Training camp begins for the New England Patriots in a little more than two months, and there's still no definitive answer as to who's coaching what on the team.
Is criticism of the structure of New England's coaching staff out of bounds, or justified?
On the latest episode of Patriots Talk, Tom E. Curran is joined by Erik Scalavino of Patriots.com to discuss the state of the staff Bill Belichick has assembled, as well as the approach of no one on the team seeming to have an official title yet. With question marks still remaining throughout the roster, the lack of clarity on the coaching staff isn't helping matters.
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Curran: The Patriots' defensive blueprint is coming into focus
"Why do we have to exacerbate the problem by having the coaching staff be part of the uncertainty?" Scalavino asked. "That's usually the thing that you could count on over the 20 years of success that they had."
Patriots Talk: Has Patriots coverage become too negative, or is it all warranted? | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
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But has the overall coverage of the team become too negative? Curran and Scalavino discuss pros and cons of the 24-hour news cycle, coupled with the expectations of fans in New England.
"We have as passionate a fan base for sports in the New England region as there is in any part of this country, probably rivaling some of the big European soccer clubs," Scalavino said. "There's never not a demand for people who want to talk about these kinds of things. I think sometimes we overestimate how many people haven't heard what we've talked about and so we feel like we have to keep talking about it."
Also discussed in the episode: Were the penalties in 2021 due to bad coaching, or bad talent? Tom and Erik rank the top five players under 30 on the Patriots' roster while Erik gives his best impression of Patriots players.
Check out the latest episode of the Patriots Talk Podcast on the NBC Sports Boston Podcast Network, or watch on YouTube.