Patriots players with the most pressure in 2024 | Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast
In this episode of the Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast with Nick Cattles, Greg and Nick discuss the players facing the most pressure in 2024, as well as the coaches and executives under the most scrutiny. They also cover key headlines, including the potential sale of the Celtics, the Bruins making big moves in free agency, and the status of free agents Adrian Phillips, Lawrence Guy, and JC Jackson. Additionally, they delve into Jerod Mayo's decision to start camp practices at 11 a.m. instead of 9:30 a.m.
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This episode of The Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast is presented by:
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00:00This is the Greg Bidard Patriots podcast with Nick Cavins.
00:06This is brought to you by PrizePix, largest daily fantasy sports platform in North America.
00:11Download the app today.
00:12Use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to a hundred bucks.
00:16Also, finally take the guesswork out of buying NFL tickets as the season approaches with
00:21game time.
00:22Download the game time app, create an account, use that code CLNS for $20 off your first
00:28purchase.
00:29Last minute tickets, lowest price, guaranteed.
00:32I am in Foxborough.
00:35Greg is joining us from parts unknown.
00:37We'll go old school wrestling, old school WWF style, parts unknown during this podcast.
00:43But he is good.
00:44He is good.
00:45Nobody's holding him hostage.
00:46He's fine.
00:47Let's start outside of the Patriots, Greg.
00:49Obviously yesterday, we're recording this on Tuesday afternoon.
00:53Yesterday was just a huge day in Boston sports.
00:55You had the Bruins and free agency, which we'll get to in a minute, but you had the
00:58Celtics.
00:59They get the extension done with Derek White.
01:02They get the extension done with Jason Tatum.
01:04But the biggest news might have been with Grosbeck putting the team up for sale.
01:09What were your thoughts when I text you that other than what?
01:14Well, you know, I'll say this after digesting it and sort of, you know, reading some of
01:20the opinions or, you know, takes on the subject where, you know, obviously, you know, Corrales
01:27at our place and other places and other writers.
01:33I'll just say that, like, look, I've always had a lot of respect for WIC.
01:38I have a lot of confidence in WIC that they announced it like this, you know, to me, I'm
01:48hoping that it's going to be that they already know what they're going to do.
01:52Like, it's going to be the other partners like Bagluca, other partners that have been
01:58part of it, that they're going to step up or WIC has a guy who he's known for years
02:04that is similar.
02:05Like, I would be very disappointed and I would be surprised if this was a situation where
02:11WIC was looking for every last dollar.
02:14I do think the Celtics are important to him.
02:17I think his legacy as a great team owner is important to him.
02:24It should be.
02:25He's basically, since him and his partners have owned the Celtics, they've always been
02:31near the top.
02:32They've won two championships.
02:35They've always spent.
02:36That hasn't been an issue unlike some of the other owners in this town.
02:43At the end of the day, I think WIC looks at, and I think they've set the Celtics up
02:50for success long-term.
02:51I think this is all on purpose that the timing of it is we've got basically all the pieces
02:56locked up for multiple years.
02:58We can make a run.
03:01I think it's important to his legacy that he sells it to the right people to continue
03:05that tradition and that it enhances his legacy going forward.
03:13Let's say he sold the Celtics a majority to some investment banker outfit or something
03:21like that that was just looking to maximize every last dollar and then the Celtics went
03:27in the toilet.
03:28That would hurt his legacy.
03:30I think he's carefully crafted it.
03:32I think he's been great in every single way.
03:35He's the owner that I respect the most in this town in terms of everything that he does.
03:43It's a little bit frightening, but I'm hopeful that there's a plan and that WIC's going to
03:49execute it.
03:51Best owner in Boston right now.
03:53I'm sure many people would say that.
03:55I think those people would be right in saying that.
03:57You look at what he's done, the money that he has spent.
04:00He's not a guy who has a ton of money compared to other owners, relatively speaking.
04:05He has a lot of money for me.
04:06He has a lot of money for Greg.
04:07He has a lot of money compared to many of you, but he's not this super-duper uber-billionaire
04:14who is just raking in the cash.
04:16The NBA is getting more difficult to own a basketball team given the money.
04:21The local cable networks are not making as much money as they used to.
04:26The taxes, the penalties, just the idea of paying hundreds of millions of dollars on
04:31top of the hundreds of millions of dollars you're paying for the actual roster.
04:36They don't have the arena, as we know.
04:38You've got TD Garden.
04:39They don't own that arena.
04:41There's all of these different elements that make it more difficult for WIC to continue
04:46to own the team, I think, the way he wants to own the team, which is put money in, continue
04:52to win, and do everything you have to do to make that happen.
04:57I think WIC, when you look at this realistically, it's going to be very, very difficult for
05:02him to own the team in that way with the lack of funds that he has compared to other guys
05:08in the league.
05:09You saw this.
05:10Mark Cuban decided to sell Dallas, and Taylor in Minnesota trying to sell the team.
05:16Charlotte sold the team recently.
05:18Michael Jordan, right?
05:19MJ got out of it.
05:21You're starting to see this around the league.
05:22I just think it's very difficult and very expensive for guys who might not have that
05:27kind of cash to continue to roll in the league.
05:31I also think this is just a human psyche thing that's fascinating to me, Greg.
05:36The fear of the unknown.
05:38WIC was great.
05:39He's been great.
05:40I believe he loves the Celtics.
05:42He was born in Worcester.
05:43He wanted to own this team.
05:45He's owned the team for now more than two decades.
05:48We can love what he has done and respect and appreciate who he has been as an owner
05:52without freaking out what's going to happen in the future.
05:55We have no idea.
05:56Yes, it could end up going to somebody that doesn't give an ish.
06:00But I would say if you're buying an NBA team right now, you're buying an NBA team with
06:05the full understanding of what's going on in this league, and that's going to cost you
06:09a lot of money to run that organization.
06:15Everybody take a deep breath and stop fearing the unknown.
06:18We don't know who's going to be the next owner.
06:19All right.
06:20We also had a big day with the Bruins, and I know you're a gigantic hockey guy, Greg
06:26Pucks Bedard on call here, and the Bruins made two big moves.
06:32So they sign Elias Lindholm.
06:35They bring in Nikita Zadarov, a defenseman.
06:39What'd you make of those moves?
06:41Well, I think it's quite obvious that the Bruins, and we see this in every sport, but
06:48especially it seems like in hockey, that it's a copycat league.
06:53And we see it also in football and all that stuff.
06:56But you see what the Florida Panthers have done and how they've built it.
07:01And really, the teams that the Bruins have struggled with in recent years, the bigger,
07:09stronger, on the forecheck, tougher teams where the Bruins are built for the regular
07:17season, for the playoffs, they're not built quite as well.
07:20And I think they're trying to do things like the Florida Panthers of the NHL.
07:26And I think you look at Zadarov as a big, strong guy, hits like a Mack truck.
07:35Lindholm is also big and tough and sort of a two-way defenseman, similar to Patrice Bergeron,
07:44but a little bit heavier on the forecheck.
07:47And I also think it's significant.
07:49I didn't realize this because I've been traveling, but reading Haggs, what he wrote for us on
07:56the Bruins, I didn't realize that so many guys also went out the door with DeBrusk and
08:02Heinen and Boquist and Grislyk, DeBrusk getting a seven-year deal from Vancouver, Dan Heinen's
08:08joining him out there.
08:09And I think those guys are all smaller, finesse type guys, and the Bruins are bringing in
08:16tougher guys.
08:17And I think that's what they have to do to try to keep up with the Florida Panthers of
08:22the world.
08:24It was very interesting to me.
08:26I said this on the Sports Hub on Sunday afternoon when I was hosting, to me, the top priority
08:31was a top-line centerman.
08:33And obviously, you addressed that with Lindholm.
08:35You can't play Morgan Geeky in a playoff series on the top line.
08:38I'm sorry, Morgan.
08:39I mean, we love what you do, but you're more of a third-line winger than you are a top-line
08:45center, especially in the postseason.
08:47So they addressed that.
08:48I thought, Greg, that their number two need was a wing.
08:52You lost DeBrusk.
08:54You lost Heinen.
08:55You're going to lose, likely, Van Riemsdyk.
08:57And I know Van Riemsdyk isn't huge, but he had double-digit goals for you last year.
09:02When you start stacking up these goals, you're talking 50 goals or so that you lost.
09:06And yes, Lindholm will help you.
09:08You can move Zaka to the wing now.
09:10And you hope that Zadarov will help the defensemen step up offensively, and you'll get more out
09:15of McAvoy now, especially if you put Zadarov alongside him in the first pairing and let
09:20McAvoy kind of be McAvoy and skate and be a little more offensive if McAvoy just learns
09:25to actually pull the freaking trigger.
09:27And you can also move Lindholm back now, Hampus, and hopefully get more offense from him.
09:33But I thought that they should have gone wing over defensemen.
09:37And Jim Montgomery wants a big defenseman.
09:39He wants somebody who hits.
09:40That is obviously Zadarov.
09:42He picks up lots of penalties, so be ready for that.
09:46The overall aspect of this, though, is you're right.
09:49Big.
09:50They're looking for big, physical dudes.
09:52The guys that they've brought in are just big, and they're going to make you feel their
09:57presence.
09:58Lindholm, all three zones, wins at the face-off, right?
10:03He can win at the dot.
10:04He can help you in special teams.
10:06So I think Lindholm is good and fills that desperate need.
10:11But Sweeney said after the season was over, we need scoring, and you really didn't address
10:18that in free agency.
10:19So now you're looking at Lysell, you're looking at Merkeloff.
10:22These young guys, Patra, they're going to have to really step up and have an impact
10:28with this team.
10:29It'll be interesting how Coach Montgomery deals with that.
10:31All right, let's get to the football now.
10:34Biggest news for the Patriots just came out this morning, a little while ago.
10:37Mike Reese, Reese's Pieces, along with Adam Schefter, had this.
10:40Jelani Tavaes signs a three-year contract extension, Greg.
10:44Three years, up to, two important words with every NFL contract, up to $21 million.
10:51But the base value is really $15 million.
10:54What's your take?
10:56So I assume that would be, basically, at the base, it's a two-year deal, about $7.5 million.
11:06So I mean, I guess my initial response would be, look, I think that Jelani Tavaes has developed
11:13into a good, solid player.
11:17I think we talked about it in a recent podcast.
11:22Is his profile and Juwan Bentley's profile as sort of bigger, tougher, slower linebackers,
11:31is that the wisest course for this defense?
11:34And it's really the heart of it.
11:37When you hear a lot of NFL people that say, you can tell the speed of the defense by the
11:45middle linebacker or the two linebackers, nobody really plays with three linebackers
11:48anymore.
11:50But the two linebackers on the team, and Bentley, he's fine.
11:56I think his speed is fine, especially early on in the season or first half of the season
12:00until he gets beat up a little bit because he plays so much.
12:03They do have talkie talkie that can get in the mix and take some snaps from some of the
12:08guys.
12:09Tavaes is a good leader.
12:11He's coming off an injury.
12:12We haven't seen him do anything in the offseason practices.
12:16Maybe he's doing stuff behind the scenes.
12:18Do I love that they're extending him before seeing him healthy?
12:21No, I don't like that because he's not old, but he's not young either.
12:27And so I would have waited on the deal.
12:32I would have seen how this defense develops, but maybe this is just the profile that they're
12:39going with.
12:40The Mayo-Covington defense, the scheme.
12:42They're just going to keep it going with what they have and they're not looking to
12:46change a whole bunch on the second level.
12:49I would be more open to that.
12:51But again, outside of talkie talkie, this is another position where we talked about,
12:55you know, they haven't, they didn't draft anybody.
12:58They haven't left themselves any other options.
12:59So really, you know, locking up a guy, it's not huge money.
13:03I don't think it's a huge deal, but I just, I just hope this doesn't close them off for
13:08being open-minded to getting faster and more athletic on the second level of the defense.
13:14Yeah.
13:15I think they have those options.
13:16I mean, we'll see if Mapu can do anything.
13:19You could always put Dugger in there.
13:21You could put Peppers in there, that hybrid role.
13:23You mentioned talkie talkie.
13:24Look, Tavi is a good football player.
13:26He had his best season arguably last year.
13:29You're able to move him around a little bit.
13:30He was actually statistically analytically good in coverage.
13:33So he's been able to kind of hold his ass in that, in that aspect.
13:37And it's not back-breaking money.
13:39You've got a ton of space.
13:40And also, Greg, you kind of mentioned it there.
13:43A lot of people want the Patriots to wait, but the one thing I would say to that though
13:47is that in 2025, like next off season, as of right now, you have a number of guys on
13:53that side of the football that are coming up.
13:57And unless they're going to resign everybody, you're going to have to make decisions.
14:00So you know, you're not going to be able to fill every single void.
14:04You're going to use, I think, a number of draft picks in next year's draft to address
14:10the defense.
14:11And you got to hope that Chooks Acorafor works that left tackle and you know, maybe Jalen
14:15Polk looks like a one receiver because you also going to have to fill those two needs
14:18possibly with the draft next year.
14:21But the point is you got a lot of dudes who are probably leaving this team on the defensive
14:24side or at least a few of them.
14:27So Tavi is a player that they, they feel comfortable with.
14:29I would also imagine that he's pretty healthy.
14:32I know that Gerard Mayo said that he's been banging down the door to get out there.
14:37So I'd have to imagine the Patriots are very comfortable with where he's at from a health
14:42standpoint.
14:43Of course, they could be wrong and that would be bad.
14:45But that's how I feel.
14:46We got some more thoughts on a lot of other things.
14:49But first, let's take this quick break.
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14:56The ballpark has always been home to me and my family, and we'll definitely get there
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16:16Let's keep on moving with the defensive free agents.
16:18I just mentioned this.
16:19You've got a number of guys, Greg, that are going to be free agents next year, but you
16:25also have a few guys that were on this team last year that are still free agents.
16:29Adrian Phillips, Laurence Guy, JC Jackson.
16:33They're still out there.
16:34They're still available.
16:35Do you have interest in any of those three?
16:40Certainly the first two, Adrian Phillips and Laurence Guy, are total pros.
16:45Definitely on the back nine of their career, Adrian Phillips saw his role diminish big
16:52time last year, and they have Mapu, and they have Peppers, have Duggar, and they have all
16:57these guys.
16:58We'll see if Bledsoe makes the roster.
17:03I love Phillips, but I don't see any need for him.
17:05I don't think he wants to come back here.
17:08I think he would rather have a chance to win and have a slightly bigger role on a team.
17:15I could see him ending up on Baltimore Ravens or somebody like that, or even maybe him going
17:21back to the Chargers where he started his career.
17:24I could see Harbaugh really liking him as his profile.
17:29Laurence Guy, I think that's more of a situation where we went through the contract thing with
17:35him last year.
17:36The Patriots didn't do anything.
17:39I think it's a situation where Laurence Guy looks at it and says, doing what I do at my
17:43age and the pounding that I take, is it worth the $3 million that he made last year?
17:50Is anybody going to give him more than that?
17:53Probably not.
17:54Could it get to the point where towards the end of training camp, if they're a little
17:58thin on the interior, if they're having contract issues with Devon Godshow, could they decide
18:03to bring him back?
18:04Yes, but I don't think it's going to be at very much money.
18:08Is that worth Laurence's while to do that?
18:11JC Jackson's probably the most interesting guy.
18:15He really struggled last year when the Patriots traded for him.
18:21Mayo has made comments, I think it was at the owner's meetings, about how that had a
18:26lot to do with injuries.
18:28With JC Jackson, when he's right, he's still pretty good.
18:34That's going to have to be a Mayo call in terms of his comfort, but we all know the
18:37Patriots are a little thin at cornerback.
18:41Maybe this is a situation where both sides know they might make something work, but JC
18:47doesn't want to go through the offseason stuff, maybe even part of training camp, that sort
18:52of thing.
18:55At this point, if JC Jackson is healthy, I'd rather go that route than say a Stephon Gilmore,
19:02but I think JC Jackson is the most interesting guy for sure.
19:06They might be still looking at Alex Austin, Isaiah Bolden, Marco Wilson, trying to see
19:10what they have in those guys.
19:12Could they bring more than Jackson brings to the table?
19:15The other question about Jackson is, Mayo and Wolf have talked an awful lot about culture
19:19and character and getting the right guys and having the right feel in the locker room.
19:24Of course, we know JC has not always been with the program.
19:29He's been a guy that's colored outside the lines from time to time.
19:33Are they concerned about JC causing a little bit of an issue in the locker room?
19:38We don't know, but there's that question that has to be brought up given his history.
19:44That is something else that could be an obstacle in bringing JC back.
19:48If you've got somebody like Austin and he does not show out, Bolden doesn't show out,
19:52they don't play as well as they looked like they were playing at minicamp, you could always
19:55reevaluate and I would imagine Elliot Wolf would do so.
19:58Speaking of minicamp, we saw the Patriots, they had practices a little bit later in the
20:03day.
20:04That's going to continue at training camp.
20:07Mayo is going to start practices at 11 a.m. instead of 9.30 a.m.
20:12I saw Mike Reese write about this over the weekend.
20:15It's obviously going to be hotter outside later in the day.
20:19What do you make of this decision by Mayo?
20:21Yeah, it's definitely interesting.
20:24I'm sure there's some sort of meeting aspect of it.
20:27Normally, most teams, and maybe this is a way to sort of shorten the day under Belichick
20:35and some of Belichick's assistants like Josh McDaniels, they were known for their really,
20:41really long days.
20:44If you're practicing at 9.30, stuff starts at 7 and you're going to 7, 8 o'clock at night.
20:53Now maybe they let the guys sleep in a little bit.
20:56Maybe it's 8 or 9 o'clock that they come in and do some stuff ahead of practice time,
21:02but I'm most worried about the heat.
21:05I don't really like the, I don't think it's better for your conditioning to be playing
21:13football in full pads at the top of the day where the heat's at its worst.
21:19I mean, some people will say, oh, it's better to work on conditioning.
21:22I don't really believe in that.
21:24I think that it can take some of the energy away from the players and it can be more of
21:30a problem.
21:32Look, Mayo's a player.
21:35He's not too far removed from that.
21:37He obviously prefers this, but man, it's going to make for some really hot days down at Gillette
21:45Stadium.
21:46Yeah, we'll see how guys react to it, right?
21:49You certainly don't want to put them in any kind of danger zone.
21:52You don't want to move it inside because that takes away some of the elements.
21:57It's an interesting decision by Mayo.
21:59Obviously, he feels with maybe the little extra sleep or whatever they're going to do
22:03before practices at 11am, it's worth it on the back end.
22:07He might end up being right.
22:08He might end up being wrong.
22:09We'll see how it all unfolds.
22:11This is his first camp as a head coach and we'll see if he decides to change things.
22:16He always has the ability to do that.
22:19Will he do it?
22:20I find it unlikely, but certainly very interesting.
22:23Belichick had his way.
22:24Mayo's had his way.
22:25All of the conversation leading up to Bill Belichick being asked to leave the program
22:31and the Patriots filling Belichick's shoes with a quote-unquote Belichick guy, Greg and
22:37I talked about this an awful lot at the time.
22:41Just because you play for Bill Belichick and coach for Bill Belichick doesn't necessarily
22:45mean you are going to try to be Bill Belichick.
22:47McDaniels had some of that, of course.
22:49Patricia had some of that, but Mayo has done a lot of things differently than Bill did
22:55and it could go great.
22:56It could go horribly wrong.
22:58We'll see which one it falls on.
23:00All right.
23:01So we did the coaches executives with the most pressure on them in a prior podcast.
23:05Greg, let's let's now look at some of the players that you have listed as far as pressure
23:09and we start with the big guy in the middle on defense and that's Christian Barmore.
23:13Yeah.
23:14So this is number five Christian Barmore for me.
23:17He could be a little bit higher on the list.
23:19To me, this is all about the contract that he received, the contract extension.
23:25Some might say it's a little early for him.
23:27Some are worried about his knee and you know, whether there's a long-term thing there.
23:33There's also the added sort of pressure for Christian if he buys into it, like just in
23:40the locker room that there are guys who have reacted to his contract extension.
23:45Look at them and say, yeah, you know, the kid's talented, but he hasn't really done
23:48anything.
23:49Whereas, you know, I've been in the league seven, eight years.
23:52I've done a lot for this team and you know, they're not giving me money and I'm talking
23:57about guys like Devon Godchild, Matthew Jude on if, if they don't do anything to the contracts
24:03for those guys now, all of a sudden you know, those, it, it becomes an interesting locker
24:09room dynamic between the guys.
24:11And I'm sure a lot of people would be like, oh, that's overblown.
24:14These guys are professionals.
24:15That stuff goes on, you know, all the time.
24:19And you know, we don't know whether anything's going to happen, but you know, to me, the
24:22bottom line is, you know, Christian Barmore after the contract, the reaction to some of
24:27his teammates, to me, there's, there's pressure on him to deliver this year.
24:33And you know, so that's why I have him on the list has to be an impact guy.
24:37He's getting paid like an impact guy after this season, got that extension.
24:40He was fantastic.
24:41The last two months of 23, when you kind of drop this defense, we all know this team has
24:46to be led by its defense.
24:48I think you're going to see a lot of run game and defense in 2024.
24:53And you know, Barmore is a big part of that defensive equation.
24:56If he can impact games the way he did in the final two months of last year, you've got
24:59Jude on coming off of the edge.
25:01It helps Jude on because you can't necessarily double him.
25:04It'll help guys like Joshua Uche and Keon White get to the quarterback.
25:09It should help DeVon Godchow as well, because every single double team that Barmore forces
25:14the offensive line to partake in is good news for the defense.
25:17So Barmore is going to be a guy they lean on and he's got to be ready physically.
25:23He's got to be ready mentally to be that kind of guy.
25:25We saw the last eight weeks of last season, this entire season in 2024, we'll see if he
25:30can do it.
25:31Jonathan Jones contract year going to be 32 years old next season, Greg, your thoughts
25:36on JJ.
25:37Yeah, well, I mean, a couple of things in terms of the pressure on him.
25:42You know, he's, he's made a decent amount in his career, but he's really, he's going
25:46to have one more swipe at it.
25:48You know, sometimes cornerbacks age well or they can transition to, you know, safety and
25:54other things.
25:55So he's had some injury plague seasons.
25:58He sort of needs the ball out this year if he wants one more bite at the contract apple.
26:02So there's a lot of pressure from that aspect, but also just from a team aspect, like they
26:08need Jonathan Jones to play well.
26:11We've talked about a cornerback is one of those positions that's thin.
26:14Are they going to have them on the outside where we we've seen him get picked on?
26:18Is he going to, you know, start as a two cornerbacks and then when they go to three cornerbacks,
26:24when they go to nickel, is he going to go inside?
26:26Is he still an impact slot cornerbacks, slot cornerbacks get paid even if they're older
26:33So I, but I think, you know, for this defense to be good and for this team to be good, they
26:41have to play man to man.
26:42We know Christian Gonzalez can, can Jonathan Jones still do that?
26:46Can Marcus Jones, can Alex Austin, can all these guys do that?
26:50And it starts with Jonathan Jones, because a lot of things sort of work off of him in
26:54terms of the depth that cornerback.
26:56We got our final three, as far as players with the most pressure on them, according
27:00to Greg Bedard.
27:01We'll get to those final three in a minute, but I did want to mention this.
27:04I was at Monday Night Raw last night at TD Garden with Kelly and I was at the bar shocker
27:10getting a beer with Kel.
27:11And as I was standing there, somebody by the name of Luke came up to me and introduced
27:16himself and said that he listens to the podcast, he's a fan and all of that.
27:19And I thank Luke, you know, he's a, he's a hardcore football guy, but I will say this.
27:23I don't know if this happens to you, Greg.
27:25I felt a little distracted in the moment and maybe I wasn't as conversational as I should
27:30have been with Luke.
27:32The conversation was pretty quick.
27:34So if Luke is listening or watching, I really appreciate it, man.
27:37We thank you.
27:38We thank everybody who supports this podcast.
27:40And next time I will be a little bit more honed in and less worried about being next
27:46up in line and trying to figure out where our seats are right before the show starts.
27:50So yeah, that, that definitely happened.
27:53That definitely happened.
27:54Cause sometimes you, you know, sometimes we forget because you know, we're not the Michael
27:59Felgers of the world and you know, we, we forget that that we're sort of public figures
28:05and people notice.
28:06And sometimes you're just, you're not, you forget about that when, and like you're at
28:10an event.
28:11Like I saw a bunch of people, I went to Hootie and the Blowfish at Fenway with, with the
28:16fam.
28:17I'm a big Hootie fan from way back in the day.
28:19Like I saw them at five points in Columbia, South Carolina before they hit it big and
28:26had a great time.
28:27And there were a bunch of people in my section that, uh, that, that knew me and were, you
28:31know, asking me about my predictions for the season and, and stuff like that.
28:35So it was, you know, that was cool, but sometimes you're, you're not in the right mindset and
28:39you're like, Oh yeah, I forgot.
28:42And also there was a guy at tasty burger, uh, who, who, uh, shouted me out.
28:46So it was a lot of fun.
28:47Yeah.
28:48So Luke, I don't know if you're even listening to this or watching this.
28:51Uh, if you are, you know who you are.
28:53I appreciate you, man.
28:54I appreciate your support.
28:55And so does Greg.
28:56All right, let's get to the, uh, the top three on your list, Greg, as far as players with
29:00the most pressure.
29:01Uh, number three, you've got KJ Osborne.
29:03Yeah, this was sort of, uh, their quote unquote big addition, uh, from the outside on an offense
29:09that obviously was not good last year.
29:12So, um, you know, this is, I mean, KJ is who he is.
29:18Maybe this is more pressure on Elliot Wolfe and the front office because they sort of
29:22identified him as a sort of a mid tier free agent that maybe the analytics really liked
29:28and like, you know, they have some upside here.
29:30Um, but you know, with Kendrick Bourne, we don't know what's going to go on with him.
29:35We don't know when the rookies are going to hit, are they going to be able to play right
29:39away?
29:40Are they ready for the NFL?
29:41KJ Osborne has been a productive guy in a really good offense in Minnesota.
29:47Um, you know, they, they had Justin Jefferson and then Jordan Addison.
29:52And so he went down the pecking order a little bit, but that's, you know, those are two first
29:57round rare talents at the receiver position.
30:00So he sort of took a medium deal for the Patriots.
30:04If he can come in here and really be high impact and show that, uh, that he can be a
30:11really good number two in this league.
30:14Um, he could set himself up for life, but so in terms of future and his contract, but
30:19also this team this year, this offense, you know, they need, they need KJ to produce.
30:24Yeah.
30:25I love the KJ Osborne one.
30:27We both really like Jalen Polk.
30:29We both believe he's an NFL receiver.
30:31He'll contribute in his rookie season, but you don't want to ask him to be the guy in
30:36this offense, uh, right, right off the bat.
30:39At least that's not a perfect scenario for you.
30:42You have his part of this equation.
30:44You've got Jayvon Baker who did not really take part in minicamp due to injury.
30:49So you know, where is Baker and his development?
30:52Is he going to be able to get on the field early this season?
30:55Kendrick Bourne's injury situation.
30:57Is he going to start the year on pop?
30:59What's what's going to happen with Bourne?
31:01It would be nice to walk into the year feeling like you've got pop Douglas and at least one
31:05other guy that you can feel really good about contributing right away.
31:11As high as we are on Jalen Polk.
31:12So Osborne, uh, could help that.
31:15He could be that guy to go along with pop and let's hope that he is.
31:18All right.
31:19We've got two more, both on the offensive line.
31:22Let's begin at left tackle with Chooks Acorafor.
31:25Yeah.
31:26So, you know, I think we all know the deal.
31:29Um, a lot of people are underwhelmed at Acorafor and what Elliott Wolfe has done at left tackle.
31:36Um, but you know, this is what's going to come down to this offense.
31:40You know, can they, can they block it right?
31:42And it starts at left tackle.
31:44Uh, the internally, they have a lot of faith in Acorafor.
31:47They think they've really hit on, on somebody again, another similar to Osborne, more of
31:52a mid tier guy that, you know, in the right scheme with the right coaching, then this
31:58guy can be better than he's been so far this year.
32:01But they're, they're, they're risking a lot on this.
32:03And we're not just talking about the offense.
32:06We're talking about the future franchise and Drake May, whenever he gets into the game.
32:12Um, I, I, that's probably where the most pressure is for Acorafor is if May plays, um, not to
32:19get the future of the franchise killed.
32:22And so there's going to be a lot of pressure on him to make sure that he performs to keep
32:28May safe.
32:29Uh, but there's no question that he needs to play really well if this team has a chance
32:34to compete.
32:35Chooks is just gigantic to this football team if, if he actually does prove that he can
32:41be a starting left tackle in the league, because if he proves that now your offensive line
32:46is, is so much in a better spot, you don't have to worry about that left tackle position
32:51this year.
32:52It brings you some stability, but also it could have far reaching implications, Greg,
32:56to the future of this team.
32:58As I mentioned just a little while ago, if this team does end up with the top six, seven,
33:03eight pick in the draft next year, if you have your left tackle figured out, if Chooks
33:09proves to be a starting player at that position, you now can do some other things with that
33:13top 10 pick in next year's draft.
33:15You might be able to look at a wide receiver.
33:17You might be able to look at, you know, best player available on the defense.
33:21It gives you a lot of different flexibility because I would imagine that they would pay
33:25Chooks if he proved to be that guy with all the cap space they have right now and going
33:29into next off season.
33:30So he changes the dynamic and he not only changes the dynamic for 2024, he changes that
33:36dynamic for maybe 2025, 26, 27, 28.
33:40So he is just huge, huge when it comes to significance and importance for this football
33:46team this year and maybe moving forward.
33:50The number one guy on your list, another offensive lineman, you wrote about him last week, talking
33:54to some sources.
33:56And that is, of course, Michael Wenow.
33:58Yeah, Nick, for me, this is all about the contract.
34:01I mean, he's getting paid $19 million a year.
34:04And when you agree to a contract like that, there is a certain level that is expected.
34:11And you know, is he going to be a right tackle?
34:13Is he going to be a right guard?
34:16You know, if he's that right guard, he better be a damn good right guard like he's been
34:20for the most part in his career.
34:22He better, he better be in shape.
34:24Is he in shape?
34:25I don't know.
34:26We'll have to see.
34:27Maybe he comes back to camp.
34:29Maybe he's in a little bit better shape.
34:31You know, does he stay on the field?
34:32Is he durable?
34:35You know, Mike didn't ask for this.
34:37The Patriots handed him this money.
34:39But you know, it's just the way it goes.
34:42You know, you get paid $19 million a year as an offensive lineman.
34:46You are expected to be pro bowl, all pro level type guy.
34:52And so that comes with a lot of pressure.
34:55And you know, not only like, you know, they're basically like looking for him to lead this
35:00offensive line along with David Andrews this year.
35:02And for a win, he's part of the future.
35:05He's got to, he's got to be the guy that everybody looks to and be like, all right, you know,
35:09nobody's getting past him.
35:12He's, he's blocking at a high rate.
35:14He's doing his job.
35:15He's reliable.
35:16He's on the field.
35:17All those things come with the contract.
35:19He didn't ask for it, but that's just the business, man.
35:23You know, you go into this year and you're hoping that you have at least two guys on
35:26that O-line that you know about and that you feel confident about, and that's David Andrews
35:30and that's Owenu.
35:32And if Owenu, for whatever reason, whether it's a shape thing, a lack of love thing,
35:37or he just, his play falls off for some unknown reason, man, that really affects this offensive
35:44line.
35:46If, if Owenu has a drop in play for any reason and Chooks doesn't show up on the left side,
35:53now you have a bit of a disaster because now you're banking on Calvin Anderson.
35:57You might be looking at someone like Leighton Robinson playing right guard.
36:01You might be hoping for Cole Strange to get back so you can swing Siddy So back to right
36:05guard.
36:07There are so many questions about this O-line if Owenu doesn't work out and it's on him
36:12now.
36:13You got the money.
36:15You have high expectations now as far as your play with that money you're going to get.
36:21And man, you got to make it happen because if you don't, it's going to be a mess.
36:25All right.
36:26I got one more question for Greg, but before we get to that question, I'll remind you this
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36:56Final question from me today, Greg, we talk about pressure on this team.
37:01We talk about pressure on the players.
37:03What about pressure on the quarterbacks?
37:05Yeah.
37:07You know, I figured you or somebody would ask, well, what about the quarterbacks?
37:11And the thing is, is like, I just think the bar is so low.
37:16They're just low for this offense in general.
37:18They have, you know, new offensive coordinator, a lot of new coaches, new players, you know,
37:24Jacoby Brissette.
37:25I mean, let's just take him, for example, nobody really expects much of him.
37:31You know, a lot of them are just waiting for Drake May to get his chance.
37:36So, you know, really, as long as Jacoby plays efficiently and if you keep this team around
37:41500 a lot of the year, you know, that's a success.
37:44I mean, if Jacoby Brissette's bad, I don't think anybody's really going to care.
37:50It's not going to be directed at Jacoby Brissette.
37:51It's going to be directed at Elliot Wolfe for not trying harder to get a better veteran
37:57quarterback.
37:59I think everybody knows, considering the pre-draft dialogue about Drake May and, you know, how
38:06he needs to work on a lot of things, really anything that he does this year, as long as
38:12he's not a disaster, is sort of gravy.
38:14So I don't think there's very, I don't think there's any pressure on either of those guys
38:18right now.
38:19The bar is so low, as you said, it's ridiculously low.
38:22The quarterback play was so bad last year, it's almost indescribable how bad the quarterback
38:26play was a year ago.
38:28I just can't fathom Brissette playing as badly as Mack and Bailey Zappi did.
38:33Could end up being wrong, but I also agree with you, if Brissette does play at that level,
38:39we're going to have much bigger issues to discuss than Jacoby Brissette.
38:43We're going to be looking at this situation and saying, man, Elliot Wolfe really swung
38:47and missed that left tackle.
38:48Choose a core four, didn't work out.
38:50He gave an extension to Mike Owenu, Owenu didn't love football, or he didn't, he wasn't
38:54the same player after that contract.
38:56That was a swing and a miss.
38:58You went out and you got KJ Osborne, that was great, but maybe you should have bent
39:01over backwards with Calvin Ridley or found some other way or been more aggressive trying
39:06to trade up.
39:07All of those questions will be brought back, even though I don't think all of them would
39:12be fair, but at least some of them would be, and it would be on Elliot Wolfe and it would
39:17be on the rest of this team.
39:18Quarterback, unless you have a top-notch guy like a Patrick Mahomes, it's a very dependent
39:23position and, you know, you need the tools to be able to do the job at the level.
39:29So I agree with you, not a lot of pressure on the quarterbacks this year.
39:33All right.
39:34He's Greg.
39:35I am Nick.
39:36We will talk to you soon.
39:38Be well.
39:39Enjoy your holiday, all that stuff.
39:41This is the Greg Medard Patriots Podcast with Nick Cavill.
39:53Thanks for watching.
39:54We'll see you next time.
39:55Take care.