Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Patriots Preseason Plans Changing Expectations | Power Structure Exposed

Starting point is 00:00:00 It's Mike Vrable's first preseason game as Pat's head coach, and we might be surprised by how he handles the assignment. That's where we start on this episode of Lockdown Patriots. You are Locked-on Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcasts Network, your team every day. What's up, Patriots fans? I'm your host Nick Cattles, born and raised in New England. Lynn, host of the Everything Pats podcast, co-host of the Greg Bedard's Patriots podcast with Nick Cattles, and of course, a sports talk show host veteran. On today's episode,

Starting point is 00:00:39 the curtain concealing one of the most quiet but powerful men in the Pats organization gets lifted, and we drop three critical points heading into our football weekend. But first, preseason game, number one, lots of questions that need to be answered. We appreciate you joining the show, making us your first listen and for being an everydayer. Lockdown Patriots podcast is a proud part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.

Starting point is 00:01:07 The initial expectation that I had for the preseason is that there were going to be a lot of starters not playing, especially preseason game number one, but a lot of guys would be out. Maybe preseason game number two, you get a few

Starting point is 00:01:23 of them, maybe you get all of the starters and then preseason game number three, thanks, but no thanks. I especially expected a lot of the starters to sit because you just had a joint practice with Washington. You have two joint practices next week with Minnesota. Coaches always say joint practices more important than preseason games. So my expectation for preseason game number one was that almost nobody was going to play. But maybe I'm wrong because Mike Vrable certainly.

Starting point is 00:01:55 sounds like he is ready to surprise us. Vrable said before the joint practice that most healthy players should quote unquote expect to play in the preseason opener. But it's undecided how long they will play. So Vrable, if we believe him at his word, Vrable's telling us, no, players should absolutely expect to play. Healthy players should expect to play. Healthy players should expect to play in the first preseason game against the commanders. Now, I know my friend Greg Bedard recently wrote that Vrable's camp has been somewhat soft. I think he called it Camp Cake.

Starting point is 00:02:36 Maybe that's part of the reason. Maybe if you're not going to have as much contact and padded practices, you're going to rely more on preseason games. Maybe. Maybe it has to do with the analytics. We know that Vrable pays attention to the analytics. He's talked about player recovery. and how to handle players during camp and get the most out of them,

Starting point is 00:02:58 maybe that's part of this thinking. But if we're going to take Rabel at his word, we should expect a number of starters to be out there playing in game one against the commanders. Now it begs the question, who plays? Because Rabel didn't say that everybody was going to play. He said most healthy players. So first, you've got to be healthy.

Starting point is 00:03:21 You can play games with that if you're Vrable. oh well you know drake may didn't play he stubbed his toe on friday morning he he stubbed his toe two hours before the game so there's some wiggle room there by saying you got to be healthy he also said most healthy players not every single solitary healthy player was going to play so who plays does drake may play is he out there is he out there with the starting offense does morgan moses play i would think not. Maybe I'm wrong, but they have been very delicate managing Moses in this camp. And I would be very surprised if Moses is out there taking snaps in the first preseason game. Carlton Davis, I'd be surprised if Davis is out there. Now, he showed up,

Starting point is 00:04:11 pads on at the beginning of the joint practice, but he didn't do anything. He's been at the walkthroughs. But I don't think Carlton Davis will be out there. A very interesting name is Christian Barmore. Because Barmore, you know, he's been handled. He's been managed with the blood clot situation from a year ago. They're trying to figure out, you know, what to do with Barmore and how to handle him best. But he has been out there. He's been out there for stretches. He was out there during the joint practice. He's been out there at times in the padded practices. So does Barmore play if he plays? What do we think? What do we see? How about some of the older guys? You know, the older guys that are healthy, Robert Spillane, for all we know is healthy. Does Robert Spillane play? Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper, both in their 30s, going to be 31 during the season. Do you play the starting tight ends?

Starting point is 00:05:08 Stefan Diggs coming off the ACL. He's taken part in everything this camp. He was late in apparently, according to reports, that was planned, that he was not going to be there at the very beginning of the joint. practice he was going to join in the seven on sevens a little bit later on but other than that digs has been out there every step of the way is he going to be out there during the preseason game harold landry's another guy you know getting closer to 30 is he going to play so the first question who plays and we don't know we have no idea who is actually going to play the second

Starting point is 00:05:45 question is how much do guys play if you're going to play may is he going to play a Is he going to play a series? Is he going to play a half? How far are you willing to go with somebody like May until you get to Dobbs and then Woolridge? Like, how much do you want May out there? For me, I don't want May out there a lot. Mays had a very good camp.

Starting point is 00:06:10 He was good to really good in the joint practice. I don't need to see him play a ton of snaps in the preseason. If you want to play him a series, if you want to play him a quarter, just because you feel like he needs the reps and he needs to continue to work on this McDaniel's offense, I would understand that, but I don't want him to play a slew of preseason snaps. I don't think he will.

Starting point is 00:06:32 I don't want to see that. Another difficult needle to thread here if you're the Patriots is how do you handle the rookie class? How do you handle these guys that are going to be impact players? You want them to be impact players. Right now, Will Campbell and Jared Wilson is the starting left side of your offensive line. and they're obviously not only two rookies,

Starting point is 00:06:55 they are two young rookies. Campbell's 21. Wilson played one year of college football as a starter at Georgia. So there's no doubt they need reps. They need to build the chemistry. You need to get them going and feeling good about themselves before week one against the Raiders. But how much are you willing to play them?

Starting point is 00:07:14 You've got to try to balance that out. Trevion Henderson. Is he going to play if he plays? Do you play him on the early downs? Do you play him a little bit more than you plan on playing him in a regular season game just to get him going and see what he can provide you on first and second down? Or are we going to see Henderson strictly a third down back, especially during the preseason? So how much does he play? I mean, Kyle Williams, been a little up and down, mostly down lately.

Starting point is 00:07:44 Do you want to give him his opportunities because there are so many receivers in this camp? Are you going to play him more because of that? Craig Woodson, you know, what role is he going to play? Is he going to be taking reps with the first team? Does he go out there with the second team? How much does he play? Where does he play? Is he playing just that safety?

Starting point is 00:08:04 Is he playing some of that big nickel? So the 2025 draft class, it really is, as I said, threading that needle, trying to figure out how much you want to play them because they all need reps. They all need experience. you want to get them ready for the regular season, but you also don't want to go too crazy. The other question I have about playing time,

Starting point is 00:08:28 who's going to play, how will they play, how will they be handled is the wide receiver room, the wide receiver shuffle. I would think that Diggs and Douglas, if they play, they're not going to play many snaps. Who's the third receiver out there in three receiver sets? Who's the first guy? Is it booty?

Starting point is 00:08:45 Is it Hollins? How much does Hollis? Collins play. How much does booty play? And then we look at the opportunities for those other guys. Jvon Baker, Jalen Polk, Efton Chisholm, how many snaps are those guys going to get? So what's the makeup look like? If they sit digs and they sit Douglas, which they might, if they sit both those guys, then you see more of Baker and Polk and Chisham. And maybe that's what they want to do. Maybe Vrable looks at this and says, those guys are locks. We know that, Diggs and Pop and Hollins.

Starting point is 00:09:20 They're on the team. We know that booty's on the team. Kyle Williams is a lock because he was just drafted, but he needs snaps. So maybe we see Drake May out there with some of the young guys. Maybe we see Drake May out there with Kyle Williams and Polk and Baker. Occasionally Chisholm. It's going to be fascinating

Starting point is 00:09:36 because Rabel tells us, yeah, we're going to play. Most of the healthy players are going to play. So it's going to be very compelling to see how they put that puzzle together for this first preseason. in game. He's quiet and not a lot has been said about him, but his amount of power in the organization might shock you. Find out who next as we continue with today's episode of Lockdown

Starting point is 00:10:00 Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Ever wish managing your money felt easier with Monarch money. It can, whether you're growing your savings or planning a big purchase. Monarch puts you in the driver's seat. It's like having your own personal CFO, giving you full visibility and control over your finances. Monarch money is more than a budgeting app. It's a complete financial command center. You can track all your accounts, investments, and spending in one single place. So in addition to managing your money, you're also building wealth.

Starting point is 00:10:35 If you share finances with someone, imagine how Monarch can help you stay on the same page with that person, less arguments, less bickering, knowing each other's information through that one app, So much easier. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code locked on NFL at Monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. That's monarchmoney.com code locked on NFL for half off your first year. This episode is presented by Yahoo Fantasy. It's the best time of the year.

Starting point is 00:11:06 NFL kickoff almost here. And that means fantasy football season is back in full swing. And this year, Yahoo Fantasy is turning things up with a fantasy football experience like never before. If you haven't played Yahoo! Fantasy, you should. And so should your friends. If you're a first-timer, veteran making your millions league, it really doesn't matter because Yahoo Fantasy has been around for 28 years. They know what they're doing. And to celebrate those 28 years, Yahoo Fantasy is dropping 28 big new features over 28 days throughout August. To kick it off, they just dropped Yahoo Fantasy Guillotine Leagues,

Starting point is 00:11:39 a killer new way to play fantasy football on Yahoo, where the lowest scoring team gets eliminated each week until there's one team left standing. With the season around the corner, now's the time to get your league together and give this new mode to try. If you're more into the classics, you can still play in head-to-head private leagues or join a public league.

Starting point is 00:11:58 Stay tuned for more killer announcements and start playing Yahoo Fantasy Football now at Yahoo!fantasy.com slash lockdown NFL. John Stretch Stryker is the most powerful guy in the organization that nobody. discusses and up until now, nobody really knew. Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald came out with a terrific profile on stretch. And the first takeaway from me was the fact that stretch's power goes beyond our initial understanding. He has a lot of power in this organization.

Starting point is 00:12:37 He does a lot of different things for this organization and for Mike Vrable. Here's an excerpt from Callahan's excellent piece. Stretch is the most powerful person in the organization under Vrable. Stretch touches every department and football operations. He handles analytics and game management on Sundays. He scouts opponents,

Starting point is 00:12:57 college prospects and pro players, a voice in the team's free agency and draft plans, the Patriots athletic training, travel equipment, and security staffs all report to him. Think about that. he's working with scouts scouting opponents he's scouting college prospects he's scouting pro players he's handling analytics and game management on sundays but not only that athletic training travel equipment and security four different staffs within this organization all report to striker

Starting point is 00:13:40 that stroke back to callahan stretch has been described as an evolved version of ernie adams try again here's what one source said to callahan and this is a single source but this is what the source said quote there's ownership there's rabel and then stretch let that sink in there's ownership then there's Vrable and then there's Stretch Callahan writes that you know

Starting point is 00:14:14 Stretch was gone when he was interviewing Vrable the day before training camp turns out that afternoon Stretch was off meeting with Jonathan Kraft Callahan writes they discussed the Patriots

Starting point is 00:14:28 New State of the Art Facility a physical manifestation of the franchise's future Why was Stretch talking to Jonathan Kraft about this state-of-the-art facility they're building? Callahan tells us, Stretch is redesigning the facility. Scouting prospects, scouting pro players, game day analytics and game management. He has four different staffs reporting to him. Oh, and by the way, during his off time,

Starting point is 00:15:04 he's redesigning the new facility for Jonathan Kraft. How much power do you have to have if you're redesigning the facility? Did Stretch just walk into the ownership and say, hey, look, Mr. Kraft, Robert, Jonathan, that won't work. That whole fancy facility thing, that ain't going to work. That ain't going to fly. It's not going to work for us. that's power when you're redesigning the new facility that is some power so how did he get here we'll get to that in a minute but first you wonder with so much power how long stretch is going to be in new england now they could easily promote him if you promote him you've got to demote somebody you've got to say sorry but not sorry elliot wolf sorry but not sorry Ryan Cowden You're likely going to have to demote somebody to put him in the top chair, so to speak, as the GM and the football guy, because Wolf's name is still on there.

Starting point is 00:16:14 Now, we know that Vrable ultimately makes the decisions, but you get the point. Will, we'll stretch be fine with that? Will he still want to work alongside Vrable if he's not making the final call? because if another team reaches out to stretch and says we want to name you as our GM he might go and he's going to be a pretty tough guy to replace

Starting point is 00:16:39 if he's doing all these jobs if he's doing like 25 jobs he's going to be a pretty difficult dude to replace if maybe even when he leaves all right so now let's get to how did he actually get to this spot how did he get this power well it started at Ohio State and Callahan had an anecdote when Stretch was at OSU he was helping the coaching staff and he was in one of those you know coaching booths and there's this specific anecdote that Callahan shares and Ohio State was leading Michigan 42 41 there was a minute left Urban Meyer was the coach Michigan had just scored a touchdown and they were going to a

Starting point is 00:17:24 attempt a two-point conversion that could clinch the game. And Stryker, according to Callahan, had a premonition and announced it in the coach's box. This was the gist, writes Callahan. Michigan had called a similar formation and motion 10 weeks prior before throwing a game-winning four-yard touchdown. That same play was coming again, a pass to wide receiver Drew Dillio, who had motioned before the snap and would run a stop route. Meyer asked, are you sure? Michigan ends up running to play. Ohio State defends it. Ohio State wins the football game. Stryker went from Ohio State to James Madison, JMU, and then he went from JMU to Texas State. After Texas State, he lands in Tennessee with Rable.

Starting point is 00:18:11 What did Stretch do in Tennessee? He would study every play of every regular season game, according to Callahan, within 48 hours of its completion. He would stitch video clips of plays from across the league to cap the Titans' Friday team meetings with situational breakdowns. He also reviewed how referees officiating the Titans' next game enforced penalties, such as offensive pass interference, and whether they flagged it only when receivers shoved defenders at chest height or lower on the body, too. Yes, Stretch is the guy who was responsible for ripping Bill Belichick's clock loophole that we saw play out. doing a bunch of stuff and you know that you're really smart when other really smart people think you're really smart for example Sean McVeigh who brought Stretch in to work with

Starting point is 00:19:06 the Rams last year after Vrable was let go in Tennessee here's what McVay says about Stretch quote he understands the game from an all 22 perspective he's special as it relates to the situational stuff, and he's got a great eye for talent. And so you put all those things together in his big picture understanding of the landscape of the league, offensive and defensive football and special teams, schematics and tactics, meshing all that together. He was a difference maker for us, and I loved being around him. Stretch is Vrable's guy.

Starting point is 00:19:40 And Callahan dives into how tight this relationship is between Stryker and Vrable. And there's obvious trust between the two guys, which is great. It's great to have trust with Vrable having the final call. And according to this story, according to this profile, Stretch being the second most powerful guy in the organization. So the one and the two are tied at the hip. Callahan writes that Vrable stepped out of a recruiting visit to BC with his eldest son, Tyler, to take a call from the Titans in January of 2018.

Starting point is 00:20:12 Vrable hung up and then made two calls. He called his wife. Second call was the stretch. Stretch's bond with Vrable is one of the tightest in football, writes Callahan. Perhaps the tightest. To say stretch knows where the bodies are buried would be to overlook the possibility. He may have been the one who put them there in the first place. That's a great line by Callahan.

Starting point is 00:20:37 Former Titan Center Ben Jones said, quote, it's hard to come by, a guy you trust at all times. They have that in each other. They don't want to let each other down, unquote. Callahan notes that the only way to reach Rable at Gillette is to go through stretch. They share an office doorway. And one telling thing about this story is Rabel sits down with Callahan and he pumps the tires of stretch. He puts them over, as they say in wrestling.

Starting point is 00:21:08 And he's more than willing to, you know, speak glowingly of, of stretch. And it's an interesting approach because Belichick didn't always talk about Ernie Adams and dive into how important Ernie Adams was. He wasn't always just, you know, willing and ready to throw that out there. Vrable is giving Stretch his flowers. And a question that you've got to ask, and look, this will be down the road. but how much does Vrable need stretch? What is Mike Vrable as a head coach without stretch? Game management, strategy, all that stuff.

Starting point is 00:21:47 Because I know many people, including myself, would say Belichick wasn't the same guy after Ernie Adams left. It's a fascinating profile, and apparently Stryker has a lot of power in the organization. Before we head out for the weekend, we've got three critical thoughts you'll want to hear. That's coming up next. as we continue with today's episode of Lockdown Patriots,

Starting point is 00:22:08 part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. It is time to fuel up and turn it up with five-hour energy transfusion. It brings the bold, grape, ginger, and lime flavor of your favorite golf drink, minus the alcohol, into a quick, energizing shot. Whether you're sinking birdies or just making memories with friends, this one's a hole in one for your energy game.

Starting point is 00:22:32 Let's be honest, some days on the course or even off it, You just need that extra boost to stay sharp and energized. Golf, it's all about good times with good people and good flavors, of course. The grape, ginger lime flavor gives you the best parts of your clubhouse go to without chasing down that BevCart. If you go to five hour energy.com today, that is the number five hour energy.com. You can use my promo code, Lockdown NFL, to receive 20% off your order. This offer is only valid until September 30th on one order. Cannot be used with other promotions.

Starting point is 00:23:04 the code is not good on subscription orders. Whether you're meeting up with friends or trying to turn 18 holes in a 36, get the energizing boost you need to power through or a transfusion flavored five-hour energy shots today. There is a ton to break down this time of year, and I want to make sure that we're hitting the most important stuff. So I've got three critical thoughts heading into your weekend.

Starting point is 00:23:30 The first, there was a vital part of the joint practice that we didn't talk about. And Mike Reese posted this. The Drake May led offense, especially efficient in the no huddle period. Now, why does that stand out to me? Why is that vital? Why is that critical? The no huddle offense.

Starting point is 00:23:57 Well, let's remember, this was the first big test for the Patriots. It's your first joint practice before the first preseason game. You've got two joint practices next week against Minnesota. And so it's relatively early. This is your chance to work on the no huddle. And the fact that May was good and that he was efficient. Running the no huddle tells me a few things. Number one, Josh McDaniels can coach.

Starting point is 00:24:26 Now, I knew that. Some people still kind of sketchy on McDaniels, because of, you know, the Raiders and the Broncos and his one year with, you know, St. Louis. He's only a Brady creation. I disagree with all of that about him being a Brady creation. I think his trouble in Vegas and Denver more about him being a head coach and trying to run personnel in Denver than it was about being an offensive coordinator. But I digress. If you're running the no huddle efficiently and well this early,

Starting point is 00:25:01 it tells me what the offensive coordinator is putting down your quarterback is picking up. And it's not just a quarterback either picking it up. It's everybody picking it up. Everybody has to be on the same page. You're running no huddle. It's early on in this process. Everybody has to be on the same page to understand what's happening, why it's happening, and how it's going to happen.

Starting point is 00:25:24 And so this tells me good coaching from your OC. He has his guys ready for the no huddle. They know what they're doing. I'd also shout out May because your quarterback has to have a certain level of command to run a no huddle. And being able to run the no huddle efficiently tells me that May is comfortable with this offense. he's confident in what they're trying to accomplish. And he understands to get guys lined up. He understands to quickly get through this.

Starting point is 00:26:00 Command at the line of scrimmage. Direct your receivers and running backs what you want them to do. And do it quickly, do it efficiently. Have that command. It just speaks of a clean operation. When you can run a no huddle cleanly and efficiently, it's because the operation is working from McDaniels to May to the O line to the receivers to the backs to the tightette everybody the operation is working and that's very important

Starting point is 00:26:31 very important so Mike Reese's post stood out to me about the no huddle second thought heading into your weekend Mike Vrable loves Trayvion Henderson he he loves Trayvion Henderson. Now, first of all, Henderson's getting a lot of opportunity in camp. So that should tell us that Vrable and his coaching staff, they think very highly of Henderson, and they're giving him every opportunity that they can to make some kind of an impact during this camp, and he certainly has made an impact. But I bring this up because Rable was asked about Henderson before the joint practice, and Phil Perry transcribed this. Here's what Vrabel had to say about the rookie running back.

Starting point is 00:27:20 Quote, he seems to be a quick learner. If something happens in protection, he rarely makes the same mistake twice, unquote. Now, I pull that quote for a couple of reasons. Number one, we talk about trust all the time in professional sports, especially football. That's how you gain early trust. You gain early trust in your rookie season and your rookie camp by showing the head coach and showing the staff. I will not make the same mistake twice. I will learn from what I just did. That was wrong. I will correct it. I will be better. And it just brings me back to 2024.

Starting point is 00:27:57 And I don't want to dwell on it, but just for one second, think about 2024. One of the things about that 24 season was that seemingly everybody was a repeat offender. How many times did we see the defensive backs not be able to communicate inside the 10-yard line? How many times did we see Alex Van Pelt not protect his offensive tackles? How many times do we see an offensive lineman jump too early? How many times did we see these repeat offenders? Even Gerard Mayo himself would go to the microphone and be a repeat offender with how he handled certain questions.

Starting point is 00:28:37 And Vrable wants to erase that. And I'm not telling you he's going to, but Henderson certainly not being a repeat offender, puts him very high on the list. of the head coach. Now he's going to work on the drops because the only obstacle to Henderson getting a good portion of playing time in 2025 is if he continues to drop footballs,

Starting point is 00:28:58 which he has done in this camp. That's been the one thing. Drop the touchdown during the joint practice. So he's got to make sure he buttons that up. Or he's just going to continue to be a repeat offender when it comes to drops, which is not what you want. All right.

Starting point is 00:29:14 Third and final thought heading into the weekend. I still got some offensive line questions. What's happening at center? Evan Lazar wrote at center, it was mostly Bradbury during the joint practice, but Ben Brown got one drive at the pivot. It's unclear why Brown got those reps in Bradbury finished practice. Bradbury's experience in run-blocking ability are decent. Do you want to hear that?

Starting point is 00:29:38 Do you ever want to hear somebody tell you you're decent at your job? You're decent. Lazzar writes that Bradbury does get beaten at times by power. Greg Bedard talking about the one-on-ones at the joint practice. Bradbury was beaten handily on his first two reps by Eddie Goldman. And Bradbury made Bedard's three down. Had an awful opening team series where you're allowed a run through for a tackle for a loss on second down, then allowed a sack to Duran Payne on third down, also had a poor screen block.

Starting point is 00:30:12 So what's going on with Center? is Bradbury going to be able to lock that down? Is he going to be able to instill confidence in this coaching staff and his teammates that he can do the job, keeping an eye on it? And then we get to the backups. Like what's happening with this backup offensive line? Some juggling done. Strange went from left guard one to center three.

Starting point is 00:30:34 Then he's back playing some left guard because Caden Wallace got hurt. Marcus Bryant's playing right tackle. Then he goes to left tackle and he's back at right tackle. Is he going to be a swing tackle? Can he handle that job this early? You've got Vradorian Lowe coming back from the PUP. He's going against, you know, Demontre Jacobs, I think, to possibly be the swing tackle. But many will tell you that Lowe is just going to be a left tackle, not a right tackle.

Starting point is 00:31:00 And who's your backup offensive guard, by the way? Like, Kaden Wallis was supposed to be your second guard on the left side. He's heard Citi So was supposed to be your backup right guard. He's not around. So they still got to iron out some questions on that offensive front. All right. That wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots. Reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C. Radio.

Starting point is 00:31:22 Don't forget to throw a comment in on the YouTube channel. And don't forget to hit that like button and subscribe. Support the cause, family. Support the cause. Thank you for being an everydayer making Lockdown Patriots your first listen today. For your second listen, check out Lockdown Betts, Sterling, Rogers, MLB locks, can't miss football futures. You can find them on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. Have a great weekend.

Starting point is 00:31:45 Enjoyed the game and we'll see you on Monday.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Patriots Preseason Plans Changing Expectations | Power Structure Exposed

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