Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Who’s the One? A Battle to be the New England Patriots QB1, with an Auburn Flavor - 8/12/2020

Episode Date: August 12, 2020

The New England Patriots have returned to the practice field for the first time during their 2020 training camp. As such, the unofficial competition for the position of starting quarterback has begun. Conventional wisdom would suggest that (if fully healthy) a former MVP would have the inside track. However, as they say in New England, ‘Not so fast!’ Joining host Mike D’Abate is Zac Zac Blackerby, host of Locked On Auburn. The duo discuss the legitimacy of the potential brewing quarterback competition between Cam Newton and Jarrett Stidham. 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. Welcome to Who's the One Wednesday, right here on the Lockdown Patriots podcast, your daily home for news notes and analysis infused with the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. My name is Mike DeBate, 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. As always, your questions, comments, and feedback are always welcomed and strongly encouraged. Feel free to share that feedback anytime by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-F-P-C. And while you're out there making that Twitterverse an offer it can't refuse, please be sure to follow the Lockdown Patriots account as well at L-O underscore Patriots.

Patriots fans, today is August 12th, 2020, and we have arrived at Phase 2. And no, for all of my fellow Seinfeld aficionados out there, I'm not talking about Phase 2 Del Boca Vista. I'm talking about Phase 2 of training camp for your New England Patriots. And although we're still a few days away from padded practices opening on Monday, August 17th, Patriots players hit the practice fields with their coaching staff for the first time this training camp. And we all know that training camp is taking on a different look and feel this year. Fans are not in attendance. A limited amount of media is allowed to cover these events in person. But today's practice can be considered a milestone when it comes to the 2020 NFL season.

It's the first opportunity that the Patriots coaching staff is going to get to evaluate the talent they have on the field and attempt to build a roster for the upcoming season. Now, we all know that there are going to be positional battles, whether it be on defense at the linebacker position, maybe even the defensive backfield, particularly the safety position. On offense, there will be battles to make the wide receiver core, maybe a little bit of a battle at running back, and depth along the offensive line. But if we're being honest, folks, the most important positional battle is going to take place under center. And you know I don't mean David Andrews.

His position is pretty well set. I'm talking about the quarterback position, and a couple of former Auburn Tigers are going to vie to be the Patriots' starter in 2020. Now, it's the opinion of many, myself included, that this is really Cam Newton's job to lose. But there is a lot of indications, even from the Patriots organization itself, that a legitimate quarterback competition is on the horizon for this training camp. That would mean that your starter could be Cam Newton. It could be Jarrett Stidham.

It could even be Brian Hoyer. But if we're being realistic here, folks, and I mean this with all due respect to Brian Hoyer, who I like as a person and as a football player, I think it's a two-man race. And on today's episode of Locked On Patriots, we're going to be tackling that tough question. Who will be the one? The quarterback one, that is. And who better to discuss this matter with than a man who's covered both of the Patriots' potential starting quarterbacks as Auburn Tigers?

My good friend Zach Blackerby of Locked On Auburn will join me in the hot seat today. And we will discuss the prowess of Cam Newton. What he brings to the New England offense. We'll also discuss what that New England offense can do for Cam himself. By the system they employ and the players they've brought in, may help him to become an even better quarterback than he was in Carolina. At least a little bit better than what he's been the last couple of years. But we'll also flip the script on Zach,

and I will ask him exactly what he believes Jarrett Stidham must do on the field in order to prove to the Patriots brass that he's still the guy that's capable of leading this team. Don't forget, a lot of Patriots fans, including myself, had a lot of faith in Jarrett's ability to be the leader this year. In fact, I was firmly on that stidum stump. But now that Cam Newton is here in New England, seems to be a pretty good competition brewing between two former Auburn Tigers. Zach's insight when it comes to both of these quarterbacks is second to none, and it is

my honor and privilege to welcome him here for a little Who's the One discussion on this Wednesday episode of Locked on Patriots. But before Zach Blackerby joins me here on the hot seat, folks, I need not remind you that even though travel has significantly decreased during these difficult times, it's still important to be able to get around. And the last I checked, the best way to get you from here to there is your vehicle, your automobile, your wheels. But no matter what you call it,

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The RockAuto.com catalog is unique and remarkably easy to navigate. Quickly see all the parts available for your vehicle and choose the brands, the specifications, and here's the best part folks, the prices you prefer. 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 that we sent you. Amazing selection, reliably low prices, all the parts your car will ever need. rockauto.com. Patriots fans, your beloved New England Patriots hit the practice field for the first time in 2020 training camp. And the question on everybody's mind is who's going to be taking snaps under center this year? Well, who better to speak with on this issue than a man that knows a thing or two about the two Auburn quarterbacks at the top of the depth chart.

That's right, folks. My guest today is the program director of the Auburn Network and the host of Locked On Auburn right here on the Locked On Podcast Network. It's always my honor and my pleasure to be joined by my good friend, Zach Blackerby. Zach, welcome back to Locked on Patriots, my friend. Mike, always a pleasure, my friend. Good to chat with you. I thought you were going to lead things off with Will Hastings, the Patriots, cutting

him and bringing him back. That's what Auburn fans were talking about anyway. But no, we could talk about the two guys that throw the football, too. Well, you know what? I'm a fan of Will Hastings. I love his fit, the potential fit in this offense. The Patriots just can't seem to get enough of that Auburn flavor this year. We've talked about that.

Guys like Jonathan Jones, Brandon King, they still bring that flavor to the locker room. But now you've got Cam Newton, Jarrett Stidham, Will Hastings, a lot of Auburn flavor around. Of course, my Bama fans don't like that too much. But you know what? We're talking about the two men in the middle right now. And, you know, I think that Auburn flavor is going to continue to be felt maybe even stronger than we had originally thought. Even though the Patriots took to the practice field earlier today for the first time during their training camp, conventional wisdom would say that a former 2015 MVP, by all accounts, he's fully healthy, dare I say, heading into the season, playing with a bit of a chip on his shoulder,

he'd pretty much be a shoo-in for the starting job. But as we always say here in New England, Zach, not so fast. Because it appears that a legitimate quarterback competition is brewing in Foxborough between Cam Newton, Jarrett Stidham, and even Brian Hoyer, which I think is a bit far-fetched. But, you know, the directive of a three-man competition having come from Bill Belichick, I'm giving it its due attention. But the last time we spoke here on the pod, we made our opinions pretty obvious, my friend. All things being equal, we believe that Cam Newton will be the starter. And after all is said and done, it's his job to lose, but we're not the ones making the decision to Patriots place. But, um, and I think my fans

will probably take a little bit of solace, not so much for you, but probably with me, they don't want me making those types of decisions, but you know, who knows, whatever. Um, but because of that, I was hoping to pull on your Auburn insight for the purposes of our discussion today. And look, I respect Brian Hoyer. I like Brian on a personal level, but I don't think I'm stretching the limits here by thinking that this is a two man race. So with that being said, let's start with the would be starter. very high on Cam Newton as a fit on this team, but really we're a big fan of his as a quarterback in general. And everybody's talked about the Patriots adjusting the offense to fit Cam's strengths. I think that's going to be done, but something that I don't believe Cam gets enough credit for is the fact that he can adapt into an offense. He's a very smart player, and I can see him working very well with Josh McDaniels this year to create a diverse offense

that really, I think, is going to turn some heads in the process. So when you look at this Patriots team and in your experience covering Cam Newton, what do you believe a Cam Newton led offense will look like in New England? And what does he have to do to maintain that inside track that he seems to have on winning the starting job this year? Yeah, I think it's no question that mcdaniels likes to run the football we've seen it time and time and time again with different running backs and um kind of doing it in different ways i think they're going to want to continue to run the football and i think cam newton's going to allow them to do more of that whether it's with sony and i know i'm sure you've talked about it this

week with them bringing in some other guys that could possibly turn into something, but that's a conversation for another day. But in regards to what they want to do on the ground, I think Cam's going to be able to help that. I don't know if you're going to see a whole lot of design quarterback runs, but maybe you can kind of cause the defense to

take just a second or two to kind of look and see, well, is Cam going to keep it? Because that's something you definitely got to be aware of. The Patriots have kind of been burned by that before on a Monday night game a few years ago. So I think that's something that you got to look at is how is that going to look when Cam entered the NFL? The Panthers did such a good job of kind of incorporating a lot of that college spread

type offense into their playbook the first two or three years that he was there and then over time he developed as a passer and eventually it kind of culminated in 2015 where you saw a move around but he won because of his arm and he did a lot with receivers that aren't as good of you know with what New England has on their roster going into 2020 with Sanu and Harry and Edelman. And, you know, there's some other guys that could possibly step up there. But I think you're going to see the later version there. I think you're going to see McDaniels kind of put Cam

in a lot of situations where he can kind of make a choice. I think he's going to throw the football a lot. I think he's going to throw it well. And, you know, we've all seen the videos that he's posting with Muhammad and Julian and a little bit with Nikhil here and there, but I think you're going to see him really take advantage of some of these receivers. And I think the big question with Cam is, can he stay healthy and can he be durable enough to run it himself as well? Not just kind of be a threat, but actually kind of put that threat into a, you know, converting

first downs. And that's what he was so good at at Auburn. That's what he was so good at with the Panther. So I think the trick for McDaniels early on is going to be to find that balance. And the issue is the scary thing is, you know, with cams health is, you know, it only takes one hit for him to, you know, not be an option to do anything anymore. And so it's like, do you, do you ease them in and run them more towards the end of the year? Or do you just say, Hey, you know, we're going to try to get you to do this system that we've been doing for the last 20 years

under that, uh, that old quarterback that, uh, that the Patriots used to have. Yeah. Remember him? Uh, yeah. 20 years of, uh, yeah. 20 years of a pretty good resume is a hard habit to break. And I credit my father with the Chicago reference there. But I also credit Mark Schofield, who said something about look away the other day when Tom Brady had his Zoom call with the Tampa Bay media. But, folks, we're dealing with the here and now, and that is that Cam Newton is in New England. And one thing that I did want to pick your brain about a little bit further was something that you had mentioned. Obviously, the Patriots have added another dimension to their running game by bringing

in someone like Lamar Miller. Now, Lamar right now is coming off of an ACL injury. Yesterday here on Locked On Patriots, I expressed concern over his possible loss of explosiveness as a result of that type of an injury. It is difficult, but if Lamar is healthy and he's able to prove that he's capable of being a complimentary piece in this running game, I think what might make it easier is I don't believe he's going to be the feature back. Even with some questions surrounding Sony Michelle's health, I believe that if healthy Sony is still running back one on this team i

think damian harris is going to factor in very well coming from you know alabama is someone that you know very well in the rivalry between those two schools uh but there's rex burkhead on this roster yes they did lose brandon bold and they're going to miss his um they will definitely miss his leadership and his savvy and his experience but I think there's enough on this roster to be able to withstand that. You had mentioned that that works very well and hand in hand with the way Cam Newton is going to be playing in New England this year. How does having a strong running game support a quarterback that has the ability to tuck and run himself, even at times maybe be the best running back on the field? How does he benefit from something like that?

And do you see this Patriots running game as being the perfect compliment to him being able to have an effective offense this year? I mean, folks from, from the Patriots have said this time and time and time again. And, you know, we mentioned that old quarterback, he said it in countless interviews, but you want the defense to have to defend every single blade of grass. And that, that, you know, a lot of people assume that means the passing game, but I think it means the running game as well, especially when you have a guy like Cam who has attacked NFL defenses on the perimeter ever since he's entered the league back in 2010.

And so, I mean, if you're pounding the middle, whether it's with Sony, Michelle or Damian Harris or Lamar Miller, it's a quick threat. You know, you start not blocking the defensive end or the end man on the line of scrimmage. And all of a sudden, instead of standing up, keeping contained, they kind of dash in a little bit. And you keep them, you know, you make them, you know, say, hey, I see you're not being disciplined out there. You know, next time Cam can keep it. And that's essentially an automatic first down. You know, we've just seen it time and time and time again.

He's the best in the league at it, maybe outside of Russell Wilson, but he's top three no matter how you want to cut it. And I think that has a big, big impact. And as far as just the mentality, Cam Newton has always been on teams where they've had good running games. Is that him? Is that just kind of, you know, the fact of the personnel, how it works? I don't know.

I don't know. I personally believe that it of, you know, the fact of the personnel to how it works? I don't know. I don't know. I personally believe that it's, you know, the, I think running the football is a mentality. And I think the offense takes on the mentality of their leader, their quarterback. And so ever since Cam has played football, where it's been televised ever since he transferred from blend community college to Auburn and all of his games have been kind of held under the microscope for a lot of people ever since then they've been able to run the football. And I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that you've always got to

play cam a little bit different. You always got to, even on passing downs, it's like, okay, if you're a linebacker, you can't drop back too much because if he gets past one of the pass rushers, once again,

it's a, it's an easy, it's an easy 12, 10, 15 yards, whatever. And it needs to first down. 15 yards whatever and an easy first down and you know he stands up and kind of celebrates and i think over time over the course of a game that may kind of rattle some of the uh you know the the mindsets of some of the defensive players and he

gets better as the game goes on just like running football teams typically do so as far as it impacting the game i mean no question absolutely no question because it forces guys to make more decisions. And the more decisions you have to make over the span of 60 minutes, you're going to make some bad ones. That's just how it is. It's just human nature. So, yeah, obviously his legs have a huge impact on the offense. Great insight. And, again, I like the complimentary nature of the way that you described how this running game can complement Cam Newton

and how Cam Newton can benefit the running game can compliment Cam Newton and how Cam Newton can benefit the running game for the Patriots as well. It really is a hand in hand fit. And I think a lot of people are looking at this offense and saying it's really sort of being tailor made to exactly what Cam Newton strengths are. And it looks like Cam is doing his best to assimilate into what Josh McDaniel strengths are as a play caller and as an offensive coordinator. And I know a lot of people sounds like from Josh himself as well in speaking to the media last week that he's looking forward to seeing what's going to happen on the field. And also in listening to Cam's message to the media last Friday, he seems to be over the moon at being in New England and getting the opportunity he's getting. But someone else spoke to the media on Friday as well, Cam Newton's counterpart.

And he had some interesting things to say about this quarterback battle and being ready to quote-unquote compete. Patriots fans, again, Cam Newton is a New England Patriot. And even though his pro career will forever be linked to Carolina, he'll always be an Auburn Tiger at heart. And that's why my good friend is joining me on the microphone today. But that man that we just mentioned, Jarrett Stidham, is also another Auburn Tiger on this roster.

And he still figures to be in the mix to start a quarterback for this team. Zach knows his capabilities as well as anyone. So in just a moment, folks, Zach Blackerby of Locked On Auburn and I will discuss Jarrett Stidham and what he may have to do to shift the balance of power in the Patriots quarterback room. This and more when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Patriots fans, I'm joined by Zach Blackerby of Locked On Auburn. And Zach, in the previous segment, we discussed that we might be in for a good old-fashioned quarterback battle. Or are we? We talked about Cam Newton and the strengths that he brings to this team.

And the look of the offense and how things are shaping up to really be tailor-made for Cam to be a good fit here. And also for Cam to be a very good fit for those around him. But prior to Cam signing in New England, Jarrett Stidham was widely considered to be the logical choice for starter. Patriots didn't draft a quarterback in the 2020 NFL draft. Most of the media and a lot of the fans were starting to hit that Stidham stump, myself included. I was preparing myself for Jarrett to be the starter of this team,

and we had a pretty good amount of confidence in him. And word has it that the Patriots brass does and still does. But with Cam Newton in the fold, it's hard to imagine. And we said this in the previous segment that a former NFL MVP who's led his team to a Super Bowl berth, all of the accolades, all of the resume, everything he brings to the table is coming here to be a backup but when Jarrett spoke to the media last week he was very clear that he intends to compete for the starting job and I know a lot of that is lip service some fans roll their eyes on that but I saw a lot of sincerity in what Jarrett said and it leads me to believe that he believes he can come in and legitimately compete for this

starting job Zach I don't want to put you on the hot seat or put you on the spot too much, but even though the two of us believe that all things clicking on all cylinders, give the nod to Cam Newton in this situation, what does Jarrett Stidham have to show on the field to the Patriots brass that he's capable of handling the starting job? And does he really have a chance to win it? The biggest obstacle, in my opinion, for Jarrett Stidham is going to be the mental processing and just the speed of adapting to the NFL because we haven't really seen him do that in a large capacity.

We've seen it in preseason. We've seen it in a few mop-up duties, and in one of those mop-up duties, he threw a pick six. Is that him? Is that an arms talent arms talent thing was that miscommunication with a receiver I don't know I don't know but as far as what Stidham has to do I mean he's never been in this situation before where it's just like okay it's pretty clear you're not going to win the job I mean even when he was a freshman and he was a highly touted kid coming out of high school, went to Baylor and he didn't start the season, but he earned playing time and he eventually earned the job once the season started. And then, you know, the stuff happens at Baylor.

He goes to Juco. He doesn't play for a year and he comes to Auburn. And I think a lot of people forget Auburn had an established starter and Jarrett beat him out. Now he was expected to, but he was still able to do it. So this is kind of uncharted territory for Jarrett Stidham because he's used to being the guy. And,

you know, I think a lot of these quarterbacks to get drafted, they've always kind of been the guy, whether it's in high school or college and they get to the pros and it's like, all right, how do they handle themselves? It's going to be different.

Jarrett's going to be able to say all the right things. And I think he's going to be able to do all of the right things in regards to knowing what to say and the answer to, you know, all the scheme questions and what do you do in these certain scenarios through walkthroughs. And, you know, when you're kind of watching film, you know, in the quarterback room with the offense and all that, I think he's going to understand exactly what is asked of him, what he needs to do. But when, when the, when the drills go live and he just saw a camera on a perfect rep, then now he's got to go in there, whether it's with the starters or with, you know, some of the subs, is he going to be able to do that consistently at the same level? I don't think so. I don't think so. But if I'm making

the argument for Jarrett Stidham is, you know, he may look super polished in practice while Cam may not. Cam's going to look, you know, I mean, Cam's going to make plays where things break down and then, you know, he's going to throw a 50 yarder to, you know, Muhammad Sanu breaks free after Cam buys him some time in the pocket. Jarrett may look a little bit more like what Tom did over the past 20 years as far as, okay, I know what my first read, my second read, my third read is. I'm going to do all of this, and it's going to be very precise. Does he have the arm strength to do all that? Yeah, I think on most throws he does.

But as far as just the mental processing and the wearing down, whether it's over time, over training camp, or over one practice, or over the course of the season, I think defenders at the next level are going to, I think they're going to kind of catch on to some of his tendencies. You saw it at the college level when he was at Auburn. I think you're going to see it at the next level. And he's just going to, it's just going to take him time to learn how to adapt and to kind of roll with that and to change his game and to change his mannerisms and, and, you

know, all these little ticks and these signs and these giveaways. And I think that's going to be something that cam is just not going to really have to worry about as much over the next few weeks. Interesting insight. And I agree with you in a lot of aspects when it comes to Jared. And I think that's a great point that you made about Jared, maybe looking a little bit more precise, a little bit more accurate, maybe even a little more comfortable in some of these practices. Don't forget, he's got a year of experience in the Patriots system under his belt. Josh McDaniels has seen him. Bill

Belichick has seen him. They know what his capabilities are, and he's seen these guys. He's played with a lot of them for a year. Jarrett was a very good practice quarterback last year. A lot of people gave him credit for doing so. So in a lot of ways, that doesn't surprise me. I do share your curiosity and maybe a little bit of your squeamishness when it comes to the reads. We know that one of the difficulties that Jared has had is processing things quickly and being able to adapt to certain plays or changes that he sees. That could be an issue where he might either telegraph a little bit or have some difficulty with his mechanics when he gets rattled.

That is something that I think a quarterback over time will definitely be able to work out. And that leads me to... I'm sorry, Mike, but you look at his offense that he ran at Baylor and you look at the offense that he ran under Gus Malzahn while he was here at Auburn. I mean, these aren't sophisticated offenses and Auburn people get mad whenever I say that, but it's like most college offenses aren't sophisticated at all because you want to maximize the play for quarterback. So a lot of the time it's like, all right, this is your first read. And if it's not there, just run and try to get back to the line of scrimmage.

You saw that at Baylor. They didn't run a whole lot of sophisticated stuff there same with Auburn you know they they added a little bit of stuff when uh when they had an offensive coordinator change Jarrett's second year they got worse because of it the offensive line got significantly worse and he lost his best weapon and carry on Johnson so I think that's part of it but I mean just he hasn't been asked to run a difficult or complex offense before, and it's going to take time. It's just a major difference between the two. Absolutely. And it is a major difference between the two. And that actually does lead me quite

nicely into my final question for you today, my friend. And it's a little bit of an oddball question, but I figured you would be a great person to lend your wisdom and counsel to, because of the fact that you've covered these guys so in depth there are some out there in our profession in the media local maybe some national that believe that the pressure of succeeding a legend like tom brady and let's face it folks he has been a legend in new england for 20. Might be a little bit unfair to give to an unproven quarterback who was essentially looking at a rookie season. I know last year was his rookie season, but it would essentially be his first year as the guy. And that only a guy like Cam Newton with an established record, with the confidence that he plays with,

and the swagger that he plays with could be able to come in, handle that and be able to show on the field that he's capable of succeeding the great Tom Brady. Do you believe that that factored into the Patriots decision, or do you believe this is a true blue Patriot move where they're just going to go with the best player possible to allow them to succeed in 2020. I just kind of don't think Belichick thinks about that kind of stuff. And maybe, you know, some people may say, well, this guy just thinks of everything. I'm like, I just don't think that kind of stuff is important to him. Now I do think, you know, if you go the camera out, it definitely takes the pressure off because this is like, all right,

this isn't comparable at all. Right. This is just totally different than what we've experienced over the last several years. But, yeah, I mean, when you look at Jared, it's like, OK, is he just going to be like, you know, Tom Brady light? And he may be, you know, he may be that may be kind of what they're going for there. But with Cam, that's just not the case. I don't think that's what they thought about. I think they just saw Cam, who would virtually, he's playing for free, essentially.

I mean, you're not having to pay him anything. And I think it was just too good of a deal to pass up. It doesn't really fit what they've done over the last several years. But when you kind of look at it now, it makes a whole lot of sense over the next few months if that's who they decide to go with. Also, how much of it's impacted by the fact that, you know, how weird this offseason has been.

And, you know, you may have limited practice moving forward and you may not be able to meet as much once the season starts. If, you know, something happens like it did with baseball, where a team gets, you know, a lot of positive cases. I mean, you want as many guys that you can trust on the roster as possible. And so I just think you kind of got to be prepared for everything in 2020 because who knows what's going to happen tomorrow. Agreed. Absolutely agreed. And I'm glad that you share my opinion on that as well. That's why I said thank you right away off the bat when you answered that question. I do not believe that's how Bill Belichick makes

his decisions. I think if he were in any way squeamish about Jared Stidham's ability to lead this team, his maturity level, his maturity on the field, his leadership capabilities, he would have brought in a quarterback I think a lot sooner than he brought in Cam. Look, the bottom line is I think the Patriots always had interest in Cam Newton. I think Josh McDaniels had interest in him. I think Belichick had interest in him. I think at the time, they just didn't believe they were ever going to be able to afford a deal with him. They brought him in on the deal that fit their budget at the time. And I know there's rumblings about a lot of people saying, oh, well, the Patriots have to rework his deal. They have to

give him his money. Last Friday, my good friend Miguel Benzón, the Pats cap, who I know you've heard several times here on these airwaves, said that the Patriots theoretically could do it, but Belichick, it doesn't operate that way. It's not sentimental. To quote the movie, that is really my lifeblood in a lot of ways. It's not personal. It's strictly business. They're going to do what they need to do to field the most competitive team that they can on the field, and I think that's exactly what they're going to do this year.

I believe that they had confidence that Jarrett could do the job. When Cam became available and he became available at the price they wanted him, that is when I think the Patriots absolutely made the decision that was a no-brainer at that point and said to Cam, you know what, this is all that you're able to get on the open market. No other team wanted to go that extra mile. We'll come here and show them what you can do. And I think Cam's motivated to do it.

And it could end up being a very lethal combination on the field for opposing defenses. When you look at the supporting cast that he has in New England, which don't sleep on it, folks. It is not the abysmal supporting cast that some of the national media would have you believe. There's a lot of talent on this roster this year when it comes to the receivers, when it comes to the running backs, even the tight ends. I think that Asiasi and Keene are going to turn some heads this year as well. So we'll see what happens. But ultimately, my friend, you know we're going to have you back here on the airwaves

to discuss who wins the starting job and why they did win the starting job, because you lend your auburn flavor wisdom and counsel like only you can before i let you go today my friend please let everyone know where they can find you uh what's some of the great work that you have on the horizon and where they can listen to you each and every day on locked on auburn which folks is one of my favorite listens on the locked on podcast network and i have a lot of favorite listens on Locked On. Every show is basically quality, but Zach's is at the top of the list for a reason. Listen to it and you'll find out why.

So the floor is yours, my friend. Where can they find you and where can they read some of your great work? Thank you so much, Mike. Yeah, you're such a good guy. I really appreciate it. Yeah, Locked On Auburn is available wherever you listen to podcasts, just like Locked On Patriots is. And yeah, you can follow me on Twitter at Z Blackerby.

You want to give a quick shout out and a happy birthday to Nick Coe, little crossover action, uh, former Auburn tiger, current new England Patriots. So happy birthday to Nick Coe. But yeah, I mean, thank you so much for, uh, for having me on today. I really appreciate it. Oh, my pleasure. And thank you for mentioning Coe who actually might end up sneaking in on my next 53-man roster prediction, folks.

I think the loss of Dante Hightower and a potential shift in the way the Patriots play defense this year might end up falling right into the lap of that former Auburn Tiger with a ton of upside, a lot of potential, maybe a few questions as to what his motivation is. But I think if they can harness that and the Patriots can see something in him in training A lot of potential, maybe a few questions as to what his motivation is, but I think if they can harness that and the Patriots can see something in him in training camp, Nick Koma may end up being a member of this roster after all. So you know what, my friend? It's a great way to bring you back here and talk about the potential Auburn Tigers

that grace this 2020 roster this year. Stay safe, stay well, my best to you and the family, and we look forward to having you back on real soon, Zach. Thank you for coming on today. That was a strong tease at the end there. Yeah, thank you so much. Anytime, my friend. And so, Patriots fans,

we put a lid on this. Who's the one Wednesday here on the Locked On Patriots podcast? And even though Zach Blackerby and I have kind of tipped our hand as to who we believe will be quarterback one in New England this year, keep in mind that there's still a lot of training camp to go and that ultimately it will be Bill Belichick, Josh McDaniels, and the Patriots brain trust that make that final decision.

And as these training camp practices continue to intensify, we'll learn a lot more about what the Patriots 2020 look will be when they finally take the field in September to start the regular season. So for the latest news notes and analysis for New England Patriots Training Camp 2020, be sure not to miss a single episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts. Follow us on Spotify. Download us wherever you get your podcasts.

And of course, don't forget, you can always listen to Locked On Patriots right on your very own smart device. Just ask it to play the latest episode of Locked On Patriots. Once again, I'm Mike DeBate. I thank my colleague Zach Blackerby of Locked On Auburn 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. Always continue to be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone.