Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Charge Complete: Patriots Dismantle Chargers 45-0 — 12/7/2020

Episode Date: December 7, 2020

As the great Yogi Berra once said, “It ain’t over, ‘til its over.”. The New England Patriots kept their playoff hopes alive with a 45-0 dismantling of the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday at SoFi Stadium. Joining host Mike D’Abate to break down all the action is fan-favorite Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy. The duo discuss the evolution of the Pats’ offense, the prowess of their defense, and the elements that make New England special teams, EXTRA special.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 “LOCKEDON,” and you’ll get 20% off your next order.MyBookieINVEST IN YOUR INTUITION. USE PROMO CODE LOCKEDON AND DOUBLE YOUR FIRST DEPOSIT. NEW PLAYERS GET UP TO $1,000 IN FREE PLAY - DESIGNED TO ADD MORE EXCITEMENT TO THE SPORTS YOU LOVE AND THE GAMES YOU BET. YOUR WINNING SEASON BEGINS TODAY...ONLY AT MYBOOKIE!BuiltGoVisit BuiltGO.com and use promo code “LOCKED,” and you’ll get 20% off your next order.BetterHelpI want you to start living a happier life today. As a listener, you’ll get 10% off your first month by visiting our sponsor at BetterHelp.com/LockedOnDoorDashRight now, our listeners can get $5 off and zero delivery fees on their first order of $15 or more, when you download the DoorDash app and enter code LOCKEDON. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

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Watching. Happy Victory Monday, Patriots Nation! Thank you for joining me here today on Locked On, Patriots, where your New England Patriots now sit at.500, a 6-6 record in the 2020 NFL season. And don't look now, folks, but they might have just crept back into the playoff hunt. My name is Mike DeBate, 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,

your feedback, always welcomed, very much encouraged. And of course, you can feel free to share that feedback anytime by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at MDABATEFPC. And while you're out there giving that Victory Monday nod to the Twitterverse and saying how you doing, please be sure to follow the Lockdown Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. If you've listened to Lockdown Patriots before, you all know I love my movie quotes. I'll incorporate them into the show as often as I possibly can. If this is your first time listening to Lockdown Patriots, yes, I love to quote movies, preferably

old comedies or older movies, but there's also a lot of modern movies I love to incorporate. Bottom line, I love a good pop culture reference. And last night, as I'm watching the New England Patriots defeat the Los Angeles Chargers, the one image that kept popping inside my head was the Adam Sandler movie Happy Gilmore. And in one of the final scenes, Happy kind of turns over to Shooter McGavin and says, it ain't over yet, McGavin. The way I see it, we've only just begun. And stay with me here for a moment, folks. I understand it might be a little melodramatic, but I actually think it's pretty appropriate when being applied to your New England

Patriots. Not only did they get the victory yesterday, which by the way, puts them at 500 at a six and six record and right in the mix when it comes to teams making a late season playoff run. But to me, it was more about the way they beat the Chargers. 45 to nothing route, playing a complete game for the first time all season long. Offense was very good. Defense was excellent. Special teams was phenomenal. And if this team is peaking here in the month of December, they certainly picked the right time to do it.

Now, I'm also not going to sit here and say that this win holds the same type of cachet that beating a team like Kansas City or Pittsburgh or one of the top echelon teams in the league would do. The Chargers are 3-9 for a reason, but they're a lot better than that record, and trust me folks, they're a lot better than what they showed on the field yesterday. A big part of the reason why the Chargers struggled was because the Patriots simply out-game planned them. More so, they outplayed them. And when you play your best game and you force your opponent to play their worst, well, then the outcome that we saw yesterday is usually what you'll see.

Almost regardless of the record. If you want to talk standout performances, they were all over the field on Sunday. Starting with Cam Newton, who I thought rebounded quite nicely from a subpar performance the previous week against Arizona. And while I will concede his stat line is not going to open up any eyes or raise any eyebrows, 12 of 19 passing for 69 yards, he did gain 48 yards on the ground. But he looked much more comfortable, he managed the game efficiently, he didn't hold on to the ball, and he was the key director of the Patriots' rushing attack yesterday, which, if we're being honest, is the Patriots' primary method of moving the football this year.

And Cam was great running the football yesterday, as was Damian Harris, who ran from time to time out of the Wildcat formation. Damian had a solid game, carrying the ball 16 times for 80 yards. He continues to impress me more with each passing week. On the defensive side of the ball, Patriots had a lot of standouts there, too. Former Charger and my main man Adrian Phillips led the team with 12 total tackles, seven of which were of the solo variety. And then, of course, in the middle of that defense, guys like Adam Butler, Chase Winovich,

Josh Uche really came up big. JC Jackson grabbing an interception. And all in all, the Patriots defense did exactly what we thought they would do. They showed Justin Herbert a lot of unfamiliar looks. This confused him a little bit, and the Patriots handed Herbert arguably his toughest performance as a pro thus far. But the man of the day really was the man with the meme, and folks, you know, I dream the meme, and this is what I've been waiting for for a long time.

Gunnar Ryszewski on special teams had himself a day. Three punt returns for 145 yards, one of which he returned for a touchdown. Gunnar also had a receiving touchdown when Jarrett Stidham came into the game in the fourth quarter, found a nice seam, and found the end zone off of a nice pass by Jarrett. And solid in all three phases of the game, the Patriots just dismantled the Chargers 45-0. And here today to help me break down all of the action on the field, it's a Locked on Murph Monday, folks. My good friend, the Green King of Sting himself, Thomas Murphy, will join me here on the hot

seat, and we'll talk about the evolution of the Patriots' offense, what their defensive prowess that they showed off quite nicely yesterday means for the Patriots' possible contention for the playoffs as the season goes on. Last but certainly not least, we'll talk about the Patriots' special teams. We'll throw in a couple of Gunner references, but all in all, we'll be talking about why the Patriots seem to make special teams a little, and in some cases a lot more extra special than any other team in the league. But before we can break down yesterday's action on the field at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, let's take a look at the action. And all week long action on the field at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California,

let's take a look at the action. And all week long here on the pod, we kept saying the Patriots needed to get out to a quick start, establish the run, get the Chargers to play your game. I give a lot of credit to Josh McDaniels. They did just that, and the Patriots started off early. On their opening drive, the Patriots would strike first. Cam Newton capped a 7-play, 75-yard drive with a 1-yard dive for the score, and just like that, the Pats were on top 7-0. Early in the second quarter, my main man made himself a gunner.

Gunner Roschowski fielded the Chargers punt, took it 70 yards right up the sideline, gunner perfectly reading some textbook blocking by the Patriots special teams coverage unit Oshelski takes it all the way home to the end zone and just like that the Patriots are up 14-0 and the best part Pats fans is that New England was just getting warmed up they would once again attack the Chargers run defense Cam Newton late in the second quarter found the end zone for a two yard up the middle run and it looked like they were quite content to take a 21-0 lead into the half. However, the Patriots loved that first special teams touchdown so much, they decided to do it again.

And it came on the last play of the half. Cody Davis, in special teams coverage alongside Justin Bethel, tipped a field goal attempt by Chargers kicker Michael Badgley, Devin McCourty recovered, returned the block kick 44 yards to the end zone, and at that point, it was all but a foregone conclusion that the Patriots were ready to run away with this one. 28-0 at the half, and they still weren't done. In the third quarter, New England would continue their onslaught.

The only scorer of the quarter came on a 5-yard touchdown pass to Nakheel Harry, who I know a lot of you still cringe when I say his name, but I tweeted yesterday during the game that catch was exactly why Nikhil Harry was brought to New England. Showing some toughness, showing some athleticism, going up to snag what was a bullet thrown by Cam Newton, making the contested catch, and being a threat in the red zone. And I'm not saying that this absolves Nikhil for all his sins, but there is a reason why the Patriots want to get this kid involved in the offense, and I think it could be the

start of something good for Nikhil. I, for one, was really happy to see this kid find the end zone, and his touchdown catch gave the Patriots a 35-0 lead. But the Patriots' touchdown party had to be interrupted by a little folk song sing-along. The reigning AFC Special Teams Player of the week, and I got a funny feeling the Patriots may have back-to-back players, but let's give Nick his due. Nails a 32-yard field goal, and the Patriots were up 38-0 at this point. At this point, the game was long out of reach, so Bill Belichick went to his bullpen and brings in Jarrett Stidham. Jarrett actually looked

really good on the drive that he led after relieving Cam Newton. 61 yards, capped by a 38-yard touchdown pass to, who else, Gunnar Ryszelski. That put the Pats on top 45-0, and that's exactly how the game would play out. The rest was just a mere formality of letting the clock run out, and with this Week 13 victory, the Patriots had improved to 6-6 on the season, winning two straight, four out of their last five, and now very much getting back into playoff contention in the AFC. And as good as this Victory Monday feels for Patriots fans, the team itself is not going to have a lot of time to rest on its laurels.

Thursday night, presumably at SoFi Stadium, they'll once again take on a Los Angeles team. This time it's going to be the Rams. A much taller task, a much better team, and the Patriots are going to need this type of effort, if not better, to come out on top. Bottom line, you always hope for the team to stay healthy, and unfortunately, folks, the Patriots do have a couple of injury concerns here. Both cornerback Jonathan Jones and tight end Ryan Izzo each exited Sunday's game after having suffered apparent neck injuries. Either of them returned to the game, and there's not a whole lot known about how severe each

of these injuries is. But early Monday morning, ESPN's Mike Reese did lend a little bit of insight when it comes to tight end Ryan Izzo's injury, saying that from the sources he's spoken with, Izzo's injury is being described as, quote, a stinger. And for anyone that's played football, you know exactly what a stinger is. For those of you that haven't played, it's essentially when you're going in for a tackle, your shoulder goes one way, and your head and your neck kind of go the other way. Ouch. Feels like an electric shock just running down your side.

Now, most of the time, a stinger is not that serious, but it is extremely painful, and it can last anywhere up to a day, two, maybe even three. So keep a sharp eye on the Patriots injury report. That should be telltale when it comes to Ryan's injury. As for Jonathan Jones, we eagerly anticipate that information. Jonathan is one of the key cogs of this secondary, one of the best slot corners in the league, and the Pats will definitely need his services both this Thursday and down the line. So hopefully he'll be okay.

Another one to keep an eye on is JC Jackson. He was seen limping around the field a lot yesterday. And keep in mind that JC has routinely been on the Patriots injury report. Keep in mind a very quick turnaround time between games this week, so that could affect JC's status. Hopefully he'll be ready to go Thursday, but keep it right here to Lockdown Patriots, where we'll provide you with the very latest on all of these injuries, as well as all the news notes and analysis from Foxborough as the Patriots look to make it two in a row in the City of Angels. But as much as we may want to rant on the Rams, we're still going to savor the victory

over the Bolts. And in just a moment, the green master of disaster himself, my good friend Thomas Murphy, will join me on the hot seat to talk Patriots offense, Patriots defense, and that extra special unit of special teams. I might even throw some Adrian Phillips talk in there for good measure when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Patriots fans, we continue to break down the Patriots 45-0 win over the Los Angeles Chargers

here on this Victory Monday on Locked On Patriots. And you know what? Let's let the era of good feelings continue. We're going to bring in some green wisdom and counsel for celebration today. That's right, folks. It is that time again, your favorite and mine, my benefactor in this business, the Count of Murphy, Fisto himself, the legendary Thomas Murphy, is back for his weekly appearance here on Locked On Patriots.

Thank you for coming to me in friendship and for joining me today Don Murph oh always my pleasure man it's Locked On Murph Monday man we gotta love it gotta have it gotta be here it's great Locked On Murph Monday Locked On Murph Victory Monday is even better we give the people what they want uh and what they do want is some green wisdom and counsel. I am honored to be able to provide that platform for you. Thunderbolts and lightning, Murph. Light up the sky. Anybody

that knows the San Diego Superchargers White Song knows exactly what I'm referring to there. I got news for you. They might be lighting up the coaches' offices in LA pretty soon. I digress. I digress. Surprised they haven't called you yet. See what happens when I leave the beat? Everything's going to pop.

Yeah. But, no, in any case, I told you all they had to do was offer Johnny Fontaine that movie like I wanted. But, you know, it had to be done. It had to be done. But, complete effort for the Patriots yesterday. You know, we've wanted to see this all season long, and we got it yesterday. I think we got it yesterday in terms of a very efficient offense, very good performance on defense, and that special teams, what can you say? And we're going to talk a lot about special teams in the second segment coming up here folks but uh you know let's get to it um in terms of who delivered and i thought it was a big day for the patriots offensive players that not for anything

buddy a lot of the fan base and extraterrestrial radio no folks that wasn't a freudian slip they really are from another world um have as clark griswold would say, wanted to drive out to the middle of nowhere and leave for dead. I'm talking guys like Nikhil Harry, Sonny Michel, even Cam Newton came under a lot of fire last week. And let's start with Cam. He only threw for 69 yards on 19 attempts. That's earning him some detractors today. And I'm not going to say that that's a stat line that's going to leap out at the page,

but I think the Patriots were efficient yesterday yesterday and i thought cam was a big reason why uh they scored 40 20 excuse me 24 points with him under center he executed the game plan well i thought he did a much better job this week of sensing the pressure making quicker decisions in the pocket while under pressure and then also utilizing his ability to take off and run it himself on design plays when he felt the pressure getting a little too much instead of holding on to it and taking unnecessary sacks and unnecessary quarterback pressures but that's just me but in your infinite wisdom do you believe that this is what we can expect from the Patriots for the remainder of the season or are we stumbling upon maybe a game plan that was more tailor-made for Los Angeles

and that they should maybe focus on the running game a little bit more? Or do they have legitimate concerns in the passing game? Overall on offense yesterday, Bud, what was your takeaway? My takeaway was, as yours is, downright efficient. What Cam was able to do yesterday under center is playing to his strengths, which is something that we haven't seen enough of this season. What he's able to do in the RPO game and in setting up play action is exactly what this team needs. You talked about how many completions he had yesterday,

but seven of them were for first downs. That's efficient football. That is good, fundamental football. It is what we expect from this team. It is what this team needs to give us if they want to be playing in January. Absolutely. I thought perfectly said. And again, I want to give Cam a lot of credit because you mentioned throwing downfield.

I don't think he had a great opportunity or a lot of opportunities to throw downfield yesterday. Patriots essentially had Cam calling the direction of the running plays based on how the defense was aligning. And then he even was able to read the defense after the snap as part of those run concepts that he would input I thought that was a lot mentally to put on Cam for all the slack that he takes in the media for not being able to do that all that well I thought he did it efficiently

yesterday and like you said very efficient very workmanlike in their approach and it did you know pay dividends yesterday I thought I was really impressed with the opening drive and mcdaniel's play calling which again has come under a lot of fire but i thought cam was brilliant in that as well um i really enjoyed seeing him uh you know fake to harris to run completely faking out joey bosa and then you know when he cut when he came in crashing down he's trying to take down harris who he thinks has the ball. Newton keeps it itself and goes for 14 yards. So that type of ingenuity, that type of misdirection is what we've been wanting to see from this Patriots team.

And I thought we saw it well yesterday. Flipping over to the defensive side of the ball, buddy. And, you know, I think as our good friend Evan Lazar characterized it last night very eloquently, I think the Patriots have themselves a nice little budding three-headed monster here. Adam Butler, Chase Winovich, Josh Uche. Really strong efforts by all of these players. Also want to mix in a little Dietrich Wise. Got to give a little love for my man Dietrich there, too.

I thought he had a great game yesterday. But Butler, Winovich, and Uche look like a force. I thought they really bullied around that offensive line for the chargers on sunday um pressuring justin herbert on 47.4 percent of his drop backs of 2.6 plus seconds they they removed the screens from his game uh you know they tried justin was trying to get those design quick throws. Bill Belichick, brilliant game planning as well. You know, really taking him out of his comfort zone, showing him these unorthodox looks and confusing him. And because of that, I think the pass rushers were able to get home.

They got home often. And that only facilitated the secondary, especially guys like Stephon Gilmore, J.C. Jackson. They got into position. They really kind of made Keenan Allen and Mike Williams non-factors yesterday. I covered both those guys in Los Angeles. That's not an easy task. Those guys can get open. They can make plays. So they're not also rands out there in the pass catching game for the Chargers. That's not an easy thing to do to shut these guys down. So as you can tell, but I was impressed by what I saw yesterday. But how impressed were you yesterday by the Pats' effort on defense? And are we looking at this unit finally gelling at the right time?

Yeah, it really is coming together at the right time. You can put some of this on the Chargers' offensive line, which is by no means good, to be kind. It is not a good offensive line. But they did. They generated three sacks, 11 quarterback hits, 12 pressures. That comes from effort and scheme. They stunted up a lot of really nice plays. They listened to me and confused the hell out of Hebert, and he ended up with a 43.7 passer rating on the day.

That's his worst in this young career that is going to be a very long, very good career. Make no mistakes, people. This is a good quarterback. This is a young man that has a serious future. I can understand why they stuck with him for this long. Once he came in to a game during the season and they decided to stick with him, it was a fantastic afternoon for the Patriots defense.

Now, they did pick him off twice, but a lot of that happened because of what they were doing in the front seven. I thought this was the best game this front seven has played all season long. Yeah, without question. I mean, from the front seven, from the defense, the interior of the defensive line, which continues to make some great strides. I thought Byron Cowart yesterday. I mean, you know, you looked at, you know, people that have been plug and play players for this team and never really got the opportunity to have that learning curve or that ability to kind of warm into their roles. It was a lot of on the job training this year for the Patriots. I think they've adapted quite nicely. And now you're really seeing what this defense can do.

Loving the wise guy. Yeah, absolutely absolutely i absolutely am as well and a lot of love for kyle duggar who's you know continuing to do a great job covering tight ends uh hunter henry was kind of an invisible man yesterday yeah that's not an easy task no we did make a little bit of waves after the game you know kind of embracing and hugging a little extra long would love to know what that conversation was yeah. Yeah, I know. There was a couple little whispers happening there. You know, great game. We spent the whole week planning to shut you down, boss. This is, you know, just not to the point of, you know,

we're doing anything illegal. Just to let you know that we appreciate the work that you put in on the other side of the ball. Absolutely. No, it's true. I mean, and the Patriots did that, you know, very, very well. And look, Henry is someone that I've covered, you know, for in the past. So was Austin Eckler.

He was pretty much invisible yesterday as well, catching the ball out of the backfield. A big part of that is a guy that I've been beating the drum on for a good long time. Really consistent run defender in the interior. I'm talking about my man Adrian Phillips. He was fantastic yesterday. 12 tackles, pass deflection, and presser performance. And I think he helped stifle the charges. Seven solo tackles yesterday.

Seven solo tackles. I've been biting my tongue here waiting for you to bring them up because I didn't want to step on you. I did that last night, you know, comparing it, making him my spirit animal. And I found out that was a huge mistake. No, that was not, that was absolutely not. It's right on the money. I love it. And Adrian for one, I think would rather be compared to you than me. I'm sure he would admit that right off the bat. Breaking down a win, buddy, is always better. You can hear a lot of laughter this morning, folks. That's by design, but that's also by happenstance as well. We love breaking down a win, and we've had some fun talking about the Patriots offense, talking

about the defense, but Murph, what is it about this Patriots special teams that makes them extra special? Well, folks, in a moment, Murph and I will talk about the Patriots' impressive performance. Save that, buddy. We need it in a minute. And we will talk about this impressive performance in the third but equal phase of the game when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues.

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Go to BuiltBar.com and use promo code LOCKEDON to get 20% off your next order. Don't delay. Do it today. Use promo code LOCKEDON for 20% off at BuiltBar.com. Patriots fans, don't miss the biggest stories from around the NFL. As Monday's LOCKEDON NFL host, Peter Bukowski, interviews the local experts on the biggest shows from around the league. Big wins, shocking endings, top performances, and unexpected developments.

Get the in-depth analysis and insightful breakdowns from those in the know every Monday on Locked on NFL. Subscribe to Locked on NFL wherever you get your podcasts. Folks, we continue to break down the Patriots' 45-0 victory. Can't even get it out. It's unbelievable. 45-0 victory. Can't even get it out. It's unbelievable. 45-0. Who would have thought?

Over the Los Angeles Chargers, my man Murph joins me here today on Locked on Patriots. A hashtag Locked on Murph Monday. A victory Monday here, buddy. And as I said heading into the break, there really is something extra special about the Patriots special teams.

And, you know, I had to get a little, you you know I had to get a little you know I had to get a little dig in there about Adrian Phillips but this is what I've been waiting for for a while this year my friend they made that man a gunner yesterday Connor Rochelle sure he did three punt returns for 145 yards one of which he returned for a touchdown had a nice little seam route on the touchdown pass from Jarrett Stidham as well. I thought that was pretty impressive, but the return was a thing of beauty. And let's go there for a second. Pat's setup, showing numbers in the rush like they're going to come after the punter.

Brilliant setup. I thought the tackling was flawless on this play. It really forced L.A.'s Gunners into motion inside to protect, and instead the New England defenders dropped back off to block for Gunnar Ryszewski. So all of a sudden, these tacklers become blockers instead. And without the Gunners running down to cover the kick, Gunnar himself gets ahead of steam, finds the crease, and is able to break for big yardage. This is something that I think a lot of Patriots fans have been waiting to see. Gunner emerges, that punt return threat that not only is able to get ahead of steam and

really turn on the Jets, but also be able to find the seams, be able to read what this special teams is doing. I thought this was a play to perfection. When you look at this, do you believe that this is what we can expect to see from Gunnar going forward? Or was this maybe just a great day for him with a return to earth on the horizon and maybe more of a product of the special teams than Gunnar himself? Does Virtue lie in the middle here or does this kid deserve all the praise he's getting today? Sure. Can I say yes to both? What he did yesterday was extra special, but what the Patriots special

teams did to help him along the way was just as gratifying to see. We saw what was called back on penalties the week before was fixed, and it was Sonny Michel. Brianna Pierre pointed this out this morning. Sonny set a fantastic pick instead of taking on the Chargers special teams guy and holding him up, and that sprung Gunner. It was a thing of beauty the entire way. This kick is what every special teams coach dreams of when they're drawing something up. It was fantastic to watch. I can't wait to go back and watch it three more times.

That's how geeked I am about it. But no, it was the entire team's effort. And getting back to your original point, why is this team so special? Why are the Patriots' special team so special? One, they spend money on this unit, which you don't see around the league and which pisses off the talking heads throughout Boston and the area. Why are you spending money on this guy? This is why. Because when you really need it, they're there. These guys don't screw up. They have earlier in the season

made a few blunders, but what you saw yesterday was when, what happens when a, a, a top flight special teams unit comes up against one that is, is very good at all no and then i can tell you from personal experience that the charges have not always been inept on special teams but this unit just looked so far overmatched from what the patriots bring to the table and again i'm glad that you said yes to both because i think you can say yes to both it can be an excellent effort on gunner's part and deserves all of the credit that he's getting, but also it can be in tandem with just great, you know, I said earlier, great tackling and it was, the tackling became blocking and that's exactly what special teams should be. Make them think you're gunning for the punter, but you're going into

coverage and that facilitates that so well. And I thought Gunnar ran that perfectly. So I would love to see this kid emerge uh he had a very big training camp was talked up a lot by the media i think you're seeing now why uh he just has that ability he's just he's fast he's got that itch that really just allows him to break free and again if he can be a a dangerous part in that punt return along with a guy like d Moncrief, who they picked up, who's returning kicks now. The Patriots continue that prowess. That's another thing that needs to be mentioned, is the fact that Moncrief has really emerged as a kick returner,

and Gunner has been able to spend more time and effort in returning pun, in, in returning punts. It wasn't, it wasn't good. It wasn't pretty. What three weeks ago, right on this show, I was ready to send the kid to, to Canada. And he's, he's really made me stick my foot in my mouth. No. And a lot of people were, I don't think you're alone in that assessment. I think a lot of people were looking at it and saying, you know, we're tired of starting our own drives, you know, behind the 20. It was very difficult, you know, for Patriots

fans to see that, especially when the return games are so highly predicated on field position. And in this year, especially field position is so important for the New England Patriots. I think a lot of people were like that, but having specialists at both one for a kick return one for a punt return I'm not saying they're not going to double dip and that neither is capable of doing the other but when they're able to really hone in and focus in on their craft it's a thing of beauty and one of the other things that I thought was a thing of beauty yesterday was just the complete special teams effort and you touched on this you did you know bring that up about why this is so special the Patriots invest so much one guy that doesn't get a whole lot of love at times and i think he

deserved a lot of credit for the patriots special teams prowess yesterday was justin bethel um chargers committing the fourth down penalty the 12 men on the field but i mean you know it gives the patriots the first down and then you know then Bethel just adds insult to injury when Jake Bailey booms a punt. And I tweeted about this yesterday. I said, that's what special teams are designed to do. Bailey gets the punt. You've got guys in on coverage. They play it well.

And then Bethel just gets the ball and just flips it back just to down it inside the Chargers 10 and really add insult to injury. Actually, it was on the 5. And Bailey had another one that Slater could have touched down, but he had been pushed out of bounds and you can't be the first player to touch it on the way back in. What he's been able to do this year is in flipping the field and making other teams march the length of the field, give them, the Patriots' defense, an opportunity to turn them over is fantastic

and it can't be underplayed at all. No, definitely not. And then, of course, you look at the blocked field goal and just everything that went into that yesterday. Cody Davis, I think a lot of people were surprised that this kid was added to the 53 man. I ran into a lot of people that were, you know, fans mostly that were a little confused. They didn't know a lot about Cody and what he brings to the table. But you, myself and Steve have talked about how good this kid is on special teams coverage uh really since they brought him in and you saw it yesterday just in on coverage all day long he was a huge part of that blocked punt and then of course

Devin McCourty always in the right place always in the right time uh that's not by you know that's not yeah that's not happenstance that's by. Dev's had a couple of tough games this year, but he's proven that he is still a glue in that special teams unit. Murph, I guess overall, how surprised are you that this special teams unit is still so cohesive, even though the Patriots lost Joe Judge, who's doing some great things down for the New York Giants down there. Big win yesterday. Yeah, half off.

Four in a row. Yeah, over the Seattle Seahawks getting the job done. Are you a bit surprised that this team still looks as good, maybe even better, because their special teams coordinator has vacated? Yeah, I am surprised because he was fantastic at his job. But like I said, pardon me, this is a unit that the Patriots routinely spend money on. This is a unit that the Patriots at the trade deadline or when waivers come around and they see somebody that can help thisots, the Patriots way. Okay, it's what I can do with a certain player for six or eight plays out of a game, and that includes special teams.

That's why it is all three phases. And that's why the Patriots year in and year out excel in this area, while other teams just don't. They put all pro talent on special teams. You know, people go nuts. Why is Rob Gronkowski out there blocking for field goals? Why is this player out there playing special teams when he's one of the highest paid players?

We're talking about Devin McCourty now on the field. It's because you have to allow talent to rise to the top. And it's also a reason why a lot of young players throughout the years have not been able to stick with this team because they cannot do what these guys do, and Bill expects that. Absolutely, he does expect it and you mentioned a great point earlier and that Brianna had brought it up about Sonny Michel being in blocking on special teams. I mean, you know, this is a first round running back

pick. I mean, he could be, you know, and have that diva type mentality and say, no way, I'm not doing that. If he did, Bill would have said him a long time ago, but these guys are just, they're willing to do it and they buy into that concept. And I think we saw that, you know, Sony Michelle, Justin Bethel, we talked about McCourty.

These are talented guys that, that either fit into a certain slot or fit into every slot. And it's the guys that fit into every slot that you see on this team that come out there and make play after play after play. And it's because Bill prioritizes that kind of ball player. Absolutely. Absolutely. Without any question. And last but certainly not least, buddy, I'm not going to put you on the spot because we're going to start to look forward to a very quick turnaround here

with the Patriots now going to take on the Rams on Thursday night. And we're going to get into future and we're going to break down this game a little bit more as the week progresses. But I guess my biggest question to you is after a big win like this, are you worried at all about the Patriots potential let down a little bit with such a quick turnaround on the horizon now being played on Thursday? Or can this work to this team's advantage? No, it can work to this team's advantage.

It's like going on a West Coast trip for a baseball team. And after a win like this, it helps to galvanize the team. It reminds the team that, yes, they are professionals. Yes, they are supposed to be here. And I do expect them to not have a letdown game, especially since they're going up against an upper echelon team with a great coach who never stops learning. I have a fantastic affinity for him.

And it's going to be a very difficult win, but if the Patriots do what they were able to do today, yesterday, I think they can come out on top of it. The thing is that the lines on both sides of the ball for the Rams are much better than the ones that they faced this week. It's going to be about protection. It's going to be about setting a tone early. The Patriots set a tone early in this game going forward on fourth down on that first drive and letting people know, yeah, we're here to play.

They're going to have to have that tone-setting moment early next week to have the same kind of success. Well said, absolutely. And I'm so glad that you mentioned those two lines being a bit more formidable. Yeah, the Rams are a little bit of a different L.A. story. They are L.A. Chargers. But, you know, all in all, but there's six and six and the Patriots right now are still clinging to some hopes about the playoffs. And as long as there's a chance, I think this team is going to play as hard as they can. So what can I say? Your wisdom and counsel, my friend, like no other. That's why you're familiar here

at Locked On Patriots. That's why we always have a place for you at the Jack Waltz dinner table. It will go better, I promise you. You're not going to be Tom Hagen. We're not going to throw you out of the house. Thank you for a dinner and a very pleasant evening. Mr. Corleone is a man who insists on hearing bad news immediately.

No bad news today. That was good. But all kidding aside, buddy, I really thank you for coming on here on the pod and joining me each and every week. Folks, you should be already. But for any of our new listeners, please follow my good friend, the Count of Murphy Fisto, on Twitter at TMurph207. But I'm telling you, the Patriots are playing better. And because we've been starting this campaign to read the keys, point, click, and learn material, those offices in One Patriots Place, I guarantee you, are turning the keys because the keys are always turning, and they're working, folks. Anytime you want to check those out, they are proudly found on diehardbostonsportsfans.com.

I always say point, click, learn, just become a better football fan and much more educated. And, of course, never miss an episode of One Patriot's Place with our good friend here and our other good friend, Steve Balistrieri. And, of course, Two Patriot's Place with not one, not two, but three good friends of the program, Murph, Steve, and our good friend, Claire L. Cooper. And pay particular close attention to this week's because you might just hear a familiar voice on there. I'm just saying. I'm just saying. Buddy, what can I say? Thank you so much again. Honored and humbled by your presence as I always am. No, buddy. Honored and humbled to be here. It is always a fantastic day, whether it's a win or a loss. It's always great to come in here and talk to you. But yeah, it's better with a win.

Absolutely. Much, much better with a win. But we always look forward to it. Win, lose, or draw on the Locked On Murph Monday. Buddy, stay safe, stay well. Quick turnaround, but you're going to be back here to help us break it all down. Hopefully sooner rather than later. We'll be in touch.

Thank you for joining me today and enjoy the week, buddy. Always my pleasure my pleasure bud we'll talk to you soon real soon just like that Patriots fans another Victory Monday in the books here on the Locked On Patriots podcast but fear not because we're keeping our foot on the accelerator

tomorrow here on the pod we continue to further break down the Patriots 45-0 drubbing of the LA Chargers and what it may mean for the Patriots' playoff hopes. We might even gaze into that Belichickian crystal ball you all love so much. We most certainly will not take our eyes off of the problem at hand, and that is a Thursday night matchup with the LA Rams. And we will turn our sole attention to those Rams in short order,

including a crossover this week with my man Sosa, host of the Lockdown Rams podcast. So to ensure that you do not miss a second of what will be an action-packed week here on the pod, please be sure to subscribe to and follow Lockdown Patriots wherever you get your podcasts. Platforms such as Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts, just make sure that you're staying locked in to Locked On Patriots. Once again, my name is Mike DeBate. I thank my good friend Thomas Murphy for his time, his insight, and his appearance on today's

pod. But most of all, I thank you so much for listening and for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Until tomorrow, folks, stay safe, stay well, continue to be the change you wish to see in the world, and have a great day, everyone.