Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Philadelphia Freedom? — Getting to Know New England Patriots Jalen Mills, Nelson Agholor — 4/7/2021

Episode Date: April 7, 2021

We continue our “Getting to Know You” series on Locked On Patriots, as host Mike D’Abate welcomes Louie DiBiase, host of Locked On Eagles. The duo discuss a pair of former Philadelphia Eagles, now the newest members of the New England Patriots, DB Jalen Mills and WR Nelson Agholor. Each brings a level of versatility that might make them ideal fits in Foxboro, and Louie provides valuable insight on each player’s prowess on-and-off the field.Support 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.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.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

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 you are now locked in to the Lockdown Patriots podcast. It is Wednesday, April 7th, 2021, and it's time to get to know a couple more of the new guys here on your daily home for news notes and analysis infused with the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. Happy Hump Day, Patriots Nation, and thank you once again for joining me here today on the pod.

My name is Mike DeBate, your host of the Locked On Patriots podcast, which of course is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And because it's your team every day, that means your questions, your comments, and your feedback are always welcomed and very much encouraged. So share that feedback and send it to the internet by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at MDABATEFPC. And while you're out there doing some Wednesday wandering through that Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots.

Patriots fans, as we continue to march toward the 2021 NFL Draft at the end of the month, free agency news has started to wane a little bit. We're clearly not hearing as much about signings, and the Patriots have been eerily quiet as of late. Of course, keep in mind that's as of the time I'm recording this podcast, but the Patriots seem to be doing their due diligence about keeping roster spots open for those draft choices, or maybe they're doing some recon work and trying to trade up in the draft. Only Bill Belichick and the Patriots Brain Trust really know for sure.

But here on Locked On Patriots, we've done our best to try to help you get to know some of the new guys on the roster, and last week I had the great fortune of being joined here on the pod by the host of Locked On Ravens, Kevin Ostreicher, to help you get to know new Patriots linebacker Matt Judon. Well, today we're not just going to get to know one new player, but we're going to learn a little about two. Two former Philadelphia Eagles. Defensive back Jalen Mills and wide receiver Nelson Aguilar. And once again, I have the great fortune of being joined by one of my colleagues here on the Locked On Podcast Network, the co-host of Locked On Eagles, my friend, Louis DiBiase.

And Louis has covered both Nelson and Jalen for the last few seasons in Philadelphia. Today, I'm going to ask Louis his thoughts on how he felt about both players during their time in the city of brotherly love. How does he feel about their fit here in New England? And what should Patriots fans expect from both Jalen Mills and Nelson Aguilar in a Patriots uniform? Speaking from my own opinion, I'm very impressed both with Mills and with Aguilar. I was impressed with both players from the moment they signed here in New England. And the more work that I do examining their fit here in New England, I think each of them has a great chance of being a

prototypical Patriot in 2021. Both of these players bring a ton of versatility to each of them has a great chance of being a prototypical Patriot in 2021. Both of these players bring a ton of versatility to each of their roles. Mills is a guy that can plug in and play all over the secondary, whether it be at the cornerback position or the safety position. The Patriots may have a pretty good depth of talent in the secondary, but you can never have enough, and Mills is definitely someone that will make an impact on this team, whether it be simply as a depth piece or someone that could be called upon for a starting role. Aguilar is someone who's been a polarizing signing for the Pats. I know a lot of you out there raised an eyebrow about the contract that he signed and the amount of money that the Patriots committed to him. Bottom line, the Patriots obviously weren't concerned about overpaying for him, otherwise they wouldn't have offered him the contract.

And when you actually take the time to break down Nelson Aguilar's fit on the football field, both his ability to play on the outside and on the inside, he really has the potential to give the Patriots something they haven't had in quite some time. A viable offensive threat at the wide receiver position, both on the outside and on the inside. But don't just take my word for it, folks. In a moment, Louis DiBiase will join me here on the hot seat as he provides his thoughts on both Nelson Aguilar and Jalen Mills wearing Patriot blue in 2021. So sit tight and settle in, folks, getting to know the new guys with the Philly ties when this Wednesday episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues.

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or wherever you get your podcasts. Patriots fans, we continue to get to know the new faces in Foxborough, and today we take a look at the latest additions to the Pats roster with some ties to the city of brotherly love. Defensive back Jalen Mills and wide receiver Nelson Aguilar, both formerly of the Philadelphia Eagles. And who better to help us get to know them than our resident expert on the Eagles here at the Lockdown Podcast Network, my friend and colleague, co-host of Lockdown Eagles

and a host on WGR 550 Sports Radio in Buffalo, New York. Louie DiBiase joins me today. Louie, welcome to Locked On Patriots. Mike, thanks for having me. Excited to talk about two former Eagles that really stepped up in the 2017 Super Bowl, Jalen Mills and Nelson Aguilar. Whether you say what you will about them throughout their career, they weren't the most popular Eagles, but they saved their best performances for the most important year in franchise history.

So excited to talk about these guys. Absolutely. You had to go to the 2017 Super Bowl. You just, he had to do it. Yeah. No worries. No worries. No worries. As someone who, as someone who interjects a 28 to three joke, whenever he possibly can, I don't blame you one bit. And look, I'm one of the few Patriots fans. that's actually not petty for that Super Bowl. I think we played a phenomenal game. Yeah, I will say Jalen Mills and Nelson Aguilar probably both had their best game of their career against the Patriots in that championship. So it's funny to see Bill Belichick bring them in.

I don't think it's a coincidence. I don't think it's a coincidence either. Bill Belichick has been known to do that. If you can't beat them, join them. And if they hurt you on one occasion, then bring them in and make sure that they're doing the dirty work for you instead of for someone else. So very Belichickian signings here.

They raised some eyebrows, though, when they signed both Jalen Mills and Nelson Aguilar. If I'm being honest, though, I think it was for different reasons. A lot of Patriots fans thought that Mills was a solid player, but the Patriots were set in the secondary. Why did they need to go early into the free agent well to bring in a defensive back? On Aguilar's case, I think a lot of people looked at him and said,

why Aguilar? There's a lot of wide receivers out there. Maybe Patriots fans thought they paid a little bit too much, but I was impressed by both signings right from the start, And the more I delve into them, the more I am impressed. So, Fran, I'd like to pull on some of your wisdom and counsel for both players today. And even though Aguilar spent last season in Las Vegas with the Raiders, we all know that his experience with the Eagles makes up a large part of his body of work. But let's first start with the man they call the Green Goblin, because I have a funny feeling he's going to end up being a fan favorite here in New England pretty

quickly. Jalen Mills is that type of prototypical Patriots defensive back. He's got tremendous versatility. During his time in Philadelphia, he showed that versatility. He evolved from a traditional outside cornerback to a defensive back that's really capable of aligning in each spot within the secondary. You mentioned 2020, him having a pretty decent season last year. He moved between box and free safety, played the perimeter. He even played slot corner for a while. This is something Bill Belichick loves. He loves the plug-and-play guys that he can put all over the field and ask them to do their job.

We even saw Jalen line up at the line of scrimmage a few times last year as well. So versatility is something that I think caught Bill Belichick's eye in addition to that sparkling performance in the Super Bowl as well. But that versatility, I think, is really what lured him here to New England. You've covered Jalen Mills for a few seasons now. Based on your observations, Bud, what type of player are the Patriots adding to their defensive backfield? Yeah, I think it makes a lot of sense that Bill Belichick liked Jalen Mills and wanted to bring him in. Is he a true CB1? Is he a top corner that should be covering the best receivers on an

offense like he was for the Eagles from 2016, I would say, to 2019? I don't think so. Is he the top safety on your team that should be wearing all these hats and having the Malcolm Jenkins type of role? I'm not sure. I think this is the reason I didn't really love Jalen Mills was not really because of him and his abilities. It was mostly because of what the Eagles asked of him. I thought he could do everything. He's a guy that can wear a bunch of hats,

and that's why I think Bill Belichick loves him. However, I think the Eagles did put too much on his plate for the caliber of player he is. So that was my kind of thing is I love his versatility, his leadership, and he did step up in the most important moments, that final play against Atlanta in the divisional round, stopping Julio Jones in the end zone in 2017, having a great first half against Rob Gronkowski in the Super Bowl

against New England before they moved him to Ronald Darby's side. And then last year, you know, filling in admirably for Malcolm Jenkins. Like you said, I mean, this guy played, you know, single high safety. He played in the slot. He had to play on the outside. He kept switching back and forth, Mike, from safety and corner because the Eagles kept suffering a ton of injuries and they didn't have really a lot of depth at corner. So he'd go back to the outside and the next week he'd go back to safety and rush the passer, play in the box. So he's a versatile player that is a great leader. He can wear a million hats. However, you have to, I think, temper expectations for how efficient he will be in that role.

He can do everything to a certain floor, but I think the ceiling is capped. That's kind of where I'm at with Jalen Mills. So I think it's a great signing for the Patriots and what they like in defensive players, as long as you don't make him like the backbone of the secondary. And honestly, that's kind of what he was for the Eagles until last year when Darius Slay came in.

Yeah. And I think in a lot of ways with them taking on that role of the backbone of the secondary, you look at the Patriots right now, assuming they hang on to Stephon Gilmore, he's your cornerback one without any question. JC Jackson is about as solid of a corner two as you can possibly get in the NFL. So at the corner position, the Patriots are definitely very well set. They did lose Patrick Chung to retirement. However, they still have a great deal of versatility at the secondary position anchored by Captain

Devin McCourty. Kyle Duggar, I think, is going to play a much bigger role this year, and I look for him to slide into Chung's spot. You also have a guy like Adrian Phillips, who's very versatile. He can play that role as well. But Jalen Mills coming in gives them so many options. If he needs to fill in for John Jones at the slot, or if he needs to come in and play that type of third hybrid safety linebacker

that the Patriots love to employ he can do that maybe take a little pressure off of Phillips and play that role well so again I really liked this signing for the Patriots from a versatility standpoint but I'd be remiss Louie if I didn't ask you about his fair share of ailments since his senior season really at LSU there have been some health Now, he missed some time due to separate foot injuries, also some minor injuries while he was with the Eagles. I chalk those up to a lot of freak accidents. I don't look at those as chronic problems over and over again, but they still impacted, or at least I think they might have impacted,

how Mills' free agency market developed, especially in 2019. Having watched Jalen Mills and knowing his injury history the way you do, Louis, do you believe that the Patriots have anything to worry about when it comes to the long-term or even short-term health of Jalen Mills? Yeah, so Mills suffered a foot injury in the midway point of the 2018 season. It was against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, actually, and he missed the remainder of that season and then he missed a lot of time in 2019 up until the first I think he

missed the first month and a half before he came back against Dallas on Sunday Night Football and kind of reassume that role of being the CB1 opposite of Ronald Darby and so this was a guy that already wasn't the fastest cornerback he wasn wasn't the biggest. And then you add a foot injury like that. It really did not help his 2019 free agency. Like you said, he had to sign a one-year prove it deal. And then coming off a down year corner, the Eagles lose Malcolm Jenkins, who was that backbone of the defense and had to wear a million hats. So then Jalen Mills had to switch.

So he really has been through a lot. And honestly, I think that's impressive though, that he had the type of season he did last year, switching positions, coming off an injury. It's kind of like Cam Newton, honestly, when you think about it, from 2019 to 2020, heading to a new team, a new role, coming off a season where he barely played. And so in that way, it was extremely impressive with Mills. And I thought he bounced back great when it comes to his physical abilities. You know, again again he's always going to have a certain ceiling but I didn't think the injury held him back at all last year if

anything I thought last year he looked the most explosive that he has and maybe it's because he was getting to play more free range and play safety and he got to show off more things you know playing in the box rushing the passer doing that kind of stuff he was covering slower you know tight ends and running back so I watched Mills last year and the you know I have issues with Jalen but when it comes to health I think that's something you're going to be okay with and he was outside of a couple freak injuries from 2016 to 2020 he was and Malcolm Jenkins those two you could always rely on while Rodney McLeod suffered a couple serious injuries in back-to-back years. Ronald Darby was always in and out of the lineup.

So I don't think New England has to worry about his health moving forward. That's great insight and good information that I know our listeners are going to be glad to hear, confirming essentially my suspicion that Mills is essentially a healthy guy with the exception of maybe having some bad luck here and there with foot injuries. He seems to be a pretty durable person. And apparently the Patriots feel good about Mills' medical record. They gave him a total of $9 million in guarantees,

$6.5 million full of salary guarantees as part of his deal. So that is pretty good job security when you consider that the Patriots are going to give him that kind of guaranteed money. They're betting on him being a healthy guy and being a contributor in this secondary and on this team. And I appreciate your insight on Jalen Mills. And hopefully, Pats fans, you've gotten the chance to get to know Jalen Mills a little bit better. And Jalen came to us directly from Philadelphia.

So Louie has been covering him essentially from start to finish right here in his Philly career. But another former Eagle turned Patriot took a bit of a detour by way of Las Vegas. It's a pretty good detour. Not bad. I don't mind going anywhere by way of Las Vegas. As long as this will stop in Vegas, I'm pretty much down for that. But of course, we're talking about wide receiver Nelson Aguilar. Nelson might be one of the more controversial signings the Patriots have made thus far,

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presented by Odyssey and the Locked On Podcast Network. Patriots fans, Louie DiBiase, host of Locked On Eagles, joins me today here on the pod. And Louie, I appreciate you taking time out of your day to help us get to know a couple of new New England Patriots. And while Jalen Mills might be someone that directly came to New England from Philadelphia, Nelson Aguilar spent a great deal of time in Philadelphia, but took, again, like we said before, a detour in Las Vegas. And word broke of Nelson Aguilar's first signing here in New England. A lot of people in New England raised an eyebrow.

As a matter of fact, I would probably describe it as being polarizing. Some Patriots fans love the addition. Others were a little bit more critical. They looked at the financial aspects of the deal and said, well, are we paying a little bit too much for a guy like Nelson Aguilar? Bottom line, the Patriots offense lacked explosiveness in 2020. And in my opinion, I think Aguilar is a great fit because I think that's exactly what he offers.

The speed to challenge defenses on vertical routes, that could allow the Patriots to free up a lot of the intermediate parts of the field. They couldn't do that in 2020. They just didn't have the personnel to do it. And I think he's going to help with the outside-the-numbers passing game. And that's not something that the Patriots have had for a while, even the last couple of years here under Tom Brady. In my estimation, I think the Patriots are getting a viable deep threat that has experience playing on both the perimeter

and inside the formation, which he played a lot of when he was in Philadelphia. I think he's going to be able to be that type of move wide receiver between the Z and the X roles, depending on how Josh McDaniels wants to call the plays. But in your opinion, knowing Nelson Aguilar, the way you have having covered him, do you believe this was a realistic expectation in a Patriots uniform for him? Yeah. So again, it depends on with Nelson Aguilar, what it's kind of like Jalen Mills, what do you want him to be? Did they maybe overpay for Aguilar? Maybe a little bit here. Nelson was drafted. It's a really interesting story, Mike. They drafted him in 2015 in the

first round. Chip Kelly actually did. It was his first pick as general manager when he beat out Howie Roseman for control of the front office. And they made that pick for Nelson Aguilar to replace Deshaun Jackson and Jeremy Macklin. So he had some huge shoes to fill, and he just wasn't ready for that role coming out of USC. He Macklin. So he did not, he could have, I don't think there's anybody that's had a worse start to their career than Nelson Aguilar at receiver in 2015 and 2016, it was an absolute disaster. And then, you know, Eagles fans let him hear it. So it was kind of a toxic situation for him. I thought he got in his head and it was all mental because the drops that you

saw those first two years were brutal and you really couldn't pinpoint it back to any trend at USC. It really just was a highly competitive, sometimes unforgiving sports market in the city of, ironically, brotherly love. But then you look at the move inside of the slot, and the Eagles signed Alshon Jeffrey in 2017. They bring in Torrey Smith. Zach Ertz is a go-to tight end. Carson Wentz takes an MVP-like

step. Nelson Aguilar was able to take a breath and be just a slot receiver that stretched the field. I love what you said about his deep ability because since 2016, the receivers with the most receptions of 50-plus yards, it's Tyree Kill, Deshaun Jackson, Brandon Cooks, and Nelson Aguilar. Tyree Kill is 13. Deshaun, Cooks, and Aguilar are all tied at 10. So this has been one of the best deep threats in football for going on four years now. And he really started that in 2017, the Eagles Super Bowl season. He saved his best performance for that year where he had nine catches against the Patriots in the Super Bowl. So Nelly, if you want him to be a wide receiver two to a wide receiver three, if you know you're the expectations coming in are not going to be that of catching 100 balls having,

you know, 1300 yards, then he can be a great player for you. I just thought in Philadelphia, the expectations coming in were way too high for him, then he has that, you know, good stretch in 2017 and 2018. But then once again, in 2019, when injuries happened to Elshon Jeffrey and Deshaun Jackson, they needed Aguilar to be the top receiver again, and he just isn't fit for that mold, and Philadelphia chewed him up every single time he wasn't able to meet those lofty expectations. I think he's a guy that's perfect for the slot. Expect him to get you 700 to 800 yards in a season, be able to stretch the field really, really well. And I thought you saw that last year when he finally got that, you know, deep breath, that change of scenery in Vegas,

he was a better deep threat than Henry Ruggs for Derek Carr. And that's what the Raiders drafted Ruggs to be. So I think again, kind of like Jalen Mills, as long as you, you know, temper your expectations, you know what you have in him and don't ask too much of him. He can be a great role player for you, that second tier type of free agent. So I think money-wise it was maybe a little bit rich, but I think Cam Newton is going to love Nelson Aguilar in New England. Yeah, without question, again, that deep threat that the Patriots haven't had in quite some time definitely is there in Nelson Aguilar. And you mentioned the numerous alignments that he can play in. His usage over the course of his career reflects it. You look at the way the Eagles used him. You mentioned the numerous alignments that he can play in. His usage over the course of his career reflects it.

You look at the way the Eagles used him. You mentioned the slot. You mentioned outside. 52.3% of his snaps compared to 47.7% on the outside, 52.3% being in the slot, folks. That's a pretty good balance between the two. The Raiders, on the other hand, really let him loose on the perimeter. 70.2% of the time out on the outside as opposed to 29.8% on the other hand, really let him loose on the perimeter 70.2% of the time

out on the outside as opposed to 29.8% on the inside. So because New England likes to move their wideouts around, we've seen them do it several times when they have the personnel to do it. Seeing him not confined to one role, I think is going to be a hand and glove fit here in New England. And again, probably one of the big reasons why Belichick was so interested. And Mike, too, I think that's a huge sign What you just said about him playing mostly on the perimeter that shows a lot of growth in Nelson Aguilar because in 2015 and in 2016, the Eagles had Jordan Matthews and he was slot dependent. He was not moving on the outside. So

they needed Aguilar to be an outside receiver and he just could not create separation off of press coverage at the X spot or the z spot and so the fact that you saw him produce mostly with the raiders on the outside shows his development because he was slot dependent even in the great years he had with philly in 2017 and in 2018 he did all of that production inside so that is a huge step to i think patriots fans should be excited about is seeing him do even more damage on the perimeter in Vegas without question and that's a great point and it actually leads me quite nicely into my final question for you today my friend and that is despite all of the prowess that Nelson Aguilar can bring to the table and the versatility that he can add to the wide receiver

room the Patriots signing him to a two-year, $22 million contract is that substantial for a player that, like you said, has had some ups and downs over the course of his six-year career, both with the Eagles and with the Raiders, obviously coming off of a great season in 2020. But with great power comes great responsibility. We mentioned Green Goblin earlier, Spider-Man. I had to make the connection.

But in any case, with a contract like that, you're called upon not just to be a leader on the field, but you're also called upon to be a leader, possibly in the locker room on the depth chart. And if Julian Edelman has any difficulty starting the season or if his health doesn't allow him to be the player and the mentor on the field that he's used to being, this is a very young wide receiver core for the New England Patriots. Newly signed Kendrick Bourne coming in here, but you've got Jacoby Myers, you've got Nikhil Harry, you've got young receivers that are impressionable that will look to veterans for guidance and they'll look to veterans for experience on the field.

From your experience covering Nelson Aguilar, is this a role that he can handle the mentor almost dare I say it the elder statesman in that locker room and how can he change the complexity of the wide receiving core like I think he's the perfect veteran leader for a young receiver group because nobody has been through more ups and downs in their first you know five six years of their career 2015 so yeah um six seasons now at this point, nobody has gone through more ups and downs than Nelson Aguilar. So you can pick his brain about being at the height of the top of the world. Again, he had nine catches against the Patriots in a Super Bowl win for Philadelphia, their first title ever. That is legendary stuff. He should never have to

buy a drink in Philly again. But at the same time, you've seen Nelson Aguilar at complete rock bottom in 2015, getting benched in 2016 after that Seattle game, regressing significantly after two strong 2017 and 2018 seasons, falling back again in 2019, only to come back in 2020 and rebound and have the best season of his career with the Raiders. So he has been through the roller coaster. He has been through the ups, the downs, and it's gone back and forth. It's down, up, down, up. So a young receiver should really get to pick Nelson Aguilar's brain about adversity and, you know, what it feels like at the top and what it feels like at the bottom. I think he is literally perfect for that role because he has truly seen it all in his six years in the NFL. Aguilar is a really fascinating story.

And, you know, I see him way more in a positive light than I think a lot of Philadelphia does, because again, they wanted him to be that wide receiver one. But I think his story is fascinating and he's really a true testament of a true example of overcoming adversity over and over again in life. Well, I think that's great insight again, Louie, and I thank you for that. It's nice to know that coming from Philadelphia, these guys have that Rocky Balboa spirit, and that's something that New England has desperately needed the last couple of years. That fight to the end, I'm going to beat the big guy, and I'm going to go toe-to-toe, and you heard the competitive nature of each of these players, Jalen Mills and Nelson Aguilar. As a matter of fact, in their introductory

Zoom conferences, that's what struck me, is that these two guys actually mentioned one another. Nelson, I believe, mentioned Mills, and he says, I like him a lot. He's a talented player, ultimate competitor. I'm excited that he's going to be on this roster. Mills came back about Nelson Aguilar, and he says, you know, Nelson and I, we've had some battles, you know, in training camp, and some of them got a little steamy, but we're going to go at it with each other. But at the end of the day, that's what you want. These guys want to go up against the best and prove that they're the best and whether or not they're actually wide receiver one or cornerback one or safety one or whatever type of label that you want to put on them. These are guys that love to do their job. And that's something that is so valued here in

the wing land. And I thank you for confirming my thoughts on both of these gentlemen, because I'm impressed with these signings. I'm impressed by both of them. Again, some Patriots fans are looking at the Aguilar contract and going a little bit high, but ultimately, if he provides the type of productivity on the field that we think he can, then I truly believe this is going to be a great signing, as with Jalen Mills. And I thank you for your insight on that, my friend. Folks, definitely follow Louie's work with Locked On Eagles. We always say keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer.

There's some history between these two franchises and these two fan bases, but ultimately there's a lot of respect because they're two proud franchises, two hardworking franchises. And hopefully we'll get a crossover, you know, sooner than later. But this was a blast. But I appreciate you taking the time out for the benefit of our listeners. Please let everyone know where they can follow you. They can find all of your great work, whether it be with Locked On or any other endeavors that you have going on. Yeah, Mike, absolutely love coming on the show today and talking about two guys that, again, really helped the Eagles a ton,

winning their first championship in Jalen Mills and Nelson Aguilar. So I hope the Patriots fans enjoyed this conversation. You can follow me on Twitter at D-B-L-C-L-O-E. If you ever want to hear some birds talk, subscribe to Lockdown Eagles on any podcast platform. Not only the Eagles and Patriots have history, but I also host on the Buffalo Bills radio affiliate WGR Sports Radio 550. So kind of against the Patriots in multiple platforms.

But no, I'm excited about New England season with Cam Newton in year two. And I think Bill Belichick did a lot of good stuff this offseason, even if it was a little bit too much money. I think their roster is vastly improved. So I'm excited to see what the Patriots do in 2021. Yeah, that seven and nine season didn't sit well with Robert Kraft, with Bill Belichick. He opened up the wallet the way I haven't seen him do in quite a while. So let's see if it pays off. But again, I can't recommend Louie's work highly enough.

I had the good fortune of joining him during the playoffs to talk a little Buffalo Bills on the radio with Louie on WGR. It was a great chance to be able to join him. And again, folks, please definitely give him a follow. Check out Locked On Eagles. Always great times. Again, my friends, stay safe and well, and we hope to talk ball with you again here on Locked On Patriots very soon. In the meantime, keep up the great work, my friend, and we'll talk soon.

Thanks, Mike. We'll talk soon. Just like that, Patriots fans, we are over the hump, but we are not through with your week on Locked on Patriots just yet. Plenty more Pat's coverage still to come. So to ensure that you do not miss a single second of the action, follow the Locked on Patriots podcast on platforms such as the Odyssey app, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts, just make sure that

you are staying locked in to Locked On Patriots. Once again, I'm Mike DeBate, and I thank my friend and colleague, Louis DiBiase, host of Locked On Eagles, for his time, his insight, and his appearance on today's pod. But most of all, I thank each and every one of you so much for listening, and

for continuing to make Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Until tomorrow, Pats Nation, stay safe, stay well, continue to be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone.