Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Crossover Thursday: New England Patriots vs, Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2

Episode Date: September 15, 2022

It’s Crossover Thursday! Join hosts Mike D’Abate of Locked On Patriots and Christopher Carter of Locked On Steelers as they preview this Week 2 matchup between the New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers from Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA on Sunday, September 18, 2022.Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-patriots-daily-podcast-on-the-new-england/id1140512627 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFmwg3WbfxAU3tR5Ve?si=k196wH-yRqifUcQQz8SjIQStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-patriots And follow host Mike D’Abate on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans.On Twitter: @mdabateNFLSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFLBuilt BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!BriteCoThe guys at BriteCo Jewelry Insurance made buying insurance for your engagement ring, your watch, or whatever so easy you can get covered in 2 minutes on your cell phone. You won't find a better deal on coverage that's so affordable. Go to https://brite.co/lockedonPrizePicksFirst time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDONTuroDitch boring rental cars and find your drive at Turo.com Athletic GreensTo make it easy, Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/NFLNETWORK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It is crossover Thursday here on the Locked On Podcast Network. I'm Chris Carter of Locked On Steelers. He's Mike DeBate of Locked On Patriots. And the Steelers are playing the Patriots for the first time since 2019. The pandemic wasn't happening, Mike. This is crazy. So we're going to get a lot into this matchup. Remember, you can follow both of these podcasts on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Odyssey, YouTube.

Like these videos on YouTube if you're enjoying. Subscribe to both of our channels to get all of our great Monday through Friday content as we cover your team every day. Today's episode on the Crossover Thursdays is sponsored by PrizePix. PrizePix is daily fantasy made easy. Just pick two to five players. If they score more or less than their PrizePix projection, you can win up to 10 times your money on any entry. First time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with the promo code LOCKEDON. That's L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N, LOCKEDON, all capital letters, all one word.

And again, that's prizepicks.com, promo code LOCKEDON. Mike, first of all, how you doing, man? This is kind of crazy to think that the Steelers and Patriots haven't played each other in so long I know for two great rivals like this Chris it seems like it has been far too long thank you so much for asking my friend I'm doing well I hope you're doing well this is going to be a fun one anytime the Patriots and Steelers take the field together regardless of the records regardless of where the teams are in the standings or what their prospects are you know you're going to get a good one when Mike Tomlin is on one side and Bill Belichick is on the other. It was actually really cool.

Mike Tomlin paid a lot of homage to Bill Belichick, and he's like, listen, the way they use their guys on defense, the way they run the ball on offense, they can plug and play so many different guys that you can't focus on one or certain names. You have to focus on the concepts. And I do think you're going to see a lot of great X's and O's stuff for whatever team comes out on top in this one. So very much so. I think it's going to be a lot of interesting stuff.

But the top stories for these games, Mike, I'm going to take the lead on this because I think that Patriots fans might want to hear about this, the quarterback situation in Pittsburgh too. Absolutely. But there's a big question about Mr. Biskey he did not have a good game against the Bengals he was minimized Mike Tomlin admitted after the game uh on in fact on his Tuesday press conference hey we actually had a game plan to not let him take any shots in this game because we wanted to just not turn the ball over and let the defense win for us. So maybe that changes in this game. But even still, when he had a clean pocket and there were guys open over the middle, Mitch Trubisky was not seeing the field well, and you could see that on the all 22. So there's a lot of questions in Pittsburgh right now. Even before he played his

first regular season game, when is the time for Kenny Pickett? And as a person who covers the Steelers, I can tell you, I don't think it's any time soon because the Steelers, they want to give Mitch Trubisky time to figure it out. They don't want to just rush him out of there and say, okay, you vet, get out of here. We're going to put the rookie in. But there is a sense, I can tell you, there's going to be a big sense of impatience at Accra Shire Stadium,

which Patriots fans might remember as Heinz Field. Trust me, there was a big hubbub when they changed that name here in Pittsburgh. But in all seriousness, in every preseason game that they played in Pittsburgh, there was just chants of Kenny. And there were people just saying, get Mitch Trubisky out of there in the preseason when it didn't even count. I am very concerned for the Steelers and how the Steelers fans are going to handle this because in Pittsburgh, that last game was in Cincinnati.

If Mitch Trubisky played that way where he only threw one touchdown pass and it was a two-yard floater to Najee Harris in the red zone, that was his only touchdown of the game. If he plays that way at home, the fans will be all over him. And it's going to be weird because you're going to be, you're going to be sitting there on, you know, and watch this game and thinking like, wait a minute, what's going on here? Like how is, isn't he on the team? I don't understand. I can see that happening. But beyond that, the Steelers need him to see the field and actually manage the game a lot better than he did

last Sunday yeah without question I think that's something the Patriots fans are definitely going to be watching for and as opposing quarterbacks definitely come in you start to see the levels of which teams are capable of playing and capable of defending quarterbacks and the New England Patriots did a uh I would rather say a pedestrian pedestrian job of defending Tua Tagovailoa last week against the Miami Dolphins. Mitch Trubisky definitely presents a different set of skills, a different mindset. And that's going to be something that the New England Patriots have to go for. In terms of biggest stories in New England, Chris, we're very like-minded. We're kind of synergistic at this point because the New England Patriots quarterback situation is the biggest story.

And while no one is going to say that Mac Jones's job is in jeopardy after one game, there is a level of concern regarding what we saw on the field. And also a level of concern as to whether or not we even see Mac Jones on the field this week. Very shortly after the conclusion of Sunday's game, Mac went directly to the X-Ray room in Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Did not meet with the media. All of a sudden, we're hearing it's a back issue. Mack will meet with you tomorrow afternoon by Zoom conference. That didn't necessarily sit so well with a lot of members of the media and my colleagues in New England. But more news started to trickle out.

Apparently, Mack was suffering from back spasms. Two factors there. Mack took a couple of really difficult shots, one of which in the fourth quarter, a hit that was resulting in a roughing the passer call. Mack landed awkwardly, so I think that may have had something to do with it. And second, the heat and humidity down in Miami was amazingly thick and amazingly hard to take, so that can cause some muscle cramping and spasming as well. Mack was a full participant on Wednesday's practice. New England Patriots are optimistic that he'll be able to go. But Chris, the thing about it is, is if even if Mack is able to go, and it looks like he will be, there are still some question marks there. How effective is he

going to be? Is the back problem going to continue to be an issue with him? Is it going to slow him or derail his progression at all? The other situation that the Patriots are monitoring very closely is the protection level that he got last week in Miami. The offensive line did not do a great job of protecting his blind side and alerting him to some of those second and third level blitzes that come from the secondary that gave Mack Fitz last year. Again, that did rear its ugly head on Sunday.

Mack was blitzed by safety Brandon Jones of the Miami Dolphins. Blindsided, didn't see it. Mack loses the ball. It ends up in the end zone. Melvin Ingram has an easy seven and all of a sudden an easy six, I should say. I know what you mean. It's fine. But it did make for you know for a a difficult situation there so that to me is the biggest

story is if mac jones is on the field and by all accounts he should be is he going to be 100 and is he going to get the time he needs to be able to make the throws he's capable of if not end up being a long day in pittsburgh for the bats well i wanted i wanted to ask you because i saw that he was getting hit in that game and I saw the Melvin Ingram touchdown, but how much from your assessment of that game was on Mac Jones versus the offensive line? Like in Pittsburgh, you know, the offensive line is not good.

Like they held up in pass protection in that game, but like they still aren't great. And Mitch Trubisky, you know, there is that line of having to ask the question, how much of this was the pressure allowed that, you know, interrupted Mr. Trubisky versus him seeing the field as a person? I can tell you a lot of that was more so on Mr. Trubisky.

But was there was there more room for Mac to make improvements in that game? Or was the problem just strictly the Patriots have to block better for him? Oh, no, I think it was a little bit of both. I mean, definitely there were issues along the offensive line. And until those get fixed, you can't really hold Mac completely accountable for all the problems that you see along that offensive line, along the offense and what's happening as a result of it. But at the same time, Mack also has to recognize that. Don't forget, this has been an Achilles heel of his even last year.

Teams that caught on to it had success against Mack Jones. Believe it or not, even though the Patriots won that game in Atlanta last year, Dean Pease and that defensive coordinator team with the Falcons did a very good job of getting pressure on Mac because they blitzed him from the secondary. And that's something that's very difficult for him to pick up, and he has to do a better job with it. Ultimately, if the offensive line can give him the time he needs, things will get better. But a lot of it is on Mack as well. So I think the blame is about a 50-50 split right now. Maybe if I'm being generous, I'll say 55-45 in favor of the offensive line. But there is still some work to be done on both sides to right the ship in New England on the offensive side of the

ball. I certainly think that both of these teams could use some help on offense right now, and especially on the offensive line and working with quarterbacks that are still adjusting to things. We're going to talk more about those matchups in the second segment because there's a lot to look over as far as how either team could focus on ways to win this game. But first, we got to talk to you guys about Turo. Turo is the world's largest car sharing marketplace. With Turo, you can book any car you want wherever you want it from a community of local hosts. You can browse a huge selection of vehicles for just about any occasion or budget across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

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Every trip is backed by liability insurance. Terms, conditions, and exclusions apply. Ditch boring rental cars and find your drive at Turo.com. And back here on the Crossover Thursday episode here on the Locked On Podcast Network, I'm Chris Carter of Locked On Steelers. He's Mike DeBate of Locked On Patriots. Mike, I want to let you take the lead on this one. This segment is all about key matchups and aspects of the game to focus on.

What is the biggest thing that you're focusing on for the Patriots that they have to do to win? Well, obviously, Chris, the Patriots have to put up more than seven points on the board if they want to be successful. Their offense right now is being much maligned up here in New England, and for good reason. They did not look particularly sharp running the football. They did not look particularly sharp catching the football. They did not really look sharp passing the football. So when you have all those three problems that are working against you, you need to work out a way for yourself to be able to get what you need. And right now, the matchup that I'm watching definitely closely is when the Patriots go to throw the ball.

Obviously, the white outfit in the room here is T.J. Watt not being in this game. And those 22-and-a-half sacks and his ability to draw a beat on the quarterback and really make them pay for even putting on shoulder pads is a win for the New England Patriots in terms of trying to get the extra time that you need. So while we're definitely aware that the Steelers still have a definitely formidable secondary, Akella Witherspoon, Cameron Sutton, Mika Fitzpatrick, Terrell Edmonds, guys that the Patriots have seen before, they know their style, they know how they can defend. This is going to be an opportunity for Mac Jones to try to test his fast catchers down the field. The Steelers are always up for that challenge. So if the Patriots can pass this, they know doing something right, but that is going to

be a very, very difficult matchup for the New England Patriots. My question to you, Chris, is you said that the Steelers are in need of some offensive help as well. And they're going to be obviously looking to either air it out or try to run the football against New England. If you're the Pittsburgh Steelers right now, how are you looking to attack the New England Patriots? Are you looking to win your battles on offense? Are you looking to win your battles on defense? Well, for one, I think the first thing that I think they're going to be looking at

is the biggest battles are on defense because they do want to make sure that they keep the Patriots off the board, limit the big play ability. And I think the biggest matchup you're going to see is Trent Brown at left tackle versus Alex Highsmith outside linebacker. You know, a lot of people look at TJ Watt and he is the best defensive player in football from last year year but Alex Highsmith had three sacks last week and he he went up against Jonah Williams the top 10 pick from the Cincinnati Bengals the guy was supposed to lead the Bengals offensive line to being one of the best in the NFL this year and he abused him he worked him over and Alex Highsmith is a guy that I've watched very closely he was a third round pick in 2019 kind of worked his way up there 20 or 2020 excuse

me and then in 2021 took a step forward had about seven sacks this year I think I've said for a while this is going to be his breakout year I think he's going to price himself off of the Steelers after his contract is up after next season but man Alex Highsmith is going to be a problem if Trent Brown can neutralize him for the Patriots that's going to be huge for New England I think that he is such a huge part of what the Steelers do. Also, if you look at the tape, the Steelers used a lot of stunts and twists and everything to try and force

a lot of communication on that offensive line. And oftentimes it was even just a four man rush. It was just Larry Ogun, Joby, Cam Hayward, TJ Watt, and Alex Highsmith. But do note that the Steelers went and signed or traded for Malik Reed, the former Broncos starter to be the guy off the bench. So now he's a guy with like 26 NFL starts of experience. He's going to fill in for Watt, and he's at least going to be a veteran presence. He won't be bringing the pressure that Watt can bring,

but they're going to have to key in on that. So for the Steelers defensively, it's going to be a lot about can Alex Highsmith win without T.J. Watt being out there? He's done that before. We've seen that in games. But also on offense, I think a big part of the game, and you can see if you watch the All-22 and the Steelers, you saw a lot of Mitch Trubisky not using the middle part of the field

when it was available to him until late. And if you go back to that overtime drive where the Steelers got into field goal range, who did he target but Pat Fryermuth and that is I think his ace in the hole in this game and that's not to discredit Deontay Johnson who I thought had a fantastic catch last week one-handed left-handed uh you know getting his toe tapped down I think Chase Claypool yeah he's done well I think Chase Claypool is a serious weapon I think Najee Harris is a serious weapon. He was limited in practice, but he says he's going to play. We'll see if Mike Tomlin allows that because he was like, whoa, buddy, we want to make sure you're healthy.

But I do think a lot of this offense needs to run through Pat Frymouth to get Mitch Trubisky to see the middle part of the field. He just didn't against the Bengals. And it wasn't that the Bengals did anything spectacular on defense. I mean, there were just guys sitting there open and he would just not look at, look their way. If the Patriots and Bill Belichick being the genius that he is, if he can confuse Mitch,

Mitch Trubisky, that might cause some options there. But I think a big part of the Patriots is getting to, getting to Pat Fryer, not letting him have open spaces in the middle part of the field. How are, how do you see the Patriots linebackers and safeties matching up with Firemouth? I'll also warn you, Zach Gentry, the second tight end,

is a lot better than people know. I've seen him in practice. He had a really big tight end screen that worked out this week. The Steelers could use a lot of 12 personnel in this game to use both of those guys. But how do the Patriots linebackers and safeties match up in that fair? I'm so glad that you asked me that question, because that really is one of the matchups that I'm looking at from a defensive side of the ball for the Patriots

and offensively for the Pittsburgh Steelers, is how to defend that middle part of the field. And you know Pat Friermouth is going to be able to get his targets and that Mitch is going to be looking for him in key situations. Normally, the best defender that the Patriots have against tight ends is Adrian Phillips, who right now is a little banged up. He left the game on Sunday against the Dolphins. Midsection injury was limited as a participant on Wednesday's practice with a rib injury. That's worth monitoring because Adrian is such a versatile player for the Patriots.

Not only does he play the star position when it comes to the safety position, but he can also move up and play hybrid linebacker. I've even seen him align along the defensive line at times when the Patriots want to go a smaller look. Adrian is that versatile, and he's that good. He'll always be in the mix. So if for any reason he's not able to play on Sunday, that means that the Patriots are probably going to have to pull a linebacker off of coverage. Maybe Anthony Jennings, if he gets in the game, someone who has the youth and maybe the athleticism to be able to hang with someone like a Friar Muth at the tight end position. And also they're going to need a heavy dose of Kyle Duggar, who was one of the very few bright spots for the New England Patriots on Sunday. He was very good. Six tackles, two of which came for a loss. One breakdown in communication led to a pretty big miscue, a touchdown by Jalen Waddle, which

essentially broke the Patriots' backs on Sunday. But at the same time, Duggar was able to right the ship and played a very solid game after that. So that's where the New England Patriots, I think, are going to look to try to focus their efforts in trying to stop that 12 personnel. And I also think they're going to look to try to see if they can test that Steelers run game. Because, as you said, Najee Harris is banged up a little bit. Even if he does play, will he be the same explosive player that we come to know and love here throughout the NFL? Najee is one of the best backs around when he's healthy but if he's compromised at all the patriots run defense looked much better on sunday than it did

all of last year they were able to keep chase edmonds and raheem mostart in check held them to only 41 yards and 17 carries juwan bentley is a big part of that he's was not a participant on wednesday's practice so if i'm theers, I'm watching that one very closely because all of a sudden, if Juwan Bentley is not there in that middle part of the Patriots' defense at linebacker, puts a lot of pressure on Devon Godschau, Dietrich Weiss, Christian Barmore, Lawrence Guy. That's going to be something the Steelers could exploit,

I guess is the best way for me to put it, on Sunday if for any reason Bentley is unable to go. That's another matchup to watch, folks. That certainly will be. I'll tell Patriots fans, the guy that will take Najee Harris' spot if he's hurt, and also he definitely will spell Najee Harris at some point in this game, is Jalen Warren, undrafted rookie. But I talked to the Steelers running back coach, Eddie Faulkner.

He said he personally had Jalen Warren as his number six running back in this up in his last draft class. They just were like, we're not, we can't afford to draft one because he had all these priorities. But when he came to them in free agency, they loved him so much. They loved him in training camp. It turns out if you remember Willie Parker, he's actually cousins with Willie Parker,

the former Steeler who used to be fast Willie Parker, number 39. And I'll tell you this. He's not incredibly fast. He's not big. He's actually really tiny. But that guy runs like a bowling ball. He picks up momentum, and he runs really hard through you. And he did a great job in pass protection and as a lead blocker on a lot of the jet sweeps

that offensive coordinator Matt Canada calls. So that's a guy to watch. If Najee Harris doesn't play or even if he does, that's the other running back to watch for the Steelers. He hasn't really caught on yet as far as big running plays outside of preseason. So you're not as worried about that as much. But if Tawan Bentley's out and Najee Harris is out, that's who the Patriots have to key in on and make sure he doesn't have a good game to make things as the Steelers will try to make things easier for Mitch Trubisky this time around. We're going to get the projections in just a second, but Mike, let people know about our friends at BetOnline. Absolutely, Chris. Always my pleasure

to let our friends know over at BetOnline because they are your number one source for all of your pro and college football betting needs and sports info this season. You can find all of the latest football league developments, game matchups, news, podcasts, anything you need. BetOnline.com has it. BetOnline.net has it. And they are your number one continued source for all of your sports wagering information, including live betting, esports, and scores. I'm on there all the time. And, folks, it is an easy-to-use website.

You will absolutely love it. It's the fastest and easiest way to check on all of your favorite sports, events, including Major League Baseball, MMA, boxing, and golf. So head to the website today or use your mobile device to learn more about the trends and the action. Bet online where the game starts. Back here on Crossover Thursday here on the Locked On NFL Podcast Network. I'm Chris Carter of Locked On Steelers. He's Mike DeBate of Locked On Patriots. We've gone over the matchups. We've talked over the top stories. It's time to talk to talk predictions Mike I'll let you take the floor on this one give me your

prediction give me your biggest key to the gate your biggest like way how the game plays out your turning point and how and a final score to go along with all of that yeah well I think at this point the Patriots need to right the ship on offense and I sound like a broken record when I say that Chris but the Patriots had a relatively good performance against a very good offensive team in the Miami Dolphins. I know they scored 20, but some of those points came from a miscue that basically really shouldn't have resulted in seven points. So when you look at holding that offense to 13 points, the Patriots did a pretty good job of that. I look for them to continue to be aggressive at the line on defense, try to plug the run, try to do what you can to contain the Steelers runners, but also be stout in the secondary and prove that the secondary can hang

with some of the big time receivers that the Steelers bring to the table. Deontay Johnson, obviously being at the top of that list, but on the offensive side of the ball, the Patriots have to establish a run early. If they can do that and get Damian Harris and Ramondre Stevenson gaining yardage and picking up first downs early, that's going to relax Mac Jones. That's going to relax this offensive line.

It's going to allow them to get set and get into position. And that's where they can start defending the edge, blocking on the edge, and giving Mac Jones the time he needs to complete his throws. If the Patriots can do that, I like their chances. And I think this is going to be a very close game because I think these two teams are very evenly matched right now.

I'm going with the Patriots in a squeaker here. I'm going to say they pull this one out 21 to 17 over the Steelers. But at the same time, they're going to face a very, very difficult team. And if Najee Harris is active, that could throw a wrench into the patriots plans big time but i'll go with the hometown team i can't pick against in two weeks in a row my listeners will never forgive me for it i go with the patriots 21 17 in this one i don't blame you at all for that and i mean this game has what one and a half points in the spread i mean it's it's a coin flip and i that's why i don't blame anyone for picking either side this week.

It's just going to be really close. I think you're giving too much credit to either offense for 21-17. I'm seeing more 16-13, man. I think this is going to be both teams get touchdowns off of turnovers that either the defense scores or the defense gives you a really short field, and that's what allows each team to score. And it's going to come down to who can get in field goal range enough times. But I'm right with you.

I think it comes down to that. I think the Patriots will try to set up the run. I think that the Steelers are keying in on that. They did really well shutting down Joe Mixon last week. Outside of one run where he broke off on a fourth down where they kind of bunched up and he just hit a little seam, he averaged three yards per carry with that run. Without that run, he averaged less than two yards per carry throughout the game.

I think the Steelers' defense, even without T.J. Watt, the key that has been so much better about their run defense this year is Cam Hayward being healthy. Larry Ogunjobi has been a lot better. Tyson Alulu has been healthy, and that's allowed them to kind of feed. And the linebackers have been so much better. Miles Jack is a much bigger factor than I think a lot of people anticipated. Devin Bush is playing a lot better than a lot of people anticipated.

And I think that's where the Patriots are going to run into an issue because I'm not so sure. I think this game is going to come down to simply, Mike, which team has to get desperate first? You know, who makes the – because I think both teams, Bill Belichick and Mike Tomlin, they're not going to blink. They're going to look at each other and they're going to, they're going to tell their quarterbacks,

do not lose me in this game. You know, you know, like you're you, each one of you, whoever throws the first interception is going to give the other team a major advantage to say, Hey,

short field, let's get points up on the board and, and force the other team to have to start taking more riskier shots down the field and giving the defense a chance to play. Cause I think this game is going to be primarily won by who doesn't turn the ball over and which defense keeps the run bottled up and forces that quarterback to take that first shot. I'm saying the Steelers win 16, 13. I think it's going to be a crazy one that goes down to the wire.

If you love old school, 1980s NFL games, where nobody can throw the ball and everyone's just hitting each other and it's a, it's three yards in the clouds of dust this will be your game I think this is going to be a lot of physicality a lot of big hits uh not a lot of great passes there's going to be a lot of just sporadic stuff but I think there's gonna be some wild plays a lot like last week for the Steelers and last week for the Patriots with the Melvin Ingram play I think it's going to come down to that and I think the Steelers just have a defense with Alex Highsmith's ability to get after the quarterback,

Minka Fitzpatrick's ability to create turnovers. And I think the composition of the Steelers defense is still, even without TJ Watt still has a lot of assets to it. That's why I say it's going to come down to, there's this Mac Jones ends up making the first big mistake and that's what's going to give the Steelers the edge. But Mike, I think you and I can both agree. This is very much of a coin flip of a game with the way both these teams are designed absolutely two teams that are very well coached that are coached by veteran coaches that have

been the puppet show they've seen the strings there's not much that you're going to fool Mike Tomlin or Bill Belichick on so when you have that kind of a chess match going back what I said when we opened the uh the pod this afternoon, this is something that I think the New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers live for. Games like this where every inch, every yard, every play, and every decision can factor into either your success or end up on the opposite side of the coin.

I'm really looking forward to this game. It's always fun when the Pats and Steelers hook it up. Same here. It is a lot of fun. It is crazy that these teams haven't played in three years. You used to think that they played every year. But, you know, but, hey, I'm looking forward to it. Even though it's going to be weird not seeing Tom Brady come out of the tunnel

for the Patriots, even though I know he's been gone for you guys for a while. This is the first time that you guys have played the Steelers without him. And so it's for Steelers fans can be like, what is this oh so it's gonna it's gonna be interesting but I think either way it's still like you said it comes down to coaches and the integrity of these organizations both know how to win football games both know how to gear up their sides I think it's gonna be a I think it's gonna be a highly contested game I won't see great in the sense you'll see a lot of coordinated great passes or anything like that. For people who love the grit and the detail of football,

there's going to be a lot of the minutia that I think is going to be really good about this game, and that is what's going to come down to the victory. Mike, thanks so much for doing this show with me, man. It's a pleasure to do this with you. Hopefully it doesn't take another three years for these teams to line up so we can do it again. But let people know where they can find you, follow you and get more of your work.

Absolutely. Each and every day. You can catch me on the locked on Patriots podcast, free and available on all platforms, including YouTube folks to smash that subscribe button. If you're a Patriots fan, you're a Steelers fan. You want to keep your eye on the enemy.

I'd always appreciate the listens, nothing but love and respect for the Steelers organization and the players. And of course this man right here, who is the class act and definitely one of the best in the business. Always my honor. But if you want to check out my written work, I also cover the Patriots for that country of Sports Illustrated. Check us out. You can definitely find that link on my Twitter page, which is at MDABATENFL. Absolutely. Do check out Mike's work. And hey, Steelers fans, pay attention to what he said. Hope Patriots fans, you can do the same.

But subscribe to each other, to our shows. It helps us out when even you click on it, when you listen to it, when you watch it on YouTube. We're on the same channels, Locked On Steelers and Locked On Patriots, Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Odyssey, and of course, YouTube. You like this video, whether you saw it on the Patriots or the Steelers channel. Hey, Steelers fans, go to the Patriots channel, like the video over there, subscribe over there to help Mike out. Patriots fans, I hope you do the same for me and we can build each other.

But we love the Locked On brand. We hope that you enjoy these Locked On crossover episodes because we have a lot of fun teaming up with our partners here to give you this great content. We both got Friday episodes here. Again, I'm Chris Carter. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram at Carter Critiques. Read my work at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as I cover Pitt football, Pitt basketball, and all the Pitt athletic sports for the college teams here in the town. But we both got Friday episodes. Tune into those episodes tomorrow as we give you the final looks and predictions for the

game this weekend from Chris Carter and Mike DeBate. Thanks for listening to and watching the crossover Thursday on the the crossover Thursday on the locked on podcast network. Thank you everyone.