Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Flight Grounded: Patriots Defeat Jets 25-6 for First Win of 2021 — 9/20/2021

Episode Date: September 20, 2021

In a battle of promising first-round rookie quarterbacks, New England’s Mac Jones outdueled New York’s Zach Wilson as the New England Patriots defeated the New York Jets 25-6. New England rushed for 101 yards as a team, with impressive touchdown runs from Damien Harris and James White. J.C. Jackson (twice), Devin McCourty and Adrian Phillips each took their turn in intercepting Wilson, as the Pats earned their first win of the season. Joining host Mike D’Abate is fan-favorite Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy, as the duo break down the Pats victory.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.ManscapedFellas, don’t gamble on shaving your balls with the wrong tools! Choose MANSCAPED™, Your Balls Will Thank You™! Get 20% off + free shipping with the code LOCKEDON at manscaped.com. 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 Lockdown Patriots podcast. It is Monday, September 20th, 2021. Beautiful day here in New England, a victory Monday, and also a hashtag Lockdown Murph 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. And remember that the LockedOn NFL Draft podcast relaunches today, September 20th, with brand new hosts.

Eric Crocker brings the player scouting. Ryan Tracy brings the analytics. Follow the Locked On NFL Draft podcast on YouTube, the Odyssey app, or wherever you get your podcasts. Happy Victory Monday, Patriots fans, and thank you for kicking off your week in style by joining me here 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 appreciated. 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. At long last, Patriots fans, your New England Patriots have returned to the win column. I know, it's only been a week, but it seems like a lot longer than that, doesn't it? Both the Patriots and the New York Jets making their best attempt to avoid an 0-2 record, both overall and in the division, and in what was being billed as a battle of promising

first-round rookie quarterbacks, Mac Jones of your New England Patriots out-dueling the Jet-Zach Wilson. Jones finishing the day, completing 22 of 30 passes for 186 yards. Running backs Damian Harris and James White each chipping in impressive rushing touchdowns. And of course, on the defensive side of the ball, the Patriots secondary chipping in four interceptions of Wilson, including two by J.C. Jackson, all en route to a Patriots victory 25-6 on the green side of the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey. And while the Patriots' running game and their defensive backfield were impressive, there are still some areas for concern, even on a Victory Monday, folks.

I'm not nitpicking, just trying to be honest. And one area of concern for this team is the depth along the tackle position on the offensive line. Trent Brown continues to be out with a calf injury. He's technically listed as day-to-day, so we are very optimistic that we'll see Trent back on the field sooner rather than later. However, his replacements, both Justin Heron and Yasser Durant, left a little something to be desired. Durant struggled for much of the day, really unable to keep pace with the aggressive Jets' defensive front. Durant would eventually be relieved by Heron in the second quarter.

Heron had his own issues, leaving the game for a short period of time with an ankle injury. And because of that, Mac Jones continues to find himself under duress more often than not. And that's not only leading to Jones seeing the ground a lot more than he'd like, but it's also leading to some red zone execution issues, and the Patriots definitely need to work on that this week with the New Orleans Saints coming up. Those Saints marching into Foxborough this Sunday, September 26th at 1 p.m. And despite some of the areas of concern, this is still a Victory Monday and it's time to celebrate.

And who better to celebrate with than the big green man himself? That's right, folks. Not only Victory Monday today on the pod, it is hashtag Locked on Murph Monday. And my good friend, the legendary Thomas Murphy, in a lot better spirits this week than he was last Monday. And we will break down any and all aspects of the Patriots 25-6 victory over the New York Jets in Week 2. We will discuss those woes along the offensive line, including some of the issues that the Patriots are having in executing in the red zone.

We'll also talk about the impressive performance of Damian Harris, and his ability to bounce back from last week's miscue. Last but certainly not least, Murph will give us his opinion on the Patriots secondary and what it means for the potential future of the New England Patriots defense. Folks, an action-packed agenda on the pod today. Tons to talk about here on this Victory Monday. So without much further ado, I welcome in my good friend, the monster master of disaster, the green king of sting, the Count of Murphy Fisto himself, Thomas Murphy, takes the hot seat when this

Monday episode of the Lockdown Patriots podcast 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 $0.25 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 $0.25 per gallon on your first fill-up. That's up to $0.50 cash back.

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use the code touchdown when you download GetUpside. Patriots fans, thank you again for joining me here today on this Victory Monday episode of Locked on Patriots. And not only is it a Victory Monday, folks, but Mondays are always special. They're always fun. I don't know about you, but it's my favorite day of the week because it's also hashtag Locked on Murph Monday. That's right, folks. He is here. He is ready to

roll. It is time for some green wisdom and counsel with your favorite in mind. My benefactor in this business, the only guest on this pod with his very own branded hashtag, the Count of Murphy Fisto himself, the guy that makes the color green go, 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. Buddy, it is never Monday unless we get to talk and talking Patriots on a victory Monday

is a special thing um really something you know yeah i grew up in the 70s so i know how special it is and uh you know even even though my kids and and a lot of you guys out there have been spoiled for the last 20 years um i can still uh get up on a on a monday morning after a victory and and you know just sometimes with a sigh of relief absolutely well i grew up in the 80s so it's uh right i you know i absorbed some of that a little bit uh you know i went through some of the lean days back in the early 80s and and whatnot but uh obviously yeah i mean it's it's been been an embarrassment of riches up here in New England for quite some time. But, you know, there are some glimpses that the glory days may not be so far behind us.

Not imminently, folks, but there are glimpses of guys that are really making some strides and some young players on this team that could end up being a solid core on both sides of the ball for the New England Patriots for quite some time. And but I think we'll start there. You know, maybe we'll start with a little bit of a little happy news, maybe some good news for the Patriots. And there was a lot of good to take away from yesterday's game. I'll be at the Jets really were the Jets, folks. I mean, when you're a Jet, you're a Jet all the way. And that's exactly what we got on the field in East Rutherford yesterday. But I was very impressed by Damian Harris for two reasons.

First, disappointing fumble in the past season opener against Miami, but Damian came into this game, Murph, with the intention of earning redemption. And he finished the day 16 carries, 62 yards. But it was the nature of that touchdown run in the third quarter that, to me, really demonstrated his toughness, his tenacity, broke several tackles on that, carried a few defenders, rumbling into the end zone for a 26-yard touchdown run. And Damian said after the game that, you know, anytime you touch the ball, it's always a great play, and everybody was blocking, and it was really a team effort.

He loved seeing that. But bottom line, I was really impressed by how Damian was able to bounce back from adversity where a lot of other guys might have sat and crumbled. What was your opinion of Damian Harris yesterday? Not just the touchdown run, but his performance overall, and what does it say about him going forward? Yeah, it says roll pats. Love it.

It was fantastic to see. A lot of guys, as you said, would, after that initial game, not necessarily crumble, but you usually see fumbling happen in bunches. And the way he was able to carry the ball on Sunday, especially on that touchdown run, you know, when you're long for the day, it's 26, and at the end of it, you put six on the board for a team that's had a difficult time getting six. I almost wish that they were inside the red zone so we could stop talking about the red zone difficulties. But we're going to talk about that a little bit later, folks, I'm sure.

But, no, it was a beautiful thing. Damian is a fantastic individual, a great running back, and this kid has no quit in him uh so if you're looking for that just after a one week um head headed down into a trough there there's going to be a lot more um more peaks than there are valleys in this young man's future here in new england yeah well said first of all i love the roll pats i think that's great i really want to give you a lot of credit for that absolutely in my opinion you should no one does that terminology and no one gives that love the roll pats i think that's great i really want to give you a lot of credit for that absolutely in my opinion you should no one does that terminology and no one gives that catchphrase

more cachet than you my friend and i've been sincere when i say that um but bottom line there is a toughness and a tenacity and you see it in these bama guys look mac jones was pushing on the pile getting him into the end zone you know And Damien remarked about that after the game, folks. Yeah, don't do that. He says, I love it. He says, but I hope I don't see it again. We need Mack, which I think is a lot of our program. Damien is a very smart and considerate young man, isn't he?

Absolutely. But please, keep your narrow little butt back there. He is a wise and considerate young man. And Josh McDaniels and Bill Belichick are great men and they can learn much from them, but no, all kidding aside, it really, I think demonstrated his resolve and his ability to be the lead back. If anyone was questioning whether Damien's fumble might have given Bill Belichick or the Patriots offensive brain trust,

any pause about giving him the keys to the kingdom as the number one option on this running game. He quelled all those yesterday. He really, really did a solid job and a big shout out to James White yesterday. A lot of great moves on him. So, you know, of course his touchdown run, you know, really a big factor again on third down. James continues to do great things in the running game as well. So, folks, the running game is definitely not going to be a problem for the Patriots. They will continue to run the ball and run it well. Well, that's true.

Let's hope because, you know, let's face it, Ramondre Stevenson is still on double secret probation, but he's in Dean Wormer's doghouse right now. I was going to bring up that fact. I don't know if you had that in your notes. You know, the one thing I'm worried about with Harris is the fact that he has never really been a feature back. He is not a guy that has, in the past, taken 20, 25 snaps a game, or carries a game, I should say, and been able to, you know, show that this is something that he can shoulder. I was a little taken aback at the fact that, you know, Ramondre was sat,

and we didn't see more of J.J. Taylor in this game. You know, he only had two carries for three yards, and I was a little befuddled by that. Yeah, that was a little surprising to me, too, when I saw the snap count. To tell you the truth, I actually had him counted higher, so I really need to do a better job of being more diligent when I'm watching these guys line up. I thought he had more than five, but when the snap counts came out on Monday morning, I was surprised about that. And I think you're going to see JJ eventually, you know, be a little bit more of an option. I was again, I think the Patriots need to start taking advantage of his size and speed.

And or when I say size, folks, I'm being I'm not being tongue in cheek. I am being accurate. His ability, his small stature allows him to get into holes and find scenes that other running backs simply can't. So that is a good way to take advantage of someone with a diminutive size. I'm vertically challenged just like he is. So I always want to see the little guy. In any case, yeah, I think you're going to see a return to that. But Ramondre, yes. Ramondre.

Ramondre, you look fantastic. But in any case, folks, if you're getting the back-to-school references this morning, Murph and I are in a good mood. We're going to be dropping some of those in. But no, all kidding aside, but it really, I think, is great to see Damian continue to move forward. It is. And I think you make an interesting point. He's never done this consistently over a long period of time in his career from beginning to end.

Last year was a pretty good taste, but this year I think they're going to be relying on him a little bit more. And we'll see if he can carry the load. And up until this point, he's proven that he can and please hindsight is 2020 people stop stop jumping on the sony uh michelle bandwagon now okay just stop okay you weren't there before i don't want we don't want you on the bus now we don't okay go ahead absolutely it's amazing how just a little bit of adversity can turn people and uh you know know, like you said, the hindsight 2020, the Monday morning quarterbacking, the looking at the past through rose colored glasses can really turn people around in a hurry. The Patriots made it, and obviously they see something in guys like Stevenson and Taylor. And, of course, your guy, Brandon Bolden, that lead them to believe that they'll still be just fine with depth on the running back chart with Damian Harris getting the majority of the carries. And, of course, James White being the third down option.

Murph, it wasn't all great news on the offensive side of the ball. There was some good news on the defensive side of the ball yesterday. I thought in terms of the pass rush, I thought Matt Judon looked good. He came out firing on all cylinders even though it looked like he was limping a little bit at times. Not on the injury report. He still looked solid. That was good. Christian Barmore getting 40 snaps.

Continued to increase last week, 26. This week, 40. That was big in terms of being able to push the pile and find his way into the defensive line of this team but the star of the day obviously was the secondary the Patriots secondary led by JC Jackson who snagged two interceptions yesterday of course one of them my man Adrian Phillips in the right place at the right time and Devin McCourty always in the right place at the right time. Right.

Those guys, you know, play the safety position as well as anyone in the league and savvy field position, solid interceptions of their own. But when you look at JC Jackson and the way he's built his strong reputation as a playmaker, nine interceptions in 2020. So this is not, this is nothing new for him in terms of snagging the ball away from his target. But I was particularly impressed on his first interception, demonstrating great body control, tipping Wilson's pass, coming down with the catch.

The Patriots have got a little dirt on their uniform recently for having some questions on outside corner and their depth at that position beyond JC. But this secondary is still proving to me that they can make things happen. Do you think this is more about what Zach Wilson did wrong yesterday or about what the secondary did right in terms of their prowess and you know, future concerns with a very high powered offense led by Jameis Winston coming in here at the end of the week with the New Orleans Saints. Yeah, I'm going to cop out here and say a bit of both. There is talent back there.

You know, J.C. right at the top of that. We're all still wondering, you know, at least we're going into this game wondering if he can be a number one. But, you know, Corey Davis has torched the Patriots in the past, and J.C. Jackson took this matchup really personally. It was fantastic to watch what he did to Davis. You know, he had, what, two catches for eight yards on the day. So there was a lot more to what J.C. did than what we saw

in the box score or what we noticed. And all hail the tip drill, right? All hail the tip drill. But it was. But also, you know, it was just going into the draft, the one quarterback out of the top five that they didn't want, and the only person that did want Mac Jones were the people sitting in this room right now. Everybody else rolled their eyes and didn't want him. But a lot of people did want this kid. They did want to see if Zach Wilson would drop here and that the Jets were playing possum and were really looking at somebody else.

But luckily for us, they weren't. I am not a fan of Zach Wilson. I have never been a fan of Zach Wilson. I think all of his best games and his best tape are against inferior talent, and any time he went up against somebody that was of a true Division I-A defense, he struggled and he had problems. we saw on Sunday exactly what you as I wrote my keys the Jets got what they paid for a guy that's simply a rollout guy who cannot work the middle of the field at all cannot throw guys open he's strictly a C receiver throw that throw the ball to the open guy and he's not bright. He's really not bright when it comes to working against any kind of intricate defense he folds. So yeah, I'm going to go with both. These guys played a good game back there, but Wilson helped them a lot with his inability to work within a scheme and not just go out there and freelance. Yeah, I think, first of all, when you said about copping out and a little bit of both,

Bill Belichick used that phrase three times this morning when speaking to the media. So I don't consider that a cop out of my plan. You are in good company because I think it is a combination of a lot of things. So don't sell yourself short. You're a tremendous slouch. Second, you did mention that, I'm only kidding, folks. Second, you did mention that the only people that really advocated from Matt Jones being the pick, the solid pick for this team,

are those of us sitting in this room right now. Folks, we have the tape. We can go back and we can listen to it. Go back and listen to some of those Murph and Mike episodes of Locked On Patriots early on. And, of course, Murph prognosticating greatly on one Patriots place. You'll hear that the two of us were very interested in having one Michael McCorkle, Mac Jones as quarterback of this, of these New England Patriots. And we're seeing on the field why that is the case. We'll get into

Mac a little bit when we talk about some of the red zone issues that this team has. But I think you make a great point on Zach Wilson. I'm not quite as negative on Zach as you might be. I still think there are sparks of talent and things that. No, you have friends in the nation that I don't. You don't want to offend, you know. I wish to assert my Fifth Amendment privilege on grounds that it might incriminate me, folks. But basically, you know, well, you know what?

I'll just let that sit. But in any case, I think you make an interesting point, especially I really I loved what I saw from J.C., especially on the first interception. The second one, a little bit more of an ill-timed throw or an ill-fated throw, I should say, by Zach on that one. I want to give some credit to Adrian Phillips on the coverage on his third interception. There you go. I thought that one looked great. But the interception to McCourty, I still scratch my head.

I went back and watched a little bit, and I haven't seen the all-22 yet. But just going back and watching the TV broadcast of that game he threw in what the hell were you doing there were there were four patriots defenders right two I mean two intended targets I mean I guess you can say you know Corey Davis was the guy that he was looking for but he was just I mean you know it said you know and Elijah Moore obviously you know could run some routes I was impressed by what I saw with him. He's a guy that we liked an awful lot in the draft. And I can see why he runs routes very well. And he can be a damage maker in the slot.

But, yeah, just some head scratchers and not for anything, Murph. But I don't know about you. I thought the Patriots played Zach Wilson pretty straight up yesterday. There weren't a lot of exotic looks or these types of, you know, like what they did with Darnold is they confused him with so much of the line of scrimmage. And no wonder the kid sat there and says, I'm seeing ghosts. He was looking at such different looks that he hadn't seen before.

I didn't see an awful lot of that yesterday. I thought the Patriots played him pretty straight up and down and still they caused confusion. Yeah, no, I completely agree. They played him straight up. It was like we don't have to waste anything this week and give anybody any film to watch going down the road here with a couple of very potent offenses coming up on the Patriots' schedule.

And I may be being kind to the Saints, but whenever you have Alvin Kamara, then you're a potent offense. It is. They played him very straight up because they could get away with it. You really couldn't with Darnold. Darnold is an extremely talented quarterback. While I got on him, while he was a Jet, and he had his issues. You can see now what he's doing in Carolina right now.

This is the first time the man has won two games in a row in his entire career to start a season, and he's playing very well. Zach Wilson, on the other hand, is not. The Patriots did not need to get exotic, even though I did have that in my keys to the game, you know, get him a little crazy and not thinking. But Bill's smarter than I am. Not much, but enough. And he knew that he could play this game straight up and win anyway.

Absolutely. And again, you know, I had that in my, uh you know moments to look for and things to keep a sharp eye on as well yep when it comes to when it comes to game planning because we all thought it was coming let's face it but uh you know it's uh it's it's just the fact of the matter when bill belichick dates on a young quarterback he knows in advance exactly what he needs to do and i think he made the perfect point he didn't need to reveal all the bag of tricks that he's got he needed to at least conserve a little bit of that because there are some very talented quarterbacks coming down the pike including one we know pretty well in another

couple of weeks but you know well that's a conversation for another day let's focus on the saints let's focus on uh you know enjoying this jets win a little bit this uh over the course of the next couple Pats fans the legendary Thomas Murphy always lends his wisdom and counsel here to locked on Patriots because as we've said before he is a very wise and considerate young man but that wisdom and consideration are needed here in New England more than words can say especially when it comes to the state of the Patriots offensive line and their production in the red zone. In just a moment, hear my good friend's thoughts on the outlook of that offensive line moving forward and what it means to the vital job of protecting quarterback Mac Jones.

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But there are some areas for concern. One of them concerns me a little bit more than the other, but we'll start with the theme we have going here and the more optimistic of concerns that I have. Folks, I don't know if that makes any sense, but it may in a minute once Murph is able to flush that out for me. For the second straight week, Mac Jones stat line 22 of 30, 186 yards passing, not going to leap off the page, but it also doesn't adequately tell the story of what this kid can do on the field. He was accurate. He was timely in his delivery,

facing a lot of pressure from the Jets' aggressive defensive front. And I thought he navigated through it pretty well. We'll get to the reason why he was constantly under duress in just a moment. But there are a lot of people out there today that are saying that the Patriots are being maybe a little bit too conservative in their class and game play calling. Josh McDaniels is getting a little bit of dirt on his uniform, saying that he really hasn't tested the team's latest acquisitions in that area where he can be more effective in the red zone or maybe even on vertical routes. Nelson Aguilar expected to be a big asset as a vertical threat. He wasn't tested all that much on Sunday.

And, of course, Jono Smith, Hunter Henry, these guys were brought here to really specifically bolster the Patriots' production in the red zone. And the Pats are only a combined two of seven in the red zone in the first two games. Henry and Smith only targeted once on the red zone yesterday combined. Now, Murph, when you take a look at this, I don't know, some of it, some of that credit, or I should say some of that blame, really, I think is the best way for me to put it, can be placed on the problems that the Patriots have had along the O-line. But there's also a little bit, I think, of truth that the Patriots have had along the O-line. But there's also a little bit, I think,

of truth that the Patriots maybe need to start dialing up some looks in which Jones takes some deep shots down the field and gets a little more aggressive in the red zone. Our good friend Evan Lazar put it very, I thought, eloquently a couple of weeks ago, and he says, take the training wheels off of the offensive game planning. And that might be something that Josh McDaniels is looking at this week. When you look at the Patriots offense and the red zone issues, quote unquote, that a lot of people see them having, what's your take on the subject? And what do you think it means now heading into the more robust part of the season, week three, week four and beyond?

Yeah, I agree with our man EZ there. He's a fantastic individual and knows his stuff, and he's absolutely right. All spring long, all through training camp during the summer, we heard that everything he put on McCorkle's plate, he ate and then asked for more. Well, as a Patriots outsider, I am standing here with a bowl. I fell out of my chair when they finally ran a seam route. And, you know, of course, McCorkle hit a wide open Hunter Henry, busting up a seam. And it was fantastic.

It was the most exciting pass that this kid has thrown through two games. There is too much horizontal and not enough vertical work in the Patriots' passing game right now. It seems like our opponent's secondaries are not respecting our wide receivers, and with good reason, because we're not throwing to them. Very good point. Absolutely. And when you take a look at some of the targets, and we're looking at snap counts and whatnot from wide receivers.

Jacoby Myers obviously still leading the way. He took 52 out of the 58 Patriots snaps on Sunday. know we're looking at snap counts and whatnot from you know wide receivers jacoby myers obviously still leading the way took 52 out of the 58 patriots snaps on sunday agalor was out there 86 of them 50 but you know you also look hunter henry got a little bit more look this week 47 81 of the snaps hunter henry was involved in johnny smith puts down to 29 but you have to think some of that was due to uh to his hip injury and the Patriots trying to keep him healthy. Obviously, you know, later in the game, they had it well in hand and the Patriots aren't going to try to do anything to injure Jean. They're going to definitely need him over the course of the next couple of weeks and they're going to need him healthy. But I agree with Evan and I agree with you. The training wheels do need to be taken off of this offense a little bit.

Give the Patriots the ability to test that vertical game. And maybe it's a little bit of them being conservative because of the opponents that they've played. I don't necessarily buy that. I'll buy into it a lot more with the Jets than I would with the Dolphins two weeks ago. But at the same time now, you do have to see what this kid can do vertically. And with the red zone, this is why the Patriots brought these two guys to town, meaning Hunter Henry and John O. Smith. That's exactly what they needed to do. You know, they need to create mismatches, win contested catches in the red area. If these guys start to do that, it opens up so much more with the Patriots in terms of what they're able to do at the red zone,

whether utilize the run or maybe even utilize. And I'm about to I'm about to invoke the name of McKeel Harry here. And I know a lot of Patriots fans that listen to this are going to roll their eyes or do that or make that that, you know. But believe me when I tell you, folks, he's going to come back motivated. He's going to come back ready. And in a specialized role, this kid can be a red zone target as well. So I think the Patriots are moving in that right direction. But we just need to see more of it.

And I'm sorry to say it, Josh. We need to see more of it now. We need to see more of it. We really do. We really do. I tweeted out during the game that, you know, could we please get a receiver actually running a route through the end zone? Mack Jones has not thrown a pass into the end zone yet. It is frustrating.

It is aggravating. You went out and you got these players that are – and I'm not saying don't hit Angler on a slant and let him walk it in, but I mean, get some people in the end zone where McCorkle has an option to do that. A lot of the issues that you're having in the red zone is because you're trying to bit and piece it together and not go for broke. And once in a while, you have to go for broke it's only going to help this offense in every facet of the way it's going to open up the um the short game for those slant routes that get in there it's going to open up things for guys like james white catching the ball out of the backfield and it's

definitely going to help the running game if um those uh those dbs are are pushed back just a little bit. Maybe we'll even see some more success out of the runners down there inside the 20. Yeah, without any question. And I like the fact that you brought that up, because that is something that the Patriots need to test a little bit more. And ultimately, it's only going to lead to more confidence for their young quarterback. Well, Murph, to bring us all home today, we're going to talk about a subject that is very near and dear to your heart. And speaking of giving more confidence to a young quarterback, what's going to give more confidence to a young quarterback is maybe taking some of the pressure off him a little bit.

And obviously, this is a big concern for Patriots fans, media alike, and I'm sure for the team as well, the depth at tackle. And I'm not just talking about right tackle folks, which I know is a glaring omission with someone as big and as productive as Trent Brown being out. You hope Trent Brown is going to be able to come back as soon as possible. And the Patriots would love to have him back on the field as soon as they can. But in his absence, it looks like the Patriots are going to continue to ride Justin her own, which he left the game yesterday with an ankle injury.

Haven't heard much on him. Bill Belichick wasn't too forthcoming about what that means with Justin's future, but Yasser Durant struggled, you know, mightily yesterday. I mean, there's no question allowing three sacks. The only three sacks on Mac yesterday were credited to being allowed by Yasser Durant. Although Belichick was very complimentary of both Durant and Harone in his press conference this morning, mentioned that they did a solid job. They need more consistency.

There were breakdowns. He acknowledged that, but he said they happened all over the field. And obviously the Patriots continue to have their struggles there. But even beyond just the right tackle position, Isaiah Wynn struggled for his second straight game. And left tackle is such an important part of being a strong New England Patriots line alignment. You know that that left tackle position has been manned by guys that are very well respected by you and I. I'm talking the Matt Lights and the Nate Solders and Trent Brown, you know, for his one season

in New England. They did such an adequate job of protecting the quarterback. Murph, when you look at the offensive line, and I know this is an area where you love to talk about, what are your major concerns right now with this line is this just personnel is this uh maybe a little bit of coaching or is it a little bit of both and how concerned are you going forward into the 2021 NFL season with what you've seen so far out of this line yeah where have you gone um Dante Skarniecki oh Jesus loves you more than you should know.

Yeah, it's a bit of both right now. Once again, to cop out, I have not been happy with a lot of the production that we've gotten out of this. We talked extensively in the preseason of how good this offensive line was, if healthy. All right? And we talked to the fact that it is not as deep an offensive line as they've had in the past. Right now, I am struggling to figure out what's going on.

Should Mike O'Neill get kicked out to the right side and maybe Ted Karras or somebody going in to play left guard? Things have to get better. If the Patriots are going to accomplish the things that we talked about earlier in the show, you've got to protect McCorkle. You really do. Haran came in, and I think it was on his first six snaps on Sunday, he gave up a sack and two quarterback hits. Okay?

That's, you know, I mean, Durant gave up a sack and two hits. I'm sorry, I just got a quick frog in my throat there. And we can't have that with this offense and with this rookie quarterback. We need to keep him clean, and that isn't happening enough. To McCorkle's credit, every time he has been hit, he's popped right back up and gotten into the huddle, and that was something that everybody was worried about. But but you know we're past that worry now so can now we we you know do our job

maybe not keep these tight ends into into block and uh and maybe get them out into a pattern so these things that that we talked about earlier can happen absolutely and again it's all about taking the training wheels off of the offense and giving them a chance to make plays, but it's tough to make those plays when you're under duress as much as Mac has been the last couple of weeks. And yeah, he's handled it. He's handled it well. There's no question about it. But for a young quarterback getting hit and being knocked down and being under constant duress the way he is, eventually there's got to be some protection to allow this kid to make the plays we know he's capable of making Murph and you make an excellent point you've said this as much as anyone if not more Mac Jones will get the uh the

opportunities to make the plays when a healthy offensive line is in front of him and I think you make an interesting point on Michael Wain. Bill Belichick mentioned this specifically. Our good friend Karen Geregian of the Boston Herald asked Bill that very question. And his response was, I think we're set there. You know, we've got three guys that can play the position that have played it in the past. To me, I think that's more of an indication that maybe Trent Brown might not be out for as long as we're anticipating. And if he's back in there, that definitely shores up a lot of problems and solves a lot of issues right off the bat. But at the same time, you need depth and you need quality depth and sound depth. And if this is going to be something where Trent may have to have his snap count

limited a little bit, you need competent players that can go in there. Otherwise, when opposing teams start to see guys like Yasser Duran and Justin Heron get in there, they're going to be licking their chops ready to get after the quarterback because they know he can. So, you know, Patriots have an interesting decision to make when it comes to the O-line. I still think that they'll be okay and that they'll be able to make the adjustments that they need. But I think you hit the nail right on the head. Where have you gone, Dante Skarnecchia? Pat's nation turns its lonely eyes to you.

And that's no disrespect to Carmen Brasillo, who I think is doing as best he can. And maybe the loss of Cole Popovich can factor in there as well. But these guys need the solid coaching, and I know that staff is going to be putting in the work this week. We talked to the positional coaches on Tuesday, folks within the media, and we know that those questions are going to be asked. So keep a sharp eye on the transcript of one Carmen Brasillo's press meet on Tuesday.

Things could get interesting when it comes to what the Boston media and the New England media has in store. Buddy, what can I say? You lend you the wisdom, the counsel as only you can. I say this all the time and it never gets old. You are familiar here on Locked On Patriots, the true Don of Locked On Patriots. And I thank you for joining me today, my friend. Folks, you should already be following this man. But for any of our new listeners, please follow the Count of Murphy Fisto on Twitter at TeamUrf207. The content that this man puts out on E2G Sports is always point, click, learn, enrichment material. The monster keys, if you're not reading the monster keys prior to the game, you're not properly prepared. Go back, read them them make it a weekly part and just a make this a weekly routine for you and you will continue to be an informed football fan

each and every sunday and it's not just football folks he does amazing baseball content check out all the great work that's done over at e2g sports these guys are doing an amazing job they deserve a lot of credit for it but of course i'm biased because my godfather over here, I'll do anything for my godfather. You know that. And that's exactly why he constantly joins me here on the pod. But honored and humbled as always by your presence. We look forward to it each and every week. And I can't wait to already talk ball with you again next week, because not only will we be breaking down the saints game, but we're going to have an eye ahead toward the Buccaneers and the return of one Thomas Edward Patrick Brady jr. I can't believe we're at this point, but, but it's going to be a lot of fun next week, heading into this

one. And I can't wait to break this all down with you, buddy. I'm always glad to be here. It's an offer I can't refuse. I love it. And on that note, folks, we will end on a godfather note, heading into, you know, these next couple of weeks because we want to keep our friends close, but our enemies closer as we head into week three and week four of the 2021 NFL season. In the meantime, bud, stay safe, stay well. Thank you for joining me today. Can't wait to do it again next week right here on Locked on Patriots.

And so, Patriots fans, one down but a whole lot to come here when it comes to your New England Patriots coverage for the week on the pod. So, to ensure that you do not miss a single second of the action here on Locked On Patriots, download 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. And if some of the amazing action we've seen throughout the NFL throughout the past two weeks has you wondering whether or not to use your prognostication skills to maybe make a little extra,

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