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00:00Yeah.
00:21Back here in game live game
00:23day on sports grid team by
00:25go across the NFL previewing
00:27the 2025 season tonight.
00:29Beginning the AFC East just
00:31talked about the Buffalo Bills.
00:33Spoiler alert, I'm going to be
00:35off the air. I'm going to be away
00:37the next couple of weekends
00:39after this one. There's no way I
00:41was going to miss out on the AFC East
00:43when these previews are happening and
00:45miss out the team. The team that's in my
00:47own backyard, the New England Patriots,
00:49who there is so much, especially in the
00:51betting community, so much love
00:53for this team here this offseason
00:55with the addition of a real head
00:57coach and Mike Vrabel. Gone is
00:59Gerard Mayo. Nice guy just in
01:01over his head. Josh McDaniels comes
01:03back as offensive coordinator. We
01:05have seen, of course, what Tom Brady
01:07did, but what he was able to do even
01:09with Cam Newton and a Pro Bowl
01:11year by default with Mac Jones. Now
01:13he gets Drake May to work with a
01:15guy who is on his ascent
01:17career entering year two. New
01:19defensive coordinator, some new
01:21pieces. You get Stefan digs
01:23in what reasonable expectations
01:25for him. We will see, but there
01:27is no surprise despite a
01:29four and 13 season that this
01:31Patriots team is sitting with an
01:33over under of seven and a
01:35half wins minus 155 as well
01:37to the over. There are a lot of
01:39people thinking playoffs for this team
01:41and I am one of them to make
01:43the playoffs plus 160 on FanDuel
01:46for the Patriots minus 200 to
01:48miss. Of course, you get into the
01:50loftier rods that are maybe a
01:52little more unrealistic, but I'll
01:54mention them anyway, plus 550 to
01:56win the east 35 to one to win
01:58the conference 75 to one to win
02:00the Super Bowl, something that we
02:02all thought not too long ago they
02:03were going to do each and every
02:04year for about two decades. Let
02:06us bring in Pat Lane. He is one
02:08of the guys that covers this
02:10team for CLNS for Pat's pulpit
02:13SB nation. He is on Twitter at
02:15plane or P lane if you prefer
02:17underscore Pat's Pat. Welcome
02:19to the program. How are you?
02:21I'm doing great man doing great.
02:23Thanks for having me Adam. I
02:24really appreciate it and excited
02:25to talk some paths. I'm always
02:26always down to talk Patriots.
02:29Look, I mentioned it. There's a
02:31lot of love outside of Patriots
02:33fandom within the NFL community
02:35for this team. I think really
02:37where we have to begin is is it
02:39overblown or is it justified?
02:41Is this a team that with its
02:42joke of a schedule second
02:44easiest in the NFL is
02:46realistically in the mix for a
02:48wild card spot? Maybe I don't
02:52I don't feel confident saying
02:54that I really don't. I think
02:55that I actually will be over
02:58the over under seven and a half.
02:59I'm taking the over if the
03:00over under eight and a half. I'm
03:01taking the under. I think
03:02they're going to be right
03:03around eight wins and I think
03:04that that is a monumental
03:06improvement from last year. I
03:09mean, you got to remember now
03:10the Patriots are the 32nd ranked
03:11offensive line because there
03:13happened to be 31 other NFL
03:15teams. If they were 49 other
03:17NFL teams, they might have been
03:18the 50th ranked offensive line.
03:20And so to go from where they were
03:23last year to where they are now,
03:25you know, where we project them
03:27to be now, it's a little
03:28unrealistic. I think eight wins
03:30would be a win for them.
03:31Yeah, Pat, you're right. There's
03:34no doubt about it. There have
03:35been wholesale changes on this
03:37offensive line started with the
03:38number one draft pick the number
03:40four pick overall out of LSU.
03:42They addressed that need
03:43immediately. If you look at it
03:46and this ties into everything
03:48we're talking about here, the
03:49expectations, how the total
03:51landscape of this team has
03:52changed overnight. It seems
03:55four wins in each of the last
03:57two seasons. Those two seasons
04:00combined in the summertime
04:02when they come out with all
04:03the lines before the game, the
04:05New England Patriots were
04:06favored in a total of three
04:07games. This season alone, this
04:10summer, they are favorites in
04:1211 games. I mean, that is a
04:15massive jump. Like Adam said,
04:18is all this justified? Is this
04:19really going to happen?
04:21So I don't know. 11, I think
04:23is crazy to me, but I do, I
04:25understand why they're favored
04:27in some of those games. I
04:28think that the Vegas matchup
04:29in week one is going to be a
04:30lot more difficult than people
04:31are letting on. I believe
04:33they're favorites in that
04:34game, and I don't know if I
04:35necessarily agree with that. I
04:37will say I love the fact that
04:39Vrabel has them focused on the
04:41details and focused on the
04:43little things and doing the
04:45small things right. I think
04:47last year we got away from
04:48that. At the end of the
04:49Belichick era, we got away
04:51from that a little bit. The
04:53focus on those minute details.
04:56And now I think we're a
04:57little bit more focused on
04:58that, and I think that will
04:59that will kind of springboard
05:00them into being more
05:01successful. But, you know,
05:03we're still not there yet. I
05:04mean, obviously, we're
05:06hoping Stefan Diggs is wide
05:07receiver one, but he's 31
05:09years old coming off a torn
05:11ACL, right? And I love what
05:13I've seen from Pop
05:14Douglas and people are raving
05:15about him at camp. But like
05:17he was good last year, but
05:18not incredible. And Kayshaun
05:19Booty is your third wide
05:20receiver, and you feel okay
05:21about that, but not great. And
05:24then Matt Collins is the other
05:25guy they brought in and it's
05:26like Matt Collins is a bit
05:27receiver. And I like him for
05:29what he can do, but he's not
05:30going to go out and catch 60
05:32balls for you and be a game
05:33changer on offense. So for me
05:35at least, you know, I look at
05:36it and say the lofty
05:38expectations, the fact that,
05:40you know, we're looking at it
05:41thinking, hey, they're almost
05:42they're almost even to make
05:44the playoffs. It's a little bit
05:46too much for me, especially
05:47too much for me, especially
05:48when you look at how stacked
05:49the rest of the AFC is. You
05:51know, look, I know the Jets
05:52and the Dolphins are the Jets
05:53and the Dolphins, but the AFC
05:55is pretty stacked, you know,
05:57when you look at the
05:58quarterbacks that play in that
05:59in that conference. And I
06:01think that, you know, it's
06:02going to be an uphill battle
06:03for them, even if they have a
06:05fairly easy schedule. Some of
06:07those games may end up being
06:08a little more difficult than
06:09we think. So it's no mystery
06:13that, you know, the offense
06:15has its question marks, whether
06:16it's the offensive line or
06:17obviously the pass catchers,
06:18but Drake may appears to be
06:20the real deal. You know, what
06:22we saw in glimpses last year
06:23didn't play a full season. As
06:25we know, Jacoby percent was
06:26the starter out of the gate
06:27took a little bit may gets
06:28his opportunity. Then there
06:30were some injuries as well. You
06:31know, has to learn how to, you
06:32know, not slide and, you know,
06:34like slide with his feet first
06:35and not, you know, run at guys
06:36with his head first that I
06:38guess all a part of the
06:39learning curve. But now he's
06:40got no, no intended
06:43disrespect to the situation
06:44last year with Alex Van
06:46Pelt, but he's got a real
06:47bonafide experienced
06:49offensive coordinator in
06:50Josh McDaniels wasn't the
06:52best head coach, but a
06:53legit OC. And it's nice
06:55that he's got something on
06:56his resume that isn't just
06:57Tom Brady. He coached up
06:59Mac Jones. He had some
07:01success with Cam Newton. What
07:03does Drake may look like in
07:04year two where he knows no
07:06mystery starter out of the
07:07gate with McDaniels working
07:09with him and adjusting the
07:11scheme away from the
07:12Belichick era to now playing
07:14into his strengths, mobility,
07:16the fact that may can take
07:18off and sprint. You know, I
07:20go over on his rushing
07:21guards by the way, but we
07:22don't have a prop available
07:23for that yet. Yeah, I'm
07:25extremely excited about what
07:26may is going to look like. I
07:27think the rushing is, is
07:29definitely going to be a big
07:31factor for them. You know,
07:32last year he had one design
07:33run all year long. He had,
07:35he did a good job running
07:36the ball, but it was never
07:37on design runs. It was, you
07:39know, well, we're just
07:40going to, you know, if you
07:42sense pressure, just take
07:43off and run. And now it's,
07:45that's going to be a threat
07:46in the game. And I think
07:47that that's really important.
07:48And, and by the way, Josh
07:50Daniels was a bad head
07:51coach. So what Spags was a
07:53terrible head coach and he's
07:54a phenomenal defensive
07:55coordinator, maybe the best
07:56court defensive coordinator
07:58in football. And so, you
07:59know, I'm, I'm really
08:01excited about getting him
08:02back and you see some of the
08:03trickeration that goes on
08:04and some of the trick plays
08:06that they're running and some
08:07of the misdirection and
08:08things like that. It's just
08:09going to make his life a lot
08:11easier. And I think too,
08:13that when you have the
08:14consistency of the offense
08:16and Josh knows exactly what
08:18he wants to do when he
08:20wants to run the play,
08:21what play he wants to run
08:22and what he wants it to
08:23look like. And as may gets
08:25more comfortable with that,
08:26he's going to start
08:27understanding, okay, they're
08:28in this coverage right
08:29here. They got, you know,
08:30they're overstacked on the
08:31left-hand side. We're
08:32supposed to run to the
08:33left. I don't like that.
08:34All right, let's shift the
08:35protection and run to the
08:36right instead. Or, you know,
08:37or, or they're in a cover
08:38two and I want them in a
08:39cover four. You know what
08:41I mean? And so, so that's
08:42one of those things for me
08:43where I look at it and
08:44think, all right, like now
08:45that he has some of those
08:46answers, I feel a lot better
08:48about him this year than I
08:49did last year.
08:50Pat, I know we're running
08:52out of time here and we
08:53can get your answer on the
08:54other side, but let me set
08:56it up here. Obviously you
08:58guys both out there in the
09:00Boston area for the past 20
09:02years with championships and
09:04Belichick and Brady. And
09:05then the last couple of
09:06years, you know, you go
09:07through transition and now
09:09you have what kind of seems
09:11like, you know, meet the new
09:12boss, same as the old boss,
09:13Vrabel and McDaniels, a
09:15former player. It's not
09:16Belichick, but you know what
09:17I mean, Vrabel and McDaniels.
09:19And I want to know, I know
09:21we're getting ready to go to
09:22break here. And maybe both
09:23you guys can answer. Does it
09:25feel kind of like, and you're
09:26there in camp, does it feel
09:27like the old Patriots are back
09:29in a little bit to a small
09:31degree anyway? A guy that's
09:34actually running the room.
09:36Unlike Gerard Mayo last year,
09:38we'll discuss more with Pat.
09:40Hey, when we come back. Back
09:42with Pat Lane, Pat's pulpit,
09:44as well as CLNS. We're
09:46previewing the 2025 Patriots
09:48season and patches before the
09:49break. Brady teed up a question
09:51basically around Mike Vrabel
09:53and how much of a return to
09:56what we saw, at least in terms
09:58of, I don't know, authority,
10:00right? Running a room, having a
10:02program, commanding respect,
10:04all of these things. Do we get
10:06with Vrabel a la Belichick
10:08versus what we had in the very
10:10brief Gerard Mayo regime?
10:12So I will tell you, it does
10:13remind me of Bill, but not Bill
10:15Belichick. It reminds me of Bill
10:17Parcells. And I know, you know,
10:19that was a long time ago. It's
10:2030 years ago now, but Parcells
10:22was always trash talking. He
10:25was always in his players
10:27ears. He was always firing
10:28them up one way or another.
10:30And Vrabel's doing the same
10:32thing. He's always chirping
10:33guys. He's all over the field.
10:35Vrabel's a lunatic. He's
10:37everywhere. He's jogging
10:38everywhere. He's coaching up
10:39guys. He's one-on-one with the
10:40tight ends and he's one-on-one
10:41with the offensive line. And then
10:43he's one-on-one with the
10:44defensive line. And then he's
10:45talking to the corners. He's
10:46everywhere. Now, Marcells is
10:48kind of big. Couldn't do that.
10:49Right. But his aura that he
10:52brings out and the way that he
10:54talks to the media and the way
10:55that he handles himself on the
10:56field, to me, is reminiscent of
10:59Parcells. And that's what I think
11:01of when I see him. And of course,
11:03Belichick was great at it, too.
11:04But he wasn't as outgoing and
11:07gregarious as Vrabel was. And there
11:10was a mistake. Kyle Williams,
11:11earlier in the week, made a
11:13mistake, dropped the pass and then
11:14missed a block on back-to-back
11:16plays. Basically, he came over to
11:17the sideline and Vrabel chewed him
11:19out in front of everyone. I mean,
11:22I'm sitting up in the stands and
11:23everyone can hear Vrabel chewing
11:25him out. And that's what Parcells
11:27does. You know, that's a Parcells
11:29thing and more so than it was a
11:31Belichick thing. But the guy that
11:34bringing that the authoritative
11:35kind of feel back to it, like
11:38Belichick had, it's great to have
11:40to have Vrabel in the building.
11:41And, you know, it's man, he he's
11:43the best. He's great. Pat, for all
11:46the questions this team does have
11:48offensively. And if we have time,
11:50we can explore some more of those.
11:51The defense has a great reputation
11:53going into the season, you know,
11:55not number one in the league or
11:56anything like that. But I think
11:57there are a lot of people that
11:58would comfortably say this defense
12:00sits, let's call it top 10 in the
12:02NFL. If Christian Gonzalez, who
12:04was all pro in his first full
12:05season in the league, he, you
12:07know, enters with very high
12:09expectations again, although did
12:10suffer an injury in camp. So you
12:12can expand on that where he
12:14stands right now. But in addition
12:15to that, you know, the secondary
12:17adds Carlton Davis from the Lions,
12:18you know, obviously the run defense
12:20huge issue last year added Robert
12:22Spillane added Milton Williams. The
12:24team went out spent reloaded on
12:27that side of the ball. How much of
12:30an impact is that going to make? I
12:32think it makes a big impact. I
12:33mean, the real thing for me is to
12:36me defensively, how high they're
12:38going to be defensively hinges on
12:40five guys. That's the two corners,
12:42right? Gonzalez and Davis. If
12:44they're both as good as we think
12:45they can be, they have a chance to
12:47be elite. The 2D tackles in Williams
12:50and Barmore, if they are as good as
12:54we think they're going to be, then
12:55that pass rush starts to be really
12:57good. And then the edge rushing can
12:59kind of play off of that. If you
13:00have two dominant defensive tackles
13:02out there, it makes everything
13:04makes life really difficult for your
13:05offensive line, no matter who you're
13:07playing against. And so that makes
13:08a difference. And then to me, the
13:10other guy is, is Robert Spillane. And
13:12Robert Spillane is, is kind of that
13:14guy in the middle that do everything
13:15guy. It was really interesting to see
13:17him during the in-stadium practice
13:19flying around at a great
13:20interception on Drake May on a, on a
13:22drop by Stefan Diggs. Diggs
13:24dropped it and he laid out, you
13:26know, full extension layout for an
13:28interception. But he plays, you
13:30know, gets everything, gets
13:31everyone kind of set up in the
13:32right spot, plays downhill, plays
13:34physical and fast. If those five
13:36guys are as good as we think
13:38they're going to be, they have
13:40other talent on the, on the roster
13:42too. But if those five guys are as
13:43good as we think they're going to
13:44be, this has a chance to be in that
13:46top five, top 10 defense. You
13:49know, and then we just need some
13:51of those other pieces to come
13:52along and play well enough to, to
13:55bring them to that level. But man,
13:57this is, there's a lot of excitement
13:58around this team and especially
13:59because Gonzo looks like an all
14:01pro player, right? And so, you
14:03know, if that's the case and you
14:05get that play out of those five
14:06guys, like sky's the limit.
14:09Pat, what about the offensive line?
14:11You, you talked about it in the
14:13segment prior and we're kind of
14:15joking about how bad they were, but
14:17that was no joke. They were the
14:18worst and maybe beyond that. How
14:21much have they improved? I know
14:23they've made wholesale changes,
14:24draft, free agents, what have
14:26you. Can they be an above
14:28average unit this year? So above
14:31average is a tough ask, but I do
14:33think I've liked what I've seen
14:34out of Will Campbell. He's lost at
14:35times, but he's going to lose at
14:37times as a rookie, right? I've
14:39liked what I've seen in Will
14:40Campbell at left tackle. I'd
14:41liked what I've seen with Jared
14:42Wilson at left guard. And it
14:44seems as though Wilson has won
14:46that spot at left guard. And
14:48now you're going to be turning
14:49over saying, okay, who's going
14:51to be playing center? Now it's
14:52going to be Ben Brown, Cole
14:53Strange or Garrett Bradbury
14:55playing center. So I've liked what
14:57I've seen from those two guys
14:59center. We'll see Bradbury was
15:00fine. He was out there. So I
15:01think he'll be okay. And then I'm
15:03comfortable with our window at right
15:04guard. Morgan Moses has been up
15:05and down, but if he can be a
15:08replacement level player, even if
15:10he's not a great player, even if
15:12he can just be a replacement
15:13level player that brings your
15:15offense of line to a spot where I
15:17think they can comfortably be in
15:19that mid 20 range. And even if
15:21they're not then above average
15:23mid twenties is like, okay, not
15:26dreadful. And I think that that
15:28makes a huge difference. The
15:29other thing that really they have
15:30working for them is that Campbell
15:32on when you Moses. And I
15:36Jared Wilson is okay at it, but
15:38those three guys in particular
15:39are phenomenal, like phenomenal
15:42run blockers. And so what we
15:44talked about before in the
15:46previous segment with the running
15:47game, both with Drake May and
15:49Ramondre Stevenson and Travion
15:50Henderson and Antonio Gibson, if
15:53they can create lanes for those
15:55guys, it makes Drake May's job
15:57so much easier. And so having
15:59three really good run blockers
16:01on your offensive line, we know
16:03of right now, that's a huge
16:05advantage for them. All right,
16:08let's mix in one more prop and
16:09it is Drake May. Again, he is
16:11the star. He's the center of
16:13attention when it comes to the
16:15New England Patriots. He passed
16:17for last year across 13 games,
16:19not all starts just south of
16:212300 yards, 15 touchdowns
16:23entering this year, looking at
16:25FanDuel, you've got a touchdown
16:26prop of 20 and a half, more
16:28notably a yards prop of 32, 75
16:31and a half, a thousand yards
16:33higher than what he had last
16:34year. Is it ambitious? Do you
16:37think he goes over under
16:38McDaniels here? I take over on
16:41both of them. I take over on
16:42both because partly because of
16:43McDaniels, partly because his
16:45receiving coming, we're talking
16:46about the the offensive line
16:47being terrible. The receiving
16:48court was awful last year. So
16:49the fact that the that the
16:51receiving court is better,
16:53Drake May is better, and he
16:54has a and he has the O.C. and
16:57Daniel.
16:58I'm going over and over.
17:00At Lane CLNS, Pat's called
17:02it from SB Nation on Twitter
17:04at PLane underscore Pat. Pat,
17:06thank you so much.
17:07Thanks for having me, guys.
17:08Appreciate it.
17:09Appreciate it.
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