Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Balestrieri and the Bills - 12/19/19

Episode Date: December 19, 2019

With the fate of the AFC East still to be determined, the New England Patriots prepare to host the Buffalo Bills on Saturday in Foxboro. Joining host Mike D’Abate is Steve Balestrieri of PatsFans.com as the pair breakdown the upcoming matchup between the Pats and the Bills. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello to all you Foxborough faithful and welcome to your two days to game day Thursday episode of Locked On Patriots, your daily home for news, notes, analysis, and the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. My name is Mike DeBate and I am 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 on Twitter at MDABATEFPC and be sure to follow Locked On Patriots on Twitter at LO underscore Patriots. And if you're a Spotify listener, use Spotify Rep to show us your top Locked On Podcast for the year.

Take a screenshot and tag us on Twitter at LockedOnLive and at LO underscore Patriots, and we will share and retweet. Folks, as I said in my opening line, the Patriots are just two days away from game day. Saturday, not Sunday this week, is the day in which your New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills will square off in the second of two annual meetings between these two divisional rivals. As you may recall, the Patriots won the first matchup 16-10 in Orchard Park, New York. That game can pretty much be characterized as a defensive slugfest. Devin McCourty and Jamie Collins each had interceptions. J.C. Jackson

had a punt block in that game that was returned for a touchdown by special teams captain Matthew Slater. Not a lot of offensive highlights in that game. The Bills defense did a great job of making Tom Brady uncomfortable, limited him to 9 of 22 for 90 yards in the first half. On the game, Brady went 18 of 39, throwing 150 yards and an interception to Micah Hyde in the end zone. For Buffalo's offense, it was kind of an up and down day. They struggled at the quarterback position. Obviously, we remember that Josh Allen had to leave the game due to an injury with a concussion. Matt Barkley came in to relieve him. Each of the quarterbacks threw interceptions, and they were costly interceptions, but they did run the ball effectively. Frank Gore had a very big game back on September 29th, rushed for 109 yards against the Patriots defense. In that game,

the Buffalo Bills proved that they can not only hang with the Patriots, but they can also win a game, and that has them right now in contention for the AFC East Divisional title. And the Bills would love nothing more than to come up big on a national stage for a Saturday showdown with the Pats, especially when that showdown is going to be at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. But to sort of quote Elton John, Saturday is alright for fighting for the New England Patriots, especially in the Bill Belichick era. This is the first Saturday game the Patriots have played since December 24, 2016. That was a 41-3 win over the

New York Jets. Historically, the Patriots are 7-0 all-time in the regular season on Saturday under Bill Belichick, so a tall task for the Buffalo Bills. But ultimately, this is not about history, folks. This is about the here and now. And with a win or even a tie against Buffalo this week, the Patriots will clinch the AFC East for the 11th consecutive season, and it'll be the 19th time under Robert Kraft's ownership. Make no mistake about it, folks, this will not be easy. And there is also a lot to talk about when it comes to this matchup. And who better to join me today than Steve Balistrieri of Patsfans.com, who is a great friend of this show, and a locked-on Patriots paisan, if you will.

And we will talk about what he liked from the Pats-Bengals game on Sunday, the injuries in the Patriots secondary that could hurt their chances of winning this game on Saturday, and of course we'll talk about the defensive and even offensive prowess of the Buffalo Bills. So sit tight, folks. Steve and I love talking football, and we hope that you enjoy listening to us just as much. But first, we start with the news of the day, and unfortunately, folks, that means health and injuries. After participating in an indoor walkthrough on Tuesday, the Patriots returned to the outdoor practice fields near Gillette Stadium on Wednesday. The good news is

that all but one of the Patriots players were present and accounted for and were participants in practice. However, the player that didn't participate is significant, and it could end up being bad news for the Patriots, especially facing a team like the Buffalo Bills this Saturday. For the second straight day, cornerback Jonathan Jones was a non-participant in practice. Now, you may recall that Jones suffered a groin injury in the fourth quarter of the Patriots' win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. Jones has been listed as a non-participant in practice on the injury report with that groin injury for the past two days.

With the Patriots facing a quicker turnaround than usual, having a Saturday game as opposed to a Sunday game, his absence is significant and probably a pretty good indicator that Jones will not be ready to go in this game. And while I'll stop short of saying that Jones' absence from the secondary is catastrophic, it's definitely not good news, folks. Jonathan Jones is one of the best slot cornerbacks in the league. His ability to provide tight coverage and cover slot receivers is second to none in this league, and it's been one of the big reasons why the Patriots' defense has been so effective

at defending pass catchers in the slot. Now, under normal circumstances, this would just be another case of the Patriots employing the phrase, next man up. The problem is, the next man up in this situation is dealing with an injury problem of his own, and it's actually a very similar injury. Jason McCourty has also been listed on the Patriots injury report the last few weeks with a groin injury. You'll recall that Jason was inactive for December 1st game against the Houston Texans. He did return on December 8th against the Kansas City Chiefs,

played, but was not as effective as he usually is, and on Sunday against the Bengals, he was once again inactive. For this week so far on Tuesday and Wednesday, he's been listed as a limited participant, still listed with the groin injury. The hope is that J-Mac will be ready to go. Perhaps the Patriots held him out of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals, figuring that they would need some added depth and strength at the cornerback position playing the Buffalo Bills. And that's because the Bills' passing offense is at its strongest in the slot. They employ one of the best in the league in Cole Beasley. In a perfect world, both Jones and McCourty would be healthy, Jones would match up against Beasley, and then Jason McCourty could come in and provide additional depth coverage.

Although it's not official, Jones is likely to be out of this matchup, and McCourty's status for Saturday is still unknown. So if the Patriots are without one or both of these corners, it definitely lessens the effectiveness of the Patriots' secondary. Now they still employ JC Jackson, and a man in my opinion who is the defensive player of the year in Stephon Gilmore, so they will still have great cover corners available for this game. But again, either Jones' absence, McCourty's absence, or both will create a lack of depth at the position, and that may mean significant minutes for rookie cornerback

Juwan Williams, who has been inactive for a number of games this year and has very little in-game experience. But it's not all bad news, folks. In fact, it sounds a lot worse than it is. Williams was a high draft pick this year. He's one that the Patriots targeted and did everything they needed to to make sure they got him. He isn't experienced, but he is a tough physical corner. He could step in and play very well, but the lack of experience is definitely a concern for me here. So, as I like to say, keep a sharp eye on this one. The secondary may be without a couple of key components on Sunday, but overall, I still think they're a strong enough group to be able to compete

and even pull out a win in what is going to be a very tough game. Jones wasn't the only name to be watching on the Patriots injury report on Wednesday. Juwan Bentley continues to be listed with a knee. He was limited in participation. Jamie Collins was a new addition to the report on Wednesday. He was listed with a shoulder injury. Defensive lineman Danny Shelton also listed with a shoulder. Jason McCourty was listed with a groin.

He did participate in practice but was limited. And last but not least, of course, folks, wide receiver Julian Edelman continues to be listed with both the shoulder and, of course, the knee. And, of course, that's the biggest concern for all of us here in Patriots Nation. The team wants to make sure that there's no further tendon damage to Julian's knee. He participated in practice, was limited, did look like he was practicing a little bit gingerly. So that's something to keep an eye on as we head towards Saturday.

So Saturday's matchup with the Bills is almost here, and in just a moment I will be welcoming in Steve Balistrieri to break down this matchup and provide some insight on exactly what we might see on the field on Saturday. But as you all know, folks, it's that time of year. Christmas is coming up quick, and we're approaching the 25th, and our friends at MyBookie want to make your season special with 12 days of gifts my bookie is already one of the most trusted and reputable sports books in the industry and this holiday season they're getting into the spirit of giving

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Make sure to check the site out during this promotion because there's going to be something new every day and you're going to want to take advantage of these deals. So sign up for MyBookie with our code LOCKEDON and start winning today. My guest today is a voice of reason among the chaos that is the New England Patriots media coverage sometimes folks, but he is one of the best and most

knowledgeable columnists that you can find in Patriots media. You know his great work from patsfans.com, as well as being the co-host of two amazing podcasts, Patriots 4th and 2, and One Patriots Place with our good mutual friend Thomas Murphy. Those are two of my favorites. I highly recommend checking them out. He is my paisan, and despite what he will tell you, he is worthy of the praise he gets and then some. Steve Balistrieri joins me today. Welcome back to Locked On, Patriots, my friend.

Hey, thanks for inviting me back on. And you were right. I was just about to say I'm not worthy of all that nice praise. You are definitely worthy of that and then some. The man is very humble, and I assure you he is as humble in real life as he is on the airwaves, but he is worthy of it. Anytime the man publishes a column, anything, I highly recommend it. It's always spot on and it's always honest, and that's why we have him on so often.

Not only is he a good personal friend of mine, but he's also one of the most knowledgeable guys anywhere, and I always appreciate his wisdom and counsel. So, Steve, let's get right back into it. December football is usually about prepping for the playoffs. Securing the first round by is something that the Patriots are often playing for at this time of year. But the ASC East Division title usually is more of a formality at this point than a concern. But this year, there's a pre-Christmas matchup with the Buffalo Bills, and that has been looking a little different than we're used to seeing up here.

We'll get into that in a little bit. But first, the Patriots needed a win badly this Sunday. They got it against the Cincinnati Bengals. Now, most people will tell you that it wasn't impressive because it was against a 1-12 team. But I did see some positives here, especially on offense when it comes to game planning and even chemistry. I saw a team that's made a lot of progress in quote-unquote figuring it out. That's in terms of strategy, in terms of synergy. To me, it's all about execution at this point, and that has to be better, starting with Tom Brady at the top in the quarterback position and down the list.

What did you see on Sunday that you believe the Pats will do and continue to build on these next two games as we head into the playoffs? Well, the first thing I thought was that they got the running game going finally. Granted, it was against a bad front defense, you know, Cincinnati. But, you know, anytime you can get 175 yards on the ground, you'll take that regardless of the opponent. So that was good. The thing I liked with the run game was they were getting their guards involved. They were getting them out front.

They were pushing people around. And, you know, the running backs, Sonny, Michelle, Rex Burkhead, to an lesser degree, James White. You know, the running backs, Sonny, Michelle, Rex Burkhead, to a lesser degree, James White, you know, they were breaking tackles. So anytime you get yards off after contact, I think that's a really big positive. And the other thing was

Nikhil Harry was involved. They got Harry involved in the offense early. You know, I think him and Jacoby Myers, they've been kind of fighting the ball a little bit. I think they're overthinking things. So for them to get involved early, and I like how they did it. They gave him a handoff.

It was easy. He was just able to, you know, turn the corner and use his athleticism. And then after that, it seemed like he was more relaxed and he was just playing football, which he's done all his life. So I think that was a smart move by Josh McDaniels. Yeah, and McDaniels said earlier in the week, last week, that he wanted to get Harry Moore involved, and it was good to see that that was able to follow through.

They had a game plan, essentially put it out there for the public consumption, and they went out there and executed. That's not as easy to do as people think it is. When you tell people what you're looking to do, and we wanted to get McKeel Harry a little more involved, all of a sudden, that puts a bullseye on him a little bit. Credit Harry for being able to live up to that. Credit McDaniels for putting the plan out there, and credit all the Patriots around for being able to make that happen, including Tom Brady. So I agree with you. I agree with that assumption. Anytime you can get the ground yardage that they got, get a lot of the breaks that they received, and build on that,

that's why I believe this team showed something to me. I think with the drops and with some of the issues that they're having there, that's about execution. They start making those catches, and they start executing better, and I think you're going to see a lot of people say that this team's figured it out, quote, on offense, and that's why I alluded to that phrase earlier. Switching gears a little bit, Steve, this defense continues to impress. They had a very good game on Sunday.

Stephon Gilmore, J.C. Jackson particularly were standouts, and the secondary has really been the great strength of this team, in concert with some great special teams play. I don't want to discredit them at all, but the secondary has truly been the gem, I think, even of this defense. But something that's caught my eye and the eyes of many of our colleagues that cover the team was the injury to Jonathan Jones on Sunday. Now, he hasn't seen the practice field two straight days

with the Bills coming to town on Saturday. That doesn't bode well for his status in this one. He's so valuable in the slot. We've sung his praises consistently. I have here on Locked On. You have on your shows. And if he's not able to go, this could end up being a problem, especially with the Bills employing Cole Beasley,

who I think is one of the best slot receivers in the NFL. If Jones can't go, how big of a loss is this for the defense this week? I think it's a huge loss for them. As you alluded to, Beasley is very dangerous, and he's been getting more and more reps as the season goes on. They finally got Josh Allen to be looking for him more and more often and that's making their offense a little bit better and it takes some of the pressure off of Allen I think it's a huge loss for the Patriots because Jones is one of the better

uh slot corners in the league now that lends yourself to the well who do they replace them with well normally I would say Jason McCourty, but he's been dinged up with the same injury that Jones had. So now that kind of puts you in a quandary. If McCourty can't go, then you might have to move Jason Jackson into the slot, possibly, and, you know, activate Joe Williams and move him outside. So it's kind of a snowball effect.

It's going to be interesting to see how they, you know, attack this weekend. But then it's a big loss, and I doubt very much that Jones will play like that. Yeah, exactly. I mean, missing two games and missing two – excuse me, missing two games, missing two practices the way he has this week is definitely a cause for concern, and it really does make you believe that he will not be active for this game. Two points that you made that were excellent that I'm so glad that you made. One with Jason McCourty.

Obviously, with him being dinged up, if he's unable to go for any reason, he was a scratch in Sunday's game against the Bengals. We saw him play against the Kansas City Chiefs a couple of weeks ago. He wasn't exactly himself, but he was out there. You have to wonder if maybe the Patriots deactivated him on Sunday with their eyes on this game, knowing that they would need him. GMAC is not the same player or for any reason he can't go I agree with you I think we're probably going to see JC Jackson move to the slot and I think you're probably going to see Jawan Williams activated and see what the rookie can do so you know we'll we'll take a look hopefully uh you know this is not a long-term thing for uh for Jones groin injuries tend to be difficult to diagnose

because they're soft tissue, and you never know about healing time and things of that nature. But ultimately, I agree with you. This is a big loss for the Patriots, and it does not bode well with a team like the Buffalo Bills coming to town. And, Steve, I know we've talked the intangibles, but as always, the action on the field is where this one is at. Buffalo is a very good football team, folks. and in just a moment, Steve and I will provide

our thoughts on what our biggest concerns are when we look at this Bills team. Once again, I'm joined today by Steve Balistrieri of PatsForFans.com, and Steve, the Bills are known for their defense, and we will get into that in just a moment. But offensively, the Bills are better equipped to move the football, and that turns into points that they just did not, I don't believe this offense was capable of scoring in September. I think they're much better equipped to do that now than they were before. Now, some of that is due to the maturity in the game of Josh Allen, but the Bills can effectively run the ball as well, and they were good at that early on in the season,

and I think they've only continued to get better at that as the seasons wore on. When you look at this Bills team, do you believe that they'll once again look to establish the run to help neutralize this Patriots defense? Because you recall Frank Gore rushed for 109 yards against this Pats defense early on this season. Is that still the key, or do you think we'll see more of Josh Allen this time? I think they're going to definitely try to run the ball. I mean, they were successful last time with Frank Gore.

If you remember, Devin Singletary missed that game. He'll be active in this one, so they'll have kind of a two-headed monster looking at the Patriots. And they saw how Cincinnati was able to run the football against the Patriots, that will help their offense more than it did Cincinnati's because I think that you touched on it. They have some talented skill players. They haven't quite put it all together yet.

But you look at that, I think it's an underrated wide receiving floor. They have Singletary, the guy I really like on that offense, got to not the tight end. Yeah, very good point. They have some people that can open up the play-action-tasking game if they get that running game going, and I think that will be a key because they were able to do it in the first meeting and they saw how Cincinnati was able to run with Joe Newdick and Lasky.

Yeah, definitely. I completely agree with you, and I think this is a concern. If I'm the Patriots' defense, that's something that you need to zero in on. The front seven has been much better, and we've both talked about this on One Patriots Place when I guested on it, and we've talked about this offline, this run defense being better. The front seven has stepped it up. Danny Shelton has been much better as the season has progressed. Lawrence Guy has been huge in helping to solidify

and really kind of anchor that front defensive line for the Patriots to be able to stuff the run. So I think they're going to be put to the test this weekend, and I think it's going to be put to the test this weekend, and I think it's going to be an interesting game coming up on Saturday for the New England Patriots on the defensive side of the ball. But there are a lot of

eyes on offense, Steve. And the Bills' defense, like the Pats, they're solid in all three layers. They've got great front seven coverage. Their line backing is great. Their secondary, again, is like the Patriots. That's their gem. They're particularly stout. You might even say they're a little Patriot-like in that they kind of dare you to throw in their direction. Now, I know Tom would love to get this

offense going in the passing game. He's not big in shutting up the critics. I'm not going to go into that level, but I think he's really looking to see what his weapons can do, air it out, and get this team on track. But I see actually more opportunities for the run game to be effective here. The more I look at this Bills team, that to me is the best way to take it to them. Your opinion, should the Patriots run the ball more on Saturday, even though the run game has been somewhat questionable this season, or do you just say throw caution to the wind and have Tom air it out,

especially at home, and get this offense, especially the skill position players, on track? I think you have to try to establish the run against this team because they are very aggressive. They've been much more aggressive lately getting after the quarterback. I think that's going to be their game plan this week. So I think the combination of your running game, you know, and mixing things up with Sonny Michel, James White, Rex Burke,

and I think the screen game will be really essential this week. That's one area that the Phillies defense struggles in, is the screen game. And I think you can target their linebackers a little bit in that because they are so aggressive. So I think that's something that we're going to have to look for, but I really think you have to get this running game going. Yeah, I agree. And I think that in that case, I think you may see a little bit more of a dose of Sonny Michel than you've seen in weeks

past. He's going to have to step it up. I mean, Sonny, to me, has shown bursts and signs of being able to run the ball effectively, and then all of a sudden he takes a step forward and two steps back, sometimes even figuratively, not just figuratively, literally, excuse me. But I think this is a good game for James White to be able to get going. And Rex Burkhead, like you said, if he can get into coverage on a linebacker and he's matched up on a linebacker, to me that's a mismatch that I think this team needs to take more advantage of

on the offensive side of the football. Wouldn't shock me to see a little bit more of Brandon Bolden this week as well, see him in situational areas to come in on this offense and make things happen. We saw him do that in the first game against the Bills. We've seen him run the ball effectively this year, and I think that would be a great opportunity for them to be able to do it. So ultimately on Saturday, I think this is going to be a great matchup. I think it's going to be a tight matchup,

and I think the Patriots are going to have all they can handle with the Buffalo Bills, but they can handle a lot. So before we think that that means a prognostication of doom and gloom, I think the Patriots are well-suited, and I really am looking forward to a great game here. Steve, I can't thank you enough for taking time out of your busy schedule today to join me here on Locked on Patriots this morning. Before I let you go, my friend, just please let our listeners know

where they can find you, where they can read your great work, follow you on social media, because like I said, folks, no matter what this man puts out, it's great. I recommend all of it highly. I can't really recommend it highly enough. So, Steve, the platform is yours. If our listeners don't know, and they should, but if they don't know,

where can they find you, buddy? Well, thank you very much, Mike. I always appreciate the invite to come on the show. You can find me at I'm one of the bloggers there. always appreciate the invite to come on the show. You can find me at taxfans.com. I'm one of the bloggers there. We do our own podcast there called Patriot Sports 2.

We also do a podcast with our mutual friend, as you mentioned, Thomas Merkle, One Patriot Place. You can find me on Twitter at atspeedb7s15. And if you're a fan of military news, you can find me on SoftRev.com. I also write about two to three columns, I should say six to seven columns a week. And again, always be sure to check out the great work of my friend Steve Balistrieri. Whether it be Patriots football or military history, his work is always thorough, well-researched, and informative.

It's been a very busy week for Steve, and I personally thank him for joining me on today's show. He is truly a great friend of mine and a great friend to Locked On Patriots. And as for me, I will be back to give a final preview for Patriots Bills and offer my game prediction for this Saturday's matchup. And as usual on Fridays, I might just have a special guest joining me as well. So stay locked in to Locked On Patriots, folks.

As always, please be sure to join me each and every day on the Locked On Patriots podcast. Subscribe and listen via your preferred podcast provider. Once again, I'm Mike DeBate. I thank you so much for listening today. Best wishes and have a great day, everyone.