Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - OTA Opening Day: New England Patriots Most Intriguing Offensive Storylines — 5/23/22

Episode Date: May 24, 2022

As the New England Patriots head into the upcoming season, they hope to build on their progress from 2021. One of the first steps in that process is the start of organized training activities (OTA), which are set to begin on Monday, May 23 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Joining host Mike D’Abate is Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy of E2G Sports. The duo discuss the prominent storylines on offense during OTA in 2022. 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!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” 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!Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Patriots fans, it's been a long wait, but your New England Patriots return to the fields of Gillette Stadium. Organized training activities, otherwise known as OTA, begin today in Foxborough. What are the top storylines when it comes to your New England Patriots offense? Stay tuned, because you're about to be locked in to the Locked On Patriots podcast. You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. 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, and thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots

a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage and hopefully your first listen every day. Remember, Locked On Patriots, free and available on all platforms, including YouTube, so be sure to smash that subscribe button. I'm your host, Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. I also am your host of Locked On Patriots, which of course is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network,

your team every day. Joining me as always on Mondays is the man that Mondays were created for here on Locked On, the only guest, past, present, and future, with his very own branded hashtag. He is the Count of Murphy Fisto himself. He is my good friend, columnist extraordinaire for E2GSports.com, and folks, if we're being honest, the Don here of Locked On Patriots, the legendary Thomas Murphy joins me for his weekly appearance here on Locked On.

Thank you for coming to me in friendship. Thank you for joining me today, Don Murphy. Yeah, organized crime happening up there in Foxborough today. A little bit of... No, my pleasure to always be here, Michael. It is... Coming here brightens up every single Monday for me personally. Well, thank you.

I appreciate that. And I assure you, it brightens up things here on the Lockdown Studios. You can see the lighting is a little bit better when you're around. That's not by happenstance, folks. That is by design. Murph just lightens the mood here, folks, because he tells us the way it is. And that is something that is by design murph just lightens the mood here folks because he tells us the way it is and that is something that is so definitely important and we will be getting into organized training activities today with your new england patriots starting up in foxborough but of course

we need to be uh we'd be remiss if we did not say that today's episode is brought to you by the great folks over at bet online bet online has you covered this season with more props, more odds, and more lines than ever before. BetOnline, where the game starts. Murph, speaking of starts, it's a new dawn and a new day in Foxborough today. The New England Patriots hitting the field for the first time. Organized training activities. There's been some off-season workouts going on up at Gillette

for the last couple of days. Rookie minicamp taking place last week but now we're starting to see the entire roster come together and it's important to remember folks that attendance at these OTA are completely voluntary so you know that the moment a high profile player is not spotted it's going to go around the world and back before we're able to put on our socks in the morning that's just the way it is I assure you that it's probably benign for most reasons but there are storylines heading into these workouts or these organized training activities because this is really where we start to see some of the rookies pop a little bit start

to see some of the new acquisitions what do do they have out there? What are they bringing to the table? There are a lot of different storylines that can be attached to these, and we can talk on the offensive side of the ball. We can talk on the defensive side of the ball, but because Murph is a student of offense, and we know that he spent time along the offensive lines of many a football team, I thought we'd start with the offense today my friend and that's exactly what we're going to do obviously big stories surrounding mac jones surrounding the offensive rookies a couple of new acquisitions of wide receiver davante parker as the veteran obviously and also taekwon thornton coming in with the uh the second round uh you know draft capital a lot to talk about there but the first and foremost thing on everybody's mind is who's going to be calling the plays out there and josh mcdaniel's taking his talents to

nevada desert took a few of the offensive assistants for the patriots with him matt patricia joe judge they were kind of raked over the coals last week uh for their aloofness in their meetings with the media. Reportedly, things are not going well. I used the quote in my writing. I used it yesterday here on Locked On Patriots. Peter Venkman syndrome. Dogs and cats living together.

Mass hysteria. Murph, when you take a look at the coaching situation for the New England Patriots, one, how worried or should the Patriots fans be worried? And second of all, what are your thoughts on play calling and who may get the nod here? Are we going to find that out over the course of the next couple of days? No, let's not, let's put some, I'm not worried at all. I'm not, I'm not worried at all. Bill Belichick has been doing this for a very, very long time, and I don't think that he's going to put his legacy on the line with anybody that is going to tarnish that in any way, shape, or form as it comes to the coaching staff. When it comes right down to it with the naming of the play caller, too bad. The people

that are worried about this are media people. They are pumping this up because they need something to write about, something to talk about. Do you remember in 2001 when the Patriots were. This is a team, all right? Check your egos at the door. I'm not going to name anybody until I'm ready to name somebody. And in the end, I really think it's probably going to end up being his buddy, Matt Patricia. Matt's working with the offensive line. He's had, I don't want to say considerable experience, but he was an offensive lineman. He is somebody that worked with Dante Skarniecki when he first came here on the offensive line. A lot of people forget that. And then he transitioned over to defense. Believe me,

there's no better coach on the planet than an offensive lineman. I'll just pat myself on the back there a little bit. And I think he's going to end up doing just fine. I really do. There are minds right there. There's, you know, Dante Skarniecki is on speed dial if he has any problems there. Bill Belichick is right down the way if you're talking about what plays are going to... These things are mapped out on Thursday. We all remember a few years ago when NFL Films was doing that little film

on Bill and Tom and how they got together on every Thursday to go over the game plan. The game plan is set out and Matt is just going to have to, you know, make the right calls from behind the menu. And I have no problem with Mac Jones and how he already sees this offense in making any changes at the line of scrimmage because we saw him do it as a rookie. Absolutely. And we've seen him do it at Alabamaama i think a lot of people are forgetting that i know you know the benefit of the doubt and saying that uh you know the obviously the bill o'brien connection is something that a lot of people wanted to see and i know you have something to

say about that and i will just say that in just a moment my friend uh but no all kidding aside i think that in a lot of ways and don't forget forget, I mean, Mack and Bill were not, you know, the hookup combination down there. It was just similarity that a lot of people, I think, were really kind of, you know, owning in on. But at the same time, Mack is very capable of doing that. He is capable of picking up a playbook very quickly. It's one of the big reasons why, and I've said this ad nauseum here on Locked On Patriots, one of the big reasons why he was so high on the Patriots draft board is because of his ability to process quickly, learn things quickly. And he also has Brian Hoyer on the sidelines.

And I know Hoyer is a punchline with a lot of people in the fan base and whatnot. But this is probably the guy, and I've heard you say this several times, I'm going to steal this from you, with the exception of Tom Brady and Josh McDanielsiels he probably knows more about the patriots offense than anybody around from a quarterback's perspective so if hoyer is there to give him that knowledge that wisdom that counsel especially in game yep that's something that's invaluable and i think that is where matt comes out looking stronger and people can feel a little bit better about his development and how that's going to work. And we're going to talk about Mac in just a moment. Didn't want to step on your toes though.

I know I'm going to say about the Bill O'Brien connection. It looked like you had something on your mind, please. By all means, we need the green wisdom and counsel on the subject, buddy. Everybody out there that was screaming for Bill O'Brien to be here. Why isn't Bill O'Brien here? What is this friendship thing? There's no friendship in love, war, and football. You've got to go get the right man for this position.

Matt Jones taught Bill O'Brien the Alabama offense. Bill O'Brien came in there and knew nothing about the Alabama offense. He's a fantastic offensive mind, but let's just take a step back and realize that everybody came out and pointed out that Mac Jones knew that offense so well that he was teaching Bill O'Brien the intricacies of it. All right, so let's just pump the brakes a little bit and put a little faith into the people that are making the choices around there and the guys that are under center too. Absolutely, and that is also something to consider. Still have David Andrews under center in New England right now.

You're looking at him being that anchor of the offensive line. These are all factors that contribute to this, and I happen to agree with you. I think it probably will be, Patricia, at the end of the day. I know everybody's leaning Judge because Judge is going to be working with quarterbacks. I do believe that Joe Judge has something to offer to that position, by the way, folks. He played quarterback in Mississippi State. He's not someone that's a complete novice. When you're a special teams coach, you have

hands in so many pots cooking in the kitchen that you're able to bring something to the table. I know something was made about his press conference and people saying that he was offering a lot of unnecessary information or wasn't going in a direction. I thought he was offering a lot of unnecessary information or wasn't going in that direction i thought he was pretty pointed to be honest with you and i thought he gave a very

honest assessment of what was going on very forthcoming uh very unpatriot like to be honest with you i think uh you know what was it in a few good men where uh where daniel cappy says i think he wants to say it i think joe judge wanted to say what the role was going to be i think he didn't because of respect for bill belichick but right i do i think he wanted to say it. I think Joe Judge wanted to say what his role was going to be. I think he didn't because of respect for Bill Belichick. But I do. I think he wanted to say what he was going to do and say, look, this is my role. This is how it's going to be. You like it. You like it.

You don't. That's it. Well, you know, tough because this is how it's going to be. And judge me by my ability on the field. Don't judge me by what you're hearing in the locker room or through third, fourth party back channels uh it's a little bit disingenuous to kind of make that judgment and again i'm not throwing anybody under the bus here i'm very clear to say that yesterday everybody has their sources and they report their sources based on what they believe to be true and i fully believe that but at the same time you also have to be careful about making these judgments this early it's just not fair to

the coaches on the field and it's not fair to the players in the locker room so no and and other people other people that are walking around saying that uh players are concerned and their sources are telling them that players are concerned are full of shit i could not have said it any better than that. Not sorry. And that is exactly what we're going to hear. You're lying. But at this point, I don't know how to respond to that. I'm sorry.

No, that's great. That is absolutely great. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Based on what we're hearing now, Murph, it really, I think, yes, the coaching staff is definitely a concern for a lot of people. And it's going to continue to be without question. But if we're being very honest and we're being brutally honest, it's more about what this team is going to be able to do on the field.

That involves the quarterback as much as anyone. And as much as people want to say it's a team effort, it absolutely is. All eyes are going to be on the quarterback as much as anyone and as much as people want to say it's a team effort it absolutely is all eyes are going to be on the quarterback well in just a moment here on locked on patriots our eyes our voices are going to be lent to mac jones because a lot of people are concerned that a sophomore slump may be in store or will mac rise to the occasion and continue his climb through the ranks of nfl quarter, especially in the AFC. Murph and I will discuss that point in just a moment. But first, folks, it's a great time to be a sports fan, Murph, isn't it? It really is.

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to the Locked On Patriots podcast. I'm your host, Mike DeBate, joined as always on Monday by the legendary Thomas Murphy, columnist extraordinaire, covering the Patriots, the Sox, anything and everything Boston sports of e2gsports.com. And Murph, in the previous segment, we talked a little bit about the Patriots coaching staff with OTAs beginning today in lockdown.

It definitely is a situation where the Patriots have some questions that need to be answered. And I don't know if any of these questions will be answered by the time Ota wrapped up uh probably won't even get to the meat of some of these questions until minicamp happens in early june but we're getting there and one of the biggest questions on the field if not the biggest question on the field is going to be the sophomore performance of mac jones last year bud mac had a stellar season. I don't think anybody can say that this kid came in and disappointed at all. Led all rookies with a 67.6

completion percentage, 92.5 passer rating, 3,801 yards passing, 22 touchdowns, and he completed at least 70% of his attempts in nine of new england's games through for 300 yards two times last year not bad for a rookie now he said had no arm couldn't do anything and basically was a waste of a number 15 pick once again they wanted to break bill over the coals for that he ends up coming up smelling okay however we've seen quarterbacks come out, have good years, and then they struggle a little bit. And I think people are a little worried without the presence of Josh McDaniels that this might affect Matt Jones a little bit, or just the competition that he's going to be facing and the scouting that's out on him now might cause him to make a little bit of a statistical

dip. I've talked a little bit about the Daniels factor before. I don't want to gloss over that. Please be as candid on that subject as possible. But what are you looking for when it comes to Mac Jones this season on the field? What should Patriots fans be keeping their sharp eye on when it comes to Mac? When it comes to Mac right now, people should take a longer, harder look on his leadership skills as to, you know, this is now, I'm coming into this camp, it is my team. Last year, there was some debate as to what was going to happen if Mac was going to end up taking a redshirt season and sit behind

Cam Newton for a year. At the end of camp, he was thrust into that starting role. And let's see how he embraces that this year coming into OTAs and camp and as the season starts. Is it his show? Is he able to step up and say, I am the man. There's one voice in this huddle, and it's me. Okay? That's what I'm looking for out of him.

Also, a greater command at the line of scrimmage. We talked a little bit earlier about how smart Mac Jones is and the coaching staff that he's going to be working with. Has Mac Jones gotten deep enough into this playbook where he's going to be able to look across the line of scrimmage and say, yeah, great idea, but now I see this and change out. If he's going to say, nope, I am not going to hand the ball off to Ramondre right now. I've got a matchup right over here that I really enjoy, and I'm going to exploit that. Those are the types of things that I'm going to be looking for from Mac in early in training camp and early in the season. Other than that,

there's not a lot. This kid does not go out and make bad decisions. He does not throw a lot of stupid interceptions. The ones that he did throw last year were probably more in the lines of my receiver didn't fight enough for the ball. I didn't see this guy coming over, getting there that quickly, things of that nature. It's not simply reading the defense poorly and throwing into triple coverage. Absolutely. That's such a good point about him not making decisions because that's such an important part of being a quarterback. And I think so often we get sucked into the narrative about his arm. And I know there are some experts in Western New York that really want to bury this kid's arm.

I think it's ridiculous. I do. I'll be the first to admit it. I think it's wishful thinking. I think two decades of beatdowns really kind of cloud your judgment. But at the same time, when you look at how this kid is able to process and what he does at the line of scrimmage, he's continuing to get better at that. And look, for all intents and purposes, it wasn't necessarily Mack's arm

that got him in trouble last year. When Mack had difficulty, when he was less accurate, when he made those rookie mistakes that a lot of rookies make, it was when the defenses were able to catch on to him. They adjusted. They took away his preferred preferred routes they took away his preferred targets that's where he had difficulty especially when that pressure was coming from the side right that helped alleviate a little bit when Trent Brown came back but with Mac now like you said he's got to be able to process at the line of scrimmage change it up be able to be a step ahead of those defenses all the

time you live in the shadow of Tom Brady unfortunately because he played the position here for so long and Tom is absolutely hands down the best I've ever seen at being able to diffuse those situations Mac is not going to be that it's unfair to ask him to be that but it doesn't mean that he can't be it has time to be that in his second year absolutely that's a great point tom wasn't tom at that point in his second year either so um deep breaths are always uh the best way to be able to diffuse these situations and again we're hearing some of the stuff about max leadership uh you're hearing davante parker you're hearing kendrick bourne right you're hearing uh you know even ty mont Montgomery last week.

The man didn't go home. He has been putting in the time. He's got a different diet. He's looking leaner. He's looking more muscle mass. That leads me into my next question for you about Mack, and that is the arm strength. Do you have any concern about Mack's arm heading into this year?

No, I don't. I didn't have it coming out of college. I don't have it now. I expect it to be even stronger than it was last year. I didn't see – Mack did not throw a ton of deep balls last year, but the ones that he threw, nobody was standing there waiting for the ball. All right? Nobody was standing there waiting for the ball. Nobody had to come back and fight over the top of somebody else for that ball.

Mack put the ball where it needed to be. And I think he's going to do that again this year. What I am hoping for is a little bit more accuracy on the hard-thrown balls, on the quick slants and the cuts and things of that nature. Trusting his receivers to be there when they're supposed to be there and not waiting that half-click second until they make their break or they make their cut, throwing the ball before they do so. And it's just that trust factor.

And that alone can change the way a quarterback is seen as to arm strength and what's happening around them. Absolutely. Well said. So well said. And again, it really does. It comes back to that ability to take what you've learned and apply it so you can be better in the future.

And that's exactly what you're seeing with a lot of these guys. And I think that's what you're going to continue to see with Mac. And in terms of his arm strength, you know, I think a lot of that is overblown. I always thought it was. I think that, you know, you're always going to attack what you feel is the perceived weakness on this team, but Mac's quarterback style is conducive to being able to be accurate, to be able to be that quarterback that can put the ball on a dime only where his receivers can get it. To me, I think that's something that he's excellent at. And arm strength is something that can be worked on, folks. Don't let anyone fool you.

Tom House is arguably the best developer of quarterback talent when it comes to arm strength and mechanics in the country right now and if he says it can be worked on and this can be something that can be honed in and increased i'm going to believe tom house i'm not going to believe uh you know some talking head uh that uh you know wants to call him a noodle arm or whatever they want to call it up there uh i would really uh you know care on the side of caution go with the expert don. Don't go with the loud mouth. I'll do it every single time. Murph, we've talked, Mac Jones. We have talked so much about the coaching staff, but we haven't gotten into Murph's favorite subject just yet, and that is rookies. Patriots have some offensive rookies that are going to be very interesting

this year, and albeit the rookie rookie mini camp has already taken place, but OTA is really where some of these guys start to pop. Who does Murph have as it map is sharp eye on, excuse me, and who might stand out to him. We will talk about this when we wrap things up here on lockdown Patriots in just a moment. But first my friend,

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here on Locked On Patriots. on murph monday here on locked on patriots joined as always by the legendary thomas murphy of e2g sports.com murph we've talked about mac we've talked about the coaches we've talked a little bit about otas what they are and what they aren't but a lot of eyes are going to be on some of the new faces that the patriots have and i don't just mean the veterans i know people are going to be checking out Devontae Parker, and they want to see guys like Terrence Mitchell, and they want to see some of these new additions by free agency. Malcolm Butler is going to be someone that people are going to want to see.

Obviously, there's a Ty Montgomery. But I think this is going to be a year for the rookies. And the reason why I say that is because the Patriots have such a diverse group and a wide range of rookies that could have a potential big impact on this roster. We're sticking on the offensive side of the ball today. So let's stick with the offensive rookies. Obviously, Cole Strange, the big dog out of the hunt. He's the first round draft pick. All eyes going to be on him. Tyquan Thornton, he's going to be another one that's going to be very closely watched in the wide receiver crew.

We've got a couple of interesting running backs out there, and Kevin Harris, Pierre Strong Jr., and a couple of offensive linemen in the later rounds that I think could have an impact on this team, Jason Gantz and Andrew Stuber. When you look at the rookie core of offensive rookies now, Murph, who has your sharp eye? Who should Patriots fans be keeping an extra watchful eye on as OTAs begin this week? Well, of course,

everybody's going to be watching Cole Strange. Do you people know that Cole Strange wasn't allowed to practice in high school? Did you? Because he hurt people. His coaches sat him down during practice because he put a beating on his other players. This is a guy with a serious mean streak that wants to do nothing but line up against somebody and go and hurt them. He's somebody that's described by his college coaches as a man who does everything correctly. Whether it's eating right, whether it's getting to the gym early, whether it's getting into film study, he does everything the right way. He handles his business like a pro, and he's done this since he was in high school. So yeah, Cole Strange is somebody that I am really going to be taking a look on. Andrew Stuber is the perfect Patriot,

and he's 6'6", 325 pounds, and carries the perfect frame for a tackle in this Patriots offense. He can play across the line. On the right side, on the left side, he does it all, and he could end up being the swing tackle by the end of camps. And then, of course, you know, the other big man the other big man that, that we're all talking about is Jason Hines. Uh, he's a talented guard, but he's a long shot to get on the field this season. I think he's probably going to end up being a red shirt on the year, but the guy that, that I am, um, super into, into trying to, to find out everything I can about is Bailey Zupi. Look, man, they believe in this kid so strongly that they sent Junior Packing,

they sent Spiral Stidham off to Vegas without a thought. Okay, without a thought. All right, this is a kid that lit up his competition this year, last year at the college level. And they thought enough of him that he's going to come in here and run the scout team. And because we all know that the first stringer is taken care of and the second stringer, Brian Hoyer, is going to be spending a lot of time with that first stringer we talked about it early uh zupi is is somebody that that i am really interested in seeing how he walks in here and starts running the uh the practice squad the taxi squad this is a really important job here in new england um the the other man that that i'm i'm I can't wait to see is Pierre Strong. I know that this is a deep, deep running back's room right now when you look at it on paper. But this is a kid that's going to be able to come in here and contribute on special teams.

He's going to be able to – we still don't know what's going on with Mr. White and how his hip is healing up. i feel that he might end up on the pup list to start the season and we might see a little bit more pierre strong than than we had originally thought when everybody stepped back and said why are they taking a running back because this kid is that talented right absolutely and the patriots are all about taking the best player available and making it work in their system. And they won't take a guy that's going to be a square peg in a round hole. The guys that they take, some may work out, some may not, but they will take based on what they believe to be a good fit.

And Pierre Strong is definitely a good fit. He's a backer. He can do it all. He's got the talent to do it all. And he may have the opportunity. I think you're on to something when it comes to James White. We're hearing positive things about his rehab, so I don't want to put any false narratives out there. But at the same time, it would make sense, considering how Patriots with similar injuries have come back before, and they try to bring these guys along a little bit

and make sure that they're ready to go right off the bat. It makes perfect sense in that regard. Bailey Zappi is someone that I'm glad that you mentioned because he often gets forgotten in terms of rookies that could have an impact on the team this year. Does that mean that I believe he's going to be your starting quarterback before the end of the year? No. But when you talk about running the scout team, when you talk about guys that can come in here and mimic very closely the type of offense that you're going to be running under Mac Jones,

this was a hand in glove fit and i say that as a fan of jared stidham i've talked about the stidham stump here a few times on locked on patriots i think he's going to a good solid uh foundation in las vegas and i think that is going to help him become a better quarterback continuing under josh mcdaniels i wish jared nothing but the best right at the same time i don't think he was going to be the fit here especially with mac at the helm that the patriots may have thought he was a few years ago when they drafted him zappy is the kid that can do it right and he has the capabilities of pushing mac jones and murph let's face it we talked about mac last uh segment i don't care who you are or what you do. If you feel the heat coming around

the corner in terms of a little friendly competition, that doesn't elevate your game. So there's gamesmanship going on here as well. You know, Bailey's not coming in here to just say, oh, I'm content to back up Mac for the rest of my career. This is, this is all right. He, this kid wants the ball. He is somebody that, that is going to come in here with a chip on his shoulder, even though he was drafted earlier than Tom Brady, I believe. That he's going to come in here with a chip on his shoulder and want to excel, want to exceed. And don't forget, folks,

this is probably Brian Hoyer's last year in New England as a player. Right. Yeah, I mean, absolutely. I don't think anybody is, I'm pretty sure that that is indeed the case. I think a lot of people would agree with that. And this is kind of, I think, a good year for him to transition out. And who knows, maybe there's a quarterback's coach job with his name on it, you know, beyond, I would like to think so. I think very highly of Brian and I know.

Or an OC. Or an OC, exactly. beyond i would like to think so i think very highly of brian and i know or an oc or an oc exactly i mean you talk about someone that can come in and knows the the internet requests up and down could brian hoyer could could could a a player on the active roster be standing there on the sidelines with with the menu in front of his face right absolutely absolutely no question about it and i think in a lot of ways that does have the opportunity for someone like a Bailey Zappi to come in and be able to learn not just with mac you can hear him uh you know and all the the accolades that he's going to push forth toward him uh that's essentially what he'll do but i'm looking forward to seeing that dynamic play out on the field and of course you mentioned we can't end this segment without talking about cole strange because he is the guy that everyone is going to be you know be be looking at uh in my ota preview for

sports illustrated this morning i wrote about head of the class i kind of had an 80s theme you know going there you go i had who's the boss from who's the boss with the coaches and then i had growing pains from mac jones and now i got ahead of the class going oh that's great um so you know we got that uh that dynamic going but strange to me is someone that can really have an impact on the quarterback position no question about it he can have an impact on all aspects of the offense because we talked about you know pierre strong and we talked about the running backs now too how they're going to be able to adapt with the loss of someone like a brandon bolden who was such a strong presence in terms of knowledge

and in terms of what that team did on the field, how are they going to replicate that? And we haven't even dipped our toe into the wide receiver pool yet, Murph. That's going to be interesting as well. Devontae Parker coming in, I think he adds instant credibility to that lineup. You've got Kendrick Bourne. You've got Nelson Aguilar, who's been working his tail off. I'm looking forward to seeing what he's got in the tank, left in the tank here in New England.

I think you're going to see an improved version of him. How is Ty Montgomery going to be used? Things of that nature. There are players out there that you've forgotten about already. The oh-so-important, oh, so important, uh, um, free agency off season. And, and, and these guys are going to come in here. They're going to, they're going to fill a role and I can't, I can't wait. It is there. There are a lot more weapons than people are seeing. You're not seeing the forest for the trees absolutely and yeah it's it is difficult to say that and to it is difficult to to think in that and along those lines because you know you you there's only so much of the ball that can go around but i think it's going to be interesting

to see how the patriots try to dole it out because they do have such great talents at what these players do and and i think it really really just you know it lends so much Credence uh to the uh the thought of you know giving an open competition during training camp and watching what these guys can do I think is going to be interesting right at the end of the day I want to see how fast Taekwon Thornton really is I want to see this kid in full Sprint I want to get it out there and I want to definitely see that. That's something I'm looking forward to. We've seen all the film.

We've seen all the tape on him. He looks to be the real deal, but I want to see it in person, and I, for one, can't wait to watch that. That's it. I can't. Oh, God, it's going to be so much fun. It's going to be so much fun. It will be.

It really, really will be. And training camp is going to be interesting this year, folks, and we know a lot of you are looking forward to getting out there. Let's get through mini camp and OTA first. And then once training camp starts up, then it begins for real, folks. And what will continue to be for real here, ladies and gentlemen, is everything that my good friend Murph and I bring to you each and every week here on Locked On Patriots on Monday. But it's been a long time since we've done a show that doesn't involve any type of grades or anything like that oh yeah looking into our uh belichickian crystal ball in terms of story lines but once again you brought the wisdom and counsel the way

only you can and i thank you eternally for that thank you before i let you go my friend please let everyone know where they can find you on social media all the great work that you do everything that you have coming up from the great pen, the great voice of the legendary Thomas Brown. Well, I've got a nice little piece up over there at E2GSports.com today on the Red Sox resurgence and how they handled this homestand. It was a thing of beauty. I think we all needed a day off where we weren't just decompressing from what had happened over the weekend. And the Sox gave us that today.

They're headed out to Chicago. So you can check that out over at E2GSports.com. Tomorrow, One Patriots Place returns with Glazzy Claire Cooper and, of course, Steve Balistrieri, my best friend on the planet. You can check that out tomorrow live at 9 o'clock in the morning. Karen Garigan of the Boston Herald will be our special guest. We're going to be breaking down probably a lot of what we talked about today, but you'll get much better opinions out of Karen than you did out of me.

So check that out. And, yeah, I've got a piece coming up later this week on the Patriots, on OTAs, and everything that I've stolen from other people. Because I won't be there. I won't be there. No, but in all actuality, my friend, do not sell your opinion short. Thank you. As Ty Webb would say, you're a tremendous slouch, and we look forward

to having you here each and every week, but all kidding aside, folks, definitely check out One Patriot's Place this week. Karen is among the best of the best, and we've got a lot of 80s references going on here. We've got Caddy's Back, we've got Best of the Best, Top Gun, all 80s sitcoms.

It's 80s day here on Lockdown Patriots, but all kidding aside, it is always my honor, my privilege when the great Don of Locked On Patriots, the head of the familia here, joins me each and every Monday and will continue to do that each and every Monday here on Locked On Patriots. In the meantime, I thank

all of you for tuning in today and for always making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage and of course your first listen every day. Remember making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage and, of course, your first listen every day. Remember, Locked On Patriots, free and available, all platforms. Download, subscribe, follow wherever you consume your podcasts. Also, be sure to smash that subscribe button on YouTube.

Until tomorrow, Foxborough faithful, on my debate, on behalf of my good friend, the legendary Thomas Murphy, stay safe, stay well, be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone. Peace.