Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - A Win Was In The Cards: Patriots-Cardinals Recap - 11/30/2020

Episode Date: November 30, 2020

The New England Patriots rode a strong defensive performance, and a 50-yard game winning field goal to a 20-17 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Week Twelve of the 2020 NFL Season. Joining host Mike D’Abate is fan-favorite Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy to break down this Sunday matchup. The duo discuss the standout performances of Adam Butler and Ja’Whaun Bentley, the re-emergence of Stephon Gilmore, the continued struggles of Cam Newton and the patience of Patriots Nation when it comes to N’Keal Harry.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! EchelonRight now, you can try any Echelon Fitness equipment at home for 30 days. Go to EchelonFit.com/NFLBuilt BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON,” and you’ll get 20% off your next order.MyBookieINVEST IN YOUR INTUITION. USE PROMO CODE LOCKEDON AND DOUBLE YOUR FIRST DEPOSIT. NEW PLAYERS GET UP TO $1,000 IN FREE PLAY - DESIGNED TO ADD MORE EXCITEMENT TO THE SPORTS YOU LOVE AND THE GAMES YOU BET. YOUR WINNING SEASON BEGINS TODAY...ONLY AT MYBOOKIE!BuiltGoVisit BuiltGO.com and use promo code “LOCKED,” and you’ll get 20% off your next order. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful. You are now locked into the Locked On Patriots podcast, and it is Victory Monday here on your daily home for news notes and analysis infused with the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. Locked On Patriots is presented today by Pepsi, made for football watching. Folks, thanks to a lack of natural athleticism or commitment or overbearing sports parents,

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Watch it. Greetings and salutations, Patriots Nation. Today is Monday, November 30th, 2020, and Mondays are always better after a win. It is Victory Monday here on the pod, and thanks to a Nick Folk 50-yard field goal as time expired, your New England Patriots capped a second-half rally to beat the Arizona Cardinals 20-17 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on Sunday afternoon. And there is a lot to break down in this one, folks. A brilliant performance by the Patriots defense. Some bright spots on offense, including James White, who rushed for two touchdowns.

And of course, a lot of love for Nick Folk and the special teams. But make no mistake about it, this was not a pretty win. The Patriots didn't put together a stellar performance in all three phases of the game. But a win is a win, and the New England Patriots are happy to be at 5-6 as opposed to being 4-7. Your favorite football team in Foxborough still has slim playoff hopes alive, folks. And here to break down yesterday's game, including all of the bright spots and several areas of concern on the offensive side of the ball, is our good friend, the green master of disaster, the green king of sting, the count of Murphy, Fisto himself, the legendary Thomas Murphy, makes this once again a locked

on Murph Monday. And we will break down the performances by some stellar members of this defense, including Adam Butler, Juwan Bentley, Stephon Gilmore, and of course, a little love for Adrian Phillips getting a big interception yesterday. And if you were paying any attention to my Twitter timeline during the game, you'll know that brought out the inner Rocky Balboa in me. But all kidding aside, the Patriots, I think, put together one of their best defensive performances of the season on Sunday. As for the offensive side of the ball, well, not so much, folks.

Yes, the Patriots got the win, and a win is a great thing to have. But Cam Newton did struggle in this game, save for the final drive. Finished 9 of 18 for 84 yards passing, two interceptions, only 46 yards rushing, and the Patriots offense as a whole only finished with 179 yards of offense. And of course, to bring it all home today, Murph and I will talk about some of these offensive woes for the Pats, and why the mistakes that continue to be made are a concern this late in the season, especially when it comes to Cam Newton and Nakiel Harry.

And I know that a lot of you are frustrated with Nakiel Harry's play lately, and after yesterday's performance, I can't really say that I blame you. I've been one of Nakiel Harry's biggest supporters, but his performance yesterday may have just been enough to take me right up until the edge. And again, Murph and I will be discussing Nakiel Harry, but the story of the day, definitely the New England defense. A solid performance. They held Arizona's top-ranked offense, folks, which entered the game averaging 414 yards to only 298 total.

Kyler Murray did end up going in this game, had been nursing a shoulder injury all week long, but he didn't look too hampered by it in this one. I think the Patriots had a brilliant game plan to contain him, and they executed it perfectly. Murray ended up finishing 23 of 34 for 170 yards through the air, one interception, only 31 yards on the ground, and was held without a touchdown pass for the first time this season. And fear not, analysis, opinion, and green wisdom and counsel are coming at you in just

a few moments when Murph joins me here on the hot seat. We might even hand out a game ball, and that's something we usually don't do here on Locked On Patriots. But before we break down the action, it helps to have a knowledge of what went on Sunday afternoon. And the way this one started definitely didn't instill a whole lot of confidence in all of us that the Patriots were going to pull off the win. Cam Newton entered this game with four consecutive games

having not thrown an interception, and that ended just three plays into the Patriots opening drive. Cardinals linebacker Jordan Hicks came unblocked on a blitz which is still something that Cam is having difficulty picking up. Hicks was able to hit Cam as he threw the ball and credit Cardinals defensive back Marcus Golden for being in the right place at the right time. Came up with the easy pick and all of a sudden Arizona is in business deep in New England territory. Kyler Murray wasting no time in getting going. He comes into the game, finds Andy Isabella on a 19-yard pass.

That set up a one-yard touchdown run by Kenyon Drake. And just like that, your New England Patriots found themselves down 7-0 early in the first quarter. The offense continued to sputter, and Arizona increased their lead to 10-0 later in the first on a 47-yard field goal by Zane Gonzalez. The offense continued to sputter, and Arizona increased their lead to 10-0 later in the first on a 47-yard field goal by Zane Gonzalez. The score would stay that way until early in the second quarter, when facing a 4th-and-2 on the Cardinals' 7, Cam Newton using the option pitch to James White,

7-yard run for James, and the Patriots had cut the Arizona lead to 10-7. But business would pick up again late in the second quarter, almost before halftime, and for a moment, it looked like Arizona was about to take a 17-7. But business would pick up again late in the second quarter, almost before halftime. And for a moment, it looked like Arizona was about to take a 17-7 lead, where Kyler Murray appeared to toss an 8-yard touchdown pass to Keyshawn Johnson. No folks, not that Keyshawn Johnson, the other Keyshawn Johnson. But the review of this play showed that Johnson's knee was actually down before he crossed the goal line. And credit to the Patriots defense, they were able to force this one into a 4th-and-1 situation,

and on that 4th-and-1, Kenyon Drake was called upon as the one to try to break the plane, but he was unsuccessful. Stopped short, tackled by Juwan Bentley, newly signed defensive lineman Hakeem Spence was in on the tackle, and this one was really set up brilliantly by Lawrence Guy, who set the coverage. The score remained 10-7 as time expired,

and all of a sudden, the Patriots had a puncher's chance going into the second half. Early in the third quarter, things would get interesting again when a fan favorite here on Locked On Patriots, you know a favorite of mine, Gunnar Ryszewski, almost made himself a gunner once again and appeared to give the Patriots the lead when he fielded Andy Lee's short punt and returned it 82 yards for a touchdown. However, that touchdown would be nullified after Anthony Jennings was called for a blindside block. And let's get this straight once and for all, folks. Jennings' block was not a penalty. His

target was directly in front of him. That is not the blindside. And before you start screaming at whatever device you're using to listen to this podcast, I have seen the replay. I also have read the definition of blindside according to the new rules that the NFL has put out. Those rules define the blindside as moving toward or parallel to his own end line. Watch the replay. The defender wasn't moving. He was stopped. He was standing still on content.

And I really want to credit our good friend Matt Chatham for pointing this out so well on his Twitter account. The defender wasn't moving toward Jennings, so therefore this call should not have been made. That was a surefire 6 for Gunner, and in my opinion, Jennings was unfairly flagged for this. However, credit the Patriots. They drove to the Arizona 4 even after the penalty, but they had to settle for Nick Folk's 22-yard field goal.

That tied the game at 10. And despite the frustration, that call actually seemed to wake the Patriots up a little bit. It lit a fire under them. Shortly thereafter, with the Patriots on defense, Kyler Murray dropped back and let a pass go, intended for DeAndre Hopkins. It was deflected at the line of scrimmage by Adam Butler, who was brilliant in this game, folks. And Murph and I will get to Adam Butler in just a little bit.

But on the strength of the Butler tip, Adrian Phillips in the right place at the right time, my main man grabbing the interception, and the Patriots would take over at the Arizona 31. Six plays later, James White once again scored on a one-yard run, and the Patriots had themselves a 17-10 lead. But Arizona was not going to go down without a fight. With 8.02 remaining in the fourth quarter, Murray and the Cardinals offense would put together a 16-play, 80-yard drive that

culminated in a Kenyon Drake one-yard touchdown run, and we were tied at 17 at this point, folks. But the Patriots seemed poised to answer. They were putting together a promising drive, only to be halted when Cam Newton's short pass intended for Damir Bird was intercepted by Cardinals cornerback Drake Kirkpatrick. Arizona would take over with great field position, and they look poised to not only find the end zone but also put this away for the Cardinals. But not before the New England defense once again showed their prowess, forcing Arizona into a situation where Zane Gonzalez would have to attempt a 45-yard field goal,

and then a little Foxborough magic. Gonzalez's field goal sailed to the side of the uprights, and the Patriots once again had new life with 1 minute and 47 seconds remaining. Cam Newton had a shot at redemption, and despite him not having his best game by a long shot, folks, he made a play when the Patriots needed it most. From the shotgun snap, took it himself to the left for 14 yards, and in the process absorbed a pretty rough hit from Isaiah Simmons. In fact, the hit was so rough that Simmons was actually whistled for an unnecessary roughness call, which added 15 yards to the play. A lot of people were saying that this call was unwarranted, and I'll be honest, folks,

I'm not quite sure that I disagree with that assessment, but having been hosed on the earlier call from Anthony Jennings, all's fair in love and war. Most importantly, Cam was able to get up. Patriots would move the ball just a bit on another couple of plays, and that set up a potential game winner for Nick Folk. 50-yard field goal was good, and for the second time this year, Nick Folk was a Folk hero yet again. 50-yarder to win this one against the Cardinals. Of course, we remember his 51-yarder just a couple of weeks ago to beat the New York Jets. And after a roller coaster ride that ended in what most are calling a pretty stunning upset, your New England Patriots pulled off the victory and now sit at 5-6 on the 2020 NFL season. And as I previously stated, this one

had its share of stars on the defensive side of the ball. Few special team standouts as well. However, there were some serious concerns on the offensive side of the ball. And now that you know what happened, let's talk about why and how it happened. And who better to break down all of Sunday's action than my good friend, the Count of Murphy Fisto himself. And of course, as the week progresses here on the pod, do not forget to stay locked into Locked On Patriots as we continue to break down the win over the Cardinals and also look ahead to not one, but two matchups in LA, starting with a team I know quite well, the LA Chargers. A little bit of a worlds colliding theme this week for me here on the pod, as having covered

both of these teams, I can give you some inside wisdom and counsel on not only the Patriots, but also the Chargers. So definitely stay tuned for that. But don't worry, I can give you some inside wisdom and counsel on not only the Patriots, but also the Chargers. So definitely stay tuned for that. But don't worry, I haven't forgotten. Today is Victory Monday. And to help make things a little more festive as we head into the holiday season, let's grab some red and green wisdom and counsel from the Count of Murphy Fisto himself. We make it a Locked On Murph Monday when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues.

But first, Locked On listeners, we are in full holiday season mode. And you know what that means? Yeah, especially after Thanksgiving this past week, putting on a few extra holiday pounds. Look, when it comes to getting or staying in shape, nothing feels as good as that feeling of accomplishment, of hitting your fitness goals, and feeling great about yourself. And even though it's tough to watch your diet during times like this, I come to you today with the good news that Echelon can get you there. Echelon offers the next generation of connected fitness bikes, fitness mirrors, rowing machines,

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let's let the era of good feelings continue with some green wisdom and counsel. Maybe a little red and green wisdom and counsel to help get us ready for the Christmas season. That's right, folks. It is that time again. Your favorite and mine, my benefactor in this business, the Count of Murphy Fisto, the legendary Thomas Murphy, is back for his weekly appearance here on Locked On Patriots. Thank you for coming to me in friendship and for joining me today, Don Murph. Oh, always glad to be here, bud. Always glad to be here. It makes Monday bearable. I don't know about you. Actually enjoyable. You know, I look forward to Mondays.

I do too. And you know what? I'm glad that we kind of let the monday morning malaise go by before we sit down and have a chance to digest what we saw yesterday um i think it gives us a little bit of it gives us a little bit of a fresh take and also a little bit of opportunity to take a little more of an objective look at what we see. And, you know, I got to be honest, the palette of Pats Nation right now is I'm noticing more negativity on this win than positivity. And I'm surprised about that. But, you know, a win is a win. But the Patriots didn't make it pretty.

It was problematic. I get it. But a win is a win. I know the fan base will take it for the most part. The Pats will take it, no question. The media, well, who cares about trying to please them? I think we're only worried about what we have to say on this. And our listeners, I hope, will enjoy what we have to say on it.

But the Patriots did it yesterday. They did it, and they didn't make it easy again, but they did it. It was ice water in the veins kicking by Nick Folk. And I had to start off by just saying that, that this kid's really, really exceeded expectations this year. Happy to see him do well. With all the problems and everything that the Patriots have had in the kicking game the last two years, Folk is really coming into his own.

And whether he's a long-term solution for this team or not is really irrelevant at this point. I'm just really happy to see him do well because I think the kid has done the best he can with what he's been given. And I, for one, I'm really happy to see him succeed. But Murph, I generally don't give out a game ball. You know that from your time joining me here on the pod. But if I'm going to do that today, I have to give it to Adam Butler. And this was tough because I think a lot of people on defense really deserved it. But Butler's final stat line, five tackles, one sack, two tackles for a loss, one pass deflection, and three quarterback hits.

He basically did everything on the field that you needed him to do. Tipped a pass that result in an Adrian Phillips interception, which if anyone saw social media yesterday, brought a Rocky-like celebration here at the debate household. And I was really happy to see that. But he also locked a sack on third down that ended another second half drive from the Cardinals. I think it was his best game as a pro. Between what he was able to do yesterday, Murph, and also combined with the effort that Juwan Bentley provided. He's been much maligned this year, but I think Bentley really stepped up big and allowed the linebacking core to save face and have a pretty big game.

Were these two the highlights of the Patriots' defense on the field yesterday, just in terms of the front seven? Because we'll get to the secondary in a moment. Yeah, without a doubt. You have to take your hat off to what they were able to do. It really makes you think of what Butler would have meant to this defense all year long if he'd been healthy. And Bentley is just, you know, it was.

He's taken quite a few beatings in the media and, you know, from fans throughout the year. And he showed yesterday what he can do. Let's just see if he can keep it up. Yeah, absolutely. I completely agree with you. And look, you know, we've been on here. We've been critical of Juwan Bentley at times, myself, you, Steve, some of our guests.

So, you know, this is not backtracking. This is not taking a couple of steps back. He's earned everything that he's gotten, but he's earned the praise today from you. Absolutely, and he should. And I also want to give a little love to Chase Winovich, who I thought had a pretty good game yesterday. Definitely deserves some love for the way he sealed the inside of the middle

trying to get after the quarterback a little bit. Hey, you know what? It's part of the game. He looked like a Canadian out there. I mean a Montreal Canadian, people. Nothing disparaging against Canada. It was just a Habs freaking, you know, dig. Yeah, absolutely. And yeah, no, Murph has nothing but love for our friends north of the border.

We have a lot of great listeners in Canada that listen to us up there. We do. But absolutely. Montreal Canadian, well, that's a different story. Here in New England, that's kind of a dirty word. But yeah, I think Bentley, to me, really needed to get some some love i do give the game ball to butler because i just think butler was so much all over the field and impacted so much but the love that i had for bentley's game yesterday really i think made arguably the most

important play of the game the tackle on kenyan drank got a fourth and one time is expiring in the first half a lot of question about that i, but you really have to give the credit to Juwan Bentley. Drake hammered the middle of the offensive line, but Lawrence Guy was big in this as well. I really want to give him a lot of credit as well. He plugged his gap. Bentley was able to then go in, hold, get Drake, and keep him from making the play,

and I think that was, again, one of the better plays of the game. John Simon jumped into the mix, dropped that pile away from the end zone, and the Cardinals ended up coming away with zero points on that was, again, one of the better plays of the game. John Simon jumped into the mix, dropped that pile away from the end zone, and the Cardinals ended up coming away with zero points on that drive. And I think that was really one of the difference makers when it came to the Patriots' performance on Sunday. Murph, another bright spot that deserves a lot of credit for yesterday's defensive performance,

and I alluded to this just a couple of seconds ago, and I said we'll get to the secondary in a minute, is the play of Stephon Gilmore. Holding DeAndre Hopkins to 55 yards is an accomplishment in and of itself, but when your star cornerback does his job as well as Stephon did his on Sunday, it really helps to set the entire defense up for success. And I think that's exactly what Stefan did yesterday. He was patient against against Hopkins. He put on a really what Evan Lazar described after the game with me was a soft press technique, didn't really commit until Hopkins needed to declare his route. That sounds simple. And it sounds like just, oh, well, this is the blueprint to follow as a corner. But that's so tough to do, well, this is the blueprint to follow as a corner, but that's so tough to do, especially against a receiver that's as talented as Hopkins.

The Patriots needed that performance out of their top cornerback to remind everyone, first of all, who Stephon Gilmore is, and second of all, he looked healthy out there, which is definitely a good sign. How did Stephon's presence in that secondary yesterday help to set up the rest of the Patriots to have success on Sunday? Well, allowing him to essentially lock down a talent, a generational type talent like he did yesterday, opens up so many more opportunities for other players. It allows Bill to use my keys to a T in sending blitzers from other areas, in allowing help over the top on the other side of the ball. It's paramount to have a number one. And for the first time in a while, Gilmore, as you said, reminded everybody of who he is, that he is the best cornerback in this league, that no matter who he goes up against,

it's never a back down situation. The better the opponent, the better he gets. And unfortunately, a couple of times this year, he's played down to the level of opponents that have, you know, been on his side of the field. That certainly was not the case yesterday. No, it definitely was not in the case yesterday. And again, I think it sets up that entire secondary to be able to play their role as a sign. J.C. Jackson gets a little bit better, more comfortable in his looks. Jason McCourty, despite a couple of miscues yesterday, looked a little bit more comfortable. And it also allows guys, even like Kyle Duggar, who stepped up and made a couple of plays yesterday. Pats rookies definitely deserve a little bit of credit yesterday for the way they played. Pats rookies don't, get the tons of praise.

I know Duggar had a very good game a couple of weeks ago against the Baltimore Ravens. But both he and Josh Uche is really looking like a very formidable force in the middle. Yeah, absolutely. No, they definitely are. And Uche, I thought, showed a lot of athleticism in space. And he and Duggar really look like they can make a nice little tandem in that backfield when Uche can drop back and even play almost like a hybrid safety type. It's not his predication of his game, but he's got the ability and the versatility to do that.

And I think that was on full display yesterday. Great, great performance by the defense. And, of course, great interception by Adrian Phillips. I'm going to drop that in. It's Chargers week. I feel like I'm going home. I feel like I'm going home, but staying home at the same time. So, you know, with Adrian having a big game heading into the Chargers game this Sunday filled me with a lot of pride yesterday. That Rocky gift really gave me, you know, a lot of extra energy. And let's face it, buddy, it's always more fun to break down a win than break down a loss.

But like I said – I'm sorry, go ahead. No, isn't it? A lot of things that people are getting – they've won three of their last four games, and they're doing it with understudies. And it's fantastic. Understudies that should be behind all pro talent. And it is. What this defense was able to step up and do yesterday was nothing short of fantastic to witness.

And I hope we can see more of it in the next few weeks while we're on this extended road trip. Yeah, without question. I mean, one of the most impressive things that the patriots defense did yesterday was force a mobile quarterback like kyler murray into utilizing the passing game and i mean that sounds again it sounds elementary it sounds like something that you know the patriots would just should do automatically but it's very difficult to slow a guy like murray even with the injury. He still looked pretty healthy last year, yesterday on some of those throws. So he was definitely capable and formidable. But the series of zero blitzes that Steve Belichick and Bill Belichick and Gerard Mayo

and that defensive coaching staff put out there, simulating a lot of pressures against Murray, really confused him at times. And that's something this Patriots defense and Bill Belichick in particular has done to quarterbacks, mobile quarterbacks and prolific quarterbacks for such a number of years. Maybe he doesn't get the credit he deserves for it. Maybe some believe he does, but it's not easy to do that. And when you've done it for 20 years consistently with a few hiccups here and there, it's something that definitely deserves praise. So again, great all-around performance by the defense yesterday. But as I alluded to, there's still a little bit of negativity permeating through Patriots

Nation today. And a lot of that is because of the Patriots' ability to put points up on the board, or maybe lack thereof. The Pats offense was essentially carried to victory in this one, and I don't think that's an understatement. And there are more than just a few minor concerns here. So folks, in just a moment, Murph and I will talk about the Patriots offensive performance and what it means for their slim but alive playoff hopes. This, when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Patriots fans, you've all heard the phrase, often imitated but never duplicated.

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bar is just that good go to builtbar.com and use promo code locked on to get 20 off your next order don't delay do it today use promo code locked for 20% off at BuiltBar.com. Folks, Thomas Murphy joins me today on Locked On Patriots. A hashtag Locked On Murph Monday. A victory Monday here on the pod. And, buddy, we're talking about the Patriots' 20-17 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. And let's go right to the source. Let's go right to the top.

Cam Newton, I think, continues to be enigmatic out on the field i think that is a fair word to describe what we've seen from him so far in 2020 um his stat line from sunday is not going to impress anyone uh 9 of 18 84 yards two interceptions took three sacks while rushing for only 46 yards. And, folks, quarterback rating, 23.6. Ouch. And, I mean, you can make the argument that one of those interceptions should have cost the Patriots the game. But I give credit where credit is due. Cam made a play on the last play of the game.

Did what he needed to do. Got the run. Took a tough hit by Isaiah Simmons um but what bothered me in this one was I saw a regression in Cam to that slow trigger finger some of the poor timing that he exhibited before COVID and before he was uh you know I think a lot of times or actually I should say right after uh the uh the COVID um he didn't really revert to the way he was before COVID. It was really more after that we saw some difficulty in him being able to make plays and holding on to the ball. He really, I think, continues to have problems picking up this blitz, and he just can't seem

to shake that habit of holding the ball longer than he should. Murph, in your opinion, how much of this is on Cam, or do you think he's being put in the wrong spot by some play calling and game planning that's really not utilizing his strengths at this point in his career? No, I'm not going to put – you know me. I'm always front and center when somebody deserves some blame on the coaching staff. But, no, I'm not putting this on the coaching staff at all. You hit it right on the money when you talked about him double clutching

and the pat-patting of the ball and not getting the ball out. There have been some fantastic plays, and he has left some serious yardage on the field when he's only being asked to throw the ball 18 or 20 times. Last week, he came out and aired the ball out and was able to help this team put some points on the board. But you can see when they have to game plan in this manner, he can't get it done. He just can't. He doesn't have the timing. He does not have the ability to pick up that blitz. People keep talking about his shoulder. I want to get his eyes checked out because I don't know why he can't see what the rest of us, not maybe the rest of us, but what guys, some of us are seeing, you know, coming at him pre-snap.

He's got to be able to do this to get better while people are talking about, well, let's extend Cam, let's extend Cam. There are about 25 quarterbacks in this league right now that I would take over Cam Newton. Yeah, and I mean, I think in a lot of ways, I do think you have a fair assessment there. And look, I've been as big of an advocate as cam's uh you know has had in this region for a number of weeks now since really since they brought him in you know i was really i was excited about the possibilities saw the first couple of games looked very comfortable but there are a lot of points being left out on the field and there comes a certain period of time where you do have to look inward um and you have to discover and see what is is really the problem and i will give cam credit

you know even this morning on his weekly radio appearance on WEI, went out there and basically said, I know I didn't have my best game out there. Far from it. There's a lot that I have to do. Ultimately, the Patriots won. And I think that's something that will at least keep him a little off of the hot seat that he seems to be placed on by a lot of media members.

But again know New England struggled through the air yesterday their rushing attack managed only 3.7 yards and 0.01 EPA per rush in another quiet day when Cam is not doing his due diligence to be able to find open receivers and let this Cardinals defense fear the air attack a little bit more than they do, it really handcuffs the run because, look, the Cardinals had no fear of the Pat Stonefield passing game yesterday. You can just blitz on every single down. You can run blitz on every single down.

Yeah, at times. And pick up everything as you're going to the quarterback. And it takes so much away from this offense. It's unbelievable. There are people out here screaming for Jared Stidham to come into the game. And that's kind of surprising when you're talking about somebody like Cam Newton. But he's just not getting the job done. And it's mentally, not always physically, that is hindering this team, and it's keeping Josh from being able to plan in the way that he really wants to.

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, at times yesterday, there were 11 defenders on the Cardinals' line within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage, really keyed in on the running game simply because they just don't fear the passing game. And that's something something that if the Patriots don't show more diversity and ability for guys to get open and camp to be able to hit them going to be a long road to the Patriots to try to get some offensive continuity here especially going down the line as they're going to continue to face some pretty formidable defenses not sure what uh Melvin Ingram's status is going to be for this Sunday's game, but Ingram and Bosa are two fierce pass rushers. I know, I've covered these guys in Los Angeles. They can get after if they're healthy and they're playing at a pretty good clip.

It's going to be difficult, and of course, Aaron Donald coming your way Thursday night. Yeah, Bosa is going to get his wish that he asked for a couple of years ago when the Patriots played the Chargers in the divisional round and asking Tom not to get rid of the ball quite so quickly. Because the time is going to be there, and it could get really, really ugly, people. Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah, don't sleep on this Chargers team, folks. That's not the homer coming out in me. Do not sleep on them. They can make things happen. Even though they started in Buffalo yesterday, I still think there's a lot of talent on that defensive side of the ball, and maybe they'll bring it together, but the Patriots have their work cut out for them.

But I could not conclude this pod today without bringing up nikhil harry um you know i've been in this kid's corner from day one when they drafted him i like the size i like the contested catchability i was one of the guys that was beating the drum saying he's going to be fine he can be a good wide receiver here maybe even a hybrid tight end um i don't know if he's been utilized the right way i've seen certain circumstances where maybe they put him in difficult positions i think putting him in the jet sweep yesterday when he's six four and not exactly gazelle like in his movement was really a smart thing to do but yesterday buddy my patience started reaching its breaking point

i'm not quite there yet with it but it's's coming really close. And last week, I thought he got hammered. I thought it was a little unfair, to be honest with you. Nikhil, I thought, was wrongfully accused of two penalties he didn't commit. This week, the criticism was warranted. He committed a penalty. This time, one he did commit. And he only managed zero catches on three targets. There were moments when he was open, and Cam simply either didn't see him or didn't target him. But Murph, I'm of the school that if you aren't being targeted,

even with Cam's difficulty seeing the field a little bit, there's a reason for it. And as much as Cam likes this kid, there just seems to me like he's being seen as a liability in this offense. Yep.

But where do we stand in Patriots Nation when it comes to Nikhil Harry? I think Patriots Nation is done with Nikhil Harry. The man can't get out of his own way. He's running into defenders doing crossers. He's never in the right spot. He is never running the correct route at the correct depth. It has really, really gotten out of hand. And you may never see another Pac-12 player drafted in the NFL

because of the problems that Harry is having right now. You have to go back and, you know, it's like the PAC 12, they don't play defense. This is why we were all amazed at when we went and we, we, we scouted him and we looked at the thing. We didn't see the forest for the trees when people play defense against him. He's, he can't, he's, he can't, he just can't. And I think a lot of what's happened with this kid,

and look, I'm as guilty of this as anybody. I'm going to own it, and I'm going to stand up to it. I'm not going to make it seem like, oh, I saw this. No, I mean, I've been touting this kid pretty heavily, and I'll take that. A lot of, I think, what we saw, Bud, and this is something Herm Edwards had alluded to right after the draft, oh, you've got to let him get downfield. You've got to let him go. You've got to test him. You've got to challenge challenge him he rises to the occasion when you challenge him well maybe that's

true in contested catches we've seen several pieces of footage that show that but that's not how nfl players play defense they don't just let you go down the field and then let you beat your man one-on-one it starts at the line of scrimmage. It starts with chipping, getting him out of his route, forcing him to run routes he's not comfortable to run. This is what separates a good college wide receiver from a good NFL wide receiver. And that's something I think you're seeing with Nikhil. He's challenged now early on, and that's not something he's been used to in his career. The Patriots, I think, are trying to do their best to game plan, getting him into a rhythm, getting him into the game by utilizing these short fields I was even guilty of this on the pod last week and Steve and I were talking about it I said you know what maybe they

need to test him down the field a little bit maybe they do need to have him go down and make some contested catches and really start to see what he can do but yesterday I saw a lot of what people around me have been seeing, and maybe, and I'll admit this, maybe a little bit too blind or too willingly blind to ignore that there are measures that are being put in place to try to get this kid into the offense, and it just doesn't seem to be working. Again, I don't see a problem with the talent. I think it's more or less with his comfort in what this team is asking him to do and maybe just the comfort in the pro game completely. Maybe it just doesn't translate

the way we had all hoped. And yeah, there's a lot of negativity surrounding him right now. And I'm running out of excuses on the Nikhil Harry train. Again, I'm not quite ready to throw him off it yet, but yesterday's performance just was not a good one, and he's got to own it. And eventually, kid's a second-year player now. I know he's had issues. I know he's had defensive problems. I know he's had injury issues, but eventually you've got to step up and you've got to own it, and I just haven't seen it yet. Know your playbook, at least.

Please. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you. Very, very, very spot on there. And, again, it's going to be a struggle if this kid continues to be shunned and uh we're not we're not drawing plays in the dirt here and and it's time for junior to catch up yeah and he's being outshined by a guy in the key and you know jacoby myers who was his you know contemporary i mean these guys came into the league they're rookies at the same time

jacoby undrafted and even though he's been slowed a little bit because teams are zeroing in on him a little bit more, he's still showing the opportunity to get open and make big plays, whereas you just haven't seen that from Kiel. And yeah, it is what it is, but we'll continue to monitor that and see what he's got coming up. And the challenge doesn't get any easier with the Chargers and the Rams coming up on the schedule. Two defenses that are known to be able to lock down some good wide receivers when they're playing their game. Buddy, you lend your wisdom and counsel like no other. That's why your family here at Locked On Patriots. That's why each and every Monday there is no one else we would rather go to for game breakdown, analysis, and honest opinions other than yourself my friend folks you should

already be doing so but for any of our new listeners please follow my good friend the count of murphy fisto himself on twitter at teamer of 207 he alludes to the keys i tell you if you follow the keys the engine turns on and you run smoothly the entire game. I don't know why it's so difficult for people to figure out. Just go to the keys. It's point, click, learn, enrich, and intelligence-building material that I just can't think of any way. It's duplicated anywhere else in the civilized world, buddy. They're always proudly found on diehardbostonsportsfans.com.

Never miss an episode of One Patriot's Place with Murph and our great mutual friend Steve Balistrieri. They do all the breakdown and analysis that we don't get to here, and they take it to another level. And, of course, Two Patriot's Place on Fridays with, of course, my two good friends and another good friend of the program, our good friend Claire Cooper, who joins them for her wisdom and counsel as well. Buddy, what can I say?

I'm honored. I'm humbled as always by your presence. Thank you so much for making Mondays a lot more enjoyable here on Lockdown Patriots. Happy to be here. Hope to help the ball club, man. I'm always here for you, bud. You always do. You always help the ball club and you give us all the wisdom and counsel and insight we need.

Stay safe. Stay well. And we'll be back at it next week to break down a game that, yeah, I'm going to have much more than a sharp eye on. Worlds collide this week in Mike's world, and we'll see what that brings for the Patriots on Sunday. But again, buddy, thanks so much, and look forward to talking to you again next week. Thank you, bud. And just like that, Patriots fans, we move you through your Victory Monday here on the pod, but that doesn't mean Thank you, bud. the local experts on the biggest stories from around the league. Big wins, shocking endings, top performances, and unexpected developments. Get the in-depth analysis and insightful breakdowns from those in the know every Monday on Locked

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you're staying locked in to Locked On Patriots. Once again, my name is Mike DeBate. I thank my good friend, the Count of Murphy, Fisto himself, the legendary Thomas Murphy, for his time, his insight, and his appearance on today's pod. But most of all, Fisto himself, the legendary Thomas Murphy for his time, his insight, and his appearance on today's pod. But most of all, I thank you so much for listening and for making Locked On Patriots a daily

part of your New England Patriots coverage. Until tomorrow, Pats fans, stay safe, stay well, continue to be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone.