Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Crossover Thursday: New England Patriots vs. New York Jets in Week 8

Starting point is 00:00:00 You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Patriots fans and Jets fans, that's right. It is time to cross the streams as these two AFC East rivals get set to do battle on Sunday, October 30th, 1 p.m. kickoff at MetLife Stadium. That's right, folks. Welcome to Crossover Thursday here on the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

Starting point is 00:00:49 I'm Mike DeBate, host of Locked On Patriots, and I am very fortunate, very honored, and very pleased to be joined by my good friend and colleague, John Buchko, host of Locked On Jets. John, we always enjoy these crossovers, always a lot of fun doing these, my friend. Mike, I think it's a beautiful thing. You know, this is such a heated rivalry,

Starting point is 00:01:07 but we always have a good time chatting with each other. We showed Jets and Patriots fans can get along, right? Absolutely. If I can change and you can change, all right, we're not going to go into a whole Rocky IV thing here, folks. But you get the idea. Two sides can coexist. And we are going to cross the streams today here on Locked on Patriots

Starting point is 00:01:26 and Locked on Jets jets. But of course, crossover Thursday is presented by our friends at prize picks. Prize picks is so much fun and it's so easy to play. There's no competing with other players. So you're not competing with John or myself. It's just you versus the projections available. And you pick two to five players. And if they score more or less than their prize picks projection, you can win up to 10 times your money on your entry it can literally take less than 60

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Starting point is 00:02:25 on both sides of the ball and your New York Jets are in the driver's seat right now I don't care what the odds makers or our good friends over at betonline.net say right now the Jets are playing pretty good football and they are a team to be reckoned with but the Patriots got some news today on the quarterback position we're going to talk about that in just a moment. But being as it may, John, when you look at the big storylines right now surrounding the New York Jets, what has been arguably the biggest storyline? And what do you think could be the biggest storyline heading into this week eight matchup with the New England Patriots? Mike, the biggest storyline is that the Jets are 5-2.

Starting point is 00:03:04 Nobody saw this coming. It's been a really long time since the Jets have played competitive football. Even talking about the Jets being in the mix, a couple of years ago, they went 7-9, but that was a year in 2019. They went 7-9, so you say, oh, they were around 500, but they started that year 1-7, so they were never a factor in the AFC playoff race that year you go back to 2017 they started that season three and two and you know by jets recent standards three and two is you know in the mix but that team was you know bottom of the league talent wise i think we knew that it was not sustainable the jets are five and two i i still can't i i'll say it over and over because I can't believe

Starting point is 00:03:45 it. Heading into this season, the objective was play competitive football. And it's kind of funny because I speak with Jets fans now and I hear people worried about how they match up with Buffalo and Kansas City. And I'm saying, well, we're complaining that we don't match up with Buffalo and Kansas City. I mean, at the start of the year, we were saying, let's hope the Jets win a couple games. So it's been an amazing ride. Jets are playing great defense. The defensive line has been phenomenal the last couple of weeks. They have two outstanding corners, actually three outstanding corners, Sauce Gardner and DJ Reid on the outside, Michael Carter on the second inside in the slot. And the offense hasn't been great, but it's doing enough. Now

Starting point is 00:04:23 that brings me into the more micro storyline was the storyline that could impact the game this week and that's that they had a couple key injuries on the offensive side of the ball they lost running back breeze hall for the year breeze hall was playing at a level he would have been if not the runaway choice a top contender for offensive rookie of the year. He was carrying the load on offense. And for numerous reasons, which I'm sure we'll get into, Jets have not gotten a lot out of their passing game

Starting point is 00:04:51 the last couple of weeks. But on top of that, the Jets lost Elijah Vera Tucker to an injury also against Denver, just as they lost Brees Hall. Vera Tucker's been a sensational story this year for the Jets. He started the year at right guard. Because the Jets suffered four different injuries at the tackle position, he had to kick out to left tackle for one week.

Starting point is 00:05:11 Then he moved over to right tackle. So he's played three different positions. He played all three well. None of these three positions, by the way, were the position he played a year ago. He was the left guard a year ago. So Elijah Barrett Tucker is really going to be missed. So really exciting. I mean, I can't

Starting point is 00:05:26 believe the Jets are five and two heading into this game, but the big storyline heading into this game, which could impact the outcome are these two injuries because the Jets lost arguably their two best offensive players for the year last week against Denver. Now, Mike, let me turn the question to you. What's the big storyline with the Patriots? Well, obviously the big storyline with the Patriots is the quarterback conundrum. I had a little fun at the expense of it earlier this week with Sports Illustrated writing a pretty good satirical, I think, combination of what's going on there. If you've ever seen the movie Clue, folks, you'll want to check that out. But apparently Bill Belichick has made his decision because on Wednesday afternoon, news broke that the New England Patriots would in fact be starting Mac Jones coming up in week eight.

Starting point is 00:06:09 He apparently has won this quarterback competition, at least for now, took 90 percent of the Patriots snaps in practice on Wednesday. And this coming off of the heels of really, I think, just a bizarre situation, John. I don't think anybody really saw the way that the Patriots 33-14 loss to the Bears unfolded on Monday night. Not so much that they lost to the Bears. That was a surprise, but this is the NFL. You prepare yourself for any given Sunday, really any given Monday night, the team can come in and take it to you and beat you. But it was the manner in which Jones started the game, two offensive series, two three and outs. Then all of a sudden throws a really ill-timed and very just a bad decision, not fumbling for words, but a bad decision on his part,

Starting point is 00:06:55 throwing into the hands of Jake Juan Briscoe, who absolutely did a tremendous job making that one handed interception. And then Mac Jones is pulled pulled bailey zappy comes in and the rookie sensation comes in leads the patriots to two consecutive scoring uh drives 14 to 10 lead everyone's thinking up there it is mac just lost his job zappy fever forever let's go and ride the wave but the bears to their credit did not let their foot off of the accelerator. They continued to put pressure. They continued to utilize, I think, a real deficiency in the Patriots' defense, and they were able to get the job done and get the Patriots on their heels all night. So regardless of who you feel is going to give the Patriots the best chance to win,

Starting point is 00:07:41 whether it's Zappi, whether it's Jones, the Patriots have apparently made that decision, and it's going to be a tough one because, like you said, the Jets are playing extremely well on the defensive side of the ball. Those corners and those safeties, along with the front seven, are going to give Mack a lot of problems on Sunday. He's going to have to be ready, and he's going to have to be a lot sharper than he was in the opening moments against the Bears. So that right now is the big storyline when it comes to the New England Patriots. And I know Jets fans are now focusing their vitriol.

Starting point is 00:08:11 No, I'm only kidding. No, they're focusing their attention on Mac Jones and the New England Patriots offense and what it's going to look like on Sunday. Mike, let me ask you a question, because this is interesting to me that they're kind of not tipping their hand. I know they had not. I know today news broke that mac jones is the quarterback but what's interesting to me is that if you go back 21 years which may have been the last time the patriots had any sort of quarterback controversy i remember they announced it was brady versus bledsoe and you know you look

Starting point is 00:08:39 back on it now and as you say oh tom well tom nobody knew really tom brady was going to turn into what he turned into at the time or maybe some people did but most of us did not but what was interesting is i remember back in 2001 it was around the mid midway point through the season and drew bledsoe was was healthy again and they announced that tom brady's starting for the rest of the year this this is over because it felt like they wanted to avoid a controversy so i'm interested in the patriots kind of letting this thing play out and not tipping their hand and not really committing to anybody for the long haul. Yeah, I think your guess and your question is really as good as anybody's right now in Patriots

Starting point is 00:09:16 nation. It just seemed very un-Belichickian. It seemed very un-Patriot-like for this to continue on and become a story when in all actuality like you said john it really never had to be um it may speak to it may speak volumes about the patriots concern over mac jones his ability to be able to lead this team into the future maybe there was lingering concern about his injury a high ankle sprain typically is about four to six weeks recovery time especially if we're to believe that it was as severe as originally reported so if that's indeed the case maybe bill belichick wanted to see what the kid had if he was going to be you know able to um carry the load for the full game whether or not he was going to be hampered he looked like he moved around pretty well on sunday on monday night and coincidentally the

Starting point is 00:09:59 first injury report of the week came out on wednesday afternoon and mac jones is nowhere to be found so if he's not on the injury report, he's at full strength. So I don't think necessarily it had much to do with what was going on health wise. I think maybe the Patriots just needed to see that for themselves on Monday night. Now that they know he can handle the load, I think that's where you're seeing the quarterback situation dissipate and all of a sudden this controversy goes away so good question i wish i had a better answer for you in terms of why belichick put the logic out that he did but ultimately we'll see if what his decision is is the right one uh when the patriots and the jets hook it up on sunday from metlife stadium john it's always a lot of fun discussing these

Starting point is 00:10:44 matters with you and folks. We are just scratching the surface because even though big storylines are fun heading into these games, it's the matchups on the field that ultimately win them. And which are John and I looking at and which ones are going to catch our sharp eye when these two AFC East division rivals hook it up in week eight? We'll discuss that point in just a moment. But first, John, you know, I'm not going to get philosophical or sentimental or anything like that here, because obviously AFC East rivalries are always going to bring up the emotions. But a lot of people talk about the meaning of life. They talk about what is going to be

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Starting point is 00:12:33 Folks, you will not want to take these things off, I promise you. Go to birddogs.com today. Patriots fans and Jets fans, you know, crossovers like this are special moments john we always appreciate quinn and williams is playing at an all-pro level right now he's been dominant the last few weeks two weeks ago in green bay i mean he filled up the stat sheet a couple sacks a forced fumble uh three quarterback hits even blocked a field goal even the days where he's not filling up the stat sheet, though, he's making an impact.

Starting point is 00:13:07 But the Patriots have a very talented young guard in Cole Strange. You know, I kind of like the Jets matchup in this one, but Cole Strange is going to be a tough task for Quinn and Williams. You know, going back to the NFL draft this year, it's kind of funny. The Patriots drafted Cole Strange in the first round, and there was lots of talk about how oh wow this was a guy who probably was projected to go a few

Starting point is 00:13:29 rounds later and I'm not saying he's going to have the same career but I remember back in 2005 that was literally the exact same thing everybody said about Logan Mackens so when the Patriots drafted a guard first round everybody's saying this is a reach I'm like well let's hold on let's wait a minute because I remember the last time this happened worked out pretty well for the

Starting point is 00:13:47 patriots i'm not again i'm not saying cole strange is going to be logan mankins but i think he's off to a good start i mean i you know your patriots fans who are listening probably know better than i do but on the other side of the ball it's also going to be looking in the line as i mentioned in the first segment elijah vera tucker's out it sounds like Cedric Obehi is going to replace him, a former first-round pick, but a guy who really has not lived up to first-round billing. He wasn't even part of the Jets until a few weeks ago. The Jets have had so many injuries at tackle

Starting point is 00:14:15 that they've had to sign guys off the street, essentially. He'll be going up a lot against Matthew Judon. It looks like, to me, Judon lines up more against the right tackle than the left tackle. And it's a difficult matchup for the jets. Not just because, you know, a way he's a guy who was on the practice squad a few weeks ago,

Starting point is 00:14:32 a guy who was on signed before that jets also have lacked continuity on the offensive line. And I think they've had issues protecting Zach Wilson. And part of the reason they've had issues, isn't just that they're losing their one-on-ones, but there's a lack of communication. There have been plays and this has been true on the right side of the line as well as the left side of the line where they just don't block it right because they aren't used to playing with one another where a guy may take the right guy,

Starting point is 00:15:00 but maybe he's supposed to pass somebody up. Maybe he's supposed to engage somebody else and pass him off to make it easier for the guy inside him. And I worry about the lack of communication for the jets with, you know, open with, with them essentially installing another new iteration of their offensive line. You know,

Starting point is 00:15:15 the last three weeks they've had the same offensive line and those was like the most continuity the jets have had all year because they've been, it feels like they've been shuffling a new group every week since training camp. Now, Mike, let me turn the question to you what are your key matchups well the key matchups are very similar to the ones that you're watching obviously as a patriots fan you're keeping an eye on the breeze hall injury and what it means for the jets running game and the patriots run defense although it had improved significantly against the lions and the Browns, reverted back to

Starting point is 00:15:47 some of the difficulties that they've had against the Bears. So it's kind of a Jekyll and Hyde run defense for the New England Patriots right now. Christian Barmore is such an important part of what this team does on the defensive side of the ball, not only because he's very adept at being able to get in and help with getting after know, getting after the quarterback and help, you know, in terms of pass rush. But what he does in the run game is so underrated because he'll take on double teams from opposing offensive lines, and that will free up guys like Matthew Judon and Dietrich Wise to be able to pin their ears back, get after the quarterback. And at that point, Barmore is taking on some of that responsibility. He was not in the lineup against the Chicago Bears. And I think the Patriots missed him an awful lot, even though he's technically having a statistically down year. Barmore does a lot of

Starting point is 00:16:35 things under the radar that a lot of people don't give him proper credit for. So that's a matchup to watch or that's something to watch. If I'm a Jetsets fan if Farmore continues to be hampered by that injury that could be an issue for the New England Patriots even though Lawrence Guy their longtime defensive tackle is back and was back in the lineup against the Bears he looked limited after a shoulder injury so that's going to be interesting can the Patriots muster up enough run defense to be able to stop you know the the guys that the Jets are going to throw at them, like a Michael Carter, no relation to the cornerback, obviously. But this is what the Jets are going to try to do,

Starting point is 00:17:10 and they're going to try to test that, even though that might be, I don't want to say a weak spot right now for them because of the injury. I think they're going to try to test what they perceive to be a weak spot in the Patriots' defense, is shutting down the run. And Zach Wilson, for all his credit, can do a good job of getting mobile if he needs to as well. He's done a tremendous job of being able to see the ball downfield. He's limited the turnovers and the negative plays this season.

Starting point is 00:17:35 So if he's going to try to maybe look for the big play against this New England Patriots team, that's another matchup I'm watching. Can he do it against the secondary of Jonathan Jones, Jalen Mills, and the rookie Jack Jones, who's proven that he's got a nose for the football and can limit the big play himself. So I'm going to be watching that if I'm a New England Patriots fan, but we're not kidding ourselves. We're all going to be watching and seeing what Mac Jones can do against this secondary of the New York Jets. We alluded to it early on in the game, and I still think the Jets have the edge in this circumstance, and that's not a knock to Mac, but this trio that you mentioned earlier with

Starting point is 00:18:14 guys like DJ Reed, Sauce Cardner, and of course, Michael Carter playing at a high level for the Jets and the safety tandem as well doing a phenomenal job. This is going to be a very, very tough secondary for the New England Patriots to score on so if they can utilize the short intermediate areas of the field utilize play action by stimulating the run that's going to give them the opportunity to win but New England has to get back to basics they have to start pulling the guards they have to use that running game to their advantage by not only incorporating some of the outside zone, but they need to get back to basics and be a gap run team. That's where this team is at its strength, utilizing Ramondre Stevenson and Damian Harris.

Starting point is 00:18:56 So those are the matchups I'm looking at right now from a New England Patriots perspective, my friend. Well, Mike, I think these are all going to be tremendous matchups they will all help the jets and patriots decide which team will become victorious you know mike we're going to get to predictions because it's a very interesting game between these afc east rivals but first i want to give you a sports analogy when it comes to protecting your home from burglars you want to treat your home like the end zone you want want to have defenders like Quinton Williams and Sauce Gardner defending your home. And you want the absolute strongest defense. And that's why you should take a look at SimpliSafe home security.

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Starting point is 00:20:42 As always, great joining my friend, Mike DeBate of LockedOn Patriots. I'm John from Locked On Podcast Network. As always, great joining my friend Mike DeBate of Locked On Patriots. I'm John from Locked On Jets. Mike, it's prediction time. Who wins this game between these rivals? You know, for the first time in a long while, John, I really had to toil for a long period of time on this one. The New England Patriots right now are an enigmatic team in a lot of ways.

Starting point is 00:21:04 There is seedlings of a team that has the talent on both sides of the ball to be able to compete for a playoff spot. And I'm not saying that they're going to be a juggernaut of years past. You and I both know that's certainly not the case. experience and a sufficient amount of skill set on offense and on defense that can carry this team into a situation where they can be competitive with any team that they go up against bottom line they're going up against the Jets team right now that is playing at a very high level they're playing with a lot of confidence they're extremely well coached great quarterback play and very very strong defensive play that is going to be something that if the New England Patriots can pull this out, it's going to show us a lot about what this team is capable of.

Starting point is 00:21:50 The Jets right now are playing at such a high level and they're in their home stadium. It's going to be extremely, extremely tough for me to pick against them. I'm going to be a homer here in this regard because I'm going to say that the Patriots are able to right the ship because of the fact that I think they're going to be such they're going to have a lot of a bad taste in their mouth basically is what it comes what it comes down to I think if the Patriots win this they win this in a very very tight game I'm going to go with a final score in this one of 24-21 New England but bottom line if the Jets come in and make this one ugly early or if they win a close game, I think it's certainly, certainly possible. My prediction is in no way any disrespect

Starting point is 00:22:31 to the New York Jets. We're playing phenomenal football right now. You know, Mike, it's very funny because for years I feel like I've been one of the more popular opposing hosts on these crossover shows because you could never pick the Jets mean how could that how could you pick the jets in like any any game after week three years past so it's been exciting this year i've been able to actually predict the jets and believe it and amazingly enough mike i'm seven and oh this year in in my picks i did pick the two games that they lost i did think opening day they'd lose to the ravens i thought that they'd lose to the bengals week three now a couple of those times I was being, and I even said it at the time, I said I was being a homer

Starting point is 00:23:07 because I felt the game was a toss-up. It did that against Cleveland. It did that against Pittsburgh. I agree with it. I think this will be a close game. I think that these teams are closer than their records would indicate. I think the Patriots are a little bit better than the record would indicate. I think that the Jets, I really

Starting point is 00:23:23 like where the Jets are right now. I don't know if they're 5-2 good. I the jets are right now i don't know if they're five and two good i think they're good i don't know that they're five and two good there are a couple things i like about this game for the jets first of all i like the fact you always have to like it when you're playing a home game against a team on a short week that's always an advantage now new england obviously has bill belichick so there's any team that has the coaching to overcome that it's the patriots but another factor is and listen this is me prognosticating i don't have any insider information what the crowd's going to be like but i can just tell this jets fan base has been waiting for a game like this for so long and i know they've played three home games so far but nobody really had a sense that this was going to

Starting point is 00:24:01 be a special season for the jets up to this point you know it was like it was still kind of a wait and see situation in this fan base it was how good is this team really going to be there's confidence now and i think in any situation when you've been down for a long time and it feels like you're finally putting it together there's just a little bit extra the crowd gives you because this fan base has been waiting for years and years and years to have a game where it felt like the jetsets were in the mix in the AFC playoffs. And the fact the Patriots are coming a division rival, obviously this is a really bitter rivalry. I think it adds a little bit.

Starting point is 00:24:32 I think this crowd, I don't think there are many games where the crowd makes that big of a difference. There was actually one of these teams played in 2009. It was Rex Ryan's first home game where it felt like the crowd made a difference in that game. I feel like this could be that type of game where the crowd really plays an impact. I like the way the jets are playing.

Starting point is 00:24:48 I don't love lacking Brees Hall or Elijah Vera Tucker, but I love the way those jets defense is playing. You know, I think the Patriots have some questions against the run that the jets might be able to exploit even without Brees Hall. Cause they still have Michael Carter. They have James Robinson. They just traded for, I'm expecting a tight game. I'm going jetsets 20 Patriots 17 excellent and you know what at the end of the day John I think we both agree that these two teams are going to be giving it all they got out on the field and bottom line that's all you can ask for

Starting point is 00:25:16 when it comes to both of these fan bases I wholeheartedly agree with you about the fan base in New York and in New Jersey right now they've been waiting for a moment like this they. They've been waiting for a game like this, especially against the New England Patriots. They're going to be into it. So the Patriots are going to have to tune that out. And that's a big time tune out. If you're the New England and Bill Belichick, he's got to get them ready for it. And ultimately, I mean, if the Patriots are going to come out and play anywhere near how they did on Monday night, this one will get much more ugly than it was on Monday night for the New

Starting point is 00:25:47 England Patriots against the bears. So always, always an honor, always a pleasure when we do these crossovers, John folks, check him out. John Butchco at locked on jets, locked on jets available,

Starting point is 00:25:58 wherever you get your podcasts and also available on YouTube. So be sure to smash that subscribe button, whether you're a Patriots fan looking for a little enemy recon, or if you're a Jets fan, you're probably already following this great man and the great work that he does each and every day. If you're a Jets fan and you want to do a little enemy recon of your own, you can check me out on Locked On Patriots this week.

Starting point is 00:26:19 Definitely some good guests and some good inside information that I think you'll find very interesting heading into this week eight matchup. But bottom line, we are all both proud to be a part of the great team that we have here on the Locked On Podcast Network. And now that you've made us your first listen, folks, make your second listen to the Locked On Today Podcast, where all of the great stories from every sport all over the landscape are definitely covered each and every day in under

Starting point is 00:26:45 30 minutes. As always, those are available on YouTube and also available wherever you get your podcasts. On behalf of John Buchko of Lockdown Jets, I'm Mike DeBate, host of Lockdown Patriots. Thank you, everyone, for taking time out to make us a part of your daily NFL coverage. Stay safe. Stay well. Be the change you wish to see in the world. coverage. Stay safe, stay well, be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone, and enjoy the game on Sunday.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Crossover Thursday: New England Patriots vs. New York Jets in Week 8

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