Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Return of the MidWeek Mailbag: Cam Newton, Tight Ends and Defense - 11/11/2020

Episode Date: November 11, 2020

Once again, it is time to open the Locked On Patriots MidWeek Mailbag. Today, host Mike D’Abate, addresses the questions from our listeners regarding the New England Patriots. Topics include: Cam Newton’s progress at quarterback, the Patriots new faces at the tight end position, the re-emergence of Chase Winovich in the Pats’ defense and the interior of the defensive line.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!EchelonRight now, you can try any Echelon Fitness equipment at home for 30 days. Go to EchelonFit.com/NFLAxonGet the TASER Pulse Plus, or TASER Strikelight, at Taser.com with promo code [NFL].Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON,” and you’ll get 20% off your next order.MyBookieINVEST IN YOUR INTUITION. USE PROMO CODE LOCKEDON AND DOUBLE YOUR FIRST DEPOSIT. NEW PLAYERS GET UP TO $1,000 IN FREE PLAY - DESIGNED TO ADD MORE EXCITEMENT TO THE SPORTS YOU LOVE AND THE GAMES YOU BET. YOUR WINNING SEASON BEGINS TODAY...ONLY AT MYBOOKIE!BuiltGoVisit BuiltGO.com and use promo code “LOCKED,” and you’ll get 20% off your next order. 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. And today we will open up the midweek mailbag 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. Lockdown Patriots is presented today by Pepsi, made for football watching. Thanks to a lack of natural athleticism or commitment or overbearing sports parents, fewer than 1% of 1% of 1% of people will ever play professional football.

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A happy hump day, and of course, a happy Veterans Day to all of you celebrating today. My name is Mike DeBate, your host of the Locked On Patriots podcast, which, of course, is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And folks, because it's your team every day, that means your questions, comments, and feedback are always welcomed and very much encouraged. Feel free to share that feedback anytime by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter That means your questions, comments, and feedback are always welcomed and very much encouraged. Feel free to share that feedback anytime by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-F-P-C. And while you're out there doing some Wednesday watching of that Twitterverse, please be sure

to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at L-O underscore Patriots. Folks, it's that time again here on Locked On Patriots. Time for me to open the midweek mailbag. Truly one of my favorite things to do here on Locked On Patriots. Time for me to open the midweek mailbag. Truly one of my favorite things to do here on Locked On Patriots. And once again, your questions will take center stage. Folks, you outdo yourself each and every time. Some amazing questions regarding Cam Newton's mechanics, the future of the Patriots' tight end position,

and even a couple of questions that allow me to break down the Patriots' defensive line play. So a lot to cover here today on the pod as we transition our attention from the New York Jets to the Baltimore Ravens in a Sunday night matchup that will be anything but easy. So sit tight, settle in, and we'll open up the Locked On Patriots midweek mailbag here in just a moment. First, the Patriots may not have been on the practice fields yesterday, but there was certainly a whole lot going on in Foxborough. Patriots announcing a flurry of roster moves,

headlined by the placement of tight end Dalton Keene on injured reserve. Dalton's IR placement was first reported by Field Yates of ESPN, and this was probably not much of a surprise to most of us. Dalton did not play Monday night against the New York Jets. We all saw him warming up on the MetLife Stadium field prior to the game. Apparently the knee was not in good enough shape for him to give it a go, and now he'll spend at least three weeks on injured reserve. That would seemingly leave the Patriots with only one healthy and active tight end in Ryan Izzo.

But fear not, the Patriots also made three corresponding roster moves that added a little depth at tight end. They were awarded and granted a temporary roster exemption for former Texans and Cardinals tight end Jordan Thomas. They also added both tight ends David Wells and Dylan Cantrell to the practice squad, and as luck would have it, we happen to have a question regarding the tight end position for the Patriots, and I'll address what Thomas' addition means, as well as a little more background on David Wells and Dylan Cantrell, a little bit later in today's podcast. The Patriots also jettisoned a couple of players on Monday, and one of them was a player I

really thought I could make a meme out of. I really thought this player could be this year's version of who made that man a gunner, and that is Cash Me Outside Malawiah. But unfortunately, the rookie linebacker who was a sixth-round selection this year in the draft out of Wyoming continuously saw his playing time diminish, even after what was described as a pretty strong training camp. But when he didn't take a single snap against the New York Jets on Monday night, out of Wyoming, continuously saw his playing time diminish, even after what was described as a pretty strong training camp, but when he didn't take a single snap against the New York Jets on Monday night, the handwriting was on the wall.

Cash has been placed on waivers, and if he clears, it is theoretically possible that he may come back as a member of the practice squad, so my dream of the meme may not be dead just yet, folks. The Patriots also waived defensive tackle Ryan Glasgow from the practice squad, and in the process, they also officially welcomed their two recent acquisitions, wide receiver Isaiah Ford and defensive tackle Isaiah Mack. They were officially added to the 53-man roster on Tuesday after clearing COVID-19 protocol. To make room for the two Isaiahs, both Ford and Mack, on the 53-man roster, Therese Hall at the linebacker position and Christian Wilkerson at the wide receiver position

reverted back to the practice squad. So a busy logistical day in Foxborough as New England prepares to host the Baltimore Ravens for an 8.20 p.m. matchup on Sunday at Gillette Stadium. And again, here today on Locked on Patriots, your insightful questions on the midweek mailbag will help prepare us for that matchup. We're talking Cam Newton, tight ends, and a little on the Patriots defense

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One of my favorite aspects of being the host of Locked on Patriots is getting a chance to open up the midweek mailbag and really find out what's on all of your minds in Patriots Nation. And once again this week, folks, you did not disappoint. Some amazing questions, very insightful, very relevant. And as I always do when I open up the midweek mailbag, I will do my very best to answer them completely and hopefully to your satisfaction. My heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you that took the time to submit a question for today's pod. As is usually the case, too many questions submitted to answer in the time

allotted, but rest assured, if you took the time to ask the question, I will certainly take time to answer it for you. So once again, thank you for being an amazing group of listeners and subscribers. You truly humble me with your support each and every day, and I could not be more honored to be even a small part of your daily Patriots coverage. That being said, let's dive right into the midweek mailbag, and we'll start today on the defensive side of the ball. Our first question comes from Patsman2020 at Patsman2020 on Twitter, and Patsman wants to know a little bit more about

Chase Winovich. And we all know from watching Monday night's game, Steve Balistrieri and I hit on this a little bit yesterday, we finally found Chase Winovich. After limited use for the past few games, Chase was used pretty extensively on Monday night. And whether he found his way back onto the field for strategic reasons, or if it was more by default, meaning that the Patriots just didn't have a whole lot of bodies to go around, Chase made his impact felt. On Monday night, he played the majority of his snaps as the outside linebacker alongside John Simon, and between the two of them, they used a rotational approach based on situation.

Now, there are all kinds of conspiracy theories out there as to why Chase wasn't on the field. Did he get into the Bill Belichick doghouse? Did he do something to upset the coach or the coaching staff? Or was it simply just situational strategy? Either way, Bill Belichick has chalked this up to game planning, which you may or may not believe. But the bottom line is, Chase was having issues defending against the run. After starting the season pretty hot, Chase was starting to get bullied off the ball at times because he was playing too high in his stance. That affected

his ability to defend the run, but it also affected his ability to get set and be an effective pass rusher. That's the true strength of Chase Winovich. Another reason why he probably didn't see the field as much is he was starting to play pretty undisciplined football. Just go back a couple of weeks against the 49ers, knocking Jimmy Garoppolo to the ground after Devin McCourty had intercepted Jimmy, and he had to take some yards off of his return as a result of that penalty. Things like that are not going to endear you to Bill Belichick. But on Monday night, even though Chase is more of a pure pass rusher, to me he looked like one of the team's best linebackers. He's still got some shortcomings as a run defender, no question about that. But on Monday night, he showed prowess in the pass rush,

and he definitely played a lot more disciplined and fundamentally sound. That's going to make the Patriots a lot more confident putting him on the field, even in defending the run. New England's had a lot of problems in that area this year, and putting your best and most natural athletes on the field give you the best opportunity. So yes, Pats man, I definitely see Chase Winovich getting more work. It also helps to take pressure off of the off-the-ball linebacker position. That's a position that's usually occupied by Juwan Bentley, who was out nursing an injury on Monday night. Before the game,

a lot of people thought, myself included, that Josh Uche and Anferty Jennings were going to play much bigger roles with Juwan Bentley out. Practice squatter Therese Hall actually took the majority of the snaps in the middle on Monday. And I've been getting a lot of internal questions about why. Why would the Patriots put a practice squatter out there when they have two supposed rookie studs at linebacker that really need the playing time? Well, the big difference is here, folks, is because Therese Hall is much more of a natural

Mike linebacker. And unlike the feed-me-the-ratings chatter out there on terrestrial radio up here in New England who won't tell you that, they'll just keep pushing the narrative of how Uche and Jennings are busts. They lost playing time to a practice squatter. Well, there's a good reason for that. That practice squatter, Therese Hall, has much more experience in being a Mike linebacker than the two rookies. That's why Hall took the lion's share of those snaps. Folks, for those of you that might not know, and it's okay if you don't, the Mike linebacker is essentially the middle linebacker. He's the quarterback of the defense. He's positioned in the middle of the defense, more or less, and generally lines up about three to five yards off the line of scrimmage

and covers the guard to the strong side of the offense by lining up over them. Again, this is a role that's usually designed for guys like Dante Hightower, Juwan Bentley, but the Patriots didn't have either one of those guys in the lineup. Uche and Jennings are still very good prospects, but they're still very young and they don't have experience calling the game from the linebacker position. That's why Therese Hall, who spent over a year on the Patriots roster on the practice squad, was a little bit more capable of doing that, and I think he actually stepped in and played a good game. How does this tie into Chase Winovich?

Well, having a natural Mike linebacker in the middle of the field can allow Chase more freedom in the field and help him to be able to rush the passer, but also to drop back and be able to defend the run and even defend the pass at times. So to bring your question back full circle, Patsman, yes, Chase Winovich will see more time on the field. I believe that'll only increase against Baltimore. Going to need as many athletic bodies against this offense as you can possibly find. And the fact that the Patriots now know that they have a roster of players that can step

in and at least do the job, I think that's going to help open things up for Chase, the linebacking core, and even the front seven, which I'll discuss in just a moment. But thank you very much for your question. Hope I was able to answer it to your satisfaction. And much thanks for your support. Our next question comes from Devin at AW77221. And Devin's question is, How big of an impact did Carl Davis have on Monday night?

And can we expect to see his presence help this Sunday versus the Ravens? Devin, this is an excellent question. And we all know from the Patriots' difficulty stopping the run this year, this is a position they needed help at, defensive tackle. Yesterday here on the pod when Steve Balistrieri joined me, I had mentioned the Patriots' lack of presence with the nose tackle position. I think that statement by me yesterday did Carl a disservice. The more film I watch on Monday night's game, the more I see how Carl Davis had a pretty

big impact on the Patriots' ability to defend the run. I think you're going to see a lot more of him on Sunday against a very potent Ravens running attack. And I'll get into Baltimore's running game in just a second. Now, a lot of people may say that the Patriots caught a little bit of a break on their run defense on Monday night. After all, Mekhi Becton, one of their star offensive linemen, left the game due to an injury.

The Jets were averaging 4.4 yards per rush in the first quarter with Becton in the lineup. Once he went out, dropped to 2.8. So it's really not much of a stretch to say that the Jets were a much better running team with Becton in the lineup. But some of that also comes from Carl Davis and the familiarity and the comfort level that he was getting playing at the nose tackle position. Traditionally, one of the best ways to attack the Patriots run defense is to run the outside zone. We've seen the Patriots fall victim to that so often against San Francisco, a little bit against Buffalo. They have difficulty

defending that, but when you have a true nose tackle in the lineup, folks, it automatically makes you that much more formidable to defend it. To me on Monday, Carl Davis showed the ability to hold up inside against the double team, and that actually allowed guys like Chase Winovich, who we just discussed, and other linebackers and edge rushers like Dietrich Wise, who was all over the field on Monday, it allows them the opportunity to flow freely to the ball. Davis' presence alone in the middle of that defense is not going to fix everything that's wrong with the Patriots' front seven. There's still some question marks, and I still think Baltimore's going to look to run the ball pretty heavily on Sunday night. But the fact that he's in the lineup will automatically help a run defense that needed all the help it could get just a couple of weeks ago. Couple that with the fact that hopefully Lawrence Guy may be able to return to his typical strong side role soon. Having a traditional nose tackle in the middle of that lineup is going to

make both Lawrence and Adam Butler that much better. We saw how well this unit can perform with a traditional nose tackle in the middle. Albeit, I'm not comparing Carl Davis to Danny Shelton last year. That was a pretty strong interior of the defensive line. No disrespect to Byron Coward, who was really kind of playing out of position when he was playing in the middle. I think he did the best he could, but now having a guy like Carl Davis definitely solidifies that. Another guy to

watch is Isaiah Mack, who the Patriots recently picked up on waivers from the Tennessee Titans. He's going to be participating in team practices this week, and to me it's going to be interesting when he finally gets inserted into game action, how he may be able to work in tandem with Carl Davis and form what has the chance to be a pretty good interior of the defensive line. Mack definitely brings some size to the position. He's 6'1", 299 pounds, should add depth at the very least to the interior, and at the end of the day, if nothing else, it's going to give Carl Davis a little competition in the middle of that defensive line. As for the Ravens on Sunday, Baltimore still has the edge over the Patriots' run defense.

There's no question about it. They're not quite the acela train that they were last year at running the football, but they're still one of the top teams in the league at doing it. They're not quite the acela train that they were last year at running the football, but they're still one of the top teams in the league at doing it. Over 170 yards per game, and Lamar Jackson is still proving that he can run the ball with the best of them. He leads the team with 469 rushing yards, averaging 5.9 yards on the ground. Mark Ingram is their feature back, but he's nursing an ankle injury that's kept him out of the last two games. Not quite sure if he's going to be able to go in this one. In his absence, Gus Edwards has done a fairly good job, and rookie J.K. Dobbins has actually done pretty well himself.

The Ravens love to employ a read-option attack, and that's something the Patriots, again, have had difficulty defending. Lawrence Guy is not a slam dunk to be able to go in this game. He's still nursing a number of injuries. As for Juwan Bentley, we're not completely sure if he'll be able to go in this one. Again, Therese Hall, Chase Winovich filling in at the linebacker position. These guys did a good job, but keep in mind, it was against the Jets, not the Ravens. I don't mean that as disrespect to the Jets, but there is a difference between these two

teams on the field. Even the most stark raving Jets fan would admit that. Because of that, the Patriots are going to need all the help they can get up front, and that's why I look for Carl Davis to play a significant role in the defense this Sunday, and maybe even Isaiah Mack finally getting the nod if he's able to do so. So Devin, thank you again for your great question. I hope I was able to answer it satisfactorily for you, and I really want to thank both you and Patsman for submitting questions on the defensive side of the ball.

When we open up the midweek mailbag, it's not often that I get to break down defensive line play, so I always enjoy doing that, and I thank you for all of your support of Locked On Patriots. But folks, fear not, because we're going to spend plenty of time talking about the unit that puts points on the board. Or at least that's their primary function, and that's the Patriots offense. Your questions on Cam Newton, the tight end position, and a quick update on when we might be able to expect Julian Edelman back. Midweek Mailbag here on the Locked On Patriots podcast continues in just a moment. Patriots fans, you've all heard the phrase, often imitated but never duplicated.

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And in the previous segment, we did a lot of talking about the defense. Well, now it's time to shift our focus to the offensive side of the ball. And the next question on our agenda today comes to us from the opposite side of the pond, jolly old England. And if it's coming from Great Britain, it's got to be coming from a great person. That's right folks, the classy lady herself, the UK correspondent for Patriots 4th and 2, the co-host of 2 Patriots Place with two good friends of this program, the Count of Murphy Fisto himself, Thomas Murphy, and my good friend, the resident voice of reason, Steve Balistrieri, along with being a special contributor and columnist extraordinaire for Full Press Patriots,

and last but certainly not least, an esteemed guest here on Locked On Patriots, not more than just a couple of weeks ago. Folks, that's right. This lady is accumulating more accolades and maybe even more nicknames and titles than our good friend Murph. She is Clazzy Claire, Claire L. Cooper. And Claire's question, big surprise. It's about the tight end position.

Gee, none of us saw that coming. Just kidding, Claire. But Claire's curiosity is not just her own. Another good friend of the program, Brit NFL, at Brit underscore NFL, also had a very similar question. Both Claire and Brit would like to know whether the Patriots have hit the quote-unquote crisis point when it comes to the tight end position. And again, as we said to open the show today, Dalton Keene has been placed on injured reserve, leaving the Patriots with really just one tight end with live in-game experience in a Patriots uniform,

and that's Ryan Izzo. Claire, I know I'm going to make you smile when I say this, but I'm one of the ones that believes Ryan Izzo has actually done a fairly good job this year. Yes, there have been some blocks. No, he hasn't been the prolific receiving tight end that everybody had hoped the Patriots would have this year, but he's been a pretty solid blocker, and I think the kid has done the absolute best he can do, seemingly every circumstance known to man working against him when it comes to succeeding at the tight end position for the New England Patriots so far this year. That being said, Ryan desperately needs some help, especially with both Devin Asiasi and

Dalton Keene on injured reserve. The new bodies that are coming in to be able to take some pressure off of Ryan might have the chance to be a bit productive, one more so than the others. And Claire, in your position, you specifically asked me about tight end Jordan Thomas that the Patriots just signed after he was waived by the Arizona Cardinals just a few days ago. In fact, just yesterday, the Patriots announced that they were granted a temporary roster exemption to put him on. I think Thomas has the chance to see the field sooner rather than later.

He's a former sixth round pick out of Mississippi State in the 2018 NFL draft. Got some good size, 6'5", 277 pounds, he's got 22 career receptions for 226 yards with five touchdowns, all in 25 career games. His most prolific season was as a rookie with the Houston Texans. He caught 20 passes for 215 yards with four touchdowns. And here's where the correlation to the Patriots comes in here, folks. He did so under former Texans head coach and expats offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien. Now, don't roll your eyes. I know Bill O'Brien didn't have a whole lot of success in Houston toward the last part of his career, but he was a fairly effective offensive coordinator and does know how to run the Patriots offense. The fact that Thomas is now coming in here to New England with a knowledge of a similar

offense puts him in a good position to be able to contribute and contribute sooner rather than later. He's got average speed. He ran the 40-yard dash in the 2018 NFL scouting combine at 4.74 seconds. A little fun fact for you here, Claire. The average four-yard dash time for a tight end is 4.70, so he's right on the line with that. The scouting report on Thomas says he has average hands, pretty good footwork, and can be a decent blocker in certain situations. Bottom line, he's not going to make anybody forget the number 87 anytime soon, but the Pats desperately needed help, and I like Thomas' upside, so to me, this was a shot worth taking, and I think it may pay off a little bit for New England.

But even with Thomas in the fold, that still only leaves the Patriots with two bona fide options at tight end. So they needed to dip into the practice squad a little bit to sign some bodies and have guys at the ready. And because of that, the Pats have two new practice squatters at the tight end position. David Wells. No, folks, not that David Wells. For those of you that are Red Sox and Yankees fans, you know exactly who I'm talking about. This is the NFL football tight end David Wells and also Dylan Cantrell. Much like Thomas, Cantrell was also a sixth round pick in 2018. He wound up being drafted by the Chargers. I do remember when the Chargers picked him up. I was covering the team at the time. He didn't appear in any games with Los Angeles as a rookie and spent the entirety of

2019 on injured reserve. He was released and then landed with the Cardinals this offseason and then was subsequently cut by Arizona at the start of the regular season. Wells, on the other hand, was also a rookie in 2018. He first landed with the Dallas Cowboys. He was cut at the end of training camp that year, wound up landing with the Kansas City Chiefs, and spent 2018 on the practice squad, and then 2019 on injured reserve. So neither Cantrell nor Wells come in with a whole lot of pedigree, but again, for a team that desperately needed help at a very depleted position, both Wells and Cantrell should come in here and be able to provide at least some relief for the Patriots who desperately needed

some bodies at the position. Bottom line, as of today, Ryan Izzo is still your tight end one. He's by far the best tight end you have on the roster. I think Jordan Thomas comes in, instantly becomes tight end two, and I think you're going to see Jakob Johnson at the fullback position. Jakob should get more looks at an H-back hybrid tight end type role, very similar to what we thought Dalton Keene was coming in here to play. But as much as I hate to tell you this, Claire, tight end is still a position of weakness with the Patriots. It's gotten stronger, it's gotten more populated. Let's see what Thomas can bring to the table, and I expect more of the same of what we've seen from Ryan again I think he's doing the best he can

he's just been put in a very difficult position so Claire, Britt thank you both very much for the great questions on the tight end position I hope I was able to help shed a little light on what the Patriots acquisitions might yield on the field and I thank you both for your continued support of Locked On Patriots

our next question comes to us from a great friend and a great supporter of Locked On Patriots, our man Joel from Hull, hyphen Pats number one, at Joel Shapiro 20. And Joel's question is one that's really, I think, on the minds of a lot of Patriots fans. And today he asks, do you find that Cam Newton gives up on plays too quickly, therefore electing to run instead of passing to a possible open receiver. Joel, at the end of the day, this might end up being the question of the day, so I thank you for asking it, because it gives me the opportunity to delve a lot deeper into the

analysis that's been going on regarding Cam Newton. I think for the most part, the Patriots' beat has been pretty good with their coverage of Cam and being able to balance between the good and the not-so-good. Two guys in particular that contributed to my analysis today that I really want to shout out are Evan Lazar of CLNS Media and my good friend and predecessor Mark Schofield of USA Today's Touchdown Wire. Based on some of their input, Joel, I was able to take a deeper dive. To answer your question, I think Cam has been guilty of that at times, but I don't think

it's an unfixable problem and I don't think it's indicative of what you're going to continue to see from Cam throughout the season. Of course, Joel, I know you love my godfather impression, so let me give you my reasons. Over the past couple of weeks, Cam has completed 42 out of 60 passes for 448 yards. Hasn't thrown a touchdown, but he hasn't thrown an interception either. Over that same span of time, Cam has also carried the football 19 times for 70 yards. So that does tell me that he is trying to balance his attack and not rely on one more than the other. On Monday night, I would say Cam had his best performance since Week 2.

Albeit in a loss against the Seahawks, Cam looked great in that game. On Monday, I saw a lot of very similar quarterback play. He posted his best QBR at 90.1 and his second best pro football focus grade of the season at 83.2. So how did that happen? Well, for starters, he handled the Jets' blitzes. He had much better timing with his throws. He utilized his body language, particularly his eyes, to manipulate and move coverage away from his intended targets, and that's something that Cam started to improve a couple of weeks ago against the Buffalo Bills, and you really saw him do a great job of that Monday night against the Jets. Prior to the Buffalo game, you're right, Joel. It looked like

there were times where he might have been giving up on plays, getting looks that he shouldn't have, short-arming passes, throwing into questionable coverage. This will all get you your share of criticism at the quarterback position by all the national pundits. Based on what I've seen since the Buffalo game, and especially on Monday night, Cam is definitely doing a better job at turning the corner, and I actually think those problems are behind him. And I saw a good deal of evidence of this in Monday night's game. Three plays in particular are a really good example of this. The first was pretty early in this game, when Cam hit Jacoby Myers for a 33-yard reception,

really used his eyes and his body language very well. If you go back and watch this play, you can see Cam slowly starting to move the deep safety in the middle of the field away from Jacoby Meyer's post-corner route. This created an open one-on-one route for Jacoby to be able to make the reception, the Jets essentially leaving their corner with no safety help over the top. I thought Cam did a great job here with using his eyes, his body language to deceive the Jets defenders, and as a result, both he and Jacoby were able to pretty easily hook up for a big-time gain. So that play made me feel a lot better about Cam's mechanics and his decision-making,

and I know he's been getting a lot of criticism for that. Another thing that he's been criticized pretty heavily for is his ability to get the ball out quickly. Several times here on Locked On Patriots, I, along with my guests, whether it be Murph or Steve Balistrieri or Mark Schofield, have talked about Cam's penchant to hold the ball a little bit too long. I'm cautious to say that he's completely cured of that because that has been a knock on Cam for the majority of his career, and I think at time to time you may still see him do that. But his 31-yard strike to Demir Bird in the fourth quarter helped me see exactly how efficient Cam can be when he gets rid of the

ball quickly. The Jets brought eight defenders at Cam off a play action, and the Patriots only had two receivers in the pattern, but Cam quickly recognized the pressure and had a very quick reaction to it. He quickly saw Demir Bird in a one-on-one matchup in a stop route along the sideline. Cam hits him for a 31-yard gain. This one had everything you want to see in an efficient pass play. Quick read, quick release, good route, good catch. Can't ask for anything more on that one. But not to be cliche here, Joel, but I think Cam really saved

his best for last. I thought this play in the fourth quarter was Cam's best blend of both solid decision making, great body mechanics, and getting the ball out of his hands fairly quickly. And it was the last pass that he threw, the 20-yard completion to Jacoby Myers, that ended up setting up the game-winning field goal for Nick Folk. Even Bill Belichick praised Cam for this play after the game and pointed out that Cam had moved the jet zone coverage with his eyes by staring down the left side of the field. Once the coverage started to react to Cam's cadence in the pocket,

he worked his way back to Myers on the deep dig with an excellent throw. That put the Patriots into questionable field goal range, and credit Nick Folk for the leg on that one. Gave the Patriots the win. Nick was named the special teams player of the week in the AFC, and well-deserved. But it was Cam Newton's throw and Jacoby Myers' reception that really set that up.

Again, on this one, Cam using sound mechanics, great body language, quick release, finding one of his new favorite targets in Jacoby Myers. And the more I watch these three plays, it makes me feel better about what we may see out of Cam Newton for the rest of the season. Does this put him in the thick of things for an MVP nomination? Absolutely not. First, he's long been since eclipsed by players like Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, who I believe is the frontrunner for MVP at this point, Aaron Rodgers is right in that discussion, but at the end of the day, and perhaps most importantly, he hasn't worked out all of his issues yet.

What this proved to me is that Cam can get better. I believe his mechanics will get better. His decision-making will continue to get better. And as a result, I don't think you're going to see him quote-unquote give up on plays anymore. Without any doubt in my mind, Cam is going to run the football when he feels it's in his best interest to run the football. In some cases, you may see him run more than you may see him pass.

But these three plays in particular, albeit against a depleted secondary for the Jets, showed me that Cam can effectively move the ball down the field with his arm. He does have at least a couple of trusted receivers in Demir Bird and Jacoby Myers that can help make things happen, and the confidence that he gained in both his decision making and his mechanics will only help him to get better as the season progresses. Of course, I can't fully answer this question without giving a shout-out to the Patriots' offensive line, who has continued to provide a lot of protection for Cam, especially on Monday night.

The Jets sent heavy pressure at Cam Newton, blitzing on 60% of his dropbacks. The Patriots only allowed a pressure rate of 30.6 on Monday night, leading the way the rookie right tackle, Michael Onwenu, who's been phenomenal. Zero quarterback pressures allowed. Really continues a tremendous rookie season. Mike has only allowed one sack and five hurries in pass protection on 242 pass blocking schemes. That's good enough for 11th ranked among guards and tackles in the entire NFL. Tell me again how Bill Belichick can't draft.

But I digress, and Joel, thank you so much for the great question. I truly thank you for all of your support of Locked On Patriots. I hope I was able to answer that one to your satisfaction, but in any case, always feel free to drop me a line, and in the future, keep those questions coming, my friend. Folks, it's almost time to close up the midweek mailbag here on Locked On Patriots, but I couldn't do so without addressing the question of a great friend and supporter of Locked On Patriots, and a longtime friend and supporter of my own as well. Our last question here on Locked On Patriots comes from someone who might be the biggest

fan of the player on which she's inquiring. Her name is Faith, and she can be found at KCKiddy13 on Twitter. And anyone who knows Faith as well as I have throughout these course of the last few years knows that she is a very big fan of one Julian Edelman. Of course, Faith's question is, what is going on with Julian and any word on when he may return? Faith, I wish I had a better answer to this question for you, but right now we really don't know much more about Julian's condition than we did back in early November when the Patriots first placed him on injured reserve. We know he had a minor surgical procedure to clean up his knee.

By all indications, that surgery went pretty well. Bill Belichick has been asked about this several times, and he said that he doesn't expect Julian's injury to be season-ending and that he does expect him back on the field. As for when that may be, well, that's still up for a lot of question. The Patriots would need to keep Julian on injured reserve for at least three weeks, meaning that he wouldn't be eligible to return until probably right around Thanksgiving at the earliest. Even at that, it would just be the practice fields. They would have to evaluate Julian's agility, his movement, how much pressure the knee can withstand, and then if he looks close to being the Julian of old,

they could probably put him back on the field by very late November, early December at the earliest. Keep in mind that a lot of this is going to be determined by how well Julian is rehabbing, how he's feeling, and if he suffers any setbacks from the surgery. So far, I haven't heard anything but positives when it comes to Julian Edelman. So take that for what it's worth. Obviously, Julian is a big part of this team, a very valued member of this offense. And I know each and every player in that locker room, including the coaching staff, right it's worth. Obviously, Julian is a big part of this team, a very valued member of this offense, and I know each and every player in that locker room, including the coaching staff right up to head coach Bill Belichick, would love to see Julian back on the field sooner rather than later.

As always, I'll continue to monitor that, and I'll bring you the very latest on Julian, as well as all of the Patriots injuries right here on Locked on Patriots. So Faith, thank you so much for the question on Julian Edelman, and just like that folks, it it's time to close up the LockedOnPatriots midweek mailbag. Once again, I want to thank each and every one of you that took the time to submit questions. I'm truly honored and overwhelmed by the support and the interaction that I get to have with so many of you so often here on LockedOnPatriots. I truly consider it an honor to be the host of this podcast. And I thank you all for making LockedOnPatriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Of course, tomorrow here on Locked On Patriots is Crossover Thursday, and with the Ravens

coming to town, Kevin Ostreicher, host of Locked On Ravens, will join me here on the hot seat, and we'll break down this contest from an offensive perspective, a defensive perspective, and hopefully fans of both teams will learn a little bit more about each other by listening to tomorrow's show. So to ensure that you do not miss a single second of the action, download Locked On Patriots wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe to and follow us on platforms such as Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts, just make sure that you're staying locked in to Locked On Patriots.

Once again, my name is Mike DeBate, and on a personal note, today being Veterans Day here in the United States, I want to wish a sincere Happy Veterans Day to all of our brave men and women who have served our country. I express my heartfelt gratitude to each and every member, both past and present, living and deceased, of the United States Armed Forces. Today, I especially want to honor and remember my grandfathers, Albert A. Bucci, Sr., who was a veteran of the United States Army, and Raymond D. DeBate, Sr., a veteran of the United States Navy.

The bravery and dedicated service which they and all veterans have provided to our country will forever be admired. Thank you all for your service and most wholeheartedly for your sacrifices. A grateful nation will forever be in your debt. Until tomorrow, stay safe, stay well, continue to be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone.