Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots: Jets Recap, Bill Belichick Future; Zappe, Offense Can’t Overcome Snow, INTs

Starting point is 00:00:00 The 2023 NFL season is in the books for your New England Patriots, but the real story in Foxborough is only just beginning. 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 all of you foxborough faithful and thank you once again for making Lockdown Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Also, your first listen each and every day. Remember, Lockdown Patriots is available on all platforms, including YouTube.

Starting point is 00:00:55 So smash that subscribe button and download, follow 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. I cover new england patriots for patriots country of sports illustrated reach out to me and let me know what's on your mind on x at mdab atenfl while you're out there showing love to locked on patriot social media style please follow our account there as well at lo underscore patriots and that's fans don't forget that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Make every moment more. Right now, new customers get $150 in bonus bets with any winning $5 Moneyline bet. That's $150 if your team wins.

Starting point is 00:01:38 Visit FanDuel.com slash LockedOn to get started. And folks, your New England Patriots have finished their 2023 NFL season. You know, some like to bask in the picturesque quality of falling snow in New England. Not the New England Patriots yesterday. En route to a 17-3 loss to the New York Jets in their Week 18 season finale at Gillette Stadium. And was it the final game for Bill Belichick on the sidelines? Was it the final game for Matthew Slater? A lot of questions.

Starting point is 00:02:09 Good thing today, folks. We've got the man with the answers. My good friend, the legend himself, Thomas Murphy. Thank you for coming to me today in friendship, Don Murph. Welcome back to the pod. We need your wisdom and counsel today, my friend, more than ever. Do we? Are you sure? We just don wisdom and counsel today, my friend, more than ever. Do we? Are you sure?

Starting point is 00:02:26 We just don't need a shovel, okay? Bury this entire season in the backfield. And then bury the shovel? Yeah, and then bury the shovel, you know? It was not pretty to watch. It was not a good day to play football here in New England. It was cold and snowy, and there was already a sense of doom and gloom from the parking lot all the way in.

Starting point is 00:02:54 It was about the easiest game to get in and out of here in Foxborough in about 25 years now. The crowd was sparse. There were a lot of Jets fans there. And a 15-game win streak came to an end. Yeah, without any question, folks, when you're the Pats offense and you're mustering only 119 net yards of offense with 2.1 yards average gain per offensive play,

Starting point is 00:03:24 you know it's going to be a bad day uh without any question new england couldn't sustain its drives uh victimizing themselves once again with costly turnovers murph and the 15 game win streak is now in the books and give credit to the new york jets they came in to snap it give a lot of credit to the weather because the patriots did not look prepared to play in it yesterday there's a lot going on folks there was game that was played on the field in Foxborough yesterday Murph and I are talking about it we're going to continue to talk about it today but I don't think we'd be doing our listeners a service if we didn't start with news of the day and Bill Belichick taking to the podium last night at Foxborough in Gillette Stadium, was not in a really what I like to call, Murph, a divulgatory mood

Starting point is 00:04:08 when it came to his future, when it came to what he's going to be doing next season, whether it be coaching here in New England, general manager here in New England, or starting fresh somewhere else. But the one thing that I gleaned from Bill Belichick, even though he's clearly fighting a cold or some sort of illness oh yeah definitely does not sound good you know i wish bill the best he definitely sounds like he's fighting through something but the tone of his voice the way he speaks this is not a man that's looking to hang it up anytime soon he looks motivated to continue to work for his team and he said that this morning on a video conference that I was privileged to be on.

Starting point is 00:04:47 And end of the year, Bill Belichick says it all the time. I'm going to do what it takes to help this football team. Murph, in short, he said he's heavily committed to the Patriots organization, intends to dedicate himself to helping the team until he's told otherwise. My question to you, my friend, is after what you saw on the field yesterday, absorbing all of the background information that's been provided by several members of the national and local beat, is he going to be told otherwise this week or today, perhaps, from Robert Cranwell?

Starting point is 00:05:23 That's a really good question, Michael. One that, that is difficult to answer, but I think he, he came into this game wanting to continue that streak, wanting to win this game. And then I looked at the game plan and it was just kind of like, are you really trying to win this game? You know, do we have to throw every, every pass three yards behind the line of scrimmage?

Starting point is 00:05:48 It was a difficult game to watch. And what Bill said last night after the press run with you, I think he wants to keep coaching, and I think he wants to keep coaching here. And in the end, I've gone back and I've said this, you know, a couple of times before, does Robert Kraft want to be the guy that let Tom Brady walk out the door? And then the guy that let Bill Belichick walk out the door. Now this morning, he talked about the fact that yes, he would be willing to come back and work with a player personnel, a new director of player personnel or a new GM.

Starting point is 00:06:30 And I think that's putting the ball squarely in Kraft's court saying, yeah, if you want to do it this way, I'm going to do it this way. I want to see this fourth incarnation of Bill Belichick and a team to its fruition. Because what happens if you push Bill Belichick out, he's taking half of that defensive coaching staff with him wherever he's going. And he will have a job by Friday. When Dallas gets knocked out of the playoffs, Jerry Jones is going to come knocking.

Starting point is 00:07:07 He's going to. It's going to happen. You know, there's also people talking about how Bill wants to stay on the left coast. And, you know, what he said today was kind of telling potential owners that, you know, yeah, I'm willing to work with a GM. I don't have to walk in there at 70, whatever years old and, um, and just take over everything. I might not want to do it, do all that. You know, I might, I might, I might want a month on my boat without people taking pictures of me saying, why isn't bill, you know, getting, preparing for the draft or, or the senior bowl or whatever. Um, you know, so putting that message out there, that message out there, I think it's a mistake if they do do it.

Starting point is 00:07:49 And I think that Robert Kraft, in my opinion, has been bullied into this decision by the local media. Yeah, I mean, you can definitely make the argument that there have been outside influences, outside influences that either feel one way or another very strongly about Bill Belichick. Bottom line, Robert Kraft is always going to dance to the beat of his own drum. He's a businessman. And I think at the end of the day, he looks at the Patriots as a business.

Starting point is 00:08:17 Now, he is invested as a fan. And I think that also makes him a lot more passionate about the operations that happen here. I can't say that about every local sports team here in Boston, folks. Sorry, Murph. I apologize for that. No, folks, I'm not talking about the Celtics or the Bruins here. But bottom line, I think Robert Kraft is invested in the positive future of this franchise and wants to see them do well.

Starting point is 00:08:41 Bill Belichick did something very smart when he spoke to the media on monday morning he mentioned his contract bill belichick never mentions a contract that opened the eyes of everyone on that zoom conference this morning i assure you when he says i'm under contract and i'm going to do what i always do i'll do everything i can to help this football team each and every day i'll meet with robert as we always do every year. I think that was also important to indicate that these two meet regularly. As far as any decisions, it's way too early for that, which was a little surprising because we're hearing that meeting is supposed to be taking place, Murph, as we speak, perhaps. Maybe it is. I'm not saying it's not, but it

Starting point is 00:09:21 didn't sound like it from what Bill had to say this morning. And ultimately what it did is it pushed all the chips over to Robert Kraft's side of the table. Now the ball is in his court. Do you want to retain Bill Belichick? Are you serious about it? Or have you made the decision to already move on? We're seeing interests now popping up. Atlanta is a team that is interested reportedly.

Starting point is 00:09:41 We're also hearing that Carolina has kicked the tires on bill belichick tennessee reportedly is a mess right now mike drable is sending information through back channels yeah that he would love to come to new england if bill belichick is no longer here i think that's problematic because you have to work out now two trades one to get drable and one to ship bill elsewhere because bill made it quite clear he's under contract. So I think that right there says that, you know, if there's a mutual parting of the ways to be had here, you're going to owe me an awful lot of money as a result of it. This could get interesting without any question. And bottom line, folks, we really don't have a whole lot of clarity.

Starting point is 00:10:21 But the one thing that I will say is that Bill Belichick does at least seem like a guy to me that's ready to go at it in 2024. The only question is where. And not to call him cheap or anything, but, you know, can you actually see Bob Kraft walking away from $25 million, which is what is rumored Bill makes a year? And that's what he would have to do. Bill's not leaving. OK, on his own accord. Bill's not leaving. Okay. On his own accord. Bill's not going to say, I'm going to,

Starting point is 00:10:47 I'm stepping down. No problem. See you later. I'm out of here. I'm going to go work for CBS for a year. He's going to, he's going to, he's going to be bitter about this.

Starting point is 00:10:57 He knows what he's done for this franchise over the past 18, 20 years. Nobody in the history of, of the NFL has been able to do that. And quite frankly, Tom Brady himself would tell you that they wouldn't have had the level of success that they did under anyone else. You know, for everybody saying that, you know, it's Brady and not Belichick. It was both, especially in the early years, but still in, in the last few years, you know, you, you take that, that last, uh, Superbowl against the, uh, the Rams,

Starting point is 00:11:32 you know, that was a completely defensive effort on one of the, that was the best defensive football game I've probably ever seen in one of my favorite Superbowls of all time because of it. And like I said, he will have a job in short order if you fire him. I just can't see Robert walking away from that kind of money and the kind of talent that Bill Belichick is. And look, bottom line, folks, if you are of the ilk of wanting to see Bill come back next year, I think one of the more positive takeaways that you can glean from Bill's meeting with the media on Monday morning is that he did confirm that there has been at least one meeting between he and Robert Kraft throughout the season.

Starting point is 00:12:12 Those reports were out there, Murph, that these two had not spoken at all during the regular season. Belichick was very matter-of-fact to put that to rest. Now, he wasn't really in a divulgatory mood, as I like to say, beyond that, but he did confirm that these two have met. I would assume the nature of their agenda is going to be a lot different. It's going to be a lot more pointed at this point, but these two sides do have dialogue between one another.

Starting point is 00:12:36 It hasn't been the cold, icy type of relationship all season long that we've been led to believe. So regardless of what, whether Bill Belichick will be back in New England, whether he is gone from New England, there's a chance that while you're listening to this, the fate of Bill Belichick may have already been decided. But bottom line, one thing, folks, there is a lot to fix in New England next season.

Starting point is 00:12:57 And Bill Belichick was very forthcoming of that, whether it's himself or whether it's another person in that seat. They've got a lot of work to do because the product that we saw yesterday on the field, Murph, was clearly not sufficient enough to even bother contending for anything other than last place. Patriots may have the pieces in place, but they didn't play like it yesterday. Murph and I are going to get back to the game in just a moment and break down our thoughts about Bailey Zappi's performance. I thought a pretty decent performance from Zeke Elliott and other thoughts that Murph

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Starting point is 00:14:57 Terms and conditions apply. Locked on listeners. Thank you so much for joining us here today. Spending part of your Monday. It's a melancholy, monster-mad, who-knows-Monday. I know that's not alliterative, folks, but you know what? I think it's perfect for what we're going through right now. One thing that stood out to me yesterday, though, Murph,

Starting point is 00:15:17 was whether Bill Belichick is going to be coach here in the future or not. This team has a lot of work to do. You look at Bailey Zappi, I think a rude introduction to new england's winter weather he'd be the first to admit it bailey spoke with the media on monday morning he knows he's got a long way to go you go 12 of 30 for 88 yards regardless of the conditions you know that you need uh step it up. But the pass protection was rough yesterday. Bailey was sacked seven times, total loss of 57 yards. And the Patriots just could not get any offensive traction. And their run defense, which has been solid all year long,

Starting point is 00:15:58 surrendered 178 yards to Bruce Hall on the ground. Murph, when you took a look at this game, what about it stood out to you and why weren't your monster keys turned? Yeah, the lack of shutting down of Brees Hall was probably it. I told you there were two things you had to do in this game and they did neither of them. It was a Brees Hall show. Why they didn't turn them, I can't tell you that. I really can't.

Starting point is 00:16:32 37 carries for 178 yards on a day like yesterday. You had to know what they were going to do coming out of the gate, and they did nothing to stop it. But basically, being able to run block, being able to set up that play action passing that, that, you know, has really carried Bailey Zappi in the second half. It was, you know, 0.8 yards per attempt, per passing attempt yesterday, because everything started from behind the line of scrimmage.

Starting point is 00:17:07 There were a couple of drops, you know, you could, you could do a couple of really bad drops out there that could have changed the complexion of this game. But you can say that throughout the season, you know, a couple of bad drops here, a penalty there. The Patriots, you know, had ended up with four penalties yesterday that, that put them behind the sticks. It was, it was, it was hard football to watch. And, you know, I told you that you had to, you had to take care of, of, of Brees Hall and you had to take care of Garrett Wilson. Garrett Wilson came up with a nice, nice catch at 30 yards. They did a good job on him most of the day. Just two of five targets, he hauled in Tyler Conklin. He picked up a first down here or there. And Brees Hall, like I said, he was going to catch a couple of balls out of

Starting point is 00:17:59 the backfield, and he caught both of them that were um that were uh were thrown his way but i mean basically it comes down to a lot of things that the patriots you know don't really haven't really um been able to take care of this entire season and you know that's taking care of the ball on third down and moving those chains you still need to be better than what we saw yesterday, despite the conditions that are out there. Zappi still had at least four turnover-worthy throws by my count. One of them actually helped to set up Brees Hall's 50-yard touchdown run, which until then, you're still talking about a winnable game.

Starting point is 00:18:39 The Patriots are down 9-3, plenty of time, a little over six minutes left in the fourth quarter. That's enough time to move the ball and maybe even get a score and another field goal to put on top of it but things just started to unravel uh but we saw velocity issues yesterday him having difficulty reaching some of his targets he fell short of mike kisecki in the end zone uh once he fell short of davante parker farrell brown these are passes that need to be completed. That's off to Farrell Brown yesterday. Yeah. You know, one of my key, you know, the man came to play.

Starting point is 00:19:09 You don't mess with Farrell. No, you don't mess with Farrell Brown. Exactly. You do not mess with the Farrell folks. So let it be written. So let it be done. And, you know, I wish we could have made that stick a little more this year. Right.

Starting point is 00:19:20 But you know what? It is what it is. So you're going gonna get the slices of blame pie that are gonna be served to the weather and believe me folks it's not easy to play in these conditions i'm not making it sound like oh i don't care what the conditions are out there you've got to go out there and have your a game it's impossible to do that impossible it's impossible to function yesterday it really was you you can't take a guard and just kick him out they not not everybody's mike on way you okay i like city but you know and just kick him out there. Not everybody's Mike Onwayu. I like City, but

Starting point is 00:19:47 putting him out there on the left-hand side, it doesn't work. It doesn't work. It really is. No, you're absolutely right. And look, bottom line, the poor pass protection, like Murph said, is difficult. You're missing some key pieces on that offensive line. It's tough. It really is. So there's a lot on everyone's shoulders, but bottom line, I think Bailey is the first in line to tell you improvements need to be made. And who knows what that means for the Patriots draft position. Now picking at number three, solidified. They're guaranteed one

Starting point is 00:20:19 of the top three quarterbacks in the draft if they want it. But at the same time, you also have to wonder with the pass protection you saw yesterday, if Joe Alt is available at that pick, you know, you got to wonder whether or not that may be the most proven way to go. I'm telling you, I'm telling you that it's the way to go draft, you know, trade back one spot, one spot, one spot until you can't get Joe Alt anymore and see what kind of a haul you get. And, um, you know, like I said, the only thing that's going to screw this up is if nobody wants to jump, jump up with, uh, with Chicago or Chicago decides to, you know, stick with the Fields medal and, and takes Joe Alt himself. And if not, there's the Penn, Penn state kid trade back a little bit further and see what

Starting point is 00:21:03 you can get out of the second round. And whoever's making those picks folks has got a lot of decisions to make. And the Patriots are now on to the 2024 NFL draft and the 2024 NFL season. But before we take our leave of the action on the field, Murph, I did want to at least end on a high note when it comes to the offense. Because once again, Murph and I have sung the fans' praises all season long. He was a pleasant surprise, someone who was a joy to cover this year, and I, for one, would love to see him back, and that is Ezekiel Elliott.

Starting point is 00:21:32 Zeke didn't have a tremendous game yesterday when it came to statistics. He carried the ball 13 times, 54 yards, five catches for 24 yards, but that quintet of catches pushed his season totals to a team leading 51 it's the second year in a row now yeah that a running back a backfield receiver has led the team in receptions from Andre Stevenson did it last year he topped the list with 69 receptions James White also did it in 2018 when he led the team with 87 catches right felt just shy of a needed 101 total yards to reach 975 on the season hey that man is money yeah it would have given him a nice three hundred thousand dollar bonus but you have to wonder if the patriots are still going to do that but bottom

Starting point is 00:22:17 line what he was asked to do and what he actually delivered on the field uh really i think exceeded expectations having to take over the lead back duties for Ramondre Stevenson down the stretch is not easy. He did it with class. He did it with the veteran leadership. And I think he did it with a lot of skill. And that's going to make him pretty sought after on the open market. So hopefully Zeke comes back. He said yesterday in the locker room after the game, he's open to it.

Starting point is 00:22:41 But if somebody opens up the checkbook, it's going to be hard. But if this is the only year he had in New England, it should be remembered. I thought he did a great job this year. If you went out and bought yourself a Zeke Elliott jersey, you're going to be able to wear that proud for a very long time. And you can't say that about a lot of guys in this league that happened to darken your doorstep for a year. I would really like him back. I think if you bring back Bill, that chance is a lot better than if you walk away.

Starting point is 00:23:16 You have to wonder the same thing about someone like David Andrews who said that he's admitting that his career and his longevity is something that comes up on a yearly basis. And Murph and I have talked about this as well. You always look to the next season as whether or not you can put your body through the rigors of another season. And asking anybody, especially a lineman, that question, you know, right after the 16th, 17th game of the season is unfair. Right. It's really unfair.

Starting point is 00:23:46 Yeah. You know, especially after slogging through a season like this. And I understand that it's your job and you have to, but you can't expect a real answer, you know, go knock on this dude's door in six weeks or 12 weeks and see what he has to say. Definitely, folks. And of course, conspicuous by his absence from our commentary today is

Starting point is 00:24:08 Matthew Slater. Matthew deserves his own tribute, folks, and we will do that here this week on Locked On Patriots. You can count on that, so stay locked into the Locked On Patriots podcast for some great Matthew Slater talk. But bottom line, folks, it's the end of the season.

Starting point is 00:24:24 It's a season that I know Patriots fans would rather forget. Like Murph said, it's one you want to bury with a shovel and then bury the shovel. But at the same time, the questions about whether or not the end of an era are just beginning. And they will continue until Robert Kraft and the Patriots organization makes it official one way or another. But if in fact we have seen the last of Bill Belichick coaching a New England Patriots team on the field in the sequence of events was really an unfortunate sequence of events in terms of how one of the greatest coaches in professional sports history, who we feel to be the greatest coach in NFL history, is the last memory that you have of him on the field. Murph and I are going to discuss that unfortunate sequence of events and

Starting point is 00:25:06 whether or not it would even be a fitting end for such a legendary career here in Foxborough. We'll be back with a wrap things up in just a moment. When this episode of the lockdown Patriots podcast continues, if a part of the lockdown podcast network, your team every day. Lockdown listeners, the NFL regular season has wrapped up, but there is still time to get in on the action with FanDuel, America's number one sports book.

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Starting point is 00:26:12 official partner of the NFL. LockedOn listeners, thank you so much for joining us here today on LockedOn Patriots. Spending part of your Monday, it is a post-game, off-season edition of Locked On Patriots. Joining me, as always, to help wrap things up here and the regular season and beyond. He's going to be joining me a lot more than this, folks, so don't worry.

Starting point is 00:26:36 My good friend, the legendary Thomas Murphy. Murph, in the previous segments, we talked about Bill Belichick and the potential of his future and what it means. We've talked about the Patriots performance on the field, which was a pretty ugly performance and a dismal performance. But one of the things that kind of struck me yesterday was that it's just a very odd game to follow. The Patriots and the Jets are essentially trading field goals. It's a very winnable game for both teams deep into the fourth quarter. Not a lot of offense. Neither side could find traction. The weather clearly was a factor

Starting point is 00:27:11 for both teams. Missed opportunities, things of that nature. When you look at how this game unraveled very quickly, it actually might be a very fitting microcosm for the Patriots season um Bailey Zappi getting sacked for 16 yard loss on third and 10 from their own 23 that's got force upon Jets think they're going to get great field position out of it they do Patriots defense comes back holds them to a turnover on downs yep folks I'm not done yet I'm just getting. Zappi then is intercepted on the next play. Ashton Davis comes in of the Jets, intercepts him. He's stripped of the ball as he's trying to run it back by Mike Gusecki. The loose ball recovered by Vidarian Lowe.

Starting point is 00:27:56 Tip of the cap to Vidarian. We've been very critical of him this year, but very good heads-up play to get on that. He takes the ball, unfortunately goes down with a head injury. We hope the best for Vidarian. I hope he's going to get on that. He takes the ball, unfortunately goes down with a head injury. We hope the best for Vardarian. I hope he's going to be all right. But that type of momentum almost made it seem like, well, the Patriots, it's going to start breaking their way. Here we go. The snow magic is going to finally be with the Patriots in the last part of this game. And then it's not. And then Zappi tosses the second interception to Tony Adams, gives the Jets great field position. Breece Hall takes it for 50 yards.

Starting point is 00:28:28 Touchdown run for six. Two-point conversion is good. And just like that, we're looking at a 17-3 ballgame. Right. That was one of the more odd sequences I've seen in Patriots football since last year in Las Vegas, which was the obviously the most weird I've ever seen. And I don't think there will ever be another egregious moment like that in Patriots history again. But it started me thinking right after this game was over, if that's it for the Bill Belichick era in New England, it's a bad way to go out.

Starting point is 00:29:00 Yeah, it really is. I thought that the team would come together and piss off everybody that that wants that wanted that third pick that that the Patriots now have. And it just didn't happen. You know, we talked about it last week, how difficult it is to go out there and play in the cold. And you're you're dealing with a quarterback that had never done that. You're dealing with your main running back who has never played in those kind of weather conditions in his entire life. It was a hard game to swallow. It was a hard game to watch. And it was just, you know, that fourth group was just a microcosm

Starting point is 00:29:39 of this entire season, you know, allowing a big sack, putting the Patriots behind the chains, throwing that interception. And quite honestly, it should have been the third one of the game for Bailey Zappi, you know, because in the first quarter, the man, he must need glasses or something because he throws that good deep ball. It's just, you know, what he's doing from the line of scrimmage to the sticks that, that, you know, eludes him in, you know, his thinking process or, you know, his, uh,

Starting point is 00:30:12 his peripheral vision. Hey, Oh, good. That guy's in a different colored uniform. I shouldn't throw him the football. Uh, so, but no, it was, it was probably the most unfitting way to go out. I thought at the, at the beginning of this game, it might've been a fitting way because it was going to be a low scoring defensive kind of game that the Jets were playing defense. And it's, I just, I didn't understand the game plan on either sides of the ball. And I almost wanted to think that, yeah, they're trying to lose this one, but I can't, I can't say that about Bill Belichick. I can't, you know, it's just impossible, but no, it was, it was an unfitting end. If this is the end, I'm just, you know, sitting here clinging to

Starting point is 00:30:59 the side of the mountain, hanging on to any string that I can. Yes, I am. Um, Frodo Baggins reaching up after the, the, the, uh, after the, the ring fell into, uh, into the fire at Mount Doom, please pull. I'm not going to let go. Pull me back up, please, Robert. Um, there, there isn't a better person out there to, uh, to finish this job that Bill Belichick has started. And I do, folks. There are guys like me and good friend Mike Reese who do believe that this team is two or three moves away. And, yes, I do think that some significant changes have to happen in the coaching department. But I don't think that's a head coach.

Starting point is 00:31:47 Pulling off of what Murph just said, it's all well and good to say it's time to cut the cord. It's time to end things. If you're tearing down the walls in Foxborough and you're rebuilding from a flat surface, then I think at that point, then you have to say, okay,

Starting point is 00:32:01 well, if you're going to rebuild from zero, then you have no other choice, but to clear house and everything must go. But if you believe like we believe, because I'm right there with you, that this team is a few moves away from being able to contend and can build on a phenomenally built defense, can build on some skill position players that showed us a little more than maybe we believe they had this year yeah bring back the right guys obviously demario douglas is one of those guys you want to build on maybe bring a veteran like kendrick bourne a veteran team captain like hunter henry

Starting point is 00:32:34 back in the mix you get maybe a little bit more of a training camp and a chance to develop jalen rager i know there's a lot of you, nuances that need to be worked on folks, but there's still some stuff there, folks. And you start getting guys like Christian Gonzalez, Matthew Jude on Marcus Jones back on that defense. All of a sudden you're looking at a much different team and bottom line. I think when you look at Bill Belichick, does he still have the passion based on what we've seen and based on what we've heard, he still does. And he's still the best exes and old man out there. Our good friend, Matt Chatham had a tremendous tweet on Monday morning. And I thought Matt articulated this perfectly.

Starting point is 00:33:13 He says, if you're questioning whether or not Bill Belichick should be the coach of this team, imagine New England does not have a head coach. And you're looking at the pool of coaches that are available. The first name that you're going to gravitate towards is bill belichick not based on reputation based on skill that should count for something you already have him in the house remember that when these decisions are being made ultimately it's going to lie with robert craft ultimately it's going to be the decision that's that the organization is going to make to set themselves up for whatever type of future they believe they're going to have but honestly you can't imagine Bill Belichick wanting to walk away from a franchise that he's invested nearly a quarter of

Starting point is 00:33:56 century maybe more than that when you consider his time here as an assistant you can't imagine him wanting to walk away on a play or on a sequence like we saw with the jets at the end of the game on sunday but you know murph for those that you know are choosing the converse here and i'll play devil's advocate for a moment i never thought tom brady would walk out the door after throwing a pick six in the playoffs right uh to essentially seal a victory for not only his former teammate coaching, Mike Vrabel, on the opposite sideline with the Tennessee Titans, but a former teammate in Logan Ryan that was the one that did it.

Starting point is 00:34:32 So you know what, folks? Anything and everything is possible, and every blade of grass that moves is going to be a story. Murph and I are going to do the best we can to keep those blades of grass cut neatly and evenly. We're going to do our best to clear the way for you. And what can I say, my friend? Thank you for being there all throughout the season.

Starting point is 00:34:50 We look forward to the offseason. It's probably even more fun with interaction that we're going to have with all of our great listeners, all of our everydayers here on Locked On Patriots. So Murph, thank you for being along for the ride and thank you for signing up for another ride in the offseason. But before I let you go, my friend, please let everyone know where they can find you,

Starting point is 00:35:08 interact with you, what you got coming this week from the great pen, the great voice of Thomas Murph. Yeah, no, just check me out on Zitter at Team Murph 207 and you'll be able to pick it up. All of his great work can be found at Die Hard Boston Sports. Check it out, folks. Read it. Absorb it. You'll be a better football fan and

Starting point is 00:35:25 you'll be entertained. What more can you ask for? Folks, once again, thank you for joining us here today. I am Mike DeBate. He is Thomas Murphy. And we remind you to stay safe and to stay well and be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone. A great week. And we'll see you back here again tomorrow or whenever news breaks right here on Locked on Patriots.

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