Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Holiday Mailbag: Drake Maye, Offense Play-Calling, Run Defense and More

Starting point is 00:00:00 As Die Hard's Hans Gruber would say, it's Christmas, Patriots fans. It's the time of miracles, so be of good cheer and stick around. You're about to be locked in to the Locked On Patriots podcast. You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello and happy holidays to all of you, Foxborough faithful. Thank you for once again making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage.

Starting point is 00:00:38 I'm your host, Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for the Patriots country. Reach out to me. Let me know what's on your mind on X at MDAVATENFL. You can also catch me where the skies are blue over on Blue Sky at MDAVATENFL.BSKY.SOCIAL. And if you're looking to show some social media love to Locked On Patriots, please follow our account there as well at LO underscore Patriots. And today's episode is brought to you by PrizePix.

Starting point is 00:01:06 Go to prizepix.com slash locked on NFL and use the code all lowercase locked on NFL to win $50 instantly when you play $5. Pats fans, thank you for joining me here on this holiday episode of Locked On Patriots. Coming to you today in the midst of holiday travel, away from the studio, but I could not let the holiday go by without sharing some holiday wisdom and some holiday counsel with all of you. And today on tap for all of you everydayers, all of you Locked On Patriots loyalists out there, I'm going to keep with holiday tradition, and that means diving into the Christmas mailbag. Three of the most poignant questions on the minds of Patriots Nation brought to you courtesy of a trio of all-stars when it comes to Locked On Patriots everydayers.

Starting point is 00:01:53 You know them, you love them, and I think you're going to be very intrigued by the questions they have for us today. So we'll start by taking a look into the Patriots' play-calling strategy on offense and why, all of a sudden, Alex Van Pelt decided to unleash outside zone and the quarterback sneak. And he did so just days after he made it seem like they weren't going to do that anymore. Well, there's a reason they did it, and I'm going to share that reason in just a moment. But we're also going to address what I believe to be the Pats' biggest problem this season.

Starting point is 00:02:22 And if you tuned in yesterday here to Locked On Patriots, you heard me tell Steve Ballester area, patsfans.com that the Patriots run defense was one of my biggest concerns. What are the Patriots doing wrong and what can they do to fix it? Again, stay locked into Locked On Patriots folks, because we're going to discuss that too. And last but certainly not least, we're going to have some holiday fun and I will reveal the gift that I would give to the Patriots if I were Santa Claus.

Starting point is 00:02:49 Yeah, I'm excited to channel my inner Kris Kringle as well. So before your holiday plans take you to a place where suddenly there arose such a clatter, let's dive into that mailbag. And today's first question comes from a listener who helps make the season jolly here on Locked On Patriots, and that is my man LJ. Affectionately, we call him The Show, and I highly recommend following LJ on X, folks. You can find him on Twitter at show underscore one or X if you choose, and he is an elite level contributor during Mock Draft Mondays. Who knows?

Starting point is 00:03:21 You might even hear his voice on the pod when we begin to break down those mock drafts, but LJ is always candid, and today's question admittedly is a bit of a paraphrase. He'd be the first to tell you that, but essentially LJ has been asking this question all season long about the inconsistencies with the Patriots' offensive play calling, and today LJ is legitimately concerned about whether the problems that Alex Van Pelt and his staff have had this season may prevent the Patriots from signing veteran help on offense well LJ I wish I could deliver an instant fix during this holiday season but hopefully I can give you a little optimism because if you take a look at the last two weeks

Starting point is 00:04:03 I think you're going to find that the Patriots are aware of those deficiencies that everybody's been pointing out and they're making strides to address them. Bottom line, it starts with letting Drake May be more aggressive downfield as a thrower. In week 15 against the Arizona Cardinals, if we're looking at the first half, the deep game almost non-existent. But Drake opened Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills by averaging 7.7 air yards per attempt in the first two quarters. That's what it means to get aggressive. You look for mismatches down the field or matches that you can potentially exploit, and you take those chances when they're presented to you. Alex Van Pelt, Drake May, Kayshaun Booty all did that against Kier Elam and that Buffalo secondary. It led to

Starting point is 00:04:46 a 28-yard touchdown. All of a sudden, the Patriots are rocking and rolling, and the Bills are wondering what happened. Again, against Arizona, Drake didn't attempt a pass over 10 yards in the air until the second half. You look at what he did against the Bills. He threw four deep balls, completed two for 54 yards, and again, that 28-yard dime to booty that gave the Patriots the early lead. This is what New England wants to do on offense. They know they need to attack that deep part of the field when they see the chance. The reason they haven't been able to do that, LJ, it's the reason you've been talking about,

Starting point is 00:05:20 we've all been talking about all season long. They simply don't have the personnel to do it. This offensive line continues to be a liability. The quarterback is not getting the necessary time to read the field. If you want to switch, take pressure off and go to the running game, the running backs don't have the lanes to run through because no holes are being opened by this run blocking unit. And it's led to the Patriots becoming very conservative, maybe a little too conservative when it comes to their play calling. Alex Van Pelt actually spoke with Patriots.com last week, and he admitted that he and the Patriots offensive coaching staff were holding back design runs for Drake May because they simply did not want to risk this kid getting injured on a team that right now is 3-11, soon to be 3-12.

Starting point is 00:06:02 In a lot of circumstances, that's understandable. But at some point, you've got to test the kid out and see what he's got. is 3-11, soon to be 3-12. In a lot of circumstances, that's understandable, but at some point, you've got to test the kid out and see what he's got. And the Patriots actually did that, to their own credit, against the Bills on Sunday. ADP called two zone replays on Sunday, and even though one was unsuccessful, the other one went for 13 yards,

Starting point is 00:06:22 and that converted a 4th-and-1 late in the game. So again, showing aggression and some inventive play calling is going to put teams on notice a little bit maybe even potential future patriots lj logically the question that follows is well why do it now you've opted not to do it pretty much all season long but all of a sudden you're going to unleash the outside zone well as i do from time to time here on locked on patriots i got to give a tip of the cap to my good friend, Evan Lazar of Patriots.com, one of the best in the business. And this is the reason why. He asked that question to Gerard Mayo on Sunday, right after the Bills-Patriots game had concluded. And here's what the coach had to say.

Starting point is 00:06:57 I quote, we thought that was the best fit for the football team. He can make plays with his legs, and he did that today. We're always looking for ways to win. Now, I know that wasn't exactly a revelation, but it does show that the Patriots heard the criticism about their play calling. They also heard the criticism about their effort in Week 15. Let's face it, we were all criticizing them. I said right here on these airwaves, it looked like they were making off-season vacation plans already. But give the Patriots credit. This week, they came out with a purpose to put everyone on notice that this is what we're going to look like. This is what we're capable of when we have the team in

Starting point is 00:07:34 place to sustain this type of attack for four quarters. When we have capable blockers, we have playmaking, consistent pass catchers, we can stand toe-to-toe with anyone now granted they need to nail this offseason lj you've been very vocal about this pretty much all season long they need to bring in the right free agents not just the best players available but the right free agents for their system let that wealth of salary cap space they're gonna have work for them that means going after veteran wideouts and veteran offensive linemen, players that can nurture and protect Drake May. You do that, I guarantee you it's going to be an extra Merry Christmas in New England this time next year. I'm not saying

Starting point is 00:08:14 playoffs, I'm not saying deep playoff run, but it'll be a lot better and a lot brighter than currently what we're seeing from the Patriots this year. Until then, I think you should expect to see the Patriots use these next couple then, I think you should expect to see the Patriots use these next couple of games to test their capabilities, very similar to the strategy they employed against the Buffalo Bills. And who knows, if they can catch the Chargers off guard or the Bills in their final game, maybe they can squeak out one more win

Starting point is 00:08:38 before the curtains brought down on the 2024 NFL season. So, LJ, thanks for the great question. Most importantly, thank you for your unending support and being a most valued everydayer here on Locked On Patriots. But folks, we are just getting warmed up on this holiday mailbag edition of Locked On Patriots. Another mailbag MVP has a great question regarding the Patriots run defense. And that's an area in which this team has suffered, in my opinion, to be its greatest regression.

Starting point is 00:09:06 How do you solve a problem like the Patriots' run defense? We'll tackle that topic in just a moment when this episode of the Locked On Patriots Podcast continues, a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team, every day. Locked On listeners, the NFL playoffs are almost here, but it's not too late to get in on the regular season action with FanDuel, America's number one sports book. Because right now, new customers can finish the season strong with $250 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins. FanDuel has so many ways for you to pick up the W.

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Starting point is 00:10:25 As a reminder, I will be off on Christmas Day, December 25th, but the pod will be back strong on Crossover Thursday right here on the Locked On Podcast Network. And that means Daniel Wade, one half of the hosting tandem of Locked On Chargers, will be here to get you ready for Saturday's 1 p.m. kickoff between the Ordon England Patriots and the Los Angeles Chargers from Gillette Stadium. But in the meantime, we are rolling right along here into the mailbag, and we've already discussed the Patriots offense, thanks in part to a great question by our man LJ, but we're about to take a dive into the defense. And this next question on this holiday mailbag episode of Locked On Patriots

Starting point is 00:11:07 comes to us from the man who defines the term Locked On Loyalist. He has been a Locked On Patriots fan since long before I had the microphone. Truly one of the greats. Our friend Ted in Chicopee, Mass. And Ted's a little worried about the defense, just like I am, folks. And he has a great question Ted would like to know why has this Pat's run defense regressed so far this season and what can be done to fix it well again Ted this is the question that continues to keep me up at night when

Starting point is 00:11:37 it comes to this team the simple answer is a lot of things you can't really pinpoint it to just one item obviously they've had devastating injuries to key players, Christian Barmore, Juwan Bentley being the most notable two. Take them out of the lineup, your run defense is going to get worse. It's not even a question. Arguably, you're losing your best two defensive players along that front seven. Jabril Peppers in the secondary, he's banged up a little bit now after missing most of the season with off-field legal issues. So those three players, that's your backbone. Literally, that's the middle of this defense. You can't stop the run without a backbone.

Starting point is 00:12:16 No backbone, no strength, and you can't really fault the Patriots for not being able to sustain that. And normally that would be enough to sink any team, but it hasn't just been about the personnel. It goes deeper than that this season. Their defensive line and their linebackers have struggled all throughout the year. And if we're talking about serving up blame pie on this holiday table, it's split pretty much down the middle

Starting point is 00:12:39 between the D-line and the linebackers. Pretty much across the board, this team is not being physical enough when playing their blocks. That second level is being routinely moved out of their gaps, and when they're not getting knocked around, they're playing the wrong gaps, or they've taken way too long to recognize the play. All these add up to a disastrous result when it comes to run defense, but maybe the most upsetting thing to me is that when it's time for any of these defenders to draw a beat on the football, they're showing no sense of urgency. That's really frustrating. So many times this

Starting point is 00:13:10 season, this defense has had a play in the backfield, but the runner finds a way to break free and he gets a handful of yards. A lot of times it's to gain a fresh set of downs and this can be a momentum killer for any defense, let alone a team that's struggling like the Patriots. And you can point to just this past week as evidence of that. Patriots media relations credited the Patriots with missing eight tackles versus the run against the Buffalo Bills. Four of those were on tackle attempts that could have been tackles for loss. Devon Godshaw missed one.

Starting point is 00:13:39 Anthony Jennings missed one. Alex Austin and Daniel Laquale all missed opportunities to put the Buffalo Bills on their heels. Those are four of your strongest players, and if they're not giving you the consistency that you need, the guys around them are going to struggle, and you're going to see a defense start to crumble. So in my opinion, that's really what's going on at the heart of the Patriots' run defense. As for what they can do to fix it, well, getting Barmore back healthy, getting Bentley back healthy, getting Jabril Peppers back healthy, and hopefully free of any off-field issues,

Starting point is 00:14:09 that'll definitely help. But it's not the only answer. There is still a level that this Patriots team is capable of playing to that they haven't reached yet, even without those guys. And to me, this is on the coaching staff. That's when it's got to be the job of Demarcus Covington, of Jerry Montgomery, their defensive line coach, Drew Wilkins and Donta Hightower, coaching the linebackers, ultimately Gerard Mayo himself.

Starting point is 00:14:32 They've got to find a way to bring it all together. They could use some upgrades in personnel. I'm not going to deny that. I do think they will address their depth this offseason, but the core players on this defense are more than talented enough to get the job done. I hate to say it. It sounds so rudimentary, they just need to play better. That's the best way to fix this. And Ted, if I'm being honest, it's the only fix right now that they can control, that they can put into their own hands and control their own fate. So you have two games left on the

Starting point is 00:15:00 schedule, two teams that are not going to be easy to beat. The Chargers are fighting for their playoff lives right now. You can bet they're going to come into Gillette Stadium motivated to win this game, and if the Buffalo Bills are still playing for home field advantage or still trying to improve playoff seeding when they come to Gillette Stadium to close everything out in week 18, they're going to be highly motivated to beat the Patriots, but if you're the Pats, you can't control that right now. You can simply play the opponent on the field. And in my opinion, this is a great opportunity for them to start to fix all the fundamental problems they've been having and try to move into 2025 on a positive note. That being said, Ted, thank you for a great question.

Starting point is 00:15:39 Always appreciate all of the support that you provide to Locked On Patriots. And I get it, folks. I know even though this segment may not have spread a whole lot of Christmas cheer, we're about to close this pod out with a festive and a fun question from yet another everydayer all-star. I get to channel my inner Santa Claus. When this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast

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Starting point is 00:18:42 A special tip of the holiday Santa hat to all of you who have made Locked On Patriots your first listen here on this holiday. If you have, I encourage you to make your second listen our good friends over at Locked On NFL. All the major storylines across the NFL broken down and analyzed for you by our great network of analysts we have and only here on the Locked On Podcast Network

Starting point is 00:19:04 and much like Locked On Patriots, Locked On NFL is a proud part on the Locked On Podcast Network and much like Locked On Patriots, Locked On NFL is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And in keeping in the tradition of holiday giving, we are delving deep into the Locked On Patriots mailbag today. We've already talked offense and we've talked defense, but now we're going to have a little holiday fun because one of our very favorite everydayers ava in rhode island is asking me to channel my inner santa claus and her question today reads mike if you were santa claus what would you deliver to the new england patriots and ava this is a great question and of course in the interest of honesty i am indeed not santa claus folks i may weigh as much much as Santa but in the immortal words of

Starting point is 00:19:45 Clark Griswold I can't even afford to be an elf but I love the question Ava and I had to give this one a lot of thought earlier this month I had the good fortune to join the Lockdown NFL squad show and we were asked the question very similar to this I jokingly said that I wanted to get Gerard Mayo one of those mind eraser devices that Will Smith used in Men in Black so he wouldn't have to walk back the postgame comments. If he said something he regretted, he could just use that, you know, that little chick chick, and then we could all just forget about them. But of course, folks, I was kidding. I want to be a good Santa this time around, and I would say that the best gift that the Pats could get this year is an offensive line that could protect Drake May. Probably not a revelation. I'm sure that's what a lot of Patriots fans would love to give their rookie quarterback and the team as a whole. I know LJ is listening to this right now

Starting point is 00:20:34 and he's screaming at me about needing competent coaching, playmaking receivers. LJ, I'm not arguing with the point, but I do believe that a healthy and a functioning offensive line would work wonders for the pats look new england's offensive line has really struggled with injury david andrews is out for the year cole strange has recently been activated but still hasn't seen any in-game action against the buffalo bills the patriots had vidarian low at left tackle laden robinson at left guard ben brown at center, Michael Wennew at right guard, and Demontre Jacobs at right tackle. And each and every one of those players

Starting point is 00:21:10 that I've just mentioned has struggled and struggled mightily at some point this season. But Darian Lowe has had good games. He's had really bad games. Against the Arizona Cardinals, one of his worst performances of the season. I thought he bounced back a little bit better

Starting point is 00:21:24 against the Buffalo Bills, but not enough to convince Patriots Nation that he's the long-term solution left tackle. Patriots clearly need an upgrade there. Leighton Robinson, I think, is a solid player, but he's a rookie. He's going to continue to make rookie mistakes. Ben Brown, I think, has come in and done as well as anybody could do in replacing a legend like David Andrews, and for the majority of the season, he's been solid, but there have been times when the snaps have been low, and that's caused problems for Drake in this offense. Michael Wenu is still pound-for-pound your best offensive lineman, but he struggled this season. His consistency has lacked. He's been shuffled around, I think, a little bit more than he bargained for, so you add

Starting point is 00:22:04 all of those up, and're going to have struggle. Notice I saved DeMontre Jacobs to the last. For the purposes of this question, Trey probably picked the worst possible time for him to have his worst game of the season. Surrendered five pressures in 16 matchups against Von Miller on Sunday. Missed Greg Rousseau badly on that backwards pass attempt, which if we're being fair, you've got to give a significant slice of the blame pie to Drake May for making that throw to begin with, but that really made that play stand out in a bad way.

Starting point is 00:22:34 Because of that, I do believe that as long as he's healthy enough to give it a go and he's not going to injure himself any worse by being out there, the rookie Caden Wallace has to get his shot at right tackle. This is where he's most comfortable. This is where I believe he's going to be at his best, and the Patriots can at least know that they have a solid prospect to build on on the right side. Again, whether you're talking this season or even into early next year, Wallace's return to this lineup is going to help, but this team needs more than just one player. It's a common theme throughout this team, whether you're talking offense, defense, or even special team.ke may and this running back tandem of remondre stevenson and

Starting point is 00:23:10 antonio gibson need blockers drake desperately needs a left tackle to protect his blind side so once those pieces are put into place then you can start building on a strong foundation i mentioned cole strange earlier you need to get Cole in the game. I'd love to see him this week against the Chargers, and perhaps that is something we may discuss on Thursday when Daniel Wade of Locked On Chargers joins me here on Crossover Thursday. Keep a sharp ear out for that one.

Starting point is 00:23:36 But in any case, Ava, I think you can see where I'm going with this. The Patriots need a lot of help on offense. They need a lot of help on defense. They could even use some shoring up on special teams. That means a whole lot on Santa's wish list and a lot of gifts wrapped under the Patriots tree. But if you're asking me which one gets the biggest bow,

Starting point is 00:23:53 takes the most wrapping paper, yeah, it's going to be the offensive line. That's the one I would deliver if I was Santa Claus and heading to one Patriots place in Foxborough, Massachusetts on Christmas Eve. But I can't tell you how much I appreciate getting the chance to channel my inner Chris Kringle right here on Locked On Patriots. So, Ava, thank you for the great question. You, Ted, and LJ have been amazing when it comes to support.

Starting point is 00:24:16 I'm so grateful for that. But my next holiday thanks go to all of you out there. A special thanks to all of you for taking time out of your day to make Locked On Patriots a part of your daily Patriots coverage. Whether it be as an everydayer or an occasional listener or perhaps even as a first-time, your support means the world to me. It hasn't

Starting point is 00:24:33 always been smooth sailing here on Locked On Patriots, but the one thing that I can promise you heading into 2025 is that you ain't seen nothing yet. The return of Mock Draft Monday, the return of Mailbag Mondays, the off-season equivalent of the football hot stove, we're going to delve into all of that with

Starting point is 00:24:50 some amazing guests lined up, and if I may say so myself, some pretty cool upgrades to the show coming. So folks, stay locked into Locked On Patriots. You will certainly not regret it. And with that, I wish you Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all, and to all a good night. Once again, I'm Mike DeBate, and I remind you all Christmas and Happy Holidays to all and to all a good night. Once again, I'm Mike

Starting point is 00:25:05 DeBate and I remind you all to stay safe, to stay well, and to be the change you wish to see in the world. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays everyone, and we'll see you back here again on Thursday on Locked on Patriots.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Holiday Mailbag: Drake Maye, Offense Play-Calling, Run Defense and More

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