Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Back in the New England Groove - Mike and Murph Talk NFL Playoffs, Pats Priorities — 1/24/22

Episode Date: January 25, 2022

In the aftermath of an epic weekend of NFL playoff football, host Mike D’Abate welcomes fan-favorite Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy as the duo discuss Tom Brady, Jimmy Garoppolo, the Overtime conundrum, and priority one for the New England Patriots in the 2022 offseason.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.OnlineGambling.comVisit onlinegambling.com/NFL to get the edge over the competition throughout this year’s Playoffs!GetUpsideJust download the FREE GetUpside App and use promo code TOUCHDOWN to get up to 50¢/gallon cash back on your first tank.  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 in to the Lockdown Patriots podcast. It is Monday, January 24th, 2021, and we are back and better than ever 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.

And of course, folks, we appreciate you making Locked On Patriots your first listen every day. Remember, Locked On Patriots is free and available on all platforms. Greetings and salutations, Patriots Nation. It is great to be back with you here on the airwaves on the Locked On Podcast Network. I'm Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for Patriot Maven of Sports Illustrated. I am also your host of the Locked On Patriots Podcast,

which, of course, is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And, folks, because it's your team every day, that means your questions, comments, and feedback are always welcomed, very much appreciated. So share that feedback. Send it to the internet by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at MDABATENFL. And while you're out there doing some Monday meddling through the Twitterverse, please

be sure to follow the Lockdown Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. Pats fans, it's been a while since I've graced the airwaves here on the Locked On Patriots podcast, and I appreciate all of you who have reached out to find out exactly how I'm doing, where I've been. Well, I'm not going to bore you with all the intricate details, but let's just say sometimes family obligations take center stage, and that's exactly what happened here. I am still very much a part of this network, still honored to be your host of the Locked On Patriots podcast,

and returning to the airwaves has never felt so good. Things are starting to look up personally, and I appreciate the concern of each and every one of you. I also appreciate all of your support. Being the host of Locked On Patriots is truly a privilege, and one I take very seriously. I am honored to work with such an amazing team here at Locked On Patriots is truly a privilege and one I take very seriously. I am honored to work with such an amazing team here at Locked On, from the host to the producers to our channel coordinators to the management at Locked On and at Tegna. Again, I am honored and grateful to work with such great people, and it's truly my honor

and a great excitement for me to be back here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. So, without further ado, today is Monday, and what better day to kick off everything here on Locked On Patriots than welcoming back my good friend, the legendary Thomas Murphy. The Count of Murphy Fisto himself joins me today, and we're going to talk about that exciting weekend of football that just passed. I know your New England Patriots weren't a part of it, but there were plenty of Patriots storylines splintered throughout the weekend.

Tom Brady and the Bucs bowing out to the Los Angeles Rams. Jimmy G and the 49ers on their way to the NFC Championship game. And of course, those Buffalo Bills that ended the Patriots 2021 season took on the Chiefs in what is an instant classic. Well, folks, Murph has got his own thoughts on yesterday's game, and he's going to share those with us right here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. So sit back, settle in, and welcome back to Locked On Patriots as our good friend, the

Green King of Sting, the Monster Master of Disaster, the Count of Murphy Fisto himself, the legendary Don Murph himself, Thomas Murphy joins me here on the hot seat when this hashtag LockedOnMurphMonday episode of the LockedOnPatriots podcast continues. LockedOn listeners, in addition to making LockedOnPatriots your first listen every day, we have a big announcement from the Locked On Podcast Network.

Peacock and Williamson's NFL show podcast is going on the road to the City of Angels. Peacock and Williamson are L.A. bound for Super Big Game Week. So be sure to follow the Peacock and Williamson NFL show today to get the most comprehensive coverage of the big game, free and available on all platforms. Locked on, listeners, it is the new year, so you know what that means. That's right, New Year's resolutions. If yours is about getting fit or eating healthier, make sure that you include Bilt Bar into your plan.

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Since this is the new year and it's time for out with the old, in with the new, go to all those secret treat stashes you've got laying around from the holidays, either at home, in the pantry, in the office, in the car, wherever. Throw out all the sugary calorie-filled treats and replace them with Built Bars. So when you're craving a snack or a treat, you can reach for something that's healthy and tastes incredible. And there's so many flavors to choose from. Coconut Almond, Peanut Butter Brownie, Raspberry, Cookies and Cream, Mint Brownie, so many more.

In fact, Bilt Bar is always coming out with new limited-time flavors. So check out Bilt.com often to see what's new. Go to Bilt.com, use the promo code, and get 15% off your order. Use the promo code LOCKED15 for 15% off at Bilt.com. Welcome back, Patriots fans. It is Monday here on the pod. Once again, the 2021 NFL season is over for the New England Patriots, but that does not mean that we're devoid of storylines here on Locked On.

We still continue to talk about the latest news notes and analysis from Foxborough, as well as what was an incredible weekend of football, some amazing games on Saturday and Sunday, and here today with us to talk about all of it is our good green friend, your favorite in mind, my benefactor in this business, the only guest on this show with his very own branded hashtag, the Monster Master of Disaster, the Green King of Sting, the Count

of Murphy, Fisto himself, the legendary Thomas Murphy, is back for his weekly appearance here on Locked On Patriots. Thank you for coming to me in friendship. Thank you for joining me today. Don't Murph. You couldn't keep me away, Michael, if you tried. You couldn't keep me away if you tried. What a great weekend. The only thing that would have been perfect if the Patriots were playing

in it, but they weren't. But a fantastic weekend. I think we can finally lay to rest the fact that that Aaron Rodgers should ever be spoken in the same sentence with tom brady you absolutely know that uh that debate will continue and i your guess is as good as mine as to why that is murph but uh i completely agree with you the only thing that would have made this weekend of football so much better is if the New England Patriots were a part of it. Unfortunately, that is not the way the cookie crumbled this time around here in Foxborough and for the 2021 season.

And don't worry, folks, this is Locked On Patriots. We're going to get to some Patriots stuff in just a moment. But, Murph, let's talk a little bit about the weekend that was here in the NFL uh tremendous games nail-biting games all throughout the weekend it really was a joy to watch and especially for Patriots fans that are used to watching playoff football biting their nails pacing uh maybe indulging in a couple of adult beverages to kind of numb the anxiety a little bit. It really is a joy to be able to watch some of these games without a dog in the hunt. And we'll get to the nightcap last night, which really was a, just a tremendous game from start to finish. If you loved offensive football,

you really, well, we'll get, we'll get to that in a little bit. We'll get to that. Cause I got a funny feeling that everybody loved all the action that was going on last night but if you're a fan of offensive football you enjoyed some of the track meet um nature of the way that game played out but uh let's start first of all let's start with the San Francisco 49ers earning a berth in the uh NFC championship game Jimmyoppolo, for all intents and purposes, though, so many people are ready to leave this kid out in the lurch. He's got this team now in the thick of contending for a title in the NFC, albeit going to be a tough one against the Rams. Tom Brady, unfortunately, he and the Buccaneers not continuing their run there will not be a repeat champion this year in the nfl and of course we mentioned the cincinnati bengals huge shout out to our man

traggs i saw that you uh paid tribute to him last night on social media murph mike patraglia of clns media did an amazing job of covering anything and everything boston sports up here uh for a number of years a lot of folks didn't know that wasn't from of years. A lot of folks didn't know that Tracks wasn't from here. Yeah, exactly. A lot of people didn't realize that. Absolutely, we did. And he really ingratiated himself as a valued member of Boston media up here. Hardest working man in Boston media.

Really, truly he was. Absolutely. And he still is down in Cincinnati and doing a great job covering the Bengals. If you are of most Patriots fans, Ilk, and you want to see the Bengals take care of business against those pesky Chiefs, definitely follow. Drags his work all week long. He'll do a great job. Always, always does. But the Cincinnati Bengals were a surprise as well.

Murph, I don't want to step on your toes any more than I already have what were some of your biggest takeaways from this weekend saving the Bills and the Chiefs because we're going to talk a little bit more about that game but just general thoughts uh in general on what happened with the uh this weekend and some of the great football that we had to see? Kickers count. I've been saying this for years, people. Kickers count. We went on Saturday. There was definitely a field goal fest with most of the scores that came out and guys that are just too cool for school. It was a fantastic weekend of football. It was, like we said before, it was terrible that the Pats weren't a part of it. But, you know, there was a flavor to this weekend that we haven't had in a very long time. You know, I love seeing the upsets. I did pick the Bengals to beat the Titans for some strange reason. I had the Niners taking out the Packers.

That was a personal note. You know, it was good to see Jimmy get vindicated in the way that he has. He's been buried so often and so deep by so many people. And he came out and he had a good game. The Tampa Bay Rams game, it was, oh man, that was, that was a seriously, a Tom Brady-esque fourth quarter that, that the Rams put up. You know, it just seemed like they wanted to really give Tom this game.

And unfortunately he wasn't able to do that. And, you know, last but not least in the Bills and Chiefs game, if you really want folks, if you don't like the overtime rules, play defense. Play defense in the fourth quarter. Play defense when, you know, you have 17 seconds left on the clock. Find a coach that's smart enough to squib kick when you have the lead in the fourth quarter and take some time off that clock. Because you don't want to give this quarterback and the receivers that he has, you know, how fast they are and what they're able to do in a minimal amount of time. You don't want to give them that time. And Sean McDermott's a moron.

He's a moron. Yeah, and we're going to get to the Buffalo Bills in just a moment because I know a lot of people are having a very similar argument to what we heard a few years ago with New England. This team did not get a chance to touch the ball. It's unfair. We need to change the overtime rules. Well, Murph and I will have our thoughts on that in just a moment, but obviously I know you hit on some of the big

things. I'm glad to see Jimmy Garoppolo get his due. A lot of people were talking about him losing the job to Trey Lance, being expendable, being traded. We've even heard rumors of his release mid-season. I mean, there was a lot going on in San Francisco but I want to give a big shout out to my guy Brian Snow who really believed in this San Francisco 49ers team all year long and kept telling me and all of his listeners don't sleep on the 49ers that defense is special they can run the ball effectively and Jimmy is good enough to be able to to run this team effectively and be an effective game manager back there and even make plays when he needs to. I think San Francisco right now is a team that I know everyone up here

in New England is pulling for, especially because of the fact that Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will not be moving on to the championship round in the NFC. Yeah, they ruined my Hanselman Bowl, Mike. Yeah, absolutely. I know, a Bowl, Mike. They ruined the Hanselman Bowl. I know. A lot of hearts broke all over Foxborough and really down in Florida, I guess as well.

Foxborough South, down there in Tampa Bay. Tampa fans are going to get upset when I say that, but let's face it, it really is an extension of that. Tom Brady never ceases to amaze anyone. Ruff first half first half Merce no question about it but he really right the ship at that point there were turnovers that the Rams committed but

credit to Brady and that offense they capitalized on them they were able to make things happen and Tom Brady still puts me on the edge of my seat every single time I watched this guy almost led his team back from a 27 to 3 deficit we saw him do it in Super Bowl 51 28 to 3 and he nearly did it again there are a lot of rumors circulating right now about Tom's future in the NFL and for the first time Murph I think that there might be some doubt in Tom's mind that he is going to continue on. But that being said, I don't think a decision has been made either way. I don't think this is for smoking beers, nor do I think that Tom is ready to walk away or anything like that. I think there's a lot that still needs to happen. Your gut reaction, because you have a very visceral reaction to these things as I do, and your

intuition is just a little bit better than mine. Your gut reaction. Have we seen the last of Tom Brady in an NFL uniform? That comes down to one thing and one thing only. I don't think Tom wants to move and start over again. If he comes back, he's going to come back a buck. And if that's going to happen, Bruce Arians has to go. I don't think Tom wants to play for Bruce. I don't think he's spent the vast majority of his adulthood being coached by some of the greatest coaches in NFL history when they're in their own positions. And, of course, the greatest head coach that's ever lived. And he's gone down there and they were able to pull it off last year, but this year it really showed. The head-butting really showed. And I do believe that Bruce Arians is going to have to retire for Tom Brady to come back. And that scares the hell

out of me because I think Tom wants Josh McDaniels down there in Tampa. Yeah, and that could very easily get interesting. I know Josh, I wrote a little bit about Josh over the weekend for Sports Illustrated and talked about some potential replacements up here in New England as potential offensive coordinator opportunities. Putting that aside for a second, Josh is all of a sudden starting to resurface as a possibility for different teams. I know the Raiders have expressed, or at least not officially, but unofficially expressed their interest in Josh's services. And Mayo is interviewing with them today, meaning the Raiders on Monday. Things are going to get interesting in the coaching hot seat, And that could be something to keep your eye on, folks.

I heard that smattering around last night. Some of it was pure social media speculation. But I'm going to say this. Some of it wasn't. And that wouldn't shock me to see that development kind of come down. There is a familiarity down there. You don't know what's going to happen. If that did happen

uh you know i think absolutely i think that's an indication that tom is ready to uh you know circle the wagons and really kind of make his opportunity uh you know to play one more season that much better uh if you're going to see something like that so keep your eye on bruce arians that could be an interesting development but But again, too soon to tell, too soon. This is pure speculation on most of our parts right now, but there is still some doubt as to whether or not he will did hear that from sources that weren't just those social media sources, folks, with a Z. There are, you know, some reputable people that are talking about that behind the scenes as well. Too early for me to mention names. But see, we don't need those cloak and dagger sources. We've got Murph who gets it head on and puts his name

to pen every single time and that's why we love having you here on Locked On Patriots but that's why it's hashtag Locked On Murph Monday before we make this officially Locked On Patriots again we haven't really talked about that we talked about some former Patriots but we're going to talk about a situation Murph that is somewhat related to the New England Patriots, and that is overtime rules are once again coming under scrutiny. Obviously, there was a track meet going on in Kansas City last night. Tremendous offensive outputs from both teams. Josh Allen playing otherworldly.

Patrick Mahomes playing well. Those two offenses really put on a show I thought a disappointing showing by both defenses to get to that point which I don't think is being talked about enough I think most people would look at it and say you know defense you got to make a stop and that leads me to my question for you about the overtime rolls the Bills had 13 seconds to make a stop they did not do that they allowed Patrick Mahomes to get his team into position game tying field goal again like you said kickers count credit to Harrison Butker who looked shaky at some points last uh last night but on the money when he needed to be

and then in overtime Patrick Mahomes obviously you know making things happen for the Kansas City Chiefs they're moving on. We talked about this several times with the overtime rule a few years ago. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots winning the coin toss, going down, marching down, Rex Burkhead finding the end zone. We heard Kansas City Chiefs fans all over the place. We never got a chance to touch the ball. It's funny. We're not hearing that from Kansas City today, but we're hearing it a lot from Buffalo. and we're also hearing it a lot from a lot of other sections of the nfl fan base what are your thoughts on the overtime rule murph what do you believe happened

last night was it a miscarriage of justice or is this just the way the game is supposed to be played no it's just the way the game is supposed to be played. And I tweeted it out last night and you said it's today, you know, if, the whining and complaining a few years ago, when, when the Patriots ran out of, of, of Arrowhead, you know, hit social media before David Andrews had finished saying, bye-bye. So long, see you later. As right after that Burkhead touchdown. And it's happening again on the other side.

Boo-hoo, you know, look at all the Fs I give. These are the rules of the game. If you don't want to play an over, then make a stop in the fourth quarter, which you couldn't, neither of these teams could do. I do not call this a game for the ages. A game for the ages is something that is played well on both sides of the ball, and it wasn't by either one of these teams. The defensive effort that was put forth by both teams was putrid, okay? It was pepto-abysmal, another thing is the fact that if you want to, have a coach with

a clue, okay, the man's a defensive coach, you sit there, you have no time, you're giving them as little time as you can to get down the field, and what do you do, you kick off and take no time off on the clock, all right, enough, Stop whining. I do not want to hear anything more about go to the college system. Go to playing a full quarter. Who knows, at the end of the full quarter, you could still be tied. And then what do you do? Play another quarter? No, it's ridiculous. It diminishes from the game. Get better at coin flippage. Don't call tails. Don't call tails, Josh Allen. But no, there are a lot of things went into the bills losing this and the bills can only blame themselves. Yeah, I hate to say it. And look, you know, bottom line, my good friends, Drew and Chris,

that host the Rockpile Report, who I have the great fortune of joining them on occasion and being their Patriots quote unquote insider I don't know about that but they keep having me back and I keep enjoying you know speaking to that that fan base and look I'm well liked in Buffalo so I'm not going to poke the bear up there that's very rare for guys that's very rare for people up there in western New York to have any type of good things to say about a Patriot guy. But look, bottom line, you know, you punt on fourth and four from your own 49. You allow the Chiefs to score a touchdown on the drive.

You punt on fourth and one from your own 34. The Chiefs go on to score a touchdown. You know, you kick the ball into the end zone at the end of regulation. This is just, it's difficult for me to swallow the type of medicine that people are throwing out there today about this is not fair. You need to have two possessions or whatnot. The Bills had several chances to win this game. It was tied at the end of regulation. I understand that there's, oh, well, this team didn't get a chance to do it. That team didn't get a chance to do it.

Football is about two ways. And Keenan Allen said this very well. Defense wins championships. I don't know if you had a chance to check out Keenan's Twitter feed. I still follow Keenan on social media, having the opportunity to have covered him in Los Angeles. And Keenan was right on the money. Defense wins championships. Offenses have their chances chances to win that's exactly what happened last night uh the Buffalo Bills taking nothing away from two great games from Josh Allen and from

Gabriel Davis by the way I think really I want to give Gabriel a lot of credit for that game last night yeah eight receptions 201 yards four touchdowns yeah can you figure out a way to cover this guy after like say the second touchdown people exactly can you cover him can you just say hey let's not forget the davis kid yep exactly and it's true and it really really is and uh offensively the bills did uh you know they they did their part last night and i think that's going to earn brian dayball a head coaching job sooner rather than later. Look for him to pop up in the Meadowlands. I'd be very surprised if that didn't happen soon.

But at the same time, you know, we move on. But I am in agreement with you. I think the overtime rule, Murph, is where it needs to be, and there's a lot of reasons for that. Look, bottom line, you're talking about potential, the risk of potential injury going into a long-term overtime period i know people are going to whine and they're going to roll their eyes at that but look we're talking playoff football here especially playoffs and it really is when you're running up and down for four straight quarters of breakneck football and you have to put your best players in i mean you can't rest your, your starters at that point. No one's getting a series off. Exactly. No one's getting a series off.

You've got to be careful with the long-term health of these guys. All right. I understand you want to whine and cry or, you know, roll your eyes about that argument and say, Oh, that's weak or whatever. If you start going back and forth about teams not getting the chance, all right, two teams score four touchdowns, you go to overtime, you go to sudden, it goes to sudden death anyway. So, I mean, how much of an extension of this game do you want to put out there? I think right now you have the opportunity to stop them.

Look, if you can make a stop and hold them to a field goal, you've got the opportunity to be able to do that. If you're an elite defense that deserves to move on, then you should be able to get a stop on a team and be able to at least hold them to a field goal. So I don't know. I believed it then. I believe it now. I think the overtime rule is just fine. And I think, you know, ultimately you have to, you know, do with, you have to make do with what you have. And I think you saw, you know, that last night and I think you're going to continue to see it again. Will it be changed? I hate to say it. I think it probably will be. And I think it will be a disservice to the NFL reacting to, you know, the outrage of this generation. And it's too bad. It's too bad. It's fine just the way it is. I thought it was fine the way it was beforehand. And, you know, before they made the rule change. And now you're probably right, Michael, they'll probably change it again. Yeah. And you know what? I think we're all in agreement that if this were the New England Patriots benefiting once

again from this, that rule would already have been changed this morning. Thank you. And with that, folks, we bring this back to where you want it to be. This is Locked On Patriots. And we have to bring it back to a patriotic theme. In just a moment, the legendary Thomas Murphy and myself will talk about the New England Patriots' biggest need heading into 2022. What's off-season priority one? Stay tuned for Murph and my thoughts on that subject when this Locked on Murph Monday

episode of the Locked on Patriots podcast continues. Patriots fans, the legendary Thomas Murphy joins me here for his weekly appearance here on Locked on Patriots hashtag locked on Murph Monday and Murph in the previous segment we spent a lot of time talking about former Patriots overtime rules a lot of things that happened with expats Tom Brady Jimmy Garoppolo by the way I'd like to give a nice little shout-out to Sonny Michel, who's earned a spot in the NFC Championship game with the LA Rams. Sonny gets his share of hate up there in LA, just like he did in New England, but he's still playing. So give a good shout-out to Sonny Michel.

We've spoken his praises many times here on the airwaves with Locked On Patriots, but that was then. This is now. The New England Patriots have business to attend to heading into the 2022 season. 2021's firmly in the rearview mirror now. You can barely see it in your rearview, in your hindsight. And the New England Patriots do have some question marks, Murph. Let's face it.

In their loss to the Buffalo Bills, it was clearly obvious that we need more speed, more youth in the linebacker position. The defensive line, I think, is still maybe a depth player away from being that type of line that we thought it was going to be this year. The secondary need coverage help at the cornerback position. That may be the biggest need for help at the cornerback position. That may be the biggest need for the Patriots. Offensively, there is wide receiver help that's needed. We talked about this a little bit last week, and I'm not sure if that game-breaking, take-the-top-off-the-defense

wide receiver is exactly what this team needs, but they need a bona fide receiver. There's no question about it. And there's always running back receiver. There's no question about it. And, you know, there's always, there's running back help. There's, you know, things of that nature that need to be addressed. Murph, you're the general manager of the New England Patriots. Besides unparalleled success that that would bring to this region. And I say that with every reverence for Bill Belichick, but you know, let's face it. You put the big green man in the GM chair, big things are going to happen in Foxborough. You're laying out all the scenarios and maybe some of them that I that I didn't mention. But all of those are in front of you on your desk. What's the first stack of paperwork you're picking up? What is priority one for the New England Patriots heading into the 2022 season?

I'm calling Miguel Benzant. That's priority one. I love it. I absolutely love it. This team only has $10.5 million in cap space right now, folks. And you have to start there as much as the talking heads that, that, that grace the airways from two to six will, uh, would like to you not to believe the cap counts. All right. But there is ways that you can manipulate the cap and restructure people and turn stuff into signing bonuses and create more cap space, you know, letting people go restructuring things of that ilk. They need more cap space before they can do anything else. They need more cap space before they can even put a,

a franchise tag on J.C. Jackson, which is right now probably the number one move that needs to be made. They need to figure out what they're going to do with J.C. I say bring him back. I hope they can work out a deal where he's not franchised and not taking up $17 million a year in cap space. I've said it before and I've said it again. I'll say it again. I don't think J.C. Jackson is a $17 million a year player. But I do think he's a $14 million a year player. I do think he's somebody that I would like to have around here for a very long time

and to put somebody else on the other side of the ball that is going to be able to help him do that on the other side of the field, I should say. But no, creating cap space is the number one priority for Bill Belichick and the Patriots right now. Go call my man Miguel. Absolutely. And look, you know, Miguel is always the guru when it comes to matters of this type. I've said before, I don't need any other sources. He's the only one I trust. He's the only one I go to. He's the only one I need. And folks, that really should be the case regardless of where you are in Patriots fandom.

And I'm so happy to see that he continues to be among the top Patriots follows on Twitter, on social media, and really, you know, get so much credit from the beat writers that do, and myself included, that really rely on his ability to be able to track it. And he's phenomenal at doing what he does. There are going to be some tough situations that the Patriots have to follow. And I agree with you on JC Jackson. And look, this is from someone that's been singing his praises all season long and really, you know, digging in. And look, this is from someone that's been singing his praises all season long and really, you know, digging in and, uh, you know, I tried to get the, yeah, exactly. And I, I tried to get the aisle of denial going this year for some reason, I guess that didn't pick up,

you know, but you know, uh, you know, I don't know, people just didn't like my puns, you know, probably a little bit more dad joke-ish, I understand. But, you know, bottom line, I've been an advocate of J.C. for quite a while. I really imagine that he would emerge into that top cornerback stratosphere. And I think you can make the argument that he may be there. He's a good cover corner. He's definitely a ball-hocking type of guy that really is able to – he's got a nose for the football. He knows where to find it.

And I think that could serve him well in the NFL. Is that going to be enough for the Patriots to sign him to a long-term deal? Because the more I look at it, the more I think that $17.28 million for someone of J.C.'s services for one year under the franchise tag may be problematic. And Mike Reese wrote about this over the weekend. You slap that franchise tag on a player, that's not exactly a badge of honor. They're not walking around holding the briefcase up like Money in the Bank, WWE style.

This is not something they're really, really happy about. It really does cause problems. Exactly. They don't like it. And you can't imagine Chasey's going to be happy about it. You get a disgruntled player that knows that he's throwing tens of millions. He could be seeing tens of millions of dollars go out, walk out the door. You know, it's it's fine. You can all sit there and say, yeah, 17 million dollars. Hell yeah. Go ahead, JC. No, JC just lost 63 million bucks. That's what he's doing. That's that's that's the man that's walking into that locker room. do i think jc jackson is going to be that type of person no i really don't but then again i don't really know him um for me personally i would take that as a slap i would say yeah you love me but you don't love me enough to to go the the whole nine yards for me yeah exactly i mean it almost

is like okay well you, we do want to work something out with you, JC, but not right now. You know, we want to wait a little bit and look after the money that the Patriots threw around last year and they threw around significant deals and they have some deals on this team that maybe they're giving a second look to, you know, and I'm not saying that some of these guys are going to be restructured and Miguel is going to be on the show soon and he's going to answer all your questions, solve all your problems much better than I can. But you look at some of the deals that they sign.

Exactly. You look at some of the deals that they sign in the offseason. I mean, you know, you've got Devon Godchild that's going to, you know, eat up a good, you know, portion of the cap. You've got to think that the Patriots would love to try to restructure that. They'll be able to actually do it. But you know, they're going to love to try to do it. You could save $6 million right there, you know, converting.

Your man Hunter Henry, you could save money restructuring him. I don't know if he's into an extension with the fact of what age he's going to be when his contract runs out. I think he's still going to be under 30. And so, you know, there are ways, ways to make it happen. I just don't know if, if the Patriots have the clout to do it in the way they have in the past with guys like my man, Danny Amendola, who just took restructure after restructure to stay here and play with Tom Brady. Yeah, exactly. And do you have that cachet anymore? Does Matt, excuse me,

does Matt Jones give you that opportunity to, you know, say, okay, well, we're going to come here and we're going to allow you to play with Mac. Well, you look at some of the way these other quarterbacks are playing and all of a sudden it's like, okay, well, you know, Mac has a high ceiling and I agree that, you know, the Patriots have found their quarterback of the future. I still am really, you know, surprised by the number of fans, quote unquote, that think that, you know, the Patriots have found their quarterback of the future. I still am really, you know, surprised by the number of fans, quote unquote, that think that, you know, Aaron Rodgers is available, that the Patriots should kick the tires on him. I've heard a Tom Brady reunion. I mean, you're hearing all kinds of stuff on social media. Look, unless it's Gardner Minshew, I don't want to hear it.

The fiendish plot can still live, Mark. He talked about this on the airwaves right here on Locked On Patriots last year, folks. Who knows? Maybe, maybe, you know, the backup situation allows that to happen because I don't know what's going to happen with Hoyer or with Jarrett. I mean, you know, there's all kinds of things. But, yeah, Matt Judon, $16.5 million hit against the cap this year is scheduled. Nelson Aguilar, $15 million. Hunter Henry, $15 million.

Make the argument that one of those guys earned it a little bit more than maybe the other did, but you can look to restructure these deals. Shonu Smith, $13.75 million against the cap. Devon Godchow, $10.25 million. So, I mean, you're looking at a lot of money tied up to these guys that are at the top. Those are the 2021 signees. Do the Patriots try to do something different? And we do want to see all these men back.

That's not what we're saying, folks. Nobody's sitting here saying, you know, cut bait. No, these would be restructures. It's still too early to cut bait on some of these guys. I mean, most of all of these guys. I mean, they all showed promise in their own way in 2021. So we'll see what happens in 2022 there when the New England Patriots get ready to take the field one more time. Murph, what can I say? I agree with you on your priority when it comes to priority one and what the Patriots should

do. And again, folks, we will continue to break down the Patriots offseason right here each and every Monday, because next Monday, we're going to start to muse the draft a little bit. Pay attention. Pay attention to some of those calls right now on Lockdown Patriots Twitter and on my own personal Twitter and Murph's as well. Murph teased this a little bit for me last week during the hiatus that Locked On Patriots was. But from a personal standpoint,

I could not ask for a better friend. I really and truly cannot. This man is truly one of a kind. It's been a little bit of a difficult situation for me, as I said, to open the show today over the course of the last week or so. But having friends like himself, like Claire, like Miguel, like

Steve Valistrieri, like Mark Schofield that are really always there for you whenever you need to hand the ball off. They're there to take it and they're there to pick up the slack when the quarterback might be a little banged up. And that's exactly what happened to me emotionally last week. And again, I continue to thank the great team we have here at Lockdown Patriots for helping me to get through that as well. But Murphy, you're one of the big reasons why.

And the names that I mentioned, like Claire and Steve and Miguel and Mark, are really, truly people that I value more than you could possibly imagine. So stay tuned for those calls all throughout social media because we will start to muse the draft a little bit. And dare I say, folks, you're going to be seeing our mugs on that screen, one of which is very handsome in my guest here today. Me, you can kind of block that out. I'm learning ways to try to view it, especially if people are watching us while we're reading. Definitely not an image you want. But bottom line, we will be on YouTube shortly, folks, so stay tuned for that.

But in the meantime, my friend, I always give you the opportunity. I usually take this opportunity from you, but I'm going to give you the opportunity to let everyone know where they can find you and your great work all throughout social media and anything that you want to plug. My man, you've earned the right. Please go ahead and do so before I let you go today. I got some baseball content coming out this week at E2G Sports. Don't miss that, folks. Of course, you can catch me with Steve Balistrieri and Klazzy Claire Cooper every week on One Patriot's Place.

And you will be seeing us live on the E2G stream on YouTube starting this week. We've got a great man. Alex Barth is going to come in from 98.5, the Sports Hub. Man, he's just a fountain of knowledge. Don't miss that. And, of course, you can follow me on social media, at TeamRF207, on all those platformy things. Absolutely.

And, again, anytime this man puts voice to microphone, pen to paper, it is point, click, enrichment, learn material. You become a better sports fan, a much better football fan with those monster keys. But as baseball season nears, please be sure to give a shout-out and a look to Murph's great content. He even put content out on UConn basketball last week, a great, great piece. Stay tuned. By the way, UConn basketball that fell to my beloved Providence College Friars earlier this season,

who are number 21 in the nation and rising with a bullet. Let's go, Friars. But no, all kidding aside. All hail the Big East, man. All hail the Big East. Absolutely. And Murph continues to do great work for all of those venues. But until next week, my friend, continue, please.

Stay safe, stay well. And we look forward to breaking down all of the action all of the off-season talk and starting to muse the draft a little bit here with murph next week on lockdown patriots thanks a ton my friend always honored always humbled by your presence uh san brazil and we'll call it even you're gonna teach me how to make sauce man this is this is great this is this is the this is great. This is the, we got a Michael LaClemenza moment. I can see it. We can actually do this on YouTube.

People can watch us make sauce on Locked On Patriots. See, a little bit of sugar, and that's my trick. And that's my trick. Thank you, folks. Thanks, Murph. And so, Patriots fans, one down, but a full week here to come on Locked on Patriots. Because once again, we are back to bring you the latest news notes and analysis from Foxborough. So to ensure that you do not miss a single second of the action,

download, subscribe to, and follow the Locked on Patriots podcast on platforms such as Spotify, the Odyssey app, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. Just make sure that you are staying locked in to Locked On Patriots. Once again, I'm Mike DeBate. I thank my good friend Thomas Murphy for his time, his insight, and his appearance on today's pod. But most of all, I continue to thank each and every one of you for all of your support and for making Locked On Patriots

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