Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Zappe Day: New England Patriots vs. Green Bay Packers Week 4 Recap

Episode Date: October 4, 2022

Though the New England Patriots may not have much affection for moral victories, they were able to pry some positives from their 27-24 overtime loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday at Lambeau Field. Joining host Mike D’Abate is Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy of E2G Sports. The duo discuss rookie Bailey Zappe’s debut at quarterback, as well as the offensive and defensive standouts from Week 4 of the 2022 NFL season.Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-patriots-daily-podcast-on-the-new-england/id1140512627 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFmwg3WbfxAU3tR5Ve?si=k196wH-yRqifUcQQz8SjIQStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-patriots And follow host Mike D’Abate on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans.On Twitter: @mdabateNFLSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFLBuilt BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!Athletic GreensTo make it easy, Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/NFLNETWORK.PrizePicksFirst time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDONSimpliSafeWith Fast Protect™️ Technology, exclusively from SimpliSafe, 24/7 monitoring agents capture evidence to accurately verify a threat for faster police response. There’s No Safe Like SimpliSafe. Visit SimpliSafe.com/LockedOnNFL to learn more.EliasTake this NFL season to the next level and download the Elias Game Plan App today and use promo code locked-on-nfl-25 to get 25% off your first month when you choose the monthly subscription Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Moral victories don't exist in Foxborough, Massachusetts Patriots fans, or do they? Murph and I are going to break down all of the action from the Patriots week four loss to the Green Bay Packers. Stay tuned. You're about to be locked in to the Locked On Patriots podcast. You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team, every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful, and thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage

and also your first listen every day. Remember, Locked On Patriots is free and available on all platforms, including YouTube, so smash that subscribe button and download, subscribe to, and follow Locked On Patriots wherever you get your audio podcasts. My name is Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. Let me know what's on your mind or reach out to me on Twitter

at MDABATENFL. While you're out there showing some love to the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. As you can see, folks, it is hashtag Locked On Murph Monday. My good friend, the Count of Murphy Fisto himself is going to jump in here in just a moment. But first, today's episode is brought to you by PrizePix. PrizePix is a daily fantasy made easy pick two to five players and if they score more or less than their prize picks projection you can win up to 10 times your money on your

entry first time users can receive a 100 instant deposit match up to 100 with promo code locked on that's prizepicks.com promo code locked on folks Folks, the legendary Connor Murphy, Fisto Thomas Murphy of E2G Sports dot com joins me here today, breaking down the Patriots 27 to 24 overtime loss to the Green Bay Packers. And Murph, before I ask you to jump in here and lend your green wisdom and counsel, which was put on display so often yesterday, I feel like they owed you a little bit of credit on the CBS broadcast.

Picture, if you will, my friend, a third string rookie quarterback. He's activated for the first time in his NFL career. Now his team's incumbent starter is inactive, dealing with a high ankle sprain, suffered during the previous week's loss veteran signal caller is called upon to start in his stead but then he's forced to leave the game with a head injury after just two offensive series the rookie is then called upon to take the ball against one of the nfl's most storied franchises and arguably its most hallowed cathedral with no discernible option on the roster to relieve him if necessary murph if that is not the definition of trial by fire i don't know what

is but those are the circumstances that bailey zappy had to go through yesterday and you know i will say that the kid performed relatively well uh in those. 10 of 15 passes, 99 yards, some good, some not so good. Let's get to the green wisdom and counsel, Bud. What were your thoughts on Bailey Zappi yesterday and how he was able to handle a very difficult situation in Green Bay? Efficient, if not unspectacular. How about that? Uh, he, he ran, he ran the plays that were called for them. I think, uh, this was the first week that, that anybody on the planet who isn't me, uh, can't get on, uh, Matt Patricia for his, uh, his, um,

game plan. I thought it was, I thought it was, it thought it was, it was, it should have been enough to get the job done to Bourne, the jet sweep to Bourne. It was very straightforward. He actually followed my keys to a great deal. He went with the power running game. I don't think he gave Zappi enough leash to do anything more. Again, I didn't like the total ignoring of the tight end position. And I thought with Zappi's arm and the way that Green Bay was playing to stop the run, they could have done more. He could have gone downfield a bit more.

I like this kid's arm, but they were too busy protecting him to go for the win. But no, it was a professional outing. I mean, how much good can you say about 15 completions for 99 yards? Yeah, it's true. I mean, you look at what he was able to do and the stats that he put up there they're not going to illuminate the stat sheet i mean anybody else puts up this type of performance and you're going to say well what happened to the quarterback you know i mean really what's going on there in new england but i think zappy coming in under very difficult circumstances so you saw some of what bill belichick and company saw in him when they drafted him in the fourth round of the draft this year. Accurate, short, intermediate areas of the field is where he really does a great job.

Frozen rhythm. Very much like Mack and Brian Hoyer in that regard. So you can understand why this kid was brought in because he is a very similar type quarterback from what we've seen. Jarrett Stidham was not that type of quarterback, folks. Cam Newton was not that type of quarterback. But. Tim Newton was not that type of quarterback. But Bailey Zappi fits the Patriots mold. So when you can move well within the pocket, you've got confidence, you've got competitiveness.

I saw that in Bailey yesterday. Good job for him to be able to come in and do that. But there were issues where he did look every bit like a rookie. And I'm not knocking the kid for that, but, I mean, it's just a fact of the matter. There were issues where he had difficulty maintaining his accuracy, especially when he's trying to throw on the move. We saw some issues with recognizing pressure, obviously three sacks yesterday, a lot of that on the old line. We'll get to that in a little bit.

Missed Henry a couple of times when he was wide open and didn't throw the ball to him until later. He needed to get that ball out quicker. But what are you going to do? He's a child. He's a child, you know, and I don't want to rip him because he did put the team in position to win, but they didn't. And I just can't throw him up on my shoulders and run around the park with them and say, fantastic, we have a quarterback controversy.

We don't. Yeah, and I don't think anybody is going to push that narrative unless they are agendally pushing that narrative. I don't know if agendally is a word, Murph, but I think for the sake of argument here. Two to six agenda. Absolutely. You know what?

Here on Locked On Patriots, we'll use that word. Agendally pushing a narrative. But, you know, bottom line, I think you make a lot of interesting points. And I'm glad that you brought up Matt Patricia's play column, because one of the big topics on Twitter last night is things were winding down and I'm wrapping up my coverage and all of us here in the media are wrapping up their coverage for the day. Matt Patricia is trending on social media and a lot of people were upset about the lack of urgency for the Patriots to go forward on fourth and five in overtime. This is a subject that a lot of people are talking about. We asked Bill Belichick about this this morning. He gave us his take.

And I'm hard-pressed to disagree with Bill on this. Essentially, what the Patriots did not want to do is give the ball back to the Packers one first down away from a winning field goal attempt. I can understand that logic. I can understand where he's coming from. You want the Packers to drive the longer field. They had stopped them on the first drive of overtime, so the Patriots had some confidence that they might be able to contain

Green Bay. But as you said, again, if you're going to win and you're facing one and three in the face, you'd like to see maybe your coaches get a little more aggressive in that situation. I'm more Team Belichick than I am team upset fans on this one, but what's your take on this? What did you think of the fourth down call in overtime? I wasn't as upset about it as I was about the punt at fourth and one in the second quarter. I'll tell you that. Bill should have shown the confidence that he had in his defense. I thought the defense played spectacularly yesterday with maybe one or two little iffies. But other than that, they held one of the best quarterbacks in the history of this game to his worst first half ever, ever.

And kept them off the scoreboard. No, I don't have a problem with it. Like you said, they had already stopped them on their first possession. I threw my hands up in the air when the coin flip happened, and I thought, well, this is it. And it wasn't. They just couldn't get it done on their second possession. They put them in a position where they had to drive the length of the field. Thankfully, Bailey didn't have another bad punt, which happened, I think it was in the fourth quarter, fourth or third quarter, that he just muffed that. And no, I'm with Bill on this. You folks should be more upset about not going at fourth and one in the second quarter

and taking that penalty and punting away. That's where you need to be aggressive. Okay, that's where when you are the New England Patriots and you have to play a perfect game to get a W against the better teams in this, in this league, that's when you need to be aggressive is, is to go for it there. And I think that they, they left points on that.

I, I was sure with the way the running game was, was clicking at that point in time that, that they would have had no problem picking up that. It wasn't even a yard. It was five feet. Yeah, absolutely.

And, you know, conservatively playing sometimes can be good for a young quarterback to protect his ego, to protect his future. And I think a lot of that was managed yesterday. But there is something to be said as well about having some aggression and really showing a little bit in terms of being able to go for the jugular against a team that really was ripe for the pick in yesterday. I also think that this was a game that the Patriots had every chance to win yesterday, despite the circumstances. I opened the show by setting that scenario. You give that

scenario to most other teams in the league, and that's a very lopsided loss that you're looking at to finish telling the story. A lot of poise and a lot of competitiveness shown by the Patriots yesterday, but Murph, a wise man once said they don't award points for second place. So right now the Patriots are not in second place. Right now they are in last place in the AFC East for the first time in a whole long while. And there were opportunities yesterday to get the job done, folks. And there were also some opportunities left on the table, mostly on the offensive side of the ball. And Murph and I are going to discuss those opportunities in just a moment when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues.

But first, folks, let me tell you a little bit about our good friends over at PrizePix, because PrizePix is daily fantasy made easy. Let me tell you how it works. Pick two to five players, and if they score more or less than their PrizePix projection, you can win up to ten times your money on any entry. There's no competing against other people. You don't have to compete with me and Murph. You go against the projections available.

And PrizePix offers projections on any sport that you watch, not just the NFL, but NBA, Major League Baseball, NHL, PGA Tour, college football, men's and women's college basketball, soccer, and so much more. Entries can be made in 60 seconds or less. That's right, folks. It's that simple. It's safe and it's fast when it comes to withdrawals, and it's currently operational in over 30 states and in Canada. So download the

prize picks app or go to prizepicks.com to sign up and play daily fantasy sports first time users can receive a 100 instant deposit match up to 100 when you use the promo code locked on that means if you deposit 100 the prize picks will give you 100 if you deposit 50 prize picks will give you $100. If you deposit $50, prize picks will give you $50. And don't forget to enter the promo code LOCKEDON at signup for an instant deposit match up to $500. That's prizepicks.com. Patriots fans, the legendary Thomas Murphy, the counter Murphy, Fisto himself,

the green king of sting joins me here today. Legendary columnist from e2g sports.com. Murph, your green wisdom and counsel and your keys were being turned all over the place in Foxborough yesterday in the Patriots 27 to 24 overtime loss to the green Bay Packers. But when you look at this matchup and you look at the game, we've talked a little bit about Bailey Zappi and his debut. You really can't put the game on his shoulders in terms of win or loss blame-age.

I think Bailey did enough to be able to earn credit for either. Let's put it that way. That may be the most diplomatic way for me to put it, but there were opportunities on the offensive side of the ball and some areas for concern. Before we get into the good, my friend, because we always like to end on a good note, what concerned you yesterday from the Patriots' offensive output? Once again, it's really hard with the fact that Zappi was in there, which we called, by the way, last week. We said there was a really good chance that was going to happen. But a lack of using the middle of the field really upset me.

I thought he could have busted a seam or two once or twice. Once again, he missed a couple of receivers when they were open and then tried to force the ball in there when it was just a tick too late. We're talking a tick too late here, people. And luckily for him, the strip sack didn't turn into any points for Green Bay. That was pretty fortuitous right there. My man came up with the interception for the picks right after that, and that was really nice. But no, it would really be nitpicking. Did you see anything that I haven't spoken about? No, I mean, I think you hit the nail right on the head. I mean, if I'm being nitpicky here, and this is probably overly nitpicky, Isaiah Wynn continues to struggle at the right side on the tackle. This was something that is, I don't want to say a major concern of mine.

It is. It's getting to be a major concern of mine. Two costly sacks. A lot of what we saw yesterday was Wynn continuing to have difficulty when he's trying to identify or defend against the wide rushes. This is something that really gave him difficulty yesterday. He's checked out. And you look at it in Marcus Cannon,

who hadn't taken a snap in New England in quite some time, comes in. Not only was he employed or deployed I should say in some of those jumbo tight end packages which we'll be talking about here on Wednesday with the Countess of Class um he also was able to I think really open up a lot when it came to the run game in the second half especially and we're going to talk about the run game in just a second but if there is one thing that I'm taking away yeah it's definitely it's it's the the guarding on the outside the the tackle position especially on the right side on the outside and how easily uh some of these uh problems are arising so uh penalties the penalties as well you you cannot expect to win uh you know when you're getting whistled for penalties and

and isaiah's been he's he's had his his share for lack of a better term this year. So yeah, if there's a concern of mine, that's definitely something that left me, you know, walking away with a bitter taste in my mouth. Yeah, no, no, no, no. I completely agree. And I'm sorry that that went over my head that I hadn't brought that up. Yeah. Another thing that we called last week was the fact that, you know, forget the two tight end sets and get an offensive tackle and make him eligible when he gets out there. We mentioned that last week. And Cannon really stepped up and did that.

He started rotating in after the second sack. That win gave up. Win got back in a little bit. But other than that, it was Cannon, and he was really fantastic. He did a great job in both roles that he was serving. Absolutely. It's great to see Marcus back in New England, and always a longtime fan favorite.

And I don't know, every time I see Cannon in the line on the right side, I think we're missing an opportunity for a Cannon to the right of them headline, Murph. I feel like Jeffrey from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Cannon to the right of them. That was bad. I feel like Jeffrey from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, coming to the right of them. That was bad. That was bad, folks. Please, that is not one of my better impressions, but seriously, it really does.

It kind of gives you the nostalgic feel. He stole that from the Little Rascals, by the way. He stole that from the Little Rascals. He did. Was it Spanky that he stole it from? No, Alfalfa. Alfalfa. Well, that's it. Alfalfa did the Barber. Charge the life for me. Well, that's it. Alfalfa did the barbecue still, too.

So, you know, you got to love that boy. We really are. Wow, we're old. Yeah, way, way, way beyond the rails. But let's bring it back here. We like to end on a high note, Murph. We talk about deeper moral victories. And Bill Belichick is not one to buy into moral victories. But are there takeaways on the offensive side of the ball

where you looked at this yesterday and said, you know what, Patriots are onto something here. They can build on this. Yeah. Damian Harris is playing his last season in New England. Somebody is going to pay him an astronomical amount of money next season that Bill is just not going to match. I don't think he's going to go with the option pickup because that's just not something that he really does. And Ramondre Stevenson, he looks fantastic. He looks fantastic. I was wondering a little bit where he was in overtime, why we didn't see Ramondre in overtime.

It keeps defenses a little bit more on tilt as to what's going to happen with him in the backfield. Although Damian did catch a pass out of the backfield yesterday, there was no remandre in overtime at all. I think it was because in the fourth quarter he missed that chip block that he should have, that he was on the field for that would have kept Zappi, the drive going and Zappi upright, maybe, maybe. But other than that, these two are the best one-two punch in the NFL, in my opinion. The only fact that others do is because they get more work. But one of the keys that I cut last week was to get back to power

running. And that's what they did. They went from the get-go with the power run game, with the off tackle stuff, with the up in between the guard and the center on the right-hand side of the ball. I mean, hats really have to go off to the left side of this line for what they're doing. Cole Strange is a rookie, and he's out there. Every time he's asked to run block, he's putting up amazing numbers and allowing these running backs to get to the second level and do what they can do. But, no, I love the run game.

It was nice to see. What I really liked, we talked a little bit about the conservativeness of the offense on Sunday. They're starting to come into their identity, and we all saw what they were able to do with play action after establishing the run in the way that they did. Yeah, without question. I'm glad that you mentioned Cole Strange and how they're incorporating a lot of what they're doing on the offensive line. Patriots are continuing to utilize the gap reads.

They're pulling the guards. That's something that has helped them, I think, stabilize that line. But we saw a little bit more of a mix-in of the outside zone yesterday as well, and that's a credit to Ramondre, and that's a credit to Damian, who are able to find these holes now and they're in stride. They're putting them in later in the game and they're sprinkling it in, you know, in the second half. They're not force feeding it on this offensive line. They're letting them get into a rhythm and then say, okay, let's see if we can do this stretch run to the outside. Absolutely. Yeah any question and i think that's something that the

patriots can build on as well another thing that i think they may have stumbled upon yesterday and this is something that we started to see in week three and i'm glad we saw a little bit more in week four is the patriots are go opting they're going big they're not incorporating the play action as much they're sparingly incorporating it a little bit but i think this is where the patriots offense can really thrive in the passing game they're limiting the drop backs on the quarterback they did it to bailey yesterday if in fact it's going to be mac under center or hoyer or whoever is going to be back there whichever the trio gets the ball next week my guess is it'll probably be zappy but you know we don't know that for sure mac may want to get out there this is an offense that he can thrive in as well as bailey zappy as well look

bottom line whether it be i think they can find success in doing that you know they're able to find their rhythm a little bit more and i heard matt chatham say something very similar about this after the game as well on his twitter account and i think the patriots might be on to something here in terms of being able to open up what this offense can do well. You even heard on the broadcast yesterday, Tony Romo gave them some credit about having a little bit more talent than people were giving them credit for. All it takes is the right scheme, the right fit, and this offense can put points on the

board. And we saw what can happen with Parker when you're not forcing the offense through him. Just let the game come to him. It doesn't have to be one out of every three plays is a pass down the field to Parker. They sat there, it came off a play. Both his catches came off a play action. They were fantastic and you saw what he was able to do. Absolutely. Without any question, folks. The offensive side of the ball may have had its ups and downs, but the defensive side of the ball did as well, including one bright spot named Jones. No, not that Jones. The other Jones. We're going to talk about Jack in just

a minute, and we're going to talk about some of the great things that the Patriots did on the defensive side of the ball when this episode of the Lockdown Patriots podcast concludes. But first, Murph, Murph, if you have not tried the Bilt Bar Puffs yet, you are depriving yourself of one of life's greatest toys. And guess what, Murph? There's a new flavor. Are you ready for this? They're delicious.

They're indulgent. It is cookie dough, dough folks covered in chocolate that's right built has done it again i can tell you these are amazing you want to check these out as soon as you possibly can run don't walk you.com snag a box for you and the family a perfect treat for all or you can find a really good hiding place and just hoard them all for yourself you're forgiven for it. These are that good. You're entitled to do it. Like all Built Bars, the new cookie dough chunk puff Murph is covered in 100% real chocolate.

This means that they're healthy and they're tasty. Chocolate-covered cookie dough with a light, fluffy texture just sounds amazing, doesn't it? But what's great about Built and all of their products is that every single one of their bars are made with collagen protein, which your body absorbs more efficiently. That provides you with tons of health benefits, so you can eat something that tastes good and is good for you, too. You're going to love the new Cookie Dough Chunk Puff Bar, folks, whether you need a snack for your workout or a late-night treat or just to grab a quick bite. Built is the perfect protein bar, and they taste better than a candy bar.

Ditch the calories, fat, and sugar. Grab yourself a Built bar. Go to Built.com right now and use the promo code LOCKEDON15. That's L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N 15 and get 15% off your next order. Use the promo code LOCKEDON15

at Built.com. Love it. Love it. Love the Built bars. Believe me, these on 15 at built.com. Love it. Love it. Love the built bars. Oh, yeah. And believe me, these do live up to the hype. I can tell you that from personal experience, folks definitely indulge in them.

I absolutely love doing the live reads for bill, but I love their product even more. And you will not be disappointed. The great folks over there do a phenomenal job. And speaking of phenomenal jobs, Murph a 27 of 24 loss in overtime is hardly a phenomenal job for any franchise but the Patriots are getting some praise for the job that they did yesterday at Lambeau Field and moral victories aside there

were some bright spots for the New England Patriots on the defensive side of the ball. But if we're being honest, allowing 27 points is always a concern no matter what. So before we end things on a high note, my friend, was there anything on the defensive side of the ball yesterday that concerned you that could be a problem moving forward for the New England Patriots? Yeah, and that's in the play calling. I'm going to put this on the defensive coordinator, whoever you want it to be, when they got away from the press man. At the beginning of the game, they were in a bit of a zone,

bit of a zone read situation, and they quickly switched out of it and went to more of a press man. And it worked. It worked in a way that few people have been able to shut down Aaron Rodgers. Like I said, it was the worst half of football in his career. was very loose. They kind of backed off quite a bit and gave these receivers too much room. Old men were out there with six feet of space. You can't have that. You can't give Aaron Rodgers that.

And that was kind of upsetting. That was a little bit of a turnoff for me because they were doing so well when they were up in everybody's face. Yeah, very good point. Very good point. And, you know, I mean, play calling is always a concern on both sides of the ball. And I don't think it gets enough attention on the defensive side of the ball. Everybody looks at offensive play calling and what are you doing to be aggressive and get points into the end zone? Defensive play calling can be as much of a detriment if it's done

incorrectly. I think you pointed out that pretty well. If I'm being a stat nitpicker here, I think the Patriots definitely missed Lawrence Guy on the field yesterday. Without any question, you look at the defensive front that they put up and three talented ball players and

Devon Godchow uh Christian Barmore and Dietrich Wise Jr. starting in the 3-4 front but at the same time you look at that potent Green Bay running attack of Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon come in averaging 8.2 yards per carry they averaged that in the first quarter alone and without Guy in that lineup it prevented the Patriots from being able to align in what had become a much improved run defense. You saw this in the second half against the Ravens in Week 3. The Ravens were able to exploit it at that point with Lawrence out, and Green Bay did it all day yesterday. 33 handoffs altogether, 183 rushing yards between those two alone.

And then you take a look at the fact that they did it against the majority of the Patriots-based defense. So if there's an area of concern, it's hoping that Lawrence Guy gets back on the field pretty soon. I think if anybody was concerned or wondering what his value still was to the team, I think you've seen it in the last, oh, maybe six quarters of Patriots football so far on the defensive side of the ball. And I'm done with Miles Bryant. I'm done. I didn't want to bring it up

because I know this is already a tough year for you with all the bowling thing. It's difficult, but I think a lot of us are feeling what you're feeling right now there. Murph, we have to end on a high note. It's the nature of locked-on Patriots. Call me overly positive.

Call me a homer, whatever. But this is a situation where I think the Patriots can build on a very good performance they got from a rookie named Jones yesterday. And as you can see, folks, check my Twitter feed. I have a new favorite.gif file. I am definitely loving not that Jones, the other Jones. It's becoming my new who made that man a gunner. We're going to continue to make this a thing unless you tell me not to, folks, and then I will oblige. But bottom line, Jack Jones yesterday, I think proving you right because

you were one of the first to be able to tout this man's trumpet when it came to what he can do on the field. Off-field concerns be damned, this kid can play. Yeah, all hail to Panda Express, that I like to call him, or the Jack-Jack attack, which we saw on Sunday. I'm in love I'm in love with both the Joneses. As a kick returner, Joneses – Marcus had a great game yesterday. Marcus has just been fantastic. You know, he made the special teams unit look good when they really didn't.

But Jack is just – you know, he's everything that I thought, that I hoped that this kid would be. He's everything that I saw on film. He had, you know, like you said, off field stuff be damned. This kid is a football player. Now, there were some issues with him and being run at late in the second half. He's not a huge guy, people. He's not. He's got to huge guy, people. He's not.

He's got to get his technique down for tackling a little bit better. But you saw everything that I said the day after he was drafted. Bill got this bill who can't build a GM who can't draft, went out and found this kid in the fourth round and said, this isn't a flyer pick. This is a pick. This is the next kid that we could build around with this Patriots defense. He could end up being the next great cornerback in this system. And I'm just thrilled.

I'm just thrilled. You know, the jersey is ordered. He's going to be here forever. That's the way I feel. It was just a great, great... I talked in the past about his over-aggressiveness. If you watch on the pick six play, he actually overran that ball. He had to reach back for it because he overran the ball. And then, you know, took it to the house. He's a beautiful football player, a fantastic athlete. He's smarter than sin. And I'm just glad he's a Patriot. I'm just glad that, you know, teams passed on this kid 97 times

before the Patriots freaking got it. 97 times. 97 times. Ed Rooney of you on this Monday morning. That's it. Well, Murph has not taken a day off. That's for sure because the analysis is spot on. And I agree with you.

I mean, you mentioned the pick six. Not only was it difficult from a physical standpoint, let me just give you a little status to how difficult it was against the guy he did it against. Thank you. Poor grammar there. I apologize, folks. But you want to talk about Aaron Rodgers throwing an interception return for a pick six at Lambeau Field.

This was only the second time in 3,511. One before Sunday. Absolutely. The second time in 3,511 pass attempts at Lambeau Field that Rodgers had an interception return for a touchdown in his home stadium. So you want to talk about a kid that really steps up when you need it. That's exactly it. And look, there are definitely mechanical you know mechanical issues and like you said tackling issues that need to be addressed he's a rookie we can't expect him to automatically

become the second coming of ty law or you know or stephan gilmore or anything of that nature but this kid has that capability yes angels yesterday and when i say off the field issues be damn nobody's less than what happened off the field. I'm certainly not doing that. But when you take those aside and you look at what this kid brings logistically and the growth that he's shown in as a human being. Exactly. And we've talked to him a lot this summer because Jack was one of the standout stars of training preseason. And now into the regular season, you can see the maturity. You can see the contrition for what happened in the past and now into the regular season uh you can see the maturity you can see the contrition

for what happened in the past and now moving forward so uh tip of the cap to uh jack jones who really had an amazing game and an honorable mention our guy matthew judon who continues to do great things uh five tackles yesterday seven yard sack of aaron rogers in the first quarter um amazing post-game sweater folks if you haven't checked it out, take a look at our conversation with Matthew Judon in the media. Take a look at it. You'll be glad you did, folks. It definitely is great.

But he continues to be a fan favorite and well-deserved. Well, just so. Another shout out, Jelani Tavai. He had a fantastic game. As long as he's going downhill, I'm happy. You know? Absolutely. He had a fantastic game. As long as he's going downhill, I'm happy. Mm-hmm. You know? Absolutely.

And, you know, Tavias had his share of detractors, about people that didn't believe he, you know, belonged on the roster. Even belonged on the roster. And, you know, I mean, I'll be honest with you. I was very critical as well, but he stepped up, you know, pretty well, and he's definitely proving his worth. So, folks, it's not a situation where we're taking a moral victory, but all hope is not lost for the New England Patriots. Even at one in three, maybe you're looking at a tough road ahead

for the Patriots in 2022, but it's not an insurmountable road to cross. And we will continue to break down how the Patriots will cross it right here on Locked On Patriots. And I thank my good friend, the Count of Murphy, Fisto himself, Thomas Murphy, for joining me each and every Monday here on Locked On Patriots. And I thank my good friend, the counter Murphy Fisto himself, Thomas Murphy, for joining me each and every Monday here on Locked On Patriots. Don Murph, always my honor,

always my privilege to talk football with you. Before I let you go, please let everyone know where they can absorb your great wisdom and counsel each and every week and what you have coming up

on the horizon. Yeah, you can check me out at Team Murph 207 on the Bird app. Shout out to Mark Schofield. You can also check me out tomorrow on One Patriot's Place with Mark Schofield, who will be joining Steve Balistrieri and Klazzi Clare. Myself, we're going to break down this game and take a look ahead to next week. And, of course, you can read me over at E2GSports.com. I just had a piece

published yesterday on the Seattle Mariners making the playoffs for the first time in 20 years. Check that out. It's a really nice little article. And of course, you can check out the Monster Keys to Patriots victory. I've got an end of season wrap up for the Red Sox and what we're going to do this offseason coming up in a week or so. There's a lot of work going into this one. Make coffee because it's going to be about 6,000 words. But other than that, always check me out on Twitter. I don't do Snap Face or Face Chat or any of the other stuff. I am not a TikTok-y person. And, of course, you can find me right here every single Monday

that Mike is bringing me back. One more thing before we go. The Patriots may be in the market for another quarterback before Sunday. We're not quite sure who is going to be healthy and available. Bill, don't call Cam. You can think about it, but don't do it. Don't do it. Wouldn't look good on the highway.

Don't do it. I can't think of a better way than to end the show with a quote from the great Buford T. Justice, sheriff of Texarkana, Texas. But, folks, we are ready to wrap things up here on Locked On Patriots, and I thank my good friend, the esteemed Thomas Murphy of E2GSports.com for joining me each and every Monday. Murph, you say every Monday that I'll bring you back. Well, it's every Monday because unless something prevents,

unless the football gods prevent us from recording, you are our muse on monday my friend and we will continue that as long as i have the microphone here on locked on patriots and folks thank you again for taking the time out of your day to make locked on patriots a daily part of your new england patriots coverage remember we exist for our fans so please be sure to drop us a line let us know how we're doing on the comments section on youtube or on twitter at lo underscore patriots and now that you've made us your first listen today make your second listen our good know how we're doing on the comments section on YouTube or on Twitter at LO underscore Patriots. And now that you've made us your first listen today, make your second listen.

Our good friends over at Peacock and Williamson, my good friend and colleague, Brian Peacock, along with former NFL scout, Matt Williamson, give you the very latest on all the NFL's biggest stories. Download, subscribe, follow wherever you get your podcast. Peacock and Williamson on the Locked On Podcast Network. On behalf of the illustrious Thomas Murphy, I am Mike DeBate. Stay safe. Stay well.

Be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone. Thanks for listening on this Locked On Murph Monday. Put the evidence in the car.