Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Name Jacoby Brissett Starting QB, Drake Maye Debut? Failure to Communicate?

Starting point is 00:00:00 The force is strong with young Drake May at quarterback, but the New England Patriots, they're still sticking with the experience of Obi-Wan Jacoby. Stick around, you're about to be locked in to this Labor Day weekend edition of 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.

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Starting point is 00:01:52 The New England Patriots are on to Cincinnati. And at long last, Pats Nation finally has official confirmation on the identity of who will be taking the team's first offensive snaps. The veteran, Jacoby Brissett, is going to get the ball. He will be taking the team's first offensive snaps the veteran jacoby brissett is going to get the ball he will be your starting quarterback and of course quoting directly from gerard mayo who addressed the media on thursday to relay this information he's saying quote we have decided or i have decided that jacoby brissett will be our starting quarterback this season

Starting point is 00:02:21 in saying that as an organization we are 100 behind jacobi there is no you got a guy right here you got a guy right there we're 100 behind jacobi joining us today to help break this all down is our good friend the counter murphy fisto himself the legendary thomas murphy the only man who can handle an announcement of this magnitude. Welcome to the pod today. Happy Labor Day weekend, and thank you for lending your wisdom and counsel to us today and this weekend. Don Murphy. I'm happy to be here, you know, just hope to help the ball club. You know, just like, you know, Jacoby and Bailey and, you know, well, not Bailey, but it's surprise.

Starting point is 00:03:03 Come on. I've been telling you people this for a month and a half. This was not a competition. This kid is not ready. It was not going to happen. It had had this much chance and that chance was Jacoby were set getting hurt in preseason. That was it. And even then I wouldn't have done it. I would have kept Bailey Zappy and run him out there behind this, this entire half pound of Swiss cheese that the,

Starting point is 00:03:29 that Elliot Wolfe has put together to protect our new young studly quarterback. No, I am not surprised at all. Are you, are you surprised at all, Michael, after, after everything that we've talked about for the past six weeks? No, I'm not. I'm not surprised within the least. I think Drake May emerging and kind of developing a little bit more of a pro-level ready skill set throughout the course of the last couple of weeks has been a pleasant surprise,

Starting point is 00:03:58 and it gave me pause to think about whether or not he was ready to step in and play as a pro. But at the same time, when you look at what the Patriots have on the offensive line, you look at what the circumstances are in terms of the development plan that was set way back when Drake was drafted here in New England. I don't think the Patriots saw enough to deviate from that. So on that basis, Jacoby Brissett seemed to be the choice all along. And I don't think a lot of Patriots fans are surprised. There were some that looked at what Drake was able to do these last couple of weeks

Starting point is 00:04:30 and say, okay, well, yeah, he's making throws. He's progressing. But folks, there is a nuance to playing quarterback at the pro level. And there are a lot of factors to consider in Drake Mays performance. He deserves an awful lot of credit for progressing to the level where he's at. But it's another game. When these regular season games start and you're playing against primary competition, if there's even the slightest bit of doubt in that coaching staff's mind that this kid

Starting point is 00:04:55 is ready to face Cincinnati's top defense, then at that point, you have almost no chance of changing your mind and putting uh drake may in over jacoby brissett and i don't think that mind is going to be changed over the course of the first couple of weeks murph it's not like well week one and we'll start the kid home when they return to face the seahawks yeah i think you're looking at at least a few weeks before you see drake may under center in new england if that this season yeah we'll get to that. Let's just back up to what Coach Mayo had said in his 75-second I'm already sick of you people press conference. But no, the word that everybody out there is skipping is this season.

Starting point is 00:05:43 All right, Jacoby Brissett is our starting quarterback this season. Not starting quarterback for week one for this season. I think Jacoby Brissett is going to have to get hauled off the field on a cart for that not to happen. It doesn't matter if Jacoby throws two picks week one, another two picks week two. He's the man. Until he is injured or they feel that Drake May is actually ready for NFL game speed.

Starting point is 00:06:20 Because right now it's set to easy. It's been set to easy. You know how you get three settings on on your kids video games because i don't play video games um you know there's hard and easy or easy and and you know difficult and then really difficult or whatever however they do it but it's it's uh it's right now it's set to easy and the kid has looked good. He has, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna say, um, uh, but let, let's not, let's not put the cart before the horse here. All right.

Starting point is 00:06:53 I am trying to not get this kid killed. Number one. And I'm really glad that Gerard Mayo, Alex Van Pelt and company are on the same page. It's something that I know you're all looking at other rookies around the NFL that have already been given the start. The Patriots aren't in that position, okay, where they may only need one piece or, you know, they don't have a line that I strained spaghetti through. You know, that's just the way it is right now. And you're going to have to deal with it. And you're going to have to be patient. You guys didn't want to be patient during Bill's rebuild.

Starting point is 00:07:37 Now you have no choice. You have absolutely no choice. The only thing that surprised me to this point is the fact that this team did nothing to bring in another veteran quarterback and let Bailey Zappi walk. Because if it does come down to Jacoby Myers being injured and hauled off the field, God forbid, on a cart, you got two rookies back there that are next up in line yeah and you have to think that at some point one of the open practice squads will be earmarked for a quarterback i don't think there's any room for deviation from that i think the patriots have to do it so that'll be something to watch within the coming days as the bats start to prepare in earnest for their season opener against the cincinnati bengals this coming sunday but I want to trickle back to Jacoby for a moment because the narrative that we kept hearing, Murph, especially after the first couple of preseason games, especially after the last two,

Starting point is 00:08:32 was that Drake May looked much more season ready than Jacoby Brissett did. He was outplaying him in the words of Gerard Mayo. With Jacoby, and you look at how he performs on the field played sparingly still showing the fact that he can be an effective field navigator I don't think anybody is questioning that in Jacoby Brissett's game is he at his peak level well that's arguable I think you can look at that and probably say no he's not at his peak level but at the same time he's capable of reading the pressure at the line of scrimmage. That's something that a veteran has that, unfortunately, a rookie does not, especially a rookie that has such limited experience in a pro-level offense.

Starting point is 00:09:10 It's what you've been saying right along here, Murph. I think all of these factors come together. And Alex Van Pelt essentially was the one that kind of laid the groundwork for this. When we talked to Alex earlier in the week, he said, look, quarterback is the hardest position in sports to play, especially for a rookie. Coming in, not seeing all the defenses that they're going to see in the NFL, it's tough. It's hard to transition. It takes a little bit of time.

Starting point is 00:09:35 I think we're going to be as patient as we can with that process. Jacoby, having played in this offense, understands the tools that you can use to get you out of certain situations pressure situations right that's the smoking gun right there people want to know where the decision was made it laid within the hands of alex van bell and if you read the tea leaves all throughout pre-season and through training camp you would have seen that and i think and that's listen to me well that goes without saying you you know, you listen to Murph, you go to the top. You don't listen to Murph. You're never heard from again. We say that all the time here on Locked On Patriots. And guess what? 99.6% of the time it's true. So in that

Starting point is 00:10:14 note, I really do believe that this was not necessarily the right choice, the wrong choice for New England. Murph, I think it was the only choice that New England could make. This was the only decision that this team could have made. And I'm sorry, folks. I think it was the only choice that New England could make. This was the only decision that this team could have made. And I'm sorry, folks. I know you were all jacked up and everything and Junior looked fantastic in his last preseason game and pretty good in the ones that he got into before that. This was the only road. So once Drake May grows into his skill set, that's going to be when you'll see him on the field. And I think as much as we all want to believe that he's ready to go pro level right out of the box. Yeah. If he had a better line in front

Starting point is 00:10:49 of him and he had the better circumstances around him, maybe you would be seeing Drake may start and get a trial by fire, but there are still nuances he's learning from the game. He is still tying his eyes to his footwork and his hand motions. These are things that are going to take a little bit of time and he's still working on the footwork. and his hand motions. These are things that are going to take a little bit of time. He's still working on the footwork. He's still working on making reads at the line of scrimmage, picking up defenses. These are things that Jacoby Brissett has an easier time with.

Starting point is 00:11:13 He's still learning to drop back. Exactly. Yeah, he is. He is because, let's face it, in terms of putting him under center, he hasn't spent that much time under there. No, the man lost a shoe. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:11:24 If you want him to run an NFL, he can't tie his shoes. Believe me, I tied my own shoes once. It is an overrated experience. So when you look at that type of progression, when you look at the type of progression that Drake

Starting point is 00:11:41 has made, and you also look at the type of progression he still needs to make, plus all of the factors around him kind of pointing to a veteran rather than a rookie being more successful in the system. Folks, again, it comes down to it being the only choice. But fear not, you will see a good amount of Drake May in a Patriots uniform, and it will come in short order. The only question is when. And that's the biggest question right now on everyone's mind, Jacoby Brissett, everyone's all set for him to start the season. But when will we see Drake May?

Starting point is 00:12:14 Well, based on what we've seen out there on the football field, Murph and I are going to give it our best educated guests 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. Listen up, Locked On listeners. With summer coming to a close, that means back to school, back to work, back to your routine, and you have to tackle your to-do list. We'll do it with five-hour energy five hour energy fixes tired fast. Whether you have a

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Starting point is 00:14:14 Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on Locked on Patriots and joining me as always here to break down the biggest stories in Patriots Nation, my good friend, the legend himself, Thomas Murphy. And, Murph, in the previous segment, we talked a lot about your New England Patriots making the decision to start Jacoby Brissett as their quarterback in 2024. Rookie Drake May, the number three overall choice in the 2024 NFL draft, had a great preseason, showing a lot of promise.

Starting point is 00:14:44 He's going to remain the backup now, but I think the question on everyone's mind, because let's face it, it's a foregone conclusion that eventually the handoff will occur. Jacoby Brissett will hand the ball to Drake May and Drake will take his rightful spot as the starter of this team. It seems to be a matter of conjecture as to when that's going to happen will it be after every only a few weeks will it be mid-season will it be after the late season by or will jacoby continue to start throughout the season and drake only gets to start if necessary or we wait and drag him or we wait and trot him out there in 2025 to be the starter for good murph you see things us mere

Starting point is 00:15:24 mortals don't see. You have a way of looking into that Foxborough crystal ball that really, I think, so many people would love to be able to look into, look into the future and see not just what the Patriots should do, but when they will do it. I put the question to you, my friend. When do you believe we're going to see Drake May under center or at least taking snaps for your New England Patriots as the starter? Honestly, I think it's not going to be until next season. I think they hope that Jacoby can get through this entire season, not look like a complete mess, not end up in a hospital bed. I don't think they want to start Drake May at all. All right. So right now what we have is, you know, Jacoby Brissett as the starter, Drake May as the number two guy and Joe Milton, the third as your number three. All right. Now,

Starting point is 00:16:13 normally in an NFL setting, the number two guy is running the scout team. Okay. He's over there running the opposition's plays in practice every single day. He's not learning the system that way. So hopefully what they're going to do is switch that up and Joe Milton will be running the scout team and Drake May will still be taking snaps with the Patriots offense just in case. Because as far off as Drake May is, Joe Milton III is even further in the rearview mirror. And again, that's why it surprises me that they haven't done anything to bring another veteran in here. But that's what I'm thinking. least, at the very least, when we're all, you know, just finished digesting our Thanksgiving bird and we're starting to gear up towards Christmas and the kids want to put the tree up

Starting point is 00:17:13 and all that stuff, you know, the Colts game. Okay. The worst case scenario in my, is the fact that, you know, OK, it's just gotten so bad. We've got to do something. Let's put the kid in there. He goes in, he plays against the Colts, and then he has the bye week after that to digest everything that he just saw. And I haven't come off what I said in April, May, June, July, the bye week. Okay. The week before the bye week is when Drake May at the earliest should be starting. I can't see the crafts and Elliot Wolf backing down now after,

Starting point is 00:18:00 you know, the decision has been made and just put them out there because the Pats are 0-4. Because there's a real good chance that this team is going to be 0-4. This is not just a bad line. This might be the worst Patriots offensive line that I've ever seen. That is a strong indictment. And you'll find a lot of people that I'm sure are going to agree with you, especially with City out. I mean, because you're dealing now with a dearth of experience along this line. You're putting an awful lot on David Andrews' shoulders, who now has to shoulder the load in the interior. Your tackles, obviously, we've seen what the problems are there.

Starting point is 00:18:37 It's guys playing out of position. It is to switch sides, all right? And they ask the entire left side who think with the other side of their brain to flip over there. Now City's hurt. There's still no left tackle here. Onweyu is, you know, working his way back into shape, all right? That was an actual truth, that he came in so out of shape that he could not play tackle, all right? Now he's getting a few more reps out there on the right-hand side, and I would have much preferred Chooks over there on the right-hand side and City and Onweyu moved back in to guard and kept it this way.

Starting point is 00:19:18 At least one side of the line was okay, you know. But it's just – it's gotten so bad when you are reaching for Vidarian Lowe to get back to be your left tackle, and you're worried about, you know, the guy that you all have trashed forever and that I've said is a good guard in Cole Strange getting back, and now we're waiting and a good guard in Cole Strange getting back. And now we're waiting and pushing and wondering when Cole Strange will get back to be able to play left guard. That's how bad this is.

Starting point is 00:19:54 This is bad. Now is the time to panic. And I just, it's discouraging, Mike. It's discouraging. Because you're looking at an offense, a young offense that does have some promise. I mean, we've seen Drake may and we've seen what he can do. I absolutely love what I've seen from Jalen Polk this season so far.

Starting point is 00:20:15 I think he's been good and I think he'll continue to grow into a role here that fans are going to really appreciate. And I think the team is going to really appreciate what he's going to do too. DeMario Douglas is a very exciting guy to watch. And I love watching him emerge into something that could be very special over the course of the next couple of years. Ramondre Stevenson is capable of being a top back in this league,

Starting point is 00:20:38 if healthy and given the right opportunity. I've seen several rankings lately where he's not included in the top 10. I think that is a disservice to Ramondre. And I think he's going to prove a lot of people wrong this year, but it's not going to matter if that offensive line is not able to hold up. And it definitely puts a roadblock or at least a speed bump in the way of all of their progress. So it's definitely going to be a long road for the New England Patriots

Starting point is 00:21:02 offensive line to find a way, not only to protect Drake May because obviously that's a factor in Drake not being able to see the field earlier rather than later but also you want to keep Jacoby Brissett upright you want to keep him healthy everybody's talking about protecting Drake making sure Drake is healthy let's not forget about keeping Jacoby healthy as well this This is a valuable quarterback on your team. You need to keep him healthy as well. Yeah, I think it is going to be a very, very tough situation. And I agree with you.

Starting point is 00:21:31 I think that's why it probably will be a delayed rollout for Drake May. And bottom line, Drake May watching Jacoby Brissett is only going to be an additional opportunity to learn because he really is learning from someone with solid mechanics and he's learning from a quarterback that's willing to teach him. And I think that's so important here with Drake Mays development is he's dealing with a quarterback right now that is very comfortable knowing that this is going to eventually be Drake Mays team. So that to me is a win situation for guys like Elliot Wolfe in that front office that brought in Jacoby to be the bridge quarterback. you're really dealing with an ideal situation there he's the perfect guy for it

Starting point is 00:22:09 I don't want to take our leave of this subject Murph before we discuss Drake May's mechanics because I think in a lot of respects people are looking at him mechanically or fundamentally and saying that he's ready for the pro level set we've danced around this subject a little bit before when you look at Drake and you look at the progress that he's made in adapting to a pro level offense, where do you think he is in terms of his progression? And what do you think this means for him when he finally does see the field? I've been astounded.

Starting point is 00:22:40 I think he's light years ahead of where I hoped he would be before the draft. He's shown a willingness to go out there and put the time in. He's the first one in the building and the last one to leave by all accounts. And I think it's brilliant what he's – from where he started to where he is right now. But that still doesn't mean that he's ready. Okay, we've got an offensive line that looks like a game of bumper pool going on out there. Guys are running into one another. They're stepping on Drake's feet as he's dropping back.

Starting point is 00:23:23 That's also – that's the offensive line's mis miscue, but you know, it's also his it's, it's, he needs more time in, in a pro set offense. He needs more time under center. Okay. And learning to drop back. This is a kid that has done nothing but sit in shotgun now his entire life, his entire life folks from pop Warner football through high school, through college, he has done nothing but sit in the shotgun and get snapped. Quite frankly, after David Andrews, we don't have anybody that can snap him the ball. I am the second best center in

Starting point is 00:24:04 New England right now. Sign him up, folks. Yep. I'm not kidding. I'm not kidding. You don't have anybody over the top of me. I could probably get it done. I'll get the ball snapped to him, which is more than we can say for anybody but David Andrews right now.

Starting point is 00:24:18 And it's insane to think that he's had to go out there and work with what he's had to work with and gotten to the point that he has. All right. And this did not have to be the case. It really didn't. You guys who were clamoring for Drake May, you could have grabbed Drake May in the first round and still gotten an offensive tackle in the second. All right. And I'm not, you guys all know that I wasn't a huge fan of taking Jalen Polk then. And I'm even more of – I am even more upset over it now

Starting point is 00:24:58 as to seeing the way that this line has – it's my worst nightmare come true. It really is and it didn't have to be you could have gotten a quality left tackle starting caliber left tackle in the second round and he's bet the farm Elliot Wolfe bet the farm

Starting point is 00:25:18 on flipping two guys that have played right tackle their entire careers over to the left side alright now Now the interior is banged up, and if you end up losing David Andrews, it's terrible. You might as well just full tent right now. The health of David Andrews may be the most poignant right now and may be the most effective health that you're rooting for.

Starting point is 00:25:43 I think it's certainly one of the more important pieces on this. We said it, we said it after the first preseason game, you know, they're as worried about getting anybody on that offensive line hurt as they are about getting a quarterback hurt. And that's why those two, that's why, that's why May was pulled so early. And that's quite frankly, why Jacoby was pulled so early because they wanted to get the offensive line out of there. That's a good point.

Starting point is 00:26:10 And definitely a potential liability as the Patriots now face practicing and getting ready for the regular season and a week one matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. But I am glad that you did mention the progress of Drake May, because I think lost in all of this is what this kid has done fundamentally to grow. We've mentioned it several times, tying your eyes to your feet, making sure that you're playing in rhythm, leading the shotgun with the right, with the left foot, as opposed to the right, spending time under center where all you've done is mostly run plays under

Starting point is 00:26:42 the gun. These are all different concepts and different things for Drake to be learning. He's not only doing it in a new system. He's not only doing it for new coaches. He's learning a new type of environment around him, and he's doing it in not the quite ideal setting when it comes to what the Patriots have right now from the offensive line, from receivers. There's a lot of obstacles he has to overcome in order to become a pro-level quarterback, and he's doing it at a pretty high level. So kudos to Drake May for that. Definitely a tip of the cap to the kid, and we'll see what that means for the Patriots

Starting point is 00:27:17 on the field. But Murph, there's no question about it. Leading into Labor Day, the biggest story of the week was who's going to be the Patriots starting quarterback we now know the answer to that question but there was a lot of questions surrounding it a lot of controversy there were indications given that this may have been a closer quarterback competition than originally thought in the end the Patriots went with the shorthanded veteran were there mixed messages that led this to be more of a controversy than originally thought Murph and I are going to talk about the New England Patriots failure to communicate when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast wraps up right here on the Locked On Podcast Network,

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Starting point is 00:29:55 Of course, Locked on Fantasy Football is also a proud part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. And folks, your team every day has your favorite in mind here on Locked On Patriots. Riding shotgun here in this Labor Day weekend episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast. And that is my good buddy, Thomas Murphy, the legend himself, discussing all things Drake May, Jacoby Brissett, Gerard Mayo, Alex Van Pelt, Elliot Wolfe, and the New England Patriots quarterback situation. Murph, we've talked about why Jacoby was the right decision. We've talked about when Drake may take the ball here in New England. But one of the biggest

Starting point is 00:30:36 questions coming out of this whole week has been centered around some of the controversy leading into Thursday morning's announcement. In fact, the rumblings were so loud that Gerard Mayo actually had to schedule an impromptu press conference, 8.30 a.m. on Thursday morning, 77 seconds long. It was only 77 seconds long, but he did schedule it and did answer the question. So Murph, that begs the question. Murph, in the previous segment, I used the word controversy, a cloud of controversy surrounding this whole situation. And maybe that's a little bit conspiratorial, maybe not. I mean, I guess all of you out there

Starting point is 00:31:16 can make the determination for yourself, but there was a great deal of confusion surrounding who may be the starting quarterback, who was the front runner at the time, who was out playing, who things of this nature were all swirling around prior to the announcement being made. And it led to a lot of frustration for a lot of Patriots fans once the announcement was made, because a lot of people were seeing improvement in Drake May. They were starting to see him play through some difficult situations in preseason, make some very eye-opening, aesthetically pleasing plays, and it's leading everyone to believe that this kid is pro-level ready. You hear the head coach say, Drake has outplayed Jacoby, and it almost seems like he's tipping his hand. Again, I love to quote movies, Murph, and I think one of the all-time great movie quotes comes from Cool Hand Luke, and a failure to communicate.

Starting point is 00:32:06 Do you think there were mixed messages coming from the Patriots front office that led this whole situation to be maybe a little bit more messy than it needed to be? I think a lot of people stepped on their own tongues, what they said early in the process. And I think it was terrible to hang. Yes, this is an open competition out there to begin with, because it was never an open competition. Never. It never was. You know, just to keep on the on the cool hand, Luke, you know, somebody needs a night in the box. All right. You know, somebody needs a night in the box, all right, to learn, you know, you know, Mayo has not had to deal with with the press in the way a head coach has to before in his lifetime or at all. He's always been everybody's buddy.

Starting point is 00:32:58 OK, the assistant coaches are always everybody's buddy. And he's still trying to do that. OK, he has close ties to a lot of the media in this, uh, in this town, you know, he's worked with a lot of them, you know, on, on say quick slants, a show that we both love and respect Tommy current. Um, so he, he, he knows that side of it and he doesn't want to be disingenuous, but when people keep asking and asking and asking the same question, he's giving them what he wants, what they want. He's giving them what they want to hear. Yes, it's an open competition, but then he steps on himself by saying that, yes, Drake has been the

Starting point is 00:33:35 better quarterback. I told you he was going to look like the better quarterback on a lot of evenings, okay, during a lot of practices. He's more skilled. He just is. You know, he's young. He's 22 years old. He slings the ball like a Greek god throws the discus, for God's sakes. It's terrible, you know, how good this kid is. He's just not ready for it. He's just not ready for what he's going to see and what this line has. So yes, there have been mixed messages because so many people have been talking to the media who have a hand in this. And maybe there is, there's too many hands in this pot. Okay. There's too many cooks in this kitchen right now. And when you ask one, one thing, and they say it's an open competition, then you go over to

Starting point is 00:34:20 Alex Van Pelt and he's like, yeah, man, Jacoby's the starter. Okay. Jacoby's the best quarterback on this team. He's going to be out there week one. And then you turn back around and Elliot Wolf's like, I don't know. I don't know. Because two guys are saying one thing and Elliot Wolf's not saying much of anything because, you know, I, I don't, I can't recall 10 words he said after, uh, yeah, we're going to weaponize and we're going to spend a lot of money.

Starting point is 00:34:44 Well, that didn't happen. Okay. And right now the mixed messages that you were getting is because not everybody was on the same page. And you can put that on, on Gerard Mayo. And the fact that, you know, we're going to be so open with, with, with the press now we're going to be, we're going to be transparent and it's not going to be a, um, it's not going to be a, uh, a vacuum anymore. We're going to no more silos. Isn't that what he said? No more silos. And, um, but, but there's definitely silos. And the only part problem was the silos aren't, aren't, um, aren't communicating with one another to, to project a, a, a single message that was, that was going forth. And, and they,

Starting point is 00:35:31 they did it to appease the media and the media did it to appease the fans. And it's ridiculous. It really is. They should have just come out and say, look, Jacoby's our starter week one, get used to it. Now, now. This kid is not ready for prime time. He's going to look good on many occasions. That does not mean that he is ready for what NFL defensive coordinators are about to throw at them. Yeah, and I think you make a good point. And look, I think bottom line, Murph, this all comes back to what we were talking about earlier and the offensive coaching staff, particularly guys like Van Pelt and TC McCartney and Ben

Starting point is 00:36:08 McAdoo, who has a big hand in the development of this quarterback. Too many cooks. They're looking at Jacoby Brissett and saying, this is the guy we need to start the season. He has to be the man. And I think what you have is Gerard Mayo caught in the middle of maybe some outside influences. You can read between the lines there, folks, to try to determine who you think I'm talking about, but they may want the kid in place. This is the number three overall pick. This is the guy that's going to put butts back in the seats. And at this point, yeah, I think if you're Gerard Mayo, you want to leave

Starting point is 00:36:42 that window slightly cracked open. So that way you don't blow your credibility walking through the door as a rookie head coach. That could be a disaster for this team. And you want to make sure that you're maintaining your credibility and you're maintaining a level of transparency. Something that you campaigned on or something that essentially you promised upon taking the job. So in that respect, I understand where Gerard Mayo is coming from on this and trying to appease all sides. Like you said, there are a lot of battles being fought back here. It's his team now. It'll be his team week eight.

Starting point is 00:37:15 It'll be his team next year. The players that are in the building know that, which is something that they didn't know last year. Okay. Und undermining is what happened last year okay no matter what happens this year the Patriots go 0-17 this year and Gerard Mayo is going to be the head coach next year and Elliott Wolfe is going to be the GM next year and um and Mayo is going to be the one that's making those decisions. I think he made it very clear that this decision was his to make, and he made it. Yeah, exactly, and that's a great point to make.

Starting point is 00:37:51 Whether you agree with it, folks, or whether you disagree with it, the organization is now on the same page, and they are giving a united front. Whether or not that was the case leading up to it is really not relevant anymore. Whether you were for it, whether you were for against it, everyone's behind it now it's policy. So now everyone needs to move forward.

Starting point is 00:38:08 The only, the only person that's going to change this is Robert craft. Okay. If we get to week five and the stadium is empty, the seats are sold. They're all sold. But if the stadium is empty and people aren't buying $25 beers and $11 pretzels,

Starting point is 00:38:23 you know, he might put his foot down and say, I need some people in the stadium, send Drake out there. But I don't think Robert is that naive. I really don't. I don't, I don't think so. I think he'll, he'll, he'll bite that bullet. Cause, cause quite frankly, I've talked to a lot of people and who have, who are season ticket holders and that, that don't think they're going to be making it to many games

Starting point is 00:38:47 and that have already set aside tickets to give away as Christmas gifts this year for people because they're just not sure about the product that's going to be put out on the field. And it is an expensive day, folks. It is. You know, ticket prices aside, it's still an expensive day. Unless somebody's feeding you lunch upstairs in the press box, it can get a little tight. Okay. Unless you've got a press pass getting you in for free parking, it gets a little tight there when you start going up Route 1 and you see the prices go from $45 to $55 to $65 for parking.

Starting point is 00:39:23 Okay. And so, so yeah, there, there are going to be people out there that, that quite frankly have enough, enough discretionary income to, to keep their season tickets, but might not be making the trip up to Foxborough eight times this season. Is it eight or nine this year? It's eight, right? It's eight. It's eight. I hate that.

Starting point is 00:39:42 I hate, God, get back to an even number. Well, as someone that resembles that press box remark that Murph made, I will acknowledge my fortunate nature in that regard, but no, he's absolutely right. It is an expense and it is an investment of time. It's an investment of resources in order to be able to go up and you have to make the choice about whether or not it's worth it for you to make that venture. 20 plus years here in new england it wasn't even a second yet patriots games were the most important thing going on on a sunday bar none i still have that in a lot of circles here in new england but it has less i've had a priest skip mass i'm not gonna yeah father mask. Father Flanagan is not here this week because he has Patriots tickets. I hope they won that game. They did.

Starting point is 00:40:33 Divine intervention, folks. Although they had Tom Brady. I don't know how much divine intervention. I think that's divine intervention enough. Having the GOAT play for your team for 20 plus years and having the greatest coach on the sidelines. Yeah, that's all the divine intervention the New England Patriots needed. But I think you make a great point. Just to come full circle here, yes, everybody should have been on the same page from the get-go. When the media kept asking questions,

Starting point is 00:40:57 Mayo should have taken a page out of Bill's book and just said it's been asked and answered. Jacoby is our starting quarterback. Can we go and talk about something else now? Okay. Drake looks fantastic. We'll, we'll see what happens down the line. But as of right now, Jacoby is, is, is our, is, is our starting quarterback and will be

Starting point is 00:41:22 for the foreseeable future unless something earth shaking happens. And again, believe me as good as, as good as Drake may was, it wasn't earth shaking. It wasn't. Okay. I've seen,

Starting point is 00:41:34 I, I have seen people over the years up to, and in including our, our former quarterback who is now slinging the ball down there in Jacksonville with the highest quarterback rating in the NFL, make that same pass. And again, I think it comes back to we talk about work in progress and you talk about Drake being a work in progress. And we've seen the growth in Drake May. We've also seen the natural ability in Drake May, that pass being one of them. Obviously, I mean, it is impressive to see a rookie make that and do what he does and go off script. Gerard Mayo was a work in progress

Starting point is 00:42:10 too, folks. I think a lot of people have to remember that when you replace a legend and whether you like it or whether you don't like it, Bill Belichick is a legend in this town, in this region, in this league, and really in all of professional sports when it comes to coaching you will not find you will find very very few if any that have enjoyed the type of success bill belichick had he was a master at being able to diffuse drama when it came to the outside influences influencing his team or attacking his team he had a way of being able to shell it off like i've never seen anyone do it before gerardard doesn't have that skill yet. You can't blame him for that. He's still growing into the type of coach he's going to be. So maybe this is a learning experience for him to maybe be a little bit more tempered when he answers questions, not necessarily go through the whole, yeah, we're

Starting point is 00:42:59 going to burn some cash and then have to walk it back. Or yeah, Drake outplayed Jacoby and then have to walk it back. I think you need to have a little bit more temperance when you're dealing with these situations. And I think Gerard's learning that lesson each and every day he's on the job. So that will get better. That will improve. And bottom line folks, the New England Patriots are going to have to improve on the field.

Starting point is 00:43:22 They want to make the product watchable this year. Otherwise, like Murph said, a lot of empty seats are in the future. This organization at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. But bottom line, folks, we want to end on a high note, and Patriots football is nearly back, and we cannot wait to bring you all of the action here each and every day, each and every week right here on the Locked On Patriots podcast.

Starting point is 00:43:45 The network is growing by leaps and bounds every day. We've got a lot of exciting features for you that are going to help to make this season your most enjoyable yet in New England when it comes to an information standpoint. So stick around. Stay locked into Locked On Patriots. You will not want to miss a single second of the action. But in the meantime, I want to give a much well-deserved tip of the cap to my good friend, the Count of Murphy Pistone himself, the legendary Thomas Murphy, who's been by my side from

Starting point is 00:44:12 inception here. Murph, I just hit my five-year anniversary as the host of the Locked On Patriots podcast, now the longest tenured host in Locked On Patriots history. And I am beyond grateful to have this position and be able to be a small part of your New England Patriots coverage each and every day. And having someone like Murph, who's always there for the handoff whenever I need him, is probably the greatest blessing I have in this job, other than being able to get to know each and every one of you, all of you everydayers and all of you listeners out there

Starting point is 00:44:43 that truly touch my heart with every bit of support that you provide to locked on patriots so thank you very much and thank you my good friend for coming along for the ride before i let you go please let everyone know where they can reach out to you interact with you and what you got marinating in murph's kitchen between now and next week keys keys monster. Monster keys are coming. OK, I'm sitting there. I'm deep into film and Cincinnati. And I'm going to bring Alex Van Pelt, Gerard Mayo and Jacoby Brissett. Several different ways to beat this Bengals team. OK, that's what I'm doing. That's all I'm doing for the next week and a half is cutting keys. Other than that, you can follow me on on Zitter at Team Earth 207.

Starting point is 00:45:27 And, Michael, I just want to say this five years has just flown by, just flown by. It's been a pleasure and a privilege to be able to sit down here with you once, twice, sometimes three times a week and talk Patriots with you. And I'm looking forward to the next fight you five years but salute absolutely now to the next five years is right and if you consider two or three times a week talking patriots just fun he's a little don murph and thank you for be always being there for me as well and folks thank you for making us a part of your labor day weekend we hope wherever

Starting point is 00:46:00 you're celebrating this weekend you're doing so responsibly you're doing so safely and you're doing so enjoying the love and appreciation of great family and great friends. There's no greater wealth in the world, and we hope you are all enjoying that this week. So on behalf of my good friend, the Count of Murphy, Fisto himself, the legendary Thomas Murphy, I'm Mike DeBate, reminding you all to once again to stay safe, stay well, and be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone, a great weekend, and we'll see you back here again next time on locked on Patriots.

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