Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots: Cole Strange, J.C. Jackson Out for Season, Grades for Loss to Kansas City Chiefs

Starting point is 00:00:00 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, and thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage and also your first listen each and every day. Remember, Locked On Patriots is free and available on all platforms, including YouTube, so smash that subscribe button, download, subscribe to follow to make sure that you get the latest episode of Locked on Patriots as soon as it's available.

Starting point is 00:00:50 And folks, today's episode is brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use the code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. And Pat fans, thank you for joining us here today on this Wednesday episode of Locked On Patriots. And here today, it's my Patriots Paisan and a columnist extraordinaire, patsfans.com, along with being the co-host of another amazing podcast, Patriots 4th and 2. My good friend, Steve Balistrieri joins me. Welcome back to the pod,

Starting point is 00:01:25 my friend. Thanks so much for joining me here on this Wednesday evening. Yes, thank you for your patience. As we talked offline, I was a little tied up until now, as people can see I'm sitting in here in the dark, so usually it's a mid-afternoon type of time. But thank you. And it's always a pleasure, my friend. Yes, absolutely. Watching you right now, Steve, I'm getting Bane vibes. You know, you merely adopted the doc. I was born in it.

Starting point is 00:01:56 But all kidding aside, my friend, it's great to have you here. And especially on today's episode, because not only are we going to talk about the impact of the numerous injuries that the Patriots have had to endure folks we're also going to provide our grades on Patriots Chiefs helping us transition from the Pats 27 to 17 loss to the Chiefs on Sunday and then bringing us into an 8-15 Christmas Eve matchup this Sunday New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos at Empower Field in Mile High. We're going to get to the Broncos in due time here this week, folks.

Starting point is 00:02:29 But before we move on, Steve, and before we take our leave of the Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots have a series of some high-profile players that are going to be on the shelf or could be on the shelf for the New England Patriots as they head into the final three games of the 2023 season. Obviously the most notable, Cole Strange, injuring his knee early in the second quarter of Sunday's matchup, taken off on a cart, didn't look good when it happened. We all knew that that was probably going to be the outcome. He is ruled out for the remainder of the season. Antonio Mafi now is probably going to be the guy to come in.

Starting point is 00:03:09 He struggled a little bit on Sunday against a Chiefs front that loves to blitz. And anytime you have to align near Chris Jones, you know you're going to have difficulties. I think Antonio did the best he could under the circumstances, but that's definitely a spot for concern for New England. Cornerback's got to be another one. Jesse Jackson out for the year for personal illness. That's going to be a problem replacing him. We saw Alex Austin come in and he struggled. Steve, when you look at the rash of injuries that the Patriots have had, which one of these, or maybe one I haven't mentioned yet, do you believe is going to be the most impactful to this team as they play the final stretch here in 2023?

Starting point is 00:03:49 Well, I think the ones that you mentioned are significant because they've had issues on the offensive line all year. And as Bill Belichick said, you know, Cole Strange was playing the best football of his career, right, up until he was hurt, you know, against the Chiefs. And, you know, you saw him starting to finally, you know, put some good snaps and, you know, significant ones together. J.C. Jackson, you know, the cornerback room has been decimated by injuries. And, you know, they got rid of Jack Jones. And now, you know, he's out for the remainder of the season. Alex Austin, he struggled a little bit,

Starting point is 00:04:36 but he really didn't know he was even going to start until just before the game. Very good point, yeah. And they made Sean Wade inactive because they expected JC to be available. So, but that's still, I mean, between Sean Wade and Alex Austin, you can expect teams to test them on that side. But I think the most significant one, and we don't really know how significant it is yet, is Hunter Henry. Absolutely.

Starting point is 00:05:03 Very, very good point, especially with the Patriots issuing their first injury report of week 16 with the Broncos matchup coming up. Hunter Henry not on the practice field on Wednesday, folks. That could be a concern for the New England Patriots moving forward. Hunter obviously is your best tight end right now. He came off a very good game against the Chiefs. He has been one of your focal points and really developing

Starting point is 00:05:25 a nice synergy, I think, with Bailey Zappi. If he's going to be out for this game or for an extended period of time, and by extended, I mean the final three games of the season, folks, you're looking at Mike Gusecki, you're looking at Pharoah Brown. They're going to have to really, I think, get inventive because Pharoah has been more of a blocker than anything else. He may be called upon now to be a more robust contributor to that passing game. And if that's the case, Gusecki probably takes a spot as tight end one. It's not an unfamiliar spot for him, but he hasn't exactly lived up to expectations, Steve. Do you see this as potentially problematic, especially with a young quarterback like Bailey Zabby relying on Hunter

Starting point is 00:06:07 to be that security blanket? Oh, absolutely. You know, when you look at it, Hunter Henry the past couple of weeks has been, you know, their go-to guy. You know, he's hit the end zone two weeks in a row. He actually should have had two touchdowns against the Chiefs. The second one was wiped out by a penalty. But, you know, both times the passes in the end zone were very good.

Starting point is 00:06:34 They were on time, on target, great throws and great catches. And that's the thing. I mean, you know, with a team that is as past challenge as the Patriots are, they can't afford to lose Hunter Henry. And so I think it's significant. Yeah, it truly is. And not only for what he brings on the field, for everything that he does in the locker room, for all the leadership that he provides on the sidelines and on the field as well, folks. Hunter Henry was named team captain for this year for that very reason. He's someone that those guys, especially the younger players, look to for guidance, for support, especially Bailey Zappi. I know Hunter has been well established as being very close to Mac Jones, but he has developed a nice working relationship with Bailey.

Starting point is 00:07:22 And for better or for worse, whether you agree with it or whether you don't, folks, Bailey is the starter, and most likely that's going to remain the case. So if you're taking away his top target and the guy he's most comfortable finding when he's under duress, yeah, that could mean problems. And especially if you're trying to develop Bailey into either a top-level backup for next year or if you're trying to develop him and see really what's under the hood when it comes to Bailey Zappi, you don't want to start taking away targets. You want to give him the opportunity to showcase what he can do. So not just this year, folks, but

Starting point is 00:07:56 down the line implications to these injuries. And again, I think you hit the nail right on the head when it comes to the secondary as well, Steve. Sean Wade now is going to be called upon to play a bigger role in that secondary. Alex Austin. Jonathan Jones obviously is the elder statesman back there, but he's been banged up. He hobbled along and barely got through the game on Sunday as well. So when you look at all of this right now, the Patriots just completely decimated by injury. And let's not forget Connor McDermott out with a head injury. I don't expect him to play this Sunday.

Starting point is 00:08:29 We don't know what his status is going to be beyond that. You're already looking at a guy like Trent Brown who's banged up a little bit. Paul Strange is out. That left side right now is very vulnerable with Antonio Mafia and Vardarian Lowe possibly being the two guys that you really have to rely on for long chunks of time in that offensive line. And it's been a problematic area for the Pats. Absolutely.

Starting point is 00:08:52 Hopefully they can get Trent Brown back this week. But I think losing Cole Strange, like we said, I mean, he was really starting to put things together. He had some solid performances the last few weeks. As evidenced by Bill, Bill said it himself. It's a big loss. It truly is. And these losses, folks, are only going to compound the Patriots' problems

Starting point is 00:09:18 of trying to showcase what they might be able to build on for 2024. Of course, you can't build unless you know exactly where you've been, and that's been the Patriots-Achilles heel, especially putting together two halves of complementary football. They didn't do that on Sunday, and that's the reason why they bowed to the Kansas City Chiefs 27-17. Steve and I are going to provide our grades for this matchup and why Bailey Zappi and this offense may be in Daniel Simpson day territory. I'm going to explain what I mean by that in just a moment when this episode of the Lockdown Patriots podcast continues a proud part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every

Starting point is 00:10:01 day. Lockdown listeners, football season is here and there is no better time to use PrizePix, the largest independently owned daily fantasy sports platform in North America. In fact, they're the easiest and the most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports. It's just you against the numbers. Instead of battling thousands of those other players, including the pros and the sharks out there, you pick more than or less than on a two to six player stat projection and watch the winnings roll in. PrizePix is the most fun I've had winning up to 25 times my money this football season.

Starting point is 00:10:38 You just select two or more players, pick more or less on their projected stats, and place your entry. And listen up folks you are gonna love this with the prize picks reboot policy your entries stay in play even if one of your players gets injured and that's for football games and for basketball games if you have a player who exits the game in the first half and does not return in the second that player is rebooted and prize picks is the only daily fantasy sports platform with injury insurance and if you're a patriots fan and you're looking at that injured reserve list in new england you know all about the need for injury insurance

Starting point is 00:11:16 so don't delay do it today go to prizepicks.com slash locked on nfl and use the code locked on NFL for a first deposit match up to $100. That's a first deposit match up to $100 by going to prize picks dot com slash locked on NFL and use the code locked on NFL. That's L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N

Starting point is 00:11:41 NFL prize picks. Daily fantasy sports made easy. Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on Locked On Patriots. Don't forget, we are a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And here I am today, joined by my good friend, my Patriots pison, our Pats professor, if you will, each and every midweek show, my good friend, Steve Balist pison, our Pats professor, if you will, each and every midweek show. My good friend, Steve Balistrieri of Patsfans.com.

Starting point is 00:12:09 And Steve, in the previous segment, we talked a lot about the impact of injuries on this team. And I'm not making excuses. None of us are making excuses for the way the Patriots have played. But you look at the laundry list of injuries this team has had to endure. It's had an impact, and it definitely has hurt this team and their chances for being better than simply a 3-11 club. But one of the things that you have to put on the shoulders of everybody, whether they're injured, whether they're not, all the healthy players that are out there on the field is

Starting point is 00:12:41 stringing together consistent effort. And the defense has been able to do it at times, more often than not. The offense, not so much, especially since Bailey Zappi has taken the reins. You're seeing the Patriots come out aggressive. You're seeing the Patriots come out cohesive. They're moving the ball. Pass catchers are making plays. The quarterback is making plays.

Starting point is 00:13:04 They're finding the end zone the second half comes in and all of a sudden it becomes a difficulty it becomes a disappearing act uh i've heard the tale of two halves the tale of two zappies uh murph and i talked about all the colloquialisms that are coming out uh with how you describe the new england patriots but because of that, because the offense is not putting together a complete performance, they're kind of channeling their inner D-Day from Animal House. Yeah, that's right, folks. Daniel Simpson Day has no grade point average. All course is incomplete. These New England Patriots on the offensive side

Starting point is 00:13:40 of the football are really doing just that. They're turning in an incomplete report. Steve, when you look at this offense from top to bottom, who is the most egregious offender when it comes to incomplete performance, and how is it affecting all of the different units that comprise this offense? Well, first of all, I love your mention of D-Day. And if I had known you were going to mention that, I'd have practiced playing the William Tell overture on my throat. That would have been great.

Starting point is 00:14:10 Yeah, but unfortunately, you know, we didn't talk enough prior to it. You know, when it comes to the most egregious, I have to go with Bill O'Brien because the play calling is so aggressive. It's an interesting direction aggressive in the first half. And, you know, you see they're not a juggernaut by any means offensively, but they're an NFL capable offense. When they're aggressive, they can move the ball. They've showed they can move the ball just about against anybody. The second half, for some reason, they get, like, completely gun-shy. And, you know, they want to, instead of attacking, they want to nibble.

Starting point is 00:14:55 And, you know, the aggressiveness goes right out the window. Now, this week, I get it. The injury started to mount up. But you're still in a football game. And, you know, I thought even after the Chiefs had taken the lead in the first half and they went right down and scored a field goal, the Patriots held them to a field goal at the start of the second half, it was still a seven-point game. They're right in this.

Starting point is 00:15:22 Right. And then they throw that ill-timed interception and after that it was just like we weren't looking at the same offense now you know um zappy should know better it was first down he didn't need to throw that but i i look at the big picture the last few weeks against the steelers and against the chiefs and it doesn't look like the same offense in the second half and i i think it stems from the play calling yeah that's a good point and i don't think enough people are making that point steve to be honest with you the first thing everyone looks at, myself included, is Bailey

Starting point is 00:16:05 Zappi, the turning up of the pressure in the second half. You saw Pittsburgh do it. You saw Kansas City do it. He's having difficulty making his reads pre-snap and post-snap and identifying, and his processing time needs to be a little bit faster. I mentioned these things on yesterday's show with Murphy, and it's led to that notable drop-off in production. Especially on Sunday, we saw that ill-advised throw. Willie Gay takes that one back, and all of a sudden, it kills some momentum that you might be building in the second half. But the play-calling has been suspect. It's been very conservative. Fourth and three down 17 is getting a lot of people to question whether or not Bill Belichick

Starting point is 00:16:45 is, you know, putting his team in peril by doing that, you know, whether or not he's quitting on his team by not having the faith. I'm not going to go that level. I don't believe Bill Belichick is quitting on his team. I think that is a ridiculous take for lack of a better term, but I understand why people might be frustrated with it i think that type of performance can be charged as much to the o-line as much to the play calling as it is the quarterback it really looked like a perfect storm of things going wrong on sunday my friend yeah i i totally agree with that because you know um you know i I think teams can smell blood in the water, right? You know, the Chiefs go up by seven.

Starting point is 00:17:32 They throw that interception, return to the seven-yard line. Now, all of a sudden, they're up by 14. And they're not waiting for anything. They're pinning their ears back, and they're going to force Zappy to beat them. And, you know, it's like that snowball effect. Well, then the play calling knows that they're going to come, so they get conservative. And it just snowballs and snowballs until, you know, then the ball game is basically over, you know. So it's one of those things that, and again, I didn't think Zappi was bad in the second half, but he wasn't the same guy from the first half.

Starting point is 00:18:22 Right. And, you know, part of that was himself with that terrible interception but i think part of it was the play call and you know the pass protection it's been like that all season i mean mac lived through that and you know it ended up really hurting his confidence and i I think if Zappi, if they continue like this for the last three games, I think it's going to hurt his confidence as well. Yeah. We talked about this to open the show today,

Starting point is 00:18:53 Steve, that can definitely have an impact on a young quarterback. You want to be very careful that you're not ruining this kid's confidence going into next year. We saw what it did to Mac. Mac looked extremely defeated at times this year. And it's because he didn't have the confidence in his ability to get the job done some of that was Mac's fault folks I am not absolving Mac Jones from his sins this year but some of it was because of the circumstances he found himself in and for that I do feel for the kid because that's something

Starting point is 00:19:20 that you can't control that unfortunately can have an impact on your performance. And it leads to problems like we saw this year for the New England Patriots. So hopefully the Pats will be able to clean this up a little bit with Denver coming in. They've had their defensive troubles throughout the year. Maybe this is something that the Patriots can find a little bit of rhythm and maybe get something going here. Steve, if we're handing out our final report card, which unit along the offense, which positional group made the grade, which one was top rated, and which one was more like John Wotarski here?

Starting point is 00:19:57 Okay, well, I'll just go down the line really quick. I gave Zappi a C because I thought he was a stud in the first half. But then he kind of face-planted in the second half, which we've been talking about. 6-12 with just 39 yards and a pick. But his

Starting point is 00:20:18 first half more than made up for that. The running backs, again, C-minus. I thought Ezekielott had nowhere to run you know um he only had 25 yards on 11 carries but you know i thought uh you know um kevin harris comes in spells zeke had a terrific 18 yard touchdown run i I love that. Wide receivers is C. You know, Devontae Parker was the leading wide receiver, five catches for 44 yards.

Starting point is 00:20:52 That's not great. But I gave the tight ends B-plus because I thought Hunter Henry really looked good in this game. He was targeted nine times. He had seven catches for 66 and a touchdown, and he had the other one that was wiped out. Offensive line had a D. Yeah, and unfortunately, folks, some of that was to do with injuries. You have to say that that played a significant role,

Starting point is 00:21:18 but the issues in pass protection and the inability for the Patriots to contain those blitzing defenders, that was their biggest problem, I think, in Week 15. So not a great day for the offense without question, but the defense did help the curve a little bit. And Steve and I are going to discuss our grades on the defensive performance, who stood out, and who still needs to make the grade here in order to make this a complete performance for 2023. We're going to discuss our defensive grades in just a moment when this

Starting point is 00:21:48 episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. A proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Locked On listeners, we've all been there. You want tickets to the big game or your favorite musical artist and you just can't find an easy and affordable way to do it. Well, you shouldn't have to worry when you're buying tickets to your next big event.

Starting point is 00:22:11 Game time is the fast and the easy way to buy tickets for all the sports, music, comedy and theater and events near you and game times, all in prices, show your total upfront. So, you know, you're getting a great deal without any hidden fees.

Starting point is 00:22:25 They're actually obsessed with finding ways to help you save money on tickets. And that includes zone deals where you pick the section and GameTime picks the seats for an average of 18% savings. And the GameTime guarantee means you'll always get the best price. If you find tickets in the same section or roll for less, GameTime will credit you 110% of the difference. Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with GameTime. Download the GameTime

Starting point is 00:22:53 app, create an account, and use the code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply, so again, create an account and redeem the code L-O-C-K redeem the code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off. Download Game Time today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. Fats fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on Locked On Patriots, this Wednesday

Starting point is 00:23:21 evening episode of Locked On Patriots. Don't forget, Crossover Thursday coming at you Thursday afternoon. Myself crossing the streams with my good friend and colleague Sarah Bettinger, the co-host of Locked On Broncos. Sarah's one of the best in the business. He and Cody Roark over at Locked On Broncos put on an amazing

Starting point is 00:23:40 show. Make sure you check out the work they're doing this week, folks. Boots on the ground, inside coverage you'll find only here on the Locked On Podcast Network. And of course, you can catch myself and Sarah crossing the streams right here on Locked On Patriots tomorrow as part of Crossover

Starting point is 00:23:55 Thursday. But here today on this Wednesday evening, I am joined by my good friend, my Patriots paisan, the Patriots professor here on Locked On Patriots, my good friend Steve my Patriots bison, the Patriots professor here on Locked On Patriots, my good friend Steve Balistrieri of Patsfans.com. And Steve, we've already given our grades, or I should say you've given your grades, on the Patriots' offensive performance. But on defense, this team, I think, had a very good, perhaps even a standout performance by certain guys. I mentioned this with Murph yesterday,

Starting point is 00:24:25 27 points. A lot of people are probably looking at that and going, that's not a great defensive effort, but against this Chiefs team with Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelsey, and their ability to be explosive, considering everything that was going on around them, I think this defense performed pretty well. Before we get into your overall grades for the units who stood out to you as the marquee players on defense against the chiefs on sunday i think it has to start with christian barmore i i mean he's been you know steadily you know pushing the the needle up every week. He's getting better and better.

Starting point is 00:25:07 I thought he was outstanding in this game. He was. I mean, he was bringing pressure on Mahomes up the middle. He was helping with stuff to run. I mean, Barmore had six tackles a sack, two tackles for loss, two quarterback hits. You know, he had a couple of run stuffs as well. I mean, I just thought he was absolutely outstanding.

Starting point is 00:25:33 And I thought the defensive line as a whole was. They held the Chiefs to just 43 yards rushing on 20 carries, 2.2 yards per carry. I mean, the defensive line, I'll admit, when the season started, I was a little leery about the Patriots' run defense. I'm not anymore. These guys have been proving it week after week. But I think the big one has to be Barmore.

Starting point is 00:26:03 Definitely. I mean, I just look at, you know, the way the defense played. And, yeah, they did give up 27 points. But you've got to remember, seven of those, Mahomes had only go seven yards. Right. You know, if they don't throw that interception, they're holding Mahomes to 20 points. And I think if you had told people that, you know, on Saturday,

Starting point is 00:26:29 they would have jumped at that. Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, I think the defense did a great job. And, you know, in the passing game, you know, to limit Travis Kelsey to just five catches for 28 yards, I think, you know, they did a great job there. The other guy that stood out to me was Marte Mapu

Starting point is 00:26:51 because I've been so wanting to watch this guy play linebacker, right? You know, because I believe he would be most effective as a linebacker, and I just loved what he brought to the table on Sunday with the interception. And, you know, he just – that's what I've been waiting to see. You know I love linebacker play, and when I saw that, as you can imagine, even though they were losing, there was joy in the Balistrieri household. As there should be.

Starting point is 00:27:23 I think there were joy in a lot of patriots fans households when they saw that first of all what you saw from martin mapu his football intelligence his iq and his ability to find the football anywhere on the field to draw mahomes in and bait him into making that throw really was something that his textbook you want your linebackers your hybrid linebacker safety combination players to be able to do that. And it also showed his strength and his aggression because he just went and snatched the ball and really took it away and made the play his own. And when you see a young player doing that and coming into his own, it's really a beautiful thing. Murph and I talked a

Starting point is 00:28:01 lot about Marte here on yesterday's show. I give him a definite tip of the cap, probably a double tip of the cap to Christian Barmore because he did an amazing job. I want to give a little love to the linebacker core as well. The defensive line has been phenomenal when it comes to stopping the run and guys like Devon Godchow and Lawrence Guy deserve so much, but Anthony Jennings, once again, five tackles, led all linebackers with five tackles. Jelani Tavai, three tackles. He had the interception. Juwan Bentley continues to be in the right place at the right time at all times.

Starting point is 00:28:35 He logged three tackles. And Mack Wilson continuing to demonstrate why I think he's one of the most improved Patriots from last season. Sideline to sideline speed, and then drawing a beat on Patrick Mahomes and able to get that big sack in the fourth quarter. That was something that I think he deserves a lot of credit for as well. So linebacker play, some of the highest marks in my opinion, my friend. Yeah, absolutely.

Starting point is 00:29:00 I had the defensive line as excuse me, as an A, because what they did against the running game. And that's what you want from your big guys, right? They want to make – it sounds strange to say this, but they want to make Patrick Mahomes beat them only. Because if the running game is going, and then it opens up the entire playbook to andy reed but when you're stuffing the run as they did now they're one dimensional and yes it's going to be very tough and i thought patrick holmes was the difference in this game but you know when you see

Starting point is 00:29:40 what they did with kelsey then you know I think the front seven performed magnificently. I gave the defensive line an A, linebackers a B+, and the secondary, which we'll get to. Yeah, absolutely. Kind of brings us full circle, my friend, into your grade sheet. So you've talked about the offense now. Now I'm going to put you on the hot seat. Defensively, how would you grade the individual units for their performance on Sunday against the defending champs?

Starting point is 00:30:10 Right. Linebackers, B-plus. Defensive line, A. Secondary, a C. And again, I mean, yeah, I mean, they gave up some big chunk plays. You know, Rasheed Rice had, I thought, an excellent game. He caught nine passes for 91 yards. But, you know, in the game plan, that's what they wanted.

Starting point is 00:30:38 They wanted Mahomes to have to go to Rice to beat them. Unfortunately, they couldn't stop Rice. So, you know, if Jackson had been able to play, maybe we're looking at a different scenario. But, you know, the key, I thought, was, you know, stopping the run and taking Kelsey out of the equation. And they did that. And they had some great plays as well. Duggar miles brian had breakups in the end zone they did and you know i i thought it wasn't a bad game even for the secondary yeah they had you know they had some penalties that hurt they had they gave up some big chunk plays justin watson

Starting point is 00:31:17 and i think noah gray each had one for over 30 yards but uh know, it wasn't a bad performance by any means. It just, they fell short. And, you know, I think the Jackson situation had a lot to do with that. Yeah, it definitely did. When you take someone like a J.C. Jackson, a prominent ball hawking corner, someone with the experience, the athleticism, and the savvy at his position to be able to play at a high level, it does put you at a disadvantage.

Starting point is 00:31:47 And obviously, folks, the main thing and the most important thing is JC's health, his well-being. We here at Locked On Patriots, I know Steve joins me as well, wishing JC all the very best in what we hope is a full and complete recovery. Steve, it's always an honor, always a pleasure to have you join me here on the microphone. Folks, the grades are in. The professor has spoken. Do you agree with our marks for this week? Do you think we were a little harsh? Do you think we were a little too lenient? We'd love to hear your feedback, so please drop us a line in the comments section below on YouTube or reach out to me at mdabatenfl on x or in just a moment, I'm going to let you know how you can reach out to me at MDABATENFL on X, or in just a moment, I'm going to let you know how you can

Starting point is 00:32:26 reach out to Steve, who once again provides stellar, phenomenal coverage for patsfans.com, as well as check out he and Derek Havens on Patriots 4th and 2. Bud, what can I say? Please let everyone know where they can reach out to you, interact with you, and what we can look forward to in terms of Pats Broncos coverage coming up this week from the great head and voice of Steve Balistrieri. Well, as always, my friend, I love talking football with you. I wish we could do it in person. That's one of the things I do miss. But you can find me at patsfans.com. I write for them. I've been with

Starting point is 00:33:04 them for a dozen years now. And you can find me on Twitter or X, whatever they call it these days, at SteveB7SFG. And then we'll be looking at the Broncos game. And, you know, Denver is kind of like that Miami, you know, away game where the Patriots have traditionally saved some of their worst football,

Starting point is 00:33:26 uh, you know, even during the Brady years when they, when they go to Denver. So maybe, you know, where they're in a down year, maybe the script will flip and they'll save their best football for mile high and, uh, you know, throw a monkey wrench into, uh, Sean Payton's playoff aspirations. It would be nice, wouldn't it, my friend? I think everyone would love that. Sarah and I have been talking a little bit leading up to our crossover tomorrow, and that is one of the things that we constantly talk

Starting point is 00:33:56 about is the Denver Broncos and Mile High being the Patriots kryptonite, along with South Beach and Miami. So, those two areas have always given the Patriots some fits, but who knows, folks, maybe we can finally reverse the trend in New England. So don't forget to check out our crossover here tomorrow for more on the Broncos.

Starting point is 00:34:16 But Steve, what can I say? I thank you for all of your contributions to Locked On Patriots. Always an honor, always a privilege, and thank you for being a very valued part of this family here on Locked On. And folks, we thank you, each and every one of you, all you everydayers out there, all of you casual listeners,

Starting point is 00:34:34 and all of you first-timers for joining us here today on Locked On Patriots and making us a part of your New England Patriots coverage. On behalf of my good friend Steve Balistrieri of Patsfans.com, I'm Mike DeBate reminding you to stay safe and to stay well and to be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day everyone and we'll see you back here again tomorrow for Crossover Thursday

Starting point is 00:34:55 on Locked on Patriots.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots: Cole Strange, J.C. Jackson Out for Season, Grades for Loss to Kansas City Chiefs

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.