Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - ‘Put Up or Shut Up’ - Cam Newton speaks on his upcoming 2021 season with the New England Patriots — 7/16/2021

Episode Date: July 16, 2021

The New England Patriots certainly have their questions at the quarterback position heading into 2021. However, incumbent Cam Newton seems determined to erase the negativity that resulted from a sub-par 2020 season. Joining host Mike D’Abate is Zac Blackerby, host of Locked On Auburn. The duo discuss Cam’s recent comments on ESPN Radio's Keyshawn, JWill & Zubin Show and why the upcoming season will be a ‘put up or shut up’ year for him with New England.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. You are now locked in to the Lockdown Patriots podcast. It is Friday, July 16th, 2021, and it's put up or shut up Friday 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. And folks, after listening to today's episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast, it's never

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Greetings and salutations, Patriots Nation. Thank football in Foxborough. It is Friday, and it's time to close out the week in style here on Locked On Patriots. And for the last few episodes, we've been doing some positional previews, taking a look at the depth chart and examining it from top to bottom. Whether it be the offensive line, defensive line, linebackers, safeties, we've been delving into some of those, and there is still plenty more to come. But today here on the pod, we're going to take a little bit of a break,

and we're calling it Put Up or Shut Up Friday. And I know a lot of you are probably rolling your eyes wondering, what does this mean? Well, earlier this week, quarterback Cam Newton appeared on ESPN Radio's Keyshawn, J. Will, and Zubin show. And Cam had a little message for all the doubters out there that think that he either might be washed up, not the quarterback he used to be, or essentially just keeping the spot warm for Mac Jones as he prepares to take the reins as the Patriots' starting quarterback. Cam understands all the criticism that surrounds him, and he's basically declared that this is a put-up-or-shut-up type of season in New England. His words exactly. And if Cam is aware of his struggles and all the criticism that comes along with it, you know he's doing everything he can to quell those criticisms.

Working with a quarterback coach, keeping himself in good condition, learning the playbook, the criticism that comes along with it, you know he's doing everything he can to quell those criticisms. Working with a quarterback coach, keeping himself in good condition, learning the playbook, and coming back stronger, healthier, and more determined in 2021 than he was in 2020. But does this mean that Cam is poised for a big year in Foxborough this year? Well, that really may be the ultimate question and determine how successful the Pats are going to be. We can all speculate as to how ready Cam Newton might be for the season, but our guest today here on Locked On Patriots is somewhat of a Cam Newton expert. He covered him back to his days at Auburn.

Yeah, that's right. Good friend of the program, one of your favorites, Zach Blackerby, host of the Locked On Auburn podcast, is here with me today. And Zach and I will be discussing Cam's latest comments on the KJZ show, what it means in terms of him being emotionally ready to lead the Patriots onto the field in 2021, and also what it means physically. What might Cam be doing to make sure that he's in peak physical condition and ensure that the entirety, or at least as close to it of a 2021 season,

are both fully healthy and productive. Pats fans, it is always a blast when Zach Blackerby joins me here on the hot seat. And in just a moment, the host of Locked On Auburn himself, Zach Blackerby, will join me on the hot seat to talk anything and everything Cam Newton right here on this Put Up or Shut Up Friday episode when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Locked On listeners, when it comes to repairing or maintaining your vehicle, why would you spend 30%, 50%, even 100% more for the exact same auto parts

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we have been taking a look at the positional depth charts that will continue next week here on the pod. But today, we're going to take a bit of a detour. And we're calling today Put Up or Shut Up Friday. And as most of you know, that means talking some Cam Newton. If Cam's the subject, then who better to speak with on this issue than a man that knows a thing or two about Auburn quarterbacks. My guest today is the managing editor of Auburn Wire of USA Today.

He is also the esteemed host of Locked On Auburn right here on the Locked On Podcast Network. It is my pleasure to once again be joined by Zach Blackerby. Zach, welcome back to Locked On Patriots, my friend. Mike, this is one of my favorite places to be. I listen to you all the time. And yeah, it's fun to talk a little Patriots action. I'm so glad that they have so many Auburn guys on the roster where I'm able to do this.

So always a pleasure to chat with you. Absolutely. You know, I know I tweeted out that meme right around draft time where Bama was all of a sudden becoming the new flavor of the month around here. There's still a lot of Auburn flavor left in that locker room. Cam Newton, Jarrett Stidham, Brandon King, Jonathan Jones, just a couple to name. You know, there's still a lot of that Auburn influence,

and we love it up here in New England, and we're definitely glad to have you here on the pod today to help us close out the week in style. And, you know, Zach, we talk about that Bama blast mixed in with the Auburn ingredients. That's especially true when it comes to the quarterback room in New England. Mack Jones of the Crimson Tide joining two former Auburn Tigers, Jarrett Stidham, Cam Newton.

We've talked a lot about quarterbacks in the last couple of years, especially with Cam and Jarrett coming aboard. As much as I still think that Stid the Kid's going to be in the mix for a spot on this roster, today we're bringing you here to close out the week in style and talk a little Cam Newton. After all, it's the story of the day. And Cam was recently a guest on espn

radio's kishan j will and zubin show and he referred to 2021 as quote unquote a put up or shut up year for him in new england now zach before we get into what that's going to mean on the field this season for cam you've had a lot of experience in observing him, researching his history. You know his motivations, his abilities. You know Cam in this sense as well as anyone in the media. So when you hear the words put up or shut up come from Cam Newton, what does that say to you and what should Patriots fans expect as a result? Well, we talked about this on the podcast.

I think it was like the one immediately after he signed with New England. as a result. Well, we talked about this on the podcast. I think it was like the one immediately after he signed with New England. I mean, just kind of a lot of the intangibles that Cam Newton has. I mean, he plays best when people are doubting him, when his back's against the wall, and maybe some people would complain that the deck is stacked against them. I think that's when Cam really decides to put it all together and says, hey, I'm fine being Cam versus the world kind of thing. And the storyline a year ago after he signed

and he was going into his first offseason, granted it was a weird offseason a year ago with COVID and how the NFL is handling all of this, you still kind of had similar storylines. I mean, the NFL had given up on Cam Newton, but it was this perfect marriage, this ideal marriage between Belichick and the Patriots and Cam Newton. You know, it's going to be another story yet again, where Belichick finds this guy that nobody wants to then, you know,

makes a potential MVP out of him. Well, we all know that's not really how it happens. And I think there's a lot of different scenarios as to why that didn't happen. He was playing well, then COVID happened, and he missed a few weeks. And then it didn't really look the same after that. Also, New England had a hard time staying healthy with a lot of key positions and key weapons on the offense. And it's just, just to put it bluntly, like it wasn't New England's year. And as you turn the page and you look at some of these things, it's like, okay, what caused New England to struggle at times last year? And it's like a lot of it comes down to quarterback play.

And it's like, okay, is Cam going to do better getting the ball out quicker? It's like, yeah, I think he will because he's going to know the offense better. And I think while the receiving core is not great where it currently is, I think Cam is going to be able to have enough of, you know, talent around him for him to rely on some of these guys. And I think he knows that. I think he understands that. And, you know, I'm sure he was excited about this offseason

where Belichick spent so much stinking money where, you know, they've got a totally different roster virtually on both sides of the football. So as far as him approaching this season, you know, put up or shut up, that's kind of the guy that Cam is because when the stakes are highest is when he performs the best. that's kind of the guy that Cam is because when the stakes are highest is when he performs the best. I mean, we saw it in his peak years in Carolina where they were a Superbowl contender, you know, during that three or four year stretch.

And of course we saw it at Auburn when, you know, he didn't have much of a defense and, you know, he's the only player on that offense to, you know, make it in the NFL for more than a season. But he willed them to a national championship, and he had one of the best college football seasons that anyone's ever had. And he did it on his own because he realized, you know, I just recently put something out on Auburn Wire where it was like I went

through Auburn's history against every SEC opponent and, like, who had the best individual rushing performance against, you know, every single SEC opponent. And Cam had the best one against Kentucky and had the best one against South Carolina. And those are games that Auburn should have lost in 2010. But when the game was on the line, Cam Newton just ran the ball, ran the ball, ran the ball until they scored

or ran the clock out, depending on which game we wanted to talk about. But that's who Cam is. And so I think this whole approach of put up or shut up is something that Patriot fans should be excited about because the motivated Cam Newton is something that you want on your side. I don't think there's any question about it. Yeah, absolutely. And I'm so glad that you mentioned examples and ways in which the fan base can actually take a look at what Cam Newton has been through and how he can use that as

motivational fuel to move forward and to correct whatever wrongs people perceive that happened in the 2020 season. And you've mentioned it. We've seen Cam come back from some adversity in the past. He's had injuries. He's been on the losing end of a Super Bowl with Carolina. He's no stranger to adversity. And last season, he did have to go through some adversity. And I'm not just referring to the skipped passes or some of the errant throws or things

of that nature. That's led a section of the fan base to insult his arm whenever they can and i think a lot of that has been um unfair and a little bit of has been undeserved some of it has been not a lot of it and cam's to me cam's adversity zach is really more coming into the organization late in the game not having much of a training camp, no preseason, the COVID diagnosis, just when it seemed like he was hitting his stride early on in the season. But Cam, you know Cam, but Zach, you know Cam's ability to come back from adversity as well as anyone. When it comes to turning the tide of what the fan base sees in Cam Newton, as opposed to

what they could see in the future, what are you looking for when it comes to Cam Newton from an attitude perspective right out of the gate in training camp? If he comes in doing this, this, and that because of what you've seen, what should fans be looking for body language-wise when it comes to Cam Newton and his ability to right the wrongs from 2020? Well, Cam definitely, I mean, he wears his emotions on his sleeves. And I think you can kind of take that in whatever way that you want. But Cam can go from being super dialed in and serious to, you know, running around playing

jokes on people in practice. That's just kind of who he is. It doesn't mean he's not taking it seriously. It's just, he's, I mean, he's an emotional leader and you've been able to hear that and really see that just by, you know, all the folks that he's played with. The Patriots locker room loves him. The Carolina locker room loved him. The Auburn locker room loved him. And he's a personable guy. He gets to know his teammates. And I think that's going to kind of be something that you see going into training camp. I mean, they've got a bunch of new receivers. He's got a bunch of new targets. And he's going to get to know all of these guys on a personal level just because that's the kind of guy that he is. And how he's going to approach practice, I think is going to be the same way.

I think when he's dialed in, zoned into what he's doing and has a very clear goal in mind, he wants to prove people wrong. He's going to be motivated. He's going to be the first one in, and he's going to be a guy that's going to be prepared. And Belichick's talked about that time and time again, how impressed he's been with Cam's preparation. But it was just things that he's going to have to work on that obviously were an issue last year. I mean, timing and being aware of where people are on the field as far as passing patterns. It's not that he didn't know it. It's just he's got to process it a little bit quicker. And we've seen that a million times across the league, across every level of football, the longer you're in an offensive scheme, the quicker, you know, you process things faster.

That's just how it is. I mean, you nailed it. No preseason, virtually no training camp, and he didn't really have any chemistry with any wide receivers. And it seems like whenever he found a guy, then they would get hurt, whether it was Edelman or whether it was Harry or Jacoby Myers. I mean, there were just so many different guys. It's like, okay, Cam's found his dude, and then something would happen.

So a lot of bad things or unlucky things happened to Cam and the Patriots last year, and I think you can look at a lot of them and be like, okay, I think they've kind of fixed that issue moving into 2021. Yeah, I'm so glad that you mentioned a little bit on mechanics because we're going to take a little bit of a deeper dive into the mechanics in just a moment here on the pod but i'm also glad that you mentioned uh the camaraderie that he has with his teammates and the locker room really being enamored with cam newton i had the good fortune to be the guest on a almost shameless podcast on fs1 with my good friend tanya ray fox who's a frequent guest here on Locked On Patriots. And we talked about who might take over as that vocal, kind of unassuming leader in the locker

room for the Patriots now that Julian Edelman has retired. And obviously, the usual suspects are going to be Matthew Slater. They're going to be Devin McCourty. And those guys lead by example. They are vocal as well, but they're also leaders by example. They've been with the organization their entire career. They're automatically going to command that type of respect. Dante Hightower, you can throw in that mix as well. But for someone that's able to raise the spirits of this team, I would definitely put that on Cam Newton.

And I would say he's more than capable of doing that simply because of the way that the fans, not notably some of the fans, but most of his teammates, his coaches, really respond to him. They really gravitate toward him. I always point to David Andrews handing Cam the football and wanting him to get the accolades, almost like a very symbolic passing of the torch, saying, you're our guy. Go ahead, spike this.

You deserve this. You're our guy now. You're our quarterback. And I think that really lent himself well to Cam being ingratiated into that locker room, especially after someone like Tom Brady being here for so long. It's almost impossible to think that you're going to be able to come in and command that type of respect right out of the gate. Cam Newton does it, and it's not just with what he does on the field, but it's the attitude and the camaraderie and the respect that he shows to his teammates that allow that same type of level in return. So I'll be looking for that

during training camp. I'll be looking for a lot of Cam's body language. Some choose to trivialize his levity that he brings to some of his teammates, dancing around, running around, playing jokes. A lot of people seem to have, you know, like a lot of affection towards that. Some it rubs the wrong way, but I have always been a proponent in that, and I think that's going to be good for the Patriots locker room this year so if he's doing that and he's completing passes and making plays in camp uh then I think we're in for a lot of fun this season maybe a little bit more fun than people are uh anticipating up here in New England and maybe even on a national sense buddy this always a blast talking quarterbacks with you especially when they've worn an Auburn

uniform and we've taken a look at the determination and the body language and the psyche of Cam Newton. But what about the man on the field? Well, we touched upon this a little bit, but we're going to get a scouting report of sorts from Zach in just a moment, folks. And if Cam's role ends up being that of a mentor this season, what kind of a mentor will he be to one Jared Stidham or possibly Mac Jones? All this with Zach Blackerby when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues.

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And Zach, the Patriots are set to report for training camp on July 27th. Cam Newton coming in early. He actually said on the recent podcast appearance that he'll be in camp on July 22nd. And as you can imagine, all eyes are going to be on the quarterbacks, especially Cam. And even though he's reporting early, saying all the right things, putting the right message out there, you know everybody's going to start saying right off the bat, what's the work that he's put in? Has he been in the playbook? Does he have a

better understanding um is his comfort what he says it is is he in good shape is that shoulder holding up okay how's the foot doing these are going to be the questions that are he's going to have to answer almost every single day whether in front of the cameras or whether it be from the fan base or on the twitterverse wherever cam. Cam knows this as well as anyone. In fact, some of these questions are things he mentioned during his appearance on the KJC podcast earlier this week. So from a logistical standpoint, Zach, what should Patriots fans and media be looking for from Cam during camp from a physical standpoint, from a skill set standpoint, to show that he's physically prepared to lead this team

this year? He looks fresh. You know, he's posted a lot of videos on Instagram and, you know, saying he's in the best shape that he's been in, you know, since, you know, the last several years. I think that's all good. I think you hear similar things from a lot of players every few years. I don't think that's an uncommon storyline for Cam Newton to kind of be putting out there. He's got to show it. I mean, you can post on Instagram that you're in shape all day long, but until you actually go out and, you know, you sustain that good high level of health, it doesn't really matter. And we saw, and I don't know if I actually jinxed him, but, I mean, several years ago, I mean,

he was used like a running back at Auburn, and then when he entered the game or entered the league at Carolina, they ran him a lot because they wanted him to run a similar style offense to what he did at Auburn to kind of ease him into the NFL game. And he did a great job making sure he was comfortable the first few seasons. And he got hit a ton. And he stayed pretty healthy through all of that and then a few years into his career all of a sudden it's like oh okay he had a hard time then staying healthy after that it's like that uh it finally all caught up to him so um you know i don't think we can know for sure how healthy he can be. I think he's going to go into camp healthy,

but how long can he stay fully healthy is a question. And, you know, there's just no way to really answer it. But as far as what Patriot fans should expect going into camp, it appears that right now in this moment he's in great shape. But what's going to happen when he gets sacked a few times and he steps into his throws and takes a few hits from a blitzer or something like that? Cam can say that he's going to be fine all he wants,

but you're going to have to show it to us. Absolutely. And showing it to you on the field, and I say figuratively you, folks, that's really all-encompassing within the fan base to me is going to be, I think, where Cam is going to stand out this year. I love what I see from his mechanics. He's been working with his quarterbacks, coaches, and the fact that Cam is aware of what everyone is saying about him and what the knock on him is, proverbially, from the fan base or from some of the members of the media, that tells me that he knows it.

Cam Newton has too much of a history of preparedness. Like you said, motivation, using negativity as a positive to try to harness something. I'm going to look for that. And to tell you the truth, we did see that in the final mini-camp practice that the team had. Struggled throughout the first couple of games. It looked like he was missing receivers, And Matt came in, was very accurate.

All of a sudden, you got the talk of the town coming. Oh, that's it. It's a limited time. Matt's ready to take over. And then in the final day, everything kind of clicked in. So now what we're going to look for in training camp is coming out right out of the gate, being sharp, being ready to take that. Cam, I think, is going to get the majority of the starting reps,

especially early on. And if that continues and he plays at a high level, then again, I think that Patriots fans are in for a much more fun season than maybe they had anticipated. So thank you for that insight because it's always that type of insight that we need. Ultimately, the attitude can be there, but if the physicality doesn't match it, it can be a long season. And I think this year we're going to see that

physicality from Cam Newton, you know, God willing and barring any type of any other injuries that are always the great equalizers. I'm pulling for the guy and I just, I hope that he's going to be able to do it. But that leads me quite nicely. I think another element of that, sorry to cut you off. I think another element as far sorry to cut you off I think another element as far as his usage and all of that I mean he's got a you know that one year extension I think the general feeling and you can correct me if I'm wrong here but this is the last year for Cam regardless of what he does and I'm kind of expecting them to use him more as a runner because he's so good at

that. And you don't have to worry if you're a coaching staff, you're the Patriots bad for cam, but you don't have to worry about long-term health anymore. So you're not worried about him. You know, if he takes, you know, if he has 10, 10 rushes in a game and, you know, he gets tackled pretty hard on seven of them or something like that I think it's going to change the way that they game plan and use Cam because you've got your planet quarterback for every year after this for the foreseeable future with Mac Jones so

that could help Cam in the short term it could lead to uh you know him missing some time due to injury but if you're the Patriots um I think you're okay with that in the sense of, all right, it's time to start the Mac Jones era in New England if that were to happen. Right. Absolutely. And I'm so glad that you mentioned that as well because it is the great equalizer in terms of health, but it can also work to your advantage. And if Cam is out there making runs, showing that he can incorporate the zone reads,

he can incorporate that RPO, things that the Patriots were hoping he was going to be able to bring to the table last year, I think it's going to be really a great opportunity for him to show what he can do on the field and maybe play with a little bit less fearlessness than he had to play with in 2020. But that leads me quite nicely into my final question for you today,

and that is that quarterbacks are competitive. We know that, maybe as much or more so than any other position in any other sport. We know Cam wants the starting job. I'm sure he doesn't want to lose it to Mac Jones. And at the very least for this season, he wants to remain the starter. But at the end of the day, football is a team game. And if Mac shows the ability to play at a higher level, if Cam has any type of struggle,

he may not have a choice but to take a backseat. Zach, you've been as much of a proponent of Cam as anybody. And my personal opinion is that Cam is going to play well enough to remain the starter, at least for this year. But when you look at this situation, what do you see as the 2021 ceiling for Cam Newton? And if he does have to be a mentor for Mac Jones sooner rather than later, what kind of a mentor will Cam Newton be? I am excited to see what happens with Cam the mentor,

because I think he's going to be a great one. I really do. I'm of the opinion that Cam will not start the full season for the Patriots. That's just kind of where I'm at with that. And I think Mac Jones will start a few games for New England, whether it's Cam missing time or if it's performance-based, I don't know. I just got a hunch that I think Mac is going to start a few games this year. And if that happens, I think Cam is all in and is ready to mentor a younger quarterback. I don't think he's going to be the kind of guy that's going to sit on the sidelines and mope because he's not in there.

I just don't see him as that kind of player. I think he gets a bad rap for being all about him because that's not really the case. He is definitely a team-first guy in regards to that. But as far as the ceiling for Cam Newton, I mean, in theory, the ceiling is everything clicks and he just rocks and rolls with his offense and he stays healthy. And a few of these, you know, free agent receivers really,

really step up and, you know, the security of having a tight end again. I mean, he's had a solid tight end every year that he's played high-level competitive football. At Auburn, he had Phillip Lutzenkirk, and then obviously he had Olsen at Carolina. Last year, he didn't really have anybody. It's all of a sudden, you know, the tied end for a security blanket. He's got Jonah Smith and Hunter Henry,

which I think is going to be huge for Cam. I definitely think you can make the argument that Cam is going to be able to put it all together if you want to look at it, you know, through, you know, the red and blue colored glasses. But I think the ceiling is, yeah, he puts it all together and he leads New England to another AFC East championship. I would hope so. And I think that's a situation where, you know, the Patriots right now are hoping for the same thing. Obviously, Buffalo Bills have a lot to say about that. But I tell you,

if this team can click on all cylinders, and I don't mean to get ahead of myself here, but if this team can click on all cylinders, I think they have as good a chance as anybody to be able to contend and also to be able to do some great things in the AFC East and even in the AFC as a whole this year. And I think a big part of that is going to be Cam Newton. We'll see exactly what's going to happen in terms of either Max starting a couple of games or Cam having to relent. I'm on the fence on this one. I'll be very, very honest with you because I'm thinking at this point that the Patriots ideally would love to see someone like, you know, Cam Newton start the entire season and really give

Mac a chance to learn. But at the same time, sometimes, you know, circumstances present themselves and you have to do it and you have to go with what works. So we'll see. We will see what happens. But the one thing that I can guarantee is that it's going to be a fun season to follow. It's going to be an interesting season for Patriots fans. A lot of upside, the potential to go either way in this season. I think the pendulum could swing both ways. So we'll see. We'll see what happens.

But I can't thank you enough for coming on, joining me here today on the pod, lending your wisdom and counsel, especially when it comes to Cam Newton, second to none in this department. Before I let you go today, Bud, please let everyone know where they can find you and your great work covering the Auburn Tigers. Yeah, yeah. All my written stuff is at auburnwire.com, part of the USA Today Network. And you can hear me every single day, Locked on Auburn, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, of course.

I drop every show 3 o'clock Central Time in the morning, so bright and early for you guys. And then, of course, you can follow everything on Twitter, at ZBlackerby. I always appreciate you coming on, man. Thank you so much for the invitation. Anytime, my friend. You always have a welcome and warm seat here on Locked On Patriots

whenever you want to come on. You are a part of the family here on Locked On Patriots, and you will continue to be. We look forward to talking ball with you again here sooner rather than later, but in the meantime, continue to stay safe, continue to stay well, and keep up the great work on Locked On Auburn with the Auburn Wire and in everything you do, buddy. Value you and appreciate you very much.

Hey, thank you so much, Mike. Go Paps. Just like that, Patriots Nation, we put a bow on the week that was here on the Locked On Patriots podcast, but there is still plenty more positional previews and training camp previews to come as the Patriots march toward opening training camp on July 28th. So to ensure that you do not miss a single second of the action,

download, subscribe to, and follow the Locked On Patriots podcast on platforms such as Spotify, the Odyssey app, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. Just make sure that you are staying locked in to Locked On Patriots. Once again, I am your host, Mike DeBate. I thank my good friend Zach Blackerby, host of the Locked On Auburn podcast, for his time, his insight, and his appearance on today's pod. But most of all, I thank you so much for listening

and for continuing to make Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Until next time, Foxborough faithful, stay safe, stay well, be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great weekend, everyone.