Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Mailbag: Biggest Roster Void, Making a Roster Case, Celtics , Super Bowl & More

Episode Date: June 20, 2024

While the New England Patriots enjoy a brief summer break, the process of building a roster continues. Host Mike D’Abate is joined by Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy to open the Locked On Patriots Mailbag. The duo discuss the biggest hole on the Patriots roster, the player who has most helped his case for a roster spot, and, in appreciation of the Boston Celtics NBA Championship,  how far the Patriots are from a Super Bowl title. #nfl #patriots Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFm... Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-... And follow host Mike D’Abate on X, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans — @mdabateNFL Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotors.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply. FanDuel FanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. Right now, NEW customers get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning FIVE DOLLAR BET. That’s TWO HUNDRED BUCKS you can use to bet everything from the Finals MVP to who's going to hit one out of the park! Visit FANDUEL.COM/LOCKEDON and add a big win to your summer bucket list! FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

The biggest remaining void on the New England Patriots roster could keep their rookie quarterback from the starting job for quite a while. 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. And thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Don't forget, Locked On Patriots is not only a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day,

but we're also free and available on all platforms, including YouTube. So smash that subscribe button and download and follow Locked on Patriots wherever you get your podcasts to ensure that you're getting the latest episode as soon as it's available. I'm your host, Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for the Patriots country. So reach out to me and let me know what's on your mind on X at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L. While you're out there showing some love to Lockdown Patriots, please be sure to follow our account there as well at L-O underscore Patriots. And Pats fans, don't forget, today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel.

Make every moment more. Right now, new customers get $200 in bonus bets with any winning $5 bet. That's $200 in bonus bets with any winning $5 bet. That's $200 in bonus bets with any winning $5 bet. Visit Fanduel.com to get started. And Pats fans, it is Telegraph Tuesday. A little delay in the schedule, bringing you Mailbag Monday one day late. But you know, if this man is on the other side of the screen, my good friend the legendary thomas murphy you know we're in for a robust mailbag and we are today but before we dive into the mailbag murph i believe congratulations are in order the boston celtics defeating the

dallas mavericks on monday night at td garden game five of the NBA finals. The Boston Celtics bringing home their 18th NBA championship and placing them alone atop the echelon of the NBA franchises with 18 NBA titles. We're on to 19. We're on to 19. You know, well ahead of everybody else. You know, the Lakers have, the Los Angeles Lakers have 12, and the Minneapolis Lakers have the the los angeles lakers have 12 and the um the minneapolis lakers

have five so you know it's it's we're on the 19th you know this was already a celtic record because we didn't have to move to win anymore absolutely and you know what if there were any doubts in anyone's mind not that there should have been folks murph is absolutely right but that put an end to it last night with a phenomenal performance. And it got Patriots fans, Boston Red Sox fans, Boston Bruins fans feeling nostalgic for when it was their team hoisting the most prominent trophy in their given game. And we're going to talk a little bit more about the Celtics and what it means for the Patriots and their pursuit of a seventh Lombardi trophy in just a little bit. But, Murph, it's mailbag day. It is Telegraph Tuesday.

And once again, our everydayers have knocked it out of the park with phenomenal questions. I continue to be honored and humbled by the insight that our everydayers show with some great questions. And we try to pluck out, folks, the most prominent, the most poignant of what the Patriots are going through right now. And even though the Patriots are on their own extended little mini break after minicamp has wrapped, there's still some questions surrounding this team moving forward.

And one of the biggest questions on everybody's mind in Patriots Nation is what do the Patriots still have to do? Which area are they still deficient? Well, we're going to tackle that question first here today on Locked On Patriots because courtesy of the Locked On Patriots mailbag delivered by Newman, even in the heat and the rain, it's something that he doesn't like to do, but he had to do it anyway, contractually obligated to bring us the mail. Murph and I sifted through that and we came up with the question of the day, probably the most popular question we got this week, Murph, and it comes from Jim in Plainville, Mass. And he wants to know, what is the biggest remaining void on the Patriots roster?

You can see the glint in his eye, folks. I'm not going to steal his thunder. Murph, go ahead and take this one. What is the biggest void on the Pats roster? It's the biggest void that was there when free agency started. It was the biggest void that was there when we were going into the draft. It was the biggest void that was there after the draft. It is still left tackle.

This one position needs to be ironed out. I have seen nothing and heard nothing to change my mind about this, that there is not a left tackle on this roster as we speak. Yeah, I would definitely say that you're onto something there, Murph. As a matter of fact, in just a moment, I may actually raise your left tackle and go with the whole left side of the line because I think there are question marks in both slots right now but if you're looking logistically you absolutely have to go with the left tackle position Patriots don't have a pure left tackle yeah they absolutely have guys with the athletic prowess to try them out at left tackle and see if it can work and who knows

stranger things have happened guys have made the switch to certain positions and they've played better than most people gave them credit for early on. So yes, it is theoretically possible. All hope is not lost. But when you look at the options that they're choosing from right now, Chuck Sikora for is probably the guy that's going to get the most looks at least early on in training camp. He's the favorite right now. Pre-agent came in from Pittsburgh, has played the line a good deal, but I think a lot of people forget that he was benched last season for ineffective plays. So you need to keep these things in perspective, folks, when you're taking a look at who might be protecting that quarterback's line side.

Benched on the right side. Very good point. And if you're making the switch over yeah can you catch lightning in a bottle maybe maybe he was mistagged i don't think that's the case here uh you definitely have to weigh that and take that under advisement caden wallace is someone we've talked about a lot here patriots third rounder very good tackle for the penn state nittany lions the problem was is all of his experience is on the right side of the line. And even though he played a little bit during the pre-draft workout programs, you look at what he's done.

He's trying to make that move, but there's a reason why you saw him over on the right. And you saw Michael on win who cut over into the right guard position. Patriots obviously are trying things out to see what fits, what they like, what's aesthetically pleasing for them heading into training camp. Yeah, this is a big question mark. There's no question about it. What doesn't send them screaming into the locker room? How about that? That's what they're looking for here. All right. Somebody that doesn't have the wolf, you know, heading for the hills. He

could end up being the lone wolf at the end of the season if he doesn't do something to fix this line and quick. Yeah, absolutely. And I think it gets to the point that we made coming into the show today in our cold opening and saying that it may affect the quarterbacks. It may affect how late or how early we see Drake May take the reins over from Jacoby Brissett. Michael Browner joined me here yesterday on Locked On Patriots, my colleague over at Athlon Sports Patriots Country. And we talked a little bit about Drake May.

And if he's close in terms of skill set to Jacoby Brissett, do you make the move to Drake early on and say, you know what? He's ready to go. Put him out there. He's given us just as much of a chance as Jacoby would. Mike brought up a very interesting point. And he says, I think the offensive line is going to be the key. It's going to depend on the type of protection he's getting.

With that early schedule, you definitely don't want to be pushing Drake May out into the fire if he doesn't have sufficient teams in front of him that are protecting him. You could end up seeing Jacoby Brissett out there for quite a while, maybe longer than the Patriots would like, even if Drake is ahead when it comes to his progress, when it comes to him progress, when it comes to him picking up the playbook and his fundamentals, you still have to worry about him being protected. That can affect his play, not only from a confidence standpoint, but most importantly, Murph, from a health standpoint, you don't want this kid getting injured early. If there's

turnstiles in front of him, not protecting properly exactly we could be looking at a scenario where two years in a row um the Patriots first round picks are limited action in games yeah without any question and I think that's something that the Patriots need to address and it's something that they need to be mindful of and I think it's compounded by the fact that now we're looking at and we know for sure what Cole Strange is dealing with, and that is a torn patellar tendon. And I want to give a major tip of the cap and some big-time kudos to my good friend and colleague, Dr. Kyle Trimble, who runs the site Banged Up Bills, a doctor of physical therapy. He's a regular on Locked On Bills, folks, with Joe Marino,

but he comes on here an awful lot because he has expanded his horizons into all AFC East injuries, and he was able to nail down that that injury sounded a lot like a torn patellar tendon before it was confirmed over the weekend by Mike Reese, the best in the business. It's coming from Mike. You know, it's true and you know, it's accurate. And I really want to give a whole lot of credit to Kyle for kind of pinpointing that and saying maybe mid-season for Cole Strange might even be optimistic. That type of injury can linger.

You have to make sure that when he steps back on the field, he's ready. He's ready for contact. He's got to be able to pivot. He's got to be able to move forward, backwards, side to side. And we're talking about a large human being here. Yeah, without question. You know, you can't underestimate how much extra time it takes for these guys to heal and be able to go out there and do the things that they have to do, carrying the Patriots right now have to keep their options open at the left guard position, which is why I said earlier, I think the entire left side right now

is a question mark. If you're going to use Caden Wallace as your right tackle, you're going to kick Michael Wenu in and play him at right guard. The problem with doing that is you're displacing CitySew. CitySew had a very good season last year as your right guard. Now, can he come in and play the left? We're already seeing him take snaps there in minicamp and in OTAs. Will that continue in a training camp? People may look at that and they may look at the statistical prowess and say, yeah, okay, City can do it. He'll slide in. Yeah, you're looking at a guy that is going to from it's going to fortify that interior, he can do the job. Murph, you've pointed out several times here on these airwaves,

it's a different game. It is. It's a different situation when you're used to playing on the right and then you have to pivot and play on the left. If you're dealing with a new left tackle that's playing out of position and then you have a left guard that's out of position, yeah, you could be dealing with some big problems. And, oh, by the way, the left side is the blind side of quarterback Drake May, who's a right-handed thrower. So yeah, you're looking at potential issues for the Patriots if they don't find a solution to this within the first few weeks

of camp and try to cultivate that very soon. Could be, could be big trouble, could be big trouble. And like I said, when, you know, a few few weeks ago a great question that was asked uh by when when could we expect to see drake may and i said week after week eight into week nine you know and and that that could be pushed back even further because nothing is going to kill this kid um figuratively uh mentally as as running for your life and getting gang-tackled from the left side, from the blind side, as he could end up being if this doesn't get fixed. And there's still a couple of fixes out there. I'm not talking about David Bakhtiari.

I don't want to have anything to do with him. But Charles Lino, he's out of Washington. Dwayne Brown, you you know our old friend from the jets and donovan smith from kansas city could be brought in here and like i said before these are guys that have taken snaps on that side of the ball and i would much prefer that over what the patriots have in camp today jim thank you for that question and you know anytime you get murph to talk big round men, you know, he's happy and he's in a great mood. And Murph, I think we'll lighten the mood a little

bit in our second segment, because instead of talking about doom and gloom and voids on rosters, we're going to talk about a player or players, whoever you may deem worthy of this designation as someone that helped their cause with a strong offseason program, who did their best to make sure that they'll continue to get looks heading into training camp. Murph and I are going to talk about such players when we continue right here on the Locked On Patriots podcast, a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Listen up, Locked On listeners.

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So again, create an account and redeem the code LOCKEDONNFL, that's L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N-N-F-L, for $20 off. Download GameTime today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on Mailbag Day. It is Telegraph Tuesday. And before we continue wading through the mailbag, Murph, I just have a question for all of our everydayers out there.

And I know you all must be so tired of having to turn down the volume with all that shouting going on when all you want is your daily sports fix. Yeah, I know you're all looking for Celtics highlights right now and revel in Banner 18. And there's a lot of excess shouting going on. You're tired of it. We're all tired of it. But the good news is, folks, you can make the switch

to Locked On Sports today because it's a free 24-7 sports streaming channel programmed for you every day to bring you the biggest stories without all of that screaming going on. Locked On Sports today

brings you can't miss analysis, opinions, and news streaming 24-7 on YouTube or the free Amazon Fire TV channels app. Locked On Sports Today is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day, just like we are right here on Locked On Patriots. And it may not be Monday, Murph, but we are wading through the mailbag. And right away, Jim in Plainville allowed us to kick off the mailbag

with a tremendous question talking to us a little bit about what the biggest voids are on the Patriots roster but in order to lighten the mood a little bit let's flip the script and talk about players that had a pretty good spring that came into off-season workouts OTAs mini camp and actually helped their cause in terms of making a roster spot, or at least making their name more well-known than it was heading into this part of the offseason. As we head into training camp, Murph, our good friend, sort of down in your neck of the woods, Tony in Colchester, Connecticut, wants to know which player helped his case the most during offseason workouts.

I leave it to you first, Don Murph. Well, we live on the same side of the river, so that's cool. I love Colchester. Colchester, good, good, nice little town. You know, there's a couple of ways to go in answering this question. I could probably throw out two or three names, but I'm going to throw out Alex Austin. Last year, the Patriots had to rely on their depth over there at cornerback to fill out opposite after Gonzalez went down and the other instances. And, you know, this spring with Jonathan Jones, Marcus Jones have been limited,

even though we were told that, you know that the Joneses were a full go. Full go. No problems. But they were limited. But this young man has come in here as another cast off from the great town of Buffalo. You feel the sarcasm. And done pretty well. He's been starting opposite side of Gonzalez for most of minicamp.

And I expect to see that continue until the other guys can can shake it out and shake off whatever is ailing them. And of course, we see who's going to end up in the slot and who's going to end up outside. But, you know, I like what this kid has shown throughout the process here early. And, you know, there's more depth. You know, we've all been waiting for Isaiah Bolden to do something. And Marcellus Dial was a sixth-round pick this year. He's been limited as well. But Wilson, Hearn, and Bolden are showing progress.

The thing is, right now, I like the way Alex Austin looks more than anybody. Austin's looked very good in camp so far, in minicamp, and especially in what we've seen in limited sample size from the workouts we've watched. Alex is someone that does know how to break on the ball. He draws a very good beat on the ball. We saw that last season with the interception he made against the Bills in the latter half of the year. This kid has the ability to make plays. Now, the question is, is he going to get lost in the shuffle of a crowded quarterback room?

I don't think so. He's spending an awful lot of time with Christian Gonzalez. So is Isaiah Bolden, a man that you mentioned by name, someone that I think can make an impact on this cornerback room, not just as a return man or use him in special team scenarios. I think Isaiah has the capability of being a multi-dimensional threat on this team. I really can't wait to see what this kid can do in training camp, but I agree with you. Alex has the tendency to be one of the more forgotten names in that cornerback room when you mention christian gonzalez and jonathan jones and marcus jones and a lot of people really getting excited about maybe stephan gilmore coming

in that's not given folks that's more pie in the sky but you know yeah but we'd all really like that we would a few million right there we We would. I would love to see it. I know you would. Yeah, definitely. And someone that we know can play the position and really be a mentor to Christian Gonzalez. But that's not a given, folks. That's probably a remote possibility at best. So go with what you got in the room.

Alex Austin is someone that does know the system, and he can play it at a high level. So I love that suggestion, and i think he has done a lot to help his case and i think he could be someone to keep an eye on here through training camp but yeah and just to piggyback off that gonzalez's look fantastic he has he really has he he looks like he's he's ready to go he's healthy as a horse and and please let me just get back out on the field and and up a pass. He's looked great. He has. We talked about him a little bit yesterday here on the pod, and knowing that Christian is starting to show some vocal leadership,

maybe even a little bit of aggression on the field. And these weren't traits he typically had when he was at Oregon. They weren't things that he was known for. And some question whether or not he may have the vocal capability to be a leader on this team. Putting that to rest in the work he's doing with Alex and Isaiah, by the way. Right. You know, sometimes you find leadership in men that manifest itself in different ways. There were different voices on that team that he was on in college, and he didn't need to be that vocal leader.

But right now he feels that he does, and he's stepping up and doing it. Absolutely, and Christian, definitely, we're glad to see him back on the team. I don't think there's too many of us that are questioning whether or not he's going to make the team. I think Christian Spahn is pretty safe, but one guy that I think is emerging from the rest, and I want to give a hat tip to Mark Daniels of MassLive

for pointing this out over the weekend, and that's Keyshawn Booty as a wide receiver. There is a logjam of wide receivers on this roster right now Murph now I know some people that who are receiver hungry are going to look at this and say yeah you got all those bodies but you don't have a true number one that may be true however there are a lot of talented players on this roster that could end up competing for what may be one or two spots at best where all of these guys could fit into and I'm lumping in guys like Juju Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton, and Booty and I think right now a lot of people were possibly looking at him and the offseason problems that he had and saying okay he's probably odd man out you can probably pencil him out maybe juju might make a

little bit of a challenge we're going to see taekwon make that jump but i think booty's showing everyone right now that yeah he's capable of being a great he is he is a tremendous route runner i think people need to go back and take a look at what this kid did at lsu and how good he was and the fact that a lot of people prior to his injuries were touting him as the next great LSU receiver. That's pretty impressive company when guys like Justin Jefferson are coming before you and people are comparing you to him. I'm not saying that booty is ever going to be that.

And I don't think anyone expected him to even when healthy, but to even be in the same conversation is an honor. This kid is a big play threat when he's on his game some people may talk about lack of size 511 195 but that's not necessarily a deal breaker when you consider his ability after the catch not only his ability to get open and make it but this kid's a nightmare to try to take down because of his lower body toughness and just his mental makeup. And he can be elusive when changing direction. He has that type of speed that could make him effective.

So Patriots are not going to be so quick to jettison him from this team. And you heard Gerard Mayo say this earlier when he was asked about Kayshaun and the difficulties that he had. Folks, we're not going to spend a whole lot of time on it, but just to fill you in, for those of you that may not be familiar, Kayshawn was arrested on charges of underage gambling when he was a student at LSU. It was a fraudulent online gaming account under a pseudonym and several hundred thousand dollars passing through it during its existence.

According to what we've heard so far, never bet against himself and his actions at LSU were never in question. So I don't look at this as something that could derail his entire career, but you're probably looking at at least some time away from the field when all of this gets sorted out. Two, three games. Yeah. Yeah.

We're past more likely than not. We know what the kid did. Yeah. So, yeah, you know the guys on Park Avenue are going to come down with it. Back to your point, and especially when it comes to what this kid brings on the field, Murph, as opposed to some of the difficulties he may be facing off of it, Gerard Mayo was very candid when he was asked last month about Keishon Budde, saying, quote, we continue to gather information.

He's still on the team. Hopefully we can continue to develop this player, but also develop him as a man going forward. I think it's important to remember some of these guys are very young. They've made mistakes in the past. It's easy to just throw them away, but there are certain instances where you can help somebody out. And I feel like we have a good developmental player there that will definitely help us going forward. So it sounds like the Patriots see a lot of promise in Keyshawn Booty. And apparently Gerard Mayo sees the opportunity to maybe bring this kid along. So he's one to watch. But I think the type of strong performance he's had in offseason workouts so far,

being one of the most targeted and grabbing the most targets in terms of being able to make the most out of his time on the field, according to Mark's stats, which are the best in the business. He does a tremendous job of tracking these. That could help his case, and that could give him an extra set of eyes when training camp rolls around. Yeah, without a doubt. And he's gone out and seized the opportunity that others have failed to do. You know, guys like I expected to see a lot more out of K.J. Osborne, Tyquan Thorpe during mandatory minicamp. And I have not seen enough. I don't know whether they're just taking their time and getting into it. But this kid's seizing the opportunities that these other players are giving them.

Yeah. And again, training camp can be the great equalizer when it comes to time on the field. If these guys come out of camp and they're hitting the field right away, you know the Patriots may have already seen what they need to see from these guys, and they just need to see more of it in terms of their assimilation into the Patriots' system. But bottom line, players have to make the most of their opportunities,

and I think Alex Austin and Keishon Budde are two prime examples of players that right now may be on a roster bubble and did a whole lot in this offseason to try to keep them in the conversation. Will that continue into training camp? Jury is still out on that. We'll continue to monitor that here on Locked On Patriots. But a big thanks to Tony in Colchester, Connecticut, for a great question. And Murph, we are not done yet because you didn't think we were going to leave this episode without talking a little Boston Celtics and Banner 18.

But we're going to tie it in to the New England Patriots. If you were wondering how long it might be until the Patriots see red, white, and blue confetti flying all over the place, we will discuss it 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. Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on Mailbag Day. It is Telegraph Tuesday, coined so eloquently by my guest today, my cohort in crime every time there's a mailbag and multiple times throughout the week, the legendary Thomas Murphy. Murph, we've already talked about the biggest holes on this roster that need to be filled. We've talked about players that are helping to make their case

for a roster spot, but I know that all Patriots fans right now at least most patriots fans all regional boston sports fans are basking in the glow of the 18th nba championship won by the boston celtics on monday night tremendous 106 to 88 victory over the dallas mavericks in game 5 jason tatum 31 points 8 reb rebounds, 11 assists, Jalen Brown in an MVP performance turned in 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists. And now the Boston Celtics take their place atop the echelon of all NBA franchises with 18 championships, tremendous night for Boston Celtics fans. If you're a Celtics fan, I know you're celebrating. I want to take just a quick moment to give a very well-deserved tip of the cap to my good friend and colleague,

John Corrales, host of Locked on Celtics, who provides unarguably the best coverage in the business when it comes to your Boston Celtics folks. Continue to listen to him throughout the off season. John is always spot on and a tremendous job this year, John. Enjoy this one. You earned it, my friend, and congratulations on continuing to host what I believe to be the best Celtics podcast you'll find anywhere. But bottom line, Murph, this is Locked On Patriots, and it got a lot of our listeners wondering how close the Patriots might be to raising banner number seven here on the facade of Gillette Stadium. I know that's going to elicit some groans from some members of the fan base.

It might give some optimism, who knows. But another one of our favorite everydayers, Steffi from Waltham, Massachusetts, said, after watching the Boston Celtics capture banner 18, go Seas. That's right, Steffi, go Seas. How far away would you say the Patriots are from contending for a Super Bowl title? Murph, that'd be the question that we are here answering right now. Before they queue up the duck boats on Friday morning for a feel-good parade in Boston to celebrate the Celtics, if you're a Patriots fan, how long is it before those duck boats are being loaded with New England Patriots players?

If you go down to one Patriots place right now, they're preaching patience. Patience that they didn't have a year ago when I was preaching patience and saying give Bill enough time to come back and build another offense. But no, you're going to have to be patient, folks. You've got a rookie quarterback that is your future. You've got serious issues on the offensive line that even if you go out next year and spend a boatload of money on left tackles and right tackles and a backup center, it takes time for these guys to come together.

I'm thinking on the optimistic end of all of this, four years. It's going to be three, four years before these guys are contending for a Super Bowl title, and that's if everything breaks right. That's if this defense does not get old over those three or four years. And that's the one saving grace right now is the fact that this defense is so good. It is a top five defense in the NFL in my estimations. You know, with Gonzalez coming back

and being able to shut down that one side, this defense is only going to get better this year if they translate life after Bill in the way that I think that they still can. We've still got one Belichick over there who definitely knows what he's doing. But you have to understand with Gerard Mayo moving into the head seat, it takes time away from that defensive side of the ball. No matter who is on his offensive staff, he is going to have a say, not a say, but he's going

to be in there at meetings and that's going to take him away from focusing on the defense in the way that he's been able to over the past couple of years. And he has been the de facto defensive coordinator over there. So we'll see how that works out. But no, it's more than just getting a number one wide receiver. All right. The team needs time to come together. It's a brand new system on the offensive side of the ball. You have a brand new quarterback. Let's see if you can get things together. You could have done more to speed that along this year in free agency and in the draft than Elliott Wolfe did. I'll tell you that much. He might have pushed it back a year.

Yeah, and I think that in a lot of ways, that's a sobering thought, but I think it's a very realistic thought when it comes to New England Patriots fans. And the expectation of where the team is now as opposed to where the team can be. Look, they are building something special on the defensive side of the ball, and they have a lot of young core players that can continue to help them build in that regard. I think retaining Demarcus Covington as defensive coordinator was a smart move because it maintained continuity there. And you're right. Gerard Mayo now being in the head coaching seat takes him away, even if it's brief, even if it's minimal amounts that it's taking him away, it's still taking him away more from what he did last year,

which was exclusively focused on the defense. He's got a lot on his plate right now as a head coach. He's got offense and special teams funneling through him now too, as well as dealing with the media, as well as dealing with roster questions and things of that nature that need to be addressed. Ownership. Exactly, ownership.

It's more than more than high five and the the owners on the on the way through the wall through uh through the hall and you also have to take a look at the players themselves are you putting the right building blocks in place one thing that i think needs to be uh emphasized when it comes to where the patriots are as opposed to where the celtics are is is the Celtics celebrated that banner 18, that 18th championship on the 16th anniversary of winning their 17th back in 2008, when they defeated the LA Lakers one 31 to 92, also at TD garden. So, you know, you're looking at that synergy there, but this is also something that Patriots fans need to remember the building blocks need

to be put in place it took the celtics 16 years to get back to the level they're at right now to be able to celebrate and have that duck boat parade on friday the patriots need to put those pieces in place it's not going to happen overnight the organization right now preaching patience they need to have patience with gerard they do i think they've got the right guy in place. I like what I see from him. I like seeing the way the Patriots are responding to him, meaning the players on the field, and we'll see what happens, but there are going to be growing pains along the way, and you have to expect that. And now with the offense changing drastically under Alex Van Pelt and under guys like Ben McAdoo and Scott Peters that are going to be helping the transition to this new type of offense we're seeing. Obviously, there's going to

be a difference in special teams with Jeremy Springer taking over right now and no Matthew Slater back there. That's a big void as well now with Brendan Schooler kind of taking that big lead. These are guys that are capable, but they're going to need time to grow into their roles. So to compare them to where the Celtics are right now, it's really a different comparison because they're two different sports, but I think it's going to take the Patriots maybe a little longer than some fans here would like. And then you're writing all this on a rookie quarterback right now that's yet to take an NFL snap. So, yeah, patience is a virtue. Patriots fans are going to need it. Brad Stevens had to make a lot of moves and roll a lot of dice

and move a lot of players in and out to get the Celtics to look the way that they do right now. And he had more to work with, let's put it that way, than Elliott Wolfe and Gerard Mayo have on the offensive side of the ball here in Foxborough. Yeah, I mean, you mentioned the moves that Brad Stevens had to make. Trading away Marcus Smart, it took a lot to be able to do it. Murph, I can go back in time, take a little trip into that Bostonian time machine that we love to have,

and go back to 2004 and Theo Epstein. You jettisoned Nomar Garciaparra, who was a legend in the making here in New England. That took a lot of cuts, but he did it. And the Sox ended up winning their first title since 1918. So sometimes you have to take a step back to take a step forward. Was that letting go of Bill Belichick to put Gerard Mayo in the coaching seat? Was that the move? Or do we still have moves on the roster that need to be made in order to bring the Patriots to that level? I think only time will tell on that, my friend. But you have to be willing to put in the patience and you have to be willing to sit and wait for these things to gel together. Sometimes you catch lightning in a bottle, sometimes you don't. But I think the Patriots are in for a little bit of a wait, and so are our fans. So, Steffi, great question. It allowed us to indulge our joy about the Celtics winning Banner 18 on Monday night, but ultimately gave us an opportunity to tie it back into the Patriots as well.

What more can you ask for, Murph? Three great questions from Jim to Tony to Steffi. A huge tip of the cap. Thank all of you everydayers for submitting your questions to Mailbag Monday slash Telegraph Tuesday. Bud, what can I say? Thanks so much for coming along on the ride. Before I let you go today, any parting words of wisdom for our adoring public? And if not, let us know what's marinating Murph's kitchen from now until the next time you grace our airwaves here online.

No, unfortunately, no parting words except, you know, patience, folks. You know, let's be patient. Let's let some of this play out. Let's not be too quick to push quarterbacks into bad situations again. Let's not make too much of anything that we're going to see

or hear out of Foxborough right now. Is Gerard Mayo going to be Joe Mazzulla for the Patriots? I don't know. I really don't. I hope so. And let's just see what happens over the course of the next few weeks. Absolutely.

And I'm glad you mentioned Joe. I'm glad you mentioned Coach Mazzulla of the Celtics because as much as I admire guys like Tatum and Brown and Prazingas, and I'm so happy for all of the players on that team. He brought it together. Absolutely. I have a special place in my heart for Joe Mazzulla. Not only did he attend Bishop Hendrick in high school, which is also where I graduated, but he is also from Johnston, Rhode Island. That is where he is. That is his hometown. And whenever someone comes from your high school and comes from your hometown, Murph, you cannot be more happy for that individual.

And Joe is a great young man, a great ambassador for Celtics Nation. And congratulations to him on the first of what we hope are many titles coming your way for the Boston Celtics. And Murph, what else can we say? We thank all of our everydayers for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. And we love bringing you the mailbags to continue to send in your questions. You know, Murph's going to be back here sooner rather than later.

And we love having them on. It's always, always a lot of fun and always interesting and it's always informative. And you can't ask for more than that when Murph joins me here on Locked On Patriots and in the meantime, thank you for taking time out and making Locked On Patriots a part of your schedule today on behalf of my good friend Thomas Murphy, the Count of Murphy, Fisto himself

I'm Mike DeBate reminding you all 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 Locked on Patriots.