Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Bill O’Brien, New England Patriots Offensive Coordinator: What it Means for the Pats and Mac Jones

Episode Date: January 25, 2023

The New England Patriots search for a new offensive coordinator is over. Bill O’Brien is back in the Foxboro fold and excitement is high among the fan base. Joining host Mike D’Abate is Tyler Lamb of Stadium Rant. The duo discuss the O’Brien’s hiring, as well as what it means for Mac Jones and potential new acquisitions.Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-patriots-daily-podcast-on-the-new-england/id1140512627 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFmwg3WbfxAU3tR5Ve?si=k196wH-yRqifUcQQz8SjIQStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-patriots And follow host Mike D’Abate on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans.On Twitter: @mdabateNFLSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFLBuilt BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.PrizePicksFirst time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDONUltimate Football GMTo download the game just visit Ultimate-GM.com or look it up on the app stores. Our listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo LOCKEDON (ALL CAPS) in the game store.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Place your first FIVE DOLLAR bet to get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Free Bets – win or lose! Visit Fanduel.com/LockedOn today to get startedFANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Patriots fans, the search is over. Bill O'Brien is your new offensive coordinator. Did they get the right guy? Stick around. You're about to be locked into the Locked On Patriots podcast. 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. Thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage.

And also your first listen every day. Remember, Locked On Patriots is free and available on all platforms, including YouTube. So smash that subscribe button, download, subscribe to, follow Locked On Patriots wherever you get your podcasts. I'm your host, Mike DeBate, and I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. So reach out to me. Let me know what's on your mind on the Bird app at MDABATENFL. And while you're out there showing some love to the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow

the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. Today's episode brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, official sportsbook of the NFL. Make every moment more. Visit FanDuel.com slash locked on today to get started. That's fans. Bill O'Brien is back in the Foxborough full. He has agreed to return to the organization reported first thing this morning by ESPN's Adam Schefter. Just one week removed from the Patriots issuing that infamous press release to announce their intention to begin interviewing prospective candidates,

O'Brien became one of the most, if not the most, high-profile name linked to that vacancy. And today, he returns to the Foxborough fold. As early as last Tuesday, we started to hear rumors that he was going to be the frontrunner, corroborating multiple reports that he was the fan favorite, not just the fan favorite, but also the favorite of several influential voices throughout the organization. I think we probably all know who they're talking about there, but Bill O'Brien comes in with an awful lot of excitement. And look, it's not a perfect hire, folks. There are a lot that remember his recent struggles as both head coach and general manager

of the Houston Texans, but I think he's the right hire for these New England Patriots right now. Very accomplished offensive coach. In addition to his time with the Patriots, the Texans, and the Alabama Crimson Tide, don't forget, two successful seasons at the helm of Penn State. Definitely someone that can come in and command respect right from the get-go. Second tour of duty for Bill O'Brien here in New England, 2007 to 2011. He was the person that helped to navigate a Patriots offense, which really accentuated the strengths of the quarterback that they have under center right now, Mack Jones.

And for that matter, Bailey Zappi could really succeed in this system as well. Ball protection, efficient running, spreading the ball to multiple pass catchers, and a fearsome two tight end set of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez that might be a precursor to the way the Patriots might use their current tight end tandem of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez that might be a precursor to the way the Patriots might use their current tight end tandem of Hunter Henry and Johnnie Smith folks we're going to save that one for tomorrow you know it's Wednesday you know who's joining me the Countess of Clas herself can't wait to talk about this subject and more so we'll talk a little bit more tight endage tomorrow but at this point Bill O'Brien is exciting because he possesses the

familiarity with the offensive system designed to accentuate Mac Jones's qualities spent the last pair of seasons Alabama's offensive coordinator under Nick Saban helped to learn the offense by some of the pointers that Mac was giving him as Mac was heading to the NFL subsequently got drafted by the Patriots so a lot of full circle in this hire for the New England Patriots I love this move for them at this point in time and right now with Bill O'Brien coming into town you have to wonder what this is going to mean for the Patriots offense it's got a tall task ahead of him, folks. Really notable regression from the Pats offense in all aspects, not just with Mac, but really, I think their output all around. Seventh worst in total yards while scoring only 21.4 points per game.

That is good enough for 17th in the NFL. It's not going to get it done this time. And look, a lot of it was indeed due to coaching. Matt Patricia, Joe Judge, knowledgeable football minds, just not the right fit in this position. And Matt Patricia looked in over his head calling offensive plays. That's something that you're going to have to fix with Mac Jones in the house. And I think the Patriots are going to be able to do that.

You get a guy in here that is not going to tolerate some of the disconnect that we saw between coach and quarterback this year that's going to automatically eliminate those expletive laden frustrations that you saw on the sidelines it's going to put these two in the same room and it's going to allow them to grow as coach and quarterback and i think bill o'brien is the right hire for that he beats out a lot of qualified candidates guys like nick Nick Cayley, who is the current tight ends coach for the Patriots. Keenan McCardell, who I heard really made a great impression in his interview. Sean Jefferson, former Patriots receiver, he impressed. And Adrian Clem, interesting on this one, folks, really made an impression on the people that he interviewed

with last week. Not just Bill Belichick, but also the Patriots brass. We're hearing from Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer that he might be in the mix to come in to interview again, potentially for the offensive line coach. He's been doing a great job of coaching the offensive line for the University of Oregon Ducks the last couple of years. Clem is a former Patriot as well. You know the Pats love to come full circle.

This would be a great story as well. So keep an ear and an eye out on that one. We'll do that here on Locked On Patriots. But bottom line, folks, it is all about Bill O'Brien back in the house. And we're not done discussing that yet because here today, joining me in just a moment, is going to be Tyler Lamb, Director of Stadium Rant, Director of editorial operations at Stadium Rant. He's going to come in and lend his expertise on the subject, talking all things New England Patriots, hiring of Bill O'Brien, impact on Mac Jones, and even some interesting theories he has on how it could impact the wide receiver room.

Folks, you're going to want to stick around, stay right here locked into Lockdown Patriots, and we'll continue to bring you all the latest on the Bill O'Brien hiring when this episode continues in just a moment. But first, the NFL playoffs are here, and we're really excited about our new sports betting partner for Lockdown because they're the number one sportsbook in America. That's right, folks, FanDuel. And if you're new to FanDuel, that's even better. They have so many great features that make betting on sports not only fun, but easy. New customers, if you join today, you can get started with a $150 in free bets. That's guaranteed when you place your first $5 bet. Just sign up at FanDuel.com slash LockedOn.

FanDuel has all your favorite bets, from the money line to the point spreads to the player props. Plus, you even combine your bets for a chance at a bigger payout with the same game parlay. All in one app that's safe, secure, and super easy to use so football fans do not miss out. Place your first $5 bet to get $150 in free bets, win or lose at Fanduel.com slash locked on. Make every moment more with Fanduel, official sports book and the partner of the NFL. Patriots fans, thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage and also your first listen every day. Remember, Locked On Patriots fans, thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage and also your first listen every day.

Remember, Locked On Patriots, free and available on all platforms, including YouTube. And also, if you've made us your first listen, please make your second listen, our good friends over at Locked On NFL, also available wherever you get your podcasts. Pats fans, joining me here today is a good friend of the program. He is the director of editorial operations of Stadium Rant, covering all things Boston sports, including your New England Patriots. My honor and privilege today to welcome back Tyler Lamb to the pod. Tyler, the big story of the day. I said to open the show today, Bill O'Brien, the Patriots have their man. He is back in the Foxborough fold, bringing him back for a second tour of duty as offensive coordinator.

Tyler, the fan base is excited. We want to know, though, what you are thinking. Tell us why this was either the right hire or the wrong hire for the New England Patriots. So I'll let the cat out of the bag early and say this was the right hire for me. This was the right hire for the New England Patriots? So I'll let the cat out of the bag early and say this was the right hire for me. This was the right hire for me. I mean, for those of you who do follow me on Twitter, I changed my handle to Fire Matt Patricia not long ago.

So this is a great day. This is similar to the day when Mac Jones was named the starter and they just cut Cam Newton. And I was just, I was like jumping up and down in my house, just, like, yelling. So I did that a little bit this morning. I kind of double-taked. Very happy.

He's not the best offensive coordinator in the world. He's not. I'll say that, like, right off rip. Like, he does have some issues. But what he can do is lead an offense. Like he, he took, what was it? I'm pretty sure Brock Osweiler to a, he wanted division with Brock Osweiler.

When Sean Watson was there, I mean, he helped them get to two pro bowls when the pro bowl was like actually meant something. So I, first of all, anything's better than that patricia but he was probably my highest candidate on my list i i kind of like charlie weiss just because i mean if you wanted to go retrend maybe like he was saying something a couple weeks back about wanting to get back into coaching so that was a dark horse candidate i had but other than that bill o'brien was definitely the right choice he has the alabama ties a lot of

people say he he coached mac jones mac jones coached him more of the playbook like they didn't they never played together but they do have a working relationship and they are more in sync last year like we we could almost tell in in um the preseason and camp and as soon as we got there something felt kind of off and um with matt patrician like in their chemistry their their rhythm that that all felt just kind of wrong so So with Bill O'Brien coming into the fold, I really think that they can get some of that rhythm back and really start building some momentum again that they had in the first year. Yeah, without question. I mean, look, Bill O'Brien is coming in with an awful lot of pedigree, a former NFL head coach. You know, for all intents and purposes,

I know there were some blemishes on his coaching record, his GM record definitely in Houston. But bottom line, this is a guy that can get the maximum allowable out of his players, and he's very good at game planning, and he's very good at coaching and leading men. These are two things that he's going to be called upon to do here in New England that you didn't see an awful lot of last year. So Patriots are unquestionably happy to have him in the fold.

And not only that, but also what he's going to bring in terms of experience, in terms of play calling, and in terms of his being able to call a game the way Mac Jones needs to have it called, I think is going to be something big. And we're going to get into a little bit more, folks, when it comes to the impact that Bill O'Brien will have on Mac Jones coming up, because quite honestly, it's one of the bigger topics out there right now. Kind of deserves its own segment, if you don't mind me saying so. And I know Tyler agrees with me.

But Tyler, you and I were talking a little bit offline before we actually started to record here today about the ripple effect that Bill O'Brien could have when it comes to not only maybe enticing other offensive players now to come here be able to play under a system they know can accentuate their strengths guy who had a lot of success under Bill O'Brien but also some issues some complicated problems as well DeAndre Hopkins uh right now all-class worldwide receiver uh from the uh Arizona Cardinals Cardinals have let it slip I don't know about slip but they've basically put it out there that they're willing to entertain

trade ideas for DeAndre this offseason and the Patriots are one of the favorites in terms of the betting odds. Reason why, folks, is because DeAndre Hopkins and Bill Belichick have traded effusive praise with each other throughout the media. You really saw this back when the Patriots and the Cardinals hooked up earlier this season in Week 14. Nothing but mutual respect. But there is a complicated history between these two. Obviously, bill was the

one that traded deandre to arizona in the first place a lot of conflicting stories as to why that was still there is an undercurrent of optimism out there that these two could end up working together again for the professional good because deandre had his most productive receiving season under bill O'Brien as head coach so when you look at this Tyler how do you look now at the New England Patriots and their ability to entice other players to want to come here with the Bill O'Brien effect could it work positively or negatively here so again I I I think this all comes back to not having Matt Patricia. And because people, players like Matt Stafford openly said, like, I won't go to play with the Patriots if, like,

Matt Patricia is involved with that staff. Like, that really hurts your credibility around the league. Players listen to players. So having a guy like Billy O'Brien come back in and, like, if Bill Belichick can kind of smooth that relationship over with like the relationship he has with the Andre Hopkins and the respect the mutual respect they both have, then I think that they could definitely work something out. Looking here like we can fit his numbers under the cap uh his cap hit is is pretty bad in 2023 it's 30 million but i bet we can restructure it take it down three to five million dollars and we have cap space to kind of burn nelson aguilar is going to be off the books then um i i might cut like

well if if i were making decisions i could cut devon godshaw and you know save some money there and kind of fit that into the d hop trade but then it comes down to compensation for the cardinals i really wouldn't give anything more than a third round draft pick for it you kind of look at the amari cooper to the browns trade very very skilled wide receiver a little bit younger less of an injury history big contract 20 million dollars a year that he only got a fifth for him the cowboys only got a fifth for him so a d hop kind of a little bit bigger of a name can command a little bit more i would say a third round draft pick is should be substantial maybe this one this year maybe one next year because of um

i mean that's a similar price we got davante parker for i understand that like that's not what many people think deandre hopkins should go for but again he's 31 he's coming off a suspension year he's definitely an alpha wide receiver probably would be the best player on our team if we traded for him but he's not in his prime and it's just a lot of draft pick a lot of draft capital to give up but again i'm saying this as like trying to be an analyst but if they traded for deandre hopkins like I'd probably be the first one in line to buy a Deandre Hopkins Jersey. I think you'd have a,

I think you'd have a lot of company in that, that line at the, at the pro shop in Foxborough. We don't question about it. Yeah. And then as far as bringing other players in having Billy O'BrienBrien there who who just played in Alabama and was recruiting for them, he can bring a little bit more of that insight and development and player development and finding, you know, better offensive weapons, since that is his side of the ball and that is where he wants to like, or has been playing, you know, or coaching. I mean, so that's,

that's going to be a big thing. Cause the Pats haven't really hit on drafts. I would say 21 and 22 there, but have been a lot better than 18, 19, and 20. You go back and you look at 18. We had two firsts and a high second that year. We came out with Sonny Michel, who definitely did his part during the Super Bowl run. No disrespect.

Isaiah Wynn, who had a solid first couple years, but I don't really understand what happened that really fell off and then then duke dawson i think it was was the second round pick there so yeah it just when those players should be hitting their primes right now playing for that next contract and we should be wanting to give them that next contract and that's part of the issue why we're a little behind on some on some roster developments but i think a a good scheme and a solid coach who knows what he's doing with play calling that gets this team the same team we have at least one more win in the season i would say yeah i think

that's i think that's an accurate assessment in terms of the impact that a guy like deandre hopkins coming to this offense coming to the aid you might as well say of mac jones in giving him a solid perimeter threat that really is a wide receiver that opposing teams have to game plan for we heard ty law say something similar uh earlier this week regarding that is that the patriots don't have anybody in that room that you're game planning against defensive backs are not coming in afraid of anyone in that pass catching room patriots have some very good pass catchers on this team folks we've said it several times here on lockdown patriots we've talked about davante parker we've talked about jacoby

myers who is an unrestricted free agent, but a lot of people are expressing optimism and trying to bring him back. I, for one, would love to see Jacoby come back to the fold for 2023 and beyond in New England. But having that guy that can, quote unquote, take the top off the defense is something the Patriots haven't had in quite some time.

And even though DeAndre Speed has slipped a little bit as he's aged it's still a guy that can go up make contested catches he can pretty much do it all that you'll ask for and he has success under Bill O'Brien there is that specter of difficulty that hangs over this and that is one thing that I know a lot of people will continue to push obviously there were issues um really back to the 2018 season when an ankle injury forced him to miss practice time. Hopkins pointed out that the injury did not sideline him from any games. That is absolutely correct. And he's saying that maybe there was or there's been rumors, I should say, that there were was animosity between he and O'Brien during that

period. Both sides have diffused that, but there have been other sides that have pushed it and said, no, this is exactly what happened. We do know that DeAndre has gone on record to say that he really didn't consider having a relationship with Bill O'Brien, positively or negatively. It was simply just show up, go to work, do what you need to do, and that was it. And in that 2018 season that was in question, DeAndre actually had his best season of his career that year, 115 receptions, 1,572 yards. So if you add a guy with that type of prowess, I know he's probably not going to see those numbers again, but he's still capable of putting up a lot.

Still was by far uh the cardinals best receiver this year and that's having missed six games due to a suspension you know he's going to want to come to wherever team that he goes to if he does in fact leave arizona and make a positive impact he's got a relationship there with bill so we'll see what happens there tyler it's always fun always great when we get to talk about new hires, we get to talk about new beginnings in New England, but if we're being honest, my friend, really the white elephant in the room is what everybody's talking about. What does Bill O'Brien's hiring mean for Mac Jones? Tyler and I are going to dissect that question in

just a moment when this episode of the Locked On Patriots Podcast continues. Patriots fans, Tyler Lamb of Stadium Rant joins me here today. We're talking everything related to the big news of the day on Tuesday. Bill O'Brien back in the fold in Foxborough. He is your new offensive coordinator. A lot of people were predicting that that was going to happen i was one of them i know tyler was one of them we were all hoping that this was going to

come to fruition pretty quickly and the patriots wasted no time this week in getting this done so time where we talked a little bit in the previous segment about what the impact might be for the itself we even talked about whether or not this may have an impact on bringing in DeAndre Hopkins or a receiver of his like, because the Patriots now have an offense that they can sell to prospective players coming in. But the big news here, I think is going to be what this means for Mac Jones as quarterback.

We've been hearing all along that Bill O'Brien is the guy you want to bring in if you want to, quote-unquote, fix Mac Jones, bring him back to respectability. In your opinion, when you look at this hire, look at the season Mac had in 2021, look at the regression that he had in 2022, what does this mean for his output in 2023? So a lot of people I'm seeing on social media and a lot of fans are saying that mac's not the guy and talk radio felger and maz all that stuff so i understand like some of that but it's really hard for him to be he's not the type of quarterback he's not josh allen he's not he's not superman that's

not his game he he is a fast processor he can get he can make all the throws but he needs to be protected and he needs people to be open and and relied upon and he needs his offense to be well coordinated those are all things that weren't happening last year that happened during the first year and everybody in the first year was pretty high on Mac I know the end of the first season wasn't that great he played some tougher defenses they had some more film on him but then you basically take all it I understand he's not Trevor Lawrence but like kind of akin it to Trevor Lawrence's two seasons his first season you kind of throw away because he had garbage coaching staff. Didn't really learn anything that first season. So now he comes in with a real coaching staff and makes the playoffs and looks pretty good for throughout the most of the season. Looks like the

quarterback they drafted, right? So flip that for Mac Jones. He had a real coordinator, a real coaching staff the first year, and he looked pretty good. He looked like the guy we drafted, the billable guy we drafted at 15. Then you change all that. You take away his healthy coaching staff, and then he looked as good as he could look under those circumstances. I mean, he did miss some throws, but then he felt jittery.

He didn't feel like he could trust his pocket. He didn't feel like he could trust his play calling. I read an article written by Matt Castle, I think it was two weeks ago, and he said the most underrated thing that a quarterback and a coordinator have. It's not about play calling. It's not about play design. It's about chemistry. It's about being in rhythm and being in, like, lock and step,

walking in the same rhythm, you know, give the same heartbeat, essentially. There's a call on second down. They're looking at the offense. They think the same thing is going to happen, essentially. They want to do the same thing. That wasn't't happening last year it was happening more in the first year and i think will happen more bill o'brien he's going to run more out the shotgun spread quick passes get it out quickly more like we saw what joe burrow did to the bills like right hit his

back foot there'd be a dude open because of the way the route the routes are situated and the offense is coordinated and it'd be an easy read understandable that those skill players are better than ours but you need one of these three things to help your quarterback you either need a number one weapon who can beat defenses and make your quarterback like an escape route or like a blanket. Or you need a really, really good scheme that can scheme out all of your inadequate players or average players and make everything work like the 49ers did for a long time. Now they have great players, and look how that offense hums.

And the third thing you could do is have really, really, really strong protection. And he didn't really have any of those things this year so i think this is going to change pretty much everything it's going to go back to the first season like we won 10 games i think the roster is better than it was two years ago and we have another top 15 pick i think they're going to trade down, but which would be fine. You need, they need more things.

So take more shots at the, you know, at the pie. But I, I just, they're going to run more spread shotgun concepts. And they're also going to run more deep play action balls and use their speed like Tyquan Thornton.

Very good point. He can utilize our offense. Like, Jonu Smith. Watch out for a breakout Jonu Smith season. Just because he understands more about how to maximize an offensive skill set

than a Matt Patricia does because he's coached offenses. It's, it's almost like this was like something they were supposed to do. This is the one thing done that in, in a long time that it's like, Oh, they should do this.

Well, they did it with Mac Jones. It worked out. They did it with Christian Barmore. It worked out. They do Billy O'Brien. It should work out. There did it with Christian Barmore. It worked out. They did it with Billy O'Brien. It should work out. There's also three Alabama guys again.

It's true. That Alabama pipeline from the New England Patriots is really interesting. And I think it starts at the top. It starts between the synergy between Bill Belichick and Nick Saban. Those two guys know each other. There's similarities in the coaching styles. Not necessarily all that many similarities in the schemes and the game plans and the execution but there is that synergy of these guys knowing how the other one thinks and i think that's going to help bill o'brien and mac

jones very much because if you look at the type of offense that mac ran in alabama and we've talked about this here on locked on patriots several times and by the way we've even talked about this here on Locked On Patriots several times. And Tyler, we've even talked about this offline as well. Mack was really proficient at running that type of an offense. You've got a strong supporting cast of playmakers around you. You create plays. You lead your receivers under the defense. Get rid of the ball quickly. You deliver it accurately where only the receiver can get it.

This gives your playmakers the space that you need to catch, run with the ball. Murph, if you're listening, you're getting yak on this there's no question about it and not only does that put points on the board but it helps to keep quarterback out of the blitz it helps to keep him out of duress and that really is something two things that the New England Patriots did not do very well last year Bill is someone that can come in and run that type of offense. Mack helped acclimate him to that. He didn't teach him the playbook, folks. He didn't outline it word for word and teach Bill O'Brien how to coach Bama offense.

But Bill has gone on record several times. He said it at the 2021 Cotton Bowl that he was very appreciative of the help that Mack was able to provide as Mack was an outgoing you know senior ready to head to the NFL and work with him a little bit on the nuances of Bama's strategy this to me is the key right here for the impact that this can have because if Mack Jones is able to take to this type of coaching that's really going to elevate his game and let's not downplay the fact that Bill O'Brien is going to push this kid a little bit Mac is the type of guy that wants to be pushed he said it you know several times this season I want to be coached hard Bill O'Brien is going to coach him hard there's no question about it Mac's going

to have to deliver now it's going to be on his shoulders the right coach is put in place now let's see what he can do with it and I think think that at that point, it's going to make for an interesting season and I think a more exciting season for the Patriots coming up in 2023. Tyler, when it comes to Mac, any parting thoughts that you have in terms of what this means coming up for this year beyond any concerns that you may have with this pairing

or are we looking at something that really could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship here? So I do. My only problem with Bill O'Brien is sometimes he likes to abandon the run. But if we are hitting on our short route concepts, isn't that like an extension of the run game? So I'm really not all that worried about it. If as long as we're not calling a screen pass on every first down or second and 10 and, or the swing route that would get batted down because everybody's playing in

the box. It's like, you can't, you can't be that predictable. There needs to be balance on offense. And like you were saying, we're playing, moving the ball down the field, matriculating it, keeping the offense on the field, keeping drives alive.

These are things that Bill O'Brien can do. That also keeps your defense off the field. some of these games against really good offenses they just they would get or against really good defenses when are against our offense we wouldn't move the ball and then their offense would have 40 minutes of time and possession and the defense was just gassed by the end of the game they can't make every single play um so again offense helps defense is just gonna, I think it's going to be a much better team. I think this equates to maybe two and a half more wins. Just, just on Bill O'Brien. Don't even touch the roster yet.

And I have a little dark horse, like trade candidate maybe. So I think that, um, they could go after jerry judy because the the broncos want sean payton the saints they need draft picks they have no draft capital can't take players they're minus 73 million dollars in cap space right now which is just i don't even understand how that happens but it's okay uh we can let uh me l bends on handle that one i don't even understand how that happens, but it's okay. We can let Miguel Benzon handle that one. I don't understand how that happened. Shout out to you and how you figure all that out because it's insane. He is the best in the business.

He truly is. Yep. Yes, he is. Yeah. But yeah, so Jerry Judy, the Broncos, they need draft picks to send to the Saints for Sean Payton because the Saints are looking for a John Gruden type deal. And if you remember, it was two firsts, two seconds and $8 million in cash. And the Broncos just don't have that after trading for Russell Wilson.

They have some of it but if the russell wilson contract that they gave him is going to start taking into effect jerry judy's going to want to have to get paid within the next year so that they need draft picks they might not be able to pay him if new england trades back from 14 they move to like the mid 20s they get an extra second round pick you move the 20th pick over to denver you get jerry judy in here you extend him with you give him a four-year like dionte or not dionte um give him like a terry mclaurin type deal you know what what I mean? Four for like 15. And there you go.

You got 23 year old is prime. You signed Jacoby Myers back. He Kendrick born Devante Parker, Taequann Thornton. That's a good receiving core. I think. Yeah, it is. It absolutely is.

And now we've got another one to pile onto Miguel's list. Miguel, if you're listening, one little Jerry Judy breakdown, Miguel has some of the best breakdowns in the business. He joined me a couple of weeks ago here to break down everything regarding the financials on a DeAndre Hopkins deal. Definitely, I think our listeners and all Patriots fans will be really interested and will remember where we heard it. Absolutely, Tyler. And I think you bring a great point up. And, you know, from your lips to the football god's ears at this point,

Patriots definitely need help in pass catching, and he'd be a welcome addition to the New England Patriots without question. So I thank you today for joining me and taking time out of your busy schedule to join me here on Locked on Patriots. Before I let you go, my friend, please let everyone know where they can find you, where they can absorb the great work that you do each and every day. The floor you go, my friend, please let everyone know where they can find you, where they can absorb the great work that you do each and every day. The floor is yours, my friend.

You can follow me on Twitter at Lamb4752 and you can follow Stadium Rant at StadiumRantHQ. All of my work is at StadiumRant.com. You can just type in Tyler Lamb and all my articles will come up. I'm talking about pretty much everything now.

Patriots, gambling, all sorts of other NFL topics, other teams, like anything. I'm trying to expand a little bit. So whatever you got sports-wise, I can talk about it. Absolutely, folks. And again, highly recommended. And Tyler, we're definitely going to have you back here on Locked On Patriots as the draft approaches as we start to look for combine season free agency

you name it we're going to continue to cover it here on Locked On Patriots and Tyler will continue to be a regular so folks in the meantime please do not hesitate to follow Locked On Patriots subscribe wherever you get your podcasts smash that subscribe button on

YouTube as well thank you all for taking us over the 1,000 subscriber plateau definitely excited about that and the best is yet to come as we continue our journey into the

offseason folks on behalf of my good friend Tyler Lamb of Stadium Rant thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to join us here today on Locked On Patriots once again if you've made us your first listen, make your second listen, our good friends over at Locked On NFL.

All the stories that you need. We're probably going to be breaking down this one with regard to the Patriots and Bill O'Brien. So definitely be sure to check them out wherever you get your podcasts. On behalf of Tyler Lamb, I'm Mike DeBate. Stay safe. Stay well. Be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone.