Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Mailbag: Will Drake Maye, Jerod Mayo & Co. Make ‘Win Now, Pay Later’ the Goal?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Heading into the final four of 2024, will the New England Patriots have to lose to win? 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. I'm your host, Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for the Patriots country.

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Starting point is 00:01:02 to win $50 instantly when you play $5. Pats fans, it may be the end of the bye week, but things are about to get very interesting for your New England Patriots. After a nice little week off, Patriots are now going to reenter the workforce and prepare for this weekend's matchup against the Arizona Cardinals. Fear not, folks. We're going to delve into that matchup in depth this week, so be sure to stay locked into Locked On Patriots.

Starting point is 00:01:29 But being that it's not a Victory Monday or a Melancholy Monday, my good friend and I thought it would be an opportunity to delve into what is an overwhelmingly full Patriots mailbag here on Locked On Patriots. That's right. There was only one man that I could even think of asking here today to help haul in what is an extremely heavy mailbag, but he is here today and we're all the better for it.

Starting point is 00:01:54 My good friend, the legend himself, Thomas Murphy. Thank you for coming to me on Mailbag Monday, Don Murph. Oh, happy to be here. Happy to be here. Help the ball club, man. I told you all at once Soto wasn't coming here i told you on thanksgiving well the way i like to look at it though murph is that didn't stay with the yankees he didn't go to the dodgers that's kind of a little bit of a secondary win for the boston

Starting point is 00:02:20 red sox so you know what folks always look at the glass half full let that be a lesson to you murph the patriots may have enjoyed this bye week uh obviously it's good to get a little time off regroup come back final four games of the season coming up but they actually managed to emerge from this week 14 by as a winner believe it or not if you look at the winners and losers from this week new england will be listed as a potential winner and that's thanks in part to our old friend and business partner mac jones and the jacksonville jaguars celebrating a 10 to 6 win over the tennessee titans on sunday patriots managed to improve their outlook for the 2025 nfl draft as a result they entered the weekend in the fourth position they now have moved up into the third spot. And at the moment, right now, only the Las Vegas Raiders and the New York Giants,

Starting point is 00:03:10 2-11 records, both there, folks, are leading the 3-10 New England Patriots. So Murph, in a way, this got me thinking a little bit. And apparently it got a lot of our listeners thinking because this was the overwhelming leader in the mailbag this week. The vast majority of you want to know whether the Patriots what should the primary focus of the New England Patriots be heading into the final four games of the season? Don, Murph, what say you? What's the better strategy for Gerard Mayo and his club right now? Keep winning.

Starting point is 00:03:57 Keep running Jake Mayo out there. We'll get into it. But, no, right now what Gerard Mayo and the Patriots need to do is, is show free agents that there's a future here. Okay. And the future is strong and the future is Drake May. And, um, if you come here to play with Drake May, things are going to get a lot better. Things are going to get a lot better for your bank account and for the Patriots' bottom line.

Starting point is 00:04:29 And the bottom line here is winning, and it's always been winning. And that hasn't happened over the past couple of years. We're looking at drafting in the same exact position as we were last year. here um but no they need to hit free agency hit it hard and get these guys uh to realize that you know new england is once again a destination look i think we all know at this point there are merits to having high draft picks several within a short period of time you learn to grow a team this team learns to grow together and you develop young talent and that young talent become a team a solid unit but you also have to like you said Murph and I think very well said you have to be able to forge a culture of winning in order to be able to attract free agents in order to be able to

Starting point is 00:05:18 help these new players that are coming in via the draft to assimilate into a culture of winning rather than simply losing because you want to improve your draft standing. That's never been a good strategy in my estimation. Murph just told you he's not on board with that. This organization is not on board with that. I can tell you that it was never a strategy last year under Bill Belichick. It won't be a strategy this year under Gerard Mayo and Elliot Wolfe. Robert Kraft does not believe in that. Better for worse, he's going to go out and try to feel the team that he believes can win games. And I think that's what you're going to see. Because let's face it, Murph, this team has an awful lot of questions heading into these final four games that have to be answered in order for anyone to feel good about playing for this club next year.

Starting point is 00:06:00 You have questions on the offensive line. You have questions on the defensive line. You've got questions in the secondary at perimeter corner. You definitely have questions when it comes to the skill position players and the receivers. And there are a lot of question marks up and down along that coaching staff, whether it be the coordinators, whether it be positional coaches, whether it be the head coach himself, all of these guys are coaching right now and playing in order to be able to either save their jobs or improve their reputations for the following season. I don't see any other way for the New England Patriots to approach these four games other than to try to

Starting point is 00:06:36 win all four. Is it realistic? Probably not, but that's what they should be looking to do. Yeah, without a doubt. It's not, you know, let's sit the kid down and keep him healthy. He's shown that he can be healthy. He's shown that he can handle any situation. He's shown that I was wrong. Doesn't happen often, folks. This was the week that I hoped the Patriots would debut Drake May. I was hoping that he would sit and things would go swimmingly,

Starting point is 00:07:07 and well, if not swimmingly, at least treading water. And they haven't been able to do that, and they had to put him in there much earlier than I had hoped. And he did. He proved me completely wrong. He's been fantastic out here, with the exception of a few balls on the carpet and an interception here and there. I'm not going to hold it. wrong. He's been fantastic out here with the exception of a few balls on the carpet and,

Starting point is 00:07:29 you know, an interception here and there. I'm not going to hold it. It's important to show, you know, the guys in the locker room that you're still going out there to win the guys in the locker room that are, um, that are coming up on free agency, whether or not they want to come back, bringing new free agents in. This will go a long way in the long run to making sure that the Patriots are still relevant come this offseason. You know, that Gerard Mayo can show other free agents that, yes, he is a head coach and this is a good staff. And if you come here, you are going to be part of a winning culture. Very well said. And I'm glad that you mentioned that because early on in the process, when we first looked at this New England Patriots schedule, and we looked at the

Starting point is 00:08:10 late bye week and all of the trials and tribulations that come with having a late bye week, I looked at this Arizona game coming up as being one of the most important games for the Patriots on the schedule. If this team is moving forward and moving into a culture of winning, like you said, it's going to be very interesting to see how they come out and play. If this team is flat, if they're making the same mistakes, if they continue to hurt themselves when it comes to penalties, yeah, I think then you can start to question a little bit whether or not this regime needs a little bit of a tweak moving forward.

Starting point is 00:08:42 I think we're both in agreement that Gerard Mayo's job is relatively safer next season. The Crafts are not going to make a move from him now. They're going to give him another year. But there are other guys on this coaching staff that could end up being a one-and-done if they don't shape up pretty quickly. But bottom line, I'm looking primarily at this game this weekend coming up against the Cardinals to see how engaged the patriots are are they playing hard are they playing through every play are guys

Starting point is 00:09:11 running hard through routes every single snap in the fourth quarter if this team is down and the statisticians out there say that the winning probability is less than 10 are these guys still playing hard for their head coach and their Patriots brass? If they are, that's a great sign for this Patriots team. Even if they lose these games, you want to see hard play. You want to see complete play. I think that's the primary focus that the Patriots should be looking at. So, Judy, a great question to get us kicked off here on Locked On Patriots,

Starting point is 00:09:41 the return of Mailbag Monday. But, folks, good news. We're just scratching the surface when it comes to the mailbag this week for your New England Patriots. If winning is to be the primary target, that may inadvertently, Murph, hurt their draft position. What does that mean for the Patriots drafting strategy? Should they be shooting for the stars like they did last year?

Starting point is 00:10:02 Or will there have to be more of a balance between bringing in external players via free agency or via the draft? That's another popular question that we're going to tackle here on Mailbag Monday in just a moment when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues, a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Locked On listeners, time is our most precious commodity. So don't waste it scrolling through the same mind-numbing content for hours and hours. How can you spend it wisely to improve yourself?

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Starting point is 00:12:43 Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on Locked On Patriots and making us a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Special tip of the cap to all of you everydayers out there that continue to make Locked On Patriots your primary destination for Pats coverage. I want to thank you all for putting up with my head cold today. Yeah, the voice is not exactly at full strength, Murph. You can hear it, but we power through things here on Locked On Patriots to help mitigate some of that.

Starting point is 00:13:10 Joining me here today is the legend himself, my good friend Thomas Murphy, who's already breaking the wisdom and counsel meter straight off with great insight when it comes to what the New England Patriots should be focused on over the course of the last four games of the season coming fresh out of their bite. Murph, we're in agreement that the Patriots should be focusing on winning. There's too much at stake for Gerard Mayo, that coaching staff, and a lot of the players on this roster right now that may be either playing for future contracts, playing to catch on somewhere else, or simply playing to improve their status for next year

Starting point is 00:13:45 because they're going to be in a Patriots uniform but we both know that this is not the exact same team that the Patriots are going to be bringing back there's turnover in every NFL roster and that means new players coming to town whether it be by the draft or whether it be by free agency and Murph once again if the top question was overwhelmingly in favor of what the Patriots' focus should be on the final four games, this was a very close second. Should the New England Patriots be looking for the primary upgrades on this roster through the NFL draft or through free agency?

Starting point is 00:14:21 Well, several people once again asked this question, but if I did not give this man the right to ask it here on Locked On Patriots, I wouldn't be doing him a service. LJ has been asking us this question, Murph, for really the past, I would even say months at this point. He has been tagging us in questions left and right.

Starting point is 00:14:42 LJ, we love you, and you were the first to ask this question, so there's no one else I would give the credit to, and I think Murph is in agreement on that. My good man Murph wants to know, what is the Patriots' top need in the NFL draft, and what is their top need in free agency? All right.

Starting point is 00:14:59 In free agency, go through the bag at wide receiver. Okay? And then fill that in with uh with the offensive line all right um we all know uh that drake may needs a number one in fact he needs a number two wide receiver all right these guys are out there go out there and throw a bag of t higgins i don't care how much you have to overpay him to get him here you're going to have to overpay to get get him that's true all right it's going to have to have don't be shocked and surprised if he resets the market and i don't i don't i don't necessarily believe that he's the talent that that should reset the market but it happens every year

Starting point is 00:15:38 so why not here uh i have no issues with that whatsoever and And then back that up by fortifying this line. All right. Cam Robinson's out there. He's, you know, he's getting up there. 29 years old, Minnesota. $20 million a year. Three-year contract. Sure.

Starting point is 00:15:56 Go ahead and give it to him. No boom. Tackle from the Rams that we just saw. Bring him in. Now, don't forget that the Patriots still drafted Wallace last year. I still think that he could be a good right tackle in this league. I never had an issue with him playing on the right-hand side. I had an issue with Wolf thinking that he could just move on over to the left in the third round and start his rookie year.

Starting point is 00:16:27 OK, but no, those those are the that's the path to glory. All right. Now. Here's where we run into a bit of a problem. All right. If the Patriots are picking third in this draft. All right. Where do they go all right do they do the smart thing and take the number one uh the number one tackle in this draft who i think is will campbell some people say uh kelvin banks down in uh in texas but i'm a will campbell guy he's not a guard he's not his arms are are fine okay relax but if you're picking third, what are you going to do? Are you going to go Travis Hunter out of Colorado, which I find, you know, really intriguing?

Starting point is 00:17:14 It all depends on what you're able to do in free agency. There are guys in the second round that you would be able to get to help this offensive line. But wide receiver and offensive line are the two number one issues. I would think that another cornerback is needed, and a safety is needed coming up in this draft. Can the Patriots trade back just a little bit, still get that offensive tackle, and maybe add somebody else? Or do they want to go with the aforementioned, you know, Travis Hunter? Because I would love to see Travis Hunter in a Patriots uniform.

Starting point is 00:17:57 I've said a couple of times, take care of the offensive line and free agency. You have all the money and bring Travis Hunter here. Having him as a bookend to Gonzalez over the next five or six years would be fantastic. And being able to sprinkle him in on offense, you know, play here, play there. Yeah. You know, we'll give you a couple of plays off in the next drive on the other side of the ball.

Starting point is 00:18:26 Go catch a touchdown. I really – Travis Hunter is, I think, probably the most intriguing pick in this draft. And if the Patriots are in a position to do it – and you guys all know me. You know me really well. It all starts on the offensive line, but this kid is really special. He's really special with what he's able to do on both sides of the ball. And to have two lockdown corners like this, it's been a long time since the Patriots have done that. That's the main point right there is you're looking at a dynamic athlete with the ability to do several things on a football field. When you look at that dynamic type of talent, you're talking the word, and I know

Starting point is 00:19:16 this word is thrown around a lot, but I'm going to use it because I think it is very appropriate, and that is generational talent. A two-way player in the NFL is not the normal, but this kid can do it and he can do it at a high level on both sides. So don't let it fool you. Maybe he is more primarily of a corner and I agree with you Murph, but this kid can come in and be a top weapon for you on offense as well. A name that keeps getting bantied around. If the Patriots are going to go pure receiver and try to get drake may that type of help right off the bat is tet mcmillan coming out of arizona arizona um size hands route running this kid really possesses it all if the patriots drop any lower than three and travis is off the

Starting point is 00:19:58 board by then do the patriots give a strong look at this kid. A lot to be said about the fit that he could develop with Drake May. Yeah, I agree. I think he's a fantastic talent. But, you know, the guys out there from Arizona scare the hell out of me. Not a lot of defense played out there. As we found out in the past. Okay. So, yeah, I give pause when I hear yeah another you know big contested catch

Starting point is 00:20:30 high pointing you know wide receiver um you know that high in the draft now i want the short thing i do and i just i don't know if he's a short thing i I think he's a fantastic talent in college. I think it will translate to the NFL with no problems at all. But we've seen that before. Again, we talked about what would you do if you redrafted this year. I'm not thinking that a lot of the first picks off the board at wide receiver would still go where they went at wide receiver yeah absolutely very good point and sounds like i'm in agreement with you murph and correct me if i'm wrong but in terms of draft strategy i think the patriots right now better

Starting point is 00:21:17 go best player available uh there were enough holes on this team to be able to fill and sure enough athletes to be able to fill them with um i think you make a great point on on travis and there's no question about it so in terms of need then are we looking at a free agency uh bonanza here because the new england patriots are leading the nfl in salary cap space well over 130 million according to our good friend the pats cap um there are holes on this team um cornerback is obviously one of them that they may choose to look at if they don't look at that through the draft um defensive end could be an area where the patriots get their toe into free agency uh do they look at a free agent kicker

Starting point is 00:21:56 joey sly has been serviceable but he hasn't been the guy i think that patriots fans hoped for coming out of training camp and these salaries are going up folks they're not going to go down anytime soon people may roll their eyes and say how much is it going to take for a kicker you never know until the market's set so yeah there's a lot out there that the New England Patriots need to make decisions on before their team is set to head into training camp next year bud yeah without a doubt and there's there's talent out there to be had at all the positions that you've talked about um safety is a big need next next year and um you got you know uh other others looking at you know what are we going to do to stop the run we we can't address everything in free agency so uh i believe that, you know, this team needs a middle linebacker, you know, Dre Greenlaw out there.

Starting point is 00:22:47 Thank you very much, San Francisco. And, um, but, but no, it's going to be a combination. The Patriots are going to have to spend money to get people in here. And that's going to, that's going to determine how you drive the draft. If you're able to go out and get two tackles, maybe you only need to draft one tackle in this draft. And, you know, the issue is, you know, right now, a lack of top end talent and the fact that what you have starting is what you want as your depth. You know, players of that caliber.

Starting point is 00:23:25 I'm sorry. Do you want that talent as your depth? Right. Okay. Is there depth? Is there a second or a third tackle on this team right now? Or are there second and third? Is there a center on this team?

Starting point is 00:23:39 Because we do not know what's going to happen at center next year. And I think that this draft would be a perfect one to to nab another center hello alabama um but uh but no it they've got to work in conjunction and i hope elliot wolf is in there um you know with his crew and listening to them, because I'm not really impressed with his opinion, you know, after one off season and one draft. Yeah, because we talked earlier on about this being a referendum, these final four games of the season being a referendum, perhaps, on the performance of Jerron Mayo and that coaching staff

Starting point is 00:24:23 and the New England Patriots players on the performance of Gerard Mayo and that coaching staff and the New England Patriots players on the field, I think this draft is definitely going to be a referendum on Elliot Wolfe's ability to put together a solid football team from start to finish and assemble a team that can win and filling the holes that you have on this roster. So it's going to be a big challenge for Elliot and the Patriots brain trust. Throw Matt Gro there as well I know Gerard Mayo uh Evan Rothstein that's another reason that that I want the solid pick okay I want the guy that I know is going to you know in the first round be a plug and play guy you draft him you give him his uniform you send him out there and and I think that's uh that's the offensive line. Everything else is a gamble. Even O-line is a gamble. But you're not going to find these guys in the third round and in the fourth round. You're not going to, Elliot.

Starting point is 00:25:13 You've got to do it in the first and the second round. Now, I think that there are guys in this draft that can fill those holes in the second round or outside the top ten if you choose to trade back. It all depends on how the draft itself falls right but look what happened last year at offensive tackle okay you ended up having to pick a right tackle and hoping that he could play left exactly and i don't think we've seen the last of caden wallace by the way folks i think murph definitely hit on it earlier i do believe you'll see him penciled in or at least get a shot in training camp to be your starting right tackle in 2025, but you need someone on the opposite side. Does it come from free agency? Does it come from the draft? Are we looking at a brand new sports car like cornerback

Starting point is 00:26:00 next to Christian Gonzalez via the draft? Or are they going the more conventional route and trying free agency? All of these questions need to be answered because one thing that I think we could be in agreement with when it comes to Gerard Mayo and the Patriots, Murph, as well as any team in the NFL, they're building long-term. That strategy may actually keep, in our opinion, the greatest head coach in NFL history off the sidelines in 2025? Could he be returning to the sidelines in the college game? Is it even realistic to consider that? Murph and I are going to go there in just a moment, and we're also going to delve into

Starting point is 00:26:36 whether or not that might even be the biggest surprise coming out of the Patriots coaching ranks this season. Oh yeah, we're definitely saving the best for last when it comes to Mailbag Monday questions. And we'll answer it 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 ready to tackle NFL action

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Starting point is 00:27:41 Never waste a hunch and make every moment more with FanDuel, an official sportsbook partner of the NFL. Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on Locked on Patriots. And we have delved into the Locked on Patriots mailbag here on this bi-week Monday, Murph, I guess is the best way to put it. And because it's Monday, Mondays were created for this man here on Locked On Patriots. Whether he's breaking down the Patriots performance, helping with the mailbag, or sifting through all of the many mock drafts that will be coming in.

Starting point is 00:28:15 And folks, we are just a little over a month away from Mock Draft Monday, returning here on Locked On Patriots. Hard to believe it's going to be our sixth season doing this, Murph. We love it. We know you love it. And I'm honored to have this man next to me along for the ride. He is my good friend, Thomas Murphy. And Murph, in the previous segments, we've had two great questions. What should be their focus? Where are they looking to improve this team? What type of positions are going to be scouted over the course of the next few games to determine the team's needs for 2025. For the benefit of those of you listening to this podcast,

Starting point is 00:28:51 not viewing it, Murph just meld the words, all of them, I think we all agree. But Murph, one of the biggest surprises over the course of the last few days has not included the Patriots play on the field. It hasn't even included a current New England Patriot. Former head coach Bill Belichick is back in the news, folks. And I don't think there's any question that Bill would love to get back on the sidelines after taking a year off. He's enjoying his press tour, doing a lot of media appearances. There's always that itch for a head coach,

Starting point is 00:29:21 especially one as legendary as Bill Belichick, to get back on the sidelines. But in the previous segment, Murph, you and I touched on the fact that several teams out there who may have head coaching vacancies are looking for long-term solutions. They're not looking for short-term fixes. Teams that are that close usually don't get rid of a head coach unless there's a problem in the front office or unless a talented team simply tunes out their head coach early on in the season it looked like there may have been a couple of candidates but they're starting to turn the corner so if in fact bill belichick is looking at yet another off season the way he had last year with teams passing on him for younger head coaches with more long-term futures the

Starting point is 00:30:06 college game might be the best fit and apparently Bill Belichick is interviewed now not only once but twice with the University of North Carolina who recently let go of the services of Matt Brown Murph it's almost improbable to think that Bill Belichick would fall short of breaking Don Shula's record and go to the college coaching ranks. But there is the argument that he may not end up getting another offer. This is a common question that we got on our mailbag this week, believe it or not, because folks don't let anyone fool you. There is still a lot of questions, still a lot of concern over Bill Belichick out there in Patriots Nation. One of the more interesting questions regarding Bill Belichick, Bill Murph, came from the

Starting point is 00:30:46 guy who defines the word every day or here on Lockdown Patriots. He is our Mailbag Monday all-star, and that's our good friend Ted in Chicopee, Mass. He's curious about Bill, but he's also curious as to whether or not a bigger surprise would be whether Bill Belichick accepted the University of North Carolina head job or whether Gerard Mayo could win at least two out of the four remaining games for the New England Patriots in 2024. Murph, before we get into the hypotheticals, I want to give you an opportunity to weigh in on Bill Belichick's situation. Guy you covered for many years. You know his tendencies. In your estimation, do you believe it's realistic that Bill Belichick would accept the UNC job

Starting point is 00:31:32 if it was offered to him? The college game is not what it once was. If the college game was running the way it was a decade ago, yeah, I don't think Bill wants to come in and deal with transfer portals and nil money and all that bill belichick doesn't want to pay proven veteran players and watch them walk out the door you know rather yeah no no no i'm not giving you that no no you're gonna do it with high school seniors all right you're gonna do that with with

Starting point is 00:32:06 uh with redshirt freshmen no i i can't see it happening yeah i i think there'd be a better chance that bill belichick went home to wesland to coach there you know tiny little wesland here in middletown connecticut where where Bill graduated and played from, then go to North Carolina. I understand that, you know, it's important to keep your name out there. But no, I just don't see him going to college and dealing with all the Division I garbage that a head coach has to deal with. Now, don't get me wrong.

Starting point is 00:32:43 I think college players deserve everything they get. You know, I love the fact that they're out has to deal with. Now, don't get me wrong. I think college players deserve everything they get. You know, I love the fact that they're out there making no money. If something's going wrong, I'm glad that they're able to transfer. I just don't think Bill Belichick is going to want to deal with all that. I really don't. I think that there are going to be opportunities, Buffalo, okay, where coaches, where owners of good teams are saying, look, and I can't do this anymore. I'm sorry, Sean McDormand.

Starting point is 00:33:12 You're a moron. All right. And I'm done wasting time with one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. I think Jerry Jones could end up saying, yeah, no, no, no, we played it out. Junior's not on contract after this year. And Bill could end up there. I don't think Bill has gotten this close to setting the all-time wins record and is going to go take a three- or four-year deal at North Carolina. It's nice to go somewhere and have all the control in the world, but I think he's able

Starting point is 00:33:46 to do that in other places, and those places are in the NFL. I don't think that this is going to happen. I really don't. So yes, I think it would be a bigger surprise that Bill took the UNC job than if Gerard Mayo managed to win two of these last four games. Yeah, very, very good point. And look, we'll get to Gerard in just a second, because I think a lot of people are looking at this and saying by consensus, the Patriots may not have a winnable game left on this schedule. Arizona's a bad matchup. All of that motion is definitely not going to lead itself well into the Patriots being able to defend it at least based on what we've seen thus far the Buffalo Bills clearly look like the superior team we're going to steam

Starting point is 00:34:30 roll those two games and the Chargers with Jim Harbaugh now I mean you never know the the Bills could sit there and and they're locked into yeah I'm just going to keep my quarterback on the on the sidelines and the Patriots have a puncher's chance you know they've got a Drake May type of chance to do it so So yeah, they, they could end up taking one of those games, especially the one at home. They could, they could end up, you know, Arizona could keep stepping all over themselves and that could happen. They could end up winning a couple of games and screwing up the draft

Starting point is 00:35:00 completely. And I'd be fine with that because, you know, like I said, you can get, you can, there are tackles that, that fine with that because you know like i said you can get you can there are tackles that that you can grab it you know it you know outside the top 10 i told tommy kern that this week you know there there are quality tackles that you're able to grab um outside the top 10 outside the top 15 there are guards in the second round that you can pick up centers that you can pick up in the second round to remake this line. It might not be the dynamic, sexy stuff that you guys all want, but those things are definitely a possibility, not picking third in the draft. I want to circle back to Bill for a second because the argument is that great coaches coach the game.

Starting point is 00:35:44 They can coach in high school. They can coach in game. They can coach in high school. They can coach in college. They can coach in the pros. Murph was absolutely right. You're also dealing with a lot extra that really I don't think Bill is going to want to deal with at this point. The college game is not just the college game. It's everything that goes on around it that I think would be a bad fit for Bill. I understand that there's an argument about Steven taking over that succession plan.

Starting point is 00:36:08 Maybe a succession plan he thought was going to happen here in New England and didn't. I think he would love to set his sons up for an opportunity to be able to thrive after he's decided to retire. But Bill Belichick is, he's very close to that NFL record held by Don Shula. You know he wants it. I don't see him going to the collegiate game and forsaking that unless there's absolutely no chance he'll get a pro job. And I don't believe he has no chance to get a pro job next year. No, I don't.

Starting point is 00:36:38 I think, you know, as I said before, Buffalo going down to Jacksonville. I'd hate to see that, you know, but it would be it would if Notre Dame came calling, he might think about it. If Rutgers came calling, he might think about it, but I can't see it at North Carolina. I really can't. He doesn't need the money. He doesn't need the street cred. I don't even know if it would help his street cred, you know, to go and win at North Carolina. It's just, like I said, there's just too many peripherals, too many extracurriculars that go along with this. I agree. There's just too many negatives that present themselves that make this a bad fit all the way around. I understand that Bill Belichick could coach a football game in his sleep oh yeah no matter what level it's at no one's

Starting point is 00:37:29 questioning his ability to coach the game but I do believe that the fit that he has would be much better off in the pros than in a collegiate setting and again you make a very interesting argument are some of these teams that are so close to being Super Bowl contenders and decide that the only thing missing at this point is the guidance of a competent head coach. I really doubt that anyone would find anyone more competent to lead a veteran team into a season and potentially to a Super Bowl berth than one Bill Belichick. So we'll see what happens, folks. UNC, I would say it's not impossible, but I would say it's improbable. Mert, what say you on the situation there as well?

Starting point is 00:38:08 I say, you know, give it a 3% chance. 3%. That's possible. Give you guys, you Tar Heels down there, a glimmer of hope. Absolutely. My good friend Isaac Shea down there hosting Locked on Tar Heels would love to see this. We never would have thought we'd do a crossover on a Bill Belichick potential head coaching position in UNC. But you know what, folks? Stranger things have happened.

Starting point is 00:38:34 But one thing I will give is a major tip of the cap to our good friend Ted for allowing us to pontificate once again on Bill Belichick. Because, you know, we love to do that. Yeah, Ted, to answer your question, much more likely, I believe, that Gerard Mayo gets two wins out of the next four than Bill going down to North Carolina. But folks, let us know what you think of that situation and any of the wisdom and counsel that Murph and I have shared with you today

Starting point is 00:38:59 in answering three great questions from Judy in Middletown, Rhode Island, our good friend LJ. You can follow him on Twitter at show underscore one. And of course, Ted and Chickapee Mass, our Patriots Mailbag Monday All-Star always delivers. And we appreciate your support. And folks, we appreciate all the support of all of you within Patriots Nation that choose Lockdown Patriots to be a part of their daily Patriots coverage. In the meantime, on behalf of my good friend Thomas Murphy, the legend himself, I'm Mike DeBate reminding all of you to stay safe, to stay well,

Starting point is 00:39:33 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.

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