Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Faltering in Foxboro: New England Patriots Fall to New Orleans Saints 28-13 — 9/27/21

Episode Date: September 28, 2021

Week Three did not exactly go as hoped for the New England Patriots. The Pats fell to 1-2 on the 2021 NFL Season with a 28-13 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday at Gillette Stadium. The story of the day for the Patriots was their inability to execute when it was needed most. Joining host Mike D’Abate is fan-favorite Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy, as the duo discuss Pats/Saints, the injury to James White and taking a look ahead to Tom Brady and the Bucs.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. 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. It is Monday, September 27th, 2021, and it unfortunately is not a victory Monday, but to help get you through it, it is a Locked On Murph Monday, right 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. Greetings and Monday salutations, Patriots Nation, and thank you for joining me here

to kick off your week in style on the pod. My name is Mike DeBate, and I cover your New England Patriots for Patriot Maven of Sports Illustrated. I am also 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, comments, and feedback are always welcomed and very much encouraged. So share that feedback. Send it to the internet by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at MDABATENFL. And while you're out there doing some Monday meddling through that Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. Pat's fans, in one of his most popular hit songs, one of my favorite artists of all time,

the great Billy Joel once said in Only the Good Die Young, I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints. The sinners are much more fun. Well, on Sunday, it was actually the saints that were much more fun, and they were clearly the more efficient team. New England Patriots inconsistent in all three phases as they fall to those New Orleans Saints 28-13 on Sunday at Gillette Stadium. Once again, quarterback Mac Jones under constant duress in this one.

Pressure getting to the rookie a bit more on Sunday than in his previous two starts. Jones would finish the day completing 30 of 51 passes, 270 yards. He had one touchdown pass with three interceptions and was sacked twice. On the opposite side of the ball, quarterback Jameis Winston for the Saints had great protection from his offensive line. Benefited from some timely play from both his offense and his defense. And running back Alvin Kamara paced the Saints' offensive attack with 89 yards rushing on 11 carries.

Kamara also chipping in 29 yards, receiving with one touchdown. But folks, the story of the day for the Patriots, their inability to execute when it was needed most. Patriots were largely ineffective on offense, a little inconsistent on defense, and they made mistakes on special teams as well. Just to give you an example as to how the Patriots' day went, punter Jake Bailey, blocked by New Orleans linebacker Andrew Dowell, almost never happens. New England struggled with special teams coverage for the better part of the day. So as a result, the Patriots now sit at 1-2

on the 2021 NFL season as they're about to enter the Twilight Zone this week as Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, and the world champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers prepare to storm the Fortress of Foxborough on Sunday night, October 3rd. Pats and Bucks ready to duke it out on Sunday night football. But we're not quite ready to take our leave of the Saints. There is plenty to break down from yesterday's game. And luckily for us, we've got some monster wisdom and counsel to help us do it that's right folks it is Monday it is hashtag locked on Murph Monday the legend himself the great green man

Thomas Murphy joins me on the pod today and we will discuss Murph's thoughts on yesterday's game what it means for the Patriots moving forward were there any bright spots to be taken from the field on Sunday and we'll also start to look ahead to the Patriots' Week 4 matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And we'll also talk a little Brandon Bolden with Murph. And there's a reason. We all know Murph loves to talk Brandon Bolden. He doesn't need much of an excuse to do that. But there's actually a very pertinent reason.

And that is an unfortunate one. Yesterday, following a reception in the second quarter, Patriots team captain and veteran running back James White appeared to land hard along the sideline. The minute you saw this hit, folks, you knew it didn't look good. Immediately upon hitting the ground, you could see White grabbing his upper leg. He remained down on the field. The cart quickly came out and White was taken off of the field. Players from both teams coming over to him, showing their support, and very shortly after White was carted off, it was announced by the Patriots that he would not return to the game as the result of a hip injury. Well, late on Monday afternoon, the worst fears of Patriots

have apparently been confirmed. NFL Network's Ian Rappaport, along with Mike Giardi, have reported that White underwent further tests on Monday and that the 29-year-old has suffered a subluxation of the hip, a painful injury which right now has White out indefinitely, and a trip to injured reserve is certainly not out of the question. In fact, folks, I would probably say it's likely. And there's no question about it. This is a huge blow for New England. White is one of their most reliable players, a true dual threat. He's a great runner and also a very good pass catcher out of the backfield. Seemed to be developing quite the synergy with Mac Jones.

But now the Patriots will face an uncertain future regarding White, and they'll have to replace his production on the field. That's where Murph's knowledge of Brandon Bolden comes in. Brandon took the majority of the steps that would have normally been reserved for White. Does this mean that Brandon is going to be his successor this season? Well, Murph has got some interesting takes on that. And in true Locked On Patriots fashion, we're going to give him the platform to do it. So without much further ado, I will welcome in the Green King of Sting,

the Monster Master of Disaster, the Count of Murphy Fisto himself, the legend Thomas Murphy joins me here on Locked on Patriots when this hashtag Locked on Murph Monday episode continues. Hello again, Patriots fans. This is Mike DeBate with an incredible app everyone who buys gas needs to know about. Get Upside. My listeners are making up to 25 cents for every gallon of gas, every time they fill up. Just download the free Get Upside app in the App Store or Google Play right now. Use promo code TOUCHDOWN and get a bonus 25 cents per gallon on your first fill up.

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for the 2021 season. Bet online, the fastest and easiest way to bet all of your favorite sports. Bet online, your online sportsbook experts. Patriots fans, we continue to digest the bitter taste that we all have in our mouths from the Patriots 28-13 loss to the New Orleans Saints in week three of the 2021 NFL season. And to help us digest that a little bit better is a man who is probably a little less happy than all of us are, if you can believe that.

He's got a little bit of insight that I think you'll find very interesting, as you always do. That's right, folks. It is time for the green wisdom and counsel here on Locked On Patriots. He is here. He is ready to roll. Your favorite and mine, my benefactor in this business, the only guest on this pod with his very own branded hashtag, 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. Thank you for joining me today, Don Murph. Thank you for having me, Mike. Woke up with some agita this morning. And I'm not a happy camper, Michael. I'm not a happy camper. I like these conversations a lot more when we're coming off of a W or even a loss that, you know, you could spin to a point where, yeah, but this was good and that was good. And we're on a learn, you know, we're, we're,

we're taking steps in the learning process. I can't really do much of that today for you. I'm sorry, folks. I'm sorry, Michael. I just, I just can't. No, I completely understand. And I think a lot of Patriots nation and Patriots fans all over the country join you in that Ajito that you kind of have. I've got it myself. And, you know, I think we all looked at yesterday's game and said that the Patriots at best were inconsistent in all three phases. And I'm probably being generous when I

say that. But at the same time, you also look at it and you say Patriots have a very important game coming up in week four. And folks, we are going to get to the Bucs a little bit today. I know it's early, but I was not going to ask my good friend Murph to come on without getting his take on one Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. making his return. Rob Gronkowski as well. A lot of people forget that. Bronx coming back here, too. We'll get Murph's take on the Bucs in just a little bit. But right now we're still on the Saints. And Murph, yesterday, again, just inconsistencies in all three phases. The offense looked out of sorts at times. The defense looked like they were applying pressure at times,

but they were inconsistent with that as well. Special teams gaffes all over the place for the Patriots. Very unusual. When you see a punt blocked by a Jake Bailey punt blocked, folks, you know, things are kind of going sour in that direction. So basically, what were your takeaways from that game yesterday? What did us mere mortals not see in terms of things that concern you moving forward with this team? Well, the first thing I took away was the muffin that I saw Brandon King eating at the diner this morning with his cup of coffee.

Special teams was terrible. How do you whiff on that? You're kept around here for one reason, Junior, and one reason only, and you didn't do it. Turnovers were the biggest issue of the day. You can't hang all of them on the arm of Mac Jones. Phil Perry described it as a drop six, the interception that happened coming out of the half to basically drive a death nail into what was just an awful game yesterday.

But no, you're right. Inconsistencies, especially in communication. And here's a monkey wrench for you all, folks. In coaching, okay, the inconsistencies in the coaching happening on the sidelines is becoming blatantly hurtful to those of us here in Patriots Nation. You're using this, it almost looks like the Patriots are going through extended practices and walkthroughs instead of going out here and trying to win football games. Yeah, agreed. I think there's a lot of concern when it comes to not only what this team is doing

offensively, but defensively and also on special teams. There were several breakdowns there yesterday. Bill Belichick asked about this after the game on Sunday, again on Monday morning, saying that they need to improve in all three phases of the game. And we completely agree with that. And listen, anytime Mac Jones finds himself hit 11 times, taking two sacks, pressured on 17 dropbacks. That's a lot for any quarterback to endure. That's a real lot for any rookie quarterback to endure. So the Patriots have to be better in all three phases.

And again, you know, the defense definitely would have liked to have seen maybe a little bit more pressure, make Jameis Winston a little more uncomfortable in the pocket. You talked about this in your Monster Keys. I mean, this is what they needed to do. And for some reason, a player that has the pension for making poor decisions with the football, all of a sudden is not really being forced into making those poor decisions. Jameis had a lot of time yesterday and they were able to spread their wealth around a little bit. Alvin Kamara had a pretty decent day, held in check a little bit in the second half, but he was also a threat receiving, you know, Callaway who,away who you know who really I think had a breakout game uh for a lot of uh you

know reasons there was just there was a lot going on uh when it came to what the Patriots uh you know did uh and then of course you know offensively some of the the gaps that were made uh John Smith fumbling the ball right into the hands of Malcolm Jenkins for a pick six. Can't give those gifts away, folks. You can't do things like that. Let me ask you a question. How many catches did Hunter Henry have yesterday? Five receptions on six targets, 36 yards receiving yesterday for Hunter Henry.

Right. How many of those were memorable? Yeah, I mean, for a player that was brought in. I don't remember a single catch that he made. Not one. It's true. It was god-awful. We spent how much money on two tight ends?

Hunter Henry had five catches for 36 yards, as you just said, on six targets. And Smith had one grab. One grab on six targets for four yards. You know, it was, it was abysmal, as I like to say, Pepto abysmal. Very good. Very good way to put it through three games. If you're taking a look at the two tight end sets, which I've lauded as much as anyone on here on Locked

On Patriots and in my writing. I was extremely excited to see the production that these two guys were going to bring to the table through three games, 20 catches, 183 yards, zero touchdowns. I am now I will be fair. Yeah, no, go ahead. Be fair. No, I mean, I will be fair. That's actually already eclipsing what the Patriots did last year at the tight end position.

You know, I mean, let's face it, Murph, they didn't have any further to go, but they couldn't go down any more than they did. And you've got to expect more out of this kind of commitment money-wise and personnel-wise. I am done with this personnel grouping. If you go back and you rewatch this game, Mac Jones was working a hell of a lot better out of 11 personnel, out of 21 personnel, than he was out of this. It is god-awful. When McDaniels spread things out and Jones was able to read the,

the defense better when it wasn't as bunched as it was. He's, he's throwing better balls. He's hitting guys in stride. The, the offense is, is clicking and working at a much higher level than it is with both of these gentlemen on the field at the same time. The reasons that we could get into for the abandonment of the running game are about sixfold. But you can't, you can't, you have a game plan. This team has an identity.

I don't remember Damian Harris after the first quarter of this game. All right. There is nobody on the planet that is a bigger proponent of one Brandon Bolden than myself. That does not mean I want him handed the ball at the 11 yard line on two consecutive plays and slammed up into the teeth of the defense. There are better ways to use that. This game was really confounding on more levels than we can get into in the 45 minutes that we have, Mike. Absolutely, without any question.

And look, I'm glad that you mentioned Bolden because I'm going to get back to that in just a moment. The back-to-back run stuff, one for no gain the other for a one yard loss it definitely is a head scratcher without any question and when Josh McDaniels meets the media tomorrow on Tuesday you can bet that'll be one of the focal points and probably one of the questions he'll be asked right off the bat and I'm sure he's preparing that but you mentioned Damian Harris and seeing action only 31 percent of New England's offensive snaps uh J.J. Taylor taking only 10 the Patriots threw the ball 55 times yesterday and that really is it's so indicative of the difficulty that they're having protecting the run even protecting the pass it's just it's far too much and these

things are happening and they're bunching together and it's hitting the head right at the worst possible time and again folks we will get into those bucks in just a moment but uh this is concerning on a lot of different ends but spot on when it comes to your analysis when it comes to smith when it comes to henry i loved both of these signings when they made them and right patriots just need to make the most of this and um you know it's as much on the play calling as it is on henry there you go themselves so we need to get these guys more involved and hopefully that will continue to happen i talked about in my keys going up tempo i talked about in my keys um movement there was none of it there was there was no tempo to this game. There was no speed or urgency

coming out of the gate. It worked when they did it. I wanted it out of the gate. And like I said, to work no huddle doesn't mean to go out there and, again, sling it 50 times. That's not what I was asking. You can actually let a play clock run all the way down. It's just go no huddle. Keep these guys off balance. And none of that happened. I can count on one hand how much motion that I saw during this game from the Patriots receivers.

It is really stunted. It is really predictable. And, once again, you know, I've really got to lay a huge amount of this blame after turnovers on Josh McDaniel's shoulders. Yeah, and I think a lot of people are joining you in that this morning with the play calling and what Josh has been doing. We've been hearing for the last couple of years now, even in Tom's last year, that the Patriots simply don't have the personnel to run the packages that they want to do what Josh McDaniels does well, play calling, things of that nature, being a little bit unorthodox, catching teams off guard.

These are things now that he doesn't really have that excuse for anymore. You have a couple of solid receivers that are capable of helping a guy like Jacoby Myers, who is still probably their most effective offensive weapon. I want to give some kudos to Kendrick Bourne, just to digress for just a second. On the field, 76% of the Patriots yesterday, up from 53% last week. Key part of those three wide looks that the Patriots deployed on Sunday, you mentioned the 11-man personnel, Murph.

That's one running back, one tight end, three receivers for those of you scoring at home. Bourne made the most of his time, 96 yards, six catches. That's only touchdown, and that was a beautiful touchdown. It was, and it was a beautiful read by Jones. Everybody set up on the other side. He had man coverage with Bourne over there on that side. He hit him with a very nice pass, and Bourne made a freaking amazingly athletic play to get into the end zone and get that touchdown. It was brilliant. It was beautiful, and that's one of the reasons we're aware of it right now. Absolutely, and the Patriots can dial this up, folks.

They're proving that they can do it. The plays are there. We need to see more of them and you know hopefully this week maybe some of the training wheels will continue to to come off uh when it comes to this offense and not so much and that's really not a knock to Mac I don't think they're protecting no I think the development of what they're trying to do with Mac Jones is actually quite smart and our good friend Mac Matt Chatham of Nesson wrote about this a little bit last week in terms of how to bring along a rookie quarterback and maybe, you know, the fan clamoring for the highlights that they want to see out of this kid,

not necessarily what he needs to do. It's not those training wheels necessarily that need to come off. It maybe is a little bit more in terms of the offensive approach and really getting all three phases clicking together. If that happens, there is some hope of light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to the Patriots offense. But I'm going to switch gears just a little bit, but I'm actually going to switch them into something that is really your wheelhouse. And unfortunately, we won't go to, we're not going to go there after the weekend but i'll go there you think this is bad wait until you read my article this morning yeah definitely folks check that out yeah you want angry murph murph is going to be very very angry

with the uh the sultans of fenway right now but uh getting back to uh your football wheelhouse um obviously we're going to begin with unfortunate news. And, folks, at the time we're recording this, no news is known on James White's injury. But, obviously, it did not look good yesterday. Immediately going to the ground, clutching his upper leg. The card comes out. He's immediately ruled out for action, listed with a hip injury, obviously. But this is not looking great.

Even when we talked to Bill Belichick this morning, he offered no further information other than to say that he saw James during halftime and really kind of went on about Brandon Bolden stepping up, J.J. Taylor stepping up, Damian Harris having to step up. It just doesn't sound good for James' long-term outlook. At this point point what we're hoping for is that it's not going to be season ending uh hopefully it will be uh an injury that he can fight through maybe miss a little bit of time on IR but come back and again folks as soon as we know more we'll update you here on Lockdown Patriots but um Brandon Bolden saw the majority of the snaps in James White's absence yesterday.

We mentioned 31% only for Damian Harris, but Brandon, obviously, 33 offensive snaps. He's the primary fill-in for James White. Murph, you know Brandon's game. You know his makeup, and you know what he can do on the field, perhaps better than anyone except for Brandon himself and, of of course Bill Belichick. When you look at this situation that the Patriots are facing right now, why should the Pats feel comfortable with Brandon being the primary James White fill-in or is this really the time to again take the training wheels off of guys like J.J. Taylor and Ramondre Stevenson and push them into that role alongside someone like Damian Harris,

who will continue to be the feature back. Okay, I still have all the faith in the world in Brandon Bolden. I am not going to mess up my invite to the family picnic. And Brandon was used completely wrong yesterday. The reason that he saw so many steps, it goes back to my other wheelhouse, and that is the offensive line and the fact that, you know, Brandon is one of the better blocking backs on the planet when it comes to picking up a blitz.

We've all seen in the past what he's able to do and the time, the extra time that he's allowed. The offensive line is still not in the same book, never mind the same page. It is getting really frustrating. These guys have been together long enough that some of the things that are confusing them and the communication problems that they have with stunts and switches and the ways that Mac is getting pressured should not be happening. But that's one of the reasons that Brandoniff on protection when he's in there.

And that's one of the reasons why you did not see him on the field more. Bill was more concerned with keeping Jones upright than he was Harris grinding up yardage on the ground, not, not withstanding the, the score at the time, you still need to stick with your, with your game plan, but no, on the other, on the other side of, of this question. Yes, I do believe it's, it's time for JJ Taylor to see more see more field time, get more snaps. He is just more versatile. Folks, Brandon Bolden is not 26 years old or even 30 years old anymore.

J.J. Taylor is an exciting young running back that, even though he is small in stature, is out there that you can run up between the tackles that is still fast enough to hit those holes and catch the ball out of the backfield. I would have liked to have seen one of those nice little chip shots that Brandon gives to an outside linebacker that's blitzing off the edge and maybe get out into a pattern a little bit, run one of those wheel routes that I was talking about.

But that didn't happen. He was used poorly yesterday, and I expect them to fix that this week. They're going to have to fix that this week with Tampa Bay coming in. Yeah, absolutely. Excellent insight, Bud, and especially when it comes to Bolden. And, look, we hold your opinions on Brandon higher than probably anyone that would grace the airwaves here on Locked On Patriots. And you know your stuff when it comes to him.

When I tweet out, what the hell are you doing handing the ball to Brandon Bolden there during a game? You know it's a serious screw-up because there is nobody that loves Brandon Bolden outside of his family more than I do. That is true. We almost thought that you might have been either hacked or you might have been under duress when you said that. I was out. Yeah, Mertzman hacked. What the hell?

He should be screaming, give it to Bolden more. Why isn't Bolden carrying the ball more? No, I was asking what he was doing carrying the ball at the 11. Without question. And I think we're all wondering that. And, again, questions for Josh tomorrow when he meets with the media. but I completely agree with you on Taylor, by the way, as well. That change of pace style and his ability to be a dual threat. Exactly. I think it may be time to to take those those chances with him, I think is the best way to put it and see what you got, because I think that they'll be pleased with the results from what we saw in training camp and in the preseason, JJ Taylor has some explosiveness. Maybe it's time for him to let it out. And as much as they may not want to have to do it, if James White is going to be out for an extended period of time, they may have to take Ramondre

Stevenson off double secret probation there in Foxborough. And they may have to see what he can do as well. We saw some explosiveness in the preseason. Unfortunately, you know, fall security is going to be a concern there. There's no question about it, but as Dean Wormer said in, you know, obviously I'm quoting animal house with double secret probation, the time has come for someone to put his foot down and that foot is me. So maybe Bill Belichick has to put Ramondre Stevenson's feet back on the ground and see what he can do. I don't understand it.

I don't get it. He has looked fantastic. If he is not injured, he should be able to do this running back rotation, regardless of James Williams going on there, you know, we send all our prayers out. It just did not look good. And I agree with you. I don't think James is going to be back in a while.

But Stevenson needs to be on the field. He needs to be an option. He showed preseason that he could be. And, you know, it's growing pains. And right now, Bill, you do not have Tom Brady to cover up the scar tissue. You've just got to go out there and try to do what you can do with the personnel that you have, and that means getting the most productive and the most talented personnel on the field. And I'm sorry, at this point in time, my good friend is not one of those people. He still does his job. He still does his job well. But I'm not sure that you can keep

asking Brandon Bolden to do what a James White could do. J.J. Taylor can do that. Ramondra Stevenson can do that. Yeah, without question. And, you know, we'll see. We will see what happens this week. It'll be an interesting game plan. And folks, we don't mean to be all negatives here when it comes to the Patriots outlook. Obviously, Murph is right. We continue to send our well wishes to James White. Hopefully it won't be as serious as it looked. and I have had the opportunity not only to cover James for a number of years up here in New England, but also to speak with him personally on a couple of occasions and just one of the great guys. And you really just hope the best for him and his family. And you hope, you know, the best for his long-term injury situation. But there were a couple of glimmers of hope yesterday that I saw on the defensive side of the ball. And Murph and I will discuss that in just a moment as well as getting my good friend's thoughts on the return of the prodigal son here to Foxborough. Pat's Bucks talk and a little bit

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Folks, the legendary Thomas Murphy joins me here today on the pod. Hashtag LockedOnMurphMonday in full effect. And Murph, we've had plenty to talk about. Pat Saints game planning, James White, Brandon Bolden, Ramondre Stevenson looking fantastic. We've talked about it all. We even threw in a few animal house quotes at double secret probation. But yesterday I did notice a little glimmer of hope on the defensive side on the ball. I know everyone was pretty much talking negatively about a lot of what happened on the field.

But there were three players in particular, newcomers, that I've been impressed with. And I think that the Patriots can definitely build on this coming into this week. Devon Godchow, Matt Judon, and Christian Barmore, I think, have been everything is advertised. With maybe Judon, you can make the case that he's been more than advertised. He's just consistently making plays in the backfield. He's been the Patriots top defender on nearly every snap. Matt had two and a half sacks yesterday, two tackles for loss and three quarterback hits. And he continuously put pressure on Jameis Winston, which I think we needed to see more of.

But at the same time, you know, he's doing a great job, not just with pass defending, but also helping to funnel the running games to the middle. And he did that pretty well yesterday in New Orleans. Godchow consistently plugging the middle. He had five tackles in the process and Christian Barmore may not be lighting up the stat sheet, but he's showing an ability to push the pocket and get pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Murph, when you look at some of the new faces in this defense, does this give you some at least, how shall I put it? Does it give you some optimism? I guess I'll put it in basic terms. Heading into these next few weeks of the season, especially knowing what the Patriots

are about to face this coming Sunday. Yeah, it does. It gives me a little bit of hope, but these guys need to learn how to finish out a game. Twice in three games, they haven't been able to get stops at the end of the game when they really needed it. But no, I agree with all the points that you just made, Mike. I'm trying not to get too green right here. I'm holding the guy back just a little bit. But no, I see what you're getting at. It's just, you know, those time to bear down and time to get that one more stop when it didn't happen. You know, when Alvin Kamara busts out for an 11-yard run on a closing drive after the Patriots will go down and score, it really bugs me.

Those are plays that have to stop. Hill plunged into the end zone at the end of the game. That can't happen. But Dietrich Wise had a pretty good game. Godshaw had a couple of really nice run stuffs. So did Lawrence Guy. And like you said, Barrymore is just only going to keep getting better and better,

but I need him to get better sooner than later. Yeah, without any question. And I think the Patriots do look at these guys now and saying there's positives to build on because they're playing in new systems. Obviously, Barmore is a rookie, but Godchow coming in from Miami, similar system to what he played in with the Patriots, obviously with Ryan Flores down there. Matt Judon coming in, really fitting in well with the Patriots schemes. Of course, I think having guys like Kyle Van Nooy and Dante Hight, to direct traffic a little bit have helped. Dante's snaps decreasing a little bit.

We saw Jelani Tavai come in and relieve him a couple of times yesterday. That was a little bit of a head-scratcher. But when you see the new guys fitting in and being able to help with setting the edge and stuff the run, these are two areas that the Patriots struggled so much in when it comes to 2020. And now bringing them back in here for 2021 and seeing the improvement at least gives you some hope, some glimmers of hope, folks. I really wanted to see more Chase Winovich yesterday. I'm not sure why that didn't happen when dialing up pressure was one of the biggest keys that I cut.

And Bill saw them, people. He saw them. I packed them right over to the office. He saw them. And that didn't happen. We'll see what happens going forward, but it would have been nice to have seen the idiot Viking out there just a little more.

Yeah, Winovich, 17 snaps yesterday, sawing the majority of his time on pass rushing downs alongside Christian Barmore, who played against the pass a little bit more. Henry Anderson, Carl Davis, mixed in a little bit against the running game. I'd like to see those guys maybe snap the rotation a little bit more and get into the game plan a little bit.

Anderson's snap counts have been low three weeks in a row. And you have to start wondering about that. You know, he was the guy that I was extremely high on. Our good friend, Steve Valastrieri, was very, very high on this guy and just hasn't worked the way that we would hope to for now. But still a lot of faith in Anderson because I still think there's some – there's something lurking beneath the surface that's going to allow him to be a better runner. There really has to be. Exactly. That's going to allow him to help

the run a lot better than he's been utilized up until this point. Murph, since St. Patrick's Day 2020, we knew this day was coming. I know it's early, folks, and it is. I usually don't like to start looking ahead to our opponent this early in the week here on Locked On Patriots, but this is not your average opponent. This is the defending Super Bowl champion, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This is the return of tight end Rob Gronkowski. But folks, let's be honest, this is the return of Tom Brady to New England. 20 years of excellence and a standard that I don't think will ever be equaled again in professional sports

is what Tom Brady set here in New England. Going to be emotional. It's going to be a tough game. There's no question about it. Tom is doing great things with Tampa down there. Murph, when you look ahead to this game, what are your thoughts, first of all, and what should we look forward to in terms of maybe what you can tell us about action on the field this coming Sunday night? Well, I just want to piss off Tom Brady Sr. That's all I want to do. As much as I love Tom, I don't like his dad at all. What I'm hoping for today is a more consistent game plan and a sticking to it.

Of course, on the defensive side of the ball, this is the game where you really need to get into Tom's face, into that quarterback's face, something that did not happen enough this Sunday. If Bill has been holding anything back, this is the week to pull it out. Right now, what you're looking at is the greatest football player of all time coming home, and I want him to not recognize the furniture that he sees when he walks into the building. I know that is a tall tale to ask, but the personnel that you do have, especially on the defensive side of the ball, can get it done, and they're going to have to get it done. I would have liked the Rams to have helped us out and laid down this last week, but they didn't. They did what I thought they would, and they beat this team. So, by all means, I'm going to be spending a lot of time, once again,

watching the Rams and seeing what they did. I've got that game taped, and I will be looking at the All-22s and every other instance that I can to try to figure out how this happened and how the Patriots can translate it. And I'll work all that into my keys on Friday. But no, it's going to be get pressure on Tom, confuse him if that's at all possible. And quite frankly, it is, people. We've seen Tom Brady have bad football games.

And I just hope that he's going to be able to have his worst football game in his life on Sunday. Well, I think Patriots fans are going to be anticipating this one. I don't know. Yeah, I know. I know. Well, Sunday night, actually, I think is probably the best of the stages that they can for national television and whatnot. But, look, this is going to be a happening.

There's no question about it. And, Murph, I thank you for lending your wisdom and counsel when it comes to this one. Folks, we're going to be a happening. There's no question about it. And Murph, I thank you for lending your wisdom and counsel when it comes to this one. Folks, we're going to be talking Pat's Butts all week long here on Locked On Patriots, but we will also continue to break down Pat's Saints. But in the meantime, Bud, thank you so much for lending the wisdom, the counsel like

no other. You are the Don here on Locked On Patriots, and we always kiss the ring in reverence to your great information and your great insight folks. You should already be following my good friend on Twitter, but for any of our new listeners that aren't, please follow the count of Murphy Fisto himself on Twitter at team earth 207. Once again, the content that this man puts out on E2G sports,

whether it be football, baseball related, his monster keys are a must read every single week. Point, click, learn, enrich. You'll be more informed by the day. And I can't recommend it highly enough. And of course, never miss an opportunity to check out One Patriot's Place, another great Patriots podcast with our guy Murph right here, our mutual friend, Steve Balistrieri

and the Countess of Clas herself, Miss Claire Cooper. Thank you again, my good man. Honored and humbled, as always, by your presence. Yeah, don't miss One Patriot's Place this week, folks. Claire and my banter is going to be in rare form. Michael, thank you so much for having me here. I hope you have me back every week for the rest of my entire life, but I can promise to be here next Monday and any Monday that you call. Absolutely. As long as you want to keep coming back, we'll keep having you. We love it.

Thank you for making Locked On Murph Monday everything it is here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. Godspeed, my friend. Until next week, stay safe and well. You too, bud. And so, Patriots Nation, one down, but we are just getting warmed up here when it comes to Patriots coverage. Tom Brady and the Buccaneers headed to town,

and we will continue to break this down all week long. So, to ensure that you do not miss a single second of the action, download, subscribe to, and follow the Locked On Patriots podcast on platforms such as Spotify, the Odyssey app, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. Just make sure that you are staying locked in to Locked On Patriots. Once again, my name is Mike DeBate, and I thank my good friend Thomas Murphy for his time, his insight, and his appearance on today's pod.

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