Jones & Keefe: What are the biggest strengths/weaknesses of the Patriots’ roster?

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00:00Do the Patriots have enough talent is something that we talked about a lot in the offseason.

00:04A lot of various lists came out.

00:06Where do the Patriots rank here?

00:07How do they rank there?

00:08Where does this guy stack up?

00:09Mike Clay had a good one over the weekend at ESPN, and it's probably the most bullish

00:14that I've seen on the Patriots in their talent level.

00:17He does this every year, so I don't think it's just a random list out of the blue.

00:22Overall, for the Patriots, his power rankings have them coming in at 16th in the league, Keith.

00:28In the league, smack dab in the middle.

00:31But I think that's more bullish than most that I've seen.

00:34I don't see too many people having them above 16.

00:37Well, I mean, when you consider there are 14 playoff teams.

00:40I think in Boston, we might.

00:42Oh, like nationally.

00:43Yeah, I don't think nationally people have been overly bullish on the team.

00:45But the over-under is 8.5.

00:47So that kind of would put you somewhere in that ballpark.

00:50He writes, AFC sleeper alert.

00:53The Patriots are much better in nearly all areas compared with last year.

00:57That's what we've been saying.

00:58Okay, so he has them 16th, right?

01:00Smack dab in the middle.

01:01He has them as the 9th ranked defense in the league.

01:04That'd be great.

01:05Top 10 defense?

01:05Take a top 10 defense.

01:07He has them as the 20th offense.

01:09Fair.

01:09That's like a tick below where I'm hoping for, but that probably is fair.

01:13But it's a big jump forward from where it was last year.

01:16Yeah, where you're arguably the worst offense.

01:17The worst offense.

01:18I don't know what the numbers say, but they were the worst offense or the second worst offense.

01:21They were bad.

01:22So if they jump up to 20, I think it'd be wishful thinking to say they're top 15.

01:27They're in the top half of the league.

01:28That'd be great.

01:29And you have hopes, I guess, of that.

01:32But I wouldn't rely or count on it by any stretch.

01:36If the defense is outside of, let's say, the top 15, that's a massive disappointment

01:40because you figure you got Mike Vrabel, you got Terrell Williams, and you spent a ton of money.

01:45The defense is already a little bit better.

01:47Plus, you added most of your money this offseason to defense.

01:51So it should be better.

01:53Now, he did something.

01:53I'd take 20th offense, honestly.

01:55I'd take it.

01:56As long as it's with a top 10 defense.

01:58Yes.

01:58Because I do think that nets out to certainly a competitive team and maybe a playoff team.

02:02So I would take that tradeoff.

02:04Now, he does something to me that's a little confusing, Keith.

02:07Oh, boy.

02:08He ranks all the positional groups.

02:10Five on offense, five on defense.

02:11Doesn't sound confusing to me.

02:12Quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, offensive line, on offense.

02:15D-tackle, edge, linebacker, corner, safety, on defense.

02:18Yeah, I get it.

02:19But he ranks them on a 1-10 scale.

02:21All right.

02:23So 10 being, like, the best?

02:24Yes.

02:25So 10 being, like, this is the greatest show on turf?

02:27Uh-huh.

02:271 being, like, this isn't a real pro outfit.

02:30Yeah, I guess my preference would have been, if you're going through the process of ranking

02:33everything, maybe just rank them.

02:34But he's going with more of a tier-based system.

02:37So, like, multiple teams could get a 7, let's say, rather than, like, let's go through

02:41all 32.

02:41Exactly.

02:427!

02:42And then he went through, he added it all up, and he came out.

02:45It spit out the Patriots' 16th.

02:46Okay?

02:47Got it.

02:47So, here's my question to you.

02:49Yeah.

02:49What do you think is their best positional group, their strongest positional group, based

02:55on his rankings?

02:56Corner.

02:56Corner is 2.

02:57It's 2?

02:58An 8 out of 10.

03:01D-tackle.

03:02That is tied for 3rd.

03:06I'm all around it.

03:07With a 7.

03:08Guess what?

03:08He also ranks very, guess what it's tied with?

03:10The offensive line.

03:12No.

03:12I disagree with the rankings already.

03:14Okay.

03:14The ranking system stinks.

03:17The actual rankings also are bad, too.

03:18The strongest positional group, according to Mike Clay, ESPN, are the Patriots' running

03:23backs.

03:24He gives it a 9 out of 10.

03:25That's too high.

03:26Like, I like the running backs, specifically Henderson.

03:30But that makes no sense.

03:31Maybe you just said there's not a big drop-off.

03:32Like, some of these other teams you might look at and say, well, after Saquon Barkley or

03:37Derrick Henry, who do you like?

03:38But you should kind of tip the scales a little bit more based on their great back.

03:43It's good.

03:44It's not a 9 out of 10.

03:45Nobody thinks Ramondre Stevenson is a top 15 running back in the NFL.

03:50They might not think he's a top 20 running back.

03:53And the way that the season that he's coming off of and all the fumbles, you can't put him

03:56as a top 20 back.

03:57He has the Patriots checking in at quarterback.

04:00Any guesses?

04:01Oh.

04:02Seven!

04:03Yeah.

04:03Actually, too low.

04:05Eight?

04:05I'm sorry.

04:05Too high on it.

04:07They're lower than that.

04:07They check in at number five.

04:08Five or six?

04:09Right in the middle of the pack in terms of quarterback rankings.

04:13So a 5 out of 10?

04:14Mm-hmm.

04:15That's fair.

04:16Because Drake May also...

04:17So Drake May is...

04:18If you're going to think the offense is 20th in the league, then you can't go any higher

04:21on Drake May and the Patriots.

04:23No, and you're actually higher on the O-line than we would think and higher on the backs

04:26than we would think.

04:26So Drake May and...

04:28But that makes sense.

04:29Like, do you think Drake May ranks higher amongst quarterbacks in the NFL than Ramondre

04:35Stevenson does running backs?

04:36Or do you think that's kind of the same?

04:38I would rank...

04:39I think it's a wash.

04:40I think they're both like...

04:41I would rank May higher, but maybe that's a wishful thing.

04:44Yeah, I would rank May higher than Ramondre.

04:46Although I like Henderson more than Ramondre, but that's based on just kind of all potential

04:50at this point.

04:51You know, a couple good preseason moments and things like that, but also he's going to be

04:55split in carries with all those guys.

04:56So what would you rank as their best positional group?

04:58I think it's corner.

05:00That's what I think.

05:01I think it's clearly corner.

05:02And this sort of takes out the Gonzalez injury.

05:04Yeah.

05:04Like if Gonzalez and Davis are out there and even Marcus Jones in the slot, like that's

05:08clearly their best group.

05:09I don't think Gonzalez is out there week one.

05:11But assuming he plays the bulk of the season, that's their best group, I would agree.

05:14I also think maybe Milton Williams and Barmore, if you're just doing D tackles, right?

05:19Because you put edge and linebacker, all those two separate groups.

05:22I think D tackles should probably be second.

05:27And then he has D tackles at third, right?

05:29Or tied for third.

05:30Yeah.

05:30As a seven out of 10.

05:31So he's higher on the offensive line than I thought.

05:34It can't be anything on offense.

05:35I would have the offensive line even lower than wide receiver.

05:38I would have it the worst.

05:39The offensive line is still the worst position group.

05:44But it can also be better than it was last year.

05:46Because he starts that by saying the same thing we've all said.

05:49Every position group is better than a year ago.

05:51But some of those were legitimately the worst in the NFL last year.

05:56So the wide receivers and O-line might, neither one of them might be even good.

06:01Let alone great.

06:02However, they're better than last year.

06:04So if you want to talk yourself into something and like an improvement, that's how you do it.

06:07So I would say that's the one that needs the most work.

06:11And the most upgrade on the team.

06:13Now I'll tell you, a month into the year, it could look a lot different.

06:16Yeah.

06:16A month into the year, we could say, oh, Will Campbell is a bona fide left tackle.

06:20Oh, Jared Wilson is an NFL-level left guard.

06:24I don't know that I feel great about that.

06:25And we stumbled into something yesterday.

06:27Curran disagreed with this.

06:29But you brought up who isn't a captain on the team.

06:32Gonzalez is not a captain.

06:33Diggs is not a captain.

06:33Morgan Moses is not a captain.

06:35And I wonder if that was any indication about availability.

06:39Yeah.

06:40That's what I would wonder.

06:41Do you want to put the C on him when you're like he's in and out of the lineup all year?

06:44Because it's like you want those guys on the field.

06:46Well, there's a communication with the refs.

06:47And there's all that nonsense, too, that you need to be part of.

06:49But you don't want to be constantly replacing or adding captains.

06:53They are doing a game day captain.

06:54You see?

06:55They are.

06:55Correct.

06:56You know what?

06:56I noticed a lot of teams are doing that.

06:57Yeah.

06:58And so, right.

06:58The Patriots week one are going to have Caleb on chasing an ex-Raider as a game day captain.

07:03I think that's what they do a lot of times, too.

07:04Yeah.

07:04So, I mean, I don't know who was a former Dolphin, but I'm sure the next week it might

07:08be a Dolphin.

07:08Why do they do that?

07:09Just so you can go, like, shake hands with your buddies?

07:10Guys you knew?

07:11No, like, FU.

07:11Does it, like, stick it to the team?

07:13Yeah, look at it.

07:13Look, I'm a captain over here.

07:14You guys dump me.

07:15And look at this.

07:16But that can't be all of them.

07:17Like, does Caleb on chasing need to stick it to the Raiders?

07:19Yeah, I hope so.

07:20I hope he does.

07:21I guess that's true.

07:22You famously.

07:23Sunday at one.

07:24You famously hold a grudge.

07:26Should we update?

07:26Hopefully Jason.

07:27Hopefully McDaniels.

07:28Hopefully all these guys.

07:29Spillane.

07:29Should we update Keith's beefs at any point?

07:32Yeah, we could.

07:32Maybe we should.

07:33I mean, nobody.

07:34Extra large coffee shop.

07:34Actually.

07:35Nobody's come off the list.

07:37Great point.

07:37All that we've done is just add to the list.

07:39There's no way anything's changed.

07:40No.

07:41But, yeah, maybe that's not quite the exercise I thought it would be.

07:45You'd just be adding a couple of things to your grudge list.

07:46Any coffee place that a large isn't the biggest coffee.

07:49But that makes sense.

07:50You like the game day honorary captain sort of thing for that week.

07:54You go out there, double birds.

07:55But, yeah, I am concerned about the offensive line going in.

07:59Because we've talked about it all offseason.

08:00Max Crosby.

08:02TJ Watt.

08:03Chop Robinson.

08:04Did he leave at one point in camp?

08:07I guess I have to double check on his.

08:08Yeah, I think he's fine.

08:09I do remember talking about that briefly.

08:11Oh, they have Judon as well.

08:13So you're going against a murderer's row of pass rushers to start your career,

08:17if you're Will Campbell.

08:18Rubber's about to meet the road with that on Sunday.

08:21How are you feeling about the Patriots' positional groups,

08:23their best and worst?

08:24I would agree.

08:25O-line is at the bottom of that list.

08:26I'd have corner at the top of the heap,

08:27but you may not have your best one on Sunday against the Raiders.

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