Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots: Where Were They? — J.C. Jackson, Jack Jones, Kayshon Boutte and More

Episode Date: November 9, 2023

The New England Patriots had a handful of players such as cornerbacks J.C. Jackson and Jack Jones, as well as rookie receiver Kayshon Boutte, who did not see the field for either much, or all of Sunday’s loss to the Washington Commanders. In fact, their demotions and/or absences were not due to injury. Host Mike D’Abate welcomes back Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy to discuss the Pats “missing in action.,” as well as who needs to step up in their Week 10 matchup with the Indianapolis Colts.hFind and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-patriots-daily-podcast-on-new-england-patriots/id1140512627?i=1000632782469 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFmwg3WbfxAU3tR5Ve?si=k196wH-yRqifUcQQz8SjIQStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-patriotsAnd follow host Mike D’Abate on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans.Twitter: @mdabateNFLSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!BetterHelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON today to get 10% off your first month. DoorDashGet 50% off up to $10 value when you spend $15 or more on your FIRST order, when you download the DoorDash app and enter code LOCKED23. Subject to change. Terms apply.Jase MedicalGet $20 off these lifesaving antibiotics with Jase Medical by using code LOCKEDON at checkout on jasemedical.com.PrizePicksGo to PrizePicks.com/lockedonnfl and use code lockedonnfl for a first deposit match up to $100!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed.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.FanDuelScore early this NFL season with FanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook! Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning FIVE DOLLAR MONEYLINE BET! That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – if your team wins! 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) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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, and thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Remember, folks, make sure you get Locked On Patriots wherever you get your podcasts to get the latest episode as soon as it's available.

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Cats fans, it's always fun. And yesterday was so nice, we decided to do it twice. We welcome back the legendary Green King of Sting himself, Thomas Murphy of E2G Sports. Murph, thank you so much for coming back today and for joining me today. Back-to-back

days, Don Murph. My pleasure, man. My pleasure. Who canceled? Never mind. That chair that Murph sits in each and every day he comes on to Lockdown Patriots, folks, embroidered. And the embroidery is first class, Murph. It is first class embroidery. It's a comfortable chair. We definitely agree. Well, we're not going to go there. It's a family show. But I mean, bottom line, Murph, we are glad to have you on the show each and every time you grace our airwaves. And, you know, there was just so much that we wanted to talk about on Monday's show,

whether it be the Patriots' poor showing or some silver linings that came from that game as well. We wanted to talk about Bill Belichick and the rumors swirling around and surrounding him. We just didn't get a chance to get to all of it. And that is why we are welcoming back the legendary Connor Murphy Fisto today. And we've got a lot to talk about Murph. And, you know, the stories of the day continue to be the Patriots lost to the commanders. I know there's a lot of window dressing stories out there right now, folks, that are making the rounds. And, yeah, I mean, Murph and I are definitely going to give you our take on those.

But one of the big stories that came out of this matchup that we didn't talk about here on Monday's pod was the absence of two main ingredients in that defensive backfield for your New England Patriots for a significant portion of the early part of that game. One of which actually sat out the entire first quarter. Yeah, folks, I'm talking about cornerbacks J.C. Jackson and Jack Jones. early part of that game one of which actually sat out the entire first quarter yeah folks i'm talking about cornerbacks jc jackson and jack jones now there's never a dull moment in foxborough this secondary is already decimated by injury christian gonzalez marcus jones season ending ir we're not seeing them until 2024 nope jonathan jones has been banged up whether it be knee ankle injuries this guy is trying to play through so much right now and he's doing an amazing job really i think you know gave his best effort on sunday but you can clearly see that he's hampered by this uh by his

injuries logic would tell you that the patriots need as many bodies in that defensive backfield against a talented core of receivers from the commanders. I know their record three and five coming in was not something that was striking fear into the hearts of a lot of Patriots fans, but you're talking Jahan Dotson, you're talking Terry McLaurin. These guys can get out there and they can play. A little surprised to see JC Jackson sit out the first couple of series and Jack Jones for the entirety of the first quarter. Murph, what was your reaction when you saw these guys on the bench as it was going down? Well, as it was going down, I was screaming at the Twitterverse, you know, where the hell is Jack Jack?

My man, Jack Jack. I love Jack Jones. This is one of my favorite draft picks of the last five years is Jack Jones being on this team. And I wanted to know where the hell he was. JC Jackson missed the first two series and that was in there. I actually missed the fact that he missed the first two series. But Jeff Howe tweeted out after the game yesterday that it wasn't disciplinary, but it was for poor play. Maybe their head's not being in the game.

I'm not going to speak for Jeff Howe. By all means, folks, go check him out on Twitter or at The Athletic and see exactly what he said. But, no, it was surprising. It was shocking, especially with some of the defense, the groupings that were being put out there during the first quarter. And there was cover zero out there. If you're going to run cover zero, you need to have guys in the back end that are going to be able to cover

and allow the defense time to get to the quarterback, and that didn't happen. Because what was happening up front, while we praised guys like Christian Barmore, who had a fantastic game on Sunday, folks, if you're going to go cover zero, you've got to get home. You've got to get home every single time, especially with a single high safety. And when that single high safety is Marty Mapo, you had better get home. Yeah, without question. I'm glad you brought up Mapo because I got a funny feeling we're going to talk about

him a little bit later on today in our show. But bottom line, Jeff's report is absolutely, I think, one of the ones that we're hanging our hat on right now. I always have the utmost faith and the utmost respect for Jeff's reporting. He's always going to tell you folks what's right, what's wrong, and he's going to do it objectively and without an agenda being driven. So if it comes from Jeff, you can pretty much take it to the bank. That's the way Murph and I are taking it. And it really did, I think, stand in line with what Bill Belichick said after the game. And

even Mike Pellegrino, when we had a chance to talk to him on Tuesday morning, when he met with reporters by video conference, he said, look, you're going to have to ask Jack about the situation. You're going to have to ask those guys. But bottom line, you know, we played everyone in the game. So it wasn't a situation where these guys were deliberately being forced out of the game. We've seen things like this happen before Murph I think I might be setting the table for Murph to say something in just a moment but I'm not going to steal his thunder folks I'm going to give him the chance to make the point bottom line if you're looking at recent performance issues which is the heart of what

Jeff's report said there's a case to be made JC gave up five catches for 94 yards and a pair of touchdowns against the Miami Dolphins. That's not going to be acceptable. And I'm sorry, JC Jackson coming back into the Patriots, you know, JC Jackson being welcomed back into the Patriots locker room. Yes, he did spend some time away from here last year, but he knows that system. He's going to be held to a different standard, whether he likes it or whether he doesn't. And that's no knock on JC. I still think he's one of the best ball hawking corners

in the league when he's dialed in. But unfortunately, folks, even the best sometimes have difficulties. And I think Patriots went with that in that situation. You know, Jack Jones responsible for a 31-yard touchdown in the Dolphins' loss as well. So you look at these guys and you look at their recent performance, yeah, you can understand why they might have been held out.

You can also understand why they might have been upset after the game. J.C. walked through the locker room, says, I'm not talking, and that was pretty much it. Jack Jones had already left the building by the time the reporters on scene got down into the locker room. He didn't even shower. And started to talk to members of the media that were there jack was already gone a few moments later he's posting on instagram and singing in his car leaving gillette stadium so

yeah i think there probably were some hurt feelings some dander was definitely kicked up you know i guess the argument right now is do you agree with this type of punitive action, whether it be disciplinary, whether it be performance related, when the Patriots are trying to do all they can, can they afford to do something like this to two of their best defensive players? Was it the right call? No, Bill is writing checks that his defensive backs can't cash. That's why JC.C. was brought back in here. That's why Jack-Jack was drafted in the first place. And quite frankly, I'm finding it hard to believe that it was warranted, knowing both of these guys.

But having said that, this isn't the first bad day that as you said before you know that JC has had since coming back now I don't know if it's still injury related I don't think it is because I see him out there running and he looks fine um but it's one thing to give up these kind of plays and he's done this throughout his career all. But he always had that backed up by I'm Mr. INT. It's one thing when you're doing things like that and still giving up a long pass or two or three, and you have other people on the other side of the ball that are, that are making up for your mistakes. Um, this team is, is not doing that. All right. This team is not turning the ball over in the way that they have in the past. JC Jackson is one of those guys that is definitely not turning the ball over

in the way that he has in the past. And while there was, you know, the Patriots for all intents and purposes did win the turnover battle yesterday. I mean, on Sunday, it didn't translate to a W. And that's not just New England, man. That's happening all over the league. You see teams like Kansas City losing the turnover battle and still coming out with victories. The Patriots aren't Kansas City. They can't depend on this offense to go out there

and do those things and cover up for those mistakes right now. The Patriots need to turn the ball over and they need to do it now. Yeah, they absolutely do. And you're not going to do that with two of your best ball hawking nose for the ball corners on the bench. And to Bill Belichick's credit, he did say we played everybody pellegrino again reiterated that i don't want to hear that yeah you're absolutely right i mean you know there's there are arguments to be made i mean jc jackson finished the game with 53 snaps jack jones finished with 30 snaps um you know jc finished the game with only one combined tackle jack jones finished the game with three total tackles so their engagement level obviously is going to be down as a result of any type of action that keeps them

from the field of battle, folks. Whether it be warranted, whether it be not, whether it be petty or whether it be deserved, I think in a lot of ways it does a disservice to this team. So I'm in full agreement with you, Murph. I don't believe that now is the type of time, or a game setting is the type of time for this type of action, especially when you know that two guys that can make plays on defense against, again, a wide receiver core that can definitely make plays and they're capable of a big thing. We saw that on Sunday.

You need as many bodies out there as possible that can make plays, and these two are two of your better playmakers on the defensive side of the ball. So, yeah, clearly a head-scratcher for the New England Patriots and for Bill Belichick. Unfortunately, this is not new territory for New England. No, no, no, no. You can go all the way back to the Super Bowl against the Eagles and Butler being sat down. And you just scratch your head and you wonder. And until somebody writes the book, you're never really going to know.

Yeah, exactly. You're never really going to know. And again, that one was explained away as performance issues, recent performance issues in practice, not up to the challenge. I know a lot of you were rolling your eyes as we're saying that. It wasn't. I told you then it it wasn't I told you then it wasn't I told you all exactly what happened there all right you you don't question the coach's son you don't put nepotism out here you don't say that you're here because you are so and so's

offspring all right and and that I I'll go to my grave believing my source that told me that was the reason. Yeah. And folks, regardless of the reason, it definitely did a disservice to the Patriots in that Super Bowl. And to a much lesser degree, it did do a disservice to the New England Patriots on the field on Sunday. Murph, before we take our leave of this subject, these types of moves can have a detrimental effect on a locker room whether

intentional or unintentional uh players form bonds with each other and they tend to rally around one another when there are certain matters of this type you didn't expect it from the coaches but the players were not exactly in a divulgatory mood after the game either um i thought adrian phillips had an interesting comment after this game. I've known Adrian for a good long while. I know him back to the days where I covered him as a member of the Los Angeles Chargers. Not necessarily the most vocal in the world, but he'll tell you the way it is. He says, I can't get into that. But if you want to know what that is, you're going to have to talk to them. They ended up playing. It is what it is.

It almost leads you to believe that maybe this wasn't such a mystery to the players after all. They may be keyed in to what was the cause here and why that was the case. A simple, I have no idea. We expected him to be out there. Going to have to ask coach about that. That's beyond me. Would have probably diffused this a little bit more. And I can tell you, having covered Adrian in the past,

this is not a guy that just wants to stir the pot just for the sake of stirring the pot. have probably diffused this a little bit more and i can tell you having covered adrian in the past this is not a guy that just wants to stir the pot just for the sake of stirring the pot he's going to tell you and he'll tell you something and i think he showed restraint in holding back but it does lead you to believe that something is under the surface can this have a detrimental effect on the patriots moving forward because it's already a fragile situation in New England as it is. It really is. It's a powder keg. It really is a powder keg. And I have never seen people come to the podium or have microphones put in their face in the locker room and come back with stuff like this, honestly, over the past two seasons. And Bill has an affinity for guys who are on his side and who part of the Patriot way is ignore the noise and don't create any noise.

But like you said, Adrian Phillips, it does. It looks to me like this is something that was ongoing during the week that they knew was going to happen. And and I'm sure a lot of the guys were not happy about it when they look up and they see that they're at two at two and seven. When these these players, they feel in their hearts could have been out there and helping them win a football game. Yeah, without question. And again, the words, I can't get into that, spoken by Adrian Phillips. And once again, reiterated by Mike Pellegrino when we spoke to him on Tuesday morning. So folks, take that for what you will see if it has any residual effect. But the New England Patriots have always been very good at shrugging these types of issues off,

moving on and moving on, really kind of, I don't want to say unscathed, but moving on without a hitch. They put i don't want to say unscathed but moving on without a hitch they put the the needs of the team above their own with the patriots now at two and seven and in a position they haven't been since 2000 that's it we're on to frankfurt yeah it's going to be interesting to see if on to frankfurt is still the philosophy in that locker room or if these players are a little different in harboring some of that ill will uh moving forward uh i guess we'll find out on sunday and very early on sunday morning will we find that out murph but jack jones and jc jackson were not the only patriots that

were absent from the field on sunday folks one was absent before the game even started and we knew he was going to be out of course most of us myself, expected him to be on the field on Sunday. We're talking rookie wide receiver, Kayshaun Butte, who continues to remain in the Belichickian version of double secret probation. I've used the Dean Wormer quote several times now. I think it's time to turn the page and not treat this like a joke. Murph and I are going to discuss exactly why Hayshawn Boutte was not on the field and what it may mean for the Patriots pass catchers moving forward. All that and more when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues.

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where are they sort of feels like a carmen san diego murphy kind of feels like a where's waldo we're rolling them all into one everybody's out there searching um bottom line folks we talked a lot about jc jackson jack jones and their conspicuous absences from the field for the first part of sunday's loss to the washington commanders but someone who is even their conspicuous absences from the field for the first part of Sunday's loss to the Washington Commanders. But someone who is even more conspicuous by his absence, who showed up on the inactives list. Yep. And someone who we all thought we were going to see on Sunday, wide receiver, rookie wide receiver, Kayshaun Boutte. Now, Murph, Kayshaun has not taken a regular season snap since the team's week one

loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. We all know how that game ended. Kayshaun unable to get his second foot down. Unfortunately, yeah, that could have been a big play that could have led to something for the New England Patriots, but you have to think that with the Patriots core of receivers just riddled with injury right now, you would have thought that that with the Patriots core of receivers just riddled with injury right now you would have thought that someone with the ability to go up and make contested catches yep and has the ability to be an explosive playmaker in the open field would have been an asset to Mac Jones on Sunday alas it didn't work eight weeks now in a row we have not seen him on the field before we get into the ins and outs the

ups and downs of why that is what's your take on this matter how surprised were you to see kashon booty's name on the list of inactives when this game began on sunday i was shocked after the week of practice that he had after the praise that you heard from the coaches after the the um the back padding that that you got from Bill Belichick, that this is the best week of practice that he's had in months, maybe since he's been here. And then to not see him on Sunday, I was flabbergasted. Yeah.

I think so many of us were because it almost seemed like they were setting the table for him to play. Specifically being asked about his week of practice and saying it's the best week of practice that he had, reiterating that you go out, you catch the ball, you do things that you need to have done. You're going to get out there and play. Talk about the assistant coaches and their meetings with the media on Tuesday morning. Troy Brown said that several times.

All I ask is you go out there, you catch the ball. If you do that and run your routes correctly, you're going to play. So that leads, that would lead one to believe that the Patriots are seeing something in practice that us mere mortals are not seeing. If that's the case, why pump somebody's tires and say you had the best practice you had if they're still not doing the things you need to have done in order to be able to see the field because kayshawn was brimming with a lot of confidence when we talked to him last week and it seemed really yeah and it seemed very much like a not only a possibility but a probability that he was suiting up he talked about stepping up he talked about now his name's being called those types of you know those types of quotes are not just pulled from thin air these guys are savvy folks in what they say to the press

and yeah just really surprised me it really really shocked me that he wasn't on the field yeah it really did and it it might come down to the fact that uh the last time a microphone was stuck in his face he was talking about how much he was looking forward to being back that the last time a microphone was stuck in his face, he was talking about how much he was looking forward to being back on the field. For those of you that don't know, I coach high school age kids, not in football, I coach baseball. But one of the big things that I get on my guys about is when they make decisions for themselves, when they say things that are out of the box and, and what I come up to them and say is who coaches

this team? Do you coach this team or do I coach this team? I decide who plays and who sits. All right. That's it. And, and one of the things that, that just rang in my head was that last, uh, set of interviews that last time that he was in front of reporters. And he said that, I think it was Thursday or Friday. And then he's a healthy scratch on Sunday. He was part of my keys during the week. As Mike said earlier, that Troy Brown had said, if you can get open and you can catch a ball,

then you are, um, going to play Phil Perry, our good friend tweeted that out this morning. And, and I asked Phil, I said, well, you know, does, does keeping two feet in bounds count too? Because the only reason that, that I can understand, um, you know, does, does, uh, he, he said something about, I said, I'd be happy right now if we had somebody out there that could catch a ball when it touches their hands, when it falls into their hands. Because twice over the past two weeks, Matt Jones has dropped dimes on long passes and come up empty on them. Come up completely empty, game-changing plays. And you could say yesterday, Jalen Rager, Rager dropped that ball. And you could say that that was a play that you would have thought that Keyshawn Butte would have made. You could say

that, you know, that's a play where you wanted to know why Tyquan Thornton was not running that route. Okay? And he didn't run that route all day. They had Tyquan Thornton running outs and slants and, you know, instead of posts or skinny posts or go routes, you know, that play to his strengths. No, we're throwing to Jalen Ragoor, and balls are coming out of his hands.

Keyshawn Butte makes that play. He does. From what I've seen of him in college, from what I saw of him early in training camp, and from what I've been told happens at practice, he makes that play. And he made that play last week in practice, but he didn't have a chance to do it on Sunday. And, and I want more than more of an explanation than I'm getting out of, out of the coaching staff right now for it. Yeah.

It takes a lot. It takes a lot for me to get this upset with the coaching staff, especially when it comes to reporters complaining about why they're not getting the answers that, that they feel that they need. Because a lot of the times it's not answers that fans are looking for. But this is an answer that fans are looking for. OK, when you are this banged up at the wide receiver position, when you were this hurting for playmakers, why is this kid not being given a chance?

I understand he's a sixth round pick. Was he the sixth or was he? Yeah. I understand, but it doesn't matter. It's never mattered to me where you were chosen. Yeah. Okay.

I've never held it against somebody if they were, they were chosen in the first round and I'm never going to hold it against somebody if they were chosen in the sixth round, that's for damn sure. If they show up and they fall out and this kid balls out why isn't he on the freaking field well i don't think that uh it's his dress status that's keeping him from the field i don't think the patriots are looking at this and saying he's a sixth round pick you know we'll see what we got we'll roll the dice we'll take our chances folks if you want to know why kayshaun pute is on this roster or why he was drafted in the NFL,

take a look at the film of him as a freshman at LSU and the first part of his sophomore season before he suffered a devastating injury that kept him out for the remainder of the season. That freshman season, 735 yards on 45 catches, five touchdowns. He compiled all of that in 10 games. Through the first five games of his sophomore season, Murph, he was well on his way to eclipsing those totals. He already had in five games, 38 receptions, 509 yards, and nine touchdowns. Imagine if you double those numbers or at least project that type of production

coming out of him for the remaining five games on the season, Boudet would have been a first-round talent. He might have even been top 10, top 15-type talent, folks, coming out of his, maybe his sophomore year. You might not have even seen him go back for his junior season if he's making that type of leap, and he's really capable of doing it. So I don't think anyone is wondering whether or not his talent is there we've seen it it's visible it was supposed to be the next big thing out of

lsu exactly and to do that yeah and to do that at lsu folks not the easiest school in the world to stand out and take a look at some of the standout whiteouts that these right that this program has produced um it's not an easy place to stand out above the rest, but Keishon Bude was well on his way to doing that. That injury clearly set him back, but there's also something to be said about the attitude and the performance that just seemed to be, again, I'll use a term that I used yesterday and I hate using it,

but can't think of a better word right now, folks deflated. It almost seemed like it took the wind out of his sails. That same swagger that you saw in Keishon Budde was no longer there. Do you think it's possible that those types of issues that plagued him in LSU in the latter part of his career there are starting to creep back in? Is that what the Patriots coaching staff is seeing? Because it just doesn't make any sense to me otherwise. I really don't. I don't think that that's crept in, and I'm not saying that that can't happen with a ball player.

You see it. You grip a bat a bit tighter. You try to anticipate a pitch, or you try to anticipate a hit down the line, and you're thinking to yourself. It's almost like, don't throw me the ball, Okay. Cause you're a little worried that you're going to screw up, but I don't see that out of Keishon Butte. I see somebody that makes plays and he wants to go out there and he wants the ball thrown to him. He's not going to be the, uh,

the guy that says, just throw me the damn ball. Um, but, but he's somebody that wants it on every single play and works his ass off to get open. And like Troy Brown said, you know, if you can get open and you can catch the pass, well, he gets open and he catches the pass. Yeah, he does. He absolutely does. And look, if the Patriots are going to deploy him at some point, and you have to hope for Boudet's sake, for the Patriots sake, that they're going to give this kid a chance to

showcase what he can do. He's well-sized six feet 195 so he's not going to have problems going up and battling some of these bigger defensive backs to make contested catches he's very good at doing that he's tough to bring down after the catch because he's got some size and he's got some bulk on him that allows him to win those battles but I think he's one of your better explosive big play threats and right now the patriots desperately need a big play threat whether a guy is going to make rookie mistakes or not you need someone that's going to spark this offense and i think kayshawn booty can do it he's got the ability to adjust his body he can make the contested catches he can change direction

he's got the speed to be able to do it. And there's no question about it. The Patriots brass saw something in him to bring him in and not pass on him the way so many other teams had done. I think they looked at him in the sixth round and said, yeah, this is great value. We've got to bring this kid in. But at of his freshman year was talked about with the likes of Odell Beckham Jr., Dwayne Bowe, Justin Jefferson, he this kid was supposed to be the next thing. And for whatever reason, be it, you know, injury or just not getting the Patriots decided to take what everybody calls a flyer on him in the sixth round. Well, that kid grabbed that flyer and ran to the end zone. He brought it during, you folks, if you didn't, if you weren't able to see it, you should have been able to read about it. Everybody loved what he was doing on the field. And after game one,

when he was asked to run routes that he doesn't normally run and didn't get two feet down, it was down, it was an issue. And I'm afraid that it could be an issue with other ballplayers on this team right now and going forward that guys like Tyquan Thornton, who are being jumped on for having choppy steps again and not getting into his break quite as quickly. The kid doesn't do that. They don't even ask him to do that in practice. It's true.

Okay, go out there and run a skinny post, take the top off and give some room to people underneath. That's what he's asked to do. So, yeah, it was a terrible route, and we all got on him for that at the moment. But, you know, I hope this doesn't snowball into i i need to make a uh an example out of everybody and it just seems like this kid is is wrongfully being made an example of um and then again i could be talking out of hat you know it there could be something going on behind the scenes that i'm not seeing i'm just going on what I've seen and what I've heard and what I've heard come out of his mouth as to the only reasons that I can

see him not being on the field. Yeah, without any question, folks, I think you make a great point. And again, we don't know what the coaches know. We don't work, especially all of us in the media. We have limited access to what the players are seeing, what the coaches are seeing on the field during practice. So if there are underlying circumstances or things that are going on in the locker room behind closed doors, we're not privy to that. So we can't speak to that. All we can do is speak to what we see. And I agree with you wholeheartedly on booty. We need to get a sample size of what this kid can do on a football field. And time's running out for the New England Patriots to be able to do that.

You hope that they're going to do it sooner rather than later, especially with this Week 10 matchup coming up with the Indianapolis Colts. And, Murph, it's going to be fun watching this team play in Germany over the weekend. Hasn't been necessarily fun to watch this team play a whole lot this season, but it's exciting to watch these international games, and we're definitely looking forward to it. But before I let you go today, my friend, we're going to discuss which player on this roster has caught Murph's sharp eye

as one that needs to step it up the most if the Patriots want to come back from Europe with a win in their pocket. We're going to talk about that player and more in just a moment when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast wraps up right here on the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Locked On listeners, when it comes to game day, the only thing just as important as cheering on your favorite team is making sure that your game day table is well stocked.

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Patriots fans, thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. And of course, folks, don't forget that Crossover Thursday is coming up here on the Locked On Podcast Network. Across the streams, Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots style for this international matchup in Frankfurt, Germany, coming up on Sunday. Going to be a blast. So definitely be sure to download, subscribe to follow Locked On Patriots wherever you get your podcasts. Make sure that you don't miss that. And so much more coming up here on the week. So be sure to stay locked into Locked On Patriots.

But the legendary counter Murphy Fisto himself, Thomas Murphy, has graced our airwaves with not just one day of presence, but two. And we are absolutely in his debt for doing so. So Don Murph, thank you very much for all of the wisdom and counsel that you lend here to Lockdown Patriots. We do know that the New England Patriots need to step it up in order to get a win. This team has proven that they can hang with mostly any team in the league and make things interesting. But they've also proven that at any given time, they can drop a game to any team in this league. This is not a team that is guaranteed a win against anyone, folks.

Four. Yeah, four one-score losses. Absolutely. So in that vein, you cannot go into any part of this season now, any part of this schedule, and say, this is a softer one. This is one the Patriots should have. They don't have any more should-haves on this schedule anymore. So it's going to be a hard-f fought game against the Indianapolis Colts this week.

Murph, when the Patriots step off the plane in Frankfurt, when they step into Frankfurt Stadium, ready to take on the Colts at 9.30 a.m. Eastern time, who needs to step it up on this roster if the Patriots are even going to think about coming away from Germany with a win on Sunday? All right. Let's get this out of the way and out of the way quick. And it's Brian Belichick. It's Steve Belichick. Okay. Marty Mapo is not a – I mean, Kyle Duggar is not a free safety, people.

Stop doing it. Marty Mapo is not a, I mean, Kyle Duggar is not a free safety people. Stop, stop doing it. Marty Lepoe is not a free safety. All right. Stop doing it. Put these guys in a position to succeed and find somebody to get back there who knows what's going on. All right. One of the, one of the key things that, that I went into the draft was we all knew that,

that Devin McCourty was not going to be back and they nothing was addressed during this off season to find somebody to actually replace him all right so i am putting this on the defensive backs coaches and uh to figure it out because they too often there are guys that this is not second nature to, has been expected to be second nature to, and it's one of the big reasons that these big plays are happening. That's it. Sorry. I, I, I, you know, I was, I was going to go in a different direction. I was going to,

I was going to jump on Keon White for playing just, you know, a little too out of the box and a little too freelance and a little too not as disciplined as he should be because he's for so long, he's just gotten away with his athleticism, being able to overcome anything. And he had a good game, but he could have had a great game. But but no this is what i'm putting it on the coaches i'm putting on two coaches not named bill but yes named belichick yeah very good point very very good point and again um the belichicks were asked about at least brian was on tuesday morning about the usage of montemapo ando, and he told reporters that,

look, you know, we drafted these guys, we bring them in, they're able to play multiple positions, we're trying them out. Yeah, I agree with you, Murph. This is not the time to be trying these guys out. Marte Mapo is at his best when he's aligning at the linebacker position. He's not meant to be in the backfield right now. Maybe in a year or two, with a little more seasoning, he might be. But this kid, it's hard. He plays with the energy and he plays with the skillset of a linebacker. That's where he needs to be. So I agree with you. I actually do think that I told people

when this kid was drafted to put on film of him, close your eyes and listen to him play football. You can't listen to him play football right now. You can't because you've taken away everything that makes him great. And, you know, I understand position versatility, but you can't expect this. You can't expect that out of a rookie. You can't. Somebody that hasn't played that position. And there are guys on this team that you could put back there.

I think the toughest thing about this, Murph, is that Marnie came in as such a smart football player, someone that had wisdom beyond his years. We kept hearing it all throughout training camp. This kid's studying the playbook. He's working with the coaches. During the preseason games, he's on the sidelines. He's working with guys and getting them into, you know,

it was a situation where because he came in with a shoulder injury that right he was looking for ways to get involved right and when he was given a clean bill of health you saw him on the sidelines next to the offensive coaches during the preseason it was brilliant you just loved everything i still love everything about this game i'm sorry go ahead no without question i think you're absolutely right and that's essentially the point that i'm trying to make is that with the knowledge that he has of this system and knowing where he fits and where he doesn't, it just kind of boggles my mind that they're trying to force him into a position where I think he's somewhat suited to play, but better suited to play in another location. So I agree with you. Yes, it does have to be on the coaches to step up with this you know to to um uh who am i who am i quoting here um to quote uh jack nicholson and the departed it's good to be book smart and it's good to be street smart okay this kid is book smart right now he's not street smart yet

that'll come all right that's going to happen. But you have to give guys time to get to know the streets. Absolutely. You really do. You can, you can, you can read Edgar Allen Poe till, till the day you die, but until you live Edgar Allen Poe, that you really don't know what he's talking about. You're absolutely right. Really. And that really, I think sums it up perfectly in terms of what the Patriots need to do with Marte. So hopefully we'll start to see the Marte Mapu that we expected to see right along, folks, when the Patriots drafted him and the smart, hard hitting football player that can really be a dynamic force. Right. In this in this defense. He was one of my favorite picks of the Patriots coming out of this draft. And I still think he was big things from him. But you need to bring him along and you see where he is i'm going

to take a page out of your book murph when i say who needs to step it up and i'm going to say the coaching staff in terms of how they're going to be handling taekwon thornton this week um i think i i'm in full agreement with what you said earlier we We need to see more go routes. We need to see him more stretching the field. This is what Taekwon does very well. And we need to see him on the field more. The Patriots now have had this kid under their tutelage for a full year. I understand injuries have been a detrimental force to him. And Bill O'Brien brought that up on Tuesday as well.

He said he hasn't played a lot of football because of the injuries that he's had, but there have been moments on the field that shows what he can do. And then there are moments on the field that shows that he's been put in a position to showcase his talent. The fourth and three, he was open, folks. That's on Mac. That needed to be completed. I don't know where Mac was throwing, but that could have been an opportunity.

And then Taekwon has the speed to turn that into something big and he had some space in front of him so that needed his arms up in the air yeah when mac's exactly throwing his arms up in the air come on junior i'm right here yeah let me do my thing exactly and uh and and no i as you know since i said it yeah i agree with you wholeheartedly. They need to use him better. They need to use all of these guys better. And there's a way that you can do that without tipping your hand. I've said it before. Get this kid into motion. Get him into bunches and get him off the line of scrimmage clean.

Because we all know when you're called a slim reaper, the reason is because you're tiny. Okay? Because you're svelte. And because you have a hard time getting off the field and bump and run coverage and man coverage. And when somebody is up in your face and he does, he has, but there are ways around that. There are ways around that. And quite frankly, Bill, I can go down to Foxborough high school and find a coach that can tell you how to do it. Yeah. And there are, and the, and, and tell you how to do it yeah and there are and the

yeah and you know bottom line folks it is it's a lot about what taekwon brings to the table i know a lot of people are using the b word to describe him right now in terms of bust uh don't put him in the same category as kill harry folks it's not it's not the situation there's been a lot of injuries and there also been poor usage of the way this kid is being used so i still situation there's been a lot of injuries and there also been poor usage of the way this kid is being used so i still think there's something there under the surface when it comes to taekwon now it's time to let it out take the training wheels off of him right and let's let's let him stretch the field a little bit and use him to his proper usage and if that is the case and mac jones does have a deep threat as a result of taekwon thornton being able to make plays

could be something special for the Packers. You know, there's something to be said for patting a guy on the ass and saying, you know, go get him on the next play. As opposed to sitting him down because he ran a bad route. Right. Exactly. All right. Build your kids up. Absolutely.

And Bill O'Brien brought that up. And he said, oh, just three downs after Mac Jones missed him, he ran the wrong route. Or he ran the wrong route or he ran the routing correctly and then all of a sudden you started to see taekwondo um targets being you know lessened and all of a sudden he's relegated to you know really i think remedial duty at that point and when you invested a second round pick on a wide receiver you definitely expect a lot more in return than what they're getting. And some of that, yeah. I've said it before with Dr. Strange, and you can say it with him.

They were brought in here to be part of a different offensive system. That doesn't mean that they can't be used in this system and used well. You know, we talk a lot about players and things that need to get done here, and we have fun uh today's show was really i think entirely about guys that are missing in action either because of coaches reasons or because of you know improper play on the field things of that nature but we want to hear who you feel should see right feel more do you agree with us that jack jones jc jackson and kashon Butte need to be given the chance to play? Do you believe that guys like Marte Mapu and Taequann Thornton need to be better utilized by the coaching staff to their strengths? Or did we miss someone, one of your favorites, or a player that you believe has not played up to the challenge that needs to start stepping it up? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

We love hearing from you. Interact with us because you everydayers out there, and as well as you casual listeners and first-timers, you're what makes Locked On Patriots possible, and we appreciate your support more than you can possibly imagine. Bud, what can I say? Two days in a row, twice as nice. Got to love it.

You bring it every single time, and I can't thank you enough for taking the time out to join me here on Locked On Patriots. Once again, for the benefit of our listeners that are hearing your golden melodious tones for the first time, where can they reach out to you? What type of amazing content do you have in store for all of our listeners

here on Locked On Patriots? I got a nice little piece over there at E2GSports.com about the gold glovers that were just announced by Major League Baseball. I've got some more stuff coming out as to how our new GM and Graham Puba can fix this mess that is at Fenway right now. And does anybody get at me on Twitter? Do you ever remember finalists for Rookie of the Year being announced? I don't.

I really don't. I'm tired of hearing about it. Just announce the winner, okay? And then we can move on. And there we go. Other than that, the keys will be out on Friday, as they always are. And I'll be back here on Monday, God willing. Yeah, absolutely.

And, you know, wave of the future, my friend. Wave of the future when it comes to hearing, you know, finalists lists and whatnot. I'm with you. It's a new experience, but you know what? We embrace change. We embrace the newness. And it's going to be a lot of fun.

Here's the top three. Tell me who came in third in Rookie of the Year voting in 1987. Right now, tell me. On that note, folks, if you could name that, please put your name down in the comments section below. We'd love to hear it. Don't cheat.

Yeah, don't cheat. No Google, folks. You know, off the top of your head. But bottom line, Murph, thank you so much for everything that you do here for Locked On Patriots. We love you, and we can't wait to have you back. And, folks, what can we say? Thank all of you for taking time out of your schedule to join us here on Locked On Patriots

each and every day. We are your team every day, but we wouldn't be if you didn't keep coming back each and every day. So a tip of the cap and a thank you to all of you everydayers out there, especially. On behalf of my good friend, that count of Murphy Fisto himself, the legendary Thomas Murphy, I'm Mike DeBate reminding you to stay safe and to stay well and 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.