Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Evaluating the New England Patriots Performance vs. Colts; Clare-Voyance After the Bye

Episode Date: November 9, 2022

The New England Patriots are about to enjoy their much-needed bye in Week 10. However, they will take stock in their performance in both sides of the ball in hopes of making improvements. Joining host Mike D’Abate is Clare ‘ClazzyClare’ Cooper of Pats Propaganda. The dynamic duo discuss the Pats performance on both offense and defense, while Clare provides some ‘Clare-Voyance’ when looking ahead to the second-half of the season.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.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!PrizePicksFirst time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDONSimpliSafeWith Fast Protect™️ Technology, exclusively from SimpliSafe, 24/7 monitoring agents capture evidence to accurately verify a threat for faster police response. There’s No Safe Like SimpliSafe. Visit SimpliSafe.com/LockedOnNFL to learn more.BlueNileMake your moment sparkle with Blue Nile. Go to BlueNile.com and use code lockedon to save fifty dollars on your purchase of five-hundred dollars or more.BetterHelpThis episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at Betterhelp.com/LockedOn and get on your way to being your best self. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What will the New England Patriots look like coming out of the bye week? Looks like a little problem for some clairvoyance to solve. I'm Mike DeBate. Stay tuned. You're about to be locked in to 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, and thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage,

also your first listen every day. Remember that Locked On Patriots is free and available on all platforms, including YouTube. So please be sure to smash that subscribe button and download, subscribe to, and follow Lockdown Patriots wherever you get your podcasts. Folks, today's episode is brought to you by BetterHelp Therapy Online. It's not a crisis line. It's not self-help. It's professional therapy done securely online, available to people worldwide.

And they have a special offer for our listeners. Get 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com slash Locked On. Patriots fans, we are still basking in the glow of the Patriots' 26-3 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in week nine. Patriots about to enjoy a bye week here in week 10, but that's not going to stop us from critiquing their performance on both sides of the ball in the Patriots' big win on Sunday. And helping us to do so is one of our very favorites here on Locked On Patriots. It might be Tuesday. It might be a little before the midpoint in the week, but we still need that mid-grade level wisdom and counsel

that's going to bring us all the gravitas we need in order to truly evaluate what the Pats did on the field this week. She is a columnist extraordinaire for Pats propaganda. She is the co-host of a pretty good Patriots podcast. I'm going to pay for that one. One Patriots play starring our good friends Thomas Murphy and Steve Balistrieri, but she is the host of one of the best listens you'll find, not just in Patriots media folks, but anywhere in the civilized world. She is Claire, Clazzy Claire Cooper. Claire, thanks so much for joining me today from across the pond

oh you're very welcome you forgot to mention a claire perspective it may be one of the best podcasts but they need to know what it's called michael well i think it goes without saying anybody that's watching the show anybody that's really i think any in any way shape or form connected to the new england patriots they know we've got a Claire perspective. And we also got some clairvoyance for you coming up this week, folks. Yep, that's right. The tea leaves are back. They've arrived.

They are here. But Claire, absolutely. All kidding aside, a Claire perspective is truly, and I mean that, one of the best listens you'll find. Claire finds the ability to just be able to captivate the attention of some of the great minds in sports media. She is one of them as well. And really, I think just some of the greatest insight and some of the most entertaining insight you'll find anywhere on a Patriots podcast. Be sure to check that out.

Smash that subscribe button wherever you get your podcast. But Claire, you are a weekly guest here on Locked On Patriots. And I, for one, always, always enjoy sharing the microphone with you, and today, we're going to have some fun because we're still riding the coattails of a victory Monday. We're going to call it Victory Tuesday here on Locked On Patriots because the Pats are above.500 for the first time this season, 5-4, big win over the Indianapolis Colts. Obviously, the defense is getting glowing

reviews Murph and I talked about the defense yesterday here on Locked On Patriots and some of the standout performances but we need a clear perspective on the situation see what I did there and I always add that back in we'll always get the plugs folks but all kidding aside we definitely would love to have your thoughts on what the Patriots performance meant to you and how you feel that they were able to uh stifle the Colts really on both sides of the ball let's start with the offense because that's getting um more dirt on the uniform so to speak than the defense and I know you always keep things level-headed even keeled and even try to put a positive spin on a lot of that the offensive performance really kind of needs a little bit of a positive spin so

do you have that to add right now if so or if not what are your thoughts on the Patriots offensive output on Sunday see this feels like significant pressure now because as you guys may have read in my game recap over at patspropaganda.com see another plug whoo swoops in there with that one sneaky sneaky i like it you got the platform you might as well do it oh this is it this is it um yeah it is i think most patriots fans would probably agree not to speak for the masses, but it is a little bit difficult to be positive about the offense as the performance that we have seen. Now, we could kind of look at it going forward and have positivity for how they may develop going forward. But as we're looking kind of back on what we've seen so far, kind of in this segment, as I understand, then it is a little bit difficult to really give that positive spin

on what we have seen up to week nine, these last nine games. I mean, firstly, the one thing that sort of is a puzzlement is there were those two games where Bailey Zappi was in. Now, I'm not champion Bailey Zappi. Don't get me wrong. I'm a Mac girl. But there were those two games where the offense did seem reasonably good. And obviously, they came away with two wins.

And I know there's the ifs, the buts and candy and nuts, but we're not at Christmas just yet there, folks, about who their opponents was. But as we always say say you can only play who is on your schedule who is in front of you that kind of thing um and i know that you'd say that you know how bad the lions were that kind of thing but there were there were some sort of seeds of positivity we saw the you know the tight ends being used and that kind of we saw the offense get going and it is really unfortunate that we have Matt Jones back in.

And then that all seems to kind of peter off. And we don't really see what we did see then, no. So I think the key really is it's there. Somewhere amongst all the mess that is on the offensive line at the moment, there is some there is some goodness there that we need to eke out um again that's something sort of for the future but the i think the thing that worries me and i hate to put this out there folks because i do hate to be the kind of the doom and gloom and all why am i so worried why am i so concerned but i think the

thing that has me the most puzzled and the most worried is is Matt Jones now I know that it doesn't start with a quarterback we always talk about how it starts with the offensive line and I will touch on that in a second but I think the thing that is that glaring issue for me is his regression or he's the appearance of his regression he doesn't seem to be able to see his reads then you can argue has he got time to see his reads that kind of thing but i saw um a wonderful piece on patriots.com uh from evan lazar he was he was smart and we all know this and he did a sort of um it was an after further review piece and he broke down some of the tape and sort of really put out there and showed out there

how Mac was missing his reads how these guys were open how how one was um Jacobi Myers being open and he was just he was just really missing his reads he just wasn't getting there he was panicking in the pocket the pocket was collapsing so a lot of this goes back to the offensive line, as we'll mention in a second anyway. But, yeah, he's missing these reads, and it's where has his confidence gone? Is it solely because the O-line seems to have weakened? There's this carousel. They can't secure on the five guys. And I know Bill said that they're playing a lot of people,

I think is how he puts it. But that doesn't really feel good for consistency it doesn't feel good for just the kind of connection that these guys need to make these but you know this band of brothers I get that they're all in the same team and they're going to have that familiarity anyway but until they sort of line up together consistently week after week they haven't got that link that's there It's game time sort of experience as a line. And they're not getting it because they're not getting the consistency because you've got them having to move around Isaiah Wynn.

You've got them having to put in Florence because Andrews is out now. I know you can't control injury. So that's something that they can't do anything about. But because of that, then there was the knock-on effect of Cole Strange sort of really regressing if you like so it's just with the offense at the moment you can't look further than like the pocket shall we say because the the wide receivers the running backs the tight ends we know that they're all reasonably good that and some of them better than good that kind of thing but you can't look that far ahead that far down the line when you look at um sorry bad choice of words saying

down the line but you can't look that far over because you can't get past the quarterback in the offensive line because that is where it's all sort of falling apart shall we say and I hate to use these very negative phrases but it's unfortunate at the moment that it's true now it's a result of consequence because it is a result of injury and it's a result of that you know the loss of Shaq Mason and the moving around of Isaiah Wynn is he not happy is he not clicking is he not fitting and then as we said you know Andrew's out with injury so it's if they can get this bit solid then we can start worrying about the rest of the field, if you like, when it comes to offense, because it's securing the ball here. And if you can't do that, you can't get it out. You can't get it any further. You can't get it to those weapons, as people like to say. So for people crying out for a number one wide receiver and things like this, it's like like don't waste your time at the moment what is the point we've got good wide receivers and we know we have we just need to sort of

really admit to ourselves that we have and just look at the facts that just because we haven't got those number one names that are out there doesn't mean we haven't got really good wide receivers it's just that we can't see how good or bad they are at the moment because we can't get a quarterback secure enough to make time to see his reads, to pick out the guy who's not in full coverage because he's not panicking because the centre's stepping back into him three strides and the guards are losing their cover, that kind of thing. So until you can get this bit tight, shall we say, it doesn't matter what's going on down there.

And as I said, I hate to be but that's kind of sort of what it is at the moment that's all we're seeing we aren't seeing the ball get away from this section that is the section of concern into the Titans and the wide receivers absolutely very very well said and look a couple of things that I want to circle back on that you had stated first of all Cole Strange I know a lot of people are getting on him the last couple of games because of the performance getting essentially benched um in week eight week nine not much better he was rotated in for isaiah win um i will say give cole strange a little bit of slack folks and i talked about this yesterday with murph when you're going up against quinn and williams when you're going up against Quinn and Williams when you're

going up against DeForest Buckner that's a difficult task for any offensive lineman and I get it Cole is a professional O-lineman now he's a first round pick he's got to live up to that but he's also a rookie and as a rookie you're going to have those moments you're going to have those deficiencies so Cole Strange to me gets a little bit of a pass here. Trent Brown has not been the Trent Brown that we've been used to seeing the last year, even in the early parts of this season. He's had his difficulties as well. Isaiah Wynn, I think the move to the right tackle really severely messed him up. I think there's a lot that's been difficult for him. So you're looking at an offensive line that is really in flux, and then you take out the centerpiece.

You take out David Andrews. That cannot be stated enough, and I thought you stated it perfectly. You lose your captain, you're going to lose your identity. And with all due respect to James Ference, who's doing everything he can to kind of absorb that, it really is a difficulty for him. And because of that that you're getting difficulties on all ends mac jones is playing in a collapsing pocket and that will mess with your your psyche that'll mess with your confidence he's not throwing the passes the way he normally does

you articulated that very well he's holding the ball he's fixating on his initial read when you do that as a quarterback all of a sudden your eyes are being followed by the defensive backs on the field and this is i think a point that not a lot of people are making evan did make it it's pull and his uh his post game uh remarks on that column that you spoke on but this is something that i picked up on as well when you give or telegraph the way mac j has been doing passes or passing lanes, it gives the opposing defense the opportunity to see what's going on. We've heard rumors that the Colts defense was actually calling the plays on the field and calling them out. That's not ideal for the New England Patriots.

But you've got to give a lot of credit to ex-Patriots Stephon Gilmore and Kenny Moore. They were able to fixate on the Patriots pass catchers and I think do a fair job of disrupting their rhythm. Mac Jones just simply could not find a synergy with them and that's on Mac, that's on the O-line and that's on the receivers as well who had a tough day holding on to the football, each Jacoby Myers and Kendrick Bourne, with a fumble apiece. But some good did come from the Patriots' offensive side of the ball. When the tight ends were targeted, they made something happen. I don't want to steal your thunder, but we could hear the squeal all the way over here in New England, in Massachusetts.

I think I tweeted that out during the game with the longest gain of the day, Hunter Henryry with a with a 30 yard gain that was on a seam route that was real i thought that was max best throw of the day great job there uh johnny smith also grabbing a 24 yard completion these guys can get the ball and they can make things happen with it i'd like to see tighter blocking from these guys though claire last couple of games been a little bit lacking they need to step it up in that regard once they do i think you're going to see a lot more 12-man personnel in the second half of the season these guys are starting to break out so good things on the horizon for your tight endage it's a fingers crossed absolutely folks we will continue

to keep our fingers crossed for the new england patri, but one area that they did not seem to need any help in whatsoever was the defense. Obviously, they deserve the game ball. Claire is going to give her thoughts on the defensive side of the ball and what it means for the New England Patriots' performance, not just in the immediate, but also in the long term as they head towards the second half of the season. We'll talk about that and more when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues.

This show is sponsored by BetterHelp Therapy Online. Folks, we live in complex times, and whether it be emotional stress, financial stress, health-related stress, or stresses related to social anxiety, trying therapy can help you unload that stress and move forward in gaining emotional healing. Unfortunately, life doesn't come with a user manual, so when it's not working for you, it's normal to feel stuck. Everyone deserves to feel their best, however, and BetterHelp makes it easier to get started. As the world's largest therapy service, they've matched millions of people with professionally licensed and vetted therapists available 100% online.

They give you all the benefits of in-person therapy, plus it's more convenient, it's more accessible, and it's more affordable. Just fill out a brief questionnaire to match with a therapist. If things aren't clicking, you can easily switch to a new therapist anytime. Folks, it could not be simpler. So get unstuck with BetterHelp. Learn more and save 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com slash locked on. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash locked on. That's betterhelp.com slash locked on. Patriots fans, the illustrious Claire Klaze. Claire Cooper joins me here today

on Locked on Patriots. Still continuing to break down the Patriots 26-3 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. Claire, not a lot of glowing reviews for the offense, but more serviceable than I think a lot of people are giving themselves credit for. They did still put points on the board and ultimately got them when they needed them. A lot of those do in part to the reliable leg of Nick Falk for the field goals once again. I want to give a little, little love to Nick Falk for foil goals once again I want to give a little little love to Nick Falk Murph and I did a little yesterday but it's a prerequisite here on the show folks Nick just is

good and he deserves that uh phenomenal phenomenal kicker and the Patriots are so lucky to have him but if we're being honest the defense was the star of the day without any questions nine sacks i feel like ed rooney nine times sam ellinger uh i don't care what you're doing or what competition you're going against when you register stats like that you are going to come out on the on you know the winning side of the coin and also oh for 14 on third down i still can't get over that murph pointed out yesterday it's actually over 16 because the Patriots held the Colts to their two fourth down conversions as well. But we've talked a little bit about what the defense did.

We want to hear the Countess of Clazz's thoughts on the defense because I know you've taken a good look at this and now your second viewing of of the game looking at what the Patriots did well um not a whole lot of what they didn't do well in this game Claire what were your thoughts on the defense just how dominant were they uh in Sunday's game against the Colts well yeah it goes without saying really and I mean if you go over to patspropaganda.com second plug you will find my game recap where I have glowing reports for the defence, as does everybody else, really, as the whole kind of, pretty much the whole of Boston sports media, when they kind of hit the microphone, hit the pen on Monday, really,

it was, you know, big love for the defence. But how can you not? Again, there's that kind of chirping of, well, it was the Colts kind of thing. And it's like, yes, but as we always say, you can only play who is on the schedule. And, you know, and play they did, as you mentioned with regards to the pressures on the quarterback.

And I mean, you've got to, I have to say, do feel quite sorry for him. I mean, Sam Ellinger, that is. And they do, you know, they always say how Bill Belichick kind of eats young quarterbacks for breakfast. I don't know Bill Belichick. Matthew Judon eats quarterbacks generally, just as a snack with regards to how, you know, the whole defense actually this year,

I think that's what the defense should be this year. We had the boogie men, which was really quite cool a few years ago. Now we've got like the quarterback eaters or something because this defense was really serious i mean not to throw stats out there because we don't really normally tend to do that but i did pick up on some pff stats that um ellen jill was was pressured on 45 percent of his drop drop backs so that poor guy was was seeing nothing but Patriots defence on Sunday. Dudon with his three sacks, a hit and a hurry. Bentley with a sack, a hit, two hurries.

Uche with three sacks and a hurry. Wise with a sack and three hurries. And Tavai with a sack and a hit. And I'm like, it actually, when I wrote these numbers down for the show, just so I could refer to them, because they were so amazing. There was actually the little part of me that went huh where's Lawrence going he should be on this list he's really good but yeah but no seriously though what can you do I don't think there's a lot that we can say at the moment about the defense other than please please whatever kind of deity that you worship to,

or if it's the football gods or whoever, or if you completely don't worship at all, whatever, please just don't let the defence kind of peter off after the bye. Just because what we're seeing is, one word, delicious. Because it is. And it started the week previously with Lawrence guys um when he he did a sack and it was yeah it was the yeah not the courts game the Jets game um and his his celebration was like a spank and it was like oh that was beautiful I know that was

Jets game so I know I'm going back but but it was so beautiful. And it was just like the defence just carried on this beautiful deliciousness, this cacophony of wonderfulness that we got to feast upon on Sunday with how they sort of just took apart the Colts. And it was like, it was beautiful. The thing that has me concerned is can it continue? That's the only thing,

that little voice in the back of your head of like, they're really good. is can it continue? That's the only thing, that little voice in the back of your head of like, they're really good. Are they really good against kind of significant offences? Time will tell. This is the test that we will see after the bye. When football starts after Thanksgiving and all that, we will see when they play some.

But yeah, you just want to relish in it. You just want to wrap yourself up and roll around in it because it was beautiful the way that they were. And this is it. This is what they sort of, defenses win championships and all these kind of cliches that we want to throw around. But Bill Belichick is a defensive mind. And my goodness, is it a good defensive mind at the moment?

Absolutely, without any question. And I know you mentioned a couple of names and i'll come back to them in just a second but uh the complete effort that we saw the patriots put out in all three levels was really i think a catalyst obviously judan is getting the majority of the praise that's going on in new england right now and deservedly so pointed out here again yesterday on the show that he's already at 11 and a half sacks he's one off of his career high he's doing this at the midway point of the season there's still significant games there to add to that total he's going to eclipse his career high this year the way he's

playing really i think a defensive player of the year candidate without question josh uche had a big game yesterday we've been waiting to see him emerge. Three sacks from him. We find out after the game from Bill Belichick, where I should say from Matt Judon first, but Belichick confirms it, that back into the spring, Uche was giving the duties of being able to call the plays on third down. And 0 for 14 on third down, Josh Uche had a pretty good day doing that. So they're getting a lot of accolades as well. Jonathan Jones, I think, has deserved so many accolades for the way he's played. Jonathan is not only one of the best slot corners I've ever covered here in New England, really throughout the league, but he goes and he switches to the perimeter and uses

his speed and his field savvy to become a very good ball hawking cornerback. And we saw that in the pick six that he was able to take back from Ellinger. But the unsung heroes, I think, of this game that are not showing up on the stat sheets, you mentioned Lawrence Guy. Big game for Lawrence the other day. Really, I think an opportunity for him to show that he's capable of absorbing some of the looks that would normally go to a double team of Christian Barmore. Lawrence guy was able to absorb that and stop them before they were able to

become a problem for some of his fellow teammates, like a Matt Judon or a Dietrich wise that wants to get after the quarterback. Jalen Mills is another guy that's not getting a whole lot of love, but he's been a tremendous cover corner this year, whether it be zone, whether it be man coverage, big time stepping up and really, I think, doing a great job. So a lot of unsung heroes in this game as well, Claire. For the record, I didn't have Jonathan Jones or Mills down on here, but they were in my game recap because you were quite right.

You kind of stole that from me there. Yes, they were exceptional. And those were definitely names that i that i would have mentioned and the other thing is that has just sort of popped into my conscience while we're discussing this we're talking about how good the defense are and how dominant they've been without christian barmore one of the one of the i don't want to say supposedly but but one of the potentially best defensive players that the Patriots have got. And they're dominating without him.

So then you kind of look at it and think, well, to give yourself a bit of confidence as a Patriots fan, look at how dominant they are. Hopefully after the bye, when, you know, they get him back. Right. Yes, they face these better teams, if if you like but they also may have actually increased in performance themselves when they get him back and it's sort of like the skies could be the limit then so it's definitely something to sort of like drop that little seed of confidence

of okay so they're going to be facing better offenses but they also do have this ability this chance to be a better defense as well. They absolutely do. So glad that you mentioned that. Dropping someone like Barmore back into this defense, the way they're playing, is not going to be a disruptor, folks. You don't have to worry about rhythm and things of that nature. It's only going to make this team even better. And I know Barmore has been off to a slow start statistically, but if there were a stat sheet for intangibles that you bring to a defensive line

even if it's just commanding the attention of an opposing offensive line for a double team or for any type of specialized attack or blocking scheme that you want to put in barmore's presence really i think just elevates this this defensive line and it keeps opposing offenses on their toes so great stuff and we look forward to having christian back i know the patriots do uh they're hoping to have him back after the bye so hopefully that will be the case and speaking of the bye countess it's time for a little forward thinking yeah folks you know where i'm going with this in just a moment those tea leaves have arrived at cla's lair, for lack of a better term. Hey, Claire's lair.

I like that. Oh, I like that. I like that. And we are going to read those tea leaves in just a moment. That's right, folks. Stay tuned for a little clairvoyance when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast wraps up. But first, today's episode is also brought to you by PrizePix, daily fantasy made easy.

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If you deposit $50, PrizePix will give you $50. So don't forget to enter the promo code locked on at signup for an instant deposit match up to $100 with prizepix.com. Patriots fans, the illustrious, classy Claire Cooper has joined me here today on Locked on Patriots. Claire, it's always, always an honor, always a privilege to share the microphone with you, and you have broken the wisdom and counsel meter off when it comes to not just giving us insight

on the Patriots' performance, but also giving us your perspective on their performance and even a little bit of a pseudo-great action going on there as well. And we always appreciate that. That's analyzing the present and the past, but you have a knack to be able to see into the future. And Pats's fans as we head into the bye week i know that a lot of you are wondering what will the patriots be working on this week in the offices at one patriots place there's no days off they're not shutting anything down bill belichick is eating his takeout dinners into the office he's hard at work the patriots are hard at work they're going to continue to try to come out strong after the bye i lie folks i don't know where bill belichick is dining this week but i know he's

going to be doing his due diligence to keep the patriots on track but what can we expect from the patriots in the second half are they headed to the playoffs you know these are all good questions and luckily for us we have the only one with the answers right here today that's right folks it is time for our very own famous sage and soothsayer the all-knowing all-seeing all-omniscient countess of class that's right folks get ready for some clairvoyance and the countess is reading the leaves for all of us today. And these tea leaves that Claire is about to read, folks, they have been hermetically sealed and kept in an ancient ceramic kettle on the shelf of Lockdown Headquarters. They've been there since noon on Saturday. No one, not even the illustrious Countess of Glaz herself, knows the contents of these tea leaves until now so oh great sage i ask you

is it written in the tea leaves that the new england patriots come out strong after the bye or are we looking for a difficult second half enlighten us countess what can we expect from the patriots in the second half of the season? Can you see how we humor him, folks? How we let him have his lovely... He's a man of many wonderful words, but yes, tea leaves, really. Can any of us really predict? But you know what? Let's have a go then. Well, I don't think it takes a sage or some tea leaves

or anything else for that matter, a crystal ball, a magic eight ball, anything like that, to sort of foresee that the Patriots need to work on the offense, they need to work on the offensive line, and they need to work on some coherence with the offensive, kind of like play calling, coaching, that kind of thing. So it's a given, really. As we said, it doesn't take the tea leaves to know that the Patriots,

hopefully, are going to be working on that. The thing that has me kind of puzzled at the moment is when I pulled up some, some pro football statistics and looked at kind of like the standings in regards to the playoffs and how hinky this season has been so far with regards to wins and losses and, and teams that have kind of really taken a hit and then pulled it back against a team that's very successful the Patriots have

done it themselves as we have seen I mean the Bears oh dear we won't talk about that game so the key going into the bye for the Patriots is going to be to maintain or to create some consistency when it comes to offense. And I think having a bye gives them the time to really do that. We need it to click. It needs to click. Now, the thing that we don't know as fans, as onlookers, it's, you know, because we're running using opinion, is quite where that sort of clicking needs to lie.

We know that the offensive line needs some work because we know that with David Andrews out, it suffers, that sort of clicking needs to lie. We know that the offensive line needs some work because we know that with David Andrews out, it suffers, that sort of thing. And so we know from looking at that, just from the eyeball test, how that is an obvious thing. But it's the coaching and it's the Mac situation that's of the puzzlement for those of us on the outside

because they're not quite certain where it's happening in regards to sort of the breakdown of his confidence, the breakdown of the consistency, this issue with him missing all of his reads and things. Is it really, is it him? Is it him that needs to work on it? Is it to do with the coaching? Is it really a link of both?

And no one really outside the organisation is going to be able to answer that question for you. No tea leaves, no magic eight ball, nothing like that. So definitely something to sort of keep that sharp eye on when they come back and hope that they can get that jam back as you like to say that that mac had last year because it was you know it's as a fan it's always fun to win obviously or that your team wins sorry but it's also frustrating to see guys who you know can play well not playing well and because we saw that Mac connection with Hunter Henry and yeah I know I sing the tight-ended song all the time but

a lot of other fans too it's it was it was a joy to see the connection that those guys had and it's such a shame that we're going into this season kind of looking for it wondering where it is so hopefully the offensive line can do the work that they need. The defence can have a bit of a rest because they've been working really hard. Oh, and also rest Romandro Stevenson because he's been working really hard too. Failed to mention his name earlier. So I apologise quite greatly to Mr. Stevenson because he has, as I mentioned in my game, in my game recap,

he's been working tremendously hard and he's the total beast mode of the offence at the moment. So he needs a bit of a rest rest the defense and and just get that consistency working and come back after the bye knowing what they've got to do and knowing how they're going to do it and and just hopefully being able to sort of put that out on the field and and sort of do that so as for a kind of like soothsaying prediction how it's going to go nobody's going to give you that answer really none of us boston none of the boston sports media and and the fans are like who you know who like to dabble in it as i would is really going to be able to give you that but they've got the tools we know that they have we've seen what they've got the tools. We know that they have. We've seen what they've got. It's getting them all on the same plate,

all on the same page, all in the same recipe, whatever cliche you want to use. And it's just hopefully giving this week that they can come back out and bounce back. And we can see the patriots that we sort of used to seeing that we should expect to see this year

with what they've got there in that bag of tricks. Absolutely. So well said and don't kid yourself those tea leaves will definitely reveal more in the coming days and weeks folks but i think claire has done an amazing job of deciphering what they have said and given us a little hope that we all need here in new england as the pats head in the second half of the season tough stretch of the schedule coming up don Don't forget, two games against the Buffalo Bills, a game against the Miami Dolphins to close everything out,

and to open things up in the second half, another matchup with the Jets, who are running their mouth in true Jets fashion. Keep giving the Patriots bulletin board material, folks. That's all I'm going to say. You do not poke the bear that is Bill Belichick. That being said, Countess, thank you so much for not only reading the tea leaves, but most of all for joining me here today on Locked On Patriots,

helping to add a little claws and pizzazz as you do each and every week here to Locked On Patriots, but most importantly, adding insight that only you can provide. Before I let you go, please let everyone know where they can find you, interact with you, and what we can look forward to in the coming days and even in the bye week from Claire, Classy Claire Cooper. Well, as it's a bye week, you won't have to siver through my game recap, everybody. But no, seriously, yeah,

there is no game recap on Pat's Propaganda, but there is still work there. Tom will still be doing his previews, that kind of thing. So please don't forget to check out patspropaganda.com. A clear perspective. Hopefully, I kind of took my bye week early. So last week I took a week off, but it was due to kind of guest availability and stuff like this.

So hopefully I will be bringing you another episode this week and next week. So hopefully I shall cover the bye with some content for you. And as always, as you all know, each and every week from E2G Sports, One Patriot's Place with Steve Miff and myself are there for you and as always as you all know each and every week from e2g sports one patriot's place with steve miff and myself are there for you so it may be the bye week but we don't get time off folks so just keep those eyes peeled that's right no days off in patriots nation we take the cues from the coach and that continues to be the way that everybody does business from those in the media to those in the fandom

and all points in between. New England Patriots fans always, always love to absorb as much as they can regarding their team and some of the best content in the business comes from that side of the screen right now. And I say that with every bit of respect and with every bit of sincerity. Thank you so much, Claire, for all you do for Locked On Patriots and for all you do for all Patriots fans. We appreciate you and we love you. That being said, folks, thank you so much for taking time out of your schedule to make Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage and your first listen every day. Now that you've made us your first listen,

please make your second listen, the Locked On Sports Today podcast. All of the latest news, notes, and analysis from all the world of professional sports and college sports all rolled into one under 30 minutes, including the take of the day. So download Locked On Sports Today on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. On behalf of the illustrious Claire, classy Claire Cooper of Pat's Propaganda

and a Claire Perspective of Patriots podcast, I'm Mike DeBate. Please, folks, continue to stay safe, stay well, be the change you wish to see in the world. Thank you once again, and have a great day, everyone.