Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Standing Pat? Discussing New England’s Need to Upgrade - 10/20/2020

Episode Date: October 20, 2020

Much of Patriots Nation remains convinced that the New England Patriots are in desperate need of upgrading at both the tight end and wide receiver positions. However, making the right addition is not quite as easy as the jury of social media would have one believe. Joining host Mike D’Abate is Steve Balestrieri of PatsFans.com. The duo discuss the Pats need to add some offensive depth, as well as the play of both the offensive and defensive lines. Lastly, they begin to turn their attention towards this week’s opponent, the San Francisco 49ers.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON,” and you’ll get 20% off your next order.MyBookieINVEST IN YOUR INTUITION. USE PROMO CODE LOCKEDON AND DOUBLE YOUR FIRST DEPOSIT. NEW PLAYERS GET UP TO $1,000 IN FREE PLAY - DESIGNED TO ADD MORE EXCITEMENT TO THE SPORTS YOU LOVE AND THE GAMES YOU BET. YOUR WINNING SEASON BEGINS TODAY...ONLY AT MYBOOKIE!BuiltGoVisit BuiltGO.com and use promo code “LOCKED,” and you’ll get 20% off your next order.RomanGo to getroman.com/lockedon TODAY. If approved, you’ll get fifteen dollars off your first order of ED treatment. 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. You are now locked into the Lockdown Patriots podcast. It is October 20th, 2020, and your New England Patriots are two and three on this Tuesday here on your daily home for news notes and analysis infused with the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. Locked on Patriots is presented today by Pepsi, made for football watching.

This season will be different, and Pepsi is here to get you ready for game day, no matter how you watch this season. Pepsi is the refreshment you need to power through game day and become a member of the League of Football Watchers. These passionate fans are the real generational talent that Pepsi fuels. Because Pepsi isn't made for those who play the game, it's made for those who watch it. Pepsi, made for football watching. Greetings and salutations, Pats Nation.

Thank you for joining me here on this Tuesday episode of the pod. My name is Mike DeBate, your host of the Locked On Patriots podcast, which of course is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And folks, because it's your team every day, that means your questions, comments, and feedback are always welcomed and greatly appreciated. Feel free to share that feedback anytime by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-F-P-C. And while you're out there doing some Tuesday traveling through the Twitterverse, please

be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. Patriots fans being 2-3 on the 2020 NFL season isn't exactly how we all hoped this season would go. It's true things could be a lot worse, but if we're being honest, I know most of you expected better. And by better, I'm really talking about this past Sunday. Losing to the Seattle Seahawks and the Kansas City Chiefs are not exactly ideal, but when you look at the caliber, the record of both teams, it's really not that much of a shock to see losses in both of those games. All credit to the Denver Broncos, who I thought played a phenomenal game on Sunday. They came in here, deserved the win. But most of the fans and analysts out there, myself included, expected the Patriots to get

the W here. And bottom line, we all want to know why they didn't. And regardless of where your final stance is when it comes to Sunday's game, the Patriots squandered a lot of opportunities to put points on the board. The wide receivers weren't involved nearly enough. Cam Newton's arm and footwork just looked a little bit off. The tight ends? Non-existent. Even the running backs who have performed so well looked like they were having trouble getting going on Sunday. You name it, it just wasn't going right

for the Patriots offense. And while the defense played much better than the offense on Sunday, even they had their share of questions. And we started to break things down a little yesterday here on the pod when I welcomed our good green friend Thomas Murphy. And Murph and I discussed the lack of preparation time and practice time that the Patriots had. Both agreed that that did factor into the final product. We talked about the lack of production at the skill positions, gave our two cents on that final controversial throw from Cam Newton and Akeel Harry, and we even talked about some of the bright spots. Yeah, there were some bright spots in this game, folks, and they really resided in the secondary and in the linebacking core for the New England Patriots.

But as deep of a dive as Murph and I took into this game yesterday, there's still another level. We can still go a little bit deeper, and to help me do so today, our second weekly resident here on Locked On Patriots, our voice of reason, Steve Balistrieri of Patsfans.com joins me today, and we will talk about specifically the Patriots' woes at the wide receiver position and at the tight end position. A lot of rumors out there circulating that the Patriots might be willing to make a trade. I know you all want that to happen. And if I'm being honest, I'd like to see some new talent come in here as well.

But if the Patriots are not able to swing that trade, do they have enough in this locker room currently to right the ship? Is it just a matter of practice or are these problems just simply unfixable with their current personnel? Steve will also discuss his latest Patriots report card for this game against the Broncos. Both the offense and defensive lines were graded pretty harshly here, and Steve and I will discuss why both lines are a concern right now, maybe even a little more so on defense than on offense. Last but certainly not least, we'll start to turn our sharp eye toward old friend Jimmy

Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers. Now, most fans and analysts out there were ready to leave Jimmy G out in the cold a couple of weeks ago, but Jimmy is coming off of a pretty impressive performance on Sunday night against the Los Angeles Rams. Bill Belichick, Josh McDaniels both had glowing things to say about Jimmy in their Tuesday press conferences. But the Niners are a team that has been decimated by injury on both sides of the ball. Will they be the formidable force that got them within an eyelash of a Super Bowl title last year?

Or are the Patriots catching them at a very vulnerable time? Steve and I will discuss all of those topics and more, so sit tight. Another action-packed agenda coming at you here on this Tuesday edition of Locked On Patriots. And Steve will join me right here on the hot seat in just a moment. But first, as I said yesterday here on the pod, the Pats didn't just lose this week's sixth game against the Denver Broncos. They also suffered some additional losses by way of injury on the field on Sunday. And for the benefit of those of you who either missed Sunday's game or yesterday's pod, offensive tackle Jermaine Illuminor just 12 snaps into the game,

left with an apparent ankle injury. He was helped off the field by the training staff, and he never returned to the game. In the second quarter, the Patriots suffered another loss to the line, but this time it was their defensive line. Offensive tackle Adam Butler leaving the game with an elbow injury. Now, Butler had been listed on the Patriots injury report prior to this game with a shoulder ailment. When Butler left the game, the first thing on mostly everyone's mind, and I'll be honest, myself included, is that he may have re-injured the shoulder. Apparently, this was an elbow injury.

It looked pretty serious in the moment on Sunday. I even erroneously reported yesterday here on Locked On Patriots that he did not return to the game after that injury. He actually did return to the game for two snaps following a short trip to the locker room, and then he was pulled for the remainder of the game. Right now, cautiously optimistic on Adam Butler, folks. From what I'm hearing, the Patriots may have dodged a bullet on this. I can't confirm that at this point,

but we're certainly hoping the best for Adam. As for Jermaine Illuminor, no further updates regarding his status. Expect that I'm hearing that the injury is expected to be significant. Once again, I reiterate, this is all rumor at this point. We should know more in the coming days about the health of both Jermaine Illuminor and Adam Butler. And as further information becomes available, we will bring you the latest right here on Locked on Patriots.

But before we turn our attention toward Week 7 and the San Francisco 49ers, it's time other information becomes available, we will bring you the latest right here on Locked On Patriots. But before we turn our attention toward Week 7 and the San Francisco 49ers, it's time to take one more sharp look at the Denver Broncos and the Patriots' 18-12 loss on Sunday. And to help me do just that is my good friend Steve Balistrieri of Patsfans.com. We talk wide receivers, tight ends, offensive and defensive line, and start to turn our attention toward those Niners when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. But remember, Locked On listeners, this football season will be different, and Pepsi is here to get you ready for game day, no matter how you watch this season.

I know many of you are missing the tailgate right now, but think about it like this. Make yours the best seat in the house. Your very own high-def, high-res television. Comfortable clothes, comfortable sofa or chair if you prefer, your favorite snacks right by your side, and of course, Pepsi, which is the refreshment you need to power through any game day and become a member of the League of Football Watchers. These passionate fans are the real generational talent that Pepsi fuels. Because Pepsi isn't made for those who play the game, it's made for those who watch it. Go to madeforfootballwatching.com

to check out the latest football watching content from Pepsi. That's Pepsi, made for football watching. Patriots Nation, we continue to attempt to digest the Patriots' loss to the Broncos on Sunday. And to help me break it all down even further is my Patriots paisan, Patsfan.com's extraordinaire columnist and one of the best guys in this or any business, Steve Balistrieri joins me today. Welcome back to Locked On, Patriots, my friend. Hey, Mike, always a pleasure to talk football with you. Even though the

news isn't the greatest, but hey, that's what we're here for. Absolutely. In all clouds, there are some silver linings, and hopefully we'll be able to pluck a few out of those today, but we've got to be honest, and let's be honest, my friend. There's a lot of disgust in

Patriots Nation right now. Receivers are being labeled as as busts i'll leave it to your discretion as to whether or not that's warranted or not uh but fans want anyone and everyone available via trade you hear a name out there we see that bill belichick gif file with him walking out of the tunnel in detroit not slapping the kid's hand and all of a sudden he's he's walking toward getting every player that's ever been made available but steve you put it very eloquently in your grades piece earlier today when you said that when you're number one and two wide receivers julian edelman and akil harry are targeted just eight times and have a combined two catches for eight yards that's a recipe for losing football and I completely agree with you. Julian looks like he's hurt to me, and I'm not basing that on inside information from the team or anything like that,

but I think that knee just simply doesn't look right. He's not getting that same boost, and I think it's making him look like he's lost a step out there. Josh addressed it a little bit today, saying he's going to make the play calling better. He's going to get Julian rejuvenated. You know, Julian sent out a social media message earlier this week saying trust the process. So it looks like he wants to get out there. But I think in a lot of ways, I think he might be a little more hampered by that knee than we think. Just my opinion. But that looks like it to me. Harry is being blamed pretty heavily for that final play. And, you know, he's got his detractors, and they're out in full force.

We also have a lot of people saying, poor Demir Bird, because he's being used as a number one ride-out. If you take a look at the snap sheet, he led the snaps for all wide receivers. So, Steve, a very complex question, probably a complex answer, but I'll ask it anyway. What can the Patriots do to fix this? Well, we've known that wide receivers, they don't have a lot of team speed on this. Even Julian Edelman, he's quicker than fast, and he's always been that way.

But with this team, the way it's constructed, especially with the heavy reliance on the running game, they need more than a wide receiver. They need the tight ends to be more involved in the passing game. Because with that running game, you're going to have a lot of two tight end sets on the field, and they're just not being productive. And, you know, I mentioned that later on in the piece about the tight ends. I mean, when your total tight end production is six catches on the year through five games, that's not – when you're going two tight end sets, that's not going to work. And they need to get the tight ends more involved.

If that means bringing in another guy, then so be it. But I still don't understand for the life of me when you invest a second-round draft pick in a kid and then you have him out there for 25 snaps on Sunday and you don't target him one time. He hasn't been targeted one time? Devin Asiasi. I know Keane has been hurt,

and then he's been inactive a couple of weeks. Okay, I get that. But this kid's on the field. He's playing 25 snaps, and it's not like you're getting a ton of production out of your other guy. I mean, so to me, I think it's even more than the wide receiver. I really believe it's a tight end issue. I believe it's a tight end issue as well. I think receiver is a need, and we're hearing a lot of the shiny toys that are out there. I know Patriots fans definitely still harbor some hope that someone like an Odell Beckham Jrr or julio jones

is going to find their way into wingland i don't think that's likely i don't think it's so likely to even consider that guys like john ross who's available um you know apparently is available he's requested a trade or hinted with the cincinnati bangles that he might be willing to be moved our good friend miguel benzon the Pats cap set earlier, he's in the last year of his deal, hoping to make himself a better free agent option. 2020 salary fully guaranteed, so logistically this would work, but the Patriots do have a guy on staff that's like that in Demir Bird.

And one thing that I do want to caution Patriots fans on with John Ross, he's been made available several times within the last few years by the Cincinnati Bengals. They haven't been able to find a taker. I think that should say something. I'm not necessarily negating this kid. I think he's got the speed, maybe in the right system, the right fit. He'd be able to do it. But there have been reasons why teams have been maybe reluctant to pull the trigger on this deal. So we'll see. I mean, we'll see what happens. But that being said, when you look at the wide receiver position, I think tight end is a much more glaring need. Through the first five games, Ryan Izzo has six catches for 82 yards.

Folks, that's on the year. You pointed out in your piece, Rob Gronkowski had that production plus a touchdown in one game against the Green Bay Packers when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took the field. Yeah, exactly. And everyone said that he was well, well past his prime. Not just past his prime, but like you said, washed up. So you're right. Ossie, Ossie, and Keene, pair of third-round picks.

You expect much more out of them. They've been pretty much invisible and the narrative coming from foxborough on them is that the lack of rookie prep time is what's keeping the patriots from utilizing these guys but you are seeing rookies be productive throughout the uh the league so i think some of that narrative may come through but i think there's also a period of time where you have to say we invested some serious uh you know draft capital in these kids we have to make sure that they can do the job. At least Asiasi, who I thought was very explosive, I thought had the ability to make breaks, get open in the open field,

catch the ball over the middle, be able to be that receiving threat tight end that they didn't have last year, and it just hasn't worked out. So to build upon that, Steve, do you believe this is the Patriots' biggest area of need moving forward? And if it's not going to be Asiassi or Keene, is there anybody out there that you have your eye on that could come in and significantly help this Patriots team right away? Well, one veteran that, again, it doesn't mean the team's going to trade him, but he's requested a trade. David Njoku from Cleveland. But again, is Cleveland going to par with him?

I don't know. Probably not. But going back to what you had mentioned earlier about the wide receivers, I think Julian Edelman's knee is bothering him. I mean, he had, I think, the least amount of snaps between him, Harry, and Bird. So, that would tell you something. But, yeah, I think David Njoku is somebody that would probably fit in here. I mean, again, can you get any less production out of your tight end position than you have right now? I mean, it's averaging, what, 1.2 catches per game.

So that's not going to cut it when you go in two tight end sets. They need to bring somebody in. If they're not going to utilize the guys they drafted. Without question. Without question. And, look, I said a little bit earlier, people are saying poor Demir Bird as he's being used as the number one ride out poor ryan iso i mean really i mean a lot of people roll their eyes and say that and go oh well iso's this he's that but you know what bottom

line the patriots are using him like a number one tight end and he's simply not that mold he's a number three guy at best we've told you we've We've said several times, and we've talked about this offline as well as on here on Locked On Patriots, and it's just I think it's unfair for him to be put in the position that he's in. Granted, the fumble on Sunday, you have to put that all on Ryan. That was definitely a terrible fumble. It was a momentum killer for the New England Patriots, but to put him in the position they've been putting him in, and even he hasn't been targeted as much as you would hope

for the tight end position, I think it just leaves a lot of questions. So we'll see what the Patriots have in store for us. And those are the pressing questions of the day, my friend. We've discussed those a little bit, but the Patriots still have some logistical cleanup from their 18-12 loss to the Denver Broncos, and you recently published your report card for the Patriots regarding that game. In just a moment, folks, we will discuss those grades, and I'll even start to seek the wisdom and counsel

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Patriots fan Steve Balistrieri joins us here today on Locked On Patriots. And Steve, the Pats are still sifting through the aftermath of their loss to the Broncos on Sunday. And your grades, as they usually are, my friend, were spot on. Folks, I highly recommend this read to all of you listening out there. It's great stuff. Honest, accurate, much like the man himself. He always does quality work no matter what he does to put pen to paper or, you know, keys to the keyboard.

Our good buddy dropped by here yesterday, our good friend Thomas Murphy, and he was a bit riled up. But we did have some good things to say about the Patriots, especially on the defensive side of the ball. The secondary, the linebackers, I thought particularly were very good in this game. But games are often won on the lines.

And in my opinion, Denver won both of those battles on Sunday. Both the offensive line and the defensive lines of the Broncos just got the better of this matchup. A lot of that was because of injuries. I know Illumina going down and Butler going down factored heavily into that. But I will be willing to give the offensive line somewhat of a pass most of them were playing out of position no one looked comfortable I think that can be fixed with adequate practice time but one area in particular that worried me on Sunday and continues to worry me a bit as the season progresses is the interior of the defensive line Lawrence guy has been solid I think he's having a

pro bowl caliber year in my opinion I think he been great. But the lack of a dedicated nose tackle is really hurting this team more than I thought it would. It's leading to inefficiency on the early downs, and especially without Byron Coward. And then when Adam Butler went down, we saw Denver really dominate this matchup on Sunday. And I think it could lead to teams having an easier time getting pressure on Cam Newton and maybe even derailing some of the progress that the Patriots have made on the defensive side of the ball. Steve, given the Patriots' overall defensive prowess, is this something that really could harm the defense? And how might they fix it, especially if Adam Butler is going to miss any time? Yeah, I mean, the big thing is injuries. I mean, it's not that the guys can't play.

It's just, you know, you got Cowan, who's been basically a starter all year. You know, he's got COVID-19. Bo Allen, I wrote, I think he's on Mars because we haven't seen him. We haven't seen him all year. Oh, we haven't? You know, they wrote, I think he's on Mars because we haven't seen him. We haven't seen him all year. Oh, yeah. And, you know, they just signed Carl Davis, and he was inactive. And then Butler gets hurt. I mean, you're putting an awful lot on Dietrich Wise, Lawrence guy,

and Nick Thurman, who's basically a practice squad guy. So I think the big thing there is they really need to get healthy, and I think, you know, that lack of that true nose tackle, because that's how the Patriots like to play. They have that true nose tackle, you know, two gaps up front. You know, in the early downs, if you have that kind of a guy in there it's going to really help with that running game and don't want to take anything away from Phillip Lindsay I thought he played real well I think he's a really

good back and give Denver a lot of credit they dominate as you said they dominated both sides of the line I think they really need to get that dedicated nose tackle back, whether it's going to be Bo Allen, if we're ever going to see him in a Patriots uniform this year, or they're going to have to bring in somebody else. But that's going to hurt them because especially you've got some teams that can really run the ball coming up on your schedule. So getting healthy, I think, is paramount to these guys.

And if they get healthy, I think they'll be okay. Yeah, I would agree with that. I think in a lot of ways, I think Coward has done a very good job of coming in, playing essentially out of position, but really being called to be that type of nose tackle, maybe not the traditional type of nose tackle that the Patriots employ, like last year when they did under Danny Shelton. But I think he's done a fairly adequate job of filling in and being pretty good in his role. Him being out of the lineup definitely hurt them on Sunday.

You could see it. And then when Adam Butler goes down, all of a sudden you're putting a lot of pressure, like you said, on Lawrence Guy, on Dietrich Wise, who have both played very well this season. But it's a lot to put on two players' shoulders to try to help them carry the load of what needs to be the workload of about four guys. If you put it on two, I don't care how good those two guys are playing or how good they are. It's just simply too much to ask. So I agree with that. I think in a lot of ways uh the

the defensive line will be okay if they can get healthy and that really is the story around the nfl and it also leads me quite nicely into my final question for you today buddy and especially the healthy part because this team has been decimated by injuries and i'm talking about the team that's coming into new england uh to face the new england patriots this coming sunday now we know my friend you're my patriots paizon you know that but there is another paizon coming back to town with this team and that is jimmy garoppolo with the san francisco 49ers jimmy's had kind of an up and down year so far two games ago he was being benched. People were labeling him as a bust.

The Patriots are smart to get rid of him. San Francisco made the wrong decision. They need to go in a different direction, get a new quarterback. Sunday evening goes out there, tosses a pretty fair game against the Los Angeles Rams. So I think he's quieted some of his detractors for the time being. The Niners are the defending NFC champions. And again, decimated by injuries.

It actually looks like this weekend that Raheem Mostert will probably not be making the trip here to New England. And that's, that's big news. But I think there's still plenty of San Francisco savvy to put it mildly on both sides of the ball to make this another tough one for the Pats. Steve, what are your early thoughts on the Niners this Sunday as they prepare to come here to Foxborough? Right, and you mentioned the Patriots problem on the defensive line.

San Francisco is very good at running the football. So if the Patriots have a problem with that up front, it's going to show itself I think pretty clearly and pretty quickly I think that you know they need to obviously get their linebackers more involved and one of the things I'm worried about is is I'm wondering if chase winovich is nursing something we don't know about because he had less snaps than John Simon, Anthony Jennings, and Adrian Phillips. So let's hope it was something just a one-day type thing because they're going to definitely

need him. The other thing about the Niners, even though their defense is banged up, that's a good defense, and it's better than the defense that they faced on Sunday. And, you know, granted, a lot of what ailed the Patriots was the fact that they couldn't practice, especially on the offensive line where you had so many guys switching positions. Hopefully, they'll get through that this week because that's a better defense than they face. And they're going to have to play a heck of a lot better, a heck of a lot better than they did last Sunday if they want to come away with a victory because this is going to be a very tough test. And we saw that defense kind of shut down the Rams on Sunday, didn't we? Absolutely, without any question.

And I think a lot of people forget that San Francisco's defense is really one of their claim to fames. We hear all of the soundbites about guys like George Kittle. And even this morning, when Bill Belichick addressed the media, really went out of his way to praise George Kittle in that, you know, he's very rare in terms of his ability to block and catch. And he is. He's phenomenal, folks.

There's nobody that is saying anything different about George Kittle. We talk about Jimmy Garoppolo. We talk about the offense. But this is a very good, sound defensive team that makes plays when they need to. They're solid in all three phases of the defense, whether it be the line, whether it be the linebackers, whether it be the secondary. They can make plays. So the Patriots, I agree, will have their hands full,

and they're going to need a much, much better game than they played on Sunday against the Denver Broncos because this one could get a lot more ugly than Sunday's game did. I think the Patriots will be ready. Ultimately, I think a lot of what ailed them on Sunday can be cured by a full week of practice, and hopefully the Patriots are able to get it. From our lips to God's ears, my friend, it's just it's one of those things where you have to hold your breath

each and every day for every NFL team, just making sure that you don't see positive results, testing results. It's amazing what these teams have had to go through this year, and we'll just continue to hope for the best, but hopefully they're getting healthy and they'll get right and get back to playing Patriots football football because we quite honestly at times on Sunday just did not see that in any phase. Steve, you're the level head and the reasonable voice we need.

It's never the one we deserve, folks, but one I'm always happy to welcome here to the pod. And I thank you for graciously joining me here each and every week on Lockdown Patriots. Before you take your leave of us, my friend, please let our listeners know where to follow you and what second-to-none content to expect from the great pen of Steve Balistrieri in the coming days. Well, thank you for those kind words.

It's always a pleasure being on with you. You can find me on Twitter at CB7SFG, and I write for PatsFans.com. on with you. You can find me on Twitter at CB7SFG and I write for PatsFans.com. I do a couple of podcasts, Patriots 4th and 2, and as you mentioned, the One Patriot Place coming up

later on this afternoon with Thomas Murphy. We'll have Bob Solsey, the voice of the Patriots, as our guest later on today. We're looking forward to talking with Bob and getting his impressions of the game. But, yeah, you know, I'm already starting my deep dive on the 49ers and, you know, trying to look at how they're going to approach this game. It's going to be a tough one, my friend.

Yeah, it will be. I think it will be a lot tougher than people are expecting. Maybe they're looking at the decimation of injury that's happening in San Francisco right now, but I think this one is going to be a little bit more difficult and we will continue to break this matchup down here on locked on Patriots all week long. But I definitely want to encourage you not to miss one Patriots place coming up with Steven Murph,

two of the greatest guys in the business being joined by another one of the greatest guys in the business. Someone who's another one of the greatest guys in the business. Someone who's joined me several times here on the airwaves in Bob Sose. Steve, what can I say? Thank you so much. Stay safe. Stay well, my friend. We look forward to talking ball with you again next week.

Hopefully we're breaking down a win this time. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for having me. Anytime, my friend. Pleasure is always mine and it always will be. Thank you for having me. Anytime, my friend. Pleasure is always mine, and it always will be. Thank you, bud. And just like that, Patriots fans, we are almost at the midway point of your work week.

And while we might make the occasional reference to Sunday's loss to the Denver Broncos, it's officially time to turn both eyes toward the San Francisco 49ers. And for the remainder of this week, that's exactly what we will do, in addition to keeping you updated on the latest news notes and analysis from Foxborough. So to ensure that you do not miss a single second of the action, make sure to download Locked On Patriots wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and or follow us on Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts,

wherever you get your podcasts. Just make sure that you're staying locked in to Locked On Patriots. Once again, my name is Mike DeBate. I thank my friend Steve Balistrieri for his time, his insight, and his weekly appearance here on the pod. But most of all, I thank you so much for listening and for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Until tomorrow, everyone, stay safe, stay well, continue to be the change you wish to

see in the world. Have a great day, everyone.