Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots, Los Angeles Chargers Recap: Bailey Zappe Experiment Falls Flat

Starting point is 00:00:00 If you have suffered emotional and mental anguish as a result of watching the New England Patriots 2023 offense, you might be entitled to compensation. 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 to all of you, Foxborough faithful. Thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage and hopefully your first listen each and every day.

Starting point is 00:00:51 Remember, Lockdown Patriots is a proud part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. So subscribe, download, follow Lockdown Patriots wherever you get your podcasts. Make sure that you're getting the latest episode as soon as it's available. Today's episode, folks, brought to you by our good friends at GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use the code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Last minute tickets, lowest price, guaranteed. And of course, folks, today we are breaking down yet another Patriots loss

Starting point is 00:01:28 because for the second time this season New England was shut out at home surrendering a six nothing loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in week 13 that marks the first time in franchise history that the Patriots were held scoreless at home in more than one game in a given season. And the Patriots now at two and 10, these paradoxical Patriots folks continue to wallow in the mire of their worst statistical season since 1993. I think that sums it up. Joining me here today as always is the legendary count of Murphyphy fisto himself thomas murphy of e2g sports.com thank you for coming to me in friendship thank you for coming to me despite feeling under the weather today oh yeah a little bit under the weather a little bit under the weather i'm not sure if it

Starting point is 00:02:18 was the game that i i was forced to watch yesterday or uh you know i ate something whatever but i'm always here for you michael on monday can't can't say no i i gotta be here i'll knock down the door you can you know they could they could uh pull the plug on me and i'd i'd the heart to keep beating beeping until i uh until i got here to you thank you man thank you well you definitely are the backbone of this show, my friend, and I appreciate you being here. We all appreciate you being here. And, you know, Murph, since Thursday of last week, I had been predicting that the Los Angeles Chargers would come in and hand the Patriots a defeat.

Starting point is 00:02:56 I predicted it on Thursday during the crossover, predicted it on Friday when we did our preview. I did not think it would be a six to nothing loss. I firmly believe that this Patriots offense, maybe with a little extra spring in their step with a new quarterback looking for something to prove, would be able to muster at least more than six points. I was wrong. The Patriots did not do that. They were shut out for the second time this season. I think what yesterday proved was that this team's offensive problems run much deeper than whoever is in the quarterback's position. Whether it be Mac Jones, whether it be Bailey Zappi, whether it be Malik Cunningham,

Starting point is 00:03:37 who didn't take a snap yesterday, can even throw Will Greer into the mix, folks. It's not going to matter. This New England Patriots offense is showing that they're not up to the challenge really at any position. I mean, some have played a little better than others. We'll get into the running backs in just a moment. Although the Patriots are about to have their problems there as well. Murph, when you look at this game and you look at the installation of Bailey Zappi as the starting quarterback. Why didn't this experiment work? What went wrong? And essentially, why did the Patriots put up yet another goose egg on the board when it comes to offensive production against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday? At a chance of having my offensive lineman union card pulled, it comes down to the play of the offensive line. It really does. Once again,

Starting point is 00:04:28 in pass blocking, Zappi was under pressure constantly yesterday. I was predicting that the Patriots would be able to put up 17 points against this team, and they weren't able to do it. And once Ramondre stopped looking fantastic and was over there on the sidelines, things had to change up a little bit. I can't think that Bill O'Brien wanted to sling the ball as often as he did yesterday. Definitely not, without any question.

Starting point is 00:04:55 Because you saw the reason why you do not want to sling the ball that often with Bailey Zappi, especially early on. Bailey's showing a lot of the problems with accuracy that we saw during training camp and in the preseason. Look at that first series, three and up to begin the game. Really, I think the most promising throw that he threw sailed beyond Devontae Parker. That was on a slant route. That's not setting the tone properly.

Starting point is 00:05:21 Eleven offensive series were run by the Patriots on Sunday Murph. Eight of them ended in punts. Two resulted in turnovers on downs and the other was simply just running out the rest of the clock and then getting into halftime. So 31 minutes, 10 seconds time of possession. The Patriots did not advance the ball to the red zone even once. That's unacceptable. Absolutely unacceptable. It really is. It's wholeheartedly unacceptable. We talked about one of my keys on Friday is winning the turnover battle, and I said that the Patriots had to win this by two.

Starting point is 00:05:57 Now, I consider turning the ball over on downs as turnovers. That's why they call it that. You turn it over on downs. So they were minus three, and yet this defense was able to pick this team up. Zappi was late. He was moved off his spot often when play designs worked. In the fourth quarter, at the end of the fourth quarter, that shot that he should have been able to take to Hunter Henry, uh, that

Starting point is 00:06:30 resulted in, in one of those sacks, not one of the sacks, he ended up having to throw the ball away to save a sack. And, uh, that would have been just time and a time again, you know, drop balls, balls that were just out of the reach of somebody, uh, deciding to dive for a ball when you don't trust your legs and, uh, and run underneath it. Yes. I'm talking to you, slim Reaper. Um, that, that was a, that was a fantastic ball and, and, uh, you should just not have, uh, left his feet to, to go get that things could have been a lot different just by three or four plays in, um, in this game, the Patriots could have put up the different just by three or four plays in,

Starting point is 00:07:06 in this game. The Patriots could have put up the 17 points that I was talking about, but like you said, they could not get into the red zone. It's kind of hard to score when you're not down there. Yeah. It's really, I think the tale of new England season, one play here or there,

Starting point is 00:07:20 two plays here or there, maybe even a handful of plays here and there that go the opposite way. We're probably talking about six one-score games now. Six one-score games. You know, you win half of those, and you're not picking in the top two, but you're feeling a little bit better. You win each one of those games,

Starting point is 00:07:41 and this is a pretty decent season. But, you know, ifs and buts are candy and nuts every day would be Christmas, and we're almost at Christmas now, folks, and there's nothing in the stockings but cold. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, it's going to be a blue Christmas in New England, and not for the right reasons, folks. Not a Patriot blue.

Starting point is 00:08:02 It's going to be a dismal blue, and that's exactly what you saw on the field yesterday at gillette um just failed opportunities over and over again the things that i thought bailey zappy did well because i don't want to sit there and say that he was abysmal he needed to be a lot better than he was but he wasn't the sole reason why the patriots lost yesterday i thought as the game went on, he showed greater downfield vision, especially when having to scramble and be a little bit more inventive. I think he was more relaxed in that regard than Mack Jones has been in quite some time.

Starting point is 00:08:35 So he's going to exude a little more confidence in that situation. He definitely protected the football better than Mack, did not commit a personal turnover on his regard. But you look at his holding the ball a little bit too long these are things that have constantly been a problem for him it led to five sacks and it led to two sacks in which it took the patriots out of goal range folks right second half sacks and yes like michael said two moved you out of field goal range and um you know those were were points that were sorely needed. You know, that's indicative of the final score.

Starting point is 00:09:12 But no, the supporting cast, like Mike said, he was not abysmal. But his supporting cast did nothing to help him on Sunday. Absolutely. You want to talk about really, I think, a microcosm in terms of what the Patriots offense can be and what it is. You take a look at the 39-yard run by Tyquan Thornton. There's your potential, folks. There's the opportunity for, like Murph said, the slim reaper, that speedster to get out there and make things happen. Then you compare and contrast that with an egregious drop that I understand maybe the ball was a little overthrown, underthrown.

Starting point is 00:09:50 As Murph said several times, it hits you in the hands. That's a catch you have to make. And again, folks, it is resulting in missed opportunities. It's resulting in a lack of points on the board for the New England Patriots. And it's resulting into this offense offense plummeting this team into historic lows an interesting pull from Jeff Howe of the Athletic CBS Sports I think also pulled this statistic as well Murph the New England Patriots have held their last three opponents to 10 points or less each of those games resulting in a loss. That is the first time that that has happened since the 1938 Chicago Cardinals did that.

Starting point is 00:10:29 You want to talk about very historic lows for the Patriots? I think that sums up their offensive utility. But what it also tells me, Murph, is that the New England Patriots defense is more than doing its job. They deserved a lot better than what they got out on the field yesterday. We're being honest, folks. They deserved better than what they've been getting all season long. It's leading to some frustration, but we want to give the defense a little love because they certainly deserve it.

Starting point is 00:10:56 And Murph and I will talk about the defensive performance yesterday on the field when this episode of the Lockdown Patriots podcast continues. A proud part of the Lockdown On Patriots podcast continues a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team, every day. Pats fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on Locked On Patriots, spending part of your melancholy, malaise, monster mad Monday with us here on Locked On Patriots

Starting point is 00:11:25 as the Pats drop another heartbreaking loss. Five in a row now for your New England Patriots. They sit at 2-10 with the playoffs being nothing but a laugh at this point. I can't believe I even mentioned the word playoffs in this episode, but the New England Patriots are improving their draft position, and we're going to get into what that means for the Pats in just a moment but Murph before we take our leave of what we saw on the field at Gillette Stadium on Sunday I think we'd be remiss without really articulating what this New England Patriots defense did in this game yesterday they held an offense that has one of

Starting point is 00:12:03 the more talented quarterbacks in the league. Oh, yeah. Running without a doubt. The Patriots held this team to only 214 net yards of offense, only five third down conversions on 15 attempts. New England did its job to contain a potentially explosive Chargers offense yesterday. Oh, without a doubt. Six points was not enough. Nope.

Starting point is 00:12:28 It's not enough in any stretch of the imagination, folks. It's not enough for a defense right now that looks like they are extremely frustrated. And it looks like they're demoralized a little bit because of what their counterparts on offense are giving them to work with. Really, I think a lot of people argue that if you put this defense on any other team right now, you're probably looking at a contender. Yeah, you really are. This Patriots defense has given up 26 points in the last 12 quarters of football,

Starting point is 00:12:59 and they have nothing to show for it except for personal pride. That's the only way that you can go into each game right now if you're this defense is your own personal pride. You know, if you go ahead and make sure that for the next 20 years, they remember that this defense showed up and balled out and did what they needed to do. They're shutting down some of the best quarterbacks, the best wide receivers in the National Football League, and they have no zero wins to show for it, and it's god-awful. I really don't know where to start in handing out kudos to this defense because it's a complete collective.

Starting point is 00:13:46 You know, Jelani Tavai had another fantastic game yesterday. Jawan Bentley had a great game. John Jones, once again, did his job really well. Kyle Duggar and Jabril Peppers, you know, it was fantastic. How do you complain about a team that gives up six points at home and their offense can't score a touchdown can't even get into the red zone and uh and they were completely let down that this defense like like it says right up here does deserve better yeah absolutely and you know you want to talk

Starting point is 00:14:18 about offense i know los angeles chargers have had their struggles folks these players are not the same players they were eckler is clearly still hampered by that high ankle strain. He hasn't been the same player, the same burst that he needs to have as a rusher since that injury. So that's definitely plaguing him. Keenan Allen was very effective yesterday, but you can tell the quadriceps injury still having its effect on him. And Justin Herbert, for whatever reason, simply still has the Bill Belichick block in his head you want to talk about a guy that has his number in the three games that the Patriots have played against the Chargers where Belichick is coached against Herbert 30 points is the total

Starting point is 00:14:58 that they put up in three games so you know Bill Belichick and his defense are doing something good against him but all around this defense yesterday folks you saw prowess you didn't just see a team that was playing to prevent enough points and give your offense a chance that defense was on the field yesterday to obliterate and to make sure they won the game they held the Chargers only 29 yards on 24 carries, a 1.2 yard average. Murph, that's the fewest rushing yards that the team has allowed since they held the Miami Dolphins to 15 yards in October 2015. That's holding guys like Austin Eckler and Joshua Kelly remedial duty at that point. That's impressive. But then you look over and you see what they did with Justin Herbert. By playing him

Starting point is 00:15:46 in zone coverage, they've really been effective in playing him in that area. They could take away Justin's concepts. They took away his routes. Jabril Peppers, Jalen Mills made plays on the ball and off the ball yesterday. They were phenomenal. The Patriots alternated that coverage

Starting point is 00:16:02 on Eckler between the linebackers and the defensive backs. Mack Wilson, Josh Uche were active. They were a part of that pass rush yesterday. The defensive strategy for the Patriots was clearly good, and kudos to all of the players who I think executed it as well as you could have hoped for. Right. Completely. They kept them out of the red zone, the Chargers, even though they had their own issues all season. But the Patriots did what they – one of the keys that the Patriots did turn yesterday on defense was the fact that they kept them out of the red zone.

Starting point is 00:16:41 They kept this team out of the red zone. They've been deadly inside the 10, inside the 5. They've practically been unstoppable. And the Patriots kept them out. This defensive unit gave the offensive side of the ball every opportunity to not only win this game, but win it in a runaway. And it did not happen.

Starting point is 00:17:06 You know, this offense just could not generate anything. And all these guys over there on the defensive side of the ball need serious, serious props given to them, especially since, you know, the fact that, you know, over these past three, five, seven games, they've done it without their two best players. I'm glad that you mentioned that because this side of the ball, five, seven games. They've done it without their two best players. I'm glad that you mentioned that because this side of the ball, folks, the defense of the New England Patriots, they've been the hardest hit when it comes to injuries on this team. Matthew Judon, Bill Belichick said this morning, the chance he may come back, you know,

Starting point is 00:17:38 didn't want to speculate as to what his status is going to be. You have to wonder whether or not it's prudent for him to suit back up at this point with the Patriots season all but over at this time really it would be more about reps or his personal preference but if you're the team I can't imagine you want to send Matthew Judon back out there right now especially with the way this defense is playing they're continuing to play at a high level so you know you're better off resting him. Make sure he's 100% for next season, folks. But Christian Gonzalez being out for the year, Marcus Jones being out for the year, these are hard hitting injuries and the Patriots have been able to sustain them. You have to ask the question about the offense now, because they haven't been able to put points

Starting point is 00:18:19 on the board and that task may get tougher with the injury they suffered yesterday. But is it enough to convince the Patriots brass that it's finally time to tear down the walls and rebuild from scratch? It's the mailbag question of the week and we're going to tackle that in just a moment when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast wraps up right here on 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 do it?

Starting point is 00:18:55 Well, you shouldn't have to worry when you're buying tickets to your next big event. Game time is the fast and the easy way to buy tickets for all the sports, music, comedy and theater, and events near you. From Celtics to Bruins to Mariah Carey, just a few of the exciting events coming to the Boston area on GameTime. And GameTime's all-in prices show your total up front, so you know you're getting a great deal without any hidden fees.

Starting point is 00:19:20 They're actually obsessed with finding ways to help you save money on tickets. And the Game Time guarantee means you'll always get the best price. If you find tickets in the same section or roll for less, Game Time will credit you 110% of the difference. Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use the code locked on nfl for 20 off your first purchase terms apply so again create an account and redeem the code l-o-c-k-e-d-o-n-n-f-l for 20 off download game time today last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed patriots fans thank you once again for taking time out of your schedule

Starting point is 00:20:07 to join us here on this melancholy, malaise, monster Mad Monday here on Locked On Patriots. Thomas Murphy of E2G Sports and I breaking down the Patriots' 6-0 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. It doesn't even seem real. It seems like a Dodgers Red Sox score. It just does not seem like this is going to be a New England Patriots-Los Angeles Chargers breakdown. But such is life, folks.

Starting point is 00:20:33 Here we are, and your New England Patriots now sit at 2-10, currently holding the second pick in the NFL draft, Murph. And we're going to get to that in just a minute, because there have been so many contributing factors to this team's regression from a team that wasn't a playoff team last year, but gave you hope that they could be. I don't think this team, this franchise, or this fan base has had any hope in these guys really since week seven. And I think I'm probably being generous there, but that win against the Buffalo Bills told people that maybe they could start stringing things together.

Starting point is 00:21:07 Really, I think looking like a mirage rather than an actual oasis for the New England Patriots at this point. So that being said, the fan base is wondering, what is the reason for the Patriots regression? What is the key for this season's record going down the tubes? Well, Murph, our good friend, Matt Urban, who is a everyday here on Lockdown Patriots, one of our most valued contributors to Mock Draft Monday, as well as Mailbag Monday, I think had the question of the week. And not only did Matt pose the question of the week, he posed a potential solution. And here we go folks we're

Starting point is 00:21:45 going to take a look at this and i'll read it for those of you that are listening audio only here and matt is wondering is this season's record due to coaching gm or injuries i say injuries to the o-line right at alt he's obviously listening to you murph and i don't blame him for that my cousins oh yeah we're going to get to that in a moment and spend the next three rounds of draft on offensive skill positions whole new team with a question mark and that comes from our good buddy Matt Urban at Matt Urban that's m-a-t-t-u-u r-b-a-n on x tip of the cap my friend thank you for the question Murph I think it's a good one and I think it's an interesting one because he gives you a few potential solutions here

Starting point is 00:22:29 to what the Patriots should do. Let's break it down first. Is the injury to the O-line, Trent Brown, Riley Reif, the problems that Cole Strange had earlier on, are all of these the biggest contributing factors to the Patriots regression on offense at the very least? Yes. And in one word, yes. And it started in August. Okay. And it continued through the first eight weeks of this season. Now on to, to continue with what Matt Matt's talking about is the fact that yes, it yes, it's injuries to the offensive line. And then on top of them,

Starting point is 00:23:10 the attrition started happening with the skill position players after that, with concussions, with, you know, hamstrings, with, you know, right now, we've got running backs that have banged up ankles and and another one, the healthiest one, has a messed up quad. And so, yeah, it's a progression of the fact that this team has never been healthy all season. And they've been at key positions. They've been thinnest at the most key positions on the offensive side of

Starting point is 00:23:46 the ball. So yeah, it started out with the offensive line at the beginning of the year. And still to this day, Trent Brown is still banged up. He is still, um, uh, fighting through injury, even though he's had, he had a couple of weeks off, he's still not right, and you can see it. But the skill positions have been a huge letdown. The guys that Bill brought in, Juju Smith-Schuster, had been injured from the get-go. People are wondering why he passed any kind of an evaluation, medical-wise, coming in the door. And it's taken him this long to contribute anything whatsoever.

Starting point is 00:24:34 And people are upset because they see Jacoby Myers out there in L.A. just slaying it. And Bill wanted more out of that position for the dollar. And he thought that, uh, that, uh, Juju Smith Schuster would be able to give him that. And that has not happened, or he was, he was handed Juju Smith Schuster by other people that, that wanted to bring him in. And, uh, so yeah, it's an amalgamation of everything that you're talking about. I don't think, with the exception of the coaching, I don't think Bill O'Brien is the root cause of this problem on the offensive side of the ball.

Starting point is 00:25:14 I don't think Adrian Clem is the root problem on the offensive side of the ball with the offensive line. I really don't. These guys have been banged up, not healthy. I don't think O'Brien has been able to run what he wants to run with the people that are here. There needs to be a serious overhaul. But, you know, Matty, you're totally right with Alt being the pick in the first round. I can't argue with you there at all. Yeah, I mean, starting a foundation is one thing but

Starting point is 00:25:46 having a strong cornerstone for that foundation is essential for building a solid house and that is the way to do it folks i think we established that last week offensive line may not be the sexy pick that everyone's looking for but when you're not one player just one player away from contending and i think you saw that yesterday in the fact that no matter who is back there taking snaps and being your quarterback, you're going to continue to have problems if your receivers aren't running correct routes. And if you're not getting the blocking from the line, it's not going to matter who you have there. So build from the ground up. And Alt seems to be a good choice at this point.

Starting point is 00:26:22 And I think he is the optimal choice for an offensive lineman. By cousins, you knew we were going to talk about this, Murph. Now, look, I know Captain Kirk over there gets a lot of vitriol thrown at him for being essentially like a push-button ride when it comes to a quarterback. He'll latch on to a team, and he'll be able to direct them, but he's not going to win you games individually. I think that's a little bit of a misnomer. I think Kirk is a little bit better of a strategic quarterback than he gets credit for through eight games this season before he got injured, completed 69.5% of his passes, 18 touchdowns, 2,331 yards. That's an eight games

Starting point is 00:27:02 folks. That's an absolutely respectable statistic line. You see what Minnesota's doing and you have to think that there may be a changing of the guard brewing there. Is this something the Patriots should entertain if they're not in love with Caleb Williams or Drake May as the future for this franchise or the other quarterback options that are out there as well. Is someone like a Kirk Cousins coming in to help keep the ship in the right direction until they find that guy a viable option at this point? Yeah, even if they are in love with those guys that you just mentioned and are going

Starting point is 00:27:38 to end up taking him at the top of this draft and not trading down and doing the smart thing and grabbing the offensive lineman. That's going that, that I want. And guys like smart people like Matt want, but no, I would, I would definitely do that. Telling you right now,

Starting point is 00:27:54 Kirk cousins is, is the best quarterback that we've talked about here coming to the Patriots since Tom Brady left. Okay. He is better than anybody that's on this roster or anybody that has been on this roster for the past four or five years. And yeah, I will take that. I will throw all the money in the world.

Starting point is 00:28:11 Go let Miguel figure out how you're going to do it and work it on out. Miguel Van Zandt, go follow him, you know, at Patscap. But no, he would be better than anybody that's been here since Tom Brady walked out the door. And I'm all for it. Because even if they do draft that quarterback, I don't want that quarterback thrown into this mess right now.

Starting point is 00:28:32 I really don't. So well said. Until you figure out what's happening with this offensive line, where it's going. Because both your starting tackles are free agents at the end of the year. Okay? So you don't even know if Brown and Unweyu are going to be back. I'm franchising Unweyu if I have to, and I'd want to work out a big – but, I mean, at the bottom, he's done a fantastic job there,

Starting point is 00:28:58 but he's a guard. Okay, we need to go out and find two very competent, very healthy younger tackles in this offseason, be it through the draft or through free agency. Sign Cousins. I would sign Cousins in a heartbeat. He's going to be one of the better guys that are available out there, and you need better. And, and another thing that, that has, has been sorely missing that we haven't been able to, that we haven't been able to talk about because of the lack of successes,

Starting point is 00:29:31 there's no swagger on the offensive side of this ball. None. All right. This, this is a team. This is a franchise that used to swagger on both sides of the ball year in and year out with guys like Tom Brady, with guys like Julian Edelman, and with guys like Rob Gronkowski. You walked in there and you knew you were the faces, okay? You were the faces of not only a franchise, but of the NFL, all right? And they knew it. And they went out there and they backed it up. There's no swagger on that side of the ball for the New england patriots kirk cousins brings you a little swag yeah absolutely and i'm glad that you mentioned that because swagger is something

Starting point is 00:30:14 that is important folks it's definitely a vital component to a team being able to move the football and get points on the board it sounds simple simple. It sounds trivial, but it definitely is not. When you're playing with extra confidence, you're going to play even above your talent level. And the only guy on that offensive side of the ball this year, folks, that had the opportunity to play with a little bit of swagger is Ramondre Stevenson, who right up until he got hurt was also once again looking fantastic yesterday.

Starting point is 00:30:45 Obviously suffering what is believed to be a sprained ankle we're hearing all the reports it seems like that is indeed the case he was attempting to secure first down on a second and five at the chargers 31 yard line 425 left in the first quarter that is not ideal folks the initial x-rays reportedly are negative which is good but. But according to our good friend, Dr. Jessica Flynn, yeah, there's still going to be missed time on the field. And you're going to be without Ramundre maybe for the remainder of the season. And at this point, do you want to even rush him back to try to put him back into the fire? You really make the argument that it doesn't make any sense. I agree with you

Starting point is 00:31:25 matt i think you're definitely on to something when it comes to utilizing the first three rounds of this upcoming draft to help fill your offensive skill position players you want to get younger at the tight end position you want to bring in guys that are going to be able to catch passes receiver is an absolute must in these rounds this year. I wouldn't go top of the heap on that position, but there's plenty of talent in the middle part of this draft that can help you. And you might want to think about getting a young runner in here to help spell Ramondre Stevenson as well and cultivate that line a little more as well, folks, as Murph said, you can never have too many good solid linemen. They did. They ran the ball well yesterday, though, with what they had. As I said on Friday,

Starting point is 00:32:07 set the tone that way, and it just fizzled out once Romandre went down. It really did. He's that special of a guy. He's that special of a runner. The Patriots, he's a guy who's constantly healthy, and that's one of the reasons that Bill was confident going into the season as thin at running back as they are, but it's burned him in the past, and it might burn him right now, and it's time to break glass and get Kevin Harris onto the roster. Yeah, exactly. It'll be very interesting to see, folks. With a short turnaround time yeah as your new england patriots will be heading to the steel city on thursday night to take on the pittsburgh steelers kenny pickett will not be active for that game

Starting point is 00:32:53 it's looking like a battle of bailey zappy and mitch trubisky my apologies to all our national fans that are going to be watching this one on thursday night but bottom line murph it's a game we will cover and we are looking forward to breaking this one down, including Crossover Thursday, which is still going to come at you with the great Christopher Carter of Locked On Steelers. I can't wait for that one. Always a lot of fun when we hit the microphone, so stay tuned for that. And a lot of Pat Steelers coverage,

Starting point is 00:33:19 and even some still mop-up coverage of the Pats and Chargers. So don't go anywhere. Continue to stay locked in to Locked On Patriots for all your needs this week. And what can I say, my friend? Not even feeling 100%, you still broke the wisdom and counsel meter as you do every single time you come here. Bottom line, my friend, I thank you humbly for your friendship, for all of your support to Lockdown Patriots, and most of all, for all of your insight.

Starting point is 00:33:45 We are better football fans as a result of it, but we thank all of you and we appreciate all of you for taking time out of your schedule to join us here on Lockdown Patriots each and every day. All of you everydayers with a special tip of the cap to Matt Urban for today's great question are appreciated more than words can say. Thank you for all of your support. In the meantime, I am your host, Mike DeBate,

Starting point is 00:34:07 and on behalf of my good friend, Thomas Murphy, I remind you once again to stay safe and to stay well and to be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone, and we'll see you back here again tomorrow on Lucked on Patriots.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots, Los Angeles Chargers Recap: Bailey Zappe Experiment Falls Flat

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