00:00Oh, we're good to go downstairs with Hunter Henry, Patriots tight end, joining us.
00:05Hello, sir.
00:07Hey.
00:07Hey, there you go.
00:08Come on.
00:08I'm looking for you.
00:09Let's go.
00:09I'm waiting for you guys.
00:10I'm like, where are you?
00:11I'm waiting for you guys.
00:12Oh, okay.
00:13On your time.
00:13How was practice today?
00:15It was good, man.
00:16Turned the temperature up a little bit.
00:17Obviously threw the pads on.
00:19Got to play a little football finally.
00:21Good to see the big guys up front finally get to play a little ball, come off the rock.
00:24See the running backs get into action a little bit more.
00:27So it was good, man.
00:28Obviously, first day, there's going to be a lot of growth from this day to game one and even preseason game one.
00:35But it was a good start.
00:36You feel like, I mean, you are a veteran, but I'm talking about being a veteran here.
00:39It's another year here.
00:40Like, you're one of the few guys that have made the turn through three different coaches.
00:45When you first got here, and I know you were excited when Billy O'Brien took over the offense,
00:49how's it pretty much similar with Josh McDaniels, correct?
00:52Yes, yes.
00:53Very, very, you know, it's been great.
00:54Obviously, my one year with Josh, very successful year personally, but also we had a very successful year as an offense, too, overall.
01:03And so just looking to build upon that.
01:06Some of the stuff, obviously, there's some new stuff, too.
01:08There's a lot of new guys, obviously, a lot of turnover from my first year here to now.
01:13But, you know, we're coming together, just trying to stack days and continue to get better so we can get ready to roll.
01:19Yeah, I'm just thinking about that now.
01:20Who are the longest tenured players on this team?
01:23I know.
01:23You're up there.
01:24I am up there.
01:24I am up there, especially in the league-wise now, for sure.
01:28It's kind of weird.
01:29Do you get treated differently?
01:30Does Braves come to you and talk to you a little differently than the other guys?
01:34No, I don't get treated too differently.
01:35But, I mean, obviously, I have experience.
01:38I've seen a lot of things in this league, man.
01:39I've seen a lot of defenses and played a lot of different things.
01:43So, you know, all the guys know they can come to me and ask me things.
01:46I try to, you know, give my feedback on things, too.
01:49You know, I want to give space for the coaches to coach.
01:51I mean, that's what they're here for.
01:52But, obviously, I see the game sometimes a little differently, maybe just because I'm playing it and how I would do things.
01:58So, just I want to be an open door as much as I can as the coaches are and help these guys be successful.
02:03Do you miss David Andrews?
02:04He's going to be working with us once a week now.
02:06I don't know if you know he's made the transfer to the bad guys over here.
02:09That's what he told me.
02:09Yeah, but you miss having him out there?
02:11I know he's tight with you.
02:12I do, man.
02:13You know, I'm happy for him as well at the same time on the other side of it.
02:16But, you know, I definitely miss him as a guy that I got really close to.
02:20Just our families got close.
02:22Obviously, that doesn't end with football, but I miss him on the field for sure.
02:26I mean, the guy that was just a tremendous patriot, a salute to him.
02:30Obviously, he had so much success in this league and so much success here.
02:33And just a guy in the community that we could, you know, just look to as a leader, as a man.
02:39You know, our kids are the same age, so we grew really close over the last few years.
02:43And definitely will miss him on the field.
02:46Still, I'm going to have to hop on and talk to you guys, hopefully, maybe when he hops on.
02:50Oh, he'll have plenty to say.
02:52He's already been texting.
02:54He can't wait to get in here.
02:55He's got things to say.
02:57I love it.
02:57Yes, he's told us.
02:59Are you thinking that this year could be a tremendous opportunity for you personally,
03:05given that Josh is back and the kind of production that the tight end in this offense historically can have?
03:13Yeah, I mean, obviously, I try to have a good year every year, no matter what's going on.
03:17But obviously, my history with Josh and then the history of this offense with the tight end position is huge.
03:22But I think the thing with the tight end position that I love so much is how much we do in this offense.
03:28You know, there's obviously the big plays that you can have, but also just the grimy plays of, you know,
03:34pass protection or, you know, getting in there in the run game and helping things out just to blend everything together
03:38and be so multiple.
03:40So there's a lot demanded upon this position and this offense, and hopefully I can feel that on a weekend basis.
03:45A lot of new faces in that front seven that you go up against every day.
03:49How's that defense look for you so far?
03:51They've been good so far, man.
03:52Yeah, it's a tall task.
03:54That's what you want, man.
03:55Iron sharpened iron when you get out here.
03:57I mean, you want to go against the best, you know, because every Sunday that's what you're going to go against no matter what.
04:02But, you know, it's been great.
04:04You want the back and forth and you want to compete.
04:08This is what makes us better, and this is going to make us a better team.
04:11What do you get for lunch?
04:12How's the food?
04:13Food's great, man.
04:14Food's great.
04:14Ted Harper's got them cooking it up in there, man.
04:17It's good, man.
04:17You know, eating good, trying to keep some weight on at camp.
04:20You know how it goes, especially the big boys up front.
04:23We start, at least me, I'm running, blocking, doing everything.
04:26I'm losing a lot of weight, so I try to keep it on.
04:28Drink some beer, man.
04:29I love some beer.
04:30I love some beer.
04:31Zoe's like, you're trying to lose weight when you can't start.
04:34We used to go to a school, and they had a bar outside, and they had gold tea there.
04:38Gold tea first came out.
04:39That's old school right there.
04:40Pitchers of beer.
04:41Pitchers of beer.
04:42Zoe said they used to.
04:43They used to schedule weigh-ins after they knew we were out.
04:45You smoking cigs at halftime, too?
04:47Exactly.
04:49Put a dip in.
04:51A little Diet Coke at halftime.
04:52Oh, God.
04:53Zoe told the story the other day that they would leave practice.
04:56They would hit the bar quick to have a few beers before they went back for meetings.
05:00They would go drinking.
05:01If you had an off day the next day, it wouldn't be the worst idea, but day-to-day basis, and
05:06especially as I've gotten older, you've got to take care of the body.
05:10I was back with two days, too.
05:11We had real two-a-days.
05:12Yeah, that's true.
05:13Yeah, we've got to love days now.
05:15We don't have two-a-days like we used to.
05:16Hey, with all the turnover on the roster, have you seen any of the younger players kind
05:20of take on more of a leadership role so far?
05:23I mean, obviously, you can see that with Drake stepping into a role.
05:26I mean, as a rookie, it can be a lot stepping into the leadership role as well.
05:30As playing and doing all that, just trying to earn respect from guys.
05:33But obviously, he has a lot of respect from everybody now and just stepping up in a leadership
05:37role.
05:38I mean, it's kind of given as a quarterback.
05:40You have the ball in your hand every play.
05:42But he's done a tremendous job of just stepping up in that aspect.
05:46I know you probably hesitate to admit it, but are there plays with Drake where he impresses
05:50you and you just say, damn, there's not a ton of guys who physically can make some
05:54of the plays he sometimes pulls off?
05:57Yeah, I'm not trying to pump his head up too much.
05:59I know.
05:59But there's a couple last year.
06:00There's a few, though, isn't there?
06:02Yeah.
06:02Yeah, he's definitely a tremendous player, man.
06:06And I get excited.
06:08Let's just say I get excited to come in and work with him.
06:10So, if that says anything, that's how I'll put it.
06:15He gets me excited to go out there and work with him and continue to strive for success
06:22and strive for what he wants and how he sees things because he's got a tremendous amount
06:26of talent.
06:27He doesn't talk crap like Phillip Rivers does, does he?
06:29He's got a little in there.
06:30He's not at Phil's level yet, of course.
06:33I mean, Phil was probably doing that as a young guy.
06:35But, you know, he's got to earn some cred maybe a little bit more, and then I bet that
06:40will start to flow a little bit.
06:41But he's got that down in there.
06:42He's got a little of that Phillip Rivers in him, a little bit, a little bit.
06:46I've said about him, I think I said it just a short time ago, he's a little more competitive
06:50and confident that people want to give him credit for.
06:52People just think, oh, he's this nice, humble guy.
06:55He's got, you know, like he's got no ego.
06:56I'm like, oh, no, it's in there.
06:58Come on, man.
06:59You don't make it to this level without a deep level of competitiveness, man.
07:03We're all trying to be great.
07:04We're trying to, you know, be the best, and he's got that in him for sure.
07:07I mean, next time you guys have Vaughn, just ask him about ping pong, man.
07:11I've just been whipping his butt in some ping pong when we get a break there and there.
07:15So I'm probably the best ping pong player on our team, maybe in the NFL.
07:18That's a bold statement.
07:20But I'm definitely better than Drake, so maybe bring that up to him when you get a chance.
07:25We stalked him at the Super Bowl because we had a one-on-one with him, and he ended up
07:29beating Drew Brees, Michael Parsons.
07:31Yeah, I saw a clip of that.
07:33It looked terrible.
07:34It was not.
07:34We were there.
07:35They were bad.
07:36Hunter, we watched the entire thing, and the entire time I was saying to these guys, I'm
07:39like, I'm just terrible.
07:39You know, I've played ping pong enough in my life where I was like, these guys suck.
07:43And I'm like, bring it up to him, man.
07:45Keep him humble, man.
07:46I've got to keep him humble on that ping pong table.
07:47First production meeting.
07:48Good.
07:48I got it.
07:48He needs to improve, so I'm not surprised that you kicked his ass.
07:51Yeah, baby.
07:52Hunter, great to talk to you.
07:53Thanks for sticking around.
07:54I know it's hot down there.
07:55Appreciate it.
07:55Yeah.
07:55No problem.
07:56All right, Hunter Henry, joining us from the field after practice here at Gillette Stadium.
08:01He gets it.
08:02That guy gets it.
08:03I love that guy.
08:04I love that player.
08:06I will chest bump anytime over Hunter Henry, man.
08:09I would do that.
08:09Like, the day he got here.
08:10Yep.
08:10That guy gets it.
08:19Yeah.
08:31Why?
08:31Why?
08:32Why?
