Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Trade Joshua Uche, Pats Week 8 Grades for Win over New York Jets

Starting point is 00:00:00 The New England Patriots are selling off some prominent pieces prior to the trade deadline, but they still deserve high grades for grounding the Jets in Week 8. 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, and I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Athlon Sports.

Starting point is 00:00:42 So reach out to me and let me know what's on your mind on X at MDA BAT NFL. You can also find our account, our locked on Patriots account on X at L O underscore Patriots. And today's episode folks is brought to you by prize picks, go to prize picks.com slash locked on NFL and use

Starting point is 00:01:01 the code all lowercase locked on NFL to win $50 instantly when you play $5. Pats fans, we have an action-packed show here for you on the pod today. The grades are in for your New England Patriots after a 25-22 victory over the Jets on Sunday. Let's just say things are better this week for the Pats in all three phases. But believe it or not, folks, that wasn't even the biggest story of the day on Monday. Late Monday afternoon, word breaking that the Patriots were sending linebacker Joshua

Starting point is 00:01:31 O'Shea to the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs for a sixth round pick in 2026. That's right. We say it every single time we take the airwaves here on Locked On Patriots. There is never a dull moment in Foxborough never a moment to rest on your laurels all of this activity needs a reasonable voice to help me

Starting point is 00:01:51 break it all down fortunately for us we have that reasonable voice here with us today and even more fortunately for us folks he took his great report with him my good friend columnist extraordinaire of Patsfans.com, as well as being the co-host of another amazing podcast, Patriots 4th and 2, alongside the great Derek Havens.

Starting point is 00:02:12 He's my Patriots Paisan, Steve Balistrieri. Steve, thanks for joining me here today. Welcome back to the pod, buddy. Oh, always a pleasure, and it's great to be talking about a Patriots win. Seemed like we hadn't done that in quite a while. Absolutely. Victory Monday, Victory Tuesday, all good here on Locked On Patriots. Steve's going to break down some of those grades here for us today, but we'll start with the news of the day, really the news of the last 24 hours. Even though Joshua Ushe was selected at number 60 overall in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft,

Starting point is 00:02:47 his tenure here in New England just didn't quite live up to expectations. I will say, with the exception of the 2022 season, Joshua played very well, a career-high 11.5 sacks, but his abilities to showcase his speed, his savvy, his athleticism in one-on-one matchups just became too few and far between the last couple of years and a lot of Patriots fans seem to believe that was because of the loss of Matthew Judon at the linebacker position last season this season Judon is in Atlanta Christian Barmore is out indefinitely so without anybody up front to take on the double team or anyone around the edge to take on the

Starting point is 00:03:25 double team joshua found his skill set underutilized steve before we get into the fit that this is for the chiefs because i think he's going to a very good spot where he may be able to resurrect his career what went wrong in new england for joshua ushe and his fit with the New England Patriots. Yeah, I think the main thing with him was he never developed into the three-down player they hoped he would. You know, and he was just a situational pass rusher. And like you said, other than, you know, the second half of that 2022 season, you know, he never really lived up to what they thought he could be as a pass rusher. That one season, you know, with Judon,

Starting point is 00:04:13 everything seemed to fall into place for him. And we were expecting big things from him last season. Then, you know, with the Judon injury, things didn't pan out again. This spring, he bet on himself. He had a contract for a lot more guaranteed money, but he turned it down to stay with the Patriots, betting on himself. And again, you know, part of it was they were behind in so many games, you know know they couldn't really unleash the pass rush but he just he never really blossomed into that guy we thought he was going to yeah without question when you look at the skill set that joshua ushe brings to the table speed athleticism system savvy

Starting point is 00:04:59 uh this is very typical it's a very typical skill set when it comes to a situational pass rusher. And when he did have the supporting cast around him to be able to showcase that talent, Joshua was very good. You and I both mentioned the 2022 season. 11.5 sacks was the career high, but he also had 27 total tackles in that season, nine of which went for a loss, 14 quarterback hits, two forced fumbles. And in fact, during the 2022 season in week 14, he had a three sack performance against the Arizona Cardinals that earned him AFC defensive player of the week honors. So this is a kid that knew he had the

Starting point is 00:05:38 skill set to be a prominent pass rusher in the league. I think they realized that he may have been a guy that became expendable and also a valuable trade ship. Now, before we get into what this may mean for him in Kansas City, because I do think that this is a good fit for him logistically, Patriots got a sixth round pick in return for him. A lot of fans, a lot of media are saying that this is a big time win for Kansas City, that they didn't necessarily get fair value in return. How would you address that, Steve? Do you believe the Patriots got the best they could get for Usha, or do you believe that maybe they might have left something

Starting point is 00:06:15 on the table considering his skill set? Yeah, you know, to me, I didn't really expect much more than what they got i mean i think um you know judging by his production other than that one season you know i i and in retrospect looking in the rearview mirror i think maybe we overrated him his worth a little bit um When I saw people saying for, you know, compensation, I mean, he only had two sacks this year. I mean,

Starting point is 00:06:52 you know, for what we considered a really good edge Russian guy, it's not very good. And so I don't think they, they were fleeced on the deal. I couldn't see them resigning him next year. So it's better to get what you can rather than him walking next year and you get nothing. Yeah, exactly.

Starting point is 00:07:18 I think that's the key point that Pats fans have to remember. When you look at his usage, and to me, this is the telltale roadmap for the way the New England Patriots saw Joshua Uche being able to contribute to the team this year. When you see that snap count start to go down and tremendously start to go down as the weeks progress, you know that it's not necessarily a great fit for the scheme that DeMarcus Covington and that defensive brain trust is trying to put out there on the field. So Uche being on a one-year prove-it deal, he was probably heading somewhere next year that wasn't New England. And in that regard, it weakens your ability to maybe get a fifth or a fourth

Starting point is 00:07:57 if you want to try to get some pretty decent return for a guy that does have a tremendous upside. He still hasn't shown it on the field. The last couple of seasons, those numbers simply weren't there. 15 games last year for the Patriots, 15 tackles, three for loss, and three sacks. This year, you mentioned the two sacks. At the end of his Patriots tenure, he's getting 20 and a half sacks in his career since 2020, but 11 and a half of those came in one season. So it's important to remember, put things in perspective, folks. I think the Pats tried to take anything they could for Joshua Ushe, who was likely headed elsewhere next year because of a lack of fit in this system.

Starting point is 00:08:36 The New England Patriots saw the ability to increase their draft capital. This is a pick that they may not use in 2026. Maybe they package this as part of another deal in an attempt to move up this season or maybe even next season. So it does give them some draft capital flexibility. And at this point, like you said, just be grateful that they got anything in return for his services. Now he's going to a Kansas City Chiefs team, Steve, that does have a large amount of weapons around him. He does have

Starting point is 00:09:06 the supporting cast that someone like Josh does need in order to prove what he can do on the field, and that is get after the quarterback in situational one-on-ones. George Karloftis is their defensive end. Chris Jones, their defensive tackle. These guys up front will take on the double teams and could help spring Joshua Uche lose things that we saw him do here in New England when he was at his best. When you look at his skill set, Steve, I think he's still best in a 5-1 alignment that allows him the most freedom to be able to exercise his skill set. But he does have the ability to play in 4-2, play in 4-3.

Starting point is 00:09:44 We saw him play in 3-4 alignment. How excited should Chiefs fans be that Joshua Ushe is now coming to help bolster their pass rush? Oh, I think this, for him personally, is a great place for him to go. The Chiefs are 7-0. They're going to obviously be in the playoffs, you know, and they're searching for a third ring. And like you said, they have the pieces around them.

Starting point is 00:10:13 They have a very good defense. And Steve Spagnuolo is very aggressive. So, you know, I think his usage will bear him fruit. And I think that, you know, he has the opportunity now. He's going to be on TV every week. So if he starts generating some production there, he's just making himself a payday for, you know, come February. Yeah, very good point. And again, he's going to

Starting point is 00:10:46 a situation where he doesn't have to be the guy. He can be a situational pass rusher and showcase his talents and make that highlight real. That's what you're trying to do when you're trying to earn a contract, a big time contract in your next free agency period coming up, which is only in a couple of months. So this is a very good opportunity for Joshua Uche to really showcase his talents. I hope he's able to do it. Here in New England, I think, again, when you get back to what he was called upon to do, not just be a situational pass rusher, but I think New England wanted him to be a guy that could come in, help and run defense, help to set the edge. That was never never his game I don't think he has to do that in Kansas City any longer I think that means good things for him and Steve Spagnuolo again is someone

Starting point is 00:11:30 that is aggressive and will utilize him to the best of his ability so Steve it'll be an interesting reaction to what Patriots fans have to say for the loss of Joshua Uche some may agree that this is the best the Pats could do some may believe that they may have left something on the table, but I think most Pats fans are in agreement that the showing on Sunday was a much better output than what we've seen from the Patriots these last couple of weeks. The Pats were able to pull out a victory, show some toughness down the stretch, and show on both offense and on defense they can get points and prevent points when it matters most. Does our resident professor agree with that assessment? He's about to provide us with his grade report for the Patriots-Jets performance in Week 8

Starting point is 00:12:14 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 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. Let your New England fandom work for you by visiting FanDuel.com to join today.

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Starting point is 00:13:41 Locked On NFL all the major storylines across the league brought to you and broken down by our amazing team of analysts that we have right here on the Locked On Podcast Network. And here today with us, to bring this back to a Patriots-centric podcast, is my good friend, my Patriots bison, Steve Balistrieri, our resident professor here on Locked On Patriots, who breaks down

Starting point is 00:14:05 the grades and provides the grade report each and every week. Steve, I don't think it's a stretch of the imagination to say that the grades were much better this week than last week. Patriots clearly heard the noise. They clearly heard all of what guys like us were saying about this team all week long, that they needed to show up. I think they also heard the backlash from the soft comments and they wanted to go out and prove that this team is capable of getting a win when everyone

Starting point is 00:14:31 thinks their backs are up against the wall. Let's start on the offensive side of the ball because obviously, Steve, it was a much better performance than a lot of people thought it was going to be, especially given that Drake May went down with a head injury early on in this one. Jacoby Brissett steps in, does an adequate job of keeping the offense afloat. Patriots ran the ball a little bit better, and they got timely and clutch catches when they needed it. Overall, how would you say the Patriots graded out offensively against the Jets on Sunday?

Starting point is 00:15:01 I thought, you know, looking, like you said, at the overall picture, I think you have to like what you saw from the offense. They seemed to, you know, be able to get it going early. And then Drake May went down, and they went into a little bit of a lull there. Jacoby came in cold. Obviously, he had no practice reps last week. And, you know, they struggled for a couple of series. But then, you know, I think the play of the day was that punt return

Starting point is 00:15:36 by Marcus Jones because it seemed that that put a breath of fresh air into the offense, you know. It was that shot in the arm of energy that they were lacking. And then after that, you know, the offense got going. They scored the touchdown after the big punt return. And then in the fourth quarter, Jacoby Brissett led two scoring drives and the game winner with, you know, 22 seconds to go. And I think you have to be encouraged by what you saw,

Starting point is 00:16:10 despite a lot of drops by the wide receivers. And I'm sure we'll get into that. But, you know, in terms of overall performance, I mean, they scored 25 points and they could have possibly scored even more. And it was going against a tough Jets defense, and we can't lose sight of that fact. Oh, absolutely. There were improvements, like you said, and I think Patriots fans need to be excited about that. The tight ends looked very good.

Starting point is 00:16:38 The running backs ran the ball a little more effectively when you needed them to do so. But when your wide receiver core is hauling in just 72 yards as a whole, you definitely need improvement there. And when you look at the Patriots offense, whether it be Bourne, whether it be Pop Douglas, whether it be KJ, whether it be Tyquan Thornton, who was targeted a few times and, you know, came up with a catch. But again, we need to see more out of these guys. How do you think this wide receiver core rights the ship? Is this just a matter of getting on the same page as Jacoby and Drake May? Or does it run a little deeper than that, in your opinion? You know, it's kind of amazing to me because when you look at the game, it's not a question of chemistry.

Starting point is 00:17:24 Because I thought the quarterbacks were doing a great job of putting the ball in their hands. And these guys just aren't able to hold on to it. I mean, you know, I thought probably the best play so far in Drake May's very young career was the incompletion in the first quarter. They're up 7-0. The Jets get pressure on him. He has to go off script. He rolls out to his right.

Starting point is 00:17:58 He gains some time, and he delivers a perfectly thrown ball, 37 yards downfield from the line of scrimmage, probably 42, you know, from where he threw it. And, you know, it looked to me like a Josh Allen play. I was talking on the phone during the game with Derek, as a matter of fact. And, you know, I was like, that was one of those Josh Allen plays where you just, you know, if you're a defensive guy, you just have to tip your hat to him. But his wide receiver didn't hold on to the football. And they had six drops overall. And, you know, for a bunch of guys on social media clamoring for more targets,

Starting point is 00:18:39 you know, they didn't support their quarterback. And that's just a fact. And, you know, after seeing so many drops, I'm wondering, you know, Javon Baker was active for the game. He played a couple of snaps on special teams. Why aren't they giving this guy a shot? Obviously, you know, you're going through a game where your guys are struggling. Maybe it's time to let this kid play a little bit because these other guys just aren't getting it done.

Starting point is 00:19:13 I mean, Bourne was targeted three times, no catches. Osborne was barely used. Thornton had that one big drop. He did catch two passes later on but that's it's not enough uh production out of your skill guys i think hunter henry um is right now the most consistent you know receiver in the passing game and he's the most reliable i do want to give some significant credit to the offensive line who with thearian Lowe back in this unit, looked to be more of a cohesive unit.

Starting point is 00:19:49 They looked to play more on the same page. They were negating pressure, I think, a little bit better than they have in quite some time. Lowest pressure rate of the season for the Patriots at 30.5%. That's still below average, but it is better than the near 50% we were seeing earlier this season. Do you think the play of the O-line helped this team down the stretch and allowed them to be able to get points on the board late in the game? Oh, yeah.

Starting point is 00:20:15 When I looked at that final drive, especially, I mean, I thought the pass protection on that final drive was probably the best we've seen it this season. And, you know, you look back, it was just a month ago. You know, the Patriots quarterbacks were sacked seven times. And, you know, they had 15 quarterback hits on them in the Meadowlands. And, you know, this time around, the Jets only were able to get two sacks and four quarterback hits. That's a massive, you know, improvement overall. Was it perfect?

Starting point is 00:20:55 No. You know, but, again, you got to remember the Jets are a very good defense. And, you know, when you're looking, they finally had a little bit of continuity on the field. And I thought the offensive line played much better. I mean, you know, just comparing a month ago to what happened against the Jets to this game, they played much better. The run blocking still isn't there.

Starting point is 00:21:24 I know they rushed for 111 yards but you know the majority of them came from the quarterbacks so that's something that still needs to be improved but hey they made that one big block when it counted for remandre stevenson and that was the difference in the game yeah i give a lot of credit to michael jordan who kind of threw himself right into the fray right there after a couple of missed blocks, one by Michael Luenu, and I think it allowed the Patriots to be able to get on the positive side of meeting points late in the game and proving that they can get the job done if given the opportunity to do so. Bottom line, Steve, I think Patriots fans will take it. At the end of the game, they had more points than their opposition, and it's been a while since the Patriots have had that six-game losing streak in

Starting point is 00:22:09 this season alone than it had been last year at this time, the last time the Patriots tasted victory on a Gillette Stadium field. It's always good to come out with a win, but it wasn't all the offense that provided the spark for the Patriots to get the victory over the Jets on Sunday. Pat's defense stepped up when it came to stopping the run. They stepped up when it came to defending the pass. Once again, much like the offensive output, it was far from being perfect, but it was better than what we've seen. Can the Patriots build on this defensive performance to help make it two in a row when they visit Tennessee this weekend to take on the Titans? In just a moment, Steve is going to provide his defensive grades for the New England Patriots

Starting point is 00:22:49 when we wrap up this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast, 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? Well, our sponsor, Hillsdale College, is offering more than 40 free, that's right, free online courses, including Constitution 101, The Meaning and the History of the U.S. Constitution, Introduction to Free Market Economics,

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Starting point is 00:25:06 after you play your first $5 lineup. That's $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup when downloading the app today and using the code LOCKEDONNFL. PrizePix, run your game. Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on Locked On Patriots. As we continue to break down the Patriots' decision to trade linebacker Joshua O'Shea to the Kansas City Chiefs, as well as provide the grade report for their 25-22 victory over the New York Jets, our good friend Steve Balistrieri, our resident professor here on Lockdown Patriots, providing his wisdom counsel and his grade report.

Starting point is 00:25:48 Steve, pretty good grades for the New England Patriots offensively. I think the Patriots defense deserves a good amount of credit here as well for the game that they played, for the game plan that they showed, and their ability to contain Aaron Rodgers when it mattered most. I know Rodgers is looking more like old Rodgers than the Rodgers of old lately. Yeah, folks, there is a difference there. I know I'm playing semantics, but the New England Patriots also had the ability to keep Brees Hall in check when they needed to. And I thought the secondary stepped up big time in the absence of Kyle Duggars. So Steve, when you look

Starting point is 00:26:21 at the defensive side of the ball for the New England Patriots, how would you grade out their performance on Sunday against the New York Jets offense? Well, I think you hit the nail on the head. It was good. It wasn't great, but it was good. And, you know, again, it's a big step in the right direction. You know, the prior three games, you know, before this game against the Jets, they were allowing an average of 185 yards on the ground, which is pretty terrible. But, you know, against the Jets, they knocked it down to 112 on 28 carries, which comes out to a 4.0 average per rush. So it was good.

Starting point is 00:27:09 It wasn't great, but it was much, much better. You know, Brees Hall, he's a very, very good running back. And he got 80 yards. He was averaging 5-point yards a carry, which is outstanding. But, you know, that bruising back, Braylon Edwards, you know, he's a tough guy to stop. We've seen him earlier this year just, you know, power through different teams. I thought they did an outstanding job on him. You know, he was only averaging 2.7 yards

Starting point is 00:27:46 a carry. He did get that one touchdown when the Jets were deep in the red zone, but I thought they did a great job on him. And, you know, it kind of worked out for him. The Jets did not dominate the line of scrimmage. You know, they didn't dominate in terms of uh time of possession and all of that played in to the overall product they did a super job this time around of containing rogers in the pocket and i know uh devon godchild and a couple other guys mentioned that he was not moving as well as they've seen him in the past. And maybe these injuries that, you know, he suffered a couple of weeks ago are taking a toll on him. Plus, the age factor comes in. As you said, the old Rodgers rather than the Rodgers of old.

Starting point is 00:28:43 But overall, I thought the defense played much, much better this week. They were very competitive. You know, they had a tough time with Garrett Wilson. So does every other team in the NFL. Exactly. So, you know, I thought Marcus Jones did the best he could. I thought Christian Gonzalez was outstanding, especially, you know, when he was lined up with Devontae Adams, who's Rodgers' binky, right?

Starting point is 00:29:08 So all of that played in. Rodgers did not have a huge, you know, production day. But overall, I thought the defense played well. Agreed. They were better where they needed to be when they needed to be. And that's something right now that Patriots fans and the Patriots team, I think as a whole, will take as a step in the right direction. Pat's defense made some marginal improvements. They held the Jets to 112

Starting point is 00:29:35 yards on 28 attempts, which is a four yard average per rush. That's not great, but it's much better than the 185 that the Patriots have been averaging over the past three games. So clearly a step in the right direction, but Patriots still allowed 11 successful runs to four run stuffs. Brees Hall had a couple of nice runs, but they didn't have any explosive plays. And I think that's where Pats fans need to hang their hat and say, you know what? This was good. The Pats allowed some progress from the Jets on the ground, but they didn't allow them to gash them the way this team has been allowing big time runs to really derail any type of continuity that they wanted to find. And in the

Starting point is 00:30:16 past game, I agree with you. The Pats had to pick their poison. What they did was they forced Aaron Rogers to utilize the looks to Garrett Wilson on Marcus Jones. You knew he was going to do that. Yeah, Marcus yielded some yardage to Garrett. There's no question about it, but like you said, most teams have difficulty when defending him. The Patriots knew they needed to sell out to stop Devontae Adams, not make him the focal point. Christian Gonzalez, I thought, did a masterful job of keeping him in check, and I think that's why the New England Patri Gonzalez I thought did a masterful job of keeping him in check and I think that's why the New England Patriots defensively had a much easier time being able to defend against Rodgers this time they gave him a lot of single looks and I think

Starting point is 00:30:54 it really benefited them to be able to play their game defensively yeah absolutely I mean you know the the game plan was much, much better this time around. And for the most part, I thought they executed it really well. You know, that one Jets drive early in the game, I mean, those two pass interference calls, the one I still can't get over, the one on Christian Gonzalez. I mean, that was, it was invisible. I mean, I was, when I watched it, you know, my first instinct was,

Starting point is 00:31:33 oh, they called it on him. It had to have been somebody else, you know. You know, there was a, there had to have been pass interference on somebody else on the field. And then, you know, when they said it was on Gonzalez, I was, I couldn't believe it. The other one on Christian Ellis was a lot closer, but you know, when, when Edward stepped out of bounds, I'm thinking to myself, can,

Starting point is 00:31:59 can that be pass interference when the guy steps out of bounds? I don't know. um that one you know was maybe a little bit of a gift there but the one on gonzalez was just awful and that set them up for a touchdown it did and in a lot of ways this new england patriots team had they been soft steve had they been uh incapable of being able to play through adversity, they could have very easily folded after that, got frustrated, showed those signs of frustration on the field. They didn't. They came back and they were able to take the hits and they kept moving forward. And I think that's something that Gerard Mayo deserves credit for. Demarcus Covington deserves

Starting point is 00:32:39 credit for. And again, I know I keep coming back to Kyle Duggar not being in this game. Jabril Pepper's ineligible because of off the field issues. Really give a lot of credit to guys like Marte Maput, Del Pettis, Jalen Hawkins. These guys are stepping up big when this safety tandem was really supposed to be your biggest strength on this team, especially with guys like Matthew Judon being traded away and Christian Barmore being out indefinitely. Those guys could have really folded up tent and not been able to rise to the occasion. They've done it and they

Starting point is 00:33:11 did a nice job of it on Sunday. So good stuff for the Patriots defense. Again, much like the offense, not great, but good enough to get the win. And Steve, that leads me to my final question for you here today, and that this Tennessee Titans team that the Patriots are going to be facing this Sunday are facing difficulties of their own. Was this performance by the Patriots, offensively, defensively, and even in the third phase in special teams, was it enough to give you optimism? And should it give Patriots fans optimism that two in a row could be a possibility

Starting point is 00:33:43 with the Pats visiting the Titans on Sunday? Oh, I think absolutely. The Titans have been struggling badly, and they really took it on the chin this past weekend. So I think this is a very winnable football game. I mean, the Patriots are in no position to take anyone lightly, but you want to see, you know, the momentum that they generated this weekend. Hey, look, last week, the coach called them out and he called them out publicly and they responded.

Starting point is 00:34:18 So they have to be feeling better about themselves. You know, this is the big question this week. Are they going to be able to carry that and do it again? And if they do down in Tennessee, hey, you know, they could string two wins together. And that, I think, is a great step for the team. Yeah, I think it's a great step for the team as well. I know you'll have some of the naysayers out there, Steve, saying that a win for the Patriots is actually a loss

Starting point is 00:34:51 because it takes them a step away from the number one pick. But bottom line, folks, when you're a team that's looking to build and looking to build on continuity and really give you any type of optimism heading into the next season, you want to try to get victories on the board. And two in a row, I think, would do a great job for the Pats. I like to quote Ric Flair an awful lot, Steve, on these airwaves. So he always used to say, you did it once, now let's see you do it again. And I think now the Patriots face that in terms of toughness,

Starting point is 00:35:19 in terms of intestinal fortitude, as the late great Gorilla Monsoon would say, this would be an opportunity for them to string together two wins. So in the meantime, I want to give a big time tip of the cap and thanks to my good friend and Patriots by Zahn, Steve Balistrieri,

Starting point is 00:35:34 for lending us his wisdom, his counsel, and of course, most importantly, his great report as he does each and every week. Steve, thank you so much for joining me here today. And before I let you go, my friend, please let everyone know where they can reach out

Starting point is 00:35:47 to you, interact with you and what you got marinating in La Cucina Belistrari between now and next week when you come back and grade Pat's Titans in week nine. Well, now it's time to do a much deeper dive, you know, on the Titans. I mean, I've seen a couple of their games, you know, this season, but I haven't watched them closely enough. So we'll see. We'll see what the key matchups are. And, you know, we'll be looking for ways that the Patriots can find favorable ones.

Starting point is 00:36:20 I'm not sure Drake May will play this weekend. But Jacoby Brissett showed a ton of resilience, and he showed what kind of seasoned professional that he is. And, you know, if he's going to start this week, then by all means, he's more than capable of getting it done. They really need to get the running game going, and that's, you know, what we're going to be doing. And hopefully next week we'll be sitting here talking about two in a row,

Starting point is 00:36:51 baby. I thought you were going to say sitting here, lying on a beach, earning 20%, Steve, I thought you were ready to come out with that. You know, we love the Hans Gruber references and with the holiday season coming up,

Starting point is 00:37:02 diehard being a Christmas movie. After all folks, you know, those Die Hard quotes are going to be there. So I'll save that and my Hans Gruber impression for that time. But bottom line, I think you make an excellent point. A lot of this is going to be determined by whether or not Drake May suits up in concussion protocol. Not looking likely, but stranger things have happened, and all eyes are going to be on the Patriots practice field on Wednesday to see how Drake is listed, whether or not he's out there on the field, and whether or not he's cleared for action. It's going to be a lot of questions now for the Pats' young signal caller.

Starting point is 00:37:34 But bottom line, whether it is Drake May or Jacoby Brissett, I think the Pats have a good chance of pulling out this victory against the Titans on Sunday. And of course, folks, we will now turn our attention to those Tennessee Titans. And you're not going to want to miss the coverage we have here for you this week, especially a crossover Thursday with my good friend, Locked On Titans host Tyler Rowland, which is going to be an exciting one. So keep it right here for all of your Pats Titans coverage. On behalf of my good friend and Patriots bison, Steve Malastrieri,

Starting point is 00:38:06 I'm Mike DeBate reminding all of you to stay safe, to stay well, 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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