Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Bah, Humbug: Patriots Fall to Bills 33-21 in post-Christmas, Week 16 Showdown - 12/27/21

Episode Date: December 28, 2021

For the second straight week, the New England Patriots could not overcome an early, self-inflicted deficit, falling to the Buffalo Bills 33-21 in Week Sixteen in Foxboro. As a result of their loss, the Patriots fell behind Buffalo in the race for the AFC East title, and now sit as the sixth seed in the AFC postseason positioning. Joining host Mike D’Abate is fan-favorite Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy. The duo discuss the Pats problems on Sunday and how they may go about fixing them heading into the final two games of the season.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. 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 Lockdown Patriots podcast. It is Monday, December 27th, and after a brief hiatus, Lockdown Patriots is back, 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 once again, thank you for making Locked on Patriots your first listen every day. Remember, Locked on Patriots is free and available on all platforms. Greetings and salutations, Pats fans,

and thank you for joining me here on this Monday episode of the pod. I hope that all of you had a great Christmas holiday, and Locked on Patriots is back from a brief hiatus, here to bring you the very latest news notes and analysis from Foxborough. My name is Mike DeBate, and I am 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, your comments,

and your feedback are always welcomed and very much encouraged. 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 that Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. Pats fans, for the second straight week, we are not celebrating a victory Monday here on Locked On Patriots because heading into week 15, stakes were about as high as they can get for a regular season game.

The New England Patriots, the Buffalo Bills, the winner putting themselves into prime position to secure the AFC East Division title, greatly improving their standing for AFC playoff seating at the same time. Unfortunately for the Patriots, folks, on a day in which they needed to establish themselves as the alpha on both sides of the ball, it would be the Buffalo Bills issuing that reminder that they are, in fact, the defending AFC East champions. Mack Jones finished the game completing 14 of 32 passes, 145 yards, two interceptions, no touchdowns. Running back Damian Harris was the lone bright spot for the Patriots. Carried the ball 18 times, 103 yards on the ground, three rushing touchdowns. That's a career high,

but the story of the day for New England would be costly penalties the inability on both sides of the ball offense and defense to make plays when most needed on the other side Buffalo was great Josh Allen threw for 314 yards three touchdowns reserve wide out Isaiah McKenzie I wrote about him last week for Patriot Maven of Sports Illustrated. McKenzie had his coming out party. Led all Buffalo receivers, really led all receivers in this game. 125 yards, one touchdown for the second straight week, folks. Patriots just could not overcome an early self-inflicted deficit,

and they fall to the Buffalo Bills 33 to 21 in week 16 in foxborough as a result the patriots are still looking good to make the playoffs but the rest of it is looking pretty suspect right now the patriots fall behind buffalo in the race for the afc east and they now sit as the sixth seed in the afc postseason positioning just 48 hours ago they were sitting in the second spot my how the tables have turned for the Patriots. And it's been a story for the last couple of weeks. The Patriots not able to make the defensive adjustments they need to make to be able to stop the opposing team's offensive weapons. On the offensive side of the ball, not able to convert. Third down conversions

yesterday for the Patriots, one of ten. That's not going to get it done, folks. And unfortunately, the New England Patriots have dug themselves into a little bit of a hole. They're still likely postseason bound, as I said, but now it's going to be a little bit tougher. Well, it's not a victory Monday here on the pod today, but you know that because it's Monday, it is hashtag LockedOnMurfMonday. That means my good friend, our good friend here on the pod, the monster master of disaster, the green king of sting, the Count of Murphy, Fisto himself, the legendary Thomas Murphy,

is back for his hashtag LockedOnMurfMonday appearance. And as you might have guessed, Murph is not happy. We're going to talk about what went wrong for the Patriots in Foxborough in Week 16, and we're also going to flip the script and talk about what needs to improve and improve fast as the Patriots head into their Week 17 matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Tons to talk about, lots to sort through, so without much further ado, my good friend Thomas Murphy will join me here on the hot seat when this hashtag LockedOnMurphMonday of the LockedOnPatriots podcast continues. LockedOn listeners, this holiday season,

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You never know when you're going to need it. Don't delay. Do it today. Go to Built.com and use the promo code LOCKED15 to get 15% off your next purchase. Use promo code LOCKED15 for 15% off at next purchase. Use promo code LOCK15 for 15% off at Bilt.com. Patriots fans, one was acceptable, two is just downright cruel. For the second straight week, we are not hosting a Victory Monday here on Locked On Patriots. Of course, the Patriots falling to the Buffalo Bills 33-21 at Gillette Stadium in

Foxborough, Massachusetts. Lots went wrong. Very, very little went right for the New England Patriots. And as a result, they now find themselves on the outside looking in when it comes to the AFC East race and also down to sixth overall in the AFC playoff seating. Not a pretty picture, but the Patriots are likely still bound for the playoffs. What went wrong yesterday and what has to go right down the line in order for the Patriots to put the ship back on course and maybe shut up some of the fans that are squawking in western New York right now. Here today to bring home the green wisdom and counsel that we all desperately need in Patriots Nation right now

is the only man who can provide it. That's right, folks. He is here. He is ready to roll. And warning, folks, he is not happy. Your favorite and mine, my benefactor in this business, the only guest past, present, and future on this pod with his very own branded hashtag, the Count of Murphy Fisto himself. My legendary good green friend 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 Murph.

Always a pleasure, bud. Always a pleasure. Yeah, the cold winds are blowing off the tribe up there in Buffalo, and it doesn't smell nice. Yeah, it really doesn't. It really doesn't. Bathe, people, please. Yeah, it really doesn't. you know, just, you know, the, the, the, the permeation, yeah, the, the, the permeation of, of, of, of table slapping flatulence is really not something we were hoping that was going to

pollute the air in Foxborough, but unfortunately that is indeed the case. And whether you like it, whether you don't like it or not, the bills backed up their bravado yesterday, especially one Josh Allen who had a tremendous game yesterday. You know, he's taken his share of lumps from the two of us over the years in terms of his ability to be ready for big games. Got to give it to Josh yesterday, 314 yards passing three touchdowns served as the team's leading rusher. Once again, 12 carries for 64 yards, just a great game, making plays under pressure and the Patriots just did not have an answer.

And Murph, where else should we begin but right there? The New England Patriots yesterday just, I keep saying uncharacteristically because it really is uncharacteristic for a Bill Belichick coach team and really the team that we saw in that seven-game winning streak that just looked disciplined. They looked like they were playing old school Patriots football, making everyone think that 2020 was an anomaly. And now they're back to business. I still don't think they've regressed as far as the fan base is making it out to be.

I know there's a lot of emotions, folks. I know you're upset with the way the Patriots have played coming out of the bye. There's a lot of reason for that. But take a temper and approach when you're evaluating this team. It wasn't as quite as bad as people are making it out to be. I think they ran into a superior team yesterday, and that was one of the biggest problems. But at the same time, they're not executing the way they need to.

I was a little surprised that the Patriots did not adjust to the zone coverage that was not working against Josh Allen on Sunday. And I thought that it was a little curious that the Patriots were getting out physical. I don't even know if that's a word, but they were, they were getting out and they were getting manhandled in a lot of ways. And that's very atypical for the New England Patriots. The offensive side of the ball. Absolutely. And we're going to get to those keys. And,

you know, offensively, the Patriots did not get their two tight end sets involved. I don't know why there's reticence to do that. Bill Belichick kind of deflected the question when he was asked this morning when he met with the media on Monday morning. So just a lot of question marks, a lot of head scratchers. Before we really get into some of the unpleasantries of this game, Murph, overall, just what went wrong yesterday for the New England Patriots, and what was so different about their approach this time as opposed to last time? You know, another slow, sluggish start, man. It's two weeks in a row that they've had a difficult time. It almost seemed like, like you're, you're getting in your, uh, your sports car and,

um, starting out in third gear. And, uh, this, this team is not a sports car team to begin with. All right. This is,

this is a Mack truck. This is a, uh, this is a Hemi, um, a Dodge Hemi with, that is geared low. And,

uh, you, you can't do that and get out on the good foot. It just does not happen. Two weeks in a row now, they've left the game in the locker room and seem to think that they can just turn it on at the end of the game and come away with things. And you can't do that against good competition.

And face it, folks, the Bills are good competition. Yeah, they are. They absolutely are good competition. And look, they were the better team on the field yesterday. I don't think there's anybody that can make that argument. They just, they attacked the coverage for the Patriots much better on offense. They had more of a balanced attack. You look at what they did on defense in terms of being able to keep Mack off balance,

keep him under pressure, but also control the intermediate part of the field, something they didn't do in the first matchup. They just pressed all the right buttons. And, you know, credit Sean McDermott and his coaching staff for being able to make the adjustments when they needed to. But to me, the difference between these two teams yesterday, and this is something that, again, just does not sit well with me, Murph, because it's very un-Belichickian. It's very un-Patriot-like.

Buffalo won the intensity battle yesterday. Right. This late in the season, you have to have that fire. You have to have that bravado. Look, as a Patriots fan, when you see Stefan Diggs pointing his finger at the fan base in Foxborough, your blood boils. I mean, it just doesn't sit right when you see an opposing player come in and do that on your own field.

But look, Stephon had a great game. Isaiah McKenzie, I think, overshadowed him in this game. And I wrote about Isaiah a couple of days before that. I felt very prophetic in a negative way yesterday watching him do what I had predicted he might be able to do if the Patriots didn't, you know, play the type of coverage that they needed to. But look, you know, you see Stefan Diggs. You wished Cole Beasley hadn't been ill.

Yeah, exactly. You know, and that's the whole thing in a nutshell, because Miles Bryant held Cole to one catch and 11 yards. And Isaiah just absolutely went off showing his versatility and really I think his athleticism uh that fire and that that uh that attitude that he brings to the table and I say attitude in a positive way not in a negative way all his teammates describe him as someone who is upbeat that really motivates his team to be able to do well he brings a positivity to the locker room that I think really had an effect on those players yesterday and you saw it you saw you know you know Micah Hyde they were drawing with the fans on the sidelines it's tough to watch as a Patriots fan but at the same time you got to say that Buffalo earned the right to do that because they came in and backed it up and again Josh Allen

having a tremendous game you You know, apparently he had some words for the Patriots locker room after the game as well. And bottom line, if you're the New England Patriots and you don't like what these guys did on your home field yesterday, then the next time that you get them, don't let them do it again. Absolutely. You know, the great Ric Flair once said, you did it once. Now let's see you do it again. And if the New England Patriots want to get that pride back, they can't let them do that again, whether they see them in the postseason once again, or whether the next time that they face this team is going to be in 2022, still up for grabs at this point. But, you know, to paraphrase the words of Sonny Corleone, my friend, this was business. And this

kid, meaning Josh Allen, took it very, very personal. And as a result, the Bills took a giant step toward securing their second straight AFC East title. Murph, pulling off of what we've been talking about, and we've been talking about what went wrong with the New England Patriots yesterday and intensity and things of that nature. But there were miscues on both sides of the ball. The Patriots, once again, costly penalties. There weren't as many of them,

but the ones they were whistled for were costly. A couple of them, you know, were really, yeah, a couple and a couple of them were really questionable. I wasn't all that enthralled with Smith's explanation of what happened on the Mac Jones horse collar there. I mean, you know, Bill Belichick said today, ultimately, they're the officials. It doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks. They're the ones making the calls out there. But you can't completely excuse away the performance on both sides of the ball because of questionable calls or penalties. The Patriots did not execute. In your opinion, were you more concerned about what you saw from the offense yesterday or the defense?

Definitely the defense. They seemed out of sorts. They seemed out of whack. At one point in time, I thought I was wondering what sport Kyle Vannoy was playing in the first half because he just looked so lost out there. It was embarrassing. Guys were basically ignoring what they had done over that seven-game stretch and just thought by being out there that it was going to happen, and it didn't happen. I did not like the way that this defensive line got punched in the mouth. There was absolutely no push onto Josh Allen in the first half whatsoever. The things that make him uncomfortable, the Patriots were unable to do or unwilling to do. The coverage in the backfield, I've got to give

a D. It was the worst I have seen probably since week three. Yeah, I completely agree with you. And look, there was a lot of throwing around of this stat yesterday, folks, in terms of. New England, one of 10 on third down. And look, I know people are going to, the first thing that I did when I brought that up was people kept coming right back to me and saying, oh, but they were great on fourth down. You know, they converted a lot on fourth down. Oh my God.

You know, Bill Parcells said it best. If you're winning fourth down conversions, to me, all it means is you didn't do your job on first through third. And that's exactly what that means. That an extra play that's extra energy that's uh you know an extra snap or an extra possibility of someone to get hurt these are problems that need to be addressed right off the bat and i don't care what happens on the offensive side of the ball if you're or the defensive side of the ball i should say if you're not converting on third down and you're converting one of 10,

you're not going to beat anybody with that type of a record, let alone the team that was clearly the better team on both sides of the ball yesterday. So, you know, I guess as a positive to take away, I don't want to seem like I'm just completely being negative here. As a positive to take away, I would probably say that say that you know at least the patriots made some plays to be able to stop the bills in the red zone um yeah you know that that's that's something that at least i would take away as one of the positives to build upon uh but between the 20s this team was as porous as it gets yesterday and that's where these trench battles need to be won

the patriots need to be more diligent and you need to control the clock the bills own the ball yesterday for 35 minutes and nine seconds as opposed to the patriots 24 minutes and 51 seconds when there's that type of a 10 minute gap between time of possession it doesn't really take a rocket scientist to figure out what the final score is going to be and that's exactly what it was Murph before we move on to things that needed to be fixed um Mac Jones is getting a lot of dirt on his uniform over the course of the last 24 to 48 hours and people are starting to wonder if maybe Mac is getting exposed a little bit maybe the rookie bloom is coming off of the rose and he's starting to maybe show some of his deficiencies

and areas that he may not quite be ready for prime time when it comes to the New England Patriots. In Mac's defense, he's faced some very good defenses in these past two weeks that have made him look average at best. The Indianapolis Colts and the Buffalo Bills. And what they're doing is they're sending blitzes, they're confusing him from the side, but they're also trying to stop the run, and they're trying to force Mack to beat them. It worked in Indianapolis with stopping the run. Damian Harris had a monster game yesterday, the only bright spot on the Patriots, in my opinion. When you look at Mack's performance, Murph, what are you most concerned about

heading into these next couple of games and into the playoffs? Has this kid been exposed, or is this just a learning experience for him that he can still come out of before the season is done? I don't want to say that he's exposed. For the second straight week, Mac had a difficult time reading the linebackers dropping into coverage. The Bills and the Colts both did an excellent job on this. So, you know, that's a growing pains thing. And, you know, you can also say that he's done a spectacular job

up to these last two games in reading that. I'm just going to give credit to the Bills in disguising their coverages and giving him a lot of problems. And quite frankly, maybe he was a little too amped up for this. Also, I'd like to really question the snap counts on this or the play calling, if you will. I did not see Hunter Henry at all in the first half. I at one time questioned whether or not he was even in this game. He has been Mac's security blanket, and there was no chemistry between the two of them yesterday whatsoever. Also, Kendrick Bourne

came off the COVID list, and why is he not being used more? I really love Jacoby Myers. I really do. But he is somebody that is a possession receiver. He is not a big yak guy. And the things that Bourne is able to do are things that this team needs right now. He makes plays. He moves the chains. He moves them with his feet, not just with his hands. And I thought the lack of the two of them for the first, you know, two and a half, maybe three quarters really kind of stifled this offense and what Mack was going to be able to do.

You've got to get a chemistry. You've got to get hot with these guys early, and that did not happen. Absolutely, and for just the snap count totals yesterday, Hunter Henry, 55 of the Patriots' 64 offensive snaps he was on the field for, so 86%. Not exactly a low total. You would have think it would have been a lot less, but Jordan Poyer, Micah Hyde, good credit, you know, Leslie Frazier and the job that his defensive coaching staff did in being able to contain Hunter Henry and Jonu Smith, mostly Hunter Henry, really keeping him off balance, forcing the Patriots to go to the run and making Hunter almost invisible when it came to his ability to make plays in the red zone.

And even in the middle part of the field, because again, Hunter is a very good route runner and he can be someone that can spark the offense a little bit. If you need a run in the middle, the intermediate area of the field in between the twenties, those are the areas that he can also be effective. And, you know, dial up, dial up a short, you know, jet sweep or dial up a short yardage pass, I should say, for Jono every once in a while. You've got to try to get

this offense jump-started a little bit, especially when Mack looks like he might be struggling a little bit. You need a play to kind of boast, you know what you can do yeah just i think we saw some difficulties yesterday a lot of that was because of the coverage yeah he did he had he had problems with the cover three rotation um that was being thrown at him he uh he also you know was was subject to a couple of drops that uh that should have moved chains and could have changed things. But he also overthrew Inkeel Harry on one pass. That wasn't good. He had a difficult time hitting short stuff to Brandon Bolden. I am not exonerating this man from anything.

It's just we have to take a step back, folks, and realize that these games are going to happen to a young kid who essentially had one year of starting in college and is now in, you know, played 15 games in the NFL. It's going to happen. This team should have overcame it. They should have brought it on defense and done a better job. They should have read my keys and frickin' turned them. Absolutely. Two weeks in a row now. Those keys have not been turned the, they should have read my keys and freaking turned them. Absolutely. Two weeks in a row now, those keys have not been turned the way they should be.

And look at the result. I've always said, you turn the keys, you go to the top. You don't turn the keys, you're never heard from again. And while the Patriots are certainly not never heard from again, a lot of people just don't want to hear about them right now. A lot of negativity in Patriots Nation. But fear not, folks, because the green wisdom and counsel of my good friend, the legendary Thomas Murphy, is about to give you some optimism for

the future. Or is it? You're going to find out which way Murph is leaning when it comes to the future of your New England Patriots when this hashtag Locked on Murph Monday episode of the Locked on Patriots podcast continues. Locked On listeners, we're back and better than ever. All eyes are on the gridiron as teams are back to start another football season. As always, BetOnline.ag is your number one spot for all the pro and college football action this season. With a new updated site and interface, even more odds, props, and contests, BetOnline.ag continues to be the number one source for everything football. Head to the website or use your mobile device to sign up today to receive your 100% welcome bonus.

That's double your initial deposit, just for signing up. Don't forget to use the promo code NFL100. From football, basketball, boxing, right to your favorite Vegas casino games, don't wait to take advantage of all the amazing offers available for the 2021 season. Bet online, the fastest and easiest way to bet all of your favorite sports. Bet online, your online sportsbook experts. Patriots fans, the legendary Thomas Murphy, the Count of Murphy, Fisto himself, joins me for his weekly appearance here on Locked on Patriots.

Not a Victory Monday, but a hashtag Locked on Murph Monday. So all the reason to celebrate a little bit, but not as much as we'd like, bud. In the previous segment, we talked a lot about the Patriots' 33-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Just a lot went wrong. Very, very little did we talk about that went right. Maybe Damian Harris, maybe a couple of red zone stops, but that was pretty much it. The Patriots really did not have one that they're going to want to tack up on the bulletin board, as John McLean would say, and relish this one for a good amount of time. This is one where you want to bury the game ball and move on. The problem with the New England Patriots

loss to the Buffalo Bills is the timing in which it happened. The Patriots needed this win in order to maintain their lead in the division and in order to remain among the top prospects to take home the top seed in the AFC. Playoffs still look like they're almost a certainty. The Patriots have a 96% chance of making the postseason, as put out there by 538.com, and their division chances down to 11%. It's not completely gone, but let's be honest, it's not looking very, very good. And they're sixth right now in the playoff seeding. Murph, obviously the Patriots have to turn the page. And Bill Belichick said over and over again between postgame on Sunday at Gillette yesterday and then again to the media in a Zoom conference this morning, we have to find a way to get

better. That seemed to be Belichick's answer, or at least part of his answer to about every question that was asked. My question to you, my friend, is what do the Patriots need to do to get better? You're Bill Belichick. You're the coach of the New England Patriots. You're heading in to that locker room. You're heading into that meeting room, however they're meeting these days with COVID. And what's the first thing that you're putting up on that bulletin board? What's the first thing that you want to address for this team heading into the final two games of the season and into the postseason? Health and well-being. If you notice that over that seven-game streak, that this team was healthy. They had two running backs that they could depend on,

three running backs that they could depend on. And two of them are carrying the bulk of this load. And over the last two weeks, it's been interchangeable as to who has had the week off. And it showed. It really did. So I do believe that things will get better with both of these gentlemen on the field at the same time, joining Brandon Bolden.

The other part is that there was nobody on the field on Sunday that could drag that coverage away from Hunter Henry and open things up across the middle of the field. So, yeah, when Aguilar gets back, I expect that to happen. The other thing is to, you know, play within yourself. Do not – when you want to play a physical game, you can't let it get emotional. And the Patriots let it get emotional yesterday. That was in.

It didn't work in their favor, as we saw, as negated penalties and this, that and the other thing. It's fine tuning is is should be out the window already. But it does seem like this team needs to fine tune itself. It needs to it needs all of its parts to, to really click. In the past, folks, we've been able to get away with that because of the man that's been under center. Right now, this team needs to click on all cylinders and all cylinders have to be there for this click. Yeah, absolutely. They do have to be there in order to click. And I think you make a very good point about health and well-being. And unfortunately, there's a lot that Belichick can control. There's a lot that the Patriots coaching staff can control.

And they will try to control it. Whether or not they're going to be able to is one thing, but they will try to do that this week. But health and well-being is sometimes something that you can't control. And look, I know we mentioned Kendrick Bourne. You mentioned Kendrick Bourne earlier. In terms of the snap count, I mean, you look at what Kendrick, you know, did yesterday. 30 of the Patriots, 64 snaps, so less than 50 percent. 47, as a matter of fact, was what he took. And you have to think that definitely factors in for the fact that he missed the entire week of practice. And I know these guys are well trained. I know these guys are well suited to be able to do these guys are well-suited to be able to do that. He's 15 games into the New England Patriots season in terms of games played. And this is a kid that knows his way around a football field in the Patriots locker room.

But still, when you're game planning for someone and you're not sure if he's going to be able to be plugged in, to get him back at the last minute probably did contribute to that a little bit. It's good that he's back. It's definitely great to see Damian Harris running strong, running hard. It doesn't look like the hamstring is bothering him enough for it to be an issue. The Patriots would love to get Rahm Andre Stevenson back. I know we want to. Hopefully when he comes back, he'll look fantastic and he'll play fantastic the way he has been. That dual threat capability on the ground might

have given the Patriots another dimension yesterday. So you try to get these guys as healthy as possible. The Patriots have been relatively healthy all season. But one of the big, big keys yesterday, and I wrote about this for Sports Illustrated in my Lessons Learned article last night, one of the things that the Patriots really found themselves doing was jonesing for Jones last night. no folks I'm not talking about Mac I'm talking about Jonathan Jones in the slot Miles Bryant is a guy that I have a tremendous amount of respect for he's come

into a difficult situation and I think the kid has played as well as possible but he was overmatched by that three he was last night they went three wide on him. They exploited it. And the kid did the best he possibly could for everyone that's going to dump all over Miles Bryant today. Go back and take a look at the tape. He was way overmatched by a scheme and receivers that just had his number yesterday. And unfortunately, it just didn't work. I blame the coaching staff for that one. You didn't have Joanne Williams active. You didn't have Sean Wade active. These are human beings that can do things. I understand maybe they're not rounding into the type of player that you thought they'd be. I think Wade being an active is a little more of a learning curve. He's a rookie and he's also new into the system. Williams, I think has found his way into Belichickian double secret probation, but he has a physical corner and they could have used some of that physicality yesterday in the, uh, in the game. So that's an example of how keeping it healthy can go wrong or keeping it real can go wrong in that respect. I just thought

that that was, that was a poor button to be pushed yesterday, but that's, that's my soul thoughts. Murph, one question before I let you go, my friend. And obviously we're staring now at the New England Patriots, nine and six. Winning the last two games is paramount for them to even consider having a shot or trying to advance themselves toward a playoff spot. Technically, they can get away with one out of two. But when you look at this game, I think this this game coming up against Jacksonville is not just a must win, but I think it's a must making statement of a game for the Patriots because early thoughts on what it's going to take for them to be able to get back. What do they have to do more than anything else to beat the Jaguars this Sunday? Get up quick. I want to see this team on the go from the opening gun. It has not happened

over the last two games. It has not happened a lot during this season, but they play better from in front. We've all seen that. We all know that. They need to get out quick, get up quick, put points on the board. One of the keys that was not turned this weekend was mixing up tempo. That did not happen. I'm going to carve that key again, and I'm going to carve it in stone because this team needs to mix tempo to keep the, uh, the opponent's defenses that, that, you know, they can exploit, uh, exploited, uh, keep them on the field. And, and, and that's, that's, that's a key that I'll give you all right now. And they need to mix tempo and get up quick on Sunday. Absolutely. I could not have said it better for myself.

This team needs to get out to a quick start, get your opponent on its heels. And if you can do that, then you can start to set and play your game. And once that happens, then I think some good things and some positive things can happen for the New England Patriots. But they need to right the ship

and they need to right it quickly because falling down to a nine and seven record is not ideal for the New England Patriots, but they need to right the ship and they need to right it quickly because falling down to a nine and seven record is not ideal for the New England Patriots. If they're looking to head into Miami with any type of hope of holding on to the number two spot, because let's face it, Miami facing a depleted New Orleans team tonight. You're not sure what's going to happen with them, with the, with the Tennessee Titans, the way Miami's playing, even though Tennessee is clicking on more cylinders now, that could be a potential difficult game. So this season closer against Miami

could end up having a lot of playoff implications for the Patriots. Who would have thought that just a couple of weeks ago? You would think it was more for position than anything else. It might be for their playoff lives. Murph, what can I say? I thank you for taking the time out today on a difficult Monday, but nonetheless, a hashtag

Lockdown Murph Monday. And that is always a reason to celebrate here on Lockdown Patriots, folks. Again, my good friend, the Count of Murphy Fisto himself is one of the best Twitter follows you'll find anywhere in the Twitterverse, anywhere in the civilized universe, even beyond civilized universes. This man is definitely the tops of the heap, no matter where he's heard. And you should already be following him. But for any of our new listeners, please follow my good friend,

the Count of Murphy Fisto on Twitter at TeamRF207. Content that this man puts out over at E2GSports.com is always point, click, learn material, whether it be the monster keys for your new england patriots which is the must read of the week as far as i'm concerned but also the work that he does covering the boston red sox and major league baseball for them just phenomenal stuff every time the man puts pen to paper voice to microphone it's just it's appointment reading and listening for me and it should be for you as well. And of course, I can't miss the fact that he is also one of the three voices of One Patriot's Place with Murph, our great mutual friend Steve Balistrieri, who will join me

tomorrow here on Locked On Patriots, and of course, the Countess of Clas herself, Miss Claire Clasie, Claire Cooper. Bud, what can I say? Thank you again, my good man. Honored and humbled, as as always by your presence. Oh, thank you so much, bud. I really I don't deserve the kudos that you give me every week. I try to live up to them and it keeps me going. You live up to them and then some, my friend. Believe me, I don't give accolades haphazardly.

I might be good with words. I might be a bit verbose at times. Yeah, that nod you hear for all of our listeners saying, yeah, Mike can talk with the best of them. But I will say this, the feelings, the sentiments and the meaning behind it always comes from a place of sincerity, always comes from a place of my truth. It's what I believe. And I won't say it if I don't believe it. And believe me when I tell you, folks, he is worthy of all the praise that he gets and then some. But what can I say? The next time that we take the microphone here together on Locked On Patriots, it's going to be 2022.

And folks, keep a sharp eye out on the Locked On Patriots account as well, because we are coming to YouTube. That's right. Locked On Patriots account as well, because we are coming to YouTube. That's right. Locked On Patriots going visual, going virtual. And this man will continue to be my guest each and every Monday. But for the benefit of those of you who are listening to this podcast before the break of the new year, Murph, what can I say? Happy New Year, my friend. Wishing you all the very best in 2022.

And I can't wait to continue on this journey with you into 2022 right here on Locked On Patriots. Thank you for all you do. Pulling back the curtain on us. Thank you for all you do. I ain't no attention to that man behind the curtain. On that note, folks, have a great day. Thank you, Murph.

And so, Locked On listeners, one down but a lot to come here. A full week of coverage coming to you on Locked On Patriots. 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 into Locked On Patriots.

And of course, folks, thank you so much for making Locked On Patriots your first listen every day. Make sure you check out the Ultimate College Football Playoff Preview 2021. Local experts, betting advice, and draft analysis, the most comprehensive college football playoff preview begins live now. Once again, my name is Mike DeBate, and I thank my good friend 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 continuing to make Locked On Patriots a

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