Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Taylor-Made: Patriots Roster Chat and Analysis with Taylor Kyles - 9/3/2020

Episode Date: September 3, 2020

The New England Patriots are widely considered to have one of the deepest and most prolific defensive secondaries in the NFL. Joining host Mike D’Abate is Taylor Kyles of Pats Pulpit of SB Nation. The duo discuss the essence of what makes the Pats’ cornerbacks and safeties such an integral part of their defense, and the skill that puts them among the most feared in the NFL. Taylor also provides his insight on the potential impact of recent release of wide receiver Mohamed Sanu, as well as the reported injury to running back Damien Harris, on New England’s offense to start the 2020 season. 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. After an unexpected one-day power outage, the Locked On 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, is back. My name is Mike DeBate, your host of Locked On Patriots, 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 greatly appreciated. Feel free to share that feedback anytime by reaching out to me on Twitter at MDABATEFBC. And while you're out there cultivating that special connection with the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. Folks, in approximately one week's time, NFL football will make its return to your television screens.

And this season, get football on your time with NFL Game Pass. See all the action from every game with full game replays. You can also replay an entire game and catch all of the plays in just 45 minutes with condensed games. Go to NFL.com slash Game Pass to start your free trial today. NFL Game Pass, where football never stops. Patriots fans, it is great to be back on the microphone here with you today for the Locked On Patriots podcast.

And my deepest apologies for the technical and electrical difficulties that prevented me from joining you yesterday here on the pod. But I also want to offer my sincerest thanks to each and every one of you that took the time out of your busy schedules to submit a question for yesterday's midweek mailbag. Folks, I say this every time I open up the mailbag, but you never cease to amaze me. Some of the most insightful and thought-provoking questions I've ever received here on the pod. And while scheduling may have prevented me this week from being able to dedicate an entire show to the mailbag, I can assure you

that I will take the time over the next few days to answer each and every one of those questions to the best of my ability. But some of you may have already received your answers, not from me, from the New England Patriots directly, and I'll get to what I mean by that in just a moment. But first, today it is my honor to welcome Lockdown Patriots back to your airwaves in a pretty big way. Taylor Kyles of Pat's Pulpit of SB Nation joins me here today on the hot seat. And anyone that spent any time perusing Patriots Twitter knows that Taylor is among the best followers that you can find anywhere. Expert film breakdown, top-notch analysis, and today,

we may need his analysis a little now more than ever. We're going to be talking about the Patriots secondary. What exactly makes them so prolific? We always hear about how stacked the Patriots secondary. What exactly makes them so prolific? We always hear about how stacked the Patriots cornerback depth chart is, how strong the safeties are. Well, Taylor will pull on some examples from real life situations to show you exactly how good this unit really is. But you did hear me correctly just a few seconds ago. We may need his insight now more than ever, because from the time of Wednesday evening into Thursday morning, the Patriots made a few waves. I'm not going to say major splashes, but waves. And if we're really being honest, these waves started Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning

when reports started to surface that the New England Patriots were among the teams that were inquiring regarding the services of running back Leonard Fournette, who, as we all know, had recently been released by the Jacksonville Jaguars. And as you heard me say here on the pod on Monday and Tuesday, I considered it a long shot for the Patriots to land Fournette. As a matter of fact, I really didn't think they'd show much interest. But throughout the day on Wednesday, there were several reputable reports that indicated that the Patriots were indeed talking to Fournette.

At one point, they were even considered to be the betting favorite to sign him. I'll tell you what, we'll come back to Fournette in just a moment. But intertwined with the circulating stories surrounding the Patriots' possible interest in Leonard Fournette was a piece of news that actually started to make some waves early on Wednesday. And that's when ESPN's Mike Reese had published his 53-man roster prediction for your 2020 New England Patriots. And conspicuous by his absence on this 53-man roster was former Patriots

wide receiver Mohamed Sanu. That's right folks, I said former because on Wednesday evening, Field Yates, also of ESPN, broke news that the Patriots were in fact releasing Sanu. The move would bring the Patriots active roster down to 79 and it would save them around $6.5 million in salary cap space. Now, all throughout training camp, there were a lot of conflicting reports regarding Sanu. Some of the observers and beat writers that were covering camp on a daily basis were saying that Sanu had actually looked pretty good. He was running routes well, seemed to be developing a pretty good rapport with Cam Newton, and it looked like he was doing his best to play his way onto the 2020 roster.

But there were also some astute observers that pointed out that Sanu looked slow at times, looked to be lumbering when he was moving around, and even said that he had lost some of the quote-unquote juice that he had when he was with Atlanta. Ultimately, it became obvious that Bill Belichick and the Patriots' brain trust believed that the $6.5 million in cap savings, coupled with the lack of productivity on the field they saw during training camp, tipped the scales in favor of parting ways with Sanu. And a little tidbit here from my good friend Miguel Benzon aka the Pats cap by releasing Sanu before the first game of the season which would have guaranteed his 6.5 million dollar salary for the year they do it now and there's essentially

no dead cap hit for the Pats. So that cap savings can be a slight silver lining. But that still doesn't change the fact that the Patriots traded away what would have been a second round pick in this year's 2020 NFL Draft for a very minimal return. And if we're all being honest, the uncertainty surrounding Sanu's spot on this roster really didn't begin with what you're seeing on the field in training camp this year, folks. It really started last year when it seemed like Sanu could never quite catch on. Outside of one impressive stat line of 10 catches and 81 yards receiving against the Baltimore Ravens in only his second game as a Patriot, Sanu was relatively quiet the rest of the way, including the Patriots' lone playoff game last year in which he only had one catch in their wildcard round loss to the Tennessee Titans. Now most, including myself, will point

to his high ankle injury as the precipitous for that, and I stand by that. Sanu looked to be well on his way to being a solid acquisition for the Patriots in the first two games they had him against the Eagles and again against the Ravens. But after suffering that high ankle sprain, he just never looked the same, ended up totaling 26 receptions for 207 yards in eight regular season games. So if we're breaking this down, folks, the Patriots ended up giving up a second-round pick

for an average of three receptions per game that Mohamed Sanu was in a New England Patriots uniform. And of course, if you paid any attention to Patriots Twitter last night, you will see that there was an awful lot of vitriol being hurled at Bill Belichick for this deal, calling it the worst of his career. Once again, proclaiming that Bill the GM was doing everything he possibly could to derail Bill the coach.

But whether you agree with the personnel decisions of Bill Belichick or you don't agree with them, one thing you have to give him is that he is not afraid to admit when a player isn't working out and then move on from that player even if they paid a high price to acquire him. That's right folks, Bill's really not worried about what the fans or the media thinks. He could care less what I say on this podcast. He could really care less what goes on between the hours of 2 and 6 p.m. on terrestrial radio. Sorry, but that's a fact.

Bill is worried about one thing and one thing only, doing what he believes is best for the football team. Does it always work? No, it doesn't. Even the greatest general managers make bad moves. Even the greatest of coaches can be second-guessed. Everyone is fallible. And, don't get me wrong, I'm not going to sugarcoat this trade.

This was not a good one for Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. It was still one that was worth the risk at the time. The Patriots needed veteran-wide receiver help. Nikhil Harry was injured. Antonio Brown was a complete disaster. Julian Edelman was suffering from three different injuries, any one of which would have put a lesser receiver on the shelf for the year. And for everyone that tries to say that Sanu was damaged goods when the Patriots picked him up,

veniantly forget that there was also injury concerns surrounding Emmanuel Sanders. The Patriots took a chance, and it didn't work out. But Sanu is still an adequate receiver in this league. His early release allows him to catch on elsewhere. As for the Patriots, the door may now be open for some of the younger receivers to make the 53-man roster. Guys like Gunnar Ryszowski, Jacoby Myers, who I had left off my 53-man projection. All of a sudden, he's looking like a pretty good option. Even guys like Devin Ross, or maybe an undrafted rookie free agent like Jeff Thomas. But also, don't be a bit surprised to see the Patriots look at the waiver wire and try to bring in a veteran wide receiver. Right now the only veteran leadership that this team has at

the position comes from Julian Edelman. Demir Bird is a veteran in this league but don't forget he's a newcomer to New England. So to place all of that pressure on Edelman's shoulders is a little bit too much to ask of anyone including Julian Edelman's shoulders is a little bit too much to ask of anyone, including Julian Edelman, who, don't forget, folks, is also coming back from his own injury concerns. It's a little early for me to speculate as to who might become available or who the Patriots might target. I think they may look to this weekend's waiver wire to see which players are cut loose and

who might end up being the best logistical fit in the Patriots' system. As I like to say, keep a sharp eye on this one, folks. I don't think the final chapter of this wide receiver depth chart in 2020 has been written yet. But the ripple effect of waves created by Sanu's release was not the only story that was making waves in New England on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning. Because, once again, ESPN's Mike Reese reported early on Thursday that running back Damian Harris, who actually had been absent from Monday and Tuesday's practice, had been nursing a hand injury, and that not only was this injury the reason why Harris missed a couple of practices,

but also that Harris' status for the season opener, which is scheduled to take place on Sunday, September 13th at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, was in doubt. And this could end up being significant, folks. By most accounts, Harris was either at or near the top of that short list of camp standouts. In fact, a lot of the writers and observers that were covering training camp on a daily basis thought that Harris was so impressive that he may have actually been in position to be the frontrunner for the starting role. But if this injury ends up forcing Harris to miss any significant playing time, and folks, I want to stress the fact right now that it is way too early

to tell whether or not he will or won't, it does thin out the depth chart a little bit, at least in the short term for the Patriots' running game. Yes, that chart still consists of Sonny Michel, Lamar Miller, James White, Rex Burkhead, and maybe even the undrafted rookie J.J. Taylor getting a couple of carries as well. But we can't forget that just days ago, Rex Burkhead, and maybe even the undrafted rookie J.J. Taylor getting a couple of carries as well. But we can't forget that just days ago, both Michelle and Miller were on the active physically unable to perform list. These guys are still coming back, getting their feet under them,

especially Miller, who was just recently activated from the pup list, and who running backs coach Ivan Fears recently said was thrown into the fire. The Patriots are really trying to see where Miller is at conditioning-wise. And this makes a lot of sense, especially if Miller is going to be called upon to shoulder some of the load while Harris is convalescing. It also helps to lend another layer of context to the reports surrounding Leonard Fournette. Earlier, I had mentioned that the Patriots were among those seriously inquiring about Fournette's services. Again, for much of Wednesday afternoon, the Patriots were considered the frontrunners to sign Fournette, and teams like the Chicago Bears and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were kind

of lurking in the background. While almost at the same time that Patriots Nation was absorbing the news that Mohamed Sanu had indeed been cut loose by New England, it was announced that Leonard Fournette had indeed signed a one-year contract to join Tom Brady on the pirate ship down in Tampa. That's right, Leonard Fournette was about to become a Tampa Bay Buccaneer. And even though I don't consider this catastrophic news that he didn't end up in New England, the news of Harris' injury all of a sudden makes it a little bit more clear as to why the Patriots may have been more interested in Fournette than people like me originally

thought they would be. Fournette's strong, formidable running style would have been a nice complement to the finesse style that Sonny Michel brings to the table. And ultimately, if Harris were going to miss any time, someone like Fournette would have ensured that they had that dimension until Damien was able to return. So with regard to the Harris injury situation, folks, I will continue to keep a sharp eye.

Once again, it's still a little too early to determine the severity of the injury and if or how much time he might miss as a result of it, but one thing is definitely certain. News surrounding the potential 53-man roster for your New England Patriots is heating up, and in addition to seeking his wisdom and counsel on the Patriots secondary, I will ask my guest and good friend Taylor Kyles about the impact of Muhammad Sanu's release as well as Damian Harris's injury on the Patriots offense. All this and more when the Locked on Patriots podcast continues. But once again, folks, one week from today on September 10th, NFL football returns.

And after the 2020 we've had, we all can't wait to experience the joy of live football on your television screen. And this season, get football on your time with NFL Game Pass. You can catch every snap from every game with full game replays and see all of the plays in just 45 minutes with condensed games. You can relive all of the gutsy calls, the crazy catches, the wild comebacks, and breakout stars from every game every week. It's all the action, all the football you can handle, all in one place.

And NFL Game Pass is the only place that you can replay every game all season long. You'll also learn from the league's best players with over 40 NFL Game Pass film session episodes. Go inside the game from a player's perspective as they break down the game's concepts and techniques. Learn from the best like Deshaun Watson, Stephon Gilmore, Devontae Adams, and many more. NFL Game Pass also provides access to the entire NFL Films archive. So go to NFL.com slash Game Pass to start your free trial today.

NFL Game Pass, where football never stops. Patriots fans, the last time this man was my guest here on Locked On Patriots, I described him as being a true rising star in sports media. Well, he's not only eclipsed that, he's well on his way toward being a juggernaut, in my opinion. His ability to break down film and explain it in a clear and concise manner makes him a favorite of mine and so many others on social media. You know his great work from Pat's Pulpit of SB Nation and one of the best Twitter follows in sports media or really any media realm if I may say so myself. He is my friend Taylor Kiles and he joins me today here on the pod. Taylor, welcome back to Locked On Patriots. Always a pleasure to be here. Thank you, as always, for the overwhelmingly kind introduction.

I assure you, it is well-deserved and well-earned, my friend. You're doing wonderful work. Every time you take to social media or you take to the platform that you're given at Pat's Pulpit of SB Nation, it's always appointment viewing, appointment watching, appointment listening. You break down film and have a way of explaining things that is really unparalleled in this business. And I can't say enough good things about you, not because I'm contractually obligated to do that, because it really is. It really comes from a special place in the heart, and I do appreciate that.

Taylor, this week on Locked On Patriots, when the power in my home office has been cooperative, that being said, I don't know if you saw that yesterday, a little power issues here in the Northeast, but back among the living today, my friend, and we've been talking about roster hopefuls and positional depth charts here on Locked On Patriots. And originally I had requested your services here today primarily to discuss the secondary. And folks, we will do that. Don't worry. But I would be remiss if I didn't start by mentioning

last night's release of wide receiver Mohamed Sanu. And, you know, Taylor, throughout training camp, there was a lot of conflicting information surrounding Sanu. Some were praising him for his route running and his rapport with Cam Newton, and it looked like he was carving out a pretty nice niche for a spot on this roster. But as training camp started to progress a little bit, we heard some in attendance that were covering training camp on a daily basis that he simply just seemed to lack the juice, so to speak. In other words, he wasn't the same player. And most will point to the high angle sprain as the catalyst for that. And after a strong first game against the Ravens last year,

he was relatively quiet for the rest of the way. Had only one catch in their wildcard round loss to the Titans. But you pointed out on Twitter last night that there were some positives. And your thread breaking this down on Twitter last night was very impressive. Obviously, the thread was from a few months ago, but you brought it back into the collective consciousness of Patriots Nation last night. And I went over it again, and I thought it was very impressive. Now, I'm not going to put you on the spot and ask if you think the Pats made a mistake by cutting him here too quickly. It's way too early to determine that. But what in your analysis of Mohamed Sanu led you to believe

that he can still be a productive receiver in the NFL this year because your thread does paint a pretty positive picture yeah well I mean I'll ignore all the off-field stuff like obviously he's an amazing leader he works extremely hard but you know when you're talking about football it's really what can you do on the field so last season obviously I think people remember he had two or three untimely drops that you you know, he rightly was criticized for. But beyond that, he brought something to the Patriots they didn't have, which was a veteran presence where he was someone who could pick up an offense quicker than the rookies just because he had so much NFL experience. Because at the end of the day, really, players catch on who have been in the league because

concepts are pretty similar. Like playbooks usually are dramatically different outside of verbiage that's really the hardest part but when it when it comes to conceptually understanding what you need to do then how to actually beat NFL talent that's something the Patriots didn't really have last season outside of Edelman because they were so young at the position because obviously we saw what happened with Josh Gordon Antonio Brown etc etc so Sanu gave them that but now that those young guys had a chance to catch up, we've heard Belichick constantly praise them for the jumps that they've made, like Dunner and Nikhil. And really, especially when you consider that they're going to be a running team,

I think we know that they have a strong offensive line. They've got a strong backfield. It's clearly where their offense is most potent. So they're going to go with whatever the matchup dictates. So I think that the fact that Sanu couldn't separate was exacerbated when you have so many young guys who can just have more juice, frankly. They can just do more after the catch. That's one thing about Sanu. He was a possession guy, but after when he had the ball in his hands, he was really going to give you a stiff arm, but not a whole lot else. So I'm not surprised that they cut him.

I thought that they would make a move a little bit earlier, actually. I like that they at least gave him time to potentially catch on somewhere else because I think he could at least be a good veteran presence, help young guys get along quicker. Like he was with the Patriots young guys in the offseason workouts that we saw on social media. So clearly he was advantageous in that way. I know Dwayne Haskins said that he's like an uncle to him.

So there's, you know, he clearly knows how to connect with younger players. So I think there's a spot in the league for him still. It just wasn't with New England, but I wish him the best. Yeah, and I wish him the best as well. Look, bottom line, and you mentioned all of the work that he does in the community off the field, being a mentor to so many younger players. That is something that is worthy of praise, and Mohamed should be praised well for that. But on the field, especially with route running, especially with knowing where to be in a given period of praise, and Mohamed should be praised well for that. But on the field, especially with route running,

especially with knowing where to be in a given period of time, that's something that I look at this Patriots wide receiver depth chart now, and it does worry me a little bit because there's not a whole lot of veteran leadership on this roster with the exception of Julian Edelman. You're putting a lot on Julian's shoulders to be the elder statesman among this group that includes talented players, young players that have a great upside. Guys like Nikhil Harry, Gunnar Ryszowski has been great in camp. We've heard rumblings about Devin Ross really stepping up and making

a lot of strides, but these are very young receivers. It's going to be interesting to see what the Patriots will do to fill that veteran need on wide receiver. Do they wait, look for someone that comes off of the cut list? Do they have someone in mind? Obviously, these are questions that are going to be answered by Bill Belichick, but always interesting and always interesting times in Foxborough. And Taylor, that leads me quite nicely into my next question for you. And this morning, Mike Reese of ESPN reported that Damian Harris, who's been very impressive in camp thus far, is battling a hand injury.

That hand injury may keep him out of the opener against Miami in just over a week in Foxborough at Gillette Stadium. Now, I pointed out in the opening of today's show that the Patriots' interest in Leonard Fournette all of a sudden took on another level upon hearing this news. Maybe the Patriots realized that Harris might be battling something and that they may do their due diligence to try to fill that spot. Leonard is now joining our old friend Tom down in Tampa, so that ship has sailed. But I think that the Patriots will likely look now to in-house options to weather this storm. And that means reliance on guys like Sonny Michelle and Lamar Miller, who have their issues of their own when it comes to injuries. Taylor, if Harris does miss any extended period of time,

what might the Patriots' ground attack look like? And might it mean more work for a guy like Cam Newton at the quarterback position? Well, I think Cam's going to be a part of the ground game really regardless. And that's also a reason I don't really think about the pass game. I'm not as afraid of it as a lot of people are in terms of the fact that they're not well-stocked. Because if you see Cam in his best years, he didn't have a lot of talent around him. He really was – he was being super Cam.

And that comes in the pass game and in the run game because you always have to think about him. And we know in the NFL, if it takes a defender half a second of thinking, it could mean a big play, especially when you have someone like Cam who you know can take it himself. So I think the ground game in terms of personnel is going to look pretty similar to last year as long as Sonny is healthy enough to be that version of himself. And I think worst case scenario, we just see more Burkhead, which I know a lot of fans have been pining for. Frankly, I like his running style more than Sonny Michel's just because I think it gives you more in terms of elusiveness although Sonny gives you a downhill aggressive play style and I think people overlook

that when they say oh but Burkhead should get more carries I totally understand that but you also have to think about how it wears on a defense being able to run power in these gap runs where you're going downhill instead of Sonny where I'm sorry instead of Rex Burkhead where more of his runs are lateral so you're relying on athleticism and you're not really punishing defensive linemen. So I think there's an element to Sony's value that's overlooked in terms of it. He gives them the ability to, you know, give that physical presence. But, you know, with Cam, it's going to open up a lot of opportunities. If you go back to 2018, I think you see that Cam was keeping the Panthers in a lot of games.

They had no business being in. If you want to look at the Falcons game, I believe from week two was one of the best examples. He took a hit to the head and really should have been out of the game, came back and threw a touchdown. And when you look at his receiving core, what he was dealing with, Greg Olson was hurt. I think he had Curtis Samuel, DJ Moore when he was either a rookie or a second year player. Ian Thomas when he was dropping balls left and right.

You know, and the ground game was okay. Obviously, Christian McCaffrey made it very good. But I think the Patriots committee can make up for that in terms of their skill set. So really just look at Cam and focus on him and see how the offense is running through him. Because really he's good enough that he makes everyone around him better to a different degree than we're used to seeing in Foxborough where Brady makes you better as a receiver but Cam makes you better in every facet of your offense great great insight and especially when it comes to Cam Newton and his facilitation of an offense such as the one that the Patriots are going to be running I think that's a point that not enough people make is everyone is looking at the wide receiving core myself

included I do I get sucked into this as well Taylor I don't mean to just you know call out fans or listeners or you know you know midday radio hosts or anything like that that are looking at this and saying oh my god we're so depleted at wide receiver yeah in terms of like the big names or the talent level maybe they're not as prolific as they have been in years past but this is going going to be a new-look offense for the Patriots this year. It's not going to be the same offense that we're used to seeing under Tom Brady. Cam Newton offers different types of ways to beat you, different types of options that, quite frankly, Tom just didn't offer. And that's no knock to Tom.

It's just they're two different styles, two dissimilar type of ways to run the position. So, once again, amazing stuff. It further simplifies the game pretty much. Absolutely. Perfectly said. And amazing stuff as always. And I appreciate your insight, especially when it comes to the running game. I, for one, would love to see more Rex Burkhead simply because, you know,

I love my dad jokes. I can use touchdown Osiris Rex on Sunday when I tweet that out and everything will be all good. So, you know i like that but um till we've yet to oh thank you i appreciate that yeah some people enjoy that you know the who made that man a gunner i'm trying to get cash me outside how about that to trend you know i'm doing my oh my goodness you know yeah i'm doing my best to make uh to make things uh interesting uh for uh for our listeners uh Some of them are being met well.

People seem to love the Gunnar one, the Kashmi one. No, that's not really going over too big. But, you know, I'm going to keep doing it. Exactly. I'm going to keep doing it. I'm going to keep seeing what works and what doesn't. But we've yet to delve into the defensive depth on this roster so far. And, Taylor, we hear all the time that secondary is king.

But, folks, what exactly does that mean? In just a moment, Taylor Kyles will offer his insight on what makes the Patriots defensive backfield so prolific. Talking corners and safeties when the Lockdown Patriots podcast continues. Pats fans, again, I am joined today by Taylorlor kiles of pats pulpit and taylor the patriots defense looks point it looks to be the more dominant of the two sides of the ball once again this year they look poised to once again take on that mantra it's a lot of youth at the edge rush in the linebacking core uh some stout bodies in the defensive front seven particularly the interior of the defensive line but the secondary is particularly the interior of the defensive line. But the secondary is arguably the deepest and the strongest area on this roster.

Maybe one of the best in the NFL as a whole. That includes the safety position, which was thought to be in trouble after we heard of Pat Chung's decision to opt out. But thanks in part to a certain rookie, and I want to get to Kyle Duggar in his emergence at the safety position in just a moment that's looking a little bit brighter but we start with the Patriots cornerbacks and again these this is a positional grouping that is either at or near the top of the list in all of the NFL uh Stephon Gilmore reigning defensive player of the year enough said there he's just phenomenal and one of the best at what he does JC J.C. Jackson might have had one of the most impressive training camps of anyone on this roster. And then you have solid depth pieces in there.

Guys like Michael Jackson Sr., who has played well throughout camp, but may not even crack this roster because of the depth that's there. Justin Bethel is also among those that could contend for a cornerback positional spot. Jawan Williams, who we've heard may platoon between cornerback and maybe even play a little more safety. They're so deep at this position. Taylor, when you've broken down cornerbacks, we all hear about how great these guys are.

Is there an element of the way the Patriots cornerbacks do business that leads you to believe that this is really the essence of why they're at the top of their game? Or is it simply just a matter of they have supreme talent at the position and they just know how to harness it? Well, I'd say the biggest thing that they have going for them is really when you have a level of sustained success that they've had in the secondary, it has to be a marriage of players and schemes. And in terms of players, they're really built like a basketball team where there's a lot of different skill sets

that you can combine and match up, like a team like the Chiefs where they've got an athletic big guy like Sammy Watkins, a monster like Kelsey, and then a small fast guy like a Hardman or a Hill. The Patriots have the personnel to match up without having anyone who is in a rough predicament. Like Gilmore is not fast enough to cover Tyreek Hill. Jonathan Jones barely is, and he's faster than Gilmore. So you need those advantages where you're not hamstrung.

And that's where I think the personnel comes in. Then you're allowed to capitalize with scheme. So you're allowed to play a lot of man coverage when the defense knows that a pass is probably coming. So second and long situations, first and backed up if it's 20, something like that. So it gives you a lot of flexibility and you don't have to confuse the other team with zone coverages or sit back and take it. Like against Kansas City, they run a lot of high-low concept, which basically means that they'll have someone like Kelsey running high in

the middle of the field and have someone fast who's been in the open field, like he'll go underneath him. So it stresses the defense. If you play a lot of zone coverage you don't have a ton of opportunities to match those the way you want to without accommodating using some form of man but if you can play man coverage and then work from there like the Seahawks did where they said we're going to practice this all the time and because teams can only beat us a certain number of ways we know what they're going to do so the Patriots have that advantage where they're so good in man coverage, they can play it and pretty much respond to whatever you want.

And then the fact that they have so much chemistry and they've been together for so long means their communication is a lot of the times it's nonverbal because they just know how they play together. So just to boil that all down, it's a marriage, player and scheme. They have fantastic players who can match up against anyone. And then the scheme and the chemistry all blend together to make them a very difficult team to pass on. That marriage, essentially, as you like to put it, between skill and between scheme. And the Patriots do it as well as anyone. And that may be on display this year, my friend, in the secondary when it comes to the safety position.

And as I stated earlier, Patrick Chung obviously made the decision to opt out of the 2020 season amidst concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. But the Patriots were able to weather that storm, or at least it looks like they will be able to because of added depth at the position uh they've added a couple of free agents guys like adrian phillips who i covered when i covered the charges a couple of years ago i'm well very uh well versed in what he can do and bring to the table i know he's had kind of a sporadic or sparse um training, but I still think he brings enough to the table to warrant a roster spot independent of the contract guarantee, which I know a lot of people are saying that may be the only reason why he does make it. I can assure you folks is a little more than meets the eye there with Adrian, but Cody Davis is another guy that's kind of taking on

that Nate Ebner role, but Kyle Duggar has really emerged. and I think he's been a breath of fresh air and really a surprise. I didn't expect Kyle to catch on as quickly as some of the observers that have been there covering training camp have said. He seems to be in the right place at the right time. He's showing physicalities. Taylor, you know the Patriots love physical safeties. They love those types of guys.

They can even be used as an extension of a linebacker at times, which I think Kyle will be. He's that physical, smart presence that can help take the sting away from losing a guy like Pat Chung. And of course, Devin McCourty keeps it all together. He's the glue, you know, just named team captain for the 10th straight season. And boy, does he deserve it. Taylor, when you look at what the Patriots secondary is going to bring to the table, independent of what you just said about the corners, when you look at the safeties, do you expect them to be as physical as normal? And may they even be better equipped this year to cover tight ends

because of guys like Kyle Duggar and even Juwan Williams being physical presence in the backfield that allow them to cover some of those bigger tight ends and receivers? Well, I'm a Pat Chung truther, so I want to start this by saying he is not as good as he was in coverage, but he was still better than average strictly because of how good he was with his hand that allowed him to be physical, that allowed him to spar with guys like Travis Kelsey, who were significantly bigger, but just because he had his hands in the right places and he was hitting the right targets,

then it kept him competitive. And the fact that he is slower, obviously, like he was a freak athlete coming out of college, but then obviously at this point in his career, he can't run with those guys, but his intelligence kept him in a lot of those plays. That being said, I'm not going to say that they're in better shape necessarily

because we have Williams consistently line up against tight ends, although he did in some very sparse instances last season. Mike Jackson, I see that he's been left off of some roster projections, but frankly, I don't see how Cody Davis, I understand the team's value either, and he plays deep safety, which I think he's played deep safety more than a lot of the other reserves they have. But I think Mike Jackson gives you more because like you said, that physicality, his coverage ability, and his competitiveness. There's a lot of leaders in football and I think they're a little easier to find. It's not easy to bring in competitive guys with great physical skill sets. And that's what Mike Jackson is to me. It baffled me that he wasn't used more in Detroit, especially considering how much trouble they had in man coverage. But I don't want to go on too long for him, but I think he's got a good chance to be a strong safety in that

Juwan Williams mold of a physical guy who contributes when you know Pat is coming. Now, when it comes to the run, I think that's where we're going to see more of Kyle Thugger in the box, where we're going to see some of Adrian Phillips, because I think Adrian Phillips being hurt is being overblown because he's someone who is going to fill a role that he's already played the whole like patrick chung in some of their defenses basically played middle linebacker in their two high coverages so they

pretty much had three deep with chung but he was really playing linebacker by alignment that's what adrian phillips is doing against the patriots when the Patriots and Chargers faced off in the 2018 AFC divisional round. So Adrian already has experience playing in the box, mixing up with tight ends, playing a lot of the techniques and responsibilities that Chung had, but he's got experience. Now, like you said, Kyle Duggar's come on, even Belichick sounded surprised how quickly he's adjusting. You never know how that's going to translate until he's on the field, but with his skill set, he can be that deep safety that you need in rotation. He can be in the box. He can be your Pat Chung where he's

so athletic. Once he catches on and is up to NFL speed, you can put him wherever you want on the field. He can blitz. He can do a lot of things. He's like a more modern version of Patrick Chung, but he's bigger. He's someone I think could be part of the defensive rotation early, especially considering a lot of these young guys seem like they're in the mix.

And I think the Patriots are saying, hey, with a season like this, it's probably better to see what we have, considering everyone's got it behind the eight ball, if these guys can handle it. A lot of them sound like they're ahead of the curve of, like I said, what the coaches were expecting. But in terms of the mix they've got, I'm not sure it's going to be better because Chung gave you an element of you don't know exactly why he's on the

field necessarily, or when you do, you can can't exploit him because teams weren't running at Patrick Chung mostly because the Patriots made sure to protect him but he wasn't someone that was easily exploited by scheme even though people kind of make it seem that way because an eraser he was when he was the tight end eraser in the NFL but I think having that rotation is going to give the young guys good opportunities to see what they can do. But it's going to take away a little bit of that, OK, what are the Patriots doing? So it's going to force the execution to be perfect, not perfect, but it's going to have to be consistently good. And that is great insight, especially when it comes to the added dementia and the mystery that a guy like Patrick Chung can add. You never really look at

Pat Chung as being that enigmatic type of player. But when you break it down the way you just did very eloquently, you can see the differences and the different looks that that gives an offense and wondering what he's on the field for, what his purpose is in any given play. Yeah, the Patriots are going to miss that a little bit. And I think it will force them into having the need for perfect execution or near perfect execution at times. The good thing about it is that Bill Belichick and the defensive coaching staff are usually sticklers for things like that. So you have to think those items are being practiced. And even though it's a lot to put on a rookie and some young players and some new faces,

I like to think that these guys may have been up to the challenge. So, yeah, they might be taking a step back, but ultimately I like the insight that you provide in terms of especially the safety position, how they can still be very prolific and be a good complement to the cornerbacks in that defensive backfield. Taylor, what can I say? Thank you so much for taking the time to come on Locked on Patriots today, lending your wisdom and counsel on some of the more high-profile

positional depth charts here in New England as we head toward roster cut down this Saturday, folks, September 5th at 4 p.m. Eastern. We'll know who the 53-man roster is for your New England Patriots. And then the real fun begins. Where do they go from here? Who might get additionally cut? Who's going to be coming down with the quote-unquote Foxborough flu? Who goes on IR? Who comes going to be coming down with the quote unquote Foxborough flu? Who goes

on IR? Who comes in as possible veterans? It never ends in Foxborough and it will continue right up until kickoff on September 13th. My friend, before I let you go today, please let all of our listeners know where they can find you on social media, where they can find your great work and anything and everything that you may have on the horizon coming from the great fan of taylor kyle's well thank you again brother so much for having me um the best place to find all my stuff is at tkyles39 that's at tkyle39 on twitter um i'm starting a youtube channel where i did start it i have one video i have no idea where i'm going to go from there but i plan on doing something with it it's called a t-A-Y with that little floaty thing. I'm forgetting what it's called.

There's a video on there where I kind of just ramble and gives you an idea of, you know, my personality. If you want to see more stuff that I come up with whenever I do. So yeah, if you want to see more of my stuff, you can go there and Mike, thank you again, handsome. You're the best. Oh, anytime my friend. And like I said, it's always an honor to come on, talk football with you, have you here on Locked On Patriots, but the true honor is being able to call you a friend. And I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Stay safe,

stay well. We look forward to having you back here on the pod throughout the season to break down film analysis a way only you can do it, my friend. Once again, thanks again and uh go pats enjoy the uh the rest of the weekend your holiday weekend coming up stay safe y'all and so patriots fans we are almost ready to tie a bow on the week that was here on the locked on patriots podcast but not before one more show to send you into cut-down weekend, Labor Day weekend, and most importantly, the last weekend devoid of NFL football. So, because we all feel like we're cramming for the big day,

that may mean a refresher course is in order, a learning session to remind us all exactly what we're dealing with when we speak of your six-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. And who better to conduct that class than someone we like to refer to as the professor. And he also just happens to be a former New England Patriot. That's right, folks. That's right, folks. Former Super Bowl champion and current analyst for The Athletic and for the New England Sports

Network, Matt Chatham will join me here on the pod tomorrow. And we'll not only preview the Patriots roster, but what the incarnation of these New England Sports Network, Matt Chatham will join me here on the pod tomorrow and will not only preview the Patriots roster, but what the incarnation of these New England Patriots may look like on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. We all know Matt to be both as candid as they come and as accurate as they come as well, so you will not want to miss tomorrow's episode. And to ensure that you don't or any episode of Locked On Patriots, be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, follow us on Spotify, of Locked On Patriots, be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts. Follow us on Spotify.

Download Locked On Patriots wherever you get your podcasts. Once again, my name is Mike DeBate. I thank Taylor Kyles for his time, his insight, and his appearance on today's pod. But most of all, I thank you so much for listening today and remaining locked into Locked On Patriots. Stay safe. Stay safe. Stay well. Continue to be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone.