Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - The Foxboro Force Awakens: Are Patriots RBs the New Hope? - 6/5/2020

Episode Date: June 5, 2020

The New England Patriots are in need of a ‘new hope.’ With Tom Brady’s departure, their offensive force might awaken in the form of their running backs. Joining host Mike D’Abate is fan-favorite Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy. The duo dissect the Patriots ground game depth chart, and provide some optimism for Patriots Nation. 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 your Force Awakens Friday episode of 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. My name is Mike DeBate, your host of the Locked On Patriots podcast, which of course is a proud part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. And as always, folks, your team every day means that your questions, your comments, your feedback, always welcomed and appreciated. And feel free to share that feedback anytime by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-F-B-C.

And while you're out there scrutinizing the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at L-O underscore Patriots. You heard correctly, Patriots fans. On this Friday, the Force awakens in Foxborough. And that means a new hope for all of us whose expectations might have waned a little bit

after two days of dark side influence from my good friend and fearless leader Jay Soderbergh. And look, folks, I do take some liberties when it comes to calling Jay the dark side and the prognosticator of doom, but I really do appreciate his insight. And as the late great Gorilla Monsoon once said, it takes a lot of intestinal fortitude to take the airwaves on a podcast listened to by Patriots fans and tell that fan base that there is a distinct possibility that the team who has been riding high for 20 years might end up being toward the bottom of the barrel this year.

I tell you honestly, he doesn't want that to be so, but he is coming from a place of honesty, sincerity, and accuracy. But with that being said, Jay's not the only one that wishes he was wrong about that. We all hope that Jay's wrong about that. We all want the New England Patriots to continue their winning ways. Well, folks, the good news is that today, from the doom, comes the boom. And that is in the form of the green wisdom and counsel of my good friend, the master of disaster himself, the one and only Thomas Murphy.

And Murph arrives today to help us close out the week here on Locked On Patriots and give us some new hope heading into the weekend. But what is it about this upcoming Patriots roster, projected roster that is, folks, that makes Murph a little more optimistic than Jay's been the last couple of days? Well, don't forget, amidst all this dark side talk, it has still been week two of positional depth chart analysis here on Locked On Patriots. And during Jay's visit for the last couple of days,

we talked about the Patriots' offensive line, specifically the concerns on that offensive line that we both share. But there are still positions we haven't discussed yet here on Locked On Patriots. And Murph is the perfect guest to bring in here today to discuss one of those positions, one that is very near and dear to his heart. And if you've ever spent any time looking at the man's Twitter feed, you know that he's a very big fan of a certain New England Patriot.

And while I'm not going to give away who that Patriot is just yet, let's just say he is a member of the Patriots stacked group of running backs. And both Murph and myself are optimistic about this running back depth chart this year. But is it enough to buoy the Patriots' chances to be a serious contender, not just in the AFC East, but in the entire AFC? Well, folks, those are the very questions that Murph and I will tackle today. We'll be talking about Patriot running backs such as Sonny Michel, James Sweetfeet White, Rex Burkhead, Damian Harris, J.J. Taylor, who is an undrafted free agent rookie that the Patriots have brought in.

We may even delve into the fullback position. That means Jakob Johnson, Danny Vitale, even Dalton Keene and Jake Burt. And of course, last but certainly not least, the running back to which I was referring earlier, Murph's favorite, Brandon Bolden. So settle in, folks. An action-packed episode today on Locked On Patriots as Murph and I try to give you a little optimism and maybe inject a little new hope when it comes to the fate of your New England Patriots in the upcoming 2020 NFL season.

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Patriots fans, after a couple of days of delving into the dark side, the force awakens on this Friday episode of Locked On Patriots. And to give us that new hope that we need to carry us into the weekend is the one and only source of green wisdom and counsel. Now, folks, I'm not talking about Yoda. I'm talking about a massive amount of green wisdom and counsel. That's right, everyone. Your favorite and mine.

My benefactor in this business, the count of Murphy Fisto, the legendary Thomas Murphy, is back for his weekly appearance here on Locked On Patriots. Thank you so much for joining me today, Don Murph. Thank you so much, man. Always too kind, too kind with your introductions. I really appreciate it. And it's always a joy to be back here in the studios with you. And I got to say, I'm really lucky that you keep inviting me back like this and keeping me relevant during these days. Oh, come on.

Well, first of all, we're the lucky ones. You're really making me feel it. Well, we're the lucky ones to absorb the wisdom and counsel each and every week. The fact that we have you as a weekly spot guest here on Locked On Patriots is not happenstance, folks. It's by design. You want it. We want it. And I always have a blast whenever you're here.

There's no question about it, but you bring the knowledge to the table the way it needs to be brought. And let's face it, Murph, the last couple of days here on Locked On Patriots have been kind of dark. No, I kid folks. As you know, Jay Soderbergh has joined me here on the pod for the past couple of days. And Jay is as passionate of a Patriots fan as you can get but he does have some legitimate concerns about this team and their prognosis for 2020 and he does make solid arguments you know I think we can give some of the listeners today Murph a new hope if you will and folks thanks for putting up with the Star Wars references all week long but you know I love it I've got to do the pop culture thing. And you guys always enjoy it, too.

So I appreciate it. And Murph's a fellow fan on the other end, so he knows what's going on. Murph, one of the reasons why I feel hopeful about this Patriots team is the defense. But I've discussed the defense pretty well here on Locked On Patriots over the past couple of weeks with the positional depth charts and the breakdowns. Another position that we have yet to discuss is the running back position. And I know it's one that you hold in very high regard. As we speak today, the Patriots employ six traditional running backs and two fullbacks in Jakob Johnson and Danny Vitale.

I mean, if we really want to be thorough, we could throw in Dalton Keene and Jake Burt into the mix as well. They're tight ends, but they could see some action at fullback. But for the sake of today's argument, we're going to stay traditional. Sonny Michel, James White, Brandon Bolden, Rex Burkhead, Damian Harris, and J.J. Taylor, the undrafted free agent out of Arizona. All of these backs bring something special to the table. But today, I'd like to start with the de facto feature back, and that's Sonny Michel. Murph, since Sonny joined the Patriots as

a 2018 first-round pick, New England has run the ball on 70% of his offensive snaps. That's according to ESPN stats and info. So when Sonny's on the field, it's pretty easy to predict what he's going to do. I know Josh McDaniels would love to change that. You know that as well. One of the ways that they can do it is making him more of a factor in the passing game. He's got a total of 19 passes on 31 targets for 144 yards, no touchdowns in his career in New England. That doesn't instill you with a whole lot of confidence. And Michel is never going to be a pass catching wizard like James White and we

will get to James in a moment but he did prove during his time in Georgia that he can contribute in that area he had 64 catches 621 yards six touchdowns over four seasons Murph with a greater focus on the running game this year combined with what I hope is going to be better blocking on the offensive line do you believe that Sony could have a resurgence this year? Or do you believe that if he stays one-dimensional, that he could lose some snaps, especially with a crowded depth chart? I do think he's going to lose some snaps on this depth chart. That sounds like a knock, but it really isn't. It goes to the depth

of this group, um, which some people are saying is, is the best in the NFL. I, I, I'm not sure if I'm on that, that level of, uh, likeness with, with, with these kids, but you know, I do think he is going to take a step back and we'll probably talk about why uh a little bit later on but but no it's it there were what some people are calling a regression last year had more to do with what was going on around sony and how the uh the patriots were using him as opposed to any knee issues or talent issue or talent problem uh that he might have been experiencing uh i i'm not knocking sony that that's not what i'm doing i i you know i love my little sony sony sony has done it again thing and i think we're going to hear plenty of that

it's just going to be a little more spread out than it was last year. And I just feel that after two seasons of seeing Sonny Michel, we've seen the way he's going to be used in this offense. And there's not going to be a ton of difference with Stidham under center as opposed to Tom Brady when it comes to Sonny Michel. Yeah, I think that's an interesting point. I've been on the train of saying that I believe Sony would see an uptick or a resurgence this year. And one of the reasons that you hit upon was that the things going on around him.

I believe that there were some points in the season last year where there was some poor blocking for him. Now, not all of that was the offensive line fault. Some of it was Sony's fault. He wasn't hitting the holes the way he needed to he really wasn't finding the scene right the way he needed to and getting the burst that he needed for uh big runs and i think there was a potential of some of those runs on the table i think some of that was because of the confidence he had in the line to block for him i think he became a little gun shy maybe a little bit difficult to try to define

those. And it led to a lack of production. But I think you make a good point in saying that he is primarily going to be used as the feature back. I don't see him taking all that many snaps to increase his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. They tried that last year with Tom Brady. Tom Brady is one of the best quarterbacks in history at being able to find mobile running backs that can catch the ball out of the backfield and break for big yards. He's had them on his roster for quite a number of years, going back to guys like Kevin Fall, going right to the present day of a guy like James White. But Sony is not that type of a runner, and I don't think that's the way the Patriots want to employ him. So I agree with you. I do think he's going to see a, a decrease in snaps, but I also think you're

going to see maybe an increase in productivity. If that makes any sense, folks, I think his runs are going to be more productive. He just may see less snaps because of the crowded depth chart. So again, my friend, you're giving us a little bit of hope. You're bringing that slowly back. You're keeping things on an even keel, and I appreciate it, but there are some glimmers of hope here, and that's why we needed the green wisdom in Council. We needed a new hope. We needed the force to be awakened here, folks.

All right, I promise. I'm going to stop with the Star Wars analogies. Well, I can't promise that, but I'll cut them down. I promise that. The mystery wrapped in a riddle this year, Murph, is Damian Harris, who his 2019 production consisted of four carries in a week seven win over the New York Jets. And if we're being honest, it was during garbage time. The Patriots are intrigued by Harris's value without any question.

They selected him with a third round pick in 2019. He only played 10 total snaps as a rookie, five on offense and five on special teams. He sat out nearly the entire season. Most of that was because he was a healthy scratch. Now Harris's lack of usage is surprising to a lot of Patriots fans, but it's not unprecedented. And I've said this several times here on locked on Patriots.

The Pats took a similar redshirt approach with James White and Shane Vereen way back in 2011. Both of them took on much larger roles in their sophomore season in the NFL. And whether Harris can do the same is going to be a prominent storyline, I think, this year. I think Harris could be a breakout player on this roster, and I think he will be, but that's still an unknown. Am I off base here, or do the Patriots have a potential diamond in the rough waiting in

the wings in Damian Harris? No, they really do, and that was the reason for the slow progression, as you had said with James White and Shane Vereen earlier. This is somebody that is going to have a more intricate role in this offense than Sonny Michel does or he was expected to have when he came into this offense. That's why they give these guys these redshirt seasons. It is a very difficult – folks, when you are handed a playbook in high school, it is about a half an inch thick. When you get to

college, it jumps up to two inches thick. When you get to the pros, that playbook is three inches thick. When you get to New England, you're handed Encyclopedia Britannica. And you have to know this book inside and out in every situation. You have to see over the past 20 years, at least the last 10 years, you've had to know what Tom Brady is thinking just by looking at you as to what he wants you to do and what the Patriots and Bill Belichick did not want to happen was him to get overwhelmed and have too much put on his plate at too soon of a time. Everybody clamored for this kid to be on the field. I was one of them because I loved what he did at VMA. I mean, he literally lit the screen up every time he was on it.

But this is not college football. This is not even most pro football. This is not even those pro schemes. This is something completely different. And what Bill wants to do with him and what Josh wants to do with him, he has to know it in and out. You have to be able to pull out six different situations to deal with every time you walk on the field when your number is called. And they didn't want him accidentally missing. It might not be an assignment because Tom, quite frankly, will just throw it at somebody's feet and will move on to the next play. He'll be a little pissed off, but that's the way it is. But when you have a 42 year old quarterback that has been hit as often as Tom Brady has and all you have is a backup is a, you know, round pick that that nobody is expecting to do anything that year. sees it coming and he's going off to run a route that he initially thought was what his responsibility was,

it can be a problem. That's why we did not see him. It has nothing to do with whether or not Ivan Fryer's like this kid's work ethic, how hard he hit a hole, or any confidence in him in his running or catching ability, which is vastly better than Sonny Michel's. It really is his catching ability, what he can do with the ball after he catches, simply because he has those gears to go through. Sonny is, we talked before, he is not a stop motion and then jump back into action type of running back.

He's not LeGarrette Blount either where he needs to, you know, but he does. He needs to take those steps to get into what he needs to do. This kid does not. You are going to be really impressed with what you see from him this year, and I expect to see a lot of it. I agree with you, and I think one of Harris's big contributions this year is going to be increasing yards per carry for the Patriots. When I was looking at statistics in preparation for our discussion today, Sonny Michel averaged 3.7 yards per carry last season.

That's 18 out of the 20 NFL running backs with at least 200 rushing attempts. Harris is a guy that can hit the hole. Like you said, he doesn't necessarily need those two or three stutter steps or that little bit of a head start, for lack of a better term, in order to make the offense more productive. He can get right from the ground and go and run with it. He can get yards after the catch, and he's also more adept than Sonia being able to catch the ball out of the backfield. So I'm glad that we're like-minded on Damian Harris

because I loved what I saw from him in training camp last year. And I really believe that the Patriots are taking a cautious approach with him, letting him learn his role, and then being able to turn him loose. And I expect him to be a much bigger factor this year. So again, my friend, you're giving us hope. The hope's starting to creep back into the psyche of all of us here in Patriots nation and we appreciate it but Murph we're just getting warmed up in a moment the count of Murphy Fisto and I will be taking a look at the Patriots most versatile backs

James White and Brandon Bolden calm yourself for a Murph. You knew we'd talk some BB Hulk smash today. And I will ask, Murph, all that important question of whether this running game can be the Jedi warriors that return the Foxborough Alliance to greatness. See, folks, I told you I couldn't promise no more Star Wars analogies, but I will cut them down. That and more when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Patriots fans, Thomas Murphy has joined me to close the week here on Locked On Patriots. And Murph, the key to success in New England is versatility at all positions. We all know that, but especially at the running back position. And the Patriots, I believe, have three versatile runners. I know I mentioned two in the previous segment, but I believe they have three, one of whom is Rex Burkhead. And to me, I think he's an intriguing option on this team. And there's a lot of ways that could go when it comes to Rex. The other two are the ones I

consider to be roster locks, and that is James White and your personal favorite, Brandon Bolden. I don't want to lead you into the question any more than I already have. So, Bud, when you look at these three backs, what makes them the most valuable to the Patriots roster, and who among those three might be a surprise cut lurking in this group? Versatility and availability. Those are the two attributes that are most important when talking about filling out a running back room.

Brandon Bolden, I've made it no secret to anybody who's heard me talk before, is without a doubt my second favorite Patriot of all time. The first time I saw Brandon was his rookie year when he was an undrafted free agent. And he came in and I saw this man work the way he did, listen the way he did, and react the way he did to the situation that he was put into. It was fantastic. He had the same chip on his shoulder that Tom Brady had when he came here from Michigan. He could not believe that he was not drafted into the NFL at all. And he has carved himself out a role, a really fine role on this team, a role that Bill now,

I believe, understands what will happen when he is not here, because we all saw what happened in Miami the year that he had to go down there and live through that crap. So yeah, I do agree. I believe Bolden is a lock to be on this roster just for the fact that it is such a young room. I understand Sony is going into his third year. I understand James White has been here for very long. Rex Burkhead is a veteran. But that brings us to the other point, versatility. Bolden is a fantastic special teamer. He would be the captain on any other special teams unit in the NFL.

That's how good he is on specials. And availability. Let's just put it out on the table. Rex Burkhead comes from the small Italian island of Fregile. He is somebody that does miss games. He does miss practice. When he is healthy for games, he does not always finish those games. He is somebody that does get hurt. Everybody loves Rex. Everybody likes him. The coaching staff loves him. The fans love him that his effort is off the charts he he's not somebody that that is just sitting over there oh my baby toe oh oh no oh god that that's not who rex burkett is you know he is he really is and he plays through a lot he really does i'm not i'm not trying to ride him on any he's's the Dante Hightower of this offensive unit. He really is, folks. But it's also the fact that you're taking up a roster spot

for somebody that you can't always depend on because of that. I mean, I loved him when they brought him in here. I thought he was fantastic. He's just, he could be my surprise cut when all is said and done. When they're looking at getting more time for Damian Harris, I do believe that some of those snaps could come with the caveat that Rex Burkhead is not here to take those snaps. Yeah, we are like-minded when it comes to this, folks. Big surprise, I know, but in all actuality, and it pains me to say that because, again, like you said, for all of the reasons that you said, I love Rex. I would love to be able to continue to call him a New England Patriot. And, folks, this is our opinion.

I mean, we're not saying this is going to happen, but when I look at this roster, especially knowing what we know about Damian Harris and how we feel about Damian Harris, I keep thinking it could spell the end for someone like Rex Burkett, who, again, a valuable player on the field when he's healthy. One of the more valuable Patriots, I believe, when he's healthy. But he's missed 19 games over the last three seasons, my friend. The other part of this, and unfortunately I hate to say this, but the other part of it is my experience.

Those are just the games. It's not the snaps. Right. Exactly. Those are games. Exactly. 19 games over the last three seasons. That's a lot.

Those are entire games. Those don't even include the games that he can't finish. And I'm not sure how many of those are off the top of my head, but there are another handful of those games. So we're talking, you know, more than a season, you know, 18, 24 games that he has not either touched the field or been able to finish because of injury. And that's that's just the only downside. And I'm sorry, I didn't mean to step on you, but. No, you didn't step on me at all.

You made a great point. And it actually leads me right nicely into my next point, and that was there's a monetary aspect to this as well, folks, and I hate to do that, but it's a part of the way the Patriots do business. If they do cut Rex loose, they can save $2.9 million against the salary cap, and to me, that makes him someone that would be a more intriguing cut than someone like a Brandon Bolden who would free up just shy of $1.5 million in cap space. I think Bolden's special teams prowess, I think his knowledge of the system, I think his toughness, his tenacity, his relationship with Bill Belichick, folks.

Sorry to say it, but it counts. I think all those things make him a roster lock. So when you look at the monetary aspect of this, Rex is also an easy cut. But Murph, just to show you that I'm not a hard-hearted man, that it's not all dollars and cents. You know, James White, to me, is as close to a roster lock as you could possibly imagine. Fourth among running backs in terms of touchdown receptions since the start of the 2018 season. He's got 12. He's also third in both receptions, 159 behind Christian McCaffrey

and Alan Kamara, and receiving yards, 1,396 behind McCaffrey and Austin Eckler. James White is one of the most unsung heroes on this team. There is no way the Patriots are letting him go. He is scheduled to become a free agent shortly, and he probably will get a big payday, whether that's here in New England or not, folks, I'm not sure. But even with that, I don't believe James White is going to be cut loose. He's too valuable to the fabric

of this team, especially with a new quarterback under center. So of that, I agree with you. I think Rex is the likely man out among those three, but it still leaves the Patriots with a very solid running back room for the entire year. And Murph, that leads me quite nicely into my final question for you today, my friend, and that is, with Tom Brady out of the picture, the Patriots are going to be downgrading at the quarterback position. I love Jarrett Stidham. I know you do too, but at this point,

you have to be realistic in terms of what he's going to be as opposed to what he's going to not be. And that's Tom Brady folks. He's not going to be Tom Brady. You would think that that would lead to a little more use of the team's pass catchers, the strength of New England's offense being it's rushing attack, Michelle white, Burkhead, Bolden, Harris, they're all going to be back from last season, give or take maybe one here that we've talked about with Rex being a possible gap casualty. Also, David Andrews coming back.

We're hoping that's going to fortify the Patriots' offensive line, provided he stays healthy. The Patriots also have rejuvenation at the fullback position. I know James Devlin has retired that's a big loss but they've got Danny Vitale they've got Jakob Johnson they also have a guy like Dalton Keene who can help out with solid blocking chops in the fullback game right Murph when you look at the new hope of the New England Patriots do you believe this running core can carry New England's revamped offense, but I think the more important

question here, my friend, is should they be asked to carry the load when it comes to the Patriots offense this year? What we're looking at this year, folks, is a Hydra, and Bill is going to use this Hydra as a weapon all season long. You are going to see some serious scratch-your-head moments as to game day inactives week to week, even more so than you have in the past. And I do believe that he needs to rely on this team.

We're going to see rock fights throughout the season. Bill is going to use the running game and the way that he used the passing game in the past to move the chains, to wait for other teams to make a mistake and catch them in the wrong defense when he can unleash the arm of Spiral Stidham, which is going to get used. He's not going to throw for 4,500 yards and 25 touchdowns, but he's going to have a solid year. And the reason that he's going to do that is because of this running game,

because of a reworked and hopefully more healthy offensive line, a deeper offensive line. This offensive line was a mess last year, folks. It really was. There were guys that were out for the entire season and there were guys that played throughout the entire season in an extremely banged up manner simply because of the amount of steps uh snaps that they had to take i'm i and i am i i'm going on right bill is going to use this running back room as his palette to paint the masterpiece that he is looking for.

Everybody's talking about the next quarterback, the next quarterback. Can Stidham be the next quarterback? No. What we need to know is if James White and Sonny Michel and company can get back into the way back machine, take this team and put it on its back like a 1970s running game would or an early 1980s San Francisco 49ers running game would. Jim Craig is just an unbelievable piece to the success of those teams. And I think that's what we're going to see again this year. You mentioned Dalton Keene being able.

He's very versatile. All right. So is Devin Asiasi. He is a guy that is really going to help this team and this running game immensely this year. The lack of tight ends that are able to function in this system over the last two years has really shown up, and I think we're going to see a much better, much more cohesive running attack this season than we did last.

And when I say running attack, I don't just mean getting to the edge or going up between the tackles. I mean getting out and getting the ball in space and allowing the quarterback under this Patriots center to be able to do the things that he really needs to do. And you saw that with the frustration on Tom Brady's face last year. It wasn't necessarily just the fact that he did not trust the guys that were X, Y, and Z receivers. It was the fact that it was a really difficult day to get up and go to work behind the line that they had with the tight end group that they had. And you're going to see a very different offense this year. I agree, again, 100%.

I think you are going to see that different type of offense for the Patriots this year. You mentioned the tight ends being more solidified. I think the running back core takes a big step forward. And look, we haven't even really talked a lot about a guy like J.J. Taylor, who is the running back, undrafted free agent out of Arizona. Tiny, no question about it. He's been described as such, only 5'5", 185 pounds. But he does run with some power.

He can contribute as a ball carrier, as a pass catcher. People have been talking about him as a possible comparison to Deion Lewis. But it's going to be a red shirt for him. Absolutely. Practice squad possibility, folks. It be a red shirt for him. Absolutely. Practice squad possibility, folks. It's a red shirt here. Yeah. Hopefully they can keep him under wraps because I like what this kid can bring to the table.

I hate to have them cut him loose. I can't see him cracking the 53 man or however much the rosters are going to be this year. But I do believe that he's someone to keep an eye on, especially in training camp, folks. Murph, what can I say? I appreciate you injecting that hope that we needed heading us into the weekend. You're not filling us with pie in the sky expectations, but you're giving us hope that this running back core and this Patriots team might not be as relegated to the cellar as we've thought in the last couple of days.

That's why we bring you here you lend the wisdom and counsel like no other and again that's why your family here at locked on patriots it's not just because you pretend to humor my star wars references or my jack waltz impressions from earlier on you do it and you do it with class and you do it with style and i thank you for joining me today folks Folks, you should already be doing so. But for any of our new listeners, please follow the account of Murphy Fisto here on Twitter, at TeamMurph207. All of his analysis, including the monster columns, the monster keys, each and every game day, and all throughout the offseason.

Always, when you point, you click, you learn, you become a better Patriots fan and a better football fan. And, of course, Murph's work is always proudly found on diehardbostonsportsfans.com. And never miss an episode of One Patriots Place with Murph and our great mutual friend, Steve Balistrieri, who's down languishing in Florida right now. And he's doing very well. And we can't wait to have him back here on Locked on Patriots very soon. My man, thank you so much. Honored and humbled always by your presence. No, thank you.

Thank you for having me. Thank you for bringing up Steve. He just wrote a fantastic article just about this over at patsfans.com. Go check that out. Absolutely, my friend. And Steve's work is always second to none, as yours is. That's why you guys are part of the core family here at Locked On Patriots. Have a great weekend.

Stay safe, stay well, my friend. And we'll be talking to you next week, as we always do. You too. Happy National Donut Day, everybody. Happy National Donut Day. Great way to end a Friday. Absolutely. Coffee and donuts, boys.

And so, Patriots fans, we put a bow on the week that was here on the Locked On Patriots podcast, and it has been an action-packed week, folks. Here on the pod, we continued to break down the various positional depth charts on the Patriots 2020 roster, and we even took a walk on the dark side before ending the week with a little new hope. And as we also talked about earlier this week, NFL training camps are still likely to kick off in July, and that means it's likely that the NFL will indeed start on time.

And your New England Patriots continue to get at it. Jarrett Stidham is reportedly holding throwing sessions with many of the Patriots' wide receivers. Stid the kid already settling into a leadership-type role. You'll love to see it. Will that translate to success on the field? Time will only tell, folks. But hold on to that hope and keep believing in the best possible outcome for your 2020 New England Patriots. But I would be very remiss if I didn't also acknowledge that it has been a very emotional week, not just in Patriots Nation, not just in football fandom, all over the country,

really all over the world. As we continue to hope for the best for humanity, I did want to take a moment to acknowledge the generosity and the commitment of the Kraft family as they have committed to pledging $1 million, $100,000 monthly for the next 10 months, to local grassroots organizations that have been chosen in collaboration with Patriots players to aid in the fight for equality, to end systemic racism, and create meaningful change. It's yet another addition to the foundation we're all trying to build, and that's the foundation for a future built on peace, justice, and equality.

And this weekend, as we all go about our routines, I encourage you all to take a moment to open your ears, open your eyes, and open your hearts. That's the best way to build that foundation, and it starts individually in each and every one of us. I sincerely hope that you've enjoyed the week's content here on Locked on Patriots. Once again, I would like to thank this week's guests, Robert Marcello, Jay Soderbergh, and

Thomas Murphy, all for their time, their insight, and their appearances on Locked on Patriots. Weekends are a great time to catch up on podcasts, so if you missed any of the week's action, or if you simply can't accept the thought of missing one more episode of Locked On Patriots, the best way to do so is to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, follow us on Spotify, and of course, you can always listen to Locked On Patriots right on your very own smart device. How do you do so? Very simple. Just ask it to play the latest episode of Locked On Patriots. Once again, I'm Mike DeBate. I thank you all so much for listening today and throughout the week.

Stay safe. Stay well. Be the change you wish to see in the world. And have a great weekend, everyone.