Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Thursday Pats Thoughts: New England Patriots Talk with @douggiefootball — 5/27/2021

Episode Date: May 27, 2021

The New England Patriots are currently conducting OTA in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Trade rumors surrounding Julio Jones continue to swirl. And, legendary Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri has called it a career after 24 amazing seasons in the NFL, 10 of which he spent in New England. It is a lot to discuss, as host Mike D’Abate welcomes Doug (a.k.a @douggiefootball) talk the latest from New England. From Adam’s retirement, to Julio rumors, to Tom Brady once again ‘gettin cheugy with it.’ Finally, Doug has some advice for Pats fans everywhere.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. All of you Foxborough faithful. You are now locked into the Lockdown Patriots podcast. It is Thursday, May 27th, 2021. And because it's Thursday, you know it's time for a visit from Dougie Football himself here on your daily home for news, notes, and analysis infused with the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots.

And today's episode of Locked On Patriots is brought to you by RockAuto.com. Amazing selection, reliably low prices, all the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com today and tell them Locked On sent you. Thursday greetings and salutations, Patriots Nation. Thank you for joining me here today on the pod. My name is Mike DeBate, your host of the salutations, Patriots Nation. Thank you for joining me here today on the pod. 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, because it's your team every day, that means your questions, comments, and feedback are always welcomed and very much

encouraged. So share that feedback, send it to the internet 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 doing some Thursday traveling through the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Lockdown Patriots Twitter account, at L-O underscore Patriots. Pats fans, we are almost through the month of May, and today is the day that the media finally gets a look at some of your 2021 New England Patriots.

Of course, those that are in attendance for voluntary OTA are on display in Foxborough. And of course, Mac Jones, Cam Newton, Hunter Henry, and a whole host of others on the field. Bill Belichick spoke to the media. All seems to be coming together, and it's starting to feel an awful lot like football season. And we might be at the very beginning of football season, folks, but for one NFL legend, that NFL journey came to an end yesterday. And I'm sure you've all seen by now that yesterday on the Pat McAfee podcast, Patriots and Colts legendary kicker Adam Vinatieri called it a career after 24 years in the NFL. And Adam has had a tremendous career.

Without a doubt in my mind, a surefire Patriots Hall of Famer. A surefire NFL Hall of Famer. Vinatieri garnering the praise of so many of his former teammates, including his former coach here in New England, Bill Belichick, who really sang his praises at this morning's press conference. Adam deserves all of the accolades he gets and then some. Congratulations to number four on a great career. Should the fates allow, he'll be getting a red jacket in Foxborough, and I think

it's a foregone conclusion that he'll be getting a gold jacket in Canton. But Adam Vinatieri's retirement, not the only story circulating Patriots Nation today. Still a lot of rumors out there on the Julio Jones trade, because on Thursday morning, Diana Rossini of ESPN reporting that several teams have engaged the Falcons in trade talks for Julio Jones, apparently with one team willing to raise the bar and offer a first rounder for Julio's services. Will that be the Patriots? Well, that sounds a little overaggressive for our favorite team in Foxborough, but stranger things have happened, and I wouldn't rule it out just yet. There is also former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady making some social media noise,

getting into some good-natured ribbing with current Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Last but certainly not least, I talked about it a little bit here yesterday on the pod, that ESPN story that seems to be circulating about Spygate. So much to talk about in Patriots Nation, and lucky for us today here on the pod, is a very popular voice within the fanbase. My man Douglas, aka Dougie Football, aka Dougie Foxborough, aka Dougie Downloads. No matter what your preferred moniker, he is here today, and we will be talking about the retirement of Adam Vinatieri,

the latest on the Julio Jones trade rumors, the ESPN non-traversy from yesterday morning, and Doug will also be sharing his thoughts on the state of the Patriots fan base headed into the 2021 season. Folks, a ton of stuff to get to today, an action-packed agenda, so let's get right into it. My Thursday discussion with Dougie Football, one half of the hosting tandem of the Untitled Patriots podcast, and the gatekeeper of the Patriots Discord community when this Thursday episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast and the gatekeeper of the Patriots Discord community

when this Thursday episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Patriots fans, the wit and wisdom of my guest today when it comes to your favorite team in Foxborough felt in all circles of Patriots fandom, and that's why I'm always happy to welcome him here to the pod. He is the regal regulator, the gatekeeper of the Patriots discord community and the Untitled Patriots podcast, which he hosts alongside the great Lee Schechter. I say without hesitation, defines the term must listen for Patriots fans. The man, Dougie football, AKA Dougie Foxborough, Dougie Pats, more names than he knows what to do with, but he wears them all. Well. This man joins me today. Welcome back to Locked On Patriots, bud.

Thank you so much, Michael. You are the ultimate hype man. I love your hype ups. They don't get old. This is my fourth time coming on. The novelty has not worn out yet. I don't know if it ever will. I love it.

I feel so charged up and motivated whenever I come on here. And I just have to say that I hope the Patriots, you know, have you come into the locker room before games. And then we'll definitely win the division this year and maybe make a Super Bowl run if Matt Julio Jones. Well, you know, my younger and adolescent years watching pro wrestling and watching Hulk Hogan hype up the crowd probably helped that. You know, the next thing you know, I'm going to be introducing you. Let me tell you something, brother.

You know, I think it'll be a good thing. Who knows? Maybe the fans will like it. Most probably won't. But you know what? I'm showing my age here, Doug. So I'm going to shut up. I'm going to welcome you in and I'm going to seek your wisdom and counsel because that's why our listeners are here today um

patriots legends just continue to ride off into the sunset and yesterday even though it's been more than a decade since he last wore the uniform um he's still a member of patriots nation and always will be and i'm talking about adam benieri, announcing his retirement after 24 seasons in the NFL. Phenomenal career. Surefire Hall of Famer. And as I wrote yesterday, this is the kick that launched a dynasty. Doug, I know you've always been a fan of Adam,

and I know he holds a special place in your heart. What are your thoughts on Adam Vinatieri and his place in Patriots history and really his place in NFL history as a whole? I know I want to ask you a question. And I wanted to ask this question halfway through what you were saying. And then I realized that it also answers your question and also sums up the whole situation. So you, you said he had the kick that launched a dynasty. Which kick are you talking about? Are you referring to the game tying kick against the Raiders?

Are you referring to the game winning kick against the Raiders? Or are you referring to the game winning kick against the Rams? You know, but you can make the argument that it's all of the above. I mean, you know, any one of them, I would probably go with the game tying, the game tying kick against the Rams. You know, but you can make the argument that it's all of the above. I mean, you know, any one of them, I would probably go with the game tying game,

tying kick against the Raiders against all odds, putting that through the uprights in adverse conditions. I was not in Foxborough that night. Like I know a lot of us were in the final game in Foxborough stadium, but I was watching that game and just those moments did not roll the patriots way consistently throughout the patriots history it usually went the other way and for anna vinatieri to connect on that kick gave the patriots new life it allowed them to be able to tie the game get to overtime get the game-winning kick and then ride those coattails all the way into a super bowl

championship so yeah i'll go with the game tying kick against the Raiders on this one. But there are a lot of people that will tell you any one of those. And I really don't think there's necessarily an answer, but I'm going with the game tying Now, that one didn't launch the dynasty because that was in our second Super Bowl championship. But that was another iconic kick. Four of the biggest kicks in NFL history. How many players even have one or two iconic kicks like that? He has four.

Yeah, absolutely. It's true. And you hear consistently from players that played with the Patriots, especially Teddy Bruschi yesterday, taking to social media, saying this guy was not just a kicker. He's a football player. Adam Vinatieri was consistently that. And I've got an interesting, funny story about Adam. Scored a two-point conversion. Scored a two-point conversion.

Absolutely scored a two-point conversion. Chased down Herschel Walker. Really, you want to talk about the guts on this guy. All of his career really just, I mean, from everything that you've heard, he took laps with the team. He did reps with the team. He took hits with the team. He wasn't just someone that showed up, did his kicks, and then left. And, you know, to quote Seinfeld, not that there's anything wrong with that. I mean, that's a lot of what being a kicker in the NFL is. But Adam Vinatieri took a different approach to it. And I think that's why he's so revered and is so iconicized throughout not only Patriots fandom, but also Colts fandom. You know, I saw a lot of Colts fans say a lot of nice things about him yesterday as well.

After all, he kicked an Indy longer than he kicked into Wingland. But we both know that if he's riding off into the cannon sunset, it should be in a Patriots uniform. Well, the Pro Football Hall of Fame doesn't do it by a team like the baseball Hall of Fame. Yeah, it's more figurative than literal. I completely understand. You're 100% right on that. See, now he said that he's not going to retire as a Patriot,

that he cares more about the Colts. That's probably because he was on the Colts at the time, but also he played there longer, and that's the team his kids saw him play for. I don't think he's going to retire as a Patriot patriot but i don't think that is necessarily because he values his time with the colts more per se i think he's just not going to go out of his way to prioritize one over the other you know right like he's going to retire as a cult because he was on the colts last but i don't think he's really necessarily making the decision to favor the colts over the patriots

um but we love him and we would love him regardless of the decision he makes on that. He was, you said that he's been away from the Patriots for a decade. He's been away from the Patriots for 15 years, over 15 years. He was on the Colts in the 2006 season, right? So it would have been the off season 15 years ago that he left the Patriots. So that is wild wild that just shows his longevity that this is a guy's patriots legend one of the greatest players in patriots history

edelman another one of the greatest players in patriots history another patriot legend another future pro football hall of famer maybe not first ballot like adam might get but another pro football hall of famer like like we've discussed in the past. He retired last month. He didn't even join the Patriots until several years after Vinatieri had left. So that just shows how long Vinatieri played. And that's one of the reasons that Vinatieri is the highest scoring player in NFL history. Which is one of the things, along with the clutch kicks, that makes him the GOAT. The greatest kicker of all time. I love Edelman. He's not the GOAT. He's only the second greatest

playoff receiver ever. The greatest playoff receiver ever is Jerry Rice. Edelman's second. I can be unbiased and say Edelman's only the second greatest playoff receiver ever. But Vinatieri, he's the GOAT. He is the GOAT of kickers. And I don't think there's really any debate. Yeah, without any question. I mean, you look uh the retires as the league's all-time leading scorer 2673 points he holds the nfl records for most field goals made at 599 most postseason points for 238 and the most overtime field goals made at 12 obviously a tremendous tremendous uh you know player and like you said i mean those are goat level numbers and we even heard bill belichick in his press conference uh

you know opening up ota this morning say about adam benetary you never ever worry an evaluation like that i know it really is amazing i mean you very seldom very rarely hear it and you talk about adam kind of earning the respect. And I mean, there's an anecdote out there that Adam told on the Pat McAfee show yesterday. You know, Bill Belichick would consistently just refer to him as, hey, four or hey, you know what? You can read it, folks. Family show.

I'm going to try to keep it clean, but whatever. I mean, they you know, that's how he responded to him. And then to earn the respect and the type of praise that he got from Bill Belichick today shows you just how far a guy like Adam Benatieri has come. Interesting story about Adam. I was actually there for his advent of his career, a young teenager at the time. And the Patriots used to train at Bryant College in Smithfield, Rhode Island, which is Bryant University now. And every year my grandfather would take myself and my two cousins, his three grandchildren, we'd go up and we'd watch Patriots training camp. And at the time, I'm starting to get into my,

you know, early to mid-teen years, and I'm kind of the too-cool-for-school attitude, you know, like that. I'm, you know, not wanting to hang out with my cousins. I'm up there, and it's fun, but it's not really the same anymore. And my grandfather was always very fair with all his grandchildren, and he would always say, we have to go up. We're all going to get an autograph, and we're going to have fun. So my cousins got autographs from two Patriots right away. Both of those guys were cut during training camp.

Neither one of them saw the light of day on a professional football field. But I'm lagging behind, and I'm not really making the effort to do anything to really put myself out there so my grandfather grabs my football and he's like i'm gonna get you an autograph and i said no i used to call him papa i said no papa you don't have to do that i'm fine i mean it's like no no we all gotta get one so my grandfather sticks the football out because at bryant what they used to do is have almost like a guardrail, like a roped off guardrail. And it was just basically like a line of grass that led up to the football fields and the players would all come out. Drew Bledsoe walked by and, you know, larger than life at the time.

My grandfather sticks the football out. Who walks by? Head coach at the time, Bill Parcells. And my grandfather looks at me, hey, Bill, sign my grandson's football. And Bill's like, no, got to go to work. And so my grandfather yelled something at him in Italian. And I was really worried that he was going to get us thrown out of there. But all of a sudden, here comes this kid, not really a big, you know, hulking type guy. He's got his hat and his helmet in his hand and he's running up. And my grandfather sticks the football out and he goes, hey, hey, hey, sign my grandson's football and looks back at him and he says no i can't he goes i'm way

too low on the totem pole he's like coach will kick my ass if i'm late he's like oh come on one pie's on to another i don't know how my grandfather knew he was italian but maybe he had like some sort of radar and signs the football signs the football i see a big a a big v and just some scribble after that number four hands the football back to me and i had no idea who he was so my grandfather was like who is he i says well we've got number four on here the security guard that was in charge of keeping the peace just looks at his roster and he says oh he says all right number four yeah he's an undrafted rookie kicker out of south dakota and I'm rolling my eyes going, okay, you know, we all struck out today, guys. It really is amazing when Adam developed into the kicker that he became.

And watching him, like you said, with the chasing down of Herschel Walker, with the kicks that were made in the Super Bowl that year. I'll never forget fast-forwarding to 2002, that snowy night in January that we just talked about, Foxborough Stadium. I'm watching the game with my dad, and that Patriots-Raiders playoff game lives in the annals of Patriots history anyway. But the thing that I'll remember most about that is after that snow kick, after the kick that we just described, that game-tying kick against the Raiders, my dad just looked at me and he says, that we just described that game tying kick against the Raiders my dad just looked at me and he says that football just got a whole lot more valuable I still have the football

it's still on my wall in my office it always will be that's my indelible memory of Adam Vinatieri and I think that's just a very good way of showing how far he came and how much he means to Patriots folklore and here I am now the uh an adult on the cusp of middle age, dare I say it. And he's still someone that I hold in the highest regard. That is an awesome story. And you should have let me tell my story first, because your story is even better than mine. And now I have to follow it. I don't want to steal your thunder. And it's going to be a great story, folks. Believe me, that's why.

We let our guests shine. I'm all about letting guests shine. Please, my friend, the floor is yours. Go ahead. Although yours did segue really well and was a great setup chronologically. So a couple things to say about that game against the Raiders.

It is in the annals of Patriots history. Obviously, it's one of the greatest Patriots games ever played. You could say it's the most important Patriots game ever played. Jerry Thornton and I had a great conversation about it. And, you know, the rule about the chain game had it. And, you know, what it was like. He watched the Patriots in the 70s and 80s and 90s. So he appreciated that on a level probably even more than you did

if you were a teenager. So obviously, but even more important in my history because in my history as a Patriots fan, because I like to say sometimes that I founded the Patriots bandwagon. That's always my comeback when people call me a bandwagoner.

And I'm like, well, I founded the bandwagon. I'm driving the bandwagon if I'm a bandwagoner, because that game, the Tuck Rule game, or the Snow Bowl, as it's known in New England, was the first NFL game I ever watched. And it is my first memory of football. I have some vague memories of like John, so I was born around 1990. I have some vague memories of like john i guess so i was born around 1990 i have some vague memories of john elway holding lombardi in the late 90s and and some super bowl halftime shows i have no memories of football like actual football in play in a real game on my television and other than that game and i watched it start to finish and that's because my stepfather was american um and and he uh was the one who got me into football.

I mean, it wasn't even really this like personal thing between me and him. It's just, he was really into football. He was from Virginia. He was actually a Redskins now football team fan, but football was always on. And that was the year he moved in. He moved in with us that September.

So football was always on. And that was the game. That just so happened to be the game where I decided to sit down and watch with him. And I watched it start to finish. And I didn't even realize they played outside and played outside regardless of what the weather is. Right. So I'm Canadian.

I'm this Canadian kid here. Right. I only know about hockey up to that point. That's why I got into football a little bit later. That's why my memories are from when I was like 10 or 11 or 12, not five. And they're playing in the snow in a blizzard. And Adam Vinatieri makes that kick to tie it, which is also my favorite because

it started everything and because it was the hardest of the three kicks easily. Adam Vinatieri makes that kick. I thought that was freaking awesome. So yeah, of course that was my, that I was going to cheer for the Patriots after seeing that. So my favorite Patriots game ever, the Patriots after seeing that. So, um, my favorite Patriots game ever,

the Patriots game that, that made me a fan and thank you, Adam, for making me a fan. And also, um, Adam, uh, he was also my favorite player, I would say while he was on the Patriots, um, because of that game and because of how important he was to that run that made me a fan. Um, I remember after Superbowl 36, I was mad that Tom Brady got MVP and not him. He scored the game winning kick. Of course he should have MVP, right? Just seems a little obvious to me.

I was actually like, in my little childish opinion, I thought, I thought that Vinatieri deserved Superbowl MVP, not Tom. And I mean, I guess Tom was my favorite player between Vinatieri and Edelman. Maybe in Edelman's first couple of years, but since 2013, Edelman has been my favorite player, Vinatieri and Edelman. Maybe in Edelman's first couple years, but since 2013

Edelman has been my favorite player, but before that it was Vinatieri. It was Vinatieri during the First Dynasty for sure when I was a kid. What else can you say? What could I say that's better than that? Unfortunately, I don't have his autograph like you. Maybe I'll need to change that one day. All I have is a signed

Nate Solder mini helmet, but thank you, Adam, for making me a Patriots fan. Thank you. I'm so glad to have you here for Oakland. And you know what? Bottom line, that is a great story. So no, do not feel inferior at all. That is.

And anytime you can share something like that with a loved one, share something like that that's important, that really gives you that love for the sport that we all love. And let's face it, we're all in this business in one way or another because of our love for football. And players like Adam Vinatieri helped to cultivate that. And, you know, again, just his undying ability to continue to get better, continue to claw. Adam actually was brought in to be a backup or maybe just, you know, some camp competition for Matt Barr in 1996. When he first came here, Matt Barr had a lot of connections with the Giants, with Bill Parcells. Everyone expected him to get the job.

But Barr was really starting to struggle when it came to kickoffs. Adam got the job because his kickoff ability was impeccable and his ability to be accurate. Always comes back to special teams. It really does. And especially even back then, even that Parcells, that Belichick coaching tree, they always placed a premium on special teams. They still do to this day. And it's one of the big reasons why Adam is such a beloved figure up here in New England,

because he got the chance to shine. And you mentioned the kick in the Super Bowl and Super Bowl 36. I think a lot of people would agree with you that say Adam Vinatieri may have been the MVP of that game simply getting the game-winning kick. It's amazing that the two kicks that he hit in the Raiders game, you talk to Patriots fans now and everybody was on edge, but was almost a little bit of more of a calm than I think there would have been prior uh to Adam Vinatieri lining up knowing that he had just hit two amazingly difficult kicks here he comes in a dome all of a sudden it's like well he hit

those two kicks in the snow he should be able to get this one this is within his wheelhouse it almost gave you maybe a little bit more calm than not uh Iceman they called him the Iceman yes exactly Patri your fans uh felt chill watching him pick in the playoffs yeah without can i add one stipulation to what i just said i need to say i don't just say every good patriots player that retires is or was my favorite player i swear i don't just say that those were my three favorite patriots adam and vinitary and then and then brady would be third of all time. It just so happens that two of them retired.

And who would have guessed that Brady would be the last to retire of them? I know. Tell me about it. And he's still going strong and no evidence in sight that Tom's ready to hang up the cleats. And, folks, we will talk a little bit, tiny bit of Tom Brady in just a little bit, because the wit, wisdom and counsel of my good friend Dougie has once again breathed life into the studios here on Locked On Patriots like he always does on a Thursday. But we're not done yet, folks, because after all, there is a lot to talk about in New England when it comes to the Patriots. Here are Doug's thoughts on all of the recent Patriots rumblings when the Locked On Patriots

podcast continues. Locked On listenersots podcast continues. little in the process. Visit my good friends at rockauto.com. Rockauto.com is a family business serving auto parts customers online for 20 years. Go to rockauto.com to shop for auto and body parts from hundreds of manufacturers. They have everything from engine control modules and brake parts to tail lamps, motor oil, even new carpet. Whether it's for your classic or your daily driver, get everything you need in a few easy clicks, and they're delivered directly to your door. The RockAuto.com catalog is unique and remarkably easy to navigate. Quickly see all the parts available for your vehicle, and then choose the brands, the specifications, and here's the best part, folks, the prices you prefer.

RockAuto.com's prices are always reliably low, and they're the same for professionals and do-it-yourselfers just like you and me. Why spend up to twice as much for the same parts? Go to rockauto.com right now and see all the parts available for your car or truck. Make sure to put Locked On in their How Did You Hear About Us box so they know we sent you. Amazing selection, reliably low prices, all the parts your car will ever need. rockauto.com.

Pats fans, our guy Dougie Football, the gatekeeper of the Patriots Discord community and the host of the Untitled Patriots podcast, joins me here today on the pod. And Doug, the Pats have been in the news for a lot of reasons lately, whether it be for their reported interest in acquiring Falcons wideout Julio Jones or recent, quote unquote, developments. I guess is the best word for me to put when it comes to this in a 14 year old non-traversy, as Matt Chatham eloquently called it yesterday. There's never a shortage of news when it comes to the Pats. Tom Brady is also being a little choogy again. Tom Chugy, that's his name now. Absolutely, on his social media. We saw that a little bit yesterday. But because there's never a shortage of news when it comes to the Pats, we all know it comes through your purview. I know there's no shortage of opinion and no shortage of takes

on what you've seen in Patriots Nation lately. So have at it. What are your thoughts on what's out there when it comes to the Patriots in the last couple of weeks since our last conversation? I think the team should change its name to the News Inkland Patriots. Forgive the dad joke. No, I like that. Oh, I know you do. I'm not apologizing to you.

I'm apologizing to those who aren't fellow dad joke lovers, aren't fellow pun enthusiasts. So it is wild. It truly is wild. That wasn't just a joke that we are well, well into may, may is almost over. This is supposed to be the off season, not the fake off season in like April where everyone's talking about the draft or the agents that were just signed. Like, you know,

February, you're talking about the Super Bowl. March, you're talking about the first week to mid-May and past mid-May. You know,

mid-May through July is supposed to be the real offseason where even the news people have an offseason. But with the Patriots, you know, there is no offseason

for Patriots news. Somehow, they always find a way to stay in the news. There's always a focus of everyone's attention, even during the NFL offseason. So, you know, the greatest franchise and the most important league is what everyone wants to talk about. It doesn't matter what it is or what country they're in. So let's talk about the Patriots and how there's always something happening. So I'll start with the bad red cable network and their stupidity because that deserves the least attention. So we might as well get out of the way. I just can't believe that someone, I know who, Seth, I'll just call him. I can't believe that he and other people at that particular network woke up someday recently and were like, okay, what are the two topics, the two topics that literally every single person in this country is so tired of arguing and screaming at each other about and is so relieved not to have had to yell or scream at each other about recently? I know. Spygate and Donald Trump. trump well what if we combined them wouldn't that be a great way to seek attention

wouldn't that be a great way to to to damage everyone's mental health like i'm almost disappointed by the amount of attention this has gotten especially on social media so here in podcasts there's no algorithms or engagement or anything. So it's fine. We can make fun of it. But the people that just immediately talk seriously about how Spygate's BS and the mentions or the quotes, don't even do that. Subtweet

it like I did. Because don't even say the network's name because it's stupid. It's stupid that we're still talking about this. As for Spygate itself, I mean, technically we broke the rules, or technically we violated a memo that clarified the rules, not during the Dynasty, during the 2006 season and week one of the 2007 season, and that rule was you're allowed to film, not spy, it's not spying if anything secret is happening, so you're allowed to film the opposite sideline from the

press box, from the box, you're not allowed to from the sideline and we kept doing it into the 2006 season um the rule was ambiguous so they sent a reminder out and then belichick did it in week one anyway because bill belichick is stubborn and that was probably not a great idea but just like the patriots did technically break the rules unlike say with the flight gate which was just like totally ridiculous like that was basic physics but when it comes to uh spy gate if you want to call it it's more like camera gate or camera rule violation um when it comes to the the camera minor rule violation in 2006 and 2007 um yeah we broke the rules but it was like an incredibly minor thing and and we were disproportionately punished for it so like who cares i mean if we had, if we had lost, if we'd had the Bengals thing

was another thing we shouldn't have been punished for. If we'd had the Bengals punishment for sideline camera gate, then that would have been fine. But losing a first for it was ridiculous. And the fact that people still want to find excuses to bring it up. I haven't even read the story, honestly.

But the fact that people just, it's just so obviously clickbaity with like trying to find a way to involve. It's just finding any excuse to bring something so stupid and small up is ridiculous and the fact that people believe that it had anything to do with the super bowl winning years or spying on practices which was something that was retracted like a day later um is absurd and just so offensive and it just shows how people hate success they hate success they envy it and they want the way that's in sports uh illegitimate so yeah screw all that noise i agree i mean you know look at and i can't really say any i can't say it better myself i mean that's

exactly what what is going on i mean you look look at a 14-year-old story that has essentially been debunked any which way you can possibly imagine. But still, there's dirt to be dug. And whether it's there, whether it's really not, whether it matters, so few people. And that really, I think that's the most disheartening part of this is so few people really realize what Spygate was, what the violations were, when it happened, what the sanctions were, and why this is reallyacious than it really is, and it's going to continue to get clicks. Now, how long this story hangs around or how much it tends to stick is one thing that we'll see. I'm surprised and pleasantly surprised that it's getting a little bit less attention amongst patriots, nation media, fandom, wherever you want to see, then I actually thought it would. I thought this might have blown up a little bit more than it did. But, you know, we'll we'll live and hope that people let common sense air, you know, over.

We're tired of talking about it. Yeah, exactly. And I think a lot of people are. And I think you're even I even spoke to non Patriots fans, you know, yesterday a little bit in trying to do some research on the background of this. And even they were a little bit disheartened and upset by it and saying, I'll just let it go. We've let it go. I think everybody needs to let it go. So, you know, I think at this point, you know, whatever new developments you bring to the table are really not going to change

what really happened and just how significant or insignificant I should say it really was. All right. Other news? Other news. Yeah, because I know you're not done yet. I know there's still a little bit of, yeah, I know there's a little bit of fire lurking between the surface when it comes to some of the Julio rumors. I know you're chomping at the bit to talk about Tom being choogy for the, you know, the latter part of the month. Again, have at it, man.

It's, it's, the floor is yours, bud. All right. Tom choogy. So listen to one of my past appearances if you want to learn more about what the latter part of the month again i've had it man it's it's uh the floor is yours bud all right tom chugi so listen to one of my past appearances if you want to learn more about what chugi means um or i'll probably tweet a link to a good definition because there's some bad definitions so just google it go listen to a previous episode of locked on with mike actually i'm not going to tweet about it because i want you to to make mike some money and go to bed online. So go, go listen to some past episodes. Um, and I'm not officially with bed online. We might be again, but right now we're not officially with bed online. So that is how you know that I objectively support Mike

and support bed online because I'm mentioning it even though I'm not currently on their payroll. So yeah, go listen to that past episode about, about chuginess. Um, and it's just, just i mean i'm not going to go through the whole rant again about the whole my whole point about tom brady but he's doing it again and that stuff with the um name is the golfers i'm not really a golf guy like that meme i was tired of that meme like 15 minutes after that photo was released because just every account was just forcing these memes about it. So the next day, I think it was the next day, Tom Brady comes and of course he has a couple.

And everyone is just acting like it's the funniest thing they ever saw. And it's just like, we only, people would not have been reacting that way if anyone other than Tom Brady had posted them. People just think, like, they act like it's just the greatest thing in the world whenever Tom Brady does anything topical or meany, because it's Tom Brady had posted them. People just think like they act like it's just the greatest thing in the world whenever Tom Brady does anything topical or meany because it's Tom Brady doing it. Okay. But Tom Brady has been on, like I said last time, Tom Brady has been on social media for five years and the memes were okay. They weren't even that funny, but it's just like, I know he has a social media manager doing that stuff. I know he's expecting that reaction

and people are giving him that reaction and it's stupid. He has been a social media obsessed person like me or Kevin Durant or any other overly online person for half a decade now. So stop acting like it's cute. He's not a cute old man. He just spends too much time on his phone like anyone else. So yeah, I did not not enjoy that. And also kicking the field goal was not that bad of a move, okay? Because that means they could have won the game without overtime or a two-point conversion if they'd gotten the ball back. So, like, probability for the Packers, I forget what it was, but it was really low.

But it was two percentage points, I think, higher, according to the analytics, if they had gone for it rather than kicking the field goal. You know, you have Aaron Rodgers. You're probably not going to win either way. Yeah, should they? If I were the coach, would I have gone for it? Yeah, probably. But people

act like that. Matt LaFleur just came and stole. Matt LaFleur backstabbed Aaron Rogers who was on the precipice of winning. He just came and slapped the ball out of his grip as he was running into the end zone and forced a fumble. They weren't going to win either way. He made

a slightly too conservative call like players do all the time. Maybe if Aaron Rogers hadn't the same thing happened with people blaming brandon bostick and the game against the zeox if people hadn't if he had played better up into that point it wouldn't have mattered and it probably didn't matter anyway and it's good for aaron otters and his brand that that play call was chosen because he uh now he doesn't have to actually do it where i was going to imagine or assume that he would have scored on fourth down. And now if he could automatically score from that yardage every play, they wouldn't have gotten to fourth down.

He would have scored one of the three times before that. But he would have had to score on fourth down, do a two-point conversion just to tie it. Then the defense would have needed to get a stop. And then he would have had to win in overtime. So that play call has also been something that's totally disproportionate. And Tom Brady, making fun of the play call, not the fact Aaron Rodgers lost, but the play call is feeding into that narrative about Aaron Rodgers, which is stupid. So I don't want to go into Julio too much detail because that's something, again, people

are already talking about. And I also had a really good episode of the Untitled Patriots podcast with Lee Schechter about that. So go Google Untitled Patriots podcast if you're interested in that. But Julio, okay. So I think there's a good chance we're going to get him because Lee Schechter explained that it makes sense. And the Vegas odds, which I put a lot of weight into,

and if you want to bet on it, go to bet online and tell them Mike sent you. But the Vegas odds say he's probably going to be on the Patriots, especially if he is traded. He's probably going to be on the Patriots like greater than even chance traded. He's probably going to be on the Patriots, like greater than even chance. We're not just the favorites. We're the odds on favorites, which means a greater than even chance. So like it looks very much like it's going to happen.

And Lee Schechter explained why. And that would be just what we need. The people saying that we shouldn't, or the one person, I guess, who said that we shouldn't do it because the Aguilar signing would have been a waste of money that is ridiculous that's called sunk cost fallacy go look that up and i've lord didn't even cost that much anyway so that's really silly um that was another thing i ranted about uh with lee on on the untitled patriots podcast um but speaking of and i know you uh talked talked to Claire about this as well yesterday, but looking at what's happened today, like today's developments. So Diana Rossini said today that the Atlanta Falcons have discussed several trade offers for Julio Jones,

including an offer for a future first round draft pick for sources. There is a sense around the league as a trade could go down as early as next week. So people who listen to the Untitled Patriots podcast or who follow miguel pat's cap on twitter know that a trade will happen uh on june 2nd or later so that is next wednesday because that would move uh any dead money that the falcons have to retain a year forward so it's not gonna happen in the next few days stop refreshing twitter stop refreshing news website you can chill out until wednesday next Wednesday. But I also think that that tweet, now I'm sure she has a real source that is associated with the Falcons. So one of the teams they're talking to, probably the Falcons. I don't think that there's, I would not give much credit to that story though. I think someone in the Falcons told her that,

but as I've said before, often these insiders are really just doing PR for the teams that are sharing them information. So the Falcons are probably trying to set a high market value for him and want to make teams think that they have a really good offer. So maybe, you know, they'll give them a second and a third or something or take more salary or whatever. Because of his age and because you're also buying the contract, not just the player, I think he's going to, I don't think he's going to go for a first. That would be my guess. Especially because she also said that the Titan, I don't, she also think the Titan, she, she, excuse me. See, this is why I edit my podcast so carefully.

She also said the Titans are not as likely to get him as the Patriots. The Titans are not considered strong contenders. Well, Vegas and other sources say that it's either the Titans or Patriots. I don't think the Patriots would give it first. So maybe it's wrong and the Patriots will end up giving it first. But my guess would be that that is kind of fluff from the Falcons. And someone else also said the contract is the issue, which doesn't surprise me. Yeah, that wouldn't surprise me either, the contract being the issue.

The financials and being able to work that out. Toledo has $2 million already guaranteed of his salary next year for 2022. So any team that trades for him is getting him, not just simply for a one-year rental, but they're looking to at least commit to him for a couple of years. So with the Patriots' interest, it definitely doesn't surprise me. They are one of the few teams that could take him on without making a roster move.

Of course, they'd have pennies on the dollar left for gap space. We all know from our man Miguel that's not likely the patriots would still make moves to do it but they're one of the few teams that could do it without having to make a move first and that leads me to believe that they're still in the mix here i think a first rounder is aggressive i think it may be pie in the sky i agree with you i think there's probably and diana's usually on point with these so i'm not questioning her validity. I'm questioning maybe what the source is feeding. Like you said, saying that, Oh yeah, well we can get a fourth round. We can get a first round pick.

You know what? There's no question about it. It's the way the game is played and it simply will be the way the game is played. So Julio watch continues here in Foxborough, all over NFL fandom. Julio Logan airport. Julio Logan airport. I love it. Julio Logan Airport. And you did come up with that a few days ago on social media. Continue to look at that.

And Doug, speaking of social media, that's one of the big reasons why it's always a pleasure talking ball with you here on the pod, because you have your finger on the pulse of Patriots fandom. You always have a lot going on yourself as well, whether it be on Discord or that wonderful world of social media. And I know you have some messages for Patriots fandom in general today. So to continue with tradition, take us home, bud. What can we look forward to from Dougie football in the coming days and weeks? And what are the parting messages that you have today for Patriots fandom?

All right. So I'll try to address this quickly because it doesn't deserve too much time, but I'm going to get a little bit serious for a second. So there's a clique on Twitter that in my opinion has really been terrorizing Twitter with some of the stuff they get up to. And you can go look at my timeline if you want to learn more about it. But it's not really about me and them.

There are humans behind screens and things you say on social media, despite what some people, the attitude some people have, it matters. Just like what if you said it in real life or said it in physical writing or anywhere else. So grow up, you know, like have some decency, be self-aware, try to be a better person, be the person your mom thinks you are, you know, be the person your grandparents think

you are. Okay. And, and, and try to check those potential racial biases. And so, so I might hear that little rant I just went on and think, oh, and try to check those potential racial biases. And so some might hear that little rant I just went on and think, oh, this guy's really mad. This guy's mad about Twitter drama or something like that. Well, it's not just about these guys, but it's also okay to be mad. I've also never liked the idea that it's not okay to be mad on social media. You don't want to be obsessed with social media. But, you know, anger is a

normal human emotion. And I get angry. The Patriots mean a lot to me and the Patriots fan base means a lot to me. So I get justifiably angry when things like racism and threats and harassment and pathological lying and doctoring of things by people with a small following among the Patriots community. Yeah, I get angry when I see that. And that's okay. That's good. I wish more people got angry about it. Because maybe if they did, you know, it wouldn't be tolerated. And people like that wouldn't have an audience and wouldn't have any kind of credibility or any kind of network because they don't deserve it. And it reflects badly on our fan base if they do so i hope uh i hope i didn't bring down the mood too much for the listeners or for you and i hope i didn't misspeak or anything because i didn't want to spend too much time on that so i was trying to

get it all out quickly because i know we're running out of time but uh there there is my rant and you know i love a good rant mike and you know i'm always uh sometimes i'm really critical or aggressive or opinionated uh you know i could could be sarcastic, all of that, but you know, I'm always genuine. You know, I'm always genuine as well. No, I mean, in knowing you the way I do, Doug, I know you to be a genuine person. And, you know, bottom line, folks, the one thing that we all try to push, the narrative that we all try to push, not so much because it needs to be a narrative, but really it should be just the way it is. And I think that's what Doug is getting at. Robert Kraft said it best after the first Super Bowl. We're all Patriots,

you know, and the Patriots are Super Bowl champions. You know, let's enjoy having this fan base. Let's enjoy this 20-year run that this team has been on that hopefully will continue into playoff runs and hopefully a great season in 2021. We're all looking forward to the same thing. We want to see the Patriots win. We want to see the Patriots do well. We want to have that type of experience. Once again, deep playoff run, having the Patriots be relevant when it comes to conference championship

talk, division championship talk, Superbowl championship talk. We're very fortunate up here in New England to root for the teams that we root for. And, you know, if we basically inherit that common thread that we all have, I think that we root for. And, you know, if we basically inherit that

common thread that we all have, I think that Patriots social media, NFL social media can all be a better place for all of us. So I always look forward to sharing the microphone with you, my friend, you know that, and I'm glad that you came on to speak your mind on all of the subjects that we talked about today, whether it be Adam Vinatieri or Tom Brady's chuggyness or Julio Jones' trade. It's always fun. Before I do let you go, though, my friend, please let everyone know where they can find you on social media and

what you have coming up, whether it be the Untitled Patriots podcast coming up or what we can look forward to in the Discord community from yourself. That's it. Basically, have at it, buddy. Mac Jones and newton are both patriots too by the way both of them so let's root for both of them somewhat related very good point mike it's always great uh sharing the microphone with you as well you are a great guy

i respect you and appreciate you a lot and i appreciate this platform you give me a lot of people come visit me on discord or message me on twitter and say hey i, I heard you on Lockdown, so I checked out your podcast. Or are you going to be on Lockdown today? I hope I hear you on Lockdown. So obviously you have a lot of clout. And thank you for this audience. So I appreciate that. If people want to hear even more from Dougie Downloads, as I call myself when I talk to Mike, because I like to think that I bring some downloads to the lockdown

Patriots podcast. They can Google untitled Patriots podcast. In our discord community, our discord Patriots community, always active here in New Zealand all year. They can go to discord.gg slash Patriots or discord.patriots.fans, or just go to Patriots.fans. Cause we own that domain.

And if, yeah, if they want to hear more of me, they can Google Untitled Patriots Podcast or go to podcast.patriots.fans. And what else did I want to say? Oh, yeah. And if you want to follow my new, my new recently launched personal Twitter account, that is at Dougie Football with two Gs.

I realized I was forgetting to mention that. Dougie can be spelled like three different ways. So it's at Dougie football with two G's. I realized I was forgetting to mention that. Sometimes Dougie can be spelled like three different ways. So it's at Dougie football with two G's. Dougie Foxborough is the username and I'm donating to Miguel's charity, Hartford Habitat charity page, Hartford Habitat for Humanity for every follower I get until June 9th. Nice. So come, you're gonna follow me. Come do it before June, June 9th. Nice. So come, you're going to follow me. Come do it before June, June 9th. And,

or else I guess you just don't want the children of, of Hartford to have somewhere to live. And that, that'll be on your conscience. I'm just, I'm just kidding. But yeah, if you're going to follow me, come do it soon for that reason.

Absolutely. And Miguel will actually, and Miguel will actually be here on the pod to bring it home and close out the week in style tomorrow on Lockdown Patriots so a perfect segue in absolutely and definitely check out the Untitled Patriots podcast Doug and Lee do a great job of hosting giving you the information you need and they have solid guests as well it's an amazing show I highly recommend it but what can I say thank you so much for coming on today we look forward to having you back here on Lockdown

Patriots very soon. A little bit of a hiatus next week, but Locked On Patriots will be back in full force in the first full week of June. And we look forward to that. And in the meantime, stay safe and well. And I'll give you the opportunity to head out with your signature, with your signature way of signing off each and every time you're here on Locked On Patriots or no matter where you are when you take the microphone. Have at it, my friend. I love that I've made like something so common, my trademark. It's kind of arrogant if you think about it. All right, Mike,

we are all and this afternoon, Dougie football is saying go Pats. Just like that, Patriots Nation, we are almost through your work week, but not before we close out the week in style here on Locked On Patriots. Tomorrow here on the pod to take you into your holiday weekend is the doctor of Foxborough Finance 101, the great and powerful wizard of Benzahn himself, my man the Pats cap, Miguel Benzahn joins us. And we will ask him anything and everything related to the Patriots salary cap situation. Stefan Gilmore, JC Jackson, the possible addition of Julio Jones and so much more.

So to ensure that you do not miss a single second of the action, download, subscribe to and follow the Locked On Patriots podcast on platforms such as Spotify, the Odyssey app, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. Just make sure that you are staying locked in to Locked On Patriots. Once again, my name is Mike DeBate. I thank Dougie Football for stopping by the pod today for his time, insight, and appearance. But most of all, I thank you so much for listening and for continuing to make Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Until tomorrow, Foxborough faithful, stay safe, stay well, be the change you wish to

see in the world. Have a great day, everyone.