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One week out from the start of Patriots Training Camp 2024, expectations are, "Well, shall we say tempered at best for the coming season for your New England Patriots, what with a potential new quarterback in 3rd overall pick Drake May, a new head coach in 1st ever and head coach in the NFL, Gerard Mayo, former defensive assistant and former player under Bill Belichick, the removal of the Belichick regime, a new GM in the face of Elliott Wolf, new offensive coordinator in Alex Van Pelt, new defensive coordinator in promoted former defensive line coach, Demarkis Covington. Damn, it looks like just about everything around Gillette Stadium, home of the six-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots is brand spanking new. So much uncertainty, so much change. These Patriots, what with Flux on the field, on the sidelines, the front office and beyond, these guys are going to have to struggle, right? They're going to have to take their lumps. They're probably going to stink it. I mean, that's what Vegas keeps telling us in all the various sports book, with a four and a half win total season projected for 2024. And yet today, on the latest edition of the Six Rings and Football Things podcast, we kick off with a what if Wednesday installment, the final what if Wednesday of the 2024 off season, joined by my guy, John Lyons, at the real John Lyons from WEEI and WEEI.com, or as many like to call him, Mr. Football. Your old pal, Nick Fitzy Stevens, an unapologetic Patriots fan, if ever there were. John and I are here to play what if Wednesday. And I ask you this, John, an audience at large, what if the New England Patriots actually don't suck this season? What if the combination of Gerard Mayo and Drake May pulls a 2024 version of the 2023 Houston Texans, the new gold standard for first-year coach and first-year quarterback, the unprecedented surprise success of rookie coach D'Amico Ryan, the former defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers, and CJ Stroud, former starting quarterback of the Ohio State University, go blue, we're Michigan here at this house, it's all good. They had a spectacular season, winning their final two games, winning the play-inveritable game, if you will, in Indianapolis to punch their ticket to the postseason, which then allowed them on a national stage on wildcard Saturday to show up and show out and put a whoopin on the heavily-favorite Cleveland Browns and Old Man Flackout. Now they lost the divisional round, but they actually held their ground for three quarters against the Baltimore Ravens, the number one seed in the American Football Conference. All that being said, John, that is the gold standard of first-year success for a rookie quarterback and a rookie head coach. So I ask you, on what if Wednesday, John Lyons, what if the New England Patriots are successful just like the Texans last year, and if so, what's the blueprint for that happening? Yeah, so it's an interesting question because we've talked a lot this off-season, Fitzy, about all the things that have gone wrong the last two years, whether it was the offense of coaching set up in 2022, Mac Jones's regression in 2022, and then the disaster that was the 2023 offense, and let's not leave the special teams out of that either, which has been really atrocious since 2021, because, and we talked about this, Fitzy, they have a playoff defense. The problem is the other two-thirds of the game have been the opposite of playoff quality. So if Gerard Mayo comes in and he's actually good, now he's not going to be Bill Belichick, obviously, he's not going to be Andy Reed, he's not going to be one of the best coaches in the NFL, so I'm going to be Kyle Shanahan even, but if he can be good, and then if their quarterback position can just be average, because think about how bad their quarterback position was, they got the worst quarterback play in the NFL last year. I mean, if you think of the balance of 17 games between Mac Jones and Bailey Zappi and three snaps of Molly Cunningham, they got the worst quarterback play in the NFL, so they just got average quarterback play. They're going to win three more games, it may be four, and the problem with the Patriots, because you mentioned what if, you know, May and Mayo are as good as Stroud and D'Amico Ryan's, the Patriots' schedule is so tough that they could be a lot better than the Patriots' offense was a year ago. They could mirror what those guys did in Houston, and it still might not be quite enough to get to nine wins and to fight for a playoff spot, but I think you could see a lot of progress offensively, because what are you looking for really out of this season, right? But besides the cliche of, oh, we want to make the playoffs and win the Super Bowl, like every single team says, what are they really looking for this season? You want to see your defense continue to be one of the better units in the league. You want to see your special teams improve from one of the worst units in the league, and you want to see promise on offense for your future, right? You want to see maybe Drake may get some action and play well. You want to see Stevenson who just got an extension, stay healthy and play well. You want to figure out left tackle, because we still don't know what left tackle is. You want to see City so on the offensive line continue to make some progress. Mike Onwennu, continue to earn that contract extension that he got. You want to see an Alex Van Pelt offense that doesn't get stagnant, doesn't get stale, that gets complex as the year goes, keeps teams off balance. So if they can see that, I think we're going to walk away from the season feeling really good. If we don't see that, then we're going to walk away from the season feeling really bad. But I think if they can mirror what Stroud and Ryan's did, we'll walk away in January thinking, okay, hey, they're on to something here, they're on the right track, and maybe there'll be a real contender in only a year or two instead of this four or five year rebuild, which I think a lot of people are worried about. So if they're able to emulate the success, or at least the program building effort and execution that the Texans did last year, I believe Stroud got off to an insanely good start, which was also key for Houston's 10 and seven season winning the AFC South surprising so many who had basically just punched the tickets of Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars with then second year head coach Doug Peterson as the automatic AFC South champ. And there was a point where they were eight and three on Monday night football, playing for the top seed in the AFC. And that just shows you how quickly poor line play injuries and quarterback injuries, quarterback health can affect the quality of your team. Stroud missed a couple of games, I believe, with concussion related symptoms, but came back with great vengeance and furious anger, or at least great efficiency and execution as well. If the Patriots are able to mirror what the Texans did last year and in no disrespect to the work that was put in by Nick Casario and D'Amico Ryan's building a quality team, they obviously didn't have any question marks at left tackle last year. He had one of the best left tackles in football and Laramie Tunsel, they had poured resources into the offensive line. Nick Casario had done a good job. They had stingley, so they had their, they had their, you know, hotshot cornerback who's had some health issues as well in Darryl Stingley, Jr. Darry Stingley. Darry Stingley, yeah, Darry Stingley, obviously. He, you know, fun fact about him, true freshman starter on that 2019 LSU team. Joe Burrow, Justin Jefferson, he was a true freshman starting at corner and playing really well on that team, so. All the more impressive as well. Yeah. So they, you know, they had lined, they had good receivers, not incredible receivers. They got the unfortunate news that John Metche was, had been ill. But like Nico Collins was legit, he was good for that. I can wrap, but second round pick, can you imagine, like, how about this? What if Jalen Polk turns into Nico Collins? Wouldn't we be doing backflips in Foxborough? Yeah, I think we would. And, and you and I talked a couple weeks ago when I was on six rings last time and thankfully, I did a good enough job to be invited back. You didn't ban me for life. I mean, not only are you not banned for life, I think your, I think your, your VIP pass, your lounge access, everything is currently in the approval process. Like you may become part of the family. Watch out. Be careful what you wish for. Yeah. Right. Of course. But we talked a couple weeks ago about, you know, how good their defense was, but how when you were game planning against them, was there anyone in the passing game the Patriots have that really worries you if you're in opposing defense? Now I'm not telling you the guys aren't good. Like I think Kendrick Bourne is a really good player. I think Hunter Henry is a really good player. I think DiMario Douglas is a really good player, but is there a guy in that group like a Nico Collins for the Texans that you really, if your defense coordinator say, Hey, we got to stop that guy. We got to slow, because for years, the Patriots had Rob Gronkowski, defensive coordinator said, Hey, we got to stop that guy. Before him, it was Randy Moss before him. It was Corey Dillon and Dion Branch, right? And even if you want to throw in Troy Brown in 2001 with 101 catches, right? There was always, there's always a guy that teams say, okay, we have to stop that guy. And I don't know if the Patriots, because this ties into May and Mayo, do they have that guy offensively that teams are really saying, Hey, we have to stop that guy. And I think the left tackle thing is a really big deal. Fitzy, right? Like Kate and Wallace, I think has legit potential to tackle. Maybe he could play left tackle, but he's never done it before. Chucks Okora for if he was really going to be an elite left tackle, do you think of all organizations, the Steelers would have let him go? And I'm not trying to down on the guy here, but it's something that we don't know what the answer is. Maybe a core four will be good at left tackle. Maybe Kate and Wallace will emerge at left tackle and be pretty good. But I think that's a question mark that say that Houston team didn't have. Now, the other side of the coin, I think the Patriots defense is better than Houston's defense last year. No doubt about it. And Houston's defense wasn't a slouch, but I think the Patriots defense will be better. So it's kind of an interesting balance where I don't think they're going to, even if Drake may start a week one and played all year, I don't think they're going to get out of him what Houston got out of CJ Stroud because a CJ Stroud was more pro ready. That offense was more ready for a rookie quarterback. But I think they'll be able to win games 17 to 13 as opposed to maybe Houston would not be able to win those games, not that they couldn't win those games last year, but the Patriots can win. So I mean, look at last year. I mean, they gave up six points to the Chargers in a game in December and lost. They lost the five, the bill bill checks one song, 17 to six, 17 to three. And like the Giants game, they gave up 10 points and lost and lost. What did you? Yeah, because of because of shoddy quarterback play, the Colts game, they lose 10 points lost. Exactly. Right. Because of bad quarterback play, inconsistent all life. Yeah, we are not crazy when we say even though the schedule is very tough this year, and you are working in a rookie head coach and you've got a rookie general manager, who by the way, I think is doing a phenomenal job this offseason solidifying and resigning the core as we learned yesterday. And we'll get into this a little bit more. Bring him back all bills, guys. Yeah, but I heard Bella check and draft draft, he stinks. Like Adam Jones has been saying, like, I don't want to sign these guys. Why? Why are we signing a bunch of guys that, you know, went, you know, led to one of the worst records in Patriots history, like why are we signing a bunch of bombs? I want nobody back from this team. This is a side note. What if these guys are all actually good football players and wolf is nailing it. And this is a side note. And I've talked about this not to pat myself on the back, but I've talked about this since like January. And I know, like Chris Gaspers talked about this too. The crafts in the front office are telling all of us. They think the last two years were exclusively the fault of Bella check and Jones. If you really look at what they've done, because they get rid of those two guys, but those people would tell you like Mac Jones would say this is Bella check's fault and Bella check would say this was mostly Mac Jones with a splash or what? And what the, because if you look at what the crafts have done, if you want to lump Ellie Wolf in there to find whatever, but they're keeping a lot of the guys that Bella check brought in, right? They promoted a guy that worked under Bella check to head coach. Like if they thought this was a big failure, they wouldn't have promoted a guy in house to take over for the guy they fired. They wouldn't have re-signed all these players here. Even remember when Mac Jones went to Gerard Mayo's press conference, which I know was a little bit awkward, but even that was a little signal like, yeah, see, it wasn't our fault. It was that coach we fired. Like it was, so that's what they're telling us is they believe that with a new coach and a new quarterback, they're going to be a lot better. Now, we'll see if it happens, but that's the signal that they are sending us that new coach, new quarterback is all we need. All these other guys were fine. Even look at the coaching staff. So the offensive coaching staff is new, but remember, those were all bill guys that he hired. The defensive coaching staff largely all the same. So there's even a freaking Bella check on the defensive coaching staff, not two, which I know they had hoped to hold on to, but they've got Brian Bella check coaching the safeties. And it's also John and much larger coaching staff than Bill had had in recent years because scouting staff's almost all the same guy. I mean, a few little promotion. They'll have Matt grow Elliot Wolf had been around as well. So there are even though they're trying to change the aura and they're not trying to live by the reputation of the six rings in the success of Brady and Bella check, putting up new murals, new mottos and sayings around there. They're keeping a lot of like, this wasn't a full gut Renault. This was a live-in Renault that the Patriots underwent this off season. And if we find out that there was enough talent on these teams, it's going to make things like the decision to put Matt Patricia as offensive coordinator, the decision to forego more quality control assistants and assistant coaches, the decision to draft Nikhil Harry, some of these other things, Colestrange. I just, I mean, what, yeah, what if Colestrange ends up being a worse pick than Nikhil Harry, and that's really difficult to do. By the way, just real quick, thanks to the magic of 2024 and being able to broadcast a podcast live to our friends and fans here, as well as record it for the six rings and football things, speed, courtesy of WEI Odyssey in 2014 sports, we can look up stats and real time and share them with you as well. So last year, Nikhil Collins, after two seasons where he caught 33 and 37 balls, respectively, for less than 500 yards. So not even pop Douglas stats, mind you, not even pop Douglas stats his first two seasons. C.J. Stroud, who you said was significantly pro ready, lands on the scene, new regime, new coordinators, new scheme, same dream. Last year, Nikhil Collins becomes an absolute WR1. He's a stud. And now, of course, they're adding Steph Diggs, which is why I've got them ticketed for the AFC Championship this year. And they swapped out Jonathan Grenard for Daniel Hunter, which is a significant upgrade, even though Grenard can get after it. He went for 80 receptions, 1300 yards, and eight touchdowns last year, which is pretty damn impressive. And C.J. Stroud on the Patriots last year was Zeke Elliott with 51. So it's like, you know, like, that's the situation may is, and you're right, like Nikhil Collins made this huge jump. Is there a guy on the Patriots right now that we're like, he like, I love tomorrow Douglas. He's one of my favorite players on the team. And I love the draft pick. Not to discriminate against slot receivers, because I coached them for many years, but the slot receiver position is just not the position the defense is going to say, Oh, my God, we have to game plan around this guy. You know, like, even for all those years with Welker and Edelman, like the defense was game planning for Moss and Gronkowski and then Welker and don't get me wrong, those guys could be Hall of Famers. But still, like the focus of the defense, if it has to be on tomorrow, Douglas, they'll accept that rather than having to be on another guy that can just destroy them down the seams around the outside. So that's the thing, like, even if tomorrow Douglas takes a big, another step forward, like he did in his rookie year and gets to 65 or 70 catches, they're still missing that Nikhil Collins type guy that can really make defense's game plan around them. Yeah, I think, and I'm on board. I put last week in the Sunday seven at W E I dot com. I'm all on board with if healthy and he can avoid and he can learn to get down after the catch, get out of bounds when necessary. Obviously, he's going to be working the slot the middle of the field, places where it's pretty dangerous for a small diminutive football player or any football player to be operating. If pop Douglas can stay healthy this season, not get his bell wrong, learn from some of the best about, you know, making the catch, but not also trying to extend it. You want to extend your career as well as maybe extend the catch. And you're not going to do that by trying to fight for the extra yard every, every single time you catch the ball. This guy could have 80, 85 catches for 1100 yards and a handful of touchdowns written all over him because the Patriots offense, you're switching to the Alex Van Pelt thing. You're moving away from the air heart Perkins, Weiss McDaniel system as well. It's got it's precision passing. The short game is going to be a big deal as well. I mean, there are just so many questions on the Patriots offense to cast aspersions and to judge them now with so much new talent and a whole new scheme and two new quarterbacks in veteran bersett and then ultimately the rookie may taking over at some point this season. How can we predict what they're going to be? I doubt, I can tell you, I doubt I would be stunned, stunned beyond belief. Narragansits on Uncle Fitzy for everyone in six rings. If Drake May comes close to 4,108 yards passing, 23 passing touchdowns, only five picks, 167 rush yards and three running scores. That was the year last year for CJ Stroud. That's a, that's a great season for any quarterback. I know quarterback stats have been inflated significantly with the fantasy football occasion and the wide open air rate of vacation, if you will, of a lot of NFL offense is going forward. But if the Patriots offense is close to as efficient and productive as Houston last year, now what do they, what do they say about Mayo? What will they say about May? What will they say about Belichick and John, what do you think that will do to what should be a top heavy, potentially very, very competitive, yet still very competitive AFC East where I think the dolphins are going to take a step back and I could see Buffalo and the Jets, depending on how this Devante Adam situation plays out competing for top spot in the East. Yeah, it's funny because the AFC East, right? Like everything we said about the Patriots defense, you can pretty much say about the Jets defense. Like it's legit. It's one of the better defenses in the NFL. They have good skill players. Now you, if you get a fully healthy year out of Aaron Rodgers, and even if he's not Aaron, MVP Aaron Rodgers, but he's a couple of years ago, Green Bay Aaron Rodgers, where he was like a top, you know, 14 or 15 quarterback in the league, maybe top 10, you know, right there. I mean, the Jets can win the division and the bills, look, they lose stuff on digs. I know, but that's still a really good team top to bottom. Miami, I agree with you. I could see them. They can kind of go either way this year. Like I could see them still being pretty good, but I could also see them taking a step, step back. Like the way they, that playoff game against the Chiefs. And I know it was really cold there in Kansas City, but like they went out with a whimper to end last year. Yeah, I just, again, there's a lot to like about Miami and Mike Mcdeanyo is a great coach and they have that great receiving core and they have some pieces on defense, but they added Odette and they added Odell to it as well. Right. Did the suffer some losses on defense, which I think you're going to buy ZVN Howard, I thought played well for them last year. And he's actually still sitting there as a free agent, which is kind of mind little. He's he's mildly off field toxic, I think at this point. Yeah, maybe. But still, so that's a piece that was pretty good for them that they lost. And this is a Miami team that again, I'm not trying to be revisionist history here. If the Patriots quarterback play wasn't awful, they could have beat Miami twice last year. Correct. Again, correct. They had a lead in the second game down in Miami in the first game, they were right there back and forth. That flocking back through to Jalen Ramsey was awful. That's the game where you lose. The you lose kind of a lateral thing. Yeah. Yeah. It's 24 17 again, terrible. Awful interception by Mac Jones in the first Miami game when for some reason he thought, no, today's the day where I'll target Devonta Parker against a how are always eight Devonta Parker's lunch. And for some reason, Mac tried to force that issue. Again, I know Mike Lombardi made a point of saying for the longest time, the interceptions, the turnovers, the lack of protecting of the ball and the bad attitude of Mac Jones is killing this team. And a lot of us wanted to say, well, that's only part of it, but there are other bad decisions made. We may just see flat out if Jacobi Brissette is a game manager and a tough SOB who plays his way through the Lions evolution this year. And then Drake may steps in and brings his you know, positive attitude, the things that impress Brian Dable and that great clip from Hard Knocks, as well as his athleticism. We may like, we may instead of just preparing for like, all right, three and 14, here we come, but I'm going to feel great about 2025. We may be in this for the long haul and not talking about who the Patriots draft picks are going to be around Thanksgiving, but rather like, Hey, am I crazy? Or is there, am I allowed to dream? Is there a path here? Like, could they could they scrap for a wild card? Come on now. And I think again, like we're not even saying the offense has to be great or good. If they're just competent, like literally competent, competent, then we're going to sit here in December, where they're at least in the range of a playoff spot. I think again, just competent. I'm not telling you they're going to do what Houston did and get to the division around. I'm not telling you they're going to go to the AFC Championship game. But again, you look at these games they lost last year, where they scored six points or scored zero points or scored seven points, right? And defensively, I think they're going to be probably just about as good as last year. Like, I think their talent is going to be a little bit better than last year, but the coaching won't be quite as good because you don't have Bella check anymore. But it'll still be good. Like, I think Covington's a really good coach. It's just, I'm not going to sit here and say he's the greatest coach of all time, like Bill is. So the coaching is going to be, but I think if you have Gonzalez for a full year, Marcus Jones will come back and help out. You have Duggar and Peppers and Jonathan Jones back key on whiteness. Second year, I think is going to be a problem for a lot of offensive lines. So I think your talent is going to be a little bit better. So it's going to even out and their defense is going to be, I think just as good as last year. So am I telling you that they're going to hold San Francisco to seven points? No. But I think on the whole, their defense is going to be top five in the league. If their offense can just be competent and let's we need to add Fitzy special teams in this too, especially for talking about your rod Mayo, like their special teams lost them games in 2021, lost them games in 2022, lost them games last year. So if their special teams and offense can just be competent, we might sit here and you know, they're seven and seven with three games to go in December. And it's like, okay, you have two against the bills, one against the charges. Do you lose all three? Do you win two out of three? Do you win? But that could end up determining where they make the playoffs. But I'm not going to be shocked if we're sitting here in early December and they're seven and seven. Just the worry is you're going to play the bills, the charges, and the bills to end the year. But again, if their offense is just competent, we can sit here and they can be seven and seven, maybe six and eight going into those final three games within range of fighting for a playoff spot. I mean, would you, would you not just be over the moon if the Patriots were five and seven at one point or six and eight and even, you know, even though we've all reasonably believe like, okay, this is already more progress than we could have even predicted or asked for wanted or wished. You know, if just just to like, not only are we seeing building blocks and signs of success and a team to be proud of root for and get behind for the future, but we also see a team that we legitimately believe is worth watching each and every week and not just for the developmental prospect, but at quality football. See, I think I don't think like, I hear guys like, I hear guys like Gresch on the radio, on our station, push back so hard, so, so loud, so defiantly, this is going to be a mess. Mayo is going to have no idea what he's doing. I'm hearing that this is going to be a disaster, blah, blah. He's supposed to take his lumps. He is supposed to have issues. There are supposed to be growing pains. I can guarantee you, if we went back full, Brian Baldinger, Michael and Barty, whomever he is your favorite film analysis, blowhard style, whatever, last year and looked at every single decision D'Mico Ryan's made. I'm sure we got, nope, that was the wrong decision. Nope, should have done this differently. Probably wishes he could have that one back. That's a breakfast ball. He'll take a mulligan on that one. And the same is going to hold true for Gerard Mayo. The, I mean, he was called baby Belichick or like Gerard Belichick for a reason in the way back when. So his foot, just because people are still mad about the way things ended with Belichick, just because people are still big mad about the devolving of this team and still not over Brady being gone, even though he came back and told you all how much he loves you and that he's a patriot for life. People need to get over that and just give this guy a chance. And also the fact that he's going to run things, he's going to be one of those, I heard Fourier call it like corporate CEO style head coaches where it's not going to be like, I have to have my hands and everything. And I have to be, I'm going to like Belichick lorded over every last detail of everything, right? And now Mayo is like, no, he's going to go about it the way certain film director, there are film directors like a Stanley Kubrick and David Fincher who control literally every detail of everything from the acting to the set dressing to the cinematography to post production. And then there are some like Clint Eastwood is like, well, I hire professional people to do their job. So I'm just going to let you guys do your job and then we'll wrap it up and present it to people in theaters in the end later on. That's the way Mayo is going to likely go about things. You probably didn't think that you were going to hear anybody compare draw. Mayo to Clint Eastwood at any point, but when you have a background in film and you love football a little bit too much, that's what you get here on the six rings podcast, Johnny. You know, and then Demarcus coventon, coach coordinator on the rise. This will be his chance to get after it with a defense that he promises is going to be aggressive. This will be a chance for Alex van Pelt to finally take the stage and say, Hey, I've been coaching. I played quarterback and I've been coaching quarterbacks and involved in productive offenses for years. Now I'm going to show you and I'm going to groom this quarterback and we're going to help some of these players blossom. Like again, I want to lead the pushback. And if people want to throw it in our face, John, that's fine. But if the Patriots offense is good, if drawd mayo is a quality coach, if Drake May gets under center and actually validates the faith that Elliot Wolf and everyone had in him, I'm going to feel pretty good about that. And just like you said, I don't want to tear a labrum or injure my rotator cuff, but I'm not going to be shy about patting us on the back. It's interesting because every year going into training camp, I have a handful of guys on my mind that I'm really watching, right? Like whether it's this assistant coach or this, you know, quarterback or this defensive tackle, just guys that I want to see if it's a new guy and how they fit on the team or a guy that was here last year, but I want to see how he improves. I always, you know, every single training camp, I have guys like that on my mind. For the first time in a very long time, I have the head coach in mind when it comes to that, because there's a really delicate balance for Gerard Mayo here, because I think when you look at, you know, how things ended the last couple of years, there are some things Mayo can do that maybe will be a good change from some of the things they did that like the offensive coaching staff from what Bella checked it. But you don't want to get too far away from the stuff that helped you in six Super Bowls, right? And one of them, by the way, Mayo was on the team for it. So you don't want to get too far away from that either. So like even remember, Mayo made those comments like, Oh, it's not going to be as much of a hard-ass culture here. And he had to walk them back the next day. Like that's what I'm talking about more evidence of burning cash, collaborative environment, tearing down silos, more evidence of, like I said earlier, they really think this was all Bill and Max fault. And that's what they're telling us, right? And again, you want to tell me it's a little more collaborative. I'm not against that. But if you say, Hey, it's going to be less hard as well, does that mean it's also going to be less accountable? Is that means if somebody screws up, they're going to get a third chance instead of a second chance? And then that third chance they cost you a game, like it's going to be Montessori style football, where it's going to be like, okay, now let's talk about what we did wrong at the right. Right. So it's a delicate balance for Mayo here that yeah, okay, there's things that they can change their offensive coaching staff is probably already better than it was two years ago, might be better than it was a year ago. But even if Scott Peters, the offensive line coach is as long as he's actually there the entire year, that's an improvement over the last two seasons because Patricia was in charge of the line. Then he was in over his head and out over his skis coaching the offense and dealing with Mac Jones. So he handed it to Billy Yates and Billy Yates was like, I'm just the assistant. I can't figure that this is a mess. Cold strain sucks. And then 2023, you hire Adrian Klem, he doesn't connect, then he has health issues. So you've got no one with macro to has health issues, then he leaves, right? And Adrian Klem's telling macro, Hey, these guys, you gave me suck. And macro say, no, I think you suck. And then of course, Klem's not here anymore and grow is. And that's the thing. Like when people say this offense could be a mess and it could be bad. Obviously, I hope it's not. But the one the one avenue, I could see it being a problem is if they don't figure out the left side of the offensive line, because I think look, David Andrews is at center. He's legit at right guard. I think it'll be city. So maybe Nick levered, but probably city. So and you have on when to a right tackle, like that's legit. That's pretty good. And don't rule out, don't rule out somebody who I'm very who could who may end up making my and this is a little horizontal tease for when John and I are on the radio this Friday together in the Gresham Fourier spot. We're going to be doling out our five players to watch in Patriots camp. I'll tease out one. I want to see this laden Robinson kid. I don't know necessarily if he's going to make the line, but apparently he's he's big and nasty. And he may just be one of those guys that turns heads like, Oh, I forgot about him. I was so excited about J von Baker, says Fitzy, when I had an absolute scoregasm on the radio when they tired my guy. Oh, God, I'm still not over it. I may need another scotch and a secret app lead on Robinson, right? So he had 2,100 snaps while he was in college. All of them were right guard. So like, are you going to try to move him to left guard? You're going to put him at right guard and move city. So where does Nick levered fit in? We still don't know again. I like Kate and Wallace a lot. But he's never played left tackle before a core floor. I think there's things to like there. But the Steelers did let him go like it and he's never really played left tackle before. So that's the thing like and we saw this last people had issues with Matt Canada, though, pardon my interruption. But people had that offense, you know, knowing some, having some stealer fan friends in my life. And I wouldn't wish that upon necessarily my best friend or worst enemy either. But I think that they had so many issues with Matt Canada's offense that he deserves like a second chance. He deserves like, he may be one of these guys was like, I can actually play guys. I just didn't fit that scheme. And internally, we were a mess. Hence why? Like, why do you think Deontay Johnson? See you later. Enjoy Carolina. Kenny Pickett, go to the other side of the state. Like they've turned over that offense enough that I'm going to give Chuck's a core for a chance over at left tackle. And I'm willing to give them a chance. I want him to work out as badly as Drake made this season. They needed to. That left side of the offensive line and the number one option in the passing game, I think are huge question marks right now. Now again, if Javon Baker is good, or they trade for Brandon Ayuk, which I know we're going to get to in a minute, or if the left side of the offensive line is figured out, then I think they're going to be all right. But I just think they're just huge questions. That's and that's two places, especially the left tackle spot. We really don't want to come in a camp with a question. Because again, maybe a core four will be good. But there's a reason that they went from Matt Light to Nate Solar to Trent Brown. Like, they always kind of had an answer there for 20 years. And they have they tried to they tried to win. They tried to sneak in Isaiah when then he tore his Achilles in the 2018 preseason. They shift over Trent Brown to left tackle. And it's the last time they had offensive line continuity. He was all five players played every snap all season long. And she was look what that led to a great season from Sony Michelle and a Super Bowl championship as well. These are some of the hallmarks and keys to successful football plans. And we know Alex Van Pelt let the cat out of the bag without even saying spoiler alert earlier in the year when he was hired and said, I believe running the football is the success to a productive offense in the NFL. So you kind of he's kind of tipped his cap and told us what they're gonna be a little dubious on that. But that's well, we'll unpack that and explore that more a little bit on Friday when we're on the terrestrial side of things. All right. So this has been the first half of the latest six rings and football things podcast. Our last off season edition of What If Wednesday. What do you guys think? Do you think there's any chance Gerard Mayo may be better than some people are giving him credit for? Do you think Drake may is going to come in and be able to operate at something resembling a 2023 rookie CJ Stroudian level? And what's it going to do for you and the AFC East and AFC overall? If the Patriots aren't just in developmental mode, but actually a watchable entertaining and most importantly, as John said competent, I say competitive football team. I'd love to hear what you guys have to say. You can tweet at him. He's at the real John Lyons J.O.N. L.Y. O.N.S. I'm at Fitzy G.F.Y. And of course, this is the at six rings pod. Stay tuned now as we're going to make our way to the second half. The back nine of today's latest six rings podcast discussing all the news notes, nuggets, rumblings and bumblings of Pat's nation. It's time for some Pat's Puri. All start closer. Kelly Janssen, we have a question. What's the best podcast of all time? This boy isn't boring, baby. I'm Rob Bradford. And every single day I'm sitting down with the biggest names to show you this great game is the greatest game. It's my podcast. It's my passion. It's a cause I started more than two years ago. It is now the most prolific national daily baseball pod. There is another fact. So jump aboard the B.I.B. Express. Follow and listen to baseball isn't boring presented by wasabi hot cloud storage on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey fantasy football owners, the road to winning your fantasy football championship starts now. I'm Matt Harmon from reception perception. Join me and James Co as we take a deep dive into the position that's going to make or break your fantasy roster wide receivers. We analyze route running target share and all the metrics that matter giving you the insights you need to draft the best wide receivers. As you prep for your draft, let us give you the coverage you need. Follow and listen to reception perception on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, John. Here we go. It's Pat's Puri time. Let's get to let's get to whatever else is going on in Pat's nation. And we have a question as we are broadcasting live across the W.E.E.I. Fitzy G.F.Y. and six ring socials. One of our regular attendees here in the forum, Joey Zaguire says good morning, guys. Brandon Niyok is available. Should we go after him? I mean, don't even need to. I mean, yeah, I'm going to tee that with that. That you know what that is? That's a golf ball the size of a softball with no trees on the fairway. And you've got like, you've got like Rodney, you've got Al Shervick's driver from Catty Shack. You are just ready to bomb that one straight onto the green. What do you got? Yeah, that's like as easy as Chris Taps Porzingis making a layup, right? Of course, I want Brandon Niyok. Yeah. And look, let's be clear. Brandon Niyok would walk in and be the best player on the Patriots offense. And I know in San Francisco, if we're being like, he's probably the third or fourth option in that past game because they have Debo Samuel, George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, and then IU. So I know on the surface, it might be like, well, he's the fourth option. Okay. Well, he had 75 catches for 1,300 yards and seven touchdowns last year was the second highest graded receiver by pro football focus. And let's also be fair, George Kittle is probably, in my opinion, the best overall tight end in the NFL, but the second best passing game tight end in the NFL. And I hope you're watching side note. I hope you're watching receiver because not only is it great NFL content and off-season programming, another absolute smash by Omaha productions. And it kills me to have to give all these credits and laurels and flowers to Peyton Manning, but Omaha productions is killing it. If you watch this show and you don't leave a not just significantly, but massively bigger George Kittle fan than you already were. And I'm imagining you like I is a George Kittle fan. Holy smokes, guy. He is so entertaining. And I'm rooting for him. Each and every second, I watch the show. And so that's the thing though, right? So yeah. Okay. I use the fourth option, San Fran. Well, Kittle is the second best receiving tight end in the league. Deebo Samuel is a top three receiver in the NFL. And Christian McCaffrey is the best running back in the NFL. So you put Ayuk on any other team. And he's probably the number one at what, you know, maybe a handful of teams like Cincinnati or something, or Houston. He's number two, but he's essentially the number one on every team. And what's awesome about IU, 17.9 yards per catch, 75% of his snaps were out wide, but he still had 25% of his snaps in the slot. So you can move him around a little bit. He's good after the catch. He's good in space. He's good in traffic. I mean, he's essential. Great hands. Great hands. He only had two drops all of last year. Yeah, great hands. Like he's exactly what the Patriots have been missing in their past game. He's everything they wanted Nikhil Harry to be and not to bring up a bad memory to all of us Patriots fans. But everything they wanted that guy to be is what Brandon and I use and not only would I do the trade. They took the wrong guy from Arizona State sign of a pitch. Yeah, I know. And they also didn't take DK Metcalf or Deebo Samuel that year, but that's a whole nother story. But I would not only would do the deal. I wouldn't trade the 2025 first round pick, but I would trade the 2026 first round pick. I would trade a second round pick. And I probably trade another pick on top of that because just for reference, Tyree kill went for, I think, a first, a second and like a fourth and a fifth. It's our couple four and then got a massive deal. Yeah. And you're going to have the Patriots have they have 44 million in salary cap right now. And if they're going to tie it up, ask you this. Yeah, they built a video board instead of signing DeAndre Hopkins, but the video board is paid for. So now they can, you know, sign not Brandon. That was so they could get a world that was so they could get some World Cup matches in the craft. Hopefully it's not like Copa America and you and I can force our way in. I don't I don't think you want to be in those air ducts trying to sneak in through the H back and I'm going to be as far away from Gillette Stadium as possible in the World Cup. Oh my word. Yeah, that was a mess and then some at Hard Rock Stadium for sure. But okay. So you'd be willing to trade a future first and maybe even an auxiliary pick for Iyuk. Now if you if if I use on the table and we can get to what the draft got over what the trade compensation will be in a second, if it costs you if trading for Iyuk cost you resigning Matt Judon still in. Yeah, because I use 26 years old and you look at Matt Judon. Well, you already, I don't want to say you, it's full replacement. You kind of already have his replacement and key on white. You can sign Uche long term if he has another good year. You're good enough up the middle of Christian Barmore rushing the pastor and pushing the pocket and I love Judon. I think he's a great player. You know, I wish he could have been on some of those Super Bowl teams. I think he would have been a great fit. But if my choice is between Judon money and Iyuk money in this situation, I'm paying the guy who's 26, who's going to be your best player on offense. All right. So how much before we get to what the Patriots wide receiving core and what the offense would look like and what your expectations for would for this offense would be this season and going forward if they were to successfully pull off the IU trade. And we did get a report from, I believe, Josina Anderson yesterday, that being Tuesday as we record this Wednesday, July 17, 2024. There was a report that Elliott Wolf and the Patriots had been in touch with San Francisco recently asking if he was available and San Francisco said, no, but it was yesterday that that Iyuk's representation officially came out and said, we can't get a deal done. Therefore, our guy wants to be moved. All right. So let's see, what's it going to cost? Would you? So you said you would rather not trade the first overall pick next year. And the reason I say that is it might be a really good pick. Right. Let's say like, I have the Patriots right now going seven and 10. Okay. Let's say they go seven. That's probably a top 15 pick. And so I want to keep that pick around because that top 15 pick will either be a left tackle. If you don't have an answer there, a receiver or a tight end that's really good or just, you know, some other stud defensive lineman in case you may see, maybe you don't re-shine God show or something like somebody to pair with bar more exactly, right? It's going to be something really valid replace peppers who even knows who we don't even know who the free safety is this year. But yeah, could be a number of plug and play pieces. I would be inclined to give them. I do I would do two, two number twos and a player. And I wonder who I wonder who they might ask for because they drafted Ricky Pearsall, which was a surprise at the end of the first round, giving them five years of control of him. And John Lynch, Kyle Shanahan, they're not afraid to make bold choices on the field and bold moves off off the field and in the off season as well. So maybe they believe Debo and Kittle, Joanne Jennings, who had a spectacular, really excellent postseason for them. Maybe they deem and they have the best running back in football and somehow could be better. Like Purdy was pretty good. But like if he gets better. Yeah, and they're going to have to pay him real soon as well because I think Purdy is the real deal and not just a flash in the Mr. A relevant pan either. So if they're going to move I look, why wouldn't you know, would they take two twos in a player on the field? Is there anyone on the Patriots you could see them asking for as well, like, hey, we'll take give us what if they say like give us Judon in a second? Judon to pair with Nick Bosa would be pretty sweet. I mean, he would. I'm just saying. All right. Well, our friend, Hugh J says, I don't want Ayuk. We have other needs. Yeah. So is there a portion of the Pats fan audience, Pats Nation at large, John, that would rather see this wide receiving core that they've assembled now to rookies in Polk and Baker plus Demario Douglas, Tyquan Thornton, Kendrick Bourne and KJ Osborne. That's what I'm calling for to likely be the six wide receivers on the team. Jalen Rager, I think is going to qualify at special teams. I think the days of Juju Smith's sister are long gone as well. Like, is that enough? Should you just go to battle the season with that or do we need a number one wide receiver that path? Well, one of the reasons I like Ayuk so much is he's 26. So whether Drake May starts this year or he waits till 2025, this is a player that you can get four or so prime seasons with Drake men. And I think that in itself is really valuable. And if we're being honest, look, I like the Patriots receiving core, the list you just named, it's that's not good enough to be a top tier passing offense in the NFL. And again, it's not like the old days where they had pretty good receivers or one great receiver, but they had Rob Gronkowski at tight end, they don't have that. So like, if you want to win in today's NFL, you have to be able to throw the football. And I know Alex van Pelt wants to run the ball. I get it and running the ball is important, but you have to throw the football. And you have to stop the pass effectively, by the way, like if you're going to win, you have to do those two things. Like one of our favorites, regular here Pete the animal Austin watching live on YouTube, John, excuse me, counters right up to here, you have to throw the football. And I agree with you, but he's like, Nope, run the ball. So there's an old school smash football win the Super Bowl. Okay, like, because that's our goal here, right to build. And I'm not saying this year, but the goal here is to build the team back to those banners you see over my shoulder. You got to throw the ball and you got to stop the pass every in the last 20 years. Every team that's won the Super Bowl has either had a good passing offense or a good passing defense. I know people don't always like to hear that, but like, it's a fact every team that's won the Super Bowl save maybe one has had a good passing offense or a good passing defense, or at least both. Like the whole balance thing is way like balance in the NFL is not we run and we pass the same amount. It's we can do both. And when we need to do one or the other, we can do it effectively. Like that's what's going to win in the end. And again, like look at the Chiefs, they have the best quarterback in the league, best pass catching tight end in the league, and they have a really good pass defense. And they've won three out of the last six Super Bowls or whatever it is. Like all those Brady teams, like, you know, they just got rid of their best and they just got some picks back for their best cornerback who made his way to the Titans as well. God, what did I want that guy? And look, to the commenter's point, I think it was Hugh about like they have other needs. That's where I wonder like Elliott Wolf is a Packer guy. Like he's a draft and develop guy. Would he really want to give up multiple picks for a guy like maybe he wouldn't? And if you're Sam Fran, they traded a bunch of picks for Trey Lance, a bunch of picks for Christian McCaffrey, they're probably going to want three draft picks back for just to help restock themselves as they go forward. How about a two two? I would do a two two and a four as well and just say, you know what? Hey, Jets, go ahead and trade for Devonta Adams. Hey, Buffalo, put together your Keon Coleman and Kaleel Shakir and your new young, fancy wide receiving core. Hey, go ahead and add Odell Miami. We're going to actually come back and develop an elite wide receiving core eventually ourselves as well. And we're going to stack the right Arizona state wide receiver in the middle. There is an argument to be made as a lot of people are doing right now in the comment section as well, John, that if you're going to pay a running back top of the market or somewhere near top of the market money, it wasn't Josh Jacobs money, four for 48 in Green Bay. It was four for 36. So he's like lower and lower end of tier one top of tier two in Romandre Stevenson. Nick Chester says, if this is a reboot of the Brown's offense, running the ball is absolutely priority number one considering the stage that we're at at quarterback. You know, I told Hart on a previous podcast as well as on the radio. If there's anything I would love to see this like, sure, I would love to see progress from Drake me. Yes, I absolutely want to see Jalen Polk and J. Von Baker develop and become key cornerstones of the offense in the wide receiver room. I would love, love, love, love, love, love to see Alex Van Pelt turn Drake me into an efficient quarterback at first, but then have Stevenson and Gibson turn into Chub and Hunt 2.0. I love the idea that you could have either of them run or either of them go out in the flat and catch a ball any given time there that may is under center. You talked about them drafting the wrong Arizona State receiver. They draft draft of the wrong Georgia running back too, right? How about Nick Chub and this offense? But the dude is squatting. He tours ACL and MCL and I'm watching him squat 550 the other day. Five and I want to be clear too, like passing the ball and stopping the pass is more important in the NFL than running the ball, but the Patriots especially have to be able to run the ball effectively. Like again, especially with whether it's per set or especially if May plays, they need to run block well, they need Stevenson to play well, and Van Pelt is a run first guy, I get it. So the yes, if they're going to be a great team, they have to pass the ball effectively, I get it, but this team especially if May is going to play, they have to run the ball effectively and more effective than they did last year. I mean, that's one of the reasons two years ago as bad as that Patricia and Judge offense was they were in the playoff hunt because Stevenson had the best year of his career and he was great. So they have to be able to run the ball even though again, passing the football is more important, but they and especially where they're at, they are going to have to run the ball effectively this year. Yeah, running the ball effective running game is going to set up the pass game in the best way possible for them. All right, let's get into some of the other things as well. So you're in on I am as well. I think it would set the wide receiving room up legitimately. It would give the Patriots an actual strength, whether it has been something that has been largely perceived a weakness as well. Another person who may also be competing for room in the wide receiving core is Keshon booty. We found out yesterday for reasons unknown to this date, we have no explanation, but apparently the state of Louisiana dropped the charges of underage illegal gambling, even though he gambled underage and gamble made almost 9,000 bets. A lot of bets and there's actually really good at it as well, but we don't want to get into that. Keshon booty has had charges dropped against him. And now, as Gerard Mayo said, we're going to let the process play out and we'll wait to hear back from the league. We'll see if Roger Goodell still mad about the direct TV ruling decides to drop the hammer. He has been pretty rough about the gambling issue. However, in trying to set a precedent kicking people out for six games, half a season of full season and beyond for gambling when they're in the pros, like Calvin Ridley, like Jameson Williams and more. But this happened in his college career. So I wonder what kind of jurisdiction Goodell will think he has there. Booty by all accounts, John, had a really good spring. Many, many, many, not just the aggregators, but beat reporters out there said he looks drastically improved. He looks like he could be someone that can play at the pro level. So you've got nothing but positive reviews on his off season. Now the charges are dropped against him. So I ask you this, should they even trade for Brandon IU because you could actually let this play out and see what Keshan Butte known mostly in Pat's nation for the gambling charges. And of course, not getting his feet in bounds week one last year against the Philadelphia Eagles. What's say you to that idea? Yeah. Booty's an interesting guy because his first year at LSU, he was one of the best receivers in all of college football. Like he was, he was terrific in that. And that's an LSU offense that we know year after year produces elite receivers. And that first year, he was awesome. But then he had the injury and he never was quite the same after the injury. Then you throw in, there was some whispers about character concerns coming out. Now he has this issue where, you know, he has the gambling thing and like he was, and he was jekyll and hide on the field with the Patriots. Like I think it was their second preseason game. He had like that 45 yard catch and run touchdown and he looked great. But then week one twice in the second half, including on the final drive, he doesn't get his feet in bounds. So I'm not, I'm not, I'm not banking on him for lack of a better term. We're not betting on him, right? No pun intended. He is plus 850 to make the wrong. I'm not going to rely. Like to me, he's one of those guys that's a bonus. Like if he comes in and he's good, that's a bonus. I'm not going in a training camp saying, oh yeah, Javon Baker and Kay Sean Booty and Taek Juan Thornton are going to be my futures of this position and they're going to be great. Those are three guys that I'm like, hey, I'm going to see if they're good and if they are, it's a bonus and it's great. But I'm not relying on that. Pete, the animal Austin, bringing the heat, watching live on YouTube this morning as we record the latest six rings and football things, John Lyons and your old pal, Fitzy GFI doing a little Pat's perry right now talking. Kay Sean Booty and the Patriots wide receiving core. I don't know. There's a casino a mile away from the stadium, even if you control his phone. That's not a good idea. I got you. I don't listen a bet or let on the Adam Jones. Look, you know, the whole idea, yes, you can wager. Yes, you can have a fan duel or a draft Kings or a bet MGM or an ESPN bet, whatever account. You're just not allowed to. You can't, if you're in the NFL, you can't bet on the NFL. And then if you want to place a wager on the NBA or MLS or whatever else you feel the need to put together a 13 leg parlion, you just can't do it on premises and because they can geo tag and track you any which where and where and way, just, you know, drive a half mile down route one, pull into Mick Morgan's or go somewhere else outside of Patriot Place, get not in your car in the parking lot at Gillette Stadium. Do you want to play spats? That's fine. Just don't bet on the NFL as well. So, you know, again, I can't help but wonder if Goodell is going to be like, well, it's going to cost you a couple of games the way to protect the integrity of the league. Or if they're going to say like, all right, you're slap on the wrist, you're let off with a warning and now the kid has a chance to compete as well. Nick Chester watching live on YouTube now, Jaylen Polk will be much greater than Keshan booty. Well, I hope so. But at the same time, you know, Hugh Jay pointed out booty was and again, it's been injuries and character issues that he's had to deal with, John. He was a top receiver at LSU in a stacked wide receiver room, had that incredible freshman year, 308 yards in a game as well, goes through crap and character issues and off field stuff for a while, gets his ankle injured, comes back and has a half decent senior season after COVID and, you know, being a five year college guy and balled out in the SEC Championship game in 2022 against Georgia for like a hundred like seven catches a buck 50 and a touchdown. Like the talent is there. So can this new Patriots offensive coaching staff get him to focus on the field, slide the character issues over and get him to become a productive and competitive member of the core or is he just likely to be one of those fancy names like a Brian Tims who's like, oh, I thought he was going to become something, but he's not much more than a campbody. Yeah, I think right now it's leaning more towards the Brian Tims thing, right? So I, again, he's a bonus guy for me. If he comes in and he's good, fine. But you look around that receiver room, like, I think Jaylen Polk can be better than him. Kendrick Bourne already is better than him. Di Mario Douglas already is better than him. Like, boom, that's three guys, right? If you're lining up an 11 personnel, that's already three guys better than him right there on the field. So that's the thing with him. And again, we talk about, okay, he had issues in college. Well, then in week one twice, he doesn't get his feet down. And I know you can say, okay, he was a rookie in week one. Well, that's a pretty huge mistake, like to make in an NFL game and you do it, which we saw the offensive coaching staff and bill O'Brien acknowledge and understand because you didn't see much occasion on boot day for a while. Yeah. So that's the thing. I'm just, I'm not relying on that guy at all. Like if he comes in, fine, and he's good, but I'm just not, I'm not relying on case, you know, I got you. I would, but you know, and hey, look, Kirk Cousins, I believe it was like, I think Justin Jefferson sang the praises of KJ Osborne, otherwise known as Kendrick, we had a lot of Kendrick's in the receiver room. And just, and Kirk Cousins said, we needed him to be a number three receiver, because we already had Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. This guy could easily be a two or fight for a spot as a well, like he can be much more. We just didn't need him to be more because we already had some top flight. We're obviously Jordan Addison last year, Adam Thiel in the years prior. So we don't even know what for KJ Osborne at this point. We don't know exactly how Kendrick Bourne is going to look coming back from the ACL, but he's been highly productive anytime he's been asked to be a top receiver. Now he doesn't have to be a number one. God, he could be the three or four on this team. It's just, you know, honestly, like I'm excited about the receiving room. I do like the trip, the prospect of trading for Brandon Ayuk, but if a couple of these guys flash in the preseason pan for us, I don't know, maybe you want to hold on to those draft picks and see what you can make at this room. John, we're getting close to the end of the pod here. We've had another very successful edition. What would the what if Wednesday talk about Mayo, May in the 2024. Pat's, Pat's Pari with Kaishan Butte and Brandon Ayuk, trade talk, anything else you want to throw in the mix before we wrap it up and wrap it up. I think we've largely covered it for now, but it's just interesting that if you just look at big picture, this is arguably the most important training camp they've had in 25 years, right? Because it's the first time since 1999, they didn't have Brady or Bill in training camp with them. And now they're trying to turn this page. And we talked about it earlier in the show. Like they're, you know, kind of telling us they think it was all Mac and Bill's fault the last couple of years. They wait that way they treated Bill on the way out the way they shipped back Jones off. So you come into this and I'm sorry, Joe, we're going to have to end it soon. You off to the back. But Joe McBride watching live on you. I just think from a big picture standpoint, this is a massively, I mean, maybe you could say 2020, the first year after Brady or, you know, 2009 Brady's first year back from the ACL tab. But even then, it's like you had Bill all those times now. It's like, okay, it's a new coach. It's going to be a new quarterback. There's a lot of new things. You're in a tough division. Like it's just, it just big picture here. It's some of the most important training camps they've had, if not the most important in the last 25 years. I don't disagree with you in the least, Johnny. Honestly, it's maybe since 2002 to make sure that Brady wasn't just, you know, didn't go on just some magical mystical run. That was a good one as well. Obviously, he had led the league in touchdown passes that year as well. The team just had some other issues. And mostly I blame Tara Reed. It is our top five Patriots training camp in the last 25 years, if not the last 30 or 40 as well. So much turnover, so much change, so many people that need to prove themselves. But at the same time, if they don't go the, I need to be the best coach. I need to be the best receiver. I need to be the smartest coach. I need to be the best coordinator. And everyone just to borrow a little bit from Bill, since there will definitely be hallmarks of the Belichick era all over this team. And his fingerprints will be all over it as well. If everyone just does their job, then maybe just maybe you have an entertaining competitive. And like you say, competent football team. Once again, folks, he is at the real John Lyons, Mr. football in the house. We'll be together Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern time on W E E I and all across the W E I sports radio network and the Odyssey app. If you don't have it, go to your Google store, go to the app store and download it today. I'm your old pal Nick Fitzy, Stevens and unapologetic Pat's fan at Fitzy GF Y. This has been the latest edition of six rings and football things brought to you as always by W E I Odyssey and 2400 sports. Thank you, Terp, for posting this. Thank you guys for some awesome comments and a great discussion today. We'll talk to you Friday. Then we will talk to you again from 12 to four on Sunday. Great chat, great pod. Have a great rest of your week, everyone. We'll talk to you soon. And as always, we wrap by saying, good day. God bless and go pets.
Fitzy & Lyons (in again for Andy Hart) chop it for Pats Nation just a week from the start of Pats Camp 2024 with this two-part podcast special. First, the fellas play the final offseason "What If Wednesday" game, speculating to the future; just what if the Mayo & Maye combo reaches the DeMeco Ryans and CJ Stroud heights in Houston from 2023? Can anyone buy into these Pats being better than expected? And what would that mean for the team, league, media, fans, and more? Then it's a healthy helping of Patspourri, and you can bet on us talking a whole lot about the team's wide receivers, the ones they could maybe trade for, and more!
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