Burning Patriots Camp Questions from Cattles | Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast - video Dailymotion

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In this episode of the Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast with Nick Cattles, Greg welcomes Nick back to the podcast. Without missing a beat, Nick fires off his most burning questions to Greg following 12 days of New England Patriots training camp practice.  ⏱️ EPISODE TIMELINE ⏱️ 0:00 Nick is back in Mass! 1:00 Mac Jones 6:00 Offensive Line 12:00 Running Back depth 16:15 Wide Receiver  22:00 Pop Douglas pops 28:55 Christian Barmore 31:10 Trey Flowers signed 33:50 Jack Jones availability  36:00 Preseason preview  Check Greg's Coverage out over at www.bostonsportsjournal.com, for 39.99 on BSJ's annual plan. Not only do you get top-notch analysis of all the Boston pro sports, but if you're a Patriots junkie — and if you're listening to this podcast, you are — then a membership at BSJ gives you access to a ton of video analysis Bedard does on the coaches film, and direct access to him in weekly chats.  This episode of the Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast w/ Nick Cattles Podcast is brought to you by:  FanDuel Sportsbook, the exclusive wagering partner of the CLNS Media Network. Visit FanDuel.com/BOSTON and start earning BONUS BETS with America’s #1 Sportsbook! Because right now, when you bet on a Super Bowl Winner, you can GET BONUS BETS EVERY TIME THEY WIN IN THE REGULAR SEASON!  21+ and present in MA. First online real money wager only. $10 Deposit req. Refund issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at fanduel.com/sportsbook. Hope is here. GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call (800)-327-5050 for 24/7 support. Play it smart from the start! GameSenseMA.com or call 1-800-GAM-1234.  AG1! If a comprehensive solution is what you need from your supplement routine, then try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first purchase. Go to https://drinkAG1.com/BEDARD !

Transcript

00:00 This is the Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast with Nick Cattles.

00:04 - Well, holy crap, that was a voyage.

00:07 I am happy to report to you, Greg, and everybody else.

00:10 I don't know how many people actually care,

00:12 but I am in Foxborough.

00:14 I'm in Massachusetts.

00:16 I'm about 15 minutes away from Gillette Stadium

00:19 after making a 3,000 plus mile trip across the country.

00:24 I don't wanna go through all the cities and towns

00:26 that I went through.

00:27 It was 11 days.

00:28 I drove every second.

00:29 My better half took care of the dog in the backseat,

00:32 which was a nightmare.

00:33 It was a long trip, Greg, but I am here.

00:36 We are in the same time zone.

00:38 I apologize if there are any audio issues.

00:40 If you're watching the video,

00:41 obviously my lovely hotel room

00:43 that I'm currently staying in,

00:45 not very palatial, not beautiful, but it is what it is.

00:49 I'm alive, I'm well, I'm here,

00:51 and I'm ready to talk Patriots.

00:52 But before we get into that, I wanna remind everybody,

00:55 this episode brought to you by FanDuel,

00:57 the exclusive wagering part of the CLSN media network,

01:01 that's CLNS media network.

01:03 Right now, when you bet on a Super Bowl winner,

01:05 you can get bonus bets every time they win

01:08 in the regular season.

01:09 And of course, our friends at AG1,

01:11 a foundational nutrition supplement

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01:14 to support whole body health in one delicious daily drink.

01:18 And thanks to AG1 for not forcing me

01:21 to say the word adaptogens every time I have that read.

01:26 So that's very much appreciated.

01:28 So what we're gonna do here, Greg,

01:31 is I've been sitting back,

01:33 I've been going across the country every day,

01:35 reading notes from you and others,

01:37 paying attention on Twitter every single night,

01:40 making sure I'm keeping track of exactly what's going on

01:43 in Patriots world.

01:44 And I'm just gonna fire some questions at you.

01:46 12 practices that we've had.

01:50 We're now getting ready, of course,

01:51 we're taping this on Wednesday afternoon.

01:53 So tomorrow night at Gillette is the first preseason game.

01:57 We don't anticipate seeing many starters out there,

02:01 especially on the offensive side.

02:03 But I think the first question that I'm gonna start with,

02:06 and it's the question that everybody starts with,

02:08 is Mac Jones.

02:09 He's the guy we've been paying attention to.

02:11 Just your thoughts on his progression

02:13 within this offense, Greg,

02:15 what you've seen practice one to practice 12,

02:18 and how you feel going into tomorrow's

02:20 first preseason game about QB1.

02:23 - By the way, I love having you back on the East Coast.

02:25 And I love sort of doing this format

02:27 where it's a little bit like factor fiction,

02:29 'cause there's a lot of stuff out there about the team.

02:31 I'm sure a lot of people have read.

02:33 I've been at all the practices.

02:35 Is this true?

02:38 Is this true about this player?

02:39 Like, you know, let's get into it.

02:41 So on Mac Jones, what I would say about Mac is,

02:45 I would say he's much comfortable in the offense

02:48 in this iteration of the offense with Billy O'Brien.

02:52 Excuse me, Bill O'Brien,

02:54 according to the caller who called in yesterday.

02:57 I can't call him Billy,

02:58 even though everybody calls him Billy around the team,

03:01 because it differentiates between Bill Belichick

03:05 and Billy O'Brien.

03:07 So anyways, very comfortable with the offense.

03:10 It gets them in and out of plays really well,

03:14 doing the checks at the line of scrimmage.

03:20 I think that he's been under a lot of pressure in camp,

03:23 as has Bailey, in terms of just pressure from the pass rush,

03:26 because the offensive line is in shambles.

03:30 I know Michael Foger, maybe I left out a word,

03:33 but he was, at least on NBC Sports Boston,

03:36 they were saying that I was saying

03:37 the offense was in shambles.

03:39 I think I wrote offensive line was in shambles,

03:42 which it is.

03:43 I mean, really, when David Andrews

03:44 was out one day at practice,

03:46 that meant that there were no real starters

03:48 on the offensive line.

03:50 I mean, you could sort of count Connor McDermott

03:52 at right tackle, since it looks like he's gonna start,

03:54 but he's not a real starter.

03:55 He's not an NFL starter.

03:57 He's a Patriots starter.

03:58 And that doesn't really count, in my eyes.

04:01 But he's been efficient with the offense.

04:04 He's comfortable with the offense.

04:06 You can tell he has a different energy this year.

04:08 It's good.

04:09 I am just, at this point, I'm concerned about,

04:12 A, the pressure, which I'm hopeful that that will

04:16 solve itself as guys come off and get healthy

04:19 and get back in the lineup.

04:20 'Cause I do think they have a good offensive line,

04:23 even if right tackle's a disaster.

04:25 I still think they have the potential

04:27 to have the best offensive line in the division.

04:30 But there's a distinct lack of downfield plays.

04:35 Really, the only plays that Mack Jones,

04:37 or really even Bailey Zappi make down the field,

04:40 are the occasional 50/50 jump ball shot plays

04:44 to Devontae Parker.

04:46 Mack has missed with Kendrick Bourne a couple times,

04:50 and Mike Gusecki a couple times.

04:52 Just missed.

04:53 So the timing quite isn't there yet, which is fine.

04:57 There's plenty of time to get ready.

04:58 But I just look at it compared to,

05:03 I watched the Jets' hard knocks last night.

05:06 And what they're doing down the field,

05:09 and big plays, and guys that just get off the ball.

05:13 And it's just, the Patriots just aren't there.

05:16 They run a different, it's like a different record speed.

05:21 It's just slower.

05:22 They're slow.

05:23 There aren't that many explosive plays.

05:25 It looks like they're gonna depend on scheme

05:27 and sort of slip screens, deceptive plays,

05:32 things like that to get 'em their big plays.

05:34 So, so far on Mack Jones, good.

05:36 I like what I see.

05:37 He's making progress.

05:39 I just wanna see, heading into the season,

05:42 over the next, with the joint practices

05:44 over the next couple weeks,

05:45 I wanna see them start pushing the ball down the field

05:48 and start getting a little bit more aggressive.

05:50 'Cause right now it's shot plays and passes in the flat,

05:53 or quick games.

05:54 And I'm sorry, but you just can't run an NFL offense

05:57 like that anymore.

05:57 - You mentioned the offensive line.

06:03 You mentioned the pressure.

06:04 And obviously, anybody reading about this training camp

06:08 period and what this team has looked like,

06:11 man, I gotta tell you, the biggest issue

06:14 seems rather obvious.

06:15 And the biggest issue is the offensive line.

06:17 And you and I talked about this before training camp began.

06:19 We talked about this before mandatory mini-camp.

06:22 We talked about this after the draft, before the draft.

06:24 We talked about this at the end of the season.

06:26 Offensive tackle was the biggest question to us

06:29 when you looked at this roster.

06:31 Trent Brown seems like, when he's able to get out there,

06:36 he's got a minor injury, according to him,

06:38 he's dealing with.

06:40 He seems like he's okay right now and he's on solid ground.

06:44 Right tackle seems to be scattered, from what I read.

06:48 McDermott's gotten some looks.

06:50 Riley Reif has gotten some looks.

06:52 Obviously Calvin Anderson, we know,

06:54 he's on the non-football injury list with an illness.

06:57 Don't know what's going on with him.

06:59 I ask you first, Greg, that right side, right tackle,

07:03 to you right now, after 12 practices,

07:06 who's the guy who starts week one right now at that spot?

07:10 - As of right now, it's Connor McDermott.

07:13 But I will say that I think Riley Reif has improved

07:17 over the past about week.

07:19 He's done a pretty good job in one-on-ones,

07:22 probably better than Connor McDermott has.

07:24 It's just in team periods, Riley Reif has been rough.

07:27 I don't see much difference between the two of them.

07:31 I think Connor, both of them have a distinct lack

07:33 of foot speed on the right side.

07:36 And that's problematic.

07:37 I think that once Trent Brown comes back,

07:42 that frees up a little bit more of a competition.

07:45 Riley Reif has to play a lot of left tackle.

07:47 We even saw Connor McDermott yesterday at left tackle,

07:49 I think in preparation for Thursday night's game.

07:52 I think we could see him there.

07:53 But yeah, I'm pretty concerned about right tackle.

07:58 But then again, where I've been the whole off season,

08:01 as long as they're solid at the other four spots,

08:03 you can deal with right tackle.

08:05 And you can solve it and deal with the weaknesses

08:07 and all that stuff.

08:08 And hopefully they'll get to that point.

08:11 - Well, of course, that leads us to the other four spots.

08:15 We mentioned Trent Brown, so we handle the tackle position.

08:17 That's kind of slid to the side.

08:19 Interior offensive line, David Andrews came back,

08:22 looked like that was a load management day

08:24 he took the other day.

08:25 He's back, he looks like he's ready to go.

08:28 Owenu obviously is still not out there.

08:31 Cole Strains gets injured, several practices back.

08:35 He has yet to go out there since that injury.

08:39 You've got a bunch of guys.

08:40 You got Chasen Hines, who has shown some flashes

08:43 I've read from time to time.

08:44 You have Antonio Maffi, who has shown some flashes

08:47 from time to time.

08:48 I was reading, I believe you Greg, this week,

08:50 and you mentioned Maffi in the same sentence as Owenu,

08:53 as maybe that kind of guy who, mid to late round pick,

08:57 who might be perfect for this team on the offensive line.

09:00 So when we look interior O-line, Greg,

09:03 do you feel as good about that little area, those three

09:08 positions, right now as you did, let's say, three weeks ago?

09:11 Obviously, it depends on the health of Strains and Owenu.

09:18 I do think--

09:20 I don't think that Strains' injury is major.

09:25 It could be, up until the season opener,

09:28 could be one of those meniscus things, where

09:31 you get a little tweak and you're out for a month.

09:34 But I thought he was looking improved before he went out.

09:38 As long as Strains, Andrews, and Owenu are out there

09:41 and healthy, I feel great about the interior.

09:43 Now, just to give you a quick synopsis of the young guys,

09:48 I would say that Maffi is by far the best of the younger guys

09:55 that they brought in.

09:56 So Jake Andrews, the center/guard,

09:59 was the higher pick.

10:01 He's been very inconsistent.

10:03 Some days, he looks really good.

10:04 Other days, he looks really bad.

10:06 He's had a rough time in one-on-ones.

10:09 I think that's Sidiso at right tackle.

10:13 He's only been at right tackle, I think.

10:15 He's put a little left tackle.

10:16 I don't think he's been at guard.

10:18 He's struggled.

10:20 He's basically sort of like third string at this point.

10:23 So did I think about kicking on his side?

10:27 I think they're fine on the interior.

10:29 So Andrews has underwhelmed.

10:31 I think Maffi's been pretty good.

10:33 He reminds you of a young Michael Wynne,

10:34 sort of same body type, maybe not as tall or not quite

10:38 as wide as Owenu.

10:40 But similar player.

10:42 I like what I've seen out of him.

10:43 They put him at different spots in the interior.

10:45 I think I've even seen him take center snaps at one point.

10:50 I think that Bill Murray was a guy who flashed early

10:53 without pads.

10:54 He was starting at right guard.

10:55 As soon as pads went on, that went quickly downhill.

10:57 And he hasn't been out there in a few days.

11:00 Hasn't participated in any drills.

11:02 So he's dealing with an injury.

11:06 I think James Ference is at another really good camp.

11:09 And you'd feel really good about him as a veteran backup

11:12 at both center and guard.

11:14 Cody Russi has gotten a lot of looks at starting right guard.

11:18 Haven't been overly impressed with that.

11:21 He got absolutely destroyed by Christian Barmore

11:23 in a one-on-one rep the other day,

11:24 where Barmore gave him the reverse hump Reggie Williams

11:27 style and just tossed him on his back.

11:30 It was freaking awesome.

11:33 So and nothing against Russi.

11:35 Barmore can do that to a lot of really good players.

11:38 But so that's sort of the state of the interior line.

11:40 If the three starters are there, I'm

11:42 good with what they have and their depth.

11:45 If some of these guys got to start for Strange or Owenu,

11:50 it gets a little dicey inside.

11:53 All right, before we get to wide receiver,

11:55 before we get to many other things about the first 12

11:59 practices of this camp, I do want

12:01 to ask you one more question offensively.

12:04 And that's running back.

12:06 The last time I think you and I spoke,

12:08 Leonard Fournette was getting a workout with team.

12:12 Of course, they brought in Ezekiel Elliott for a visit.

12:14 He went out to dinner with Mac Jones.

12:17 Might have or might not have gone to the encore later

12:20 on that night.

12:22 So he had some fun and hung out a little bit.

12:25 Is it obvious, Greg, still right now,

12:27 that this team needs a legitimate veteran

12:30 as that number two back, maybe a goal line guy,

12:34 to just make sure that the tread doesn't get too

12:37 tough for a remandre this year?

12:39 Yeah, I'm not sure.

12:41 I mean, we could easily say that.

12:44 And you probably wouldn't be wrong.

12:47 Again, I think this is another case of the offensive line,

12:51 the state that it's in, it's tough to tell.

12:54 I'll just say, like, off the hoof,

12:56 just glancing at these guys.

12:58 And I haven't been overly impressed with Kevin Harris

13:01 and Pierre Strong.

13:02 Now again, that could be the offensive line.

13:04 I'm not sure.

13:07 I probably would feel better if they

13:09 had some sort of veteran running back to take some of the load.

13:14 Do I necessarily think they're definitely going to do that?

13:19 No.

13:19 But I think it would probably be the wise thing to do.

13:23 I mean, I just don't think, outside of Stevenson,

13:25 that their running back group as a whole

13:27 has been very impressive in this camp.

13:29 But again, it's tough to tell with the offensive line.

13:32 I do think this is a case--

13:34 and this is going to be my--

13:36 and even on Felder and Mazzi the other day,

13:38 I've said the same thing.

13:40 Like, I'm really waiting for these joint practices.

13:42 And I think the team is.

13:43 I think they might be holding out some of these guys

13:46 with quote, unquote "injuries" to get to those practices.

13:50 Because I think we'll start to get a lot more answers

13:53 on this team against the Packers and the Titans

13:56 the next couple of weeks.

13:57 But as of right now, yeah, I think

14:00 they need a veteran running back.

14:02 And I think the Patriots aren't in any rush.

14:04 They're waiting for the price tag to come down

14:06 or what have you.

14:07 And I also don't think somebody like Ezekiel Elliott

14:10 is in any hurry to get in the camp and get beat up.

14:13 So it could be a thing where right after cutdown day,

14:17 with 10 days before the season opener, they bring a guy in.

14:21 Yeah, I think the Patriots are looking at this.

14:23 They're saying, all right, well, Dallas might need somebody

14:25 behind Pollard maybe.

14:27 You look at the Saints.

14:28 They brought in Kareem Hunt yesterday.

14:30 They're looking around the running back position.

14:32 We know the Jets brought in Dalvin Cook.

14:34 And the Dolphins have kind of kicked the tires as well.

14:37 Seems to be three or four teams looking for a veteran running

14:39 back right now, the Pats being one of those teams.

14:43 And if Belichick is comfortable with any of the three or four

14:46 guys, Cook, Elliott, Fournette, maybe Henderson,

14:52 who they brought in for a workout,

14:53 maybe they don't see a huge difference between those three

14:56 or four guys.

14:56 And they say, hey, whoever's left, we'll take them.

14:59 Don't forget Rex Burkhead's out there too.

15:03 Oh, yeah.

15:04 Sexy Rexy is still out there.

15:05 But maybe Belichick's just looking at it and saying,

15:08 screw it.

15:08 There's not a huge amount of difference between those guys.

15:11 And the last guy, whether it's Elliott or Fournette

15:15 or Henderson, they're going to come in for our price.

15:17 So we'll wait it out.

15:18 And whoever we get, we get.

15:19 Because it's not the end of the world.

15:21 We got Raimondre as the number one guy anyway.

15:23 Before we get to receiver, because I

15:24 have a question for Greg.

15:27 I want to know something.

15:28 But thinking about this for the last few days,

15:30 I think the steam has picked up about the wide receiver

15:34 position and a certain question about the position.

15:37 But before we get to that, let's talk

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16:07 All right, Greg.

16:13 So what I've read, Tyquan Thornton hasn't been great.

16:17 Maybe a little bit better, slightly better

16:20 the last few days.

16:21 But he hasn't been good.

16:22 Let's not go crazy.

16:23 He just hasn't been good.

16:24 It's been almost a waste of a camp for him.

16:27 Kendrick Bourne's slow start has been better lately.

16:30 Devontae Parker, you mentioned this earlier.

16:32 He's been the jump ball guy.

16:34 He's made some plays.

16:36 Can they push the right buttons to get that out of him

16:38 week after week?

16:39 We'll have to wait and see.

16:41 And then you've got several other guys

16:43 who are kind of popping in, no pun intended.

16:46 Pop Douglas has really kind of stolen the headlines

16:50 of this training camp.

16:51 And then Keshaun Booty, who was on the back of a milk cart

16:55 in the first few practices, he seems

16:57 like he's kind of picking it up a little bit.

17:00 And he's made some tremendous catches.

17:03 When you start to look at this roster composition, Greg,

17:07 I think one of the biggest questions

17:08 right now about this team is how many receivers

17:12 are they going to carry?

17:13 Are they going to carry six guys?

17:16 Are they going to say, hey, look, Taekwon,

17:18 you haven't done enough.

17:20 We're going to put you on the IR.

17:21 You're done for this year.

17:22 Maybe year three will be the year

17:24 that you show up something to us.

17:26 Will they try to sneak Booty or Pop Douglas through waivers

17:30 and get them on the practice squad?

17:32 Do you think it's possible, probable, whatever word you

17:38 want to attach to it, six receivers on this roster week

17:43 one?

17:45 I have a hard time seeing six receivers on the roster.

17:48 I mean, just the way the numbers work.

17:50 I mean, in my mind--

17:53 so in my last 53, and I'll do one probably at some point

17:57 this weekend after the preseason game,

18:01 I had 23 guys on offense, 23 guys on defense.

18:04 I have seven guys on special teams.

18:08 Just to give you an idea, I mean, right now I

18:11 have Cody Davis on, and he's on one of the injury lists.

18:14 But there's this guy, Jordan Helig,

18:17 this linebacker from App State, who's basically

18:19 practicing with Matthew Slater the whole practice.

18:22 Like, this guy is going to be on the roster.

18:23 So this is another special teams spot.

18:26 And this all comes into play.

18:28 So I have them with five wide receivers.

18:30 I have Parker, Smith-Schuster, Bourne, Thornton, Douglas.

18:35 I have three tight ends on the team, Henry Gusecki and Matt

18:39 Sokol.

18:41 You know, how they're going to use the tight ends,

18:44 I mean, I wouldn't rule out four tight ends on this team.

18:47 So you just get into a numbers--

18:51 would you like to keep one of these guys?

18:53 I mean, maybe.

18:54 I mean, look, Kayshawn has been a good--

18:59 he's improved.

19:00 He certainly has.

19:01 He got off to a rough start, like you said.

19:03 He's been better.

19:05 He makes spectacular catches now and then,

19:08 which is really nice to see.

19:10 He's sort of the anti-Taekwon Thornton, who--

19:13 you know, Kayshawn has natural receiving ability,

19:16 and Taekwon doesn't.

19:17 It looks like he was sort of made up in a lab

19:22 to be a receiver, where he's kind of robotic, fast as hell,

19:26 love his speed on the field.

19:27 They need it.

19:28 I don't think they can afford not

19:30 to have Taekwon Thornton on the roster, just

19:32 from a speed perspective.

19:33 But Booty is a--

19:35 he's a possession receiver.

19:37 He is not a burner.

19:38 He's not explosive.

19:39 I would say he's Chris Carter-esque, not

19:43 as tall as Chris Carter, but--

19:45 Jarvis Lantern?

19:47 Yeah.

19:48 Yeah.

19:49 Yeah, I would say something like that.

19:51 So do I think he has value?

19:53 Yeah.

19:54 Here's the thing with Booty when it comes to the roster.

19:58 So many teams had him off the board for his off-field issues

20:02 at LSU.

20:02 Are people really, after one training camp,

20:05 going to be clamoring for him to, first of all,

20:08 claim them on their 53-man roster?

20:11 I don't see that.

20:11 I would guess at the end of the day,

20:13 the Patriots feel good that they can get him to the practice

20:16 squad.

20:16 And if somebody comes looking for him later,

20:18 then you think about promoting him.

20:20 But right now, I'm going with the five,

20:23 and that includes Thornton and definitely Douglas.

20:26 Douglas is definitely making this team.

20:28 Yeah, I mean, you just--

20:32 every single day, there's something written

20:35 about Demario Douglas.

20:36 And I think he's that perfect fit.

20:39 You and I talked about this after the draft.

20:42 Could you find a guy who could be the gadget guy,

20:44 the quick kind of receiver in small spaces and all that,

20:48 the phone booth kind of dude who can shake and guts

20:51 and wiggle at the offensive line to kind of-- at the line

20:54 scrimmage to get them going a little bit?

20:57 Marcus Jones provided a little bit of that last year.

21:00 I don't like the idea of playing Marcus

21:02 on both sides of the football.

21:03 I don't like playing him in all three phases.

21:05 He's not the biggest dude in the world.

21:07 I think you're just asking for a disaster

21:09 to play out for Marcus.

21:10 So Douglas is on this team.

21:12 I agree with you.

21:13 It'd be a shock.

21:15 Aside from injury, it'd be a shock

21:17 if that young man doesn't make this football team.

21:20 I will say that you are one of the guys that

21:23 have been pointing this out.

21:25 And when we have these conversations,

21:28 I think when we talk about special teams and Davis

21:31 and Helig and Board and Slater and everybody under the sun,

21:37 just seven, eight, nine guys that you want to carry,

21:41 this is when it matters.

21:43 Because sometimes when we have those conversations,

21:45 people's-- their eyes kind of roll up

21:47 in the back of their heads to go special teams.

21:49 Or you have the other people that say,

21:51 all three phases of the game.

21:53 As we've talked about, special teams

21:56 has decidedly become less of a big deal

21:59 in the NFL over the past decade.

22:01 And when you spend six, seven, eight roster spots on guys

22:05 that are going to provide you special teams,

22:08 and pretty much that's it, then it

22:10 makes it almost impossible to carry all six receivers.

22:14 So if you're somebody who has neglected the special teams

22:18 conversation, because my guy Adam Jones would say,

22:20 oh, we're going to talk about the gunner again?

22:23 If you neglect that part of the conversation,

22:26 you're neglecting the trickle down effect.

22:29 You can't neglect the special teams conversation

22:32 and how much emphasis is put in that phase of the game

22:35 by Belichick as a personnel guy and also want six receivers.

22:40 It's part of the same conversation.

22:42 The fact that you're putting so much into special teams

22:45 is going to take away from other positions on this football

22:49 team.

22:49 That's the idea.

22:51 Do you need five or six?

22:52 Brendan Schooler's another guy that--

22:54 he was terrific last year.

22:56 Do you need six or seven dudes who can cover kicks and punts?

22:59 Do you need six or seven of those guys?

23:02 Or can you survive with four or five?

23:04 I think you could survive with four or five in 2023.

23:08 And if Kayshaun Booty ends up not sneaking

23:12 through the waivers, he ends up getting

23:14 picked by another team, and then let's

23:17 say he's somewhat effective.

23:19 If he catches even 30 balls, 40 balls, well, to me,

23:23 there's more impact and there's more value

23:27 in that than having a dude who's going

23:29 to make some special teams tackles when you've

23:32 got six or seven other guys that are doing that already.

23:35 So we'll see how it all plays out.

23:39 Let's jump to the defense.

23:40 One thing I wanted to mention while we're

23:42 talking about the receivers is just

23:46 I think Douglas has popped so much.

23:50 And Tyquan Thornton, when he's been on the field

23:53 and he's running these crossers and you just see the speed,

23:58 those guys stand out just so much because the Patriots

24:01 don't have any speed.

24:02 I'm extremely worried about the speed of their receiving corps.

24:07 We talk about no big plays down the field other than jump

24:10 balls.

24:11 Some of it is the pressure, but some of it

24:13 is these guys take a while to get down the field.

24:15 And they're not creating separation.

24:17 So when you get a Pop Douglas out there

24:19 and you get a Tyquan Thornton out there,

24:22 you're like they stand out so much

24:24 because the Patriots are so slow.

24:26 And so I think they need these guys.

24:29 I don't know what they're going to do with Pop

24:31 Douglas come the regular season.

24:33 Do I think he's going to be in the game

24:35 plan for the first four to eight games?

24:38 Probably not.

24:39 He's probably going to get the Marcus Jones package when

24:41 I think that's going to be useful against certain teams.

24:46 He could probably contribute on special teams,

24:48 so that might make him active.

24:49 But I don't think he's going to have a huge role.

24:51 But man, they just need a lot more explosiveness

24:55 in this passing offense.

24:56 And those are two guys that, in theory,

25:00 can bring it to the team.

25:03 And I think they really need it.

25:05 And they're going to need B.O.B. to scheme things.

25:07 And I've read a lot of pre-snap motion.

25:11 Thank God it is being implemented.

25:13 Play action has been implemented a little bit more.

25:15 Thank God.

25:16 We have an offense that looks like an NFL offense.

25:19 That's a great thing.

25:20 But it's going to depend on those kinds of things

25:23 and some trickery because you're not

25:24 going to get that immediate separation from a lot

25:27 of these guys.

25:28 And look, I would love for Tyquan Thornton to pop, man.

25:32 Trust me.

25:33 Again, no pun intended with Douglas.

25:34 I feel like every time we say "pop" now, talking Patriots,

25:37 it's going to become a bad joke.

25:40 But I have no faith in Thornton at this point.

25:44 I wish I could say I do.

25:46 I just don't.

25:47 He's had trouble staying on the field.

25:50 He showed up, and some would say showed out,

25:53 a little bit last year in camp.

25:55 Had people excited.

25:57 Fell off the rails after that point.

26:01 And he just hasn't done enough for me

26:04 to believe in him right now.

26:06 Theoretically, he's a great piece.

26:09 Theoretically, he gets down the field,

26:11 and he can catch screen passes and take it to the house.

26:14 He could do this.

26:15 He could do that.

26:15 He could do some jet sweep action, all that.

26:17 Theoretically, he helps his team tremendously with his speed.

26:22 But it's only a theory because the practical usage

26:26 of this guy, I don't know if they're

26:29 going to have anything for him.

26:30 I don't know how much he's going to play.

26:33 I don't know if he can stay on the field.

26:35 I hope he can.

26:36 But if you are a believer at any level in Tyquan Thornton

26:41 right now, it's because you have just

26:43 chugged the core of the Kool-Aid.

26:45 Because there is legitimately no reason

26:48 from an objective standpoint and a logical standpoint

26:52 to believe that Tyquan Thornton at this juncture

26:55 is just going to walk onto the field and do something.

26:58 Now, there's time.

26:59 There's still plenty of time.

27:01 He's got the preseason.

27:02 He's got these joint practices.

27:03 If he starts to show up the next couple of weeks,

27:05 hey, we'll evolve the opinion, and we'll

27:08 talk about it at that point.

27:09 But right now, I don't even know if Tyquan Thornton's family

27:13 believes he can make a difference with this team

27:15 this year.

27:15 So hopefully he can.

27:17 All right, before we get to the defense,

27:18 a couple of questions on that side of the ball.

27:20 Let's talk about AG1.

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27:54 Off AG1, I'm grinding to get through the day,

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27:59 On AG1, I'm primed and sharp, especially mentally,

28:03 for my very long days, especially during training camp.

28:07 Covering my nutritional basis for the day

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28:51 All right, we talked offense.

28:54 Let's jump to the defense.

28:56 Greg, a guy you and I have talked about a lot,

28:59 was inconsistent last year due to injury,

29:02 had a really good rookie season.

29:04 When he was on the field last year,

29:06 he provided some production.

29:08 Christian Barmore, the more that this camp has gone on

29:13 and the closer we get to joint practices

29:15 and preseason football, the more I hear his name coming up.

29:20 Yeah, I mean, look, he has really high moments,

29:25 like the reverse hump against Cody Russi the other day.

29:29 He has another decisive win in one-on-ones.

29:33 His one-on-one record is three wins and three losses,

29:37 which is actually like his win percentage

29:39 is like third on the team.

29:42 But I'm waiting to see more in the joint practices.

29:50 I wouldn't say that Barmore's dominating like I would hope.

29:55 But yeah, he's certainly been impactful.

29:57 I mean, he has been.

29:59 I'm just not ready to say he's taking a huge leap.

30:03 I think he will take a leap this year.

30:06 I just want him to be on the field,

30:07 because that dude can change so many things for the Patriots

30:12 in terms of their pass rush by being out there

30:14 and being healthy.

30:17 So a good start for him.

30:19 I'm really looking forward to seeing him

30:21 against the Packers and the Titans.

30:23 And I think we'll get our answers on where

30:26 he is in terms of is he ready to be a star in this league

30:31 or not.

30:33 Yeah, I had a text exchange last night with friend of the pod

30:36 Evan Cohen.

30:37 Congratulations to Evan, by the way,

30:39 who sounds like he's on some bigger and better things going

30:44 to, reportedly, the ESPN morning show soon.

30:47 And he was texting me about the guys that need extensions.

30:51 And I said, I need to see more from Barmore.

30:53 And it's the flashes.

30:56 You see the flashes when everybody is just

30:59 almost stunned by what this guy can do athletically

31:02 at his size.

31:04 But they're still like flashes.

31:06 If he can consistently bring that,

31:09 man, he could be a special player.

31:11 I hope he finds that.

31:13 Rest of the defensive line, obviously, a story this week,

31:16 Trey Flowers signs.

31:17 He's been somebody who hasn't been

31:18 able to stay on the field, unfortunately,

31:20 for the last three or four seasons, split

31:23 between Detroit and Miami.

31:25 He is now being brought in.

31:27 What do you make of that move?

31:28 And could this be a, hey, young man,

31:31 get underneath my learning tree for guys like Keon White,

31:35 more than somebody who is actually

31:37 going to be leaned upon to produce for this defensive line

31:41 once the season kicks off?

31:42 Yeah, I mean, I think we're of similar mindset on this,

31:49 Nick.

31:50 And I just-- I think these guys, we

31:56 need to get them in a different setting.

31:58 Because I think I've been underwhelmed with the camp

32:00 overall in terms of what they've been able to do.

32:02 But these joint sessions that are coming up,

32:04 they will kick it up a notch.

32:05 And I think we'll start to get a lot more answers on this team

32:08 and where they sort of slate in the AFC East.

32:16 Because just looking off Twitter,

32:19 the Dolphins had trouble on offense today

32:20 protecting against, I think it was the Falcons

32:22 that they had joint practice with.

32:24 So I think there's room for there for the Patriots

32:27 to do something.

32:28 But we need to start getting some answers on these guys.

32:32 Yeah.

32:33 Let's just look at the secondary quickly

32:35 before we bid everybody adieu.

32:36 Getting ready for the first preseason game tomorrow night

32:39 at Gillette against the Texans, obviously.

32:41 CJ Stroud will be starting that game for Houston.

32:44 That's an interesting thing.

32:46 Secondary, first question, how badly does this team

32:50 need Jack Jones to stay on the up and up and, I don't know,

32:54 not walk into Logan Airport with guns

32:56 and/or not just storm off the field when he's a little upset?

33:02 Looks like they need him pretty badly, Nick.

33:04 Much to my chagrin, because I don't

33:07 think the way he's conducted himself in the last six months,

33:11 I don't think it's any way to conduct yourself

33:12 as a professional football player,

33:14 including storming off the field the other day.

33:16 I'm hoping.

33:17 I don't know the entire story.

33:19 I thought that he got kicked off to blow off steam.

33:22 That would be OK and understandable.

33:25 Somewhat less for a 25-year-old second-year player.

33:27 He's not a 21-year-old young player in this league.

33:31 If he just left of his own volition

33:34 and basically quit on his team, I

33:39 don't understand why they keep entertaining this.

33:41 And there's no repercussions, nothing.

33:43 The next day he was out there.

33:44 He was getting starting reps.

33:45 Yesterday he got all sorts of starting reps.

33:47 I think it's a privilege to play in the National Football League.

33:54 I don't care how talented you think you are.

33:57 It is a privilege.

33:58 And you need to do the right things

33:59 to play in the National Football League

34:01 and play for the New England Patriots.

34:03 And I don't think Jack Jones has done any of the correct things

34:05 in the past six months.

34:06 So I've been dismayed by that.

34:08 But look, the bottom line is they need him.

34:10 Because they're not good enough.

34:11 John Jones has been out with injury.

34:13 That's fine.

34:13 He's still not an outside guy.

34:15 Christian Gonzalez, early returns are good.

34:18 He looks good.

34:19 But as far as another boundary guy,

34:21 they don't have another boundary guy.

34:23 You can put John Jones out there,

34:25 but he got exposed last year.

34:28 Even if Gonzalez turns out to be a number one

34:30 and John Jones slots down to number two,

34:32 it's still not good enough.

34:33 It's got to be Jack Jones.

34:35 He's their only option.

34:37 They have to keep doing it this way.

34:39 I don't like it, but that's the way that it is.

34:42 And he has looked good.

34:44 He's got really good ball skills.

34:45 He closes really early.

34:48 Closes really well on the ball, as we've seen.

34:50 He gets great jumps on the ball.

34:52 He's sticky in coverage.

34:53 He's got good ball skills.

34:55 The kid is talented.

34:56 I just wish he'd get his head on straight.

34:59 Because I don't know how this gets any better,

35:02 if he's just allowed to keep doing whatever

35:04 it is he wants to do.

35:05 Which that's the way it appears from where I've been sitting.

35:09 Two more questions.

35:10 Safety, how do we feel about Devin McCourty

35:13 and how the Patriots are going to replace him

35:17 at free safety there?

35:18 And really, how all of the safeties.

35:20 It feels like they have 15 on this team.

35:22 But how are they all being situated back there?

35:25 And do you feel confident on the back end?

35:27 Again, this is going to be another position that we'll

35:32 know a lot more about from the joint practices,

35:35 where they don't know what the other offense is running.

35:38 There are more dangerous people that they

35:40 have to account for.

35:42 I wouldn't say it's been bad.

35:44 I mean, it seems like they've been rotating guys

35:46 between Phillips, Duggar, and Jalen Mills at free safety.

35:50 I think we might even see some Sean Wade at free safety

35:53 tomorrow night, maybe in the second half.

35:56 We saw some reps there yesterday.

35:59 It hasn't been bad.

36:01 I don't think it's been great.

36:03 But again, they're going up against an offense that

36:05 is challenged to make big plays down the middle of the field.

36:08 There haven't been a whole lot of seen plays,

36:10 where I think guys like Hunter Henry and Mike Kisicki

36:12 and even Juju are going to make their living this year.

36:15 We just haven't seen it at this point.

36:17 So it's been hard to tell what the state of affairs

36:20 are at free safety.

36:22 But I'm looking forward to getting answers

36:23 in Green Bay and Nashville.

36:26 Last question.

36:27 I don't want to get too far ahead of myself,

36:28 but I'm really excited about the rookie class

36:30 and what I'm reading.

36:31 It seems like the Patriots might have hit on several guys.

36:34 We haven't even talked about Marte Mapu.

36:36 Obviously, Keon White has said flashes.

36:38 Gonzalez, as you just mentioned, looks good.

36:41 Special teams guys, from what I've read,

36:43 Barringer just hits bombs.

36:45 Looks like Ryland is likely going to beat out

36:47 Folk for the kicker position.

36:50 So you start to look at this rookie class,

36:51 and you feel pretty damn good about it so far.

36:54 But tomorrow night, your top two or three things

36:57 that you're going to be looking for.

36:58 We all know that preseason football is not

37:00 nearly as important as it used to be,

37:01 and it wasn't that important to begin with.

37:05 But really, two or three things that you

37:07 think fans should be looking for and might enjoy

37:09 during tomorrow night's game.

37:11 Well, I would say definitely the offensive line.

37:14 I think we will see--

37:16 actually, no.

37:18 I don't think we're going to see Riley Reif tomorrow night,

37:19 but we will see Connor McDermott.

37:21 How does he look?

37:22 I really want to see the young guys on the interior.

37:25 Jake Andrews, Siddy So, Antonio Moffey.

37:29 I want to see how those guys do in game action,

37:32 even if it's against the backups.

37:33 I think that will be a good thing to see.

37:36 Mapu won't be out there since he's still in the red jersey.

37:41 I do want to see some of the younger cornerbacks,

37:44 whether it's Isaiah Bolden, who was their last pick

37:46 in this year's draft, who has definitely

37:48 flashed at times in camp.

37:51 Amir Speed was their last sixth round pick.

37:55 Really tall dude.

37:56 I haven't seen him--

37:57 I haven't witnessed too much of him at cornerback,

37:59 but I assume he's going to get time there.

38:04 And I want to see a guy like--

38:07 what does Booty do in the preseason games?

38:11 If he's really going to make a move on a roster

38:14 spot on this team, he and Pop Douglas

38:19 should be able to make plays against these reserves

38:22 from other teams.

38:24 And the other thing is, it sounds

38:26 like CJ Stroud is going to be out there for the Texans.

38:28 Interested to see him and also how the defense defends him.

38:33 We know how much trouble they have

38:34 with athletic quarterbacks.

38:35 Again, they're going to be very vanilla

38:37 in what they do on defense.

38:39 It's not going to be a whole lot of the game plan stuff.

38:44 But it's just individual stuff.

38:46 I can't wait to get into the film come Friday,

38:49 probably midday, and give everybody

38:52 my breakdown on what I see.

38:54 Sort of individually, that's what you're looking for.

38:56 Individual stuff.

38:56 Do they look like they belong?

38:58 Are they winning most of their battles?

39:00 We won't see any scheme stuff in these games.

39:03 I can't wait.

39:04 We're getting closer.

39:05 We're getting closer.

39:07 Tomorrow night, Gillette Stadium, Texans-Patriots

39:09 preseason game number one.

39:12 This episode brought to you by Fandle, exclusive wagering

39:14 partner of the CLNS Media Network.

39:17 Right now, when you bet on a Super Bowl winner,

39:19 you can get bonus bets every time

39:21 they win in the regular season.

39:23 Also, AG won a foundational nutrition supplement

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39:32 He's Greg.

39:32 I'm Nick.

39:33 We're actually both in the state of Massachusetts

39:36 in the Eastern time zone now.

39:38 Very excited for that.

39:39 Everybody enjoy the football tomorrow night.

39:41 Of course, we'll recap it.

39:42 We'll have all the news for you as well.

39:44 Until next time, be good, be safe, and be healthy.

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Burning Patriots Camp Questions from Cattles | Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast

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