Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - West Coast Wednesday: Snowman talks Jimmy G and the 49ers - 1/22/2020

Episode Date: January 22, 2020

Today, host Mike D’Abate puts a twist on the Crossover Wednesday concept and adds in some West Coast flavor. Radio host, and lifelong Niners fan and expert, Brian ‘Snowman’ Snow joins the podcast to talk the 49ers’ berth in Super Bowl LIV, and why Jimmy G is already a fan favorite in Frisco. Mike Also provides the latest news on Bielema to the NYG, Devin McCourty’s future and Robert Kraft’s ‘plan’ for Tom Brady.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello to all of you Foxborough faithful. Welcome to West Coast Wednesday here on Locked On Patriots, your daily home for news notes and analysis, sprinkled with the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. I'm Mike DeBate, your host of Locked On 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 and follow me on Twitter at MDABATEFPC. And while you're roaming around out there in the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow Locked On Patriots on Twitter at LO underscore Patriots. Patriots fans, it's Wednesday, and that usually means a crossover flavor here

on Locked On Patriots and really across the Locked On Podcast Network. And with the exception of two teams, it's the offseason for pretty much everyone, including your New England Patriots. And I know, folks, we keep saying it. It just doesn't feel normal. Usually at this time of year, we're prepping for a Super Bowl here in New England. But even though your New England Patriots have made their best effort to do so, you can't win it every single year.

So because of that, this year's Super Bowl is going to be played by two teams that aren't the New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers. Now, my colleagues both here at Locked On and across the media platform that cover the Chiefs and the Niners, they're busy preparing. They're getting ready to make that trip to Miami and cover a Super Bowl. But all of you faithful listeners of Locked On Patriots out there, you're expecting a crossover today. I will deliver that crossover. And again, even though your New England Patriots are not playing in this game, there is a Patriots rooting interest. And that comes in the form of a

beloved ex-Patriot currently taking snaps under center for a team on the West Coast. And there it is, folks. That's why I called this West Coast Wednesday. Number 10 in the Super Bowl program, number two in your heart, behind Tom Brady, of course, I'm talking about my paisan, Jimmy Garoppolo, Jimmy GQ, one-time Patriots quarterback, current 49ers quarterback, and starting quarterback in Super Bowl 54. And even though the San Francisco 49ers are better known right now for their running game and their defense, Jimmy is still one of the toasts of the town in San Francisco. And to give you just a little taste of what Niners Nation thinks of Jimmy, I'm welcoming in today my go-to source when it comes to all things San Francisco 49ers.

My good friend and syndicated talk show host Brian Snow of Snowman in the Morning will join me today on the hot seat and we'll talk Super Bowl 54, the Niners running game, their defense. And you guessed it, folks, what Niners fans really think of Jimmy Garoppolo. Brian is a dear friend of mine. He hosts one of the best morning shows out there in the country. I'm honored to be a part of it on a regular basis. So sit tight, folks. I sincerely hope you enjoy today's podcast, a crossover podcast with a little West Coast twist. And as I was going over some of the news notes and analysis to share with you today, I looked

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Folks, Brian Snow will be joining me in just a moment to talk some San Francisco 49ers. And Brian is excited to see his Niners back in the Super Bowl. We'll talk offense, defense, and of course, we'll talk some Jimmy G, and those Patriots connections that still exist between these two teams. But first, Wednesday morning did provide some news tidbits that I wanted to share with you today. And first and foremost among those tidbits, Patriots for the second straight offseason, they're going to be looking for a new defensive line coach. That's because 2019's defensive line coach, Brett Bilema, is headed to the Meadowlands.

He's about to join Joe Judge and the New York Giants. The NFL Network was the first to report it yesterday, and it's still unclear as to exactly what role Bilema is going to take in New York, but it's clear that he's going to be a part of Judge's defensive staff. As you all may or may not know, Bilema was hired by the Pats in 2018. He was a defensive consultant to Bill Belichick at first. Now, after the Patriots won Super Bowl 53 last year, I know the memories, folks. Stay with me. Stay with me. I know. The good times, they'll be here again, folks. But back to Bilema. After the Patriots won Super Bowl 53 last year,

incumbent defensive line coach Brendan Daly, he chose to depart New England and take a job on the staff of the Kansas City Chiefs, the current AFC champions. So because of that, the Patriots had a spot opened up on their staff. They needed a defensive line coach. Bill Belichick promoted Brett Bilema, and he really did a great job this year. You take a look at the defensive line and what they did, especially in the second half of the season. Danny Shelton, Lawrence Guy, Adam Butler, I think all had their best seasons as pros under this coaching staff,

and Bilema was definitely a huge part of that. But it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows for Brett here in Foxborough. He did have a little dust-up with Michael Bennett, and most people point to this as the catalyst for Bennett eventually being traded to the Dallas Cowboys. Bennett was reportedly unhappy about his playing time. He and Bilema went back and forth, but you have to credit Brett in this case. He stood his ground, and as a result, Bennett found himself suspended for a week, and eventually

he was traded to Dallas. For the Giants, this is a pretty solid hire. Again, Bilema did a great job with the defensive line in New England this year. His familiarity with Joe Judge provides stability in the Giants coaching staff. That's something a first-time head coach in the NFL desperately needs. For the Patriots, well, now with Judge and Bilema gone, the Patriots have three openings on their coaching staff. Special teams coordinator, wide receivers coach, and defensive line coach.

If there's any silver lining with the Patriots having a little extra time on their hands this winter, it's being able to use that extra time to fill these open positions. The Patriots are never a team to make hasty decisions, but they're also not going to drag their feet. So keep a sharp eye, folks. It's going to be very interesting to see if the Patriots plan to promote within or if they want to bring out an outside mind or two. That's not exactly something that the Patriots are against. Keep in mind, last year, Bill was ready to hire his friend and current Rutgers coach Greg Sciano as the defensive coordinator. And keep in mind, he had options on his own staff at that point, including Brendan Daly, who ended up leaving to go to Kansas City. When it comes to his coaching staff, Bill is always going to do what's best for the football team. So again, whether that's promoting from

within or going outside the organization, those coaching staff positions should be filled, and my hunch tells me they're going to be filled sooner rather than later. Also making its way around the Patriots' newswire on Tuesday was the fact that Julian Edelman had shoulder surgery last week, but he's expected to be ready for the start of the offseason program in mid-April, so no worries here, folks. But for Edelman, this was much needed. You will recall he was listed on the injury report several times this year with a shoulder,

knee injury, and a chest injury. Now we're finding out that the chest injury was actually torn cartilage in his ribcage, had tendinitis in the knee, but the shoulder is what needed surgical repair. And I've said it so many times here on Locked On Patriots, Julian was banged up beyond belief this year, but he still didn't miss a game. He was their leading receiver with 100 receptions. He had 1,117 receiving yards and six touchdowns. That's a good season under any circumstances.

When you stop and think about what Julian had to go through physically on a daily basis, makes it even more impressive. So on behalf of Patriots Nation, I wish Julian a speedy and quick recovery, and we look forward to seeing him back on the football field. And last but not least, folks, I wouldn't be doing my job unless I gave you the latest on the will-he-or-won't-he-come-back free agency watch. And I'm actually not going to start with Tom Brady this time. I'm going to start with Devin McCourty.

Across the league, it was widely expected that McCourty would end up finding his way back into an NFL uniform for 2020. But there were still some lingering doubts and questions about whether or not Devin would want to put his body through that again, and retirement was indeed on the table. Well, on Wednesday, Devin took retirement off the table. Mike Reese of ESPN was the first to report that Andy Sims of Money APAA Sports, who is McCourty's agent, when asked about Devin's status for the 2020 season, he responded very clearly by saying, quote, he wants to play, retirement is not an option, unquote.

So with that being said, it looks like Devin is gearing up for another season in the NFL in 2020. That part is clear. But what's not clear is whether it'll be in New England. Devin is such a valued member of that defense. I can't imagine him going elsewhere. But the Patriots take a cold approach to free agency. They may look at Devin's age and the salary he might command on the open market and determine that maybe it's a little bit beyond their price range. I for one

can tell you that Devin is one of the best guys in that locker room. If he departs New England, it would be a huge loss for the Patriots, both on the field and off of it. How they choose to approach the decision to either re-sign Devin or let him walk, that's going to be a big indicator on their free agency plans this year. And that leads me into my final point, because someone very prominent in the Patriots organization, aka the guy who owns the team, gave a little insight on what the Patriots plans for free agency will be. And yes folks, he was talking about Tom Brady, and the he that I'm referring to is Robert Kraft.

And on Tuesday, the Patriots owner was spotted by reporters getting into a chauffeured car in New York City. As he was getting into the car, a reporter from TMZ yelled out, hey Bob, are we going to bring Tom Brady back to New England this year? And Kraft's response was short and sweet, but very significant. He simply looked at the reporter and said, we plan to, and then proceeded to get into the car. So again, folks, what does this all mean? In the grand scheme of things, probably not a whole lot. But it's not exactly a complete throwaway. Robert Kraft is not the type of guy that just throws haphazard words out there. He usually chooses them very carefully. In order for him to make a statement that he knew was going to go viral and say, we plan to bring Tom Brady back, it's not that big a stretch to insinuate that Robert Kraft's plans for the Patriots in 2020

includes Tom Brady. Now, as for what Tom's plans are, or even Bill Belichick's plans are, that's still up for debate. That's still on the table. And folks, I hate to say this, but it probably will be the case right up until the March 18th deadline. And it might even be beyond that if Tom does indeed plan to test free agency. Until then, folks, the Brady Watch continues. And folks, we're going to continue here on Locked On Patriots.

In just a moment, Ryan Snow will join me and we'll talk a little 49ers. But first, we here at Locked On Patriots are proud to say that this episode is sponsored by Blue Chew. Guys, now you can increase your performance and get that extra confidence. Listen up. BlueChew.com. That's blue like the color blue. Blue Chew brings you the first chewable with the same FDA-approved active ingredients as Viagra and Cialis.

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Patriots fans, my guest today is not only a good friend of mine, but one of the most knowledgeable in the business across the NFL landscape. You know his great work from shows such as Snowman in the Morning, which I am honored to be a part of each and every week, as well as so many exciting ventures on the horizon that he has for Arena Sportsnet and so many platforms. He is Brian Snow, and I'm honored to welcome him to the podcast today. And you all know, folks, I love my movie quotes.

So when my good friend joins me here on Locked On Patriots as a longtime fan of Smokey and the Bandit, I am so excited to ask him this question. Snowman, you got your ears on. My ears are on, buddy. You knew I was going to bring you in with that. The last time we had Brian here, it was preseason football. And now here we are on the cusp of Super Bowl 54. And first of all, my friend, congratulations are in order.

Brian is a lifelong Niners fan and Niners expert. And that's why I brought him in here to talk to Pats Nation today, to let them know exactly how grateful he is to have one Jimmy Garoppolo taking snaps under center, but also to give us some insight on the 49ers because, Brian, I've got to tell you, the Pulse of Pats Nation right now is beating with the San Francisco 49ers, so you're going to have some support up here in the Northeast when the 49ers take the field in just a couple of weeks' time. I can't wait. I mean, as a lifelong 49er fan, you know, you know, the original

argument, Brady versus Montana. Montana made me a 49er fan when he hit black clock in the back of the end zone. No denying what Brady has done. But with the 49ers reaching their seventh Super Bowl, they are a five and one in their previous six. Having a quarterback in the form of Jimmy Garoppolo, who stepped out under Brady's shadow the same way Steve Young stepped out under Joe Montana's shadow. I got to tell you, man, I've been flying high since Sunday night when we put the clamps on the Packers. Absolutely. And the 49ers did that in so many ways. They did it with a phenomenal running game, which Brian, you and I have discussed many times on your show every morning. We've also discussed their defense and exactly how potent that was. When you look back at the 2019 San

Francisco 49ers, yes, I know folks were in 2020, but we're talking the 2019 NFL season. What's going to be your indelible mark, not even taking under account what's about to happen next Sunday when these two teams face off in Miami, but when you look at the team right now, what's your indelible impression? How did the 49ers get here? Was it riding the running game? Was it riding the defense? Or was it a combination of just being the most solid team in both facets? They could beat you in so many ways.

They played so many different games in the course of the 16-game season. And the whispers turned into shouts when the back end of the schedule happened and that incredible gauntlet facing Green Bay, going to Baltimore, to New Orleans, having Arizona twice in a span of three weeks, and then winning, going to Baltimore, to New Orleans, having Arizona twice in a span of three weeks, and then winning the West in Seattle, which you and I correctly predicted that they would do. They beat you in so many ways. If they need to run the football, they'll run the football.

And they run 75% of the time. That's fourth most in history, and fourth most in history in the Super Bowl era. If they need to throw the ball, which they had to do for a stretch of four games and depend on Jimmy Garoppolo, Garoppolo went three and one. And here's a stat for you. Each time Garoppolo's thrown two interceptions, the 49ers still have one. But if I could point to one game that was the watershed mark for this season, it's week three against Pittsburgh, and here's why.

You don't expect a team at home to turn the ball over five times and still win that game. That's exactly what the 49ers did. They held the Steelers to six points off those five turnovers, and it was Garoppolo's first game-winning drive of this season when he took him down in less than a minute and got the game-winning touchdown pass to Dante Pettis to win that game. Absolutely, and I'm so glad that you brought that up. And I know we've talked about this offline. We even talked about it a little bit on Snowman. But this game is such an indelible part of the reason why the 49ers really, I believe,

separated themselves from the pack in the NFC this year. Great teams find a way to win games when it doesn't look like there's a way to win it. We've seen it up here. Pats Nation, we've seen it in New England so many times. The Patriots snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. That's something that the 49ers did this year a couple of times. We've seen them do that. This was a game in which they faced a good amount of adversity turning the ball over most teams would essentially crawl up or they would essentially just turtle their head uh you know for the better part of the game they did not do that they kept fighting they found a way to win and i don't want to hear the excuse and we've talked about this again my friend i don't want to hear the excuse that oh

well pittsburgh was p Pittsburgh was Pittsburgh back in the day. This was a team that definitely was on the cusp of a playoff berth. They fought hard all year long, and they were a much better team than people gave them credit for. So that was an impressive win, and I'm so glad that you pointed to that in terms of a growth moment for the 49ers. And I like the fact that you sprinkled in some Jimmy G wisdom and counsel there as well and we'll get back to my paisan in just a moment but we'd be remiss Brian if we didn't mention that the 40 the 49ers are definitely facing a formidable team in the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 54

an explosive offense a much improved defense and they're much more savvy I believe in terms of decision making and in terms of fundamentals than they were last year when they lost to the Patriots in the AFC Championship game. When you look at the Niners and you look at how they're constituted, what do they need to do on offense and on defense to stop this Kansas City team? Well, we spoke of this on my show. They need to do the same thing to the Chiefs that they did to the Vikings and the Packers.

Pound the football. You have three very capable running backs. We're still up in the air on the status of one Tevin Coleman, but I expect them to be ready to go in Miami. When you look at the 49ers, the two playoff games at Levi's Stadium, each game they rushed for, as a team, they rushed for at least 250 yards. That's unheard of. Mostert had 220 on his own last Sunday against Green Bay.

If there is a deficiency with the Kansas City defense, they cannot stop the running game. And the 49ers have got to be licking their chops to, one more time, pound the football into a defense. Right, absolutely. And you mentioned Raheem Mostert. I had an amazing game for him last Sunday. You talk about that three-headed running attack,

and we've talked about Tevin Coleman. We've talked about Matt Breda. And, folks, Brian is one of the big reasons why I've been so high on the 49ers all season long. You've heard me sing their praises quite often here on Locked On Patriots. Brian is the reason why. He believed in this team from the get-go. Back when we were covering this team near the draft,

when they brought in players and were starting to sign players in free agency, the draft that the 49ers had, obviously drafting Debo Samuel was huge. That was a big part of that. I've never hid the fact that I loved him as a fit for the New England Patriots, scouted him as a potential pick. The 49ers picked him up, and he has paid dividends in that offense. So I agree with you. Pound the football on defense.

They need to get aggressive. Get after Patrick Mahomes. Try to put the same type of pressure that we saw them put on Aaron Rodgers. Yes, Mahomes is right now more mobile than Rodgers is, but people forget how great of a mobile quarterback Aaron Rodgers can be at times, too. Extending plays with his legs, being able to make acrobatic, athletic moves. Aaron was doing that before Mahomes was in the league, so to do that is going to be a tall task. There's no question about it. This 49ers defense is capable, especially with the pass rushers that they have and the linebackers playing at a high level. Brian, it leads me into the question that Pats Nation is dying to hear.

And most of us in Patriots Nation still love my paisan, Jimmy Garoppolo. In fact, there's a lot of people in the national media, the Patriots media, they're pushing the narrative that he is the one that, quote, got away. You know, I'm not knocking my Paisan here, but I happen to think both sides won in the trade for that. I think San Francisco picked up a phenomenal franchise-type quarterback, but I also think the Patriots made the right decision. The only one that they could make staying with Tom Brady is not exactly, I think, staying at the dance too long.

I think both sides have achieved exactly what they wanted to with that trade. But Jimmy is really becoming a fan favorite in Frisco pretty quickly. What about him, and you alluded to this earlier, but if I can ask you to expound upon that a little bit, what about him leads you to believe that not only is he the guy that can lead the Niners to a Super Bowl championship, but that he's going to be the guy to lead the Niners to a Super Bowl championship? If you remember an earlier quarterback controversy, we go back to the 80s. Joe Montana was the man leading the 49ers to championships, but there was a young

gun by the name of Steve Young that Bill Walsh brought in through a trade, and he appointed Steve Young, Montana's eventual successor. Jimmy Garoppolo has faced the same kind of adversity, only difference is he was appointed to be the man, and the adversity he had to face was a horrific ACL injury. He's bounced back from that, and I've made this point on my show, and you've been with me. Jimmy Garoppolo is one of the few quarterbacks to take every offensive snap this season. So his durability has been proven. He threw for nearly 4,000 yards. He threw 27 touchdowns. Yes, he threw 13 interceptions, but something that you alluded to as well, he's still finding out how to play

quarterback. He's the prototypical pocket passer. He can run if he needs to. He doesn't need to with that running attack. We still don't know the ceiling that Jimmy Garoppolo can reach, and in his second full season, taking the 49ers to the Super Bowl, sky's the limit, and then some. Absolutely, and I could not agree with you more when it comes to the fact that the running game doesn't have to be a huge part of what he does because the running game in San Francisco is so prolific. We mentioned Coleman. We mentioned Mostert.

We mentioned Breda. Those guys can run the football. They can run the rock without any question about it. He does have offensive weapons, guys that he can hit in the open field. George Kittle, in my opinion, your opinion, we believe him to be the best tight end, the most complete tight end in the NFL. He's got Emmanuel Sanders. He's got Debo Samuel.

There are weapons on that offensive arsenal of the San Francisco 49ers that lead me to believe that this is going to be a team that can put points on the board in a number of ways. They're far from being one-dimensional, folks. And again, we want to see Jimmy succeed. There's some up here that are starting to, I don't know, maybe twist the knife a little bit when it comes to it and say, oh, well, you know, if he succeeds and he wins a championship,

then it's only a sign that the Patriots made a mistake. Folks, don't buy into that. I've told you that several times here on Locked On Patriots. Continue to root for this kid. He did a great job while he was here, and he's ready to lead this team into a very tough game. I don't want to make it seem like they're going to run roughshod over Kansas City. They're going to have their hands full, folks.

Kansas City is for real. But so are the 49ers, and so is Jimmy Garoppolo. He can get the job done. Brian, what can I say? I always appreciate you coming on. It's always my honor to be a guest on your show. You open up your microphone to me twice a week, and I can't be happier to be a part of that.

But you coming on here and lending your wisdom and counsel to my listeners is something that I'm eternally grateful for. Folks, follow him on Twitter at S-I-T-M, the number nine, two, T-O, noon, N-O-O-N. So Man in the Morning is a great show. Again, I'm honored to be a part of it, and I couldn't be happier for this man's success and the longevity he's had in this business. On a personal note, I can tell you,

you will not find a finer human being anywhere in any walk of life. My friend, I am honored that you joined me today. Thank you for joining me and showing a little bit of that wisdom that we need and a little bit of insight into why Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers are so well poised for a possible Super Bowl championship this year. Well, thank you for having me on Locked on Patriots again this year. Folks, keep up with Locked on Patriots. Debate's one of the best in the business.

I'm on every day, 9 to noon, Monday through Friday. The replay will be available on your favorite podcast carrier after 5 p.m. Eastern. A friend and a brother in Mike Debate, y'all will have. Thanks for having me on. I truly appreciate it. My pleasure was all mine. Thank you, my friend. Enjoy the

Super Bowl. We'll be talking again about it. And I'll tell you what, if they can win and get that job done, we're going to have you right back here on Locked On Patriots to talk more Jimmy G and to talk more Niners championships because at that point, it would mean that both franchises have six Super Bowl

titles. So we may have to have a good-fashioned Donnybrook debate about what franchise has the upper hand in the NFL echelon. And you know what? There's nobody I'd rather share the microphone with to do it. So thank you very much, my friend. Have a great day and a great week. I appreciate it, brother. Thank you for having me.

My pleasure. Once again, Pats fans, I. Thank you for having me. My pleasure. to reach passionate Patriots fans just like you. Unlike any other podcast, Locked On gives your local company the unique ability to reach local podcast listeners. But not just any podcast listener, a Locked On podcast listener. If your company wants to connect with Patriots fans and a predominantly male audience that is well-educated with disposable income, then let's put your company right here on this Locked On podcast. Local fans love to support local businesses.

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Subscribe and download via your preferred podcast provider. Once again, I'm Mike DeBate. I thank my good friend Brian Snow for his time, insight, and appearance today. But most of all, I thank you all so much for listening and for staying locked into Locked On Patriots. Have a great day, everyone.