaning the Patriots, were doing that, meaning signing Lynn Bowden,

because they had exposure to him and not to get cryptic answers. Because if he has those answers, then maybe I'm not that cryptic. Mike McDaniel is a character, folks. There's no question about it. But I think he's spot on here again you're not going to be able to extract that much from a player that ended up being cut loose and assigned to a practice squad but there's also a flip side to that and if you think about it the dolphins may be a little disingenuous here because very shortly after word broke of Bowdoin signing with the

Patriots, Miami struck back and they announced the signing of former Patriots special teams gunner Justin Bethel. And Claire and I talked about this last week here on Locked On Patriots, that Bethel's defection, or I should say Bethel's release from the Patriots, Justin didn't defect at all, really surprised me especially, and it surprised Claire as well because of his value to the special teams unit. He joined the team in October 2019, played seven games for the Baltimore Ravens that season, but at the same time when he came here to the Patriots, immediately became ingratiated into the Patriots way of doing things on special teams 44 regular season and playoff games combined took only 47 total snaps a cornerback which is his listed position but we all know that he was here to provide gunnership

on special teams and he did it as well as anybody could ever have imagined a core member of New England's kicking game, he led the Pats in special teams tackles with 26. He also had two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble, and one pass deflection. So this is a guy that always found himself in the right place at the right time, not by happenstance, by design.

And ultimately, folks, you know, the Patriots are definitely going to miss Justin Bethel, but they may miss him a little bit more knowing that he's going to be in Miami, because in my opinion, he immediately upgrades Miami special teams coverage. And his knowledge and system savvy really puts him in a unique position, maybe even more so than Lynn Bowden, to be able to provide some insight on what New England schemes are in all three phases of the game. I say that not tongue-in-cheek because if you're a special team specialist, or I should say

a special teams coverage specialist, you have a very good knowledge as to what the Patriots are doing on offense, defense, and of course on special teams. You're involved in everything. You're playing with players on both sides of the ball. You know their strengths, you know their weaknesses. And not that Justin has to give them anything in order to be effective. He's still an extremely effective player on the field. So this one could end up being interesting. And it kind of takes McDaniel's statements about not really extracting much from other players and saying, well, I'm not really worried about the guy you got. I'm a little bit more concerned in what I can get from the guy you had, meaning Justin Bethel.

And this is one that could end up coming back to bite the Patriots. So he's one that I'm going to be watching very closely, especially on special teams coverage. Special teams players are usually not involved in game-breaking plays, especially on the coverage unit. But it's going to be interesting to see if the Patriots are out of position or in position. And the Dolphins find themselves a step ahead. It might be because Justin Bethel is out there with his field savvy, maybe giving them a little inside information. So, you know, it's always going to be fun to watch these two teams, and it's always going to be fun to see what either one of them have up their sleeve.

The Patriots have their share of former Dolphins on this team as well. I don't want to make it seem like, well, the Dolphins just snagged away Justin Bethel, and they've got all the secrets and the inside information. The Dolphins, former Dolphins that are now wearing Patriot blue, include defensive tackle Devon Godshaw, who we saw last year, Raekwon McMillan, who is definitely one of the Patriots' more prominent linebackers this year, and of course, let's not forget the guy the Patriots got this offseason,

wide receiver Devontae Parker, who seems to be playing with a little extra motivation to show Miami that you know what maybe you gave up on me a little bit too quickly I've got a lot left in the tank and I'm going to prove it to you what better way to do it than on the field that he played for a number of seasons and be able to do it to Miami in their home stadium so definitely keep an eye on those guys in addition to Justin Bethel the Pats have some former mates that are now wearing Dolphin Aqua in addition to Justin Bethel again Trey Flowers a Landon Roberts former linebacker here for the New England Patriots did a great job up here for

a number of years and a pair of cornerbacks as well Eric Rowe we all know him from his days patrolling the backfield here in New England. And Keon Crossan, and this is going to be interesting, folks. I'm going to end on this note because Keon had a little something to say over the weekend via Instagram. Of course, I opened the show by saying that the Patriots were going to be traveling down to Miami early on Tuesday, try to get ready for the weather. Well, Taekwon grabbed a, excuse me, Taekwon, Taekwon must be talking about us folks, but no, we all wish him the best. But Keon Crossan must have grabbed a headline from one of the reports out there showing that

the Patriots were in fact going to be traveling down to South Beach a little early to get used to the weather. He captioned it with the phrase, that's not going to help, with a few laughter emojis. And if there's one thing that we've learned about a Bill Belichick coach team, is that you don't want to be giving the New England Patriots any extra bulletin board material. And whether this works or whether it doesn't, it is bulletin board material. And whether this works or whether it doesn't, it is bulletin board material. A former Patriot kind of laughing at the prospects of the Pats coming down and being able to take it to the Miami Dolphins. I understand they've had a great offseason. I understand that they're right now in the driver's seat to take over that second spot in the division. But remember, Patriots still have Bill Belichick. They still have a number of savvy players on both sides of the division. But remember, Patriots still have Bill Belichick. They still have a number of

savvy players on both sides of the ball. And every time the Patriots go down to Miami, they still have that puncher's chance to get things done. This is not going to be a slam dunk, folks. Miami Dolphins are for real, and they are better than they were last year. You can make the argument that the Patriots might be a little bit better, too. They might be a little bit more complete. I know they don't get the credit that they deserve for that by all of the prognosticators of doom out there that share the same profession that I do. But I'm here to tell you, I think the Patriots might be a little bit better than the prognostications you're hearing out there. And if they can go down and make things interesting against Miami, they have a chance to pull

it out. And if it comes down to a little extra motivation, you can damn well bet that that Instagram They can go down and make things interesting against Miami. They have a chance to pull it out. And if it comes down to a little extra motivation, you can damn well bet that that Instagram post is going to find itself on every chair in every locker room that bears the Patriots name on Sunday. Never, ever give Bill Belichick more ammunition than he needs. Keon Crossan might have just done that. Will it matter? We'll find out on Sunday.

And that is something that we will continue to talk about each and every day here on Locked On Patriots. All day, every day when we come at you, bringing you all the latest information that you need as we head toward week one of the 2022 NFL season. Folks, it has been a blast. And thank you for hanging in there with me on this special edition of

Locked On Patriots for Labor Day. Tuesday through Friday, we'll continue to bring you all of the latest and keep a special sharp eye out on Saturday for a special pregame edition of the Locked On Patriots podcast. So that's six pods this week for the price of five. You cannot beat that.

Until tomorrow, Foxborough faithful, stay safe, stay well, be the change that you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone.