Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Tag…You’re It? — J.C. Jackson and the Franchise Tag, Patriots Offensive Assistants — 2/22/22

Episode Date: February 23, 2022

The Franchise Tag period in the NFL is now open…and the New England Patriots face the multi-million-dollar question of whether to place the tag on free-agent cornerback J.C. Jackson. Joining host Mike D’Abate is Steve Balestrieri of PatsFans.com. The duo discuss Jackson and the franchise tag, as well as the larger project roles of both Joe Judge and Matt Patricia on the Pats offense.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.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Patriots fans, it is franchise tag day throughout the NFL, and over the course of the next few weeks, all 32 NFL teams will consider whether or not they'll tell one of their free agents, tag, you're it. Will the New England Patriots use it? And if so, who will get that distinctive designation? We'll discuss that and more today as our resident voice of reason, Steve Balistrieri of Patsfans.com, stops by for round two of our discussion. My name is Mike DeBate and you are about to be locked in to the Locked On Patriots podcast. 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, and thank you for joining me here on this Tuesday episode of the Lockdown On Patriots podcast, which is a part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Because it's your team every day, folks, that means your questions, your comments, your feedback are always welcomed, very much appreciated. So share that feedback and send it to the Internet by reaching out to me, MikeDebate, on Twitter at MDABATENFL. And while you're out there doing some Tuesday traveling through the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at L-O underscore Patriots.

Once again, greetings and salutations, Pats Nation. Thank you for joining me today. I am MikeDebate, and I cover your New England Patriots. For Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation's Patriot Maven, I am also your host of the Locked On Patriots podcast. Today is Tuesday, February 22nd, 2022. That's right, folks. Two, 22, 22.

And because twos are the theme of the day, we're going to not give you one, but two doses of our resident voice of reason. Joining me here today on the pod is my good friend, my Patriots Paisan, Steve Balistrieri. And Steve and I will be talking about the news of the day in New England. And as I said to open the show today, it's Franchise Tag Day throughout the NFL, meaning that all 32 NFL teams can now apply the Franchise Tag to one lucky, or unlucky depending on your point of view, free agent. The Patriots, well, they have several free agents out there right now that they need to re-sign.

Internal names, players that were on the roster in 2021 that I'm sure they'd love to bring back in 2022. Problem is, you can't tag everyone. Only one person's going to get the tag. And Steve and I talked a lot about some of these players last week, guys such as James White, Brandon Bolden, Devin McCourty, Nick Folk, Dante Hightower, Juwan Bentley, Jamie Collins. I'm just scratching the surface. But the one name I didn't mention is the most likely candidate to draw the designation of being the Patriots franchise player in 2022.

That man is quarterback J.C. Jackson. And if the Patriots and Jackson cannot come. That man is quarterback J.C. Jackson, and if the Patriots and Jackson cannot come to a long-term agreement prior to the deadline, then New England may be forced to designate J.C. Jackson as their franchise player, and that will come with a $17.3 million cap hit in 2022. That's a lot of money to dole out to one player. But Jackson is coming off of a season in which he was among the tops in interceptions, second-team All-Pro, Pro Bowl selection. He had a tremendous year, really proving himself as one of the top corners in the league. If he hits the open market, the bidding is going to be on,

and teams will definitely shell out for his services. The big question is, do the New England Patriots covet J.C. enough to place the franchise tag on him and give them more time to negotiate a possible long-term deal well some would tell you yes that's exactly the way to go but there are reports that are starting to trickle in from multiple sources that say that the patriots may not be willing to go multi-years on jc jackson more of a year-to-year situation if that is is indeed the case, you can't imagine J.C. is going to be thrilled at playing under that franchise tag.

Even though it would be a pretty good salary for 2022, most of these players want security. They want a long-term deal. They want guaranteed money. So what are the Patriots to do? Well, we'll be discussing that topic pretty much all week here on Locked On Patriots. But today, Steve and I will get it started. I'll ask him his opinion on J.C. Jackson, whether or not the season he had warrants that type of financial commitment, even for one year. Again, $17.3 million is a lot to pay to one player. Steve will also give his

opinion on the opposite side of the ball, and that's offense, because over the weekend, Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer indicated that the Patriots might be pretty content to go into 2022 with both Matt Patricia and Joe Judge holding prominent roles on their offensive coaching staffs. Now, we've discussed this before here on Locked On Patriots. Neither Judge nor Patricia are noted as offensive minds. Matt Patricia, best known for his days as a defensive coordinator. Joe Judge, special teams coordinator. Neither one of them instill a whole lot of confidence in terms of them being able to groom Mack Jones.

However, it should be noted that both Judge and Patricia were head coaches in the NFL. I don't care how great of a head coach you were or how bad of a head coach you were, you don't get to that level without having essential knowledge on both offense and on defense. And there is experience had by both on the offensive side of the ball. Matt Patricia has coached the offensive line before, and that is exactly where he looks to be spending some of his time in 2022. Joe Judge, on the other hand, was a college quarterback, so he knows a thing or two about the position. Each of these guys having extra responsibility on the offensive staff this year

doesn't necessarily mean the doom and gloom that you're hearing about all throughout Patriots local media or reading about all throughout the national media. But don't take my word for it, Patriots Nation. My good friend, the resident voice of reason here on Locked On will join me in just a moment, and he'll lend his opinion on exactly what it means for Mac Jones if Joe Judge and Matt Patricia are going to have a prominent role along the Patriots offensive staff in 2022. Talk in franchise tag with JC Jackson, Patriots offensive coaching staff, and more with Steve Balistrieri of Hatsfans.com when this Tuesday episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. And again, Patriots fans, thank you for making Locked On Patriots your first listen every day.

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This call is being recorded. Patriots fans. Once again, we kick off the weekend style here on locked on Patriots. The same way we closed out the week last week with our resident voice of reason. And boy, do we need his reason right about now. Patriots are back in the news, of course,

and there's a lot of uncertainty surrounding the 2022 season. Will their star defensive player get the franchise tag? And how will the offense be able to support last year's offensive star, quarterback Mac Jones? To answer those questions and more today is my good friend my patriots paisan one of the best and most knowledgeable columnists that you'll find anywhere in patriots media you know his great work from patsfans.com you also know his voice from not just one but two amazing podcasts patriots fourth andth and 2, and, of course, One Patriots Place, starring our good friend Murph

and the Countess of Clas for herself, Claire Classey, Claire Cooper. Joining me here today on the hot seat to talk the pressing Patriots issues is Steve Balistrieri. Steve, thank you for joining me today. Welcome back to Locked On, Patriots. Quick turnaround today, bud. Yeah, it has been. It seemed like we just spoke the other day, which we did.

And so when I got your call, of course, how could I turn down my pies on the Talk Patriots? You didn't refuse this request on the day of my daughter's wedding. This will be remembered very fondly, Steve. And you know, you know I never forget a favor. Oh, kidding aside, you know I never forget a fave. Oh, kidding aside, my friend. Great, great stuff, as always. And, you know, we did go a little bit of time there without, you know,

hearing your wisdom and counsel on the Locked On Patriots airwaves because of scheduling conflicts. But having you back two days in a row, two shows in a row, is something that, you know, just warms my heart. And who better to talk about these pressing issues with than the resident voice of reason here on Locked On, because a lot of what we hear when it comes to these matters, Steve, is unreasonable expectations, hot takes, whatever, fans getting upset. I understand the fans getting upset, but when the fire is fueled by people in our position, to me, it's only like gaslighting a situation that already has enough tension to begin with. This doesn't have to be a tension-filled situation, but today is the first day that any type of NFL team can, well, any NFL will be uh allowed to start tagging franchise players and

the franchise tag is not expected to be placed on a lot of guys this year there's still a great deal of uncertainty with regard to you know what the uh the landscape is going to look at uh you know how the teams will be able to approach free agency some teams have a good amount of salary cap space heading into free agency. Last year, the Patriots were flush with salary cap space. This year, not so much. According to our good friend, the Pats cap himself, Miguel Benzón, Patriots right now $4.9 million under the cap,

three weeks before the start of free agency. Steve, it seems like the Patriots are always involved in franchise tag speculation, whether it be, you know, people that have received this tag in the past. It goes back, you know, to Adam Vinatieri and Asante Samuel and Vince Wilford and Logan Mankins, guys who received the tag. A lot of people, a lot of speculation around it, and the Patriots ended up doing it with a lot of those guys. Some were speculated.

Some did not receive the salary, the franchise tag, because of the salary that they carry. J.C. Jackson obviously is the Patriots' top corner right now. And the consensus amongst most fans is that the Patriots should really do everything within their power to try to bring J.C. back. You don't just let go of generational talents like that at the cornerback position and expect to be able to backfill it that quickly, especially knowing J.C.'s age. He's progressing, getting better every year. This seems like a logical solution for the Patriots and J.C. to try to work something out. But you and I both know that contract negotiations are nearly impossible sometimes. Agents, outside interests, things of

all of these nature just have a way to bog down some of these negotiations. If the Patriots were to use the franchise tag on J.C. Jackson, which in its purest form, that's what the franchise tag on JC Jackson, which in its purest form, that's what the franchise tag is there for. Give you an additional year to be able to compensate your player at a high salary, at a very competitive commensurate salary to their expertise or their playing level, and also give you time to negotiate a long-term deal. If the Patriots use this tag on J.C. Jackson, it will be worth an estimated $17.3 million, which means the Patriots would have a little under three weeks to be able to clear a good enough amount of cap space in order to be

able to absorb that hit heading into the 2022 NFL season. Again, Steve, you're the voice of reason here, bud. I've gone on record several times in saying that I believe J.C. should be back, and I'm one of those guys that believes that the Patriots should try to do all they can. But at the same time, you also don't want to put yourself in a bad position for subsequent years or even the year coming up. You don't want to have to mortgage the farm to bring back one of your best farm hands. In this regard, Steve, are the Patriots smart to look and maybe apply the franchise tag to J.C. Jackson, or is this too hefty of a price right now for a guy that the Patriots may be

able to look elsewhere and find at least an adequate replacement? Well, you know, I've looked at this the same way you have. Right now, they don't have the cap space to absorb that, so they would have to get creative, but it gives them a couple of weeks. But on the flip side, if you look at the alternative, I mean, you know, when they played this game with Gilmore, they had JC as a backup. Who would be the Patriots' number one corner if they decide to let Jackson test free agency? Because you know he's probably going to get more than that franchise tag. So at that point, I mean, you're left with Jalen Mills or untested Sean Wade.

So I think right now the Patriots are in the position where they have to. It gives them time to work out a long-term deal with Jackson. Hopefully before training camp starts, I would, you know, in the best case scenario, it would be before the NFL draft, in which case if it doesn't work out, maybe they can swing a trade, you know, for additional high draft picks where they could maybe fill those positions. But, you know, in the big scheme of things, do you really want two rookies at that point, you know, playing your corners. And in the Patriots system, the answer would be no.

So I believe that they're going to apply that franchise tag on him. They're going to try to work something out. And if not, I think he would be down the road at some point, you know, the recipient of a trade. Yeah, I agree with you. I think in a lot of ways, the Patriots almost have to apply this for the reasons that you stated. Who are you going to bring in or who are you going to hand the keys to the kingdom to if there's essentially no one there for the handoff?

And look, there is no disrespect intended to Jalen Mills, who I thought played admirably in the second corner position this year. There were a lot of people that said that he couldn't step up and really be an adequate second corner after Stephon Gilmore was traded. Jonathan Jones goes down, so you knew that the Patriots were going to need extra help on the slot that normally Jalen Mills would have been able to fill, but unfortunately he had to fill a different role, so Miles Bryant comes in and plays the slot corner and did an effective job. Jon Jones is expected back. You don't know what type of effectiveness he's going to have right off the bat until you see him. By all indications, his surgery was a success.

The type of surgery that probably won't cause him additional problems down the line, but you never can tell. You'll have to see these guys when they get out there to find out how effective they're going to be. But if you're going to be the type of defense, the type of effective defense that New England loves to employ, having someone who is a shutdown corner in this league be able to anchor that secondary is so important. And I think that's why JC really is indelible and the Patriots will do all they can to keep him around. In terms of clearing cap space, I know it sounds like getting

down from 4.9 million under to the 17.3, I believe, that they're going to need to retain his services. You know, that's, yeah, there's definitely a, you know, an issue there. But as our good friend, the Pats cap says all the time, there are a lot of ways to create cap space. It doesn't necessarily mean that you have to jettison a big time player. That may be lot of ways to create cap space. It doesn't necessarily mean that you have to jettison a big-time player. That may be how they choose to do it. There are a lot of rumors swirling around about guys with major cap hits

that might be who have the Patriots to try to see what they can do to either move some players or to maybe cut bait. There are a lot of different things that could happen, but the Patriots can clear this cap space. It's not an impossibility, but they wouldn't have to, like I said, to lead you into the question, mortgage the farm just to keep one of its great farm hands around. So there

are ways to do it. And again, you being the resident voice of reason, bud, you help talk us off the ledge. You help give us a little bit of reason. You help give us a little bit of security, you know, heading into this and knowing, you know, what the, the Patriots, you know, we're going to, to do there. Not that this is applicable because I don't believe this would be applicable, but a question was posed to me the other day. And I actually would like to pick your brain on this as well is if the Patriots know for a fact

that's hitting that i hate saying slapping the franchise tag on someone because that that really that has such a negative connotation i know that's how some people see it be honest i know that's how some players see it but uh it just has such a negative connotation so i want to try to stay away from that but if the patriots realize that giving the franchise designation to jc jackson was going to be extremely problematic and they knew that they essentially would not have that option which i don't think that will be the case i haven't heard anything uh that this is an impossibility patriots do have some other free agents we talked about these last week when we had our conversation about internal free agents

and guys that might be candidates for the franchise tag. Devin McCourty, Dante Hightower, Trent Brown, all big names who I think might have been candidates to receive the franchise tag at maybe one point during their careers. But now I'm not so sure. And that even includes Trent brown because of the average salary that he would command uh with that type of a deal is it jc jackson or bust with the franchise tag in your opinion steve or could you possibly see the patriots maybe using it on someone else if jc is going to be too problematic no i think it's jc jackson or nobody this year I mean I don't see them uh dropping the tag on Trent Brown

just because I think they want Trent Brown back but they they're going to want him back at a discount I think I don't see them giving him the kind of money that he got, you know, maybe the last time when he was signed off by the Raiders. I think the Patriots know he likes it here. He said he likes it here. And they're going to test to see how well he does like it here. Yeah, I agree with you. I think that in Trent Brown's case, slapping the franchise tag really doesn't give you the long-term type of security that you're looking for.

First of all, I think the Patriots, if they do want to have him around, would like to have him around for a couple of years. It gives him the opportunity to be able to provide protection on that line for Mac Jones, whether it's the right tackle or whether he does move over to left tackle. And I know that's being discussed right now. I'm actually working on a piece very similar to that for Sports Illustrated right now on Isaiah Wynn and what this offensive line could look like next year or beyond if the Patriots do decide that they would like to move on from Wynn. But if Brown is going to be in the fold, I don't think they want a one and done.

And that is essentially what they'd be telling him if they put the franchise tag on him this year. The other reason is so brilliantly what you just said is that if they want to they have to do it on a discount that franchise tag does not carry a discount you slap them the other tag on there again i use that term sorry folks old habits die hard i know but you put that tag on someone and you're on the hook for that amount so unless you you know sign to a new uh you know deal deal or anything of that type. So I really don't see anybody else. Brown would really be the only one that you could even have a discussion about. And I see the chances of that being very, very slim to almost none when it comes to that regard. So it does look like it's going to be JC Jackson or bust for the franchise tag.

I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing for the New England Patriots. Obviously, I think they'd like to get something done long term with JC Jackson. Or like you said, if there's nothing there to be done and they decide that these two sides come to an impasse, there's always a trade option. And you know, he's not going to have any shortage of suitors out there. Premium corners are always, always at the very highest coveted rate, and I assume that he will be as well. We'll see.

I'd love to see JC here for a number of years, but it's a business, and I think we've learned that the hard way over the past few years with some guys who essentially had to move on for their careers, and if they have to do that, we wish them the best. But again, Bud, it's always interesting. Never a dull moment in Foxborough. And we'll continue to monitor that progress over the course of the next three weeks as we get ready for the start of legal tampering March 14th

as the New England Patriots and all 31 NFL teams prepare to enter the realm of free agency and building a roster for 2022. Who will be coaching on that roster? Well, the defensive side of the ball seems to be well set. Maybe a couple of tweaks here and there, but they seem to have their ducks in a row now that Gerard Mayo is looking to be back in the fold for at least one more year. However, the offensive side of the ball is still a little bit in flux. The coaching picture got a little clearer over the weekend, or did it?

Well, Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer has some interesting information on the Patriots' offensive coaching staff and a couple of former head coaches that might take on a bigger role with the Pats' offense. It doesn't sit well with the fan base. However, we're talking to our resident voice of reason, and we're going to get his opinion on Matt Patricia, Joe Judge, and their role in the Patriots offense in 2022 when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Locked On listeners, when it comes to repairing or maintaining your vehicle, why would you spend 30%, 50%, even 100% more for the exact same auto parts at a chain store or a new car

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here on the airwaves for the second straight pod. I could not be happier to welcome this man back. Steve, you talked us off the ledge with J.C. Jackson in the first segment, and I think you put a lot of people's minds at ease in terms of whether the patriots should be doing something to retain him we're in agreement i think they will do everything they can

to bring him back but one thing that also came up over the weekend in his weekly column on the monday morning quarterback albert breer dropped a couple of interesting tidbits about the patriots coaching staff and look patriots coaching staff has been under the scrutiny, under the microscope, since Josh McDaniels decided he was going to take his talents to Las Vegas, become the head coach there. Paul Hardegreek goes with him. Carmen Brasillo goes with him. And so does Mick Lombardi.

The Patriots brought in Joe Judge to be an offensive assistant. And right away, that raised the ire of a lot of Patriots fans. You need a dedicated offensive coach. They wanted Billy O'Brien. Adam Gase's name was mentioned. I know a lot of people went crazy when that happened, forgetting that Gase wouldn't be coming in here to be a head coach. He would be coming in here to be a coordinator, but even information on him has cooled, just like O'Brien. According to Breer's report, it looks like the Patriots are pretty content at this point

to ride with Joe Judge working with the quarterbacks and Matt Patricia working with the offensive line. And again, I know this is causing a lot of problems for people, but you and I both know that Matt Patricia actually cut his football teeth on the offensive line. He played for Rensselaer Polytech as an offensive lineman, played center, played guard, coached along the offensive line here in New England during his first tenure and really when he was becoming just a very young coach at that point. So there is experience on this side of the ball. Joe Judge played quarterback at Mississippi State, so he has familiarity there.

But neither one of these guys are play callers, offensive play callers. Neither one of these guys carry a whole lot of offensive pedigree, I think is the best way for me to put it. Steve, when you look at these two entities coming in, they have former head coaches. So, I mean, it's not like there's no experience but are you surprised that these are the two guys that the patriots are looking to take on a more prominent role this year or in your opinion is there still another shoe to drop well you know i'm sure they they made overtures toward bill o'brien and i don't think that ship has completely sailed yet. But I think a lot of the angst amongst the fan base has been, dare I say it, media-driven.

You know, when they throw up these fire alarms that will give them something to talk about until the regular season starts, because as we all know, they can keep banging on this you know oh joe judge has never been a play caller well i would invite everyone to look at their history book and go back to 2005 josh mcdaniels was a very very young coach at that point. Josh McDaniels had never called plays before, and he became the de facto offensive coordinator at that point. And, you know, when he did that, he had no, he had no experience calling plays at that point. But yet, you know, the team went out, and they brought him in as the offensive coordinator without a title. And we all know what happened with the Patriots offense.

So, you know, I'm not overly concerned with this. I think they're going to make more moves, Mike. I really do. I think they're going to bring in – but they're going to bring in young guys. And that's why I didn't buy into this whole hype about Adam Gase being the next offensive coordinator because Bill's philosophy goes all the way back to Cleveland and you know Nick Saban talked about that a long time ago and he said Bill's philosophy has always been coordinators will come and go because they're going to get promoted. They're going to get a head coaching job somewhere else.

The system has to remain the same. So that's why I don't, I didn't buy any of this Adam Gay stuff coming in. I thought they were going to maintain the system that they have. And that is, you don't want Mac Jones learning a new system, you know, in his second year, nor all the new faces that they brought in last year that, you know, in his second year, nor all the new faces that they brought in last year that, you know, had a burn the midnight oil learning the Patriots system, which we know isn't easy. You had two new wide receivers,

two new tight ends and a rookie quarterback. They're not going to do that. They're going to stay with what they know. They're going to work within the system. They'll bring in some young guys, start them at the bottom and work within the system. They'll bring in some young guys, start them at the bottom, and work their way up. I believe that the eventual offensive coordinator is going to be Nick Calley, and I think they're grooming him for that. And I think Joe Judge, who probably wants another head coaching gig,

will be working with Calley to bring him up to that level. Yeah, very interesting that you mentioned Nick Calley. And I really – getting a chance to get to know Nick a little bit this year through Zoom conferences and being in on his press conferences when he met with the media mostly every Tuesday, Nick was always one of those guys that was available, and Dante Skarniecki over the weekend spoke with Jeff Howe, a mutual friend of ours of The Athletic, and Dante had some interesting things to say about Nick he specifically mentioned him as a potential play caller with this team and I'm quoting uh Skarniecki verbatim right here he says when you coach tight ends you're coaching a position that transcends the

entire offense he's involved in the passing game of course he's speaking about Nick Haley at this point so Nick has been in every passing game meeting, the run game. He's also been in every run game meeting. So Nick has been in a lot of meetings. Joe Judge has too, but his philosophy is that they've got to get somebody who can mentor the quarterback, someone who can oversee the offense. And he mentioned Nick as a possibility there for someone that not only has the familiarity with how the Patriots have been doing things the last couple of years, but also the synergy with Mac Jones. And that leads me quite nicely into my next question for you, because I do believe that they will be bringing in some younger coaches. Bill is looking

for stability in this staff. He's looking for stability throughout the organization. Rumor has it one of the reasons why that he went with Matt grow as opposed to elliot wolf was because he believes that wolf is likely to get a gm position somewhere elsewhere within a year or so so if that's the case you don't want to invest the future and have to go with three directors of player personnel in as many years it's just a bad look it's tough to be able to sustain that so So the New England Patriots right now making the decision to go with someone like Matt Groh shows that they're looking for that stability. But ultimately, stability is most importantly needed when it comes to your young quarterback, your new franchise quarterback in Matt Jones. Jones obviously took to the tutelage

of Josh McDaniels last season and did very well with it word has it he worked very well with Bo Hardigree as well but at the same time those guys are now in Las Vegas and if Joe Judge is going to be the one working with him Matt Patricia working along the offensive line you may see you know new coaches come in here and work Nick may take a more active role in working with the quarterback are the Patriots doing the right thing here and working with Mac Jones or do they need that stabilizing presence like a Bill O'Brien to come in who knows the system so it wouldn't be a change of the offensive philosophy and also knowing that Bill is very familiar with how Nick Saban runs his offense in Alabama,

having known a lot of the system there as well. Is that really the move for Mack? Or if the Patriots stand pat with what they're doing, are they still setting Mack up for a chance to succeed in 2022? Yeah, I think that's a valid point. And I think, you know, in a perfect world, they would have enticed Bill O'Brien to come back. But again, you know, O'Brien probably wants to get a head coaching position somewhere again. And, you know, do you really want to bring him in and maybe only have him here for a year? I think that's, you know, that's one of the things they would be looking at. And that's why I think Cali is going to be the guy. But, you know, it's all it all stems down to Mac Jones's progression in YouTube. I think that's they offensively,

they have to be looking at that. That's our driving force. That's what we have to base everything on. Yeah, without any question. And ultimately, I mean, the Patriots are going to go as far as Mac is able to take them. I know people say, oh, well, you know, you can be a quarterback in this league. And if you have a strong offense, and if you have a good running game and a strong defense, you can still compete. Steve, you and I both know there's a quarterback driven league and really in a lot of ways, it always has been. I don't think that's anything brand new for a lot of people to understand, but at the same time, it's also, I think, a little bit more prevalent now in terms of how you're seeing this game evolve.

Mack made great strides from being a rookie that not a lot of people expected to get the keys to the kingdom on day one, the first day here. I think a lot of us, myself included, thought that Cam Newton's presence would at least mean that the Patriots were going I think a lot of us, myself included, thought that Cam Newton's presence would at least mean that the Patriots were going to take a little bit of a slower approach and then maybe integrate him into the offense early on or mid-season. But Mack took the ball right away and did a phenomenal job with it. And by the end of the year, although there were rookie areas where you say, all right, this kid needs to improve here, Mack still gave a solid effort every time out. And you know that there's stuff to build on when it comes to Mack in that regard.

Also, you look at what he's got to do and how he has to progress. And that raises questions about what the player is going to do in terms of being coached. Ultimately, Bill Belichick is still there. And this is something that really, I think, always surprises me and makes me grin. It's like, okay, well, we took away Josh McDaniels, so we don't have that stabilizing presence for Mac Jones any longer. I think Josh would be the first to tell you the stabilizing presence in the Patriots organization, and you said this just a moment ago, Steve, is Bill Belichick. Coordinators can come and go, but stabilizing the organization is what is important. And keeping the system the same is exactly, I think, what's going to allow Mac to move forward. So will there be a little bit of adjustment?

Maybe. I think it's possible. But ultimately, I don't think it's anything that these teams need to be extremely concerned about. I think the Patriots right now are in a good position to be able to not only compete at a high level in 2022, but also give Mac the tools that he needs to progress. Some of that is about giving him the proper players on the field, and that's where the Patriots will look over the course of the next couple of weeks as they start entering free agency. And Steve will continue to talk about that and more as the uh the offseason continues to progress and we move toward free agency and the nfl draft but in the meantime bud thank you for lending your wisdom your counsel for

calming us all down here in patriots nation and giving us some solid information about the coaching staff and of course jc jackson as well for the benefit of our new listeners bud please let everyone know where they can find you interact with you on social media and what we can look forward to in the coming days and weeks from the great pen and the great voice of steve balistrieri well thank you for all those uh uh wonderful comments You made me blush. I always look forward to talking with my Patriot Paisan when, when you ask me. So I always look forward to this. You can find me on Twitter at Steve B7SFG. I'm also on Facebook, Instagram, Steve Balistrieri.

I write for Patsfans.com. We'll be looking at free agency. We'll be looking at the coaching staff, you know, in the coming days. And, you know, we're already starting our deep dive into the upcoming NFL draft in the Combine. And this is really one of the best times of the year for football fans and I know a lot of people are like grimacing and going how can you say that it's just the end of the Super Bowl there's no games but when you look at things from this perspective free agency is yet to start the draft is yet to be held training camps mini camps things like that when teams start to come together this this is really, I think, a great time for football fans that love to see how a franchise and a team is constructed for the upcoming season. So a lot of things to break down.

We'll continue to do that here on Locked On Patriots. My Patriots paisan will be one of the guys that's riding along with us all season, offseason long, to get this stuff taken care of and to give you the best possible Patriots coverage we can give. Bud, what can I say? I always appreciate you. Thank you for your wisdom. Thank you for your counsel.

Thanks for coming and talking ball with me today. We look forward to doing the same thing next week right here on Locked on Patriots. Anytime, my friend. Just like that, Patriots fans, we are almost halfway through your work week, but fear not. We're only scratching the surface on the coverage still to come here on Locked On Patriots. So thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots your first listen every day. Don't forget to join me tomorrow here on Locked On Patriots when the Countess of Clas herself,

the new Lady of Locked On, Claire Clasie Claire Cooper, joins me to talk a little Patriots tight endage. As always, make that your first listen. And now, make your second listen, Locked On NFL Draft. My colleagues Ryan Tracy and former NFL cornerback Eric Crocker bring the NFL Draft to life every day with insight analysis on college football prospects and NFL front offices. As always, it's free and available wherever you get your podcasts. Once again, my name is Mike DeBate, and I thank my good friend Steve Balistrieri for

joining me not once, but twice in the past two days to talk JC Jackson, the Patriots franchise tag, and of course, Mac Jones and the offensive coaching staff. To ensure that you do not miss a single second of the action still to come here this week, 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 ensure that you are staying locked in to Locked On Patriots. Until tomorrow, Foxborough faithful, stay safe, stay well, be the change that you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone.