Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Mike Vrabel and the New England Patriots Future: Drake Maye, Offense, Defense, Coaching Staff

Starting point is 00:00:00 As the rest of Patriots Nation continues to focus on Mike Vrabel rounding out his coaching staff, priority one should be protecting quarterback Drake May. Stick around, you're about to be locked in to the Locked On Patriots Podcast. You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful. Thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage and hopefully your first listen each and every day.

Starting point is 00:00:39 I'm your host, Mike DeBate, and I cover your New England Patriots. For the Patriots country, reach out to me. Let me know what's on your mind on X at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L. While you're out there showing some love to Locked On Patriots social media style, follow our X account at L-O underscore Patriots. And, of course, you can find me where the skies are blue over on Blue Sky at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L dot B-Sky dot social. And, Pats fans, today's episode brought to you by PrizePix. Go to prizepix.com slash locked on NFL and use the code all lowercase locked on NFL to

Starting point is 00:01:14 win $50 instantly when you play $5. Pats fans, Mike Vrabel continues to make himself at home. The newly minted head coach already assembling a short or long list, depending on your perspective, of potential coaches and potential front office personnel that will help him to shape this 2025 New England Patriots team, not just for this season, but beyond. But what should be priority one tactically for Mike Vrabel and the Patriots? Well, most people would tell you it's to fix the offensive line, help the running game

Starting point is 00:01:47 out, get some mojo back into the defense. Well, maybe priority one should be providing some protection and some assistance to your number one quarterback, Drake May. That's right. That's what we're going to be discussing here on Locked On Patriots today. We're going to be talking about Mike Vrabel's plan for Drake May, what he's revealed he'd like to do, and what might be the best way to get there. Then we're going to flip the script and we're going to talk about the defense, the unit which egregiously regressed in 2024. How can Mike Vrabel and his staff bring this unit back to prominence in 2025?

Starting point is 00:02:20 And last but certainly not least, we're going to open up the Lockdown Patriots mailbag. It may not be Mailbag Monday. It may not be the midweek mailbag, but it is Telegraph Thursday. And we're going to take a question from one of our most valued everydayers. And it might have something to dorabel as Patriots head coach. You've missed him, folks. We've all missed him. It is my honor to welcome back a legend himself, Thomas Murphy. Thank you for coming to me in friendship today, Don Murph.

Starting point is 00:03:00 Pleasure to be here, Michael. Pleasure to be here. I heard you had sausage and peppers. It was great, Murph. Clemenza prepared the sauce. Oh, and by the way, if you're already near my house, come on by. Try the veal. It's the best in the city, I guarantee you. You know, bud, it's been a little bit since we've had the opportunity to chop it up here on Locked On Patriots. Normally, I'd say it's been a minute or a hot minute. It's been a little more than that. Since the last time that we've talked here on these airwaves.

Starting point is 00:03:28 Gerard Mayo has been ousted as head coach of the New England Patriots. Interviews have taken place. Mike Vrabel has been installed and is already on the job for about 72 hours now, give or take when you're listening to this. So a lot's happened in New England. And right now, Mike Vrabel is assembling his crew, as Dave Chappelle might say. Mike is trying to put all the pieces in place for him to be able to resurrect this franchise, lead them back to respectability. And part of that, a big part of that, is assembling his coaching staff and assembling members

Starting point is 00:03:56 of the front office that will look to assist him when it comes to scouting, when it comes to free agency, people he's comfortable with working. So I know you've had your opinions as to what Mike should do in the front office. We're going to get to that in a little bit, folks. I am not going to mute my good friend here today. I'm going to give him the floor to be able to talk about it. But it's been argued by me, the defense, Murph, that really priority one for the Patriots right now should be finding a way to cultivate and protect their star quarterback, Drake May.

Starting point is 00:04:27 Their newly engaged quarterback, Drake May, by the way. Tip of the cap, congratulations to both Drake and his fiancee and Michael Hudson, who are now engaged to be married. Good for you, son. Go get engaged. You don't have to be there when the new boss is in. No, good for you. At least now we understand why he wasn't. And to be totally honest with you folks, I mean, this is the modern era. You don't necessarily have to be there.

Starting point is 00:04:50 There are ways that you can be there without physically being in the building. I don't think anybody's questioning Drake's intestinal fortitude or his commitment to this team. I think this is going to be a good pairing. But a lot of it is going to depend on the moves that Mike Vrabel makes in the coach's room, Murph, in the front office. How do you prepare your star quarterback who had a very good rookie season in the limited sample size that we saw, lead him to that next level, avoid that dreaded sophomore slump? You're an assistant to Mike Vrabel. You're a voice in his ear, a very trusted confidant, a consigliere, if you will, Murph.

Starting point is 00:05:23 How would you advise Mike Vrabel right now to protect Drake May? What do you believe the plan should be? First of all, we have to find a cubicle for Elliot Wolfe down in the basement. Okay? Give him his red stapler, send him down to the basement. That's it. I don't want to hear anything else. Secondly, we need to rebuild this offensive line that Elliot Wolfe put together last year at the last minute.

Starting point is 00:05:50 You know, they were airport presence, kids. That's what you got. You got airport presence. And that's where it needs to start. I know that everybody wants to know who the offensive coordinator is, who it's going to be. My frontrunner is Josh McDaniels. As you all know, I have a great deal of respect for Josh. I think he is a leader of young quarterbacks.

Starting point is 00:06:19 We've seen in the past what he's been able to do with young quarterbacks. Unfortunately, I don't think that Alex Van Pelt is even going to get an interview for this, and I think he should. You know, a lot of people got on Alex during the year. I was not one of those people. I told you all that Van Pelt's offense was stifled by the lack of talent on this team. You know, we had guys on this team that couldn't even line up right in one of the most basic offenses that I've ever seen. And they couldn't get on the field because they couldn't line up right in practice.

Starting point is 00:06:59 But first and foremost is get this offensive coordinator into town and start working with Drake and, of course, with Vrabel and seeing as how this offense is going to shake up. Second of all is they've really got to get going in the draft room. We heard a lot this week, and it really ticked me off, that last year's draft was misgraded, that it wasn't the grading system that Elliot Wolfe wanted to use. Well, why not? This firing happened, you know, Bill Belichick was shown the door long before the um before the draft you could have installed your grading system the uh the um the scouting had

Starting point is 00:07:53 already been done the scouting department was essentially the same just regrade the papers that's it that's all you had to do and that's one of the reasons that i wanted him out and that's one of the reasons that i wanted george co And that's one of the reasons that I wanted George Kokinas in because George would have been real change. And I know Mike has brought in his own guy. And I believe that, you know, whether you call him number one or number two, doesn't matter. He's the guy that's going to be in Rabel's ear and he's going to be the guy that's running this draft. That gentleman that you bring up, his name is Ryan Cowden, folks. Stay tuned tomorrow here on Locked On Patriots because we're going to be getting an expert view inside Ryan Cowden.

Starting point is 00:08:32 My good friend and colleague, Patricia Trena, host of Locked On Giants, where Ryan Cowden has spent the last two seasons in New York. She's going to have some very good insight for you on Ryan. So make sure to stay tuned. Check that out. You will not want to miss that. But Murphph i think you hit the nail right on the head you've got to get your offensive coordinator and your offensive coaching staff set and you have to get them in here and working with the quarterback working with this team the key components the tenets of this defense the

Starting point is 00:08:59 cornerstones of this offense need to be working with that coaching staff right from day one they got a lot of work to do this is not a good unit right now folks no i pulled some stats in anticipation of our conversation today because i know you love my numbers murph i know you love when i pull the stats 31st in total offense in 2024 for the new england patriots they averaged 291.9 yards per game 30 total touchdowns they only averaged 17 points per game all right here's where that went up though that did go up yes it did go up when Drake May took the ball he did resurrect this team so imagine imagine what this offense might have looked like if Drake got the ball later or didn't at all yeah i don't think we even want to think about that right now but look here's where it really starts to decline 46.8 touchdown rate in the red zone you've mentioned

Starting point is 00:09:52 the red zone several times that has to be an area of focus that was 30th in the nfl by the way folks third down offense your biggest pet peeve every single week when Murph cuts these monster keys he mentions third down efficiency on offense very seldom was that key turned 34.9 success rate 29th in the NFL at third down offense again some of that is skewed because Drake did improve that as he did come on uh board here in New England but still a very poor showing by the Patriots in third down. And here's the real low point, Murph. Here is the Dean Wormer, John Blutarski, 0.0 moment for the New England Patriots. 32nd dead last in passing offense, averaging only 176.2 yards per game and 18 touchdowns

Starting point is 00:10:49 that's a problem it's a big one and i know and thankfully for patriots nation i think mike vrabel knows this he's begun to outline a rudimentary plan for revitalizing the patriots passing game uh he mentioned this on on Monday when we had the opportunity to speak with him after he addressed the media. And he mentioned there are ways to improve the passing game. You've got to protect the middle of the pocket, all the things that the Patriots weren't able to do last year. You get aggressive, but not reckless. Understanding where you are in the game, situational awareness was such a problem for the new england patriots right in 2024 you don't want to revisit that of course i think a lot of the goodwill that he built up on

Starting point is 00:11:31 monday got eroded a little bit on tuesday when some comments surfaced about mike maybe not understanding the concept of correlation versus causality and running the football and what it means when you're up when you're down in the game look the bottom line i think a lot of that was overblown but but it does cause concern it does when when you hear things like that and you hear some contradictions um how does mike write that ship right away to prove that this is not a philosophy that's going to sink this ship before it sets sail um what does he need to do right away to prove that he is committed to a sound concept when it comes to both running and passing and

Starting point is 00:12:12 having a happy engagement a happy marriage uh to kind of put things in drake may's terms right now uh between the two units of his offense yeah he just has to go back and say look at look at my history okay he had uh very balanced attacks down there in Tennessee, even though he had one of the best running backs in the history of the NFL. It was still a very balanced attack. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I would go with a close to 50 50 50 split when it when it when it came to that that matter especially um on third down now what what mike was able to do there was get into situations that

Starting point is 00:12:59 i really enjoy which is second and short third and short you short. They weren't playing from behind the sticks. And another thing that one of the first things that he's going to have to do is what he mentioned at Monday's press conference was being able to take advantage of bad football. The first thing that Mike needs to do is, is not play bad football, not play stupid football, which is what the Patriots have been doing for several years now. And, um, and that ship's gotta be right. I, um, one of, one of my first priorities for him after offensive coordinators is seeing who his, uh, who his offensive line coach is going to be. Very good point. Scott Peters, obviously, an interesting year,

Starting point is 00:13:48 I guess is a very diplomatic way for me to put it. Scott, I do believe, tried to do the best he could with the personnel that he had. Is that a fair assessment in one year? Yeah, I think you can make the argument either way that maybe it is or maybe it isn't. But in terms of how Mike Vrabel is going to craft this this offense you have to make the decision of whether or not scott peters is the guy you believe can run this offensive line scott is very good in theory folks yeah or should have been very

Starting point is 00:14:15 good in theory alongside someone like an alex van pelt because he loves to coach that outside zone are the patriots going to continue to run that if like you said Murph you bring in Josh McDaniels that's not his strong suit I know he's done a lot and I can tell you that uh from those that I've spoken to close to Josh that the reports of him modernizing his game scouting the college game scouting the pro game uh to bring a little bit more of a modern touch into his offensive strategy is 100 accurate so Josh will come in with a little bit of a different repertoire than simply just the Earhart Perkins style that he's run for so many years here in New England. Josh will adapt with the times, but is he going to fully embrace that outside zone? If not, Scott Peters may not be the guy. So that's a brilliant point, Murph. I'm glad you

Starting point is 00:15:01 brought that up. It's going to be important for Mike to try to put these concerns aside and I think what he's trying to do is put his philosophy out there I think it's going to be validated by the guys that he brings in right just in the coach's room but also the players you see them start to target in free agency that's going to be a big telltale sign as well and Murph I think in a lot of ways our love for New England Patriots football is cultivated on a solid offense but most of all I want to say maybe a not so nice defense maybe even a nasty defense an angry defense we haven't seen that from the New England Patriots in a couple of years Mike Vrabel in his comments to the media on Monday sounded an awful lot like he wants to bring that back. How will he do it? How will Mike Vrabel be able to resurrect the defense that went from top 10 in DVOA in 2023

Starting point is 00:15:48 to bottom of the barrel, number 30th in DVOA in 2024? Russ and I are going to talk a little bit about the revamping of this defense under Mike Vrabel when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team, every day. Locked On listeners, from the first whistle to the final drive,

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Starting point is 00:17:09 making us a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Special tip of the cap to all of you everydayers who continue to do so and a great welcome to all of you occasional listeners and any first timers out there. Thank you for choosing Locked On Patriots today. Here with me to break down Mike Vrabel's Patriots philosophy is a man that I am thrilled to welcome in each and every time he takes the microphone here on Locked On Patriots, my good friend, the legend himself, Thomas Murphy of DieHardBostonSportsFans.com. And Murph, we've talked a little bit about Mike's offensive philosophy, protecting Drake

Starting point is 00:17:43 May, putting him in the right place at the right point in order to be able to move this offense forward. But I think we'd be remiss if we didn't mention that this defense needs a whole lot of help as well. I've spoken about the stats several times and the regression. So when you look at this defense and you look at Mike Vrabel's philosophy of what he'd like to do, and you hear about extracting accountability from the building, and you hear about installing a culture of work and making sure that this team has accountability for its play on the field, how do you go about trying to resurrect that defense right now?

Starting point is 00:18:20 Because I think that may be as important or maybe even more important than getting the offense on track. Well, a new man at the helm is really going to help there. I'm sorry, Gerard Mayo was a defensive guy his entire career, his entire life. Came up as a short stint as a defensive coach. He was never a defensive coordinator. And Demarcus Covington was so far in over his head. They need a new defensive coordinator, somebody with fire in his belly and a track record for doing what the Patriots need most, and that's to be aggressive.

Starting point is 00:18:59 And I think that that's Bobby King, who is the inside linebackers coach for the Philadelphia Eagles. It also will not hurt that I am coveting a couple of Philadelphia Eagles in free agency on the defensive side of the ball. And having Bobby here would certainly help that situation a great deal. Oh, it absolutely would. And I love that you mentioned Bobby King because he is definitely right up at the top of that list.

Starting point is 00:19:25 And I love what this guy brings to the table because in anticipation of our conversation today, I not only look to try to pull some statistics, but I also wanted to go back and take a look at Mike Brable's philosophy, especially when he starts new jobs. I went all the way back to when Mike first started off as a linebackers coach and then a defensive coach at Ohio State. I found a quote from 2013 that really seems to still ring true when it comes to Mike Vrabel and his philosophy when you ask him about defense, because we did that on Monday, and you still can see that that's what lights him up inside. He's still a defensive guy at heart. He's still that linebacker that puts on the Patriots pads and wants to go out there and knock some guys around. It's just in his nature. And I loved what he said about this

Starting point is 00:20:10 Ohio State defense at the time that featured a lot of future NFL stars, including Joey Bosa and a lot of the guys that he coached there. He mentioned the fact we've got to bring some pressure. We've got to allow our rushers to impose their will at that point then guys have to step up yeah this is a physical sport it's a violent sport and it's a competitive sport and at some point you've got to have guys that aren't so nice and you got to have them go out there and start playing football i think this really encapsulates what mike drable wants to bring back to this defense i also thought of Keon White when he said this, because Keon has

Starting point is 00:20:47 been saying right along, I love to be coached hard. By all accounts, he loved being coached by Bill Belichick. I think that type of attitude on defense is going to be back. I think Mike's going to set the tone, and I do fully believe that the coaches he brings in are going to do that. And King really, I think, is the

Starting point is 00:21:03 guy right now that I would be keeping my sharp eye on. I like Shane Bowen at first when I first heard about him. I don't think he's getting pride out of New York, folks. But King is the guy that I really would love to see because you look at what he did in Tennessee. He oversaw a linebacker room that helped Tennessee pace the league both in rushing defense and in opponent yards per rush 76.9 yards per game in 2022 when he had to come under mike grable murph opponent yards per rush 3.4 the titans linebackers helped

Starting point is 00:21:35 limit opponents to just nine rushing touchdowns all season that was the third fewest in the nfl this team was a sieve when it came to run defense this year that was a top four unit in 2023 right that's a fix that i believe proper coaching and proper attitude and maybe a tweak here and there and personnel can fix immediately you want to see results right away right watch that if bobby king comes in here this team's going to be able to just look at what bobby did this year in philly you know you know they're they're writing about it all year long the the complete 180 that he was able to do with that crew all right this guy's been around for a long time he's got like as as mike said he's got he's got ties to vrabel he's got ties to uh to o'brien okay i mean he was he was even in houston when

Starting point is 00:22:22 o'brien was there for god's sakes. Get this kid in here. Spend the money. Bring him in. Give him his shot. All right? I understand that folks are out there and they're talking about we need guys that have experience in these. Lateral moves don't happen at these positions, at OC and DC, unless, of course, you just got fired. All right?

Starting point is 00:22:49 Don't pry people away or it's going to cost you something. This is why they don't happen. This kid's an up-and-comer. If you don't grab him now, somebody's going to grab him in the next coaching cycle. Make them their DC, and you're going to regret it. So well said, Bud. And again, you come back to the statistics that support Murph's claim. I don't think anybody can question that this run defense would be light years better with

Starting point is 00:23:15 Bobby King helping to run things on the defensive side of the ball in tandem with Mike Rabel. But if you're worried about that pass rush and going back to Mike's quote from Ohio State about getting not so nice people in here to start getting after the quarterback. Bobby King also served as Houston's inside linebackers coach for three seasons when he was with the Texans. Worked with guys like Zach Cunningham, got him to a league leading and career best 163 tackles in 2020. Terrell Adams 122 the only NFL duo that season to finish in the top 15 in tackles and the Wingland Patriots were an egregiously bad tackling team last season once again you're looking at what the Patriots did poorly in 2024 what they did well in 2023

Starting point is 00:24:01 looking at those side by side and making the adjustments to make sure that the patriots get back to playing smash mouth football and that's why i love this for a guy like keon white maybe even a guy like jabril peppers who play the game with an aggressive type of style uh this could be a lot of fun to watch this year if you're looking at the resurrection of the defense so i think in so many ways murph it helps to support the fact that the new coaches coming in are going to lend a new way of doing things, a new philosophy, but not every coach is going to be a new coach. There will be some retentions on this current staff.

Starting point is 00:24:37 And I know a lot of Patriots fans out there are not only wondering who the new guys coming in will be, but who can we look forward to as holdovers from this current staff? Murph and I have talked about a couple. A lot of you have talked about a couple. And in just a moment, we're going to pick a question from the Telegraph Thursday mailbag that supports that very point. All this and more when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast wraps up right

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Starting point is 00:26:08 Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to rocketmoney.com slash locked on today. That's rocketmoney.com slash locked on. rocketmoney.com slash LockedOn. Pats fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on LockedOn Patriots as we continue to talk Patriots philosophy under new head coach, the 60th head coach in Patriots history, Mike Vrabel. And to do so, we bring in the only man with the wisdom, the counsel, and the opinions needed

Starting point is 00:26:45 to make sure that the Patriots return to prominence, and that is my good friend, the legend himself, Thomas Murphy of DieHardBostonSportsFans.com. Murph, we've talked offense, we've talked defense, but a hot-button issue with all Patriots fans right now is this coaching staff. A lot of us believe, myself included, that the coordinator positions are probably going to go to different coaches this year. Marcus Covington likely out as the defensive coordinator. Alex Van Pelt likely out as the offensive coordinator. But will either of these guys hang around in this organization for a different role? Will some of the other coaches

Starting point is 00:27:24 currently on staff be retained by Mike Vrabel and this new regime coming in? That for a different role? Will some of the other coaches currently on staff be retained by Mike Vrabel and this new regime coming in? That's a common question that we're getting a lot of. You and I both in Twitter DMs, in conversations that we're having with Patriots fans, it's who are the new coaches coming in and who might be retained by Mike Vrabel and this staff? Well, in honor of Telegraph Thursday,

Starting point is 00:27:44 which my good friend here coined the phrase, I don't want to take credit for that. That's all, Murph. I thought we'd go to one of our most valued everydayers, Murph. You and I both love this guy. He truly is amazing when it comes to the support that he provides for Locked On Patriots, and that is our good friend Ted and Chickapoo.

Starting point is 00:28:00 Oh, Teddy. Teddy ball game. Ted's Telegraph Thursday mailbag question of the week is which Patriots coach currently on the staff is most likely to be retained by Mike Rabel or if I leave it to you who among the current coaches of the New England Patriots should we expect to see back here next year on the sidelines if uh Jeremy Springer hasn't retained and back, back here running special teams next year, I'm a vermicious candidate. All right.

Starting point is 00:28:28 What Jeremy and his staff is, have been able to do this season is, you know, really, really special, special teams. But he's, he's,

Starting point is 00:28:39 he's built the, you know, there's three phases to this game. Special teams is really important. And, and I think he's done a fantastic job. That goes for Tommy Quinn, his assistant, Kobe Tippett, you know, Andre Tippett's son, also chipped in in there. I believe all three of these guys will be back. Also, don't count out, you know, Mike Pellegrino, the cornerbacks coach. Here's a name we all know and love, Belichick.

Starting point is 00:29:13 This time, it's Brian. Brian's done a good job. I wouldn't be surprised if Brian was also back this year. He's somebody that Mike Vrabel has watched grow up and who matriculated through this system to earn his job. This was not a Nepo baby thing with him or with Steve. They both earned their way up from the mailroom to the jobs that they have right now.

Starting point is 00:29:42 And I know there's another name, you know. I wouldn't mind seeing Steve running the defense again. Yeah, I think Steve may have his hands full around Chapel Hill. That's probably not going to happen, yeah. I do think Steve's going to be running the things down there in Chapel Hill with his dad, and they're going to do a fine job down there. But those are three names that are three or four names that I think

Starting point is 00:30:05 are definitely in the mix to be retained here. Yeah, I love them all. And I'd love to see all of them return. Brian Belichick obviously has a decision to make. Does he want to go down and join Steve, his brother, and join his father in Chapel Hill and run things down in North Carolina. That definitely is a possibility. I don't know if maybe Brian has other aspirations in the NFL.

Starting point is 00:30:30 If another team comes calling, would he go? I know that there is a very good relationship that still exists between Mike Vrabel and the Belichicks. So this could very well be a coach that Mike calls and said, look, I know your dad's doing his thing down in Chapel Hill. You you may get other offers but you've got a home here in new england i want to make sure that you stay here it might be getting other offers this week he might be who knows folks i mean there's a lot of things that could potentially happen there i absolutely agree with you 100 jeremy springer uh the job that he has done with turning around this special teams unit that for the last couple of years under bill belichick really struggled murph you and i talked about how bad it was to see the special

Starting point is 00:31:11 teams unit continuously missed tackles out of position not able to do what they needed to do awful the unit this year folks finished with a 90.3 grade from pro football focus second best special teams unit in the league and it really is due to the tutelage of jeremy springer i'd also love to see matthew slater continue to hang around because you know he had a lot to do with that and he loves later later he'll be here and and i also think they'll find uh something for uh for uh hightower to do i think hightower was tossed into the deep end of the pool it's really difficult when you're as good as danta hightower to do. I think Hightower was tossed into the deep end of the pool. It's really difficult when you're as good as Donta Hightower was to teach.

Starting point is 00:31:54 It really is because Donta Hightower didn't have to think about it. He just did it time and time again. And it's really difficult for those that play the game in that manner to teach it um i think he will be able to so yeah i think zeus hightower will will still be around here in some capacity yeah and i hope he will be as well i think dante deserves the opportunity to grow into himself as a coach one of the best players we've covered during our tenure here and covering the new england patriots on the Patriots beat. But sometimes, and I'm so glad that you mentioned that,

Starting point is 00:32:27 the prowess on the field is both a blessing and a curse because you know what needs to be done. But to teach it is a whole other animal. It really is. And that sometimes you see great players that don't translate to being great coaches. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. They just don't get it. Ted Williams couldn't coach.

Starting point is 00:32:47 Exactly. Ted Williams was a terrible coach and manager. Right. Awful because we just did it. You can write it down, but to sit there and hold somebody's hand and teach them how to do it, it's a special animal that's able to do that, and it's not usually somebody that is that great. And I'm so glad that you mentioned that because it's not just the inability

Starting point is 00:33:04 to teach it. Sometimes it's the frustration when they can't get the concept the way you can you know ted williams is the greatest hitter to ever live and in my opinion i don't think there'll ever be a better hitter but if you're teaching someone or attempting to teach someone how they don't like you and they can't do it it's frustrating because you want them to equal you and no one can equal your prowess saw the same thing when magic johnson tried to coach the los angeles ladies he was a disaster one of the greatest players in nba history could not coach worth a lick by his own admission he said it several times i wanted guys to be able to do what i did on the court automatically

Starting point is 00:33:41 and i just couldn't get them to do it mur Murph, before we take our leave of this subject quickly, eerily absent from our discussion are any coaches on the offensive side of the ball. I know we've said previously that we believe Alex did the best he could as offensive coordinator with the limited— I would love to see if Alex can swallow his pride, and I think there's not a lot of it. He's not a prideful man. If he would stay here and stay on as quarterback's coach,

Starting point is 00:34:05 I think it would be fantastic. I would like to see maybe a phone call put into Wes Welker, see if Wes would consider coming up here and becoming the wide receivers coach. I think he is. I'm not sure if he is in or out down there in Miami right now. I'm not sure what's going on there. He's out.

Starting point is 00:34:23 He's out in Miami. He'd be a free agent. Okay. His phone is ringing i can tell you that uh you know people that i've spoken to yeah so we'll see whether one of those calls came from the patriots folks it's still a matter of conjecture i can't confirm that or deny that either way but it should be uh he should be a call that i think mike drable will make again there's a relationship there these two know each other well maybe they can make something work out i also want to give a little bit of love to bob mcnell the tight ends coach oh okay you bring back austin hooper i think he'd be a great guy to help cultivate not only hunter henry and austin at the top of this chart but from what i'm hearing behind the scenes did amazing things with jaheim Bell from the time that he came in as

Starting point is 00:35:05 a young draftee and a lot of what happens behind closed doors after the media is told to leave practice is where you see Bell really kind of right off the page if what I'm hearing about Jaheim Bell is true and I have no reason to believe it's not folks I think we got some good news for Claire Cooper there's going to be a three-man tight end room three tight end sets next and I think those three tight end sets, like Murph said, could be there. It's Claire Nirvana. Absolutely. It really is. I love it. Xanadu. And she'll love that as well. Bottom line, folks, I think what you're seeing right now is Mike Vrabel

Starting point is 00:35:38 trying to put the best of the best in place. Support the stars you have on this team. Defensively, you want to make sure that guys like Keon White are running things up front. You want to make sure that Christian Gonzalez is locking everything down in the defensive backfield. And most importantly, bud, you want to make sure that Drake May, your quarterback of the future, your franchise guy, has comfort in the pocket, has continuity when it comes to his offensive line, and has competent, guiding him into the right spot. Does that mean a combination or a mix of Josh McDaniels, Alex Van Pelt?

Starting point is 00:36:10 Well, we're going to find that out in the coming days, folks. But I want to thank my good friend, Thomas Murphy, for dropping by here today to lend his wisdom and counsel. I also want to give a tip of the cap to our good friend, Ted and Chicka P. Mass for donating this week's Telegraph Thursday mailbag question of the week. Before I let you go, please let everyone know where they can reach out to you, interact with you, and what you got marinating in Murph's kitchen when it comes between now and your next appearance next week here on Lockdown Patriots. Yeah, and you can follow me on Zitter at TMurph207.

Starting point is 00:36:42 Also over there where the gray skies are clearing up, going blue. Same handle. Of course, I just mentioned earlier that I have my top 10 free agents at each position, at every position in the NFL. Coming out next week. Absolutely, folks. Appointment viewing, appointment reading, appointment listening. So definitely stay

Starting point is 00:37:06 tuned to when Murph publishes these and when we bring them here to Lockdown Patriots we're honored and humbled that he chooses us to be the vehicle by which he shares it from an audio and visual standpoint and once again folks you can catch all his great written work over at diehardbostonsportsfans.com what can I say Don Murph thank you for your wisdom and counsel and your appearance today. But folks, thank you. All of you everydayers, all of you occasional listeners, and any of you first-timers, thank you for choosing Locked On Patriots

Starting point is 00:37:33 to be a part of your daily Patriots coverage. On behalf of the great Thomas Murphy, I'm Mike DeBate, reminding all of you to stay safe, to stay well, to be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone. We'll see you back here again tomorrow on Locked On Patriots. safe, to stay well, to be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone. We'll see you back here again tomorrow on Locked on Patriot.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Mike Vrabel and the New England Patriots Future: Drake Maye, Offense, Defense, Coaching Staff

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