Patriots Catch-22 8/27: Initial 53-Man Roster Breakdown, Live Waiver Claim/Moves Reaction

Tune-in as Evan Lazar and Alex Barth give their takes on the initial 53-man roster finalized by the Patriots. They share their thoughts on the density of the wide receiver room, depth on the defense and more. Plus, they react live to the moves made after the waiver wire goes live.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Roads where many young players across positions, frankly across sports
kind of hit after their first year. Drake May was
a red shirt, had a great first year at UNC,
lost a lot of talent and was not quite as
good but still good a second year. And that's based
coaching staff, coaching staff turnover to right. So the last
thing that comes for young players, especially at the quarterback

(00:22):
position is consistency.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
That was a good take by you. Thank you, You're welcome. Hello, everybody,
it's Evan Lazar, It's Alex Bart. That's the nice thing
I've said to you in a while.

Speaker 1 (00:33):
So especially after that, like usually the opening segment is
least was arguing.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
Yeah, that's true, that's one hundred percent true. Hello everybody.
I hope you all are doing well. On this fine Wednesday,
we're an hour earlier than usual because head coach Mike
Rabel is going to talk to the media for the
first time since the Patriots set their initial roster yesterday
at about one point thirty this afternoon, and as the

(00:58):
very big j's at Alex and I, we'd like to
attend that press conference and tell you guys what's going
on there, So we push to show up here a
little bit of an hour early. We think, just one
more house keeping thing, and don't hoe me to this
because things always change and it's in flux. But we
think that we're going to be tend to noon on

(01:20):
Wednesdays in season. We're pretty sure that that's going to
be a safe time for us to do the show with,
Like you know, our media obligations. We do have day jobs,
as I like to say, which is covering this team,
so we do have to do those things. So tend
to noon on Wednesdays will be the live show. Of course,

(01:40):
you can listen to Cash twenty two wherever you get
your podcasts and on YouTube and on Patriots dot com
anytime on demand. But if you want to listen to
us live, then tend to to moving or tend to noon,
excuse me. Moving forward before Patriots Unfiltered will most likely
be our in season permanent times, which is good. I'm

(02:01):
glad we're gonna finally settle the show down here a
little bit and get a permanent slot going. So with
all that out of the way, now, Alex, we are
going to talk about the Patriots initial roster. I love
how we have to throw that caveat in there though,
that it's in flux. You know, it's fluid like anything
could change at any time, So we'll throw that caveat

(02:21):
in there. I do want to hit a little bit
on practice squad and Waiver Wire, but I'm hoping that
we might actually have the Waiver Wire live on the
show in the second hour, so I don't want to
do too much of that early on.

Speaker 1 (02:34):
Yeah, I was gonna say it's not date the first hour.

Speaker 2 (02:37):
Right because another you know inside baseball term, we want
evergreen content here on the Catch twenty two podcasts. So
if we give our waiver Wire takes and then at
twelve oh five we find out what the waiver Wire
claims were, then that whole segment is for not. So
what we're gonna do is we're gonna talk about the roster,

(02:57):
of course, and the initial roster as it current stands
at eleven am this morning, and I have some takes
to some facilitation points here I want. I want to
tee you up on Alex and we can discuss, but
I also want to start with just my opening take
or my big picture takeaway about this team. And I

(03:18):
know there's a lot of conversations about a lack of
depth across the roster, and I hear all of those things,
But I think the bigger takeaway that I had from
this cutdown day is there was a lot of rumors
about guys potentially being traded, name players, name brand players
that we know of. Kyle Dugger, Anthony Jennings, Kendrick Bourne,

(03:39):
you know, players like that that were in trade rumors,
even some rumors saying that they could just possibly be
cut in some instances. You know, Jennings has been pretty
steadily running with like the two's mean, you know, at
times maybe the threes playing laid into preseason games. Same
thing for Kyle Dugger. Kendrick Bourne hasn't practiced to August

(04:00):
one since the end stadium practice when he got rolled
up on in that practice, so he hasn't participated in
camp much. But my big takeaway from all of this
and the Patriots holding on to all these players for
now is that they were probably they're probably one off
season away from truly turning over the roster. So they've

(04:23):
turned over roughly somewhere around forty five percent of the
roster in one offseason. I think they have twenty five
new players. Twenty five players they acquired in the twenty
twenty five off season that were not on the team
previously are now on the roster currently. So that includes rookies,
That includes a couple of u DFAs rookie draft picks,

(04:46):
udfas agent signings, the whole gamut. So at some point
in time, probably next offseason, but maybe even beyond that,
Mike Rable will probably get his guys truly in here
in terms of schematic fits and guys that are going
to play their roles and play their positions the way

(05:08):
that Rabel is envisioning, especially on defense in terms of
like Anthony Jennings, Sturdy Edgesetter, probably not the first step explosiveness,
get off pass rusher that they're looking for in this defense.
Kyle Dugger hybrid safety, best to use it in the box,
probably not the quarters, and a deep safety type that

(05:29):
they're looking for right now at this point. But if
you had started to take those players off the team,
whether it was because of contract, scheme, fit, whatever the
case may be, all these conversations that people are having
about the lack of depth, to me, that was when
the depth was going to get dangerously thin. Is if
you start stripping away all these Belichick holdovers, Yeah, prematurely,

(05:53):
and so I think they wisely are hanging on to
these players.

Speaker 3 (05:56):
Now.

Speaker 2 (05:56):
Maybe part of it is the trademarket wasn't there and
all that good stuff. But the way I look at
it is, if you had to play Anthony Jennings, Let's
say there's injuries at edge rusher, they lose Chase On,
they lose Landry or Keyon White, and you have to
put Anthony Jennings in the rotation. Anthony Jennings an NFL player,
He's a starting caliber edge setter, So I feel okay

(06:19):
with having him out there. I feel okay if he's
right healthy. You know he's healthy physically healthy, mentally. Right
with Kyle dugger I feel good about Kyle Duggar playing
as an injury replacement, spot starter type safety or maybe
even a full time player if it starts to click
for him. So it would have been a little bit

(06:40):
hasty in my opinion, to move on from those guys now. Now,
next offseason, you'll have another free agency class, you'll have
another draft class, and maybe they get pushed off the
roster at that point. But you do it now, I
think you were going to be flirting with a dangerously
thin defense, especially, so I understand why they held on

(07:00):
to those guys.

Speaker 1 (07:01):
I mean the offensive line too. Obviously they cut some
Belichick guys, but holding on a guy like Kayden Wallace
right or for Darius I guess was Vderian low Belichick
I was here in twenty three pre rapul guys, I
guess would be a better way to say it. Yeah,
but no, I I think it's a good point. The
roster turnover they've already had is tremendous. The roster turnover

(07:22):
that they've had, like a high number going back through
the last few years and looking at what teams have done,
A high number from week eighteen to week one is
like forty percent. And youo to them, what at twenty
five twenty five new guys, So that that's almost fifty
and it will that number will prop might exceed fifty
percent by the time we get done, you know, twelve

(07:42):
o'clock can today and we get those waiver claims. So
if you're looking for more, if you want to, you know,
parse individual players, should they have kept, you know, could
they have I r Kendrick Bourne yesterday and maybe kept
Braden Swinton if they believed in him, or was a
chance they could there was a chance that could have
held on to you know, got like Marcus, so I
know ask for his release. My guesses, that's depth related.

Speaker 2 (08:03):
Sorry, twenty three new guys.

Speaker 1 (08:04):
Twenty three new guys. Okay, so close enough, and they
need to get to twenty What don't make me do
math on the air? Half fifty three is twenty five
or half a fifty to twenty five to two B
twenty six, so they basically get to twenty seven to
twenty eight and they're at twenty three.

Speaker 2 (08:19):
They're at twenty three, so that's basically forty four three percent.

Speaker 1 (08:23):
Okay, so five more guys woul put in a fifty percent,
which would be again like forty five. Forty is usually
high forty flat, and they're at forty five. But to
your point, you look at next year one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
They have ten draft picks next year, and they've been
keeping a lot of their draft picks that they're going
to not have as much flexibility with free agency next

(08:43):
year capwise, but they will still have the ability to
add I mean, the last Belichick, the last player who
played for Belichick. And it's nothing against the guys Belichick
brought into Oh no, but Bill draft Gonzalez. Gonzalez is
gonna be heear so beyond Gonzales, like is Barmore and Barmore,
there's gonna be significant turnover. I mean, the turnover from

(09:05):
Belichicks last year is going to hit eighty five ninety percent,
I think relatively soon.

Speaker 2 (09:09):
Yeah, yeah, I would agree with that.

Speaker 1 (09:10):
Because even of those and I guess they cut a
lot of the Mayo guys, especially that draft, but even
factoring in the Mayo guys from where they were just
a couple of years ago, Like there's no more super
Bowl winners here. That was an understated I don't call
the milestone, but like checkpoint, Yeah, there's no more guys here.
They won a super Bowl here. That is a significant

(09:31):
turnover for how much they won. And I mean, maybe
I want to say it because we were it was
our first year twenty eighteen. It's a long time ago
in the NFL, but it's also not that long ago.
Like the turnover they've already done is significant. They need
more and more will happen. We said this back in January,
even they were not going to fix everything they needed

(09:51):
to fix in one off season is unrealistic. There's simply
too much to do. They took a good chunk out
of it though this offseason.

Speaker 2 (09:58):
That's the way I look at it is it was
too much to do to turn over the entire roster
and rid yourself of all the Belichick holdovers that still exist.
And what I keep saying on defense specifically, because that's
really where the biggest scheme change is happening, right is
what's going on on defense where they're running an entirely
new defense compared to what they were doing by bringing

(10:20):
McDaniels back. They they are kind of outside of the
a VP year. They're kind of running the same offense
that they were running. But you know what, the majority of.

Speaker 1 (10:28):
Belichi weired out a lot of the offense the last
couple of years ago to go to that West Coast
thing they were running with everybody else.

Speaker 2 (10:35):
They did in some spots. Yeah, but I would still.

Speaker 1 (10:38):
Say, who's still here offensively from twenty one born and
I mean he could Hunter Henry Andre Andre mike on WINU. Okay,
that's four players. It's not that many.

Speaker 2 (10:51):
Yeah, but I still feel as though the carryover offensively
is more significant than the carryovers grammatically from a defensive standpoint.

Speaker 1 (11:02):
To what Josh was doing. Yes, but it's not like
you have this through line of guys who were just
running that stuff the whole time. You have a lot
of guys who in between when they tried to run
the other stuff, were brought in.

Speaker 2 (11:13):
But you even have guys that are coming in that
were in similar systems, like Matt Collins. Well, so I
guess the fon digs with Brian David.

Speaker 1 (11:21):
But that's kind of my point. They turned it over
because they moved on from a lot of those guys
that they brought in to run the a VP or
the Patricia whatever bill O'Brien was running like that offense.

Speaker 2 (11:31):
Yeah, well I would say that Patricia bill O'Brien offense
was this offense, but.

Speaker 1 (11:36):
I thought Patricia's more West Coast. He tried to, he
tried whatever. Okay, that thing was beyond definition.

Speaker 2 (11:41):
I think that that's my biggest takeaways. I would have
been I would have been disappointed if they had salary
dumped Kyle Duggar or salary dumped Afrety Jags. Now, if
a teammate come out and offered you legitimate draft capital
for Kyle dugger sure, go ahead and do it, But

(12:02):
I just think, like I said earlier, I think you
start to get dangerously thin if you're just moving on
these from these players, because Kyle Dugger is due ten
million dollars this season, and he's gonna be your third
or four safety, so it's just an expensive backup at
that point. I like the fact that they're holding their
water on those players. I think it's the right thing

(12:23):
to do, and I agree that they have dip thatches.
We've talked about the depth issues all summer long. Like,
I don't think that this is a new thing on
this show or a new thing on Patriots Unfiltered. We've
been highlighting areas where they're thin all summer long. But
I also don't think it's very surprising as a result
that they're We look at the roster and all of

(12:44):
a sudden, it's a thin roster. Yeah, Like we kind
of knew that they won four games over the last
two years, eight games combined for two seasons, you're gonna
have a pretty thin roster and draft picks and draft
classes that didn't work out. If that's you win four
games back to back seasons, you're gonna have a lot
of personnel moves that didn't work out. That that's just
the bottom line. So I wonder, in all seriousness, like

(13:07):
if you had looked at I know this is the
example we always go to, but I'm just gonna go
to it anyway, if you looked at the Commander's roster
at this time last year, Yeah, would you really be
looking at that roster and being like, Wow, one through
fifty three, this team is stacked. No, Like, they had
the exact.

Speaker 1 (13:23):
Same thing where they were a little deeper.

Speaker 2 (13:25):
They had their free agency class, they had their draft class,
and the difference was they had a coaching staff that
got them back to level and then they had a
rookie quarterback who was outstanding in Jaden Daniels that that
elevated them to that next level. I think the Patriots
are still on track to be in a similar spot.
I really do, to Washington to some of the other

(13:46):
teams that have done that. Now, that's not to say
they're gonna go out there and win twelve games. I
think the Commanders won twelve games last year. That I
don't know if that's gonna happen. But I still look
at this team and think that they're in the same
spot that I thought they were in six weeks ago. Like,
I don't necessarily think I learned any new information, So
that that was my big picture tape yet any other
big picture thoughts or should we move on to some

(14:08):
of the specifics.

Speaker 1 (14:09):
That's pretty much it.

Speaker 2 (14:10):
So I have like eight or nine things here on
my list that we can get to over the next
hour or so, and then we'll we'll open up the
calls and emails as well, and hopefully, like I said,
we'll get the waiver claims. Waivers do have until noon
today to submit waiver claims, and typically speaking, those come
out really quickly, you know, the Big Jay's Albert Breer,

(14:31):
Tom Pellisero, somebody will tweet them out like twelve O five,
twelve ten. Usually we have those. So the number one
thing on my list, though, alex is I think the
number one thing on everybody everybody's list. Eight wide receivers.
It's a big number. Now, I should say Kansas City
carried eight wide receivers too, So maybe this is just
becoming a little bit more normal. I think six became

(14:52):
normal maybe, like in the last three to five years,
they've started gravitating more towards six especially if you have
like returners and gunners and guys that are contributing on
special teams at the position. So there are a few
teams that carried eight, the bigger you know down the
depth chart here. We knew that they were going to
keep Digs, Pop, Booty Hollins, Kyle Williams, those guys were

(15:16):
all gonna be here. Those five were going to be here.
So the fact that Baker, Chisholm, Kendrick Bourne are all
here and in Bourne's case, are starting the season on
the active roster, I think is a little bit of
a surprise. I had them at seven with Bourne on
IR and they didn't go the IR route with Kendrick Bourne.

Speaker 1 (15:33):
Well, just surprising because like I don't think, I know
some people had suggested just Bourne get moved to IR today.
That would just be a little surprising because they had
an extra spot to do it yesterday that you can't
take it with you. So I think all eight can
start the season. I don't think they all will. You know, Baker,
maybe we should just count him as a special teamer.

(15:54):
Maybe we shouldn't count him as a wide receiver. So
now you're back to seven, Does that mean Bourne's not
dressing on game day is maybe Eft and Chisholm banged
up to the point where he's not gonna be able
to go right away, but they didn't want to put
him on IR so he doesn't miss too much time.
So okay, now you really are at six with Bourn
like is that how it works? But I still think
another move is coming from one of those guys. Maybe

(16:15):
they didn't want to expose Baker to the initial round
of waivers. Sometimes teams will do that where we don't
want to expose him in the big one, but you
know the because yesterday was the big waiver period, or
yesterday and today, but now you're gonna have this whole
other round of waivers because today teams are gonna claim players, right, Okay,
now they need a wave players to get the room

(16:37):
for they claimed, and then that's a second wave, and
then it's the third wave, and it gets smaller as
you go. So sometimes teams may look at it and say,
we don't want to expose this guy to the first
round of waivers. When teams are more open to the
idea of we're gonna put in claims and we're fine
cutting players and blah, blah blah. Okay, let's get to Thursday,
let's get to Friday. It's a little more settled. We've
added some guys when you to open up a spot.
Now we're a little more comfortable waving Jevon Baby getting

(17:01):
him on the practice squad because other teams are more
settled and where they're at.

Speaker 2 (17:04):
Yeah, that's a fair point. I think with eft and
Chisholm just starting there, I wouldn't be totally shocked Iffton
Chishm's a healthy scratch for a good portion of the
first half of the season, because really he's your backup
slot and probably your backup punt returner. But as long

(17:24):
as Marcus Jones is healthy, he's gonna be returning punts,
And as long as Pob Douglass and Stefan Diggs are healthy,
they're gonna be You're starting Z and you're starting slot receiver.
And then Kyle Williams is also here, and he's kind
of maybe got a chance to be a little bit
of both of those things as well, especially playing at
the Z spot. So at the end of the day,

(17:45):
I don't know if there's one hundred per game day
role immediately for Efton Chisholm because of the depth there,
And this is no different in a lot of ways
than like what Edelman experienced with Wes Welker early on.
Like it's not all that different than those different, you
know scenarios where a guy like Edelman really took Edelman
like three or four years until he got full time

(18:08):
playing time because of Wes Welker. So I'm not saying
that Pop Douglas is as good as Wes Welker, but
I think it's very clear that Pop Douglas is your
starting slot and there's really no argument there from anybody.
So Efton Chisholm is not a coverage player on special teams.
He's not gonna be covering kicks, I don't think on

(18:29):
special teams, whereas Javon Baker is going to be covering kicks.
So you could realistically see Javon Baker on three or
four different units on special teams, Wherefton Chishom's value on
special teams is really just on punt return, which is
he's not even the number one punt returner on the team.
So I could definitely see eft And Chisholm being a

(18:50):
healthy scratch with Javon Baker maybe having a game day
roll on special teams, But like you said that, then
there that leaves Kendrick Bourne. And my whole thing with
IR with Kendrick Bourne is that this is a nice
stash player where you know he's an NFL receiver. You
know he can play in this offense, did it in
twenty twenty one and in a pinch, if you have

(19:13):
a run of injuries that wide receiver, if Digs goes down,
if Pop goes down, I Booty goes down, if any
of those guys get hurt, then you have a veteran,
experienced receiver in Kendrick Bourne that you can activate off
injured reserve and hopefully it doesn't miss a beat. But
having him on the roster, I don't know what his

(19:35):
game day role is like, are you going to really
have seven? Like I can talk like I said, I
can talk myself into Chisholm not being active on game
day to start, but I don't know how you're gonna
keep boring anchism as healthy scratches or a healthy scratch
a veteran like Kendrick Born. That's a tough spot.

Speaker 1 (19:53):
Unless unless they have a role form that we just
didn't see in camp because he was hurt.

Speaker 2 (19:58):
Yeah, I guess, I just I've named those five guys
off the top. But you're gonna want all five of
those guys to play. You're gonna want to you know,
you're gonna have four of those guys playing, and Dig's
Booty Hollins and Pop and then you want to leave
the door cracked open for Kyle Williams if he starts
to make a push to have opportunities to play. So

(20:19):
it'd be interesting to see how they handle that on
game day and how they go about that. Anything else
on the eight wide receiver is just a big number.
It just I don't know if there's really much. I
just I don't know.

Speaker 1 (20:29):
Are they keeping born just as depth. Maybe the idea is, Okay,
you're gonna have the five guys that are gonna play.
Chishm's banged up, but we don't want to put him
on ir somebody else gets hurt. Kendrick Bourne slides in,
and it's just they didn't want to wait if Chishm's
banged up, maybe they want them available for the first one.

Speaker 2 (20:46):
Well, it's kind of like I take off the top
about the defensive guys, like Kendrick Bourne's one of your
best fifty three players. Yeah, and the way that they
built this entire roster out, it does feel like that's
just the path that they went down was just who
were the best fifty three guys in training camp, because
they do have some odd position like thresholds, like in

(21:10):
terms of positions, like eight wide receivers is a little
bit odd. They only kept five corners, They only kept
four true inside linebackers or off ball linebackers, so they
did kind of finagle the roster a little bit in
terms of the minimums at each position. So maybe that
that is the path that they just said, Hey, Kendrick
Burden's a good player, Like I don't know if he's

(21:32):
gonna play, I don't know if he's a trade candidate,
I don't know, but he's a good enough player to
make our team right now.

Speaker 1 (21:37):
No, it felt like a big day for the concept
of the at large roster spots.

Speaker 2 (21:40):
Yeah, you nailed that. Did you get how many did
you get? Did you get it right.

Speaker 1 (21:44):
With the at large or the ross projection? Let me see,
I didn't even look.

Speaker 2 (21:49):
Yeah, we're in the roster projection.

Speaker 1 (21:50):
I guess, well, because the roster projection I did week one.
I didn't do the initial roster, okay, so I have
liked the TVD guys on there. We'll know soon. So
I had Here are the nineteen guys I had for
ten spots and tended to make it Born Baker, Low,
Wallace Jennings, Elijah Ponder, Truman Jones didn't make it right, No,

(22:10):
Kyle Dougart del Pettis. So eight of my ten bubble
guys made it. With Tavai on I R there you go,
all right, So who are the bubble guys? Who are
the guys not on the bubble that made it? There'd
have to be two more guys. I don't know.

Speaker 2 (22:26):
Let's go to the second one here.

Speaker 1 (22:27):
Maybe I just counted wrong.

Speaker 2 (22:28):
So this one I just called biggest surprises. I don't
think there were any major surprises. But I think the
one surprise that caught everybody's eye was Brandon Swinson getting
h released, getting waved fifth round pick. I feel like
I talked about we talked about this a little bit,
that he was having a quiet summer. I wish I

(22:49):
kind of had hammered it home a little bit more.
I'm not overly shocked that they if they were just
evaluating camp, and they were all things created equal across
a board. Who had the better camp, Who were the
best fifty three guys on the roster? Like I just mentioned,
I'm not overly shocked that Braden Swinson didn't make the team.
I didn't think he had a really I didn't think

(23:11):
he really stood out in camp. I'm not gonna sit
here and say you had a bad camp, because I
don't know, Like maybe he was doing things that I
you know, little details and things like that, maybe he
was doing those correctly. Doesn't seem like it, though. And
I didn't think that his production was overly eye catching either.
I had a couple hurries in Minnesota in the in
the game, but it was in the fourth quarter of

(23:31):
a preseason game against guys that weren't going to make
the roster for the Vikings either. I never thought that
Braden Switson really made any positive momentum. I didn't necessarily
think I saw a ton of flashes. I actually thought
in a lot of ways. Obviously ponder, but I think
Truman Jones almost showed a little bit more in the
preseason and in training camp than Braiden Swinson. The other

(23:55):
angle with Braden Swinson was there was some draft scuttle
but but around the time that he was drafted, I
think we had we had somebody on. Maybe Dane Brugler
mentioned it like that some teams were a little bit
if he on Braiden Swinson in terms of his football
character and things like that. So there's a possibility that

(24:17):
maybe they look at it and say, twenty teams didn't
even have him on their draft board, so maybe he
does make it through waivers. Are you that surprised that
Braden Swinson got cut because I am not little.

Speaker 1 (24:30):
Bit just in the turn like, yeah, he didn't really
have a super impactful summer, but it was also okay,
they have, you know, bit round pick. He was always
kind of a project player. Do they keep him around
as a developmental player if you're going just off the
production this summer, he wasn't one of their fifty three
best players. I thought they might hang on to him
for the upside. But that's that's why it wasn't overly shocking.

(24:52):
I was a little surprised about Truman Jones as well,
like you said, because he was playing core special teams
role as well. He's somebody I would think is going
to be back here on the practice squad if he
doesn't get claimed.

Speaker 2 (25:02):
Yeah, that's a fair point. I just like I said,
I didn't really I was. I was really high on
Braden Swinson when they drafted him. Like I will fully
admit that. I guess I missed on that one, if
we want to say it already, I don't know. It's
a little early. Still even though he got cut, you know,
he could always catch on with another team or practice
squad and eventually make a you know, an impact in

(25:25):
his career in the NFL. It's the book is not
closed certainly on Braden Swinson's career. But I was high
on the pick when they made it, especially where they
got him in that fifth round. I think a lot
of people in the draft community and the media had
him valued a lot higher than the fifth round, like
a top one hundred player, probably like an end of
the top one hundred, you know, somewhere in that seventy

(25:46):
five to one hundred range, but certainly a guy that
a lot of people thought was going to go ended
Day two, early day three. Some of the things that
we heard after the draft about him off the field
or his football character. I think pushed him to the
fifth round. Yeah, but he had talent of a third
round pick, I would say, so I am surprised that
it didn't happen. But at the same time, it didn't happen.
It never he never got any momentum going. I never

(26:09):
thought that he flashed consistently in the practices or in
the game. So I'm not overly shocked if we're just
evaluating it now. I am a little bit surprised that
they gave up on a fifth round pick and didn't
just give him some leeway and a chance.

Speaker 1 (26:25):
That's surprise was if there was one.

Speaker 2 (26:27):
Yeah, But I would also put like I've seen a
lot of like, you know, bust, like waste of a pick.
They drafted him like one hundred and forty sixth overall.
It wasn't like they drafted him forty sixth overall. It
was Yeah, he was a fifth round pick. He was
a Day three guy. Yes, he had some buzz and
he had some hype coming into the draft, but let's
not get over his zealous and started acting like they

(26:49):
like cut a second round pick in his rookie season.
That's not what happened here. So Braden Swinson was probably
the biggest. Is there any other surprises to you? I
thought that really this was a pretty unsurprising honestly.

Speaker 1 (27:02):
I mean, you're under the kickers. We'll get to the kickers, okay.
I it wasn't a surprise to me. I think it
came as a surprise to many. I understand why people
are surprised. It was something where how much of a
competition was it really right where we they kind of
started dropping the hands the last couple weeks, I guess
said we'll get to the kickers, but we.

Speaker 2 (27:22):
Can get to the kickers now.

Speaker 1 (27:23):
I just think that's the other thing that qualifies as
a surprise. On a day that it was finally, I
think we said off the air like he was one
of the most eventful cutdown days we've covered, even though
not much happened.

Speaker 2 (27:33):
Yeah, I don't.

Speaker 1 (27:34):
It was just eight wide receivers and there was a
bunch going on.

Speaker 2 (27:37):
There's a lot of nothing.

Speaker 1 (27:38):
We'll ever top to Cam Newton day when Quick Little
story time. We were up because it was during COVID,
so like me, there were only certain areas of the
media could work whatever, So we were up in like
the game day press box. It was just me and you.
I don't remember why we were up there.

Speaker 2 (27:51):
Something.

Speaker 1 (27:52):
Oh, we were going to record something for Cel and
Ass and we're waiting on the cuts and it was
a super uneventful. I think they cut like Miles Bryant
or somebody like, oh, Miles Bryant, Like that's I thought
he'd make the team. Evan goes to the bathroom. I
see the tweet. Jim McBride topprocate, right, I see the tweet.
Evan comes back. How do you go to the bathroom
and they cut Cam Newton. You didn't believe me for like,

(28:14):
I had to actually show you the tweet. You thought
I was screwing with you. Yeah, that was an interesting day.
But with the kickers, so part of Romo was the
better field goal kicker this summer. It was hit on
ninety I think it was ninety one percent of his kicks.
If he round up, it was ninety points, something like
ninety one percent of his kicks, which is a high number,
Like that's a significant number. Borgalis was around eighty four percent.

(28:37):
Now he attempted I think twelve more kicks. Ten twelve
more kicks. I can pull numbers up on my phone
in a second. Ten twelve more kicks than Romo did
because down the stretch there in Minnesota the last week
the Giants game, they were giving him everything and that's
what made it look like he was the starter. So
if Romo hit more of his kicks, why did they

(28:58):
go with Borgalis. There's a couple of reasons I can
think of. I don't know for sure. You know, we'll
try to ask about it today. Part of it is,
I know some people roll their eyes that they were
loyal to the draft pick. It might be out of it,
but it can also be like the upside. Yeah, Borgoalis
was a better kicker in college, and I know Romo's young,

(29:19):
but Borgallis was better kicker in college than Romo was.
You see a ceiling with There is more of a
ceiling with Borgolis than there is with Romo. The other thing,
and we had talked about this a few weeks ago.
Borgalis did appear to be the better kickoff kicker. And
that's not insignificant. We can't really qualify that, quantify that,
thank you the way we do. Okay, Well, this guy

(29:41):
hit X number of field? Was this guy hit X number?
But just based on what they were running and the
results and how the coaching staff seem to look at it,
react to different kicks and things like that. Borgalis seemed
like the better kickoff kicker, which does matter, so odds
are It's probably a combination of all of those things.
I understand why people are surprised by that. It'd be great,
right if they can get Romo back on the practice squad.

(30:02):
Is insurance. I don't know how realistic that is through waivers.
He has to go through waivers. The Dolphins need a kicker.
I know a couple of other teams with the Dolphins stand out.
Jason Sanders report yesterday is banged up, but that would
be my guest. I know that's something that's that surprised
a lot of people. It always looked like Borgolis is
going to win the competition in terms of the usage

(30:22):
the last two Not always, but like the last two
three weeks, they were using Borgolis like he was a
starting kicker. They weren't operating like it was a competition.
You want to say, the numbers suggested differently. The numbers
suggested differently. You're not wrong, But if we were just
playing a predictive game, this is what it always looked like.

Speaker 2 (30:37):
So I I have a take and I have a
question for you on this. So the first thing with uh,
like my take on it is that they probably gave
up on Chad Ryland a little too quickly, and I
know that that wasn't verable and it's a little bit Yeah.

Speaker 1 (30:52):
That's also did they give up on him too quickly
or did he ultimately just need a change of scenery.

Speaker 2 (30:56):
Maybe, But I guess my point is is not necessarily
specifically about the chat Ryan situation. Yeah, but I do
think kickers in general, for some kickers, it does take
some time too. There is a develop in the NFL.
It's obviously a very between the ears kind of position,
and there's a lot more pressure kicking in the NFL

(31:16):
than there is kicking in college.

Speaker 1 (31:18):
And it's not a position where you want to be patient, right.
You don't really want to go through growing pains like
with the quarterback. The reward is so high and there's
so few good quarterbacks. You go through the growing pains
with the kicker. You may not want to do that,
but there is a history of kickers finding success after
struggling his rookies. By the waygalis this is everything practice
games forty six of fifty five Parker. Romo was thirty

(31:40):
nine of forty three, and three of those formases all
came on one day.

Speaker 2 (31:43):
So I just wonder if maybe they said it was
close enough between Borgoalis and Romo. We still trust our
evaluation on Borgalis that he has a higher ceiling. So yeah,
we might have to live with some growing pains early on,
but we're going to go with it. Like, for example,
the fifty seven yarder that he missed, uh that was
against Minnesota, right or was the Giants, I don't know,

(32:04):
honing together he missed a fifty seven yard field goal
in the preseason and watching it happen live and then
I believe Rabel confirmed this afterwards. That was more of
an operational issue.

Speaker 1 (32:15):
So there was that angle to Borgals had a couple
misses that were on bad snaps and bad.

Speaker 2 (32:20):
Holes and they were like laid on the field and
maybe there was some confusion about which guy was kicking
or something like that, so they were laid on the
field and then they basically had to like put the
ball down with like one second on the play clock,
snap the football, get the ball off, and kick the ball.
And it was a shank. It wasn't close, but maybe
they chalked that one up to just bad operation. Yeah,

(32:41):
and then the forty nine yarder that he missed, maybe
that one was a real miss. But my point is
is that you drafted the guy. You spent a six
round pick on the guy. You obviously saw something in
him in terms of a ceiling as a draft pick
that if it was gonna be close enough between him
and Parker Romo, it probably it made sense to go

(33:01):
with the guy that you think has the higher ceiling.
And now we'll see, we'll see what happens. You know,
this is kicking, it's kind of it's volatile. We'll see
where this goes. Now, my other question for you was,
so Romo kicked in the Vikings game, he did not
kick in the Giants game. Right now, is there any
chance that they are trying to hide Parker room certainly?

(33:23):
That was the other takeaway that I had was maybe
they know Parker rome was an NFL kicker, and by
not having him kick in the preseason finale, or at
least exposing him to fewer He didn't kick at all
in the Minnesota joint practices either. They did one extended
kicking period and it was all Borgalis and the joint
practices in Minnesota as well. So I just wonder if

(33:46):
maybe there was a little bit too much I know
it's funny to say kicker hype, but like there was
maybe a little bit too much hype about how good
Parker Romo looked this summer, coming from people like us
in the media that they wanted to that Belichick used
to do this all the time. He wanted to hide him.
So that hopefully here today, in an hour or so,
we'll find out that he made it through wave half

(34:06):
an hour and if he made it through waivers and.

Speaker 1 (34:09):
Yeah, he's no, I think there's absolutely a chance at that.

Speaker 2 (34:12):
Would you so you would keep Barcaromo on the practice
squad if you could? Yeah, And then if Borgoalos struggles,
Like how long of a leash do you give Borgols?

Speaker 1 (34:20):
I mean there's you need a lot of context there,
like how bad is he missing? Is it? You know?
What are the I mean, it's pressure on the kid,
it's pressure on Borgos if you keep Romo. But if
he can't handle that pressure, I don't know if he's
an NFL kicker. I'm not saying you can't, but.

Speaker 2 (34:34):
Do you Uh, if he's he's missing, like Justin Roroster,
then maybe if he's hitting the porter potties, he'd probably
make the change sooner rather than later. Poor Justin ro Roster,
I feel like he's the He's the litmus test is
like are you better than hitting? And just so people realize,
like the goalposts are one place, the porter potties are
probably what fifteen to twenty yards to the left.

Speaker 1 (34:56):
If anybody's ever played the NCAA football video game, yes
they made the kicking hard because college kickers are wild.
The like red miss is what you're talking.

Speaker 2 (35:08):
Very video of it, I can understand. Yeah, not good.
All right, Moving on from the kickers, The other thing
I had on my list was obviously the offensive line battles.
The roster battles on offensive line, and officially I think
we can close the book on the Cold Strange era
for the Patriots that that seems like that is over

(35:29):
with Cole Strange. I would say probably the most accomplished
or most experienced name to get cut by the Patriots yesterday,
a guy former first round pick, of course, a guy
that's made twenty nine starts in this league for the Patriots,
that left guard so Cayden Wallace and Ben Brown beat
out Cole Strange for the roster with the Patriots. Now,

(35:51):
Brown I feel like is more the guy that beat
him out because he's got that position flex on the interior,
can play center, he can play guard. It's kind of
the same thing as Cole Strange. And I think ultimately
what happened with Cole Strange is that Ben Brown's a
better center than he is and it didn't ever look
right or look great for Cole Strange at center, And

(36:13):
with the way the summer has gone for Garrett Bradberry,
I do think there's some uncertainty at the center position
that they said we might actually need our backup center,
and we feel better about Ben Brown as a backup
center than we feel about Cole Strange as a backup center.
And then you get to the Cayden Wallace of it all.
Kayden Wallace has been repping with this coaching staff exclusively

(36:33):
at guard, but in a pinch, could he play tackle
and go out to write tackle if he absolutely had to?
Probably it's his college position. I wouldn't say it's quite
as on the level of a mic on WINNU, but
a similar idea of this guy's a natural guard, but
he's a tackle flex if needed, So he had that versatility.
But Cole Strange no longer in the picture here with

(36:57):
the Patriots.

Speaker 1 (36:57):
Yeah, the writing was on the wall with just how
how his reps had been distributed. Would you bring him
back on the practice quadif he clears?

Speaker 2 (37:06):
I don't think so, And I think it's mostly just
because I think for everybody a fresh.

Speaker 1 (37:10):
Start, change with you. But the writing was on the wall.
Once Ben Brown started playing guard and had that multi
positional versatility, I think that was it. You know, he
started camp as the starting center at the starting guard,
sorry left guard, and just never gained any traction there
so went backwards. Yeah, it went backwards. It just it's unfortunate.

(37:32):
You know, he is the injury two years ago when
it started, when it felt like he had started building
some momentum. But that's just the NFL happens.

Speaker 2 (37:41):
Yeah, So Cole Strange out Wallace Brown, And I'm still
holding out a little bit of hope for Caden Wallace.
It's only a second year's third round pick last year.
I don't know if that means that. My hope level
is like he's going to be a starter down the
line here, but there's still some value. And I know
you want more out of a third pick, especially on
the offensive line. But if he is a guard tackle

(38:04):
flex and he's a top backup in that role, that's
still a role, and that still has some value for
your roster, especially on a rookie contract. So I'm still
holding out a little bit of hope that with Wallace.
He hasn't played a ton of guard in his career
going back to college, so it's a new position for him.
If he can get guard down. I think there were

(38:25):
some flashes in the last preseason game of him, but
like the big thing with him on the preseason tape
was more just reps. It was like timing and body
control and balance up to the second level. Like he
was coming off his double teams a little too quickly.
He wasn't hitting his landmarks on his climbs. But like
that stuff isn't physical, like he can't do it. It's coachable,

(38:48):
it's details, it's knowing the position, it's repping the position.
So physically, I thought, play strength wise, leverage wise, foot
speed wise, he could be a representative guard in the NFL. Now,
they just got to get him comfortable at guard right
and maybe there is something there with Caden Wallace, so
I'm holding out a little bit of hope with him.
I'm glad they decided to go this route because frankly,

(39:12):
I had given up on Cold Strange. Oh, as everybody knows,
I never really was on Cole Strange to begin with,
but I really just didn't ever see it with Cole Strange.
I never thought that Cole Strange showed well with the Patriots,
even going back, and I think there were some times
where people said, well, he's been good when he's been healthy.
I just never saw that with Strange, Like I think

(39:35):
he was always someone that was in over his head
here in the league as a starter. So that's the
offensive line, the five that I expect, I think we
all expect to see week one, Campbell, Wilson, Bradberry on
when new Moses. I think that group is pretty much solidified.
I know that Vrabels left the door open to kind
of a competition there on the interior, but I think

(39:58):
they're best off with Ben Brown being the top backup
at center and left guard and rolling with Wilson and
brad Berry going into the season. Do you agree with that?

Speaker 1 (40:08):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (40:09):
Yeah, so next one on the list was a quarterback.
There's a lot of buzz, a lot of chatter in
the media sphere about them needing a third quarterback. Obviously
Ben Woolridge is not here anymore. It's just Josh Dobbs
and Drake May. I think that you that was what
was happening all along. I don't think there was any

(40:31):
real opportunity there to keep three quarterbacks on the roster.
You have the practice squad to carry quarterbacks nowadays, but
could you see them claiming or signing They're definitely gonna
sign a quarterback. Yeah, practice squad just to have the arm.
But could you see them signing or claiming like a
legitimate backup competition for Josh Dobbs.

Speaker 1 (40:52):
Maybe Now, there's not that many of those guys out there.
I know Tommy DeVito has been floated. Who are the
other quarterbacks?

Speaker 2 (40:57):
I read a couple down the veto McCord, Zappi, Jay
Hayner got cut by New Orleans.

Speaker 1 (41:04):
On j Cayner.

Speaker 2 (41:05):
Those were sort of the guys that are kicking around.
It's not it's not very much.

Speaker 1 (41:08):
But I've heard another name that interests me in there.

Speaker 2 (41:10):
I can't remember who was I've heard McCord's name a
little bit, and obviously everybody's on to veto you know
that that one's been popular.

Speaker 1 (41:16):
Mike White, Mike White. I like Mike White's arm, so
I would take Mike White.

Speaker 2 (41:21):
He's always had an NFL arm.

Speaker 1 (41:22):
Desmond ridder.

Speaker 2 (41:27):
Less, so on Desmond ridder.

Speaker 1 (41:29):
Okay, Hendon Hooker, No, you know, you know, I'd be
in on Taylor el GERZMA. But he's a practice squad guy.

Speaker 2 (41:35):
Yeah. I was watching the other day in the background
and I think he was with the Packers.

Speaker 1 (41:39):
Right, Yeah, he had a good, good camp.

Speaker 2 (41:41):
Yeah he was. I was like, oh, that's Alice's guy.

Speaker 1 (41:44):
Did Taylor Heineke get waved?

Speaker 2 (41:46):
Yes?

Speaker 1 (41:47):
So Heinikey, there was who's there was one other who
would like started games? Who was it? Oh Trevor Simeon.
So the point being like, if you're going to add
a guy to the fifty three, you're bringing in somebody
who's pushing Dobbs for the backup job. If they're worried
about Dobbs and what he did this summer, do.

Speaker 2 (42:06):
You say they don't seem overly worried about it, to.

Speaker 1 (42:08):
Which they don't. But I'm saying like if they were
going to Ye. So I know these names aren't going
to get anybody excited, but Sime and de veto Heinike, Like,
I just don't think you're gonna do Zappy because of
what it would do with the fan base. But like,
those are the kind of guys to me, you're going
to add to the fifty three somebody who could actually
who started games in the league, who you could turn
to rare or maybe Snoop Huntley. I you know, if

(42:32):
he's the kind of guy, he's been around, he has
some experienced pro bowler, I think technically, right, technically, outside
of that, if you're just looking for a scout team quarterback,
you keep that guy in the practice squad. Yeah, Like
that's that's all that is.

Speaker 2 (42:45):
Yeah, I think there's a chance. I don't know how
high of a chance there is, but I do think
there's a chance. Now we do this every year with
the with the practice squad versus in waivers and all
that good stuff, more guys make it through waivers than
you think.

Speaker 1 (42:59):
I think, Uh, who's somebody's talking about it yesterday? Oh,
Phil Perry. Two percent of players get claimed, right.

Speaker 2 (43:04):
Two percent of players get claimed, So a lot of
these veteran quarterbacks that we're talking about that have some
name value that you got, Like everybody knows who Tommy
DeVito is like that have some name recognition. You'd be
surprised that a lot of these guys that are gonna
end up going unclaimed and you can sign those guys
to practice squadse. Now there's no rules against.

Speaker 1 (43:24):
That, You're right, But there's also a tipping point of
even if they don't get claimed, right, is de Vito
gonna get fifty you can still sign him to the
fifty three after they go and claimed, Like Defto's somebody
even if he doesn't get unclaimed, I would think is
going to have offers to be on a team's fifty
three man roster.

Speaker 2 (43:40):
If he gets. If he goes unclaimed, though, then don't
I'd have to imagine that it would take an injury
or something like that to somebody's backup quarterback for him
to sign to a fifty three. Well why not just
claim them?

Speaker 3 (43:51):
Uh?

Speaker 1 (43:51):
You if you have someone with the contract you don't want.

Speaker 2 (43:55):
Or isn't he on his rookie contract, I don't know.

Speaker 1 (43:57):
Maybe you only want to put in X number of
claims based on the way your roster is structured, and
then you get through claims, you can get everybody you want. Okay, well,
now we have a spot that's available, Like there's there
could be any number of reasons it happens. It happens
a lot, and because sometimes you'll hear of guys. I
actually there was just a story somebody just had a
post about Sam Ellinger did this. Sam Ellinger had fifty

(44:21):
three man roster offers but turned them down because he
wanted to go to what he felt was the best situation,
which was Denver's practice squad. He felt like that was
a better situation for him than somebody's fifty three, which
can happen. Like you can absolutely be in that spot
where you look at it and say, all right, I'm
on the fifty three man roster here, but they could
cut me any week. If I'm on the practice squad,
I probably have more job security because they're not going

(44:43):
to move me from that. So there could be any
number of reasons that a guy doesn't get claimed and
then still ultimately signed to a fifty three man roster,
especially at quarterback.

Speaker 2 (44:53):
Okay, fair enough. I just wouldn't be surprised if some
of the names that we've listed off or on practice
squads to start to see.

Speaker 1 (44:59):
Yeah, they won't all be but DeVito's one real I'm like,
DeVito's probably gonna be on a fifty three man even
if he doesn't get claimed. Now, maybe it is the
Patriots fifty three. Maybe they deem him worthy of the
fifty three man spot. But you know, if he can
go to I don't know what the quarterback depth situation
is in other teams, but you know, because I just
I know they cut two quarterbacks just looking at that
list the Packers. The Packers want more depth, they'll put

(45:21):
to Vito on the practice squad, or he can come
beyond the roster. Here, Josh Dobbs is there, Like, what's
gonna happen. I'm gonna be there for three weeks. They're
gonna decide they like Dobbs better. I'm gonna get cut,
or I go to the practice practice squad where they
don't have a ton of quarterback depth. I'm not taking
up a roster spot, so I'm not in danger being cut.
I get a full season of paychecks. Like that could be.

(45:43):
It would depend on the player. There'd be a lot
of variables in play, but I'm not ruling it out.

Speaker 2 (45:46):
So the last thing on the quarterbacks and then we
can move on. Is there any there was There was
a narrative when they traded Joe Milton that they traded
Joe Milton to clear the runway. I think was Nay
Grease's exact verbiage, Drake May, is there any credence sort
like does that factor into signing a third quarterback? Because

(46:09):
I don't think it will happen again with Zappy. I
don't think people. I don't think that's he's coming here.
I don't think that's happening again.

Speaker 1 (46:15):
Okay, So that's stream example.

Speaker 2 (46:18):
I think we're I think we're done with the Bailey
Zappy experience here in New England. With that being said,
a guy like Tommy DeVito if you saw what happened
with Tommy DeVito in New York.

Speaker 1 (46:29):
Yeah, but something that was like he's one of them.

Speaker 2 (46:32):
I know, but I'm just kid. It's is there any
chance that they think about that? And I'm not saying
it could be DeVito, could be somebody else, but someone
that's had starting experience in the league, that's had a
taste of success. And if let's say the first month
of the season does not go well for the Patriots
or Drake May. All of a sudden, you get Tommy Cutlets,

(46:54):
you know, bringing in the Cutlets. Right, They're crazy for thinking.

Speaker 1 (46:59):
The most popular not a bad team as the backup quarterback. Right, So,
which Bailey Zappy was that? Bailey Zay proved that in spades. Yeah,
there's always gonna be that element. It probably Look do
you remember when they claimed Matt Corral off waivers? There
were there were people who jumped from Zappy to Corral.
There were a bunch of people that thought Mant Corral
somehow was going to be the future here. Yeah, but

(47:22):
I think you have Josh Dobbs almost as that buffer
because okay, well that guy whoever he is, has to
pass Dobbs sure, right. If I don't know, maybe people
will just say, no, script Dobbs was bad Drake May's play. Yeah,
it's probably a little bit of it.

Speaker 2 (47:36):
I don't know.

Speaker 1 (47:37):
I don't think the player is out there of that caliber.
De Vito is probably the closest. But I think some
of that was the Jersey guy playing for the Giants, right,
if he had played at Foxborough High, maybe it's another story.
But I don't know. I don't think so outside of Zappi,
which is a very unique situation because he has this,

(47:58):
I don't think happening. I don't think that's it. I
don't think Zappi's happening either.

Speaker 2 (48:02):
Okay, so that's the quarterbacks. A couple more things and
then we'll open it up. I promise. Now I went
out of order. Now I've lost my place. Oh to
u pas make it right at Efton Chisholm and Elijah Ponter.
So that's now twenty one out of the last twenty
two seasons at the Patriots going back to two thousand
and four, have carried an Okay, I have the list,

(48:25):
I do it. Do you want me to list all
of them? I know there's too many.

Speaker 1 (48:29):
No, because I want to make sure you get every
single one of them.

Speaker 2 (48:31):
Oh yeah, I did get her for missing one guy
that made didn't make it to week one but made
the initial roster. Do you really want all of them?
Do you really want me.

Speaker 1 (48:41):
To do you?

Speaker 2 (48:41):
Miss?

Speaker 1 (48:42):
Uh?

Speaker 2 (48:43):
I don't even remember the guy's name now, Randall Gay,
Mike Wright, Peer Woods, Devin hur Hran, Matt Gutierrez, Gary Guyton,
who's a good player, Gary, Brett Lockett, Brian Hoyer, of course,
Steven Airy, Kyle Love, Dane Fletcher, Danny Aiken, Justin Francis,
Marcus Forston, Brandon Bolden.

Speaker 1 (49:04):
Brandon Bolden shout out yeah.

Speaker 2 (49:06):
Twenty thirteen they had five Wait so.

Speaker 1 (49:08):
You missed Jeff Tarpinion again?

Speaker 2 (49:09):
Oh shoot yeah twenty eleven, Jeff Tarpini, Stop missing Jeff Tarpinion.
Twenty thirteen they had won two, three, four, five, six guys.
That roster was obviously in a turnover period. Joe Vilano,
Kemberrol Thompkins, Zack Suddfield, Zack Sudfeld, Zachary sud filled the
Gronka preseason, Josh Klein, Chris Barker and then punter Ryan Allen.

(49:31):
This is where to give him his flowers. This is
where Belichick hits a heater with the udfas twenty fourteen,
Malcolm Butler YEP twenty fifteen. Chris Harper, Justin Coleman, David Andrews.
We all remember Harper's muff Like that's a big deal obviously, David,
like David Andrews, is a Patriot legend, Patriot Hall of Famer.

Speaker 1 (49:50):
Justin Coleman, underrated NFL underrated player. Did he go to
Seattle or Detroit?

Speaker 2 (49:54):
Seattle? Solid NFL player, David Andrews Gonna wear a red
jacket some day. Jonathan Jones, d J Foster the next year.
So Jonathan Jones twenty sixteen, Absolute hit twenty seventeen. Adam Butler,
good NFL player.

Speaker 1 (50:07):
He's sill in the league, I think, Yeah.

Speaker 2 (50:09):
Cole Crosston, Jacob Hollister, Harvey Longie.

Speaker 1 (50:11):
Jacob Hollster I think is still hanging around as well.

Speaker 2 (50:13):
Yeah, Adam Butler is a solid rotational interior pass rusher.
Good player twenty eighteen. We can beat goes on.

Speaker 1 (50:20):
J C.

Speaker 2 (50:20):
Jackson very good one. All Pro twenty nineteen. Continues to
just hit home runs here Kobe Myers, Gunnery Zchewski in
twenty nineteen.

Speaker 1 (50:30):
Another All Pro twenty twenty, JJ Taylor JJ Taylor still
in the league somewhere. I know, yeah, because I saw
the other day somebody Adhaim on a ross projection. He's
still hanging around.

Speaker 2 (50:40):
All right, you're gonna love this one. Twenty twenty one.

Speaker 1 (50:42):
Yeah, you know it. You're in twenty twenty one.

Speaker 2 (50:46):
You know it. In stadium practice, Oh, Quinn Nordin Quinn
Nordan Quinn Nordan made the initial riser.

Speaker 1 (50:52):
I don't think he made it. So this is where
we started having to parse it because they had one
year where somebody made where a UDIF it was on
the initial roster but not on the week one, And
then I think Taylor was on the week one but
not on the initial roster. So we started splitting hairs
at one point with this. Yeah, but it was it was,
it was crawling, it was limping in the end at
the end by nor Dean.

Speaker 2 (51:12):
Yeah. Twenty twenty two, Brendan Schooler good fine. DeMarcus Mitchell
who did not hang around too much, but Brennan Schooler,
he was.

Speaker 1 (51:23):
He was the cour special teamer for a little bit.

Speaker 2 (51:24):
He was Brendan Scoller obviously a first team All Pro
special teamer, so that that was a good one. Twenty
twenty three none, that was when they streak ended.

Speaker 1 (51:33):
But they only had three udfa's that he was Malik Cunningham.
Milike Cunningham is Jordan Halig and Johnny Lumpkin.

Speaker 2 (51:40):
So I would say Milike Cunningham is probably the best
player out of those three. He was in Baltimore's training
camp again this year on their ninety man roster, he
did not make it.

Speaker 1 (51:48):
Johnny Umkin was with the Packers, he got cut. Okay,
I take Johnny Lumpkin back and he's a blocking tight.

Speaker 2 (51:53):
End twenty twenty four, and this player stuck on the
roster this year as well. Del pettis yep, so he's
made it two years in a row, and them now
twenty twenty five, Elijah Ponder and Eftin Chisholm aka Julian
Edelman aka Danny Handola.

Speaker 1 (52:09):
So the reason I kind of wanted you to go
through that, other than making sure you credited Jeff Tarpinion.

Speaker 2 (52:14):
Sorry I forgot Jeff Tarpinion.

Speaker 1 (52:16):
There's a wide range players on there. Yeah, so like,
well we'll see what these guys becoming can there's a
lot of range as to what these udfas can be.

Speaker 2 (52:23):
To be fair, though, there is a lot of hits
on that list for undrafted rookie free agents, Like there's
that's a pretty good list, even guys like we mentioned
a guy like Gary Goyden. Gary Guiten's not Malcolm Butler,
and he's not David Andrews or Jonathan Jones, but Gary
Goeiten was a solid linebacker.

Speaker 1 (52:42):
Serviceable player, which if you get again, this is the
guy you didn't draft, right, you just got you found.

Speaker 2 (52:49):
So I don't think either one of us are too
surprised that Ponder and Chishm made the roster.

Speaker 1 (52:54):
Though No, Ponder was a little bit of a late
push for me. I just thought Truman Jones was having
a good camp by thought they'd keep Bradon Swinston for
the upside. But he Ponder made that clear the last week,
week and a half.

Speaker 2 (53:05):
Special teams obviously a big impact there will you have.
I don't know if he's gonna play a ton on
defense as a rookie. We'll see if he has a
game day role as well, maybe as a corese special teamer.
He does push for a game day roll. And then
of course Chisholm, I don't after that drive in Minnesota
a couple of weeks ago in the second preseason game,

(53:26):
the book was close on like Chishm was making this team. Yeah,
I don't think there was any question or any doubt
with Chishm there that that conversation ended when he went
nuclear on that one drive. Four catches, sixty three yards
and a touchdown on one drive against the twos and
that that was all she wrote. That was afton Chisholm
on the team. So that was your UDFA check in

(53:50):
two more one. Uh, that was just near and dear
to my heart, Marty Mapu making the roster outline back.
I love it. Never wrong, just early Marty Mapu linebacker
in full swaying now gets a little bit of help
with Julyan Device starting the year on ir so that
kind of opened the door. But he beats out cam
Riley Monte Rice like some of those other guys for

(54:12):
that fourth linebacker spot. I am cautiously excited about Martey
Mopu playing linebacker. I think that he might actually be
a serviceable coverage linebacker and special teamer. You play him
on third downs obvious past situations. I think there's a
chance here for Martin Mapu to stick because they don't

(54:32):
necessarily have linebackers outside of him that I feel great
about in man to man coverage on backs and tight ends.
Like I'm not putting him on brock Bowers in Week one, right,
but if they play a team that has like a
more run of the mill tight end or a running
back out of the backfield, I feel a lot better
about Marte Mapu covering those types of guys than Christian

(54:53):
Ellis or Robert Splain. Am I am I crazy for
thinking that no, no set seems like he's better at
it than those guys. So I'm I'm I'm excited. I'm
you know, obviously I've been pumping the tires and banging
the table for Marte mo Mapu to play a linebacker.
I'm glad that they finally moved him there. It obviously

(55:13):
fits in this defense because you want those linebackers to
be faster, more sidelined to sideline players, so you don't
necessarily need them to be doing you know, holding up
blockers and taking on pulling guards and like all that
good stuff that they used to do in the old defense.
That's not necessarily the way that they're gonna use their
linebackers this year. So his skill set definitely can fit
what they're trying to do. So that's the roster. I

(55:36):
think that, like we said, off the top, no like
real surprises, Like I wasn't blown away by anything. This
was not Cam Newton getting cut in twenty twenty one
level of a cut down day, but still some intrigue
and still some interesting things to break down. So we'll
open it up to you guys here in a second.
But before we do, based right here in New England,
Brent Workwear makes you makes work boots in apparel that

(55:58):
are built for the job site. There is comfortable, durable,
and named after the real workers in the trades that
help design it. You can even try brunt out on
the job and if it doesn't blow you away, they
let you send it back. Save ten dollars on your
first order at bruntworkwear dot com. Forward slash pats or
with coupon code Pats and touchdown. Bob's Discount Furniture just

(56:20):
open its two hundred store and you can join in
on the celebration. Hustle to your nearest Bob's to shop
the latest styles with top notch features at every day
low prices like relaxing recliners, game day ready media centers,
dining sets made for halftime snacking, and bob Opedic mattresses
designed for resting up before its first kickoff. Plus you

(56:42):
can enjoy freetreats, limited edition stickers and more surprises on
Labor Day weekends. So stop in and take a victory
lap at Bob's Discount Furniture. The official furniture store of
the New England Patriots. All right, let's take your calls,
take your emails. Thanks for hanging on, Sean and Vancouver
you're up first. What's up, Sean?

Speaker 4 (57:00):
Hey, guys, I'm actually in Montreal right now, but yeah,
still from Vancouver. So the question I have is we
spoke about this a while ago. Jack Westover made the
team as we expected, but Evan, you were saying if
another full back was cut, they might change that. So
what do you think the chances are that they'll pick

(57:22):
up Yakub Johnson now that he was cut from the Texans.

Speaker 2 (57:26):
Yeah, thanks for the call. Sean in Montreal, moving around Canada,
ID no inside information whatsoever on Yakub Johnson. I'm still
going to say it's high. I think there's a high
chance that Yakub Johnson is on this team. Let's say
by the end of the day today or tomorrow. It
might be the practice squad, because not every team needs
a full back, right, so it might be the practice
squad at first. But I never I was impressed by

(57:50):
how quickly Jack Westover picked up the role. In terms
of the processing and the mental aspect of it. Full
back is one of those things where there is some
processing you have to. I think the biggest thing is
is that you want to make your offensive lineman right.
So if your offensive lineman gets beat at the first level,
you want to take first color and block the guy
that's the most the biggest threat to the ball carrier,

(58:12):
even if that's not necessarily your assignment. So there is
some post snap recognition or processing that it takes to
play full back, just to keep you know, on your
pie's and q's. It's not always going to be the
guy that you draw it up to be that you're
gonna block, so you do have to make adjustments on
the fly. I was impressed with the way that Westover
adjusted to that, but I still look at him, and

(58:34):
I look at his build and the way he carries
his way. I still think he's a little bit of
an upright, you know, uh taller kind.

Speaker 1 (58:44):
Of listed the same build as Devlin and Johnson.

Speaker 2 (58:47):
He's not He's not built like's not built like those guys.

Speaker 1 (58:51):
No, I'm with you. I was surprised when I saw
that they're going to add a fullback. I feel pretty
confident about that, whether Johnson or somebody else. The one
thing I've seen people point out it's a fair point.
With Yakub Johnson, fallbacks generally don't have very long careers. Now,
if he wants to still play, I think he can
still play, but he is at seventy games. I think

(59:12):
James Devilin played eighty three, so you know, if he's good,
he might have won season.

Speaker 2 (59:18):
Left.

Speaker 1 (59:19):
Now all you need him for is really this season.
Then you can readdress it or brock Lamp he comes
back or whatever.

Speaker 2 (59:23):
But yeah, it's happening. I'm telling you, I have no
inside information, but it's I.

Speaker 1 (59:31):
Just hit noon. So I thought when you said that,
you really happened, because we're gonna get.

Speaker 2 (59:35):
No, he's not. He's he's an invested veteran, so he's not.
He doesn't have to go through waivers. But I I
think that they're going to bring back Yakub Johnson because
he's just more traditionally. I know maybe they are listed
at the same size, but based off the eyes and
I think the biggest thing is just flexibility and leverage

(59:56):
to get underneath blocks. I still think Westover is truly
a tight end. Like he blocks up right, he blocks higher,
whereas like a guy like Yakub Johnson or James Devil,
and they were so good at getting underneath guys and
really leveraging blocks. I still don't look at west Over now.
The one thing in to be pro Westover just for

(01:00:16):
a second, just to play Devil's advocate. He definitely has
a little bit more versatility than a guy like Yakub Johnson,
where in theory he could catch some passes coming out
of the backfield. I don't know if you're ever going
to really target Yakub Johnson in the progression, like maybe
if he's a checkdown or a backside checkdown or leak
out into the flat, you might get to him eventually

(01:00:38):
at some point. But west Over, because of his tight
end background, you know, I could see west Over running
routes like I could see him coming out of the
backfield and getting into the scene or the rail, you know,
out on the wheel like things like that, Like he
could potentially do that. So there's a little bit more
I would say, like he's more of like a move
tight end or an h back then just like a

(01:01:01):
traditional fullback. So if they want to have that role
be a little bit more dynamic in terms of pass catching,
I suppose you could make that argument that Westover could
go ahead and do that. But if you're just looking
for the battering Ram, the James Devlin of it all,
then Yakub Johnson coming back to this team, I think
makes a whole lot of sense. Hugh is in Atlanta.

(01:01:21):
What's up, Hugh. We'll get Hugh back on the line.
He's been trying. Do you want my practice squad? I
know we're gonna do this at the end of the
of the day, probably anyways, get it before.

Speaker 1 (01:01:32):
I'm hoping we get any second.

Speaker 2 (01:01:33):
Now, well, we'll get the waiver claims. Practice squad will
be a little bit slower to fill out. So here
are the guys that I wrote down that I feel
like I would want back on the practice squad because
my opinion really matters.

Speaker 1 (01:01:45):
Real quick, Kyle Hamilton for your one hundred million dollar extension.

Speaker 2 (01:01:49):
Resets the safety market. Yep, let's take h I think
he's on here, and then we'll do my practice squad.
All right, here, you're there, Hey, what's up you?

Speaker 1 (01:02:01):
Hey?

Speaker 5 (01:02:02):
So I just I just I'm prob you guys, tell
me you.

Speaker 2 (01:02:08):
Turn them up just a little bit. We can't we
can't hear him too well? What's that ce all? Right,
try again. What do you got y? Yeah? We go?
Oh man, you all right? He call it? Call back
in and we'll try one more time. I'll give you
my practice squad. Here we go, all right. So here
I have fourteen guys that were in camp with the Patriots.

(01:02:30):
David Olgiga doesn't count. They can sign him as a
free spot as an international pathway player, so he doesn't count.
And then I also did right down a quarterback three.
I did your placeholder thing, and I put a quarterback
three as a fifteen guy. Now they can carry sixteen.
So I would say that either I'm going to be
wrong or which is most likely, or maybe they'll they'll

(01:02:51):
sign some guys from out of house that are practice
squad players. But here were the fourteen guys that were
in camp with the Patriots that I'd like to see
them keep and continue to work with. Miles Battle, Yep,
Brayden Swinson, Kobe Minor, Truman, Jones, John Giles, Parker, Romo
g Scott Junior, Jeremiah Webb, Jack Conley, Mackai Butler. Jamichael

(01:03:18):
Hasty is a vested veteran, but you could sign him
to the practice squad as such. Terrell Jennings, cam Riley,
and Javari Retzi. I think of all fourteen of those
guys I thought showed enough in the preseason and in
the practices that i'd be I'd be. I'd call that
my ideal practice squad.

Speaker 1 (01:03:36):
Did you know Jeremiah Webb on there?

Speaker 2 (01:03:38):
I did have Jeremy Webb, and you didn't have Warrig,
I didn't I have Woolridge. I have a fifteen spot
reserved for a third quarterback yep, placeholder, yep. Was there
anybody that I missed?

Speaker 1 (01:03:50):
So if I had to go through mine Miles Battle, Yes,
Jack Conley, yep. G Scott, Jamichael Hasty, Terrell Jennings, Truman Jones,
Kobe Minor. I'm not gonna count a Legg. I'm just
going to sixteen. Parker Romo, Braden Swinson, Jeremiah Webb. That's ten.

(01:04:10):
Kyle Pecko. I thought about Kyle and so that's eleven.

Speaker 2 (01:04:16):
I thought about Kyle Peco. I thought Kyle Pecko had
a nice preseason and probably just caught on a little
bit too late.

Speaker 1 (01:04:22):
Yeah, and he has the familiarity with Rabel.

Speaker 2 (01:04:24):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:04:24):
I thought about him as another vestigation that would be
my group. Now I think it's going to be pretty
significantly new guys. I think around half new guys, just
based on the way Vrabel stocked. And that'll be the quarterback,
that'll maybe be a full back. Maybe it's a different
tight end because Dupree is a pure pass catcher. Maybe
they keep I could see them keeping two tight ends. Scott, Yeah, yeah, yeah, Scott,
Thank you, Scott. And then there's also the elements of

(01:04:47):
all right, if they claim guys on waivers, right, like,
all right, you know whoever they cut, like Javon Baker,
You're gonna try to get there if they cut him,
or Kite Wallace if they cut him. Those to me
are like the first two guys maybe born who are off.
I guess that's the other question. I put this on
on Twitter last night. I did a poll, Evan, I
did a poll on Twitter. Oh fancy how many new

(01:05:08):
players will be added to the Patriots fifty three man
roster between the initial roster in Week one and did zero,
one to two, three to four and five plus.

Speaker 2 (01:05:16):
I'm going to go one to two. I think it's
gonna be less than people think.

Speaker 1 (01:05:18):
People were overwhelmingly in the three to four.

Speaker 2 (01:05:21):
I think it's going to be less than people think.

Speaker 1 (01:05:23):
I think it's going to be three to four.

Speaker 2 (01:05:24):
I think it's going to be less. I could be wrong.
I just knowing what we know about waivers, and if
they had carried, if they had put born on ir
and maybe even carried fifty two guys, and I would
be with the Lions.

Speaker 1 (01:05:38):
Keep fifty I think I saw that.

Speaker 2 (01:05:41):
Yeah, teams have done that all. You know, the Patriots
did it very famously with Bill in the beginning. I
think he only kept fifty two guys. So it's been
done many times. I think if I'm just looking at
the practice squad guys that we were talking about, the
guys I feel really strongly about that. I want back
that I pound the table for Miles Battle. I think

(01:06:02):
that not only in terms of playing cornerback, but I
also think they have a special team's developmental plan in
mind for him.

Speaker 1 (01:06:10):
Yeah, Miles Battle.

Speaker 2 (01:06:11):
Truman Jones, who I thought made the team. I had
him on my unofficial fifties three man roster projection. I
thought he was gonna make it.

Speaker 1 (01:06:19):
Thought John Giles I think has been Did I not
say John Giles before I meant to say John Giles?

Speaker 2 (01:06:23):
I think John Giles has flashed. I would keep.

Speaker 1 (01:06:25):
John Giles, I keep him in Web around.

Speaker 2 (01:06:29):
Yeah, I think John Giles. I'm a little higher on
Giles than Web, but I keep both of them. And
then Parker Romo should be here.

Speaker 1 (01:06:38):
He's he showed some juices a.

Speaker 2 (01:06:41):
He did. That's fair.

Speaker 1 (01:06:42):
So that's why I keep like because that's going to
be an important role this year that I think people
don't realize.

Speaker 2 (01:06:46):
Yeah, that's fair. So I that's the way I look
at it right now. In terms of the practice squad,
it'd be interesting to see how many of the guys
that are on assigned to the practice squad were with
the team in camp, because that might be where you
have the turnover, Like I said, one to two guys
in terms of the fifty three man roster, but the
practice squad, it might be that might be worth They

(01:07:08):
use is like kind of a tryout basis to get
some new bodies in here. All right, let's try one
more time here. This is your last chance though, all right,
what do you got here?

Speaker 3 (01:07:18):
All right?

Speaker 6 (01:07:19):
You guys got you now?

Speaker 3 (01:07:20):
Yes?

Speaker 6 (01:07:20):
So I feel like I feel like the fruit of
the looma logo, how it's changed and how they you know,
try to make it seem like it wasn't how it
was with Ben Brown. Can you guys give me three
skills that Garrett Bradberry possesses that Ben Brown doesn't, and
without mentioning leadership and experience, please thank you?

Speaker 2 (01:07:40):
Hey, Hugh, you got a good point besides leadership and experience.

Speaker 1 (01:07:44):
All right, that is one of them. You can't just
throw that out.

Speaker 2 (01:07:47):
The one, the one I would give just to be
fair to Ben. To Garrett Bradberry, he's more athletic than
Ben Brown. Yeah, he's a better athlete. He's a first
round athlete, and he moves latterly and up to the
second level a lot faster than Ben Brown does. I
think that's the biggest concern that I would have about
Ben Brown at guard, because you do want those guys

(01:08:07):
to get up to the linebackers and stuff a lot
more than what you do with your center most of
the time. And Garrett Bradbury is in athletics center. That's
what got him drafted in the first round. Like, that's
why he's had success in this league. That's why he's
been a starter in the league for six years. So
he's a I would say, if you wanted like a

(01:08:29):
physical trait of what Bradberry is better at than Ben Brown,
it would be athleticism and range from the center position.
But Ben Brown's got size on him, He's got play strength,
I would say, on Garrett Bradbury, and I guess if
you want to use youth as like a positive right

(01:08:49):
like he's let's tread on the tires as well. But
if you wanted a physical attribute that Bradbury has over Brown,
I'd say athleticism. All right, Williams and Philly, what's up? William?

Speaker 3 (01:09:04):
Hey?

Speaker 7 (01:09:04):
Hey up?

Speaker 2 (01:09:04):
And how you doing good? How are you all right?

Speaker 1 (01:09:07):
Hey?

Speaker 5 (01:09:08):
It's like hey, now, well one one question that's not
related to football. Another question is I'll just start with
the one that is first, Alic, if you talk about
what was the receiver you told me to look up
from Arizona's state, His name is Tyson.

Speaker 1 (01:09:26):
Jordan Tyson, Arizona State.

Speaker 5 (01:09:28):
Right, all right, look with the Patriots history right of
not be even too as far as get a receiver
or as far as drafting one or developing one or
anything like that. Only why I put only why I
told you Twain twenty seven though, is because I'm looking
at what's going on with the Patriot though you always
getting receivers that's thirty something years old, you know what

(01:09:51):
I mean, or or or you're drafting one that that
you you drafted the wrong one in the second, third round,
something in that magnitude whatever, you know, It just seems
like it just it seems to me like they're setting
things up for twenty twenty seven for the pictures.

Speaker 3 (01:10:05):
To do that, you know what I mean.

Speaker 5 (01:10:06):
Like my idea would be like, Okay, would you want
to take your the first round pick between twenty six
traded for I traded for twenty twenty seven that when
you have two first round picks and do whatever. I
don't know, I'm just saying that. I know that might
not be the great idea whatnot, but that's that's just
something I thought about. Though I don't know if y'all
would want to do that or anything like that. You know,

(01:10:29):
just they need a number one receiver bottom line period,
you know, I mean, a guy that can do it all,
that's a threat and everything, you know what I mean,
and they we haven't had that since Randy Moss.

Speaker 1 (01:10:38):
You know. Yeah, I mean, I just if you're nobody's
trading out of the Jeremiah Smith or Ryan Williams picks.
They're just not going to trade out of that pick.
And if you're picking high enough to take one of
those guys, things have gone. They should not be in
that position. That would be more bad than good. As
good as those players are, they should be out of range.
So you know, I don't think you just win to

(01:11:00):
take a receiver until the perfect guy comes along. If
you're not in the right position, you're you're now in
serious trouble. So they can't just not take a receiver
this year because maybe we'll give up the entire franchise
to draft Jeremiah Smith in twenty twenty seven. Any number
of things can happen between now and then that could
get You can't have that long term of a plan
for one player in the draft.

Speaker 5 (01:11:20):
Okay, And my question is basically, all right, so this
is not about football, all right, So you'll be on
ninety eight point point five a sports hub whatnot? Yeah,
could you tell me like the music that they be playing,
it's just instrumental like rock music. I think that's what
it is. Can you tell me where could I get different?

Speaker 1 (01:11:36):
Where what the music they're using is bad music?

Speaker 6 (01:11:39):
Yeah?

Speaker 7 (01:11:39):
That's what?

Speaker 2 (01:11:40):
Yeah, that's a great question.

Speaker 1 (01:11:41):
I I we don't have like a playlist. Maybe we should,
that's a good question.

Speaker 2 (01:11:45):
I'm sure you like have a library that you guys
pay for that has like instrumentals and like non copywritten music.

Speaker 1 (01:11:53):
Well, are you talking about just in general, like one
specific song?

Speaker 3 (01:11:57):
Well?

Speaker 8 (01:11:58):
Was it's just something?

Speaker 5 (01:11:59):
But it's just instrumental, That's what I saw it is.
Yet they don't play nothing but vocals anything mean by
saying it is just it is just instrumental, that's all
it is.

Speaker 1 (01:12:06):
Well, some of that is songs that have a longer
instrumental intro and some of it I think it's just
going on YouTube and finding instrumentals. There's not one specific. Yeah,
I don't think there's like a big database.

Speaker 2 (01:12:18):
I always found that thanks for the comedy, and I
always found that interesting about your station is that you
play copyright music and don't get in trouble for it.
Is that like an like because you're actually on the
rate like the physical.

Speaker 1 (01:12:29):
There is I don't know you pay the answer to this,
I don't want to get anybody in trouble. I think
it has something to do with because the company that
owns the sports hub, which is easily so they run
ninety six nine and you know some other stations.

Speaker 2 (01:12:45):
That makes sense because we can't play at music like
that here.

Speaker 1 (01:12:48):
Right, So I think that they I think the company
that owns the sports Tub has the license and it
just it covers all of those stations.

Speaker 2 (01:12:55):
Yeah, that makes sense. So I back to his football
question about the wide receivers. I want to We were
talking about this yesterday on PU. One of my goals
for this season for the Patriots is to make themselves
a desirable destination for star talent. In twenty twenty six,
I think.

Speaker 1 (01:13:12):
I will say it's free agent wide receiver. Clear the
pre agent class is not great.

Speaker 2 (01:13:16):
You can quantify that, though, however you want to quantify it.
But the next time. I don't know if it's going
to happen this time around because they're not there yet.
But let's just say the next offseason when the next
disgruntled wide receiver isn't going to get traded but acts
like he's going to get traded asked for a trade.
I want the Patriots to not get Brandon Aiyuke to

(01:13:37):
get right or Calvin ridleyed in free agency. I think
that's a big part and quantify that however, it looks
make the playoffs win, you double your win total. Maybe
it's just Drake May looks like a guy like if
Drake May has Justin Herbert is rookie season, I want
to say only one like four or five games, but
Herbert looked unreal, and so maybe it's just that whole thing.

(01:14:00):
But making yourself a desirable destination. For William to finally
get his number one receiver, I think is a really
big deal for them. They need to make the New
England and the Patriots a desirable team again.

Speaker 1 (01:14:13):
So I'll just throw this out there. The pre agents
for next year, So these will be the guys that
are entering a contract year in twenty twenty six, So
essentially what McLaurin and met Kalf and all these guys
were this year. Tell me if you're interested. Drake London, Yes,
but he's gonna get extended. Darnell Mooney, No, they have enough.
Darnell Mooney's JSN.

Speaker 2 (01:14:33):
Yeah, but he'll get extended.

Speaker 1 (01:14:35):
Michael Pittman, Maybe Tyreek Hill.

Speaker 2 (01:14:40):
Michael Pittman, didn't he sign an extension with the Colts. No,
he's on this. I think I thought he got a
new using over the cap. Maybe maybe it was a
short term, maybe it was a franchise tag. I mean
this is essentially a two year he signed. Okay, he
signed a three year deal. Yeah, so going into last season,
so that will be ye into last year that extension.

Speaker 1 (01:14:58):
Yeah yeah, yeah. So the your guys you have trade
for these aren't free agency? Is the pre agent Michael Pittman?

Speaker 2 (01:15:04):
I probably would, just because he's complimentary to what they have.

Speaker 1 (01:15:07):
All right, Tyreek Hill, No Zay Flowers, yeah, obviously, but
no Jordan Addison.

Speaker 2 (01:15:15):
Okay, we have some Patriots breaking news. Okay, Kendrick Bourne
has been released by the Patriots, according to Tom Pelisaro.
So Kendrick Bourn makes the team yesterday. And this is
when we always joke about the rosters. It's fluid and
it's in flux. Kendrick Bourn has been released by the Patriots.
This is from Pelisaro. And now everybody's.

Speaker 1 (01:15:37):
Adam Schefter saying he requested his release.

Speaker 2 (01:15:39):
So he requested his release. That's what Adam Schefter is saying. Yep,
requested his release. So Kendrick Bourne vested veteran so that
means that he does not have to go through waivers.
So now Kendrick Bourne, if released by the Patriots, which
he was according to these reports, is now free to
sign with any of the thirty one team in the league,

(01:16:01):
so he does not have to go through the waiver process.
This is not the breaking news I was expecting us
to get on the show. But I'm glad we had
got some breaking news on the show, Alex. Just your
instant reaction to this.

Speaker 1 (01:16:13):
If I can just wax poetic about Kendrick Bourne for
a second, do it, because you know how I feel
about Kendrick Borne. Like I think Kendrick Bourne was a
fine I think Kendrick Bourne was a good player, and
he was on a thousand yard pace in twenty twenty
one before he got cold. He would have been the
patriots only thousand yard receivers sin settlement. If he doesn't
get sick that year, comes back the next year, and

(01:16:33):
that should have been like they should have been able
to build on that. Matt Patricia's offense was a mess.
He gets in the doghouse over some stuff he really
should not have been in the doghouse for that's a
lost year. The next year in twenty twenty three, okay,
ken Kendrick Bourne, and I think he signed an extension
before that year, before twenty twenty four, but comes back
in twenty twenty three. Okay, let's try this again. Let's

(01:16:57):
see what he can do. And he was not bad
off the rip his full season pace over the first
eight games eighty catches, eight hundred and sixty yards, eight touchdowns.
That would have been his full season pace. That's a
solid season. That would have been one of their better
wide receiver seasons in a while. Tears ACL in Miami
before Halloween season's over comes back last year, misses the

(01:17:19):
beginning of the season, he's coming off to torn ACL
and look, I know you guys get on me that
I won't quit Kendrick Bourne at this point and will admit,
thirty years old, it's coming off torn ACL chasing a
season that he had four years ago is just not realistic. Yep,
he was, And it's not so much reflection on this
coaching staff, because again, I think at this point it
is what it is. He's one of the bigger wasted offer,

(01:17:41):
not waste wasted potential or missed potential that I've covered,
and I think that's much more on the team than him.
He definitely wasn't perfect, but I think he was a
real fine in that twenty twenty one free agency class,
and they just were constantly missing each other, like they
never the window was never truly open and capitalized twenty
one season, and that sucks because he loved his mentality,

(01:18:04):
loved his mental makeup, loved his approach. I think he
he already was kind of a fan favorite, but a
guy that would have been really cool to see succeed here.
If we were to do like the short list of
guys I wish played with Brady after Brady left, he
might be at the top of that list. He's up there.
It's like him and Hunter Henry. But you know, we'll
see if he comes back on the practice squad. My
guess would be no. Since he requested his release, doesn't

(01:18:26):
seem like I wish him the best elsewhere. That sucks
because there was real potential there for him to make
a difference in between injuries and bad coaching. It just
never happened.

Speaker 2 (01:18:36):
So I agree with everything he said. Kendrick Bourne also,
and I know this doesn't mean anything to anybody else
besides maybe the Beat, but just one of my favorite
people to talk to in the locker room over the
last couple of years. I really enjoyed his press conference
is getting to know him a little bit. Always a
smile on his face, always a nice dude. One thing.

(01:18:56):
I know again that nobody else cares about this, but
I just think it's saying he knew a lot of
us by name, and like cared to know a lot
of us by name. I thought that was really cool.
Just a really genuine good dude, like good spirited.

Speaker 1 (01:19:11):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:19:12):
Always, Like I said, like you laid it out perfectly
in terms of his run here, it wasn't all sunshines
and rainbows for Kendrick Bourne in terms of what was
going on with the Patriots and what was going on
with him injuries twenty twenty two. The coaching staff didn't
like him for whatever reason that he gets hurt in
twenty three, when he was having a career start to

(01:19:33):
the year, in twenty three with Bill O'Brien tears his
ACL and halfway through twenty twenty three, so there was
all sorts of reasons for Kendrick Bourne to be MOPy,
to be disgruntled, to be disappointed, and he just never
was any of those things. So I give him a
lot of credit for that. He's a pros pro in
terms of all that kind of stuff. Now in terms
of the roster, we all got the roster yesterday and

(01:19:56):
saw eight wide receivers and were like, not surprised. This
is not just annable. There's too many receivers here.

Speaker 1 (01:20:02):
So a little more I from Mandra Callahan here. The
Patriots are releasing wide receiver Kendrick Bourne upon request after
they failed to finalize a trade that would have sent
him to Minnesota. Per source, Born is healthy and it
was expected to practice he've made in New England, So
why did he make the initial roster. They wanted to
work the trade out right, They couldn't get the trade
done by four o'clock yesterday. They spent more time the

(01:20:23):
feel and trade happens this morning. That doors now closed.
He gets released.

Speaker 2 (01:20:28):
Great point, great great connection there with Adam Feelin because
similar kind of receiver, right that was this morning, right, yeah, yeah,
and similar kind of receivers. I think they were going
to play similar roles in Minnesota if Minnesota had acquired them.
I'm not surprised that it's the Vikings that were interested,
not that Kendrick Born practiced in those joint practices, but
they obviously had a lot of back and forth behind

(01:20:49):
the scenes between Vrabel and Kevin O'Connell. I'm sure during
that week where they probably talked about each other's rosters
and the players that might become available. So I was
expecting that maybe there would be some roster change of
you know, exchanging going on between the Patriots and Vikings.
For that reason, you laid it out nicely in terms

(01:21:09):
of the ups and downs for Kendrick Bourne. I talked
about at the beginning of the show with the eight
wide receiver thing, It just I couldn't really envision a
game day role for Kendrick Born. Here there was the
five guys that we all have been mentioning at nauseum
that are really the top five in that room. Diggs, Douglas,

(01:21:30):
Booty Hollins, Kyle Williams. Those five guys are the guys
that I feel like are gonna have a chance to
play on game day on offense, Eft and Chisholm. I
think it might be a guy that's on the outside
looking into It's one thing to have an undrafted rookie
be a healthy scratch and his rookie season in his
first year in the NFL. Javon Baker potentially active for

(01:21:50):
special teams, and you mentioned this when we were talking
about the A wide receivers. Maybe we should just start
talking about Javon Baker in a similar way we talk
about Brennan Schooler. Like Brennan Schooler is technically on the
roster as a safety, but he's not playing safety. He's
playing special teams, and Javon Baker might be gravitating towards
that as well as a wide receiver that's playing special teams.

(01:22:12):
So the Kendrick Bourne run here is over. I think
it's over. There's no reason for him to ask for
his release if he was going to be on the
practice squad. So now that dovetails that, you know, turn
the page here. The Patriots now the fifty two guys
on the roster yeap, so they have an open roster
spot we should hopefully I was hoping that the news

(01:22:35):
that we were going to get while we were on
the air was the waiver claims. We should be hearing
about waiver claims here, not before long, but knowing that
they released Kendrick Bourne, I think it's pretty safe to
say that they at least put in a claim for
somebody that they think they're going to get to take
that roster spot, and that's why we're here. Are you
at all surprised with Kendrick Bourne that this didn't happen

(01:22:56):
yesterday or that he didn't go on io Like, it's
just kind of weird that twenty four hours later they
could have just done this yesterday. But I think maybe
you're right about the trade. Potentially they wanted to keep
the door of the trade over. Now, why couldn't they
get the deal done? What was the Feeling trade? It
was a sixth and a seventh. Uh, yeah, it wasn't much,
so I'll when you're talking.

Speaker 1 (01:23:17):
I mean, Feeling had a good year last year, all
things considered for his age and all that. So I
what did they want for born? I'm guessing the Patriots
weren't getting a pick out right? It was probably a
pick soop.

Speaker 2 (01:23:29):
It was a twenty twenty sixth seventh and twenty twenty
seventh fifth for Adam Feeling. I mean, there's a lot
of picks going back and forth, but.

Speaker 1 (01:23:39):
If you're going to cut them anyway, I would have
just taken the one pick and done it. I wonder
if Minnesota wasn't going to do that. I wonder if
they were insisting on a pick swap and the Patriots
didn't want to, you know, net lose picks considering how
much we see Rabel wants to turn over the roster.
But I feel like that's something that that they should
have been able to get done.

Speaker 2 (01:23:59):
So I'm gonna miss Kendrick Born. You miss having him around.
I already we already kind of waxed poetic about that.
That being said, I actually am cautiously optimist mystic about
their wide receiver room. And I was on with one
of your guys, McCarthy the other night, and I said
something along the lines of this is the best wide

(01:24:22):
receiver room that I can remember them having in quite
some time, and Matt correctly said, well, Evan, the bar
is not very high for that, right, the bar is
not very high. Which facts, the bar is not very high.
But I'm actually genuinely optimistic about the mix that they
have at wide receiver for the first time in a
while now. A lot of that hinges on Stefan Diggs

(01:24:43):
being what I think he's going to be, which is
Stefon Diggs. Maybe not prime Minnesota Buffalo Stefon Diggs, but
at least the guy at the end in Buffalo and
the guy last year in Houston before he tore his ACL.
I expect Stefon Diggs to play at that level for
the Patriots this year. And I also have been pleasantly
surprised by Matt Collins. I think mccollins is more of

(01:25:04):
a factor than I gave him credit for. I think
his catch radius and his size it lends itself well
to Drake May, who's not a pinpoint accurate quarterback all
the time, so he can and we saw him going
over the middle of the field in Minnesota and kind
of rescuing a high pass thereby Drake May off script
or out of structure playmaking. When May scrambles and he

(01:25:25):
starts running around, having a six foot four wide receiver
down the field to throw the ball to is a
nice thing to have for a quarterback. So we see
how comfortable Drake May is throwing to his tight ends,
you know, Hunter Henry Austin Hooper. I think it's similar
with mac collins because of his size and his catch radius.
So if Digs is Digs, mac Collins ends up being

(01:25:46):
like a nice fine maybe he has similar production to
what he had in Vegas a couple of years ago
with Josh McDaniels. And then you also have this emergence
of kind of both things happening at once, the re
emergence of the slot receiver and then Pop Douglas looking
like he can wear the suit of the slot receiver,

(01:26:08):
that thing happening coinciding at the same time. I look
at it and say, like, this is a decent room.
Is it the best room in the NFL? No, of
course not. But if they were the worst receiver room
in the league last year and maybe even the year before,
are they closer to middle of the pack this year?

Speaker 1 (01:26:27):
Still think they're probably bottom third, but they're better. I
so much with Hinges on Diggs, so much.

Speaker 2 (01:26:32):
With Kyle Williams, Like if Kyle Williams, if it's not Diggs,
and you know, the potential or the ceiling there comes
from Kyle Williams as well. But what I like about
the receiver room for me is like, along with just
thinking the talent level has improved there, I also just
like the fact that they have a nice mix of
skill sets. I think in the past they've had some redundancy,

(01:26:55):
they've been slow, they haven't had a field stretching element
to the offense. But you have a jitterbug slot in
Pop Douglas. You have a true technician and Stefan Diggs
to play the Z. You have a big body Dex
and Matt Collins, and you have a speed X and
Kyle Williams. And then I think Kishan Boody is kind
of in between Matt Collins and Kyle Williams. But I

(01:27:19):
like how they compliment each other. I like the mix
that they have there, and I just didn't feel like
there was enough space in that mix for Kendrick Bourne,
which is probably how we end up here. Yeah, So
anything else to add on kenner Bourne. I'll take a
lot these calls and.

Speaker 1 (01:27:34):
That's pretty much it. All right, Let's get back to
the calls. Uh, Daniel is real quick report from San Francisco.
There's high interest from the forty nine ers bringing Kendrick Bourn.
I think that's where he ends up. I just I
don't know. I do don't want him to end up
in Kansas City. I think he'd succeed there, but I
don't want to have to watch him in Kansas City.

Speaker 2 (01:27:49):
So San Francisco, you're saying, San Francisco, you brought up
San Francisco.

Speaker 1 (01:27:53):
Here, No, so that did somebody brought up like Pittsburgh,
San Francisco, Kansas City as teams that need receivers.

Speaker 2 (01:27:58):
Got it? So I could see sanfi Cisco reuniting with
Kyle Shanahan makes all those sense.

Speaker 1 (01:28:02):
Well, you know what's gonna happen, then, right, he's gonna
be good. Well, if they win, I'm given Kyle Shanahan
no credit. Kendrick Bourne gets all the credit. That is
a full my guy versus you guy debate.

Speaker 2 (01:28:14):
It'd be interesting to see, like, I don't know, I know,
we kind of get into this point and it's like,
could they have traded Kendrick Borne for like a conditional
sixth round pick that you obviously should take what you
can get for the player, But I wonder what was
really out there for him? Because if he just immediately
goes and turns around and signs with San Francisco, clearly

(01:28:34):
there was real motivation by the forty nine ers to
get Hendrick Bourne.

Speaker 1 (01:28:37):
Or did the forty nine ers know when's the feeling
trade happened? All right, well they're gonna have to cut them.
Nobody else is gonna trade for him? Will wait it out.

Speaker 2 (01:28:43):
They might have called their bluff.

Speaker 1 (01:28:45):
Because I think if you're he'll have other suitors. Shanahan
probably knows he'll have a good chance to get him
back if he wants him back.

Speaker 2 (01:28:52):
I feel like they probably could have gotten something for
Kendrick Borne. But if it again, if it was like
a conditional seventh round pick, I understand. Just give the
guy the freedom to decide where he wants to go
and just doing a solid by him. I know some
people that annoys people are doing teams do that, but
at the end of the day, if you're getting a
conditional seventh or a conditional six, like, what are we
really talking?

Speaker 1 (01:29:11):
So I think the bigger thing is if it's a
pick swap and they were trying to net a pick here, yeah,
that would be.

Speaker 2 (01:29:16):
That would have been probably better. All right, let's go
back to the phones. Daniel's in California. What's up, Daniel?

Speaker 3 (01:29:23):
You guys don't good?

Speaker 2 (01:29:24):
Pete.

Speaker 9 (01:29:26):
So, yeah, I agree with you Evan about the wide
receiver room. I'm definitely optimistic about it. Like I don't
think it's one of the worst, which has been in
the past couple of seasons. I definitely think it's around
like the twenty twenty range, probably low twenties. But on
Pop Douglas though I did see that he's about the
on Edelman's podcast, or he already was not out yet.

(01:29:49):
I know that he's not like an every down player,
but you know, I have a feeling that he's due
for a breakout season. You know, if Drake, you know,
ends up being having a successful year, if Horse like
the people that I would think would get the credit
would be like Big Henry in the probably the running
back room. You know, But how do you feel that
you know what Pop season is, you know what his

(01:30:13):
potential was of being this season, and I can just
pick that off the air.

Speaker 10 (01:30:17):
Thank you.

Speaker 2 (01:30:17):
Yeah, Daniel, I actually have a story coming out probably
tomorrow on this exact topic and just the slot receiver
in Josh mcdaniels's offense in general, but also Pop Douglas,
Efton Chisholm and their role within that. And I actually
spoke to Edelman for it, so I have some good
stuff from Edelman on the role on playing in the slot,

(01:30:39):
also what he thinks of those guys. He's in the
media now so he pays attention to all this. Just
one little thing I'll share Edelman is really high on
both guys, but really high on Pop Douglas and said
he's he predicted somewhere between eighty to ninety catches this
year for Pop in this offense. And he just said
having Josh McDaniels is like McDaniels is, all he's gonna

(01:31:02):
do is hunt matchups in the inside with Pop and
get him on linebackers, and get him on safeties, and
get him in foot races that he can win off
the line of scrimmage. And he really was bullish about
the combination of McDaniels and Pop together and how good
that can be for Pop Douglas. And I'll just add
I've been really impressed with how well Pop Douglas has

(01:31:23):
handled some of the mental aspects of that position. I
wasn't one hundred percent certain that he was going to
handle some of the post snap processing. You basically have
to process the defense like you're a quarterback. You have
to read the coverage, you have to find the soft spots.
You have to know when it's quarterbacks right, you have
to know when it's man. I've been really pleasantly surprised
by how well Pop has picked all of that up.

(01:31:45):
And I know Drake May has talked about it lining
up in the right places, running routes with more detail
and more precise with his steps. And so I do
think that Pob Douglas is in I don't know if
we want to call it a breakout season, but I
think eighty catches is probably in play. You know, maybe
it's eighty for eight hundred. I don't know if it's
going to be a ton of yards per catch, if

(01:32:08):
it's going to be a very high number of yards
per catches, I think he'll probably be somewhere around ten
or eleven yards. But realistically, I do think eighty catches
it in play for Pop.

Speaker 1 (01:32:18):
Yeah, So I'll just emphasize though, I don't think Pop
Douglass like he doesn't need to have a volume season
have a successful season. Yeah, right, it's big plays, it's touchdowns,
it's first downs, things like that. I don't think he
needs to catch a hundred passes to have a breakout season.

Speaker 2 (01:32:34):
No, Yeah, that's fair, and maybe it is. You know,
we talked a little bit about in this piece, which
I think was you know, Edelman was really good about this.
Like we talked about the difference between the slot, which
is McDaniels and McDaniels offense is called the F receiver
and the Z which is like the flanker receiver, and
the differences between those two positions, and there is differences

(01:32:57):
in terms of where they play and how they've run
routes typically speaking, especially like the F is only in
a three receiver package, is only when there's the XDF
and the Z. So in order to be a base
receiver like a Z receiver, a DAD takes a lot
more in terms of blocking and different things like that,
playing more on the outside. So to your point about volume,

(01:33:21):
like Pop is a true slot, he's not gonna be
a typically a guy. The Patriots play a lot of
base offense with with two receivers on the field, I
don't think he's gonna be on the field a ton,
But the second that they go to three receiver eleven,
then he's gonna be on the field a lot. So
at the end of the day, that's probably a wash.
Like he's probably still going to be seventy seventy five

(01:33:42):
eighty percent of the snaps because they play so much
in eleven these days in today's NFL, But it's a
little bit in that respect, not in terms of their
skill sets. They're not comparable players in that respect, but
in terms of usage, it's a little bit more Ammondola
than it is Ediement. Yeah so yeah, so that that
I would say is a little bit different. All right,

(01:34:02):
let's go to Christian in LA. What's up Christian?

Speaker 7 (01:34:07):
Hey, guys, you know, I don't get a chance to
call into your show so much, but I really loved
what you guys do. More of the exes and o's
and you really get into and break it down. So
I really respect the show and I really love it
on it still going.

Speaker 10 (01:34:19):
Well.

Speaker 7 (01:34:20):
Now, let me get on you because both of you
guys are doing the very thing that I really really
dislike about commentators and quarterbacks. If you cannot bring a
guy into your quarterback room because you're afraid it's gonna
somehow damage the confidence and the psyche of your stark quarterback,
he's not a starting quarterback. That's a child that needs

(01:34:41):
to develop more before you put him in lead of
your franchise. I get so mad when I hear, well,
you know, if you bring a man, people are gonna
start firing. For me, I was gonna break me of
my kids. That's ridiculous to me. You bring the best
talent into your room that you can possibly get, and
if someone outplays you, I don't care. If you got
a hundred million dollars contract you got over, you got lucky.
The guys that plays best belongs on the field. That's

(01:35:02):
That's one I'm gonna ask you guys for that. Did
I see that they cut that that swing guard that
that everyone was kind of getting high on because he
got injured? Is that something that they usually put a
guy on injured, reserved and see maybe you know he's talented,
Let's wait and see if he can get well, or
well he's so injured that they just said, you know,

(01:35:23):
let's release him and get rid of him. And then my, my,
my third thing is with us trying to attract players
to the Patriots. Winning does help, But in today's landscape
where players were trying to develop simultaneously their post post
football careers and brands and that kind of thing, do

(01:35:45):
you think that vrabel will will have the kind of
attitude to allow some of the stuff that needs to
go on for players to sort of develop that that,
you know, that brand name and style to do something afterwards.
Thank you, guys, I'll take you off the air, and again,
I love the show.

Speaker 2 (01:36:00):
Thanks Christian. I appreciate the call so to just to
the quarterback thing, like, that's not us, that is that's
putting that out there. We're just reading their actions, like
if they didn't care about the dynamic in the locker
room and all these different types of things, and Joe
Milton would still be here. So this is not this
is just a thing, like I don't think it's a
media thing. We're just reacting to what these teams are

(01:36:21):
doing and whether Christian, you know, I understand your point,
but this is a legit thing that teams do. When
you have a young quarterback like Drake May who has
all the talent in the world but isn't quite proven
yet and isn't quite established yet, teams are weary about
bringing in competition and having that be uneasy in the
quarterback room. I think that that's a part of it. Obviously,

(01:36:45):
talent and all that stuff is probably a bigger deal.
But we saw this with Mac Jones and Bailey Zappy,
and I think we saw this a little bit with
Joe Milton and Drake May. And I think that's why
Joe Milton is no longer here. Yeah, so I don't
think we're that's a media driven thing. Two, I don't
know who's talking about that guard. There's a million guards.

Speaker 1 (01:37:03):
Laydon Robinson, maybe Laden only god they put on I
r oh, no, he said, did they cut?

Speaker 2 (01:37:07):
Yeah? Maybe maybe Leyden Robinson, I'm not sure.

Speaker 1 (01:37:10):
And then I don't think there are any linemen. People
were high on them they cut?

Speaker 2 (01:37:13):
No, no, not not super high on And then uh,
what was his last one? There? I had something to
respond to that one too?

Speaker 1 (01:37:21):
What was the last one?

Speaker 2 (01:37:21):
I don't remember? Sorry, Christian, here you come at us
with three different things, and you know there's there's too
much there. All right, let's take this one. Jeff is
in Maine. What's up? Jeff?

Speaker 3 (01:37:34):
Hey?

Speaker 2 (01:37:35):
Good?

Speaker 3 (01:37:37):
Uh? So I have two things, neither of which are exes.
Those related one ft Chisholm's listen. I don't know how
no one has said this yet, so we'll do it
on this show. I'm not sure anyone is gonna get
a better nickname for him than E C. Three.

Speaker 2 (01:37:56):
Not bad.

Speaker 3 (01:37:57):
I feel I feel good about that too. So last
year my fantasy team was the Manhattan Project. Yes, this year,
I mean I feel like just with the last couple
of shows. Does it not have to be in Island? Yeah?

Speaker 1 (01:38:12):
Yeah, probably, there you go, there you go.

Speaker 2 (01:38:15):
I love it.

Speaker 1 (01:38:15):
The only person show and talk fantasy football.

Speaker 2 (01:38:18):
By the way, we have some emails about your hate
for fantasy football.

Speaker 1 (01:38:22):
Well, so I gotta get you on the Punter League too.

Speaker 2 (01:38:25):
That has Jeff f chism Island sounds right to me.

Speaker 3 (01:38:29):
That sounds great, all right, And again I will be
the only fantasy football call that you will take all year.
You'll get a couple updates and I will talk X's
nose from now on.

Speaker 2 (01:38:39):
I love it. I appreciate it. You're the only one
that we allowed to talk fantasy one, only one. All right,
Patty's in Agua. What's up, Patty? How you doing.

Speaker 6 (01:38:53):
Doing?

Speaker 3 (01:38:53):
All right?

Speaker 8 (01:38:53):
So last week I had something for Evan. This week
got something for you, Alex. I heard I heard you
say two words on TB I think it was last week,
And when he said it, my intento went up those
two words. Nick Harbor, I can't wait, dude, I can't wait.

Speaker 11 (01:39:11):
For this weekend.

Speaker 8 (01:39:11):
Can't wait for the start of the college game.

Speaker 11 (01:39:13):
Yeah, and I'm gonna keep I'm gonna get keep a
close eye on him. Because that dude is a bona
fide freak, and I'm hoping that he is a big
season because if he does, that's the guy I want
next year in the first round. So all I got,
let's freaking go. I know you're gonna be watching this weekend, Alex,
I'll be watching you.

Speaker 2 (01:39:31):
Thanks for the call, Patty, how do you explain to
everybody who the heck.

Speaker 1 (01:39:34):
Nick Harbor and Patty put him away? He's a player
to watch. I am not saying I want the Patriots
to draft him, not yet. I'm not saying I don't
want them to draft him because I got to see
how the season goes. Nick Harbor, Evan, We've been doing
this for eight years. Nick Harbor, I dare to say
will be the best raw athlete we've ever covered coming
out of the draft. I've reserved that for Jordan Davis.

(01:39:56):
The best raw, the best pure just athleticism. Okay, in
terms of athleticism, this guy was a five star crew
coming out of high school as a defensive end. Six five,
two thirty five goes to and he's a track star
to All American track star goes South Carolina. Wants to
play receiver. So six five two thirty five All American
in the one hundred yard dash two hundred yard dash,

(01:40:18):
Like the reports are, he can run a forty in
the high four threes. Again it's six five, two thirty five.
But because he was a defensive end play a little
tight end in high school, it's all incredibly raw. So
the big thing this year with Nick Harb it's the
first year's draft eligibly he's a true junior. He didn't

(01:40:38):
run track this year in the springs, the first time
he's ever done that. He dedicated himself fully to football,
to picking up the nuances of the position. All the
reports out of the South Carolina spring practices were there's
results there like that actually paid off. He's got a
Heisman caliber quarterback in Lenora Sellars, like we'll see right again,
player to watch if he actually put to work in

(01:41:01):
and there's some skill there. The athleticism, the size, the speed,
all of that speaks for itself. If not, well, big guy,
it's the fast and big guy runs fast and what
and he may end up staying another year in college
and trying to develop. Like again, he's a true junior.
He was the first ever true freshman to be at
the top of the Freaks List and the Athletic. He

(01:41:22):
was the first player to be number one on the
Freaks lits back to back years. In the Athletic he
was top five again this year, I think because they
just felt it was unfair to keep putting him at
the top. There is no more exciting prospect in college
football than Nick Harbor. Whether or not he ultimately that
pans out, we will see. This is a huge year
for him.

Speaker 2 (01:41:40):
There's a proply guy that he told me he needs
to learn how to play football. Kind of yeah, okay,
well that's a pretty big deal. But so South Carolina's
got a good coaching staff. The reports are that this
spring just focusing on football and not running. I said
that tongue in cheek because he's never done like the
full calendar year of football. Okay, because he dedicates him
off the track. He did that this year. Let's see

(01:42:02):
what the results are. I'm fascinated by it. Maybe there's
nothing here. There's a real chance there's nothing here, and
then I will drop it. But if there is something,
I mean, you're talking like a DK Metcalf Josh Gordon
kind of receiver. So when you said the best raw
athlete that, yeah, we ever covered in a draft. DK
was the first one that comes to mind to me,
so that I know DK didn't have the agility testing,

(01:42:24):
but we're talking about a absolute alien. So six foot
four dude that runs a fourth.

Speaker 1 (01:42:30):
He is among the elite athletes. He's at the top
of the list, like he's another level. So I'm excited
to see, if you think. But he's got a lot
of growing and needs to show this year.

Speaker 2 (01:42:39):
All right, so we do have some the waiver thing
is going really slow this year for whatever reason.

Speaker 1 (01:42:46):
Do a practice squad side, we have.

Speaker 2 (01:42:48):
Some practice squad things. Looks like maybe Terrell Jennings from
Mark Daniels coming back on the practice squad. The couple
of the Titans reporters down there said the Titans claim
four guys on.

Speaker 1 (01:43:00):
It doesn't help. I saw one I think was Juju Brentz,
who was a big draft guy of mine. For you,
I just want real quick. I want to say my
favorite thing about cutdown Day every year is getting tagged
in tweets about players that I draft crush on, like
three years ago, We're getting cut Honestly, like, I truly
appreciate that. I don't know if you get the same thing.

(01:43:21):
I truly appreciate. It actually means a lot to me
that you guys remember this stuff, because sometimes I maybe
don't even remember and got to go back and look
up what I wrote about the guy. So it does
mean to lots of me every year, like I got tagged, Juju,
Brents got cut. There are a couple other guys I
know when Bryceford Wheaton went on IR like I got tagged, Like,
I always appreciate seeing those guys.

Speaker 2 (01:43:40):
So I'm a little disappointed. Usually by now, Tom Pelisaro
or Albert bre or somebody has the wire. The wire
data is post, the entire wire of who was claimed.
But right now what we're getting is we're getting slow
trickle outs of some of the insiders are going team
by team of who was So it sounds like the

(01:44:01):
Titans were the most active team. They claimed four guys
on waivers, Samuel Womack defensive back, a lot of defensive backs.
Let's see. Oh they came from Alabama, Jalen amwar Davis.
Uh yeah, they claimed him as well.

Speaker 1 (01:44:19):
So they claimed two corners.

Speaker 2 (01:44:20):
They claimed a handful of corners.

Speaker 1 (01:44:22):
It sounds like that Patriots might be on a corner.

Speaker 2 (01:44:25):
So there's there's a couple of things. But let's take
a few more of these calls. We have ten minutes
left and hopefully we can see definitively if the Patriots
have claimed anybody. Uh, let's go to Mark in Connecticut.
What's up, Mark?

Speaker 10 (01:44:40):
What's going on? My brothers?

Speaker 3 (01:44:41):
How are we good?

Speaker 10 (01:44:42):
How are you too bad? Evan? Just a quick couple
of things to Gooby Myers, any real word on him
if he's actually gonna be available to get. And then
the other thing is that tight end. I still feel
like we need another really good tight end. And there's
two that are I believe on the waiver Wile, Josh

(01:45:05):
Wile and Greg Dulich, who actually just picked the crap
out of us that was on the New York Giants
over the last preseason game. I wanted to get your guys'
takes on those guys.

Speaker 2 (01:45:17):
Yeah, yeah, thanks for the call. Mark. So a lot
of conversations about those two tight ends. Deulich we all
just saw with the Giants in the preseason game. And
then Wile was drafted by Vrabel I believe in Tennessee. Yeah,
and then was released by the Titans. So maybe some
interest there on the tight ends on Jacoby Myers. I'm
glad somebody called in and asked the question. It does

(01:45:38):
seem like Dad's died down maybe a little bit about
Jacob Myers's trademarket, if there ever was one. My whole
take on Jacoby Myers, and I said this yesterday on
PU Alex, is that if you just want to say,
just get the best receivers and to get the best
talent on this roster full stop, I don't care about
redundancies and positions and z's and x's and all, then fine.

(01:45:59):
I'm not gonna sit here and argue with you because
I also like Jacoby Myers. But but that being said,
two of your biggest engines of your offense right now
are Stefan Diggs and Pop Douglas. And I think there's
a ton of positional overlap with Jacoby Myers and those
two guys. And I don't necessarily look at Jacobi Myers
and say that he's really what you need at the

(01:46:22):
receiver position. If this was the Jacoby Myers of outside
the numbers X receivers that can get down the field,
then I would be more all in on that.

Speaker 1 (01:46:31):
I mean, Stefan Diggs.

Speaker 2 (01:46:33):
Well, Stefan Diggs, but like Sefon Diggs canna play the
Z and I don't think he's gonna get that many
outside the numbers.

Speaker 1 (01:46:39):
Oh no, I thought you meant like if it was
that version of Diggs.

Speaker 2 (01:46:42):
Yeah, right, sure, Yeah, uh that as well, you could
play Pop and Digs and Myers together. I just think
that you really lack a true outside the numbers speed
and ball winner out there with that group. I think
it's a slower group compared to what they really want
to be. So long winded answer, but I guess they

(01:47:04):
kind of signed Stefon Diggs to play the Jacobe Myers
role within the offense. So if they then go ahead
and trade for Jacoby Myers, I'm not really sure how
the two of those guys fit together. Someone's gonna end
up playing on the outside too much, is my fear
with that, And that person is probably not going to
be used to the best of his abilities and therefore
not going to have the production that they're being paid

(01:47:26):
to have that they were acquired to have. And so
I think right now they might have too much redundancy
in the wide receiver room for Jacoby Myers.

Speaker 1 (01:47:35):
Yeah. Look, I'm with you, like, you can't turn down
good players. But if you start taking targets away from Digs,
what does that do for him? I don't think this
is about Pop Douglas. Now is there a way you
can get all three of them on the field. Maybe
you're playing Digs out of position or at his old
position at the X, so there's complications that come with that.
In an ideal world, I think you'd wait a couple

(01:47:55):
of weeks, see how things pan out, and maybe if
Digs doesn't look right off the knee or guys are hurt,
and you re engage the conversations, now he may get
dealt or signed extension before then. But I just he's
not that Terry McLaurin level of player, right that you're
looking for. And I think at a certain point you
just got to go in and see what you have.
He definitely gives you a higher floor than Diggs does.
But at this point they need to take a shot

(01:48:15):
at wide receiver. I'll take the ceiling with Diggs, yeah,
because they know what Digs looks.

Speaker 2 (01:48:20):
Like right right, And it's a good point just in
terms like, yeah, the talent is the talent. And if
you again, like I said, if you just are in
the school of thought that I just want to take
the talent and fine, But I do think that in
this case it's a little bit more complicated than that.
And I definitely feel like you want to see this
through with Stefon Diggs. And in order to see it

(01:48:43):
through truly with Stefon Diggs, I think you have to
play him at the Z and he has to be
a high volume guy because if he's not getting his
targets and he's not running the route tree that he
needs to be running, then this can go south on
them with Stefon Diggs. And I worry about that with
Admyer's involvement there. If it was Terry McLaurin that level
of player, you figure it out. If it was a

(01:49:03):
true outside the numbers guy, then you take that guy
and it's complimentary and it works out. It's just not
the case here with Myers. All Right, Ken is in Florida?
What's up? Ken? Ken? Ken? Going? Once? All right? Ken,
you can call back in. We have five more minutes
on the show. So if you call back in, can

(01:49:25):
can I can I humor you with something real quick?
So Curtis and Saint Louis has a bone to pick
with you, and most of the time it's bones to
pick with me. So I'm glad that this is happening.
Uh So he is very disappointed that you wag your
finger at fantasy football fans and the fantasy football community.

(01:49:46):
So he's gonna say this is what he has to say.
Uh you, I'm trying to like parse this down because
it's a lot of words. I generally agree with you your
points and takes. You've been my guy. But when you
come out out and say fantasy players are not real fans,
that is a huge slap in the face. Do you
think that fantasy people are not real fancy all right

(01:50:08):
over there?

Speaker 1 (01:50:08):
Yeah, there's like some bug jumping around on me. I mean,
I think there are people who play fantasy football who
are real football fans. I'm not saying all fantasy football
players aren't. I think there are some people who play
fantasy football who think that alone qualifies them as and
not a football fan in the sense that I enjoy
watching the NFL, I mean a fan of the sport itself.
I think there are some people that play fantasy football

(01:50:31):
that they know the quarterbacks, the running backs, the wide receivers,
and the tight ends and that's it. And they you know,
they know the numbers and they don't maybe know what's
behind those numbers, how they get there and things like that.
That's the group I'm more talking to. There. There are obviously,
like real football fans who play fantasy football.

Speaker 2 (01:50:50):
So I think what in general is maybe this is
kind of what you're getting at. I think what's what
bothers me a little bit about the fantasy community is
that they basically take the trenches out of their thinking.

Speaker 1 (01:51:02):
And the defense entirely.

Speaker 2 (01:51:03):
Well yeah, but like specifically, I would say the I
feel like if you only pay attention to fantasy and
that's how you base all your takes off of just
fantasy football. I'm not saying this is everybody. I'm just
saying people that do that, then to you, acquiring wide
receivers and running backs and tight ends is the only
thing that matters.

Speaker 1 (01:51:23):
And these are the people I'm talking to.

Speaker 2 (01:51:25):
Whereas when you talk about what we talk about on
this show, like the true x's and o's and the
true scheme in minutia of football, the most important thing
in football, and I will continue to pound the table
for this besides quarterback is offensive and defensive line play,
the game is won and lost there. Now, the quarterback

(01:51:46):
is the biggest factor. Everybody knows that. But besides the quarterback,
your offensive and defensive lines is the biggest factor. Now,
you could have a quarterback, as I can already hear Paul,
who's probably not listening, but if he was listening, he
would say, well, the Chiefs had a bad offensive line
last year and they still made it to the super Bowl. Yes,
if you have Patrick Mahomes quarterback and your team, then

(01:52:07):
you can make up for it. But more times than not,
you do not have Patrick Mahomes and so therefore your
offensive and defensive line really is the engine of your
football team. That is the foundation of your football team.
I think that sets the floor of what you can
be as a team besides the quarterback. If you don't
have that figured out and buttoned up, then it's hard,
it's hard times to be really truly competitive in this league.

(01:52:31):
So I do feel like sometimes the fantasy community does
sort of turn that into you know, the only thing
that matters is wide receivers, right, it's wide receiver ones.
It's you know, running backs. Overvaluing running backs and not
paying enough attention to the trenches there. All right, we're
gonna have to wrap up the show. And okay, so

(01:52:52):
we do have one claim. We do have one claim
by the Patriots. We have two minutes to break down
one claim. The Patriots did a little bit of breaking
news here at the end. According to Field Yates, the
Patriots have a claimed quarterback, Tommy DeVito, off of waivers.
So Tommy DeVito, the pies on himself, the chicken cutletman,
Tommy DeVito coming to the New England Patriots. You have

(01:53:14):
one minute to react to this, Alex and I have
one minute. What do you got?

Speaker 1 (01:53:18):
I got to hope they opened it up between him
and Dobbs. Let's see. Yeah, it'll be behind closed doors.
We won't see.

Speaker 2 (01:53:24):
But it's a great point this is.

Speaker 1 (01:53:26):
Do you think do you think he could pass Dobbs
QB two?

Speaker 2 (01:53:28):
I do. I do think he could push Dobs for
QB two. I think he's more consistent, I think he's
more accurate quarterback compared to Josh Dobbs. His being in
Brian Dables offense, which is very very similar to the
offense that Josh McDaniels runs, I think is a big deal.
Reason why they've made this claim having a guy that

(01:53:49):
basically ninety five percent of the offense that he was
running in the Giants is the same as the offense
that they're running here, So there shouldn't be too much
in terms of picking up on the scheme and all
that kind of stuff. Tommy DeVito claimed by the Patriots
off of waivers. He will be on the fifty three
man roster. This is not a practice squad situation. He
will be on the fifty three man rosters. So to
your point about challenging backup quarterback, I think that says

(01:54:12):
it all right there. If they just signed Ben Lurris,
if they just signed Taylor al Gerzma to the practice squad,
then it's just a practice arm, right. This seems like
more than a practice arm. They put in a waiver
claim for Tommy DeVito, and they awarded Tommy DeVito. So
we'll have more on Tommy DeVito and the Patriots waiver claims.
I haven't heard of any other ones just yet, but

(01:54:35):
we'll break those down for you tomorrow on Patriots Unfiltered.
We got to go on this show, but thanks so
much for watching, Thanks so much for listening.

Speaker 1 (01:54:42):
Another claim, Charles Woods defensive back week.

Speaker 2 (01:54:45):
We'll get to those next week and we'll be on
Ten to Do next week on Wednesdays. We'll keep you
updated on that on social media, but until then, signing off,
Alex behind the Glass, Alex Barth, Evan Lazara, See you
guys next week. Hey, this is Evan. Thanks for tuning
in to the show. If you really want to help us,
make sure to like us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or

(01:55:07):
wherever you get your podcasts. Also make sure to follow
on the New England Patriots YouTube channel see this show
and everything else we do here at the Patriots. Thanks
a lot