Joe Milton SHINES, Patriots Panthers Film Notes & JuJu Released | Pats Interference
In a solo episode, Andrew shares all of his film notes from the Patriots' preseason opener, including breakdowns of what we saw from Drake Maye and Joe Milton, explains JuJu Smith-Schuster's release and answers all your mailbag questions.
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SportsTranscript
00:00All right, happy Friday, happy football.
00:16Patriots preseason openers in the books.
00:18We got a solo show here today, recapping with the film notes,
00:21a giant mailbag because all of you are feeling very curious or perhaps perplexed.
00:25Mike Drake plays six naps, one drive in his quote unquote NFL debut.
00:30Really not the debut, but it's the thing we say around here in August,
00:33amid a lot of other silly things.
00:35Now, we're not gonna focus on that right away because we had some breaking news
00:38here recording just after four o'clock.
00:41Juju Smith-Schuster, no longer a New England Patriot.
00:44Your friend, my colleague, Doug Hyde at the Herald confirmed this.
00:48Juju is gone, and this is something that is not necessarily a surprise, but
00:52it is something that happened sooner than I thought it would.
00:54Because the cost of cutting Juju Smith-Schuster is $9.6 million in dead cap.
01:01But the Patriots' only hope of avoiding that penalty was him performing in
01:05the preseason.
01:05So he plays a few drives yesterday, and
01:09Shadow Jordan is gonna come up here in a little bit in the mailbag.
01:11His question was, hey, that seems bad, right?
01:13The Juju Smith-Schuster established veteran is going kind of deep into this
01:17preseason game.
01:18Yes, it was bad, and so was his play.
01:21And because of that,
01:21the Patriots only shot at rehabbing his value in the trade market,
01:25which even if he played better than you expected, better than I thought,
01:29you would still have to attach a pick to get him out of New England.
01:32Well, they can't do that, so they cut him, they take the dead money,
01:36they swallow it, they've got plenty of cap, the money is not the issue.
01:38No one is crying over cash being lit on fire, but
01:41it is important because this is a bummer.
01:45And you can say I'm doing the eulogy thing, right?
01:49Like someone passes away, we highlight all the positives,
01:52we leave out all the negatives.
01:54His play stunk, he was the worst non-rookie receiver in camp this summer.
01:58Nothing really changed, there you go.
01:59But what I just wanna say is that the bottom line of Juju Smith-Schuster,
02:03who is still just 27, if you believe that, is his body failed him.
02:09So yes, the three-year $22.5 million contract that had better guarantees and
02:14security than the one that Jacoby Myers got two off seasons ago was one of
02:18the worst contracts Bill Belichick signed, approved, before leaving the Patriots.
02:24That's true.
02:25Here's the thing, Juju, if he was the same player in 22 as he was in 23,
02:30obviously he's here, the Patriots are in a lot better place.
02:33That's something he wanted, it just didn't happen because of the knee injury
02:37he had in the Super Bowl against the Eagles a couple years ago,
02:39a subsequent flight which caused it to blow up.
02:42Not a doctor, but he was never the same since.
02:44And I'll give you the numbers here.
02:45It wasn't just that he was 3.3 yards after the catch per reception in 2023.
02:51After being 5.9 yards per catch after the reception, or
02:56per reception after the catch, right?
02:58The year before, and this is via Marcus Moser,
03:01a guy who is 23rd in percentile for yards after the catch.
03:05He was 17th percentile in separation percentage.
03:09Average depth of target, meaning how far downfield are you when you actually
03:12have the ball thrown in your direction?
03:14Eighth percentile, and the last one, according to Pro Football Focus,
03:19his receiving grade, the fifth percentile of all receivers last year.
03:22So yeah, it was bad, and no one is choosing to have that.
03:25But I will say this, and then we'll move on from Juju Smith-Schuster,
03:27who I'm sure you're probably, in small part, happy to be rid of.
03:31He was a stand-up guy with the media.
03:33And I'm not putting any extra stock in that,
03:35like it makes him a better human being, or you have to like him more.
03:38I'm just saying, he was accountable.
03:40And that goes a long way in years like last year when the Patriots were born,
03:44his numbers have never been worse.
03:45And I'm reporting after the season opener, when he didn't finish that two-minute
03:49drill against the Eagles, going, hey, what's going on?
03:51A couple people tell me, hey,
03:53he's not among our five best pass catchers right now.
03:57And that's why Keishon Booty and Pop Douglas finished that two-minute drill,
03:59which finished with one foot out of bounds from Keishon Booty against Philly.
04:03We'll leave that in the past, but that's just what it was.
04:07It never got any better.
04:08But when he had the drop against the Commanders mid-season in that late loss
04:11in November, that really, again,
04:14was just another nut kick after nut kick to those Patriots.
04:18He took every single question.
04:20He did that every single day.
04:21He was open, available in a way that DeMonte Parker and other players were not.
04:26And so credit to him, because not all of us, whether you play football or
04:29anything you want to do, want to be accountable in your workspace,
04:32let alone to a bunch of people who you see encroaching and
04:35are about to make you appreciably unhappier than you were.
04:39And he did it.
04:40He stood and faced the music.
04:40He was optimistic this year, and it just didn't work out.
04:43So thus ends the Judas Meshuster era.
04:45Now, on to Pat's Panthers, 17 to 3.
04:49And I'll tell you this too is a little bit of a tease.
04:53I didn't watch this game entirely from the press box.
04:56I worked on a story where I was behind the scenes of the new TV broadcast,
05:00which you know if you watched it, where there was no play-by-play, man.
05:03It was Zoe, Scott Zolek, and Devin and Jason McCourty with Brian Hoyer for
05:08Spurts and Paul Perillo of Patriots.com trying to have a round table conversation.
05:13Hey, the game in front of us doesn't really matter, but
05:15certain players and position battles and old stories definitely do.
05:19So let's feature more of that than three yard game on second and seven.
05:23So I was there in the booth of those guys for the first half.
05:25I was in the TV truck for the third quarter, and then writing most of what I
05:29had seen and what was going on in the fourth, and
05:30actually watching the game and taking notes and doing a Drake May column.
05:33So I've since watched the film today.
05:36I have all my notes.
05:37We've got all the breakdowns, pass rushing, pass blocking, catches,
05:40you know, missed tackles, all those different things.
05:42But I will just say this broadly, and also please read that story.
05:46It's actually a lot of fun.
05:47It's part running diary.
05:48Something was on fire and
05:50pointed out by Steve Smith actually very briefly in the broadcast booth.
05:54Smoking, I should say.
05:55It wasn't like an active flame.
05:57But the quote was, y'all know that shit's smoking, right?
06:01Yes, thank you, Steve Smith.
06:02We're all aware during a live take.
06:04Anyway, read the story.
06:06Second thing is, categorically for this game,
06:09it doesn't matter a whole lot more than any little detail does matter.
06:14And we can do the easy one for one comparison, right, with the quarterbacks.
06:17A year ago, Malik Cunningham's finishing another opener with this long drive,
06:23exciting scrambles, and then we never really hear from him again.
06:27I argued eight months ago,
06:28we probably should have given the state of the quarterback room.
06:31But that was Joe Milton last night.
06:33I'm not saying Joe Milton's following down the same path as Malik Cunningham.
06:36He's now in Baltimore, back to playing receiver and not quarterback.
06:38But CJ Stroud was bad in that game.
06:41We know what's happened since then.
06:43Just if you're listening to anyone today, tomorrow, reading, or
06:48elsewhere with these firm, strong takes, good or bad about the Patriots,
06:53ignore them, because I don't have those here for you today.
06:55I do have good information, though.
06:57So starting with that information to back up that this game did not count and
07:00was not treated as such, three snaps for players like Jelani Tavai and Keanu White.
07:05Just one for Dietrich Wise.
07:07Here are the guys that didn't play.
07:08Pop Douglas, Jabril Peppers, Juwan Bentley, Matt Judon, Devon Gotchow,
07:13Jonathan Jones and Josh Uche, also dealing with minor injuries.
07:16They didn't play as well, and plus all the guys on PUP, Kendrick Bourne,
07:19Cole Strange, of course, and Tioni Takitaki, didn't see a single snap.
07:23Now, I told you already, and you know this,
07:26because this is kind of what we all wrote about, Drake May did see some snaps.
07:29And it was a lot fewer snaps than any of us expected, two of three, 19 yards.
07:34It was just one series.
07:36This is the play by play of how that went.
07:38A handoff, a false start by Chuksa Korafor.
07:42Another handoff, a screen pass that converted 13 yards to Antonio Gibson.
07:47Then an incomplete deep curl route to Jalen Reagor, just a touch late and
07:50a touch high, not a crazy batting completion, but
07:54falls in line with what we had seen in camp.
07:56A negative one yard run, and then a swing pass that he threw to Kevin Harris,
08:00just to beat a closing pressure, again, from Chuksa Korafor,
08:04where our mistake by Chuksa Korafor came off the right side.
08:08And that was on an all curls concept, where everyone else is downfield, and
08:11they stopped at the line again, turned around, and looked for the ball.
08:14The problem was, the Panthers did the same thing on defense,
08:18was just back up, sit at the line again, and we're like, yeah, we dare you,
08:22go ahead and throw it.
08:22So it was a good decision by Drake May, who admitted post game,
08:25maybe I should have thrown it downfield, we'll have to look at the film.
08:28I looked at it, he's looked at it, I haven't spoken to him.
08:31I'm sure we're in agreement, this swing pass was a good decision.
08:34Now, what does two of three for 19 yards tell us?
08:37Not much, but what it does, and you'll hear me say this again, and again, and
08:41again, and again, is fit into a larger trend.
08:43And the truth of the preseason of training camp is in those trends.
08:48And the trends from Drake May, through 11 training camp practices, and
08:51now one not so sparkling preseason drive, though solid, solid to good,
08:55don't get me wrong, is that he is not attacking downfield.
09:00Sometimes it's a good decision, like last night.
09:02But overall, he's completing about 60% of his passes, they're conservative.
09:08He's not had a very good offensive line, he's managed to work around that.
09:11And in some of the finer details, like Dan Orlowski had this great breakdown
09:15on Twitter earlier today, his under center footwork and
09:19fundamentals look really smooth.
09:20And like I just said, he's playing on time, these are positives.
09:24But there's nothing to blow up about this, right?
09:27Again, if you were gonna take anything from last year's preseason opener,
09:30it was CJ Stroud stinks.
09:32And again, we know that wasn't true.
09:34But for Drake May, he's still not ready to kind of fully take the reins of what is so
09:39new to him as someone who's 21 and has only started two football seasons.
09:44In the last four years, 2020, robbed of a senior year high school because of COVID.
09:4821, sitting as a freshman back up in North Carolina, starts in 22 starts in 23.
09:53And that means a lot.
09:55That's really why he was of course drafted number three overall.
09:57It's just gonna take time.
09:59And that's fine.
10:00Me giving him a C or C plus on TV and radio does not mean my long term belief in
10:05him has changed.
10:05His preseason opener certainly doesn't mean that.
10:07It just means it's gonna take time.
10:09And the other reason it's gonna take time, it's not just because he's young and
10:11learning and everything's being thrown at him,
10:13is the Patriots aren't ready to support him themselves.
10:17Thursday night was the first time that he played with the starting offensive line
10:22all summer.
10:23And that starting offensive line, I just told you,
10:25failed him within the series of six snaps, a false start, and then a pressure.
10:30And three runs that went a combined six feet.
10:33So not great for rookie quarterback.
10:36And if they're not gonna give him those starting offensive line reps,
10:39then he's gonna struggle.
10:41Because most of his camp as a late has been with Kellen Deitch,
10:45who signed off the street last week.
10:46And Jerry Henry, an undrafted rookie at both bookend spots of the offensive line.
10:50That's not tenable.
10:52But they're committed to Jacoby Percet as a starter.
10:54Drake May has not earned starting reps.
10:56And right now the Patriots have one offensive line grouping that kinda,
11:00mostly, works.
11:02And that's why he's not seeing as many snaps as he did Thursday night.
11:06Again, I would have given him more run with David Andrews and
11:08Mike Umanu on City South.
11:11It didn't happen.
11:11Hopefully it does happen with Philly.
11:13But the Patriots don't have enough alignment to protect him.
11:16And he hasn't shown enough, ignore Thursday.
11:20In 11 training camp practices to say, I deserve more.
11:24That's the bottom line here.
11:25Swimming, track and field, competitive canoeing.
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12:59Okay, moving on from Drake.
13:00We had the good, the bad.
13:02We got some game balls and a we need to talk segment,
13:04which is usually the format here for folks who are new.
13:08Every regular season game, it'll be a solo show for me, some film notes.
13:11And this is the format where we go through, again, the good, the bad.
13:13We need to talk and get to some game balls.
13:15So good.
13:17This is the other quarterback, you know, made a lot of headlines last night.
13:20Joe Milton.
13:22Man, he was fun.
13:23Four, six, 54 yards, a touchdown.
13:25That was a 38 yarder.
13:27That dude ripped on a line for Jaquay Jackson.
13:29Little double move up the left side.
13:31Again, second half of the preseason game, yada, yada.
13:33It was just nice to have a big, exciting play.
13:37After drudging through, it had been three and a half quarters of two of the worst
13:40five, six teams in football in a preseason game.
13:43Around that throw, though, what impressed me about Joe Milton wasn't the 15 second
13:47scramble around half of Gillette Stadium, up and down to the beer vendors,
13:51and then down to the field, and then finally getting, I think it was just 12 yards.
13:55It was, he was patient, took a couple of checkdowns.
13:58He was, obviously, again, good in his decision making.
14:01And he, like Drake May, looked fine under center.
14:05And he had three seasons at Michigan before he got to Tennessee.
14:08So he's not unfamiliar with the whole inner workings and mechanics of a pro
14:11style or under center offense.
14:13But he's getting far fewer reps than Drake May is in training camp.
14:17And he looked like the guy who had been taking equal, a la Jacoby Brissett,
14:22when he got into the game.
14:23So it was command, decision making, timing, and just the physical mechanics.
14:27Just four of six, he's impressed me more than I thought he would.
14:31He's still battling Billy Zappi for the number three job, don't get me wrong.
14:34But he's tracking to win that job in a way that anyone who watched,
14:38especially seeing Billy Zappi go 12 of 20 and average four yards.
14:43Four yards per drop back would go, yeah, this will probably be Joe Milton's job.
14:46But he needs to show more, he'll get more chances, and then we'll move on.
14:50Another guy who lands in a good section here, and
14:53spoiler alert, is gonna get the game ball.
14:55O'Shane Zeminis, who, I don't know if it was here or elsewhere.
15:00I said there's gonna be a guy, probably an edge rusher, be it him or
15:04William Bradley King, who flashes in the preseason.
15:06Everyone's gonna go, is he our breakout guy?
15:09Is he a sleeper?
15:10What have you seen from him?
15:10What's going on?
15:11Well, I know if you've been listening here, and if I didn't say it in this space,
15:16you've heard of him, because I brought him up as this guy who's kind of slowly
15:19coming on, had a sack of drake.
15:20Made one day, a bad pass, he's winning it one on ones.
15:24And he's a six year defensive end, such outside linebacker.
15:27Fits the Patriots prototype in the edge, 6'4", 255 pounds.
15:31And he fits the prototype of a guy who in the preseason kind of wins a job.
15:36Because after spending five years with the Giants, he had a strip sack,
15:40a hurry, and a run stuff while, and this doesn't mean as much in the post
15:45Belichick era, but starting on three different special teams units.
15:48So punt, punt return, and kickoff.
15:52And you can poo-poo that if you want.
15:53We didn't get to see kick return until it was too late and
15:56all of the subs were gone.
15:58But that means a lot to me.
16:00That tells me he's tracking to be a roster lock, which is crazy for a guy that,
16:04first of all, none of us knew how to pronounce his name.
16:06Again, that's O'Shane Ziminis.
16:08And second of all, I don't think many people had on their roster projections
16:11going back two weeks ago.
16:13Well, if I had one, and we'll do one at the end of the summer,
16:15just here on the podcast.
16:17He's on, it's because of the production, the pass rush.
16:19And I'll give you this nugget.
16:20I know Devin said this on the broadcast.
16:23But in talking to him after, actually during halftime in the broadcast booth,
16:27he was telling me Ziminis' speed to power move is his primary pass rush.
16:31And he's really, really impressed the coaching staff in a way that surprised
16:35them.
16:36And once you have that, not only do you just kind of start up field feigning,
16:41that I'm going to zip around the offensive tackle, and
16:43you go bull rush straight into his chest.
16:45You can have counters off of that, whether it's an inside move,
16:48a stutter step like Dietrich Wise made to get his sack.
16:51So that kind of two-part move is a huge step to having a strength around
16:57which you can build your pass rush repertoire, your game.
16:59Doesn't mean he's going to start.
17:00Doesn't mean he's going to have even five sacks.
17:02But he had a very good game built on top of two very good weeks of practice,
17:06which then makes that a trend, which as you know, tells us the truth about
17:10football when we're just still in preseason and sometimes not even in pads.
17:14Okay, last one.
17:15You could have guessed him, Jeremiah Farnes Jr.
17:18This dude went to, I kid you not, Friends University.
17:21He is a former security guard, alum of the USFL who signed a few years ago,
17:26bounced around the Pats practice squad, appears in 12 games last year.
17:30And now with Christian Barmore out, Devon Godshow not playing,
17:33gets to play early and then produce in a way for the preseason.
17:37You go, yeah, he's definitely starting.
17:39Like if you had just dropped in and started watching the Patriots, you go 98.
17:42It's a big boy defensive tackle number.
17:44He's making big boy plays, a sack, drew a holding call, blew up another run play.
17:49And he's not only doing this as the big dude, nose tackle in the middle.
17:53He, like all of the Patriots best linemen, and you can go back 20 years,
17:57he's playing multiple spots across the defensive line.
18:00And if I wanted to just throw terms there and
18:02sound cool like on a football podcast, I'd say he's playing the zero technique.
18:05And then he's going to a four iron.
18:06Sometimes he's even like a three in a shade.
18:09What that means is he's playing over the center.
18:11He can play over the guards.
18:12And then sometimes he's on the inside shoulder of the tackles,
18:15which the reason that's important is because those guys have different
18:18assignments depending on the play, where their technique is, right?
18:21If you're head up over the center, control him in either gap.
18:24If you're inside of the guard, it's a pass rushing situation.
18:28And if you're further outside of him, it's like a Richard Seymour or
18:31Ty Warren back in the day.
18:33You're two gapping, now it's just on the edge.
18:35But you've got to be more mindful of players like tight ends or
18:37anyone who might be pulling around you or scooping or whatever.
18:40So Farms is doing all that.
18:42And he only had 90 snaps last year, but
18:44was still a good defense in a crap season as we know.
18:47But he seems to be building on that.
18:48And he's 27, and he was raw, and he was late to the party.
18:51But someone you can root for, whether it's his backstory or
18:53an awesome first couple of quarters here against Carolina.
18:56And he obviously fits into the good.
18:58All right, we'll go quickly over the bad.
19:00Mitchell Wilcox, he was running the inside track for
19:04the number three tight end job.
19:05He has been caught from behind because he had a drop.
19:08One catch on four targets.
19:10Blocking was not particularly impressive.
19:12Lucky for him, Michael Petway, who the Patriots signed.
19:15He gave a strange number, small still, of guarantees, allowed a hurry.
19:21And so I don't think he's gonna be pushing from behind.
19:23But Jaheim Bell, seventh round rookie, we're gonna get to in a second.
19:25Looked really, really good to me, and very limited action.
19:28But for a guy who hadn't really practiced in pads, that was impressive.
19:31Wilcox, meanwhile, okay, we need to talk.
19:34This is the worse than bad section, for those of you who are new.
19:38Offensive tackles, this was a complete mess.
19:44Vardarian Lowe played 17 snaps.
19:45He allowed one hurry in a run stuff.
19:47Chooks a core four, recovered.
19:49He's starting at right tackle.
19:50He had missed the last three practices, so proper context.
19:53So he's not really been in pads and active.
19:55But he got whistled for the false start, got a lot of pressure.
19:58Back up swing tackle Calvin Anderson, played both sides,
20:01committed a holding penalty.
20:02It was negated, and yielded a quarterback hit.
20:06So that leaves Caden Wallace, who is a third round rookie,
20:10who also played in both sides, had two bad losses in pass protection.
20:13But for me, I'm like, I can't fault you.
20:14You're a third round rookie in a preseason debut.
20:17But you know who I can fault?
20:18And sit down and say, hey, we need to talk.
20:22It's Vardarian Lowe, it's Calvin Anderson, and it's Chooks a core four.
20:25This is not good.
20:26And I think the closer we get to the start of the season,
20:30Mike Owenu moving back to right tackle is very much in play,
20:32not only because of the tackle situation,
20:35where then you don't have to figure out two spots, left and right.
20:38You just need to figure out one, because Owenu obviously
20:40can play right tackle.
20:41But you might have a right guard in play,
20:43Laden Robinson, who for my money, as we get into the rookie report,
20:47we already talked about Millen, we already talked about May,
20:50looked really good.
20:51Again, it's not Shaq Mason, but there
20:53of a little bit shorter, burly, powerful as hell dude,
20:58who leans more into run blocking than pass protection.
21:00Laden Robinson played right guard and left guard.
21:02I liked what I saw from him.
21:03We're not projecting yet, though Doug tweeted today,
21:06and I actually texted him about it.
21:08I said, I think you're right.
21:08Week one, if I had to bet, just a wager, not because it's probable,
21:13but a core four at left tackle, City Sal at left guard,
21:15David Andrews at center, Laden Robinson at right guard,
21:18Mike Owenu at right tackle.
21:20I think I like that lineup best, based on what I've seen.
21:22Breaking news.
21:23We've got a young, exciting underdog team in Boston
21:26that's making a run for the playoffs.
21:28No, it's not the Patriots.
21:29Well, not the Patriots yet.
21:31It's the Red Sox.
21:32And if you've been following this season,
21:33you know that the Red Sox have been a hotter ticket
21:36ever since the season started.
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22:43All right, finishing up with the Rookie Report.
22:45We talked about Wallace.
22:46Jalen Pol, dude plays big.
22:48Three catches, 14 yards.
22:50I said it before, he's got a mature game, right?
22:54He knows how to win the hand fighting battle
22:56to get separation, like a short curl route,
22:58then box out the corner
22:59without getting called for a penalty.
23:01He has got strong hands.
23:02He's not a body catcher.
23:04And I'm just hoping to see more ceiling
23:06and flash plays from him
23:07because we know he's got the high floor,
23:09but I want to see the dude who is going to win
23:11in a big, spectacular weight downfield
23:13that I can count on
23:14because he needs to, facing really, really good corners.
23:16He didn't see any really, really good corners last night.
23:18That's fine, but he was good.
23:20Javon Baker, meanwhile,
23:22he was in the vicinity of one pass that got broken up.
23:26He made it look like Bailey Zappi's fault
23:28by continuing to run down the left sideline
23:30in the first half, when in reality, as I later learned,
23:34it was supposed to be a back shoulder throw.
23:36So the talent's still there.
23:37The movement skills, when I tell you,
23:38hey, he's moving different
23:40than everybody else in this receiving court.
23:42That's still there.
23:43He's just got a lot of edges in his game, I think,
23:45to refine, but with a player like him,
23:47sometimes you just need to hit him once and connect,
23:49and he's one of five catching his targets,
23:51but if that catch is a 50-yard bomb,
23:54that makes all the difference.
23:56Jaheim Bell, I mentioned, his stock is up.
23:58Really impressed by his blocking one-on-one,
24:00especially for a guy who has missed a week of practice,
24:03two weeks into training camp,
24:04most of those being padded practices.
24:06He's 6'1", 245 pounds, more of a move tight end,
24:09and those movement skills,
24:10even without seeing a lot of reps and a big workload,
24:14seems like it's going to translate to me.
24:16So that's just about it.
24:17Oh, Marcellus Dial.
24:18What did I forget?
24:19The only defensive rookie in this class.
24:22He played late, started on kick return.
24:25I don't have much to say about his coverage skills,
24:27but I know this, dude can tackle,
24:29and that's really, really key for young corners,
24:31which sounds boring, and it sounds like coach speak,
24:33but you talk to enough coaches,
24:34you start to believe what they say,
24:36and that is a big deal.
24:37If he wants to see the field in any capacity,
24:39we know he's an older prospect.
24:41You're probably not tapping into a whole lot there more,
24:43at least athletically,
24:44but fundamentally, he's come in pretty sound
24:47for what is really like a pro style,
24:49complicated save and ask defense at Carolina,
24:51and solid, solid debut.
24:54I don't know if I would put him on the roster right now.
24:56I'd say probably,
24:57because Ty is going to go to the kids, as we know,
24:59when they make these final cuts,
25:01and that's all I got on the rookie.
25:02So let's get to your questions.
25:03Mailbag.
25:05I mentioned him before.
25:06He's been on as a male fan.
25:08Jordan was asking,
25:09should we look into preseason playing time
25:10when predicting who makes it into the receiver room?
25:13Juju being out there is not a good sign from him.
25:15Well, sir, you were correct.
25:16Juju's gone.
25:17So I said, hey, do you want a follow-up question?
25:19He said, sure.
25:20This was that question.
25:22How much stock should we put into
25:23where guys are playing in the offensive line?
25:25When should we expect to see the starting five
25:27play together in their correct spots?
25:29This is a really good question,
25:30because I don't have a guaranteed answer here for you,
25:33but I will tell you is this.
25:35The deeper we get into camp,
25:37not only the more do the coaches know
25:39from every single practice and preseason game and meeting
25:42about which guys are best,
25:43they're receiving feedback from players like Jacoby Brissett
25:46who will have a say in this.
25:47Like, I feel more comfortable
25:49when so-and-so is at this position
25:51or they're at that position if there's a tie.
25:53And as we get closer to the opener,
25:57every minute, every rep, every game,
25:59every practice means more.
26:01So what we see against Philly
26:03is gonna be more meaningful than Carolina
26:05where they can go, okay, we still got four weeks.
26:07We can tinker.
26:08We can experiment.
26:10We don't really have that much information.
26:11The deeper we go, the more significant it's gonna be.
26:13And that's where I think
26:15on when it was probably been a right guard.
26:16They say, hey, we know he can play right tackle.
26:19If we have to put him over there,
26:20we'll give him a week or two of practice
26:21and he'll be back to his old self.
26:23We just don't know about the other guys.
26:24And so that gives them more time to tinker.
26:26But so far it's not been good.
26:27And I would just say they also like to cross train.
26:30So Caden Wallace playing left and right tackle
26:32is not a surprise.
26:33This is the time to learn, to experiment.
26:35Same with Leighton Robinson.
26:36But Chooks of Corfu is the one I'm watching
26:38because he has been at left tackle
26:40or was most of the spring.
26:42Then was for the first two training camp practices.
26:45And then he went back to the right side
26:46and he stayed there since.
26:47Do they know all they need to know?
26:49Because as we get deeper into this,
26:50if he doesn't move back, that to me says yes.
26:53And I hope not.
26:54Cause to me, he would be their best bet right now
26:56at left tackle based on what we've seen.
26:58All right, we're gonna fly through the next couple of these
27:00cause I have a radio hit in a second
27:01and I am racing against the clock.
27:03So Pat's fan Kev has O'Shane Ziminis in the hour.
27:06Looked good at camp as he did in the game last night.
27:09Looks like a really great rotational ad
27:11to a solid defense thoughts.
27:13Kev, I think I answered you already.
27:15And that's what I wanna do here in the podcast.
27:18Answer your questions before you ask them.
27:19But yes, he hasn't looked that good
27:21because he's been going up against
27:23sometimes the starting offensive line.
27:24Those guys are better than the backups
27:26and third stringers for Carolina, but he has looked good.
27:29And again, I would count on him to make the roster.
27:31A couple of O-line questions.
27:33Lawrence leads us off.
27:34How much of the O-line can be attributed
27:36to not having a qualified offensive line coach?
27:39And he got very specific here.
27:40For 25 of the last 34 games,
27:43Chris asked, what do they do with the offensive line?
27:45More penalties, no solid combinations.
27:47We can't have a repeat the last two years.
27:48How do they fix it?
27:49Fix it is more time, more coaching.
27:52And I would say, start to settle
27:54on who's going to play where.
27:56Because Caden Wallace,
27:58it's nice that he could maybe be a swing tackle.
28:00Right now, I just need him to be a viable game day option.
28:03And that only happens if he gets more reps at one spot.
28:06As far as not having a qualified
28:07offensive line coach, Lawrence,
28:08I would say this, everyone's in the door now
28:11in the same way that we were,
28:13or if you went to college, you went to that school, right?
28:16And if you start to put up failing grades,
28:19I don't think anyone's blaming your high school teachers
28:21because you've got there.
28:22What they're probably blaming is the player itself,
28:24but the younger you are, the more breaks you get
28:26as like a freshman or a sophomore.
28:28Once you get into your third or fourth year,
28:29whether you're playing offensive line in the NFL,
28:31or you're just in the last stage of school for most of us,
28:34that's kind of on you.
28:35So that would be my answer there.
28:37It certainly hasn't helped,
28:39but I think the bigger problem here is just talent
28:41and they don't have enough guys.
28:42We go, oh, Mike Onwenu, yeah, solid.
28:44David Andrews, no question.
28:45Siddy Tsao, even, is a guy.
28:47There's the alarm for the radio hit.
28:50I like, I think I'm gonna trust, but I just don't know.
28:53John, how many of New England's current offensive linemen
28:56would you feel comfortable starting in a playoff game?
28:58I think I just answered that.
28:59Mike Onwenu, David Andrews,
29:02Siddy Tsao gets the benefit of the doubt.
29:04Chooks a core for if he's at right tackle,
29:06but even then I'm going,
29:07if we run into any kind of elite pass rusher,
29:09we might be in trouble.
29:12That's it.
29:13All right, Fiora's got two questions.
29:14One is what, in parentheses, if anything,
29:18end parentheses, to make of the fact Taekwon
29:20has only played a handful of snaps last night.
29:22It's good news for Taekwon Thornton.
29:24I've been writing it every single day.
29:25It's him and KJ Osborne starting with the top offense,
29:29and they're usually in two tight end personnel.
29:31Now the big change will be when Demario Douglas
29:34gets fully healthy because he's their best receiver
29:37until further notice, and he's not playing outside.
29:39So he'll need to be in a three receiver set
29:42to be in the slot and then work the middle of the field,
29:45which will take either Austin Hooper,
29:47probably Austin Hooper off of the field,
29:49or maybe one of the other receivers
29:51if they prefer another outside receiver to Taekwon
29:53or KJ Osborne.
29:54But bottom line, if you're playing a couple of series
29:57and then you leave in the preseason and you're not hurt,
30:00that's great news, not to mention the deep ball
30:02that was incomplete for him from Jacoby Brissett,
30:04who went 0 for 3, was underthrown.
30:07And the downside is that's happened a lot during camp
30:10where those longest throws tend to die and fade late.
30:13The good news is Taekwon beat him by a full step.
30:15And that's something we did not see a whole lot
30:18the last two summers.
30:19If you're part two, apologize if this has already been
30:22answered or asked elsewhere.
30:23What exactly is the disagreement between the Patriots
30:25and Matt Judon?
30:26Is it about how much money he's getting this year,
30:27or is he holding out for a multi-year contract?
30:30The answer is yes, it's both.
30:33It's guaranteed money, it's the length of the deal.
30:35Guy has repeatedly said, I want to retire here.
30:38It's not because he's looking for a big, giant, fat
30:40one-year contract, something I think the Patriots
30:42would be more open to, because he's 32 coming off an injury.
30:45All the stuff that we've been talking about now
30:46for weeks and months, it's always about the years.
30:49It's always about the guarantees, and this is no different.
30:51Last one, this comes from Mike.
30:53Who among the Patriots beat writers would have
30:55the highest rating in Madden?
30:58First of all, if any of us ever broke double digits,
31:02would be breaking news and a complete upset.
31:04Second of all, I'm going to pick a cop-out answer here.
31:06It's my guy, Zach Cox, who is our new Celtics writer
31:09at the Herald, super, super happy to have Zach.
31:11But he was on the Pat's beat for a good eight, nine,
31:14I think it was just nine years, at Nesson,
31:17and he's helped out at Patriots training camp.
31:18So I'm going to say him.
31:21He played rugby, still exceptionally fit, quick, fast,
31:24all that stuff.
31:25We're not a particularly athletic group,
31:27but I'd throw Phil Perry's probably up there.
31:29And then there's just a mixed bag of all of us fighting
31:31for the bronze.
31:32So that's it.
31:34I'll also say this.
31:35I don't know if I'm going to share any details.
31:38If we win big, I will share them.
31:39There's a media flag or touch football game
31:43after this Tuesday joint practice with the Eagles
31:45that we're going to be playing on the field.
31:47First, that they've done that since 2017.
31:50Sometimes it used to be in Gillette,
31:51visiting media from the Saints or Jaguars
31:54who had joint practices up here in that last year.
31:57It'll be my first media game.
31:58I have no idea how this is going to go.
31:59I expect it to be complete disaster,
32:01but if it's not, you will hear first here
32:03on the Pat's Interference podcast.
32:04All right, that has been it.
32:06We will be back again twice weekly.
32:09If you like what you've heard,
32:10you are going to love what you see next.
32:12And I would ask you in the meantime,
32:13please give us a five-star review.
32:15This does a lot to help us.
32:16Apple, Spotify, if you have more than five seconds
32:19just to leave the rating, give us a couple sentences,
32:22stuff that you like, stuff that you don't,
32:23more than what you want to see.
32:25And then I will see you next week,
32:27probably Tuesday, Wednesday,
32:29and then we'll follow up again, same episode like this,
32:31after the Eagles come in for Thursday
32:33and what will be a pretty big preseason game
32:35as far as these go.
32:36More Drake May, more of the starters
32:38and an actual good roster.
32:40So have a good night, have a good weekend,
32:43and we'll see you next week.