Patriots Offseason practice Awards | Greg Bedard Podcast

On this episode of the Greg Bedard Patriots podcast, greg and Nick Cattles discuss the Celtics’ victory as they bring home their 18th NBA Championship, and take a look back at the Patriots’ offseason practices and name their best and worst surprises so far with the new Pats roster. That, and much more!

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this is the Greg Bard Patriots podcast with Nick Cav this episode is brought to you by prize pick largest daily fantasy sports platform in North America download the app today use code clns for first deposit match up to $100 and finally take the guest work out of buying NBA or NFL tickets with game time of course NFL season just a couple months away download the game time app create an account use that code clns for 20 bucks off your first purchase last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed well Greg the city of Champions is back my friend Banner 18 will be hung in the rafters sometime in October Celtics beat the Mavericks of course we’ll get to the Patriots and a lot of thoughts including your offseason practice Awards but let’s start with the Celtics your thoughts on them winning the championship last night I mean I guess I I forgot to wear my green that’s right I got I got the sure for those watching oh look at that that’s right um my thoughts uh well I’m I’m I’m happy for the guys I’m happy for Joe Missoula um you know I think this group has been through a lot I’m actually you know I’m very happy for Brad Stevens um I think Danny a obviously deserves credit for sort of constructing the bones of this roster I thought Brad Stevens did a masterful job sort of getting the the right finishing pieces um for this team um I was a little bit disappointed that the that game five wasn’t a little bit more competitive I mean I’m just I’m just one of these guys I mean even if it’s one of my teams like I don’t know I just I I want to see tension I want to see pressure I want to see Dramatics and I thought this season this this series by and large um didn’t have much of it I think a lot of it had to do with the the Celtics defense I just think that that is where they differentiate themselves from a lot of teams especially teams coming from the West I just don’t think they’re they’re ready for that I think that you know with with holiday and brown and and Tatum and you know Derek white and you know when they when porzingis is able to be in there which he which he wasn’t and they still won the title with relative ease uh I just think their their defense is Just A Cut Above in terms of NBA defense and I think I I don’t I think they they wore Luca and Kyrie out um I I think they made him really uncomfortable and I think that was really the the difference um in this series but um yeah H happy for everybody out there it’s been a a long title drought here in New England um so to speak um people were getting thirsty uh but you know the the Celtics fans are among the most passionate uh in the city I think I mean man it’s amazing like 82 games like day in day out they’re they’re watching strong reactions up and down um you know they’re really amazing and so uh I think you know for you know it’s been what 16 years since the last title for the Celtics and I think this this generation of Celtics fans like uh I’m happy for them because they they get a champion to call their own Brad Stevens built a monster he really did a team that’s so adapted a team that plays the right way on both ends a team as you mentioned Greg that can defend and they defended their butt off last night was not surprised by that uh they they tend to play hard defensively especially in the postseason after losing the way they did on Friday night in game four down in Dallas so was not surprised that they were locked in and there’s so many great things about this team I think it’s a very very likable team uh you know Jason Tatum seems to be a good guy by all counts good father has Duce around all the time Jaylen Brown does a ton of community work uh Drew holiday is beloved throughout the NBA Al Horford is Al Horford uh porzingis seems to kind of find a figure out himself over the last year or so after some rough times early on in his career with BigTime expectations so it’s really difficult to find a guy on this team that’s unlikable like there’s Grant Williams would annoy me Tristan Thompson was a pain in the ass like there were guys on teams in P Marcus Marcus times would would get other people’s skin this team wasn’t that and from the beginning I’ll say this the beat writers uh a lot of the guys around this team and women around this team said this is a team that loves you know each other and it it sounded cliche and kind of corny but they could see it they could see the chemistry right away and that these guys respected each other and and cared for each other and hung out you know away from the floor with each other so I I like that aspect of it but Brad Stevens he just built a monster and you know you brought up Danny a and I made this comparison during my podcast today the Nick cattle show I did a full hour so I don’t I I don’t have a ton here on the Celtics I I’ll mostly put it to you but you know when when you look at the front office I kind of feel like Danny a was the Dan duette of this specific team and Brad was Theo and you know Dan duette brought in a lot of those core members of that 2004 World Series team CEO came in and F some more Talent especially David Ortiz and Kurt Schilling and kind of sprinkled it in Keith folk and that’s that’s what Stevens said he came in he had the foundation of brown and Tatum and then he went out and got Horford again he brought in obviously porzingis he brought in holiday and he he brought in Derek white which was one of one of those trades that people were scratching their heads but I kind of compare that to the D duat Theo Epstein thing by the way Jaylen Brown did you agreee with the uh Finals MVP choice I did um I I I can’t tell you how happy I was um when they announced Jaylen Brown as MVP that was sort of like uh the last drama like after pritchard’s uh three-pointer again um to close the first half that was the the only drama left was who was going to be the NBA final Finals MVP and um Jaylen Brown’s just a guy that um I remember there I think I have a tweet at at some point after they drafted him like I went and like watched a little bit of film and like I actually had a positive tweet I was like I I think they got something there and Jaylen Brown he looked a little unrefined but uh the athletic template that he had was very impressive and like I just and this is going to intertwine with my other sort of thought that people will probably hate me for um but like you know just the way Jaylen Brown like came up through the system he wasn’t one of these you know aaou sort of diaper Dandy guys uh bonus baby types like you know he he grinded his way the whole way and even when he got in the NBA he had to he had to continually work I mean he was certainly talented but I think he wasn’t um you know compared to like say Jason Tatum like he he just he didn’t have the the polished skills that a Tatum did coming up and he sort of had to build himself up and I really respect those type of athletes now on the other side of the coin um I I have a confession that like I even into the fourth quarter and probably more so in the fourth quarter like I I’m sorry I I can’t stand to watch Jason Tatum play like I I respect the talent and I and I respect him off the court like you said and I do I do think it’s he’s just he’s young and it’s very similar to the way I viewed Kobe um for a while and they’ll Kobe like uh maturity the years brought him um you know much more respect almost so similar to dambo um where I hated Bryson and now like he’s you know what he did the Fallout from his US Open Championship a man of the people like some of the things that he did like he wouldn’t have done that five years ago but he does it now and maybe Tatum’s there but like I couldn’t help like watching the fourth quarter of the game like I was like I think he’s he’s pushing for finals MVP he’s pushing for stats in the fourth quarter and like you know he took seven shots nobody took more than three shots um on the Celtics besides him and like it was just it’s that kind of stuff that just like it it irritates me um a little bit but there’s no no doubt that I respect the talent and also the I think the the man he’s growing into and I think he’s going to be like Kobe I think he’s going to be much better in the years to come but like right in in the the complaining with the officiating like you know if anybody knows me they know that’s that all of that stuff is just stuff that annoys me whether it’s professional athletes or sort of uh youth players or whatever and and so um yeah I’m sure people will will give me hate for it but I I’m sorry I just got to keep it real um I I was so happy to see Jaylen Brown win the finals MVP I thought he deserved it and I thought he was the best player for the Celtics throughout the playoffs and um I’m very happy for him there could be a lot to unpack there but this is a Patriots pod so I’ll keep it short I’ll allow the people to to send the hate your way for the Jason Tatum comments I thought Tatum was terrific last night I thought first quarter he had seven assists first half he had nine assists I think he would have finished with 15 16 assists if some guys could hit some layups Drew holiday missed about six bunnies last night as great as as he was and yes that’s a little hyperbole because he only missed like seven shots in the night but literally like five of them were were within two feet but I thought he he played great last night I thought his fourth quarter uh what I loved was he attacked downhill and he kept attacking and he got to the bucket he finished he had a big three-point play in the fourth quarter to make sure that lead stayed extended so I I thought Tatum was great I thought Brown defensively I mean what can you say he accepted the challenge of Luca donic he embraced the challenge he demanded it they they had that sound from ABC where he literally went up to the coach I think it was Charles Lee and said if Luca stays in I stay in I I I do not want want to be out of this game when LCA donic is out of this game he took it personal and the numbers show it he he defended Luca for more than 32 minutes in this series which is a lot uh more than 140 possessions I think it was Luca shot 40% from the field against Jaylen uh he shot I think around 25% from three against Jaylen so Jaylen really had Luca locked down the entire series and Drew had and he I was just going to say and he was in his pocket like the whole time at half from half court and like he was there wasn’t even enough room for him to be picked he was fighting over picks like he was just it was uh his good point by you his defense was probably the most impressive thing in the series and he was still you know a completely well-rounded player yeah so I think there’s a there’s an argument for both I probably would have given it to Tatum after last night’s game but we’re talking about I mean such a slim margin between the two guys and I could easily see brown get it because of his defense and he shot a little bit better than Tatum did in this series uh but yeah I mean Brown just terrific and the bigger takeaway is those two guys they fought through all the noise they figured it out together and now they’re Champions and so we’ll we’ll see if they can continue down this road they’re both young enough uh very interesting times for this team and for those two guys to see how they can build off of this with that said do you think the questions will ever stop Greg are we done with the narratives are we done with the talking points I I well in in a in a sense yes but this being Boston and people needing uh ratings for their Sports Talk radio shows um no I think what what’s maybe you’re more in tune with than than I am on this but that but are there are there sites out there that have or have people written like similar to like Aaron shots from um football Outsiders um it’s now ftn fantasy or whatever like you know he can easily whip up like a dvoa stat like comparing people over erors that that that he could say like well this team had the third easiest road to a Super Bowl title or something like that do do do is there similar to NBA I mean I’d be interested in that I I I think that look I think the Celtics would have won anyways I mean you know you look at the regular season you look at their postseason it was basically the same you know their win rate and things like that and I think their defense went to another level um but I’m sure there will be more than a few that’ll be like you know they got lucky with their Road this year they were fortunate and like look that that’s going to be said um I don’t think it’s going to matter and plus you know I always look at championships and seasons and I say in 10 years nobody’s going to remember the road all they’re going to see is 2024 World Champions Boston Celtics like they I mean I don’t remember anything about 200 eight and their road to a title um but I’m sure you do but uh no the the no if if if Challengers present themselves and if you know the teams on the come if you know the Nuggets climb back up the mountain you know the timber wolves mature um I don’t know maybe the Hawks will be formidable next year I don’t know um but no I think I think it’ll I I think next year you can look forward to at some point maybe early certain people saying well they weren’t really tested last year so we don’t really know what they’re made out of I will laugh at those people I will make fun of those people and I will vehemently disagree with those people what we saw from the Celtics this year they are one of the top 10 maybe best teams in in NBA history when you look at so many different analytics and statistics and what they accomplished you know the sixth best scoring differential in NBA history including the playoffs and it would have been you know third or fourth if it wasn’t for the anomaly of game four in Dallas which really you know SED some of those numbers but you know most wins in Celtics history they have the second most at 80 they went 80 and 21 this year 16 and3 in the playoffs obviously uh the second best NBA championship run at 16 and3 in the 16- win era only Golden State going 16-1 in 2017 was better when you look at the rest of the NBA final NBA standings combined playoffs and regular season Celtics had the best rec record by 12 and a half games over Oklahoma City in the west uh Shan Grandy tweeted out just a bunch of unbelievable stats regular season wise their scoring margin fifth best in NBA history scoring margin at home was third best uh they had the best offense in NBA history it’s just I mean it’s it’s a crazy crazy list of accomplishments for this team they had more 30-point leads than 10-point deficits their longest losing streak all year long was two uh NBA record 10 30 point wins they had 17 25 Point wins which is a record they had 350 Point wins which is a record it’s 19 20o wins one 20o loss I they’re one of the best teams that has ever played the game and if we want to sit there and talk about pathway I just think that’s a cop out and and they they dominated all season long they dominated the postseason we can’t over looked the fact that they did not have porzingis if we want to play injury games and the Nuggets you know if you look at the nuggets the Nuggets beat the eighth placed Los Angeles Lakers last year uh to get to the NBA Championship the NBA finals and then they beat Miami who stopped having the Out of Body Experience from three so it wasn’t necessarily a very very difficult pathway for Denver last year those things happen is what it is uh this team is talented they’re the best team all year best team won the championship I say that’s enough priz piix is America’s number one fantasy sports app with more than 5 million members it is the most fun and exciting way to get in on the action while you while you watch your favorite sports and players just pick more or less on two or more player stats for a shot to win up to 100 times your cash with prize picks you could turn $10 into $1,000 in a single game watching your favorite sports this summer you can make a prize picks lineup in as little as 60 seconds seriously I I did it before I was like I did uh some on the golf recently that was fun watching along you just need to pick more or less on two to six player stat projections and you’re locked in if you’re looking for promotions prize picks has got you covered every week from lowering select player stat predictions on Tuesdays which increases your chances of getting a win to getting your entry fees back if you have a losing lineup on Friday this week on priz pick uh I’m really into the hockey um and the NBA is kind of a snooze go Celtics can’t wait to to watch you guys against Kyrie this week on prize picks I’m looking at the hockey board selecting Gustaf forsling over one and a half shots on goal Sam Bennett hated in Boston over four hits Alexander barov over .5 assists that’s easy that’s like taking money from a baby and Chris krider over two and a half shots on goal download the app today and use code clns for a first match deposit up to $100 pick more pick less it’s it’s that easy all right let’s get to some football now Cole strange Greg we got an update from Mike Reese we were all wondering uh what this injury was we knew that strange would be out for a while Mike ree reported at ESPN over the weekend that strange has a torn Patell tendon and if you Google it it’ll say full recovery timeline 6 months to a year if you go back to Ian Rapaport a few weeks ago Greg he said that uh strange might miss up to like the Midway point of the Season which would be October late October early November which would put you at about 11 months from the injury in December uh what do you make about all of this could this be a wasted season for strange uh well look there’s no doubt in my mind that somebody told Mike Reese that um that that was the injury and and first of all no one’s really known until now it’s been very Hush Hush it’s been like a state secret on what’s been going on with Cole strange what his you remember he was he was injured I think coming out of camp or very early in the season and he was dealing with something what I was told at the time was that he was he could have done surgery at the time uh on what I don’t know but he elected to play through it and um and he did to his credit but I do think it ended up what ended up rupturing or or having something to do with this I don’t know it smells it smells funny to me me that it’s just a torn patella Tenon like he should be back by now he should be doing things and uh by now normally if that’s all it is I think there’s more involved I always thought it was a miniscus injury um you know especially the the the way it was talked about early on when it’s h the initial injury and then finally I think it just like tore all together I I don’t know I’m just I’m just giving you my opinion but for a full year it’s basically going to be a full year for Cole strange that’s what they’re saying and again we he didn’t do anything he was in uh shorts and t-shirt at practices this offseason um I think it’s more than just a a patella Tenon tear um reconstruction what have you I think there’s there’s more involved um which would push the timetable um but yeah I think I think if in any event if we’re talking like midseason whatnot yeah we’re basically looking at like a wasted season this is bad for Cole you know obviously uh he was a bill bich pick a bill bich guy so the front office the coaching staff doesn’t necessarily have to feel like they got to make the most of him they could just look at him and go H we don’t believe in him we they didn’t love the pick so he’s got to go and if he is going to miss half the season three quarters of the Season whatever it is this opens door for City so C so played left guard in college if they are thinking about rolling with the wenu at Right Guard again and and playing Kaden Wallace at right tackle strange might not have a job to even fight for mean by the time he gets back this offensive line might be signed sealed and delivered by Scott Peters and Cole strange could be be on the outside looking in and it just continues to be one of the most heads scratching picks by belich over the last few years of his tenure uh I know you and I both did not like the pick at the time didn’t make much sense picking an offensive guard in the first round let alone Cole strange you talked about him not being a big dude you know from from the uh from the wayist down as far as hips and legs and all that stuff and quads and he doesn’t have a big anchor doesn’t have a big Tuk Tok and you start to see all these injuries and they’re all lower body injuries so not great for Cole strange all right let’s jump to offseason practice Awards Greg let’s begin with your best player and why so this was a um this was a tough race in my mind um I think some of the guys that I considered uh Keon white pop Douglas um maybe Antonio Gibson um but I ultimately went with Christian barmore now you know there’s no pads um tough to really gauge line play but it just seemed like and he wasn’t there all the time but it just seemed like when he was there he was always in the back field he was causing disruptions he was opening up a lot of space and and for him to pick up where he left off last season after the getting the big contract extension that’s a great sign worst player other end of the spectrum and why um so it was going to be some offensive lineman because they were um freaking horrendous especially like once you got down to like the third unit and um a couple of guys were um on my list um Ryan Johnson who just got released from the Patriots was certainly on my list um there’s another guy that I’m looking for I think I gave another award later on uh Charles Turner yeah um excuse me undrafted free agent uh but I ultimately went with Andrew stuber who was uh a seventh round pick in 2022 um look it’s a seven round pick I’m not expecting them to you know hit on Pay Dirt I mean they did get uh what was it uh was it that draft where the hell did they get a win from um draft was that well anyways um oh when it was 2020 six round pick I mean you’re you’re not going to hit on guys like that all the time but stuber was was just this guy who I think he had injury issues when he came in um wasn’t around basically his whole rookie season and then uh once he did get back he wasn’t very good this year they moved him inside the guard and like that’s always the it’s always the kiss of death when they take a tackle and move them into guard like you know the next thing is a a a a a ride to the plane uh to the to the airport um for the flight home and so um you know nothing against him I’m sure he’s a nice guy Michigan guy uh but uh he was yeah not not good not a good tenure most improved might surprise people yeah uh a couple of guys that um I considered for this um city so um Keon white again uh Austin the hell’s his name the cornerback Alex Austin uh Alex Austin um and ultimately I went with Jaylen RoR um he was a guy that I thought started to come on at the end of last season certainly had a big uh kick return uh very late I don’t know if that was the season finale or what he was basically like the best offensive player in the season finale in that in the snow in that forgettable bich uh final game um and I I think he did a really nice job this spring I mean he was one of the most active wide receivers in the practice and uh you know had some touchdowns and so um yeah I’m looking you know I wouldn’t write off rayor just yet plus with the kick returnability and the change and kickoff rules um he could be one of those guys that they they look at for that position so um my I think he’s improved steadily since he’s been here let’s swing it the other way least improved guy anonio Mafi um I didn’t like the shape that he came in um not that he’s a skinny guy um but he was big last year and I was like well let’s see where he is coming back year two let’s see if he you know trims down he he’s not exactly when you see him in the locker room he’s not exactly in a Donis but you know a lot of those offensive linemen aren’t um but I I thought he came in in worse shape um Unfortunately they had to move him to Center because Jake Andrews um wasn’t available um in I think any practices or at least certainly not the later practice so he had to go to Center and I talked about it before his snaps were terrible um you know I just don’t know where he fits on this team um you know we’ll see how things shake out with Jake Andrews you know they have leaden Robinson at guard they had that veteran Nick Leverett that they signed um is there a place for Mafi I mean I could see him more being sort of a practice squad player keep developing him because remember he was a defensive lineman for most of or at least half his college career so he’s he’s always been sort of a project and I think that’s going to continue the Celtics are in the NBA finals and I I can tell you Nick is very excited Celtics will have home court so possibly four games at TD Garden how awesome would it be to go to a game and experience that atmosphere and get the hate on Kyrie game time makes it getting NBA Finals tickets even faster and easier prices on the game time app actually go down the closer it gets the tip off with killer last minute deals all in prices views from your seat I love that I have to see the view from my seat before I purchase any tickets it’s right there in the app and their lowest price guarantee game time takes the guest work at of buying NBA tickets I was just looking at the app for game one and saw a ton of discounts being offered like seriously it says like you know $49 off $100 off of course the the the price tags are expensive um not outrageous if you’re a hoop head and planning on going to the NBA finals um like I said love getting a panoramic view from the seat and the app before I buy take the guest work out of buying NBA Finals tickets with game time purchase the game time app create an account use code clns for $20 off your first purchase terms apply again create an account and redeem Co code clns for $20 off your first purchase download game time today last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed all right let’s continue to uh Roll Along with the offseason practice Awards uh best rookie I think people listening to this podcast would would have a pretty good guess as to who Greg has listed here yeah probably it’s not the quarterback it’s not Drake may even though I I I was fine with Drake’s uh not um certainly not underwhelmed by him um I thought he did a good job it was about what I expected but my pick for best rookie of the off season is Jaylen pulk I just think uh he he’s a guy that continue he gets better every day you’re more impressed the more you watch him just the little things that he does his body control he just he just knows how to play football and um I just can’t wait to to continue to watch him grow in training camp joint practice I think they have with somebody and then preseason games and then I think he’s GNA have a pretty big role once we get to the season um that’s sort of the Packer way is to to play these guys especially if you’re rebuilding and so um I I I I thought pulk was awesome um not exactly the most explosive guy in the world but uh he’s no slouch in that in that area and I think he’s uh I think he’s going to be a really good pick for this team I think he’s going to immediately contribute I think uh Patriots fans are going to be happy with him and by all accounts he knows how to deal with stuff away from the field and and gets along with guys and not that that’s like the end all be all but if you if you have somebody who can be productive on the field and gets it off the field there’s obviously less risk with somebody like that and I’m I’m looking forward to Jaylen poke and to mention Drake May quickly here all he does is Bring Back dubs he was in the TD Garden twice in the postseason bold W’s he was in the building last night so uh Drake mayor already bringing championships to Boston we look forward to that all right you had you had a little bit of a tease earlier on for this poor man uh this poor man’s name is Charles Turner you were not one over by what you saw uh during his time out there no he’s uh he’s really small he looks like a either a Long Snapper or uh he just he he doesn’t look um he doesn’t look like he’s in the right place out there like it’s just like he looks like a lower level college guy which I think that he is um and you know who knows maybe he grows into his body or whatnot but it’s just uh he sort of sticks out like a sore thumb and uh yeah I don’t I don’t know how much longer he’s going to be around interesting because he played at LSU and you would think that you know SEC yeah that that kind of uh that kind of pedigree that kind of program um but yeah I mean we should also mention that he began his career as an offensive tackle they moved him into Center so uh Greg just mentioned how if you move tackles to the interior of the offensive line sometimes it’s not a good sign so they did that with him at LSU and uh here he is not wowing uh Bard at at these uh at these mini camps by the way a note here uh sounds like rookies will be at uh training camp officially on July 19th and the players will be a few days uh veterans will be a few days after that so we’re about a month away uh from from training camp kicking off all right best coach Greg so that that would put uh the first practice say June 24th um the first three days I don’t think they can have pads or anything like that so uh that weekend that opening weekend um after they after they open Camp should be uh interesting and a lot of pads um so this is best coach now I didn’t really use any great criteria I’m just telling you from sitting in my chair on the hill watching practice and it’s a little bit slanted because the coach that I picked always instructs his guys right in front of us where we are in the media now the offensive line and defensive line are way down the other end um I do try to watch through my binoculars and see what’s going on um but you know it’s it it’s hard to tell but I I’ll just say uh I I like I like to watch Brian Bel bich coach um I think he’s very thorough with his instructions I think he’s very clear the guys listen to to him um maybe because he sounds like his dad and by the way he looks like his dad more and more which each passing like go to the Patriots coaches page and it looks it looks exactly like bill um but but younger um but I I was uh I was impressed um I I you know I was impressed with a lot of their coaches um we just don’t know how good they’re going to be until the pads go on uh and of course probably offensive line uh those two coaches um will be watched closer than anyone and uh I thought you know I thought Tyler Hughes the wide receivers coach who um the jury is still very much out on um I thought he did a nice job instructing his guys too and we’ll see whether that pays off or not yeah I always thought Steve bich sounds exactly like Bill it’s it’s creepy how much Steve sounds like his father all right we still have worst coach biggest surprise biggest disappointment to take a look at but before we get there want to remind you this episode is brought to you by prize pick largest daily fantasy sports platform in North America download the app today use that code clns for a first deposit match up to 100 bucks also check out Greg and Mike giardi with their coverage of the Patriots and of course John corales uh all of his work with the Celtics and uh did a great job after game four of Dallas showing uh how the Celtics can counter some of what Dallas was doing John always doing great work so you can check him out bsj 50 bucks for the year worst coach Greg okay so this is a caveat before I get more hate mail um what are you doing today again I have no trying to get people mad at you yeah uh I have no idea what he’s actually saying to the players I have no idea what he’s doing in the room uh I’m just telling you my observations from watching practice and how much teaching is going on and and how much interaction and what they’re working on um in my opinion and this isn’t a surprise because he’s never done this before and this is his first time doing it and I know from what Gerard Mayo said he’s been asking a lot of questions and asking for help um from the other coaches it’s it’s Dante Hightower I I just don’t think he knows it you know coaching teaching um especially after being a very successful player and Dante Hightower you know was just an awesome player uh you know it it definitely it’s a transition and that’s not to say he can’t be a really good coach he he could be I just don’t observing him my thought was he doesn’t exactly know what he’s doing and and and that’s fine because he has a lot of Veteran coaches around him and he’s coaching a position inside linebackers that Gerard Mayo can easily come over and help him so it’s sort of like you know they they have enough veteran coaches to be able to do it and you know they’re sort of bringing Dante Hightower along but I think he does have uh I think he has a ways to go but as long as he’s open to learning which gerro says that he is um he could he could turn out to be a dynamite coach biggest surprise of the early Camp season biggest surprise to me was um Kaden Wallace quickly moving from left tackle to right tackle and kicking Mike winu inside to Right Guard um you know from talking to people around the team um you know I trying to get a grasp on this and to see if this desperation or what this this is a move as we’ve heard with the discussion about best five and I will say they’re really uh happy with a COR 4 at left tackle I think he’s been one of the surprises of Camp to them um from what I’ve seen I think he’s done a good job not a whole lot of pressure coming from his side and you know now they’re they’re they’re trying to figure out right tackle and Right Guard um it’s it’s a little alarming um to me but I there’s no way after the draft the way Elliot wolf talked about Kaden Wallace is there’s no way I expected by the end of the off season that they would have already moved Kaden Wallace to right tackle and then moved a $19 million tackle the best tackle in free agency to guard so yeah surprised and shocked you go back to what Gerard Mayo said at time during the draft and he mentioned that Alex Van Pelt and the all o line coaches told them that they believe that Kaden Wallace could play the left side so it it was either a massive misevaluation of the player or they were concerned about the Right Guard spot to the point where they felt like they had to push a wenu back in but when you when you combined what Mayo said during the draft and what Elliot wolf try to sell people say we believe Kaden Wallace can be a left tackle and you combine that with Elliot Wolf coming out and saying that they believe they signed the best offensive tackle and free agency and Mike wenu and now you have Kaden Wallace playing right tackle and wenu playing guard again not great Bob not great so we’ll but again I will say I’ve said this before I’ll say it again if they do get their best five UPF front that’s what’s important so I you know I’d rather them say to themselves let’s get the best five up front let’s not be stubborn about the evaluation not let’s not try to force something that happened here with Kaden Wallis we think a core four is going to start at left tackle anyway we can still we can now take our time with Kaden Wallace maybe and put the best five out there that’s what you should do you should have your best five offensive linemen out there playing on the offensive line so big picture 30,000 feet I agree with the overall philosophy it’s just the evaluation of the players and how quickly they you know transition from one side to the other is certainly uh alarming all right the biggest disappointment uh to me it was uh the offseason for KJ Osborne um he’s a guy that I had high hopes for coming from the Vikings I like his profile I like um you know he’s he he’s a professional wide receiver can do a bunch of different things a little bit of an underrated player um sort of lost in the mix with you know Justin Jefferson and uh in in Minnesota and Jordan Addison and uh probably you know a really good profile for a team like the Patriots to maybe see if they can get somebody who’s a little bit underrated and he just had a lot of drops issues this off season and unfortunately for him it’s a carryover from last season for him when all of a sudden his drop rate like went up it was a we probably the Patriots thought it was a anom anomaly yeah can’t speak uh but uh judging on this offse it wasn’t and it has to be caused for concern all right that’ll do it Banner 18 edition of the Greg Mard Patriots podcast with Nick cattos hopefully you all enjoyed I certainly enjoyed last night I enjoy today I’m going to enjoy the rest of my week I’m going to enjoy on Friday it’s going to be a fantastic time but uh before we get to the parade on Friday uh Greg and I will be back a little bit later in the week to talk more patriots till then be well [Music] [Music]