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

0:25
Speaker 1: Welcome to Opposition Territory Here at the Philadelphia Sports Table
0:29
Speaker 1: podcast show, the longest running weekly Philly sports podcast show
0:32
Speaker 1: in the world, twelve years strong. We got a great
0:35
Speaker 1: discussion coming your way here on Opposition Territory. This week
0:39
Speaker 1: we are going to be diving into one of the
0:41
Speaker 1: AFC East teams, who I'm very interested to see what
0:44
Speaker 1: they are going to do this upcoming twenty twenty five season,
0:47
Speaker 1: the New England Patriots. Are they going to be able
0:50
Speaker 1: to get back on their feet after somewhat being in
0:53
Speaker 1: the basement over these past few years. Here again, I'm
0:57
Speaker 1: Jeff Warren. Here I am with my good friend Sarah Marshall. Sarah,
1:01
Speaker 1: how you doing.
1:03
Speaker 2: I'm great?
1:03
Speaker 1: How are you good? Good? You're you're over at musketfire
1:06
Speaker 1: dot com. You were the editors there, and tell everybody
1:10
Speaker 1: where they can find you on social and where they
1:12
Speaker 1: can find everything you're posting online for.
1:15
Speaker 2: Well, I'm mostly on Twitter slash x. I'm a millennial,
1:19
Speaker 2: so I'm gonna always call it Twitter, But yeah, s
1:23
Speaker 2: marsh XO on there, I'm talking to Patriots and professional wrestling.
1:27
Speaker 2: So if you're interested in professional wrestling, you can search
1:29
Speaker 2: no Nights Off on YouTube and that is where you
1:32
Speaker 2: can see me talking about WWE.
1:34
Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, I gotta tell you though, you know your
1:35
Speaker 1: stuff when it comes to the New England Patriots. It's
1:38
Speaker 1: one of the reasons why I asked you to come
1:40
Speaker 1: on and let's get into this team. Here is we're
1:43
Speaker 1: in the midst of training camp and kind of like
1:47
Speaker 1: I alluded to you right off the bat, you know,
1:49
Speaker 1: it's been a while since the Patriots have really been
1:53
Speaker 1: a real threat and contender in the AFC. I mean
1:56
Speaker 1: really when Tom Brady left, I mean that's when things
1:58
Speaker 1: for this team really started to I don't I guess
2:02
Speaker 1: you would say, go downhill.
2:04
Speaker 2: The dominoes fell, they fell from their pedestal.
2:08
Speaker 1: Yeah, yes, absolutely. So I want to start off the
2:11
Speaker 1: conversation by getting into how this organization is being run
2:16
Speaker 1: at this point and what their vision really is for
2:18
Speaker 1: the future. Sarah. So, like, when you look at the
2:21
Speaker 1: recent off season where this team and organization where they
2:25
Speaker 1: actually want to go, how do you see the Patriots
2:29
Speaker 1: in terms of their growth and what it actually means
2:32
Speaker 1: to the future of this team an organization.
2:35
Speaker 2: Well, I think first of all, the biggest thing is
2:39
Speaker 2: Mike Rable. Mike Rabel could not have been a better higher.
2:42
Speaker 2: I think if we could have had him a couple
2:45
Speaker 2: years ago, it would have been better. But obviously he
2:47
Speaker 2: was not available, and we know Robert Kraft has wanted
2:51
Speaker 2: him for a long time, but he wasn't outed from
2:54
Speaker 2: Tennessee just yet.
2:55
Speaker 1: Yep.
2:56
Speaker 2: So I would say, like the last two to three
2:59
Speaker 2: years I wish we could take back in New England
3:02
Speaker 2: because it feels like those were just the worst of
3:05
Speaker 2: the last five six years. So I really think Mike
3:07
Speaker 2: Rabel coming in after the disaster that was a twenty
3:10
Speaker 2: twenty four season is the perfect It's just perfect, a
3:13
Speaker 2: match made in heaven. I would say incorporates a lot
3:17
Speaker 2: of like the best aspects of Bill Belichick's coaching style,
3:21
Speaker 2: but he also has that I don't even know if
3:24
Speaker 2: this is a word personability, person you know what the connection? Yeah, Yeah,
3:30
Speaker 2: it's a way that he, yes, the way he can
3:33
Speaker 2: be personable yes with players, because he's a former player.
3:37
Speaker 2: He's an experienced head coach, which was a huge thing
3:39
Speaker 2: that girod Meyo lacked. So I think we're already seeing
3:43
Speaker 2: the payoff from that because the team is so much
3:45
Speaker 2: more motivated. They're excited to be at practice, Rabel is
3:49
Speaker 2: getting in there, he's putting on a Penny jersey, and
3:52
Speaker 2: he's getting in and participating in the drills. So I
3:54
Speaker 2: think they're trying to bring back the best parts of
3:59
Speaker 2: the Patriot Way under Belichick because we know that that
4:02
Speaker 2: worked for them for a really long time. So taking
4:05
Speaker 2: those those parts, adding in the personality and that connection
4:09
Speaker 2: that Rabel brings, and bringing the attitude of putting the
4:12
Speaker 2: team first instead of III. I think that is like
4:16
Speaker 2: exactly what they need right now, and it's what Rabel's bringing.
4:20
Speaker 1: For bringing a culture, a new culture, culture that's needed
4:23
Speaker 1: essentially right right.
4:25
Speaker 2: Yeah, that was something that I would say was definitely
4:28
Speaker 2: a fault of Mayo. And I'm conflicted on how to
4:32
Speaker 2: feel about the Mayo era because I think it's easy
4:34
Speaker 2: for people to trash him. Yeah, i think it's really
4:37
Speaker 2: easy for people to trash him. And I'm not trying
4:39
Speaker 2: to defend how bad the season was, but I think
4:42
Speaker 2: he was put in a position he was not ready
4:44
Speaker 2: for and wasn't given like the cap space, proper roster,
4:49
Speaker 2: like there was just nothing there for him. Nobody would
4:52
Speaker 2: have thrived, but he was so inexperienced and he tried
4:55
Speaker 2: to do everything the opposite of Belichick to kind of
4:57
Speaker 2: create his own identity. But he did too much. He
5:02
Speaker 2: tried to do too much of the opposite of Belichick,
5:05
Speaker 2: and that is really what got them into the whole
5:07
Speaker 2: players you know, checking out. There was allegations of a
5:11
Speaker 2: mutiny happening behind the scenes. So I think that's why
5:15
Speaker 2: Rabel was the right guy, and he's going to reinstall
5:18
Speaker 2: that culture that's very important in New England.
5:20
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I think when you look at that culture,
5:23
Speaker 1: how does that translate to what we are going to
5:27
Speaker 1: see on the field with this team and what Patriots
5:29
Speaker 1: Nation wants to see on the field. So let's dive
5:32
Speaker 1: into first the quarterback play and the development of Drake May.
5:36
Speaker 1: I mean, it seems like he's trending in the right
5:39
Speaker 1: direction at least here in training camp. From all that
5:41
Speaker 1: I have read, Sarah, I'm wondering, you know, what, what
5:44
Speaker 1: are you and Patriots Nation realistically and logically hoping to
5:48
Speaker 1: see from Drake May this season in terms of his
5:51
Speaker 1: overall growth development that's really going to put the offense
5:55
Speaker 1: in a good position to take those next steps.
5:58
Speaker 2: So we definitely want to see him build upon what
6:01
Speaker 2: he did last year. You know, the records and his
6:04
Speaker 2: inner the turnovers are not going to make him look good.
6:07
Speaker 2: But he actually had a really good rookie season all
6:10
Speaker 2: things considered. You know, like he didn't start until Week six,
6:14
Speaker 2: didn't have an experienced head coach, had basically nobody to
6:16
Speaker 2: throw to. He had a running back who had butterfingers.
6:19
Speaker 2: So it's like it just there was just nothing there.
6:22
Speaker 2: There's a lot of injuries to the defense. It just
6:24
Speaker 2: it was an absolute mess. So we really want to
6:27
Speaker 2: see him build upon that. And Josh McDaniels is back,
6:30
Speaker 2: the infamous Josh McDaniels is in his third stint with
6:33
Speaker 2: the Patriots, so we want to see how that connection
6:36
Speaker 2: is going to work. We've seen how Josh McDaniels has
6:38
Speaker 2: worked with Tom Brady, he worked with Matt Castle, he
6:40
Speaker 2: worked with Brian Hoyer, he worked with Mac Jones, made
6:43
Speaker 2: Mac Jones a Pro Bowl alternate quarterback his rookie season
6:47
Speaker 2: got them to the playoffs. So considering Drake may is
6:50
Speaker 2: a much better quarterback than Mac Jones, we just are
6:53
Speaker 2: hopeful there. We want to see more methodical play because
6:56
Speaker 2: he definitely tried to overcompensate for what was not happening
6:59
Speaker 2: on offense by holding onto the football too long or
7:02
Speaker 2: trying to force a play where it just wasn't there,
7:05
Speaker 2: so that that's what led to so many turnovers. Want
7:08
Speaker 2: to see less of that this year. Also, want to
7:10
Speaker 2: get him better at sliding because you know, the running
7:14
Speaker 2: is great, but we don't want you to get a
7:15
Speaker 2: concussion again because that happened last year. And hopefully the
7:19
Speaker 2: offensive line is going to be improved enough to give
7:22
Speaker 2: him more time to actually read the field, so that
7:24
Speaker 2: also then contributes to less turnovers.
7:27
Speaker 1: Absolutely, And what a fantastic segue talking about the offensive line,
7:31
Speaker 1: because that's what I wanted to get into next. I mean,
7:34
Speaker 1: it's been pretty well discussed that the Patriots have had
7:38
Speaker 1: one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL over
7:40
Speaker 1: these years. Me I know, I know, I'm sorry, but
7:43
Speaker 1: but look, they made some moves during this off season
7:47
Speaker 1: to get out from, you know, under that title that
7:50
Speaker 1: they've had basically, so, whether whether it was in the
7:52
Speaker 1: draft or free agency, we're gonna end up seeing some
7:55
Speaker 1: new talent on the Patriots offensive line this coming season.
7:58
Speaker 1: So what are your thoughts on how this O line
8:01
Speaker 1: may perform this season with the new talent and inevitably
8:04
Speaker 1: how that's gonna help or help the development or Drake
8:07
Speaker 1: may I.
8:09
Speaker 2: So I definitely think that they're in a better position
8:11
Speaker 2: than they were a year ago because we already know
8:14
Speaker 2: some of the people who are going to be starters.
8:16
Speaker 2: We know Morgan Moses, who's a tenured veteran Jets, former
8:19
Speaker 2: Jets guy, but he's a giant teddy bear. So I'm
8:22
Speaker 2: like already obsessed with him. And I've never said that
8:24
Speaker 2: I've like loved a right tackle before, but I'm obsessed.
8:28
Speaker 2: So we have him at right tackle. Mike Onwinu is
8:30
Speaker 2: able to stay at right guard. He did not have
8:33
Speaker 2: that privilege last year. I don't know if you know this,
8:35
Speaker 2: but last year, and I don't know the tumber the
8:38
Speaker 2: number off the top of my head, but it was
8:40
Speaker 2: almost every single week, the Patriots put out a new
8:43
Speaker 2: starting offensive line group every single week. So the fact
8:48
Speaker 2: that Onwinu is one of the ones that was moving
8:49
Speaker 2: from right tackle, left tackle, right guard, left guard, he
8:52
Speaker 2: keeps doing everything. This year he can stay at right guard,
8:54
Speaker 2: which I think is best. He's best at guard, So
8:57
Speaker 2: I'm excited about that. We also look like we have
9:00
Speaker 2: an impending star in rookie Jared Wilson. He was drafted
9:03
Speaker 2: as a center, but they've been using him at left guard,
9:05
Speaker 2: which if that's where he thrives, that's where he thrives.
9:08
Speaker 2: Exciting about that. So the main issue is going to
9:12
Speaker 2: be the left side, just because we're we have Will Campbell,
9:16
Speaker 2: but he's been a little bit bumpy over the last
9:18
Speaker 2: couple days at training camps. We just have to see
9:20
Speaker 2: if he can kind of maintain that level of play
9:22
Speaker 2: that we obviously saw during his career at LSU. He
9:26
Speaker 2: has some great mentors to work with. Morgan Moses is
9:29
Speaker 2: working with him, so I think that they're definitely better
9:34
Speaker 2: across the board. We're waiting on who's going to be
9:36
Speaker 2: that starting center, which is a little problematic. David Andrews
9:39
Speaker 2: retired earlier this offseason, so that's up for grabs. My
9:43
Speaker 2: main problem would be just the depth. I think That's
9:46
Speaker 2: what I'm a little concerned about because, like I said,
9:49
Speaker 2: there were so much changes to the offensive line starting
9:52
Speaker 2: group every single week last year, and so I just
9:55
Speaker 2: want to make sure that they have enough depth that
9:57
Speaker 2: that's not an issue, you know, because like injuries can
9:59
Speaker 2: happen at any time, absolutely so it's they're definitely in
10:03
Speaker 2: a better standing, but there's still some questions there.
10:06
Speaker 1: I think I look being an Eagles fan here and
10:10
Speaker 1: seeing what the Eagles offensive line has been really for
10:14
Speaker 1: so many years and how it is prioritized. It does
10:17
Speaker 1: surprise me that more NFL teams don't try to emulate that.
10:20
Speaker 1: And I know it may be difficult because we have
10:22
Speaker 1: an offensive line coach in Jeff Stotlin who everybody, a
10:27
Speaker 1: lot of folks know and understand who Jeff Stotlin is.
10:30
Speaker 1: His development of players and players that go on to
10:32
Speaker 1: other teams do well or not as well as they
10:36
Speaker 1: did when they were with the Philadelphia Eagles. But it
10:38
Speaker 1: does amaze me at times. But I think that I
10:41
Speaker 1: think the Patriots, you know, brass, front office brass, is
10:45
Speaker 1: getting it that you have to be able to have
10:47
Speaker 1: a competent offensive line you're going to be able to
10:50
Speaker 1: do anything offensively in the NFL.
10:52
Speaker 2: I think people in general overlook the importance of the
10:55
Speaker 2: offensive line. They are like the least credited group, yeah,
10:59
Speaker 2: an entire football team, Like people don't. I've gotten into
11:02
Speaker 2: arguments with people about this because they don't get how
11:06
Speaker 2: much depends on how good the blocking is from the
11:11
Speaker 2: from the offensive line, like nothing can be good quarterback,
11:14
Speaker 2: running back, wide receivers, nothing can be good without them.
11:17
Speaker 2: So it is. It's been very frustrating to see that
11:20
Speaker 2: not be prioritized by the Patriots, you know, trying to
11:23
Speaker 2: throw a right tackle in at left tackle, like what
11:25
Speaker 2: are we doing? Yes, you know, so like you can't
11:28
Speaker 2: you can't create magic all the time. So I'm really
11:31
Speaker 2: hoping that they've made the right moves this year where
11:33
Speaker 2: it's just not going to be a factor. And maybe
11:35
Speaker 2: whenever I'm here again, we won't have to even talk
11:38
Speaker 2: about it. We'll be talking about how great they've been,
11:40
Speaker 2: you know, like that would really exchange.
11:42
Speaker 1: Yes, maybe we will. Absolutely Again, folks, we are talking
11:45
Speaker 1: to Sarah Marshall from Musketfire dot com and again, my friend,
11:50
Speaker 1: let everybody know where they can find you out on
11:52
Speaker 1: the socials out there if they want to, if they
11:54
Speaker 1: want to follow you and follow the work you're doing.
11:56
Speaker 2: Out there, So you can follow me on Twitter at
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Speaker 2: s marsh x. Oh you can also follow musket Fire
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Speaker 2: and if you like wrestling No Nights Off on YouTube.
12:07
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Speaker 1: to us subscribe like this video as well. In this interview,
12:38
Speaker 1: we got we got a lot more good content coming
12:40
Speaker 1: your way in the future. But now we're gonna take
12:42
Speaker 1: a break. But when we come back, we got a
12:44
Speaker 1: lot more Patriots talk coming your way. All right, we
12:48
Speaker 1: are back with our good friend Sarah Marshall from Musketfire
12:51
Speaker 1: dot Com. And as we continue to dive into this
12:54
Speaker 1: Patriots team, what we're gonna see this season, what we're
12:57
Speaker 1: seeing in training camp as well. I think, Sarah that
13:00
Speaker 1: it's going to be really interesting to see how the
13:02
Speaker 1: rushing and passing game manifests itself throughout this coming season
13:07
Speaker 1: for this Patriots team. I mean there's some new receiving
13:09
Speaker 1: talent as we know. In terms of the running backs,
13:12
Speaker 1: Ramandra Stevenson and Trevion Henderson are at the top of
13:15
Speaker 1: the running back depth chart. Here, I'm wondering, you know,
13:18
Speaker 1: as I read various articles I follow what's been going
13:21
Speaker 1: on in training camp for this Patriots team, how do
13:24
Speaker 1: you see the offense moving forward, balancing out the rushing
13:29
Speaker 1: attack and the passing game this year.
13:32
Speaker 2: I think it's going to be kind of similar to
13:34
Speaker 2: what we've seen from Josh McDaniels before, you know, in
13:37
Speaker 2: his Patriots stint, where it's going to be a balance,
13:40
Speaker 2: but it's going to depend on the opponent. One week,
13:44
Speaker 2: they're probably going to do heavy passing. The next week
13:46
Speaker 2: they're going to do heavy running. Like it's not it's
13:49
Speaker 2: just going to depend on who they're facing. And that's
13:51
Speaker 2: something that McDaniels was always good at. You know, they
13:54
Speaker 2: didn't go into every single game with the same plan.
13:57
Speaker 2: It's going to do this, yes, exactly, And I think
14:00
Speaker 2: that's important because you have to know the strengths and
14:02
Speaker 2: the weaknesses of who you're playing, and if they have
14:04
Speaker 2: a terrible defensive line, we'll take advantage of that. You know,
14:08
Speaker 2: they have a one two punch right now and Ormandre
14:10
Speaker 2: Stevenson and Treveon Henderson. They also have Antonio Gibson who's
14:14
Speaker 2: back there, so they have the fortune of all three
14:16
Speaker 2: of them also being people that they can use in
14:19
Speaker 2: the passing game. So they could even use some trickery there,
14:22
Speaker 2: which I think is going to be crucial for Drake
14:25
Speaker 2: may because because of the question surrounding the offensive line
14:29
Speaker 2: still they can use Henderson as a blocker, which is great.
14:33
Speaker 2: So I do think it's just going to be a
14:35
Speaker 2: balance just from like what I said with Tom Brady.
14:38
Speaker 2: You know, sometimes he wouldn't even put up two hundred yards,
14:40
Speaker 2: but that's because a running back, did you know. I
14:42
Speaker 2: think we're gonna see a lot of that again, all right.
14:44
Speaker 1: Are in terms of the in terms of the players
14:47
Speaker 1: going to be that are going to be catching the ball? Okay?
14:50
Speaker 1: Of course you have Stefan Diggs, you know, I mean,
14:53
Speaker 1: in all honesty, probably coming on the downslide of his
14:56
Speaker 1: career at this point, would you say he's probably one
14:59
Speaker 1: of the best past catchers or do you think there's
15:02
Speaker 1: gonna be somebody else that really kind of just makes
15:04
Speaker 1: their mark in terms of catching the ball on this offense.
15:07
Speaker 2: Oh no, it's going to be Stefon Diggs. That is
15:11
Speaker 2: what he was brought in to do. And the Patriots
15:13
Speaker 2: haven't had a number one guy since Julian Edelwin and
15:16
Speaker 2: that was five years, five years.
15:18
Speaker 1: So yeah.
15:19
Speaker 2: They also haven't had a one thousand yard receiver since
15:22
Speaker 2: twenty nineteen and.
15:24
Speaker 1: That was gosh, has it been that long?
15:25
Speaker 2: Yeah, and it was Julian Edelman. You know, like, what
15:28
Speaker 2: are we talking about? Where you know, old beat up
15:30
Speaker 2: Julian Edewin is the last one to do it. So yeah,
15:34
Speaker 2: it's definitely gonna be Digs. But they've had really good
15:37
Speaker 2: luck with Kyle Williams, the rookie that they drafted this
15:39
Speaker 2: year in the third round. He's been performing really well
15:43
Speaker 2: at training camp and he's definitely like right behind him.
15:45
Speaker 2: But we have Da Mario Douglas who's going to be
15:48
Speaker 2: right there too. So I think it's gonna be those
15:50
Speaker 2: three guys are going to be the top three and
15:53
Speaker 2: who is there beyond that is going to be exciting
15:56
Speaker 2: because Kaishaon Boody has been looking great at camp. He
15:59
Speaker 2: had a pretty good season last year despite everything. Yeah,
16:03
Speaker 2: and beyond that, they're still competing. And that's really exciting
16:07
Speaker 2: because I could not tell you the last time that
16:08
Speaker 2: the Patriots actually had competition at receiver, where instead it's
16:12
Speaker 2: always been all they have six guys. Yeah, that's who
16:15
Speaker 2: they have. Yeah, like there's no competition. That's who's on
16:17
Speaker 2: the team, right, So the fact they have eleven now
16:20
Speaker 2: is exciting that.
16:21
Speaker 1: It's going to be interesting to see, especially for fantasy football,
16:24
Speaker 1: you know, yeah, where the receivers are gonna like what
16:27
Speaker 1: the receivers are going to do, I should say for
16:29
Speaker 1: the Patriots and our fantasy leagues for sure.
16:31
Speaker 2: Well, usually you want to ignore a Patriots receiver, so fantasy, yes.
16:37
Speaker 1: Well, let's do a one eighty and talk about this
16:41
Speaker 1: Patriots defense here, Sarah. Last year Patriots defense was thirtieth
16:46
Speaker 1: in dv A. So obviously with new head coach Mike
16:50
Speaker 1: Rabel coming in, who is as we know, he's a
16:52
Speaker 1: defensive minded coach, along with some new talent as well.
16:55
Speaker 1: We've got Milton Williams from the Eagles coming up there
16:57
Speaker 1: on the defensive line, some other new talent as well.
17:01
Speaker 1: I mean, this is likely going to be a much
17:02
Speaker 1: better defense I think than last year. What are some
17:05
Speaker 1: of the key aspects of this defense that we really
17:07
Speaker 1: need to keep our eyes on as the season is
17:09
Speaker 1: going to start.
17:11
Speaker 2: So I think the secondary is probably their best part
17:14
Speaker 2: of the defense because they have Christian Gonzalez and Carlton
17:17
Speaker 2: Davis leading the way. They also have some good safeties
17:20
Speaker 2: with Jabrill Peppers who has been on fire. Kyle Dugger
17:23
Speaker 2: is a little bit questionable, but if he can get
17:25
Speaker 2: back to that twenty twenty three version of himself. His
17:28
Speaker 2: last year, he actually had an injury that they did
17:30
Speaker 2: not They misdiagnosed, so that was why a lot of
17:33
Speaker 2: his play fell off. They said he had like a
17:36
Speaker 2: sprained ankle, but he actually had something else I don't remember.
17:39
Speaker 2: He had to have surgery. But I think the pass
17:41
Speaker 2: rush is definitely going to be a lot better. It
17:43
Speaker 2: was essentially non existent over the past several years. But
17:46
Speaker 2: Keyon White has been looking rejuvenated from having Mike rabelin. Obviously,
17:52
Speaker 2: like you said, my Milton Williams is a huge, a
17:55
Speaker 2: huge addition. Christian Barmour is back in looking better than
17:59
Speaker 2: ever after having to sit out last year due to
18:02
Speaker 2: blood clots. If Harold Landry, who is also feeling good
18:06
Speaker 2: being back with Mike Rabel. So I think the pass
18:09
Speaker 2: rush is something to watch, and I think the linebackers
18:13
Speaker 2: are going to be interesting. Yeah, Robert Spillane, I think
18:16
Speaker 2: that he kind of went under the radar because I
18:18
Speaker 2: think people kind of, you know, you knew about him
18:20
Speaker 2: he was with the Raiders, but like, he has become
18:23
Speaker 2: such a leader for this team already and has just
18:25
Speaker 2: been killing it. And I get it, it's training camp,
18:28
Speaker 2: so you get excited about little tiny things that don't
18:31
Speaker 2: necessarily matter. But he's been looking so good and his
18:35
Speaker 2: leadership is definitely needed on the defense after what was
18:38
Speaker 2: going on last year. So I think as long as
18:42
Speaker 2: everything goes according to plan and how good things have
18:45
Speaker 2: been looking right now, the defense is going to be
18:47
Speaker 2: in such good standing. Maybe some people have mentioned top ten.
18:52
Speaker 2: I'm not saying. I'm not saying, I'm just saying what
18:56
Speaker 2: other people are saying. So that would be awesome. That
19:00
Speaker 2: would be a huge, a huge plus.
19:02
Speaker 1: It would be that would be astonishing, quite frankly, I mean,
19:05
Speaker 1: that'd be Mike Rabel magic coming to fruition there. And
19:09
Speaker 1: then again, there's a phrase I use on this podcast
19:12
Speaker 1: platform all the time, and I've used it plenty with
19:15
Speaker 1: Philly sports teams over the years who have stunk it up.
19:18
Speaker 1: You can't really fall out of a basement window. So
19:21
Speaker 1: I would think that the Patriots defense is really going
19:23
Speaker 1: to elevate itself this coming season.
19:26
Speaker 2: And you know what the good thing is. And I
19:27
Speaker 2: think you know, some people are saying, Okay, they're going
19:30
Speaker 2: to be better, right, and they're giving them a little
19:32
Speaker 2: I think it was Meanachimes that said maybe top ten, right.
19:36
Speaker 2: I think they have the benefit of having quite an
19:39
Speaker 2: easy schedule, so I think that's going to play in
19:43
Speaker 2: their favor a lot, and that could result in maybe
19:47
Speaker 2: them looking a lot better than anyone anticipated. And I'm
19:49
Speaker 2: okay with it because I'll accept anything.
19:51
Speaker 1: There you go.
19:52
Speaker 2: A win is a win. A win is a win.
19:54
Speaker 1: Absolutely well, Sarah. Before I let you go, I got
19:57
Speaker 1: a two part question for you. We've been asking this
20:00
Speaker 1: some of our guests who come on our Opposition Territory
20:02
Speaker 1: podcast every week, talking about the biggest concerns about the
20:06
Speaker 1: team and also what you're least concerned about heading into
20:09
Speaker 1: this season. So let's start off with your biggest concern
20:13
Speaker 1: with this Patriots team heading into this season. What would
20:15
Speaker 1: that be? And then we'll get into what you're least
20:17
Speaker 1: concerned about.
20:18
Speaker 2: So I kind of already mentioned this a little bit,
20:20
Speaker 2: but I'm just nervous about the offensive line. I think
20:24
Speaker 2: that I have the right to be, you know, even
20:26
Speaker 2: if they've already made like these changes and whatever, it's like,
20:29
Speaker 2: the offensive line has continuously been a big problem for
20:33
Speaker 2: the Patriots, and so even if they've added these pieces
20:35
Speaker 2: that look good right now, I just I don't want
20:38
Speaker 2: to get my hopes up about it, you know, because
20:40
Speaker 2: they are relying on a rookie at left tackle, which
20:43
Speaker 2: is a lot. It's asking a lot of a rookie
20:45
Speaker 2: that's press. Yeah, and I think he can do it,
20:48
Speaker 2: but again, training camp only tells you so much, you know,
20:51
Speaker 2: and he's getting beaten by some guys on the Patriots defense,
20:55
Speaker 2: which you know, the Patriots defense is better than the offense.
20:57
Speaker 2: But it definitely does and ease my concerns. So as
21:02
Speaker 2: long as that is smooth, then I'm feeling a little
21:06
Speaker 2: bit less worried.
21:07
Speaker 1: Okay, what about the what's the least of your concern
21:11
Speaker 1: heading into this season with this team?
21:13
Speaker 2: So I'm gonna say probably Drake May. Okay, I just
21:16
Speaker 2: I have all the faith in Drake May. I'm not
21:18
Speaker 2: saying he's gonna be MVP or anything, but I do
21:20
Speaker 2: think that, you know, he has a great foundation to
21:23
Speaker 2: build upon. He's in great hands with Mike Frable and
21:25
Speaker 2: Josh McDaniels. They're definitely prioritizing building around him. So I
21:29
Speaker 2: think he's, you know, the sky's the limit with him.
21:31
Speaker 2: And then of course the secondary, I mean Christian Gonzalez
21:35
Speaker 2: and Carlton Davis place I was. I'm I'm so excited
21:39
Speaker 2: to watch them play and the fact that we have
21:43
Speaker 2: like a one two punch again and the secondary is
21:45
Speaker 2: so exciting because I think over the years, you know,
21:47
Speaker 2: with like Stefan Gilmour, j C. Jackson, it's so fun
21:51
Speaker 2: to watch. So I'm excited that we can actually look
21:54
Speaker 2: forward to what the cornerbacks can do again.
21:56
Speaker 1: Matchups, matchups, matchups. I mean, at the end of the day,
21:59
Speaker 1: that's how this Paydriots team is going to end up
22:01
Speaker 1: developing on both offense and defense throughout the course of
22:05
Speaker 1: their schedule throughout the AFC East. It's all gonna be
22:08
Speaker 1: about the matchups. So it's gonna be an interesting follow
22:11
Speaker 1: for sure. Again, folks, she is Sarah Marshall from Musketfire,
22:15
Speaker 1: dot com. My friend, love having you on all the
22:18
Speaker 1: time to talk Patriots, talk NFL football. Come back join us.
22:22
Speaker 1: I'd love having you on here. It's your first time
22:24
Speaker 1: doing streamyard on this podcast platform. I'd love to have
22:28
Speaker 1: you back on again, my friend.
22:30
Speaker 2: Let's do it.
22:31
Speaker 1: That's gonna do it for us here on Opposition Territory
22:34
Speaker 1: this week. Please share our podcast with your friends and
22:37
Speaker 1: family members who are Philly sports fans or sports fans
22:40
Speaker 1: in general. We thank you our listeners for being part
22:43
Speaker 1: of this online community with us and within this space.
22:47
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22:50
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22:56
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23:00
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23:05
Speaker 1: we will catch you next time.