Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Locked On Patriots- October 4, 2016

Episode Date: October 4, 2016

New Host Chris Simoneau discusses Sunday's game vs. the Bills and also the Tom Brady return and it's effect on the franchise. #tombrady #newenglandpatriots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Fearless is just one tap away. With the new FEP Blue app from Blue Cross and Blue Shield, you can access your health benefits on the go. Download it now at FEPBlue.org slash app. Good morning. I'm Chris Semino, your host of Locked On Patriots, your source for everything Patriots. Today is my first show, and I know I have some big shoes to fill, Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald. But I think you Patriots fans will like the direction we plan to go to with the show. For those who've never heard of me, I don't know where you've been, but I'll tell you a little bit about myself.

I've been around the sports my entire life. Football, basketball, baseball, I've been involved with all three. I've been a football coach since 2012. I've also scouted the game since the early 90s. I've been a basketball coach since 1994've also scouted the game since the early 90s. I've been a basketball coach since 1994 and also scouted basketball, so I've been around sports forever, but football is my main love. I grew up in Massachusetts during the 1980s and made it a little rough because the local team wasn't too good back in those days, but we stuck with them, which turned out to be a pretty smart

investment. In 2009, I decided that sitting in a cubicle making sales calls, it just wasn't for me, so I started writing for Bleacher Report. Bleacher Report at the time was a fan site, and all we did really was just write what we felt. Well, that's turned into a pretty big niche these days, so it was a great way for me to get started. Three years later, I was writing for Musket Fire, which falls under the Sports Illustrated umbrella. They cover the Patriots, and again, it was a fan site, but I really enjoyed my time at Musket Fire, and it really set the tone for me in my career. After that, I moved on to Yahoo, where I covered the Patriots, the Celtics, and the Red Sox for Yahoo Voices, but unfortunately, Yahoo Voices only lasted for about a year and a half, so I moved

on to start my own website while I worked towards my sports management degree. The goal for me? Just keep on writing. In 2014, Kerry Byrne of Cold Hard Football Facts reached out to me and made me aware of a position covering the Patriots for Scout.com, a site that I was impressed with before I even knew that they were looking for people. I looked for the job, I went for it, I got it, and I've been the publisher of Patriots Insider ever since. Well, that's enough about me.

It's time to talk about what transpired on the Gillette Stadium turf on Sunday, a day that the team would rather forget than rehash. Sorry, that's not how we roll here at Lockdown Patriots. This game was ugly, and I know there are a number of Pats fans out there that were falling asleep from boredom while watching it, which is completely understandable, but they need to understand that this loss was not all on the players. Jacoby Brissett was dealing with a thumb injury,

so it was clear that he was limited, but the Patriots knew that over a week ago. Garoppolo practice, and some, one of them being me, are in the belief that New England fully expected Garoppolo to start Week 4, and when he wasn't available, it was too late to bring in a healthy veteran. In one of the rare instances where Belichick wasn't prepared, it came back to bite him in the you-know-what. It's never smart to roll with two injured quarterbacks and no emergency veteran,

and in doing so, that costs the Patriots a game against an AFC East opponent that they need to beat, and they were also completely dominated by the Buffalo Bills, which is just embarrassing. Right from the start, you could tell that the offense was in trouble. A 90-yard play by Julian Edelman was called back due to Chris Hogan's hold, the hold which occurred right where Edelman broke free, so it was obvious that they weren't going to miss that one. And that play turned into a microcosm of what this game was for the Patriots.

Two steps forward, three steps back. Another theme in the first quarter was running on third down, especially third long, which doesn't really make a lot of sense when you face a Rex Ryan coached team that is 100% focused on shutting down the run. Do you really think Rex the footman had any fear of Jacoby Brissett yesterday? Of course he didn't. He wasn't afraid of him, and he knew that if the Bills shut down the run, there was a great chance he would walk out of Foxborough with a win. And guess what? He was exactly right. There just wasn't any urgency in the Patriots yesterday. Well, Sunday.

It almost felt like a fourth preseason game. It didn't seem like there was a lot of game planning either. It just felt like they were happy with the three wins and ready to get Brady back either at 3-1 or 4-0. The team saw both records as terrific in his absence, so when they realized that basically they had no starting quarterback, the plan shifted to, well, if we can win with conservative playing and not make mistakes, great. But we are not putting anyone's health on the line with Brady returning to the lineup next week. Some may compare this to the Miami game last season, but Miami was worse because the Pats blew home field,

which ultimately may have cost them a Super Bowl last year. So to compare that game with the Buffalo game, it doesn't really make sense. Buffalo's situation was completely different. Jacoby Brissett wasn't what they needed. His thumb was a mess. So they went into the game thinking they could beat them without a quarterback, and they just happened to be wrong. So it happens.

Patriots aren't perfect. Belichick does make mistakes, but it's just one of those reminders that in the NFL, if you don't have a quarterback that can go out and do the job, there is a very good chance that you're not going to win the game. Let's take a minute to hear from one of our sponsors. The first month of the NFL season is officially in the books. How did your fantasy football team do this week? Did you get in the fun over a fan duel yet?

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All right, so now it's time to get to questions with Kurt. Now, I'm new, so you guys don't even know who I'm talking about, but Kurt is a friend of the show, a friend of ours over at Scout.com. He is a Patriot superfan from Foxborough. Sorry, he's not from Foxborough. He is from Fitchburg, Massachusetts. We asked Kurt some questions this week. Kurt will not be able to join us on the show this week,

but he will be joining us next week. But we do have his answers, and they are always interesting. So let's take a look at what Kurt had to say and see if you guys agree. The first question I asked him was about Tom Brady's legacy and has it taken a hit because of the Patriots 3-1 start and with him not being there. Kurt emphatically said no. TB12's legacy is not tarnished one bit by the team's success in the first quarter of the season. There are many quarterbacks who can put up great numbers in the regular season, win 10-12 games a year, win divisions, win MVP awards, etc., but the difference for this guy is in the playoffs, and most importantly, in the Super Bowl. Even though TB12 is 4-2 in the Super Bowl,

and don't forget that the two losses he engineered late drives from a pants head and subsequently let down by his defense, and he was won off by Eli Manning, who has, what they say, guts in big moments, among other things. He stepped up and beat Brady, but for the success that Brady has had in the playoffs, you cannot question his legacy. You think of the regular season successes of Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Kurt Warner, Donovan McNabb, Drew Brees, and Brett Favre,

even going back to father other players, all of them were able to win a lot of games. They put up MVP numbers. They won MVPs. Some of them won Super Bowls. But Brady separates himself and puts himself on another tier from those cute quarterbacks. He's just on a different level. He's even gone past the point of Joe Montana. Although it does mitigate Brady's legacy, it doesn't mitigate Brady's legacy in Kurt's mind or mine either. The success they have had in this stretch certainly showed how talented of a coach Bill Belichick really is. He clearly was able to get his seat ready to play, and was able to come up

with creative ways to put his players in positions to excel. 3-1 with arguably the best quarterback of all time is no small feat from a coaching perspective, so it is very impressive what the Patriots have been able to pull off here. But, in no way, according to Kurt, and according to

me, does it take away from Tom Brady's legacy. Question number two we had for Kurt. Sometimes you call him Crazy Kurt. Some of his answers will be a little bit off the cuff sometimes, but we'll wait for him to be on for those. I'm just going to read the good ones here. Should Jimmy Garoppolo's

toughness be in question after missing two games in a Grade 2 sprained AC joint? Well, Kurt said, after being in games in a grade two sprained AC joint. Well, Kurt said, after being inactive with a shoulder injury for the second straight game, a 16-0 home loss to Buffalo when the offense never looked like scoring, some of the media started questioning him, which is ridiculous. Jim Murray of 98.5 The Sports Hub even went so far as to call him a huge you-know-what on Twitter. i'm not going to say the word you guys can go to twitter and figure it out this isn't fair for the young

quarterback kurt and myself are firmly of the opinion that if he could have played he would have there's no doubt about it it's not fair for people whose body is not aligned to question what somebody else is going through especially this early in their career and with this being only the first such incident. He's not Jay Cutler. He's not a guy who habitually misses games because of sprained thumbs or a tweaked groin muscle. Take a look at that 2010 AFC Championship game. And he's already earned absurd million-dollar contracts.

He's not that guy. Garoppolo wants to play. He wants to be on the field. He knew that this was his opportunity to show to play. He wants to be on the field. He knew that this was his opportunity to show he was indeed the heir to the throne of Tom Brady, but he even had a chance to maybe go out and get a Brock Osweiler type contract because of how well he was playing. He knows that he may not get another chance to play before that, and I'm sure he did all he could to get ready to play, but the body just didn't agree. It didn't get in healthy form,

and unfortunately, he's going to have to wait to see something else happen. Maybe Tom Brady gets a little nicked up and he gets a chance to go in and play, but it's not fair to question Garoppolo's toughness. I'm in complete agreement with Kurt on this one, and if he was on here, he would be screaming into this microphone right now

because he just gets very angry about that, and as do I. Garoppolo's toughness should never be in question. He did the best he could to try to get back out there. The third question we had has, have the Patriots learned to win games in different ways during this brainless four-game stretch?

And has it made them a better team, and what will they look like going forward? Kind of a big question, but there are many, many different answers to it. The Patriots under Belichick have always stressed playing well in all three phases of the game. In the first quarter of the 2016 season, they've done a good job of that. The Patriots have used the new kickoff rules to their advantage, although it did come back to bite them a little bit against the Bills. They played pretty good defense for portions of the first two games.

They played very well against Houston on Thursday night, last Thursday night when they shut them out, even though their defense really struggled in the first half against Buffalo. They've been relatively consistent, and they've also been able to develop a consistent power running game that is huge when they want to close out teams in the second half the running game is interesting because it's a situation where last season they didn't have it and they went into denver they tried to play afc in an afc championship with a banged up offensive line and no running game and it just showed that you can't do it the running game has to be there if you want to win the Super Bowl so when you become predictable next thing you know teams can

pin their ears back and come after Brady and that's when he starts getting sacked and his feet start getting a little shaky and that's when the Patriots are in trouble it doesn't really hurt him during regular season games. He has terrible opponents. But when you're playing a quality opponent in the playoffs, it's going to hamper you. The most important part of the NFL running game is being able to run the ball and everyone in the stadium knows you're going to do it. And that's what the Patriots are starting to develop again, which is what they did in Week 2 against Miami.

Also, run blocking is easier for offensive linemen. It's more fun. It's what they want to do. Offensive linemen are different type of animals altogether. I coached them. I was one. I get it. Run blocking is an opportunity to get out there, go out, hit, be aggressive, get down the field a little bit, get dirty. Pass blocking is more finesse. It's not an easy skill. It's hard to do, but when you can run block and your team can do that,

the pass blocking comes a little bit easier because you keep the defense on their heels. So for the Patriots to develop that in their offense in the 2016 season while Brady is out is huge, huge for their prospects in going back to a Super Bowl and winning.

So I do believe that in many ways during this four-game stretch, and Kurt and I also are in total agreement on this, the Patriots have become a better team. They're being forced to rely on average quarterback play to win games. Garoppolo did look good, but he only played for a game and a half. They're going to be a better team with Brady, no question about it, but what they've been able to accomplish with him out and develop with him out is only going to help them get better.

So this has been really good for them with him out to go 3-1 and to improve in all three facets of the game. The special teams have looked excellent, which has always been one of their strengths, but they've looked even better this year. The defense is going to continue to improve. In the offense, if you look at the coach's tape and you see some of the players that have been open, there's a good chance if Tom Brady plays in week four that they beat Buffalo by three touchdowns. So there's a lot to be excited about. The fact that they are 3-1 with limited players is excellent.

So, that's all we had to say about that. I want to thank Kurt again for getting involved with the show. Kurt is one of those guys that he's got a lot to say when it comes to the Patriots, and when I told him that we were going to be taking over this podcast, he was all excited

and said, listen, I got some stuff for you. Let's talk. Ask me some questions. Let's get excited and said, listen, I got some stuff for you. Let's talk. Ask me some questions. Let's get going. So, Kurt, thanks again, and we'll sure to have you on the show in the next couple days. Patriots news to get to here. With the return of Tom Brady and Rob Nankovich, the Patriots are in a position

where they have to make a couple roster spots. The first spot opened up yesterday. They released veteran tight end Clay Harber, a player that they had more of an impact on special teams than he did on offense, to be honest. But Harber is a pretty good NFL player. They signed him from Jacksonville.

I don't think they expected A.J. Derby to develop as quickly as he did. Derby's one of those guys that Belichick actually coached his dad back in the early 90s at Cleveland that they took a flyer on in the draft. I know that Nick Saban had given him some props, and Belichick really likes it when Saban says to take a player, he typically does, and he was right. So Derby has essentially won the job. Harbaugh is on his way out.

A player, again, that was more of an effect on special teams than the offense anyways. Keep in mind, though, that Harbaugh will catch on with another team, but he also may have some type of handshake agreement with the Patriots to return upon other moves. So I don't think that's necessarily done yet, because we see that a lot with players like Harbaugh that fit into the system and are excellent on special teams.

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