Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Present and Potential Pats: New England Patriots 2020 Roster Options - 8/4/2020

Episode Date: August 4, 2020

Suddenly flush with salary cap space, the New England Patriots are expected to put their newfound wealth to use by addressing positions of need. However, exactly how much of that capital will they invest? Joining host Mike D’Abate is Alex Barth of 98.5 The Sports Hub to discuss the potential of players like Jadeveon Clowney, David Njoku and Delaine Walker finding their way to Foxboro. The pair also discuss the potential new look of the New England defense, and the impact of Cam Newton on the Pats’ offense. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Patriots fans, you are now locked in to the Locked On Patriots Podcast. I'm going to show you how to make a beautiful and beautiful flower. I'm going to use a small flower pot. I'm going to use a small pot Hello to all of you Foxborough faithful. Welcome to some present and potential Pat's Talk today on the Lockdown Patriots Podcast. Your daily home for news notes and analysis infused with the occasional opinion on your six-time Super

Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. 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 folks, because it's your team every day, that means your questions, comments, feedback always welcomed, strongly encouraged. Please share that feedback anytime by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at MDABATEFPC. And while you're out there saying how you doing to the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Lockdown Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots.

Patriots fans, thank you again for joining me today on the pod. Today is Tuesday, August 4th, 2020. And you heard me open the show today by saying today was present and potential Patriots talk. Well, with the present New England Patriots reporting for training camp this week in Foxborough and strength and conditioning exercises getting underway, it's starting to become time for all of you folks to get excited about the product that the Patriots are going to be putting out on the field in 2020. In fact, last night on Patriots.com,

we all got the chance to get our first look at some of those new Patriots in those new uniforms. And although I have to cast my personal vote for Bo Allen being the gem of these, and folks, if you saw the picture, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you don't, go to Patriots.com, look up Bo Allen. Believe me when I tell you, you will not be disappointed. But Cam Newton got his first look in a Patriots uniform, sort of, from the shoulders up. But you can still tell he looks pretty good in those new Patriots threads. However, it's the look in his eye that tells me all I need to know.

Cam looks focused, and that could mean some pretty good things for the Patriots on the field this year. But the Patriots do have some holes to fill on their roster this year as well, after having eight players opt out due to COVID-19. Now, conventional wisdom says that the Patriots will use this opportunity to give the young guys a shot at making the roster. And there's a lot of logic to that, but don't forget, Patriots are far from being a conventional team. Or are they? Well, my guest today on the pod seems to think that the Patriots will take a predictably unpredictable approach to assembling a roster in 2020. Now what could I possibly mean by that? Well, instead of me trying to imply what my guest was trying to explain, why don't I just ask him straight out? And that is

exactly what I will do in just a moment here, folks. Alex Barth of 98.5 The Sports Hub will join me here on today's podcast, and we will discuss some of those areas on the Patriots roster that are in need of improvement. The tight end position is getting a lot of press lately. What type of supporting cast will Cam Newton, assuming he wins the job, need in order to keep this team in the upper echelon of the NFL? I'll even seek Alex's wisdom and counsel on a certain big-name defensive free agent that's out there that just might not be off the Patriots' radar just yet.

Folks, again, an action-packed agenda on today's Locked On Patriots. Alex is truly one of my favorite guys in the business. His opinions are always entertaining and always candid. But his analysis is as spot-on as anyone in the business. And folks, I for one cannot wait to absorb some of his wisdom and counsel when Alex joins me on the hot seat here in just a moment. But first, folks, as I continue to look at the calendar, I can't believe that today is August 4th, 2020. The summer days and summer nights that we love so much are starting to wane.

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the wisdom and counsel from someone with the passion of a fan, but the analytics of a journalistic veteran. And lucky for us today, my guest is the best in the business at blending professionalism with a little hometown flavor mixed in. You know his amazing audio, video, written work covering the New England Patriots, formerly for CLNS Media, but now doing amazing work covering all things Boston sports for 98.5thesportshub.com. It is my honor to be joined today by old friend Alex Barth. Alex, welcome back to the Locked On Patriots podcast, bud. Happy to be back, Mike.

You said it's been a crazy week. It's only Tuesday, right? I mean, you're not wrong. It's been crazy, but it's only Tuesday. That's 2020, though. You're like, oh, what a week this has been. I need the weekend. You look down, and it's like 1.30 on Monday.

Exactly. though you're like oh what a week this has been i need the weekend you look down that's like 1 30 on monday like that's exactly that's how that's how i felt yesterday after all of the weekend buzz and everything surrounding this team i was like oh man i enjoyed every week of this day boy i'll tell you it really is it has been last week was an interesting week it's carrying over into this week but you know what we continue to live in interesting times. And even for Foxborough, I think these are going to be the times that try men's and ladies' souls, my friend. It's been an interesting offseason for a lot of different reasons, and most of which do not really even touch upon professional sports. But some of those outside problems have filtered their way into professional sports, folks. And we will talk a little bit about that today. But Alex, the Patriots currently start at, or I shouldn't say currently sit at a count of eight players opting out as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But if we do try to find a silver lining when it comes to this, they do find themselves pretty flush with cap space as a result. And according to the pats cap himself this morning's report by miguel benzon the nfl's ruling on covet 19 amendments which was broken by tom palacero earlier today puts the patriots a little over nine million dollars in additional cap space to what they had that brings their total to 35 million 282,801 as the signing prorations from those amendments will now become part of the players' 2021 cap numbers. Now, the big question on everybody's mind is what are they going to do with this space? And like Coach said last Friday on his conference call, and Miguel tweeted out

again today, that Belichickian crystal ball remains kind of cloudy. A lot of people are speculating, but not a whole lot of headway as to what the Patriots might do with it. Our good friend Evan Lazar tweeted something this morning that I completely agree with, and he conjectured that if the Patriots do make any moves with their new cap space, they're going to be one-year deals, and the new contracts and players are going to serve as placeholders for the opt-out players, and it won't count against the 2021 cap. That's going to give them optimal space next offseason. And I think that's what the Patriots are building toward here. Now, I believe that the Patriots are going to spend

conservatively, not because they're cheap, but because they're smart. In your estimation, do you think I'm on the right track here? Do you have a different intake on how the Patriots are going to be spending this? And how do you see the Pats investing their newfound capital once the dust settles here and we start to get a clearer picture as to what this roster is going to look like? Yeah, I mean, you're on the right track. You have to look at this, and it's tough to get, especially for people. I mean, Miguel gets it.

He's immersed in the cap. People who don't spend time diving into this, and it's a relatively, not relatively, it's a new phenomenon. This isn't new cap space. This is cap space essentially borrowed from next year. Because when those contracts come back, and some of them, like take, for instance, Matt Lacoste, that's a one-year deal. He was supposed to be off the books next year. So instead now, he'll be off the books next year. So instead now he'll be off the books this year, but back on next year.

So you can't spend all that money. Essentially, if you spend that money now, you lose it for this year and next year. You lose it twice because you didn't carry over a good amount of empty cast space from the year before. So there are some cosmetic things they need to touch up. They do need to add some depth. I think that comes a little further down the road. We know how Belichick loves to sign guys, wait and sign guys to see who gets cut elsewhere.

So I do think there's some signing coming. I think there'll be depth signings, maybe at the tight end position. They spend a little bit more, but I'm guessing they hold on to most of this money because we knew they were supposed to have all that cap next year, right? That was a big talk. Bill Belichick with cap space, what's that going to look like? Over potentially $100 million to spend. That's not necessarily going to happen now the way the contracts are going to pull into next year. They'll still have a significant amount of space. They're not the only team dealing with

this. They're still in a relatively good position. But you have to remember that if you're signing guys now, you're taking money away from next year. The one exception I would say, if they're going to spend it, and I've been a big proponent of this, go get Jadeveon Clowney. I would love to see him coached by Bill Belichick. I would love to see him in the Patriots system. I know Mike Lombardi said it's not a fit. I don't know what he's talking about. I think that

Jadavion Clowney is the perfect prototype Bill Belichick pass rusher, and if you can get him on a one-year Darrell Rivas type of deal, maybe we see this more in the NBA, but it can happen in the NFL. Maybe he really likes it here. Maybe he realizes he has a chance to win. He can put up big numbers, and maybe he signs a long-term deal next year when there's a little more surety, when things are a little more solid in the cap and the financials of the league.

So outside of Jadavion Clowney, I don't think they spend it. I don't think they should spend it. You'll see a couple signings toward the end of camp, but in my mind, that's just about it. Yeah, and I am in agreement with you on the way the patriots are going to invest that and i'm glad you made the point about the cap about how this carries into next year and there are next year implications when it comes to this flush of cap space so often we get enamored with the thought of being able to spend money the patriots usually don't have this

type of number next to miguel's name on twitter folks we're a little unused to seeing this type of space with the new england patriots so naturally people start to you know think about how they might invest it or get this guy or get that guy or oh we can now we can pick and choose well there are ramifications to those decisions folks and i think alex laid that out very nicely i thank you for that i do want to stay on clowny for just a moment here before I get to my next question. And I've been a proponent on Locked On Patriots for a number of weeks here saying that I believe that Jadavion's asking price was simply going to be too high. I agree with you on some of the people that say that he's not a fit here. I think he would be a great fit in this defense. And we'll talk a little bit about how

the shape of this defense is going to look in a few moments. But when it comes to Clowney, and you mentioned maybe they do get him on a one-year type deal, I don't want to put you on the hot seat here. But in terms of probability, what do you see as a possibility of that happening? Because my assessment is that the probability of that has been low, but you're pretty well connected to this team. What are you trying to see in terms of the landscape for Jadeveon in terms of what other teams might be interested and the likelihood that he does end up here in Foxborough? So he's so hard to predict.

And not just – part of it is everything that's going on right now, obviously. And the Patriots aren't the only team that's getting more cap space, and there's a number of teams now across the league who have to look at that money. And, you know, the Patriots aren't necessarily the number one Superbowl contender like they usually are. Maybe a team like the Kansas City Chiefs who finds themselves with some money. They just had an opt-out or a team like the San Francisco 49ers who,

you know, they're all in on the defense. A team that's finding money wants to make a run at Clowney that previously couldn't who's fine kind of sacrificing next year's money to build a more competitive team this year you might find a team that's willing to do that the other reason it's tricky is normally we can say at this time of year if a guy's still unsigned oh he's getting desperate oh his price has to come down he's got to find a place to play. Jadamian Clowney's not a big fan of training camp. He never has been. He didn't report until later last year. So he might not necessarily be as alarmed as another player would being unsigned as teams start heading to the facility. He might be sitting back and saying, this is fine. I'm still going to get paid, and I don't have to go to training camp. Let's not call him lazy or anything, right? Michael Bennett was a great player. He always tended to skip practices, but he views this time of year differently than other players.

So it's hard to throw that desperation card out there. If anything good for him, it's a bargaining chip. He doesn't feel like he needs to be in training camp and he can still get paid. So you don't know how far down his price is coming. You think it would come down because it's later on in the season than it usually is for free agents. You think it would come down because of the pandemic. Those things might not necessarily be true.

So it gets a little bit trickier. He still may be looking for long-term deal. He still may be looking to get paid like an elite pass rusher was before the pandemic. I don't think these are the, those things are still realistic. He may think they are. So it's just a very tough situation to gauge. But again, you can get them in here on a one-year deal. If you can get them in here for eight to 10, maybe even 12,

if you can read, maybe if you get a second year team option in there, $12 million, I don't think that's the worst idea. If you use the years of recruiting year and try to get him back on a long-term deal next year because he's young he's i believe i'm driving i can't look it up i believe he's like 26 27 like he's not one of these guys like in their 30s and chasing the last big contract he's a guy you're you're comfortable with you'd be comfortable with paying for three or four maybe even five years yeah i think you're absolutely onto something when it comes to Clowney. And I'm glad that you provided that insight because, again, this is something where we

can speculate all we want to. And again, I've been putting out a lot of information saying that I believe his asking price might be too high or that the logistics surrounding a one-year deal or a prove-it deal for him would be too complicated for the Patriots to even entertain. This is interesting. So, folks, keep a sharp eye. And, Alex, I thank you for that insight on Davey, on Kalani. I'm sorry, go ahead.

I'll add one more thing to that. I'll add one more thing to that. And people freak out all the time when I say this, but the Patriots are predictable, not in the way you think they are. Right? Everybody talks about Bill Belichick is the king of the unknown, and he likes to break the rules. You know what I mean by break the rules. Go off script, etc. But the realitybacks so when you look at the patterns Clowney fits

Clowney winds up exactly for the kind of thing they would usually go after now it's unknown times we're living in the time of COVID, of course, but based on what the Patriots have done in the past, if Clowney, if they can get Clowney to close to their number, it's not an unrealistic expectation. Now, can they get him close to the number? Who knows? If his number comes down, based on their track record, they should absolutely be in the conversation. Interesting, and good, good points. And again, folks, keep a very sharp eye on the situation. I will continue to do that. You know, Alex is going to continue to do that. And I'm glad that you made the point about Bill Belichick being predictably unpredictable. I think that's something that is not really a narrative that

is pushed further enough when it comes to Bill Belichick. There are patterns. I mean, it's not his fault. Yeah, it's not his fault. Yeah, absolutely. It's not his fault. If you do something for 20 years, there's going to be patterns. It's just the way it is. Right, absolutely. And look, Bill Belichick loves more than anybody

to be able to catch people off guard, on the field, off the field, wherever it may be. But there are tendencies to his predictability, to his behavior. And I think you're digging deeper on that. Well, let me just say, if you're doing something for 20 years and it's working, you're going to stick with it. Absolutely. I say that.

I say Bill Belichick is predictable. When people attack me, what do you mean he's predictable? You can't be predictable and win in the NFL, and he's the most unpredictable person in sports. No, if you really look, on the surface, yes, he's all over the place. If you really look, there are patterns. There are patterns, there are themes, et cetera, that are there. They work.

He goes back to them. It makes sense. Absolutely. Completely agreed. And that actually leads me very nicely into my next question. When you talk about being predictably unpredictable, everyone is predicting right now, and we talked about this just a few moments ago, that the Patriots will invest some of that capital in a veteran tight end presence.

And you mentioned the tight end position a little bit earlier. The hot name out there right now is Delaney Walker. And the Patriots do seem to have a glaring need for a veteran tight end to mentor the rookies that are on their staff, especially with Matt Lacoste opting out. As good as Gronk and Aaron were as rookies, they had the presence of a guy like Algie Crumpler. He was key in their development.

And I could see Walker being that guy, but there are other names that are emerging too. To be honest, Alex, I haven't really envisioned a scenario, and even lately I haven't, where the Patriots carry more than three tight ends this year. But my question is to you. Do you believe that this is a glaring need for the Patriots, as so many people are predicting? Or do you think they can possibly roll with guys like Ryan Izzo, Jake Burt, or even Rashad

Berry being the options behind Devin and Dalton? I guess my long-winded way of saying this is, how do you see them addressing the tight end position? Will it be a veteran, or will it be the guys they have in-house? I mean, I think they'll bring in a veteran. I don't think Delaney Walker is the guy. I'm not personally a big Delaney Walker fan. I've always thought he was a little overrated. I understand why he gets high praises, and I think some of that's tied to fantasy football. But if they sign him, I mean, that's fine. I would think, and I mentioned this earlier, this seems like a situation to me, Bill Belichick's going to wait and see who gets cut. And I think you see a tight end brought in at the end of August, not at the beginning, because the reality is if you're bringing in a veteran, it's a guy who can handle his fists. Obviously, he's going to need to learn the playbook and whatnot, but he's not a stranger to an NFL environment, an NFL locker room.

He's a guy you can kind of bring in and get going in the first couple of weeks of the season. So Walker does make some sense to me. I could see it. They do tend to like bigger tight ends, and Delaney Walker is a little bit height-wise on the smaller side. He's 6'2". If they're going to go that route, I don't know exactly what his health situation is but and

Evan Lazar floated this on Twitter the other day why not Dwayne Allen because this is a team that is going to have a heavy power run element in their offense likely and you're going to need a good blocking tight end to set the edge on read options which you'd think you're going to need a good blocking tight end to set the edge on read options, which you'd think you're going to run a lot of with Cam Newton, and Dwayne Allen's as good of a blocking tight end as the Patriots have had in a long time. The only guy comparable to him is Michael Williams, who was a tackle in college, so Delaney Walker is a fine blocker. He's not Dwayne Allen. I would look, if they're going to bring in a veteran tight end, you have two guys who can make plays with the ball in their hands. I'm looking at a guy later on in the process who can contribute more as a blocker than a pass catcher. And that's what Algie Crumpler was in 2010. They weren't throwing him

the ball four or five times a game. I think he caught 20-something passes that whole season. It might have been less. So I think they're good. I do think they'll look for a veteran. I think it will be later in the process. And I think it's not going to be a sexy name because it's going to be a blocking first tight end that they're going to go for to help set the edge in the power run game. Yeah, I agree with you 100% on that. Look, Delaney Walker was a name, and I even tweeted it out yesterday. I says, keep a sharp eye on this one, folks.

And initially, you start to realize that the Patriots are going to be looking for a player like that, someone with veteran leadership that can come in and mentor the young guys. But even though you said he's been a pretty good receiver, meaning Delaney Walker, he's been a pretty dependable blocker throughout his career, played just eight games since 2017, there is a reason why he's still out there on the market, folks. Durability is not really Delaney's strong suit the way it was with Crumpler. Crumpler was very, very much durable.

You could count on him going out there and being able to give you that type of reliability each and every game. We're seeing guys like Jarrell Adams, Jordan Reed come off the board. Obviously Baltimore signing Adams, the 49ers signing Jordan Reed. There was some question about health there as well. Dwayne Allen is a name that I think should be getting a little bit more consideration. You want to talk about a crumpler type player, I think he fits the mode a little bit more than a guy like Delaney Walker would.

He was their version of crumpler in 2017 and 2018, that run blocking specialist that we talked about. So in a lot of ways, I agree. I think teams right now that are flush with tight end talent that might see some cutdowns, Denver Broncos out there, they've got a very robust tight end depth chart. Houston Texans have a pretty good depth chart as well. You've got guys like Aikens and Fells and Thomas. I think the Bears still have like nine tight ends.

Yeah, the Bears, absolutely. I was just going to mention them. Very, very good point. They have a ton of talent and a ton of depth on that chart as well if they if they do bring somebody in early in camp i think it's it's a flyer and the guy's not a lock to make the team but to see what they have so i'll give you a name he got cut a month ago two months ago uh former harvard tight end ben broniker would be the guy if they sign he you threw out some names that reminded me of it. If they sign a tight end early in camp to see,

I think Ben Broniker could be a fit. Yeah, definitely interesting to keep an eye on, folks. And again, the Patriots, when it comes to filling slots, don't always go for the sexy name. Alex just said that. I completely agree with it. They go for the name that's going to be the best fit for what they're looking for. So even though the name may not light up in neon, it might not be David Njoku,

or it might not be a high-profile, big-name-type tight end. The name that they bring in could end up paying dividends for them, because I think the Patriots are pretty high on the two rookies that they have in camp, and I think there's a lot of reason to be excited about those guys, both Asi Asi and Keane. I look for big things out of them this year. I would say, too, because you mentioned that, you know, it's not going to be a big-time name, something the Patriots have been really good at. And I'm not blaming casual fans for having trouble with this,

but it's something we see a lot in football. And part of it's because of fantasy. We see it a lot in football. You'd rather the Patriots sign a guy who's decent now than who was great three years ago. Delaney Walker was great three years ago. Jordan Reed was great three years ago. Those guys haven't done anything in a long time. You'd rather take the shot on the unknown, younger guy who could be something now,

because the Patriots have tremendous success with those guys all over the football field. Guys like Kyle Van Noy, he's the big one that sticks out in my mind, but you can name a number of others that have guys like Rex Burkhead. Those are the guys you want the Patriots to go at because those are the guys that Bill Belichick has success with. The guy who was good three years ago and is trying to get a last shot at the NFL, they bring camp every year, mostly a wide receiver, and they never sniff the team. Guys like Malcolm Jenkins, not Malcolm Jenkins, the wide receiver. Yeah, Michael Jenkins.

Guys like Torrey Holt. Guys like Kenny Britt. That, to me, that's the category Delaney Walker is in. That's the category Jordan Reed's in. Those guys tend to not work out here because they're trying to just kind of get that one big, get to the end of their career. You want the young guy who's trying to hang on and make an NFL career for himself. Those aren't the names you're going to know, but those are going to be the better options.

I know it's not his fault, but you've got to kind of trust it. That's where the value is going to be had. Yeah, without question. No question about that. I couldn't think of his name. to be had. Yeah, without question. No question about that. I couldn't think of his name, Eric Decker. Yeah, absolutely. You know, these guys that come in, try to take a training camp flyer, a lot of times it doesn't work out, more often than not, with players like that.

Sometimes you do catch a diamond in the rough, and who knows? Maybe the Patriots will employ that, but I agree. I think it will be probably later in the training camp process, and we'll see what the Patriots have in store. Well, Bud, we've talked a lot about Patriots players that might be on the field and potential new Patriots that might come into the fold, but the success of this team is going to be determined by who is on the field. And, folks, in just one moment, I will ask Alex Barth about the shape of the Patriots

on both sides of the ball. Will the defense continue to be the unquestioned strength of this team, or will Cam Newton make this offense tons of fun to watch? We tackle these very subjects when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Patriots fans, once again, I am joined by Alex Barth of 98.5thesportstub.com. And Alex, the old adage is that defense wins championships and the patriots defense was an elite unit in 2019 they were either at or near the top of the league on virtually almost every week that you saw rankings come out there's a still a ton of talent on defending the

ball in new england but they've been hit pretty hard by losses several times here on the pod i've talked about the departures of guys like Kyle Vannoy and Landon Roberts, Jamie Collins. Now Patrick Chung and Dante Hightower are going to be absent via their decision to opt out. This has led a lot of people, myself included, to entertain the notion that the Patriots might adjust their defensive base this year. They might look at more of a 4-3 set as opposed to a 3-4, which they ran a lot

during the 2019 season. I think it could help guys like Chase Winovich, John Simon, even guys like Dietrich Wise, or maybe even an undrafted rookie free agent like Nick Coe to come in and the Patriots can accommodate to their personnel. In this situation, Alex, do you think that a change like this is going to be necessary, or do you think the Patriots can ride the strength of their secondary that's still very formidable to keep the schemes in the front seven a little more fluid? I think they can still use multiple fronts. The biggest issue for me with losing those two guys is communication. I mean, you just lose so much.

You lose so much experience, so much veteran football knowledge guys who've just seen and done it all and they can get ahead of play calls and kind of know what they have a feel of what's coming when you lose that and you have such a young defense now all of a sudden especially at the linebacker position they are so young a linebacker it's almost all first and second year guys and then juwan bentley who is essentially a second year guy because he missed most his first year with that he was a pectoral injury shoulder injury something they're just i part of why they were so good last year is they were always in the right place at the right time that amoeba defense right the fact that guys could be moving around and snap the ball

and still get themselves in position and that was was such a lethal weapon. They can't do that without Donta Hightower and Patrick Chung, especially Hightower, but Chung as well, because they just don't have that veteran communicator on the field. They still have Devin McCourty, but that's one third of what you have, right? Those are the three guys to me that are making that defense run pre-snap. If Hightower, McCourty, and Chung, you lose two thirds of that, that's a lot for Devin McCourty to take on. He's going to do a good job, so I don't doubt that.

Devin's a terrific player, and it all starts in his head. But one guy's only going to do so much doing the job that he used to be three players. That's just the reality of it. Devin's great. He can only do – he has limits. Everybody has limits. The best have limits. So when you look at that, and on top of that,

NFL offenses are getting more dynamic. Pre-stat placement is as important as ever. That to me is where I'm worried. I think that, you know, Hightower is a tough guy to replace X's and O's. Chung is a tough guy to replace X's and O's. They should have the personnel for Chung. Adrian Phillips was a great under-the-radar signing. If Kyle Duggar pans out, he could be in the neighborhood of being somebody who can take some of Chung's snap. Hightower's a little tougher. Everybody likes Jawan Bentley. He's shown us a lot of promising things, but Donta Hightower's an elite,

elite player. But I'm more worried about how they're going to replace what they're losing before the ball is snapped as opposed to after. Yeah, great point. And a point, again, that I don't think a lot of people are really putting a whole lot of stock in when it comes to either the casual fan or maybe even some of the narratives surrounding this team. The communication that you lose in leaders like Dante Hightower, like Patrick Chung, is something that can't be quantified on the football field in terms of just raw stats. It's something that you're going to see.

You'll feel it. The stats will wear it out. There's no question about that. But there's different complexities to the way defense is set up. Like you said, the pre-snap sets is where they're going to miss these guys directing traffic, telling people where to go, keeping themselves in a mode that allows them to be able to make plays and be in the right place at the right time. That's such a hallmark of a Bill Belichick defense. So again, Alex, great things to keep an eye on for the upcoming season, especially when

it comes to the defense and the impact that losses like this are going to have. I do agree with you. They did have some additions this year. I'm very high on Adrian Phillips. When I covered the Chargers a couple of years ago, he was a guy that I always enjoyed watching. And the fact that the Patriots have him in the fold now is something that I feel is going to be a big asset for them. He's so versatile when it comes to his abilities to either line up in that hybrid linebacker position, a lineup at the safety position. We all know about his special teams prowess, one of the better players in the league. This is a guy I even saw line up on the defensive line a few times when the Chargers needed some extra firepower up there or they needed a little bit of a different look.

Phillips can do it all, so I like his addition. I think his presence is going to elevate the game of a guy like Kyle Duggar, and that could lead to some big things too. Duggar's still a rookie, but he does have a pretty quick learning curve. So I think they'll be okay, but it's going to be difficult to replace the leadership those guys bring. And that leads me into my last question for you today, Bud, and that is on the offensive side of the ball.

Alex, the time is coming soon when we're about to get our first look at Cam Newton on the Patriots' practice field. Now, normally all eyes would be on preseason games and to see his fit in this offense, but without a preseason slate this year, it's going to be harder to evaluate the extent of Cam's impact on the Patriots offensive strategy until we see live game settings. I had been and still remain pretty confident that Jarrett Stidham was capable of being a solid NFL quarterback, even a decent starter for the team this year. But Cam is motivated in a way that is clearly visible to me and most Patriots fans and media out there. Because of that, I just can't see him losing this quarterback battle. There's too much talent,

too much experience there. First, what's your assessment of the Patriots quarterback position as we head into 2020? And do you believe that camp will have a significant impact on this offense this year, maybe even elevating it to levels we haven't seen before and also his impact on the team itself? Yeah, my biggest question about the quarterback position is why they signed Brian Lewerke instead of Jamar Smith, honestly. Yeah, that was a head scratcher. In terms of Cam, I mean, they're in good shape. You know, they kind of can't lose. Either Cam's good and that's fun and you get a winning year and then a comp pick.

Cam's not good and you bench him and Stidham plays well and you have your quarterback of the future. Or they both stink and you get a top 10 pick and you go him and stidham plays well and you have your quarterback of the future or they both stink and you get a top 10 pick and you go out and get the next guy so it could go a number of different ways obviously you don't want to see them in a position where they're going to get a top 10 pick but it's certainly possible i think they'll do all right i'm interested to see cam with josh mcdaniels the conjecture has been for years that he wants to run a more modern sort of offense, and Cam gives them certainly the option to do that if he is healthy. I don't know about

levels we've never seen before. I think it's all going to look very different. It's going to look very foreign to Patriots fans. Again, you're talking about an offense that numerous times led the league in scoring. I don't know that they're there. They still have a number of questions at the wide receiver position. They're very thin there. The running back position could be very hit or miss. We talked about tight ends. So what's around Cam is the question.

The offensive line, too, losing Marcus Cannon. Like everything else on the offense is a question. Cam's certainly a guy who's been able to elevate talent around him. Save Greg Olson, that 2015 Panthers offense was not a good one. And he took them to the Super Bowl. So he has experience doing things like this before. That, to me, is huge and something that hasn't been talked about. Cam Newton is one of few quarterbacks who has been able to win without help

around him. And he's going to have an opportunity to do that again in New England. Can he do it? We'll see. That was five years ago. Five years is an eternity in the NFL. That's a great point. It's not unheard of.

So I'm optimistic. I am more high on the signing now than I was when they first signed him. At that point, I kind of thought, oh, you're taking a flyer on a guy who's been banged up and he's a bit older and feels like he's towards the end of his career. He just got cut by the team that took him first overall. There's a lot of red flags there, but there really is nothing to lose, and the upside's so high that you have to sit back and enjoy it.

The big thing for me with Cam is how he works with Nikhil Harry. I think a lot of Nikhil's struggles last year were not his own fault. I think the coaching staff did not put him in a position to play to his strengths. If anything, they put him in spots that specifically targeted his weaknesses, which I thought was unfortunate. He reminds me a lot of Kelvin Benjamin when Kelvin Benjamin first came in the league, not like 270-pound Kelvin Benjamin on the Chiefs before he ate himself out of the league, but like early career Kelvin Benjamin, who wasn't bad. Like he was one of the better options on that Panthers team.

And Cam knows how to work with the receiver like that. Kevin Funchess is another guy, another comp. I think you could put out there probably a better one. So Cam has had wide receivers of Nikhil's prototype have success in that system. So I'm real interested to see how he works with Nikhil Harry. The other guy I'm really interested to see how he works with Nikhil Harry. The other guy I'm really interested to see how he works with is James White because we know what Christian McCaffrey did working with Cam Newton. I always thought James White is one of, if not the most underrated player in the NFL.

I don't think he's as good as McCaffrey. I think he's a lot closer than people think. Working with a guy like Cam Newton where the running back is a huge part of the passing game I think James White could potentially break out working with Cam Newton which could be really cool to see yeah this could be a big year for James White I'm glad that you mentioned that and the complexities of how he's been able to fit into this offense and now what having a guy like Cam Newton can do to elevate his game uh you talked about Nikhil Harry and the the other synergy there having that big type

of wide receiver that's able to go up and make contested catches, maybe even be sort of a little bit of a hybrid tight end. And I'm not saying that the Patriots are going to employ that, but he has the ability to make some of the catches or be able to at least be in position to make some of the catches that a guy like Rob Gronkowski made up here for a number of years. Different player, different comparison, not comparing the two, but there is an option there that does exist for Nikhil. And I think Cam is going to utilize Julian Edelman more people, more than people think he's going to. A lot of people looked at the signing of Cam Newton and said, oh, this is going to eliminate, you know, the ability for, you know, Julian to be effective

in the slot and it's going to lessen his ability. I don't think so. I think you take a look at what Cam Newton did with a guy like Steve Smith Sr. a few years ago in the slot when they were playing together down in Carolina, and good things can come as a result of that. You mentioned the supporting cast that the Patriots have. A lot of people are maligning the supporting cast, but when you take a look at it on paper, this might be one of the more talented supporting cast

that Cam Newton has played with throughout the course of his career. So if he can do something with these guys, it might be fun to watch. But all in all, folks, pump the brakes. Let's see what we have in the offense. Let's see what we have in the defense as well, and then reserve our judgment on what the 2020 Patriots may look like because so many comparisons are all over the spectrum. I think this year, for the first time in a long while,

those comparisons are wide open. So I think we'll know more when the season starts. And it just seems to be the footnote of what is 2020 when it comes to not only the Patriots, but also the NFL. Alex, what can I say? I thank you for taking the time out to join me today on Locked on Patriots. Your insight, primarily when it comes to the tight end position on Clowney, on Cam Newton, always spot on, folks, always razor sharp.

And that's why we keep asking him back. He's one of the best at what he does. Alex, before I let you go, my friend, please let our listeners know where they can find you, where they can always read your great work, and what you have coming up on the horizon. You can check myself out at 98.5thesportshub.com. Follow me on Twitter at RealAlexFarth. There is a roster projection actually coming very soon. I'm doing a joint one with Matt Dollop from 98.5.

We're just waiting until the off. We were going to release it Monday, but they pushed the off-that-window back, so we just want to wait until the off we were going to release it monday but they pushed the off that window back so we just want to wait until the off that window closes so we make sure that we got everybody uh on the roster that's going to be there we're not putting people on who won't be so keep an eye out for ross projection that'll be up by the end of the week for sure awesome and roster projections are always great you mentioned matt another great talented journalist that they have over at 98.5 The Sports Hub. Alex, again, thank you so much for taking the

time out today. Stay safe, stay well. Enjoy the rest of training camp, and as we progress into the season, we would love to have you back on Locked On Patriots shortly to discuss all of the roster comings and goings and what this roster may look like as we move toward 2020. Thanks again, my friend. Take care,

and we'll talk to you soon. Anytime, Mike. And so, folks, thus concludes our present and potential Patriots discussion on this Tuesday episode of Locked on Patriots. And I hope that you enjoyed listening to my discussion with Alex as much as I enjoyed speaking with him. Alex is always undaunted to share his opinions. And like I said in the opening of today's show, I consider his analysis as spot on as anyone out there in Patriots media.

As a result, I have no doubt that he gave you a lot to think about today, particularly when it comes to the Patriots' potential moves at tight end, and whether they might still be in the mix for Jadeveon Clowney. As I always like to say, keep a sharp eye, folks. As we approach Thursday's 4pm opt-out deadline, as well as keeping an eye on the cut wire for all the remaining 31 NFL teams, things could get very interesting when it comes to the roster-building activities of your New England Patriots. And right here on the pod, we will continue to bring you

the very latest news, notes, and analysis from Foxborough. So in order to ensure that you do not miss a single episode of Locked on Patriots, subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts. Follow us on Spotify.s, follow us on Spotify, download us wherever you get your podcasts. And don't forget, you can always listen to Locked On Patriots right on your very own smart device by simply asking it to play the latest episode of Locked On Patriots. Once again, I'm Mike DeBate. I thank Alex Barth for his time, his insight, and his appearance on today's pod. But most of all, I thank you all so much for

listening and for staying locked into Lockdown Patriots. Stay safe, stay well, continue to be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone.