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OPPOSITION TERRITORY: New England Patriots · The Philadelphia Sports Table | Philly Sports News & Views

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: What's going on, everybody. It's Jeff here R. I planted to
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: let you know. We recorded this Opposition Territory podcast on Tuesday,
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: March fourth, twenty twenty five. By the time hear this,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: some things may have changed here or there, but we
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: hope you enjoy the show. Welcome to Opposition Territory here
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: at the Philadelphia Sports Table podcast show, the longest running
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: weekly Billy sports podcast show in the world. That's right
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: eleven and a half year strong, coming up on twelve years.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: We love being in your ears and we got a
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: great Opposition Territory pod coming your way this week as
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: we focus on the New England Patriots what they are
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: going to be doing during this offseason as free agency
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: is right around the corner. The NFL Draft is going
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: to be here before we know it. Yes, we've been
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: talking some football content here at the PSD podcast show
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: recently about the head back in the podcast feed, you
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: can check out our Table talk show from this past
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: week where we really started getting into some draft prospects.
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: What are the New England Patriots gonna do when it
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: comes to this offseason. We've got a great discussion coming
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: your way. Let's get right to it joining us this
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: week from musketfire dot com over at Fansided. She is
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: the editor there, and she does a fantastic job, great,
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: great content. When it comes to the New England Patriots
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: again musketfire dot com, we've got our good friend, he
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: won and only Sarah Marshall. How you doing.
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: I'm good, but I don't think I'm doing as well
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: as you are because we're coming off that Eagles super
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: Bowl win.
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: I'm still I'm still in a high.
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: I have to I have to tell you, yes, and
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: I have to thank everybody who's a Philly fan listening.
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: Thank you, Oh, thank you for the win.
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: Everybody, yes, who is not an Eagles fan, because let
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: me tell you, I'm still bitter about Super Bowl fifty two.
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: So when I was sitting there, it wasn't easy for
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: me to be like, Okay, I'm going to cheer for
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: these Eagles, you know, right, but my god, thank you,
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: absolutely everybody.
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: Absolutely. Look, we're catching up to the New England Patriots
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: in terms of Super Bowl ring. I mean, look, you
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: got seven, for God's sake, how many do you need here? Oh?
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: That's right? Six? How do I Brady has? I'm see
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: I'm constantly messing stuff up here on the show. Okay,
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: well the curtain back, folks. This is our second take here,
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: because of course, yes.
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you're lucky we're not live. That's when I mess
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: up all the time. It's when we're live, and it's like, oh,
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: we just go with it.
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: Thank god, we're not gonna haveing live. Pull the curtain
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: back again, folks. There may be some new things come
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: into the Philadelphia Sports Table podcast show in terms of
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: video if you're listening to this, yeah, maybe heading down
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: the video rabbit hole in the foreseeable future. But Sarah,
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: it is great to see it, great to talk to
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: you specifically about the New England Patriots, and like, let's
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: really get into like what this off season is going
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: to look like, because I think, you know, when we
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: look at this Patriots team, it's a team that's really
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: kind of been flailing now since Tom Brady left, you know,
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: since the restructuring of a lot of different aspects of
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: the team offensively, defensively. So to start us off, have
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: a two part question for you. The first is going
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: to be like what should the Patriots top priority be
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: this offseason and why? Then we'll get to the second
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: part of that question and just a bit. But as
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: you're heading into this offseason, from everything that you have
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: seen thus far, what should that top priority be.
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: Oh, it's so tough because they're in a situation where
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: they need improvements everywhere everywhere.
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: Yes, But.
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: If we're going to go with the future of Drake May, yeah,
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: I think you kind of need to focus on the offense. Yeah.
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: And it seems like just from the chatter that we've heard,
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: obviously everything is just chatter, rumor speculation, whatever, it sounds
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: like that's what they want to do. It looks like
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: they're going to prioritize like the offensive line in free
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: agency at least they're willing to pay a ton of money,
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: and they already have acknowledged they're probably going to have
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: to overpay people. And I don't care, like I.
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: Think the most Why do was fans care about money
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: on these team spend? I couldn't. I couldn't care left
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: I want wins.
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: Yeah, And and I think you know, we Patriots fans
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: have come become accustomed to to them being cheap because
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: Belichick just was not really willing to pay And so
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: you're kind of beaten into that mentality where you're like, Okay,
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: you're paying these people too much. And you know, the
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: latest or one of the biggest examples that I remember
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: is when they first acquired Stefan Gilmour and he got
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: this massive contract and everybody was like, this is such
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: a mistake. Oh my god, dude became like the greatest,
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: one of the greatest cornerbacks in Patriots history, Defensive Player
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: of the year. So as long as they pay the
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: right guys, they get the offensive line situated, which has
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: been a problem for I mean, you could even argue
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: before Brady left, then that puts may in a good situation.
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: And then if they can plug in some pieces around him,
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: whether it's free agency or the draft, and I think that,
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: like already right there, puts them in a much better
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: position than they were just a year ago.
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: We're definitely gonna get to the trenches and just a bit.
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: And I'm glad to hear you say that. I mean,
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: other AFC East. You know, perhaps listeners of this podcast
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: may not be happy to hear about that. In terms
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: of the offensive line, the Patriots really needing them to
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: address that this off season. Again, We're gonna get to
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: the trenches in a bit here down the road with
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: our conversation. But the flip side of things here with
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: that second part of the question, Sarah, is you know,
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: what's something that the Patriots do not need to be
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: a priority this coming season and off season? And why
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: what it's something they don't need to concentrate on.
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: I feel like this is not the answer that you're
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: looking for. But it's so hard for me to say
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: that there is something they should in prioritize, you know,
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: because like every.
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: Should prioritize head coach. How about that, right?
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: Yes, so that in quarterback, yes, starting quarterback, you know,
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: but I think that there's room for improvement everywhere, and
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: I you know, I don't think that everything is as
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: bad as people think it is. Like, yes, they don't
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: have a star and flashy wide receiver, but they still
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: have promising players on there. Kendrick Bourne, we saw had
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: the best season of his career in twenty twenty one.
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: It's fallen off since then, but there's plenty of arguments
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: to explain why. Samario Douglas had a great rookie season,
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: so like he's still there. They have a lot of
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: faith in Javon Baker, who was drafted last year Jalen
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: Polk was dealing with an injury last year. We have
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: Hunter Henry still, so, like there's a lot of pieces
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: that are still there that are solid. The defensive line
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: is going to be a a big priority, but like,
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: there's not really anything that I would say, no, don't
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: take that position, don't look at that in free agency
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: or the draft, Like, no, do it all. You know,
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: if you can get a star player at a certain position,
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: I'm not going to be like, oh man, you shouldn't
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: have signed so and so quarterback, right, No, yes, please
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: do that please.
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: I mean, it's kind of a good segue into this
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: next topic because I really wanted to talk about the
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: head coach situation, and it's inevitably an overall picture of
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: where this Patriots team is going to go. As we know,
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: Drid Mayo comes in for one year, he's then let go,
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: Mike Rabol is then brought in as the brand new
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: head coach. It's just a really bizarre situation for those
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: of us that are on the outside watching what has
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: happened to this coaching carousel here. And it appears there's
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: going to be some significant roster turnover from this offseason.
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: From what I have been reading. I mean, it feels
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: like the Patriots are going to be restructuring a lot
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: over the course of these next few months here. So, Sarah,
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: what are your thoughts on the head coaching again carousel
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: here over the past couple of years and how that
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: reflects on where the team is really heading as it
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: tries to get back into contention in the AFC East.
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: I think it definitely reflects the desperation from the Crafts
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: to get back to where they were like the glory days,
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: and that I think is where everything kind of went downhill,
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: not just because all they lost Brady and they started
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: losing more games than they were winning. People knew that
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: the end was near with Brady in twenty twenty. I
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: think Belichick thought that it was closer than it actually was,
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: obviously because he played for a few more years and
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: won another Super Bowl. But they didn't adequately prepare for
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: post Tom Brady. They didn't have like a great backup
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: quarterback that they were training to be like all right, Well,
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: if Belichick legitimately believed that there weren't many years left
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: for Brady to play, why wasn't he bringing somebody into
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: like mentor and be that next guy wasn't that. That
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: was a huge problem. And then it's not just like
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: I said earlier about the cheapness and free agency, but
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: they were also having terrible drafts. You know, there are
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: some if you go back to the twenty twenty draft,
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: there's probably like one guy maybe from that draft class
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: that's still on the team, and that's kind of been
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: the pattern since then. So it really put a lot
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: of pressure on Belichick. Obviously, he has a great resume,
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: but he couldn't replicate that nor do what he had
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: been doing. Brady covered up a lot of the roster inefficiencies,
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: and then they got a wake up call like, Okay,
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: he's not here, you know. And so after that they
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: bring in Mayo and he was put in a situation
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: that would nobody would have been successful. Nobody would have yeah,
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: legitimately none. And we all knew it from the start.
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: So when you say that it was a bizarre situation
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: from the outside, no, it was coming from inside too.
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: You know, like we knew that Mayo was kind of
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: the guy that they wanted to replace Belichick, but it
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: was something that we expected to happen in like two years. Yes,
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: you know, Belichick to kind of train him in that way.
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: So seeing him get fired was not completely shocking. It
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: was more or so the timing that it was like
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: an hour after their game. But seeing that it was
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: Rabel that came in afterwards, I mean, was anybody shocked
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: about that? He was the favorite after Belichick? But he
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: wasn't available yet, he hadn't been fired by the Titans,
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: so it was like, Okay, they're definitely going to favor him.
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: And as as crazy as this carousel has been, I
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: think that he is the best person that they could
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: have chosen to be in this situation and to get
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: the team back. And he understands so many different aspects
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: of football because not only did he play offense, defense,
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: special teams, but he was a coach for six years.
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: He brought I mean, who remembers the Titans going to
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: the playoffs right? Right?
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: Exactly?
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: And ironically, I'm not sure if you remember this. The
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: Rabel Titans are the team that eliminated the Patriots in
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: twenty nineteen and it was Brady's last game in Foxborough.
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: Like what a turn of events. Yes, but I think
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: he's going to get them back on track a lot
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: faster than probably a lot of other people that might
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: have been considered.
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: For the role. It's just interesting how this organization had
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: some sort of semblance of understanding who Tom Brady was,
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: when he's going to be leaving the organization and going elsewhere,
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: what that meant for the organization, the preparation for that,
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: the inevitable fallout of that as well. Sarah, it's kind
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: of mind boggling to me that certain executives within the
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: front office couldn't have handled this situation in terms of
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: preparing for it even better, to the point where they
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: had to take a head coach and hire them a
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: former player who was beloved by so many Patriots fans,
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: just crap on him after a year, throw them away. Basically,
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: it's just so unfortunate. It's bizarre that such a successful
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: organization like the New England Patriots that we saw for
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: so many decades really was operating in that manner. But then,
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: I mean that leads me to the next topic, which
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: is the quarterback position for this New England Patriots team.
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: You know, Drake may is coming into the season peering
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: that he is going to be quarterback. One of course,
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: you've got Joe Milton, who is going to be his backup,
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: But there is that storyline. I guess behind the scenes,
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: I would imagine the front office probably looking to bring
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: in an experienced backup quarterback perhaps if something does happen
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: to Drake May. I'm wondering. I guess it's kind of
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: a two part question here. How do you see Drake
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: May progressing and developing? You know, in terms of like
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: what is he going to need to do this coming
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: season for this Patriots offense? And how might the quarterback
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: room look when training camp really starts at the end
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: of July here, So in terms of the quarterback position,
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: what do you really think it's going to be looking
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: like here?
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: So I think Drake is you know, I don't love
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: the pattern that we've had over the last few year
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: years of rookie quarterbacks having to deal with turnover going
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: into their second year. We know with Mac Jones that
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: happened to him every single year that he was with
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: the Patriots four years in a row. He was gonna
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: deal with somebody different. But I do think that it's
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: it's it's a lot better of a situation for for
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: Drake this year because he's going to have Josh McDaniels
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: to work with and I know we don't love Josh
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: McDaniel's the head coach, there's no arguing there. But he's
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: a solid as as solid can be as an offensive coordinator.
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: And he has all of that tape in the in
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: the playbooks from when he worked with Tom Brady, which
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: is now going to be even more accessible to to May.
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: So that feels like if you can't complain about that situation, right,
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: So I think that he's I don't know what what's
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: gonna happen with him, but I can only assume that
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: he's going to be much improved, and I would like
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: to believe he's gonna have that second year jump that
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: everybody hopes every player has. He's I don't know. I'm
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: so excited about it, Honestly I was. I was one
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: of those Josh McDaniel's like cheerleaders, like come on, bring
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: it back, bring it back. So I'm excited about that.
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: And I think the quarterback room, I definitely think they'll
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: bring in a veteran. Like you said, I don't know
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: who that will be because I think from the list
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: of free agents it's not that great.
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: Yeah, comb a Marcus Mariota type and Philadelphi Eagles did
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: that last season, right, Yeah.
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: Yeah, So I assume it's gonna be something like that,
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: you know, because there are some other free agents that
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: might be hotter, like Sam Darnold is like a big name,
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: but he's gonna probably inevitably be a starter somewhere, even
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: if even if I don't love the idea of it,
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: but I don't think he'll be He'll be there. I
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: don't think Jacobe Brissett will be back. I do question
• 14:45
  Speaker 2: if Milton will be there because the quarterbacks in the
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: upcoming draft class are not there. It's not a deep
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: class this year. Yeah, and so if a team like
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: I wrote about it on musket Fire, like if the
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: Steelers want to try and at a quarterback, they're kind
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: of lower in the draft, so moving up is probably
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: not an option. They might be somebody that calls and
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: is like, hey, we'll trade you for Milton, and that
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: might be something that they want to consider because they
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: the Patriots want to build their roster through the draft,
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: so if they want to just add more draft capital,
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: we might not see Milton, okay, And I'm okay with
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: that because he wanted to be a starter. He fell
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: to the sixth round obviously because he's kind of a radic,
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: but he has a deep arm. Obviously, we saw it
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: in Week eighteen, So if that's something that they can
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: do for him, then I'm all for it, as long
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: as they obviously get like a suitable veteran guy behind me.
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, I mean you mentioned it, Sarah at the
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: onset of our discussion here. The Patriots, they need a
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: lot of help on both sides of the ball, for sure,
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: But I'm wondering, like, where do you think the team
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: is actually going to be aggressive when it comes to
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: free agency, which is right around the corner, starts in
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: just about a week or so. The legal tampering period
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: I think starts March tenth, if I'm not mistaken, Yes,
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: I mean where do you think they're really going to
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: be aggressive in terms of regency, whether it's both sides
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: of the ball, one side of the ball. What are
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: your thoughts?
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: The rumors right now, as I said earlier, is like
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: the offense and the defensive lines. But I think given
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: where they are in the draft and how deep the
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: offensive line class is this year, it might be easier
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: for them to like, wait, you know, maybe get some
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: solid veteran pieces but not necessarily like, oh, we're going
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: to get our starters, Like if you've already been paying
• 16:26
  Speaker 2: attention to the moves of the starting left tackles, that
• 16:29
  Speaker 2: we're going to be hitting free agency. Most of them
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: are already being extended, they're going to be franchise tagged,
• 16:35
  Speaker 2: or they're like, yeah, we want to keep them. So
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: that really limits who the Patriots are going to have.
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: I think it's down to like Ronnie Stanley right now,
• 16:42
  Speaker 2: and the Ravens have already said we want to keep him. Yeah,
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: so that's not going to work. So my assumption is
• 16:48
  Speaker 2: the defensive line. We know that is Vrabel's bread and butter,
• 16:54
  Speaker 2: so he understands how important that role is. And pass rushers,
• 16:58
  Speaker 2: I don't even know what that is. As a Patriots fan, like.
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: I wonder, I wonder if you may be getting some
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: Super Bowl Eagles players and Josh Sweat or even Milton
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: Williams that may be potentially signing with the Patriots and
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: free agency.
• 17:14
  Speaker 2: I know Milton Williams was connected to them. I think
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: yesterday I forget it was Cameron Wolf I believe who
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: said that they're going to go in on him. Yeah,
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: and I'm for that honestly, because the defensive line has
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: been a problem for a while. It was made even
• 17:28
  Speaker 2: worse last year because of Matthew Judon's trade. Even if
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: I agree with the trade, it's like it was still
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: just a big hit.
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: You know.
• 17:35
  Speaker 2: Josh Jay didn't do much hence why he was traded.
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: So I'm assuming it'll be the defensive line for sure.
• 17:42
  Speaker 2: I think that there are more intriguing free agent options
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: for them to go for, and I'm excited to see
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: what that'll be.
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Yeah, it's gonna be interesting to see for sure. Again, folks,
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: we are talking to Sarah Marshall, the editor over at
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: Musketfire dot com, great fan sided site. Sarah, tell everybody
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: where they can find you on, so you know where
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: your platforms are. What platforms you know the I know,
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: I know you do a podcast with regard to pro
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: wrestling specifically, But tell folks where they can find you
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: on the innerwebs out there.
• 18:11
  Speaker 2: So if you want to read my Patriots content, that's
• 18:14
  Speaker 2: Musketfire dot com. I'm on Twitter, and I think I'm
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: on Blue Sky is the same. It's s marsh XO.
• 18:20
  Speaker 2: I'm really bad at Blue Sky, but I am over there.
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: We've been over there more. It's not bad. It's nottle.
• 18:27
  Speaker 2: I just forget, Like my head is so programmed to
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: be like, okay, I'm on Twitter, I know so yeah.
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: And then like you said, professional wrestling, no night's off
• 18:36
  Speaker 2: on YouTube if you're into that kind of stuff.
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: All right, sounds good, sounds good? All right, Moving along
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: here with the conversation, I think a lot of teams
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: are going to be looking at what the Philadelphia Eagles
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: quite frankly, have done in terms of team building over
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: so many years, and of course them whooping the Chiefs
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: in the Super Bowl. I think the Philadelphia Eagles really
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: can be at least that modern for what NFL teams
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: really should be. But when it comes to building in
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: the trenches, that's what the Philadelphia Eagles have done time
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: and time again. I think it's one of the reasons
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: why they remain one of the most relevant teams in
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: the league year after year. We're talking to the offensive line,
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: defensive line and structuring them in a way where you
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: have guys who can be coached and coached up to
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: a certain level. I'm wondering, how do you see the
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: Patriots really approaching the trenches this offseason? I mean you
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: just mentioned with regard to free agency, defensive line is
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: probably going to be a priority offensive line deep in
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: the draft. How do you see the Pats really, you know,
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: trying to build this team through the trenches.
• 19:41
  Speaker 2: I think they really will be looking at the Eagles
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: because I think the Eagles performance in the super Bowl
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: was impressive no matter. You know, if you're the biggest
• 19:51
  Speaker 2: Dallas Cowboys fan, you know you could sit there and
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: be like round of applause, right, I guess, oh yeah.
• 19:59
  Speaker 2: I think what made it maybe even more impressive to
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: somebody who isn't an Eagles fan is who they did
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: that against, because we have not seen much of that
• 20:09
  Speaker 2: since Patrick Mahomes started to, you know, rise to the
• 20:12
  Speaker 2: top of the league. So I think when you see that,
• 20:16
  Speaker 2: you're like, all right, the Chiefs aren't untouchable, Like if
• 20:20
  Speaker 2: you actually prioritize these things, like people I think disregard
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: just how crucial it is to have solid offense and
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: defensive lines and how that really dictates how good your
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: football team is going to be. Like, yes, you need
• 20:33
  Speaker 2: a good quarterback, but you need that good protection on
• 20:35
  Speaker 2: both sides, and you need people to disrupt the opposing quarterback.
• 20:39
  Speaker 2: And for Vrabel, who has already said that he's very
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: familiar with what the Patriots have done in recent years
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: and he's watched and he watched unfortunately what happened last year.
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: I see him just that's gonna be like probably the
• 20:53
  Speaker 2: first signings that we're going to see, probably the first
• 20:56
  Speaker 2: few signings are going to be prioritizing both of them,
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: and they might not be the shiniest, you know, the
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: top names, but like I said, the importance of getting
• 21:06
  Speaker 2: that together, which then rubs off on the rest of
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: the team, especially if we're talking about Drake may we
• 21:13
  Speaker 2: saw flashes of just how good he could be, and
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: that was with one of the worst offensive lines in
• 21:17
  Speaker 2: football last year. Yeah, so if he has a solid
• 21:20
  Speaker 2: left tackle, right tackle, particularly, what is his ceiling right
• 21:25
  Speaker 2: we haven't seen that yet, and I think that Rabel's
• 21:28
  Speaker 2: going to want to explore that. And then we do
• 21:30
  Speaker 2: have some defensive linemen that are promising. We have Keyon White,
• 21:35
  Speaker 2: but he's going to need like a veteran guy that
• 21:37
  Speaker 2: can kind of help mold him and motivate him, like
• 21:41
  Speaker 2: teach him how to really get to that next level.
• 21:45
  Speaker 2: So I think with those things in mind, it's inevitable
• 21:49
  Speaker 2: those are going to be the first signings that we
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: hear from the Patriots. I really believe that.
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: And I think folks within Patriots Nation need to realize
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: the coachability is such an incredible and important and critical
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: as of what they're going to be doing in the
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: future as well. You take a look, of course, we're
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: talking about Philadelphia Eagles and the fact that teams may
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: be looking to replicate what they have done. If you
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: have coachability at the center of everything, you can have
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: one of the best left offensive tackles in the league
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: in Jordan Malatta, who before coming to the Eagles never
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: played football before never played football, he played rugby over
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: and over in Australia. And with a seventh round pick
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: and Jeff Stotland, the offensive I'm sorry, the offensive line
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: coach who everybody calls him Stoutland University, you know, because
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: of the coach ability of what Jordan Malatta is as
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: a person like, he was able to become one of
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: the best in the league. So it all depends on
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: that player coach relationship and and and that's going to
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: be so important for Mike Vrabel and and the talent
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: that they're inevitably going to be bringing in, whether it's
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: through the draft, whether it's through free agency. But uh,
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: to close us out here, Sarah, you know the Patriots
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: are They're still going to need skill positions. I think
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: for sure running back position, possibly wide receiver position as well.
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: I'm wondering, are there any players that you like, maybe
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: in the upcoming draft that could be that long term prospect,
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: a skill position player that could really help to you know,
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: grow with Drake May and with the offense in the future.
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: What are your thoughts here.
• 23:19
  Speaker 2: I hate to say it because I do this every
• 23:22
  Speaker 2: single year, okay, and I tell myself every year, don't
• 23:26
  Speaker 2: do it, don't do it, and I do it anyway.
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: I get my hopes up. Yeah, I get my hopes
• 23:30
  Speaker 2: up about certain players, especially over the last two years
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: because the Patriots have had such high draft picks in
• 23:36
  Speaker 2: the first round. That makes it even more difficult to
• 23:40
  Speaker 2: not get your hopes up. When you're picking at thirty,
• 23:42
  Speaker 2: thirty one, thirty two, it's like, wah, whoever you know? Like,
• 23:45
  Speaker 2: whoever's there? So I am so focused on like Travis
• 23:50
  Speaker 2: Hunter at this.
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: Point, gotcha? Yeah?
• 23:52
  Speaker 2: I love that he is. I mean, obviously he's a
• 23:56
  Speaker 2: Heisman Trophy winner, so you know, there's plenty of things
• 23:58
  Speaker 2: that you can can list about how great he is.
• 24:01
  Speaker 2: But I love that he plays two positions and we
• 24:05
  Speaker 2: don't know what he's going to do, but we have
• 24:08
  Speaker 2: a head coach who did that. Have a head coach
• 24:10
  Speaker 2: who played offense, defense, and special teams, so he understands
• 24:14
  Speaker 2: what it would take to allow a guy to continue
• 24:17
  Speaker 2: doing that in the NFL. So I love that he
• 24:20
  Speaker 2: could be the solid number one receiver for Drake may
• 24:24
  Speaker 2: I also love that he could be the number two
• 24:26
  Speaker 2: guy next to Christian Gonzales in the cornerback room. Like
• 24:30
  Speaker 2: that is the perfect thing. You're getting two positions in
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: one from one guy. So I like him. I haven't
• 24:38
  Speaker 2: really been focused on that. I know that sounds so bad,
• 24:41
  Speaker 2: Like when it comes to the offense, it's like Travis Hunter,
• 24:43
  Speaker 2: and if that's not it, it's like I want alignment,
• 24:45
  Speaker 2: maybe I want an edge, maybe Abdul Carter if he's
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: still there. But I assume that anybody else, like a
• 24:53
  Speaker 2: running back or receiver, tight end, it's going to be
• 24:55
  Speaker 2: later in the draft. So I'm trying not to like
• 24:57
  Speaker 2: get too into it, but it would be pretty cool
• 25:00
  Speaker 2: to have Omari and Hampton come back because he played
• 25:03
  Speaker 2: with Drake May at UNC, so that would be great.
• 25:06
  Speaker 2: I don't know that they'll have a chance to do that,
• 25:08
  Speaker 2: but ideally if it would be great if they could
• 25:11
  Speaker 2: get T Higgins. I'm just getting that out there. Okay,
• 25:14
  Speaker 2: I'm just I'm just putting that out there again.
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: Did he really quick though? For listeners here too? Did
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: he sign? Did he sign the franchise tag?
• 25:24
  Speaker 2: I don't think it's been reportedly signed yet.
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: Okay, hasn't been reportedly signed yet. They were just rumors, right, I.
• 25:32
  Speaker 2: Mean, he said yesterday, I believe on Twitter he was
• 25:37
  Speaker 2: getting tagged and it came out that the Bangles were
• 25:40
  Speaker 2: going to tag him. But I haven't seen anything made
• 25:42
  Speaker 2: official about it yet. I assume soon because I think
• 25:44
  Speaker 2: the deathline's today.
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: Okay, yeah, yeah.
• 25:48
  Speaker 2: Regardless though I'm still hoping that hoping for selfish reasons,
• 25:52
  Speaker 2: that they don't reach an extension deal and they'll trade him.
• 25:57
  Speaker 2: Patriots get on the phone, okay, So that would that
• 26:02
  Speaker 2: would make all of this a lot easier, you know
• 26:04
  Speaker 2: than I could be, like, Oh, anybody, anybody in the draft,
• 26:06
  Speaker 2: I don't care. They're gonna They're gonna be a help.
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: They're gonna be a help. They're gonna be a need
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: for the future. This Patriots team definitely needs some restructuring
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: for sure. Again, folks. Sarah Marshall from Musketfire dot com
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: over at Fans Sided, Sarah's always great talking to you, seriously,
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: love your energy. It is great being able to speak
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: with you about the Patriots and about football. Come back
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: join us. I'd love to have you back on the show,
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: my friend.
• 26:29
  Speaker 2: Yes, please do. I love I love when I get
• 26:31
  Speaker 2: to talk to you guys about football. So thank you.
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: That's gonna do it for us here on Opposition Territory
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: this week. Please share our podcast with your friends and
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: family members who are Philly sports fans or sports fans
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: in general. We thank you our listeners for being part
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: of this online community with us and within this space.
• 26:51
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• 26:54
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• 26:57
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• 27:00
  Speaker 1: at Philadelphia PST, on threads at Philadelphia Sports Table, and
• 27:04
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• 27:08
  Speaker 1: We'll catch you next time.