Greg Bedard joined Matt McCarthy and Joe Murray on the Patriots Postgame Show, sharing his takeaways from the Patriots' 20-12 win over the Vikings in the preseason.
Thumbnail photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.
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Thumbnail photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.
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00:00Patriots with a 20-12 win over the Vikings in preseason game number two.
00:04It's the Shaws and Star Market Patriots postgame show.
00:07Matt McCarthy, Joe Murray in today and joining us,
00:11as he always does on the postgame show, is Greg Bedard.
00:14Greg, if we're going to talk about opening up gaps,
00:17there's one person we need to talk to about that.
00:19It's the big boy himself.
00:21What did you make of the Patriots offensive line?
00:23It felt like they were a big part of the story this week,
00:26coming out of joint practices.
00:28What did you see from them today?
00:30Yeah, just on today, I mean, look, it's hard to really make a judgment
00:34because, like the Commanders game the week before,
00:37the Vikings didn't suit anybody up.
00:40They even held out more people than the Commanders did.
00:43So the Patriots were going up against second and third team defensive guys for the Vikings.
00:49But I will say I think there was some good and bad.
00:54I thought that Will Campbell was pretty good in this game from what I could see.
00:58I didn't have him for any pressures on first look.
01:03He had a couple of really nice run blocks, including on the Travion Henderson touchdown.
01:10He sort of one-armed the guy down the field.
01:12It was a really nice block.
01:13Ben Brown did some good work on that.
01:16But other than that, I didn't think it was very good.
01:21I think that probably the most distressing thing out of this game is that it doesn't seem like it seems like they've gone backwards in terms of coming up with their starting five on the offensive line.
01:35Ben Brown started the game at left guard.
01:38Weren't sure whether we were going to see Jared Wilson, who didn't take part in the second practice.
01:42He ends up coming in as the second team left guard.
01:45Got his first snaps at center in a couple weeks, at least.
01:51Awenu was okay.
01:53You know, probably pretty good after I get to watch the film.
01:56Marcus Bryant at right tackle had a couple tough reps.
02:01So, very much a mixed bag, but a lot of stuff to sort out on the interior because it looks like Jared Wilson has been demoted.
02:12And who knows?
02:13Would Garrett Bradbury look like he did not play well at all today?
02:19And does that mean that center is now an open competition?
02:21Like, I just think left guard and center are now in a blender at this point for the Patriots.
02:26And not ideal with just over three weeks left until the season opener.
02:31Yeah, I was going to ask, did anybody emerge today?
02:33I mean, I saw Cole Strange at center.
02:35You know, City Cell had some sort of penalty there.
02:39Jacobs, again, you know, last week I thought he was decent.
02:42But Darian Lowe's sighting today as well.
02:44I just, it's just a mixed bag, Greg.
02:47Is anybody emerging at this point?
02:49No, I mean, look, I think they're set.
02:53I would say that they are set right now, obviously, at left tackle, at right guard, and right tackle with Morgan Moses.
03:02The Patriots might say that they are set at center.
03:05I think after they watched this film of Garrett Bradbury in this game, I don't think that's going to be the case.
03:11I think, and now left guard, like, what do you do?
03:14I mean, Ben Brown's really not a guard.
03:16He hasn't played guard until, you know, just recently.
03:20He's been only a center.
03:22Cole Strange, you know, maybe he gets back in the mix at left guard.
03:27They don't really have any options beyond that.
03:30Layden Robinson, City Cell got a little bit of time, like you said, but he's been very much working on the third team.
03:37Tyrese Robinson is in there late.
03:39So, there's a lot to sort out at left guard and center, and I don't know which direction it's going to go.
03:46I don't think we're going to be able to, now the Patriots go behind closed doors until the season opener.
03:51Other than the preseason game against the Giants, we're probably, not many people are going to play.
03:57I would probably play a lot of the offensive linemen, at least the left guards and centers, and sort that out.
04:03But there's a lot they have to sort out.
04:06Greg, is there an argument to be made for maybe moving a Wenu to the left side, putting him at left guard?
04:11I mean, you know, given the money they're paying him, being a veteran player that he is, I know he's better on the right,
04:16but you've got a rookie left tackle in Will Campbell.
04:19I would make that argument, but I defer to you on offensive line opinions.
04:23No, I am done moving Michael Wenu anywhere.
04:26We've seen that with the whole tackle stuff.
04:29It did not go well for him.
04:32He is a Pro Bowl caliber right guard.
04:36Asking him to switch sides is, you know, not ideal.
04:41I mean, it's not the toughest thing in the world, but I think they've screwed around with him so long to his detriment
04:48that I don't see that being much of an option at all for them.
04:52Greg, let's talk about the wide receiver room.
04:55Efton Chisholm had himself a nice day, seems to get better, and he's really shifty,
05:00meaning he doesn't take on hits, and a really strong move around the goal line there.
05:05Kyle Williams took a ball from Josh Dobbs and left the game.
05:11There's reports about Stephon Diggs maybe slowing down a little bit.
05:15What does that room look like, and does it look like Efton Chisholm is going to get a roster spot?
05:22Yeah, I've had him there all along.
05:24I mean, I think that what he did today is sort of a continuation of what he's done on the practice field.
05:33Now, he hasn't gotten, you know, many reps, if any, with the first team.
05:40And also, you know, what we've seen him do in the practices, in the games.
05:45Again, it's against backups and third stringers.
05:48So, really, the only question about him is, can he do this against the starters?
05:53And I think he's going to get that opportunity.
05:56I think if the Patriots decide to release him and maybe try to get him to the practice squad,
06:00I think there's very little chance of that.
06:02I think he gets snapped up in about .2 seconds.
06:04You know, I think the room is pretty much set depending on, you know, Jalen Polk's injury status.
06:13He hasn't been put on IR yet.
06:14But I think, you know, Diggs, Hollins, Kyle Williams got dinged up today.
06:19Hopefully, that's not a long-term thing.
06:20Douglas, Booty, Chisholm.
06:22And then it's, you know, do you keep one of Polk-born Javon Baker, who had kind of a rough day today with,
06:31I think he had one catch and seven targets.
06:33Not all his fault.
06:35Josh Dobbs was erratic again.
06:38He also had a boneheaded false start in the red zone, which is not going to help his case.
06:44So, you know, I don't think, I think that room's pretty close.
06:49It's just a matter of how many are they going to keep.
06:51I've had seven on my previous 53s.
06:54I haven't done an update this week, but I will after this game.
06:58Who were your seven, if you don't mind me asking, Greg?
07:01Was Baker one of them?
07:02Sorry, go ahead.
07:03Yeah, so going into this week, I had Diggs, Hollins, Williams, Douglas, Booty, Polk, and Chisholm.
07:11Now, Polk had the injury, so we don't know what's going to happen with that.
07:17I could see him ending up on IR.
07:19And now it's, do you want to keep Bourne or Baker?
07:24And I'm not sure.
07:25Bourne hasn't been out there in a while.
07:27Looked like he was falling down the depth chart when he was.
07:29You might be able to get something for him in a trade, maybe back to the 49ers,
07:33where they're having a lot of issues in their wide receiver room with people being healthy.
07:38So, you know, as of right now, I probably have six.
07:44And then, you know, the argument is going to be, do you keep seven?
07:47Did Baker lose a job today if he even had one in the first place?
07:51It could be.
07:53We'll have to see how he did on special teams.
07:55He kind of, you know, stood out a little bit there in the first preseason game.
07:59I didn't notice anything offhand.
08:01You know, he still, you know, he still did a good job, like, running routes.
08:06You know, he got open late in the back of the end zone.
08:10There was sticky coverage.
08:11He got loose of it.
08:11Might have pushed off a little bit.
08:13But Dobbs, you know, I think he hit his hand on a defender as he let it go.
08:18He got open on the sideline, but Dobbs threw high to him.
08:21You know, I think the film is kind to him, and I'm not quite ready to write him off quite yet.
08:28Greg, I just wanted to ask your thoughts on Stephon Diggs and some of the reporting this week.
08:33Is he slowing down?
08:34Is he not a number one receiver?
08:36What is your take on Diggs' performance so far?
08:39Yeah, I don't know what to make of Stephon Diggs.
08:43And, you know, I asked because there's been a few things.
08:46There's been, you know, the commander's joint practice.
08:49He comes on midway through, and, you know, there were some reports that, you know, that was the plan,
08:54and they wanted to keep competitive reps to a minimum for him.
08:59But the part of practice that he missed, there's no competitive reps.
09:02It's just basically like walkthroughs and things like that.
09:05It didn't make any sense.
09:07And then he didn't play in the game, and Vrabel says it was coach's decision.
09:12You know, you could read that as he was late getting out on the field.
09:16I don't know, but a lot of it, the explanations didn't make sense.
09:20Then Todd Downing talks to the media and basically hinted that he's not happy with his role or the production,
09:29and they're dealing with that behind the scenes.
09:32He did take part in the two joint practices here.
09:35He did all right.
09:36I mean, I just think he's not making a huge impact, but I think it's just, if I had to read it,
09:42I think it's just part of the process with him coming back from ACL,
09:45and I think they're just trying to pace him.
09:48But, you know, he had the one on Diana Rossini's podcast,
09:51and he's playing coy about whether he's going to be activated for week one.
09:56And, you know, I don't think that's what the Patriots want.
10:00I mean, Vrabel was asked about it, and, you know, I agree with Vrabel.
10:03Like, you know, if you watch practice, he's going to be out there week one.
10:06He's been out there every single day, and it just seems like they're ramping him up.
10:10But I'm not ready to say that he's slowing down.
10:13I never thought he was a number one.
10:15He might be a number one for this team.
10:17But as of right now, that's probably going to be tomorrow at Douglas.
10:21The Shawson Star Market Patriots postgame show rolls on.
10:23Matt McCarthy, Joe Murray, Greg Bedard.
10:26Joe, I know you have a thought that you wanted to get to on the kicking competition
10:30and the special teams as a whole.
10:31Yeah, Greg, outside of some of the kickoffs late in the game with the second and third people,
10:37are they prioritizing special teams a little bit more when it comes to the kick return game?
10:43It's been really good after two weeks.
10:46Is this a Springer thing?
10:47Is it Vrabel doing more of an emphasis on it?
10:50It's just much better through two preseason games.
10:54Yeah, I think it's been really good, Joe.
10:56I agree with you.
10:57And I think it's an emphasis.
10:59I think it started probably with John Stretch, Stryker, and Vrabel once the NFL sort of tweaked the kickoff rules
11:07where a touchback goes to the 35.
11:11And I think they sort of went to work and saw how it could be an advantage.
11:17It probably factored into their decision to draft like a Travion Henderson like early in the second round
11:25that not just a running back and pass receiver but also could be very dangerous on kickoffs.
11:31But they've certainly done a really good job, and I think that's going to continue to be an emphasis for them.
11:37And I think, look, let's be honest.
11:39The Patriots still aren't the most talented team in the world, and they're going to have to win.
11:44If they're going to win a lot of games, if they're going to push for a postseason spot,
11:48they're going to have to win in the margins.
11:49They're going to have to win taking care of the ball and turning it over on defense
11:54and also making a few key plays on special teams.
11:58So I think it all factors in.
11:59How do you handicap the kicking battle and the competition right now, Greg?
12:04Yeah, interesting question.
12:07I wasn't thrilled today with the long snaps of Julian Ashby,
12:12who the Patriots did end up drafting in the seventh round.
12:16I think the first long-staffer that's been drafted in a long time in the NFL.
12:21And he's been pretty good up to this point, but I thought he was high on the extra point snap.
12:26I thought he was also high on the Boragallis attempt from 57.
12:31I think they also got on late on the field.
12:34So I don't really – I don't think I'm going to dock Boragallis all that much.
12:40Of course, we'll have to see what the Patriots think.
12:43But I would say it's pretty even, and I'm not that distressed about Boragallis' sort of shank from 57,
12:52whereas Parker Romo made from 57 the week before.
12:56I just didn't think the operation was very good.
12:58It was much better on Boragallis' field goal that he got towards the end of the game,
13:04and that makes it a little bit more even when you're talking about the competition.
13:09I just thought the operation was a little shaky today.
13:13Greg, who's got more likely a chance of making the team, Anfernee Jennings or Kyle Duggar?
13:21Oh, boy.
13:23Great question.
13:24Neither?
13:26I know.
13:26I mean, to see – you know, Jennings came out of the game a little bit earlier,
13:30but not all that earlier.
13:31And you see Kyle Duggar and then also Marcus Epps, another veteran.
13:35And, of course, he's trying to sort of make the team, and he's coming back from ACL surgery.
13:41But, you know, I think the way that they use them – I mean, I still think they're both long shots to make the team.
13:47I've had them off my roster the entire time.
13:51And I think that Jennings – Jennings is still a really good player.
13:57It's just a question of fit.
13:58And also, do you keep younger guys like, you know, Truman Jones and Elijah Ponder?
14:04And, of course, they're probably going to keep Braden Swinson, their fifth-round draft pick.
14:09Like, you know, Duggar is at safety.
14:13They have a bunch of guys that they can play.
14:16I mean, they still really like Peppers.
14:18You have Jalen Hawkins.
14:19Craig Woodson has come on.
14:22I think it's between Duggar and Epps sort of for that final spot.
14:26I mean, then again, Del Pettis was getting reps in practice over Kyle Duggar
14:32when Jabril Peppers missed the second practice.
14:34So, I would say that Jennings has the best shot, especially if there's an injury.
14:40I do think he's going to have trade value.
14:43I don't know how much trade value Kyle Duggar is going to have because of his contract.
14:48Patriots might have to eat some money to get anything in a trade for him.
14:51But I would say the longer yards are Kyle Duggar.
14:54I mean, for him to be out there until the end of the game –
14:57and, yes, he had an interception on the final play,
15:00showed his boneheadedness not going right down,
15:02almost fumbled for a game-tying touchdown.
15:07He had a coverage mix-up earlier in the game.
15:10He factored into the fourth and forever play that the Vikings converted.
15:14You know, he's having a really tough run.
15:17We'll be getting into what that interception not going down
15:21might have meant for some gamblers out there.
15:23I know Joe has some thoughts on that.
15:25We'll get into that in a little bit.
15:26But, Greg, we can't let you go without asking about what you thought of Drake May's day
15:30and the performance of the offensive – the starting offensive unit as a whole.
15:35You know, not great, again, from Drake.
15:38It's odd because he's been really good in the practices.
15:41And I don't know if he's just one of these guys, and I've covered guys like that.
15:45Like, you know, Brett Favre, I remember, even, you know, in his later years,
15:50still came out, like, sort of amped in games and would be wild high.
15:55And you sort of had to factor that in.
15:57Are they going to have to factor that in with Drake May?
15:59Is this a situation where he just – he needs to get settled into the game?
16:04Because, I mean, you know, he missed DeMario Douglas.
16:08You know, he also – on that play where he went out to the right
16:12and found Mac Hollins along the sideline,
16:15and I think Mac Hollins is doing a lot of good stuff since he's been back.
16:19But he had options with DeMario Douglas to a lesser extent in the right sort of seam.
16:26Kyle Williams was wide open down the left side, and Drake just missed him.
16:31And so they got to get that figured out.
16:33The running game is pretty good.
16:35But I would say in the games, Drake May and the first-team offense have been mediocre at best.
16:41All right, Greg, we'll be checking out your coverage, as always, in the Boston Sports Journal.
16:44We appreciate the insight, and we'll talk to you Thursday night after preseason game number three.
16:49Sounds good. Thanks, guys.
16:50All right, thanks a lot.
16:51Greg Bedard from the Boston Sports Journal.