Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Patriots Gridiron Gratitude - 11/26/19

Episode Date: November 26, 2019

With the New England Patriots preparing for their Sunday Night Showdown with the Houston Texans, fan favorite Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy joins host Mike D’Abate to put the finishing touches on the Pats victory over the Cowboys, and the pair take a look at the keys to the Patriots success this season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello to all you Foxborough faithful and welcome to your Tuesday before Turkey Day episode of Locked On Patriots, your daily home for news, notes, analysis, and the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. This episode is brought to you in part by DoorDash. Treat yourself to the meal you deserve and have your favorite restaurants come to you with DoorDash. Right now, our listeners can get $5 off their first order of $15 or more when you download the DoorDash app and enter promo code LOCKEDON. If you're listening on the go and can't visit DoorDash right now, you can find this and all other offers from LockedOn sponsors at LockedOnPodcast.com slash offers.

My name is Mike DeBate, and I am your host of LockedOn Patriots, which, of course, is a part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Please feel free to reach out to me on Twitter at MDABATEFPC, and be sure to follow Locked On Patriots on Twitter as well at LO underscore Patriots. Well, folks, it's the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, and here on Locked on Patriots, that means taking a last look at the Patriots' 13-9 victory over the Cowboys, and we'll start to take a look ahead to the Pat's Sunday night matchup with the Houston Texans.

But that's not all it means, because in the world of pop culture, which you know I love, folks, it's also the 32nd anniversary of the long two-day journey to Chicago for one Neil Page and one Del Griffith to get home in time for Thanksgiving. And of course, I'm talking about Steve Martin and the late, great John Candy in the John Hughes film Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, which came out in 1987. Yeah, yikes, folks, that makes me feel old. And the movie is truly one of my favorite comedies. Great movie to watch. If you haven't seen it, please check it out. The trials and tribulations of trying to make it home in an era before Wi-Fi, before Uber,

and even before cell phones, it's still hilarious to this day. John Candy, Steve Martin are awesome in this one. And the events take place starting two days before Thanksgiving, so that's why I'm bringing it up today. Definitely a highly recommended watch. If you do indeed check it out, I know you'll be glad that you did. But this is Locked On Patriots, and don't worry, folks, that's what I will be discussing today. Patriots football.

And who better to welcome in on Thanksgiving week for a little bit of Patriots football chat? That's right, folks, you guessed it. The Green Man is back. Thomas Murphy, who I consider family, stops by the Locked On Patriots table for some pigskin chat, and you know it'll be a blast. It always is when Murph is here, and I couldn't be more thankful for his support and his friendship, and I'm always honored when he joins me here on Locked On Patriots. So settle in, folks. I hope that you enjoy today's show.

But before I turn our attention to the gridiron, I wanted to take a moment here on Locked On Patriots to commend the Patriots organization on something that they do annually. And to me, this really captures the true meaning of the holiday season. In the spirit of giving, the New England Patriots made sure that 500 local families in need will not go without a meal this holiday. Yesterday, in a special drive-up event in Foxborough, the families received a fresh turkey and a grocery bag filled with fixings for side dishes.

And as the events were unfolding yesterday, you could hear and see the gratitude and sincerity from people that were receiving these gifts and also from team owner Robert Kraft and so many of the Patriots players for helping to make this a happier holiday for those in need. Much deserved accolades as well for Shaw's Supermarkets and Cautious Turkey Farm in Pennsylvania for providing the turkeys, Shaw's providing the meals, both teaming up with the Patriots. And as always, the event was a heartwarming success. And folks, it's so easy to lose sight of the fact that for so many,

and maybe more than we realize at times, the holidays can be such a difficult time. And there's a lot of reasons for that. But events like this, they remind us all of the value of giving back and i praise the craft family and the patriots organization as well as so many other professional sports franchises we see a number of events taking place like this not only from nfl franchises but also the remaining professional sports major league baseball national hockey league and the nba and quite honestly it really does warm the heart to see athletes and owners come together to take the time and the effort to help make this a happy Thanksgiving

for those who need it most. That's the true holiday spirit, and it's great to see that that holiday spirit is still very much alive and well. And on the field, the New England Patriots now turn their attention to the Houston Texans and their matchup on Sunday night at NRG Stadium. The Patriots had a great showing on defense as always, stellar on special teams, and despite what you are probably hearing from the salty and uninformed, there are some good things to build on for the offense as well, and Murph and I will be discussing that in just a moment. But first, may I have your attention please? Thank you. And listen up

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Hop on the gravy train and get in on the action with my bookie. You play, you win, you get paid. Thanksgiving is a time to spend with family here at Locked On Patriots, and this man is family, folks. And as Don Vito Corleone once eloquently said, a man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man. And, of course, thank you. You always put up with my rather pedestrian impression of Don Corleone,

but I love it, and I had to throw it in here, especially when I welcomed this man into the guest chair today. He is columnist extraordinaire for DieHardBostonSportsFans.com, and along with another fellow member of the Locked On familia here, Steve Balistrieri, he compiles one half of the hosting tandem of One Patriots Place podcast, which next to Locked On Patriots is my favorite podcast, and I highly recommend you checking it out. He is my main green man, Thomas Murphy. Murph, welcome back home, my friend.

Good to be here, man. You got the pullout set for me. I got pies in the car. It's going to be great Thanksgiving, isn't it? It's always good to be home for me. I got pies in the car. It's going to be great Thanksgiving. Isn't it? It's always good to be home for Thanksgiving. Absolutely. Absolutely.

Always good to be home and no other place that I'd rather be than joining you on the microphone here for the holidays, my friend. All kidding aside, it's always, always a pleasure to spend any time with you talking football. But especially on Thanksgiving week, there was no way I was going to be able to let that go by without one of my most valued friends, one of my most valued co-hosts, and I really do appreciate it. So thank you so much for coming on today, my friend. Anytime. Anytime. And I mean that sincerely. And I know you do, and that means the world to me.

Murph, first, the Pats sit at 10-1. They are the top spot in the division, top spot in the AFC, tied for the NFL's best record, yet we're still hearing the chirping about the Patriots being vulnerable, how this team might fall flat come playoff time. Obviously, the defense continues to play at an

elite level, and I'll get to them in just a minute, but the offense seems to be an easy target here. But, as I stated yesterday here on Locked On Patriots, I think the Pats have some reason to be optimistic when it comes to the offense. I thought the rookie wideouts played pretty well on Sunday. I thought Isaiah Wynn's return to the offensive line gave it some stability. I'm not saying it fixed all the problems, but I think they looked better.

And Sonny Michel, I think, ran with a lot more power and a lot more pop in his game than we've seen in quite some time. Murph, from what you saw on Sunday, should Pats fans feel optimistic like I am about the offense, or should they still be worried that they won't be able to put up enough points to win some of the games they have left down the stretch and even into the playoffs? How about cautiously optimistic? Could we do it that way? I like it. That's the way and even into the playoffs. How about cautiously optimistic?

Could we do it that way? I like it. That's the way I'm looking at it. Cautiously optimistic. There's the Irishman in me. Gloom and doom. There's always something coming down. Or an Irishman from New England, you know.

But, no, cautiously optimistic. It was really nice to see Sony get off and do a little bit better. But, as I said that day during the game, you know, find yourself a left tackle and you can run. Who knew, you know? Right. Absolutely. It was really nice to see Mr. Wynn back in there. And while his pass blocking was a little suspect, as I said in my keys on last Friday, let's cut the guy a little slack.

He hasn't played a lot of football in a very long time, and he was going up against one of probably the best defensive lines in football on Sunday. They were a little, you know, at the second level, things were a little banged up, but that's a good defensive line that they have there. And I thought he did really well. And I thought it showed in the running game with everybody, with Michelle, with Rex Burkhead when he was running the ball. I'd like to know where James White was on Sunday. We didn't see a lot of Mr. White. I kind

of think that that was by plan. Last year, he seemed to burn out a little bit at the end of the season and in the playoffs. And I think Bill is kind of keeping him in reserve for when they're really looking for, they're in a game where they're really going to need to put up more points than 13. And again, you have to understand that they played in a monsoon. I thought Brady played a very good game, respectively, to his stats. It wasn't one of those stats things for him. But the Patriots did miss two field goals. There should have been a couple of more scores in this,

but what are you going to do? You can't get on Nick the Kick there in monsoon weather. Absolutely. I mean, there's no question about it. Kicking into the wind was such a difficult part of what this team had to do. Kicking against the wind actually wasn't that easy either. We saw our new friend Matt Chatham make the comparisons and say, everybody's talking about kicking into the wind. Guess what? Kicking against the wind is not exactly a breeze either. We saw our friend Matt Chatham make the comparisons and say, everybody's talking about kicking into the wind. Guess what? Kicking against the wind is not exactly a breeze either. There's

a lot of, pun intended there, obviously, but there's a lot that can go wrong when you're kicking against the wind, too. So any time that you have to go against conditions like this, that's a great, great point, and I'm so glad that you brought that up. I'm also glad that you brought up Tom Brady's game, because you can definitely tell the people that watch the game and analyze the game, as opposed to those that look at the stat sheet and then they want to give an opinion based on that. I did think he played a very good game on Sunday. I thought that there were struggles with being able to connect with some of the wide receivers at times, but a lot of that was on the weather, and a lot of that was on a familiarity that I think is getting there.

You heard Tom praise especially Jacoby Myers this week, which I thought was huge. It's something that I think is going to give this kid a lot of, for lack of a better term, a lot of confidence going into the week, knowing that he's someone that may have Tom's ear. Nikhil Harry, we saw a good amount of synergy there. I think that needs to improve, but we saw some good signs from him as well. So I think cautiously optimistic, getting back to your original point, is definitely a prudent course of action here, and I think that we can move forward knowing that this team is going to be capable

of putting up points. You mentioned James White. I think that's absolutely a key point to make. Bill probably does have him in reserve a little bit, and Josh, too. I think that was part of the game plan. They looked at the weather. They looked at how many points they were going to have to put up. They knew this defense could try to cause problems for a Dallas offense

that really is predicated on perfect weather conditions to be able to put up points. Yes, they're prolific. They can do it. They can put up points with the best of them, but they almost have to be in a really good situation in order to be able to do that. And I think they realize that a low-scoring game

with a defensive lockdown could get the job done. James White, on the other hand, look for him to be a big factor maybe this Sunday coming up against the Houston Texans, but if not this Sunday, definitely in two weeks when the Patriots host the Kansas City Chiefs in Foxborough. I think that's a game where you're going to see all the stops pulled out, and you're going to see them put up some points, or at least try to put up some points on this Kansas City defense, and right now, I like their chances of doing that. Murph, switching gears, yeah, absolutely, and I just want to switch gears to a moment for

special teams, and we heard Jerry Jones actually take a shot at Jason Garrett this week, stating that coaching is so important to special team success. And the Patriots have great players that know their roles in that aspect of the game, whether it be Matthew Slater, Jake Bailey, to your main man, Brandon Bolden. And what is it to you about the Pats special teams that just always seems to rise to the occasion and make plays when they need to? Is it something as simple as they're just better coached than everybody, or is this a situation where they just know how to pick the right players to succeed in a special teams environment like the one we have here in New England? Well, the one word that comes to me is pride. The men that play special teams here in New England take a serious pride in their job. They understand Bill respects special teams players like no other coach on the planet.

While you will see frontline all-pro talent on special teams here in New England, you will also see guys that are specifically here to play special teams. We brought up Brandon Bolden, even though he had an amazing 11-yard run in the game on Sunday. But he is somebody that these are guys that walk into a special teams room and command respect. Why do they command respect? Because they respect the game and they respect the job that they have to do every Sunday.

And they know that in any circumstance during any game that they could be the deciding factor in that game. It is not just offensive. It is not just defense. It is all three phases. And like I said, there's a certain talent level Bill does not play with at all to the point where, well, he's too good to play special teams. No, Rob Gronkowski was out there on special teams. He's broken an arm that way. You know, the best players on this team still play special teams.

You see guys like, I'm sorry, I'm umming to death today. You see guys like Julian Edelman out there returning punts and kickoffs. In the past, we've seen guys like Danny Amendola back there. You now see Mohamed Sanu back there. These guys, when they walk into that room, they understand, they know it is not like any other special teams room that they've ever been in. This is something that the Patriots over the years have really put their hat on. the coaches too, because they bring a, a, a, an intensity to that area of the game that you don't see in a lot of other places.

I agree. And, and as usual, because you're always spot on, and I think you hit the nail right on the head when you said the word pride, pride is such a big part of what the New England Patriots do in their game plan. No, I thought you were right. Should have just left it there at Pride. No, no, no, no, no. And the insight that you gave beyond that in terms of the players, and I thought you made a great point on saying that players here in New England

do not feel they're above playing on special teams. Rob Gronkowski, Danny Amendola, Brandon Bolden, you've seen some great names that have done great things on offense, and even the defensive players get in there on special teams as well, but they're not above doing it, and it comes from the top. Absolutely. Nate Ebner is a Matthew Slater. I mean, what more can you say about a guy like Matthew Slater, who just always is named a captain in those situations, and there's a reason for it, folks.

It's because he's always, I've said this so many times here on Locked On Patriots, he's always in the right place at the right time, and that's not happenstance. That is by design. That's because he's that good. He knows where he needs to be at every moment on the field. Matthew Slater should be the first special teams only player that isn't Ray Guy in the Hall of Fame. Yeah, I agree. I absolutely agree. And I'm talking the pro football Hall of Fame.

He should have a bust right next to his dad. Because that place is for the people who, in my estimation, were the very best at what they did. The very best. And you cannot argue that anybody has ever been a better special teams player than Matthew Slater. Completely. And absolutely. God bless his right. And that's such a big part of who he is and his faith.

And having had the opportunity to interview him firsthand and hear exactly just how much that means to him. And you mentioned his dad, Jackie. He's so appreciative and so idealistic about his dad, and it's really heartwarming to hear. But of all things, we bring it back to the element of him being in the right place at the right time and special teams, and that starts. It really does. It starts with Bill.

It starts with the coaching staff and all of those guys that really place such an onus on that. And you see it work time and time again. We also see how coaching can be a little bit of a difficult thing when it comes to success in the NFL. And I'm going to switch gears here and talk about penalties for just a minute, and particularly a couple of penalty calls that were called in Sunday's game that seem to have raised the ire of the Cowboys fans, especially when the league has now reportedly told the Cowboys that these two tripping calls should not have been made. Merv, to me, the definition of tripping, when you look at it in the NFL rulebook,

is the use of a leg or foot to obstruct any opponent. In my opinion, that's exactly what happened here. If Frederick's right leg doesn't cross both of high towers and contact his knee, I don't think he goes down. So I didn't think it was matter that he pulled it back in afterwards, but maybe there's something that I'm not seeing here, and maybe I'm just being a homer. Am I incorrect?

Because I still think that this is not as bad, and maybe I'm just being a homer. Am I incorrect? Because I still think that this is not as bad or egregious of a call that was made as people are making it out to be. But I wanted to get your take on this, because you're always good at spotting things that I sometimes miss, or maybe that our listeners miss. What was your take on these calls? Okay. For those of you that do not know me out there, I am a large round person, or at least I was in high school. Large round people in high school play the offensive line. I did this my entire life.

And I did exactly what happened on Sunday every time that I was getting beaten on the regular by somebody. Believe me, it was a trip. I've done it. I've done it. I've practiced it. You get away with it 99% of the time, but it's done on purpose, and it is done because you're getting beat, and that's what a trip is. Whether you're using your thigh, your knee, or your ankle,

you're tripping somebody with the lower half of your body. My offensive line coach taught me this, and it was a brilliant thing because you almost never get called for it, almost never. Now, I understand the ire of the Cowboys fans because it does look like you're just stepping back and resetting, but that's not what he was doing. That is not what he was doing. He was using his leg to impede, and that is tripping.

I'm sorry. The league can go and kiss ass down there in Dallas all they want. The players can be in an uproar. But those calls did not change that game. Where did they happen? They were in negative yardage. It wasn't – this isn't what's going to – I'd be more upset about the mugging that took place against Julian Edelman every time he went across the field

and that wasn't called. I finally screamed, you know, it's about effing time at one point when he did get a call there. It was tripping. Everybody sit back and relax. And once again, you know, the penalties, they were pretty even on both sides on a few bad calls and some calls that were missed. It was a tripping call.

I believe this is coming from a center that has done it his entire life. He knows how to take care of a linebacker that is shooting a gap that you can't get to. And I was just resetting, boss. That's it. I think I had that flag on me twice over 80 games in my career at a much lower level. But, you know, that's the way it is. You get away with it 90%, 95%, 99% of the time. But Bill had watched the film.

He had seen what this kid was doing, and he told the refs before the game, look, this is what's happening. I've seen this time and time again. Now, I could be wrong wrong but just keep your eye out for it but he put it in the back of the the uh line judge's head and there you go we get the call that's it's all part of the game it is all part of the game just gamemanship you had so many great points in that analysis that i could probably fill the rest of the show just expounding on them i'm gonna let that sit because i think that you did such an amazing job of explaining that.

But first, I just want the takeaways for our listeners and myself as well. It's a couple of just key points that Murph made there in terms of the analysis he brings because he played the position. And no matter the level that you play the position at, it's still the same type of thing. So I appreciate you bringing that type of insight because that really, I think helps to alleviate a lot of the doubt that may still exist about exactly what it was and what it wasn't. The bottom line too, and the most important point that I think you made is that these calls were not the result,

or did not cause the result of the game. You didn't have Dallas losing this game simply because of those two calls. I think that there was a lot that went into, um, you know, their loss of this game as opposed to just, you know, labeling on two calls.

So I, I appreciate that. I appreciate you setting the record straight on that a little bit. And hopefully you gave our listeners a little bit of insight as to exactly what happened there on those two calls. Murph, we always have a blast here and I'm thankful on this Thanksgiving week to be joined by you. We've talked offense, special teams, and those Patriot-friendly refs that we're talking about just recently, but the main course of this Pat season has been the defense,

and in just a moment, I will get Murph's take on this defense, as well as his early thoughts on the Pats matchup with the Houston Texans coming up on Sunday. Once again, Thomas Murphy is my guest today. And Murph, the Pats defense still ranks top overall in the league, and pretty much one or two in every major statistical category. To me, everyone has been worthy of praise, but Jamie Collins and Stephon Gilmore continue to be praised at such a high level. In your opinion, who do you think is making a stronger case for possible defensive player of the year in the NFL? And on the flip side,

who do you think on this defense is not getting the credit he should be getting? To answer the first question, it's, wow, that's really tough because these are two guys that are having a couple of fantastic, fantastic seasons. But Stephon Gilmore is head and shoulders the best defensive player in the NFL. He showed it this week. He shows it every week, but this week it was just unbelievable. The ball that he snatched out of the air, oh my God.

Honestly, the words, the man should play both ways because he has the best hands in football, came out of my mouth. It was a thing of beauty, what he did to these Cowboys receivers, whoever he was on. It was just fantastic. It was a great almost textbook lesson for anybody that plays defensive back or anybody who appreciates defense into the way that he would just sit inside somebody's pocket, Randall Cobb's pocket, or why I'm at a complete loss for Amari Cooper. You know why I'm at a complete loss for Amari Cooper's name? Because he had two targets all bloody day, and he didn't make a catch.

It's what he's doing I haven't seen. And if I haven't thanked the people of Buffalo in a very long time, I'd like to thank them again for allowing us to take Stephon Gilmore from you because you had no idea what to do with this kind of talent. The guy that isn't getting enough credit is Jonathan Jones. Jonathan Jones has grown into more than just a serviceable corner. He's an amazing young talent. Bill found this kid.

He cultivated this kid. And he is paying off huge dividends. And he's the man that is not getting enough credit on this. And also, you know, Lawrence Guy is doing a fantastic job. Watching him set the edge the way he did on Sunday was just, you know, a beautiful thing. Yeah, I think, first of all, two great points. I love the way Collins is playing, and I really love the resurgence of Jamie Collins in New England.

And I think he's been such a key point in this linebacker core going from a good level to an elite level this year. He's been one of the biggest reasons why, and of course, I'm not lessening the play of guys like Dante Hightower or guys like Kyle Van Noy, or these guys are having great seasons as well, but I think the addition of Collins in that unit has been so key. He's helped Alandon Roberts focus more on being a run-stuffer, which is really the best part of his game. Having Collins allows the others to excel.

Absolutely. It really plays to their strengths. Yeah, it absolutely does. Yeah, it definitely does. And his play is dazzling at times. You always see him in the mix, getting after the quarterback, making big plays. But what Stephon Gilmore is doing is not only dazzling to

the eye, it's clinical in the way he goes about it. It's strategic and it's right on point. And he's able to essentially pickpocket and dismantle the other opposing team's best option. We've seen him do it so many times. What he did against Cooper the other night on Sunday was

really, I think, it was a master class in how to play the cornerback position and take away the opposing team's best weapon in difficult weather. It was just as difficult weather for Stephon Gilmore to play in as it was Amari Cooper to play in. So to see him do what he did on Sunday was excellent. So I do agree with you. I give him the slight nod right now as a defensive player of the year. I think he's having a tremendous season, and if the award was handed out today, he deserves it hands down. The other guy that you mentioned was my unsung hero,

and that is Lawrence Guy. I agree with you on Jonathan Jones. I think he's been terrific in the slot and in the cornerback position, brings a toughness and a real ability to not give up. He brings a perseverance to that role that we haven't seen in quite some time. But Lawrence Guy setting the edge and being such a key part in that defensive front is a big, big part of it. Adam Butler as well. You've got to give him credit on the other side. I think he stepped up his game and had a really good game.

But Lawrence Guy, to me, has stood out and is really one of the best parts of that defense. So there's a lot of guys, a lot of slices of pumpkin pie to go around for Thanksgiving this year and to be thankful for when it comes to the Patriots' defense, and those guys are playing at such a high level. Murph, lastly, we do have a Thanksgiving week conclusion coming up on Sunday, and the Patriots take a trip to face Houston.

And Deshaun Watson, DeAndre Hopkins, obviously old friend Billy O'Brien, coaching them. And this one on paper should be a tough matchup. Houston has a potent offense and a capable defense, but that did lose a big piece, meaning the Houston defense, when they lost J.J. Watt for the year. And they haven't looked like the same defensive unit lately. They no longer have Jadavion Clowney, obviously.

But to me, I think the Patriots defense is going to face a challenge in stopping Watson and DeAndre Hopkins. But again, the defense always seems to rise to the occasion. In your opinion, when you look at this game, preliminarily, do you see this being a game where the Patriots offense could finally come alive a little bit and start to show some signs of life heading into the game in a couple of weeks with the Kansas City Chiefs? I do. I think the receivers are going to have a lot more time this week to get on page with Tom.

I think we're not going to run into the weather issues that we had, which did. It really bothered the young guys. The young guys had not played in this kind of weather their entire lives. And Kiel Harry played down in the beautiful sunshine. And for the most part, why am I? I hate when I do this. Why do you let me do this?

Arizona State? Yep. Were you talking about where Nikhil Harry played? And Myers played down in Carolina. He was down at NC State. He was down at NC State. Those are good weather places, so it was a little difficult for them.

I think they're going to have a much better time seeing the ball and hanging on to the ball this week. We won't see the drops that we did last week. I also think Sanu will be back this week, hopefully. Right. And I also think Dorsett will be back. We're going to see things start to click now. The offensive line is going to be getting

deeper into the same page. You're going to see a lot less moving around. Heads off, another thing, Marcus Cannon, what he did last week and was fantastic getting out there, Bill mentioned that. I think that's all going to help when he's completely healthy, is really going to make this offensive line start to click a little bit better. And I don't see the problems that have plagued this team to this point going forward. I think things are going to get better. You're going to be able to see a lot more continuity on the offensive line, which means that the running game is going to get better, which means the play-action-pass game is going to get better.

And that's where this team is going to live and die going into the playoffs. No, I'm really looking forward to this Sunday and the remaining weeks in this season because now we're going to start to see that fourth quarter, that third quarter Patriots team really amp up that we always see in November, in December. You're going to see them start to click on all cylinders, and the talking heads are going to be sitting there with their mouth agape. Where was Tom Brady the first eight weeks? Well, you know, sometimes it takes a little bit while to get a team going,

and this year it did. And Tom's still Tom. So, yeah, it's going to be a lot of fun. The thing I'm worried about on Sunday for the Texans is the other guy. It always seems to be the other guy. Will Fuller is healthy now. It's going to be a good test for this defensive backfield, but not one that they aren't up for. Yeah, I agree with you on Fuller. I think he could be someone to keep your eye on,

especially with the Patriots' difficulty in being able to cover tight ends. If there's a kryptonite to their defense, that would probably be it, but I do think that the Patriots are going to be up to that challenge. Defensively, definitely doesn't worry me, and again, offensively, I think this is a chance for them to have that breakout game, and you made a lot of great points about Sanu coming back, Dorsett coming back, Myers and Harry probably not having the drop difficulty that they did. They were getting separation on Sunday, which is good, and they showed a great deal of field presence and awareness, which is something that in rookies you do have to look for, and I think Tom saw that a lot this week as well,

and he went out of his way to praise especially Myers in terms of how he's grown week after week. I do look for this team to make strides, and again, I think they're going to be exploiting a Houston defense that really looks like they're missing their crown jewel over these past couple of weeks. So this could be a recipe for the Patriots offense to get back on track, and I think that's what I'm looking for as I continue to analyze heading into Sunday's game. Murph, you lend your wisdom and counsel like no other,

and that's why you have a reserved seat at the Locked On Patriots Thanksgiving table. You're always welcome here. You are familiar, my friend. I thank you for joining me today so much. And I encourage everybody, I know you all are probably, but if you're not, please do, follow the man on Twitter at TeamErf207.

The columns, especially the monster keys each and every week, that is a must-read for any Patriots fan for game time. And even if you're a fan of the opposing team, you want to take a look and see what the Patriots are going to do. Murph is dialed in, and he knows his stuff. Never miss an episode of One Patriot's Place with Murph and Steve. They have a great lineup coming up this week, including an old friend of ours,

an old friend of mine, Mark Schofield, is going to be dropping by their show. So I highly recommend you checking out One Patriot's Place. Murph, thanks again, my friend. Have a very happy Thanksgiving. And from the bottom of my heart, thank you for everything you do for me, you've done for me. I can't be more grateful for your friendship, your wisdom, and your counsel. Oh, no, thank you for having me here on Locked On Thanksgiving Week, man.

It's fantastic. You know, let's go out and everybody, you know, I want to wish you all the best and enjoy this holiday. This holiday is just the best holiday. I love it. It truly is. It truly, truly is. Thank you again for having me, my brother. I will talk to you soon.

Anytime, my friend. You know you'll be back here soon enough, and we can't wait to have you back on. But as for me, I will be back tomorrow with Crossover Wednesday with my friends on Locked On Texans. We will tell you what to watch for in Sunday's matchup between the Patriots and Houston, so stay tuned for that. But as always, make sure to join me each and every

day on the Locked On Patriots podcast. Subscribe to Locked On via your favorite podcast provider. Once again, I might debate. I thank Thomas Murphy for his appearance today. But most of all, I thank you so much for listening and for always staying locked in to Locked On Patriots. Have a great day, everybody.