Drake Maye MOVING UP Patriots Depth Chart| Pats Interference

Intro [Music] Drake Maye moves up to QB2 okay the rare piece of big news in quotes coming out of otaa it is Wednesday June 5th yesterday was the Patriot's last otaa practice of the spring that will be open to the media they're going to have a couple more this week they'll roll that into the weekend then roll that into mandatory mini camp where we will get real substance of stuff to talk about still with a lot of the same caveat though it's not padded it's a lot of installation and uh you know this this is it used to be Trey Nixon season practice squad receiver always starred is he going to be a sleeper he's going to put to make the roster oh no he's going to be on the practice squad uh or out for the year unfortunately a year ago uh right now it's tawon thoron season just the point is take everything with the grand OFA but the piece of news that we got yesterday and any headline across any website or any the reading was Drake May is now number two and normally this wouldn't be a big deal that the number three overall pick is something number two because you would expect him to either be preparing to start uh or competing to start but the Patriots for most of this spring had said no no no number three will be number three Drake you'll go after jacobe brette after Billy zappy in live team periods meaning 11 on 11s and seven on sevens and if you've listened before you know my take on that was look okay I don't love it but I want to know the total reps I don't know the order in which they went I want to know how many jacobe had how many Billy zappy had and how many Drake may had because they need Drake May to get good as fast as possible before the New England Patriots think about getting good again as a team the only way that happens is to give him more reps well in talking with Mike gardi last week we broke that down Drake may had more reps than any quarterback in last week's OTA practice and for the record to meting guys to see three out of 10 so these are small small sample glimpses limited ton of noise in our evaluations ongoing as far as looking at this new team the 2024 Patriots but we push on and so on Tuesday not only did Drake may go second in these competitive 11on 11 in seven on seven periods which was mostly in the red zone and that's such important context because you know you'll hear people at the the opposite end and the Hardline stance of like oh it doesn't matter you need to complete your passes look Red Zone works favors the defense that's it go at any team at any level any practice any game the best quarterbacks in the League last year NFL completed fewer than half of their passes inside the red zone so when I tell you that jacobe brette yesterday was nine of 19 in team periods that Drake May was six of 10 and Billy zappy was four of eight not as bad as it seems however those are not the numbers that I care most about and we'll get into the specifics of the 11 on 11s and break down Drake's a the numbers that I cared most about again the total Reps for the quarterbacks Jobe brette had 25 then Drake B went second he finished with 14 Bailey zappy had 10 Joe Milton had four and should probably start to be thinking about different plans uh for this summer but as far as May goes because this is what everyone wants to know how does the kid look how quickly how close is he to getting good so the Patriots can take off something we really won't know until the middle of the training camp but it's June we got to talk about something what I would say is my observations in this one practice matter less than the quotes that we got from coaches who have been around him every single day and from May himself now I say that understanding and freely admitting and acknowledging that the coaches are never going to air out their crap to the media particularly about a 21-year-old quarterback they just drafted third overall okay they'll be honest to a point but it's not in their best interest to say this play sucked that's why he broke down this is inexcusable like they might teen meeting okay it doesn't do anybody any good but what Alex Vel did say as far as what's good and What needs to get better and if you've been following Drake as a prospect as you know I have for months you know there was one area that everyone picked at and said oh this is terrible this is bad this is messy you got to clean it up you got to tighten it up well that area according to Alex Vel is getting tightened up cleaned up and what I'm talking about is footwork okay and what I asked Alex Vel was what's an area he's surprised you in right it's only been four or five weeks we're not projecting anything right now but so far looking back what's an area that he's ahead of where you expect it here was his quote I'd say the ability to pick up the footwork changes it's a big change for a guy to come in and completely change the footwork but we did it right away and he's embraced it now the reason he said changes is because the Patriots actually involved four or five different types of footwork uh clearest examples could be a three-step drop a five step drop a seven step drop you'll have bootlegs uh going either direction and there's a little bit more to it but those that's how you get to multiple different sets of footwork and so the area that Alex Mel said they're continuing to work on that Drake Maye's progress in mastering the playbook needs to be picked up a little bit for Drake May is that it's just relaying the play calls like this is a dude who would make plays like a lot of college quarterbacks look to the sideline pick up some sort of visual signal go into the Huddle actually not even go into the huddle he would just relay it to his teammates along with any other checks or calls coming from the sideline with all these cards and H motions and signals and then just go play ball right now he's got 13 14 sometimes 15 word play calls to hear into his headset and then spit out and understand what every single player in the offense is doing why and how it all fits together so if this upsets you the Drake May is struggling relaying the play calls first of all I would say read about other rookie quarterbacks this year last year anytime in the past this is a common issue second of all if you didn't pick up a new language within four weeks during the pandemic on dualingo I definitely don't want to hear anything from you now if this is an issue uh in August that you can't just get into the Huddle and say the play no everything and do it in a timely fashion yeah absolutely it's a problem it's June 5th now Drake said the same thing I asked him the same question after practice because we got to speak to him EVP Thad Mayo a couple other offensive assistants and I said what's an area where you've exceeded your own expectations and one that you're a little further behind in addition to fixing his footwork the next area you would want for Drake May to walk down a path that says I'm going to lead you where you want to go I'm going to be a franchise quarterback and I'm going to do it quicker than you expect it would be his Mastery of the Playbook and the area that he has exceeded his own expectations so far was exactly that he said I know the formations I know the termin te ology I'm comfortable with it he even called himself a pretty smart kid so he's fairly secure and confident something we knew going into this Drake may experience anyway but that checks off the two biggest boxes for Drake right now as far as we can go here in May otaa is coming up on minan and yet as encouraging as all those things were to hear again with the context of they're never going to air out all their dirty laundry when you get on the field for this oneota practice Drake May and 11 on 11s was three of six with a couple of picks and his only completions were two checkdowns and then a running back screen so I go to one more quote before we move on and dive into the whole notes of all the practice and that was this Alex vanel when asked why isn't he getting more reps why isn't he going second he said look we're going to take this slow we're going to do it the right way we're going to bring him along and develop him and that's that and so to me despite what I saw which was discouraging and despite everything that I heard which was very encouraging that to me sounds like the right plan more than ever it's not because I'm down on Drake May it's not because Tuesday's otaa practice meant a ton or that we should be buying into everything that was said around that quote but the fact they're going to take him along slowly and make sure you work from the ground up literally the ground up the footwork and the understanding of where this play is going to go the first word all the way to the 16th is the right approach in the meantime he is getting second reps why well another quote for you Alex Vel quote we always talk about earning your reps around here as he continues to grow and have successful practices and start stacking those then we can think about moving him up the depth chart well seems like they did a lot of thinking and uh again Tuesday's practice not a good look for Drake may but let's get into exactly why okay so I told you for all the live periods 11 on 11s seven on sevens where the defense is trying guys are going full speed he had 14 reps jacobe bretts 25 bil zappy had 10 Joe milon had four here's what they did with those reps Jobe peret for my charting you'll see slightly different numbers in different places it's because when guys get quote unquote sacks the defense they run to the quarterback and then pull up and sometimes they'll even pull up within an Arms Reach when they're getting blocked so it's a little it's just a little hazy but by my charting jacobe brette was nine of n with four sacks Drake May with six of 10 with two picks and a sack that includes a seven on seven numbers Billy's zappy with four of eight Joe Milton was one of four when you isolate the 11 on 11 so you got a full offensive line a full defense guys are flying around you got to Step Up In Pockets deal with pressure toobe Bret again in the Red Zone tight spaces timing is emphasized this is June with a whole new offense he was three of 10 with the four sacks and you probably could have argued for one more which as someone pointed out to me uh as we're watching practice just a lot of media sitting on the hill this kind of looks like jacobe and 2016 when he was a rookie and that's a common thing for rookies to hold on to the ball Pat the ball you're not going to get touched there's no real harm here you want to make the right throw and so that's what they do they just bounce in the pocket hold the ball it was too long it's not great Drake Bay is I told you three of six to interceptions and a sack his sack was on an unprotected free Blitzer coming straight up the middle chrisan Nellis who a special teamer but again you want to talk about guys who are absent we'll get to those in a second um that's why Christian Ellis was in the middle of a starting defense for at least one rep opposite Drake May and Billy zappy was two four you don't care about Billy zappy all that much let's get to the picks so Drake may this was outside the Red Zone his first interception was simply sailing one over Juju Smith Schuster who had come free over the middle on an in cut at the intermediate level and instead Drake may pass sails over his head and finds Caleb forb undrafted rookie Corner uh probably not sticking around but a good day for Caleb I'm not worried about this pick at all shouldn't be concerned not just because it's it was June 4th not because it's OTAs because this is the time to screw up and sometimes it passes sale but when you look at Drake's passing chart in college he was ahead of the pack more so in the middle of the field at the intermediate and deep levels than any other area on the field in terms of accuracy that's where he wins that's how he wins that's where he owns the field so one erron throw against all of that history for a guy who you know has that great arm strength to begin with but also when you break down the number says okay he's especially good here not worried it happens the second interception well first of all was a great defensive play by Kyle Dugger who watched his eyes waiting for this checkdown it finally came and Drake Bay whips right this is in the red zone now uh in a different period in a different play obviously and just whips right and Chucks one in ionio Gibson which he later described as you know it it sounded like a choice route because they're trying to read Man versus Zone coverage and I I just saw it as hurried processing a little bit too quick right you had that clock ticking in your head he knew he' held the ball on for a long time so he just whips right throws it it's a little low and Kyle Dugger makes his diving grab for an interception great job KY Dugger even better job also by pop Douglas who watched this saw duer get up then Dove and punch the ball out and recover the fumble for what a play I have to imagine Troy Brown was just you know having flashbacks there on the sideline again no one is freaking out about interceptions as zotas but that type of hurry processing uh would have me a little bit more concerned as far as okay if I'm in the meeting afterward and we have to address these okay that's the first low light I'm throwing up there just play a little slower if you need to throw it away you can't be chucking the ball just to get rid of danger we're not playing Hot Potato okay the ball's that lava we we need to get through your progressions and if you get through them and there's nothing there Boom Out of Bounds um not much to say but jacobe Brett again it was it was a hard day overall for the offense and it wasn't just on the quarterbacks and again we'll have practices like these when they're in pads we're getting close to the Analysis of Drake Maye’s performance in practice season they should be waited a little bit more and I'm going to tell you not to to freak out I want to see some Trends I want to see a bigger sample uh but when we're dive into the details this is what we get for the receivers not a banner day for them either KJ Osborne had two drops first one's a little tough back shoulder he's going left to right across the back line of the end zone peret Tri is a really RI one in there um but you get two hands on it to me even though you're going the opposite direction counts as a drop Juju had a drop also had the most targets here are those Target leaders Juju Smith Shuster caught two out of five demaro Douglas three out of four KJ osor two out of four jichael Hasty backup running back three out of three and tight end Hunter Henry had two out of three also a nice SL touchdown against Kyle duger so there's a lot of love for pop Douglas and other places based in this one practice to me all three of his catches were in seven on sevens he's working over the middle of the field I just temper expectations because again 11 on 11s is where you're really going to measure these guys quarterbacks receivers certainly pass protection obviously um I would just just wait we know what pop is you need to see him more consistently three catches all in one period fine he stood out mostly because of the players we just mentioned Juju had a drop KJ Osborne had two oh and Jaylen p and tawon thoron combin for as many catches as you and I so that's s um again worried No but you want to see more from a group that our guy Mike JY stink stay stunk if you wanted to could have taken a Victory lap yesterday as to the offensive line here's where we were oh the player absences let's get to those um well then start with the offensive line Michael wenu nowhere to be found uh takuma cor for not there Cole strange as we know going to be out deep into the season in addition Matt judon was gone jalani Tay walked into practice and Street Clos he had an offseason uh operation procedure uh I don't know exactly still digging on that Josh R Jonathan Jones Devon Goda Marcus Jones son takitaki so it's mostly defensive absences but just not a practice again that's representative of the team that we're going to see week one two 3 4 15 16 Etc now back to the offensive line so without on in a corter for and obviously close range here was from left to right your first offensive line I'm not going to call starters but the first offensive line in front of the starting quarterback jacobe brassette who was anointed by Alex Vel after Gerard Mayo said we don't have any starters there's no depth chart okay fellas might want to get on the same page uh here it was Calvin Anderson was a left tackle City s was a left guard that's starting to become a trend it looks like they want to keep him there at left guard David Andrews was a Nick Leverett was at Right Guard another Trend and third round rookie considered to be a contender to win the left tackle job because he can convert to left tackle uh was Kayon Wallace back at right tackle where he played all of college at Penn State the second offensive line the one that was in front of Drake May when they first got into 11 on 11s Tyron Wheatley Jr at left tackle Michael Jordan at left guard anonio Mafi at Center L Robinson at Right Guard and right tackle of Daran L uh not exactly the monster Stars here from the Patriots up front part of that is going to be the absences part of it is going to be moving players around Mafi never played center in college he didn't last year this is brand new to him they seem to want to make this work also because Jake Andrews fourth round pick from 2023 uh was among the absent so you plug someone in see how it goes and for the Patriots I'm I would have rather see kayen Kaden Wallace at left tackle with that top group okay um Calvin Anderson played a little bit of right tackle last year we all know how it went but if he's gonna make the conversion as a rookie Evaluation of the offensive line configurations after four years of starting at pen State at one position and now you're GNA ask him to do something totally new in the NFL I want him to get as many reps as possible at left tackle they have a different philosophy maybe it was just one day but it's something I'm going to be keeping an eye on also on offense and we'll get to defense uh running backs J Michael Hasty I mentioned perfect three of three on targets had a back shoulder touchdown grab versus Jan Bentley in seven on sevens I thought it was the best Catch of the Day right there um and just in front of the left pylon or just just behind the left pylon was really good throw jacobe Bret found him one1 against Bentley Rond Stevenson though of course let off all of the periods among the running backs you only caught one or two Targets this dude is going to fit so well in this outside Zone scheme which they mied in some mixed in some you know Gap Concepts some run uh man block runs uh yesterday not ton to read into again because it's not padded you're doing seven on sevens for certain periods not a lot of work for the runner running backs as rushers but we'll continue to learn the more that we go on oh and after him it was Antonio Gibson and Kevin Harris so jichael Hast is really fighting for a third four spot um as far as the running backs go defensively uh look again red zone is going to favor them a lot of patting the ball so you assume some tight coverage and it was Christian Gonzalez who looks completely free and healthy and capable again outside of one spot Alex Austin rookie last year or yes rookie last year drafted by the bills in the seventh round goes to Houston on their practice squad the Pats just pluck him off of there and he's started games down the stretch great interception of Josh Allen as we remember um he was starting opposite Gonzalez and in the slot curiously enough though we should again know Jonathan Jones was out as was Marcus Jones was Isaiah Balden who we've not seen a whole lot of because he got concussed in a very very scary sit situation against Green Bay in the preseason last summer end of the game as you remember he's 61 62 very fast and I think it's interesting to see him in the slot it also again highlights the absences and the injuries the Patriots have had but I'm curious if they're more willing to give that a shot because you see more bigger slots in the league juu Smith Shuster as one example or a lot of these tight ends that will get split out we saw Mike Kiki a year ago then you do the West Welker Julian edin types right the slot has no no longer just a home for the water bug right you can get some big fish in there and then you would need a Defender to be able to match that size is it Isaiah balen I don't know I still think that's the home for Marcus Jones when the time comes but we'll see um aside from that Alex Austin had a pbu Marte mapu had a pbu as did Mikey Victor a backup Corner Christian barmore I had as player of the day two sacks again these are you know a little subjective but uh just straight through the middle of the pocket that dude cleaned up on one looping around on stuned another he just got right through look the play would have been dead uh if they hadn't allowed it keep going another player who I wanted to mention because again a lot of guys are missing right now but one group that's been consistently intact has been the safety group and that goes for uh Kyle Dugger who I mentioned had the interception he goes through dbil Peppers is still bouncing around and Marte mapu but behind them is Jaylen Hawkins who is a late signing of free agency who was their Force safety right now he's wearing number 32 in practice and the ex same way that Cordy did which is just going to take me months um of watching practice to not think it's still Devon even though he's been gone since 2022 but Jaylen Hawkins of those four certainly not the best players not the second best player probably not the third best player but he does fit the profile of a traditional free safety more than those other guys and so they I don't believe would pivot to Jaylen Hawkins is this kind of free safety playing in the post you know single high got to cover sideline to side line cover one sometimes cover three depending on the version and the matches that you're using but I think there's a role here for him now he was targeted three straight times in seven on sevens and gave up two catches and then had a a pass break up or I'd say forced incompletion it was unclear um against Mitchell Wilcox a tight end in the low Red Zone but that's a player I think they're counting on for special teams I think they're counting on for for defense and you you'll keep four safeties the Patriots did last year we still to see what Marte mapu can do we know who Kyle Dugger is we know who J pepper is Peppers is uh but Jaylen Hawkins I'm just going to say keep an eye on for now and it might be me saying keep an eye on Mack Wilson which I was saying last summer his own Birra and then it took until uh that Steelers game in December to be like oh hey mck Wilson who's great down the stretch but Jaylen Hawkins for me is just a piece that I think can carve out a rle he's just gonna see need to see more time and opportunity and at least for Tuesday he did uh special teams not much to report here Ryland went four or five on field goals no attempts as we saw for Joey Sly the veteran who they brought in to give him some competition in the returners you know familiar faces pop Douglas Jaylen rager Isaiah balin's back there these are Punt and kick returns Marcus Jones as you know will get a good good shot You could argue probably the Patriots have one of the deeper return groups in the league not that I have all 31 other depth charts off the top of my head but like Marcus Jones made all pro as a rookie in that role um pop Douglas if he's not fumbling has a similar skill set isaah bolt long speed jayen rer had a touchdown last year one of three or four I think in the entire league on kickoff anyway um we're GNA learn a lot more about the kickoffs as we get into training camp and you should honestly again I've said this before come on down it it's going to be Jaylinn Hawkins' potential role as a free safety a wholly new experience from the The Vibes the players the coaches a lot to learn and new and see but if you want to see what the 2024 Patriots are going to look like you can do that when these practices are open to the public before the first preseason game um just come on down and a lot of that will will be you know kickoffs in special teams practice it'll be a lot more exciting they've ever been not just because of the guys I mentioned but because of the new rule that's going to give them time and space to sometimes cut and go or have to pick up uh kicks that are intentionally kind of bounding over these players or they're angled like we saw a lot of different stuff yesterday as far as how the Patriots may or may not we'll see attack the kickoff in the different styles they want to use uh because it's whole new ball game on special teams okay that'll do it for practice rap we have uh Gary langlay coming up as our mail fan returning guest and then we have my Tales from uh Scandinavia which I teased last time it's we're we're just gonna try out the segment see how it goes I would love to talk because you know uh some other things here on the podcast it'll always be Patriot Centric but I think for a trip that you know was for my first anniversary so my wife and I can scratch off three new countries we never been to uh have some time away together six seven days it just shot above every single expectation we had I was really really grateful for that and uh look if if you got the time or the means or credit card like I do that comes through Marriott give you bonus points uh plus some points through work you can make it happen too so we'll get into that and have some fun but in the meantime mailbag and mail fan Gary langl are you ready to win this off season like a long Drake May touchdown pass down the sideline seven on sevens maybe OTAs could be mini camp well we're going to go from the field to the court to your phone because prize picks is stepping up its game as America's number one fantasy sports app with over 5 million active members ahead of the finals because the finals mean more on prize picks and so do the star players all you need to do is pick more or less on two or more player stats for a shot to win up to a hundred times your money again with prize picks you could turn $10 into $1,000 in a single game watching your favorite team the Celtics or sports baseball maybe the Red Sox this summer you just make a prize pick lineup in as little as 60 seconds need to make a pick or more on two to six player sta projections and you're locked in that's it I've used it for the same reasons I just outlined it's simple it's easy and if I'm watching the socks at home heck I'll fire up prize picks put a little money down and get a lot more backck so download the app today and use code clns for a first deposit match up to 100 bucks again that's code clns for a first deposit match up to 100 bucks on prize pick pick more pick less it's that easy okay as promised Gary langlay now joining us again for the mail fan segment again if you want to be on the show donate to Boston Children's Hospital as Gary has he is joining us from the West Coast he has a question that I did not get to a month ago um so you can even come on this show sometimes because I forgot about you and in this case uh Gary I did not forget about you thank you again for coming on your question was about the 2023 draft class so I'm going to read you your question you're going to answer it and then I'll dive in after that you wanted to know which Draft pick from last year I believe will not be on the team come week one of the season so to refresh folks memory and you were kind enough to list all of the draft picks for me in the street as if I had forgotten did you did you think I had forgotten who they drafted 14 months ago it was for my actual own intelligence or lack of I just needed to remember who I thought or didn't think was going to answer my own question okay very good so uh Christian Gonzalez off the board Keon white off Prize Picks the board Mart mapu off the board they're all going to stick around here are the day three picks Jake Andrew Center guard out of Troy Chad Ryland the kicker we know City s Your Right Guard last year probably your left guard this year uh anonio Mafi interior lineman Kon buy we know Bryce baringer the punter pop Douglas he's off the board and Isaiah Bolin uh then a seventh round rookie out of Jackson State so your answer to this question would be what uh if I had answered this a month ago I would have said either anonio Mafi or Jake Andrews one of them playing for a spot and the other not making the team um now with Cole stranger's injury I am expecting him to have a 0% chance of being available and active week one at Best you're talking pup I still have a suspicion that this is a more severe injury than is being lit on and am not counting on him at all this year so I think Jake Andrews and Antonio Mafi both have a darn good shot of making the roster and being active for week one so my answer would now change to Chad Ryland who I still do not think will make the roster and Isaiah Balden not making the roster I think those two would be the ones that are on the outside looking in interesting so I just wrapped a recap of everything I saw at Mail Fan OTAs yesterday one of the notes in there which again it's you know it's early June volunteer practice all that stuff was Isaiah Balden playing in the slot which is a little unusual for 61 6'2 corner but a guy who otherwise I think was going to at least be on the dead of the bubble before he got hurt last year because of his traits you can develop him they needed Corners you know you're signing Alex Austin right later in the season and then he's starting uh towards the end of the year I agree with you in the sense that I think Ryland is certainly at risk you understand that from positional battle I disagree in that I think Jake Andrew could be on the way out because I made a point a couple of weeks ago uh about the transition in in Elliot wolf and that the draft picks that were made by the let's call it the bich grow regime it's really just the bich regime are not as safe with a new guy at the top right he wants his own player want them to come in here Jake Andrews was someone who was by the consensus board overdrafted a little bit lighter a little bit smaller but came in with the cold po ofit stamp of approval meaning this guy who used to be the Patriots uh mind you it is a stamp it is not a prick it is not a shot it is not a vaccine it is just a stamp uh Cole papovich stamp of approval because he used to be on the Patriots staff that mattered a lot to an organization increasingly had a smaller inter circle so my picks for this are Jake Andrews and kaan booty who people don't want to hear about but this is a very young draft class another one I don't think the Patriots are going to be as attached to what would you feel one way or another if it was Andrews or booty uh Andrews I still think is a is a good pick uh given that anonio Mafia I think I read from um maybe yourself or Doug was taking reps at Center I think Jake Andrew's best chance is being the backup center and potential replacement for David Andrews down the line and if people are already taking Center backup center opportunities away from him that's not a good sign for Jake Andrews so I think that's a good uh possibility Quan booty um I would like to know if he's actually available and maybe not on a commissioner exempt list I mean who is his PR firm is it the wolf from Pulp Fiction because he got arrested for misdemeanor for gambling what was it in January and we haven't heard a peep since so excellent job by his team in covering up that story if he's available I also think that um there's a good chance that borne starts the season on the pup list I have not been too encouraged by how the reports are coming out how he is looking and I see KJ Osborne or U Juju Smith suster U being on the outside looking in and I think the Osborne one is a little surprising but I don't think even with a million2 million guaranteed that he is a 100% lock to make the roster and ju guu we've all talked about getting out the door so if they want to play the young guys I know kaan buy wasn't one of their picks Andrews' potential as a backup center but um I actually think that if he is available and not suspended that he has a better chance to make the roster then you're giving him the opportunity for it yeah it it a lot hinges on those veterans right you know Osborne I think is going to make the roster Tyler Hughes uh their new receivers coach for people who understandably would not know who Tyler Hughes is uh was talking about how he's picking things up he's a veteran he's versal in the room you know he's someone they Envision as a starter Juju obviously is a trade candidate depending on his summer performance but even if he plays well you might feel like you're selling high and want him out anyway uh but besides that pop Douglas is not going anywhere Kendrick Bourne yeah maybe starts on pup he expects to be ready for week one we'll see two rookies Jaylen pulk Jayvon Baker are are going to be here and then you get into the taekwan thorens the Kon booties uh anyone else you want in here so I I see booty as someone who also doesn't provide a ton of special teams value at least right now they're trying tawon thoron on Kick coverage and kick return uh I don't expect that to go well from a 6'3 human being weighing 189 pounds soaking wet but again we'll all find out that's kind of the theme of the spring all right we have two more questions here for you uh which I have not I not shared with you but this is the bonus of sometimes being the mail fan in the middle or late part of the offseason are you ready for these two questions uh ready Al be let's do it okay number one Lawrence is asking of the perceived weaknesses on the 24 he put sl25 let's just stick to 24 on the 24 Patriots players position or coaching staff who is the best chance to be considered a strength at The Season's end so he wants like a sleeper basically a coach or a or a player you think he's being underrated um this is gonna be kind of cheating because I brought this person up in our last mail fan mail media the beat is underrated underrated yes here we go uh I'm I'm a I'm a big fan of Alex Austin's game um undrafted from last year I think he is an outside corner that is going to be given starting opportunities and that really does depend if Jonathan Jones um sticks in the slot or potentially moves to a free safety type role but I think Alex Austin is almost being forgotten about entirely and he played a lot down the stretch for this team and I think um depending on what you do with Jonathan Jones and where he plays Alex Austin is going to get a ton of reps uh in that outside corner position and I know that's an area of concern uh for this team going into the season and I think he's going to be a person that surprises I like it he had a good practice uh yesterday which feels like two days ago I don't know why um but it was uh he he's had a good a good spring Discussing underrated players: Alex Austin and Antonio Gibson and I think we still all want to see more he made the big highlight play against Buffalo last year with the interception I think it's worth monitoring because Jonathan Jones honestly might be best served as your utility man moving forward 32 years old could play in the slot outside if you like maybe free safety and a pinch um but they'll see because I think if Alex auson does emerge that would then free up Jonathan Jones if he doesn't then I feel like you probably feel compelled to put the the veteran starter out there I'm gonna go with running back because I think this includes a guy like Taylor Embry who's new to the staff cast off by the Jets who didn't want him anymore he also presided over Bree Hall's breakout um that counts to Me Maybe not to the Jets who I don't think anyone is using as this big example of just sparkling decision-making now again I I don't think Taylor Embry is some Hall of Fame coach but Stephenson is some contract here we know he's the best player uh on this offense arguably maybe Mike omanu has something to say about that and Antonio Gibson I think is just being a little underrated by folks who know him as the guy who fumbled his way out of Washington and that's the biggest problem running back in half aside from showing up late or sleeping in on Sundays Gary you can't fumble I think we're all we're all aware and understanding of this but he's a guy who I think envisions and knows he could be a number one and says I'm here to be a number two but between his pass catching his ability to run between the tackles as a power back the dude's 230 I like him is kind of being underrated right now and if they can run the ball enough meing the game situation allows them just to hand it off I think everyone goes Stephenson and Gibson is one of the better maybe not the best but onew punches in the league at running back yeah for sure and if jacobe brassett is going to play more than half of the Season they're certainly going to get a lot of opportunities those two because the game plan is going to be run first to set up the pass and they're certainly more explosive at that position than they were last year and Antonio Gibson fits into U an offense that I think is going to suit his strengths and obviously is going to give them a little bit more passing uh Firepower out of the back field and I think that's a great pick I think those two especially with ra Andre getting a little closer to that contract uh conversation is going to leave it all on the field I just feel like Antonio Gibson's that friend you know in college right who's like excellent as a freshman right away he's your top friend will go out anytime it's going to be a great night and then like the middle couple years maybe gets a little too drunk or just misses some classes the grades dip and he's kind of like I got a transfer and then whatever happens at that second School you come back because he's going to see you on you know break senior year he's awesome again like I think we're going to get refreshed transferred matured Antonio Gibson here for the Patriots backfield um this question comes from Dan this is really me asking you because you have not been at OTAs you've been across the country Gary uh I'm I'm just going to ask if you share his concern because baked into this question is is I I would say a depression is strong it's June it's beautiful out um but Dan is asking is the offensive line really as bad as they showed in OTAs is there any hope any type of hope we can try and hold on to with that position group so are you as worried as dance sounds uh I think the conversation starts and ends with that line that position group and they're only going to be as good as they are average I think so long as they can provide average line play then this team can do much better than Vegas is expecting them to because I think the expectation is they will not be average and they can be short at one position tackle probably being the one biggest uh concern but if you have four out of five POS players you can kind of shift protection to offset the weakness that you do have the problem is is getting four good enough players along that offensive line I think that's totally fair uh to Dan I would just say hold on August um I remember writing last year after the preseason opener saying okay Bill o just called that game like he knows his offensive line is hot trash and that's the problem because Bill O'Brien knows a lot better than I do even going to every single practice and the thing is you don't know until you had the pads on two and a half months from now will'll also know a little bit more about Chuck zoror and kayen Wallace so they can play left tackle because that's where most of the concern is I I actually have a decent amount of belief in that City Sals play last year towards the end of the season and the fact he played left guard for most of college means he could be at least a replacement level starter at left guard which if we're being honest is what Cole strange has been most of his career David Andrews at Center Right Guard certainly a question Mike onw is going to be great at right tackle you don't love having question marks at two spots um ideally you'd have one and then try to figure it out they don't but I would just say patience is my only thing it's a new system new coaches the patience might not pay off but there's nothing from OTAs that I can tell you right now this is a disaster or it's totally going to work you need especially with the offensive line uh to see them put pads on first and then we'll all get to watch the preseason all at the same time all right I sprung those two questions I knew you told me you had an idea I think a pitch for an episode and I said don't tell me do it on the air so so what do you got all right so um this would be like a Patriots scrimmage mock draft where you and potentially another guests on the show Doug Kai Mike gardi uh line up a draft with the expectation that this scrimmage between the two sides 11 offensive players 11 defensive players would take place in replacement of the first preseason game so you go through and you draft 22 guys 11 on offense 11 on defense forget special teams for now and the plan would be that those 22 players are your roster and they are going up against the 22 players of the other person you decide how you'd like to do it if it's a snake draft or alternating um you decide if everybody's healthy if you're kind of playing as they are today but a fun exercise I think after OTAs before training camp we're in the kind of dead of Summer to see who can put the best 22 Patriots versus the other 22 Patriots okay I want to let everyone else know this is not me speaking to you this is speaking to everyone who's listening right now that I did not uh pay Gary to say this I did not raise that idea to him at all I had no idea what he was going to say he might have said something we had to cut entirely out of the episode though I trust it wouldn't have been profane or vulgar he did not what he did say however though is an idea that I have been running with on podcast to some listeners dismay since 201 16 17 when I was covering Penn State good pal Sean Fitz now at on three I have done you'll be happy to know the last two years taking this idea which I love by the way if you couldn't tell so thank you for your idea we've been doing it int Squad scrimmage draft with Fitzy the last two years because let's be honest when you get down to round like 19 of this rap which we've done it's been a lot of fun I love doing it and I persist because I have a podcast and you can just skip the episode it's one of our least listened to every single year but we need Fitzy in Round 19 to spice things up a bit because there's only so many things you can say about Nick lepr being a good Introducing the Patriots scrimmage mock draft idea value in Round 19 where I just need FY to go off for five minutes and I'm hoping to have him back which is a long way of saying we're g to do this for a third annual time on the third year of this podcast and I'm glad you brought that up because seemingly no one else likes this idea uh with the exception of a couple people who just get angry on Twitter but it's my podcast I like it you do too so we'll at least have one if you could offer a reply uh feedback to the third annual pass interference in squat scrim draft well I uh have egg on my face I thought I had something original for you I guess not and I'm embarrassed I guess to say that I've already done one with a friend of mine and uh it's created a bunch of banther back and forth and I'm very excited for you and Fitzy to maybe bring this one home and we can ultimately decide who's got the best one maybe we have to play it on Madden I don't know how would actually have to settle the score other than just uh bantering back and forth but I'm very excited to hear that you're going to have that third annual scrimmage yeah I uh I think Madden might shut itself down if you tried to do that worst probably rated team in the league saying just go outside the screen will go black you will have all black all white letters across saying go outside Gary please um and honestly you know look there's all a time and a place for men especially in the offseason we all miss football but uh yeah hopefully next week maybe the week after I will get Fitzy and we will do that on before training camp uh but yeah thank you for your idea feel free to send those rosters and reply to this episode which will be posted later this week uh thank you for coming on again thank you for donating to Boston children and thanks for humoring me through this extended male fan segment H thanks so much Andrew Podcast's annual scrimmage draft tradition and and uh I appreciate all you're doing with Boston children it's awesome awesome stuff you got it man okay so we still have three months left until football right right so we still have to wait three months to go to a big game right wrong you can go to the NBA finals with game time my favorite ticket app because game time is making NBA Finals tickets even faster and easier to get prices on the game time app actually go down the closer it gets to tip off and you can find killer last minute deals Allin prices views from your seat and the lowest price guaranteed to watch the Celtics in the finals with game time I scroll through game time all the time not even for big games like the finals I want to go to the Red Sox take the T in boom have a beer outside weight at 701 for a 705 first pitch I'm in I've got one of the best seats at the house sometimes up to 60% off and you can do this customizing your spot customizing your section viewing your view from the seat in your section and it could be last minute ticket deals Flash Deals Zone deals whatever you want but in the meantime get on down to Causeway game one game two game five hopefully not a game seven to watch the Celtics in the NBA Finals where you can take the guesswork out of buying those finals tickets with Game Time download the game time app create an account and use the code clns for $20 off your first purchase terms to apply again all you have to do is create a free account on the game time app and redeem code clns for $20 off your first purchase download game time today for last minute tickets and the lowest price guaranteed all right we're going to try something new here wrapping up story time from Scandinavia and I thought about this when I took my wife to Valencia uh Spain in mid-February her favorite place favorite country I should say in the world place would be Granada um studied abroad there lived abroad there and so we went just kind of the end of what had been as you all know the longest season a very hectic offseason bellich Mayo new staff top three pick yadada yaad y said we need a break so we left came back I GameTime was like I don't really have too much to offer um love the trip it felt like going to uh soccer match where I I came back rooting as Valencia fan was like going to church was awesome tons of songs just the passion it was also one of the oldest stadiums in Spain so as someone who grew up loving fenoy Park still my favorite place on Earth it was nice to have that kind of connection to an older team in older stadium and just to soak it all in but we didn't do the segment and so when she and I go to Scandinavia celebrating our first anniversary trip which is uh really just hey let's skip the gifts let's go somewhere cool and if we've never been there before that's bonus but at least let's get away around Memorial Day weekend when we got married last year which I also admitted I'll never forget sharing that you know it was like pre or post- wedding um you know obviously happiest time of my life and tweeting about it and someone said you know it's really kind of a dick move to have your wedding on a holiday weekend and you feel so good I don't it does not matter when anyone tweets to you at that point but I was just I really wanted to say to the guy you know the hot togs are going to taste the same on the 4th of July right like come on idea is no one has to take the day off on a Saturday uh because it's a Saturday come to the wedding on a Sunday drive home fly home Monday that's it anyway so we have uh for now committed ourselves to taking trips we go to Scandinavia my wife has been to 27 28 different countries and so she had never been to Denmark Norway and Sweden I'll say this off the top uh I would recommend anyone who enjoys traveling to make a point to go to Scandinavia in or around the time that we did because it was one of the best trips I've ever taken and I say this as someone who uh a has had every other direct family member mom dad and sister Storytime with Andrew go to Sweden where my sister studied abroad in high school and has you know developed friends and host family over there they've been left me at home uh but aside from their interactions and their experience and their pictures had no idea what I was getting into over there and on top of the folks who are not hired to be nice to you you know when you walk in the hotel you go to a restaurant somewhere in a tourist area very welcoming communal place quiet place we heard maybe two or three car hon honks on our entire trip through Copenhagen Bergen Norway and then Stockholm that's it very different style of living versus we come home and there are five right side of our apartment here in Boston anyway point was to uh use up all the hotel points I had left over uh take minimal time off of work really three or four days in a row on the holiday so we left midweek watch the end of game one of the finals from Logan couple of beers down Jaylen Brown hits the three two hands up on the plane layover rankovic in Iceland first thing you see or we saw was a hot dog stand uh turns out hot dogs and hamburgers big big big big I'll throw Pizza in there too in Norway and that's not not just for me walking around for 60 72 hours like I know everything it's from a tour guide that we took two and a half hour bus ride to and from a different town in Norway further Inland because Bergen is right on the the western coast and the tour guy was a German National who had been there for 20 years and says look you can go every single day in Norway just eating burgers and pizza they love it here so see the hot dog stand pass um wait out connection to Copenhagen we arrived this was Tuesday going into Wednesday or actually Wednesday into a Thursday uh get in of course exhausted it's four o'clock there we take this cab ride second thing you learn about Scandinavia do not take cap rides anywhere it's not because they're unsafe or they smell or anything like that they're just expensive as hell you can bike anywhere you want to go the trains are the cleanest the most efficient the fastest U that I've ever experienced uh wife may have fellen in love with the metro in Copenhagen specifically but anyway we take this Metro from what is southeast of the city and Copenhagen I would say centrally uh fuad regular listen to this podcast please blast me in the replies if any of this uh as a resident is incorrect but we're taking this drive up from southeast part of the city and the Very central part I would say the there's a well there is a river um or an inlet that splits the city basically 8020 right and 20 is on the right side and you're more or less on a small Peninsula but as we're driving finally up to the center of the city and we're going along this River the cab driver who's been very informative asking an answering certain questions very very nice guy points across the river to the right and says cocaine you can find cocaine over there I'm going what and what first of all ever gave you the impression that was anything we were at all interested in um I had last pointed out tooi Gardens which is the small amusement park to the left where we had been before he just looks right and says cocaine you can get cocaine you get anything you want over there just points to the right part of town we'll come back to that not the cocaine but the part of town finally get to the hotel it's a little bit north of the city uh come on down Henry McKenna shout out friend of the podcast uh working for Fox Sports his brother-in-law lives there now in Copenhagen said oh you got to go to Pluto so we go to this restaurant 6:30 reservation again still like dead tired from from all the traveling um turns out it has a Michelin star that was cool first time I'd ever been there and so I will say though that you know you know you get in menus are coming in nothing overwhelming like a little bit of everything you could have wanted on there and my wife uh usually likes Ros in the summer so she goes with the white wine and somehow in like the 15 minutes I had to look over the menu decide everything that I wanted kind of panicked when it came to what do I want to drink for the first time now here in Denmark so I also went with white wine and I mentioned this because again we're in a Michelin star restaurant I a pretty good sense that even as someone who is always cordial tips exceptionally well this before we got to the check uh but you know knows what it's like to be in the service business um very patient understanding all that had a real good feeling this waiter did not like us and so my best theory in retrospect is that I had ordered the white wi he had panicking at this point and what I wanted for dinner was uh you know some sort of sirloin cut that also liver was in there somewhere there was crunch there was a spread I don't know what happened but it was delicious and it probably didn't pair exactly with the white wine I had ordered I don't know not an expert don't drink a tunnel white wine uh but anyway Pluto was fantastic we took a small walk to a cocktail bar and had one or two there walk back home call it day so Friday was packed went to toley Gardens again it's amusement park where if you had to babysit two kids you had never met before this is a home run like it's not uh too big you could get lost you'll find the kids eventually they've got Rides Again if you would just imagine like all of Boston Common uh first of all doubles in size but it's just an amusement park in the middle arcades rides actual Gardens in there different smaller restaurants we go there for a couple of hours it's the top of every list of where you got to go in Copenhagen at a really nice time set the record on the waca not a big deal second on the boxing in the arcade but anyway we we walk around starts the rain we go down this long stretch um I believe I I know I'm going to scr up this pronunciation it's called stroget I I believe which is their long basically Newbury Street right this is the the street you need to see a lot of shops a lot of people going around touristy spots just getting a whole feel for the downtown because we were staying a little North U or the northern part of the city and you know okay late afternoon fatigue starting to catch up again just all the walking you had been used to uh which was great again just to walk out and about so we stopped to a war museum and this is getting closer to the eastern part of the city I was expecting a ton of Viking stuff no no no this just starts in 1500 and you learn that Denmark Dash Norway as one Kingdom um for centuries just fought back and forth with Sweden and so after all of the fighting they just kind of all hang out and go separate ways one never fully Conquering the other but you just go along this huge wall in this two-story uh Museum which otherwise was excellent uh but I I had no idea about any of the Baltic Wars or Scandinavian Wars and all these different things but really cool background so anyway men we're tired a little bit rainy we're getting close to this eastern part of the city where again the cab driver had just pointed and gum if you want cocaine it's over there come again uh so I said okay I looked into this now now telling my wife and what he really meant was that there's this part of the city uh called free Christiania and in the early 1970s there had been a part of the city that had been abandoned by the military used to be a base I'm not sure if it was a navy base or what and being the 70s a group of well just shorthand this call them hippies squatted in that area and they squatted long enough that it came to the attention of the city government or or perhaps the national government I don't remember which one that they said okay look we're you know we'll just let them stay the very left-leaning government at the time we'll just you guys can hang out we'll call a social experiment well from the early 70s all the way until today free christiani is still there and so I said let's go across the river there were a couple other details one of which according to one travel block i' I'd read too many sites at this point I'm trying to tell my wife hey we should go over there let's see what it's about was that it might be run by organized crime and there's this Pusher Street you don't want to go close to uh where there's you know some drug dealing or you can pick up wheed or all these different things she goes you you want to go visit in our first day in Denmark for full day in mmark to this place run by organized crime like yeah of course why not um anyway not a fair description it's very much more in the communal there's no violence there are also a couple other rules that you need to be keenly aware of before you go over there because what it is again in this part of town which is really insulated uh from what is really the rest of the city you can go across the river and you're still in you know you're in the neighborhood of Christian but it's not Freetown Christian which is run by its own rules a couple thousand people live there and there's a waiting list if you ever want to join apparently Lenny Kravitz really wanted to join one time and they said oh that's great rock and roll legend Lenny Kravitz um you can wait you're at the bottom of the wait list just like everybody else but the rules when you get into this town which you know because there's a lot of graffiti on the side and there are some kind of you know I want to say like story and a half walls but like you know it when you see it because everything else around it is fairly normal just kind of City Life and buildings um first of all there's a long or there's a tall wooden Gateway and it says you know free uh Christianity in there the rules are no running because running means the cops are coming second rule is you cannot take a picture of anyone without their permission and so as we walk over the bridge first of all I not realized that the part of town that still looks like the rest of Copenhagen uh is not part of this free Town Christiania which if I had seen any other pictures which are hard to come by as you now know uh I didn't realize that you would know it when you see it was so distinctly different from everything else in the map I just thought you go over the river that's the part of town so we're like seeing buses and Subways and tons of people crossing the street and 7-Elevens and like probably a gap somewhere and I'm like okay don't take any pictures we weren't there man keep walking get further into this part of town finally see and uh you know walk around for 5 10 minutes it felt like a little abandoned there were some Shops and and restaurants and it was you know again a a peace love nonviolent kind of area people live there they Thrive there's some organization we didn't spend a ton of time uh but as we were leaving close to getting out a different entry exit point this girl asked hey could could you take my picture to show that I've been here and me being on edge the idiot at that point that late in the travel day I was like oh no no we can't do that she goes no no no you're just taking it of me me not not of someone else they go nope and there was one other person standing by so I'm a little wary of the kind of distraction pickpocket uh play which you'll find a lot of M shitties it's not you know specific to Copenhagen I says Nope we can't do it and just there was ever like a uh an audible eye roll she she gave that to us so I'm sure we probably could have taken the picture but anyway take the metro back another lovely dinner uh in town and we flew out the next day to go to uh Bergen after taking a lovely Canal tour really really like Copenhagen my wife go back in a second no knowledge of Bergen we go to Bergen which is in the southwestern part of Norway as supposed to oo which in the Southeastern part because it's facing the ocean and it's along it's known as the gateway to the fjords which are fjords are found all across the world New Zealand Norway Parts of Alaska but they are remnants of glaciers that basically created these cracks and coastlines that have since obviously been filled with ocean water after the glaciers melted but long they're narrow and they're very very deep and there is a short hand for how deep these fjords are because you look up at the surrounding mountains however tall those mountains are That's How Deep The Fjord is and so our goal was okay we get into Bergen uh it's Friday night Saturday night next day you take a two and a half hour bus ride bunch of strangers there's actually someone a girl from Marble Marblehead Mass who's on a bus uh with her friend great to know them also the ideal friends to make quickly over a long trip like this which was about 12 14 hours including again two and a half hours on a bus to this town that was at the base of one of these FS uh and back because then you have your friends who you can say hey do you mind taking our picture sure would you take ours anyway so we get to Bergen late at night crash to the hotel um you know again shout out this one my Marriot points right now but it was great just to be there walk in bus takes us uh from 8 am all the way out to this town eventually called Flo and um it's just amazing like I I have never seen a more beautiful spectacular part of the world then where we drove in Norway and then got to this town took a ferry oneway ferry through the fs again these deep inlets with these tall mountains covered and forests and there are waterfalls poking out you can hear them in the distance and there are probably a couple hundred people on this Ferry uh which is like a standard Ferry you would find you know anywhere in the US and it's got a couple levels to it and it's you know I don't want to say luxury fairy there there's a bar side because there's a bar everywhere uh when you're on vacation but it was mostly silent because the best way I could describe it and I would just say look at the pictures that I posted um on on Twitter when I came back is like if you're going through this area you would only see in Game of Thrones or uh Lord of the Rings more specifically just breathtaking in the best type of way and so you're on this fairy you know a couple people are chatting but everyone is just gawking the whole ride and you hear the motor and it's just um deep Crystal Blue Water and towering mountains and you can see snow in the distance on some of them and that's what's coming all the way down through the waterfalls and so we end up uh in another small town you know quick lunch break at this point in middle of the day take a bus all the way up to the top of one of these mountains and there's this Overlook where you see the F out in front of you and some of these stretch for you know 25 30 miles like or even longer like it's not uh it's not a lake it's not a pond um a lot of them have twists and turns but it was just some some views you never forget this was one for me um so highly recommend take the bus all the way back I'm listening to podcast catching up on the Eastern Conference Finals Western Conference finals and uh you know we get dinner walk back to the hotel crash again next day okay so this was Sunday spend the whole day in Bergen and Bergen is the second largest city in Norway only about 220 230,000 people and I say that because I it wasn't like a small City but basically you walked downtown they've got these two long what feel like Docks but they're basically peninsulas and the rest of the city is kind of up on the mountain side the hillside similar to what I just described again tons of forest but the houses are built into it and so we took a finicle this very steep you know single track train it goes up and down it's all it does all day taking tourists to a lookout over the city I tweeted this picture as well and I have no reason in my life to ever go to Bergen or want to go to Bergen I think of Bergen I think of New Jersey a place I want to avoid from now on in my life I will go there whenever it's even remotely possible within the context of another trip or we just have some time and it's not easy to get there Norway is a famously expensive country which I found out the hard way uh I'm talking about you know I don't know a burger for 22 bucks uh which is also kind of like Brook line but here we are so it was spectacular and we come back down go back into downtown which you can see a lot of obvious tourist traps there's a Starbucks here there's McDonald there there's an Irish bar which just a Scruffy Murphy's I think it was called walk into an Ice Bar first time ever doing that that was a blast and the only thing I wanted to do in this full day in Bergen was to stop at the uh we mispronounced it it football Pub pman football bar because they had a team in town SK Bron that had a match it was kind of close to Hotel couldn't find a way to get tickets stadiums only got 17,500 folks and just just couldn't do it so I said all right we'll we'll do the next p thing and walk I watch it p and the uh bartender at our at our hotel um really I don't know like we got dinner and he brought us food even though he's serving everybody all strengths said like those those actually are pretty good spots to go downtown there scuffy Murphy's bar there's another place didn't work out so we go to the football Pub it's a little bit further in town walking it's just all middle AG dudes uh enjoying their soccer on a Sunday and this is what I want just a pub and a beer and to hang out and these old worn wooden tables we go inside because the outdoor patio pack and uh it's a lot of fun uh home teams score in the first half they're up one nil um they give up three in the second but the team they were playing in Norway was the second best I think in the League last year um and so they actually that team is in a city above the Arctic Circle again everything in Scandinavia is a little bit further north than pretty much anywhere else in the US and so they lose amid you know a lot of action back and forth but anyway right before we leave I leave my wife at the table go to the bathroom uh you know take the tab we're about to leave go back one of these dudes who's like probably in his 50s in the Capri hunched over you know two fists down on the table like he's a gorilla like ready to stand off but instead is hitting on my wife and come over before I can get a word out oh you must be her father like immediately boded now this dude it took a second to realize okay he's he's had a few and uh you know within a minute is doing stuff like you would think it's if you instead been 18 you know like oh you know you you lift it all and like look I I have not seriously lifted in a long time the way I used to still got a decent chest it's like I'm going do your bench probably member of the two Plate Club anyway so he's going back and forth and how much he lifts and all these different things and I'm like I just want to get out of here so he's like is that all you do and this is all within two minutes this is not a prolonged conversation anything that I'm I'm happy to share but I said you know what okay we we'll end this conversation quickly I'll tell them my box she go yeah I uh I box to four times a week she goes quiet like okay this is good he leans back down on the table instead of the two fists down he puts one elbow down and holds out his fists like we're standing at a pre-match press conference where we're getting a little too close nose to nose but he doesn't go nose to nose because my wife is now in the middle of us not knowing what the bleep is going on and just holds out his fist like we would hold opposite so I give him a quick bump he goes I'm going to teach you how to box when we get back I go okay this is this is time to go so I closed out the tab we leave and uh that was berken loved it we go to Stockholm uh this will be much quicker because we had you know a long flight delay before we could get out of town um Stockholm was was wonderful uh gamastan is a small island in the middle of the city which is really comprised of you know a few bigger islands all connected obviously with Bridges and the larger archipelago of the the city um it felt like the most modern or I I want to say regular but like European city if you've been um you know parts of Madrid might feel like parts of Rome this is what more Stockholm was like so we hit uh Rooftop Bar to to see the whole skyline of the city that was phenomenal gastan the the city the island I mentioned in the very center um goes back to the 1200s that's an old town so as a dude who lived in the North End loves old stuff great to visit there and see different sites so we walked uh also went to I'll say this we go to Stockholm you have to go to the Vasa Vasa Museum because they have a fully preserved ship from I believe it was 1628 that the then King of Sweden there's still a king of Sweden another thing that kind of surprised visiting all the countries is they still have even Norway founded 1905 um asked to have a king which they just borrowed from Denmark who said I won't be your king unless your people want so they have this vote do you want to have a monarchy yes okay well have another vote make sure they want me they said yes he goes over there Norway also supposedly their entire economy is just built on oil that England found the facts that you learn from a German dude who your tour guide going to and from flam anyway back to Sweden uh Sweden in uh the Vasa Museum so this this ship that had been commissioned by the king years before 1628 is they're Waring with you know what is it now Poland and um different parts I want to say Yugoslavia at the time King says I want this giant ship I want to be a remembrance of me and I wanted to have a double decker uh as far as our uh you know our our Cannon ports our gun ports we stick them out the side of the boat it's not just one level of cannons we want two well they build this giant ship that is way too long and narrow and SS out in this particular day while he's fighting battles elsewhere there's a stiff Brin uh Brin wind from one side that tips the ship over because it's topheavy because this was not how you should build ships but no one wanted to tell the king hey this this was a bad idea cuz he's the freaking King and so it sinks before it leaves the harbor now the ship is not there the museum is not there because it's the most embarrassing uh you know initial Odyssey Quest you know I'm trying to think of the word your first uh maiden voyage of any ship ever taken it's that when it sunk into the harbor and was discovered 3 350 years later it was basically perfectly preserved so they pulled the ship up threw it in the museum dusted everything off replaced a couple of things it's incredibly ornate on the outside because every King is vain and uh it's spectacular so very very cool to see up close at the BOS Museum Vasa and uh otherwise called it a night uh at a hybrid you know like Japanese with some Nordic uh influences restaurant right next door shout out to Taki in the hobo Hotel uh great trip so that was way longer than I ever thought I would go on my Patriots podcast about my travels I hope you enjoyed some part of that story they're definitely things that I forgot but uh we got to go I will be back next week talking mini camp I will only be at however the Monday practice because I am flying to Dallas uh to lead our coverage for the herald of the Celtics we still do not have a full-time Celtics beat Rider uh not upset about going to the finals just wish we you know had a little bit more manpower but anyway um I will talk about that on Monday we will get more about what happened later in the week about the rest of mini camp we might actually just wait till the end of uh the week but we'll see anyway see you next week Mini Min Camp talk and then that's it it's like the offseason offseason just really just like 4 weeks then training Camp's here I can't wait see you guys [Music]