Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Fall to Washington Commanders: Mac Jones, JuJu, Rhamondre and More

Starting point is 00:00:00 In the immortal words of Boston's own Aerosmith, it was the same old song and dance for your New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The pass fall 20-17 to the Commanders. We got all the ins and outs, the ups and downs. Stay tuned. You're about to be locked in to the Locked On Patriots Podcast. You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful. Thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage and hopefully your first listen every day. Remember, Locked On Patriots is available on all platforms, including YouTube.

Starting point is 00:00:59 So download, subscribe to, follow Locked On Patriots wherever you get your podcasts to ensure that you get the latest episode as soon as it's available. I'm your host, Mike DeBate, and I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. So reach out to me and let me know what's on your mind on X at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L. And while you're out there showing some social media love to Locked On Patriots, please follow our account there as well at L- Lockdown Patriots. Please follow our account there as well at LO underscore Patriots. Pats fans, today's episode is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs.

Starting point is 00:01:30 LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, and they help you do it faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com slash Lockdown NFL. That's LinkedIn.com slash Lockdown NFL to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. And unfortunately, Patriots fans, your New England Patriots continue their 2023 downward spiral with a 20-17 loss to the Washington Commanders at Gillette Stadium on Sunday. The Pats fall to 2-7 on the season. And here today to help me break it all down is the man who Mondays were

Starting point is 00:02:05 created for here on Locked On Patriots. My good friend, the legendary Connor Murphy, Fisto himself, Thomas Murphy of E2GSports.com. Thank you for coming to me today in friendship on this Monster Mad Monday. Don't work. I'm not happy. Do I look happy? No, not happy. Do I look happy? No, I'm not happy.

Starting point is 00:02:26 This is four. This is four one-score games that the Patriots have dropped this season, folks. Four. One score better. And we're talking about something completely different. The narrative is different. But it's not. It's four one-score games that the Patriots could not get over

Starting point is 00:02:46 the hump on. And now, um, it's, it's almost time to start thinking about draft order and not, you know, saving face or, um, um, pride for, for lack of a better word, get out there and play some pride. I'm not, I'm not happy, Michael. I was not happy with the, you know, of course the outcome of this game. I wasn't happy with the, uh, with the, the game plan that, that, that went on. Uh, I wasn't happy with the fact that, you know, not enough keys were turned. Folks, we're going to get into a lot of the unturned keys in just a moment, because I'm right there with you on game planning, on preparation, effort level from the players, engagement level from the coaches. It just seemed like everything was absolutely taken from the sails of the New England Patriots in Foxborough yesterday. You could even feel it and hear it in the stadium itself.

Starting point is 00:03:42 There is just a, and I hate to use this term because negative connotations it has up in this area, but there is such a deflated feel when it comes to the New England Patriots this season. And it just, it permeates everything they do, whether it be the players on the field, whether it be the, you know, the fans in the stands, or whether it be people on social media, just finding, trying to find some way to be engaged with this team and they just can't seem to do it Patriots are two and seven for the first time folks since Bill Belichick's first season as head coach of the New England Patriots in 2000 the Patriots are one and four at home at Gillette Stadium not something that they're accustomed to being they're oh and

Starting point is 00:04:21 five in non-division games they're the only NFL team without a win outside their own division right these are things that are not customary for the New England Patriots they're supposed to take care of the teams they're supposed to be folks I'm sorry I mean no disrespect to the Washington Commanders when I say this the Patriots were supposed to beat that team yesterday I don't care what anyone says this is a team that is in full sale mode, sold off their top two assets to build for 2024. And they came in and they played with more heart, more fire, and they won yesterday against the team that really could have started to salvage this season if they wanted to, with a little bit of a soft underbelly coming up on the schedule. Murph, I agree with you. I mean mean we have up here on the placard what went wrong

Starting point is 00:05:05 I ask you my friend why were those keys that you cut each and every week that really do I think lead the path to victory why did they remain unturned but I I honestly don't know um Bill O'Brien um completely again the first key that I cut this week was to run the ball. And I was scared to death that with the trades that Washington made last week, eliminating their pass rush, for lack of a better word. Mac Jones was not sacked yesterday. Okay? That's a good point. I'm not sure the pressure rates or whatnot. Mac Jones was not sacked yesterday.

Starting point is 00:05:41 But I wanted this team to establish the run and establish it early. And once again, they did not do that. This sets up everything, especially where Mack makes his hay across the middle. All right. Mack does not make hay throwing balls to the left hash mark. Okay. I never want to see Mack Jones throw a ball to the left-hand side of the football field again. Just, just eliminate it. It was, it was gone awful. It was, it was, it was what I feared O'Brien was going to do was let Mac drop back and sling it and try to prove a point. And that's, that's not what football is about. You don't play football with, you know, you play football play football up here okay and then that's not what the Patriots did yesterday with their game plan I think the Patriots came into this game yesterday Murph feeling that with the loss of Montez Sweat

Starting point is 00:06:36 and with the loss of Chase Young this team was vulnerable with the pass rush they weren't going to be able to generate that same type of electricity getting after the quarterback it looked like the New England Patriots entered this game counting on that and that alone. This is still a team that's surrendering over 117 yards per game on the ground coming into this game. I haven't seen the adjusted numbers yet, folks. Coming into this game, they're 21st in the league. That is an area where the New England Patriots could have exploited and could have exploited and could have made this this ride a little bit easier and thrived like murph said murph i completely agree

Starting point is 00:07:10 with you that is a key absolutely had to be turned and you saw the benefits of getting the running game going when you have a pass to set it up or vice versa perfect example is the remandre stevenson 64 yard touchdown run that was set up by a very nice connection between mac and juju smith schuster 20 yards diving catch everything looked like it was going well and all of a sudden out of the rpo comes from andre stevenson and he takes it to the house for 64 yards and breaks it i understand folks that that's an anomaly and those types of moments don't happen every play but that is where you need to be mindful if you're in a wingland patriots coach on the offensive side of the ball you need to be

Starting point is 00:07:51 utilizing that run because it opens up play action it allows guys to be able to hit their targets and it gives back more time he had the time yesterday he was not under pressure or duress the way he normally is you're right save for the um roughing the passer call right that was uh nullified um that was i guess you know you can make the argument that that was a sack some may make the argument that the correct call was made but bottom line that was nullified there was no sacks registered on the official stat sheet yesterday so you have to give credit where credit is due to the offensive line, especially with Connor McDermott coming in in place of an injured Trent Brown.

Starting point is 00:08:30 This team could have been very vulnerable to be able to open up a lot. The Patriots looked like they had a plan to stop the pass rush or at least be able to contain it, but they had no answer to be able to get the running game going. I think that was an egregious part of what this team does. And it's difficult. It's really, really difficult to even think about that. Yeah, you can just take a look at time of possession yesterday.

Starting point is 00:08:55 All right, the Patriots have to control time of possession. And it was 37 minutes, more than 37 minutes, that the commanders, the Washington commanders held this ball. And, um, the Patriots just had 22, 22 minutes of, uh, of, uh, of possession on the offensive side. And it just wasn't enough. It just wasn't enough. And this is the one re one place that they could have definitely exploited Washington

Starting point is 00:09:28 and even that number up. Because even at an even 50-50 split, I think the Patriots end up winning this game. And we haven't even talked about third down yet. Lockdown listeners, these days every new potential hire can feel like a high-stakes wager for your small business. You want to be 100% certain that you have access to the best qualified candidates available. And that's why you have to check out LinkedIn Jobs. LinkedIn Jobs helps find the right people for your team faster. And here's the best part, folks, for free.

Starting point is 00:10:03 You will not believe how easy it is to create a free job post on linkedin jobs until you try it just make sure to add your job and the purple hashtag hiring frame to your linkedin profile to spread the word that you're hiring simple tools like screening questions make it easy to focus on the candidates with just the right skills and experience so you can quickly prioritize who you'd like to interview and who you'd like to hire. It's why small businesses rate LinkedIn Jobs number one in delivering quality hires versus the leading competitors. LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to faster. So post your job for free at linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. That's linkedin.com

Starting point is 00:10:46 slash locked on NFL L-O-C-K-E-D-O and NFL to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. Yeah, absolutely. And that was my next question for you because that's one thing that I said here on Thursday

Starting point is 00:11:04 when I spoke with David Harrison host of Lockdown Commanders and we each gave our essential to victory what has to happen in order for a team to be victorious and I made my point very clear about the New England Patriots they have to win the battles on third down they were one for nine the week before again the New England Patriots just not getting the job done in the clutch when the moment counts. Murph, this to me, I think, is a full team effort. Mac Jones is not getting the job done to get the ball across. Receivers, obviously, are not doing the job that they need to do of either getting open or putting themselves in position to get the ball.

Starting point is 00:11:38 It's just a mess on offense right now. I know we're hopping on offense, folks, but it was that bad, and it continues to be that be that bad for the Patriots. I'll flip it over to the other side. What were the commanders? Nine of 17 on third down nine of 17. One of those was a third and 23. Okay. Junior was going back there and throwing up lob passes and there was nobody there to get it. I tweeted yesterday that the difference in this game right now is the fact that, that he has wide receivers that will go and get the ball and flipping it back over the Patriots. Don't.

Starting point is 00:12:17 Okay. They just don't, they don't have guys that, that, that fight for the ball. I mean, granted you could, you can come down and say that –

Starting point is 00:12:27 oh, God, why am I at a complete loss right now? That Jalen Ragoor made a good defensive play when Mack Jones turned him into a DB down there on a long throw that was underthrown, again, to the left-hand side of the field. But other than that, he doesn't have the guys that are fighting for the ball. And this is no knock on DeMario Douglas, who had a very good game yesterday again. All right. But other than that, Taequann Thornton, he's not fighting for balls. Juju Smith-Schuster did not fight for that last ball. He did not pull in that last

Starting point is 00:13:09 third down pass that Mack threw to him that I thought was kind of an ill-advised throw considering how many people were around him and his history here this season. But on second watch, that was a ball that he should have had that was a ball that mac threw in there and we get on mac an awful lot for not throwing the ball hard enough not having the arm he zipped that ball in there junior just couldn't handle it absolutely and i'm so glad that you mentioned that because the initial reaction to that i think was so visceral from patriot's hands why is he throwing that apparently uh the fox broadcast had a little bit of a problem with mac jones throwing the ball but when you look at what he did you're down three points less than 30

Starting point is 00:13:55 seconds to go it's not a situation where you can run the ball or try a screen or a flicker or something that's going to be trickery here you have to advance the ball and attempt to get the first down that would have done it folks you get that all of a sudden it sets you up for field goal range and at the worst you're looking at the potential to be able to tie it maybe even take a shot at the end zone because unfortunately the new england patriots just weren't able to get the uh the job done the ball went through juju's hands uh give them a lot of credit for taking the lion's share of the credit he stood at his locker yesterday basically said look that was a catchable ball it's on me and you know we move forward uh very unlike what we saw about two or three weeks ago

Starting point is 00:14:36 uh when mac had a similar situation with davante parker this is going it's this continues to be a familiar yet fatally flawed formula that the New England Patriots are putting out. And it's leading to losses. And those losses keep piling up. And lastly, as you know, we're still talking about what went wrong. The Patriots had four special teams penalties yesterday. Four. Thank you.

Starting point is 00:14:59 What the ever-loving hell is going on here that they put up four special teams penalties. And this is something that Bill Belichick has talked about for so long and has been a hat hanger on him, is winning and excelling in all three phases of the game. And special teams has just been a mess. It's just been awful all year long. Yeah, it really has. You're talking about the face masks. With the exception of the kickers.

Starting point is 00:15:31 With the exception of the drafted kickers. The kids are doing their job. They are doing their job. Because kids are all right. It's everybody else that Bill keeps paying to bring back here, whether it's a missed long snap or a face mask penalty or wherever, all season long, you can point to this unit being a weakness in New England,

Starting point is 00:15:51 and that is something that has never happened before. Well, no, I can't say that because they were a mess last year. No, I was just going to say, last year, dead last in DDOA, Defense Adjusted Value Over Average, folks. This year year 29th so you're not talking about a an exponential growth like we were supposed to see with the additions of chris board with the return of cody davis uh with the return of joe judge into that lineup and coaching right being there with cameron ashford and being able to provide this team with

Starting point is 00:16:23 that veteran savvy that veteran leadership that they've been lacking, they continue to be fundamentally unsound. And it's something that is so unlike your New England Patriots, folks. Brendan Schooler, the face mask, the holding penalties. Now, I understand what the holding. I know Brendan was upset with that call. He was obviously heated. You could see that on the sidelines.

Starting point is 00:16:43 The Mack Wilson call, I still think, is pretty egregious. I i did not agree with that i still don't see where he was off sides no um bill belichick actually was asked about that on monday morning uh said a little more than he usually does about the officials generally bill deflects those questions you can't even be in a position to allow that call to be made thank you that's the. That's exactly the point that needs to be made here. The fact that in between those holding and face mask calls of Brendan Schooler, that Mack Wilson call with 241 remaining in the fourth quarter on fourth and two, it brought the Washington offense back on the field. You cannot do that when you need every tick of the clock and every available

Starting point is 00:17:25 snap to make sure that you're putting yourself in a position to win that game. You're down three. It's a one score game to take a four point lead. And all of a sudden we're having a completely different narrative here on melancholy Monday on monster mad Monday. All of a sudden it becomes a victory Monday. That's how intricate some of these moves and some of these, you know, breaks that are not breaking the Patriots way are going, but bottom line, they're not putting themselves in position to take advantage of the breaks. And when they're available, Patriots are just not taking them at all. So you're in a wing when Patriots are circling the drain right now. And while a long time, just while we're here before we move off of what went wrong

Starting point is 00:18:06 in the game planning and where the hell was pharaoh brown yesterday i can't believe i'm asking this question okay he's he's been one of your most it goes back to to game planning and letting letting max sling it and him not being on the field as much um but still this man did not see a single target yesterday i'm not sure how many snaps he was on the field as much. But still, this man did not see a single target yesterday. I'm not sure how many snaps he was on the field for. And he has been one of your most consistent pass catchers, move the chain guys for the past three or four weeks. And granted, he's somebody in off the streets. What are you trying to do, Bill?

Starting point is 00:18:39 Are you trying to prove a point with Mike Kosicki? Is that what you're doing? He caught a touchdown pass, and now we've got to get him in the game all the time? No, Farrell Brown is the better ball player. He fits the system. Get him in the game. Farrell Brown, seven offensive snaps yesterday, folks. Twelve on special teams.

Starting point is 00:19:00 A very limited level of work for Farrell Brown. Mike Kosicki opposed to 55. Bill Belichick referred to him last night and again this morning as, quote-unquote, the fifth receiver on this team. So maybe that was the reason for the look. But bottom line, I know Farrow is someone that has made things happen, especially in chunk play situations. You've got to give him more looks.

Starting point is 00:19:22 Now, the only way I give that a pass, Murph, is he was on the injured list throughout the week. He did miss, you know, practice. He was, you know, limited in his practices. He had a back injury. So if that's the case, then I do kind of give that a pass, but if he's healthy enough to go, you've got to give him more. If you're healthy enough to suit up. And that's been, that's been the mantra here for 25 years. If you were healthy enough to suit up, then you're healthy enough to be out there here for 25 years. If you are healthy enough to suit up, then you're healthy enough to be out there for every single play.

Starting point is 00:19:48 Otherwise, you shouldn't be suited up. Yeah, without question. Yeah, you're absolutely right. And folks, once again, that's you're given Murph wrinkles. This is not good here. This is not good. It just, it really is.

Starting point is 00:20:04 It's dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria. And all kidding aside, it really is last place in the AFC at two and seven. But no light at the end of the tunnel is visible anytime soon, Murph. It's a long, dark, and winding road. The Patriots have an overseas international trip coming up. Murph, we're going to be discussing that later this week. But we're going to keep our focus on the Commanders game yesterday. Murph, we're going to be discussing that later this week, but we're going to keep our focus on the Commanders game yesterday, Murph, because even though we've talked about all the doom

Starting point is 00:20:30 and gloom, and there has been a lot of doom and gloom, there were some bright spots on the field yesterday. We're going to talk about the limited bright spots for the Patriots, and we're also going to answer, I think, the most common mailbag question that we've been getting now for the last two weeks. And folks, we put our own individual twist on it.

Starting point is 00:20:50 Are Mac Jones and Bill Belichick still wartime consiglieres? We're going to answer those questions and more when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues, a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team, every of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

Starting point is 00:21:07 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. If you've been thinking about joining FanDuel, there is no better time to get in on the action. The app is so easy to use. And folks, there's a wide range of betting options, including spreads, player props,

Starting point is 00:21:37 over, under, and so much more. And with your New England Patriots headed to Frankfurt, Germany for an international matchup with the Indianapolis Colts, you're definitely going to want to make this week a whole lot more fun and maybe even a bit more interesting with our good friends over at FanDuel. So visit FanDuel.com slash locked on and kick off the NFL season in style. That's FanDuel.com slash locked on. FanDuel, official partner of the NFL. It is hashtag MonsterMadMonday. It is hashtag MailbagMonday.

Starting point is 00:22:25 And we did dip into the mailbag, and we're taking your most popular question of the week in just a moment. But it's LockedOnMurfMonday, folks. That's what makes it all worthwhile. The losses, the melancholy attitudes, the angst, all of that, all made better by my guest today, the legendary Conor Murphy Fisto himself, Thomas Murphy. Murphy talked about all of

Starting point is 00:22:45 the bad and there was a lot of bad on the field yesterday for the New England Patriots, but there were some silver linings to take from the field in Foxborough yesterday. It was maybe one of their most disappointing losses, but it wasn't their most devastating loss. We've seen a couple of those this year where the Patriots looked absolutely futile from start to finish and just couldn't do anything right. There were a couple of those this year where the Patriots looked absolutely futile from start to finish and just couldn't do anything right. There were a couple of bright spots yesterday. When you looked at this game, was there anything that you took away saying, you know what, Patriots had a terrible game, but this guy looked pretty good? Juwan Bentley, 10 solo tackles, 13 altogether, two sacks.

Starting point is 00:23:23 Godchow had a good game. Uh, nine tackles Dietrich wise, you know, it was a wise decision there too. Um, and Kyle Duggar, you know, everything that I'm saying here is on, is on the defensive side of the ball. I understand that. And I mean, you could, you could go in with, with pop Douglas who had a, who had a nice game, had five catches on seven targets. Even Schuster, you know, he caught six balls out of seven. And, you know, of course, the rushing game, Ramondre, nine carries for 87 yards. But you've got to, you know, kind of mitigate that with the 64-yard run,

Starting point is 00:24:03 which was beautiful. It was just beautiful. Romandre looked, you know, fantastic. And so, yeah, so that's where I'm hanging my hat this week is on the defensive side of the ball. Whether you like it or not, whether a loss or not, they held this team to 20 points, and they gave this anemic offense, uh, several different

Starting point is 00:24:28 chances to win this ball game. They kept them in it after going down 10 to nothing. And, um, granted, uh, you know, Washington did score another 10 points in the third quarter, but they held them, you know, scoreless in the fourth and, uh Mack in position to get his second come-from-behind win, and he just couldn't do it. I'll give you another one, and I'll raise you to Lonnie Devine, who I think could have had the play of the game, folks. I still think it was the top defensive play of the game, and I mean that with all respect to Kyle Duggar, who I thought his interception was great.

Starting point is 00:25:04 That was a little more on Sam Howell. I don't know where Sam was throwing that ball. Sam would be the first to admit it. He said it after the game. That was the worst throw he's made as a pro. And I'll take his word on that. I haven't seen Sam's throwing history extensively because the Patriots just don't play the commanders all that often. But that was his first forced fumble, being Jelani Tavai as a New England Patriot he did come in with three coming from the Detroit Lions but jars the ball loose did it against Brian Robinson which is big that's that's right you know that's their guy to control and secure the football Devin Godchow heads up move falls on it at the Washington 25 yard line

Starting point is 00:25:42 that helps set up the Patriots first scoring drive Mac needed three plays to get the Patriots into the uh the end zone including a 14 yard pass from Mac Jones to Hunter Henry which I thought was a great pass a great watch by Hunter and that really I think gave the Patriots some life it gave them their spark it actually buoyed them to getting the Ramondre Stevenson touchdown drive just a couple of drives later so it really did set up a lot for the patriots save for a couple of bad moves here and there that could have ended up being the play that we're all talking about today saying that turned the tide did that really give the patriots hope that they can maybe rattle off a couple of

Starting point is 00:26:21 victories in a row and salvage what has been a poor season. Now, all of a sudden, we're talking about it as a silver lining, and it's almost like a what-if situation. And it's sad because I thought Jelani had a good game yesterday, six total tackles on the day. And again, just that linebacker in the middle part of that defense that just does it all. Whenever you need to dial his number up, he just seems to be there in the right place at the right time. So I want to give a little love to him. It's been a tough year, especially with,

Starting point is 00:26:49 you know, his native Hawaii and the wildfires that were down there. And a lot of the struggles that he's had, you know, keeping things, you know, professionally and personally. And the grief that he,

Starting point is 00:27:02 and the grief that Bill took for, for bringing him back. Yeah. A lot of people didn't want him brought back. A lot of people questioned his contract. You know, that's a guy that Bill looked at and said he could be a very good fit here. And he has been and he's been everything is that. And the thing is, he's supposed to be here as depth. He's not supposed to be here as a playmaker, as somebody who does, this is a depth guy that's going out there and getting it done on a, um, on, on a basis where he's, he's playing a lot more than, than anybody thought that he would be or shouldn't be. Yeah, absolutely. So well said. Except maybe Bill. Well, Murph, I think that leads us quite nicely into our final question for today.

Starting point is 00:27:45 And folks, yes, it is hashtag mailbag Monday. So we are diving into the mailbag. And overwhelmingly throughout the past couple of weeks, the main question has been, is Max still the guy? Is Bill Belichick still the guy? Are there jobs on the hot seat? Do the Patriots need to clear house and eliminate both of them? A lot of that is speculative fodder that really works well for the masses. Social media makes for good arguments and back and forth. It definitely

Starting point is 00:28:13 makes for great topics on terrestrial radio. It makes for great topics here on podcasts just like this one. But bottom line, Murph, the New England Patriots have serious problems to solve. They need serious people to solve them. Until this point, very few, if any, would argue that Bill Belichick was well-suited to take whatever was thrown his way. He was the guy that could fix it. It may take him a while. He may make some mistakes along the way. But most people believe that Bill Belichick was absolutely the right guy to spearhead

Starting point is 00:28:44 what now needs to be a complete rebuild. So I ask you, as Michael Corleone would say to Tom Hagen, are Mac Jones and Bill Belichick still this team's wartime consigliere? That's a fantastic question. And it was given to me in a in a in a fantastic way and and my my view is still yes okay because it comes down to the capos it comes down to the capo regimes i i think there there needs to be a house cleaning in the coaching staff. We need a new wide receivers coach. I believe we need a new offensive line coach. And quite frankly, some soldiers would be nice. I never thought that I, in my entire life, that I would be jealous of a quarterback that had Johan Dotson to throw to.

Starting point is 00:29:41 All right. But I am. We need a Terry McLaurin on this team. Those are the guys that are out there, the button men that are on the street. That's what the Patriots need is a few more button men and a few capos that are a little more street savvy than the ones that are here now. We definitely need new special teams coaches. Very well said. And folks, you know Murph and I, the affinity that we have for the Godfather, and anyone

Starting point is 00:30:11 who's seen the original Godfather knows that we're pulling from Michael Corleone's decision to move to Nevada. Not very popular among his soldiers. They didn't like it at the time, but Don trusted him. Michael knew what his plan was all along. It was whether or not people were willing to go that carlo's gotta go absolutely and and michael knew that tom hagan was not the type of consigliere he needed to make that type of move so that's the decision that don

Starting point is 00:30:38 robert kraft needs to make right now is bill belichick his wartime consigliere is he the guy that's going to be capable of helping and facilitating that move? Because if you're thinking long term future here for the New England Patriots, folks, there is no one that holds Bill Belichick in a higher regard than Murph and myself here. We've watched him for 20 years build an

Starting point is 00:30:57 empire here in New England. Anyone telling you different is pushing a narrative or they're just not willing to see the forest from the trees. This guy is a legend, a hall of famer and deserves all of the accolades he's gotten until this point, but he's not part of the longterm solution here in new England.

Starting point is 00:31:13 So if you're talking longterm and you're talking a bridge to that next level, it's still Belichick. Still the guy at the right time to tell bill, you're no longer a wartime console. Yeah. It might get rough at the moment. I'm telling you folks right now, everybody that is out there screaming,

Starting point is 00:31:29 and I mean screaming, for Mike Vrabel to come in here and fix what's – he's not doing it. He's not. I'm sorry. Mike Vrabel has had everything that you people are screaming Bill Belichick needs to have. He's played in the AFC South his entire coaching career, and he hasn't gotten it done.

Starting point is 00:31:49 He's had all those weapons. He's what? Go ahead. Go ahead. Yeah, I mean, let's face it. I mean, Mike Rabel sitting in Robert Kraft's box a couple weeks ago and all of the camaraderie that was felt during his induction ceremony weekend, it almost kind of made like a

Starting point is 00:32:05 very nice little narrative that you knew the public was just going to sink its teeth into. Always look at these matters with an objective point of view. Remember where this information is coming from and then determine as to whether or not there's any validity behind it. Bottom line, I'm not saying that Bill Belichick does not deserve to be on the hot seat. He absolutely does. A two and seven, any coach would be. But when you start talking about potential successors and saying, oh yeah, the crafts have automatically picked out the guy they want. Again, folks, take a step back and just understand where some of these reports are coming from.

Starting point is 00:32:40 And I think you'll see them in a different light. But it is very difficult to believe that the crafts would allow something like that to come out, especially with the reverence that I know for a fact that they still hold Bill Belichick with. Whether there is a rift or a fissure in that relationship, that's still to be seen. But there is still an awful lot of mutual respect between both sides. I don't think they'd let it get like this this quickly. So just to circle back, four games, one score. Okay.

Starting point is 00:33:08 And I've said it a million times. Look at the attrition that this team has gone through in the past five years. Okay. You've arguably lost three Hall of Famers, three pro football Hall of Famers. Okay. And Brady and Gronkowski and whether you believe it or not, Stefan Gilmore and six Patriots Hall of Famers. Those three. Then you want to add in Hightower. You want to add in in Edelman and you can add in Devin McCourty.

Starting point is 00:33:44 OK, that's the attrition, not not even counting the coaching. and you can add in Devin McCourty. Okay. That's the attrition. Not even counting the coaching, okay, which 70% of has gone out the window over that five-year period when there was always somebody there that had worked their way up to step right in, and that hasn't happened. I'm not ready to give up on Bill Belichick. Like I said, four games, one score.

Starting point is 00:34:05 Let's see what happens. Let's see what happens. Let's see what happens in this draft. Do not go. I'm already talking about the draft. Do not go chasing the next quarterback again with that top pick. Okay. Give this kid an offensive line and give this kid some weapons to work with that he can count on. And I know that's saying a lot, you know, to bring in rookies and do this type of thing,

Starting point is 00:34:27 but I think it's there. I think it's there. This team just needs to play a little bit smarter. The coaching staff needs to be a little bit better and, um, and things will turn around. This would be a really good day if there were five more score, more scores in in the Patriots ledger this year just a little little less red bottom line Murph it always is interesting uh to look at the future it's always interesting to project what the future might look like you know what you have you never know what you're going to get the grass may look greener on the other side for right now

Starting point is 00:35:01 but again I think Bill Belichick has earned the right to let's see what this looks like after a full season this is still a complete dumpster fire and these guys are imploding like you can't imagine then then the crafts have no other alternative but to pull plug because even the best sometimes are ignored yep look around the league folks the rams are not what they were three years ago, and they're not going to be anytime soon. Buffalo is regressing year after year. Go look at Miami, which everybody's throwing up

Starting point is 00:35:36 for their amazing, innovative offense. That kid hasn't beaten a 500 team. They're winning the games they're definitely supposed to, but he's not winning the games that he's not. The key for the Patriots is just play them when they're at 500. Absolutely. It's very difficult to get to the top, but it's even more difficult to stay there.

Starting point is 00:36:07 Let, let the, let's get the roof on the building before we, before we tear it down. Very well said. There might be some new plumbers needed, you know, to,

Starting point is 00:36:17 to finish things off some finished carpenters to come in, but the groundwork's there. Okay. Just, just hire me to run the draft. That's it. Murph for director of player personnel in Foxborough. I'll tell you, I really, I can get behind that.

Starting point is 00:36:31 I know you all can as well. Folks, thank you so much for dropping us all of those lines over the course of the last week or so asking questions about Bill Belichick, Mac Jones. Again, folks, our opinion, it does not make it right. It does not make it gospel. We want to hear what you have to say as well, because believe me, there is just as valid of an argument to move on. And we love to hear your feedback. As long as it's respectful, folks, it definitely falls on positive ears.

Starting point is 00:36:56 And we love interacting with you. So please continue to do so. All of you everydayers out there that take time out of your busy schedule, not just to drop us a line, but to make Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Nothing warms my heart more, and I know I can speak for my good friend right here on the other side of the screen. Before I let you go today, Bud, please let everyone know where they can reach out to you, where they can interact with you, and what we can look forward to coming from the great pen of Thomas Murphy in the coming week, Bud.

Starting point is 00:37:25 Well, since it's down there in the coming week. Well, since it's down there and the birdie is gone, you know, you can follow me on X at team or if two Oh seven, I like to call it the zitter. Um, of course you can read anything that I've got going on over at E2G, E2G.com. A lot of,

Starting point is 00:37:39 uh, Red Sox stuff coming out over the next couple of weeks. And as to how I want to fix this team. Absolutely folks. And with Craig Breslow in the house, you know he's going to be keeping a very sharp eye on what Murph has to say. If he knows anything about Red Sox baseball, you know he's going to be able to go and to do that.

Starting point is 00:37:57 So definitely check out what the man is doing. I always recommend it. Anytime he puts voice to microphone or pen to paper. It's always optimal listening and reading content. And you won't go wrong anytime Murph's name is attached to something that you're reading or viewing. And folks, once again, I thank each and every one of you, all of you everydayers, casual listeners, and all of you first timers out there checking out Locked On Patriots. I appreciate you. I thank you for taking time out of your schedule to join us. I remind you to join us here each and every day on the Locked On Podcast Network on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. On behalf of my good friend, Thomas Murphy, I am Mike DeBate telling you to stay safe and to stay well and to be the change you wish to see in the world.

Starting point is 00:38:39 Have a great day, everyone, and we'll see you back here again tomorrow on Locked on Patriots. More Pharaoh. Walk like an Egyptian. Let it be done.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Fall to Washington Commanders: Mac Jones, JuJu, Rhamondre and More

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