Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Defeat Cleveland Browns in Week 6: Zappe Fever

Episode Date: October 18, 2022

The New England Patriots have evened their record at 3-3 on the season with a dominant 38-15 victory on Sunday over the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium. Rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe tossed... two touchdown passes, one of which landed in the hands of fellow first-year wideout Tyquan Thornton. Second-year rusher Rhamondre Stevenson added two scores by way of the ground game, while their defensive backfield earned two interceptions on Browns’ quarterback (and ex-Patriot) Jacoby Brissett. Joining host Mike D’Abate is fan-favorite Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy of E2G Sports, as the duo break down the action from Week 6.Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-patriots-daily-podcast-on-the-new-england/id1140512627 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFmwg3WbfxAU3tR5Ve?si=k196wH-yRqifUcQQz8SjIQStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-patriots And follow host Mike D’Abate on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans.On Twitter: @mdabateNFLSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFLBuilt BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!PrizePicksFirst time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDONSimpliSafeWith Fast Protect™️ Technology, exclusively from SimpliSafe, 24/7 monitoring agents capture evidence to accurately verify a threat for faster police response. There’s No Safe Like SimpliSafe. Visit SimpliSafe.com/LockedOnNFL to learn more.BirddogsTHE most comfortable shorts, pants, and sweatpants with built-in liners. Go to birddogs.com, use promo code “LOCKEDON” and boom, a free Birddogs Rope Hat with your pair of Birddogs.NugenixNow get a complimentary bottle of Nugenix Total T when you text NFLto 231-231.Text now and get a bottle of Nugenix Thermo, their most powerful fat incinerator ever, with key ingredients to help you get back into shape fast.BlueNileMake your moment sparkle with Blue Nile. Go to BlueNile.com and use code lockedon to save fifty dollars on your purchase of five-hundred dollars or more.Athletic GreensTo make it easy, Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/NFLNETWORK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Zappy Mania is running wild through New England right now, but will it soon be time to turn back to Mac? Well, Murph and I have the answer. Settle in. 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, and thank you once again for making Lockdown Patriots
Starting point is 00:00:51 a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage and also your first listen every day. Remember, Lockdown Patriots, free and available on all platforms, including YouTube. So download, subscribe, especially smash that subscribe button on YouTube and consume us wherever you get your audio podcasts. I'm Mike DeBate, your host of Locked On Patriots, a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network.
Starting point is 00:01:13 You can reach out to me and let me know what's on your mind on Twitter at M-B-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L. While you're out there doing some wandering through that Twitterverse, you can definitely check out the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. Folks, today's episode of Locked On Patriots is presented by PrizePix. PrizePix is daily fantasy made easy. You pick two to five players, and if they score more or less than their PrizePix projection, you can win up to ten times your money on your entry.
Starting point is 00:01:44 First-time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with the promo code LOCKEDON. That's prizepix.com, promo code LOCKEDON. Pats fans, for the second week in a row, we are proud to offer you a Victory Monday here on Locked On Patriots. But, you know, victories are just not enough on Locked On Patriots. We've got to raise the bar. We've got to up the ante.
Starting point is 00:02:09 And we've got to make this a monster Monday. And that's exactly what we've done with the legendary Connor Murphy, Fisto himself. That's right, folks. Hashtag Locked On Murph Monday. Running more wild than Zappy Mania here in New England. My good friend Thomas Murphy of E2GSports.com. Thank you for coming to me in friendship.
Starting point is 00:02:28 Thank you for joining me today, Don Murph. Always my pleasure, Michael. Always my pleasure, especially on a Victory Monday. Two in a row, who would have thunk it? Two in a row, who would have thunk it? Well, I'll tell you who would have thought it right there on that side of the screen. He thought it. For those of you listening, I am pointing to my good friend because he had a vision folks he was very much in tune to what the new england patriots could
Starting point is 00:02:51 possibly do against two teams with some shaky defense but all that being aside new england patriots definitely impressive the last couple of weeks and they were impressive from top to bottom yesterday despite the absences of their incumbent starting quarterback, their feature lead running back, and arguably their most seasoned deep threat wide receiver. Patriots even their record on the season with a dominant 38-15 victory over the Cleveland Browns at First Energy Stadium. And Murph, for the second straight week, the Pats' young core has blended nicely with their veteran leadership. They're returning to a level of respectability that I think a lot of fans in the region had abandoned a long time ago.
Starting point is 00:03:34 They did not believe this team would be where they are right now. And, folks, let's put things in perspective. They're a 3-3 team. They're a 500-football team. There's still a lot of very good teams out there. Yesterday, we saw two play in the afternoon cap. Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills. There's a
Starting point is 00:03:50 lot to go on right now, but when you look at this New England Patriots team, I've been most impressed by what we've seen out of the youngsters, the rookies. Murph, you have a tendency to see things us mere mortals don't see. What did you spot in the rookies yesterday that
Starting point is 00:04:05 leads you to believe that this team is really on to something, not just for the rest of the season, but maybe even beyond? You know, I've got to start with Zappi, even though we're going to be talking about him later. He had a fantastic game. He had some accuracy issues early, but ended up 24 for 34 for 309 yards and two kind of two touchdowns um it was it was great to see taekwon thornton out there he caught his first career touchdown and then you know he ran another one and just you know just to be part of the gang you know just just to get in there on this rushing uh attack he finished with four for what 37, 37 yards, almost 40 yards. And then Jack and Marcus Jones were just, you know, doing the Joneses type things. They're leaving opposing quarterbacks jonesing for completions.
Starting point is 00:04:57 That's what these guys are doing. And, you know, last but not least, you know, my man Cole Strange. Did you hear his name at all yesterday? No. Didn't hear it once. And you know what that means for an offensive lineman? Success. All right?
Starting point is 00:05:16 He went up against a very talented group of pass rushers and picked up every blitz, got to the second level when he needed to, sprung a remandre for his largest game of the year and of the day, not of the year. And it was just, you know, these rookies are just impressing, impressing, impressing. In years past, we've seen a lot of redshirt years for these kids. This year, that wasn't a luxury that Bill Belichick had. Over the years, Bill has taken a lot of grief over his drafting ability and the way that he goes about drafting and the way that he goes about using rookies. But you have to look back. These were all veteran-laden teams with talent at every position, especially on the defensive side of the ball. These kids had a really hard time getting in there, getting reps in practice, never mind in game time, because a lot of people
Starting point is 00:06:20 took the lead that Tom Brady would always go forth with is the fact that he never wanted to come off the field, whether it was a game or in practice. And that bled down to everybody else. So these kids didn't develop in the way that you might have seen other teams develop their rookies, because these were teams that were competing for at the very least AFC title games every single year for 20 years. And these kids became afterthoughts. These kids have not become afterthoughts. These kids are out there. They're competing. It started in minicamp and it's continued up to this point now. And you're seeing exactly what they're able to do. They are the next man up. They are able to come in there, plug holes and fill in for free agents that have left or injuries or trades.
Starting point is 00:07:14 They've done a fantastic job. For a team that's this young, I don't know where the ceiling is right now, especially for the Joneses. Yeah. I'm glad you mentioned the Joneses because we're going to get to them in just a moment. And I know you talked about Bailey and we are going to talk about the quarterback situation today, folks. Please, please don't call it a controversy. Please, no situation, not a controversy. You know, because when you call it a controversy, my friend right here, it insults his intelligence and and it makes him very angry, because he wants to know who's spreading these rumors. Is it D'Italia or
Starting point is 00:07:47 Bazine? But, bottom line, my friend, when it comes to Cole Strange, and I know that you mentioned him, you never could have thought Santino. But I didn't know to this day that it was Bazine all along. Folks, we could go on and on for hours.
Starting point is 00:08:06 We could. We're not going to do that. We're going to bring it back here to Cole Strange because Strange right now, to me, is a guy that is flying under the radar in a lot of the national rookie awareness out there right now. But here in New England, I'm so proud to see on a weekly basis so many of the fans getting behind
Starting point is 00:08:25 him, supporting him, giving him his well-deserved accolades, because you know that in the back of Cole's mind, and having interviewed his college coach right here on the airwaves of Locked On Patriots, he told me that he's got a long memory, he's motivated by everything he sees. You know that there's a part of him that's thinking of sean mcveigh laughing at that dais and every single time cole makes a block takes a stand does his job you know that he's looking over and very john wayne like from uh eldorado and oh actually i shouldn't say john wayne like more like robert mitchum like let me hear you laugh you know he's doing that and you
Starting point is 00:09:03 know he is because that's exactly what what a good offensive lineman will do. They're going to take that chip, they're going to make sure it resides on their shoulder, and they're going to use it every single week, and he has done that so well. So great love to Cole Strange. Absolutely, yeah, exactly. How are you feeling now, Sean McVay? How are you feeling now? Exactly, exactly. feeling how you feeling now sean mcveigh how you feeling now exactly exactly so you know what
Starting point is 00:09:26 cole is letting his he's letting his performance on the field do the talking but you mentioned taekwon thornton very impressive day yesterday yeah um i would kind of go short on saying it was a breakout because believe it or not i still think there's a lot more in his arsenal to show but really drawing coverage from opposing defensive backs he's using the vertical routes that speed is phenomenal he's actually stretching the field horizontally really good stuff and then you also saw his prowess and being able to carry the ball on a jet sweep and that's something that uh you know absolutely when you have that dual threat capability it really is remarkable and claire mentioned that on the show last week.
Starting point is 00:10:07 That's great stuff. That is absolutely great stuff. And the Joneses you mentioned as well. And you can't say enough good things about Jack and the job that he's done coming in. Not only spelling Jalen Mills early on, but yesterday having spelled Jonathan Jones, who may be the most complete cornerback on this roster. Jack Jones filling, you know, and he's taking a tremendous amount of reps. He spelled Jonathan Jones, who may be the most complete cornerback on this roster. Jack Jones filling, you know, and he's taking a tremendous amount of reps. He's doing well in coverage and just showing that ball hawking capability. And how about Marcus yesterday?
Starting point is 00:10:35 That really should have been an interception on the corner. Yeah. Thrown from Brissette in the third quarter. But, you know, what he's done in the return game, all of a sudden, this rookie class that drew Snickers from so many of the talking heads back in early May is making some waves. And there's a lot of humble pie being eaten across the media landscape. You wouldn't know it and you won't know it. But behind the scenes, they're going to have to because quite simply, folks, it's just the way it is. It is. Murph, it is always fun diving into all of the good, all of the bad, and some of the ugly here on Locked On Patriots when it comes to the Patriots' performance.
Starting point is 00:11:14 Not a whole lot of bad and ugly these last couple of weeks, folks, but Murph and I will delve into that box in just a moment and let you know what is on the fixed list for the Patriots as they head into their Week 7 matchup with... Sorry sorry Murph, I've got to, the Bears. The Bears. We will definitely be tackling that subject here in just a moment when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. And I know my good friend doesn't have to worry about this subject, but folks, if you're
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Starting point is 00:13:08 Message and data rates apply. Terms apply. Available at newgenics.com slash terms. Murph, it's always fun to break down the New England Patriots and it's always fun to see the New England Patriots improving and getting healthier on the field in terms of a record but all of us out there would love to get a little healthier in our lives and today's episode is brought to you by the great folks over at Athletic Greens who put out a fantastic product I literally use every day let's face it folks we all want more energy the days are getting a little
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Starting point is 00:14:24 All you have to do is visit athletic greens.com slash NFL network. Again, that is athletic greens.com slash NFL network to take ownership over your health and pick up the ultimate daily nutritional insurance. That's fans of a legendary Thomas Murphy, the green King of sting, the monster master of disaster. That Dancing Destroyer is here today joining me to break down the Patriots' big win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. And Murph, as much as we were impressed by the rookies, and I don't want to just make it seem like it was the rookies, excuse me, a lot of veterans came up big yesterday.
Starting point is 00:15:03 I thought Dietrich Wise had a phenomenal game. Matt Judon didn't log a sack, but boy, I'll tell you, he was right on that line of scrimmage, getting into the backfield, tackling for losses, setting the edge, doing a tremendous job. There's a lot to like with this Patriots team right now. But as always, there's always things to work on and there's always room for improvement. When the Patriots walk into that drawing board, whenever they walk in for team meetings, either on Monday afternoon or on Tuesday, whenever Bill's going to have them preparing, what's going to be up on that board? What is
Starting point is 00:15:34 Bill Belichick highlighting to this team that needs to get better? Clean up the penalties right off the top. Clean it up, people. I mean, it's ridiculous. Free yards mean free points. The Patriots had 12 penalties yesterday for 92 yards. They gave up almost 100 yards, folks, on flags. That can't happen. That just can't happen. And it starts, of all people, you know, you have to point a finger at, once again, Isaiah Wynn. Surprisingly,
Starting point is 00:16:07 Trent Brown did not have a very good day. That goes directly, you know, to how the offense is clicking because they are leaning so heavy on the run game. And not to mention, you know, Wynn gave up another sack. He got blown by again because his footwork is just trash right now. It's just, it's complete trash. I was freaking, I stood up and danced a jig when I saw Marcus Cannon coming into the game. Yeah. I think everyone, including myself in Patriots Nation right now, is a little bit worried about that. You spent time along the offensive line. You know the mechanics and you know very well the need for lateral movement and the importance of footwork. Is this a situation where Isaiah's
Starting point is 00:16:56 just not locked in or is this a situation where he's struggling to adapt to the right side as opposed to the left? I think he's struggling to adapt and also has a bit of a chip on his shoulder. The fact that left tackles, we've been saying this for all the way back to camp when he wasn't practicing at all, that he's upset over being moved back to the right side. But it was needed after the showing that he did last year, the fact that he is in a contract year. He got moved over to the right side, and he knows that that's costing him money. But his attitude and his lack of effort, and it is, folks, when your footwork is as poor as this, it's a lack of effort. And it is folks. When your footwork is, is, is poor as this, it's a lack of effort. All right. Go out there and put the work in and get you, get your lower half, right. Okay. All of us that, that have, have been, uh, all of us, all of us folks who are round and have squatted
Starting point is 00:17:58 in the mud have gone through times like this, where you have to go out there and work with your coaches and get your footwork, footwork, uh footwork corrected so this kind of thing doesn't happen. It wasn't a huge concern yesterday, as told by the final score, but you're not going to be playing the Cleveland Browns every week. Absolutely, no question about it. And look, bottom line, when you're a starting right tackle or starting left tackle, I know there's nuanced differences between the two positions. Would not pretend there isn't. But when you're a starting offensive lineman in the league, you need to bring your A game each and every week, especially when your choices are either protecting a rookie quarterback with only a couple of games under his belt as experience or protecting someone that is going to be coming back from a serious injury that incidentally you kind of had a little bit of something to do with to begin with so when
Starting point is 00:18:53 you look at that i think in a lot of ways there's got to be some uh you know finger pointing in the mirror uh right and and look and i'm not going to turn this into a dump session on isaiah because i do i've always admired the job that he's done here in New England. I think he's always brought a level of talent to the positions that he's played. And when he is healthy, at least right up until this year, you always thought that he was among the top talents in the league at what he did. But there's definitely something off this year. I think you've pinpointed it. It's not injury.
Starting point is 00:19:24 Yeah. And you hit the nail on the head when it comes to it. So we'll see. We'll see what continues to happen. I'll tell you, folks, right now, if Wynn doesn't have a stellar week of practice, Marcus Cannon is going to start on Sunday. Yeah, and I think you saw Marcus coming in and the team settling down a little bit. And that protection gets all that much better.
Starting point is 00:19:45 And you hear his teammates talk about Marcus and the level of experience he brings. A lot of reverence, a lot of respect there. But they also understand the talent level this guy can still produce. And another under-the-radar signing that Bill Belichick has been able to pull off that really could pay dividends for this team going forward. Obviously, the penalty is definitely a big concern, Murph. Anything else on that board that you think the Patriots should be concerned about heading into this Week 7 matchup with Chicago?
Starting point is 00:20:14 Again, you know, the Pats were good on third down this week. I think they hit 50% for the first time. They held Cleveland to four of just 15, but Cleveland was three of five on fourth down and converting on fourth down. So that's something else that needs to get cleaned up, needs to get taken care of. If teams are going to keep doing this, and you're seeing it more and more across the league going for it on fourth down, you're going to have to get to them and get them off the field. And that's really the only other nitpick that I have in this week's game. I mean,
Starting point is 00:20:53 how can you really nitpick after a 38-15 drubbing, although this was a really close game right up until the fourth quarter? Yeah, absolutely. And look, bottom line, I know a lot of people were talking during the game. I got a couple of DMs and Twitter messages during and after the game about the Patriots' inability to contain Miles Garrett. You can't put that. Miles Garrett's really good. He is a really good football player. You want to talk about a guy that basically single-handedly kept them in that game all day yesterday, it be finding penetration utilizing the scenes getting after the quarterback helping out and run protection or run defense uh this guy can do it all so if you're getting beat by miles garrett uh it's not a situation where your defense is not doing his job or its
Starting point is 00:21:40 job because and i know i know it was when that it it was Garrett that beat win on that. But he he he gave he gave Zappy no chance. None. Right. That's that's why you have to get some sort of a resistance to something. And there was a thing there. Yeah, absolutely. I've had more resistance diving into a pool. All right. Then Isaiah Wynn did on that play. Yeah, absolutely. And yeah, then then like I said, there's definitely got to be some finger pointing in the mirror when it comes to that,
Starting point is 00:22:09 and that is something where you need to be able to at least give the effort. If the effort is there and you're still getting beat, well, then you're losing to your opponent, but you're not losing to fear or other stuff that's happening around you. So New England will continue to move forward. There's no question, Murph, and they are looking forward to moving forward when it comes to their Week 7 matchup on Monday Night Football against the Chicago Bears. But who's going to be starting under center, Murph?
Starting point is 00:22:36 That be the question. And it is the question on everybody's mind. We saved the best for last year on Locked On Patriots. Murph and I are going to give our thoughts on that subject in just a moment when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. But first, folks, I want to tell you a little bit about our friends over at PrizePix because PrizePix is daily fantasy made easy. Let me tell you how they work. You can pick two to five players, and if they score more or less than their PrizePix projection, you can win up to ten times your money on any entry.
Starting point is 00:23:07 There's no competing against other people, so you don't have to compete against Murph or myself. It's just you versus the projections available. Prize picks offers projections on any sport that you watch. This includes the NFL, the NBA, the NHL, Major League Baseball playoffs out there right now, PGA, college football, men's and women's college basketball, soccer, so much more. Entries can be made in 60 seconds or
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Starting point is 00:24:18 Fisto himself, Thomas Murphy of E2GSports.com. And Murph, we've talked a little bit about some of the other rookies on the Patriots roster. We've talked a little bit about some of the items that need to be fixed when it comes to the New England Patriots. However, we haven't talked about the subject that's on everybody's mind and everybody's mouth on Monday morning and that is who will be taking snaps under center when the Patriots take the field for week seven against the Chicago Bears at Gillette Stadium. Murph, Bill Belichick talked to the press last night after the game. He spoke once again on the Greg Hill Morning Show. He was asked about this several times and essentially said there's nothing to see here. Mac simply wasn't medically available, so there's nothing to discuss.
Starting point is 00:25:07 But there is going to come a day where Mac is going to be medically cleared to get out there on the field. We saw Bailey Zappi put forth a great performance yesterday, and I am no way going to lessen what Bailey was able to do on the field yesterday. Great pocket awareness. Thanks, Don Struck. Really? what Bailey was able to do on the field yesterday. Great pocket awareness. Thanks, Don Struck. Really, you know, just, you know, tremendous presence when it comes to, you know, operating under center and play action.
Starting point is 00:25:33 24 of 34, 309 yards, two touchdowns, zero interceptions. Right. Obviously, a lot of fans are hanging their hat on that right now. But we all know that Mac Jones is still the number 15 overall pick. And there are still reasons why Mac struggled this year that don't include just him not being able or not willing to execute the Patriots offense. Yeah. Dunmer, if I go to you. In your expert professional opinion, my friend.
Starting point is 00:26:04 I cash checks for this. Yes, you do. Absolutely. And one of them is in the mail already. Who do the Patriots go with here? Given health, whose team is this? It's the return of the Mac. Plain and simple.
Starting point is 00:26:19 Okay? Crank it up. Folks that are hanging your hat, go buy a new hat. Okay? Go out and buy a new hat okay i'll send you one i'll send you one and uh but no this is this is max team all right the rhetoric that you're hearing on sports talk radio for one is is to get people to to call in and two hopefully that if these people if for for some ungodly reason, they're throwing this against the wall and Bailey Zappi ends up being the starting quarterback week one of 2023, they can all come up and say, look, Bill screwed up even a 15th pick in the first round. Okay. The guy that he chose is, is, has been traded to, I don't know,
Starting point is 00:27:08 Houston for, you know, a couple of third rounders and his fourth round pick is, is out, is out playing the first round pick. So it plays into multiple narratives for these people that are on the airwaves between two and 6 in the afternoon. And it just feeds their monster. It feeds the people, the same six callers that call into their shows every single day. And take a look, people, it is. It's the same six people that call in every single day and continue to drive their narrative. And this is Matt Jones's team. And when he's back under center, I believe, you know, a lot of it comes down to the way he finished last year and the first few
Starting point is 00:27:56 games of this season. The first few games of this season, they were, you know, going through a complete overhaul of this system. And Bailey Zappi has not been asked to do that. He has not been asked to go downfield and throw these 50-50 balls. Now, personally, if it was me, I would keep going with what's happening right now, only with Mack Jones under center. We saw what this team was able to do when they're running the slants and they're running the hooks and things of that nature. Guys are getting open. How many tight windows has Bailey Zappi had to throw into? Not many because these guys are getting –
Starting point is 00:28:38 now these guys who couldn't get separation before because they were 20 yards downfield are getting separation. You've got guys like the Slim Reaper back on the field dragging coverages and opening things up underneath. Just relax. This is Mac Jones' team, and it's going to be Mac Jones' team, I hope, for another decade. Yeah, I would say you're more on the money than some of the opinions I've heard out there.
Starting point is 00:29:06 And believe me, look, bottom line, folks, this is no in no way, shape or form a knock on the job that Bailey Zappi has done. This kid can play in the NFL. Anybody telling you otherwise or saying that, oh, he's doing it against lesser ran competition. He's playing against NFL competition. I've said this several times. You're an NFL football player. You make it out there on the field to compete against NFL competition. I've said this several times. You're an NFL football player. You make it out there on the field to compete against these guys is much, much tougher than the competition he was facing over at Western Kentucky. So for this kid to do it on this stage
Starting point is 00:29:35 under the circumstances he's had, very impressive. And no one's questioning that. Right. He's smart. He reads a defense really well. He throws a great ball. These are all the things that he was drafted for. He was drafted for these situations when the number one quarterback went down. There was a reason that he was there in the fourth round. I can't remember how many quarterbacks were taken before him, but they all deserve to be taken before him this is a kid from a small school with some with some skills with a very high football iq i hate the fact that everybody on the planet has co-opted that uh that phrase from me but um he he does he has it and um whenever this type of situation comes around i hope bailey zi is there on the bench to strap on his helmet and get in there. Absolutely. Without any question. I mean, our good friend and business partner Matt Chatham had a very eloquent quote
Starting point is 00:30:33 and a very eloquent tweet folks. I'm sure some of you have seen it. If not check out Matt's Twitter feed, you'll see it. He called it a quarterback luxury as opposed to quarterback controversy. And I think that's exactly what we have here. The Patriots right now have the wealth of having a number, a first round pick, a number 15 overall pick, waiting in the wings, getting healthy. Someone who I think fans have turned on maybe a little bit too prematurely
Starting point is 00:30:58 when you look at the rookie season that Mac had last year and the way he was able to guide that team back to the playoffs is not an easy task and Mac did it with poise and he did it with a skill set that really fits the way that team last year played offense obviously the Patriots were under a little bit of a different regime this year a little bit of a different look and I think because of that Mac struggled a little bit on the early side the play calling was not exactly where it needed to be. They hadn't found their niche yet.
Starting point is 00:31:26 Maybe they were trying to be a little too overaggressive or push the cell a little bit too hard. You're seeing that different now. And I think if they can maintain this type of play calling, this type of efficiency with Mac Jones under center, if you think Bailey Zappi's been impressive to date, and he has, I think Mac Jones can really electrify this offense when he comes back as well. So if that doesn't happen, then you have a discussion on your hands
Starting point is 00:31:51 because then all of a sudden it's like, well, okay, Bailey ran this offense and he ran it relatively well. If Mac comes back and struggles, I'm talking long-term now, he's got to get an opportunity to get his legs back under him. But if there's long-term struggles, this is not like Mac matt comes back throws one incompletion and the fans are starting we want bailey it's going to be a little bit different than that folks have a little patience but i do believe that mac jones will get the ball when the time is right and when he's ready and if that means this weekend in week seven uh i should say this mond night coming up, since we're always so conditioned to the weekend, Murph,
Starting point is 00:32:26 but this is a Monday night matchup at July this week, then that's going to be when it will be. And until then, the chatter is going to continue, for better or for worse, folks. Right, and believe me, the media might not be patient enough. The fan base may not be patient enough. Bill Belichick is going to be patient enough. The fan base may not be patient enough. Bill Belichick is going to be patient enough. He knows.
Starting point is 00:32:50 He's gone through this before. Okay. This is not a situation like it was with Tom Brady. And it's a completely different era. Mac is the future. Mack has the higher ceiling. Mack is, like Mike said, it's going to take some time to get his feet back underneath him, to trust that ankle. I think he's done a fantastic job to this point.
Starting point is 00:33:21 But if he's healthy come Monday night uh i do believe that he's going to be starting underneath center yeah and i would agree with that and i'm so glad that you mentioned tom brady because we're hearing tom's name invoked like crazy around here when it comes to the controversy or the non-troversy whatever you want to however you want to describe it when it comes to bailey and mac right bailey zappy is not 2002 tom brady and the switch to tom brady what i don't think a lot of patriots fans remember is the switch to tom brady was in the works for quite some time folks this was not this was during this started during training camp and even before that when phil belichick charlie weiss and the late great dick
Starting point is 00:34:02 rabine looked at the quarterback room and they saw intangibles in Tom Brady that led them to believe that this guy is going to be the starter before the end of the season. Malouis accelerated, I think, the inevitable there. So it's not a like-for-like comparison. Whatever Bill had done with Tom in the past, to me, is not a valid comparison. It just isn't. Because Tom Brady is a different it's it's a different circumstance right it's a completely different circumstance you're talking about a kid in Mac Jones that was brought here for one reason and the one reason was because he was
Starting point is 00:34:35 the best quarterback fit at the time for the Patriots to continue their type of offense which is deliver the ball accurately on time short intermediate yardage in the in the other field put the ball only where the receiver can get it and where he can get it and then get some yards after the catch Bailey did that very well yesterday I look at the John Smith reception that was a 17 yard pass that turned into a 53 yard pass with savvy yards after the catch Bailey put it where he knew Jono could get yards, and Jono did a great job of doing that as well. You also have to look at Hunter Henry being able to do that
Starting point is 00:35:10 and extend the play. A lot of things going well for the New England Patriots. This goes to play calling. It really does. It goes to play calling and the way that they want to run the offense. And this is completely different than what Mack was asked to do in week one, two, and three. Absolutely.
Starting point is 00:35:29 Without any question, folks. And because of that, the New England Patriots are back to 500. And Murph, I thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to join me here today on Locked On Patriots, helping to set the record straight on the quarterback situation and also lend your wisdom and counsel on what went well and what didn't. Before I let you go for the week, my friend, please let everyone know where they can find you, what they can look forward to from the great Penn,
Starting point is 00:35:53 the great voice of the legendary Thomas Murphy. Well, I've got a new piece coming out today over at E2GSports.com on the Guardians. I keep trying, folks. Indians is the the Guardians. I keep I keep trying. I keep trying, folks. It's Indians is in my head. It is. So I stutter on the Guardians and the Yankees match up tonight.
Starting point is 00:36:14 Of course, one Patriots place is back tomorrow with Klazzy Claire Cooper, myself and of course, Steve Balistrieri. And our special guest is Michael Hurley. He's going to be on. That's always a great show when Mike can stop by. And other than that, I'll be back here next Monday if you have me. Absolutely, folks. And there is no other place we'd like to be on Mondays than joining Thomas Murphy here on the microphone at Locked On Patriots for Hashtag Locked On Murph Monday.
Starting point is 00:36:44 Still the only guest with his very own branded hashtag. And folks, I thank you for putting up with me who continues to fight the cold that just won't quit for the past two weeks. My voice has been a bit choppy. There have been some memory fog going on, but you guys are the best.
Starting point is 00:37:00 And I really appreciate you hanging in there with me for no other reason than to hear the wisdom and counsel of this great man and some of the great guests that we have on here on Locked On Patriots. Folks, thank you for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage and also your first listen every day. And now that you've made us your first listen, go over and check out my good friends over at Peacock and Williamson, giving you all of the NFL's most pressing stories. And they do it in less than 30 minutes.
Starting point is 00:37:31 Folks, go over, check out Peacock and Williamson, free and available on all platforms. And, of course, while you're at it, download, subscribe to, follow Locked on Patriots wherever you get your podcasts. Folks, smash that subscribe button to YouTube. We're so close to 1,000 followers and subscribers, and I appreciate each and every one of you. On behalf of Dunn Murph, the illustrious Thomas Murphy, I'm Mike DeBate. Please continue, folks. Stay safe, stay well.
Starting point is 00:37:53 Be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone. Mark Morrison, Return of the Mac. Go play it.

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