Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Fall to Indianapolis Colts: Mac Jones, Bill Belichick Last Hurrah?

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. Also, hopefully your first listen each and every day. Remember, Locked On Patriots is available wherever you get your podcasts, so be sure to download, subscribe to, and follow Locked On Patriots on all platforms, including YouTube,

Starting point is 00:00:47 to make sure you get the latest episode as soon as it's available. I'm your host, Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. Reach out to me. Let me know what's on your mind on X at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L. While you're out there showing love to social media via Locked On Patriots, be sure to follow our account there as well at L-O underscore Patriots. And Pats fans, today's episode brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime

Starting point is 00:01:15 app, create an account, and use the code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. And Patriots fans, as your New England Patriots walked off the field at Deutsche Bank Park at Frankfurt Stadium on Sunday, seemingly accepting their Week 10 loss

Starting point is 00:01:36 to the Indianapolis Colts, 10-6, and unfortunately accepting their fate that this team is most likely headed for a season in the cellar. And it's not something I would have predicted. It's not something our good friend here predicted. Because joining me today to break it all down is our good friend,

Starting point is 00:01:54 the legendary Connor Murphy, Fisto himself, Thomas Murphy of E2G Sports. Thank you for coming to me in friendship. And thank you for lending your wisdom your counsel and input today on i truly don't know what to call this today don marsh um mailbag melee um you know the the i i i don't know and i'm at a complete loss here michael uh it was it was laid out for them that that these last two weeks were supposed to be get-right weeks. They were winnable games. They were games that, you know, another two games that were decided by one score.

Starting point is 00:02:34 And it came down to a couple of keys not being turned. And that's basically it. That's where this team is right now. We're just looking for a little joy in Mudville. And right now there are two camps. You know, the guys that – the fans that want you to show a little gumption, a little self-respect and get some Ws out there. And the other camp that is just trying to get a top three pick in the draft

Starting point is 00:03:02 coming up in June. I'm not ready to start diving into my draft analysis yet. Put it that way. Yeah, I know. Tell me about it. You know, Mock Draft Monday is something that is always a lot of fun here on Lockdown Patriots, but at its appropriate time, folks. We don't want to start mock drafting heading into Thanksgiving.

Starting point is 00:03:21 And, you know, for the last 20 years, Murph, that was an unheard of concept here in New England. There was no way that Thanksgiving was the end of your season. Bill Belichick had gone on record several times saying good football doesn't start until Thanksgiving. So, you know, folks, it really, really is a difficult time. And for the first time since 2000, Bill Belichick's first season here in New England, the Patriots are a 2-8 football team. It's a harsh reality for a franchise that was once considered almost a four-bun conclusion at the top of the standings of both the division and, of course, the conference as well. of New England Patriots currently resides, mustering only six points in a game which team owner Robert Kraft said before the game he wanted to win badly. And you have to wonder what this is going to mean for the bye week coming up. But conversation for maybe a little bit later in

Starting point is 00:04:16 today's show and definitely for later in the week today, we're going to focus primarily on what we saw on the field yesterday, Murph. you and I both know it's going to be categorized in so many different ways. The Patriots had missed opportunities. The Patriots executed poorly. They were not well prepared by their coaches. I think that's all fancy ways of saying they simply just did not turn the monster keys to victory. And if they had, they would have come out with a victory yesterday now i know you were pretty monster mad on social media yesterday anybody that's looking at this will say yep we saw murph's tweets on sunday morning he was not happy specifically which keys really surprised

Starting point is 00:04:57 you the most that were not turned and what could the patriots have done differently to try to get a win yesterday. Six is not threes. That's it. They had five trips to the red zone and they came away empty on all five trips. They missed a gimme field goal that would have, you know, the special teams didn't come up well in the entire game, but, you know, to miss that field goal where Mack would have just been, or Bailey would have just been driving for a field goal at the end of the game instead of, instead of needing a touchdown. But no, it's six is not threes, not taking care of the ball, you know, win the turnover battle. Those are the two keys that, that did not get turned on Sunday and ended up haunting the Patriots. You know, also, you know, you could throw in there, limit the laundry. It's the weeklies that this team is not getting. game driving penalties for, for motion that just shouldn't happen to a,

Starting point is 00:06:06 to a, to a seasoned veteran like that. You know where you have to be, you know, you can't be moving forward. And, and, and both of those calls,

Starting point is 00:06:16 both of those flags ended drives. They did. And we talk about winning the battle on third down. You have preached this almost every week coming on here on Locked On Patriots, whether it be presenting your monster keys or whether we be breaking down the aftermath of a lot of disappointing losses. The Patriots lose the battle on third down, and it was not any different yesterday, folks.

Starting point is 00:06:37 Six of 14 against an Indianapolis Colts team that was there to be had is not going to cut it. You cannot win in this environment, in this NFL, by being futile on third down. And the Patriots just continue to have that problem. Bill Belichick acknowledged that both when he spoke to the media yesterday after the game, and then upon his return from Germany this morning when he spoke with reporters via video conference, that was a very common theme throughout his comments. Got to win the battle on third down.

Starting point is 00:07:07 Have to execute. Patriots simply are not executing right now. No, they're really not. Too often they completely look like they're not on the same page. You just go back and ask why the Patriots didn't throw a Hail Mary at the end of the first half. And Max sitting there saying, I don't know. I don't know. You know, go talk to the coaches.

Starting point is 00:07:34 I don't know. You know, his his season may be done. His career in New England here may be done. I hope not, because, again, you know, getting back to the draft, I'm not ready to go into full Cleveland mode and start chasing quarterback after quarterback. I'm still on the side of the room that wants to see them build a team first and then find a quarterback if Mack isn't going to be it here after his fifth year option. Yeah, I think that's a very good point. People are maybe missing that point or maybe willfully ignoring that point. But when you have a full scale rebuild, unless you are absolutely sure,

Starting point is 00:08:18 unless it's Caleb Williams or Drake coming in here, and even those aren't solidified guaranteed options it's just not you have to realize folks that nurturing cultivating a quarterback and making that quarterback what you need him to be is not an easy task and we're going to get into that question of the day a little bit later so I don't want to go too much on that right now because that was the overwhelming mailbag Mondayay question here and we're going to continue to uh to talk about that no but i think it's absolutely relevant because you can't talk about offensive struggles and offensive keys unturned unless you do go into the problem that mac had yesterday we're still seeing its inability to make sound decisions when

Starting point is 00:09:01 most needed it's more concerned with with watching the rush than anything else, and that interception was as bad of a throw as you can make and as bad of a time as you can make it. Mike Gusecki open in the end zone. He's right to target him, but he's not throwing the ball. Where are your feet? Exactly. Where are your bloody feet?

Starting point is 00:09:19 You're standing there tossing the ball with parallel feet. This is something that you teach kids when they're 11 years old how to step into a ball where your feet need to be and trust me there isn't a coach on the planet from from pop warner all the way up through the nfl that tells you to stand with your feet parallel you know it just doesn't happen it just doesn't happen. It just doesn't happen. That play was there. That was a six and not a three. And it was just ridiculous. It wasn't even a three because we ended up throwing a stupid interception in the red zone.

Starting point is 00:09:55 We can't have that. You can't have that. We're still seeing that customary, and I say customary derisively here because that is not something we should be seeing from matt jones those back-footed fadeaway that's not what mac is designed to do as a quarterback folks if he's making passes like that something is terribly wrong back-footed flat-footed and and and today today all you hear on social media and on on the uh on the radio is how they would rather have the quarterback that was on the other side of the field. Who was that quarterback? Gardner Minshew. Gardner Minshew.

Starting point is 00:10:33 Who's the quarterback that I wanted here in New England three years ago when they brought in Cam Newton? Gardner Minshew. And everybody laughed. And we have the receipts here on Locked On Patriots to prove it. I remember talking with Murph about that. And I actually remember chuckling along with a lot of you. And Murph was right on the money in terms of guys that can evade defenders when the pocket starts to collapse and make plays.

Starting point is 00:10:58 You saw Gardner do it yesterday. It was my fiendish plot of Gardner Minshew. Go back. I've written about it. I talked about it here. A solid quarterback that can avoid a rush, that can run this offense. What we're running here and what the Patriots have been running here for 20 years. And the kid was perfect for it and I was ignored and

Starting point is 00:11:20 guffawing at it. Unfortunately folks, for the Patriots, they did not turn that key and they didn't turn a lot of keys on the field yesterday um obviously mac jones terrible decision and he called his own throw terrible after the game mac took full responsibility for that throw as he has been he's been taking accountability for his miscues the one thing you have to give mac whether you like him or whether you don't, folks, he stands there and faces the music. If he did something wrong, he'll be the first to admit it. He'll take culpability. And then, you know, we just haven't seen the actual ingenuity on the field to correct these issues, but he is taking culpability for it.

Starting point is 00:11:58 Right. We'll talk more about that when we get Mac to the future in a little while. Lockdown listeners, we've all been there. You want tickets to the big game or your favorite musical artist, and you just can't seem to 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. Game time is the fast and easy way to buy tickets for all of the sports, music, comedy, and theater events near you. And game time's all-in prices show your total up front so you know you're getting a great deal without all those hidden fees. They're actually obsessed with finding ways to help you save money on tickets. That includes their zone deals where you pick the section and game time We'll be right back. of the difference. Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account,

Starting point is 00:13:06 and use the code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply, so again, create an account, redeem the code LOCKEDONNFL, that's L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N-N-F-L, for $20 off. Download GameTime today. Last-minute tickets, lowest price, guaranteed. Bottom line, this was not the only problem. Max's egregious

Starting point is 00:13:32 interception led to an interception, Murph, that may even be more egregious when you take a look at how it was thrown, what was done, and the reasonings behind it. Bailey Zappi coming in on the final series. Three of seven passes 25 yards he did convert a fourth down so i mean you want to give him credit words for doing you know that to get

Starting point is 00:13:51 the patriots advanced a little bit but he fakes a spike or attempts to fake a spike and tosses the ball into triple coverage i could not understand why that ball was released, why it was thrown in the direction it was thrown. You have no timeouts. This is an extreme head scratcher here. Yeah, it was beyond stupid. It was sub-moronic to not only make this play call, but to throw the ball where he did. You had no timeouts.

Starting point is 00:14:27 You have no time on the clock. Okay, and he's talking about afterwards, well, I was hoping that they'd throw a flag there. You weren't getting a flag there. Not from this crew. That wasn't happening. Guys were getting held and tugged and shrugged on both sides of the ball. And did you see a pass interference call?

Starting point is 00:14:47 Did you see a holding on either defensive backfield in that entire game? No, it didn't happen. These guys weren't making that call there. If you're going to make that call, you need two go routes down the field, into the end zone, outside the hash marks. You don't throw that ball to the middle of the field, into the end zone, outside the hash marks. You don't throw that ball to the middle of the field where you have absolutely no chance to get up to the line of scrimmage and then clock something.

Starting point is 00:15:13 You should have clocked it there, figured out a play, and done what you needed to do. Maybe get another 15 yards on the next play on an out route or something. It was stupid and I can't believe that that Bill O'Brien would call a play like that in that instance this had to be Junior making the call on his own I just can't believe that O'Brien would do that yeah and that really I think exacerbates the problem either way if O'Brien is calling this play you have to wonder whether or not he's still the same Bill O'Brien because that's just uncharacteristic of the guy we knew up here as an

Starting point is 00:15:49 offensive coordinator the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions the head coach and general manager essentially of the Houston Texans and then running the offense down in Alabama for a couple of years you didn't see things like that just uncharacteristic again and if it's Bailey kind of going rogue here and doing it on his own it only clearly points out folks that Bailey Zappi is not the answer nor is Mac Jones what do you do if you're the New England Patriots well you try to run the football and they tried to do that effectively yesterday the Patriots did have 167 yards on the ground from their runners. That was their highest output since December of last year.

Starting point is 00:16:31 So Patriots trying to get the ball going. Ramondre Stevenson, 88 yards. Ezekiel Elliott, 54. Mack even tripped in 25 yards, including a 15-yard run. I thought the offensive line did a good job blocking for the run yesterday. But the pass protection, again, folks, surrendering five first-half sacks, and four of those came on third down. And you wonder why, Murph, they're only 6-14 on third down.

Starting point is 00:16:56 It really is. It's a tough situation for the Patriots all the way around. It really is. It really and truly is it's it's so aggravating when you see um you know the the the patriots allowing this kind of mayhem um on the front line you know know, in, in, in the, the one thing that Mac does terribly is handle pressure and the pressure that, that, that the Colts would routinely dial up on third down was, was just, was just God awful. And they had, they had nothing. I, I, I said, find DeForest Buckner. It was, it was right there in my keys and DeForest Buckner. It was right there in my keys.

Starting point is 00:17:46 And DeForest Buckner had himself a day. The only time the Patriots offense looked good was when he was off the field. Yeah, exactly. And Steve and I discussed the prowess of DeForest Buckner here on Friday on our pregame show. And sure enough, there it was. Very much playing in black and white, just like Murph said. He wrote in his monster

Starting point is 00:18:05 keys and as we discussed here if you try to contain him keep him at bay you've got a shot but if he's running amok like he did early on in his game you're not standing a chance and really uh all Patriots players under duress yesterday um Murph before we take our leave of the offense any more of your monster keys that you feel needed to be turned were not turned or, dare I say, were not even addressed? You know, they really did a good job with everything except for what we got to, with the exception of the hunt for Red October, who is Gardner Minshew. Minshew was harassed, but he wasn't contained. They never got to him. I'm not sure how many hits they got on him, maybe two or three,

Starting point is 00:18:49 but he was never sacked. They didn't get into his face nearly enough. Okay? Gardner Minshew is not somebody – this is not his first rodeo, people. All right? If he can extend the play and expand it, he's going to find open guys when he needs to. And he didn't throw the ball a hell of a lot, but when he did, he found his targets. Absolutely. And folks, that is the reason why the Patriots are facing a two and eight record

Starting point is 00:19:15 heading into their bye and now facing a ton of questions, including the question on everybody's mind. Murph and I are going to answer that question in just a moment, but not before talking about another unit that continuously disappoints week after week. It's not all about offensive futility here with the Patriots, folks. The special teams unit has been abhorrent, and it's not characteristic of a Patriots team. Why is that? What can the Patriots do better? And yeah, we're even going to pick out a silver lining from the German skies on this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast.

Starting point is 00:19:51 Stick around when we continue in just a moment. Don't forget, Locked On Patriots is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Locked On listeners score early this NFL season with FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook. And right now, new customers get $150 in bonus bets with any winning $5 Moneyline bet. That's $150 if your team wins.

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Starting point is 00:20:35 So visit fan duel.com slash locked on and kick off the NFL season in style. That's fan duel.com slash locked on fan duel, official partner of the NFL season in style. That's fanduel.com slash locked on. FanDuel, official partner of the NFL. Thank you once again for joining us here today on Locked On, Patriots, for making us a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage, and hopefully one of your listens when it comes to post-game coverage of the Patriots' 10-6 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Frankfurt, Germany. Murph, before we get into some more negativity, definitely looked like our Deutschland Brotherhood

Starting point is 00:21:16 over there in Germany really enjoyed seeing NFL football yesterday. They were having a blast. Everyone that was on site uh talked about just how engaged the crowd was and how hospitable uh they all were really a great opportunity for the nfl to showcase what it can do on this international stage got to give all the credit where credit is due to the league to robert crapp for helping the coach for this uh this is something that i think was yeah absolutely and a big tip of the cap, you're right, to Sebastian Ballmer, who I think had more fun than anybody last week.

Starting point is 00:21:49 Great stuff from Germany. Regardless of the outcome, this was a positive for the Patriots. Everybody had a good time. I got a couple of playlists sent to me of all the music that was sent over there. They loved singing Sweet Caroline and a little John Denver out there. They had a good time with that. So, yeah, I really feel bad for it. This was basically a Patriots home game in Europe.

Starting point is 00:22:19 And the fans that showed up that flew over, because I had friends that did fly over, and the ones there that came from all around Europe, from England, from Germany, from Ireland. I got messages from guys in Ireland asking me if I was going to be there. And they deserve better because they really showed out for the Patriots on Sunday. Yeah, they really and truly did, including one of the great supporters of Lockdown Patriots, the lovely Miss Christina Quigley is one of our great supporters. And she wanted to know if Lockdown Patriots was represented overseas. Unfortunately not, but you did an amazing job of representing Patriots. So a tip of the cap to you, Christina.

Starting point is 00:23:02 Thank you for all your support. And we hope you had a great time in Germany. And Murph, I completely agree. Although I do think an opportunity for a David Hasselhoff halftime show was missed. I think it would have been great, Murph. Hashtag halftime. Think about the marketing capabilities, bud. This would have been great.

Starting point is 00:23:20 He could have worn the glowing jacket. He could have worn the glowing jacket. I was there. I was actually there when the wall came down. I'm not going to get into the glowing jacket. He could have worn the glowing jacket. I was there. I was actually there when the wall came down. I'm not going to get into the entire story. But, yeah, I was there. I saw the jacket. Yeah, he's heard it a couple of times.

Starting point is 00:23:34 But I tend to break that out after a couple of whiskeys. And it's a good story. And I'll tell anybody in private about it. But, yeah, it would have been nice to have the Hoff there. Yeah, it would have been. Maybe it would have given the Patriots a little life-saving capability. Who knows? But bottom line, unfortunately, the New England Patriots were not able to hold up their end of the bargain,

Starting point is 00:24:00 and they dropped this 10-6 matchup to the Indianapolis Colts and drop to 2 and 8 on the season right Murph we are going to get to the question on everybody's mind in just a moment because it is a question that needs to be answered but the one thing I wanted to do was take a little pressure off of the offense they definitely have enough on their shoulders and I think we've talked about all of their problems ad nauseum, but the special team snafus, I think surprised me the most on this team because last season, Cameron Atchard, I think did the best job he possibly could.

Starting point is 00:24:33 He was over his head. There were a lot of issues on that special teams last year that just were not fixed. You expected bringing in guys like Chris board, getting someone like a Cody Davis back, Matthew Slater, coming back to anchor everything, dedicated special teams players,

Starting point is 00:24:49 and I think two special teams coaches now with Cameron Hatchard and Joe Judge chipping in, you expected to see that prowess return and the Patriots' pride in special teams. Once again, you're not seeing it. There's futility in the game's third phase. The blocked punt yesterday using, that was a planned rush. They put nine players at the line of scrimmage, but the Colts read through it,

Starting point is 00:25:12 and they did a very good job of neutralizing it. Rigoberto Sanchez kicked a 69-yard punt that really should not have been anywhere near that. Colts special teams unit took full advantage of that. Didn't have a returner deep in the field and the Patriots paid the price right you mentioned Ryland's 35-yard miss um I go back to a 42-yard kickoff return by Isaiah McKenzie who I'm embarrassed to say I did not realize would still be a thorn in the side of the New England Patriots I thought that was more of a connection

Starting point is 00:25:42 thing with Josh Allen turns out Isaiah McKenzie just loves playing against the patriots and if they signed him this offseason like they listened to me and they should have done yeah wouldn't have been a problem yesterday but i digress murph you played on special teams you know the value how surprising is this to you because it's just it's so important it's shocking. With the amount of money that's spent, extra money on guys that only play special teams, with the coaching staff that they have now in prom game, I couldn't believe it. I honestly could not believe what they did. I mean, you've got a team backed up on their own 13, and you sit there and you decide to, to, to run an all out block play. You've got nine guys on the, on the, on the line of scrimmage. There's nine Douglas and Sean

Starting point is 00:26:32 Wader, at least 10 yards back off the ball. And they allowed that to happen that you cannot, if you set up like that, you can not let that punt get off. You cannot do it. And they did it. And it completely flipped the field. And instead of, you know, ending up with decent field position, which they probably should have been at about their own 35, maybe 40 yard line. They, they, they got off the, what'd you say? It was a 63 yard punt. 69, 69. 69. Well, with the bounces. With the bounce, it was 69-yard. Yep, there you go. The old Gronk number.

Starting point is 00:27:12 But there were other misses from those guys too. Letting Isaiah McKenzie, like you said, get that 35-yarder run back, it was awful. It was just awful. And, of course, you know, the missed chip field goal. The only bright spot to this and really this season is Bryce Berringer, who unfortunately his name was called wrongly the entire first half of the game. Yeah, Rich had a rough one yesterday. Rich Eisen

Starting point is 00:27:46 is not very good at what he was doing on Sunday. He's not good at it. Please, NFL Network, stop having him do it. He does many things very well. Let him go do those things because game calling is

Starting point is 00:28:02 not one of them. It isn't. Rich had a little, yeah. It was good to hear Jason. I did love to hear Jason. The tip of the cap to Jason McCourty, who was probably biting his lip the entire time, just looking at what the hell are you talking about? So, but yeah, the special teams unit,

Starting point is 00:28:22 it's always been all three phases here. And for two years now, that hasn't happened. And I'm not sure what some of this personnel is thinking. I am not sure what the coaching staff is thinking. You didn't need to create a turnover off that punt. You didn't need to. What you needed to do was make sure that you had good field position and you didn't have a puncher, but you didn't have a kick returner back there. You didn't have a punt returner back there.

Starting point is 00:28:48 Yeah, no. Yeah, I did play special teams, but I wasn't a returner. I was up there and blocked. I couldn't even long snap. If I was a long snapper, I'd still be in the league. Yeah. A lot of focus on the run on both sides of the football yesterday. And, folks, if there was a positive positive if there was a silver lining to be taken

Starting point is 00:29:06 from the field and i know a lot of you are rolling your eyes and saying yeah mike you're reaching or murph you're reaching or there really was no silver lining i want to give a slight tip of the cap or you know what scratch that i want to give a tip of the cap a full tip of the cap to the run defense which stepped up in the absence of juwan Bentley and knowing how absolutely fundamental he is in helping the middle of that field contain the run and actually be the driving force behind that defense. Jonathan Taylor was held at just three yards per attempt, 23 carries, 69 yards.

Starting point is 00:29:42 With the exception of that touchdown drive that the that the the colts put together he was held in check zach moss was supposed to be the robin his batman one hand off two yards right patriots were without bentley yesterday that could have been a disaster big kudos to calvin munson who stepped up a big time in his uh in his absence mac wilson senior playing an off thethe-ball role. He comes out of the game for a little bit with a head injury. Who comes in to try to play that middle-of-the-field traffic director but Kyle Duggar coming in with a big, big run stuff on third and one.

Starting point is 00:30:17 Yeah, that forced the Colts punt. That could have been another drive that really would have been that good. It's nice to see Duggar playing where he should be used. That was quite evident yesterday. Christian Barmore is just a force of nature. Yeah, he is. All right? Absolutely.

Starting point is 00:30:33 What he did yesterday was amazing. It was downright amazing to shut down this offensive line and this running game in the way that he was able to help out. Gottschall did a fantastic job the man was held on every single play that that i got to see of him uh we got no flags on that whatsoever but it was happening on the other side of the ball too only the only difference was their their rushers were actually getting to the quarterback um but no the run defense was fantastic yesterday. And just to flip it back over, while these guys couldn't pass block to save their lives,

Starting point is 00:31:11 the interior of this offensive line has not played a better game this season. What they were able to do to open up for Stevenson and Zeke yesterday was fantastic. It really was. These guys balled right out. And David Andrews is a god. You know, getting out there and jumping on that loose ball early in the game could have been a game changer. Yeah, it really could have been a game changer. And in a lot of ways, folks, I think we were looking at a potential game changer in a lot of phases in the

Starting point is 00:31:45 game and murph i think that leads us quite nicely into our final question for today and it is the overwhelming mailbag monday big time submission all of you are wondering not is bill belichick on the hot seat not what did robert craft say in his private box these are all questions that i know you have but everybody wants to seem to know whether or not Mac Jones has made his final start in a Patriots uniform. Mailbag Monday, there it is, folks. Will Mac Jones

Starting point is 00:32:13 start another game for the New England Patriots? Murph, your wisdom, your counsel, your insight is always valued here on Locked On Patriots, perhaps today more than any other, my friend. I put the ball in your court first. Have we seen the last of Mack as a starting quarterback

Starting point is 00:32:30 for your New England Patriots? Nope, not a chance in hell. He's going to start the next game. He's going to be the starting quarterback coming off this bye. You know why? Because Bailey Zappi does not have it. All right, there you go. I'm going to say it right then and there. Bailey Zappi does not have it. All right. There you go. I'm going to say it right then and there. Bailey Zappi is not the man. It is shown in practices.

Starting point is 00:32:51 It is shown in games that that he cannot he he doesn't have the talent to do it. OK, so unless this is full tank mode, that's not going to happen. All right. Will Greer is still the third quarterback on the depth chart. He has been here for two months and he has not been able to leapfrog Bailey Zappi. All right. So I know this isn't the answer to the question that most of you are looking for, but Mac Jones is still the best quarterback in the room and he's going to get the start in uh in week 11. Yeah I think if you ask the question at the end of the year our answer is probably going to be different uh but I think you asked the question right now Murph I agree with you and for the

Starting point is 00:33:36 reasons that Murph outlined folks look it's easy to point to Matt Jones and look at him and say he's lost it he He doesn't have it. He's broken. We hear these tag words all the time. It makes for good social media postings because people see that and they feed into it. It makes for good article fodder. You want to read about a broken quarterback or why he is the way he is. But bottom line, when you don't have the horses on the bench to be able to come in and give

Starting point is 00:34:04 your team a spark it puts you at a dramatic disadvantage and that's where the patriots are right now you know bailey works hard to prepare there's no question about it you hear all the stuff on mac about how he's the hardest worker in the room first guy in last guy to leave the whole nine yards i can tell you from personal experience well and that you know it's true mac is always out on the field he's talking to his coaches he's looking at ways to improve because that hasn't translated on the field is a problem for the new england patriots but where do you go you have to have a hand to hand the ball off and the patriots simply do not have that right now terrible job of trying of

Starting point is 00:34:41 getting a backup quarterback in here they knew knew Bailey Zappi wasn't it. All right. They, they, they're out here scrambling for, for, um, for, uh, mobile quarterbacks late in the draft, undrafted free agents. They're bringing in guys like Will Greer. They're bringing that. How many quarterbacks have they brought in this, this season? You know, we could sit here.

Starting point is 00:35:02 We'll run out of time listing them. All right. None of these guys have worked out. All right. It's, it's extremely thin. The Patriots should have done better back in the off season, back in April, May, and June, exactly when they should have been doing better at constructing this offensive line and getting another wide receiver in here for, um, for Mac to work with. Mac is going to be the starter after the bye week people forget just a couple of months ago bailey zappy was on the waiver wire he was cut no right and nobody on him and the patriots brought him back you know kind of up and down between the practice squad

Starting point is 00:35:39 between the uh the 53 man roster he came in during the Cowboys and New Orleans Saints blowout losses, and he performed lackluster in both of those. Murph mentioned Will Greer. I know Malik Cunningham's name is coming up an awful lot. Malik is on the scout team, folks. I don't expect him to be your answer. The Patriots, I believe, have seen enough of him to know that he's nowhere near ready to carry that type of load.

Starting point is 00:36:03 So, unfortunately, Belichick's hands appear to be tied. And that's why this is. He made the Sunday cut once and he was in for three plays. That's it. We were asking the next day why he was even even on the roster that day, why he was even, you know, in uniform. I'm sorry, I'm going to get killed for this in the comments. And that's all right.

Starting point is 00:36:26 Go ahead, as long as you keep it respectful. But he's the best option that you have right now. And granted, I mean, you can lay a lot of blame, but by the end of the first half, he'd been sacked five times, pressured another three, and he was actually in the second half, it wasn't that his eyes were dropping. It was the fact that his eyes were never up. It almost looked like this poor kid was looking for a safe place to lie down. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:36:55 You know, every time that he tried to move, there was three Colts in his face. As well as the offensive line did in run blocking. That's how poor they were in pass protection. But a lot of that problem is on him too. He didn't read and react quick enough. He didn't see guys that were open over the middle of the field. And it's because he's so skittish that those things didn't happen. That's the reason why he's, he's missing, um, pop Douglas across the middle open because

Starting point is 00:37:28 he's, he's, he's already afraid that he's going to get wiped out. Um, hopefully the, the line gets a little more healthy and he looks a little more like he did in the Buffalo game. And even last, last week in, uh, with Washington, when we were sitting here talking about, if only we had guys that could catch the ball when Mack actually hits them in the hands yeah exactly you know I mean it's not letting him off the hook for an egregious you know game it was a terrible game and they should if they were going to pull them they should have done it earlier and not on the last drive

Starting point is 00:38:02 yeah exactly and then force a cold quarterback that is definitely nervous in that situation and i don't care who you are any quarterback is going to be nervous in that situation trying to come in erase his own demons because bailey zappi has not had the easiest of stones either folks let's not ignore that fact it's a tough situation for any quarterback to be in but there there is no question. Mac Jones looked like a quarterback that needed to be pulled from that game yesterday. That's why he was. It's one thing to say he had a terrible game, get him out of there, put Bailey Zappi in, let's see if we can get a spark. But it's another thing to wonder what's next. And Murph, I think

Starting point is 00:38:40 it's the same argument with Bill Belichick. You can get that instant satisfaction, that gratification of firing a coach that has your team at two and eight. But what do you do from that point? Do you give the reins to Gerard Mayo, who has no head coaching experience in the league, is inheriting the same roster. So you've got the same problem that you had, whether Bill was a head coach or not. And a defensive-minded coach that's not going to fix your offense. You give it to Bill O'Brien, you're looking at the same problems on the opposite side.

Starting point is 00:39:09 Bill O'Brien runs that offense right now, folks. Him ascending into the head coaching chair is not going to change that. So the Patriots have serious problems to solve, serious people to solve them, but I don't think they make those types of moves until the offseason. I think Murph and I are in agreement. Once that off season begins, those questions will once again surface. And then you're looking at legitimate and you're looking at very specific conversations that will be bad.

Starting point is 00:39:36 And I think our answers will be different at that time. Our answers will be very different, but I am also not of the ilk that we're going to go start chasing quarterbacks in the draft right now. You can see it year after year after year with teams around the NFL, like Cleveland, like Miami, like everybody else, searching for that next guy. And the next guy happens. The next guy is rarely chosen.

Starting point is 00:40:03 It's the Tom Brady that comes out of nowhere. I'm not saying to win six Super Bowls here, but that's usually the way it is. Look at what's going out there in San Francisco right now. You just find the guy that works with you. And I'm not ready. You still have to build a team. Anybody that you bring in that's a first-round pick right now is getting this team.

Starting point is 00:40:31 Think about it. You're picking some guy, third, fourth, or fifth, and he's inheriting this team. Let's go out there. Let's build the team and then find the quarterback to go in. Or maybe, you know, once again, it's, uh, um, a little more than a crapshoot because the draft at this position is a crapshoot. If you don't think so, you know, ask the guys in Cleveland, ask, ask New York jets fans, ask, you know,

Starting point is 00:40:58 Buffalo bills fans, you know, it's a, it's a decades long search for the right guy. Right. And personally, I think that this team is is three or four players away from serious respectability. Now, two of those guys are offensive tackles that aren't on the aren't on the the the roster right now. And, you know, a wide receiver and a tight end. A tight end to go along with. That's the way it goes. What you need to do with an offense is build it from the inside out, the defense, the outside in, and they've done a great job.

Starting point is 00:41:40 Bill's done a great job building another really good defense. Let's see if we can right this ship this offseason. But with that first pick, I'm not going to be saying take one of these quarterbacks. Yeah. And again, folks, I think it just comes down to how compounded the New England Patriots problems are right now. This is not a team that's one player away from magically contending, whether that player be a quarterback, whether it be a wide receiver like Marvin Harrison Jr., whether it be a top offensive lineman, this team needs multiple players at multiple positions in order to be able to rebound. There is a good core of talent on this team that needs to remain intact, but there's going to be

Starting point is 00:42:19 a lot of housecleaning in the offseason. Take a long view on this, and you'll see, I think, a lot of all the questions that you have will be answered in due time. And, you know, that's all we can tell you about the New England Patriots business right now, folks. You're going to have to stay and make the move to Nevada with us. No, I'm only kidding. Bottom line, it is, there is a lot of work to be done in Foxborough. And we may get some of that during the, the bi-week. It may be the bi-week here on Locked On Patriots, but that doesn't mean we're taking any days off, folks.

Starting point is 00:42:46 No, we've got shows every single day here for you, breaking down all of the Patriots' first half. Who's your MVPs? Who has had first halves to forget? We've covered some of them today, but we're going to continue to cover all of that and get you ready for the New England Patriots' November 26th matchup with the New York Giants. That's the next time the New England Patriots November 26th matchup with the

Starting point is 00:43:05 New York Giants that's the next time you're in a Wingland Patriots take the field and it will be in East Rutherford at MetLife Stadium but in the meantime I want to thank my good friend the kind of Murphy Fisto himself the legendary Thomas Murphy for joining me here today on hashtag mailbag Monday uh whatever we've branded I Melee Monday was what we kind of settled on, but it is hashtag Locked on Murph Monday, and we love having them here. Don Murph, thank you for your wisdom. Thank you for your friendship. And before I let you go, please let everyone know what we can look forward to

Starting point is 00:43:38 from the great Penn, the great voice of Thomas Murphy all week long. Well, I'll be back here later this week, I hope. And, of course, I'm still back here later this week, I hope. And of course, I'm still working on the Red Sox, fixing the Red Sox. And thankfully, I can do that with money. And of course, Friday, I'm going to put out the monster keys to the rest of the season. Definitely.

Starting point is 00:44:00 And you know what, folks? The monster keys are always appointment viewing, appointment reading. You turn the keys, you go to the top. You don't turn the keys, you're never heard from again. Don't be like the 2-8 version of the Patriots. Turn those keys, folks. Look at them and know that there is a fix that is possible for your New England Patriots. You just have to have the right guys at the helm to turn the keys.

Starting point is 00:44:23 And in that vein, folks, we appreciate all of your support of Locked On Patriots. You just have to have the right guys at the helm to turn the keys. And in that vein, folks, we appreciate all of your support of Locked On Patriots. Thank you for hanging in there with us through what has been a tumultuous first half of the season, but you ain't seen nothing yet. Amazing guests coming up this weekend, all throughout the months of November and December, so stick around. Stay

Starting point is 00:44:39 with us here on Locked On Patriots, because it's about to get better. In the meantime, I continue to wish you all the very best and to remind 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 on Locked on Patriots.

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