Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots: Jimmy Garoppolo, Alex Van Pelt, The Dynasty’ — ‘No Football Sunday’

Starting point is 00:00:00 You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful, and thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Remember, Locked On Patriots is not only a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team, every day, but we are also free and available on all platforms. So smash that subscribe button on YouTube and make sure to download and follow

Starting point is 00:00:48 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, on Twitter, on the Bird app, whatever you want to call it these days, at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L. While you're out there showing some social media love to Lockdown Patriots, please follow our account there as well at L-O underscore Patriots.

Starting point is 00:01:17 It's been an interesting week in Foxborough. A lot of you out there in Patriots Nation are reliving the glory days thanks to the dynasty. But are the New England Patriots reliving the glory days so much that they'd consider bringing one of those links back into the fold? Well, we're going to discuss that today. We're also going to discuss the first comments made by new offensive coordinator Alex Van Velt. And yeah, we're going to dive a little deeper into the dynasty and we're gonna do that all with a man who helps us close the week in style as he helped us open the week in style my good friend the legend himself thomas murphy thank you for coming to me in friendship today and thank you for helping me start the weekend off right don murph we got to it's the weekend we got to do it

Starting point is 00:02:02 you know ladies and gentlemen it's the weekend. And what would the weekend be kicked off without the two of us sitting here? We're going to get a chance to dive into that Dynasty talk because all you everydayers out there know I reviewed episodes one and two here of the Dynasty right here on the Locked On Patriots podcast yesterday. Earlier in the week, I had the great fortune of talking to the director himself, Matthew Hamachek. And this was an interesting week, Murph, all up and down for the New England Patriots. And it got us thinking about the old days. It got us thinking about the dynasty days. But one link to those dynasty days, maybe not a primary link, folks, but a link nonetheless, finding himself in a little hot water over in america's playground

Starting point is 00:02:45 and that is our good friend my paisan jimmy garoppolo jimmy is opening next season on suspension due to a violation of the nfl's performance enhancing substances policy this came down on friday afternoon as a result of an adam shep ESPN report. Now, according to the report, Merv, Garoppolo's violation is due to his usage of what's being called a prescribed medication that he was taking without being on the league's therapeutic use exemption list. This is going to force Jimmy to miss the first two opening games of 2024.

Starting point is 00:03:20 And I guess according to Adam's report as well, Jimmy is not expected to appeal this decision. Now, this automatically created a groundswell in New England. He's a former Patriot, a former quarterback, still has a pretty good following here in New England. And a lot of people were wondering about what this is going to mean for his future going forward. Well, the Raiders wasted little time leaking essentially the story that within five days of league year beginning jimmy is going to find himself on the outside looking in so it doesn't trigger a very hefty roster bonus on their behalf so jimmy is

Starting point is 00:03:56 going to be looking for a new job and he's also going to be sitting out the first two games of the season there is a unsilent majority section of the New England Patriots fan base that automatically assume that maybe Jimmy might be on his way back to New England. Murph, before I weigh into it, as if you haven't judged how I feel about it from the sarcasm dripping from my voice, folks, Murph, what do you think about all this with Jimmy? Is this a situation that the Patriots would even consider at this point? Survey says, hell no. Yeah. Hell no. All right. I'm sorry. Jimmy can't stay healthy. He can't stay on the field. It's, it's the, I applaud Jimmy for everything that he's done in

Starting point is 00:04:37 this league, you know, but it's, it's not, it's, it's not in the cards guys. It's time to move on. We're not going backwards here. And quite frankly, he's proven not only to be a resident of the island, but the burger meister meister burger of that nice little island called Fragile. And no, he's too fragile. You, um, and no, it's, it's, it's, he's too fragile. You're not going to bring him in here. If, if you keep, all right, if you are keeping, um, Mac Jones around, this is not a good thing to have Jimmy G over his shoulder. If you bring in a, um, a, a rookie, I don't think that Jimmy G is the type of guy that uh that can mentor a young

Starting point is 00:05:28 quarterback uh he just does not have that skill set you know everybody looks at jimmy garoppolo and they look at the promise that he showed when he was here in new england i think a lot of that is viewed with rose-colored glasses and i'm going to get into that prowess in just a moment but obviously jimmy put his name on the map as a potential starter in 2017 leading the san francisco 49ers to really within an eyelash of that super bowl people forget how close yeah san francisco came to beating kansas city in that super bowl jimmy doesn't sail that pass high into the end zone maybe we're talking about mahomes only having two rings instead of three but at this point when

Starting point is 00:06:05 you look at what Jimmy has done since it really hasn't been all that impressive he's played 32 games the next three seasons due to injury had the foot injury in 2022 ultimately surrenders the position of Brock Purdy you figure Garoppolo coming in last year with the Raiders yep connection with Josh McDaniels. Right. You figure if there's going to be any type of reclamation project for Jimmy, this is going to be it. Right. He's going to be able to at least perform adequately under Josh.

Starting point is 00:06:35 I won't say thrive, but perform adequately. Garoppolo just cannot stay healthy and on the field. Seven games last season, three and three record in six starts through for 1,205 yards, seven touchdowns, nine interceptions. So none of those stats are going to illuminate or set the world on fire. And here's why I don't think the Patriots are going to go this route. First of all, for all of the reasons that you said, Murph, not really a guy that's known for his mentoring skills, not someone that's going to come in and be able to push a young quarterback or be able to mentor a young quarterback or someone to that

Starting point is 00:07:11 effect that's really going to raise the talent level in that quarterback room. But more than that, if the Patriots are going to go this route, aren't they just better off keeping Mac Jones? I think there's more of an upside. I think there's an opportunity there for him to run a West coast offense. Uh, to me, this would be a step back if they let Matt go and they bring Jimmy in personally. I don't think either one of them should be on this roster next year, but I would say that it makes more sense to retain Mac because he's got more experience working with the guys in that locker room. He does. He, um, I, you know, as much as we we've said before, I, I don't think that,

Starting point is 00:07:46 that, uh, Mac is going to be back. I, I really don't. I think the Patriots are going to go into a different, in a different direction, but I don't believe that the direction that they need to go is Jimmy

Starting point is 00:07:58 Garoppolo. Okay. I, I really don't. I, I don't think that I, I agree with you that Mac would be the better decision on its surface. But we've talked before about how Mac is seen in this locker room right now.

Starting point is 00:08:15 Yeah. All right. We've talked about it on several occasions that I don't I think that he has lost a vast majority of this locker room, that some of these guys do not want to play for him. And you can basically say that about Jimmy Garoppolo last year in Las Vegas with the Raiders. I don't think that this team was ever behind Jimmy Garoppolo at all. I don't think his vaunted weapons out there were, were enamored with, with, with the style of Josh McDaniels or with the talent of, of Jimmy Garoppolo.

Starting point is 00:08:56 I think they think that, that he was a by-product of the Shanahan system and of all the talent that they had out there. And once again, you know, I, once again, I, you, you can't make the tub of the club if you're in the tub and this man just, you know, he, he keeps cashing those checks. God bless him. You know, he's going to walk, he's going to walk up right when this is all said and done,

Starting point is 00:09:19 but I don't think it's going to happen here. I, I, I just don't. And I still don't think that, that think that Mac Jones is in the quarterback room come week one here in New England. I'm sorry, guys. Yeah, I agree with you. I think it's time for Mac to move on, and I think he will move on. And to be honest, I think it's best for both parties. But when it comes to Jimmy Garoppolo,

Starting point is 00:09:40 and I'm glad that you mentioned his durability because there were rumblings Murph when he was here and you heard these as well as I oh yeah and I'm not substantiating these folks I'm simply relaying what some of the narrative was at the time a lot of people looked at Jimmy as someone that was easily injured and maybe not as eager to get back on the field as he needed to be in such short order. There were rumors abound that the Patriots were eager to have Jimmy come back and play through the injury he suffered when Tom Brady was out on suspension. They wanted him to start against the Buffalo Bills,

Starting point is 00:10:16 a game that Jacoby Brissett ended up starting, not feeling 100%. He was injured. The team got shut out by the Bills, 16 to nothing. And a lot of what we were hearing at that point is that people were questioning whether or not he had the toughness to play through the injury. In fact, some people were even talking about rumblings around the locker room those last couple of weeks that Jimmy was quote unquote the starter before Tom came back that they were playing the Tom would have before Tom came back, that they were playing the Tom would have played through it card, trying to see if maybe that would

Starting point is 00:10:48 have motivated him. And it didn't. And it didn't. Yeah. You have to wonder. He was already thinking about his next contract, his next destination. And he wasn't going to, he wasn't going to take a shot at screwing that up. I've taken a much better quarterbacks to task for that, but no, I took Jimmy to task

Starting point is 00:11:05 court at that point in time. You know, there was no way, shape, or form that he was going to hurt himself more by going out there except having to battle through pain. Okay. There's a difference between pain and injury. Okay. And, and yeah, no, he, and he just does not want to do that. And that sticks with you. And I'm sorry to say that folks, but it does, it can follow you and it really can affect a reputation as a starting quarterback. So you have to wonder if all that as a perfect storm around Jimmy Garoppolo could hurt his chances of getting an NFL starting job next season, especially with this two-game suspension

Starting point is 00:11:45 looming. But folks, if you're holding out any hope that it's going to be here in New England, I highly, highly doubt it. I do think the Patriots will go in a different direction if they are going to go a veteran route. I think it's going to be a more proven starter, someone with a more proven track record. If they do go the rookie route, we know they've got a lot of options in a lot of areas where they can go starting with that number three pick or if they do trade down the way Murph wants them to they may

Starting point is 00:12:09 choose to go in a different direction and one thing we're seeing about quarterbacks especially in taking a trip down memory lane this week Murph is that development is such a key part in a quarterback becoming his potential becoming who he can be not only who he is as an athlete, but who he can be as a quarterback. That's a different type of person. And when the two meet, it makes for a hell of a football play. One of the things that the Patriots know they do have in the room this year is a guy that can develop quarterbacks. He's got a hell of a track record in doing that folks. And that is new Patriots offensive coordinator, Alex Van Pelt. Right. In just a moment, when we continue, Murph and I are going to delve into what Alex had to say to Patriots.com earlier this week, how it makes us feel about the quarterback

Starting point is 00:12:52 position moving forward, as well as the offense as a whole. 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, get buckets with your first bet on FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook, because right now, new customers get $150 in bonus bets with any winning $5 bet. That's $150 if your bet wins. Basketball season is in full swing,

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Starting point is 00:14:04 Joining me, as always, is my good friend Thomas Murphy. And Murph, in the previous segment, we kind of poured cold water all over the coals of a potential Patriots reunion with Jimmy Garoppolo. I think we can both agree we don't see a chance or really a remote chance of that happening. But one thing that we do know is that the Patriots offense is going to look a lot different this year in 2024 than it did in previous years. Mack Jones is probably on his way out. Bailey Zappi is probably looking at being your primary backup, which means a new starter in New England. There may be a new offensive style in New England. As a matter of fact, we can almost guarantee that. The Pats are moving in a direction to adopt more of a Shanahan-McVay hybrid West Coast with the outside zone and the gap run,

Starting point is 00:14:51 that modern NFL offense that we keep hearing about Murph. But the architect of that offense is going to be Alex Van Pelt, our new offensive coordinator here in New England. And up until this week, hadn't really heard much from the man himself. Well, that did change when Alex spoke to Patriots.com earlier this week. And Murph, when I looked at what Alex had to say, and I looked at his philosophies, you kind of knew a lot of this coming in, but to hear it come out of his mouth and the conviction and the way that he said it leads me to believe that this guy is very serious about coming in here

Starting point is 00:15:25 and putting his stamp on this offense immediately judging by what you heard from alex van pelt judging by what you've seen and read about him and his history in the nfl how excited are you to watch this guy's offense this year what are going to be the keys that you're going to be looking for to turn in 2024 yeah i i I love the fact that he's talking about running the football, you know, whether it's going to be outside zone or it's going to be smash mouth up the middle. This man wants to run the football. He knows that winning, winning in the NFL, you have to be able to run the ball. You have to be able to run the ball in January. If you were going to be successful, every Patriots team that has been successful

Starting point is 00:16:06 has been a running team, a running team first. I mean, you can, you can, there's the outliers during the Moss years where, where Tom was just, you know, chucking it up and just having fun and exciting the whole world and, and making me rich because all I did was bet the pats and the over. And it was a fun time. But when you get down to brass tacks, when everybody talks about this incarnation or that incarnation, it's about execution. It's about running the football. It's about setting up play action passes and moving the chains that way.

Starting point is 00:16:40 Matriculate down the field and get sixes. And Alex Van Pelt, I i think would agree with you as a matter of fact i know he does because he said something similar to patriots.com especially about talking about scheme because we hear this an awful lot with him to open the segment i came in saying the patriots are going to run more of the west coast style offense but the one thing that i really loved hearing from van pelt is the fact that there is not going to be anything forced on this team when they don't have the personnel to run it. And that to me, that really should be, I think, a wake-up call for Patriots fans. I think it should make you feel a little

Starting point is 00:17:16 bit better. For those of you that are thinking this could be another Patricia Judge situation, it's not going to happen that way. I'll quote alex van pelt verbatim he says i think a good coordinator does what's best for his players a lot of guys will have scheme that they understand they have familiarity with it as coordinators but if it doesn't fit the player how good is the scheme so a good coordinator will often take the strengths of the players that he has play to their strengths while at the same time being able to protect them from their weaknesses you know for decades you know more than more than two decades here in New England the we touted Bill and the Patriots for putting players in the their best position to help the

Starting point is 00:18:00 ball club and to succeed because when they succeed the ball club succeeds got away from that in the last couple of years you know under patricia they tried to force something you know that that could not happen you know just having one guard there was not going to be able to facilitate the type of offense that that patricia or bill or whoever wanted to run okay you guys all scream for change they tried to change. You didn't have the personnel to do it. Right. And the personnel wasn't out there and you can't do that in one draft.

Starting point is 00:18:31 I think what Bill did last year will be highly overlooked in the future in rebuilding the interior of this offensive line and getting, getting it ready for the future in drafting what I think are quality guards, a quality backup center, because we don't know if Andrews is going to be ready, is going to come back, or for how long he's going to come back. And we slide in the next Andrews. Now we have to work around what's happening on the outside. Who's coming back? Who do they need? Those tackles are paramount with no matter what Van Pelt wants to do right now.

Starting point is 00:19:14 This offensive line is still paramount in doing that. Build it that way and let Van Pelt do his thing. Exactly. And Van Pelt's thing's thing folks is using the run game to facilitate his offense and murph said that and he articulated that perfectly just to support that fact murph cleveland ranked top five in russian attempts per game in three of the last four seasons all under alex van pelt's watch this is something that he's absolutely ready to do he knows how to incorporate it you just need the personnel to do it and it's not enough to have the runners the patriots have the runners on this roster right now they've got remandre stevenson as a feature kevin harris i think is going to be better and i think he's

Starting point is 00:19:54 ready to take that step yeah i would like to see a veteran pass catcher in that running back core i would either that or maybe somebody young, exactly. Yeah. Yeah. New Hampshire way. Yeah. Maybe, maybe a little Dylan lobby in here. Yep. Absolutely. I would love to see that.

Starting point is 00:20:10 Um, but bottom line, thank you. I appreciate that. But, uh, but, uh, bottom line folks, uh, there really is, I think an opportunity for the Patriots to move forward here. And ultimately that offensive line protection is not just important for the running game. It's important for the passing game, too, because we don't know who the starting quarterback here is going to be in New England in 2024. You can throw out the usual suspects, Caleb Williams, Drake May, Jaden Daniels. If the Patriots are hell-bent on taking a quarterback,

Starting point is 00:20:42 they are guaranteed to get one of them. Which one? We don't know. But if anybody is worried about what Van Pelt could potentially do with quarterbacks, I give you Aaron Rodgers. I give you Baker Mayfield. I give you winning 11 games last season with the Cleveland Browns with five different quarterbacks. It starts up front, and it starts with the coaching, and I think they've got the right guy in place to do it. And we keep talking about the superstar quarterbacks. It starts up front and it starts with the coaching. And I think they've got the right guy in place to do it. And we keep talking about the

Starting point is 00:21:08 superstar quarterbacks. You look over the last decade and a half, the only superstar quarterbacks that are really winning it all are named Tom Brady and now Patrick Mahomes. All your other guys that you're screaming about that are winning MVPs and yada, yada, yada. They don't win the big game. They fold in the playoffs because you have to be able to run the football in the playoffs. Again, I think coming back to what Alex Van Pelt had to say to Patriots.com earlier this week, it's not enough to be able to run the football effectively every given Sunday.

Starting point is 00:21:41 You have to do it late in the season. That's when these teams emerge. Murph, we're watching a lot of the dynasty lately. How did the Patriots grind out some of those wins in the early days? Yeah, they gave the ball to guys like Antoine Smith, like Corey Dillon. Those were the guys that were able to kill the clock and get big time yardage. So Alex Van Pelt, Murph, I think is endearing himself to patriots nation i implore you go and check out what he had to say in its entirety it's only a little over a minute he does not take up much of your time no he's a man of few words but he's a man of pointed words and in a way i think that's exactly what the patriots need on offense less talk more action

Starting point is 00:22:21 and murph kind of reminds you of the old days where the Patriots always let their prowess on the field do the talking. And we've been seeing a lot of that. We've been seeing a lot of the old days. And folks, Murph and I are going to discuss in just a moment where this may lead the narrative for the New England Patriots. Is it going to move the needle in the way we look at the key players in this dynasty moving forward?

Starting point is 00:22:44 People like Robert Kraft, Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, or even Drew Bledsoe, and even more. 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, we've all been there. You want tickets to the big game or your favorite musical artist, and you just can't find an easy and affordable way to get them? Well, you shouldn't have to worry when you're buying tickets to your next big event

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Starting point is 00:24:11 Download GameTime today. Last-minute tickets, lowest price, guaranteed. That's fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on this weekend episode of Locked on Patriots. I'm joined by my here today on this weekend episode of locked on Patriots. I'm joined by my good friend, the Don of locked on Patriots, Mr. Thomas Murphy and Murphy are bringing back a fan favorite on Monday.

Starting point is 00:24:35 That's right, folks. They've been waiting for it. We've been waiting for it. The time for the talk has just about ended. It's time to bring back Mock Draft Monday. And each and every Monday from now until the NFL draft. LJ's been sending me Mock Drafts since Christmas.

Starting point is 00:24:52 Well, with all due respect, I don't think Patriots fans have had anything to look forward to other than Mock Drafts since Christmas. So I sympathize with LJ there. And look, bottom line, folks, I know it's one of the best times of year to be interactive. A tip of the cap to all of you everydayers, to all of you casual listeners and even you first timers. All of your mock drafts are welcome here on

Starting point is 00:25:13 Locked On Patriots, and Murph and I cannot wait to feature your great work. So send them in at M-D-A-B-A-T-E NFL at T-Murph 207 at L-O underscore Patriots, or or again by email at lockedonpatriots at gmail.com but

Starting point is 00:25:29 Murph we're not quite done yet we're not ready to take our leave of the week that was here on Locked On Patriots because we haven't had the opportunity to converse on this topic yet and that is the release of the first two episodes of the Dynasty a 10 part Apple TV Plus plus docu-series

Starting point is 00:25:46 directed by emmy nominated matthew hamachek he was a guest here earlier this week on locked on patriots folks if you haven't checked that out definitely be sure to some eye-opening insightful information from the director himself matthew's a great guy it was our honor to host him here on locked on patriots but don't forget this is also based on the critically acclaimed New York Times bestselling book by author Jeff Benedict. Jeff was a guest here on Locked On Patriots back in December of 2020, back when the book was released. And really, it's come to fruition now in a 10-part docuseries that I can describe Murph as riveting. Patriots fans are absolutely going to be in the fields each and every episode they watch. But it's also causing quite a stir.

Starting point is 00:26:31 It's really great for reliving the glory days. There's no question about that, especially in the first two episodes, which I reviewed here yesterday on Locked On Patriots, the backup plan and the snow game. Go back and take a listen to those. If you haven't seen the show yet, don't worry. It's spoiler free. You can definitely watch it and still enjoy those first two episodes. But from the outset, we're seeing the budding and growing relationship between Robert Kraft, Bill Belichick, and Tom Brady.

Starting point is 00:27:00 Three unique personalities. Three unique ways of doing things, but with a common goal that all three of these entities wanted to come together and make sure that they were going to win. And Bill Belichick said it. He said it in this quote right off the bat, said, you always try to fuel that fire and make sure that you do what you can to win. Yep. My question to you is that type of attitude has been both a blessing and a curse for the New England Patriots. It's made them beloved in this area. It's made them aided everywhere else in NFL Nation.

Starting point is 00:27:33 Do you believe from what you're hearing on this documentary that there's any chance that it moves the needles of how these guys are portrayed in terms of legacy? Really, when it comes to the big three, most of all with Robert Kraft, Tom Brady, and Bill Belichick. Not in New England. No. And, and, and really not around, um, around the country or around the NFL because people already had their predetermined, um, you know, uh, um, outlooks on, on these people and what, uh, was going on. People have already predetermined, you know, through, you know, the fiasco that was Spygate. All right. It was, you know, not to jump too far ahead here. You know, they, they, they've already decided, they've already made their decision about how they feel about these people and they're not good i don't think this

Starting point is 00:28:25 documentary is going to change that whatsoever um the casual fan uh the the the you know the the one who tunes in for the super bowl every once in a while and or every year you know catches a game here or there uh we'll look at this and and yeah it could taint or or change you know the way that they looked at this franchise and how it was how it was built and more importantly how things ended um you know you could end up taking a look at drew bledsoe and thinking you know something that that wasn't there but then again you know i was there when Drew Bledsoe said, you know, this is my job. You don't, you don't lose your job because you were injured. All right. There,

Starting point is 00:29:11 there was a reason that he was the highest paid quarterback in the NFL at the time of that trade, because he felt that he had earned that money and he had earned his starting position. And, and so, you know, there, there, there are, I've never been big on pulling back the curtain on the, you know, great and powerful Oz, very difficult to wade through a controlled narrative and what I'm getting from this to this point, or you, you can with, with almost any docu-series that is, is based on a true story. Uh, it's a controlled narrative and the people controlling the narrative are the ones that are going to end up looking the best at the end. Um, you can,

Starting point is 00:29:58 you can kind of, you know, just to bring this back to, um, to, to home with home with me and baseball and Alex Cora and everything that happened in Houston that year with their cheating scandal. Well, the only guy that wasn't in the room when, you know, the principal called you the next day to come in and talk about everything that was going on was Alex Cora. So he was made out to be the villain. And I'm sure that there are going to be villains made out during this docuseries. I didn't read the book, so I don't have much background on it, but I'm sure at the end, there are going to be people that are made out to be the villain here. And I can tell you right now, it's not going to be the crafts. Well, I'm glad that you said that because there were a couple of things that i did find a little odd in this um

Starting point is 00:30:51 didn't show a whole lot about the hiring of bill belichick um that i thought maybe was deserving of a little bit more screen time uh than it got obviously it was a situation where you talked about the early days of Ledsoe, and then all of a sudden, it's just like, okay, Belichick is right there. I think that was a huge part of this, and being able to pry him loose from New York, I think really did help kickstart this dynasty. And the other, speaking of the opposite side of the coin, is that there was hardly any mention, or maybe none even even at all of Bill Parcells. And say what you will, folks, coach the team for four years.

Starting point is 00:31:30 I'm not one of those guys that's going out on a limb that's saying he has to be in the Patriots Hall of Fame. I think there's a legitimate argument to both sides, whether or not he whether or not he belongs or whether or not he doesn't. But at the same time, this still a four-year period in which right a 500 record two playoff appearances and a birth in a Super Bowl right I think the guy's name deserves to be better it was a better yeah it was a much better four years than Bill's last four years yeah um this became a destination to to come play uh before Tom Brady became Tom Brady. And while, while drew led, so was under center guys stayed here to play.

Starting point is 00:32:10 They built a fantastic team starting with the offensive woman, go back and look at those offensive lines. And, and no, I am. I'm, I'm shocked that, that he didn't even get a mention.

Starting point is 00:32:24 Yeah. And again, folks, it's just, it's one of those things where you look at revisionist history and you look at who was responsible for certain things. I thought the documentary did a very good job of telling Drew Bledsoe's story. I know it's a polarizing subject now on social media. Some of the fan base is thinking that maybe he's being romanticized in 2020 hindsight. Some fans are rediscovering Drew for the first time. Say what you will, but the professionalism and the class with which he handled a very difficult situation was a big part of the success that the team had that year. And both Tom Brady, Drew Bledsoe, they've talked about the respect, the mutual respect that they always maintain for one another.

Starting point is 00:33:08 And that is palpable. But you can definitely tell that there was a lot of tension as well. And now when you look back on it and you see the looks that Bledsoe is giving on the sidelines, things of that nature, you can really have a feel for how difficult of a situation that was for both guys. And it was for Tom as well. You know know don't forget tom is forging his identity and he's moving forward at one point he tells ty law and lawyer malloy i'm not giving this leap up and lawyer and tire kind of looking at each other going okay kid all right yep that's it you go that's it and the minute he turns his back they're going yeah no you're leaving them yeah that's the truth but tom brady was able to win it over and the way that they're showing those seedlings of what Brady was able to do is masterfully done. And at the end of the day, it was Bill Belichick who moved on from Drew Bledsoe,

Starting point is 00:33:58 who made the decision to trade the highest paid quarterback in league history, the highest paid player in league history the highest paid player in league history um to a conference foe to a division foe and uh and go with tom brady and at the end of the day don't forget that and i think it gives you a newfound or at least it did for me it gave me a newfound respect for bill belichick's guts so to speak this was a guy who literally had a dummy of himself hanged in effigy when they cut bernie kozar this is not even when the team moved this was when he cut bernie kozar this was a largely widely unpopular decision in cleveland he, I mean, the documentary goes into this. Bill Belichick was getting death threats. He had to have police protection to bring him home. He was

Starting point is 00:34:50 worried about the security of his wife, of his family. You know, you talk about a guy that's gone through a gauntlet and run through a gauntlet to get where he is. I think a lot of people forget what Bill Belichick has had to overcome. He knew that that type of anger, that type of vitriol could be thrown his way once again. It still didn't deter him from going with Tom Brady because the difference this time around, folks, and the reason why it didn't work with Cozar and it did work with Bledsoe is because he didn't have the guy waiting in the wings with Cozar. He thought he might have. Didn't work out. He knew this time around that he had it in Tom Brady.

Starting point is 00:35:30 And that's the difference. And I commend Bill Belichick for making that decision because he made it against all odds. And Robert Kraft makes it clear he wasn't on board with this decision at first. It took a lot of convincing for him. He really had to be sold on it by Belichick. Robert Kraft loves Drew Bledsoe. He loved Drew Bledsoe the day that he drafted him.

Starting point is 00:35:50 He loved him the day that they traded him, and he loves him to this day. All right? Drew Bledsoe is, you know, the fifth beetle, you know, in all of this. Folks, all it is is scratching the surface. The New England Patriots, a lot of revelations in this. Thought it was is scratching the surface the new england patriots a lot of revelations in this but it was great to see ernie adams get some screen time finally people will know who ernie adams is ernie's great in this by the way in this he's very endearing uh it shows his loyalty and his friendship with bill belichick that's an unbreakable bond and unbreakable trust

Starting point is 00:36:21 folks that's going to be very poignant in subsequent episodes, but if you've watched the first two, you definitely come away with a feel of the coaching staff, understanding the gravity of the moment, a quarterback that came in that knew exactly what needed to be done, worked his absolute tail off to get where he is. Tom Brady was not anointed in this role folks. He worked, he clawed,

Starting point is 00:36:44 he scratched and worked as hard as anyone to get where he is. And an owner that allowed it to happen because he trusted the football people to make football decisions. It's a perfect storm. And when that happens, yeah, you know, you get a little snowfall in Foxborough, and all of a sudden the gods start smiling on you. And, folks, we will continue to break down the dynasty. As I said yesterday here on the pod, we're going to be continuing to break down each and every episode once they release. Episode three will be dropping on February 23rd.

Starting point is 00:37:13 So keep a sharp eye out for that. We're going to get an early show out that day. So you'll be able to get a recap and a compliment to your viewing pleasure on that Friday. But bottom line, folks, it is all about Mock Draft Monday, and we pivot now, Murph, to Monday. I can't wait. I know you can't wait, and all of you out there can't wait. But first, we do have to wait just a second

Starting point is 00:37:34 because we have to give well-deserved tribute to my good friend here, the Don of Locked On Patriots, for taking time out of his busy schedule to join us, to lend his wisdom and counsel the way only he can. Don Murph, what can I say? Thank you for everything this week. But on Monday, we will bring back the mock drafts, so make sure to get them in.

Starting point is 00:37:54 Download, subscribe to, follow Locked On Patriots wherever you get your podcasts to ensure that you do not miss a single second of the action, especially if you're submitting a mock draft. You want to see if it's going to be featured here on Monday's episode. Murph, what can I say? I thank you once again for joining me here today. Folks,

Starting point is 00:38:11 I thank you. We both thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all of the support you provide to us each and every week here on Locked On Patriots. A tip of the cap to all of you casual listeners, to all of you first-timers, and especially, and a definite double tip of the cap to all of you casual listeners to all of you first timers and especially and a definite double tip of the cap to

Starting point is 00:38:27 all of you everydayers out there who help to make Locked On Patriots possible on behalf of my good friend the Count of Murphy Fisto himself the legendary Thomas Murphy on Mike Debate reminding you all to stay safe and to stay well and to be the change you wish to see in the world

Starting point is 00:38:43 have a great day, everyone, and we'll see you back here again on Mock Draft Monday on Locked on Patriots.

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