Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Talking Patriots with Tanya Ray Fox - 4/3/2020

Episode Date: April 3, 2020

The New England Patriots have had an eventful 2020, thus far. Joining host Mike D’Abate is Tanya Ray Fox of FS1 to discuss the Patriots tumultuous offseason. They share their ideas on the Patriots quarterback situation, their prognostications on the 2020 season and their thoughts on the efforts of the Kraft family to help during the COVID-19 crisis.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Patriots fans, you are now locked in to the Locked On Patriots Podcast. I'm going to show you how to make a beautiful and beautiful flower. I'm going to use a small flower pot. I'm going to use a small pot Hello to all of you Foxborough faithful. It is finally Friday here on the Lockdown Patriots podcast, your daily home for news notes and analysis infused with the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions,

the New England Patriots. My name is Mike DeBate. I am 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, your comments, your feedback, always welcomed and appreciated. Feel free to send any and all feedback to me by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at MDABATEFPC. And while you're out there roaming around on that Twitterverse, of course, being responsible and socially distant while you do so,

please give the Locked On Patriots Twitter account a follow as well at LO underscore Patriots. Patriots fans, welcome to the weekend. And I hope that wherever you're listening to Locked On Patriots today, welcome to the weekend, and I hope that wherever you're listening to Locked On Patriots today, you're staying safe and staying well. And to help me close out the week that was here amongst all you Foxborough faithful, is a guest today whose opinions and insight you will not want to miss. She is truly a favorite among all of you faithful listeners. She is my good friend Tanya Rae Fox of FS1 and the Almost Shameless podcast. Tanya's wit and her candor make her one of the most entertaining listens you will find anywhere.

But don't let that fool you, folks. I consider her second to none when it comes to analysis and insight. And today it is my honor to take you into your weekend, joined by Tanya here on the Locked On Patriots Podcast. We will be discussing the Kraft family's efforts to help out during our nation's greatest time of need. We'll also discuss Tanya's take on the departure of Tom Brady and who she thinks might be in line to be the GOAT's replacement. I'll give you a little hint, folks. It's not Jarrett Stidham.

And last but certainly not least, Tanya will help you feel a little bit stronger about your opinions of the 2020 Patriots, why the defense will not be a problem, and who might be handling the leg duties when it comes to the Patriots kicking game. And folks, be sure to stay locked in to the conclusion of the Locked On Patriots podcast today, where I will be providing a teaser for this weekend's exercise when it comes to the Mocs of March. Yes, I know, folks, we're three days into April, but the interactive draft content here on the Locked On Patriots podcast is far from being over.

So settle in, folks, and in just a moment, Tanya Ray Fox will join me here on the microphone to talk Brady, the Patriots and Tua. You'll find out what I mean when the Locked on Patriots podcast continues in just a moment. Patriots fans, when you need a dose of reality, you go to one of the greatest in the business at bringing razor sharp wit with absolutely spot-on analysis, and I am proud to welcome my friend in today who does just that in everything she does. You know her great work from platforms such as USA Today, NFL Network, NBC Sports Boston, just to name a few. She is currently doing amazing work for FSN, and her podcast, The Almost Shameless Podcast, is a

phenomenal listen. I wholeheartedly recommend it without hesitation. I've listened several times. Please do. You will not be disappointed. And maybe just maybe with all of the social distancing going on right now, we will finally get the resources needed to verify her on Twitter. I continue to fight the battle and I will not stop.

The incomparable Tanya Ray Fox is back here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. Thank you so much for joining me today, my friend. You're welcome, Mike. It's worth it just for the gracious intro I get every time I come on. It's like the best in the business. If you want people to come on your podcast, intro them that way and they'll come on every time. I always feel so great. Never gets old. So thank you. It's a pleasure to be on. It's my pleasure to have you. And I assure you, it comes from a position of sincerity and I assure you it is all worthy. I don't embellish anything that I say. I might be good at being able to deliver those words, but everything that I put in those intros is absolutely 100% true, and I mean every word. So you're very welcome. First off, I hope that you are staying safe and staying well as we all do our best to live in interesting times. And here on Locked On Patriots, Tanya, we make every effort to give everyone a

break from the COVID-19 crisis, but sometimes our worlds collide. And yesterday, our worlds collided a little bit, meaning sports and the world of current events. And it did so in a positive manner, and it did have a positive result, particularly the Kraft family and our New England Patriots taking the initiative in conjunction with Governor Baker of Massachusetts to provide 1.2 million N95 masks to medical workers and first responders. And this has been met with a lot of national praise, and rightfully so, in my opinion. Some have tried to make a political statement out of this, which I'll shelve. That's a conversation for another day. But one of the surprising sources of backlash that

I've seen has been directed at the Patriots fan base, believe it or not, and maybe taking a bit of extra pride in seeing the organization and ownership of their favorite team come through when a time when we as a nation need it most. Now, I happen to think there's nothing wrong with this. I think that there's a little bit of a swelling of pride in Patriots Nation for the actions of Mr. Kraft in conjunction with Governor Baker and so many of our nation's leaders to try to get this done. As both a fan and a journalist, you come at this with an honest attitude and an honest perspective. And I just wanted to give you the floor this morning briefly to describe what your reaction was to this and whether or not you feel that Patriots fandom playing into this a little bit is appropriate during these times. So I think that this is another reminder of how much people

in sports are regularly contributing to their communities in a way that I think we as fans and media notice a lot because we're in the sports world all the time. But in times like this, it's a it's kind of a it's got a larger national spotlight on it outside of sports world. And, you know, there are all these billionaires own NFL and MLB teams and NBA teams. So there is so many so much of the billionaire culture in America is involved in sports outside of what else they do. And so it was always going to happen that if they were going to step up in this moment, that eventually it was going to involve sports as well, because the confluence is already there. Robert Kraft is always very involved in the community and helping out. This is nothing new for him.

So for me, it was like, of course he did this. Like, absolutely. And does it, does it diminish how proud I am to see somebody who's been in my life for most of my life, do something incredible during a crisis? Of course not. I'm incredibly proud. And I don't think that that is a bad thing because I am also as a fan critical and disappointed when, um, in the past when he's let me down and that includes, you know, all the scandal and everything last year, like people are not perfect. And I think the, the vitriol at Patriots fans is probably just feeling like there's a bit of

hypocrisy. Like you want to take the praise and the, uh, excitement and, you know, and you want to take the praise and the uh excitement and you know and you want to soak in all of that when robert kraft does something really exceptional and you also get really defensive and you're you know you're you're uh you get your backs up when the critics come for you and that's just the nature of sports fandom that's not exclusive to patriots fans it's just that in this particular situation and of, over the last couple of decades, it has been so concentrated on Patriots fans because of how often there are storylines surrounding them.

So while I don't blame Patriots Nation for being proud of Robert Kraft and wanting to share in their joy and watching someone that matters to them do something important for the country, I also understand that we are a loud, proud fan base. We're very defensive of the team. We're often required to defend the team.

And thus, in these moments, it looks a little bit hypocritical. I just don't find I don't find that now is the time to engage in that conversation. I think being like, Hey, you, you know, Oh, you're going to, you're going to be all excited for rubber craft, but you don't say anything when, you know, Tom Brady has a MAGA hat. It's like, this is, these are so specifically separate from each other that I have no problem with people rallying around it. And I think anything in our culture right now, anything in our community right now that helps us rally around something together that helps us feel pride and American exceptionalism in any way is a good thing

because we're lacking it so much. It just makes me happy. If it had been the owner of any other team, I would genuinely be so happy and excited. And it's, it's, of course, it's nice that it's Robert Kraft. I would love to see every single, every single owner do this, that I don't, I don't want this to be a specifically Robert Kraft thing or specifically Patriots thing. It, anybody who can help out, I'm so proud and happy to say like they're an american patron who's who's like helping to better our society and in this specific case it's robert kratz and we should all be grateful and thankful and we should also all hold the other billionaires and robert kratz continually accountable as this goes forward

eloquently said and i think you captured every major point. And that's why I hope I didn't put you on the spot by asking you that question. But that's why I wanted to hear. That's why I wanted to hear your reaction to it, because I know it's going to come from an honest, from a, I don't want to say, again, objective point of view, because it always comes from an objective point of view. But it's going to come from a place where you're speaking from honesty, from the heart, but you're also speaking with your head and rationally as well. And that's one of the great

things that I admire about you, my friend. You mentioned the scandals, you mentioned the difficulties that the organization has had. And a deed like this doesn't necessarily erase that in anybody else's mind. It's not meant to forgive the use of the pun here, folks. It's not meant to trump anything that he's done in the past. What it is, is a, an act in and of itself that's going to help save lives. And that I think is something that we can all get behind. Uh, I tweeted out yesterday that, uh, New England versus everyone is a common sweatshirt and t-shirt that a lot of people wear up here. But instead of New England versus everyone, today New England stands with everyone. And I think that's how we should take it.

If you are a little bit extra prideful in seeing your team be the one to be able to contribute in this fashion, I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing as well. But again, I don't see a whole lot of back padding on Patriots Nation. I think everybody's taking this with a grain of salt and understanding that this action is about much more than Patriots fandom, than NFL fandom. It's about the world and the nation coming together right now in the time where we need it most. So thank you for your honesty and your opinion on that, because, again, spot on. And that's that's one of the big reasons why I wanted to ask you that question. So thank you for answering that the way you did. Of course.

Obviously, since the last time we talked, though, Tanya, I do have to bring the mood down a little bit because we were both pretty big components and beating the drum pretty steadily that Tom Brady was going to return to New England. Obviously, now we know we're a couple of weeks removed from the statement that he won't be. He is officially a Tampa Bay Buccaneer. I believe he's currently moving into Derek Jeter's old home as we speak. So when you take a look now at the Patriots roster and Tom's departure, obviously we could go over ad nauseum about how losing the cornerstone of the franchise for the past 20 years is going to affect you. But ultimately, this team has a season to play. When we start that, whenever that may be,

2020 will happen in the NFL and a new quarterback will take the reins in New England. A lot of indications are that Jarrett Stidham is going to be the guy from people that I've talked to within the organization. It seems to be that direction. As you look at the Patriots currently constituted with Stidham and Hoyer being the only quarterbacks on the staff right now, can you see them making a big splash in the draft to bring in someone to challenge Jarrett? Or is this going to be Jarrett Stidham's year to prove if he can handle the reins here in New England? Okay, so this kind of everything goes back to the decision to let Tom Brady go. And that I have to look at that as a blueprint for

what Bill Belichick could be planning going forward. And my big mistake in trying to assess the Tom Brady situation as it was progressing was that I looked at it as a Tom Brady decision versus a Bill Belichick and the Patriots decision. And I genuinely believed that if Tom Brady wanted to be back in New England, that that is what he would do, whether it required him taking a little bit of a pay cut or whatever else. Well, it turns out that it really, it really, Bill Belichick didn't leave Tom Brady any choice. He, he, he didn't talk to him.

He didn't engage with him. There weren't a lot of, there just weren't a lot of negotiations. He had kind of put his foot down and it was one of those things where it was like, if you're going to come back here, you're going to come back here with your hat in your hand and you're going to like fight for your spot for the next two years. And that wasn't going to happen. So I misread that to such a degree that I have to look at this going forward as though what Belichick's plan is, is one that he very clearly hasn't, you know, he's not trying to reveal, but also he's treating this position as he treats every single other position on the field. And we're not used to that, but that's exactly what's happening. And when people start to talk about a potential rebuild, or they start to talk about it you know that they you're like oh

are they going to reset is this a year where they're going to I think it's because we're so used to seeing consistency at the quarterback position that we think things look different this year and the fact of the matter is outside of not having Tom Brady nothing is different he is re-signing the veterans that he can get at a good deal his guys he has re-signed mccordy he has re-signed slater he franchise tagged tooney which goes in line with his he's done in the past he's done this with logan mankins like there there are players in the past that he has uh franchise tagged and paid a premium for because they're on the offensive line okay we've seen that before he's letting premier linebackers go okay Okay. We've seen that before. David Andrews and Shaq Mason will be back,

which means their offensive line is really good. This does not look like a rebuild. So to me, there's two options. If I take all this into consideration, he thinks Jarrett Stidham is the guy, which I, I just don't have enough information to say that I don't believe in him or that I don't believe in him at all. I just – I have nothing to go on. This is Brady in 2000. Like, it's actually worse than Brady in 2000 because Brady in 2000 was, like, a Michigan starter and was coming in.

Like, I don't – I just don't know enough about him. But it's either Jarrett Stidham or, in don't, I just don't know enough about him, but it's either Jarrett Stidham or in my mind, he's trying to get Tua. And I know that's crazy for people, but I, I think that there is a way that he trades up ahead of the dolphins to try to get T get Tua. And I'll tell you why. His relationship with Nick Saban is obvious. Everybody knows that. Nick Saban's probably one of his three favorite players he's ever coached. Someone he respects as a player more than anybody is Tua. He speaks about him as if he's a son. He is is honest about the fact that like he he plays like favorite child with tua and there's a ton of questions about obviously his health and there's

things around that is he ready for you know is he is he doing too much to convince people that he's healthy but we've seen bill belichick take health risks early in the draft before he did it with taking Rob Gronkowski in the second like we've seen him do this and with how they can accumulate draft picks and where they're set up for the 2021 draft I wouldn't be surprised if he thought now was the time to put together a package and try to, and try to draft a locker room leader who can help either push, I don't know, push Jarrett sit him along or fight for the position himself. I mean, it's a risky move and I'm not saying it makes like the most sense of all

options, but it's the only, it's the only option in the draft right now that I personally see making sense. It's funny that you mentioned Tua because I think there's been a little bit of underground chatter though, especially the last couple of days that I'm being the guy almost like a cover story. And I don't say that. And again, I'm not saying that having any type of journalistic backing, you know, when it comes to that type of an opinion. But that caught my eye.

So when you said that, my eyebrow raised a little bit because there is a relationship between Bill Belichick and Nick Saban. If anybody knows what this kid is capable of, it's going to be Saban. And in Belichick's ear, letting him know that. Tua is probably the biggest upside with the biggest risk in terms of these high value picks. So the Patriots may decide this is their opportunity to do it. If he doesn't end up working out, then you do have Jared Stidham on the roster who from everything that I've been able to gather from scouts and people that are attached with the

team, they are pretty high on this kid. Uh, they do see, uh, you know, a good amount of potential. I watched him a little bit in practice last year. I think his ability to make throws, I think his ability to step into throws is very good. He makes reads very quickly, which endears him to Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels. He's got some arm mechanics that I think could be problematic. He's going to have to work on those in order for him to be an effective starter. But I think you make an interesting point on Tua. So keep a sharp eye, folks. I'm not saying you hear it here first on Locked On Patriots from Tanya, but I think she's

given a very convincing case for this to be a possibility. And if it happens, we're going to replay this episode. We're going to have you back on here on Locked On Patriots to talk about it and to expound upon that a little bit. But again, that type of insight is exactly what I'm looking for. And one of the big reasons why I always like to have you as a repeated guest here on the Lockdown Patriots podcast. As we finish up here, I'm sorry, you give me a chance to share these, you know, opinions and whatever that I don't necessarily throw out on my own podcast, because they do

require a little bit of back and forth. So it's a mutually beneficial exchange. Absolutely. And again, you raised my eyebrow this morning. So I do appreciate that. And I think you've given our listeners here something to stew about a little over the weekend. So I'm hoping that our listeners do give it its just due because, again, I think you've made a pretty good argument. So we'll see. We'll see what happens. But as we finish up here today, my friend, Tom Brady wasn't the only key departure this offseason for the Patriots. Their roster has taken a little bit of a hit. They've replenished it a little bit, but gone are Kyle Van Noy, Jamie Collins, Danny Shelton, Duran Harmon, Nate Ebner, just to name a few.

When you look at the Patriots roster currently of the fan base and keeping my finger on the pulse of the fan base, I've seen mixed reactions. Some are convinced that the sky is falling. Some are rallying around the flag and in bill, we trust they're standing by that mantra. As you look at the roster, making your best guess on the Patriots draft strategy, which we just talked about a little bit when it came to Tua. What are your causes for concern this year if you're a Patriots fan? And what makes you optimistic about the upcoming season? My causes for concern are all on the offense.

I have no concerns about the defense. And that's not because there isn't reason for concern. You know, it sucks to lose a player like Daron Harmon, who was kind of like a steady present second line guy. The, I, there was no chance in hell Kyle Van Noy and Jamie Collins were staying. So it's a little weird to get worked up about them leaving, you know, it's like, did anybody think that they were staying? Of course they were gone. So, you know, the, the, these these kind of glue guys like Harmon and Ebner,

it's always tough to lose them, but let's be honest, Bill Belichick has absolutely no problems in the secondary. His defensive backs and his ability to create a strong core there is not an issue. So I just have to leave that behind. I cannot get that worked up about the defense right now. On the offensive side, I'm incredibly worried about the wide receivers and the lack of tight ends.

It's just, there's for a past couple of seasons. Now we've seen how little they've been able to do without Rob Gronkowski or, you know, to, to, to, you know, when they still had Gronkowski, a second person to bring in you know when they still had brankowski a second person to bring in there it's just it's been a very weak spot that was so important to the way that josh mcdaniels was running his offense for so long and julian edelman is a year older he is now without tom brady i absolutely love the idea of him being able to work with a younger quarterback i think he'll be a massive asset And I know that there was rumors that he would potentially be traded. And again, I, I trust the sources that have told me he won't be.

So I'm just going to go off of that. I do as well. You know, so I, the wide receivers and tight ends to me, like some, there has to be some premier talent there i again i've told you on this podcast before i believe incredibly in nikhil harry i know i i i know he's going to be an excellent asset on this offense he is so he was so underutilized last year and i don't know why i don't know if it was health or whatever else but he is going to be I would be I would guess he has the potential to be the number one receiver this year if they don't bring in a free agent and I would actually be fine with that it's it's the you know what else out you can't we can't count on a 33 year old Julian Edelman to be like a season long number

two to a brand new quarterback it's just I'd love to say that we could but I just don't you know he's another and this is he's now developing a relationship with an entire lean player so that's my biggest concern I also don't know who their kicker is going to be. Do they have someone on the roster right now? Or are we still waiting to find that out? No, not currently. They don't have anybody. There have been some rumblings that Jake Bailey may try to pull double duty.

And I actually talked about this last year here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. I know Bill Belichick loves to maximize value, maximize a roster spot. I think Bailey could do it in a pinch. I don't think that's a good strategy for the full year. And I don't think you're going to see the Patriots go in that direction. The hot name out there right now is Rodrigo Blankenship, who is available in the draft, kicker out of the University of Georgia. Kind of an offbeat character, someone that can come in. You're not going to rattle him. He's not going to be iced, so to speak. This kid has ice water in his veins. The only question I have

about Blankenship is he's never done it in harsh conditions as he would be doing it up here in New England. Any type of kicks that he's had have either been in dome stadiums or in warm weather conditions. So that would be a concern of mine. But ultimately, I mean, if this kid is as nails as they claim him to be, and I've seen some footage on him, he's got a hell of a leg. He can do it. That would be the only concern. But I think he can work through that.

Veteran options. We saw what the veteran options were last year. They're just simply not that many of them. So I think that'll be interesting. That could be an interesting thing to keep an eye on in the later rounds of the NFL draft this year. Several of our listeners here on Locked On Patriots submitted mock drafts. And knowing that Steven Gostowski was indeed released, a lot of people have Blankenship

going to the Patriots. So we'll see. Maybe he's the guy. Maybe he's the heir apparent. And Belichick is going to do what he did when he brought in Gustavski and jettisoned, or I shouldn't say jettisoned, but he made the decision not to re-sign Adam Benatieri. So maybe it's a new dawn and a new day in Foxborough all the way around. Well, I think, I mean, if he does go the blanket chip route, let's say, I mean, we saw Bailey with handling the kickoffs last year.

And I mean, there's a little bit of, even if he's not the kicker, which I absolutely agree with you, he, I don't think he would do that. Belichick values like special teams, um, niche, you know, like he, he really understands how important it is to have a specialty player at those positions. I would be super shocked, but Bailey is a pretty good kickoff guy in addition to being the punter, so there's that potential to play around with there. And if you need a little bit of time to get Blankenship or someone of similar ilk adjusted to the weather and the conditions, maybe that gives you the flexibility for him to really work on the field goal kicking

and the point afters and things like that. I mean, I know that Gostowski, when they brought him in in 2006, the big thing was that he was so professionally prepared because he was kicking off of a, you know, a professional stand there, you know, the two inch rather than the one that he was in college. So I don't know know if he if Blankenship's been doing the same kind of preparation but serious preparation and and um kicking from in NFL conditions beyond just weather conditions probably would matter to Belichick more than uh you know the type of stadium that he's been kicking in or whatever else there's so much like mentality stuff there that who knows what could happen,

but I guess to round it out. Yeah. It's like, it's all, I would say all wide receivers, tight ends. And like, I'd love, I just love to have an, even an answer at kicker just to feel like, okay, I know where we're at. I agree. And from your assessment, not just with the kicker position, but also talking about the defense and you're giving our listeners here on Locked On Patriots, Tanya, that Lloyd Christmas sense of optimism that so you're telling me there's a chance. I like it. And I think I think our listeners will as well. Look, bottom line, a coach of Bill Belichick's stature is not going to put garbage out there on the field. I know people are talking about, oh, they're just going to tank for Trevor or they're going to lose for Lawrence. I just don't see this organization doing that.

I cannot see Bill Belichick sitting back and being able to take losing game after game after game, especially knowing that Tom Brady is motivated to go to Tampa Bay and win games. I know, folks, it's not about the rivalry between the two. I'm not trying to spew the venom or any other type of colloquialisms that people love to attach to that, but these guys are prideful. And I'm telling you, Bill Belichick hates to lose just as much as Tom Brady hates to lose. He's not going to do it for anybody. And an uncertain future, by the way, which it doesn't guarantee you that tanking is always going to lead to something.

I know the Colts did it, but unfortunately it didn't end up really working out to their advantage. Andrew Luck came, gave them a couple of good years, ended up retiring early, and the Colts never went to a Super Bowl or gained a Super Bowl as they hoped they would. So tanking to me never solves anything, and I don't think you're going to see them do that this time around. No chance they tank. That's just take it out of your brain. Just stop. Thank you.

Thank you. I am so, so glad that you said that. And on that note, we ride that wave of optimism into a new week here on Locked On Patriots. But thank you, Tanya, for coming on and helping me close out the week here on the Locked On Patriots, but thank you, Tanya, for coming on and helping me close out the week here on the Lockdown Patriots podcast. I'm always appreciative of you taking time out to join me. We always have a lot of fun sharing the microphone, and you've provided our listeners with more than adequate fodder for them to stew over this weekend as we head into the new week.

Before I let you go, my friend, the floor is yours. Please let everyone know where they can find you on Twitter or social media and where they can always find your great work day after day. All right. So I am at Tanya Ray Fox on Twitter and at almost, oh, sorry, at shameless TRF is my podcast. That's also on Twitter and Instagram. A new episode came up this week. It's a good one. Nice. It's like a 50 minute episode. We do a little bit of Tom Brady, Belichick, little ESPN greatest college basketball players. And then myself and my fiance break down what we've been watching in quarantine. So that's really fun. Check that one out. That's episode seven, almost shameless podcast. And then, you know, check Instagram. I'm on TikTok now. If you're doing TikTok, you know, I don't know. Check me out over there.

Inspire me with some content. And yeah, that's it. That's where I will be. Again, I'm home, so I'm just sitting here. Let's, you know, let's do some, let's do some tweeting. Definitely. And again, folks, while we have the opportunity and while we are all home and trying our best to get through these difficult times hashtag verify trf let jack over at the twitter oddy know this woman needs to be verified not because she's a friend of mine because she deserves it one of the finest journalists one of the finest sports journalists media members i have ever worked with or met uh again, my friend, thank you so much for taking the time out today. Always coming on whenever I need you and whenever I would like to share the microphone with you. You're always there for the handoff. I couldn't thank you more. Stay

safe, stay well, and we look forward to having you back again really soon. Thank you so much, Mike. It was a pleasure as always. You stay safe and well yourself. And I can't wait to be back on talking, uh, real sports happening sometime in the future. And in the meantime, uh, I couldn't think of a person I would prefer to do quarantine sports talk with. So thank you again. And I will talk to you soon. Thank you so much. The feeling is definitely mutual.

Have a great weekend, Tonya. You too, Mike. Bye. And with that Patriots fans, we turn the page on another week here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. I don't think I'm overstepping my boundaries when I'm saying that Tanya's insight definitely did not disappoint this week.

Her takes regarding the Patriots fans' pride in the actions of team owner Robert Kraft, as well as her pondering, and again folks, be careful, she didn't make a take here, but pondering about whether or not Tua Tungvaloa could possibly find his way to New England. I think she made a pretty interesting case, and we'll see if she was right in the coming

weeks. In any case, I always enjoy talking football with Tanya. I sincerely hope that you enjoyed what she had to say as much as I did, and I'm always grateful for her taking time out of her busy schedule to join me here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. As for me, folks, I will be back here on Monday for another episode of the Mock Draft Mondays here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. As for me, folks, I will be back here on Monday for another episode of the Mock Draft Mondays here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. And as I said to begin the show, the Mocks of March will continue. And this week, we're adding a little twist to that.

I've been thoroughly impressed by the work that you have all done in submitting your mock drafts, so continue to do so. However, for those of you brave enough to accept this challenge, I encourage you, my listeners, to submit your mock drafts alongside a scouting report for the player you feel to be the best fit for the Patriots in your mock draft. That's right, last week you

got to play GM, this week you get to play GM and head scout. So keep a sharp eye on my Twitter feed and the Locked On Patriots Twitter feed over the weekend and I will provide you with all the instructions you need on how to submit your mock draft and your scouting report to Locked On Patriots Twitter feed over the weekend, and I will provide you with all the instructions you need on how to submit your mock draft and your scouting report to Locked On Patriots. As always, please be sure to join me each and every day

here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. Subscribe and download via your preferred podcast provider. And don't forget, you can always listen to the podcast on your smart device. Just simply ask it to play the latest episode of Locked On Patriots. Simple as that. Once again, I am Mike DeBate.

I thank Tanya Rae Fox for her time, her insight, and her appearance today. But most of all, I thank you so much for listening and for continuing to stay locked in to Locked On Patriots. And if you've enjoyed today's podcast, now tell your smart device to play the most recent episode of Locked On NFL. Stay safe, stay well, and have a great weekend, everyone.