Mark Daniels_ Patriots Playoff Hype “Way Too Soon”

Beasley Digital

Fred Toucher, Hardy, and MassLive’s Mark Daniels offered a grounded outlook as Patriots training camp begins. While some predict a playoff push, Daniels cautioned against overhyping a team coming off back-to-back 4-win seasons. He emphasized key uncertainties—like the offensive line, Drake Maye’s rookie development, and how newcomers like Stefon Diggs perform post-injury. Daniels said if the Patriots reach eight wins and stay competitive into December, that would be a massive step forward.

Transcript

00:00Mark Daniels, thank you for joining us.

00:02Are you part of this contingent that's saying,

00:06look out world, here come your New England Patriots,

00:10playoff bound?

00:14I'm optimistic, but playoff bound,

00:17until I see the guys actually practice in pads,

00:20for me it's impossible to say.

00:22I think I'm too logical.

00:23Maybe I'm too logical for the radio or TV sometimes.

00:26I think you go from four, you're like, oh, great.

00:30Well, thanks for the time.

00:32Jesus Christ, stick to the fish wrap.

00:36Yeah, right?

00:36This is fun.

00:38But you won four games the last two years in a row.

00:40For me, the first thing is, can they get back to respectability

00:44and get close to eight wins again?

00:45If they finished eight and nine, I think it would be just a huge win

00:49because that just means they're playing better football come later in the fall

00:53and you're getting closer to 500.

00:54I mean, for a team to go from four wins in back-to-back seasons

00:59to like nine, ten wins would be just amazing.

01:02And, you know, Mike Rable, coach of the year stuff.

01:05I wonder how much, how often that actually happens.

01:08So for me, it's more like, all right, yeah, four wins better,

01:11I think would be great.

01:13Maybe that's in the playoff hunt, you know,

01:15but I think, you know, from what I've seen practicing in shells,

01:19they're better than they were last year.

01:21It just, you know, depends how much.

01:22Okay, so I'm on the same page as you, and I think that's a good thing.

01:27I mean, if you win seven games, you're in the playoff conversation until, like,

01:32I think realistically, if you're in the playoff conversation into December,

01:36that's a victory for this team.

01:39And then you're really, that means that your defense has been good,

01:45Mays played relatively well, and then next offseason you can fix your deficiencies

01:50as a receiver and continue to tweak your offensive line,

01:54and then you're talking about maybe winning the division.

01:57So I would be happy if I was a Patriots fan with seven or eight wins.

02:01First of all, seven, I mean, just the, I don't know how this team,

02:07even on paper and anything, has gotten, you know, five wins better than last year.

02:14By what?

02:15What they did in free agency?

02:16By what?

02:17Drafting a left tackle?

02:18I mean, Drake May is a young quarterback.

02:21He's going to make mistakes.

02:22He doesn't have the offensive talent around him to make up for that.

02:25I can't conceive how this team would make the playoffs.

02:28And the AFC's loaded, oh, well, their schedule sucks.

02:31Well, you don't, we don't know that their schedule sucks.

02:35With their schedules, then halfway through the season, you'll go, oh, no,

02:38the schedule's, you know what I'm saying?

02:40The division's not terrible.

02:42So, I mean, it seems unrealistic, some of these expectations.

02:46You think, like, was it 2020 to 2021 when you went from Cam,

02:51noon, and you had that big free agent year, and they went three wins better, right?

02:55You went seven and whatever it was, seven and nine, seven and ten,

02:58and then you had the ten and seven year with Mac Jones.

03:01You made it to the wild card.

03:02I mean, that was a big jump back then.

03:04I mean, a three-win improvement is a big jump.

03:07And also, with their offensive line, their offensive line was so bad last year.

03:10You're right.

03:10We don't know how Will Campbell will look in pads.

03:13We don't know if Morgan Moses at age 34 will be the answer.

03:17We still don't know who's going to start at left guard.

03:19There's a lot of answers with the offensive line protecting Drake May,

03:22the fact he has a new OC, a new quarterback coach for his second NFL season,

03:27and the weapons thing, right?

03:29Like, we don't know how Stephon Diggs will look, you know, coming off an ACL tear,

03:33and we don't know if, you know, Jalen Polk or Kyle Williams will make it.

03:37There's a lot of questions on offense to sort of declare, hey, they're back,

03:40and, you know, they're going to make a push.

03:42Here's something else I've heard, Mark, is that people are giving a certain number of wins

03:47to this team above what they've done in the last year or two based on different factors.

03:53As a supremely logical person, do you engage in this same exercise?

03:58Do you give them two wins for having Vrabel as the head coach?

04:02Do you give a win for having Stephon Diggs there as a, you know, let's call it,

04:07you know, their version of a number one receiver?

04:10And by that calculus, is that how you get maybe as high as eight?

04:15Yeah, I'd say their roster is so much better than it was last year.

04:19I mean, their free agent additions, I mean, on defense, they added starters to every level

04:24with Harold Landry, Milton Williams, Robert Spillane, Carlton Davis.

04:29I mean, their defense should be good.

04:31That's, of course, if they stay healthy.

04:33That's the other aspect of this in all of the NFL.

04:35You have to stay healthy.

04:36But their roster, comparing, contrasting to what I saw in the spring last year to this

04:40year, it's honestly night and day.

04:42Like, they just, do you remember last year?

04:44It was like Gerard Mayo kept talking about, like, cut down day and how they had a high

04:48waiver claim and they could add talent, which really is just ridiculous.

04:52How many teams add talent on cut down day?

04:54But, like, the Patriots roster was so bad last year.

04:57They were talking about, oh, we have a high waiver claim and we can add people who can help

05:00us.

05:01That's not really the case here.

05:02They actually add players in the offseason.

05:04They didn't swing and miss in free agency.

05:07They spent a lot of money.

05:08So, I'd say just on paper, they should be better because, yeah, one, they have a better

05:12coaching staff.

05:12Absolutely.

05:13It's not close.

05:14But also, the talent on the roster is definitely different this year.

05:17And I thought that was evident in the spring in OTAs and in minicam.

05:21Mark, I wanted to ask you about the draft class.

05:23We talked about this right before you came on.

05:26Will Campbell's obviously a day one starter at left tackle.

05:28But the next three picks, Travion Henderson, Kyle Williams, and Jared Wilson, what are

05:33the odds all three of those guys are starting by November?

05:37Yeah, yeah, definitely possible.

05:38I'm telling you this, I'm so excited for Travion Henderson, and I'm not lying.

05:41He might be the fastest running back I've ever seen practice.

05:44And I know it wasn't in pads, but it's a different speed.

05:48And when you're watching an NFL practice, everyone's a pro athlete.

05:51For a guy to stick out that much, I'm really excited for what he can do.

05:54So, it wouldn't shock me at all.

05:55And Kyle Williams was already practicing with Drake May.

06:00And the receiver competition is going to be crazy.

06:03You have some good guys who could get cut there.

06:05But Kyle Williams could definitely help the team because his strength is beating man coverage.

06:10And it's what they couldn't do last year.

06:12And Jared Wilson is a question mark because we didn't see him this spring at all.

06:16But I wonder if one, could he push Garrett Bradbury at center?

06:20Or does he factor in the left guard?

06:22I mean, I'd say it's a good start for them for what we saw in the spring.

06:29You know, it's cautiously optimistic, right?

06:31I mean, when's the last time the Patriots had a draft class where like four guys started?

06:36It feels like it's been forever, but it's definitely a possibility.

06:39All right.

06:39So, who's got the most pressure on them?

06:42You talked about Drake May.

06:44And, you know, it's not just you can't just, you know, be dazzling this year from play to play.

06:51I mean, you've got to be consistent.

06:53Now there's pressure on you to win, which is a totally different thing.

06:56There's a lot of pressure on him.

06:58Who else are you going to be keeping an eye on during camp?

07:01Yeah, a wide receiver for me, Javon Baker and Kendrick Bourne.

07:05I mean, Javon Baker was practicing with the second and third team in the spring.

07:10And that was without Stephon Diggs, Matt Collins, and Jalen Polk practicing.

07:14Bad sign, slow start for him.

07:16If he wants to make the team, he's really going to have to shine.

07:19I mean, it's a lot of pressure, but I think he could be on the chopping block.

07:22And Kendrick Bourne, like, Josh McDaniels likes him.

07:26I think it's really clear.

07:27And he can be a good player, you know, but if the Patriots release them, it's like they save over six million.

07:32So when you're, you know, a 30-year-old receiver and you're competing with six other players and your contract is team, like, I'd say maybe not player friendly in that sense.

07:41There's definitely going to be pressure on him.

07:42But the receiver competition, guys, I'm excited about it.

07:46There's a lot of question marks, but Matt Collins, Stephon Diggs, Kendrick Bourne, Pop Douglas, Jalen Polk, Kyle Williams, Kayshaun Booty, Javon Baker.

07:54And in this undrafted kid, Efton Chisholm, I mean, how many of those are going to make?

07:58We're talking five, six, right?

08:00And you have a lot.

08:01I mean, I think they have like a dozen receivers.

08:03So that'll be fun.

08:04And another name I'll throw out there is Anthony Jennings.

08:06He wasn't with the starters in the spring, which I thought was a surprise because he was a good player.

08:12But in Belichick's system and Gerard Mayo's defense, the defense scheme has changed a lot.

08:17So there'll definitely be some pressure on Anthony Jennings.

08:19Is it a shock to you that Stephon Diggs appears to be a full go for camp tomorrow morning?

08:25Yeah, right?

08:25It's great news for the Patriots.

08:27I thought he'd probably start on the pup list.

08:30And that's not unusual for a guy who suffered a torn ACL at the end of October.

08:34But they placed, what, seven guys in the NFI or the pup list?

08:37And the fact that Stephon Diggs isn't one of them, it's huge.

08:40And he said his goal is to start week one.

08:43And I thought that was really aggressive.

08:45But I guess not.

08:46I guess, you know, it looks like he'll be out there come tomorrow, day one.

08:50That's huge news for the Patriots.

08:51We didn't see him, like, really in a full-team practice.

08:55But, like, the way he moved was just different, you know, for a guy who was, you know, over 30.

09:00Again, off a knee injury.

09:02That's exciting news.

09:03Honestly, it's going to be one of the big things to watch.

09:06All right.

09:07Well, Mark Daniels is going to be out there today as it all gets going.

09:11And maybe there'll be a difference between Vrabel and Mayo.

09:15Who knows?

09:16I think so.

09:17Who knows what will be going on?

09:18Mark Daniels, always appreciate it.

09:20Read him on Mass Live.

09:21If you liked that clip, and how could you not?

09:24Check out more videos from Toucher and Hardy here.

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