Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Suffer Week 12 Loss to Miami Dolphins: Drake Maye, Christian Gonzalez and More

Episode Date: November 25, 2024

The New England Patriots could not overcome a 24-0 halftime deficit, as a sloppy performance in all three phases led to a 34-15 loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 12. Pats quarterback Drake Maye found himself under pressure on more than 30 percent of his dropbacks, while New England had no answer for Dolphins’ quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and Miami coach Mike McDaniel’s high-octane offense. Host Mike D’Abate welcomes Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy to break down the Pats’ loss in Miami. #nfl #newenglandpatriots  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 ne ws about the New England Patriots and talking with fans — @mdabateNFL Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Skylight FrameGet $20 off a Skylight Frame when you go to SkylightFrame.com/NFL. Hillsdale CollegeAll of Hillsdale’s courses are self-paced so that you can start whenever, and tune in wherever. Plus, you can go deeper with readings, quizzes, discussions - or just enjoy the lectures. Go right now to hillsdale.edu/lockedon to enroll. There’s no cost, and it’s easy to get started. PrizePicksDownload the app and use code lockedonnfl to win $50 instantly when you play $5. You don't even need to win to receive your $50 bonus, it's guaranteed! Prizepicks. Run Your Game.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFL GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. FanDuelYou can start the season with a big return on FanDuel. New customers can place a FIVE DOLLAR bet and you’ll get started with ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS - if you win your first FIVE DOLLAR BET ! Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started.   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)

Despite some signs of life late in the game, the New England Patriots once again feudal in all three phases of football. What does it mean for the future of this Pats team? 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 Patriots Country. Reach out to me. Let me know what's on your mind on X at MDABATENFL. You can also find me where the skies are blue on Blue Sky at MDABATENFL.BSKY.SOCIAL. And of course, if you're showing love to Locked On Patriots social media style, follow our X account at LO underscore Patriots. Fan Pats fans, today's episode is brought to you

by our good friends over at fanduel you can start the season with a big return on fanduel new customers can place a five dollar bet and you'll get started with 150 in bonus bets if you win your first five dollar bet visit fanduel.com to get started and pats fans unfortunately it is not a victory monday to kick off your thanksgiving week it is a melancholy monday maybe even a little bit of a monster mad monday drake may completing 22 of 37 passes for 221 yards with 26 yards rushing but the defense and the offense could not overcome an overall sloppy performance in all three phases miami dolphins folks they came to play especially in the first half and the patriots were not able to get anything going unfortunately it means a loss for your new

england patriots 34 to 15 in miami gardens florida Rock Stadium, dropping the Patriots to a lowly 3-9 on the season. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, there's a lot to dissect in this one, and we're going to slice it up for you and put it on a plate. And what better way to kick off the week here on Thanksgiving week, even though it's a melancholy Monday, than the wisdom and counsel of my good friend, the legend himself, Thomas Murphy. Thank you for joining me today, and thank you for coming to me in friendship, especially on a dismal Monday.

It's on Murph. This was rough, man. This was rough. You spend all this time cutting keys for a team and have this coaching staff go out with a group so unprepared it was unbelievable the game plan for anybody facing the patriots right now is give the give your quarterback 2.5 seconds and go away from gonzalez that's it that's it it was awful and wait for wait for this team to step on their own foot very eloquently put i love the restraint folks you can definitely hear the restraint in murph's voice today and bottom

line i think it's all over new england right now murph because i do believe there is a level of apathy that right now has prevailed the fan base maybe even the team itself we'll get into that locker room yeah that's a little disturbing, folks. But bottom line, I think everyone is understanding this is a 3-9 football team. They're playing not just for 2025, but maybe even beyond 2026, 2027, before this team is once again relevant. But you want to see growth. You want to see some sort of spark that allows you to believe that better days are ahead and maybe not

so far ahead in the future uh we certainly did not see that on the field yesterday there were a couple of glimmering moments in the second half where this team started to show a little fight and then all of a sudden you start to see the regressions again Murph we'll start on the defensive side of the ball because I know you are monster mad that your keys were not turned on the defensive side of the ball Patriots did not have any answers in my opinion for Tua Tagovailoa yesterday throwing one of his best games of the season um Miami scoring 24 points in the second quarter alone and really I think bringing a heat that the Pats quite honestly did not look prepared for and I don't think Miami did anything overly exotic for and i don't think miami did anything overly

exotic overly surprising i don't think they did anything that we haven't seen before but this was a dominant performance when you are able to utilize jaylen waddle for eight catches 144 yards in a touchdown yep john who smith all of a sudden becoming a patriot killer of all things. No sweat. Ryan catches 87 yards for a touchdown. You're using weapons that I think Patriots fans and Patriots coaches really should have known were going to be the targets. If you're putting Christian Gonzalez on Tyreek Hill, that's probably another opportunity for you

to try to erase what Tyreek does. So make the other guys beat you. The other guys certainly had no problem doing that on Sunday. None. And you can point your first finger at Kyle Duggar. All right. I was really disgusted with Kyle Duggar's effort and awareness of the game and where he was.

Jonu Smith's touchdown, that was completely on Duggar. He was slow to get there. And it was Devon Etchie's second touchdown. Yep, thank you. That was on Duggar. He got flagged for a pass interference. He needs to be, you know, this is a man that you just gave a ton of money to. And he's not earning that cash.

And yes, I understand that some people are saying that he's banged up and he's playing a little bit hurt. If you can't do the job, don't be out there. Completely agreed. And look, when you look at this defense, I think the thing that bothers me the most, and I think the thing that bothers Patriots fans most. In-game communication. No, we're going off script here man i i'm i'm tired of this you know what um what gerard mayo had to say after the game and and granted he was baited into this answer a little bit but he still could have chose his words a lot differently than he did to you know to say that that i have no control over what these guys do once they cross that white line.

Yes, you do. Call a timeout. Call a timeout. Bring the defense over. You're a defensive-minded coach. You're a guy that is the head coach of this team. And I don't know how many times I saw Bill Belichick over there in front of the defense with, you know, pushing his defensive coordinator aside and getting into these guys' heads and getting into these guys' faces and saying, look, this is what needs to be done, and you're not doing it.

Or just going over and saying, hey, man, good job, good pad level, way to keep it going. Keep this up, and we win this game. I get none of that from Mayo none of it all right and it's it really that statement after the game really ticked me off i would love to try to argue the converse but i'm right there with you this week this team has not only a lack of discipline they not only have a lack of communication and awareness but i think a lack of accountability when it comes to these matters. And I think you've articulated that perfectly. Yes, the head coach does have control over what these players do on the field. If you don't like what they're doing, make an example. If you have to, this team is three and eight, it's three and nine. You're not going out there

and trying to win to jockey for a playoff position. I understand leaving your best players on the field if you have to do that. But if guys are going off script, you've got to pull them off and say, hey, look, I don't care what happened last year. Bill has six rings here. He's a future Hall of Famer. This guy already has his ticket punch to Canton, but he's not here anymore. I'm here. I'm the coach. And you have to do what I tell you to do. Listen to your coaches, listen to this staff. And if you don't like it, we can make arrangements after the season. But right now, while you're here, you're going to do what I tell you to do.

I don't see that from this coaching staff and it needs to happen. If this team is going to gain that accountability, that respect that they have, not just for their coaches, but for winning. Yeah, you can hear Murph and I are animated this morning. Make the tough decisions. That's your job. Yeah, absolutely. and it is and I and I understand and I do folks understand there will be several of you out there that will say it's a lot easier said than done I get that because you are taking

players that do have established pedigree off the field and putting out there guys that may not be up to the challenge or ready to go but if you're going to forge some sort of foundation for the future you have to have guys that are buying into your system if guys are not buying into your system they're going off script they're telling you i know more than you on the sidelines that can't happen if this coaching staff and this administration is going to continue to move forward that can't happen no it really can't and you can't even blame you know guys playing out of position this week um you can also get on on the uh on the coaching staff for once again not not pivoting and making adjustments in game okay when one thing wasn't working it took it took a little

too long to start flooding the backfield with defensive backs. All right? Just too long. And, you know, that second quarter was horrific. And the Patriots helped themselves, you know, not one bit with, what was it, 10 penalties? 10 accepted penalties for 75 yards. Six of those came in the first half that were pre-snap penalties. That's disgusting. And I understand not all of them are on the defensive side of the ball,

but I mean, come on. There's got to be a level of discipline here that needs to be done. And this is too common of a tale to ignore any longer. It's not like, oh, well, that was an anomaly. That was one game where the Patriots showed a lack of discipline. We've preaching this and others have been preaching this since week two right okay this team is not good enough to overcome those kinds of mental errors and that's what is me me me me is mental error yep me mental errors and that's what that's what this is all right it's not roughing the passers. It's not it's not even even getting on a DB for for a pass interference. All right. We're talking about mental errors, you know, just knowing your cadence.

I know it's loud down there. You got to block this stuff out. OK. And I realize the Patriots on on average have had a really difficult time down there in Miami. But no, you've got to step up and you've got to come to work. And nobody came to work except Christian Gonzalez yesterday. So glad that you mentioned Christian Gonzalez, because if there's one man that may have a slight shred of immunity from the vitriol that we're throwing all around for the Patriots performance on the field yesterday, it was Christian Gonzalez not only shadowing Tyreek Hill and I think doing an admirable job of keeping him in check, but also being one of the very few that had his head in the game

for the full game, the scooped score in the second half. In your opinion, Christian Gonzalez' performance yesterday, if there is any slight takeaway from the defense, that may be one that the Patriots can build on a little bit, I think. Right. I want to know, again, what DeMarcus Covington was thinking. All right. Gonzalez, you know, 41 dropback snaps. You know, he was on Tariq Hill and Jalen Waddell for the majority of the game. All right. I would have kept him on Hill the entire game and put somebody else on Waddell with some help over the top

and see what happens there. They had, you know, he ended up with giving up two catches for 24 yards with a pass breakup. And he did not have a bad game yesterday. He's the only star on this team from Sunday's loss. Yeah, one guy that I think I probably would give maybe a little bit more leniency on my grading level is also Christian Barmore coming back from the injury that he's had.

I think what you saw from Gonzalez coverage and his shadowing of Tyreek Hill allowed that sack to take place, Christian's first of the season. You see the importance this kid has in that defense, and Barmore will come back into form. form i mean you can see that he's still getting his game legs back under him he's still you know really kind of conditioning himself this is a guy that had not played a competitive snap on any football field since last january folks and they did a good job of shutting down the run just 2.7 yards per carry yesterday you know there were a couple they didn't do a good job of covering men out of the backfield to catch passes, but they shut down the run.

I think, what was it, the Dolphins ran the ball 24 times on the day. And all you have to do is just look at the final stats, at the final tally sheet, Murph. 373 total yards for the Dolphins on Sunday. 308 of those came through the air, came through passing yards. And I think it pulls the curtain back on a big problem for this team. Outside corner is really kind of climbing its way up the list of big-time needs for the Patriots. Get Christian Gonzalez some help. Missing Steve Belichick, are we?

Yeah, absolutely. Missing Steve. It's true. All right, missing the play caller over there demarcus covington is is not is not the answer and and right now he's he's learning on the job and it's costing uh patriots nation dearly yeah and uh you're finding a lot of learning on the job murph i think it's uh on both sides of the ball right now maybe in all three phases but obviously New England Patriots lost in Miami not just because of a dismal defensive performance but Patriots were not able to even consider getting points on the board in the first

half this offense right now led by Drake May is led by a very courageous hard-working young man but he needs some help and he needs some help in the coach's room as well to kind of coach some of these mechanics back up a little bit. Give this kid an opportunity to showcase what he can do. He's going to be great, but he needs to get that help. And Murph and I are going to talk about what went wrong on offense. And believe me, folks, there was plenty 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,

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slash Monster Mad Monday here on Locked On Patriots as the Patriots fall to the Miami Dolphins. 34-15 in Miami Gardens at Hard Rock Stadium. That's falling to 3-9 on the season. Now heading into Thanksgiving week, their final game before a

much-needed bye week against the indianapolis colts and we'll get into the colts matchup much later this week but still a little early to move on from the dolphins there's still a lot of bitterness a lot of vitriol that needs to be hurled at your favorite team in foxborough and here today to help me do that and lend his wisdom, counsel, and the anger with which his monster keys were not turned, my good friend Thomas Murphy. Murph, in the previous segment, we talked a lot about the New England Patriots defense. And once again, a fall flat defensive performance from this Bats team. You allow 34 points, you allow 24 of those in the first half. Ultimately, you find yourself saying that

as bad as things were in the first half, they could have been even worse. But if you notice, the first half scoreboard included a zero in the scoring column for your New England Patriots offense Sunday. We started to see a lot of the same regressions, a lot of the same problems, breakdowns along the offensive line. And as a result drake may found himself under a lot more duress than he's seen in the last couple of weeks when you look at this team and their performance on the offensive side of the ball on sunday what stands out to you specifically what in your monster keys were not turned that might have made life a little bit easier for Drake in the offense against Miami. Pass protection, pass pro, pushing these Dolphins defensive ends back behind our quarterback and allowing him to step up and giving him just a little bit of time for guys to get into it.

Vardarian Lowe had another terrible game. He's depth. He's not a starter okay he's a second string a third string guy he's not a starter uh what was happening uh even up the middle was again um depressing and there's there's really not a lot of help out there in the draft this year. There is no Joe Walt in this year's draft, guys. None. Okay, that's why I wanted him last year. I'm not saying that I'm unhappy with Drake or what he's done. Just don't look for the game changer on the offensive line coming here in April. You know, because you might get lucky and hit on some guy in

the second or third round but there is nobody that that i would take with a top 10 pick this year it's going to have to be uh on the uh on the free agent market and uh they're going to have to go out and spend a little money uh and find a, maybe three tackles to come in here, maybe draft a guy in the second round. But no, it was, I was really, really upset with the play of the offensive line on,

on Sunday from Brown to, you know, we just talked about low and, and then again, you know, the decision-making of Drake May. Two more turnovers okay two preventable turnovers okay you've got to take care of the ball back there getting strip sacked again

all right you know um do do some hand stretches get them a little bit uh better uh learn to take the bullet and live to fight another day you know get down and uh and drake drake knows this drake drake this is one of the things that uh impresses me most about him um while others were in the uh in the locker room yesterday and you didn't see uh the absolute um hate for their performance out on the field. You could see it in Drake May. He was disgusted by his own play, and I think he's going to get better for it. A lot of the guys in that locker room were – picture Brad Pitt coming into the A's locker room after, like, the eighth loss in Moneyball, and the guys dancing on tables and the tunes going and everything and him taking a

baseball bat to to somebody's box and you know and then the silence that's that's what losing sounds like and that's what that Patriots locker room should sound like there were too many smiles there were too many guys you know just okay off to the next one. I need more accountability. I need more ownership and not just when the cameras are on you behind the podium. I definitely see what you're saying in that regard. It bothers me, too, to hear about the fact that Drake may seem to be the only one that was legitimately bothered by that loss yesterday. Look, folks, we all understand players are not machines. They're not robots. These are human beings. They have lives. are not machines. They're not robots. These are human beings.

They have lives. They have families. They have outside interests. Losing when you're three and nine is kind of more of an acceptance rather than a reversal of what is the norm around here. A lot of the guys in that locker room were not here for the dynasty days. Most of them weren't. So I get it there are certain aspects of life that permeate through and you have to smile through it and get through it for your own mental

health and no one is questioning that but it's a level of accountability that needs to be there for a terrible performance in all three phases and again it comes back to what we were saying in the previous segment murph somebody has to set that tone that tone is clearly not being set so maybe Drake is trying to do that um I don't think he's at a level in the huddle yeah all right pull a little said nobody talks in this huddle except me all right go out and get it done and Drake is is not immune he drink knows what he did he missed some he missed some easy throws yesterday that would have kept drives going. You know, he threw behind people when he didn't really need to.

Him and some of the wide receivers still can't be on the same page. They're still not on the same page. All right? And these things should be ironed out by now. Okay? We are week 13, and these are not problems thated out by now. Okay. We are week 13. And these are not problems that should still be happening. Okay.

You want to heap praise on somebody then except when they get a little criticism. And Drake May deserves a lot of criticism this week. Missed opportunities to keep drives going. You can only put – you can still still put 75 on stupid idiots jumping off sides and um and false starts and lining up incorrectly and uh can we just line up correctly people um but uh other than that no drake's got to own some of it and and you know this wide receiver group has to own some of it they didn't get uh get into their routes quick enough they weren't running the correct routes at least or or they were and drake was was just not thinking as they were and and that it does take a little bit of time i'm not saying that you know

this is something that should be automatic but right now he shouldn't be missing this many fair enough fair enough and i firmly believe drake would probably be the first to agree with you on that judging by his post-game comments he understands that i'll be a drake apologist for a second and i'll just read the stats to all of you to try to even out things you know i'm like even steven murph you know i try to look at both sides of the coin patriots offensive line you mentioned this earlier they allow four sacks 37 pressure rate that's a lot for any quarterback to overcome you look at the tackle play but Darian Lowe three false starts in a hold yeah one of the hold wipes out what would have been a 19-yard game right uh that right there puts you at a major disadvantage you can't have your starting left

tackle the guy that's supposed to be your blindside protector. That can't happen. I don't care. Any quarterback, even the most seasoned veteran, is going to be running for his life if that's the type of protection he's getting. And then you flip it over and you look at DeMontre Jacobs. And when Steve Balistrieri joined me here on Friday, we mentioned this as potentially the most problematic matchup for the New England Patriots. And if it wasn't the most problematic matchup, it was definitely one of them. This is what we were worried about. And it happened. Seven quarterback pressures with a sack. Robinson ended up getting nine total pressures and a

really, I think, great performance from him. This guy really showed up and showed that he is someone that can be a major problem for opposing quarterbacks right and once again Demontre Jacobs has problems when you have a pass rusher that can turn a long corner I mean he's good in the short corners but right you give him a lot more leverage he has difficulty catching up with it he has to take some responsibility on that but he's also folks playing a starting position that he hasn't grown into yet either you're asking an awful lot of a youngster that is trying to do the best he can and simply can't execute without the proper coaching and the proper environment around him.

Michael Jordan was another problem yesterday. He got replaced by City So. I'm sorry. Sorry, City. You know, it's really a cluster there right now. When you are sitting there and you are just, you know, waiting. If there was any indication on where Cole Strange should be, okay, whether it's going to be at center or over there at left guard

where he is most comfortable, which which is his position he can do both but i need him over there on the left side yeah agreed agreed because that's where your bigger hole is ben brown can keep you above water right right at the center position yep he can try they don't have an answer at the left side they don't have an answer on that left guard position and cole needs to be there and that's where he's most comfortable being a zone blocker. If you're going to institute this offense, let the guy that was brought in to block for it, give him a shot to be able to do what he can do. So, yeah, folks, it is not a pretty sight with the New England Patriots right now.

Murph and I are steamed up about defensive play, offensive play, even the special teams getting in there and having some snafus. There's a lot to lament right now, but in the interest of ending on a high note, which Murph and I love to do, we try to do it each and every week. This may be one of the toughest dredges of the bottom of the barrel to find a silver lining. Murph and I are going to attempt to do that in just a moment when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast wraps up right here on the Locked On Podcast Network,

your team, every day. Locked On listeners, get ready to tackle NFL action with FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook. Because right now, new customers can bet $5 and get $150 in bonus bets if you win. The FanDuel Sportsbook app gives you everything you need to place live bets on the NFL all in one place. So when you get a hunch in the middle of the game, you can check out the latest stats, view live play-by-play, and so much more on the same page where you place your bets.

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dropping them to 3-9 on the season. As Week 12 is now in the books and the Patriots look ahead to a Week 13 matchup with the Indianapolis Colts. But before we take our leave of this Dolphins debacle, we have to continue to break it down on all three phases. And here today to help us do that has been the legend himself, my good friend Thomas Murphy. Murphy, you get highest marks from me in showing restraint this week

because we know that when you get monster mad you get monster mad my friend and you guys didn't want to be here um and uh i think you've shown a great deal of decorum uh today here on lockdown patriots so the tip of the cap to you for that folks um i know you're all upset out there in patriots nation folks maybe some of you are resigned to that and looking at this and saying hey we're closer to potentially the number one pick or a high draft pick. A lot of different ways to look at that. So I think this would be a great way to segue into our attempt, Murph, our gut-wrenching, difficult, strenuous attempt to try to find a silver lining from yesterday's loss. It is not easy. I think last week's loss to the Rams had a little bit more silver lining streaks than this one did,

but I'm not going to steal your thunder, my friend. I'm going to give you the opportunity to take the baton first. Are there any positives that can be taken away from the football field at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida from Week 12? Travis Hunter will probably be on the board when the Patriots pick. There's my silver lining. Okay, I said before, guys, I'm not enamored with the left tackles, although we need them desperately here.

That's my point, and that the Giants are definitely taking Shredder Sanders. But no, honestly, Christian Barmore is looking better and better every quarter that he plays. He was, you know, he's who he is. There's a cornerstone right there. Of course, Christian Gonzalez had another amazing game. And, of course, there's Drake May. And the upside is there.

You could see what he was doing. Being able to extend plays and hit Austin Hooper on that touchdown. I mean, nobody but Patty Mahomes can hit a wide-open tight end. Nobody. Nobody but Patty Mahomes. But he was wide open there, and Drake saw him and got the ball there. I thought when the ball left his hands, I was like, oh, no. And then when I saw how open Junior was, I'm like, hey, all right.

But, no, there are some good building blocks here. But you cannot, you know, anybody who's ever played with Lincoln Logs, I'm like, hey, all right. But no, there are some good building blocks here. But you cannot, you know, anybody who's ever played with Lincoln Logs, you know, knows that you need a lot of those corner pieces, all right, to be able to build a big, strong house. And more is going to have to come this year. And the Patriots are going to have to be much more aggressive this offseason um I'm expecting a lot of changes on this team uh unfortunately you know guys are not living up to contracts that they were handed last year and um and some tough decisions are going to have to be made yeah some tough decisions will have to be made, folks. And that laundry list of Patriots needs, whether it be the draft or whether it be free agency, is getting longer and longer and longer.

And if you can hear, if you listen very closely, Murph, you can hear pencil sharpening in Connecticut in your neck of the woods. And our good friend, Miguel Benzon, he's keeping a written record. He's typing on the computer. He's getting his Excel spreadsheets together. He's getting ready for what will be an eventful offseason because your New England Patriots have a lot of roster maneuvering to do and a lot of room to do it.

So the tip of the cap, Miguel, it's going to be interesting. The only problem, I mean, we've said it ad nauseum here that there are two forms of free agents free agents out there guys that are have one and are looking for a bag and guys that are looking for a ring and um so they're gonna have to find uh you know a bigger bag and ways to use miguel bring miguel in to figure out how to how to pay these guys the most entice them the most to come here. Because right now it doesn't look like the Pats are two players away from getting back to the promised land.

No, they're not. There's a lot of work to be done on this team, folks. And again, I think it really lends itself into the argument about there being very few silver linings on this team. You've mentioned a couple that I would have mentioned, Murph. Obviously, Christian Gonzalez. I think if there's going to be a game ball that was going to be distributed from that debacle, you've got to give it to Christian in getting his first career touchdown.

And I think playing a solid game from start to finish, I don't believe he deserves the vitriol being thrown at him. I just don't understand it. No, I don't get it there's no argument to me that can be made for that christian was not the problem yesterday far from it um drake may obviously there are building blocks there there are moments he puts on the field and you say wow if he could just get some help around him and get some coaching in the right direction this kid the sky is the limit for him and that's one of my silver linings.

That off-script fourth-quarter touchdown to Mr. Hooper, Murph. Austin Hooper. No city hands for Hooper on Sunday, Mr. Murphy. Oh, the big 38-yard touchdown. Saw the cover to the zone. Saw the four-man rush. No match for Mr. Hooper on Sunday, Murph. But no, all kidding aside, I think Austin Hooper has emerged

as a nice complimentary piece to Hunter Henry. This tight end combination, folks, can be utilized. If this is going to help spark that offense, do something to kind of get this kid going a little bit and give him some confidence heading into the latter part of the season because that could be a combination that could be very well utilized. But bottom line, Bud, a whole lot to smile about in Patriots land this week. No, it's not.

There were no keys turned. You know, very few keys turned. They didn't win the turnover battle. They didn't win the, you know, they didn't limit the laundry. They didn't get these guys off of their, these Miami receivers off their spot. It's all about the timing. That's their spot it's all about the timing that's it it's all about the timing and um with this offense with this miami offense with what mcdaniel does

and they didn't come in prepared they really didn't yeah and time to be prepared is running thin folks as we head into week 13 it's hard to believe Murph feels like just the other day we were opening up the season with the Cincinnati Bengals in week one and here we are on the precipice of week 13 going to be an interesting week in Foxborough as this team prepares to host the Indianapolis Colts who come in needing desperately needing a win to get a pace with it with teams like the Miami Dolphins that are trying to earn that final playoff spot. This could be an opportunity for the Pats to play spoiler, and you know they'd love to do it against an old rival.

I don't care if the players are not the same anymore. There's still a level of contempt for the horseshoe that's harbored up here in New England. We're going to get into that later on this week, but in the meantime, I want to give a major tip of the cap and a lot of kudos to my good friend, the legend himself, Thomas Murphy, for coming by here today, lending his wisdom and counsel and for keeping his emotions somewhat in check as he laments the fact that the Patriots did not turn his monster keys to victory. But 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. Any pre-Thanksgiving delectables that are cooking right now in Murph's kitchen. Any pre- Thanksgiving delectables that are cooking right now in Murph's kitchen between now and when we welcome you back for the weekend.

You know, you can follow me on Zitter at TMurf207. You can also follow me over there at Blue Sky at TMurf207. You can find me over there. I'm there once in a while. It's a nice little place. You know, it's the country house. Nice place, good food. Everybody needs a place at the beach. Everybody needs a place at the beach.

That's my place at the beach. And, of course, you can read me over at diehardbostonsportsfans.com. When it comes to Patriots Insight, my friend, in my opinion, you are second to none. And that's why you have an embroidered guest chair here on Locked On Patriots. We're honored and humbled to host you each and every week. And, folks, we are honored by your support each and every day for Locked On Patriots, especially all of you everydayers who we give a tip of the cap to

and a special nod, especially on this week that is all about giving thanks. And even though it is a holiday week, folks, Locked On Patriots is still five shows strong, including a crossover on Thanksgiving Day, so stay locked in. You are not going to want to miss a single second of the action. Remember your food banks, people. Make it Thanksgiving for everyone. Please. Absolutely.

If you are able and in a position to be able to give, please do. The impact and the difference that you can make when it comes to a family in need is truly immeasurable. Makes you the real MVPs out there this Thanksgiving season. Murph, thank you so much for that. And we appreciate it. If you can't give your money, give your time. Very, very well said. This is important to me. Mike's known me for more than a decade now. And this is something that we take to heart here in the Murphy household every single

year. And I mean, whatever you can drop off is fine because the shelves are just empty over there. Okay. Trying to get people, you know, a nice Thanksgiving meal. So even if you can't, even if you can't donate an entire meal, whatever you can bring, canned goods, whatever. And folks, let's help to make everyone have a happy Thanksgiving or as many as possible. And it starts with people like Merck. Keep that message alive each and every day.

Invite a neighbor over that might be alone. Definitely. You know? Definitely. These are all ways that you can make a difference in someone's life. The holidays can be joyous for so many of us. They can be painful for so many of us.

If it takes just an act of kindness to make a difference in that person's life, you could change someone forever. And that's what really I think we all need to remember this holiday season. On behalf of my good friend Thomas Murphy, I'm Mike DeBate reminding all of you to be mindful, to stay safe, to stay well, and to be the change that you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone, and we'll see you back here again tomorrow on Lucked on Patriots. Happy Thanksgiving.