Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Resurgence: Stefon Diggs Unleashes Explosive Performance | 1st QTR Grades

Starting point is 00:00:00 Stefan Diggs officially had his coming out party as a Patriot on Sunday against the Panthers. We start today's episode by breaking down his performance and tell you what it could mean for the rest of this season. This is Locked-on Patriots. You are Locked-on Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcasts network, your team every day. What's happening? I'm your host, Nick Cattles, born and raised in New England, been covering the Patriots for the past 16 years. I'm also the co-host of the Greg Bedard Patriots podcast with Nick Cattels and a sports talk show host veteran. Coming up, it's Report Card Day after the first quarter of the season.

Starting point is 00:00:47 We'll give you our grades for an offense that has surprised early. But before that, we've got our grades for a defense that has fallen short of expectations and a special teams unit that's had mixed results. But first, Stefan Diggs, difference maker, has officially arrived as a New England Patriot. We appreciate you joining the show, making us your first listening for being an everydayer. The Lockdown Patriots podcast is a proud part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team, every day. And today's episode is brought to by Fandul. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you'll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app.

Starting point is 00:01:27 Stefan Diggs, unequivocally, had his best game as a patriot against the Panthers on Sunday, had his biggest impact within the offense against the Panthers on Sunday. Six catches, 101 yards, for the first time he breaks 100 yards as a Patriot. And Stefan Diggs brought juice. He brought life to this passing game at the wide receiver position. Juice in life that we hadn't seen since Kishon Booty, week one, against the Raiders. Let's start with Stefan Diggs's versatility, because on Sunday, it shined. And we talked about this when the Patriots signed Stefan Diggs. We talked about it before camp,

Starting point is 00:02:10 during camp, all the way through up until the preseason and the final preseason game and right leading into week one against the Raiders. Stefan Diggs brings versatility to this offense. In Houston in 2024, he lined up in the slot. a bunch. That was pretty much his responsibility. But we know from his stops in Minnesota and Buffalo that he can also play on the outside towards the boundary as the X receiver. Now, that's not his best spot anymore because he's not as explosive as he used to be, but he can still play the position. He can still do those types of things that you need an X receiver to do. So he can play in the slot. He can play outside at the X, and he can play the position that the Patriots utilize

Starting point is 00:02:59 that wide receiver when they move that person around all over the place, and that's the Z. Stefan Diggs can play the slot, the X, and the Z. And we saw that play out on Sunday. And it's been playing out through the first month of this season. I mean, don't get it twisted. Some people look at Stefan Diggs on Sunday, and they try to tell you that he played in the slot more. He didn't. His slot usage was not. not up. It just wasn't. That's a fact. Now he played a more percentage of the snaps in week four than he had played before. That was a change. No doubt that was one of the changes. But the versatility, that's what Josh McDaniels is going to do. That's what Josh McDaniels always does within his

Starting point is 00:03:42 offense. He loves wide receivers that can move around. He loves that kind of versatility because you can exploit matchups. If you want to try to get Stefan Diggs on a line, backer or a safety, you can put him in the slot. If you want to get him against an outside corner that you don't think highly of, you can line him up at the X near the boundary. If you want to just use him as that chess piece and move them all over the place to confuse the defense, then you can do that by playing Stefan Diggs in the Z. And so the slot, the X, the Z, it doesn't matter.

Starting point is 00:04:18 Stefan Diggs, he's out there, he's playing all three. Now, what did matter on Sunday against the Panthers was not the slot usage. It was actually how the Patriots targeted Stefan Diggs. They targeted him downfield, and this was a tangible change from what was happening through the first three weeks. Evan Lazzar, Patriots.com, wrote the following. Stefan Diggs's average target depth increased from 6.9 yards in the first three games to 12. eight yards versus the Panthers, targeting him deeper down the field,

Starting point is 00:04:58 hoping that he can create some chunk plays. And you can do that in different ways. I don't think any of us would look at Stefan Diggs and call him a speedster. He's not a burner, especially after the ACL injury and surgery. He's not out there a clock and a four two, folks. It's just not his deal. But there's a lot of different ways if you target him down. field that he can hurt a defense and he can attack a defensive back.

Starting point is 00:05:25 And there's a number of things that you can do if you're Josh McDaniels within the scheme that can also scheme him open. The big play, the first big play of the day when Stefan Diggs runs that crossing route. What happens is you have Pop Douglas in the slot. You have Kyle Williams outside and those guys clear out that area. And Diggs comes across underneath. and runs that excellent route beats the corner chunk play that scheme that's route running he can also beat his man depending on who his man is and we saw that deep down the field back shoulder throw he got about a half a step he didn't completely roast the cornerback but he got about a half a step and then they were almost even as drake let the football go and drake may throws it down and digs again, it's the details in what he can do.

Starting point is 00:06:25 He understands. He reads the situation. He knows Drake May is throwing that football towards the sidelines where only he can get it. He's there for the back shoulder, chunk play, explosive play on fourth down. So there's different ways that you can utilize Stefan Diggs, get him open, and there's different ways that he's going to get open on his own. And given the circumstances, I've been patient with Stefan Diggs from the very beginning. I have said on this podcast and many other podcasts in shows that I've done over the past

Starting point is 00:06:57 four or five months, I have said this over and over and over again. Stefan Diggs, give them four to six games at least and see if that rust can get knocked off. Brandon Ayuk, who had an ACL surgery, is still not playing for the San Francisco 49ers, and he might not play for another month, if not month and a half. Just in the past 10 days, the Niners have come out and said that Brennan Ayuk is not close yet to returning. But here we are with Stefan Diggs already playing, already, ready to go, ready for week one, but give him some time because this recovery from the injury and surgery that

Starting point is 00:07:36 he had, especially given the fact that he's in his 30s, it's going to take some time. And I feel like we started to see the turn. Stefan Diggs started to turn that corner against the Panthers. And given the circumstances, 19 catches for 213 yards through the first four weeks, I'll take it. That's almost five catches a game. I will take that production given what he has gone through. And let's not just pay attention to the catches and the yards,

Starting point is 00:08:09 because Stefan Diggs, really from week one, has been a main component of, of this offense, and he has been a security blanket for Drake May. How many times have we seen Drake May go to Stefan Diggs on third down? How many times have we seen him go to Stefan Diggs on fourth down? I remember two instances right away. When he went to Stefan Diggs fourth down, third down, it's had to be five, six, seven times. Stefan Diggs has come through in the critical moments. He's made some big catches through the first month of this season already.

Starting point is 00:08:42 and he's got sure hands. And here's the best thing. When Stefan Diggs met with the media, he told the media that as far as comfort level goes within this offense, he's a five out of a ten. Now, could he be doing the old schick, wide receiver stick, of course? He could be underselling to overperform. Say, oh, yeah, it's just a five out of ten.

Starting point is 00:09:09 If he comes out says nine out of ten, then you say, well, he doesn't have much room to improve. right but there is something to be said about chemistry and i i mentioned this i think during the live post game on sunday after the win the biggest part of that fourth down play was the chemistry the fact that drake may trusted stephan digs downfield to throw that back shoulder and the fact that stephan digs had that chemistry with his quarterback to make sure that pass was completed that's the kind of chemistry that you build through the early portion of the season. Now, do I think that Stefan Diggs is going to be a consistent alpha? No, I don't think

Starting point is 00:09:47 Stefan Diggs is going to be, you know, forcing defenses to double him. He's not that type of receiver anymore. But do I think that Stefan Diggs could be a number two guy? 100% no doubt in my mind. And do I believe that if Stefan Diggs stays healthy, he will have an impact and continue to have an impact and at times have a significant impact for this offense? Yes, I do. I absolutely do. All right, it's time for Professor Cattels to give out grades for a defense that's fallen short of expectations. That's next on Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team, every day. Let's talk about Mazda.

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Starting point is 00:11:44 This is what we think this offense will end up doing because of what they have on paper. And we say on paper because you don't truly know what's going to happen until the games are actually played. I know. Crazy idea. And the defensive expectations for me, I thought this defense would be hovering around, let's say, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th in the league by the end of the year. chance to be in the top 10. Now, let's all be transparent about this. Let's be fair and say Christian Gonzalez, their best defensive player, missed the first three weeks.

Starting point is 00:12:22 That matters. There's no doubt that matters. Let's also acknowledge and appreciate the fact that Terrell Williams, who was supposed to be the defensive coordinator for this football team, was the defensive coordinator for what was it? One week? And now we found out that unfortunately Terrell Williams has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. And certainly we wish the best for him, thoughts, prayers. He is in the best place, best region to get treatment in the New England, Boston area. So let's hope Terrell Williams gets through this and we'll end up being just fine by the end of the year. And we can look forward to him being back in 2026 in the position that he was supposed to be holding this year.

Starting point is 00:13:07 But when you lose your defensive coordinator after week, one, for all intents and purposes, and your best player doesn't play the first three weeks, I do think it's fair to bring up those points. But still, you need more from this defense. And maybe the Pittsburgh Steelers second quarter, third quarter, maybe the Carolina Panthers, second quarter, third quarter, steps forward, progress. But we got to give the grades. We got to give the grades for what we have seen so far. That's how this works. So Professor Cattles is going to get to work. Let's get to work.

Starting point is 00:13:43 Defensive line, outside linebacker. Let's just look at the D line first. I'm actually going to give the defensive line a B plus. Without this defensive line playing at a high level, and they haven't consistently done it from like first quarter through the fourth quarter, but without this defensive line playing at a high level at times, I'm frightened by what this defense would have looked like through this first month. because most of the time when the defense shows up,

Starting point is 00:14:12 it's because that defensive line shows up. So I'm giving them a B-plus. I think Milton Williams and Christian Barmore have been good to really good. I thought Barmore was terrific on Sunday. Milton Williams has had his huge moments so far already through three weeks, made two or three impactful plays against the Panthers. Of course, finished the Miami game with that sack on Tuatunga Vialoa. So Williams and Barmore, pretty much as advertised, Harold Landry has had a great start.

Starting point is 00:14:43 Now he took a step back against the Panthers. It's one game, his first three games, more than make up for that. So Harold Landry so far has been a fine. Kalevon Chase on has been a mixed bag. He's had some pressures. He's made some plays against the run. He's given up some runs. And obviously, we still need to send Kalevon the memo of where he needs to line up on

Starting point is 00:15:06 the line of scrimmage so he stops getting off-sides called on him, which is inexcusable. He's been a mixed bag. I think Anthony Jennings, given his time, has been a mixed bag. Keon White has been a mixed bag. I thought Keon White took a step forward against Carolina. I thought he popped a little bit more in that game than he has in prior games this year. And, of course, he had to get through an illness as well, so we can't forget about that. but I thought Keon White gave you some hints of positivity in that Carolina game.

Starting point is 00:15:40 So overall defensive line, I'm giving you a B plus. This is where it gets pretty ugly. Inside linebacker, D, I don't know how you can give them anything higher than a D right now. I'll give credit to Robert Spillane because the last two games, I believe Spillane has been better, if not much better. The first two weeks, they were rough. You watch those games over again. And Robert Spillane is doing some things that just frankly left me incredulous watching. But he has been better the past two weeks.

Starting point is 00:16:18 He was better against the Steelers and he was better against the Panthers. So hopefully the funkiness within Robert Spillane's play is gone. And he's set to go for the rest of the season. So I will give credit to Robert Spelaine for the last. two games. I will also give some credit to Jack Gibbons. Now, has Gibbons been awesome? No. Has he been great? No. Has he been good? Maybe. Maybe. I thought he was pretty good against Pittsburgh. I thought he was okay against Carolina. That's about as far as I'll go. But comparing Jack Gibbons to Christian Ellis, Jack Gibbons could be considered one of the best linebackers of all time. Christian

Starting point is 00:17:01 Ellis has stunk out loud. There's no other way to say it. He's been bad. He's bad at the start of games. He's bad during the middle of the game. He's bad at the end of the game. And yes, he'll make one or two positive plays, but they are far outweighed by the three, four, five negative plays that he makes. It has not gotten much better at all for Christian Ellis. He has not been good this year. Marte Mapu, given spot duty, he's been meh. and I think the easiest way to describe the linebacker position right now is that I never thought I would be sitting here saying can't wait for Jalani Tavai to get back.

Starting point is 00:17:44 Maybe Jalani Tavai could give them a little bit more life. Maybe Jalani Tavai and Robert Spillane is the answer. We'll see. I don't think he's the answer in coverage, that's for sure. But I give the linebackers a D. Inside linebacker, D. Cornerbacks. D.

Starting point is 00:18:00 You might think that's a. tough grade. I don't. Too many flags on this secondary. Alex Austin, multiple flags. Carlton Davis, multiple flags. It feels like Carlton Davis gets two flags a week. And we know that he likes to play physical, but you can't be getting two flags thrown on you every single week if you're a cornerback. They've given up big plays. Now, the last couple of weeks, they've cleaned up the big plays. I think that's more about the lack of explosiveness in the Carolina and Pittsburgh offense. But we can't just forget about what happened the first two weeks.

Starting point is 00:18:34 This first quarter grade is about all four games, baby. And that Vegas game was an abomination. It wasn't good at all against Miami. So between the flags and the big plays, I think the safeties, Craig Woodson and Jalen Hawkins, they have been up and down. Kyle Dugger, when he's been given snaps, when he replaced Jalen Hawkins on Sunday,

Starting point is 00:18:57 Jalen Hawkins left that game with a hammy. I thought it was up and down from Kyle. Dougger. So the safety spot has been inconsistent. And you just hope that the Christian Gonzalez impact helps this entire secondary and gets them to where we thought they would be at, which is two mostly locked down corners on the outside, which will free up an awful lot of things for this defense. So I don't think, I said this last week, I do not think Christian Gonzalez is a magic elixir, but I do think he helps. I still think they have talent on that side of the football, and I hope that they

Starting point is 00:19:35 improve as time goes on. And I hope they look more like the second and third quarter versions against the Steelers and Panthers than the first and fourth quarter versions. Of course, the Panthers game, fourth quarter, garbage time, whatever. Special teams, I want to get to the offense in just a couple of minutes, but let me give my special teams grades here. I give special teams a B-plus. very tough start.

Starting point is 00:19:59 But I feel like they've settled in. Their return game has been good, if not great. Marcus Jones alone, fantastic against the Panthers. Antonio Gibson's kickoff return for a touchdown against Miami right after they gave up a punt return for a touchdown from the Dolphins. So the return game has been good. I'd give it about a B plus. Coverage has been good.

Starting point is 00:20:24 I'd give coverage aside for that, punt return. breakdown. I would give the coverage a solid B or so. In the kicking, I would give a C plus. Andy Boragallis off to a bad start, but he's making his extra points now consistently, and he's only missed one field goal this season. So I'm actually going to give Andy Boragallis a C plus. So special teams, I'll give him a B plus. Maybe you could slide it back to a B, but I feel like they're trending in the right direction. Offense, the offense is a rolling but there's a but some of the grades on that side of the football might actually surprise you that's next as we continue with today's episode of lockdown patriots part of the lockdown podcast

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Starting point is 00:23:22 I'm not going to be disingenuous. I'm going to be honest and objective when I give out my grades. That's what Professor Cattels is all about. So I'm going to start this discussion about the offense and the grades I'm going to give the offense with an obvious point. Competition does matter. And I think it would be disingenuous to not mention the competition that this Patriots offense has faced through the first four weeks. We talked about the first month or so being somewhat light. And the Vegas defense, Miami, Pittsburgh, Carolina, none of those defenses have been very good.

Starting point is 00:24:00 Carolina's defense was the best defense of Patriots had faced through the first four weeks, and they had multiple starters out, and they're not even that good. They got good cornerbacks. That's pretty much it. But we do, we do have to be fair to this offense because you can only play who's in front of you. You can only play the schedule. And inevitably, we grade on the work here. We grade on the work.

Starting point is 00:24:29 And this Patriots offense easily has exceeded my expectations to start this season. I had said multiple times before the season kicked off, I thought the ceiling of this Patriots offense, they'd get up to about 15th or 16th, right about smack dab in the middle of the league. And they've been better than that. they have been better than that, especially after week one. And, you know, week three with the turnovers just killed them.

Starting point is 00:24:58 But I digress. They have exceeded my expectations. So let's start with the offense and let's start with the guy. Let's start with the man Drake May. I'm going to give Drake May an A minus. Now, some of you might say, how not an A? How not an A plus? Well, again, we are grading the first four games.

Starting point is 00:25:17 So the second half against Vegas, that counts within our grade. The two Pittsburgh turnovers, that counts within our grade. But don't get it twisted. He's an A-minus. Drake May has mostly been great this year. He has looked comfortable in the new system. He has played with poison confidence for the most part. He has been taking the profits that we hoped that he would start taking.

Starting point is 00:25:40 He has been utilizing his legs, extending plays, staying as a thrower like he did to Hunter Henry on Sunday for that 31-yard touchdown pass that he threw. How many times has he scrambled to convert and move the chains? And he has brought those explosive plays to the offense. He has showed us some wild throws and some really good runs. And here's the key with less turnover worthy plays. And the numbers are bananas.

Starting point is 00:26:11 They are absolutely bananas. Kevin Cole posted the quarterback efficiency through week four. All the quarterbacks minimum of six. 60 dropbacks, EPA per play. Drake May is third in the NFL behind Jordan Love and Josh Allen. Rich Rybar, Lord Rebes on Twitter from Sharp Football. He posted the following before Monday Night Football's double header. Drake May on third downs, the best passer rating at 125.5.

Starting point is 00:26:42 The best completion rate at 80.6%. second, yards per attempt at 9.6. I mean, he's been great on third down. He's been really good on fourth down. Pro football focus posted. Drake May in his last three games. His adjusted completion rate is 84.9%. 84.9% adjusted completion rate.

Starting point is 00:27:11 788 yards, eight touchdowns, one interception. That's total yards, by the way. Eight touchdowns, one pick, a passer rating of over 125. And check this out. Jack Andrade, who is the manager, research at NFL Network and NFL media posted. Drake May has had a 75 plus completion percentage and thrown two plus touchdown passes in three consecutive games. The only player in NFL history with a longer streak within a single season is Tom Brady. He had a four-game streak for the Patriots.

Starting point is 00:27:45 in the first month of the season of his first MVP season in 2007. And you can look at the analytics. Drake May is crushing the analytical world, A-minus. Running back, I'm giving you a D. Some might think that's tough. Couldn't care less what some think. They deserve a D. The Pittsburgh nightmare alone sinks this grade.

Starting point is 00:28:11 But I think they've had missed opportunities. I think there have been some lanes that they've missed. they run into some piles instead of cutting back. Trayvion Henderson with the amount of flags that he has picked up. He had another one on Sunday when he messed up the past protection yet again, which has been a problem. Antonio Gibson had his fumble. So the running backs, I'm giving them a D.

Starting point is 00:28:37 They need to be much better. If the running backs could give this offense more, this offense could be even more devastating because they're just not getting a lot of run game. And a lot of that falls on the running backs. And I'll get into that a little bit more when I get to the offensive line. Wide receiver, I'm giving a C. Kisham Booty week one, really good. Stefan Diggs against Carolina, really good. What else? Pop Douglas and Kyle Williams have been MIA. Mack Hollins has been hit and miss. So the wide receiver position gets a C. Tight ends. Giving them an A. Hunter Henry has been everything.

Starting point is 00:29:15 that you would hope for. His impact has been tremendous in the passing game. He has been a consistent weapon for Drake May. He has trust from Drake May. He has made a number of impact catches, big catches, the touchdown catch, the catch on third down, down at the half yard line against Carolina on Sunday. And I think Austin Hooper is the perfect tight end too. You can sprinkle him into the passing game like the tight end screen when he takes it for 20 plus yards.

Starting point is 00:29:44 He's mostly been a really good. locker. So I'm giving the tight end spot an A, and I'm giving the offensive line of B plus. The pass protection, especially with two young guys on the left side and then Ben Brown filling in for Jared Wilson on Sunday. Pass protection on the left side and from Garrett Bradbury has far exceeded my expectations. Doug Kide posted the Patriots offensive line now ranks fourth in pro football focuses past blocking efficiency metric. They've allowed two sacks, seven hits, 26 hurries, and 153 snaps. My on-paced stats, eight and a half sacks given up, 30 quarterback hits.

Starting point is 00:30:30 So May is on pace to be contacted 38 and a half times between sacks and hits. He was contacted 113 times last season between rushes and dropback so you can add the rushes if you want to. even if you add the rushes, you get up to about, what, 50? He was contacted 130, 113 times last year. Yes, scheme helps. Yes, the level of competition helps, but still, there's no denying this offensive line has been better. And I'm not going to sit here and blame them solely for the run game.

Starting point is 00:31:03 They are seventh in the NFL and rushing yards before contact per rushing attempt. The running backs have had space. The problem is the Patriots running backs are 22nd in rushing yards over-expected. You know what their rushing yards over-expected is? Zero. They have not gotten a single yard over-expectation through the first month of the season. That's more of a running back problem. So B-plus for the offensive line.

Starting point is 00:31:32 All right, that wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots. Thank you for making us your first listen and for being an everydayer. Reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C Radio. Don't forget to throw a comment. in on the YouTube channel, hit that like button. Give us a thumbs up. Don't forget to subscribe pushing towards 7,000 subs. And for your second listen, get a double dose of the Lockdown NFL podcast.

Starting point is 00:31:52 You can find Tyler Rowland and Tony Wiggins there on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. Have a great day. And we will see you on the next episode for our Buffalo Bills crossover. Should be fun. Be well. Thank you.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Resurgence: Stefon Diggs Unleashes Explosive Performance | 1st QTR Grades

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