Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Believe: Patriots, Drake Maye Gear Up—Vrabel Inspires With Championship Energy

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Pats Buy Week is in the rearview, and Mike Vrable took no time reminding everyone how big this week is. This is Lockdown Patriots. You are Locked-on Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcasts Network, your team every day. What's happening in? I am your host, Nick Cattle. born and raised in New England, been covering the Patriots for the past 16 years, also co-host of the Greg Bedard Patriots podcast with You Got It, Nick Cattels,

Starting point is 00:00:39 and a sports radio veteran. Welcome to Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day, now the number one sports podcast network. And on today's episode, Will Campbell is spotted in the locker room and we'll tell you whether or not the latest report leaves us optimistic. Also, while the paths were taking time off, their path to the ultimate goal might have, I stress, might have gotten easier. But first, Mike Vrable isn't wasting any time. Today's episode is brought to by Fanduel.

Starting point is 00:01:11 If you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit Fandul.com and place your NFL live bets all season long. Before we get into Mike Vrable, wasting no time and sending a message to his team and sending a message to anyone who, wants to listen to him speak, watch him speak, or read his words. We do have a quick note. Quick note before we start, the Patriots Ravens game, week 16, has been flexed to Sunday night. So if you haven't heard that just yet, the Patriots game against the Ravens in Baltimore has been flexed to Sunday night. Make the changes you need to make with your schedule and your calendar right before Christmas. So that game now is a Sunday night game. Drake May versus Lamar Jackson. Mike Vrable all season long and even before the season has taken

Starting point is 00:02:09 a week to week approach. He doesn't try to get too far ahead of himself when he has asked a question about something well down the road or even maybe a couple of days, a few weeks down the road. He is always bringing it back to a week-to-week day-to-day approach. But here's the thing. Mike Vrable is not disingenuous when there are actual stakes at hand. And don't get it twisted. On Sunday, there are legitimate stakes on the table for the Patriots. If the Patriots win on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium, they win the AFC East. Who thought that we would be talking about that as we got ready for week 15? I remember when the schedule came out, we looked. All right, you get the buy week.

Starting point is 00:02:59 And then maybe, maybe in that final month playing Buffalo, playing Baltimore, back-to-back weeks, maybe just maybe you can prove to the football world that you can compete to a point against those annual contenders. Here we are. You fast forward. by week in the rare view, getting ready for week 16, 15. And we're looking at this and we're saying, well, the Patriots have a chance to win the AFC East. I don't think anybody thought that this was going to be the case, even the most optimistic person.

Starting point is 00:03:38 Mike Vrable was on the Greg Hill show on Monday morning on W.E.I. And he was asked about the quote that we mentioned on yesterday's podcast, where he was talking about champions never being satisfied. And he was asked about using champions after the Giants game. And this is what he said, transcribed by Mike Reese, who's great at ESPN. Quote, it's what we're playing for. We're playing for a championship this week. Each week you have a new opportunity.

Starting point is 00:04:07 This is a championship week for us, unquote. Phil Perry, NBC Sports Boston, wrote about Vrable's message at Monday's press conference with the media. Perry posted. Mike Vrable says he's not big on reminding players that it's a hat and t-shirt game this Sunday. Quote, we're just trying to play for the championship that we have available to us this week, unquote. So Mike Vrable, of course, is keeping his distance from the Bill Belichick hat and t-shirt approach while at the same time establishing the idea of a hat and t-shirt game. He's just not going to talk about the hat and t-shirts too much. okay but we all understand just like bellichick would call it a hat and t-shirt game Mike Vrable is saying this week we get to play for a championship so he's looking at this almost as

Starting point is 00:04:59 like a mini Super Bowl for his team on Sunday that's what he's doing and he's embracing the opportunity why not embrace the opportunity that is in front of you you have an opportunity to let the buffalo bills know that this is no longer your division we are bad and we are ready? What better way to embrace a challenge by going out there and publicly stating it? Yeah, we're well aware of what's going on. We are well aware that we have a quote unquote championship game this week. Embrace the opportunity.

Starting point is 00:05:35 Embrace the challenge that is going to be ahead of you. Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills, they do not want to go silently. They want to make this as tough as humanly possible with every fiber. of their being on Sunday. They don't want to just give up the division. As happy as the Patriots are for being in this position, as happy as Patriots fans are to be in this position, the Buffalo Bills are saying, wait a minute,

Starting point is 00:06:01 this is still our playground. You might have beat us week five, but this is still our division. We're not going to give you this division week 15. And the fans of the Buffalo Bills are likely saying, no thanks. We've seen enough of the Patriots. had to go through Tom Brady and all that stuff forever for decades.

Starting point is 00:06:20 We're done with that. This is still our division. But Mike Vrable is embracing this opportunity. He's embracing this challenge. He's being honest with his players. He is putting the challenge in front of them. He is not running from it. What he is doing is he is setting the stage.

Starting point is 00:06:39 He is setting the stage for Sunday afternoon. By letting all of us know, He's not going to treat this just like any other game. He's not going to be disingenuous with you or as players. He's going to highlight the fact that this is a chance for you to win a championship in front of your fans in your stadium. This is setting the stage for a big game on Sunday. And players are picking up the message because, of course, they are.

Starting point is 00:07:10 Phil Perry posted Marcus Jones appreciated hearing Mike Vrable say, players completed, I'll start over. Marcus Jones appreciated hearing Mike Vrable say players competed like champions following giants, the Giants win, but added, quote, saying the word, saying the sentence doesn't mean anything unless you do it, unquote. Absolutely. Saying it doesn't mean anything unless you go out there and you do it. And this is why through the first 13 weeks of the season before they got to their by week, that Mike Vrable has been honest with them, that Mike Vrable has been honest with them, that Mike

Starting point is 00:07:44 Grable has been slowly but surely building credibility and building trust between himself, the coaching staff, and these players. Because when he stands up in front of the room on Monday and says, we have a chance to compete for a championship on Sunday, this is what we have been working towards. Everybody in that room believes him. The coaches believe him. The players believe him. And it's fact, you are competing for a championship.

Starting point is 00:08:13 this Sunday and everything that this coach has told you. Every way this coach has handled week after week after week after week lead you to this moment. I would just have to venture to guess the Patriots are going to be ready to run through a wall on Sunday. This is just setting the standard. Mike Vrable wants to set the standard. He wants to win this championship on Sunday. He wants to do something that the Patriots have not done.

Starting point is 00:08:43 since 2019. Think about that. Think about this. The Patriots on Sunday, they're opening as underdogs. Our friends at Fandall have the Buffalo Bills in New England, in Foxborough on Sunday. Fandul has the Buffalo Bills as a point and a half favorite.

Starting point is 00:09:12 The Patriot The number two seat in the AFC hosting the opportunity to win the AFC East is the underdog on Sunday. You don't think guys will be aware of this? You don't think Mike Vrable in his own way has made guys aware of this. This is perfect. This keeps the Patriots grounded. Don't take it for granted. You just had your bye week.

Starting point is 00:09:41 you're sitting in a great spot at 11 and 2 in that 2 seed right now. But Vegas, I'm sure many pundits, see the Buffalo Bills as the favorites going into your house. It's going to be a very interesting Sunday. If the Pats take care of business on Sunday, the focus will turn to a much bigger goal. That goal and the Pats' chances of getting there next as we continue with today's Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. NFL Sundays move fast. One big play, and suddenly everything feels different.

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Starting point is 00:10:40 A defense tightens up or the momentum flips after a turnover. And Fandul lets you jump into the moment. I'm talking about live spreads and money lines adjusting instantly. Player props updating as guys heat up. You can bet next touchdown scores, drive results, totals, and more. It keeps you locked into every single solitary snap, drive, and possibility. So if you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, right in the middle of that action this season, visit this website.

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Starting point is 00:12:00 Give us the like, like, comment, and subscribe as we continue to dance on towards 8,000 subscribers, as we also continue to dance toward the year 2026. The Patriots right now, right now, are the number two seed in the AFC heading into week 15. And here's the tough news.

Starting point is 00:12:19 We'll get the tough news out of the way first. The Pats are not in control of their own destiny. What do we mean by that? Well, Adam Schaefter posted before Denver beat Vegas on Sunday, if Denver beats Vegas, which they did, the Broncos clinch any two-way tiebreaker with New England for playoff seating based on better record against common opponents. The Patriots lost in week one to the Raiders. Oh, yes.

Starting point is 00:12:47 That week one loss, which is a distant memory at this point, rears its ugly, ugly head. So the number one seed will come down to overall record. It's as simple as that. If you want to know if the Patriots have a shot to be the number one seed in the AFC, they do. The way they do that is finishing with a better overall record. than the Denver Broncos.

Starting point is 00:13:09 There's no tie-breaking scenario that will, quote-unquote, save the Pats in this situation. Now, here's the good news. The Patriots still have a shot. They still have a shot. You look at the remaining schedule. You host Buffalo this weekend. Then you have the newly flexed Sunday night game at Baltimore in week 16. You stay on the road, but you go to the Jets.

Starting point is 00:13:34 If you just watch the Jets on Sunday, my goodness, where they all. awful against Miami. You've got to go to the Jets and play them week 17. Their season is dead already. And then you host Miami. Now Miami showing some life over the past several weeks. They're still in the hunt, as they say. But Miami has to come to New England in January. So will they be comfortable? I don't think so. You can look at this schedule versus Buffalo at Baltimore at the Jets versus Miami. And you would certainly hope the Patriots could finish at, what, three and one? Now, some might say they'll finish at two and two.

Starting point is 00:14:14 They'll lose to Buffalo and Baltimore. They'll finish it out by beating the Jets at Miami. But I think you can reasonably look at the final four and say the Patriots, hey, they could split. They could split the next two weeks between Buffalo and Baltimore, but they best finish strong those final two weeks and beat the Jets and beat the dolphins. So if you finish three and one, you obviously need the Broncos to go two.

Starting point is 00:14:34 and two. And Denver has the tougher remaining schedule. Yes, they have two home games coming up, but they have to host the Green Bay Packers, one of the best teams in football. They have to host the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are better than we thought that they would be. Then they have to go on the road to Kansas City. And I know Kansas City after what happened last night on Sunday night football didn't look great, right? They lost to the Houston Texans. And for all intents and purposes. It feels like they're absolutely outside of the playoff picture now. But still, you got Patrick Mahomes, you got Andy Reed. I don't think they're going to go

Starting point is 00:15:08 quietly into the night, especially against a division rival. And then the Broncos host another game, but that's against the Chargers. And the Chargers are, I'm sure, going to be fighting for some kind of playoff implications on that weekend. I'm not telling you Denver will go two and two over their final four, but what I am telling you is Denver going two and two is not impossible. And if Denver does go two and two and you finish three and one, you leapfrog them and you finish with the number one seed in the

Starting point is 00:15:40 AFC. Now, the patch chances, aside from the one seed, the patch chances of making a deep run continues to improve, in my opinion, with or without the number one seed. The ultimate goal, we all know it. The ultimate goal is hoisting that Lombardi trophy. And if you're looking at the rest of the conference, as time has gone on, the Patriots continue. It feels like every single week, they continue to improve their chances to make that run to give them at least the opportunity to hoist that trophy. So let's look at this. The AFC is full of questions. Cincinnati, Kansas City, Baltimore are all either out of the playoffs or they are on life support. They need a ton of help. And if I told you before the season that Cincinnati, Kansas City, and Baltimore would all miss the playoffs,

Starting point is 00:16:44 you would likely look at me like I was absolutely freaking out of my mind. But here we are, getting ready for. Week 15 in all three of those teams, they're either out or on life support. Now, I'm recording this before Monday night football. So with that said, the Chargers are obviously playing the Eagles on Monday night. We'll see how that game unfolds and who wins. Both teams have lots of questions, even though they're both eight and four. But the Chargers, no matter what happens on Monday night against the Eagles,

Starting point is 00:17:18 they are still without their starting offensive tackles. Joe Alt's not coming back. Roshan Slater's not coming back. Both those guys are done for the season. And now you've got Justin Herbert. We'll see what he looks like on Monday night. But he's playing with a broken bone in his hand. So the Chargers have a ton of questions.

Starting point is 00:17:38 Pittsburgh, I'm not afraid of Pittsburgh. I know they beat Baltimore on Sunday. Couldn't care less. Baltimore is struggling. Their offense is struggling. their defense has not been very good. Pittsburgh needed not one, not two, but five turnovers from the Patriots

Starting point is 00:17:55 for them to escape with a win in Foxborough. And if you play the Steelers, you're going to play them in Foxborough most likely, right? If you play them in the postseason, they're going to have to come to Gillette. I'm not afraid of Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, over the weekend, Daniel Jones and the Indianapolis Colts,

Starting point is 00:18:15 they've gone what, like one in four, four in the last five games, I believe, and on top of that, Daniel Jones suffers an Achilles injury. The Colts are pretty much dead in the water at this point now, even if they get to the playoffs, which is going to be a tall task without Daniel Jones, even if they get to the playoffs, I think they're won and done. So Indy falls back. Jacksonville has won games. They've been playing some good football. They're 9 and 4, but I still look at that team and I say, Trevor Lawrence is up and down.

Starting point is 00:18:53 I got questions about that quarterback. And if Jacksonville has to come to New England in January, I'm not totally buying that Trevor Lawrence is that dude to walk into Gillette Stadium and win that type of game. Denver, no joke defensively, they're terrific. They get after the quarterback. Bo Nix, though, he's been up and down. And I don't know if you can go into the playoffs saying,

Starting point is 00:19:19 hey, our quarterback can be bad for three quarters, but it'll show up in the fourth. I don't know if you can survive that. They've survived it during the regular season. They've won a bunch of one possession games. They've had a bunch of comebacks, a bunch of crazy finishes. Is that sustainable? We'll have to wait and see.

Starting point is 00:19:34 The Houston Texans might be the scariest opponent. That's who I'm looking at right now. I'm not telling you that the Patriots have, you know, the inside track or it's going to be easy, peasy one, two, threezy. but what I am telling you is the Houston Texans, to me, is the biggest challenge right now. They are six and one over the last seven games, including wins against the Niners, the Jaguars, the Bills, the Colts, and the Chiefs. Their only loss was actually to the Denver Broncos, and that was a three-point loss.

Starting point is 00:20:03 Houston can run the football. C.J. Stroud, when he's good, he can be really good, and their defense is the best in football. They're not flawless. The Texans are not flawless, but no team is flawless, especially this year when you look across the board. Houston's second half offense has not been good adjusting for the most part. Nick Cayley, their offensive coordinator, has had some issues adjusting in game. The offensive line has some questions. The opportunity is there for the Patriots.

Starting point is 00:20:34 And you look around the rest of this conference, it feels like the rest of this conference is getting worse as the Patriots have gotten better over the past month, month and a half. The opportunity is there, but it all starts this weekend when you can win that championship, when you can win that AFC East. The Pats are back at work, which means they are back on the practice field. We'll have the very latest on the biggest injuries coming up. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. If you're still overpaying for wireless, it's time to say yes to saying no. Mint Mobile, their favorite word is no. No contracts, no monthly bills, no overages, no hidden fees, no BS. You can say yes to making the switch and get premium wireless

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Starting point is 00:22:14 The Pats had a bonus practice on Monday because they're coming off the buy, which means no official injury report just yet. But we have some important injury updates for you. Let's start with Will Campbell. His long-term prognosis is looking good. And it's looking even better sooner than I thought it would look. And if you're wondering what was reported on Monday, Doug Kide of the Boston Herald posted that Will Campbell was walking through the locker room with nothing on his knee.

Starting point is 00:22:50 Not a thing on Will Campbell's knee as he struts around Gillette Stadium. Now he did eventually, according to Doug Kide, put a sleeve over his right leg. But the fact that he's not wearing any extra bracing, nothing that is like of significant support, that's great news. Brier, yes, he came out recently and said that Will Campbell has a great, 3 MCL sprain, Bert Breer put four to six weeks as the timeline, according to his reporting. Will Campbell was hurt two weeks ago. He was hurt on November 23rd. So the Sunday before Thanksgiving is when Will Campbell first had the injury.

Starting point is 00:23:31 So we're talking about a couple of weeks. And after a couple of weeks, no extra bracing, nothing that looks like he is, you know, completely unable to walk or move around as freely as he wants. That has to be great new. That has to be great news. But with that said, I still think the week 18 decision is fluid. Of course, Will Campbell can't come back until week 18 when the Patriots host the Dolphins. And I think there are a number of questions you've got to ask, and the Patriots will ask before they say, yeah, we're going to play Will Campbell.

Starting point is 00:24:08 Or we're going to play Will Campbell a ton. First question is, does the game have any stakes? Are you playing for anything? Are you playing for seating? Are you playing for the buy? Does that game, week 18 against the dolphins, does it have any stakes for you? Are you playing other starters? And if you are, I'm sure Will Campbell will want to be out there with other starters.

Starting point is 00:24:33 How's he feel? How does Will Campbell feel by week 18? Is he ready to be out there? because it doesn't matter what Will Campbell wants. The team has to make the decision because the player is always going to want to play, especially when you talk about an offensive lineman, especially when you talk about a left tackle,

Starting point is 00:24:50 who on draft night went out there and said that he would die for his quarterback. He's kind of want to get back out there. But you have to do what's best for him and what's best for the team. Will Campbell is not making that decision. And what will play a role in that decision is Vadarian Lowe. How has Vedarian Lowe been playing? If Vedarian Lowe plays as well as he played against the New York Giants, then you can live without Will Campbell until he's feeling even better.

Starting point is 00:25:18 So I still think that week 18 decision, it's going to be fluid up until that week. How is Will Campbell feeling? Does the game have any stakes? Who else is starting? And how has Vadarian Lowe performed in Will Campbell's absence? Meanwhile, the paths got significantly good news elsewhere on the O line. Jared Wilson returned to this bonus practice on Monday, and he returned as left guard one.

Starting point is 00:25:45 He immediately went back to right where he was. Ben Brown was back to being a backup offensive lineman. So Jared Wilson, not only back at practice, but back getting those starter reps, which tells me he's pretty healthy. So the high ankle sprain, Diana Rusini reported this going back a week or two ago, at the time Diana Rusini said that the Patriots felt like, yeah, it's a high ankle sprain,

Starting point is 00:26:12 but Jared Wilson, when you look at the timeline, he could be coming back sooner rather than later, that you would look at that timeline and take the fewer weeks part of the timeline than, you know, if he's going to be out four, five, six weeks. And this is why the Patriots obviously did not put him on the IR. They felt like they had a good chance, a good shot of getting him back ASAP, and they look like they have. So Jared Wilson was back at practice. I would say it's less of a concern for me, frankly,

Starting point is 00:26:39 than I was, you know, being concerned with that injury when it initially happened because Ben Brown did a good job against the Giants. And I don't think you lose a ton by going from Jared Wilson to Ben Brown. However, you do want Jared Wilson out there. He's learning the guard position still. He was playing some of his best football right before the injury, get him back out there, get his confidence up if he's if he's ready to go he's ready to go don't pump the brakes put him back out there he needs reps he needs experience now as far as some of the other players

Starting point is 00:27:16 kairis tanga brennan schooler robert spillane all three of those guys also returned to practice however i would tell you that according to those watching this practice kairis tanga seemed limited. So he wasn't fully back. Robert Spillane also looked like he was limited at this practice. Might not mean anything. It's a bonus practice. It's Monday. We'll know a heck of a lot more when you get to Wednesday and Thursday as to what the health situation truly is with Kyrie's Tonga and Robert Spelane. And this is huge. This is a huge week for both of those guys because, of course, we talked about it in the first.

Starting point is 00:28:01 segment. The opportunity is there. The challenge is there. And part of that challenge is Buffalo's run game and James Cook and Josh Allen with Josh Allen's mobility. So in a perfect world, you would have Kyrie's Tonga and Robert Spalane out there on Sunday healthy or as healthy as they can be. So those two guys are very important to the program, especially this week. Harold Landry was not out there at practice on Monday. I would not take too much. out of that. It's probably more of a management situation. They have managed Harold Landry really ever since that Tennessee game. So I would not be too concerned with that. Now, we'll see what happens. Wednesday, Thursday, if Harold Landry's not out there, I start to get a little bit more

Starting point is 00:28:46 concern. And Terrell Jennings was not at practice on Monday. Of course, the last that we knew, Terrell Jennings was in the concussion protocol. So we'll see if he comes back later in the week. But Will Campbell, not much assistance walking around, which is great news. Jared Wilson back at practice with the starting offensive line. That is great news. And at least you got Kyrie's Tonga, Brendan Schuller, and Robert Spillane on the practice field. Even though Kyrie's Tonga and Robert Spillane were limited, it is progress. It is a step forward for those guys.

Starting point is 00:29:19 Hopefully all of them are back for this big game on Sunday. And we'll see about Harold Landry and Terrell Jennings. That wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots. Thank you for making us your first listen and for being an everydayer. Reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C. Radio. Don't forget to throw a comment in on the YouTube channel. Hit that like button and subscribe. And did Lockdown Patriots make your Spotify wrap?

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Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Believe: Patriots, Drake Maye Gear Up—Vrabel Inspires With Championship Energy

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