Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots vs. Washington Commanders Recap: Drake Maye, Jacoby Brissett, Offensive Line

Episode Date: August 27, 2024

Despite their 20-10 loss to the Washington Commanders in their preseason finale, the New England Patriots have several exciting decisions to make as they head toward the start of the regular season. Host Mike D’Abate welcomes Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy to discuss the prowess of quarterbacks Drake Maye and Jacoby Brissett, the many woes of the offensive line and which players most helped their case for a roster spot.#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 news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans — @mdabateNFL  Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply. eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotors.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only  to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. 5-Hour EnergyGo to 5hourenergy.com and use promo code LOCKEDONFB to receive 20% off your order. This offer is only valid until September 30th on one order and cannot be used with other promotions. The code is not good on subscription orders. Go to 5hourenergy.com today! 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. FanDuelNow through September 22nd, ALL FanDuel customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS and get a THREE WEEK free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV. Visit FANDUEL.COM/LOCKEDON 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)

The 2024 preseason is now in the books for your New England Patriots. Is it now finally time to go all the way with May? 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. Remember, Locked On Patriots is not only a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day,

but we are also free and available on all platforms, including YouTube. So smash that subscribe button and download and follow Locked On Patriots wherever you get your podcasts to ensure you're getting the latest episode as soon as it's available. I'm your host, Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Athlon Sports. So reach out to me and let me know what's on your mind on X at MDABAPENFL. While you're out there showing some social media love to Lockdown Patriots,

please follow our account there as well at LO underscore Patriots. And Pats fans, today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Listen up. Now through September 22nd, all FanDuel customers can bet $5 and get a three-week free trial of NFL Sunday ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV. Visit FanDuel.com to get started. And Patriots fans, Drake May, the rookie from North Carolina, the number three overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, took his battle with Jacoby Brissett

for the starting job to commanders field on Sunday night. Made a pretty good case, if you ask me. And while the offensive line made it clear to Gerard Mayo that he may not want to throw his prize rookie out there just yet, New England Patriots still fell to the Washington commanders 20 to 10 and closed out their preseason at 1-2. Now the questions begin, and now comes the time where the New England Patriots brain trust is going to have to whittle this 90-man roster down to 53.

And here today to help us break it all down is the only man with the gravitas capable of being able to handle such a monumental breakdown, our good friend, the legend himself, the Count of Murphy Fisto, the Green King of Sting, the Monster Master of Disaster. Yeah, I'm going through all the names here, folks, because it's a big Monday and we need big opinions. My good friend, Thomas Murphy, thank you for coming to me in friendship today, Don Murphy.

Well, my opinions are big, but I'm not sure how right they are. We'll be the judge of that. I think you nail it more often than not, but Murph, the Patriots finished this preseason slate one and two. I don't think anybody is really concerned about the overall record of the preseason for the New England Patriots. It very seldom is for any team, whether you're at the top of the echelon or at the bottom of the barrel. No one really cares how you finish the preseason. It's more about individual performances and performances as a team.

Well, there was a collective unit last night that is going to cause a lot of sleepless nights in New England throughout the year, and we're pretty confident on that. We're going to reserve an entire segment to talk about the woes on the offensive line, folks, but I thought we'd begin with the news of the day, and that is the quarterback position. And yeah, we're going to start with Drake May, folks. May entered a game for the second offensive series. We heard Gerard Mayo say after the game that was the plan all

along, and right off the bat, Drake looked very comfortable in that offense. An 11-play, 83-yard drive ending with his first NFL touchdown, an 18-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Harris. Put some nice moves on that to try to get to the end zone. Did it very successfully. Drake 5 of 6 on that drive, 71 yards, and a 17-yard run when the Patriots were facing a 3rd and 14 from their own 8-yard line. And he did it all despite two bungled snaps along the way a lot of maturity uh we're seeing a lot of improvement from May he ended up finishing the game going 13 of 20 for 126 yards with one touchdown but from a

mechanical standpoint Murph we're starting to see Drake May emerge is what he's going to look like as an NFL quarterback you and I have talked mechanics with this kid from the get-go. Putting all the other outside factors around him, just aside for now. From a mechanical standpoint, how impressed were you with what you've seen from Drake May, particularly in the last couple of preseason games? It was impressive. It was most impressive. The force is with this young one, and he showed it last night, uh, both with his arms

and with his legs, uh, both, uh, every drive that, that he was out there for it, he looked like he was in complete command and control. Um, the, uh, you know, as you said, eliminating the outside force. Okay. Um, you know, it was, uh, it was, it was a beautiful thing to see and it gave talk radio a lot to, uh, chew on, uh, in the coming two weeks or the coming, uh, hours ahead to see who is going to be surrounded by the young quarterback. And it also gave a lot of fuel to the fire of Stark Drake. Absolutely. And I think in a lot of ways, Patriots fans are looking at this and saying, this kid has clearly, he clearly has the skill set to play quarterback at a pro level.

He's got the ability. He's got all the intangibles. Even in a touchdown that was called back last night, scrambling, throwing across his body and finding K.J. Osborne for what should have been a touchdown, but for, again, outside influences coming back to rear their ugly head for the New England Patriots. But this kid clearly has the intangibles, and you're seeing more maturity from him each and every day. And last week, I thought it was very interesting that both Gerard Mayo and Alex Van Pelt made it a point to talk about reading the coverage, being able to get to the line of scrimmage and reading what the other team is going to do. Be ready for the pressure, knowing it's going to come. You're starting to see Drake may be able to adapt to that very well.

Maybe a little bit too much, maybe a little too much trial by fire uh in this case for the new england patriots but bottom line i do think he has grown from the time that we've seen him first take the field in rookie minicamp to where he is now he looks much more nfl ready now without question than he did early on and i think all things being equal in a perfect scenario or at least a palatable scenario he would probably be your starting choice i and i don't think the patriots would be wrong in doing that but there are outside interferences and that may end up leading jacoby brissett to get the job now jacoby got the nod single series again gerard said that this was the plan all along um it did result

in a punt didn't result in a touchdown the way drake's first series did but there were a couple of nice passes a misfire obviously to kj osborne that could have been a nice little game for the new england patriots but the takeaway from this drive was the shoulder injury that he sustained and kj henry coming over this is the sixth offensive play of the game all of his weight came down on jacoby's shoulder jacoby got up he's grimacing um gerard said after the game that he believed that if it was a regular season game jacoby probably would have played through it so patriots are downplaying this but you and i both know that those shoulders those injuries can feel a little worse the day after than they do in the moment so i think it's still something to monitor folks, keep a sharp eye on that, but all things being equal, maybe Jacoby will be okay. And it won't be anything more than just

soreness, stiffness, and having him get back into the swing of things. I was scared that it was a grade one or two separation, but you know, what we all heard from coach Mayo this morning, you know, things are looking up. Yeah, exactly morning you know things are looking up yeah exactly and if things are looking up it does beg the question murph this is a guy that does know how to read coverages at the line he's played under alex van pell he knows how to manage and get through difficulty with an offensive line that may not be ready to protect a young quarterback that's still learning the nuances of the game despite what we've seen from from Drake May and the impressive nature of the skill set he's shown, do you believe that Jacoby Brissett is the more prudent choice here to start the season?

Yes, without a doubt. I've said this from day one. I want Drake May to sit as impressive as he's looked. And he still wasn't going against a number one defense. He still wasn't. You know, it while it might not have been vanilla, it was just chocolate chip. OK, that's that's what the defense that he was facing on Sunday was last night. Yeah. Sunday. Yesterday was Sunday and, um, preseason and, um, and no, I, I think, uh, he's still the prudent choice to, to going forward for at least the

first, you know, half of this season. Um, let him sit and learn, let him, let him stand on the sidelines and see what an actual NFL defense looks like. What the speed of the game is. He was impressive. We said this from the onset. That he is going to have many days where he looks better than Jacoby Brissett. That doesn't mean that he's ready for what's coming. Okay.

I understand you're all excited. And you're hearing about different first-round picks going to start the season as their team's quarterback number one. That doesn't mean that this kid should, and it doesn't mean that he couldn't if the factors around him were different. That's a good point, and I'm glad that you mentioned the factors around him because we've danced around the subject long enough i think we really need to hit that head on and before we get into the nuances of what exactly is wrong internally with the line itself let's talk a little bit about what the impact on this line will have on the quarterback decision because it will impact it one way or another if we're going to make the argument that drake may is fundamentally sound enough to be able to navigate a pro level offense and that he is mentally tough enough to be able to take

all of the hits and be able to still be an effective quarterback without getting the yips uh which some nfl quarterbacks do have sometimes the mental game becomes more of a problem than the physical game if we're going to go based on that and the offensive line obviously is what it is if the intangibles are there if the mental game is there do you try to mask or mitigate what the Patriots are going through on the offensive line right now by simply calling less drop backs max protecting more using the run protecting Drake May with play calling rather than the lack of protection that you're providing him with, with the personnel that you provided. Can you mask those problems and throw Drake May out into the wild simply because he gives you the best chance to win fundamentally?

So you mean do exactly what they did at North Carolina? Yeah, exactly. Is that sustainable at the pro level? That's what they did. They could do that. They did at North Carolina. Yeah, exactly. You know, that's what they did. They could do, they could do that. They could scheme things up. They could put him in the shotgun and keep him there and spread things out. Um, of course they could do that, but I, I, I still don't think that it's going to fix the, the, the, the poignant fact that this kid, every time he's back and takes a snap,

that he's, you know, a second and a half away from a season-ending injury. And then what's he going to learn? All right? This line is a mess. We're going to get to it, folks. You're reading it. Michael's itching, and I'm scratching. but I'm not putting this kid back there, um, and try to do it with mirrors, right? Cause mirrors break. And, uh, this kid, this kid could end up being broken,

um, physically. I don't think he can, he, you can break him mentally. I think he's, he's that much tougher. Do you know who has the highest quarterback rating in the preseason, Michael? Michael McCorkle-Mac Jones of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Right. There's a difference. He's down there. He's behind an offensive line that has been together for a very long time and in a system that he's picked up well and has been in place for a while. Everything is still being worked out here.

If you go back there and you do these things that we just talked about, you scheme it up, you keep him in shotgun, it creates a very predictable scenario each and every game, okay, that the opposing defenses and defensive coordinators are going to pick apart, and this kid is going to get killed. All right, this kid's going to get killed. Yeah, and that's the point that I think I was looking for you to make, and I'm glad that you you did because there is always that inherent risk of quarterbacks getting injured. Look, quarterbacks are going to get hit. I don't care what type of offensive line you have.

There are always going to be breakdowns. Quarterbacks will get hit. They are going to absorb tough situations and they are going to have to play through adversity. There is something to be said about teaching the kid to protect himself, but is it sustainable when you're trying to also develop a fundamental skill set that is foreign to him when he came in here to the league he's not used to running the alex van pelt offense it was a different system in north carolina so coupling those together i think it just makes it untenable to the patriots to be able to not only

try to coach him up in terms of how to play through offensive line difficulty, but also continue to teach him fundamentals. That's the argument that I think Gerard Mayo and Alex Van Pelt continuously try to make. Yes, the skill sets there. Is he ready to play at a pro level? No question about it. But is he ready to play and lead this team at a pro level? That is a totally different scenario and something that this only this Patriots brain trust is capable of being able to decide for themselves. Right. What you saw Drake may do last night at his,

the best you, the best you saw of Drake may last night is not the Alex fan pelt offense. It's not what he wants to do. It's not what he wants to accomplish. Drake, Drake may shouldn't have to be running for 17 yards to get a first down drake may should not have to be uh going off script to flip a ball down oh my god what a throw throw really was all right and i couldn't

line up in center field with a baseball and throw throwing a I just couldn't have. I understand folks, and we've never not said that the talent isn't there, that the arm strength isn't there. What we're talking about is, is he going to be ready to counter what he sees across from him. Is he going to be able to be on the same page? And you could see, you know, during last night's game with some of the incompletions that he and the, and the wide receivers are still not on the same page. Now you could blame that on Gerard Mayo, not giving him enough time with the ones, you know,

or the fact that, you know, this kid is just a kid. And the people that he's throwing to for, for the most part are just kids. Okay. You know, Thornton breaks in and he throws out, you know, who, who, who screwed that? It was probably Thornton, but, um, but, um, it, it, it just takes time and, and let's just, you know, let's just relax and, and let this kid take his time. What are we talking about here? If this kid starts week one and plays the entire season,

he gets through, knocking on wood here, unscathed. We're talking about six wins instead of four? Seven wins instead of four? Seven wins instead of four? Is it that important to you? Are those three wins that important to you? People are arguing with me on Twitter about this. And I was upset that I couldn't get a couple more wins by keeping Matthew Judon around here. You always have to remember where you are, folks, and where you're trying to get.

The New England Patriots, I think, have a very keen awareness of knowing where they are. It's where you're trying to get the new england patriots i think have a very keen awareness of knowing where they are it's where they're trying to get to what's it going to take to get to that point and those are the decisions that the new england patriots are going to have to make as they cut these rosters from 90 down to 53 by the deadline coming up on tuesday murph it's going to be interesting but what will be even more interesting is how will Gerard Mayo, Alex Van Pelt, Scott Peters, and the Patriots offensive brain trust fix the woes that we have on the offensive line. It was not a pretty sight in Landover, Maryland on Sunday night. New England Patriots top unit. We're not even talking about the backups here, folks. The top unit whistled for eight penalties, including three for incorrect

alignment on one player alone. That cannot happen in the regular season, and the Pats have a lot of work to do to correct it. Murph and I are going to talk about the woes along the offensive line, the continued problems that it causes for the quarterbacks, but mostly for the offense as a whole

when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. A proud part of the Lockdown Patriots podcast continues, a proud part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Lockdown listeners, when you're hiring for your small business, you want to find quality professionals that are right for the role. That's why you have to check out LinkedIn Jobs. LinkedIn Jobs has the tools to help find the right professionals for your team to help you do it faster. Here's the best part, folks.

They help you do it for free. Because LinkedIn isn't just a job board. LinkedIn helps you hire professionals you can't find anywhere else. Even those who aren't actively searching for a new job but might be open to the perfect role. In a given month, over 70% of LinkedIn users don't visit other leading job sites. So if you're not looking on LinkedIn, you're looking in the wrong place. And on LinkedIn, 86% of small businesses get a qualified candidate within 24 hours. Hire professionals like a professional on LinkedIn.

Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. That's linkedin.com slash locked on NFL to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on Locked on Patriots and making us your first listen each and every day. Folks, if you have made Locked On Patriots your first listen today, and you are a valued everydayer,

a major tip of the cap for Murph and myself, we always appreciate all of your support to Locked On Patriots. If in fact you have done so, please, I implore you, make your second listen to the Locked On Fantasy Football Podcast. Folks, you can get daily insight into the best fantasy draft strategies

so you can win your league this season. Locked On Fantasy Football is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And Pats fans, we are breaking down the Patriots' 20-10 loss to the Washington Commanders. Your New England Patriots finishing the preseason 1-2. A loss coming on Sunday night. The preseason is in the books, Murph.

The time for the talk is just about over. It's about time to start cutting down the rosters. But the criticism will continue and it will continue for this offensive line who was absolutely woeful on Sunday night against the Commanders. Albeit the Patriots were without their captain their best offensive player in David Andrews Patriots top unit called for eight

penalties on Sunday a bad shotgun snap another botched center quarterback exchange a blocking miscue and I think that's a good way to put it but a blocking snap however you want to put it on the play in which Jacoby Brissett was sacked that was an offensive line breakdown that actually caused that yep four of the eight penalties were for incorrect alignment one on michael wayne three on chuk sakura four murph what was the anger level at in the murphy household as you were watching this all unfold on 11th field. 11. This one goes to 11.

Jacoby Brissett left the field holding his shoulder, grimacing in pain. Drake May left the field today wondering who the hell was his dance partner stepping on his feet all night. The kid's feet are black and blue. He actually lost a shoe once and completed a pass. They were stepping all over his feet all night. The kid's feet are black and blue. He actually lost a shoe once and completed a pass. They were stepping all over his feet. The offensive line was getting blown back into him. Not to mention the penalties that were incurred just during the first half.

Ten. During the first half of this game. Those are the people that are supposed to be the starters, with the exception of the great David Andrews, center's rule. It was gone awful. There were missed assignments. Guys were running into each other. It kind of looked like a 1970s pinball game out there with this offensive line. It's true.

I don't mean the last. Three or four balls are out there. Remember those line. That's true. I don't mean to laugh. When the three or four balls are out there, remember those games? Oh, yeah. And they're running into each other because they don't know their assignments or they can't complete their assignments. This offensive line is not one that is predicated to the system that it's being asked to run again. Okay. Just like it was three years ago when, when Bill tried to drafted Cole strange and he

was trying to get to the, this outside, uh, stretch run system. Um, when they ran the ball, they ran the ball well up between the center and the guards, between center and tackle. They couldn't get off, um, off tackle. They couldn't stretch things out. Um, people have argued to me that, well, they're holding that in their back pockets. For what? Why?

You have to get these things ironed out. We are, we are two weeks away from the first game of the season and they have no idea what combination works because they've had to switch in and out and back and forth. You know, Chooks a core four is not a left tackle, people. He's not. I said it when he was brought in. I said it when the Wolf was talking him up about switching over to the left side. And you have to hope that David Andrews stays healthy the entire time

because nobody else on this team can snap a football. Nick Glover, it's not a center. He's not. Yeah, I think we saw that last night. And I think in the problems that you're seeing with just the snaps alone are concerning right and you look at the illegal formations and this all goes back to what you've been saying here for the last couple of months right on these airwaves hand placement on the left is much different than hand placement on the right and in the illegal formations you even saw chris collinsworth point that out last, that this kid is a regular right tackle and he's not used to going left.

And you saw that repeatedly last night. They called that super tight. Okay. The illegal formations. That was, that was super tight calling, but you, you can't do it over and over again. That's the point. All right. That's the point.

You know, the first time I get it, if it happens, you know, two quarters later, I get it. But these are were happening again and again and again with the same people. You I got to move up. All right. My head isn't breaking the belt. I've got to move up. And it was just it was it was aggravating. It was dumbfounding that the anger level was at 11. It was a spinal tap anger level. Yeah. And I don't blame you for that and that's exactly the point is that these things will happen individually you know getting called for an illegal formation on michael wenu that's something that can happen from time to time but when you get three that's something that is a concern because it's happening over and over again and it is

i think it's telling you that something's in this kid's head that he thinks he's going to get beat or he knows he's going to get beat. And I've got to line up as far back as I possibly can. Absolutely. Very well said. And again, I think it just speaks to the woes that the Patriots' choice of having Vardarian Lowe out there at a left tackle position. But he may be one of the only guys on this roster that is suitable for that role that he is trained and mentally capable.

Exactly. So a lot of you wondering why Vardarian Lowe is out there and why people are saying when he comes back, if he's coming back from the oblique and it's not going to be a long-term issue and all indications are that it won't be serious. I think in, I think in that respect, he may be the best option that you have in terms of someone that's capable out of the box, ready to play. And that's sad. Yeah, that's, you know, Elliot Wolf had the the entire offseason to fix this, and he's done nothing. Yes, there is still time to fix this.

They're going to be Band-Aids, but it is. You scour that waiver wire. The first best offensive tackle that's available to you, you grab, okay? Because at the very least, you need some kind of depth if Lowe does come back. If not, maybe you could find a starting caliber guy. Like I said, DJ Humphries is still out there. Charles Leno is still out there. There are guys that we've talked about ad nauseum.

Donovan Smith, thank you very much. Please, for some reason, it's still out there. They want their money, and they're going to wait to get it until the last minute. But it's either the waiver wire or one of these guys that we've been talking about for months now because Elliott Wolfe ignored this all offseason when all he had to do was spend money. And believe me, these guys would have come here if the money was right. He had the cash. We didn't hear. How many times did

you hear, well, the Patriots just missed out on this wide receiver or this tight end? You didn't really hear that about the offensive line. You didn't. He that about the offensive line. You didn't. He paid no attention to it, and this is on him. That's a good point. And look, I think for all of the guff that they're going to catch on this, and I think that is a valid point that you make,

I think they're aware of the lack of attention. I think they're aware of maybe the mistake of not spending more time dedicating resources to bringing in an offensive line and someone that can help this team. Gerard Mayo said on Monday morning, tackles the guards on this team, the starters may not even be on the roster right now. So the Patriots will be looking to try to make this a little bit better. So folks, keep a sharp eye on that. But Murph, we had probably been in agreement that the biggest problem on the offensive line was the tackles. The interior was starting to come together a little bit. That may be in jeopardy as well.

City so last night, leaving the game, Christopher Price of the Boston Globe noticing that City left the locker room last night in a walking boot. Now, the severity of the injury is expected to be determined on Monday after further testing is conducted. But what we do know is that a walking boot is usually not a good indication that a guy is ready to get right back out there on the field immediately. It may not even threaten his ability to start the season on time. But Murph, if the Patriots are looking at City so, potentially missing any time, or even dare I say, and I hope not, significant time, how big of a problem is this now?

It's huge. It's humongous. It's the Lord humongous. The interior of this offensive line was a worry, but not a concern. And now it's definitely a concern. You know, if City is out for a while, then that screws everything up. It really does. It messes everything up on the interior.

And I'm not sure that there's somebody on this roster right now that can step in there and even marginally disrupt what's going to be coming at them. Definitely. And when you look at the interior now, Leighton Robinson all of a sudden is probably going to be thrust into a much bigger role than I saw him potentially have just 24 to 48 hours ago. Does this mean that Michael Wendon now has to absolutely kick back to the right side? These are definitely problems that the Patriots now have to iron out somehow.

Does Nick Leverett get moved back to guard? Now what do you do with the backup center? There is so much of a ripple effect that happens, which again, I think leads us to believe, Murph, and we're in full agreement on this. The personnel on this line is going to change at some point between now and the end of roster cutdowns. And I don't just mean eliminations. I mean, additions.

They got to get somebody in here. That's going to help. And they're going to have to pay for it. Yeah. They're going to have to pay for it with, um, with player or draft capital or, you know, something of that, that ilk that, um, uh, it it's, it's not going to pop out of thin air. You know, it's really not. We've talked before about some possible cuts to tackles

that are making a ton of money and being outplayed by somebody else. And, you know, you, but now with the guard, uh, situation, I, which way do you go? You know, do you grab that guard with the, with, with your first, uh, pick off the waiver wire instead of a tackle? I would still go tackle, but you know, it's, or, or a center if a center pops up, because we've all seen what happens when, uh, when Andrews isn't in there. Right, exactly. And it is, it's a scary situation for any of the quarterbacks. All of these guys need protection, no matter who's in there, whether it's Drake, whether it's Jacoby, whether it's Joe Milton, whether it's Zappy, these guys need protection. And unfortunately, I don't think anyone in Patriots Nation right now is all that confident that they're going to get it the way it should be with this roster as presently constituted.

So a lot of questions to be answered, a lot of woes along the offensive line. But Murph, the offensive line was not the only unit that hurt its cause by a poor performance on Sunday night. Some individual roster hopefuls may not have risen to the occasion the way they hoped. Conversely, there are also a lot of roster hopefuls that I think helped their cause to make a significant impact on this team. Murph and I are going to close out this Patriots Commanders recap episode of the Lockdown Patriots

podcast by playing a little game of stock up, stock down. This and more when we continue right here on the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Locked On listeners, you've heard us talk a lot about FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook. And with the NFL season fast approaching, I know you all out there in Patriots Nation are going to be looking at FanDuel for all of their offerings regarding the Patriots opener against the Bengals, the home opener against the

Seahawks, and so much more. Well, we have something a little different for you. Now, through September 22nd, all FanDuel customers can bet $5 and get a three-week free trial of NFL Sunday ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV. Then, with a YouTube TV base plan, you'll be able to watch every regular season Sunday afternoon out-of-market game. All you need is a Google account and a current form of payment, and you can cancel at any time. Just visit Fand slash locked on to download America's number one sports book. Patriots fans. Thank you so much for joining us here today on this Patriots commanders recap

post game episode of the locked on Patriots podcast. And of course, joining me here today to break down all the action you saw in Landover, Maryland last night is my good friend, the legend himself, Thomas Murphy. And, Murph, we know that roster cutdowns are looming. And some of the decisions the Pats Brass have to make over the course of the next few hours are not going to be easy. There were players that helped their stock, and then there were players that hurt their stock. Let's start with the players that hurt their stock first

because you know we like to end on a high note right um when you look at a player or a unit or any type of individual performance that you saw on the field last night against the commanders who do you think left a little bit too much on the bench and not enough on the field to make their case for a roster spot that much more potent? Probably Tristan Hill. All right. Good choice.

It was, you know, he had a bad blindside block on the Bradley Kings interception. It's just, you know, it seems like that this game is played a little bit too fast for him. He's not always sure what he should be doing or where he's doing, but he didn't help himself last night. And the other thing, everybody who got on me a week ago when I brought up Keyshawn Butte being the odd man out, he slid further down that bubble last night. Zero receptions for Keyshawn.

Zero receptions. You didn't hear his name except sloppy route running. It was not good. And that's a surprise. And again, I've been one of Kayshaun's most staunch advocates. I continue to say that there is a solid NFL receiver somewhere in there, but you have to see it on the field. And did he do enough in the previous efforts to warrant that spot?

Patriots definitely have a decision to make there because taekwon thornton has been helping his case jalen rager i think has maybe made a little bit more of a stronger case in that regard we'll see what happens patriots have only a few hours left to make these decisions but murph let's end on a high note we'd love to end the guy no patriots didn't end on a high note it's a 20-10 loss and broke down in the second half, but there were some players that I think helped their cause last night. Maybe not just to make the roster, but make a significant impact on the roster. When you look at players that had either good performances or helped themselves most last night, who stands out to you?

Yeah, right off the top of my head, Jermichael Hastie. He had a really strong night. He carried the ball four times for 21 yards. He You know, something that we talked about earlier, what's going to happen is definitely less predictable with Michael Hastie in the backfield. Definitely. Hastie, I think, has helped his cause all throughout the preseason. I think we've seen the shiftiness. We've seen the initial burst that he has and the playmaking ability.

Cam Stewart, who is now the host of Locked On Boston Postcast, and my colleague joined me here on Friday to preview this game. And Hasty was someone he talked about a lot, having watched him at Baylor and watching the progressions that he made. I think an excellent choice. He is a Baylor guy, isn't he? Yeah, he is. He is a Baylor guy along with Taekwon.

So you know what? Baylor guys making't he yeah he is he is a Baylor guy along with Taekwon so you know what Baylor guys making their presence felt on the field in Foxborough you'll love to see it I think Jermichael definitely helped his way onto the roster a couple weeks ago I did a 53 man roster projection Jermichael was included in that and I have not wavered in that but I also am going running back here and even though I think hasty will make this roster i think our old friend and business partner kevin harris made a good case to be running back three here on this team behind antonio gibson and behind remondre stevenson obviously the 18 yard touchdown is his big highlight from last night and he should that was a great showcase of all the talents this

kid has we know he's wellbuilt to be a red zone weapon. We've talked about that before. What I thought this play last night showcased was the fact that he is an instinctive inside runner. You saw a cut and then you saw him be able to take it around to the outside and make things happen. This kid's got a great burst for his size. He can make tacklers miss that's

something i don't think he gets enough credit for and he can run with a little bit of speed and maybe even a little pizzazz as i like to call it everybody uses the word finesse i'll use the word pizzazz uh but i like what this kid brings to the table and again the knowledge that he brings in this offense um i think gives him a good opportunity to really thrive in an Alex Van Pelt-led offense. So I love what I saw from Kevin Harris, and I think this kid continues to impress me each time out. Yeah, and just to keep it in that same Harris kind of vein, Joe Giles Harris was a big winner last night. He had an interception, but he played the run really well last night. I was very impressed with what he did for his stock in making this final roster.

Absolutely. Great choice. Joe Giles Harris has been awesome this preseason and all through training camp. Another one I want to give a little tip of the cap to, Christian Ellis leading all players in the Patriots last night with 11 total tackles. This kid is making it a very tough cut. These two may actually be competing for the same spot on the roster, so that's going to be a very difficult choice.

But bottom line, folks, the New England Patriots have serious decisions to make, and they need serious people to make them. Do they have the right brain trust in place? I to make them do they have the right brain trust in place i think so do they have the right personnel in place well that's all going to be decided on the field as the patriots move toward the regular season but we're going to have you covered right here each and every step of the way when it comes to roster cutdowns this week but before we get to that point i just want to take a few minutes to give my good friend, the Count of Murphy Fisto himself, some legendary kudos because he deserves them. He is the legend

here on Locked On Patriots. And Bud, what can I say? Another preseason in the books, another training camp. Thank you for being right by my side throughout all of this. Before I let you go, please let everyone know where they can interact with you, reach out to you, and what you got marinating in Murph's kitchen from now until the end of the week where we come back to open up the Locked On Patriots mailbag. Well, I got a pot roast sitting there in the kitchen, you know, going away. It's been

in there since, you know, 6 a.m., and it's going to be tasty. Stop on by, you know. You can interact with me on Zitter at TMurF207. That's always a lot of fun. And I might be back here later in the week. You never know.

Absolutely, folks. The chances of that are pretty, pretty good. So on that note, on behalf of my good friend, the Count of Murphy, Fisto himself, the legendary Thomas Murphy, 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 A Lot on Patriots.