Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Recon and Roster Building: New England Patriots Look Ahead to the 2021 Regular Season — 8/30/2021

Episode Date: August 30, 2021

The New England Patriots 2021 preseason is now a thing of the past. Following two days of joint practices with their opponent earlier in the week, the Pats concluded the three-game exhibition slate with a 22-20 victory over the New York Giants at MetLIfe Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Joining host Mike D’Abate is fan-favorite Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy. The duo provide their thoughts on the Pats-Giants preseason tilt, as well as discuss the game’s impact on the impending roster adjustment deadline.  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.NorthOneWith NorthOne, you’ll never pay overdraft or NSF fees again, saving you hundreds of dollars per month. To get started, visit apply.northone.com/locked.RunYourPoolCheck ‘em out TODAY and get $10 off at RunYourPool.com and use promo code LockedOn at checkout. 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 into the Lockdown Patriots podcast. It is Monday, August 30th, 2021, and it also happens to be a Victory Monday 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. Pats fans, the Locked On NFL podcast is previewing every team and every division with the help

of Odyssey's lineup of NFL experts through September 8th. There are preview episodes on the feed that you can listen to right now. Follow Locked On NFL today on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Greetings and salutations, Patriots Nation, and thank you for kicking off your work week here with me today on Locked On Patriots. My name is Mike DeBate, and I cover your New England Patriots for Patriot Maven of Sports Illustrated. I'm also your host of the Locked On Patriots podcast, which of course is a proud part of

the Locked On Podcast Network 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, and feedback are always welcomed, very much encouraged. So share that feedback. Send it to the Internet by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at MDABATENFL.

And while you're out there doing some Monday meddling through that Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Lockdown Patriots account as well at L-O underscore Patriots. Folks, the Pats made it a perfect preseason slate. Three games, three victories, a 22-20 victory over the New York football Giants yesterday in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Cam Newton getting the start at quarterback. Mac Jones getting a majority of the reps in the second and third quarter. Started a little shaky. He rebounded nicely. Two great drives in the third quarter. Ramondre Stevenson, J.J. Taylor continue

to run the ball with efficiency, and that Patriots defense looks like it's going to be exciting to watch, especially in the pass rush. So the Pats now turn their attention to roster building, as the roster trimming deadline to get down to 53 players prior to the start of the 2021 season is this Thursday, August 31st, 4pm Eastern. And while the Patriots have their share of roster locks, there is also a lot of question marks. And luckily for us here on the pod today, we have the required green wisdom and counsel

to guide us through what we saw on the field yesterday in the Meadowlands and how it may translate to the Patriots' decision to cut the roster down by 4 p.m. on Tuesday. That's right. It is hashtag LockedOnMurfMonday. And my good green friend, the legendary Thomas Murphy, is back for his weekly appearance. We will discuss Murph's impressions on preseason game three, what it meant for the quarterback

position, the running back position, and what it meant for that Patriots revamped defense. We'll also talk about the process of building the roster, and who Murph and I may see as a surprise cut on the Patriots roster, and also who might be a surprise addition. Folks, an action-packed agenda. You will not want to miss this one. Always a happening when Murph joins us here on Locked On Murph Monday. So without much further ado, we'll talk Patriots preseason, roster building, and so much more

as I welcome Murph into the Lockdown Patriot Studios when this Monday episode of the pod continues. Lockdown listeners, North One is better banking for small business owners. In fact, serving small business owners is all they do. North One allows you to manage your money from anywhere, whether you're at home or on the go. Everything you need to manage your business finances is at your fingertips. Never step foot in a bank branch again. And in addition to the features you'd expect,

like mobile check deposit, cash withdrawals, the ability to send and receive ACH and wire payments, North One is an FDIC-insured account that can save you both time and money. North One integrates with the accounting software you already use, saving you hours of manual bookkeeping. And with North One's envelope feature, you can automatically budget and save for things like rent, payroll, taxes, and more. With North One, you'll never pay overdraft or NSF fees again, saving you hundreds of dollars per month.

To get started, visit apply.northone.com slash locked. That's apply.n-o-r-t-h-o-n-e dot com slash locked. North One, business banking made for America. Locked on listeners, it is that time of year again. All eyes are now turning to football as teams are back on the gridiron to start the football season. As always, BetOnline is your number one spot for all the pro and college football action this season. Get all the updated odds, props, and contests, including online's biggest half-million dollar NFL mega contest and the world's largest 200,000 NFL Survivor Contest open now at BetOnline.

Head to the website or use your mobile device to sign up today to receive your 100% welcome bonus. Be sure to take advantage of their opening day Super Promo. Make a bet on the Thursday, September 9th season opener between the Super Bowl champion Buccaneers and the Dallas Cowboys. And if you lose, your wager will be refunded up to $25 for new customers only when signing up and using the promo code NFL100. Lockdown listeners, BetOnline is the fastest and easiest way to bet on all of your favorite sports. From football, basketball, boxing, right to your favorite Vegas casino games, don't wait and take advantage of all

of the great offers available for the 2021 season. Don't forget that when you sign up for the first time, use the promo code LOCKEDON. Bet online, your online sportsbook experts. Patriots fans, once again, it is Victory Monday here on the pod, but because it's Monday, it's a little extra special. Yes, we will break down the Patriots' 22-20 victory over the New York football giants in the Meadowlands on Sunday. We'll also talk a little roster-building exercises.

But you guessed it, folks. It is also hashtag LockedOnMurfMonday, which means the man with the green wisdom and counsel is here and he is ready. The monster master of disaster, the green king of sting, the count of Murphy Fisto himself, the only guest here on Locked on Patriots with his very own branded hashtag, the legendary Thomas Murphy is back for his weekly appearance here on Locked on Patriots. Thank you for coming to me in friendship and and thank you for joining me today, Don Murph. Always a pleasure to be here with family, my friend.

Always a pleasure. How are we doing? Absolutely. You know, a man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man. And we prove that each and every week, my friend. We make Mondays fun. It's hashtag Locked On Murph Monday. We love it. The fans love it.

We're all ready to go. But the New England Patriots last night capped off a perfect preseason. Maybe not in terms of logistical play on the field, but in terms of their record 3-0 following two days of joint practices earlier this

week with the New York Giants. That's concluded the three-game exhibition slate with a 22-20 victory over the G-Men at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. So without further ado, my friend, I know you had your sharp eye glued to the screen just as we all did in Patriots Nation last night, taking a look at the Patriots and what you saw on the field. I guess the first question, obviously, Murph, all eyes on the quarterback position in the final preseason game. Really, it's been that way throughout the entire preseason, all throughout training camp. Bill Belichick has been noncommittal about naming a starter, but I don't know about you. When you see a quarterback like Cam Newton start all three preseason games,

it's kind of a good indicator as to what we're going to see moving forward as the Patriots progress toward naming a starter for the 2021 season. But bottom line, when you watch this game last night, what was your opinion of the quarterbacks? What impressed you and what might have given you maybe a little bit of concern heading into the 2021 season? Well, I mean, we've been saying since the get-go that Cam is going to be the starter here. There's no way that Bill is going to hand the reins to Mac Jones, even though Mac Jones throughout practice, throughout training camp, throughout each one of these preseason games has looked like the more polished, the more accomplished, and quite frankly, the more veteran quarterback on the field.

And he has been doing it with the second unit throughout. Cam is the only man that has run with the first unit. Mac did not get any run with them at all. Last night, what gave me pause once again was the fact that on Cam Newton's interception, while everybody was throwing out apologies, this and that, and the other thing about how great a play the DBs made on it and what a good pass it was, was the fact that Kendrick Bourne was wide open going down the left-hand side

of the field, and Cam missed him, didn't even see him. He locked in, and he made his pass and we had another interception. This was the problem that they had last year on many times, too many times that guys were wide open and Cam was just locked in on his second read or his first read. This does give me pause. I have switched camps. I do wish that Mac Jones was going to start week one because, quite frankly, in my opinion, he gives the Patriots the best chance to win. The other thing that I noticed that throughout all three preseason games,

not one RPO play was called, not a single one. I'm wondering why that's happened. This is definitely Cam's wheelhouse, if you will, and it's been ignored almost completely. I don't even remember seeing one in a practice or hearing anybody talking about any RPOs that were going on during training camp. Yeah, that's an interesting point and I'm glad that you brought that up about the RPO and about zone reads and calling run plays and things that would really tailor make this offense a little bit more for Cam's strengths. For all of the talk about the Patriots wanting to change their offense, I still, like you, have not seen any indication that they're looking to change their offense. I still, like you, have not seen any indication that they're looking to

change their philosophy from the type of offense they've run for quite a few years up here in New England now, which is based on pre-snap reads, picking up, processing the play quickly, making a quick throw, accurate throw, delivering it on time and only where the receiver can catch it. To me, I think that's exactly what we're seeing from the New England Patriots. I think Cam looks better suited to lead this team this year than he did last year in that role. But at the same time, Mac just seems to be a hand-in-glove fit. It's still Cam running this offense. It's not this offense geared around Cam because one, they know what

the future is. And two, I have no two. I really don't. If you're going to start Cam, you needed to run these plays and the Patriots haven't. Yeah. I mean, that's definitely a fair point. And again, I still think at the end of the day, Bill Belichick alluded to this this morning when we talked to him, you know, by a video conference that, you know, experience plays into, you know, the role a lot. There are a lot of factors that go into naming a starting quarterback. I agree with you. I think Cam will end up being the guy who starts under center at least week one, probably for the first few weeks of the season. But Mac Jones has definitely proven that he's waiting in the wings and capable of doing it, even struggling early on in Sunday night's game.

He responded well. Those first two drives coming out of halftime early on in the third quarter were methodical and very Patriot-like. And he proved that he can step on a dime and make some of those great throws that we need the quarterback to make. So ultimately, the Patriots are in a good position when it comes to quarterback play. I think Cam has been better. I do think he will be solid at least for the first couple of weeks, but if he does struggle at all, it is comforting to know that Mac Jones looks like he's ready to be able to

step in and make the throws and do the job leading this team, you know, at least for the foreseeable future and probably into the long-term future. I think the Pats are very happy with the investment they made with Mac. And I think it'll do him well to learn a little bit from Cam as well. So not switching gears so much on that, but staying on the offense, but moving away from the quarterback position. A lot of eyes were on a lot of different players last night. Murph, Christian Wilkerson, obviously, a couple of catches, 40-plus yards receiving.

He's trying to make his mark about going in and making a roster spot. I still don't know if it's quite enough, and I think the injury to Nikhil Harry makes that a little bit more problematic. But J.J. Taylor, I thought, looked great last night. I think he's playing as well as he can, playing his way onto this roster. On the defensive side of the ball, guys like Dietrich Wise coming up big, having a big game. Carl Davis continues to impress. There are a lot of guys on this squad right now that are making their argument. When you look at this roster as a whole last night, from what you saw

on the field on Sunday, who do you think helped make their case to make it very difficult to put them on the cutting room floor for Bill Belichick? Well, you talked about it right off the top, and it's J.J. Taylor. Even with Jones playing as well as he did, Taylor has been the standout to me this entire preseason. He came into training camp. He was like the fourth or fifth thought. We moved on from Sonny Michel because of how well these two have looked. It's really fantastic what J.J. Taylor has been able to do. I've dubbed him Ricochet Rabbit.

I love it. I love it. The kid just has all of the things that you want from a Patriots running back. He's somebody that will catch the ball out of the backfield. He's somebody that runs up in between the tackles. He gets to the outside. He's had 23 carries for 179 yards and a touchdown, and he's also caught 10 passes this preseason.

I think he's played himself onto this roster, and not only onto this roster, but into a significant role in the never-ending hydra that the Patriots running back group has become over the past eight or nine seasons. Bill has done this. He has many different running backs that do many different things. And when you find somebody that can do it all, you hang on to him.

And this kid is somebody that can do it all. Yeah, folks are talking about he's doing this against guys that are maybe not making the squad for the opponents, but I don't see it that way. And this kid sees the field so well. He follows a whole few people that I've seen this season in camp, and I'm looking forward to seeing him on the field week one absolutely I completely agree with you on Taylor and look there's a shiftiness and a swagger to the way this kid runs that really I think is independent of the competition or the opponents that he's going up against yes when you face top level defenses things are going to change a little bit and yes

he may not have the easy paths that he's had during the preseason, but at the same time, that does not take away from this kid's ability. And I really think they're onto something here with JJ Taylor. A couple of weeks ago when I did roster projections, I left Taylor off and he's made me look ridiculous and I'll be the first to admit it. I definitely am including him, spoiler alert, folks, in my latest 53-man roster prediction, and he's definitely earned his way on. It's not just because, oh, well, they traded Sonny Michel, they need another body at the position J.J. Taylor makes it. He has played his way onto this roster without any hesitation by me saying so, and I think he's done a tremendous job. And he looks to be someone that the Patriots can utilize as that change of pace back that they've coveted for quite a few years now. And I think, you know, that's no disrespect to Rex Burkett, who I think did an admirable job in that role. But Rex didn't see the field as much as the Patriots hoped he would. When he was in there, he was excellent. But you need to be available.

What did Bill Parcells say? The best ability is availability. Well, that's exactly what the case is, and hopefully J.J. will remain healthy, and I think he can be a great addition to the offense this year for this team. But before we go ahead and talk about roster building, I just wanted to take a few moments just to touch on the defense defense because we love to talk some defense here as well when you're here on the pod um a few uh standout performances from me last night on on defense definitely christian barmore looks like he is going to be a real problem uh if for other teams in this front seven he is tremendous showing an ability beyond his years that i think really is is very admirable uh when it comes to what he can do.

But you also look at guys like Dietrich Wise, who I think has stepped up huge on the defensive side and being a great addition or a great addition, a great upgrade on the edge positions, really I think giving you an opportunity to get after the passer a lot more. This pass rush looks to me like one of the more improved areas on the Patriots roster, whether it be Matt Judon or Kyle Van Noy coming back. They just look more comfortable.

When you look at this defense, Murph, do you believe that the Patriots have turned what was a liability last year into a true strength when it comes to their ability to rush the passer? Yeah, it does, and we talked about this last year into a true strength when it comes to their ability to rush the passer. Yeah, it does. And we talked about this last year. One of the facts that made the defensive backs look past rush is Ben kicked up to the point where Bill has almost foreseen the problems that we're seeing right now in the defensive backfield.

And they're not huge problems. They're problems that can be fixed. But this team can get after the passer in a way that it wasn't able to do last year. Uche, Matthew Judon both had fantastic preseasons. Once they get let loose, that's going to be fantastic to watch. Ronnie Perkins has been everything that I expected, at least, coming into this season. Like you said, Barrymore has really flashed

at times. What he's been able to do one-on-one against other teams has been really, really impressive. If he can learn to contain himself a little bit and just gets a tad bit better at stopping the run, this is going to be one hell of a front seven. In allowing that front seven to operate just as a unit in both getting after the passer and in stopping the run, it's going to let Bill be able to do a lot of things and cover up a lot of those issues that we've been talking about in the defensive backfield. Yeah, it truly will. And again, Barmore's addition to this team on a team that already has a good amount of savvy veterans into the mix when it comes to either the linebacker position or especially that defensive front, that D line, that's going to have that difficulty. It's quite obvious that they've upgraded in several areas and the linebacking core and the defensive line will definitely help when it comes to adding to what we hope to be will be a formidable secondary as well.

And that will lead me quite nicely into the next segment, my friend, because folks in just a moment, my good friend, the count of Murphy Fisto himself, and I will prognosticate on some roster cuts. After all, Tuesday's deadline, 4 p.m. Eastern to cut the rosters down to 53 men. Patriots and all NFL teams need to be in compliance. Who might raise an eyebrow? Who might catch a sharp eye as a surprise addition and a surprise cut. Murph and I will discuss this when this Monday episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues.

Locked On listeners, does this sound familiar? You've got one device that lets you catch the game live, another device that lets you stream your favorite shows, you're watching sports highlights on your phone, and you've got your neighbor's best friend's login for the good stuff. Well, I want to tell you about a simple way to get all that entertainment you love without the hassle, and a great way to finally get your TV together. It's called Direct TV Stream, and it brings your live TV and on-demand favorites together like never before,

so you can watch your favorite sports, movies, and shows all in one place. That means no more juggling remotes and no need to buy another device ever again. And the best part? There's no annual contract. So get rid of the clutter and the confusion and get your TV together with Direct TV Stream. You can learn more at directtv.com. That's D-I-R-E-C-T-V dot com. Compatible device required. Content varies by package.

Locked On listeners, Built Bar, the most delicious, healthy protein bar you've ever tried, has so many delicious flavors. There's something for everyone. And when you talk to a Built Bar fan, and I have, folks, believe me when I tell you, there are a lot of you out there. They are passionate about their favorites. If you don't know about the Bilt Bar flavors, well, you're missing out. But the best part of Bilt Bar is not even just the delicious flavors they provide.

It's the fact that in addition to them being delicious, they're also one of the most healthy treats available today. Each Bilt Bar has between 17 and 18 grams of protein, calories ranging from 130 to 180 calories per bar. Only 4 to 5 grams of sugar and only 4 to 5 grams of net carbs. Amazing flavors, all tasty and all healthy. Flavors like coconut, cherry barcia, love that name,

mint brownie, double chocolate, cookies and cream, and so much more. When you want a treat that's not only pleasing to your palate but also great for your health, don't delay. Do it today. Make Bilt Bar your go-to protein bar right now. Visit Bilt.com and use promo code LOCKED15

to get 15% off your next order. That's promo code LOCKED15 for 15% off at Bilt.com. Folks, the legendary Thomasphy joins me here today hashtag locked on murph monday to close out the 2021 preseason and start to look ahead toward the 2021 regular season and murph after the patriots completed the 2021 preseason, work begins almost immediately on trying to trim those rosters down to the 53-man set. And the Patriots have a wealth of talent on a lot of different areas on these depth charts this year, much different than the situation that they faced in 2020. So when you look at this team, I'm not going to fence you into either offense or defense, but when you look at this roster from top to bottom, is there someone that you look at that's going to make this roster that you believe may not be on most people's radar or someone that

you're proud to say, I've identified this guy as a potential diamond in the rough. He's going to make this roster. Have at it, my friend, the Florida Jets. Yeah, after a couple of years of injured reserve and practice squad time and just questions of where this man happens to be, because we're not sure. Yandy Kajust has made this team. He's definitely come off the bubble. We were all worried that, you know, we would never see him in a Patriots uniform playing significant snaps. He's now the swing tackle for this team. Absolutely. And I'm so glad that you mentioned Yodney's name. I will eat a little humble pie the last time that I did, again, a 53-man roster prediction. Yadni was somebody that I left off in really in favor of rookie Will Sherman, who I thought offered maybe a little bit more versatility on a straight position on the bench. But obviously, I mean, Yadni Kajust has definitely proven that he is that type of

player that the Patriots thought they were getting a couple of years ago. Injury is what's kept him off the field, folks. It hasn't been anything about him trying to learn the system or trying to get used to what the Patriots do. It's been all about his health. He looks healthy, he looks engaged, and he looks like he could be a very strong addition to the depth on this offensive line. So I completely agree with you there, and I love the choice of Yanni Kajust. The guy that I'm going to go with, and this has been maybe a little bit of an unpopular decision across the board. He was included in my 53-man roster, the most recent version, and that's linebacker Harvey Longy. I just believe that he has played his way onto this roster. One of the difficult cuts, and we're probably get into this in a moment.

I'm not going to tip my hand just yet, but I think Lange has been not only engaged when it comes to tackles, because we know that he's been always in on the tackle. That's just the way he plays the position. He's in a position to be able to make plays and get a nose for the, for the defense, for the, his, you know, opponent, his offensive counterpart. And he is, again, leading the Patriots in tackles on a regular basis. But the one thing that I've noticed is his nose for the football.

He's definitely increased that area of his game since the last time we've seen him here in New England. And we've seen the growth really, I think, grow each year while he was with the Jets. He's able to find his way around the ball, not just to identify who needs to be tackled, but also to make a play on the ball. And this is something that I think is going to endear him to Bill Belichick and the Patriots brain trust. I think he adds a level of versatility to that linebacking core.

And I love what he's able to do in coverage on special teams. So because of that, I think he's played his way onto this roster. And a lot of people may disagree, but I've been very impressed by what I've seen from Harvey Long. He almost went with Carl Davis on this, but I think Davis has played his way onto almost a roster lock situation. He's been one of the defensive standouts in camp, really proving his value within the system as that two gapping interior defensive lineman. So could go with Davis in this case, but I think Harvey Longy has done enough to play his way onto this roster and I'm pulling for him as well, especially with everything that he's been through in his personal life.

This would be a hell of a story to come back home and be able to make an impact on a very tough Patriots defense to crack. That being said, my friend, we do try to always end things on a positive note, but you know what? Yeah, we're going to have to end things maybe a little bit more negatively. And there are a lot of talented players that may find themselves on the outside looking in when it comes to final rosters being set in Foxborough. That's really true across the NFL, but the Patriots, again, have a wealth of talent at a lot of different positions. Murph, when it comes to this roster in 2021, who do you look at as someone that could potentially end up on the cutting room floor? Not necessarily someone that the Patriots are cutting with the intention of bringing back or someone that the Patriots are hoping to stash on the practice squad who might legitimately be on the outside looking in, or is there anybody

that fits that description? Do you think that maybe the Pats are making some of these cuts with the hope that they can work something out to keep the guys who are deserving of roster spots around at least a little longer. Yeah, this is going to shock a few people, especially since I was very high on him coming here. I really like this man's game. It's just, it's a numbers thing. And I just cannot see with the depth that the Patriots have at this position and the fact that they're trying to get younger,

trying to maybe get the same kind of production for less money, it's Henry Anderson. I just don't see where he fits in this room with the amount of talent that's in it. I'm going to get hate mail over this. I'm going to get people asking, what the hell are you talking about, Murph? But Henry Anderson is definitely on the downside of the bubble right now. We saw it over the past two games.

He has been getting a ton of run late in games, and that's just something that makes me sigh in the way that I did, that he hasn't been there with the ones and being on the sidelines, just chatting it up with some of the other guys. The surprise cut for me on the defensive side of the ball is Henry Anderson yeah I think you'll find some people that are willing to agree with that I mean we saw last night just take a look at social media during that Sunday feed in the late part of the fourth quarter nearly everyone although I did refrain myself from doing this I'm quite proud of that actually but mostly everyone on the beat was very surprised to

see both henry anderson and chase winovich in there late now chase i think there's a different story there because yeah chase is someone who needs the reps he did not get a whole lot of reps i think he needed to get in order for someone of chase winovich's motor to get going you need to play him you need to rev that motor up and i think that's exactly what Bill Belichick was doing. So short of maybe Chase being on the trading block, which is probably a conversation for another day, I think that could be a possibility. I don't think it's jeopardizing his roster spot.

But look, Anderson is someone that I've been very complimentary of. And I continue to. And you should have been. Yeah. And I still do think he'll find a way to make this roster first. He's got three million guaranteed on his salary. It's going to be very tough for Bill Belichick to walk away from that unless the talent in the room just completely overwhelms him. And look, Bill will make that decision. He's not going to worry about leaving three million guaranteed on the table if he feels that putting someone on the roster like a Carl Davis over Henry Anderson or someone to that effect or maybe adding a Harvey

Longy and an Anthony Jennings back into the mix will allow him the better chance to win and succeed he'll do it but at the same time I do think that Anderson does offer some versatility you saw a little bit last night his ability to get around the defender, get after the quarterback, but also be able to stuff the run. So I, again, I can see your point and I think that you may have a valid one and I definitely don't disagree with it in terms of a logistical standpoint. Personally, I just happen to think that Anderson will get a roster spot. My difficult, my difficult cut was Anthony Jennings. And that is a difficult, that is a difficult cut for me. Anthony hasn't seen the field a whole lot. There probably is injury circumstances that have prevented him from

being out there. I do think that there's a possibility he may get rostered and then immediately placed on either up or IR or give him like a small stint to get back into playing the game playing shape. But there just there seems to be something a little bit odd about the way he's been utilized this offseason. Even before he started missing practices, you didn't see Anthony in as much on some of these drills as we've seen. And again, this is just my personal observation of the way I've noticed his handling as opposed to guys that have been in the mix when it comes to the linebacker position whether it be Usha or whether it be Chase Winovich, Ronnie Perkins, Arby Longy,

Juwan Bentley these are guys that I've seen in the mix a little bit more so obviously yeah Brandon King I think I think Brandon King a lot of people are looking at him as almost a necessary evil type cut. Not one anyone wants to make. But I don't think it's going to raise an eyebrow when you see him possibly on Cutting Room 4. Simply because they have a tremendous amount of specialists. And again, Cody Davis having the advantage of having guaranteed money on his deal makes him a little bit more secure than someone like Brandon King, who might be a little more expendable. And the time that he's missed, again, could be a factor there as well. But, yeah, I'm going to get some hate mail on that one, too, and leaving Anthony on the cutting room floor.

But that was a very difficult cut for me to make. Unpopular, I'm sure. But we'll continue to see what happens. It's so deep. It's so deep. It's so deep. It is. You're right. It really is.

And it could be, you know, Jennings could be the guy cut to keep somebody in a different position that some more depth is needed at. You know, nobody wants to see this happen. And, you know, just to back up, you up, I don't want to say backstep a little bit, but my comment with Anderson could be he is somebody that could be traded as well. Somebody could be looked at. And he is also somebody, like we said, along chase winovich that that could be moved um for uh lack you know building towards the future yeah absolutely and look there's a lot of depth on

defense all up and down the roster my colleague at sports illustrated burt greer hinted on his monday morning quarterback column that both akim spence and also montrevious adams might be on the trading block that the patriots may be looking to move them. So that way they don't have to keep them on the, on the, the cutting room floor. So anything and everything is possible in new England. And again, as we get closer to Tuesday's deadline, we'll continue to monitor that right here on locked on Patriots.

But, but what can I say? I always appreciate you coming in lending the wisdom, the counsel, like only you can. You are the Don here on Locked On Patriots, and we always pay tribute to the Don in the best way we possibly can by giving you your own hashtag and inviting you here to regale all of our listeners with your great wisdom and counsel. Folks, you should already be following this man. But for any of our new listeners, please follow my good friend, the Count of Murphy Fisto himself on Twitter at TeamMurph207.

Content that this man puts out on E2G Sports, folks, always point, click, learn material. You'll definitely want to check out his great Patriots coverage, but also some of the best MLB baseball coverage you will find anywhere in any walk of sports media. Please, by all means, I strongly encourage you to check it out. And of course, never miss an episode of One Patriot's Place with Murph, our great mutual friend Steve Malastrieri, and how could I forget, the Countess of Clas herself, Miss Claire Classey, Claire Cooper. Look forward to talking ball with you again next week, my friend. In the meantime, stay safe and well,

and always honored and humbled by your presence. Always a pleasure to be here, Michael. Always here whenever you need me. It's just comfort. It's just home. And I do this five days a week if you'd have me. It truly is. It really, really is just a great opportunity.

You always love to talk ball with great knowledgeable minds, but when two buddies can sit down and just, you know, shoot the breeze when it comes to Foxborough, you know, football, it's always a good thing. And especially when throwing a little roster building talk, it's always a lot of fun. So we'll definitely be able to talk next week and we'll already have our sharp eye fixated on Miami by then but in the meantime bud continue to stay safe and well and we look forward to

talking ball with you again here next week on Lockdown Patriots I'll be here and so Patriots fans one down but a lot of Patriots coverage still to come here this week on Lockdown Patriots 53-man roster analysis moves still to come here this week on Locked on Patriots. 53-man roster analysis, moves still to come, and so much more as we start to turn our sharp eye toward the Miami Dolphins and the season opener on Sunday, September 12th. 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, my name is Mike DeBate. I thank my good friend Thomas Murphy 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 tomorrow, Foxborough faithful, stay safe, stay well, be the change you wish to

see in the world. Have a great day, everyone.