Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Crossover Thursday: New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins Set To Open 2022 NFL Season

Starting point is 00:00:00 What's going on, everybody? It's crossover Thursday. That's right. We are officially back to football season here on the Locked On Network. I'm Kyle Krabs of Locked On Dolphins, joined by my good friend Mike DeBate of Locked On Patriots. And we are covering this AFC East showcase in week one of the 2022 regular season. Mike, it's great to catch up with you. How are things going? We're obviously going to talk a lot about each one of our respective football teams. I hope the offseason treated you well. Offseason always treats me well up here, Kyle, and I know it did for you as well. Always a pleasure to be back on the NFL Crossover shows here on the Locked On Podcast Network.

Starting point is 00:00:41 It feels like home because it is home, and it's something that I know we've been waiting a long time for. Everyone out there, whether you're a Pats fan, Fins fan, no matter where your allegiances lie, you're glad to see NFL football back on your television sets, especially this coming weekend. We finally arrived. 2022 is here. Absolutely. So let's dive right in, and I would love to hear from you. There's been a whole bunch of brouhaha about the Patriots and their coaching staff and personnel changes. Like Mike, in your mind, what is the biggest story for the New England Patriots coming into this contest in week one to face a familiar foe?

Starting point is 00:01:19 Well, right now with the New England Patriots, I think the biggest question mark surrounding this team is their ability to be able to find protection for Mac Jones. Whenever Mac got in trouble last year, Kyle, and the Miami Dolphins were able to do this to him. Obviously, the Buffalo Bills did it better than anybody. Believe it or not, the Atlanta Falcons with Dean Pease and his defensive prowess were able to find difficulties in Mac's game when they strategically blitzed him from the second and third level of the defense. Mack didn't have the reaction time that he needed because of issues on the offensive line last year, and it definitely hurt him, and especially him being a rookie.

Starting point is 00:01:55 It threw off his timing, and it caused him to make inaccurate throws, maybe force the ball a little more than he should have. In regard to the New England Patri patriots this year that's still a concern because even though mac is much better at recognizing what nfl teams are going to do he's looked shaky at times this offseason in terms of his confidence level in that offensive line to give him that kind of protection if mac jones is scrambling looks unsure of himself or is not setting his feet properly these are telltale signs for the Miami Dolphins that it could be open season on Mac Jones earlier than they think coming into this game.

Starting point is 00:02:30 So if the Patriots are going to have any type of hope to compete in this game and make this one competitive, the offensive line has to do its job up front. They need to be able to match up with Miami's front seven. If they can do that and buy Mac Jones some time, we're going to be in for a pretty good game on Sunday. If not, it could be a long weekend for Pats fans. Well, and I'm really interested to hear your thoughts specifically

Starting point is 00:02:53 on one personnel change that was made, and that was the decision to trade away offensive guard Shaq Mason. We've obviously heard a lot about Cole Strange and him stepping into the left guard position, but talk a little bit about Shaq Mason and protection being something that was intermittent struggles for the Patriots last year. And if that carries over to this year, what was the thought process and the decision-making behind transitioning away from one of their more consistent contributors up front?

Starting point is 00:03:29 Well, that really is, I think, one of the question marks of the offseason for the New England Patriots. The moment it happened, you look at the financial savings, the salary cap savings, and you're like, okay, it makes sense that the Patriots may want to move on a year too early rather than too late from a player that is ultimately getting older. And now you have someone coming in like a Cole strange, who's going to be a younger, more athletic type lineman that can move laterally. And really I think fit well into the scheme that they're trying to implement that zone run.

Starting point is 00:03:54 That's kind of a branch of the Shanahan school, maybe a little bit more McVay in terms of the type of offense they'd like to run meeting the new England Patriots and And Cole Strange fits very well into that. But then you look at the experience that Shaq Mason has and the stability he provides along that line. Then you look at the fact that he restructured his deal in Tampa Bay and is willing to open up maybe a little bit more room for Tampa Bay to be able to have some financial wherewithal to utilize throughout the year.

Starting point is 00:04:24 And all of a sudden it becomes a little bit more of a head scratcher. So New England is going to be very cognizant of that this year. They're going to be scrutinized for that for the better part of the year. They already have been in these parts for several months now. To me, this could be a move that either comes back to haunt them in hindsight being 2020, or if these guys, meaning the younger guys like a Michael Wainu or a Cole Strange can round into form and really solidify that guard position, then it's going to make Bill Belichick look all the much smarter.

Starting point is 00:04:54 But we're really not going to know the verdict on that, Kyle, until at least two to three, maybe even more games into the season to get a feel for how this line comes together. Well, the storyline for both of these teams comes back to the offensive line and the Dolphins with head coach Mike McDaniel now at the helm, looking to breathe some life into a running game that has been largely flat for the better part of the last five years in general. And some personnel additions on the Dolphins side of things

Starting point is 00:05:23 with Teron Armstead and Connor Williams taking two of the five starting spots and some players being moved around. Liam Eikenberg struggled at tackle last year as a rookie, and he kind of got a raw deal as far as I'm concerned with getting looks at guard and then right tackle. And then Austin Jackson ends up with COVID for the season opener, and he plays at left left tackle and then he's back at right tackle and then goes back to left tackle again. It's a whirlwind for a rookie player who played at one spot at Notre Dame. And you're certainly hoping that his level of play will stabilize inside at guard where he's not going to be as pressed to get depth off the edge as which he was in New England

Starting point is 00:06:01 did a very good job of testing Eichenberg in both of the contests that they played against one another last year testing his ability to set the edge and pass protect and you know miami bringing a lot of this same zone system that you talked about with new england aspiring to have into the forefront from themselves with a couple of backs and raheem mostard who had success with it in san francisco and Chase Edmonds, who they're projecting to have success with it after his time in Arizona. And the successes in the preseason were fleeting. The first two games, the team really struggled to run the ball, but you could really see that conceptually, there were a lot of really good angles. There were a lot of good opportunities, but Lornell Coleman's playing left tackle instead of Teron Armstead and doesn't make a block on the backside and the run gets blown up.

Starting point is 00:06:53 Well, then the Philadelphia game comes the third preseason game, and you got to see a little bit more of what the Dolphins are hoping it's going to look like, and they had a lot of success running the ball. And for all of the talk about Tyreek Hill and Jalen Waddle and Mike Isecki and Tua Tonga Valoa, I really do truly believe that at its core, this is an offense that is going to want to run the football at a higher than average clip across the NFL. And that means that this offensive line, which has a lot of big but athletic bodies, is going to have to find that chemistry early on. And against a Belichick-style defense, you know you're going to get a bunch of different looks in the front.

Starting point is 00:07:35 You're going to get gaps that are flooded with second-level defenders and all these dynamic safeties that the Patriots have that are going to really murky the water as far as who's the mic, where are we climbing to, who are we double teaming? Those things are the things for Miami with a new offensive system that the Dolphins are going to have to make sure that they sort out if they want to hit the ground running literally in week one. Yeah, without any question, I'm glad you hit the nail right on the head because this creates a problem now for the New England Patriots. Last year year Miami's running game was their weak spot if we're probably being

Starting point is 00:08:09 honest and I think most you know Finns fans would agree that they weren't as strong running the ball as they were utilizing the passing attack and guys like Jalen Waddell and a player that Patriots fans know well now and you know very well and Devae Parker, but their balance now on this sheet in adding the speed that they've added at the running back position in both Raheem Mostert and Chase Edmonds, to me, creates matchup problems because now all of a sudden the Patriots don't necessarily have those extra bodies in their front seven to go and to slow things down, add them in the box and slow things down for the Miami Dolphins. This is going to pose a problem, and the Patriots are going to have to be solid in all three phases of that defense if they really want to be able to stop Miami, who now has equal opportunity to beat you on the ground and through the air.

Starting point is 00:08:58 It's going to be a tough matchup for the Pats defense. This is a younger defense that the Patriots are putting out there this year. They've got a little bit more speed, but there's also coverage issues. And I'm sure we'll talk about that in just a moment with the backfield, especially the cornerback position. Miami poses an awful lot of challenge to New England in so many areas. And that to me is one of the keys to this game. Yeah, we're going to talk about key matchups for this contest. But before we do, I'm going to tell you about our friends over at Turo, the world's largest car sharing marketplace.

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Starting point is 00:09:56 Every trip is backed by liability insurance. Terms and conditions and exclusions apply. Ditch boring rental cars and find your own drive at Turo.com. So Mike, let's talk about matchups. You mentioned the Patriots secondary and the speed that the Dolphins have at wide receiver. In your mind, is that kind of the biggest stress point for New England defensively? Or do you see another area, be that in the linebackers with the running game and the speed there, that you would lose more sleep over if you were trying to craft a game plan to win this game for the Patriots? Yeah, to be totally honest with you, Kyle, I think the marquee matchup that's going to get a lot of the eyes is going to be the Patriots secondary, primarily the top two perimeter corners, Jalen Mills and Jonathan Jones, trying to match up with guys like Tyree

Starting point is 00:10:49 Kill, Cedric Wilson, Jalen Waddle, and trying to slow down that passing game with Tua Tagovailoa as the quarterback. That is going to get a lot of the headlines. But to me, I think really what the Patriots need to do is almost concede a little bit that these guys are going to be able to get their speed. Bill Belichick is pretty good at isolating the top option on offense for an opposing team. Where I'm looking at the problem right now is that rushing monster, and you mentioned that. You mentioned Raheem Mostert earlier and Chase Edmonds. These guys can definitely get behind their quarterback behind the line of scrimmage and they can make things happen if the Patriots are not able

Starting point is 00:11:29 to dedicate more bodies up front it's going to make it very difficult for them to defend in the backfield so you can't cheat in one way to be able to you know beef up say okay well we're going to stack everything up front and we're going to try to stop the run and we'll let our cornerbacks handle it the cornerbacks and the uh the safeties are going to stack everything up front, and we're going to try to stop the run, and we'll let our cornerbacks handle it. The cornerbacks and the safeties are going to need as much help as the front seven as well. Luckily for the New England Patriots, they do have a lot of versatile safeties on this roster. I think all five of the guys that they have in the rotation are going to see adequate time on Sunday. That obviously includes Adrian Phillips, Devin McCourty, the team captain

Starting point is 00:12:05 that Dolphins players, you know, and Dolphins fans know very well seeing him up here for the better part of the last couple of decades. But they've also got guys like Kyle Duggar and now Jabril Peppers coming in and the youngster Joshua Bledsoe, who are going to be called upon to play a lot of versatile roles, maybe even see some of these guys come up and play along the line or in that hybrid linebacker type role. So that to me is going to be the biggest key is how can the defense come together. But to me, it all starts with that front seven, primarily the linebackers, because they're going to need to be very fast to contain Miami's running game. If the Dolphins start to run this very early. Again, another long day predicted for the New England Patriots.

Starting point is 00:12:46 Yeah, and I think one of the big players for New England that I think could help to derail this whole situation is Christian Barmore, a defensive tackle. With his athleticism and how explosive he is, there's no better way to cut off an outside zone run than to get color flashing in the running back's face through the B gap and shoot in the gap. So a bar more against both Liam Eikenberg and Robert Hunt is going to be, in my mind, a big matchup, because if he can start to turn some of those runs back into the pursuit

Starting point is 00:13:18 early on in the backfield, I think that can really play into some of those heavy hitting linebackers that the Patriots do have in a Raekwon McMillan, who the team, the Dolphins are very familiar with. And Jawan Bentley and Jelani Tavai, like they got some big bodies there. And which one of those is on the field to complement all of those safeties that you mentioned, Mike, is a matchup that I am very much interested in. I'm also interested in how Jonathan Jones handles his transition to playing on the outside. He's been a player who has been a consistent figure for the Patriots secondary for quite some time, but it's usually been in the nickel with Stephon Gilmore and JC Jackson outside. And now it's his turn to step outside.

Starting point is 00:14:06 And the Patriots have had a lot of success in player development and building guys up into those kinds of roles. Mike, I'm curious from your perspective, Jonathan Jones, how ready is he for that kind of transition in his professional career in this matchup? Well, this is going to be a really big litmus test for him coming up on Sunday. I mean, in training camp and so far in the preseason, Jonathan has showed the speed to be able to hang with some of these quick, agile receivers that he's going to be facing, one of which he's definitely going to face a lot on Sunday,

Starting point is 00:14:39 and that is Tyree Kill. I actually think he may draw the man coverage if the Patriots do decide to employ that at all because Jonathan is really the one in this secondary that can, nobody can hang with Tyreek Hill speed for speed, but he's the only one that might be able to somewhat try to keep pace with him. You hit the nail on the head when it comes to his prowess in the slot. He's always done a tremendous job when he's had guys like JC Jackson and Stefan Gilmore to be able to take the large duties on the perimeter Jonathan is a professional cornerback

Starting point is 00:15:11 he knows how to play in all three phases so I do believe he'll be solid but the jury is still out as to how he's going to handle regular season football at a very fast pace that's going to be a big uh a big charge for him and I think Miami is going to try to challenge him early. I think they want to see what he has. I would if I were them, and I think that's probably a solid game plan. So we'll see. This is another matchup that definitely has my sharp eye. Mike, would love to hear your thoughts on the Patriots' offense

Starting point is 00:15:40 versus the Dolphins' defense. We've talked a lot about the speed on Miami and the changes defensively. And I know you mentioned the offensive line early on, but as you think about the Patriots skill players who you would be looking for to potentially have a big opportunity to impact this game, is there any one name, whether that's Harrison Stevenson in the backfield

Starting point is 00:16:01 or Hunter Henry at tight end? Where do you think the best possible inroads are for the Patriots to get an advantageous matchup here? Once again, you've done your homework because those are the three names that were going to come up as well as John O'Smith. I don't want to neglect him either. I also believe that the tight ends will play a big role in this. But ultimately, if I'm the New England Patriotsots that prowess on offense has to mean a big

Starting point is 00:16:27 game damian harris and remandre stevenson especially stevenson who i think is going to take on that third down back role vacated by james white ty montgomery was doing a very good job in being able to quell that in james's absence but his ankle injury a couple of weeks ago means that even if he does go in this game and he was present on the practice field on Wednesday we'll wait and see what the uh the week's subsequent injury reports uh bear out when it comes to Ty but even if he's able to go he's not going to be at 100 so that would mean that Stevenson does take the majority of the snaps and I think that's where you're going to see this. Now, the Patriots running game has had a lot of difficulty getting on track with the new outside zone run concepts that the Patriots have been trying to utilize out of the bootleg.

Starting point is 00:17:13 I think, to be totally honest with you, I think the Patriots are not going to rely so much on that right now, trying to get their feet wet. I think you may see them return to some of those gap runs that we've seen them do so well in the past. And if that's the case, the Patriots have all they can handle up front with the Dolphins and Christian Wilkins, Raekwon Davis, Emmanuel Agba. Those guys definitely do a great job of providing that first level of defense that you need to protect linebackers like Jerome Baker and, of course, Landon Roberts, who we know very well from his time up here in New England. So not an easy task, but if the Patriots offense is going

Starting point is 00:17:50 to have any success, Harris and Stevenson need to get that going. That could then open up lanes and passing lanes for a guy like Mac Jones to hit guys like Hunter Henry, Johnnie Smith, or maybe even a Devante Parker, who I think could have a good role in this game, trying to get yards after the catch, but it all starts with success in the run game up front. Yeah, I certainly think, you know, Miami defensively, the guys that have to be on their a game or Elan and Roberts has a run stuffer with those two physical backs that you mentioned and Jerome Baker as a guy in space and safeties, Eric Rowe and Brandon Jones as guys that would probably be drawing John Ousmith and Hunter

Starting point is 00:18:30 Henry in coverage and kind of prowling the middle of the field and being involved in the run fits. Those are the players for me that I have my gold star next to as far as being ready for this contest and how we're anticipating New England's going to come out here and try to play physical up front, try to get some push in the run game, get you back on your heels defensively, win the line of scrimmage, and then they're going to play action off of that. And they're really going to test everybody in the middle of the field with their discipline to read their keys and then hit their landmarks in zone coverage. But Mike, I think it's that time to talk about score predictions. I think we do this each time we come on. And I would love to hear your thoughts on Patriots Dolphins week one. How do you think it goes? Well, in a lot of ways, I think the history behind these two teams and the Patriots' difficulties in playing in Miami and playing in South Florida and Bill Belichick going down early to get the team ready for the humidity, the rain, all of that, I think, is far overblown.

Starting point is 00:19:37 I think at the end of the day, Kyle, these two teams take the field. It's another day of football for the Dolphins, and it's another day of football for the Patriots. I always look at who's playing the best football at the time, who's coming into this game hot, and who has the chance to be able to expand on that. And as much as it may pain the fan base that I speak to each and every day, and as much as it pains myself personally, I do think that's the Miami Dolphins right now. I think they're coming in a little bit hotter. I think they're coming in a little bit more on fire. And I also think they're coming in maybe a little bit more NFL ready than their New England Patriot counterparts right now. I think the Pats make this interesting. They're going to score a little bit. They're going to

Starting point is 00:20:17 keep things interesting for at least a little bit. But ultimately, I think the Dolphins take this one. I have Miami coming out on top by a final score of 24 to 17 on Sunday well you took my score and everything I I generally I generally agree with you and I would say this uh the loss of Josh McDaniels this offseason for a guy who's been there for so long is just really hard to transition to, especially with a young quarterback. Absolutely. So as I contextualize where New England is at, I think they'll be fine. They've got a lot of sturdy football players on this roster. They might not have the jaw-dropping star power that a lot of other teams can boast here and there in the face of the team,

Starting point is 00:21:00 but they're going to play disciplined. They have well-established talent at a slew of spots. They have some youth that will incur some growing pains, and they've had pretty dynamic coaching staff changes for the first time. And, you know, first it was Coach Dante Starnecki on the offensive line who leaves, and now it's Josh McDaniels who goes for a head coaching job. So I think all of that adds up amidst the transition to put New England kind of behind the

Starting point is 00:21:27 eight ball here. And if this was at home and Miami had to travel, I I'd probably think, you know, that New England's got a pretty good shot. And I generally agree with you that this is probably going to be an interesting football game. Uh, but I also like Miami in this contest by a score of 24 to 17. And then you can repay the favor late in the year when we got to head up into cold, blustery New England for a game late in the year as we're playing for keeps towards potentially a playoff push for both teams. But Mike, this has been a great chat. This has been great to catch up with you. Any parting thoughts for anybody listening here? No, just basically that I think these two teams coming into this game

Starting point is 00:22:10 are really going to show a lot of what they could be capable of in the 2022 season. I caution both fan bases. Don't come away with this with either the desire to go ahead and to make arrangements or hotel accommodations in Arizona for the Super Bowl, but also don't feel that this means a certain 0-17 finish either if either side comes out on the opposite end. I really love what the Miami Dolphins have done this year in the offseason. They had a lot of holes on this team that really, I think, hindered them in the first part of last year. They were able to figure some of it out in the second half, but they came in definitely beefed up the running game.

Starting point is 00:22:50 I like what they did on defense. And again, they still have a very potent, you know, arsenal of pass catchers. And Tua Tagovailoa is still a guy that can definitely win games for you when he needs to. So this is going to be a very interesting one for the New England Patriots. I'm looking forward to it. And I, for one, can't wait to watch this one on Sunday. Kyle Krabs of Locked on Dolphins. Mike DeBate of Locked on Patriots.

Starting point is 00:23:13 We hope you enjoyed this crossover Thursday here on the Locked on Network. Your team every day. We don't just say it. We live it. Make sure you hit subscribe on Locked on Patriots to catch all of Mike's great work. Locked On Dolphins to hear from yours truly. And we hope you all enjoy Sunday's contest between the Patriots and the Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Crossover Thursday: New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins Set To Open 2022 NFL Season

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