Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Crossover Thursday: New England Patriots vs. New Orleans Saints in Week Three — 9/23/2021

Episode Date: September 23, 2021

It’s Crossover Thursday heading into Week Three of the the 2021 NFL Season. Join hosts Mike D’Abate of Locked On Patriots and Ross Jackson of Locked On Saints as they preview this matchup between the New England Patriots and the New Orleans Saints from Gillette Stadium in Foxboro Massachusetts on Sunday, September 26th.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.Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.ManscapedFellas, don’t gamble on shaving your balls with the wrong tools! Choose MANSCAPED™, Your Balls Will Thank You™! Get 20% off + free shipping with the code LOCKEDON at manscaped.com. 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 in to the Lockdown Patriots podcast. It is Thursday, September 23rd, 2021, and it is time to cross the streams with Lockdown Saints 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 don't forget, the Locked On NFL Draft podcast has relaunched with brand new hosts.

Eric Crocker brings the player scouting. Ryan Tracy brings the analytics. Follow the Locked On NFL Draft podcast on YouTube, the Odyssey app, or wherever you get your podcasts. Greetings and salutations, Pats Nation, and thank you for joining me here on this crossover Thursday episode of the pod. My name is Mike DeBate, and I cover your New England Patriots for Patriot Maven of Sports Illustrated. I'm 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, comments, and feedback are always welcomed and very much appreciated. So share that feedback and 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 the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at L-O underscore Patriots. Pats fans, your New England Patriots are set to begin week three of the 2021 NFL season,

hosting the New Orleans Saints at 1 p.m. at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Each team coming into this matchup at 1-1. And this should be a tough one for the Patriots, for everyone that wants to overlook this matchup and keep their sharp eye on the Week 4 matchup coming up with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a certain quarterback in tight end that spent a number of years up here in Foxborough. It wouldn't be wise to overlook these Saints. This is a team that can make things happen on the offensive side of the ball and the

defensive side of the ball. And here today on Locked On Patriots, it is Crossover Thursday, meaning that my good friend Ross Jackson, host of the Locked On Saints podcast, will be joining me here in just a moment, taking over the command and helping me to cross the streams here on this Crossover Thursday episode. We'll break this one down from a Saints perspective, from a Patriots perspective, and we will give our take on the type of action you can expect to see when the Saints come marching into Foxborough and take on the Patriots on Sunday at Gillette. Crossover Thursday, crossing the streams Saints style with Ross Jackson, host of Locked On Saints, when this Crossover Thursday episode of Locked On Patriots continues.

What's going on, everybody? It is Thursday here on the Locked On Podcast Network, and that means it's time for crossover Thursday. We have locked on Patriots host Mike debate at M debate NFL on Twitter. M D a B a T E NFL and myself, Ross Jackson host of locked on saints at Ross Jackson, Nola on Twitter here to bring you a preview of the new Orleans saints at the new England Patriots big time game coming up here early on in the season. Mike, always a pleasure to see you, buddy. Always my honor.

Always my pleasure, my friend. Anytime we get to get together on these crossovers in the Locked On Podcast Network throughout the NFL channel, it's always a lot of fun. But, you know, we've had this one circled for quite some time. We started doing these crossovers back when we were talking about the synergy between these two franchises and the fan bases and tom brady drew breeze no more brady here no more breeze down in new orleans two different quarterbacks two different philosophies two same coaches uh but uh it will be a hell of a matchup this sunday i know you're looking forward to it as much as i am oh absolutely very, these two teams now coming in and in their new era, going up against one another.

But two franchises, two coaches that have a ton of respect for one another. On today's episode, you're going to get the biggest stories around both of these teams. Going into the matchup, we're going to talk about keys to victory and, of course, key matchups to watch. As we get started, I want to remind you to check out the Locked On NFL Draft Podcast, which is now officially rebooted, version 3.0, going on. Eric Crocker, Ryan Tracy, you've made us your first listen of the day. Go and make them your second listen of the day. Mike, let's go ahead and get started here. Biggest story for the New England Patriots

coming into this matchup. I would probably say Mac Jones being able to effectively run this offense, both in the red zone and also being able to test his receivers downfield. Ross, he's getting a lot of criticism up here in New England. And I'm a little bit surprised at that, seeing that he's been so efficient, so able to make completions. And he's looked very much the part of an NFL quarterback in the early time

that we've seen him a lot of poise in the pocket, a lot of ability, and really, I think, some leadership skills that are beyond his years. But let's face it, the Patriots right now have not had all that many targets in the red zone. The two primary factors that they brought in to be able to increase that red zone presence, Jonu Smith, Hunter Henry, two prolific tight ends, they've only been targeted once in the end zone right now. That has to increase, And you know that the Patriots, Josh McDaniels, Bill Belichick, and of course, Mac Jones are looking at that and they want to be able to get those targets taken care of in the red

zone. But beyond that, testing the ball a little bit downfield, the game planning has been very much safe for Mac Jones. They want to prevent him from making mistakes, turning the ball over, getting confused. But this is a kid that doesn't get confused easy. So the Patriots might want to do their best to try to test Mac Jones a little bit, get the ball downfield, test out some of the new receivers that they have, maybe Kendrick Bourne in the slot,

maybe Nelson Aguilar on a deep route, going against a very formidable pass defense of the New Orleans Saints this weekend. So that'suilar on a deep route going against a very formidable past defense of the New Orleans Saints this weekend. So that's going to be a challenge. If Mac is going to be on trial this weekend, might be a trial by fire for this one. But to me, that's the main story heading into this. You mentioned a little bit of the usage or lack of usage, may I say, when it comes to those tight ends in the red zone? What about between the 20s? What's the game plan usually for those tight ends?

Because I think that's going to be a big matchup for the New Orleans Saints who are dealing with some injuries at positions that would usually cover tight ends. Yeah, absolutely. And that's something that the Patriots may be able to exploit if they're going to utilize that two tight end set. Going to look for John O'Smith in those areas. This is a guy that's very effective out of the jet sweep and carry out of the backfield. We've seen him do it in Tennessee.

We've seen him practice that in new England, even though Bill Belichick doesn't want everybody to know that it's been a situation where that is something in the arsenal. And we know that's definitely there, but Hunter Henry is very adept at being able to win those battles as well. We saw a couple of good connections between he and Mac Jones against the Jets this past Sunday. Look for that to continue a little bit. If they're going to utilize that, Jono and Hunter can get out there.

They can run routes. One can be an effective blocker. That two tight end set and 12-man personnel, you see the Patriots start to line up in that area. Could be a difficult matchup for some of the New Orleans defenders also be on the lookout for 22 personnel as well Patriots love to line that up when teams are not expecting it everyone expects it at the goal line Josh likes to run it in between the 20s something to watch for that's great that's really great insight because the Saints might be a little thin uh out on the defensive side I think that that leads me to the biggest story for the New Orleans Saints.

And it's just the availability. I mean, they didn't have, they were missing so many players last week that they were missing coaches. Like there was so much going on with this team last week up against the Carolina Panthers that it just wasn't the New Orleans Saints that you're accustomed to seeing by any stretch of the imagination, particularly over on the offensive side. They're missing their starting center, moving their right guard over there, therefore missing their right guard and had a backup right guard in.

Then you have all these other injuries over on the defensive side. So I think it comes down to availability. We'll talk about some of the key matchups to watch in particular in just a moment. But I think that for the Saints, can they improve upon and muster some of the momentum that they picked up in week one here against a formidable opponent, a very formidable defense with one of the best, excuse me, the best defensive mind in Bill Belichick over on that side? You have an offensive line that allowed over 64% of Jameis Winston snaps to be under pressure. That's really, really bad. One of the top three worst since that metric started being tracked over the history of the NFL.

So I think you have to look at this offensive line. You have to look at certain all three levels of the defense. Are they going to get Marshall and Latimer back? Is CJ Garner Johnson going to be back on the field? Who's going to be starting next to Demario Davis at that Will Linebacker spot? Because Zach Bond proved to be a vulnerable spot for that proved to be a vulnerable attack for the, um, for the saints defense. And you saw Carolina go right at him. I wouldn't be surprised to see new England go right at him if he's out on the field as well.

So availability. And of course, are the coaches going to be on the sideline? Are they going to be at practice? All of that as well. There's just a lot of question marks around the availability for this team. Yeah, absolutely. And what did bill parcells always say the best ability is availability right and right now i will say the patriots are very lucky in that regard although we're keeping a close eye on matt judon you mentioned prolific defense you mentioned the great defensive mind of bill belichick matt judon has been so indelible in this team, looking so much more formidable in the front seven. He really makes that defense click. His presence is so vital to what this team does. It allows Kyle Van Noy to be able to get into that area and become

an edge rush and act as that 3-4 linebacker that he's so good at being able to play that role. Something he didn't get a chance to do as much of in Miami something he loves to do here in that 3-4 set and that allows the presence of a guy like Matt Judon allows him to do that Judon is also very um adept at being able to get up and stuff the run that's a problem the Patriots had uh against the the New York Jets 4.9 yards per carry against a running attack against the Carolina Panthers that really looked non-existent. The Patriots need to shore that up a little bit, and the presence of a guy like Matt Judon alongside Dante Hightower and that linebacking core really helps them to do that. If he's hampered at all or if he's unable to go,

that could be a problem for the Patriots. We'll talk about that very matchup here in just a moment, but definitely something to keep an eye out on with Matt Judon did not participate in practice on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the New Orleans Saints trending upward when it comes to player availability in their, uh, their injury report. So, you know, we'll something to definitely keep an eye out on those are of course, early injury reports. So we'll see how all of that actually works out as we move along coming up next. We're going to talk a little bit more about key matchups to watch. New Orleans Saints have one area of the game that they definitely want to get better than they were at last week. But it's going to be a tough matchup here against the New England Patriots.

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it's not having to get out of my pajamas. So go ahead and check out rockauto.com. Amazing selection, reliably low prices, all the parts your car will ever need. And don't forget to let them know that Locked On sent you. All right, Mike, as we continue on with our Thursday crossover, once again, thanks to everybody tuning in, whether it's your first time listening to a Locked On podcast, your next time, check out Locked On Patriots, check out Locked On Saints. Appreciate you making us a part of your routine today. Mike, we talked a bit about the biggest stories around both of these teams. Now let's get into key matchups. Where do

the new England Patriots lie when it comes to those key matchups in this game? Well, right now, I think the Patriots, if they're going to have success, they have to go at the strength of what the other team does well. And New Orleans right now, very good against the run. They're only allowing 66 yards per game. That's third in the league, 2.8 yards per attempt. That's second in the league. This is a very good run defense. And the Patriots have the runners to be able to attack in so many different ways. Bill Belichick is all about going at what you do best and trying to beat you at your own game. You have a good run defense. He wants to run the ball at you. And we're getting indications that that could be indeed be the case. Now, the wild card in this is Damian Harris was limited in practice on Wednesday with

a finger injury. He's their feature back. He is their workhorse. And if Damian is in any way compromised, that puts a lot of pressure on guys like J.J. Taylor. It's a lot of pressure on guys like Ramondre Stevenson, the rookie who has had his issues with holding on to the football. Ross, I've said all week long on Locked On Patriots last week, he's on double secret probation when it comes to Bill Belichick. So there's a lot going on there. If the Patriots are going to be able to have success,

they have to find some success running the football early and often. Is this an opportunity for the Patriots to take advantage? To me, that's the key matchup here. If they win that battle, they're in decent shape to be able to make this one a good contest. It's really great. And for the New Orleans Saints, I mean, they struggled a little bit over on the defensive side early on when it came to their game against the Carolina Panthers, but that run defense still not giving anything up. As you mentioned, third in the NFL, their second when it comes to yards per attempt allowed at only 2.8 yards. I have to flip the script to talk about this exact same situation, but on the opposite side, because for the New Orleans Saints, they're going to be matching up now with a defense in

New England that has a great secondary led by JC Jackson, Kyle Duggar, just fantastic talent back there in that secondary, but that has struggled against the run. As you mentioned, it gets to New York jets allowing, what was it? 4.8, 4.9 yards per carry against the jets. Yeah. 4.9 yards. And right now on the season, they're allowing 4.2 per carry. Alvin Kamara is coming off of a game where he had 0.6 yards per carry on the ground. That's just unacceptable. You don't expect to see that from Alvin Kamara in this offensive line. So some of the things that cause this offensive line trouble in communication last week, you expect to self-correct just with players coming back and coaches coming back and all of

those things during this, how much of that goes into benefiting the run game is going to be the core piece for the New Orleans Saints in this game. If they can do what they did against the Green Bay Packers, where they ran twice as often as they threw, they ran for 171 yards on the ground, dominated the clock that way, that's going to give them an opportunity to dictate this game on the road, which is very, very important. Effectively, the New Orleans Saints have been on the road all season so far because even their home game was in Jacksonville. So they are very much wanting to get out there and run the ball. The receivers for New Orleans have had some trouble gaining separation, and when they do, the Saints haven't been able to give enough time to Jameis Winston to be able to

find those receivers. That was certainly an issue in the week two loss to the Panthers. So I expect the Saints to lean into the run game with both Alvin Kamara and Tony Jones Jr. and try to exploit a defense right now with the New England Patriots that are 24th in the NFL when it comes to efficiency per play EPA up against the run game. The Saints have to be able to take advantage of that. Any other keys or key matchups that you're watching for this one? Watch if I'm the New England Saints, I'm watching the right side of the Patriots offensive line. That's been a difficulty so far.

Trent Brown is slowly working his way back, but he was still limited in practice on Wednesday. He's still nursing a calf injury. So if in any way he's compromised or he's unable to go in this one, that's something that New Orleans would need to take advantage of Yasser Durant and Justin Heron they've platooned a little bit they've kind of been up and down Heron had a very poor game against the Dolphins Durant came in provided a little stability last week against the Jets completely the opposite Durant got the start he struggled let up three sacks on Mac Jones Her Barone came in, kind of quelled the storm a little bit, but this is still a very suspect part of the Patriots game right now. Also, the left side of the offensive line, Isaiah Wynn's been penalized a little bit. He's been

letting up some pressure. The offensive line was supposed to be a very key part of what the Patriots did very well this year. Thus far, they've had their struggles. They have shorted up a little bit, but they've continued to struggle. If they do still continue to struggle in this area, that's something that the New Orleans Saints would want to take advantage of. So that's a matchup that I would definitely keep a very close eye on. That's a great one. So for Saints fans, that would mean that right side of the offensive line, that's Cam Jordan's side. Cam Jordan right now leading this team in pressures, but no sacks so far on the team, only two over the last 12 games. So this could be a get right opportunity

for him is what I'm hearing, Mike. Meanwhile, on that right, on that left side of the offensive line, that's where Peyton Turner, the rookie who was drafted in the first round would be coming from. He was limited on the injury report on Wednesday. Hopefully you see him continue to trend upwards and get back out on the field because he had a very, very good performance to open up as a rookie. There are six pressures in that game, a sack and a tackle for a loss. Pro football focus also credited him with seven stops, which include negative or insufficient plays run by the offense, no gains, things like that. So that's a big, big, big matchup that, fans will also definitely want to keep an eye out on. Mike, we're going to get a little bit deeper into all of this and this matchup for the Saints and

Patriots as we get into keys to victory and, of course, our picks for this matchup in Foxborough. So very excited to get down with all of that with you as we continue on with our crossover Thursday episode. And no better place to talk about when it comes to previewing a game than our good friends over at betonline.ag, taking care of all of the odds, props, bets, and even Vegas casino games. They've got you covered there too. Right now, the New England Patriots, this line has shrunk a little bit. New England Patriots originally favored minus three. And remember that that's a home game for the Patriots as well, which usually gives three points. Now that line has shrunk to minus two and a half. So it gives you an idea of where

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at MDebateNFL on Twitter, host of Locked On Patriots, myself, Ross Jackson, at Ross Jackson NOLA. Host of Locked On Saints, Saints and Patriots matchup coming up just this weekend on Sunday. It's going to be an early afternoon game. So what is it for you, Mike, is the key, sort of key to victory to make sure that they get that early afternoon win in Foxborough? Well, the key to the Patriots victories lately, Ross, is protecting the football. And the Patriots have had some issues doing that. Even last week against the Jets, there were a couple of times where the football came loose, whether it be Mack Jones, whether it be Kendrick Bourne nearly fumbling it away. Of course, in the first game against the Dolphins, big fumbles by Ramondre Stevenson and Damian Harris to close the game. Patriots need to

protect the football, and Bill Belichick has been practicing them hard on that fact. I look for them to continue to do that. So if they protect the football, prevent turnovers, Patriots are always going to be in a game. They have to start utilizing, like I said earlier, some of their pass catchers. They have to start getting aggressive in the red zone, maybe taking a couple of shots downfield,

stretching the abilities of that offense, and maybe giving Mac Jones an opportunity to take the game more into his hands. Maybe doing that part of that is to run the football effectively. And if they can do that, I think it'll open up a lot for Mac Jones, whether it be play action or maybe taking some deep shots down the field. If he's able to get those first and second downs consistently, it prevents him from being in third and 10 situations, which is really a nightmare for any quarterback. For sure.

Absolutely. And on the defensive side of the ball, it's really reading what type of Jameis Winston is going to show up in Foxborough this week. He's kind of been the up and down quarterback. You look at the performance he put out against the Green Bay Packers in that opening weekend, five touchdown passes in 20 attempts. That's amazing. And at that point, Bill Belichick mentioned that today. This is a quarterback that can do everything and can do it well. Last week against the Carolina Panthers, you know, a couple of picks, only 111 yards passing. Are the Patriots going to be able to contain him within the pocket? Are they going to be able to force him to use his legs are they going to try to take away what he does well if they can do that

cause some confusion that may be the type of game plan that Bill Belichick is hoping for so if they can try to confuse Jameis a little bit it allows them to be able to zero in on Alvin Kamara and that's Bill Belichick's bread and butter. Take away what your opposition and your opponent does best. And Alvin Kamara running the football is one of the best in the league. So those are the keys to the game for the Patriots. Easier said than done, no question about it. But that's going to be what they're looking to do. Yeah, I mean, for the New Orleans Saints,

they have to hope that the offensive line is able to play better this season. Or excuse me, this season. This game. I mean, this season, too, based upon what you saw in week two, where, you know, you didn't have coaches, you didn't have the preparatory period. You had all these communication issues, all of that, uh, in order to keep Jameis Winston clean, which was a key for last week and should be a key for this week, but it's a key for every week. Honestly, when it comes to keeping your quarterback clean for the new Orleans saints, I'll say for me, I'm going to talk about one player that I think is a key to victory for the

New Orleans Saints. And it's funny because you think about the biggest losses for the Saints last year, players that they were without Michael Thomas, Marshawn Lattimore, Quan Alexander, Eric McCoy, you're planning to be without Michael Thomas, but those last three have been within recent weeks. I think that for me, one of the biggest losses that they had over on the defensive side was CJ Garner Johnson, who was originally supposed to play a large role in matching up with Christian McCaffrey. So for me, a key to victory in this game, particularly with those two tight ends and those 22 sets that the 12 and 22 sets that these, that these New England Patriots love to run, C.J. Gardner-Johnson becomes a very big part

of the Saints' formula for success. I'll say it that way. And I am all about what C.J. Gardner-Johnson brings his team in terms of energy, tenacity, aggression, all of it. But he's also a very good football player. He's very good. And when you have a young quarterback,

if you can have that one piece whose 22 just keeps flashing in their face and continues to keep them because they'll use them as a blitzer, they'll use them in coverage, and just continues to be all over the place up against this defense or up against this offense, excuse me, that is a major, major. I'm going to pull out my DJ Khaled for a moment. It's a major key for the New Orleans Saints going up against these New England Patriots. The other part of it for me, as we mentioned before, is going to be the run game, getting the run game going. It's going to help to keep the pressure off of Jameis Winston because you have to play honorably too. You have to honor that run game, especially if it's Alvin Kamara and he's playing well. Tony Jones Jr. should be able to be assisting in there as well as somebody that outside of this game, the first game averaged over four yards per carry. So you're definitely looking for all that.

And then it just comes down to that same key that I mentioned earlier. Can this offensive line get better, play well? Who's going to be the guy at that center position? Is it going to be Cesar Ruiz again who had that rough start last week? Are they going to put in Austin Ryder who ended up coming over from Kansas City? He left Kansas City over the offseason, signed with the Saints a couple weeks back. Now he's had two weeks in this system to learn the protections and IDs. Is he in a good enough place to be less of a detriment to you in terms of the communication on the team than Cesar Ruiz because you can get Cesar Ruiz back to right guard. All of that is going to be very interesting to watch for the

New Orleans Saints. So get that offensive line, right? Get CJ Garner Johnson back and all over the place and get Alvin Kamara cooking in the, or from the backfield. Last thing for us is to take a look at these picks, but do you have anything on those keys first? No, I think that you hit the nail right on the head in terms of the keys for the New Orleans. I think that's exactly what the Patriots are looking for. I want to give a little shout out to Deontay Harris, Assumption College's own, one of the best returners in the game. They just played his college ball up here in New England, a school that I actually won a scholarship to when I was applying back in the day.

So Assumption definitely holds a special place in my heart. Bill Belichick was asked about Deontay on Wednesday morning when he met with the media. Had nothing but glowing things to say about him. So give a little love to special teams. This is going to be interesting. You've got my man Gunnar Ryszewski back there returning punts. Nick Falk kicking the ball well.

Special teams could end up being the key for this game. So definitely, folks, don't sleep on the special teams. These are two teams that hold it in very, very high regard. I love it. Every Locked On Saints listener is like, dang it, we almost made it through an episode without having to hear about special teams. And it wasn't me. And it wasn't me. So you all deal with it.

May I call for folks on that one? Blame Bill Belichick. He loves it up here in Orlando. Same thing down in new orleans and i'll tell you there's so much respect between these two coaches right you saw sean payton talking about new england and winning the turnover battle 108 and to seven in those situations where they win the turnover battle uh bill belichick showing some love to both alvin camara as well as dionte harris dante hightower showing some love to to alvin camara as well so

so much respect between these teams. Going to be a lot of fun to watch. Right now, those New England Patriots favored at home minus two and a half, according to our good friends over at Betaline.ag. What's your expectation for this game, Mike? My expectation is that this is going to be a very close game. You're going to have two teams that are very, very good at doing what they do, especially on defense right now.

The run defense of the New Orleans Saints, again, one of the best in the league. They will continue to try to contain the New England Patriots on the ground. A very formidable pass defense. Really, the same as on the Patriots side as well. This is a front seven now that is much more capable of setting the edge, stopping the run, save for a few sputters that they had last Sunday against the Jets. I look for them to shore that up secondary proving even without Stephon Gilmore they can still make plays

JC Jackson finding a nose for the ball my guy Adrian Phillips continues to be in on every play doing just what he does which is pretty much everything well so gonna be a defensive slugfest I think but these are also two offenses that can put up some points as well i look for this one to come down to a field goal believe it or not it's giving the love to the special teams again my heart's got to go with the home team bud and i think that your saints listeners will probably begrudge me of that i like the new i like the new england patriots over the new orleans saints in this one 20 to 17 in a close game i I love it. I actually have a very, very similar score. My score is 24, 21. Uh, for me, I just look at this new Orleans saints team that has so much adversity right now that is having to bounce back from this game. So I think they're going to come in ignited here in

this game, but I agree. It's going to come down to the wire. They're going to have to do something extra, a little bit of land yet if they want to win this game. And I don't know if they're going to be able to do it, but I'm going to roll with them. I'm going to take the New Orleans Saints in this one because I just feel like Sean Payton coming into this game after that performance last week, which was one of the worst in the New Orleans Saints, Sean Payton era. They're not going to come back and repeat and be that same team from week two going into week three. I think there's just that extra charge. I know this New England Patriots team wants to win, Mike, but I think the New Orleans Saints team might want to win three points more.

You know what? At the end of the day, Ross, you may end up being correct, but don't forget, there's a little extra motivation lurking over Bill Belichick's shoulder in one Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. making that return. Old Bill does not want to go into that matchup with a loss, so there's going to be a lot of motivation on both sides, but look, two very evenly matched teams, two very good teams, well coached across the board, a lot of respect on both sides. You really can't go wrong. This is going to be a fun one to watch. And really it could be anybody's game. Absolutely.

Absolutely. Everybody, Mike debate at M D a B a T E N F L on Twitter, host of locked on Patriots. If you're a saints fan, go listen to locked on Patriots so you can get an eye on what's going on up in new England Patriots fans. Of course, make sure you're sticking around with Mike every Monday through Friday.

Myself, Ross Jackson, at Ross Jackson, NOLA on Twitter, host of Locked on Saints. Come on through, Saints fan, Pats fan. We all love each other. We all have a common enemy in the commissioner. So come on through and show some love with Locked on Saints as well. Thank you so much for making us your first listen of the day.

For your second listen, go and check out Locked on Bets. Win yourself some money with your boy Q and Lee Sterling. Lots of programming coming up still here through the rest of the week on Locked On Patriots and Locked On Saints. So keep it on your dial as a part of your daily routine as we continue on here. Another Locked On crossover

in the books. Mike, such a pleasure to have the time with you. My honor, my pleasure as always, my friend. Thanks so much for crossing the streams with me again here on the Locked On Podcast Network. The best team win on Sunday. It's going to be a fun one. Thanks a ton, Ross.

Right back at you, buddy.