Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Bye Week Progress Report: The Good, The Bad and The MVP? Maye, Gonzalez & More

Starting point is 00:00:00 At the bye week, there's been some good, there's been a lot of bad, but there is definite hope for the New England Patriots' future. 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

Starting point is 00:00:35 Patriots coverage. I'm your host, Mike DeBate. 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 MDABATENFL. You can follow me with a sky's or blue over on Blue Skies at MDABATENFL.BSKY.SOCIAL.

Starting point is 00:00:53 And of course, if you're looking to send some love to Locked On Patriots social media style, please follow our account there as well at LO underscore Patriots. And Pats fans, today's episode is brought to you by our friends over at fan duel you can start the season with a big return on fan duel new customers can place a five dollar bet

Starting point is 00:01:13 and you'll get started with 150 in bonus bets if you win your first five dollar bet visit fanduel.com to get started and pats fans it may may be the bi-week of the 2024 NFL season, but you didn't think that was going to stop us from crossing the streams here on locked on Patriots crossover is what makes locked on unique. We are the innovators and here today to lend some of that crossover spirit for two gentlemen. I've been waiting to welcome simultaneously on this pod for quite some time you recognize our good friend our patriots pison our resident voice of reason steve balistrieri

Starting point is 00:01:51 of patsfans.com it is my esteemed honor to also welcome in his co-host of yet another amazing patriots podcast he is derek havens steve derek thank you so much for joining me here today. It is great to have Patriots fourth and two invading Locked On Patriots. Thank you, man. It's great to be here. Always a pleasure, my friend. Your audience has heard

Starting point is 00:02:17 us both talking about Derek for quite some time, and now they get to see him in the flesh. Absolutely. Sorry about that, by the way. But seriously, quite some time and now they get to see him in the flesh absolutely sorry about that by the way but seriously i appreciate i appreciate you coming on last week i know we said on our show that we've recorded yes or the other day and posted uh you know um you were on um to help steve out while i you know my wife and i welcomed into our first child mom and baby are doing well uh you came on uh literally, it's annoying to have someone

Starting point is 00:02:47 as astute as you come on to my show and then go ahead and overshadow me. That's a little frustrating, but you know, I get that from Steve, you know, most, most weeks. So thanks for coming on and, and all the you know, the welcome thoughts that we shared offline. Absolutely. And the funds are being wired as we speak for all those compliments, Derek. No, I'm only kidding. This is a crossover we've been waiting to do for quite a while. Usually we'll cross over with the hosts across the Locked On Podcast Network and we'll get ready for the upcoming game. But when it's a bye week, usually the crossover goes by the wingside.

Starting point is 00:03:22 Well, not this week, folks. We got a great crossover for you here today and gentlemen let's get started with a state of the new england patriots a progress report at the bye week and derrick steve the patriots currently sit at three and ten on the season they are mathematically eliminated from postseason contention we're looking at a tale of the tape gentlemen it is not a pretty one a dismal 32nd in overall offense is where the patriots are ranked 30th in red zone offense with a success rate of 44.7 yeah that make even dean wormer mad steve i know we talk about him an awful lot with

Starting point is 00:03:58 your grade reports he would not be smiling at that one on defense not much of a brighter picture to paint unfortunately 19th in overall defense or you're in new england patriots it's now any way be smiling at that one. On defense, not much of a brighter picture to paint, unfortunately. 19th in overall defense are your New England Patriots. Now, any way you slice it, that sounds bad, folks. There's just, there's no way to sugarcoat it, no way to hide it. But things are not always what they seem. So before we air our Patriots Festivus grievances, a little early here on Locked On Patriots, and we discuss all of the ways in which the New England Patriots have disappointed us throughout the year. Let's start with the good things we're seeing from the Pats, the pieces of positivity that are going to carry us through that dark winter that we have coming up. Derek Singh, this is your first visit to Locked On Patriots.

Starting point is 00:04:40 Let's start with you, bud. Help lighten our holiday season, my friend. What about this club has impressed you? What makes you optimistic about the future? Well, I'll start with Drake May. I mean, as Steve will attest to, I am the resident optimist and rose-colored glasses guy in our podcast. Hopefully your listeners can hear that sarcasm bleeding through. No, but seriously, I mean, Steve and I hear that sarcasm bleeding through. No,

Starting point is 00:05:05 but seriously, I mean, I mean, Steve and I were just talking about this the other day and it's the truth. I mean, we've been talking about Drake May for quite some time before, well, before he was drafted and he's come in and I think he's done a great

Starting point is 00:05:15 job. I think the coaching staff, I think Alex van Pelt, it's funny. I actually was more excited about Mayo and DeMarcus Covington on the defensive side. And I was more excited about Mayo and Demarcus Covington on the defensive side and I was more worried about AVP but I feel like Alex Van Pelt has done a better job with getting Drake comfortable and you can see things building I thought you saw it in this last game against the

Starting point is 00:05:36 Colts unfortunately they weren't successful but you're seeing some different play designs they ran more motion than they had in any other game previously to this season. And I think you're seeing the drip go through the progressions. He's still showing some inconsistency in terms of like a little bit off target, especially on the closer throws, you know, he, his deep ball accuracy and his ability to throw ability and willingness, I should say to throw over the middle. I think you're seeing that same from the UNC tape that you're seeing now. So that's all great.

Starting point is 00:06:06 But he is the ultimate bright spot. To me, your biggest positions in today's NFL are the quarterback, the tackle, the edge rusher, and corners. And you can rank them however you want. But the game is played more on the edges than really ever before. Obviously, the trenches are, are extremely important, but, um, I think when you start with the biggest piece of having that quarterback there, I think that there's a lot about Drake that you love to see. I love his poise, his composure, the way he's going through things and the way he's improving. And I think that if we were to take the best thing from

Starting point is 00:06:42 this season so far, which has been frustrating on a lot of different levels, I think that if we were to take the best thing from this season so far, which has been frustrating on a lot of different levels, I think that you could take away where Drake May is right now. I think we would sign up for it before the season 100 times out of 100. Yeah, without question. I think a pleasant surprise. I think a lot of us realized that Drake was going to come in and show us flashes of what he could be in the future. I don't think people expected him to come in and be this NFL ready, elevating his team

Starting point is 00:07:08 around him. And I'll get back to that in just a moment, because that's part of my silver lining, part of my good when it comes to the Patriots progress report as well, Derek. Steve, you've covered this team for a number of years. You know their ups, their downs. You know what the problems have been for the Pats this year, but you've also been vocal on some of the good things that have come out of New England this year.

Starting point is 00:07:30 If you're looking at their progress report, what would you give them the highest marks on and why? Well, I agree with Derek. I think, you know, it starts with Drake May, right? I mean, you know, for all the reasons he just perfectly pointed out. So I'll flip it a little bit to somewhere else. And that would be, you know, getting Christian Gonzalez back. And, you know, if there's a bright spot on the defense right now, that would be him. I mean, we saw flashes of that last year, you know, the first four games before he was hurt.

Starting point is 00:08:07 You know, he was set out. He was put out there and, you know, go and cover the other team's best wide receiver. And he was doing that. And fortunately for the Patriots, that's picked right back up where he left off last year. I think he is rapidly coming, a guy that's going to have all pro thrown at him, you know, frequently, I think, for a very long time. And I just love that. I mean, because he's another young guy. He's technically still, now it would be the end of his rookie season, right? 17 games. But, you know, I think he's only going to continue to get better.

Starting point is 00:08:57 And, you know, when we look at him, he's one of those pieces that you build around. He's also getting more recognition from other wide receivers, such as other coaches. I think you're seeing it from other quarterbacks, you know, opposing quarterbacks, excuse me, in the way that they kind of, you know, move away from him. They've been willing to go. They played a mix of man and zone, the Patriots.

Starting point is 00:09:22 I mean, and, you know, I think that you can see other teams game planning to kind of avoid him. I'm not saying he's Darrell Revis in his prime or anything like that. He's still learning. He has his ups and downs. But I think, as Steve would say,

Starting point is 00:09:36 I would totally, totally stamp that on my end too, as he would be the second biggest price bought on the team. I mean, I think between him and Drake right now, those are the faces of the entire franchise. Absolutely, completely agreed. Very well said, gentlemen. And I think, Steve, you're right on the money when it comes to Christian.

Starting point is 00:09:52 And I think, Derek, you also made a great point about opposing quarterbacks not throwing in his direction. I mean, you can throw as many verbal bouquets as you want through the media at different players, but the ultimate sign of respect is when you're purposefully keeping the ball out of his reach. So that way he can't damage you and he can't make problems for you in the field. So Christian Gonzalez, absolutely a bright spot, maybe the brightest spot when it comes to these New England Patriots.

Starting point is 00:10:17 Derek, I come back to something that you said about Drake May and Alex Van Pelt's play calling that really complements his strengths. And I think one of the bright spots that I'm seeing in terms of Drake is a wisdom beyond his years. And I think maybe a willingness to accept the duties of an NFL quarterback before they were actually thrust upon him. The knock that everyone was seeing or that was everyone was hearing when it came to Drake's game at North Carolina was this is a kid that's going to push the big play he's going to go for it all the time but when it comes to actually taking the foot off the accelerator he might push it a little bit too much and cause bad things to happen we're

Starting point is 00:10:54 not seeing that that much with Drake yes there were rookie moments where he'll make throws that he'd like to have back but bottom line I think when you see him dissect the zone coverage like he did last week it also gives opposing defenses pause when you try him dissect the zone coverage like he did last week it also gives opposing defenses pause when you try to switch to man-to-man and maybe try to confuse him a little bit um he's proven that you have to account for the quarterback otherwise he can get out and burn you for another 41 yard run at 19 miles per hour on estimate from next gen stats that's insane that is absolutely just about as fast as you guys run the two of you oh yeah absolutely well when i'm running off a cliff

Starting point is 00:11:33 you know when i get that terminal velocity maybe you know yeah yeah i can i can get to 19 seconds and tying my right shoe i think that's pretty well good you know I pretty much can do that but uh it really is a testament to the young talent on this team so I'll I would I do want to I mean there's Steve can again attest to this there's no one who loves Drake more than me I think there's so many good things I'll start with three bad things with him though because I want to be balanced I want to be fair right so I think three things with him that, because I want to be balanced. I want to be fair, right? So I think three things with him that, that need to be cleaned up a little bit is we've, we, we talked about some of these, these inaccurate shorter passes have been just a little bit behind. Steve and I talked about that, um, at nauseam the other day on our podcast. Um, and that was kind of the MO coming out of UNC as

Starting point is 00:12:20 well. Uh, the footwork hasn't been, hasn't been as bad as it was coming out. There were a lot of people that were really up in arms about that and were worried about his progression from that level to this level. I think he's cleaned that up quite a bit. I'm not saying it's perfect. I just think it's better. It's improved, right? I am a little bit worried about, I do think that he has gotten a little skittish at times um over the last couple weeks and wanting to run more at some point you know he is an athlete and he can run and it's great to have that ability and it's a threat to the defense it's honestly kind of surreal and kind of weird as a Patriots fan to see a quarterback run like that because over the last two decades

Starting point is 00:13:01 we haven't seen that you know and then I would say the third thing is that I think that he's so much worried about making plays that he has some of those mind-numbing turnovers. There was that one against the Titans that comes to mind. There's a couple different ones against the Bears. The turnovers need to be cleaned up. Again, he's early into this season. I think he has shown you. I'm going to flip to the positive side now, okay?

Starting point is 00:13:26 The positive side is that we've seen everything that, if you liked Drake, everything that you've seen to this point, you're feeling really good about. If you didn't like Drake, for whatever reason, I feel, and again, I'm a little biased, but I feel like he has shown that maybe he's proving some people wrong. Maybe not totally, and we'll see what the final product is. But even if you were a Dan Orlovsky who really studies the game and who played at the NFL level, I know he wasn't a great player.

Starting point is 00:14:00 He's more of a backup, but he does a good job in his role. He thought he needed to sit for two years. I think he's showing even those kind of people wrong you know and he's showing that he's making these strides with an offensive line that honestly is almost even worse than i thought because the david andrews injury uh i think michael and when he's been one of the most disappointing players in the entire team this entire year especially when he's making 19 million dollars a year if it wasn't for for Austin Hooper and Hunter Henry, I don't know where we'd be. Jalen Polk had vice grips for hands coming out of college.

Starting point is 00:14:31 He looks like he can't even catch a cold right now. So it's like there's been so many different issues that I feel like Drake's overcoming, not to mention learning a new system and getting up to the speed of the game. And we all thought the defense was going to be, and I say we all meaning collectively, but generally the,

Starting point is 00:14:48 the general us, it was going to be a five to 10 unit. And they're measuring in almost the bottom five of almost any single metric you want to go from. So I think he's overcome a lot and it's not perfect. And there are a lot of strides too, but as Steve had said at this point in the season, season i mean how can you not be so happy with what with what he's brought to the table and and the way he carries himself and and i just think that that to me is just so exciting um as a fan i

Starting point is 00:15:16 don't care if you're an analyst because people forget like even if you're even if you're not a fan of the team and you're covering the team, you still would rather the team be better because it's more fun to talk about exciting good stuff than about negative stuff. We don't want to talk about that. But as a fan, too, it's also exciting to go ahead and have hope for the future. I think they have the most important piece. There are some things that I feel like Drake overall has shown you that are giving you a peek into the window of what the future could look like for this team. So glad that you mentioned that, because there are definite ups and downs to everybody's game, including Drake May. And most of the feedback that we've been getting is positive.

Starting point is 00:15:57 And there are things which should be catching the sharp eye of Patriots fans. And you mentioned a couple of them, some skittish behavior that is causing turnovers, maybe his over eagerness to run the ball a little bit. Could these be signs of problems around Drake May? Well, in just a moment, Steve Derrick and I are going to delve into the bad of the season. And at three and 10, you can bet that this is going to be a robust discussion when this episode of

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Starting point is 00:18:47 Get $20 off your purchase now at skylightframe.com slash NFL. Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on Locked On Patriots. And it is my esteemed honor to welcome in Steve Balistrieri, Derek Havens of Patriots 4th & 2 podcast. We are crossing the streams crossover style here. One Patriots podcast to another. A tip of the cap, gentlemen. Thank you so much for joining me here today. And obviously a 3-10 record is not going to do much to excite the fan base. You want more, folks. We want more for you. The players and the coaches want more. We all want to be better here in New England. Unless that means improving the draft position, then the worse the record, the better the

Starting point is 00:19:31 outcome. But that might be a conversation for another day. From an on-field perspective, there's a lot that the Pats need to do to improve. So Steve, in this segment, we'll start with you. What has been the most glaring deficiencies on this team in your estimation to date? It has to be the offensive line. I mean, we've been talking about the offensive lines since, what, minicamp?

Starting point is 00:19:56 You know, there was issues and, you know, we weren't sure about the offensive line because they try to band-aid it while fixing other positions. And, you know, their worst fears came true. I think, you know, you have to look at the offensive line as the major weakness. I mean, their run blocking is very inconsistent. Their pass blocking has not been good. And when you talk about Drake getting a little skittish, I think that has a lot to do with it when they play teams that like to get after the quarterback.

Starting point is 00:20:34 So I think, you know, you're going into next year with a ton of questions there. You know, honestly, I think other than a when you, you could be looking at four different pieces on the offensive line. Will Campbell. Kevin Banks. Just saying what everyone's thinking, folks. That's why we bring them in here.

Starting point is 00:21:07 Dynamite drop it. Well, I think they need to address it via free agency and, you know, through the draft. I mean, you can't draft four offensive, you know, linemen that are going to start on day one. I mean, you'd be neglecting everything else. So I think, you'd be neglecting everything else. So I think, you know, they're going to have to throw some extra money at a couple of guys to bring in.

Starting point is 00:21:31 And I think that's when you then look at the draft, as Derek said. You know, when we're getting into the bad, I was thinking about Lee Van Cleef and I was going to come up with some smart alecky uh you know quote but it didn't really fit so Mike would you say that the offensive line is worse than you thought or would you say that the defensive unit as a whole is almost more disappointing because I think there's a strong argument to make. To me, I can't decide what's worse. And I don't know if you have a take on that, honestly. I do. I'm more disappointed in the defense, despite all of the difficulties

Starting point is 00:22:18 that they've had. And we expected the offensive line to struggle. Now, I think the offensive line has struggled in areas where we expected them to struggle, and they've shown futility in areas where maybe we thought they might be a little bit better, like the interior. I thought the interior might be a little bit stronger. I expected struggling at the tackle position because you're having guys play out of position

Starting point is 00:22:39 and potential rookies having to carry the load. Offensive line's been without some guys too you know obviously david andrews that was a crippling injury to the middle part of that offensive line cole strange has yet to play a snap and an nfl game this season so these are all things that the patriots need to keep in mind when they're evaluating the performance of that o-line and let's face it drake may in the lineup has helped to mitigate some of the problems that this line has had with run blocking and pass protection because he's able to roll out, go off script, and make plays happen and maybe make things a little bit less egregious

Starting point is 00:23:15 over there. This defense was a top five unit defending the run last year, and they're not that this year. Devon Godchild was a one-man show early on in this season. I think he's fatigued. I think he's giving you all he can. He looks like a guy that's out of gas right now and doesn't have a whole lot of help. I do think that Barmore coming back is going to be a big help for that line and for that unit, so keep a sharp eye on that, but they need more contributions from the middle. I understand Juwan Bentley going down is a huge part of that. Peppers was someone

Starting point is 00:23:45 that in the secondary could help facilitate the run defense as well, but they need other guys to step up into those roles. We just haven't seen it enough consistently. That's been a bigger surprise for me this year. And maybe I guess that's why I can call it a bigger disappointment. And I just, just to piggyback off of Steve's point too, if we, if we look at something that Steve and I talked about the other day, there's a domino effect to a lot of this stuff. And even someone like Jelani Tavai, I think, has had a rough season. Steve feels this way as well. And it's a domino effect from not having Bentley next to him.

Starting point is 00:24:18 And even though Mayo and Covington come from the Belichick tree, there was, there's something to be said about Bill Belichick's ability to take players that are versatile, that maybe are square pegs round hole or however you want to classify it and are able to make them work in his system. I think to buy was that situation. I point back to Kyle Van Noy, you know,

Starting point is 00:24:43 Marty Mapu. I know he's kind of dealing with some stuff, but but, you know, he wasn't inactive this week. That was a second round pick that felt like a kind of a classic Belichick thing that he kind of thought that he had the clay, the mold there. I just think that Covington and Mayo, even though that they come from that site, that system, they want to do things their own way. And I just think that people including myself i'm not i'm not casting stones at anyone i think including myself and i don't want to speak for steve but i feel like we've talked enough about it i think we even underestimated how much the defense was going to take a step back and again some of it was some of it was you can't it's kind

Starting point is 00:25:21 of a um you know an act of god like an injury or whatever like some of it we can't predict right but i i again i think for myself it's one of those things where it's like man i think i even way underestimated bill you know for you know for what he brought to that side of the ball and and i think that it's i do think it's affecting all sides of the ball, and yeah, just one of those things where it's incredibly frustrating, because like you said, Mike, I mean, man, they're a top five unit, and you know, last year, but now they look, they almost look lost at times, the communication doesn't look good, it looks like there's guys out of position, they, it just doesn't look like there's enough communication from the coach to the player, player to player.

Starting point is 00:26:08 And, yeah, I just think that they're really struggling on that area right now. And it's only hurting the offense because, unfortunately, the offense isn't able to sustain drives. And then the defense is gassed more. And, again, it's a domino effect. Yeah, without any question let's not forget folks bill is not the only belichick that they're missing on those sidelines right now steven belichick proving his worth coaching those linebackers and being a part of that play calling strategy definitely miss him as well uh the new england patriots clearly have

Starting point is 00:26:40 some upgrading to do on that defense over the course of these next couple of weeks folks bottom line whether you are looking toward the future or looking at all of the deficiencies that this team has there's always someone that stands out above the rest who has been the most valuable player in new england well we talked about a couple coming into this but is there anyone on your list that we failed to mention well Well, it could be that Steve Derrick and I may have an opinion that coincides with yours. We're going to choose our three-quarter season, folks. I know, not exactly three-quarter season, but close enough. MVP at the bye week when we wrap up this discussion here on the Locked On Patriots podcast, a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

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Starting point is 00:28:42 again for joining us here today on Locked On Patriots. As we cross the streams crossover Thursday style into crossover Friday, welcoming the duo, the dynamic duo of Patriots fourth and two, our good friend and Patriots by Zahn, Steve Balistrieri and our new best friend, Derek Havens.

Starting point is 00:29:01 These guys put on a phenomenal show and it is my honor to host them both here today on Locked On Patriots, breaking the wisdom in council meter, as I like to say it here. Steve, Derek, we've both known each other for a while. You know me. I love to end things on a high note. We started out on a high note, got a little bit wishy-washy when it came to positives and negatives. The last segment definitely was not a pretty one for Patriots fans,

Starting point is 00:29:24 but call it the Costanza in me I do want to end on a high note and you know wave to everybody on our way out and go thanks thanks folks have a good weekend so in that vein I thought we'd take these final moments here today to declare our half season three-quarter season bi-week MVP when you look at the New England Patriots, Derek, we'll start with you. Who would get your first part of the season MVP for this team? I mean, I think it has to be Drake. I think right now you're looking at Drake May and Christian Gonzalez. I know that it's kind of, I guess, an easy answer.

Starting point is 00:30:02 If I had to go outside of the box for the sake of conversation i would go with the tight ends i would go with hooper and henry i think i think that they've been huge for for not only um for not only drake's development but just how the offense kind of moves in general um you know i think that i think people are just kind of feeling each other out um as drake may would say pause um i think they're i think people are kind of feeling each other out um as drake may would say pause um i think they're i think people are kind of feeling each other out as they kind of work into this new system get accustomed to things but i i think the generic answer is the easy one is is again main dolls but i do think henry and hooper deserve a ton of praise because i think that they've been awesome uh this year patriots

Starting point is 00:30:41 are lucky to have them tight end is a sneaky need, you know, this offseason, potentially given the situation. But, you know, Steve and I talked about it on our last episode. I think that you could see both guys staying around, and I think it would be awesome with them moving forward as they kind of transition and make adjustments. I mean, at the end of the day, you're not going to go ahead and fix every single problem this team has in one or two off seasons. It's going to be a chain. The most important thing is that you make the right moves, the right adjustments, et cetera. But to me, I guess I'll go with Henry and Hooper.

Starting point is 00:31:14 Definitely good choices without any question. Aizan, I leave it to you. When you look at this team, if you're selecting an MVP, who gets your trophy and why? Actually, I was going to go with Hunter Henry, but Derek stole my thunder once again, you know, as he normally does. I normally do. You know, we've been together 13 years

Starting point is 00:31:34 doing this. So, you know, a lot of times we finish each other's sentences. And, you know, so that's typical. I mean, we only do one show a week, but we do six other days for about three hours on the phone. So, you know, as I'm always doing that, you know, and we're pretty in lockstep with how we see things. But just for the sake of argument, I mean, we'll go elsewhere with that.

Starting point is 00:32:01 I mean, I love the pick of Hunter Henry, and I think you can make a great case for that. But I will say, you know, with this year's draft still not, you know, showing much, I think you have to look at the quarterback position and say they nailed that one. And even though he's only played, what, six or seven games, at the quarterback position and say they nailed that one. And even though he's only played, what, six or seven games, I have to go with Drake May here. I mean, think of where they'd be offensively without him running the show.

Starting point is 00:32:41 And that's not a knock on Jacoby, but looking at the way this offensive line was playing, you know, it seems like the protection has gotten better. I'm not so sure it's getting better. It's just Drake is better handled. He's, he's better suited to handle it. You know, with his running and his movement in the pocket, I think, you know, when it comes to that first pick in the draft this year, they nailed it.

Starting point is 00:33:09 I think he's going to be the MVP for quite a few years coming up. I'm going with Drake. Very good choice. And again, how can you go wrong with going with Drake May? Derek, I think you're absolutely right when it comes to the tight ends. I think that if you're looking at the New England Patriots and what they've brought to the table this year offensively, it hasn't been much, but the tight ends have been the bright spot.

Starting point is 00:33:31 Hunter Henry needs only three more catches and 43 more yards to set career highs in both of those categories. I think he can do it against the Cardinals coming up this weekend, and I think that automatically puts him in position to finish out the year very strong. He's been a team captain. He's someone that Drake May has credited with lifting his morale when he's been down and helping to kind of bring him along a little bit.

Starting point is 00:33:54 And Hunter talked about this a little bit earlier this week when we had a chance to speak with him about the similarities and trying to bring along a young quarterback in Justin Herbert when he was with the Los Angeles Chargers. It's a very unique type of player that's going to be able to harness that not only on the field, but in the locker room and help to nurture a young quarterback. I love what Hunter has done there. So he's an excellent choice for MVP as well. I like Austin Hooper getting a little love as well. Steve and I love movie quotes. I've been doing my best quint here for the last couple of weeks. Hooper does not have city

Starting point is 00:34:29 hands. He has good hands. I think it's great to see Austin get his love as well. I'm going to throw my love defensively because I've been critical of the defense, but Christian Gonzalez, I think, deserves a nod here as well.

Starting point is 00:34:50 Marcus Jones has a big bounce back season too i mean put him absolutely not the same not the same caliber player but you know what i mean like it's right it's good to see no marcus has had his moments in coverage where you look at it and you say yeah okay he needs a little bit more upgrading but to step into the slot which is not an easy position to play in new england and do a fairly good job and really do everything you've asked him to do including get offensive snaps and be a beast on special teams this is a kid that is a keeper for lack of a better term and when you look at him potentially in the slot going forward and Christian on that perimeter you get another solid perimeter corner that once again has the makings of what

Starting point is 00:35:25 could be a dominant defensive backfield in New England, especially at the cornerback group. The future is bright, I think, gentlemen. We can agree on that for the New England Patriots moving forward. Still a lot that needs to come together. Before we take our leave of our discussion today, quickly around the horn, Derek, I'll start with you. In these last few games for the New England Patriots, obviously not playing for much other than pride or potentially to strengthen their draft position, but what are you looking for from this team on the field as we head into the final stretch of 2024? I'll rapid fire this real quick for the sake of you and the listeners. Just real quickly on that Drake-Mimi you talked about Justin Herbert. I do think there are similarities if you look at their college tape.

Starting point is 00:36:08 Athletic guys, big arms, both willingness to throw across the middle. I think that was kind of interesting, but that was kind of going back a second. As far as what we're looking for at the end of the season, I guess for me, I just

Starting point is 00:36:24 want to continue to see Drake make better decisions. I do think he's doing a good job overall. To me, it almost comes down to how, as Steve and I talked about on our show, I would say that they don't have to win the games, but I do think it's important of how the games play out for the coaching and the players and the locker room kind of chemistry i do think that's a little important um look any of the rumors going around about gerard or the coach is getting fired i just think is absolute ridiculous it's absolutely not going to happen i can i can I can almost bet my life on it um

Starting point is 00:37:05 but I'm not saying there won't be changes but I just think that just how they you know finalize the season and grow together I think is going to be important so to me it's just about how are you competing how are they finishing games how is Gerrard's in-game decision making I think that's incredibly important as well and then we kind of go from there. Absolutely. Very well said. Steve, what say you, what are you looking for in this final stretch from the New England Patriots to give you hope heading into 2025?

Starting point is 00:37:36 Yeah, you know, Derek and I were talking about this a little bit and, you know, I just want to see them, you know, be very competitive this last month. We don't expect them to win any of these games, honestly. Two games against Buffalo. I mean, Buffalo right now is on a roll. But if they play the Bills hard and tight and the game is still maybe semi up in the air in the fourth quarter, I think you can hang your hat on that, you know, and say, look, you know, we know where we're at, but we played one of the best teams in the league. And, you know, we were able to hang with them.

Starting point is 00:38:19 Now we just need to upgrade our game a little bit, and we're going to be on the right track. How could I end up topping that? I definitely can't top that. You guys absolutely nailed it in terms of what a fan base should be looking for heading into 2025. Folks, they are Patriots 4th and 2. You can catch them wherever you get your podcasts. Follow these gentlemen on Twitter.

Starting point is 00:38:39 You can follow Derek Havens at Patriots Haven. You can follow my good friend and Patriots by his own, Steve Balistrieri at SteveB7SFG. You can catch them both as regulars here on Locked On Patriots. You know we love having Steve each and every week. Well, Derek is now indoctrinated into La Familia here, so he doesn't have a choice. We're making him. This is not going to be a Tommy DeVito-style make either. This one's going to stick.

Starting point is 00:39:02 And bottom line, folks, we cannot wait to have Derek and Steve back here again on Locked On Patriots. But before we do let them go, allow me to give a tip of the cap and a very big thanks to both these gentlemen for taking time out of their schedule

Starting point is 00:39:15 for crossing the streams with me here today on Locked On Patriots. But most of all, thank you, all of you everydayers on Locked On Patriots for making the podcast possible and for making us a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage.

Starting point is 00:39:29 On behalf of Derek Haven, Steve Balistrieri, and myself, folks, stay safe, stay well, be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone. We'll see you back here again on Monday on Locked On Patriots.

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