Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - The One Rises: Newton Emerges; Harry Needs to Step-Up for New England Patriots - 8/24/2020

Episode Date: August 24, 2020

The New England Patriots are set to kick off an important, and intense week of practice. Although there are a number of questions yet to be answered, Cam Newton has emerged as the clear front runner in the battle to be New England’s starting quarterback. Joining host Mike D’Abate is fan-favorite Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy to discuss Newton’s progress, as well as the prowess of S Kyle Dugger and the struggles of WR N’Keal Harry. Also, could the new hot ‘Camp Competition’ be brewing at the kicking position? Mike and Murph dish on the battles between veteran Nick Folk and rookie Justin Rohrwasser. 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. We are kicking off the week in style with a little Locked On Murph Monday here on 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. Patriots fans, it's a new dawn and a new week here on the pod, and it promises to be an exciting and big week for your boys in Foxborough. My name is Mike DeBate, your host of the Locked On Patriots podcast, which of course is a proud part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. And folks On Podcast Network, your team every day.

And folks, you know that your team every day means that your questions, comments, and feedback are always welcomed and greatly appreciated. Share that feedback anytime by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-F-P-C. And while you're out there scrutinizing the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. Folks, I hope that you all had a great weekend, and thank you once again for kicking off your week of Patriots coverage right here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. As always, it was an eventful weekend in Foxborough.

The Patriots may have had Saturday off from the practice field, but they did make a few roster moves. And I'll get into those in just a moment, as well as talking about the Patriots' return to the practice fields for a lighter practice on Sunday, but then again on Monday for a full pads football frenzy in Foxborough. That's right. Our good friend Claire doesn't call me the Admiral of Alliteration for nothing. But we will talk about what the Patriots look like on the field, and why a couple of younger

members of this roster find themselves in the crosshairs of criticism. Last but certainly not least, it is becoming evident that the quarterback competition that we all thought was going to last throughout the entirety of camp is slowly but surely becoming a thing of the past. Cam Newton is definitely emerging as quarterback one for your New England Patriots. And as you probably figured out, we will be talking about Cam Newton as quarterback one of this team. We'll also be spending a little time talking about rookie safety Kyle Duggar

and how his emergence throughout camp could mean big things for the Patriots defensively this year. Last but certainly not least, we will talk about those two New England Utes, as Vinny Gambini would say. I'm talking about second-year wide receiver Nikhil Harry and rookie kicker Justin Rohrwasser. Both players came into camp with high expectations, which they haven't quite lived up to

just yet. Or have they? Well, those are the questions that we will be discussing today. And I say we, folks, because if you were paying attention in today's introduction, you'll know that I introduced today's pod as a locked-on Murph Monday. That's right, your favorite and mine, the green master of disaster is back in his weekly spot. Our man Thomas Murphy drops by today's pod to lend his wisdom and counsel on these subjects. And folks, take it from me, you do not want to miss what Murph has to say. So sit tight and settle in, folks. A full agenda on today's pod.

And if you're like me, as is the case each and every week, you are chomping at the bit to absorb some of Murph's green wisdom and counsel. But before I welcome in our main green man to today's pod, I just wanted to take a few moments to bring you up to speed on the latest news and notes from Foxborough. Now again, the Patriots did take the day off from the practice fields on Saturday, but the team did not take the day off from making news, especially when it comes to the transaction wire. As of the close of business on Saturday, the Patriots had announced that they had signed two players and released two players as well. The two new arrivals were veteran defensive tackle Xavier Williams and tight end Paul Quisenberry, and both of these players had visited New England earlier this week. Williams is a solid depth addition, and the Patriots needed some depth on the defensive line. He has spent time with the Arizona Cardinals and the Kansas City Chiefs and indeed he was on the roster that won the Super

Bowl just a year ago. Even though he didn't appear in the title game, spent time on temporary injured reserve because of a high ankle sprain, throughout his career Williams has recorded 83 combined tackles, three sacks as well as three forced fumbles throughout his career in both Arizona and Kansas City. Quisenberry on the other hand is a versatile tight end who does have the ability to play some fullback as well. He appeared in 38 contests during his time at the United States Naval Academy. That's right, folks. Bill's at it again.

You know he loves his Navy guys. Total opposite of Lieutenant Kendrick and a few good men. He didn't like the Navy boys. And he told Lieutenant Caffey that playing out. Every time we gotta go someplace to fight, you fellas always give us a ride. But whether you loved Kendrick or you hated him, he was a proud Marine and he would be proud that Quisenberry had actually decided to join the US Marine Corps prior to being brought in for a free agency tryout with the Patriots earlier this week.

But the Patriots obviously see something in Quisenberry here. And again, I think it's versatility. Bill Belichick when he addressed the media Monday morning had mentioned Quisenberry here. And again, I think it's versatility. Bill Belichick, when he addressed the media Monday morning, had mentioned Quisenberry's skill set, allowing him to play the fullback position as well as the tight end position. So keep a sharp eye on this one. This has the potential to be an interesting story, folks. But because the Patriots brought in two, that means they had to get rid of two. And it was essentially a like for like. In came Xavier Williams on the defensive tackle position. Out goes former Patriot practice squatter Darius Kilgo. Same deal at the tight end position.

Enter Paul Quisenberry. Exit Alex Ellis. And much to the chagrin of myself and my good friend Steve Balistrieri, Ellis will apparently not be the white knight in Foxborough. And for the Patriots, when it came to Alex Ellis, they basically went, bye-bye, Bobby. But the Patriots weren't exactly done adding to the roster, as they would add another defensive tackle, rookie Michael Barnett from the University of Georgia.

And last but certainly not least, they would add another leg to the stable. And a name that's familiar to all of you in the kicking game, no folks, not Steven Gostowski, Nick Folk found his way back into the Foxborough fold. And as a matter of fact, on Monday, when the Patriots put the full pads backowski. Nick Folk found his way back into the Foxborough fold. And as a matter of fact, on Monday, when the Patriots put the full pads back on, both Folk and Barnett were on the field. And that field on Monday was an action-packed place to be, starting with the quarterback position, where Cam Newton continues to be on his way to earning the starting quarterback job, folks. He once again led the team in passing game reps and had some impressive throws as he becomes

more confident in this system. Now, it hasn't been all perfect for Cam the last couple of days, especially on Monday. He did have some problems with accuracy through an interception during 11-on-11 work, also had some issues with ball security, lost a fumble, and he was forced to run a penalty lap for that. But all in all, Cam looks more confident each and every day he takes the field, had a very good session on Sunday with Julian Edelman. Those two look to be on the same page. And at this stage of the game, Cam looks poised to take a strong hold on that quarterback one position. Now, one player on offense that's been particularly polarizing is wide receiver Nikhil Harry. Nikhil has missed some practices lately. There's been some question about his conditioning or his pain tolerance, and that's

caused some to criticize him pretty strongly. He had a very good practice on Monday, though. Looked very good during one-on-one drills. At one point, he outleaped cornerback Juwan Williams for a back shoulder catch, something that Harry is so adept at. One of the big reasons why he was brought here, folks, he also had two touchdown grabs versus J.C. Jackson during 11-on-11s. One came on a back shoulder fade from Cam Newton, the other on a

slant. So all in all, I think a nice rebound day for Harry on Monday. Got a chance to showcase the potential of what he can provide on the field for the Patriots, but there's still a lot of questions surrounding him, folks. Durability and conditioning are two things the New England Patriots stress above all else. If McKeel can prove that some of these early practice hiccups were just that, bumps in the road, then he'll be fine, and likely will go on to be a major contributor for the Pats offense this year. But if in fact Monday was just an anomaly, and these questions continue to linger, then Harry might be in for a pretty long training camp. And for those of you circling the wagons,

ready to label him a bust, or thinking that he's going to get cut, well, keep in mind, the Patriots invested a first-round draft choice in Nikhil just last year. They're not going to cut him, not this quickly. However, it may mean that it may take a little longer for them to develop him. Is that necessarily the worst thing in the world? Well, that's just one of the questions that my man Murph and I will tackle in just a moment. I'll also go rummaging through Murph's bank of opinions when it comes to the kicking position. After all, Nick Folk was on the field on Monday.

And it should be noted that Folk made 4 out of 4 field goal attempts during team drills compared to Justin Rohrwasser's making only 3 of 4. Do we have an official kicking competition going on in Foxborough? Well, Murph and I will discuss that one as well. In addition to Cam Newton's emergence as the leader in the quarterback clubhouse and the impact of a rookie member of the Patriots secondary that is primed to have a big impact on the Pats defense in 2020. This and more with our main man Murph when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues.

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GetRoman.com slash LockedOnNFL. GetRoman.com slash LockedOnNFL. Patriots fans, the boys are back at it today on the Gillette Stadium practice fields. The full pads were back on on Monday, and that rather fuzzy picture of the 2020 New England Patriots, well, it's starting to get a bit clearer. Or is it? Well, folks, my guest today has some wisdom and counsel to lend on the subject. In fact, you might call it some green wisdom and counsel. Oh, yeah, folks, that's right.

It is that time again. Your favorite and mine, my benefactor in this business, the Count of Murphy, Fisto himself, the legendary Thomas Murphy, is back for his weekly appearance here on Locked On Patriots. Thank you for coming to me in friendship and for helping me kick off the week in style here on the pod. Dunn Murph. Yeah, I'm starting to like batting lead off here. It's a lot of fun. This way Steve will come on later in the week

and make fun of everything that I said today. And it'll give our number one fan, Kzzy Claire, something to do this afternoon. Oh, absolutely. Without any question. Claire definitely loves when you're on, as do all of our listeners here. I have always said, you're the fan favorite. And there's a reason for that, my friend. And yeah, Steve's appearance last week, we actually didn't make fun of you as much as

we did Alex Ellis, who is no longer with the Patriots. His tenure here lasted slightly longer than Harry Ellis in Die Hard. And we had some interesting things to say. You know, I can't use it anymore, Murph. It's gone. I know. It's gone. It's gone.

It was going to be beautiful. It was. It really would. But you know what? Bill got a Navy guy in his place. And we'll talk a little bit about that as well, folks, because it's been an eventful weekend in New England here, buddy. What else is new?

You know, there's always something to talk about in Foxborough. Two new additions for the Patriots, obviously. We talked about tight end Paul Quisenberry, former Navy midshipman coming in here to compete for a spot on the roster. No relation to Dan, I checked. No, no relation to Dan. Absolutely, one of the more amazing pitchers that you'll have seen in that generation. He does have a brother who plays for, I want to say Texas.

He's got a brother that plays in the league somewhere. Oh, okay, that's good. See, that's a homework assignment. We'll definitely go and we'll check into that. Don't prove me wrong, people. Good stuff, wow. Okay. That's good. See, that's a homework assignment. We'll definitely go. We'll check into that. Don't prove me wrong, people. Good stuff, folks. Yeah, definitely. Send in your comments to the posting of today's show on Twitter and let us know if you're able to do any type of family tree dinging in that regard. But also defensive tackle Xavier Williams. I should say that wearing number 76 in Monday's practice today,

alongside, of course, Isaiah Wynn, who owns that number, is another defensive player. Michael Barnett out of the University of Georgia was brought in by the Patriots over the weekend. So that defensive roster is starting to take shape a little bit. There was also another addition to the roster this weekend that made his practice field re-debut, and that is kicker Nick Falk. He's back in the saddle again.

And Murph and I will discuss the kicker situation in a bit, folks, in a little more in-depth. But where else would we start, Don Murph? But the quarterback position. And it's obvious that Jarrett Stidham is nursing an injury, but it's not a debilitating one. Stidham was on the field today, did participate in some one-on-one drills, still looked a bit tentative, but he looks like he's at least moving with some comfort, and I think the Patriots are taking a cautious approach when it came to him. But Cam Newton has looked anything but tentative. He's definitely emerging as the clubhouse leader since Friday, taking the majority of the reps, and he's developing a pretty strong bond with

Julian Edelman. Murph, as we start to see Newton emerge as the quarterback one in your estimation what does this mean for the Patriots offense not just in the immediate but moving forward was this a plan all along or do you think that there really was a chance that Stidham could have challenged Newton for this position but just essentially ran into some bad luck when it came to the injury bug. No, it wasn't a foregone conclusion that this was going to happen, at least in my estimation. Bill played this perfectly as making this out to be a competition. And I say played as in just using that as a word.

It was a competition we did not know what cam newton was going to be when he came in here we did not you cannot tell from instagram videos how healthy a person is or not you're not going to know until you know you get here whether or not that surgically uh repaired shoulder was going to hold up to the reps. Now, also, we're still not seeing a full complement, and we won't, of how his arm is going to handle throwing the ball 30, 35 times. You know, we hear, well, you know, in 11-on-11s, he was 8-for-10 with two drops. And in 7-on-7s, he, he was six for nine with a drop and a pick. You just don't know until they get out there and until they

get the pads on. And quite frankly, until he takes his first hit and lands on that shoulder as to how healthy he really is. But as of right now, he looks good and he has earned that number one spot. And I would have put him there over Stidham,

whether Stid was nursing, whatever injury that he is nursing at this point in time. And also, you know, shout out to our guy Fitzy who had it first. Yeah, absolutely. He did. And I gave him the proper credit on Friday's pod, both introducing him. And when I spoke about Stidham's injury, and we went into pretty good depth on what it would mean for Stidham's development with Mark Schofield on Friday. And again, I consider Mark the quarterback whisperer. He was able to provide some great insight, but I agree with you. I think that at this point, you're looking at a guy like Cam Newton, who is developing a pretty good relationship with his players.

We haven't seen that shoulder tested extensively, so I do believe we will see that. Bill Belichick alluded to that when he spoke to the media this morning, that this is going to be a big week. We're going to start seeing some serious type of competition on the practice field and game simulations, and I think that's going to be very impressive and very telltale when it comes to what we can expect to see in the Patriots' offense this year. But again, folks, I caution you, what you're going to see on the practice field is not going to completely tip the hand when it comes to Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels.

Neither one of these guys are going to do that. And at this point, I think it's going to be good to get an idea of what Cam is going to be able to do physically. But I think we're just scratching the surface on what this offense could indeed look like. So good news on the offensive side of the ball. It seems to be that the quarterback competition is starting to, I don't want to say starting to wane, but it's looking like Cam is going to be the guy. And you alluded to this earlier. I think with both of these guys, even playing at the top of their game, it was probably Cam's job to lose more so than not. But I think that Stidham legitimately had a competition. And I do point to

the early part of training camp where these types of snaps were being equally distributed throughout the three quarterbacks and whether that's by design or whether that's not folks you can always start to see uh players emerge as a coach's favorite or having an idea i think there really was an equal part i think they wanted to see what they had in cam see what they had instead of them and all things falling the way they have it kind of just falls into plan that cam seems to be emerging as the clubhouse leader. End of the day, we're talking about a veteran quarterback here who's taken his team to the Super Bowl and been an MVP.

It's a little difficult for a second year guy, whether he knows the system well enough or not, to overtake somebody like that. We've already seen it once here in New England, and that guy ended up being the greatest player in the history of the sport. Nobody here has ever said that Jared Stidham was going to rival Tom Brady, and it's just looking to play that way out right now. Absolutely, without any question. And the thing that makes me feel better about Cam, too, the more I watch him, the more footage I see on him. He's looking less at the sidelines when it comes to the completion of passes,

when it comes to reading the Patriots' defense at the line of scrimmage, knowing what the offensive line can do. He seems to be a lot more comfortable. He's learning more and absorbing more each and every day that's a good sign for a guy like cam newton because he's picking up the playbook and he's using his instincts and murph that actually leads me quite nicely into my next question and we're going to flip over and go to the other side of the ball when it comes to the new england patriots and kyle duggar uh has been developing at a faster rate than most people expected including myself i was high on Kyle, even in the immediate aftermath of the draft. He was someone I really liked for the Patriots, but he's by Kyle's instincts his ability to pick up plays and pick

things up very quickly and that's what's been most impressive about Kyle for me is his positioning he knows just where to be and but we know it's this is not easy to do in a New England uh you know whether it be on offense or on defense based on on what you've seen, do you believe that Kyle is emerging as the lead candidate for the Patrick Chung role this year? I really do. I really do. And I thought this right out of the get-go after I saw some of his tape. I'm not going to lie. He was not on my draft radar whatsoever, but I went back.

I talked to people. I talked to people like Mark Schofield. I talked to others that saw him at the Senior Bowl. And how the kid is almost a savant in the way that he picks up plays. Once he does something, once he knows it, and he doesn't make the same mistake twice, I am not surprised at this in any way, shape, or form. His athletic ability is off the charts, completely off the charts. I love the way he sees the football game. When I went back and looked at his Lenore Ryan freaking film, it was really amazing. And it's gotten to the point

where you look past the competition that he was facing then and say, well, you know, he's just a superb athlete. No, this is a kid that knows exactly where he's supposed to be on every single play. We are going to see some mistakes down the road from him. So please, you know, remember, folks, remember where this kid came from. And the fact that, you know, he's basically younger than some of the T-shirts that I have. I mean, it's going to be a lot of fun to watch him in this defense and how he grows. And the way that his responsibilities are going to grow throughout the year, you're going to see them expand in a very, very big way. Unfortunately, we're not going to be able to see that in any preseason games right now. And all we're getting is some tape that, you know, Stacey is letting everybody see.

But no, it's happening. And no, it's not much of a surprise. It's a bit of one, considering the fact that, you know, the Patriots did bring in, did bring in a few guys this offseason after drafting Kyle. But no, I'm not shocked by it at all. Yeah, the more I'm seeing on Kyle and the more I'm absorbing when it comes to those that are in attendance, able to cover practice on a daily basis, or seeing when it comes to him, his poise, his ability to command the attention of his offensive counterparts. This is not something that's easy to do for a

rookie in a Patriots system. Kyle's taking to it like a fish out of water and he's versatile. He's all over the field. He's someone with a very high motor, but at the same time, he has the ability to do things that the Patriots really endear themselves toward when it comes to the strong safety position. And that's essentially covering tight ends, being able to come up and play that hybrid linebacker role, play in the middle of the field, drop back, be a defensive back. He has that versatility that allows him to be that type of Swiss Army knife that the Patriots need and covet in a Patriots defense. You mentioned guys that were brought in, one that I've been very high on, and I still maintain my fandom, I guess is a better way to put it. But I still maintain my confidence in a guy like Adrian Phillips. So I know I've seen the practice fields all that much lately.

I got a DM over the weekend that said, oh, you may want to reconsider that stance. Your boy Phillips is getting played out by Kyle Duggar. And I consider that a good thing, knowing that Kyle Duggar is coming in here and is able to assume that role. I think he will assume that role, but that's not to say that I don't think Phillips has a spot on this team, even if it's the third safety. And I still think he has a shot at being that second safety on the field initially because of the experience he has or has had in Los Angeles on the football field this year.

I think that's going to be needed. But the emergence of a guy like Kyle Duggar is encouraging, and it shows that the Patriots had a good amount of faith in this kid. And he's really rewarding that faith on the field. The high draft capital they surrendered to get him is something that the Patriots uh you know uh definitely i believe glad that they did but not everybody that they invested high draft capital on in the 2020 nfl draft is paying dividends so far and murph and i will discuss that because we've discussed some of the pleasantries my friend but there are still question marks and two of those question marks in particular are a bit surprising, at least to me. Not in a good way, necessarily, either.

In just a moment, Murph and I will continue to discuss Nakheel Harry and his struggles throughout camp so far. And also, could the hot new camp competition be brewing at the kicking position? Our answer to this question and more when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Pats fans, Thomas Murphy joins me today. And Murph, in today's previous segment, we talked about the emergence of guys like Cam Newton and Kyle Duggar, and we talked about their roles in the Patriots offense and defense and how it will shape the way this team looks heading forward into 2020.

But one player that is getting his share of criticism is Nikhil Harry at the wide receiver position. And that's from both the fans and even the media. Now, Nikhil was expected to come in this year and show two things. Good health was one, and growth at the position. Not necessarily physical growth, but logistical growth, meaning his game on the field. And Nikhil has missed some practices. Let's not forget that he had a late start to his rookie year last year as well. He began 2019 on injured reserve, very well publicized. I think that made it very difficult to nearly impossible for him to get up to speed with an offense run by Tom Brady in the second half of that season last year. He now seems to be a step behind guys like Damir Bird, who famously took Harry's spot on Friday in working with the hurry-up drills with Brian Hoyer, and a lot of people were

quick to criticize him on that. It should be noted that Nikhil was back on the field on Monday. In fact, according to those in attendance, he had a nice beat of cornerback Jawan Williams for a twisting back-shoulder catch on a throw from Cam Newton in one-on-one drills. That's essentially what Nikhil Harry is paid to do. He's paid to make those hotly contested, tough catches, athletic catches. And I think that he has the ability to do that as well as anyone on this roster, maybe even better than anyone on this roster. Murph, the talent is there with this kid. I've seen it, and we've all seen

it back in his days with Arizona State and flashes of it in New England. But for some reason, it just doesn't seem to all be coming together as quickly as we'd like. I think the criticism of him is a little unfair, but in your estimation, should Patriots fans be worried about Nikhil Harry? Yes, without a doubt. And I don't think the criticism is unfair. This is a sport that famously beats you up and takes you out. And if you are not the type of individual to play through, my coach used to say that there's a difference between pain and injury, and it's starting to look to me anyway that Nikhil Harry isn't somebody who deals with pain well at all, and I am starting to worry about it.

I'm worried about any wide receiver that has to feel perfect to get on the field, and to me, looking from the outside in, that might really be the downfall of this kid. Don't get me wrong, folks. He's not in danger of being cut. They aren't going to cut a first-round pick at this point in time. But it's really looking like my outrage of the fact that he was taken over Debo Samuel really, really, what's the word I'm looking for? Prophetic. I'm not liking this at all. He missed most of camp last year. He ended up on IR. Tom Brady is somebody that worships a work ethic,

and if you don't have it, then he basically is going to tune you out. This guy is not showing that so far. When other wide receivers were working out late with Cam Newton after practice, no, he wasn't there, and I really want to know why. I want to know, is this man injured, or is he just hurt and having a difficult time working past pain? Yeah, I think it's a valid concern. And again, I do think that some of the criticism that's been levied on him is a bit unfair, and I'll go into that in a moment.

But look, you do have a valid argument, in my opinion. When he came back to the practice fields over the weekend, he caught as many passes during team drills as as he had drops that's one each yep he was unable to generate consistent separation that's something that he is predicated on doing something that someone in his role needs to do in order to be an effective wide receiver and the other concern is that he looked physically exhausted near the end of that session that's why Demir Bird jogged on the field and ended up taking those reps. Demir was taking the same amount of reps that Nikhil was. So it's not like Demir had fresh legs and wasn't practicing and all of a sudden just kind of came in and was the sub.

He was doing the same amount of work that Nikhil was. And, you know, Nikhil was over there being looked at by a trainer. And Demir Bird comes in and is able to, you know the hurry up drills without any sort of physical limitation so I do understand where you're coming from on that with regard to a kid like Nikhil and I think we've seen this so many times with first round draft capital especially with Bill Belichick's track record for not being able to draft effectively when it comes to wide receivers. I think in a lot of ways, Nikhil has had a lot put on his shoulders. And I'm not saying that he shouldn't because you're a first-round pick.

You need to have that type of expectation put on you in order to be a great player. But he started the season last year on injured reserve. The fact that he was not able to get on the field during preseasonseason not able to get on the field during the opening part of the season did have a detrimental effect and i think it it wrecked his confidence a little bit in a lot of ways i think what we're going to see with mckeo is maybe him brought along a little bit slower than we had originally anticipated that's why i think guys like Jacoby Myers, who was out but limited on the field today, guys like Julian Edelman, even someone like

Adamir Bird, even maybe my main man, Gunnar Roshelski, getting a lot of praise this year out there, might be the workhorses of this team. And Nikhil might have to be brought along a little bit slower, but I still think that there's a lot of talent there. You look at what he's been able to do on the field,

when healthy, when locked in, he's able to go up, make contested catches by all stretch of the imagination. He worked with wide receivers coaches this year. He worked with the footwork King. I mean, there's a lot of different elements to what he did to try to make himself better. So I think the desire is there. And ultimately, if this is a situation where it comes down to physicality, that's something he needs to work on. He needs to correct it. But at least those are correctable traits rather than maybe something where his head's just not in it or he's not able to answer the bell. I think physicality can be something that can be overcome. But maybe I'm looking through it with rose-colored glasses, but I still have a lot of faith in this

kid, and I'd like to see him be something more than what he's been. But that does bring me into the last question that I have for you today. And one of the bigger stories coming out of training camp thus far has been the kicking situation. Justin Rohrwasser seemed to have the faith of the Patriots brass. They used valuable draft capital on him. Most believed he could have been selected in later rounds or even snagged as an undrafted free agent.

Patriots used a fifth rounder on him. And after about a week's absence from meaningful kicks in practice, after dealing with what appeared to be an injury late in the week, Justin was brought back kicking live field goals over the weekend, and his return really wasn't a highlight. He made two of four attempts during team drills, albeit against the narrower goal posts. We talked about those last week, folks. The skinny posts as opposed to the big boy posts. And also, he had some errant attempts when working on the side earlier during the session, so he shanked a few of them. His accuracy has been off. I don't want to make it seem like

it's just a distance or anything like that. Given Rohrwasser's recent miscues, it wasn't really shocking that the team decided to re-sign veteran Nick Folk. Maybe the fact that they brought Folk back in was the surprise, but I don't think it really made anyone's shock bliss that the Patriots would bring in a kicker at this point, at least if no other reason than to push Raul Losser a little bit. Murph, in your estimation, when it comes to the leg of this team this year, are the Patriots in trouble, or do you think that Justin's struggles are more injury related than a potential mistake made by Bill in drafting him in the fifth round this year yeah no I don't think it was a mistake

I mean there were other people I was not happy with the pick at all whatsoever um but you know Bill has you know Bill is Bill and he did what he did and but no I I do believe that this is injury related I don't think it's a case of the yips. I don't think it's jitters from your first pro job. I don't think it's him worried about talking to the press about a tattoo that he did or didn't have removed. I have no idea. No, this is injury-related. And I don't think that we would have seen the depth chart here extended if it wasn't. I agree with you. I absolutely agree with you and look the fact that they brought in Nick Falk as

the guy that was supposedly going to push him out for the job to me is evidence in and of itself and I'm not knocking Nick Falk folks probably not I Probably not. I think he came in, did a very serviceable job last year. He made catches outside of his comfort zone. And I think he was able to answer the call that was very difficult. He had to come in, replace Steven Gostowski, who is still out there, by the way, folks. For those of you that may think that the Patriots are just willing to, I saw a couple of tweets over the weekend, that's it, they're going to cut Rohrwasser. Folks, they're not going to cut him.

I'm sorry to tell you that. Whether you dislike the guy or whether you don't, they're not going to cut him. Look, there's a lot there. Rohrwasser went 18 of 21 on field goal attempts while serving as Marshall's kickoff specialist. This is what he was designed to do when he came in. The 53-yard game-winning field goal in the rain against Western Kentucky

is his hallmark. That's what he's going to hang his hat on. That's what Bill Belichick saw. He saw the work ethic when it came to him being able to work out. One of the few players that was able to work out for a pro day before COVID shut everything down really made, I think, this Patriots brass look at this kid as the potential fit for the future. I do think he's nursing an injury, and I think that even though he doesn't

seem to be limited by it, it can limit you in ways that are invisible to the untrained or the naked eyes. So in a lot of respects, I think you'll see his leg get stronger. It doesn't shock me to see Nick Falk come in here. Is he pressing him to end up being the starter, meaning that Rohrwasser is going to end up out of a job? I highly doubt that, folks. I really highly doubt that. I think he's being brought in to maybe inject a little bit of life into this kid, but also to help lessen the load and allow Justin Rohrwasser to heal that leg and allow him to be able to move forward. But I think he's your kicker of the future,

and I don't see the Patriots letting go of him or cutting bait this quickly. Bill Belichick will do what's best for the football team. He doesn't care about aesthetics, folks, but I can tell you he does value a fifth-round draft pick, and if Bill used one on him, there was something there to allow him to see what he needed to be. Murph, what can I say? As somebody who dealt a lot with kicker, it doesn't even have to be a leg injury that is screwing up your timing or your abilities.

That's a good point. We could be dealing with an abdominal injury or an injury to a shoulder or a glute. It doesn't even have to be his kicking leg that's bothering him to have these things happen. This kid is a fantastic kicker, and he's going to straighten out, and he's going to be here for the next decade. Yeah, agreed, and I'm so glad that you mentioned the fact that this does not have to be a leg injury. We haven't received any type of headway as to what injury he's fighting at this point, or even if he is.

We believe he is. It looks like that. But there's been no confirmation from the team because, Murph, as we all know, the Patriots are so forthcoming when it comes to information like this. They're just an open book. They just can't wait to give you all of the information that you need and then some. But no, all kidding aside, folks, I do believe he's here for the long haul,

much like my good friend on the other end of the microphone. And, you know, Murph, another week and we weren't at each other's throats. We disagreed a little bit when it came to the Keelmire, but we share the same... A little bit. Bookmarked this one. Disagreed a little bit. A little bit. You know, a little bit. But, bit, you know. A little bit.

But, no, in any case, we did disagree a little, but we still have the same concerns when it comes to McKeel. But, buddy, you lend your wisdom and counsel like no other. That's why you're family here at Locked On Patriots. That's why I'm always honored and humbled to have you join me. Folks, once again, you should already be doing this, but for any of our new listeners, follow my good friend, the account of Murphy Fisto himself on Twitter, at TeamMurph207.

His columns, his insight, including the monster keys, which are soon to make a return, only 17 days away from the start of regular season, folks. It's absolutely amazing. But anything this man has to say on football, or really in life in general, it's point, click, and learn material. Murph's work is proudly found on diehardbostonsportsfans.com, so be sure to check it out there.

And of course, never miss an episode of One Patriot's Place with Murph and our great weekly mutual friend, Steve Balistrieri. Buddy, thank you again. Honored and humbled always by your presence. That's it, man. Thank you so much for having me here. Always, you know, happy to be here. Hope to help the ball club.

And, yeah, Steve and I will be back on the air next week. Absolutely. And it's appointment listening, One Patriot's Place, next to this one, of course, folks, my favorite listen. Thanks, my good man. Have a good week. Stay safe, stay well. We look forward to talking to you again next week.

You too. Go Pats. And so Patriots fans, one day down here on the work week, but the action is just beginning. The Patriots starting to amp things up on the practice fields and when it comes to the potential talent

across the board on the Patriots roster this year, we've only begun to scratch the surface. So to make sure that you do not miss a single second of the action, make sure to subscribe to the Locked On Patriots podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow us on Spotify. Download Locked On Patriots wherever you get your podcasts. Once again, I'm Mike DeBate. I thank my good friend Thomas Murphy for his time, his insight, and his appearance on today's

pod. But most of all, I thank you so much for listening and for staying locked into Locked On Patriots. Stay safe, stay well, continue to be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone.