Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Crossover Thursday — New England Patriots vs. Carolina Panthers in Week Nine — 11/4/2021

Episode Date: November 5, 2021

It’s Crossover Thursday heading into Week Nine of the the 2021 NFL Season. Join hosts Mike D’Abate of Locked On Patriots and Julian Council of Locked On Panthers as they preview this matchup between the New England Patriots and the Carolina Panthers from Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina on Sunday, November 7th.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.GetupsideJust download the FREE GetUpside App and use promo code TOUCHDOWN to get up to 50¢/gallon cash back on your first tank.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful. You are now locked into the Lockdown Patriots podcast. It is Thursday, November 4th, 2021. And because it's Thursday, it is Crossover Thursday here on your daily home for news notes and analysis infused with the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. And Locked On listeners, thank you so much for making Locked On Patriots

your first listen every day. Remember, Locked On Patriots, as all Locked On podcasts, are free and available on all platforms. And, of course, this episode of Locked On Patriots is brought to you by McDonald's. Proudly serving communities since 1965. McDonald's has always been more than just a place to get tasty, affordable food. It is a place where friends and family from the community can come together. A big thank you

to our friends at McDonald's for always being there. I'm loving it. And speaking of loving it, that's exactly how I feel about each and every one of you who have taken time out of your schedule to join me here on Locked On Patriots. Greetings and salutations, Patriots Nation. My name is Mike DeBate, and I cover your New England Patriots for Patriot Maven of Sports Illustrated. I am also your host of the Locked On Patriots podcast, which, of course, is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network,

your team every day. And, folks, because it's your team every day, that means your questions, your comments, your feedback are always welcomed, very much encouraged. So share that feedback. Send it to the Internet by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at MDABATENFL. And while you're out there doing some Thursday traveling through that Twitterverse,

please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at L-O underscore Patriots. Pats fans, it is that time again. Thursdays are time for crossing the streams here on Locked On Patriots. And at 4-4, your New England Patriots head to Ric Flair country. Woo! As they head down to Bank of America Stadium and take on the equally foreign for Carolina Panthers an old friend in the defensive backfield Stephon Gilmore folks this is shaping up to be an

excellent matchup two strong defenses two solid running games very well coached teams this is going to be a very good game on Sunday and I for one cannot wait to see how this all unfolds down in Charlotte. Here today to help me cross the streams and attack this one from both a Patriots perspective as well as a Carolina Panthers perspective is my friend and colleague, Julian Consul, host of the Locked on Panthers podcast.

And Julian does an amazing job hosting Locked on Panthers. I definitely encourage each and every one of you to check out his shows this week. Very informative, always spot on, and analysis that you can only find on Locked On Panthers. Julian and I will be discussing Matt Jones, Sam Darnold, Christian McCaffrey, Stefan Gilmore, Christian Barmore. We'll be discussing that and more when it comes to this game. So without much further ado, it's time to cross the streams here on the Locked On Podcast Network.

And in just a moment, my friend and colleague, Julian Council, host of Locked On Panthers, will join me here on the Locked On Crossover Hot Seat when this Thursday episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Once again, Locked On listeners, this episode of Locked On Patriots is brought to you by McDonald's, proudly serving communities since 1965. And McDonald's has always been more than just a place to get tasty, affordable food.

It's a place where friends and family can come to reconnect. It's a place where classmates can meet up for a study group, knowing not only that they'll have dependable Wi-Fi, but also an endless supply of French fries and McFlurries. Win or lose, it's a place where teammates, competitors, the home team, the away team, even coming together, can come to recharge. McDonald's is the place you always look forward to stopping

on a long road trip to rest your legs and refuel. We're all sports fans here, Locked On listeners. Whenever you're heading on a long road trip to your favorite stadium or deep into enemy territory, is there a more welcome sight than those golden arches? For me, that was as much of a highlight as the game itself. Maybe even more. Let McDonald's help you to live

in the moment by recapturing the comfort and fun of old memories and making some new ones. Head to your local McDonald's to refuel and reconnect. Ba-da-ba-ba-ba. I'm loving it. New England Patriots fans, Carolina Panthers fans, it is once again Crossover Thursday all throughout the Locked On Podcast Network,

especially on the NFL channel. And this Sunday, Week 9, the New England Patriots travel to Charlotte, North Carolina, Ric Flair country to take on the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium at 1 p.m. Eastern. Both of these teams coming into this matchup with four and four records and a win is of utmost importance. And here today to break it all down is myself, the host of Locked On Patriots, Mike DeBate. And I am supremely excited to be joined by Julian Council, host of Locked On Patriots, Mike DeBate. And I am supremely excited to be joined by Julian Council, host of Locked On Panthers. Julian, been waiting a while to share the microphone with you.

Always a lot of fun when we get to hook up to do these crossover episodes on the Locked On Podcast Network. Absolutely. Mike, very excited to talk to you too. Patriots, Panthers, it's been a while since the two have played a game in Charlotte. I know we're talking about it. I think the last time they were here in town was the Monday night football game back when Cam Newton was still here in Carolina. Of course, Tom Brady there in New England. It was the infamous or the famous, maybe infamous up in your parts of the country. Ice up some game with Steve Smith following the win against the Pats that day, as he said said that message to Aqib Tlaib. So I'm very excited to see what's happening on Sunday between these two 4-4 teams who, at least for New England, are

definitely eyeing the playoffs after a big win and Carolina finally getting out to snide with their win in Atlanta on Sunday. Absolutely. And look, there's some history between these two teams. We all go back to the Super Bowl days of Brady dueling it out with Jake DeLome. There is a lot to go on. The Patriots

obviously signing Cam Newton after his tenure and his productive tenure with the Carolina Panthers coming back up here to New England last year. But for some issues, and we won't get into those, it's probably a conversation for another day, this would have been Cam Newton's reunion game against the Carolina Panthers. But as we were saying before we started to record today, Julian, the football gods did still give us a pretty intriguing and juicy storyline. And that is a revenge game of its own with Stephon Gilmore now wearing a Carolina Panthers uniform.

Of course, Stephon being from the area, he goes home to play for his hometown Panthers. And it's still a topic of discussion up here, Julian. So we'll start with that today since we're going to talk about the New England Patriots first and their information that we'd like to get from the Carolina Panthers. And that is Gilmore comes down to Carolina, and he comes in now obviously active. He's back playing again. This is a secondary right now that has already lost rookie J.C. Horn, Justin Burris, Miles Hartsfield. They're all on injured reserve.

C.J. Henderson missed the Falcons, you know, win with a shoulder injury. But that cupboard is far from being there. As Gilmore comes into the mix last week, he joins a secondary with A.J. Boye, Dante Jackson, Keith Taylor. There's still a lot to like in that cornerback room. When you look at Stephon Gilmore now as a part of this franchise and a part of the Carolina Panthers, what does he mean, first of all, to that room? And what type of message do you think he's going to be willing to send to the New England Patriots on Sunday? Well, first off, people are fired up locally to be able to get a former defensive player of the year from two years removed who's from the area and grew up here as a Carolina Panthers

fan. So that's just awesome that Gilmore is here. And the way that he played on Sunday in Atlanta, only 13 snaps, but he was instrumental in that game and taking away Kyle Pitts, who the previous two weeks against the Jets and the Dolphins had started to look like the Kyle Pitts everyone expected him to look like when he came out of the University of Florida and was drafted fourth overall by the Falcons. He had the game-sealing interception in that game of Matt Ryan

when he was in coverage against Kyle Pitts. Coming into the secondary, he doesn't just add his talent, but he adds the experience alongside guys like Dante Jackson, who's really had a good season. Keith Taylor, who's a six-round pick at the University of Washington, has really shown a lot so far this season. And he's been able to help groom guys like C.J. Henderson this year. And even J.C. Horn, who's probably not playing, he's still able to sit there in the meeting rooms

and be able to learn from a guy like Gilmore, who he has a connection to, having both been from the University of South Carolina. So getting one of the top defensive players in the NFL, having the experience, and him also being a local kid, it's the total package for the Carolina Panthers. And I'm certainly thrilled that he's here. I know the fan base is thrilled that he's here. And I imagine that Matt Rule and the entire coaching staff

and organization have to be thrilled that he's out there. And he has made no bones about it. Sunday is a revenge game. Earlier this year against the Jets, it was bones about it sunday is a revenge game earlier this year against the jets it was widely discussed that sam donald revenge game against new york sam donald does not have the kind of personality that's going to openly say it was a revenge game and i honestly don't even know if it was a revenge game for him he of course he wanted to win it as things didn't work out for him in new york uh whether that was gaze's fault we've seen here

in carolina a lot of it also was very much so him. But Stephon Gilmore's already come out and said, I have something to prove on Sunday, and I expect him to go out there and do play his tail off against his former team and show Bill Belichick what he's missing by not resigning him. Yeah, I know another beloved cornerback that wore the number 24 up here in New England for a number of years, Ty Law, a pro football Hall of Famer, said that he talked to Stephon earlier this week and that Stephon made it very clear a couple of times when he talked to Steph, yeah, Sunday is, that's circled on his calendar. Sunday is a date that he's targeting and there's no question about it.

And look, Stephon is still one of the best corners in the league. He is arguably one of the best cover corners I've ever covered in my time covering the New England Patriots. And he was just such a great guy to cover up here as well, having the opportunity to go back and forth with him, very active in the community. Stefan is very much missed here in New England, not just for the prowess and the abilities that he's shown on the field, but also for everything he did up here in New England as well. So I know Patriots fans are not looking forward to seeing him light up this team with possible interceptions or, you know, pass breakups or some of the things that he did so well up here. And even if you don't see him on the stat sheet, it means he's doing his job very well.

He's covering some of the Patriots big time receivers. He knows this offense as well as anyone for a lot of people. And I see this a lot in New England right now. There are people that are saying, well, he doesn't know Matt Jones. He didn't practice against him or he doesn't know the new receivers or the new tight ends. Stefan was very much involved in the game planning, the strategy. He was also very much involved in, you know, being aware and evaluating the job that Mac Jones was doing and the young corners like JC Jackson. You know, this is a situation where Gilmore is very well versed in this offense. So even though he may

not have seen practice time against some of these guys out there, he definitely knows what they're capable of and what they can do. So a great matchup coming up and we'll see, we'll see what happens. But if there's one thing that I've learned in my time covering Stefan Gilmore, it's never bet against him. He always will bring his a game and he'll continue to do so. So I, for one, I'm looking forward to seeing him again, but most importantly, you know, I think it'll be a great matchup for, for the Patriots wide receivers and their tight ends to see if they can get the better of him.

Easier said than done. Julian, staying on that subject for just a moment with regard to the Panthers defense, a lot is made about their passing offense and passing defense. Excuse me. And their pass defense is very good. I mean, they're limiting, you know, a rank second in the league, allowing 189 yards per game through the air. But this is also a run defense that is a little bit better than their ranking. You know, right now, there are some circumstances where the Patriots are looking to run the ball, but the Panthers can stop the run as well. Opponents have churned out 4.4 yards per carry against Carolina, which ranks 21st. But this is a team that can be very stout up front, especially against a Patriots offensive line that has played a little bit better as of late, but still has a share of question marks. How good has this Carolina run defense been? And do you think

they're up to the challenge of stopping a guy like Damian Harris, who's coming off a back-to-back 100-yard games? Yeah, it's an interesting question. Like, against teams like Dallas that really likes to run a lot of 13 personnel and is known to have a very good offensive line and be very committed to the run, they had trouble. Going to that game, they were averaging only giving up 45 yards per game on the run, on the ground, and in that game they gave up 245 yards total to Dak Prescott, Zeke Elliott,

and Tony Pollard of Dallas in that loss. You also go back a few weeks after that and look at the Vikings game with Dalvin Cook. He gets over 100 yards in his debut after missing a couple weeks with that ankle injury. So teams that are dedicated to running the football and like to run a lot of 12 and 13 personnel have had success in the Carolina Panthers just based off of Phil Snow liking to play a lot of three-man fronts. And certainly guys like Daquan Jones, who I thought was one of the key free agent acquisitions

this past offseason coming over from Tennessee, where he was a part of some Titan defenses that helped him get to the AFC title game a couple years ago and then the one to division last year there in the AFC South. And then also pairing him with Derrick Brown, who's a first-rounder out of one to division last year there in the AFC South and then also pairing him with Derek Brown who's a first rounder out of Auburn seventh overall back in 2020 that has helped them to try and solidify the the middle of the defensive line where they didn't have that last year Kaywon Short missing the majority of the season with a shoulder injury

adding in Shaq Thompson who came back on Sunday, who had 10 tackles, eight of them solo, and 35 snaps against the Falcons, is certainly going to help Carolina's ability to stop the run on Sunday against New England. So I think they're probably more of an average run defensive team, or average against the run defensively, more so than they are kind of one of the top teams in the league. And because they have a lot of slider or frame guys, like a Brian Burns or like a Hassan Reddick, who also had to be out there stopping the run that can make things a little bit difficult for them when they have to go up against those certain personnels that you might see from a dallas or from a minnesota so if new england's going to incorporate that on sunday they might be able to have a decent amount of success against carolina on the ground

yeah absolutely and new england is right now trying to rely a little bit more heavily on their ground game. And we'll talk about New England and their strategy in a little bit when you put me on the hot seat here in just a moment. But one thing that I know the Patriots are going to want to do is try to be able to incorporate, get Damian Harris involved early, because it opens up so much when it comes to what they're predicated to do well on offense, which is utilizing the run to open up play action for Mac Jones to be able to, you know, to utilize the field, the short passes, you know, that he has to his targets. You mentioned, you know,

being able to defend against the 12, 13 man personnel. If they're defending against 12 and the England Patriots do have two pretty adept tight ends to be able to put into that offensive scheme and a 12-man personnel in Jono Smith and in Hunter Henry. So good information and very good insight when it comes to the Panthers' run defense because we hear so much about the aerial defense. And believe me, that pass defense is as stout as it comes. It's nice to know that there's a good balance. And the Patriots have a fight on their hands. There's no question about it. Julian, before we flip the script and you put me on the hot seat,

the hot button question right now that is not named Stephon Gilmore when it comes to the Carolina Panthers, at least with Patriots fans, is the health of their top quarterback and their top running back. Sam Darnold Donald obviously limited in practice on Wednesday. He's suffering from a right shoulder issue, and he's also still being evaluated for concussions. When it comes to Christian McCaffrey, he right now has now been, well, I should say he's back on the practice field after being on injured reserve. That 21-day window is now open. Reports are that he looked pretty good moving about the field. So if you had to guess in terms of these two players being able to suit up for Sunday, who would you say is a little more likely at this point? What's your take on that? And if Darnold

is not able to go, how difficult can the Carolina Panthers make this on the New England Patriots, especially with much more of a mobile quarterback, which traditionally Patriots have had difficulty defending? Yeah, it's hard to say. I guess the easier guess would be that McCaffrey would play on Sunday just based off of concussions, a head injury. It's impossible to know how Sam Darnold's brain is going to react to the trauma that he suffered on Sunday when he got rocked by Foye Oluokun of the Atlanta Falcons.

He also has a slight shoulder injury. That showed up on the injury report on Wednesday as Matt Rule spoke to the media. But the fact that Darnold, throughout the concussion protocol right now, was able to at least be very limited and out at practice on Wednesday is a step in the right direction towards him potentially playing on Sunday afternoon. Then again, who knows how he feels on Thursday and then on Friday and then Saturday and maybe even Sunday. So I think it's really hard to know whether he's going to play or not. With Christian McCaffrey, he's missed the last five games, even the second half of the game on that Thursday night against Houston.

He thinks a quick turnaround was a part of the reason why he injured his hamstring. The Panthers tried to do the whole wait and see week to week thing with him before placing on IR a couple weeks ago. He's missed 18 of the 24 games during the Matt Rule era. So he has not been out there under this offense with Joe Brady and back last year with Teddy Bridgewater and then really this year with Sam Darnold. So hopefully he'll be available to go if he's not. They really showed a lot running the football on Sunday against Atlanta with guys like Chuba Hubbard, who they drafted out of the fourth round, who was very good on the ground on Sunday,

also adding in Amir Abdullah and Royce Freeman. Darnold helped them out in the run game. They had over 200 yards rushing and 47 yards, 47 attempts, which is both rule era highs for the team. And he came out and said what he wants his team to focus on is being a ground and pound team they are not an elite passing team anytime they have any sort of errors on offense it comes because of the pass game whether that's a darned fumble or an interception or the offensive line giving up a sack things just have not worked out well for

them passing the football so whether sam donald plays or not and pj walker who would be the starters called upon carolina is gonna be looking to hand the ball off 35 40 times that's what their plan is going to be it's not going to be out here trying to throw the ball 30 40 times and seeing if they can beat new england secondary it's going to come down to how well they can run the football so mccaffrey's back out there that would be fantastic for them but that at least showed last week against atlanta that they're certainly capable of being able to run the football not leaning on sam darwin to go out there make a ton of plays for them, even though he was efficient when they asked him to throw the football on Sunday. So if anything, I'd say McCaffrey's far more likely

to play. Sam Darnold, who knows? Hopefully he's able to play because they certainly have a better opportunity with him out there than with P.J. Walker. Neither one of those quarterbacks protect the football at the level that you would like, but Darnold's definitely the better player for the Carolina Panthers and gives them the best opportunity to win on Sunday against New England. Yeah, absolutely. New England's run defense is going to have to be on their A game, and that New England front seven has been much better each and every week

thanks to the play of rookie defensive tackle Christian Barmore, who incidentally was limited in practice participation on Wednesday with a foot injury. The Patriots still have a lot of firepower, especially a guy named Matt Judon in that linebacking core that has been a beast in getting after quarterbacks. In just a moment, folks, Julian Council, host of the Lockdown Panthers podcast, will put me, Mike DeBate, host of Lockdown Patriots, on the hot seat as we discuss this one from a Patriots perspective.

More on this crossover Thursday episode across the Lock seat as we discuss this one from a Patriots perspective. More on this Crossover Thursday episode across the Locked On Podcast Network when this episode of the crossover between Locked On Patriots and Locked On Panthers continues. Hello again, Patriots fans. This is Mike DeBate with an incredible app everyone who buys gas needs to know about. Get Upside. My listeners are making up to 25 cents for every gallon of gas every time they fill up. Just download the free GetUpside app in the App Store or Google Play right now. Use promo code TOUCHDOWN and get a bonus 25 cents per gallon on your first fill up. That's up to 50 cents cash back. Don't pay full price at the pump anymore. Get

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Yet another crossover Thursday here on the Locked On Panthers podcast and on the Locked On Patriots podcast. I'm your host of the Locked On Panthers podcast, Julian Council, joined by Locked On Patriots host Mike DeBate. And Mike, big-time game going on between two 500 teams on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium in Uptown Charlotte you have the Patriots perspective for us Mac Jones is now the new franchise quarterback for New England we thought that maybe when the schedule was announced that this week nine matchup would be the return of Cam Newton he is obviously no longer in New

England as Mac Jones beat him out and there was also maybe some vaccination issues that led to his release there in New England. He's still out on the street. Carolina Panther fans would love for them to resign him, even though they're not living in reality. But Mac Jones, the reality is he is a starter for New England, and he will be facing the Panthers on Sunday. Carolina's done really well so far this season against rookie quarterbacks in Zach Wilson, who went second overall to the Jets, and against Davis Mills of the Texans. But Mac Jones has looked pretty good from an outsider's perspective so far this season. What are your overall thoughts on how he's been able to run Josh McDaniels' offense

so far through the first eight weeks of the season in New England? Well, that's a great question, Julian. And one of the best things about Mac's ability to run this offense is he is the perfect type of quarterback to be able to run the offense that Josh McDaniels loves to run. A timing-based offense predicated on quick, accurate throws, reaching the intended target where only the intended target can get it, and getting the ball out, making the quick pre-snap read, excuse me, that allows you to be able to do that. If you can run that type of offense, you can execute a Josh McDaniel system very well. And Mac has done that very well.

There are times where Mac does look like a rookie. He'll either make an ill-advised throw instead of knowing when to take the sack or throw the ball out of bounds. These are still things that he's learning. But one thing that he's been tremendous with is accuracy. Save for some accuracy issues. Ironically, in the Patriots' victory over the Los Angeles Chargers last week, 27-24, Mack has been extremely accurate, completing well over 70% of his passes on the year. So for any quarterback, that's always a good statistic. For a rookie, that's an excellent statistic. He has been very good. But one of the big things that surprised, pleasantly surprised me is the poise that he's showing, the command that he's showing in running this offense. He doesn't shy away from the moment. He'll take the hit and he'll be able to go back and get back on the field and do it.

Two weeks ago against the Dallas Cowboys, arguably throwing a back-breaking pick six to one of the best corners in the league in Trevon Diggs would have pretty much killed the confidence of any rookie quarterback, maybe even any veteran quarterback. Mack went back to the bench, hung his head, picked it back up, came back out and not only ran the same type of play, but he ran the same, almost the same play to the same receiver and targeted the same cornerback that picked him off. That shows an awful lot of guts, and you can hear a lot of the teammates of Mac Jones, whether it be on the offensive or defensive side of the ball, that are really impressed by the poise that this kid is showing. So future is very bright for the New England Patriots

with Mac Jones under center. There will still continue to be bumps and bruises and growing pains throughout the year, but I think they definitely realized that they got a good one when they picked the rookie at number 15 overall in the 2021 NFL draft. Yeah, I love that you bring up that point there about the interception that you threw to Trayvon Diggs and coming back and leading him to a drive that ended up tying the game and taking them Dallas to overtime, a team that Carolina has also played.

And that kind of shows how good New England might be this year after they played Tampa Bay tough, getting that road win against the Chargers on Sunday. I think they're starting to turn a lot of heads across the National Football League, which makes it an interesting time for them to come down here to play Carolina on Sunday in the Stephon Gilmore revenge game. And Mac Jones is certainly a guy I'm sure Carolina Panther fans

might start looking at and being like, why didn't we go after him considering he was a part of Matt Rule and the Panther staff's senior bowl team down in Mobile back in January. So it'll be interesting to see what the matchup looks like. Now, last season, New England didn't seem to have the greatest of weapons around Cam Newton. This year, they spent a lot of money on free agency, bringing guys like Hunter Henry and John O. Smith, two tight ends,

Nelson Aguilar, Kendrick Bourne. What have you seen from the receivers and the overall arsenal around Mac Jones this season that might be able to match up against this very vaunted Panthers secondary that has, Stephon Gilmore, the former New England Patriot? Yeah, this to me is going to be the determining factor, I think, in whether or not the Patriots are going to be successful. They're going to try to talk about the Panthers' run defense and what they're going to try to do

to defend the New England Patriots in that regard and keep someone like a Damian Harris off the field or keep him from gaining significant yards right off the bat. But in order to do this, the Patriots are going to have to test that secondary a little bit and that includes Stephon Gilmore a guy that I would look for Mac Jones to zero in on on Sunday would be Jacoby Myers that's his top target he's targeted him more than any other receiver in on the team so far he continues to be that type of player that can eat up yards and get you the catch when you need to the Patriotsots have been a little bit, I think, overaggressive in trying to feed Jacoby Myers the ball, in case you haven't noticed,

and some Carolina Panthers fans may not know this, Jacoby actually has not had a regular season NFL touchdown yet. He's had a couple of receptions in the end zone for two-point conversions, but Mac Jones seems to be very eager to try to get that. So the Patriots are going to have to curb that enthusiasm because, you know, Carolina is noticing that they're going to be zeroing in on Jacoby when they see him in the red zone. So that means maybe Nelson Aguilar gets some short yardage catches, although he's more known for being the Patriots' deep threat,

and the Patriots utilized him as such on Sunday against the Chargers. Kendrick Bourne is also someone that the Pats will definitely target in that area. Bourne had a tough game on Sunday, fumbling the ball. He ended up in that Belichickian version of double secret probation, I like to call it, where you fumble the football and you get sent to the sidelines and you're there thinking about what you just did for quite a while. So those could be some of the receivers that would be targeted on Sunday. And as much as the Patriots fan base grimaces, every time I mentioned this man's name, Nikhil Harry is capable of going up and making some tough athletic catches. He's not going to be your most reliable target. He's not going to be your most used target, but he can make the

catches when you need him to do that. So I would look for the Patriots wide receivers at this point to get some play at the tight end position. Obviously, Hunter Henry has been a great route runner for Mac Jones. I think that will continue. And based on what we're seeing from the Patriots and trying to get him incorporated, don't be a bit too surprised to see John O. Smith get some jet sweep carries out of the backfield. Patriots would love to get him going this week. Yeah, Mike, we'll get into kind of our keys to the game here in a few, but one of the keys I think for the game on Sunday will be Carolina's ability to run the football against New England. As I pointed out previously,

Carolina is fully committed to find their offensive identity via the run game. Chris McCaffrey, whether he comes back or not, they have three running backs that were capable last week, Amir Abdullah and Shuba Hubbard and Royce Freeman of being able to be successful against Atlanta now with the rush game against New England what kind of success could Carolina have what kind of rush defense does New England have and also if Carolina has to be a passing team who are some of the guys that might be able to wreak some havoc in on Carolina whoever plays that quarterback whether it's Sam

Darnold or PJ Walker sitting back there in the pocket? Well, in a lot of ways, I think right now the New England Patriots have about middle of the pack when it comes to run defense. And look, I think a lot of people expected their run defense to be much better than it's been, but they do have a lot of new faces up front in that defensive front, especially in the middle part. Lawrence Guy is the guy that really has been the stable force. He's the veteran in that team. He's the dictator on that line, and he knows exactly where everybody needs to be. Devon Godchow has been pretty much everything is advertised, but there have been some injury issues, and Devon has done his best job to push through those. Christian Barmore, as the rookie who I mentioned in the previous segment, Julian,

has been phenomenal. Every time the Patriots need him to either get after the quarterback and become a disruptive force in the quarterback's rhythm, he's there. He's spending an awful lot of time in the offensive backfields of several offenses that the Patriots have faced. He seems to be in the right place at the right time. And that really has helped. That middle part of that run defense has helped them to really shore up as well. You also have to give Matt Judon a lot of credit as well, being the linebacker position.

He's in on both run defense and pass defense. Obviously, he's become New England's best pass rusher. But his presence on the field allows some of the other guys to drop into coverage and help up front and defend against the run. And Carl Davis has been great in the reserve role as well with the nose tackle. He's come in and played well there too. So they're going to be keeping a sharp eye, as I like to say, on locked on Patriots, on the status of Christian McCaffrey. But ultimately, whether Christian is there or not, we know that that Carolina running attack is formidable with or without him in the lineup. Obviously, McCaffrey makes them all that much more dangerous,

but this is still a team that can run for big-time yardage. Patriots are going to have to be ready for it, and they're going to have to stack the box and have a lot of bodies up front on Sunday. Yeah, I mean, you look at both sides of the ball, it seems like it's going to be a formidable matchup for both teams on Sunday, which should make things fun, as these teams don't typically match up very often.

And with new quarterbacks and Darnold, who I'm certainly sure Bill Belichick has a book out on him. And if he does play or not, we interesting to see how he's able to bounce back. If Christian McCaffrey is available. And even if he's not, we'll be interesting to see what the Carolina Panthers are able to do. And if they can continue the kind of forward momentum that they were able to

have last week with the win against Atlanta and running for 200 plus yards in that game as a, or in search of an offensive identity about halfway through this NFL season here in 2021. So we'll take another quick pause here. Then on the other side, we'll get into some of our keys to the game and predictions on what will occur between the Patriots and Panthers Sunday afternoon at one o'clock Eastern at Bank of America stadium in uptown Charlotte. Locked on listeners. We're back and better than ever.

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BetOnline, your online sportsbook experts. Patriots fans and Panthers fans, we are ready to bring you home today here on this crossover Thursday, but not before giving our thoughts on exactly how this game might play out, and maybe we'll even throw in a couple of game predictions. Julian, I'm going to put you on the hot seat first, since you started us off with some great Panthers information. When you take a look at this game on Sunday, what are your keys to the game offensively, defensively, and how do you see it all shaken out down in Charlotte? Yeah, offensively, it's very simple.

Carolina has went out there and decided that they need to be a running football team. Matt Rule had some sort of come-to-Jesus moment. I'm meeting Monday morning following the loss to New York with offensive coordinator Joe Brady and told him, hey, stop throwing the ball 40 plus times. We are not good enough to do that, whether that's an indictment on Sam Darnold or Joe Brady's offensive system overall. I don't know. The answer is probably both. But what Matt Rule wants to see is a team that has balance, throwing the football and running the football. His key is to get to 56 completions or rushing attempts per game. They got to 60 on Sunday, and coincidentally, that led to victory against the NFC South rival

Atlanta Falcons and finally snapped that four-game losing streak where they now sit four and four. They had a lot of positive momentum earlier in the season. Sam Darnold was playing well. It's unfortunate that he potentially might not be available on Sunday. Now he's dealing with the concussion and the protocol and a shoulder injury to go with that as well. Whether Chris McCaffrey plays or not, Carolina should be looking to run the football like they did on Sunday against Atlanta. Now Bill Belichick is a different animal

when it comes to defensive masterminds, one of the greatest in the history of the game and arguably, if not the greatest head coach in the history of the National Football League. So there's plenty of respect from this coaching staff when they look at Belichick, when he's able to achieve there in New England, and what he's trying to achieve now with Matt Jones at quarterback. So offensively, Carolina, being able to run the football and for whoever plays quarterback,

being able to take care of the football will be the key for them. Defensively, like when they played Zach Wilson week one and when they played Davis Mills week three, trying to wreak havoc on the rookie quarterback is their key to success. Yes, Mac Jones, like you pointed out, has looked good. He has been accurate. But if guys like Hassan Reddick, who leads the NFC in sacks seven and a half,

and Brian Burns can get after him, then he might not feel as comfortable. And you might be able to force some of those turnovers and the mistakes that he's made so far this season at times. And if they're able to do that, then Carolina should have a great opportunity on Sunday to be able to win this football game. I think they'd match up great in the secondary with Stephon Gilmore out there. And the same thing with Dante Jackson and A.J. Bouye and Keith Taylor, C.J. Henderson. I think it could be a great matchup for them defensively. So those are the keys for Carolina, being able to run the football, be able to control the line of scrimmage, time of possession,

allow this defense to be able to be rested going into the fourth quarter and then getting after Mac Jones and trying to get him off his spot and force turnovers from the rookie quarterback on Sunday afternoon. Absolutely. Very, very good. And I think that that is something that a lot of Patriots fans will definitely take to heart. And we'll see.

We'll see if the Panthers are going to be able to do that on both sides of the ball. For the New England Patriots, you mentioned play calling and Joe Brady's ability to bring this team to prowess. Josh McDaniels has come under a little bit of fire this week for some, how shall we say, conservative play calling, I, is the best way to put it, Julian. A lot of people think that he should take the training wheels off a little bit and maybe give Mac Jones the opportunity to test the ball, especially in short yardage, third and fourth down situations. Go for it. Let the kid cook. If that does happen, the New England Patriots have to get stout protection from their offensive line. They seem to have stumbled onto a better combination

that they've used in the last couple of weeks with Ted Karras starting at left guard and also Michael Wayne who coming back and starting at right tackle. If that is indeed the case, it should give the Patriots adequate protection to be able to try to run the ball utilizing Damian Harris as their bell cow back. If that does happen, that will open up play action for Mac Jones, and he'll be able to utilize and hit his targets in short yardage, most notably Jacoby Myers, Connor Henry, and maybe even Jonu Smith carrying the ball out of the backfield with the jet sweep. Defensively, this is not going to be an easy matchup for the New England Patriots.

You've mentioned their prowess in being able to run the football, and that's an area where the Patriots can be had. However, New England right now is going to have to stack that front seven, like we talked about earlier, with bodies that are going to be able to come in, be able to take some of the hits that they're given, and try to keep the ball in the hands of their quarterbacks. If Darnold is not able to go, P.J. Walker has proven to be a very mobile quarterback, and the Patriots have traditionally had some difficulty defending these guys. This is going to be a tough matchup for New England. It may come down to which defense is able to keep the offense in check most rather than be an offensive outburst from both

teams. I don't know about you, Julian, but I'm looking at a close game here in Charlotte. I really think this is going to be a good one. Two evenly matched teams. Yeah, what's the line looking like right now on BetOnline? I know the Patriots open up as road favorites. What does it look like right now? Do you remember? That's a good question.

I don't have that. I'm seeing three and a half. New England is right. Yeah, exactly. Three and a half right now is the line courtesy of betonline.ag. So, yeah, this will be an interesting matchup to see if that line moves, how it moves. And really, I think practice participation reports are going to be a big part of that.

You start to see that McCaffrey is practicing and he looks like he's going to go. That line may fluctuate a little bit and also uh JC Jackson was out of practice on Wednesday as well the Patriots top cornerback he's listed with an illness if he continues to be on the sideline that the line could move a little bit as well so I think a lot of the health coming into this game it's going to be a big factor in determining who uh who has the upper hand going into Sunday's game yeah in terms just you know looking at the game possible predictions for both sides I think just it's going to be a big factor in determining who has the upper hand going into Sunday's game. Yeah, in terms of just looking at the game, possible predictions for both sides.

I think just with Carolina being able to get that win against Atlanta and being able to do what they did offensively and doing what Matt Rule, I think, has wanted to do for a long time since he became the head coach here last year, has to give them a lot of confidence. Whether Sam Donald plays or not, they know who they want to be. And being able to find that identity is so crucial for every team in the NFL, has to give them a lot of confidence. Whether Sam Donald plays or not, they know who they want to be. And being able to find that identity is so crucial for every team in the NFL, but especially a young team like Carolina.

Coming back home, where I expect there's going to be plenty of Patriots fans in that building as the last couple of home games have been overtaken by Eagles fans and even more surprising so by Vikings fans. There's plenty of New England Patriots transplants and people from up there who are down in North Carolina where they'll try and temper the home crowd advantage a little bit for Carolina. But with Stephon Gilmore back in a revenge game and liking the matchups they have defensively, I wouldn't be surprised to see Carolina win this game. I don't know if I'm ready to pick them right now, but I could see it going either way. I really do think this is a last possession game for both of these teams whether Sam Donald's out there or not I think Carolina has a great opportunity to win this football game and it probably comes down to the fourth quarter maybe

who has the ball last and who can make that dispensive stop just looking at this matchup on Sunday I don't know whether you're ready to go here on on as we record on Wednesday come out on Thursday ready to say who you think will win this game but uh that's kind of where I stand right now Mike yeah I'm standing at the same direction that you are right now you know I think it's going to be very tough right up until kickoff to determine whether or not well who's going to have the upper hand here I think a lot of it's going to determine on who's active for these teams and who's not uh they're definitely evenly matched uh you're hearing a lot of the chirping uh Stefan Gilmore was very verbose in what he had to say on Wednesday in his first media appearance regarding this game.

So you know he's going to be fired up and ready to go and giving the Panthers a lot of information when it comes to the Patriots' offensive and defensive strategies. I agree with you. I think this one's going to come down to the wire, and I really think these two teams are evenly matched. So, folks, stay tuned to Locked On Panthers and Locked On Patriots for our definitive game predictions later in the week.

But for right now, Julian Council and I will agree to agree that this one is going to be a really tough game and a really good game at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday in Charlotte, North Carolina. Absolutely, Mike. Can't wait to see it. Been fun talking with you, and it should be a fun game on Sunday in Charlotte, North Carolina. Absolutely, Mike. Can't wait to see it. Been fun talking with you and should be a fun game on Sunday. Absolutely.

Always my honor and pleasure. And folks, we hope you have enjoyed today's Locked On Crossover Thursday episode. Please, once again, always remember to make Locked On Patriots and Locked On Panthers, depending on your fan base or both, if you'd like, your first listen each and every day. Remember, all Locked On Podcast Network podcasts are free and available on all platforms. For Julian Council of Locked On Panthers, I'm Mike DeBate of Locked On Patriots. Thank you for joining us, and once again, enjoy the game on Sunday.

Patriots fans, just like that, we are almost through your work week, but we are just getting warmed up when it comes to pregame coverage here for Pats Panthers coming up on Sunday. Joining me tomorrow on the pod is an extra special treat. Tuesday was the trade deadline, and even though the deadline has come and passed, without the New England Patriots making a significant move, they're still in the news for potential roster moves. Odell Beckham Jr., anyone?

Well, whenever we have any questions regarding Foxborough Finance, we quote the GOAT, and that's exactly what we're going to do to close the week in style here on Locked On Patriots. My good friend, the wizard of Benzahn himself, the Pats cat, Miguel Benzahn, will join me right here on Locked On Patriots, and we'll be talking about Patriots finances. We'll talk a little bit about Odell Beckham Jr. and the operating costs for the remainder of 2021.

We might even take a quick look into that Belichickian crystal ball and prognosticate what 2022 might look like. So, to ensure that you do not miss a single second of the action, download, subscribe to, and follow the Locked On Patriots podcast on platforms such as the Odyssey app, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. Just make sure that you are staying locked in to Locked On Patriots. And once again, thank you all for making Locked On Patriots

your first listen every day. Remember, Locked On Patriots is free and available on all platforms. Once again, my name is Mike DeBate. I thank my good friend Julian Council for his time, his insight, and his appearance on today's Crossover Pod. But most of all, thank you once again for listening and again for making Locked on Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Until tomorrow, Foxborough faithful, stay safe, stay well,

continue to be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone.