Felger: The Patriots using the transition tag on Kyle Dugger is useless

The New England Patriots placed the transition tag on safety Kyle Dugger, which mean his agent must report back to the team with their best contract offer and the Patriots can match it if they'd like to. On Tuesday's Felger and Mazz, Felger made it known that he is no fan of the use of the transition tag.

The Patriots using the transition tag on Kyle Dugger is useless....

Jim Murray: From ESPN senior NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler......"Source: Patriots are placing the transition tag on safety Kyle Dugger".

Felger: So useless. Oh, that's so useless. And it's so cheap. It's so useless. It's so them. I hate it, I hate it. It's so dumb. The transition tag.

Mazz: Five players have received the transition tag in the last ten years.

Felger: Five in ten years. That's right, it only happens once every other year.

Felger: You know, it happens so often so rarely that I have to refresh my memory on the rules, but I think all it is is a right to match. I think that's all that it is.

Mazz: Correct. Yep.

Felger: You don't get any compensation.

Mazz: Non-exclusive franchise tag, except it only provides the original team the right to match the other teams offer.

Felger: So if you lose them, you don't get draft pick compensation. In my mind's eye it was always something you did if you and the player weren't getting along, where you would say, "well, now with the transition tag, you are required to bring that to us and we have the right to match you required to". But if you have a good functional relationship with your player all you do is you say, "go to the market, let us know what you get come back to us and we'll see what we can do".

Mazz: Correct.

Felger: The Pats have done this over and over and over again. What? What is the need to transition? Tag a guy unless he told you to go f-yourself, in which case you say, okay, now you've got to come back to us. And then what if he gets a good offer? You obviously don't want to pay him the franchise number. You'll only do it if someone else is willing to do it? I think the transition tag is garbage. It's useless.

Listen to Felger and Mazz from 2-6 every Monday-Friday on 98.5 The Sports Hub, with hosts Mike Felger, Tony “Mazz” Massarotti, and Jim Murray “Big Jim”. You can listen live in the Sports Hub App and subscribe to their podcasts here. Follow @FelgerAndMazz on Twitter to keep up with the show!

The grades are in for the New England Patriots in 2023, and they're not great. On Wednesday the NFLPA released the results of the second annual Player Team Report Cards, and the Patriots' report card should leave the team with a lot to think about.

For the second year in a row, the NFLPA surveyed players from each NFL team over the course of the season, in order to get an understanding of how teams are handling different elements of their operation. Here's the methodology from the NFLPA website...

"In 2023, the NFLPA worked with Statler Nagle and research experts at Artemis Strategy Group to further enhance the survey process and provide third-party perspective.

The survey was administered from August 26 to November 16, 2023. Artemis Strategy Group conducted the census survey online and provided access to every player on a 2023 NFL roster at the time of the survey. A total of 1,706 players completed the survey this year.

Answers were collected anonymously, and players evaluated their current workplace based on their club experience. The survey included both closed-ended and optional open-ended questions. Grades are calculated based on player responses to a series of survey rating questions in 11 categories. Each category grade is based primarily on scores from scaled rating questions. Grades also reflect additional details about workplace conditions, such as the quality of club offerings. Teams are ranked within each category and overall on the basis of their scores. Each team’s overall score is based on a weighted combination of grades for each of the 11 categories.

The overview section for each club’s “report card” and commentary accompanying each category ranking reflects player respondents’ opinions about the state of each club’s workplace. We note that the information collected from this survey reflects only the opinions of the 2023 players on each club roster who completed the survey."

The Patriots finished ranked 29th of 32 teams on this year's report cards. That's down from ranking 24th last year.

"The New England Patriots finish the year ranked 29th in the team surveys," the NFLPA's overview of the Patriots' results reads. "The results point to club management that has not been keeping up with changing times; as in most categories, the player responses highlight outdated facilities and stale services."

In what areas in particular did the Patriots struggle? Here's a look at the breakdown of the Patriots report card. The full report can be found here.

The survey notes that the Patriots are one of 12 teams that do not provide a family room during games, one of seven teams that do not provide daycare support for players’ children on gameday, and one of only four teams that do not offer either a family room or daycare.

According to the survey, the Patriots ranked 16th in overall food taste and freshness. They are one of 30 teams to provide three meals a day throughout the week.

According to the survey, 80 percent of Patriots players feel like they get an individualized nutrition plan. That ranks 21st in the NFL.

The survey showed that while 93 percent of Patriots players feel like they have enough space in their individual lockers, only 77 percent believe the locker room itself is big enough. The Patriots' current locker room was done as a rebuild ahead of the 2018 season.

Based on the survey, 80 percent of the team's players felt the team had enough full-time trainers (that percentage ranked 26th overall in the league) and physical therapist (22nd). The reported added that "a number of players report outdated treatment options and that the training room lacks the equipment that players feel should be standard across the league" and that "some players suggest additional staff, more tables and updates to the room would help meet the team’s needs for training services."

83 percent of players responding to the survey said they felt like they got enough one-on-one treatment. That ranked 23rd in the NFL. The Patriots ranked 15th in the league in players who felt the training staff contributed to their success.

The Patriots ranked at the bottom of the league for their weight room, with players saying the quality and size of the room are both unsatisfactory. In fact, the Patriots were the only team in the NFL where a majority of players said they feel that their team’s facility is worse than places they could train offsite. The Patriots reportedly in the process of redoing their current weight room.

65 percent of Patriots players aid they feel as though they get an individualized strength plan, which ranked 31st in the NFL. The Patriots will have a new head strength and conditioning coach in 2024, with Deron Mayo (who was an assistant S&C coach last year) replacing Moses Cabrera.

73 percent of Patriots players felt like they had enough personal space when traveling. The Patriots are one of 25 teams that don't make players have roommates when staying at hotels.

Bill Belichick ranked 26th overall, but 31st in players saying they felt he was efficient with their time (55 percent) and willing to listen to the locker room. Only Josh McDaniels of the Raiders ranked lower in those categories.

Robert Kraft received a 6.9 out of 10 from Patriots players when players were asked to grade his willingness to invest in the team facilities. Given some of the other facility grades (locker room, childcare), this shouldn't come as much of a surprise.

Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at abarth@985TheSportsHub.com.