Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Stopped Short in Seattle: Patriots-Seahawks Recap - 9/21/2020

Episode Date: September 21, 2020

It is not often that a loss has an NFL fanbase feeling good; especially for a franchise that has had as much success as the New England Patriots. However, that seems to be the popular takeaway from Sunday Night’s contest in Seattle. Cam Newton was stopped at the 1-yard line on the final play, as the Seahawks held off the Patriots 35-30 on Sunday Night Football. Joining host Mike D’Abate to break down the action is fan-favorite Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy. The duo discuss all the positive and negative takeaways from this Week Two matchup.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 $10 off your first 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!NFL Game PassThis season, get football on your time with NFL Game Pass. See all the action from every game with full game replays.Go to nfl.com/gamepass to start your free trial today. KeepsIf you’re ready to take action and prevent hair loss, go to Keeps.com/lockedonnfl to receive your first month of treatment for free. 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 Locked On Patriots podcast, where today it is Moral Victory Monday with Murph 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 by Pepsi, made for football watching.

This football 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. 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, Patriots Nation.

Thank you for joining me here today on Locked on Patriots on this Monday, September 21st, on a pod that I'm calling Moral Victory Monday. And yes, I'm well aware that the New England Patriots were not victorious on Sunday night football over the Seattle Seahawks, but there were a great number of positives to take away from this one. And today here on the pod, I'll be breaking it all down for you with the help of a little green wisdom and counsel.

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, 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.

Share that feedback anytime by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at MDABATEFPC. And while you're out there welcoming in a new week on the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. Folks, as I said here on Friday, the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks know the story quite well. The joy of victory, the agony of defeat. Two cups of water from the same well when it comes to these two proud franchises.

It almost seemed inevitable that last night's Sunday night football game would be a hard fought, close battle that would come down to one final play. And if you didn't think it could be scripted any better, that one play would take place at the goal line. As Marty McFly once said, talk about deja vu. But this time, however, folks, there would be no miraculous Malcolm Goh moment for New England. On this particular Sunday night in Seattle, Cam Newton would be stopped at the one-yard line on the final play as the Seahawks held off the Patriots 35-30, earning this victory in Week 2 of the 2020 NFL season. Playing on the road for the first time in a Patriots uniform, Cam Newton turned in another stellar performance, throwing for 397 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He also rushed for 47 yards, collecting two rushing touchdowns.

Julian Edelman turned in another gutsy, prolific performance, finishing with eight catches for 179 yards, but it wouldn't be enough to earn New England the victory. On the Seahawks' side of things, quarterback Russell Wilson reminded us of what we already knew. He is very good at playing football, folks. Wilson completed 21 of 28 passes for 288 yards and five touchdown passes, the fourth time in his career that he's done that. And each pass was to a different target. Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf, David Moore, Freddie Swain,

and Chris Cartson all found the end zone after being led there by Wilson's pinpoint control. But as impressive as the Seahawks were of putting points on the board, the Patriots were actually the ones to strike first in this one. Very early in the first quarter, a Russell Wilson pass deflected through the fingertips of tight end Greg Olson and right into the waiting hands of safety Devin McCourty. McCourty would take it to the house, a 43-yard interception return for the pick-six, and after the Nick Folk extra point, Patriots were on top early on with a 7-0 lead. Later in the first, the Seahawks would even the score, Wilson throwing his first of five touchdown passes on the day, a four-yard strike to wide receiver Tyler Lockett,

and we were tied at seven all. The Seesaw matchup would continue into the second quarter, where Cam Newton would cap a 12-play, 72-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run. That put New England back on top 14-7 with just a little over 13 minutes to play in the quarter. But Wilson and the Seahawks would strike back. Seattle definitely letting Russ Cook in this one, unleashing a 54-yard touchdown pass to DK Metcalf made a strong power reception despite good coverage from Stephon Gilmore, and at the half, the Patriots and the Seahawks were tied at 14. The Pats would be the first to break the tie in the third quarter when Nick Fulk,

who in the second quarter had already missed a 51-yard field goal, connected on a 25-yarder to give the Patriots a 17-14 lead. However, on the ensuing drive, Seattle would take the lead, and they would not relinquish it for the remainder of the game. Wilson once again guiding the Seahawks offense 75 yards on 6 plays, found wide receiver David Moore for a 38-yard touchdown pass, and Seattle now led 21-17. And some well-deserved praise here for David Moore on this reception. Really impressive, showed tremendous footwork and body control keeping both feet in bounds

for the score, and yet another beautiful touchdown pass by Russell Wilson. The Seahawks would close out the third quarter by padding their lead total, Wilson this time finding Freddie Swain for a 21-yard touchdown pass. Seahawks on top to close out the quarter 28-17. But the Patriots would recapture a little of that road swagger. Early in the fourth quarter, Cam Newton would lead the Patriots on a 77-yard six-play drive that only lasted two minutes and 46 seconds. Cam would toss a one-yard touchdown pass to fullback Jakob Johnson, and the Patriots would pull within five. They made their best efforts to pull within four, but the two-point run conversion failed, so the Patriots now found themselves trailing the Seattle Seahawks 23-28,

with a good portion of the fourth quarter still to come. But Seattle was not to be denied. They would collect what eventually became the game winner when an 18-yard touchdown pass from Russell Wilson to Chris Carson made the score 35-23. This pass by Wilson, definitely easy on the eyes. A floater against the Blitz to beat Patriots safety Adrian Phillips, who, as much as I love Adrian, and you know I do, folks, he has to accept it on this one.

He just didn't pick up the running back, Chris Carson, until it was too late. Wilson made a great throw, even though he was hurried on this play, facing a five-man pressure with Chase Winovich right in his face, and Seattle now held a 12-point advantage, their biggest lead of the night. But credit the New England Patriots, who simply would not give up. Cam Newton, again, leading the Patriots on a seven-play, 75-yard drive, only two minutes and 16 seconds off the clock. Cam takes it himself for the one-yard touchdown, and just like that, folks, it's back to a five-point lead. Seattle 35, Patriots 30 with just over two minutes left to play. For as much difficulty as the Patriots' defense seemingly had

on Sunday night, they were able to hold the Seahawks to a 3-and-out after Seattle threw on 3rd-and-1, with Wilson unable to connect with Tyler Lockett. That would set the stage for the Patriots' final drive of the night, and Cam Newton would once again lead the team 80 yards on just 5 plays. Starting on their own 19-yard line and moving to the Seattle 36 with 41 seconds left, Cam Newton would hit Julian Edelman for 18 yards, placing

the Pats at the Seattle 13 with just 20 seconds left. That duo of Julian Edelman and Cam Newton looking pretty good so far, folks, and they almost connected again for a would-be touchdown. However, Newton's pass sailed just a little high, and the incompletion left nine seconds remaining on the clock. On the ensuing play, Newton would find Nakiel Harry, who was stopped at the one-yard line, and that set the stage for another last-second goal-line stand between the Patriots and the Seahawks. Again, folks, you could not script this any better. Attempting to secure the win,

the Patriots would line up in a 14-man personnel, and Cam Newton would try to do what he had been doing all game, run power to the left. But give credit where credit is due to a trio of Seahawks defenders that made great plays. Started with Bobby Wagner controlling the defense from the middle. That allowed Seahawks safety Lon O'Hill to disrupt the attempted block by fullback Jacob Johnson. That in turn allowing defensive lineman LJ Collier to upend Newton. And with Cam failing to reach the end zone, Seattle's sideline erupted in celebration and a 35-30 victory over the New England Patriots.

So with the loss on Sunday night, the Patriots dropped to 1-1 on the season, but once again, there were some positives to take away from defeat, and it's those positives, along with some areas of concern, that the Count of Murphy-Fisto, Thomas Murphy and I, will discuss as we break down the Patriots' 35-30 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday Night Football. But before welcoming Murph in, some side notes to share on this one, folks. Sunday's contest was actually Cam Newton's eighth career game with at least two rushing touchdowns.

That set an NFL record, capping a phenomenal performance by Cam Newton in this one. This one was an interesting tidbit shared by Al Michaels during the NBC broadcast. Due to travel restraints resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, this actually marked the first time that Patriots team owner Robert Kraft has ever missed being present at a Patriots game as owner of the team, and Kraft bought the Patriots and has owned them since 1994. So a little tidbit there that I thought you might find interesting. And the moment on the field that gets my sharp eye award for the week, folks, was when Seattle defensive back Quandre Diggs was ejected late in the first quarter for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Patriots wide receiver Nakheel Harry. On 4th and 3 from the Seattle 30, Newton hit Harry on a slant for 13 yards.

Harry was immediately hit by Diggs. You can clearly see it on the replay, folks. He led with his helmet. The collision would snap Harry's head backward, and Diggs was rightfully ejected from this game, folks. You cannot do that. You can't lead with the helmet. That's not soft. It's simply the way football is played now. Diggs was wrong for doing that, and he was rightfully tossed from this game. What amazed me is that Harry remained in this game and was able to hang on to the ball. He took a very tough shot, and after you see the replay of this, I don't think there's anybody that can question this kid's toughness any longer. He took a hard hit and played the rest of the game, in my opinion, pretty well. But as we prepare to move on from the action in Seattle and play a little armchair analysis with our friend Murph, who will join us in a moment, on behalf of Locked On Patriots, I wanted to take a moment to express my sincere condolences and best wishes to the family of Patriots running back James White. About an hour prior to kickoff, the Patriots had released their

inactives for Sunday night's game. A surprise inclusion on that list was James White's name at running back. Very shortly after that list was released, Andy Slater of Fox Sports had reported that White's mother and father had been involved in a fatal car crash in Cooper City, Florida around 1 p.m., this according to the Broward County Sheriff's Office. James' father, Tyrone White, who was a captain of the Miami-Dade Police Department, was pronounced dead at the scene, and as of the recording of this podcast, James' mother remains hospitalized in critical condition. And obviously, this news sent shockwaves through NFL fans and players, several of whom took to social media to extend their condolences and best wishes to James White, including the team's opposing quarterback, Russell Wilson, who was teammates with James White when they played together at the University of Wisconsin. Former teammate and expatriates quarterback Tom Brady put a beautiful message of condolence

on his social media page, calling White someone who, quote, did everything the right way. After scoring the first touchdown of the game on Sunday night, Devin McCourty approached the nearest television camera and could be heard mouthing the words, 2-8, we love you, in honor of James White's number 28. And it's a drastic understatement to say that news like this is tragic. As someone who also lost his father at a young age without warning, I can somewhat relate to what James is feeling right now, but I can't equate it.

Those feelings are different for everyone. Again, on the loss of his father, I offer my sincere condolences, and I continue to offer my prayers and best wishes on the condition of James' mom. Again, on behalf of all of us here at Lockdown Patriots, our hearts are with you, James. Stay strong. Locked On listeners, Visa knows that local businesses are the heartbeat of our communities. Whether they're our corner stores, our coffee spots, or our favorite shops, local businesses have always been there for us. They remember our orders. They call us by name, always giving back, making a difference, and going that extra mile to support us and our community.

And right now, more than ever, local businesses need our support. So now it's time for us to return the favor. The next time you go shopping, make the choice to shop at local businesses and look for the contactless symbol and tap to pay with a contactless visa to help support your community. Because where and how you shop matters. Visa, everywhere you want to be. Official partner of the NFL. Patriots fans, once again, we break down the Pats 35-30 loss

to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night football, dropping the Pats to 1-1 on the 2020 season. And even though many of us, myself included, are calling today a moral victory Monday, a loss is still a loss. And despite there being reasons for optimism, there is still a lot to build on here in Foxborough. And when the need arises, as it has today, for some honest, straight talk on the subject, we seek the wisdom and counsel of your favorite and mine, my benefactor in this business, the Count of Murphy Fisto himself, the legendary

Thomas Murphy is back for his weekly appearance here on Locked On Patriots. Thank you for coming to me in friendship and for helping me kick off the week in style here on the pod today, Don Murph. Oh, thank you, bud. Thank you for being here and giving me a chance to vent a day early and a dollar short. Well, never a dollar short, but a day early is always good. And we wanted to get your honest wisdom and counsel because let's face it, bud, a loss is a loss and there is still some stuff to vent on. There are still areas for concern, but there were a lot of positives as well. And it's not often that, especially for a franchise that we know and love,

that has had as much success as the New England Patriots have had, that a loss has the fan base feeling good. But that really seems to be the popular takeaway from Sunday night's contest in Seattle. Even though, as you and I both know, there is going to be some soul-searching, some adjustment- making going on in Foxborough this week. So Murph, let's not wait. Let's dive right into it. The Patriots have a chance to win this thing at the goal line. Cam Newton had already scored twice on the play earlier in the game. And as our mutual friend, Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston pointed out last night,

running the same play in week one out of that same personnel package, that 14 personnel package. He converted a first down in short yardage near the goal line, later was able to melt away the clock against the Dolphins, and the Patriots were able to ride success. Factor that in with the fact that Newton had an 80% success rate. He was 16 for 20 when rushing from the one-yard line. All the signs point to the Patriots having success rate. He was 16 for 20 when rushing from the one yard line. All the signs point to the Patriots having success here. So Murph, in your estimation, did the Patriots make the right call here? And if they did, why wasn't it successful?

They didn't make the right call. And you just said why it wasn't successful. Because they've run it and run it and run it to death until um everybody knew what was coming the whole world knew what was coming all you had to do was was spread things out a bit run a little um play action there and he would have had a chance to waltz right in he was at the one and he couldn't get in and it seemed like bill was just gonna rub it in in uh in seattle's face that you're supposed to run it in from the one yard line and and it didn't happen it didn't work because they were ready for it the whole world saw it coming and um and and they they couldn't execute the much penetration uh by the defensive line that that did this play had a snowball's chance in hell of winning.

And I agree with you on a lot of respects. I think that when you look at the way this play was lined up and the fact that the Patriots did really not do anything to show Seattle any other look. They really didn't line any wide receivers up. There really was nothing spread out about this formation. There was no motion involved. There was nothing. Exactly. I mean, everybody knew what was this. There was no motion involved. There was nothing. Exactly.

I mean, everybody knew what was coming. This was the play that was coming, and it was just, it was okay. We know what we're going to do. You know what we're going to do. Let's see if you can stop it. Do you think that was an indictment on the Patriots' personnel? Or, again, do you think this was cute play calling where the Patriots may have needed to get a little more inventive

and they really kind of dumbed it down a little here? It was uncute play calling is the Patriots may have needed to get a little more inventive and they they really kind of dumbed it down a little here it was it was uncute play calling is what it was um I I often get on Josh for being too cute could you please stop running on second down and eight um and trying to dial up something and and this was uncute you needed some misdirection on this play somebody had to to be be somewhere where the Seattle defense was thinking that something else might be coming. Somebody had tweeted out, well, it's too bad that they didn't save the Jakob Johnson play for right there at the end. Well, they could have done that. They could have run that again. They could have run it with different personnel out there. They could have sent Johnson off to the other side in the way

that he was. The play was there. There was nobody in the back of the end zone. All Cam had to do, all the Patriots had to do was spread things out, run a little misdirection, run some play action, and the Patriots are 2-0 right now, and I'm dancing in the streets because for the most part, the rest of the game was pretty well done on the offensive side of the ball. I was really happy with what I saw. Yeah, definitely, and we will get into that in just a moment. I definitely want to give some play-calling credit, or I should say not play-calling credit, but play-awareness credit to the Seattle defense on that play, particularly guys like Bobby Wagner.

I know Lano Hill is getting a lot of credit for disrupting the block where, you know, Jakob Johnson was not able to pull the block back in. And then, of course, LJ Collier coming in to make the read. Seattle saw it. They knew it all the way. They were ready for it, like you said. And they were able to execute. And they did make the execution on the goal line. And unfortunately, it did drop the Patriots to 1-1. And like you said, 2-0 is definitely better than 1-1.

But there were some positives on the field for the Patriots yesterday, especially when it came to the offensive side of the ball. And I thought Cam looked great for the most part. He looked comfortable. He looks pretty solid throwing the ball. And I thought Cam looked great for the most part. He looked comfortable. He looks pretty solid throwing the football. I think we can put to rest the concerns that a lot of us have had over his health right now, at least right now. His shoulder looks strong. His footwork looks strong. So he looks to be in tip-top condition. Julian Edelman just continues to be a gladiator out there. I mean, 179 yards receiving, always coming up big when he needs to. We know his neck

was probably not 100%. We know that his knee was probably not 100%. He looked like he was banged up, but he was still out there showing toughness. Another guy that showed some toughness last night was Nikhil Harry, I thought, including making a catch on the final drive. I thought this was Nikhil's best game as a pro last night. Still a long way to go with Nikhil, but with baby steps with him, I think we can see some positives coming from him. It also wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. There were some areas that needed work, and it does involve the runners. I think the tight ends need to get a little more involved, finding some consistency with the pass catchers that Cam is utilizing. Murph, what were your offensive takeaways other than the final play last night?

The good, the bad, and were there anything in particular that stirred that monster anger that you seemed to have for the final play? Floor is yours, my friend. Your take on the offense. I thought the offense executed amazingly with the exception of the run game. I wasn't happy with the run game whatsoever. It was kind of putrid at some points in time. I didn't think it was very innovative, should we say, while still being too cute on a few plays.

Guys running on sweeps that just shouldn't be there. Like I said, the passing game, it's deceptive. You love the fact that Julian went off. He caught eight of 11 targets for 179 yards. There was one point in the first half where I was wondering where he was, and then you turned around, and next thing you know, he is all over the stat sheet. Demary Bird, once again, was very good. He was on the field constantly.

This week he actually got involved. He had nine targets. He had six catches. And the aforementioned Nikhil Harry, who everybody is just lofting up onto their shoulders. I have been a proponent of N'Keal throughout the first year of his tenure here and into the second. But the lack of yak out of his game is really, really distressing. He had eight receptions on 12 targets for 72 yards he pulled in what what was he was able to pull in uh what he was in

position to pull in when cam hit him in the but there was nothing after that and that that also spread to a lot of other guys i think the most yak on the on the entire day came from rex burkhead it did you're absolutely right on that and i think that's a fair assessment and a fair criticism of mckeel as well the lack of yak and you brought that up last week which by the way i absolutely love that term by the way i'm using that a lot now there you go i credit you for that thank you uh but um in all actuality i think you make a good point about that that is an aspect of his game that does need to be elevated. And I think you will see that. I think when it comes to Nikhil, I think he is the type of player that needs to be brought along slowly. And people will roll their eyes when

you say this is a first round draft pick. This isn't a wide receiver that's in his second year now. He's expected to be there. I still think this, you know, may require, you know, some kid glove treatment. And I think you're seeing that. And this is why, this is why Bill doesn't draft these guys highly. He, he doesn't, he doesn't take these guys in the first round because it does take time for most wide receivers to acclimate to this, this system while you're sitting there saying, well, what about this guy? What about this guy? And I'm guilty of it myself because I really wanted Debo Samuels, but he's out too right now. a Patriot system, the Earhart system that has been bastardized and turned into something completely different that can only be called a Patriot system now. Yak is something that is extremely important, and we're not getting it from him.

Yeah, and it needs to happen without any question. And I think you need to see some of the other receivers as well start to separate themselves. You mentioned Dom Airbird. It was good to see him get into the offensive as well start to separate themselves. You mentioned Dom Ayrbert. It was good to see him get into the offensive. There was a Jacoby Myers sighting. That was nice. Absolutely, there was. And we need to see more of that.

And we do need to see the tight ends. If for no other reason, it's going to please our good friend, Glazi Clare. She's going to love to see the tight ends get more involved. And she's been doing some great work assessing the tight ends as well. So, again, folks, check that out. You know, this will make Claire happy. I'll give Izzo a shout-out on the block on one of the touchdowns that Cam did mention to get in there.

That was a fantastic block, and he sprung him in there. And it was also one of the reasons why he failed later in the fourth quarter. Absolutely. You see stuff too much, and they're going to stop it. They're going to stop it. Absolutely, especially a team with Seattle's talent. And we're going to get into that talent in just a little bit because that was well showcased last night.

The offense on the Patriots was closely watched on Sunday night by Patriots fans. But the defense is still the driving force of this team, at least I believe it is. And in just a moment, Murph and I will talk about that New England defense and what their performance on Sunday means for this team moving forward. This and more when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. But before we continue, Patriots fans, you've definitely heard the phrase, often imitated but never duplicated.

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How can it be that good for you and taste that good? Well, folks, all I can tell you is Built Bar is just that good. Go to BuiltBar.com and use promo code LOCKEDON and you'll get $10 off your next order. Don't delay. Do it today. Use promo code LOCKEDON for $10 off at BiltBar.com. Patriots fans, my good friend Thomas Murphy joins me here today breaking down the Patriots 35-30 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2 of the 2020 NFL season.

And Murph, we all know how good Russell Wilson is. If you didn't know, you found out last night, completing 21 of 28 passes, 288 yards, five touchdowns. The Patriots defense seemed to have difficulty finding an answer for Russell last night, meaning finding the ability to contain him. And the secondary is getting maligned a bit today, which I think is a bit reactionary.

And as the great Don says, in a a moment i'll give you my reasons but you were pretty accurate in your assessment last week that we should pump the brakes a bit on the defensive front seven even keeping me in check a little bit on this when you look at the patriots defensive game plan last night how they were able or how they lack of thereof, I should say, being able to find an answer for Russell Wilson and his effectiveness moving the football. What was your assessment of the Patriots performance in the front seven? What went wrong this week that seemingly went well just one week ago? I got to say that not being big enough up front really hurt the team this week

I hate to do it but I love Adrian Phillips I really do I like him but he can't be the linebacker that you need when you're running against when you're trying to stop a run game that is significantly better and running backs that are significantly better than

the ones that they saw last week against Miami. I thought that was a mistake. There were healthy scratches that could have helped in this situation this week, and it just did not happen. Kyle Duggar and Phillips were not up to the task. The linebacking corps just was not there for, for lack of a better word. It just didn't help. They weren't, they didn't get their job done this week. They got torched. And it's a sad thing because this is where the Patriots really need to make, hey, we all came into this game wondering if the Pats could put up enough of a fight on the offensive side.

And it was the defense that let them down. Especially in, you know, we're going to get into it into the secondary. Absolutely. And you know what? I'm glad that you brought up Phillips because I absolutely I'm going to pump his tires. I am a fan of his game. But yeah, I mean, there was no question about it. I mean, you take a look at the play to Chris Carson, which you warned about in your monster.

I did not leave Carson. Don't sleep on Carson. Don't fall asleep on Carson. I love that. And, you know, obviously the colloquialisms that we can, it was a tonight show are phenomenal. Absolutely. Yep. Doc Severinsen, you know, he's standing there and that's a night show band and all, all that stuff. We love it. We love it. Carnac the magnificent could have predicted that, but look, I mean, the Patriots ran that five-man pressure

with Winovich on that play. He beat the left tackle. He hurried Wilson up. I was really impressed by the fact that Russell Wilson was still able to see that Adrian Phillips did not pick up on Carson until it was too late. And that's on Adrian. You have to put that in there.

Wilson just throws that little teardrop floater, really perfect amount of touch, just to drop it right in his breadbasket. The best quarterback I've been paying for years, the best quarterback under 40 in the NFL, and he showed it last night. Yeah, absolutely, and really. And he did it with pressure in his face, which I thought was just phenomenal. I can't say enough good things about how Russell Wilson played in this game.

We'll talk about that in a second. But I do believe that you're on to something when it came to Phillips. He can't be that type of linebacker and play that type of role consistently and expect the Patriots to be able to stop teams that have a more efficient running attack. You saw that with Seattle last night. Corbin Smith of SI and host of Locked On Seahawks warned me against that last week.

He says, that's a pick your poison. He says, you want to put that all-purpose linebacker up there and have Adrian Phillips play that role. Even a guy like Juwan Bentley, who I thought was a little bit maligned. I'll get into that in a minute, folks. But you can't do that. It is a pick your poison. Russell will pick you apart, and you saw him do that last night.

Bentley's performance, I think, is being a little bit maligned today. And I thought that was a little unfair to him mostly because middle linebackers like juwan bentley really shouldn't be expected to stay with wide receivers in the low area really i don't think they should be expected to catch russell wilson that's not what their job is um that's not what he should be he should be in that position to begin with and our our good mutual friend, Matt Chatham pointed this, uh, early out on a Monday on Twitter. He was in that role because Seattle created a lot of mismatches and you've got to give them credit, uh, you know, for being able to, uh, to do that. And speaking of mismatches, my friend, that leads me into my final question for you today. And that is the secondary having some dirt on their uniform this morning. I think their play was a little bit better than a lot of people are giving them credit for

simply because I think they ran into, again, a very effective quarterback. And I think they ran into some mismatches that really created some difficulty, especially when it comes to Stephon Gilmore and DK Metcalf. I'm seeing a lot of Gilmore had a trash game last night. I don't think Gilmore was as prolific and as dominant as we've usually seen him. But when you look at it, Murph, DK Metcalf didn't really

have more than one or two yards separation at all times. I thought Gilmore did a nice job of hanging in there, limited him to three catches for 38 yards. Obviously he had the, you know, the touchdown outside of that one touchdown play. Let me preface that folks, the fan base and the media alike are going to see the 35 points allowed and assume that the sky is falling when it comes to the Patriots secondary. Help us Murph, or at least I hope that you can help us. Were there eye-opening problems in the Patriots defensive backfield on Sunday, or did they just run into a potent Seattle offense that played a great game?

No, they ran into the best quarterback in the NFL that is not named Tom Brady, is what they did. As I said, I've been saying this for years um but no there there were a few few breakdowns they're not getting a pass from me in any way shape or form i warned them i warned everybody do not let them give up the big chunk plays you go back and you look at it and and seattle had how many first downs in in this game I'm sorry. I'm on the wrong page right now. Seattle only had let's see. They had 11 first downs.

They had 22 first downs on the day. To right to the patriots 29 11 of them came on um on passing they were only three for seven on third down okay they the the reason there were only seven third downs is because of what i want do not give them these big chunk plays they're going to go for it on second and long and and first long, and they're going to throw the ball. And they did. And it worked. But no, you can't give the secondary a complete pass because they should have seen this coming. They should have known that this was going to happen. Another part of this situation was the pressure. I said in my keys on Friday, pressure, pressure, pressure. But what they did was forget what works with containing Russell Wilson and keeping a good

pad level, keeping him in front of you. They got pushed back behind him and let him run around in the backfield until things broke down at the back end. You can't put it all on the secondary. They could have done better work. The front seven did not help them in this situation at all with the pressure that they put on Russell because it was the wrong kind of pressure. They got pushed back behind him.

They ended up chasing him. You cannot chase Russell Wilson and win. Absolutely. So well said. And, you know, we want Mark Schofield and I broke down the preview of this game on Sunday, on Friday, and we both talked about the fact that this was not going to be a game where you could allow Russell to escape the pocket, run around and expect the Patriots to win in a track meet. You're just simply not going to do it with Russell Wilson. And for all intents and purposes, Bill Belichick looked like he tried the four-man rush at

times out there. He tried pressuring with five rushers. He tried using an all-out blitz on Russell. And ultimately, I think the Patriots did not have much of an answer for Wilson. He was outstanding in this game. But I agree with you. I think the secondary needed to be a little bit better prepared. They were in coverage. Even Jason McCourty at times looked like he was trying to get into coverage. JC Jackson, I thought was used sparingly in this

game. I know that was for matchup purposes, folks, but all in all, I think the Patriots are going to look at a lot of film in this game and realize that there were some chances for them to be able to make plays. The Gilmore, you know, Metcalf, you know, touchdown. I mean, that's, you know, credit to DK Metcalf on that. I mean, showing great size, great hands. Again, Russell Wilson dropping that exactly where that pass needed to be. And Gilmore had a hit in there.

I mean, it was beautiful. This wasn't, yeah, it really was. And I mean, that wasn't busted coverage. I really wanted to, you know, throw my laptop against the wall last night when I saw people saying, oh, busted coverage on that one. That wasn't busted coverage, folks. Stefan was right there. You know, DK just made a great play on that. Russell Wilson made a great throw. You got to tip your cap. So ultimately, my friend, we go back to the drawing board. And now with the Raiders on the horizon uh things should get interesting in Foxborough this week I know I said that was going to be my last question for you

but I can't let you leave without asking you one more thing my friend okay uh are you practicing your kicking should you be practicing I am the Patriots I am because they do have a problem here we don't have a kicker on this team that can kick a 40-yard field goal. And at the end of the day, I said that we were a two-point conversion, a missed field goal, and an INT away from going in there and winning this game. And it really showed. But no, no, no, no, no. I'm out there.

I've got Butchie holding balls for me, and I'm kicking and kicking and kicking with both legs. And once I can get up to a 45-yarder, I will be calling Bill and seeing if he can make a little room somewhere for me. Absolutely. They don't call on the leg for nothing, folks. Forget Nigel Gruff. Sign Murph. You know, Murph's not just Wyatt-y. He's great at what he does. And I can kick with both feet.

See, there you go. The power is there, my friend. Don't let the Wyatt-y, he's great at what he does and I can kick with both feet the power is there my friend, don't let the Wyatt-y fool you he's got the power and he's going to show it all kidding aside buddy, I agree with you, I think the Patriots need to address that, I think Nick's doing the best he can from the distance that he is, but we saw 148 years old

it is what it is that's why they drafted somebody it's just that we we have you got to be able to kick from 40 you got to be able to nail it you do yeah you have to we saw harrison bucker do it last night and pull the uh the fat out of the fire for one kansas city chiefs and uh that's a conversation for another day. Tom Brady got bailed out again, didn't he? Oh, man. My fans of lockdown chiefs are going to be there. They're going to be on me on that one. But all kidding aside, we welcome it because we've got the Kansas City Chiefs coming up on the schedule in a couple of weeks.

But right now, Bud, we'll we'll learn from the mistakes here. Lessons learned and we move forward. Murph, what can I say? You lend your wisdom and counsel like no other. You're family here on Locked On Patriots. Folks, you should already be following this man. But again, for a lot of our new listeners, and we had a ton of them last week, I do appreciate it more than words can say, folks.

Please follow my good friend, the Count murphy fisto on twitter at team earth 207 do not miss murph's monster keys you're more educated you're more prepared and again he's right a lot more often than he's wrong they're always point click and learn material they're always proudly found on diehardbostonsportsfans.com and never miss an episode of One Patriot's Place with Murph and our great mutual friend, Steve Balistrieri. My good man. Thank you again. Always honored.

Always humbled by your presence. Yeah, please follow Steve. He's the brains of the outfit. I'm the eye candy. And no, thank you so much for having me be letting me be here every single week, bro. I really appreciate the the moments you give me to vent my frustrations because Steve just, you know, he calms me down and says, no, Murph, no. Well, as the Bobs from Office Space would say, the pleasure is all on this side of the table.

We appreciate having you here. I thank you for joining me each and every week. It's always a blast when I share me each and every week it's always a blast when i share the microphone with you it's always informative and the people seem to enjoy it so you've got to give the people what they want my friend all kidding aside stay safe stay well have a great week look forward to doing it all again next week buddy there you go man and so patriots fans the sunday night showdown in Seattle might be the books, but we're not quite done breaking this one down yet. Tomorrow here on Locked On Patriots,

we'll continue to take a deeper dive into the Patriots 35-30 loss to the Seahawks. And we also might turn a future eye toward the Las Vegas Raiders, who will be visiting Foxborough next week for this Week 3 matchup at Gillette Stadium. So to ensure that you do not miss a single episode of Locked on Patriots, download us wherever you get your podcasts. That means following Locked on Patriots on Spotify, subscribing to us on Google Podcasts, or Apple Podcasts. Just make sure you're staying locked in to Locked on Patriots.

Once again, I'm Mike DeBate. I thank my good friend Thomas Murphy for his time, his insight, and his appearance on today's pod. But most of all, I thank you so much for listening and for making Locked On Patriots a part of your daily New England Patriots coverage. Stay safe. Stay well. Always be the change you wish to see in the world.

Have a great day, everyone.