Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - From Gilly Lock to Gilly Gone: Talking Gilmore, Patriots-Texans, Brady, Bucs and More with Zac Blackerby — 10/6/2021

Episode Date: October 7, 2021

The New England Patriots have traded veteran cornerback Stephon Gilmore to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for a sixth-round draft choice in 2023. Joining host Mike D’Abate is Zac Blackerby, host of Locked On Auburn. The duo discuss Gilmore’s departure, the mood of Gillette Stadium on Sunday for Tom Brady’s return, and a preview of Patriots-Texans in Week Five.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 into the Locked On Patriots podcast. It is Wednesday, October 6th, 2021, and it's time to say goodbye to a beloved New England Patriot 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 once again, folks, thank you for making Locked On Patriots your first listen each and every day. Remember, Locked On Patriots is free and available

on all platforms. Greetings and salutations, Patriots Nation, and thank you for joining me here on this Wednesday episode of 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, 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 Wednesday wandering through the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. Pats fans, we've gone from Gilly Locke to Gilly gone.

The Pats wasting no time and making big headlines on Wednesday morning. Former, that's right, former Patriots cornerback, Stephon Gilmore is now a member of the Carolina Panthers. And while Stephon and the Patriots were trending in the direction of going their separate ways, likely in the offseason, the Pats and Stephon Gilmore choose not to prolong the inevitable. And as a result, Stephon Gilmore traded to the Carolina Panthers for a 2023 sixth round pick. But the story on this one has a much deeper history. Early on Wednesday morning, ESPN's Adam Schefter was the first to report that the Patriots were in fact going to release Stephon Gilmore as of 4 p.m. on Wednesday morning. ESPN's Adam Schefter was the first to report that the Patriots were in fact

going to release Stephon Gilmore as of 4 p.m. on Wednesday. Apparently, the two sides were at an impasse when it came to contract negotiations, and as a result, the Patriots felt that it was in their best interest to release Stephon Gilmore. That sparked some interest among a lot of teams around the league that did not want to get into a bidding war for Stephon's services. As it turns out, shortly after 1 p.m. Eastern, the New England Patriots reached a deal with the Carolina Panthers to ship Gilmore back home. After all, he is originally from Rock Hill, South Carolina, and his new team has been one of the pleasant surprises in the NFL thus far.

Carolina sitting with a 3-1 record, heading into their Week 5 matchup with with the Philadelphia Eagles and Stephon is joining a cornerback group that includes Dante Jackson, CJ Henderson, AJ Boye and rookie sensation JC Horn who unfortunately right now is currently on injured reserve. But for so many of us here in Patriots Nation, Stephon Gilmore will always remain a Patriot. Gilmore spent five seasons in New England, and he played such an integral role in their victory over the LA Rams in Super Bowl 53. Stephon was a two-time first-team All-Pro, was named to four Pro Bowls, and was the Defensive Player of the Year in 2019. Even though he's yet to suit up in 2021 as a result of convalescing from off-season quad

surgery, Stephon Gilmore is and will remain one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL heading into this season. On a personal note, I certainly will miss Stephon Gilmore up in New England. Stephon was always one of the most professional athletes I've ever had the privilege of covering. He was always kind and forthcoming with the media and truly was a pillar of the community when it came to charitable contributions. Wishing Stephon all the best in Carolina. He will be sorely missed up here in New England, but life goes on and that means that the Patriots are now turning their attention to J.C. Jackson being the number one option at the position. Jackson has played pretty well in the first four games, but now that the job is 100% his, he's not only going to have to bring

that same energy he's been bringing each and every week, but he's going to have to elevate it. I personally believe that J.C. Jackson is up to the challenge, but what do you all think out in Patriots Nation? Well, as luck would have it, today here on the pod, I'll be joined by a very valued member of Patriots Nation, someone who knows a thing or two about Patriots defensive backs as well. After all, one of the standouts at the position, slot corner Jonathan Jones, is a graduate of Auburn University. That's right, folks. You guessed it.

My guest today is the host of Locked On Auburn, right here on the Locked On Podcast Network, my good friend Zach Blackerby. And Zach and I will discuss Stephon Gilmore's trade, what it means for the Patriots in the short term and in the long term, and why the future at the position may be a little more bright than most of us are thinking right now. Last but certainly not least, we'll take a look back on the week that was here in Foxborough and Sunday night's matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the return of Tom Brady. Zach was in attendance, in the crowd, cheering on the hometown team as Tom took the field against the Pats.

And he'll enlighten us on his experiences with both fan reaction and seeing Tom Brady take the Gillette Stadium field wearing a Tampa Bay Buccaneers uniform. Ultimately, we'll bring it all home as we take a look ahead to the Houston Texans and what we can expect to see on the field from your beloved New England Patriots. An action-packed agenda, a veritable ton to talk about, so without much further ado, Zach Blackerby, host of the Locked On Auburn podcast, joins me right here on the hot seat when this Wednesday episode of the Locked On 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. This is Mike DeBate with an incredible app everyone who buys gas needs to know about.

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everyone in Patriots Nation has a lot to say about this. And here today on the pod, we're going to get the wisdom and counsel from one of our most valued members here in Patriots Nation. A thing or two about the New England Patriots and also that Auburn flavor that still exists in the Patriots locker room. Even though there's still a lot of Bama guys there, there's still a lot of Auburn left in this team. He is the managing editor of Auburn Wire of USA Today and the host of Locked On Auburn

right here on the Locked On Podcast Network. It's my pleasure to be joined by my good friend, Zach Blackerby. Zach, welcome back to Locked On Patriots. Mike, always a pleasure to hop on Locked On Pats. And yeah, we got to meet in person this past weekend and yeah we got a lot to talk about my friend we absolutely do uh zach and i were uh kind of going back and forth and really uh joking with each other uh as we were about to start recording saying that this is such a boring beat to cover it's such a boring fan base. There's never anything going on in New England hogwash,

folks. I mean, it is absolutely breakneck speed when it comes to the New England Patriots and their breaking news. And Wednesday morning, Zach, was, I think, an interesting time for all Patriots fans. Everything leading up to this moment said that Stefan Gilmore was ready to start his return process to the team, that he was essentially going through whatever he needed to go through. He was going to be able to come off a pup in a couple of weeks, and everyone expected that he would rejoin the team. Now, there wasn't a whole lot of optimism that his stay in New England would last beyond this season, but I don't think there were too many that believed that he was going to be traded or jettisoned based on what

we've heard. From your reaction, what did you think when you first heard the news of Stephon being released, and what did it say to you that they were actually able to salvage getting a sixth-round pick out of the deal? Sure. Well, when I initially saw the news, I assume it had to do with salary, salary related things. And since then, I don't know if that's necessarily the case, because it looks like reports coming out that new England was interested in paying them. It just didn't really seem like they were there on the same page long-term

with a few things, which surprised me a little bit, but you know, there were talks, um, in the past about possibly trading them that I think once that, uh, once those kind of died down, I thought that ship had sailed clearly that that's not the case. And then a few hours later when, uh, new England's getting the sixth round pick for the Carolina Panthers, I guess my thought process was, well, at least we're getting something in return for this, this veteran corner. And it looks like the Panthers have been pretty aggressive and trying to get more corners in this defense. They, they just missed out on, on Richard Sherman.

It sounds like a few weeks ago. And then, uh, so they went out and got their guy with, with, uh, with Gilmore, but I mean, talk about a guy that, that really can change a defense. I mean, he was just, uh, I mean, he was nothing short, but incredible, uh, with Gilmore. But I mean, talk about a guy that, that really can change a defense. I mean, he was just, uh, I mean, he was nothing short, but incredible, uh, over the last few years in new England was, I think he made the case. He was the best defender in the league. A few of those years, uh, definitely had stints of it. Um, but, uh, yeah, I guess it's time to move on. My gut reaction now, Mike is I think JC Jackson has a chance to be a Patriot for a long time. That was, that was another thing that kind of popped up in my head as soon as I saw it.

Absolutely. And look, I know we're going to get into the secondary in just a little bit and your thoughts on what this team is going to look like moving forward as a result of Stefan's trading, but bottom line, you're absolutely right. The financial implications were the first thing that everybody thought about. I know technically Stefan has been on reserve PUP since the beginning of the season, still rehabbing a torn quadricep. I have always been in the camp that Stefan Gilmore is a straight shooter, that he's very much forthcoming with what has occurred in his health and what continues to occur. I know there's been a lot of reports out there and I'm not confirming or denying these reports folks but there's been a lot of sentiment out there that Stefan was fine that there was no problem with the quad that he was running around jumping he was able to do that. Folks if he was on reserve PUP there was a reason for it so I think

we want to establish that right off the bat. No one is accusing Stefan of gold-bricking here or anything like that. He is definitely someone that was rehabbing an injury, and the Patriots at this point had placed him on the PUP list in order to give him the time that he needed to convalesce and come back strong. Now that we're hearing that Stefan Gilmore will continue to play on his existing contract for the remainder of the season. Now we do expect that these two sides will travel. At some point we'll try to come together and try to work out a long-term extension. This is a homecoming for Stefan Gilmore. He's originally from South Carolina, a lot of families still in the area. So he seems excited about joining the Carolina Panthers and look, Carolina right now is one of the feel good stories in the area so he seems excited about joining the carolina panthers and look carolina right now is one of the feel-good stories in the nfl they're coming off of a situation where they're three and one donald has revitalized this offense he's going into a situation where he's

going to be playing with some strong uh secondary members you know cj henderson obviously there aj boyer is still in a reserve role uh and also, you know, J.C. Horn on injured reserve that definitely precipitated their need to seek help at the cornerback position. But Stephon will continue, you know, his great career. And it's been a great career up here in New England. I opened the show today by talking about his accomplishments here in New England and how he's going to be remembered. Me personally, Stefan was the first New England Patriot that I got a chance to actually interview. If you take a look at my Twitter heading, and folks, I will leave that up there for the foreseeable future, at least for a couple of more days. Stefan was always very forthcoming and was a very good interview and a very good person to be around. Very quiet,

very reserved, but always very accessible to the media. And that's something I'll miss up here in New England without question. But bottom line, life does go on, my friend. And the New England Patriots now are faced with a full season, knowing that Stephon Gilmore is not going to be walking through those doors. When you look at this team, Zach, and I know you mentioned JC Jackson moving forward, what is your long-term thought process on what the secondary of the New England Patriots will look like moving forward? Yeah, I mean, I love JC Jackson. I think he has a chance to be a really incredible corner for the next few years. I think we saw

glimpses of it last year. I think we've already seen glimpses of it this year. So I think he can be a really solid number one guy in this league. And then, I mean, Belichick went out and spent a lot of money, as we all know, and Jalen Mills was a big part of that. So I think those two guys on the outside brings a lot to the table. And then kind of looking at your inside corners, Jonathan Jones is a guy that you know he's an Auburn guy so I you know I love him even more but I think at times we've seen him be a bit

inconsistent and look it's hard to play an inside corner at the NFL so I don't want to take anything away from Jonathan Jones and the fact that they got him as an undrafted guy I mean just screams a ton of value and he's got elite speed and a lot of things really like, but that's something that, that long-term I kind of wonder what they're going to do with that position. And then, you know, once again, long-term with the safety position, you know, how much longer does Devin McCourty play, um, play in the national football league? I think that's the kind of something that we've got to ask moving forward. And then, you know, how long until Kyle Duggar is ready to take that next step is kind of being, um, a semi-controversial early draft pick, but he's definitely shown moments as well. So

Mike, I think there's plenty of guys back there. And I think we saw it this past weekend, um, with the Tom Brady homecoming, this, these defensive backs can play with the best of them. I mean, one of the best offenses in the NFL with guys like Godwin and Mike Evans and a ton of different guys to cover. They did a great job. It didn't back down at all. It was an incredible game plan, incredible execution. So they did that without Gilmore.

And I think this defense can definitely compete without Stephon Gilmore moving forward. Yeah, I agree with you. I think they will be as well. And it does begin with JC Jackson and Bill Belichick addressed the media this morning, or I should say just shortly after noontime and did praise JC Jackson as a great player, someone who he sees a lot of potential in. And he's been very good this season, whether he's deployed in man coverage or in the zone concepts that the Patriots like to run.

He's got a very good instinct of finding the football. Nine interceptions last year, two so far in 2021 through the first four games. And he can keep his targets in range. That's something he struggled with a little bit last year. He's been much better. And you have to think that his strong showing against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday led Belichick to believe that maybe the future is pretty bright if they want to go with a younger option. Obviously, J.C.

only 25 years old, Stephon Gilmore now 31, so being on the north side of 30 definitely marked against Stephon. He's still among the elite and will continue to be, but if you can get similar production and a younger model, that's exactly what you're going to do, and that's what Bill Belichick did

in this situation. Jalen Mills has been a pretty good fill-in on the other side, on the opposite side of the outside corner. Some people were questioning whether or not he could back into that role that he played during his time in Philadelphia. He was really a traditional outside corner when he first got there, really transitioned to the jack-of-all-trades defensive back that can align in every spot within the secondary. He's been solid in that role as well.

Twelve tackles, nine of which have been solo and a pretty sweet pass breakup against the Dolphins in week one. And, of course, you mentioned Jonathan Jones. I knew you were going to do that, and I wanted you to. That Auburn flavor shining through, folks, and with good reason. Jones has actually been a pretty statistical darling for the patriots this year so far 13 solo tackles two passes defense and one interception so he can be effective in both the nickel and the dime packages he can align all over the field we agree he's at his best in the slot did a great job of defending antonio brown i think

on sunday night uh but he could be someone that could play uh you know a spot role there as well while these guys are still getting to where they need to be and you know ultimately Zach it's all about moving forward and it's all about being a strong uh secondary and the Patriots will continue to do that Bill Belichick seems uh pretty optimistic about the prognosis of this group. Again, talking this afternoon, saying that, you know, he played the passing game of, you know, the best passing game in the league and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And they played that pretty competitively on Sunday.

Yeah, there's a lot to like, and, you know, I think this defense is going to be fine moving forward. And I think they look their best they have all season in my opinion this past uh this past Sunday I'm sure they spent a lot of time on that game plan but uh I I still think when you look at it like the defense is going to be the strength of this team until um until some stuff possibly changes on offense or they kind of take a step forward as a unit but yeah yeah all yeah. All in all, I think the defensive backs for, uh, for the new England Patriots are going to be okay.

Absolutely. And the first test in the post Stefan Gilmore era folks will be this Sunday against the Houston Texans 1 PM Eastern in Houston at NRG stadium. And in just a moment, folks, Zach Blackerby and I will reminisce a little on the return of Tom Brady and what it meant on the field for the New England Patriots and how that's going to set up an interesting matchup coming up with the Texans on Sunday. More with my good friend Zach Blackerby, host of the Locked On Auburn podcast, when this Wednesday episode

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And thank you all for making Locked On Patriots your first listen each and every day. We are free and available on all platforms. Zach, in the previous segment,ots, we wanted to take a few minutes to wax poetically about the return of Tom Brady to New England and just the aura and the reaction of the crowd in Gillette Stadium on Sunday evening as the former face of the franchise made his return after 20 successful years up here in New England. Zach, you were right in the thick of it on Sunday evening. You were right in with the crowd. When you think about this night and you think about the impact that Tom's return had on the New England region and on Patriots fans as a whole, what are going to be your most

prominent takeaways from this Patriots really week four loss? But ultimately, what are some of your takeaways from the evening? Yeah, I mean, something that I've never experienced before, the cheering as the opposing quarterback runs onto the field and chanting his name, and then as soon as he comes on to play the game, a ton of boos, and then once the game was over, once he won, um, it got done with his interview with, uh, with NBC kind of ran off and started blowing kisses to the crowd and everybody started cheering and chanting his name again, very unique situation. I've never been a part of something like that, but very, very cool to see.

And just kind of, you know, flying into Boston from Alabama and talking to a lot of folks the previous days leading up to it and just kind of doing the touristy things around Patriot Place in Foxborough. It was amazing to see how folks have flew in from all over the country because they didn't want to miss this moment. Because, I mean, this is a historic thing. I mean, any documentary that's made out of, you know, made of Brady's career or Belichick's career or the rise of the New England Patriots is going to feature this game. And so it's going to be cool to kind of reference this game for a long time. And the way it ended, it was so close. And then the rain and the emergence of Mac Jones. I mean, there's just so many storylines that came out.

But obviously the big one, the return of Tom Brady and you know what, you know, Belichick and the defensive coaching staff wanted to do everything that they possibly could to slow down the passing attack, you know, talking about defensive backs and just this defense as a whole. I think they did an outstanding job limiting that. And when

you put the numbers of Tom next to the numbers of Mac, I think the storyline from the Patriots standpoint should be the Mac held his own that I think Mac probably had his best game that he's had so far in his, his Patriots career. And, you know, just a bunch of little things on offense to kind of,

you know, fix and adjust and move forward. But man, just coming down to that folk kick at the very end of the game, if it's not raining, my God, I think that thing goes in. But, I mean, just an incredible game, an incredible atmosphere,

incredible environment. If you were there, you're going to remember that one for a long time. Yeah, without any question. And, look, it was great to see Tom get the revered response that we all pretty much knew that he would get, hearing the Brady, Brady chants. You see that Brady's corner banner unfurled in the end zone closest to the press box. It kind of got you reminiscing about days where you covered games and you were at games and you saw that banner. It's been a while since we've seen that.

It almost felt like it was home, like it seemed like old times in a lot of ways when it came to seeing Tom Brady on a Gillette Stadium field. And it was also, I think, amusing and maybe even a little encouraging to see the fans kind of give it to Tom a little bit. And his first snap on the field leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense saying, hey, you know what? This is our team. We love Tom up here for 20 years. We will continue to do so, but we're going to get behind our team. We're going to get behind our team. We're going to get behind our New England Patriots. And right now you're wearing the uniform of another team that makes you the enemy, at least for the next couple of hours. And it was nice to see that the Patriots did get so strongly behind not only their defense, but also Mac Jones when he was on

the field. And I thought Mac performed very well, very admirably, not just for a rookie, but for any quarterback. And that should give the Patriots a lot of encouragement moving forward. And that leads me quite nicely into my final question for you today, Bud. And that is, ultimately, even though it was nice that the Patriots hung in there with the defending champions, went toe-to-toe within an eyelash

of being able to make this a possible win, the Patriots still sit at one and three on the season, and now they find themselves facing another one and three team on Sunday in the Houston Texans. Zach, as you look at this game, what are you looking for from the Patriots? And what do you believe in the product that we'll see on the field in NRG Stadium as the Patriots try to get back into the win column? Well, I think it's a favorable matchup for the defense. I think they should be able to do a pretty good job slowing down Houston's offense.

The thing I'm going to be watching is I think every Patriot fan is going to be watching for all 17 games this season is the development of Mac Jones and what this offense looks like over the course of his very young NFL career and who's going to step up in the running back room. I know Damian Harris has had a bunch of, or a handful of pretty, pretty exciting highlights so far this year, but I want to see more from the running back room and just been a lot of

turnovers that have come from running backs this season. You know, that has to be driving Belichick and Josh McDaniels crazy. So that's something I want to see. Guys taking care of the football. There's been several times this year where Mack has thrown a catchable pass and it's been batted up and then it turns into an interception. So those are things I want to see.

I mean, we're just so used to, you know, decades of clean offensive football and we haven't really seen that so far. And some of that is you have a rookie quarterback, but some of it is, you know, just guys not holding onto the football, not securing catchable balls. So that to me, Mike, is the, is the biggest thing that I'm watching for.

Because I mean, when you just talk about long-term development for this season and then long-term development for the development of your quarterback um these are just things that you need to to clean up and get things fixed so you can kind of start that ascension to where you were a few seasons ago so yeah i think it's all going to come down to the offense in my eyes on saturday on sunday absolutely i do believe it will and who knows the patriots may be able to get back into the win column.

Maybe this gives them an opportunity and maybe some motivation in terms of being able to put their best foot forward on both sides of the ball. But we will see. And Sunday, again, begins the Sands-Stefan Gilmore era here in New England. Zach, what can I say, my friend? Thank you so much for taking the time out to join me here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. Great talking, Stefan Gilmore, Tom Brady, and the future of the New England Patriots. Before I let you go, my friend, please let all of our listeners know where they can find you and your great work each and every day, both for USA Today and for the Locked On Podcast Network.

Yeah, auburnwire.com for USA Today stuff, Locked on Auburn, wherever you get your podcasts, and also on YouTube. If that tickles your fancy, then you can follow me on Twitter. A lot of Auburn, a lot of Patriot stuff there, at ZBlackerby. Mike, always appreciate chatting with you, my friend. Always my honor. Always my pleasure, bud. We look forward to having you back right here on Locked On Patriots really soon. In the meantime, continue to stay safe and well, bud.

Thanks, bro. You too. Just like that, Patriots fans, we are more than halfway through your work week. But fear not, there is still a ton of Patriots coverage still to come when it comes to the trade of Stephon Gilmore and a look ahead to the Houston Texans, including tomorrow's exciting crossover episode with my good friends over at Locked On Texans. 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 the Odyssey app, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts, just make sure that you are staying locked in to Locked On Patriots and thank each and every one of you for making Locked On Patriots your first listen every day. Once again my name is Mike DeBate. I thank my good friend Zach Blackerby, host of

Locked On Auburn for his time, his insight and his appearance on today's pod but most of all I thank you all so much for listening and for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Now, folks, make your second listen, the Peacock and Williamson NFL show. Brian Peacock and former NFL scout Matt Williamson give you the expert NFL analysis in less than 30 minutes.

It's free and available on all platforms. In the meantime, stay safe, stay well, continue to be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone.