Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots vs. Las Vegas Raiders Recap: Mac Jones, DeVante Parker and the Pats Defense

Starting point is 00:00:00 While the New England Patriots may not be heading back to Foxborough with a Hollywood-style hangover, they are undoubtedly leaving Las Vegas with a significant sense of regret and a 1-in-5 record. 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 Lockdown Patriots the daily part of your New England Patriots coverage and also your first listen every day.

Starting point is 00:00:51 Subscribe or follow free on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts to ensure that you get the latest episode as soon as it's available. I'm your host, Mike DeBate, and I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. So reach out to me and let me know what's on your mind on Twitter or X or the

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Starting point is 00:01:43 Unfortunately for all of us here in Patriots nation not good enough to avoid another loss this time a 21 to 17 fall to the Las Vegas Raiders a late sack and a safety of quarterback Mac Jones ultimately does them in and the Patriots fall to one in five on the season and there were plenty of missed opportunities the Patriots had to pull out the victory including some additional Mac Jones miscues yeah folks there were a few not as many but they are still there an inexcusable drop by receiver Devontae Parker in the game's closing minutes and of course penalties which absolutely crushed the Patriots both early in the game and late in the game but despite the loss it wasn't all bad news for the Patriots.

Starting point is 00:02:26 The running game did show some signs of life, and the defense, which unfortunately lost rookie Keon White to a head injury in the first quarter, had some players step up in a major way. Folks, there's a lot to break down in this one, and only one man can help us sort it all out honestly and with an opinion all his own. So without further ado

Starting point is 00:02:46 i give you the legendary thomas murphy of e2g sports thank you for coming to me in friendship and thanks for joining me today don murph i'm at my wits end i'm at a loss uh i'm uh really ticked off at the at the fact that that every team that the Patriots have faced for the last three weeks have stolen my keys, turned my keys, and used them to beat the New England Patriots. There really is no other way to slice it. Thank you for having me. Oh, of course, of course.

Starting point is 00:03:24 Murph, we have said several times here on this pod, you are the man that Mondays were created for when it comes to Locked On Patriots. How can you have a hashtag Locked On Murph Monday without the Murph? Doesn't work, folks. But I'll tell you what else doesn't work. A 1-5 record for your New England Patriots. I don't think any

Starting point is 00:03:40 of us thought that this was a below 5-win team. And unfortunately, my friend friend we're facing that possibility uh and it is a distinct possibility yeah for these new england patriots we heard all week long the pats are going to start over there was going to be a new beginning in foxborough and they were going to carry that with them into the nevada desert undisciplined play inability to execute in the clutch and in turn they dropped this week six contest 21 to 17 to the las vegas raiders at a legion stadium and of course the patriots falling to one and five

Starting point is 00:04:12 on the season now the pats really had nowhere to go but up murph if we're being very honest weeks four and five was just absolutely abysmal they exhibited some signs of life on sunday if we're being fair um ending a 79point scoring against streak by their opponents. 10-quarter touchdown drought. All of these were ended on Sunday. I can't believe we're using these terms to describe a Patriots team, but we are. This is the reality in which we live. 17 points on the board.

Starting point is 00:04:40 This was a big point output for the Patri patriots considering what we've seen the last few weeks but in the end raiders linebacker max crosby i think delivering a game-sealing sack on mac jones in the end zone to me just the ultimate microcosm for this season um before we get into some of the x's and o's on this because there's plenty to break down here folks your thoughts on this game what ran through your head as you continued to watch this unfold in Las Vegas on Sunday? No, just another messy start. Just another messy start to it.

Starting point is 00:05:12 The Patriots could do nothing in the first quarter. I think they had 10 penalties on the day. Four of them came in the first quarter. Four of them came in the fourth quarter. And a couple others were sprinkled in there. One was not accepted, so it was 11. And you can't start this way. You know, time and again, we hear about this vaunted Patriots defense, and time and again, they can't stop anybody in the first quarter. Granted, the Raiders only scored three points, but they scored 10 in the second. And once again, you know, the Patriots were down, uh, 13 to three by the halftime.

Starting point is 00:05:49 It's, it's really aggravating. We're, I'm sure, you know, we're, we're gonna, we'll, we'll get into the running game in a bit and the passing game. But, um, Mac has got to establish himself as a, right now I would settle for a competent quarterback. All right? We talked about last Friday. We talked about the Keys and winning the turnover battle. And I said right here, it can't be a push.

Starting point is 00:06:18 It can't be a push in the turnover battle this week and have the Patriots come out on top of it. And it was. It was a push, the, uh, Patriots come out on top of it. And it was, it was a push and the Patriots didn't come out on top of it. And part of it was that, uh, that wonderful, uh, interception that, that, uh, that Mac through, um, you know, trying to hit Hunter Henry on the, on the run. And it's not happening. Hunter Henry was so wide open, you could have driven a semi around him. And Mack missed him. How do you do that? I mean, you could have circled a semi

Starting point is 00:06:53 trailer around him. And Mack overthrew him and set up points. You can't do it. You just can't do it. Again, it comes down to decision-making under duress and inability to make the plays when they need to most. Now we will get into a controversial play folks in just a moment, because there was

Starting point is 00:07:13 an opportunity for the end of this game where Mac did in fact make the throw he needed to make. And unfortunately the Patriots were on the opposite end of the luck train when it came to that, or was it more of a poor execution train and i will discuss that matter for you in just a second but i'm glad you mentioned the interception because this is really i think a very fitting description of how the patriot season has seemed to go early on the patriots are driving they're making their best attempt to try to get down and add points on the field before the end of the half you've made a great point i don't think i can describe it any better as how

Starting point is 00:07:48 wide open hunter henry was folks i don't think murph is exaggerating in this situation i really do believe you could have i have a license i can tell you right now i can pull a rig right around there mac is scrambling he's jumping it was lob downfield, which wasn't really a very forceful type throw. And Trayvon Morig, I mean, was just basically in the right place, the right time, glad that he's going to make the most of that. And it absolutely kills the momentum of the New England Patriots who desperately needed momentum right at that time. Again, they find themselves back at the goal line late in the fourth quarter false start illegal shift delay of game these penalties cannot happen the penalty happening

Starting point is 00:08:31 early and they're happening late they're having exactly when the patriots are starting to build momentum and these are absolutely killing them i think you articulated that perfectly murph a lot of self-inflicted wounds left on the field at Allegiant Stadium yesterday without question. It really is. You can take this is the the the other side of the 2023, the 2022 coin. All right. When it was the Patriots that were in the right place at the right time, when it was the Patriots that were turning the turning their opponents over and scoring points off those turnovers. That's not happening this year, and that's why this team is 1-5.

Starting point is 00:09:09 It's still basically the same team on the offensive side of the board doing the same kind of work. Maybe Mack has been even a little less successful than he was last year during that frustrating year that he had. But the defense is simply while they're stepping up and keeping the opponents from scoring a lot, not, you know, when you take out last week and the week before, you know, of course, but, but still, this is a top rated defense in the NFL. All right.

Starting point is 00:09:42 They are just not turning the ball over and they are not scoring those points. Kyle Duggar is not running balls in for on pick sixes. Absolutely. And when you're not getting points off of turnovers on the defensive side of the ball and you're committing turnovers that lead to points for your opposition, folks, it's a recipe for disaster. And as we've said, really no mystery as to why this team is one in five. Blackton Patriots

Starting point is 00:10:06 listeners and viewers, we hope you are enjoying the wisdom and counsel of myself and Thomas Murphy of E2GSports.com right here on Locked on Patriots, a proud part of the Locked on Podcast Network,

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Starting point is 00:13:37 I alluded to it just a few moments ago and being at the goal line and the penalties, but there were blunders made by the New England Patriots in this session, in this series, that essentially doomed them to a one in five record, because they had their opportunities to pull this one out, even though they did not play their best game. It was a lot better than what we've seen the last couple of weeks, but it is still not, I think, the best of what this team can give you. But they're not giving us any sort of confidence or not giving us any sort of hope that we're going to see anything more than what we're seeing out there. I guess we'll start with the first play in the series, and that is the drop from Devontae Parker, second and 11. Mack Jones drops back.

Starting point is 00:14:16 I thought this was one of the best throws I've seen Mack making quite some time in a game setting. I thought he was poised, got the ball to Devontae, hit him right in stride, gave him even the opportunity to advance a little bit beyond where the ball hit, and maybe at around the 47, 48-yard line, this was going to advance past midfield. Now you're looking at the Patriots all of a sudden just needing a couple of plays to get into field goal range. I know the way the Patriots have played offensively, that's not a given, but if you complete a pass like that in that stage of the game, that's going to give your team a lot of confidence. It's going to really raise the spirits and I think raise the excitement level on that sideline and especially on that field.

Starting point is 00:14:57 So Patriots were well suited into doing that. Correct me if I'm wrong, Murph. I think this is absolutely a throw. Devontae Parker has to haul in. This one I don't put on, Mac. This is on Devontae. No, exactly. It was a dime.

Starting point is 00:15:12 It was a dime. And he dropped the dime. And he didn't own it after the game. Yeah, it might have hit me on the fingertips. And the lack of accountability there really drove me up the wall. This is a man that the Patriots extended this year, gave a raise to, and he has not done anything. What, he had four targets and two catches yesterday?

Starting point is 00:15:41 Come on. Come on. Actually, one catch for seven yards on two Actually, one catch for seven yards. One catch for seven yards. This was a beautiful play call. It was one that the defense was not expecting. Parker got out and he beat his man. He was faster than the help that came over. I don't understand. When I saw the pass leave max max hands i said oh

Starting point is 00:16:07 this has got a chance this has got a chance if he doesn't underthrow this this has a chance if parker doesn't uh outrun this pass it's got a chance and it was perfect the timing was perfect parker did not have to speed up slow down lay, lay out, nothing. All he had to do was reach his hands out but he had alligator arms and it went off the tips of his fingers. I'm sorry. I've said this for years. If you can touch

Starting point is 00:16:35 the ball, you can catch it. It's Murphy's Law and he broke it. Yeah, and I think some may argue that the ball hit a little more than just the fingertips. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. I think he had the ability to corral that. Right in the middle of his right palm. Yeah, absolutely.

Starting point is 00:16:50 Bottom line, I mean, this is what you're paid to do. You sign a $10.8 million extension in the offseason. This is what you are supposed to do. And unfortunately, the Patriots did not haul that in, and it had a detrimental effect. Look, the Patriots did that off of what started on this drive was a holding call on Antonio Mafia. Credit to Mac, you know, stepping up and making the throw in the light of that. And then after this, you just saw a gradual disintegration of what the Patriots were trying

Starting point is 00:17:18 to do offensively. It just took the wind right out of everybody's sails. Yeah. Delay of game penalty. And I'm sorry sorry but the blocking team of mike gasecki and badarian lowe is not going to get it done against max cross no quick work then got to mac and a a two-point drop in the end zone essentially seals the deal for the for the las vegas raiders well has said for years for years i could go down to Foxborough High School and get somebody to do this better.

Starting point is 00:17:47 Well, he better go do it because Vardarian Lowe does not belong on a football field. And having Mike Gusecki out there to chip was moronic. It was actually sub-moronic because the man can't block a sneeze. He's not a blocker. He's not. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you're sending someone out there that's not accustomed to doing the job to do a job that seasoned blockers would have difficulty.

Starting point is 00:18:12 Right. Crosby is an absolute stud at this position. I mean, nobody can deny that. And he's going to be able to get his regardless. But you have to put competent blockers. You have to put competent obstacles in his way to do that. And he didn't do it and look there is a layer of blame that could be you know put on mac jones's shoulders he did not take the opportunities in front of him he could have checked that down and he could have he could

Starting point is 00:18:36 have you know extended and had a chance on fourth down and he did not he was a remandre that was that was there i have yeah he had able to rewatch this game, folks. I'm sorry. There was a lot of single reads in this game, okay? There wasn't scanning. He has no time to do it, I understand. But even when he had time to do it, he was zeroing in on his first read and not going through the progressions and then going back to the first read because he's simply afraid that he doesn't have enough time and that somebody's coming off that right side. No, it's true.

Starting point is 00:19:09 And when you play gun-shy like that, when you play wary of the pressure, it's going to lead to more difficult problems. It's going to lead to issues. And it's also leading to Mac trying to do too much in one sitting. And that's exactly what you saw on this play last night. I caught this on my second viewing of the game where originally like i said i was willing to chalk it up to bad coverage mac had insufficient time to react he ran into max crosby because darian lowe and mike koseki simply did not do their job right that's a part of this but at the same time you have the angle check down

Starting point is 00:19:40 to stevenson in front of you it's not ideal but you use it in order to advance the ball. It gets you out of that end zone. It puts you inside the 10, put your back against the wall with a fourth down. It beats holding the ball a few seconds or two too long to try to get it all back in one play. That lost yardage was something Mack is processing in his head. He's thinking, I have to do this all in one sitting, and you don't have to. And that's the difference between a quarterback that's making sound decisions and a quarterback that's trying to play not to lose or not to humiliate himself. That's the hole the Patriots have dug themselves into now. That's it.

Starting point is 00:20:18 And you can come right down to it. The offensive holding on Moffey, the delay of game penalty. It was just, I'm at a loss for words that we can actually say on air. That's true. For how I want to describe this. Absolutely. Because we are a family network here on Lockdown Patriots and across the Lockdown Podcast Network. So I thank you for that, my friend. But bottom line, it does.

Starting point is 00:20:47 It results in, unfortunately, a Patriots 1-5 record at a 21-17 loss. Before we take our leave of the offense, though, however, my friend, wanted to give a little, just a few minor props to the Patriots running game. Ramondre Stevenson, Ezekiel Elliott, finding a little bit of traction. I also want to give some credit to Bill O'Brien, who I thought did a good job of mixing in inside zone, called the occasional jet sweep, just like you have predicted he should be doing all along, Murph. He finally did take one of those keys, and it led to some good stuff for the Patriots on the field, including a jet sweep from Kendrick Bourne. It did. The jet sweep from Kendrick Bourne

Starting point is 00:21:24 was a nice play, but more importantly, the inside zone runs, which I've been calling for and calling for and calling for, stop trying to get to the edge with this crew, okay? Because it's not going to happen. The inside zone runs are the way that you need to go right now with this line that you have pieced together. Unfortunately, I'm going to throw a little bit of water on this. Josh McDaniels basically pulled out an old defensive scheme that I had called for,

Starting point is 00:21:58 written up, talked to many people about ad nauseum in begging the Patriots to run the ball. That's what they did. They begged the Patriots. They, the Patriots got the job done and they moved the ball, but they weren't exactly stacking the box against the Patriots. They, they knew they could put up points on the board and what they wanted the Patriots to do. The Patriots did. They, they matriculated down the field. They chewed up a lot of time in the second half running the football. And that was just fine with the Raiders because they knew that, you know, the way that with the weapons that they have on that side of the ball, they were going to be able to score if they wanted to. But, you know, they didn't.

Starting point is 00:22:46 The Patriots defense stepped up. And if they had just managed that clock a little bit better in the second half and gotten down the field a little bit quicker, they might not have had their backs against the wall at the end of the game. Sorry, I do. I want to give Stevenson, I want to give Zeke the credit that they had. The touchdown that got called back was just, oh my God, I felt so bad for those guys. Yeah, it's true. Really, they've been on the unfortunate end of bad results.

Starting point is 00:23:18 I mean, you can make the argument whether it was luck, whether it was lack of preparation or lack of prowess, that's all fair game. But the Patriots have been on the opposite side of good breaks more than they've been on the good side of good breaks. And, you know, unfortunately that's another example. Penalties keep digging them a hole and digging them, you know, helping to dig that hole. It's just awful. It's just awful.

Starting point is 00:23:41 That's the only thing Devonta Parker uh got right in his after uh after game speech in front of the locker in front of his locker that that penalties are killing us but that was just more of him deflecting from the fact that he didn't pull in that ball and unfortunately whether the ball was pulled in or not whether the safety is made or not the Patriots once again find themselves in a nearly insurmountable hole now heading into a week seven matchup with the division leaders and the defending division champion buffalo bills and we're going to get to the bills later on this week folks but right now we're still trying to digest the loss to the las vegas raiders in the nevada desert silver linings

Starting point is 00:24:21 murph against the silver and black how about? There were actually a couple, and they came from the defensive side of the ball. When we wrap up today's conversation, Murph and I are going to discuss those silver linings and why the Patriots' defense might have shown us a little something to believe in heading into what's going to be a long and winding road toward 2024. More on the Patriots' loss to the Raiders and also by popular demand. Yeah, Murph, we've got to do it. The T-word will be mentioned here

Starting point is 00:24:52 before the end of the program, so stick around and stay locked in to this episode of the Locked On Patriots Podcast, a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Locked On Network, your team every day. Lockdown listeners, these days, every new potential hire can feel like a high-stakes wager for your small business.

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Starting point is 00:26:33 But unfortunately, that is the situation we find ourselves in. The legendary Connor Murphy, Fisto himself, Thomas Murphy of E2GSports.com. And Murph, we've talked ad nauseum right now about Mac Jones and the mental mistakes that he continues to make. We talked a little bit about the running game. We have digested the final sequence in the New England Patriots' comeback attempt yesterday, including Devontae Parker's drop. But one thing we haven't mentioned is the Patriots' defensive effort.

Starting point is 00:27:01 Right. It's a great shot. Matthew Judon, Christian Gonzalez, Jack Jones, Marcus Jones, all on injured reserve. Jonathan Jones has banged up himself. He's out there trying to give you everything he could. Josh Uche is nursing an injury. He spent time out of the game yesterday being looked at.

Starting point is 00:27:20 There is so much from this team right now that is coming up on the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to injuries especially on this defense but yet the New England Patriots found a way to keep this one not only competitive but also ward off some pretty good defender some pretty good you know offensive players at times Jabril Peppers and Jelani Tavai may have combined for the hit and interception maybe of the first half of the season um your thoughts on this before we get into some of the other defensive improvements this was textbook after after that hit I tweeted out that um you know to bookmark this because this may be the high point of the Patriots season. It definitely was to date. The Patriots set a tone, a tone of

Starting point is 00:28:12 physicality in this game that we haven't seen to this point in time. And the hit that Peppers laid out there was just, yeah, as you said, textbook. There was no way anybody could scream about the way he went about his business. He, Tavai, Christian Barmore were just phenomenal in this game. Barmore, multiple run stops in the game, including a play late in the fourth quarter where he just shot a gap and made a tackle for a loss in the backfield on third and one. I think there was just more than two minutes in the game left there, like 2.30, something like that. But, no, it's – they're finally getting an identity,

Starting point is 00:29:01 and hopefully this carries over as these guys that that mike just mentioned get back into um into pads and back onto the field on sundays uh they are missing a lot you know this is this was a jack jones type of game and i wish that jack jack had been there because uh that physicality is needed those Those hits are needed. They need to make up for a lack of Matthew Judon. They need to be able to shut down the best wide receivers in this game. The Patriots were able to shut down their number one weapon this week, and the other guys were kept in check in a really fine way.

Starting point is 00:29:46 You can talk about the touchdown that was given up and the lack of a missed assignment there, but what are you going to do? It's football. People are going to score. This defense is finding itself and finding itself at the right time. And I really don't want to hear that they did it against a backup quarterback. Yeah, I mean, we've gone through that type of discussion several times here on Locked

Starting point is 00:30:17 On Patriots. And yeah, there are different degrees in talent level of players that you're going to face, especially quarterbacks. But if you're an NFL quarterback, especially a veteran that's been in the league 15 years, they are very savvy at being able to know how to beat a certain team and how to manage a game well, especially when that gentleman that we're talking about, Brian Hoyer, by the way, folks, has spent an awful lot of time under Bill Belichick here in New England. So he's well suited to be able

Starting point is 00:30:45 to neutralize what the Patriots do well. The Pats still found a way defensively to keep these, this team in check. I think you made a great point about JC Jackson and the coverage that he provided and showing that he can be a lockdown corner in addition to being a ball hawking corner with a nose to get after the football. I think you'll see that more as he becomes more comfortable, and he's coming up to speed very quickly. That prior knowledge of the Patriots system coming in very handy when it comes to JC. But I thought the line, especially the front seven, really stepped it up from a bad performance just one week ago.

Starting point is 00:31:19 You mentioned Barmore, five tackles, one tackle for for loss two pass breakups anthony jennings at the linebacker position has been very good in the absence of matthew judon six tackles one for loss juwan bentley chipping in with four tackles and two quarterback hits that all helps to fill a void left by someone we have we have agreed several times here on these airwaves Murph is irreplaceable you can't necessarily come in and replace what Matthew Judon gives you off the field on the field just everything that the guy does you're not going to replicate it but what you can do is you can find ways to fill the void and the Patriots are doing that quite nicely I thought their front seven had a very good showing yesterday and I thought they came in with a good game plan.

Starting point is 00:32:05 So I take my hat off to the Patriots defensive coaches as well. This is not an easy offense to defend, regardless of who's under center. When you've got guys like Michael Mayer making catches and making plays like he did yesterday, Devontae Adams, another world when this guy is in his zone, Hunter Renfro is capable of hurting you. There's so many different ways in which this team can beat you josh jacobs had 77 yards rushing yesterday uh just

Starting point is 00:32:30 a lot for the patriots to handle and i thought they did a good job of keeping everything in check yeah so tovi really set a tone early with the hit that he put on jacobs he got he got flagged for it and that was you know it was you know tad bit egregious and uh and i agree with the flag but it did it set the tone it let it let the raiders know that that what you've seen on film the last two weeks is not what you're going to get today right yeah yeah they came to play and they came to hit and those are two things that the patriots did well especially peppers which is going to be on this season's highlight reel. And it may be the Patriots' highlight of the year because it was picture perfect and exactly what you're looking to see from a defense that needed a little bit of a spark.

Starting point is 00:33:15 And I think they got that in this play. Murph, unfortunately, the 1-5 season is not where the New England Patriots want to be. It's not where we want to be in the media. We don't want to be covering a one in five team. Certainly, most importantly, we know all of you everydayers out there, all of you locked on loyalists, but all of you Patriots fans, whether you're locked on loyalists or not, do not want to see a one in five team out there on the field

Starting point is 00:33:39 welcoming the Buffalo Bills this weekend. But that is where we are, Murph. And we wouldn't be doing our due diligence unless we close today's episode with a little Mailbag Monday question. And Murph, you knew it was coming. It's the most popular in our DMs all over the Lockdown Patriots DM.

Starting point is 00:33:57 It's a question everyone is asking. You see the social media posts. You hear all of the talking heads basically buying into the fact that this is exactly what the Patriots should be doing. I put it to you, my good friend, who see things us mere mortals don't see. Is the word tank in the New England Patriots vocabulary for the remainder of this season? Nope. Not there.

Starting point is 00:34:20 It's not there. It's not in the DNA here. It's not there. It's not there. It's not in the DNA here. It's not going to happen. Believe me, Mac Jones is not going to go out there and tank so they can draft the next guy. All right? The gentlemen that are on the defensive side of this ball have too much pride to allow that to happen. The coaching staff has too much pride to allow that to happen. The coaching staff has too much pride to allow that to happen. We are not going to be known.

Starting point is 00:34:52 The Patriots would have never sucked for luck if Tom Brady wasn't here. That would not happen. Even if the Patriots end up with the top 10 or top 12 pick, okay, I would not expect them to draft a quarterback in this. If by some way, shape, or form that it does not go well and they end up with the top pick in the draft, yeah, I can see them doing it. But top 10, no, build around this guy. Build this man an offensive line and see what he can do.

Starting point is 00:35:30 I don't care about fifth-year options. I'm not one of those people who say the cap is crap, but they can work around it. Go pick up the option. There's no tanking in New England. There's no tanking. They could have a bad year. This could end up being 1990, people, when the Patriots went 1-15.

Starting point is 00:35:54 It could be 1970. How many of you remember 1970 at 2-14? That could end up happening. Just a couple more injuries, and they could seriously be a top five pick in this year's draft. The amount of attrition that you can overcome is really difficult in this league. Right now, the Patriots have lost so many impact

Starting point is 00:36:24 players on both sides of the ball that it's going to be really difficult but they're not tanking that's not going to happen it definitely is not in Bill's best interest no there's no question about it the more they lose the more he's going to continue to hear the rumblings and he's already hearing them loudly and people already calling for his job I had people meeting people last night stating that do they believe that Bill Belichick will announce his retirement or announce he's leaving the team tomorrow morning? And I just I rolled my eyes because that's where Patriots Nation is right now as a fan base. And I completely understand why fans are asking these questions. They're frustrated. They don't want to see this type of product out there on the field week after week. And say what you will, I think yesterday's loss is one that most fans can

Starting point is 00:37:09 probably bear. But when it comes off of two absolutely decimating, demoralizing defeats like they had against the Cowboys and the Saints, it compounds that and it makes this so much more difficult. So this game, the entire season is aggravating because this game was winnable. They should have won this game. Philadelphia was winnable. Miami was winnable. That's three and three.

Starting point is 00:37:37 I told you, with a team that is constructed as this one is with the problems that they have, you can't afford to lose those games. And you did because you're also going to have those games like Dallas and like New Orleans, where there was just a snowball's chance in hell after the first half of winning. And, you know, those games do happen when they're strung together. It makes it even worse, especially for the fan base, because you're now dealing with 10 straight quarters of no touchdowns. You're dealing with a 79-point scoring streak against before you can actually put points up on the board. These are not things that Patriots fans are used to seeing. But all good things come to an end, Murph, and we are now staring at a new beginning and a much needed new beginning. And, you know, we'll see whether that means a new man under center, whether that means a new man on the bench is still all up for fair game. And I think those are conversations.

Starting point is 00:38:34 It really is. There are, there are conversations that are going to be, have to be had at the end of this year about this coaching staff, about the way this roster was constructed, and how it's going to happen moving forward. But we've got a lot of games to play in between now and then, and I don't see any changes happening in that. But on a good note, we are trending upwards. Mack had a better than decent game. I'm going to give him that. He had a better than decent game.

Starting point is 00:39:08 He threw for, what, 260-some-odd yards. The defense had a fantastic showing. Just what they did in the red zone, all right? The Raiders were one for six in the red zone, one for six. And it took a broken coverage for them to get that score. Hats off toacoby myers okay i got you know i was wrong though he didn't throw for he didn't throw for a touchdown yeah we thought we were going to see that unfortunately well fortunately for patriots fans we didn't but unfortunately for the raiders they weren't able to incorporate that but uh yeah they uh they did show um and other people thought it too because the odds were not in my favor

Starting point is 00:39:46 for putting $20 down. Yeah, that's true. It really is. And I think a lot of people were surprised that we didn't see it. Who knows? Maybe that was the genius of Josh McDaniels. Psych them into thinking they're going to see it and then not give it to them. And then not doing it.

Starting point is 00:40:00 Exactly. But no, held them to one for six in the red zone. That was fantastic. The Patriots were two for two in the red zone. That was fantastic. The Patriots were two for two in the red zone when they got in there. But like I said, not getting down there enough. You know, we're not getting down into the red zone enough. I expect to see some more of that this weekend, hopefully. Absolutely.

Starting point is 00:40:20 And hopefully we will see a lot more of that this weekend. The Patriots are going to, once again again need to pull out all the stops. They want to remain competitive against the Bill's team that can be had if you have the right game plan and the right personnel. Unfortunately, Patriots haven't had either one of those correctly in the longest time. We're going to turn the keys later this week, folks. Do not worry. Murph is going to give us the path to victory, so stay tuned for that.

Starting point is 00:40:43 But we are going to continue to break down the Patriots' loss to the Raiders, what it means in the short term and in the long term, give some grades, and we're going to have a lot of fun this week. So stay locked in for the Locked On Patriots podcast. And once again, I thank my good friend, the Count of Murphy, Fisto himself, Thomas Murphy of E2G Sports for dropping by. And before I turn this over to Murph to give you some parting words of wisdom, Murph, I think we would be remiss if we didn't give our best wishes to two

Starting point is 00:41:10 expatriates right now. First, most importantly, Damian Harris, a scary neck injury suffered last night in the Buffalo Bills game with the New York Giants. Having the privilege of covering Damian up here in New England for for a few years having seen him in the locker room and on the practice fields i can tell you folks there is not a more positive or encouraging player that i've ever been around always a smile on his face always willing to lend a helping hand and such a hard worker uh wishing him nothing but the best in his recovery and hopefully all will be okay the early indications are that he's going to be all right. And that's definitely a good thing.

Starting point is 00:41:48 So definitely. You know, with that smile, constant, the constant Cheshire grad cat grin that he's had on his face, just a class individual and, and somebody that, that we're sending all the good karma to,

Starting point is 00:42:02 and hopefully he'll be okay. Upright walking upright, walking right, and back on a football field, you know, God willing. Absolutely. And, of course, in the game that we watched yesterday, Jimmy Garofalo exiting after the first half with a back injury, transported to the hospital. Josh McDaniels did not have an update on Jimmy last night. Looks like at least the seriousness factor may have passed him by, but this one could have long-term implications for the Raiders this season. Again, Jimmy, the consummate professional, just unfortunately decimated and on the wrong side of a lot of injuries throughout his career, but a good man, and we definitely wish him the best in his recovery efforts as well.

Starting point is 00:42:47 So Lockdown Patriots sending a lot of good karma and best wishes out to Damian Harris and Jimmy Garoppolo. Just because you're not in a Patriots uniform anymore doesn't mean you're no longer a part of the Patriots fan. Forever New England actually needs that. Absolutely. Well said, my friend. And because it's well said, please take us home today.

Starting point is 00:43:06 What can we expect from the great pen, the great voice of Thomas Murphy in the coming days and weeks leading up to a week seven matchup in Foxborough this weekend? Well, you know, it's playoff season in baseball. There's still baseball happening out there, folks. And I got a nice little piece up there this morning about the Texas Rangers coming out and just smacking, just smacking the Astros from the mound. It was a beautiful pitcher's duel last night, and I hope all, some of you at least got to see it. I had that on the big screen. I had the football game on the little screen because it's baseball. Baseball is life here. And of course, I'll have a preview up later

Starting point is 00:43:48 on the NLCS and I'll be following that all week long. And of course, on Friday you can catch my monster keys to beating the Bills. I'll be nice and just call them the Bills. Keep a sharp eye

Starting point is 00:44:04 out over the weekend, folks, because you might see Murph hop back up on these airwaves and on your YouTube screens to turn some of those keys heading into Sunday's game against Buffalo. But in the meantime, folks, we thank our good friend Thomas Murphy for dropping by today, as he always does, for Mailbag Monday, Melancholy Monday, but most importantly for Hashtag Lock LockedOnMurfMonday.

Starting point is 00:44:25 And a special thank you to all of you everydayers out there, all of you LockedOn loyalists that make LockedOn Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. I cannot thank you enough for that, my unending loyalty and my unending appreciation to each and every one of you. And in that vein, I'm your host, Mike debate on behalf of Thomas Murphy of E2G sports. We remind you to stay safe and 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 luck on Patriots.

Starting point is 00:44:58 Get me to the red zone. Highway to the danger zone.

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