Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Crossover Thursday: New England Patriots vs Tennessee Titans in Week Twelve — 11/25/2021

Episode Date: November 25, 2021

It’s Crossover Thursday heading into Week Twelve of the the 2021 NFL Season. Join hosts Mike D’Abate of Locked On Patriots and Tyler Rowland of Locked On Titans for a special Thanksgiving edition of Crossover Thursday, as they preview this matchup between the New England Patriots and the Tennessee Titans from Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts on Sunday, November 28th.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.StatHeroStatHero is the first of its kind Daily Fantasy Sports platform where it’s YOU vs. the HOUSE in head to head fantasy matchups - winner take all. Sign up for FREE - RIGHT NOW - at StatHero.com/LOCKEDON and use promo code LOCKEDON for a One Hundred Percent Deposit Match. 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. Welcome, Titans fans and Patriots fans. It is time for another Locked On Crossover Thursday, but it's not just any Locked On Crossover Thursday. It is a Thanksgiving crossover. Hope you guys are all having an excellent holiday. You have me here, Tyler Rowland, host of Locked on Titans. You have

Mike DeBate from Locked on Patriots. We are going to get you guys ready to go for this big time matchup this weekend in Week 12. The two top teams in the AFC battling it out and obviously a rematch of a hotly contested playoff game just a few years ago.

So we are going to get you guys ready for that. Mike's going to ask me some questions about the Titans. I'm going to ask him some questions about the Patriots. We'll give our game predictions and how we kind of see things going towards the end of the show. So a great crossover Thursday for you guys. Mike, how are you doing on this Thanksgiving? I'm doing great, Tyler. Thanks so much for joining me here on this Thanksgiving Thursday and a very happy, healthy Thanksgiving

to all of you listeners out there. Titans fans, Patriots fans, a pivotal AFC matchup this coming Sunday, 1 p.m. Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts. The New England Patriots host the Tennessee Titans. Both teams right now near that top of the pecking order of the AFC. The Titans are still the kings of the conference, but how much longer will that last? If the Titans are able to hold on and beat the Patriots this weekend, they put themselves in great position. If the Patriots are able to take this game, that breaks the AFC wide open. And it has been a rollerco coaster ride in the AFC this year for all teams involved. And Tyler, since the start of the season, the Titans have been

one of these teams that have been at the top or near the top, I should say, of pretty much everyone's prognostications of teams to beat in this conference. Not only are they very, very well coached by a guy that Patriots fans know very well in former Pats linebacker Mike Grable, but also they've got a tremendous offense with running game, headlined by Derrick Henry. I know that's a tough subject right now, but we do believe we'll see Henry again this season. And also Brian Tannehill playing great quarterback and really driving this team forward. Good receivers, good offensive line.

The Titans are solid on the offensive side of the ball. Defensively, they really take on the image of their coach. Aggressive, get after the quarterback, solid in coverage, definitely good in all three levels. So this is going to be the Patriots' toughest test to date. And I don't stutter when I say that, folks. This is going to be a Patriots' toughest test to date. And I don't stutter when I say that, folks. This is going to be a great matchup Sunday in Foxborough. Tyler, I wanted to help pick your brain a little bit because Patriots fans right now are definitely concerned about the Tennessee Titans coming to town.

And we'll start on the offensive side of the ball. Brian Tannehill is kind of that enigmatic quarterback that always seems to be at the top of most lists, but for some reason doesn't quite get the press that others get for being the type of quarterback that he is, efficient, a winner, someone that is adept at being able to play different styles to get his team to be able to win. Obviously, the bread and butter of the offense

of the Tennessee Titans throughout most of the season has been running back Derrick Henry, having an MVP caliber season prior to his injury. Derrick right now is still trying the best he can to get back into action, but he will not play on Sunday. And based on that, when you look at this Titans team from top to bottom, knowing full well what the Patriots are capable of doing on defense, how should Patriots fans expect to see the Tennessee Titans try to attack this Patriots defense? Well, I think it kind of depends on how the Patriots decide to play because based on some of the things that I've been watching, I know that the, and correct me if I'm wrong, but

the Patriots have been pretty zone heavy in terms of coverage here recently. So when you take that into account and then you take the other side of it, teams play man against the Titans and the Titans will be without Derrick Henry. But not only that, I think that they'll probably be without AJ Brown. They're obviously going to be without Julio Jones as he's on IR. They're without their third wide receiver, Marcus Johnson, who was placed on season-ending IR just yesterday, or I guess for the people listening, it'll be on Tuesday. He was placed on season-ending IR. Cam Batson, another wide receiver who's been with the team for a few years,

tore his ACL earlier in the year. So the Titans are on their fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh. They signed Golden Tate just a couple of days ago to try to come on and play some snaps for this team. So the Titans are absolutely decimated. A record number of injuries already through 11 weeks of the NFL year. The Titans have already surpassed the record for players on the active roster. So they're really a ragtag unit out there outside of the offensive line

and quarterback Ryan Tannehill. It's basically a practice squad level group of position skill players. So with that in mind, I don't see why the Patriots would play zone on that. Every team this year has said we're lining the line of scrimmage up with seven guys. We're playing tight press man coverage on the outside

and you got practice squad players who can't win one-on-one. And you know what? They're right. They're right. So for me, the Titans will attack based on how the Patriots attack. If the Patriots play their zone coverage, then of course the Titans will try to flood zones.

They'll try to run route concepts that, you know, like a smash concept, a corner route against a cover two, seams against cover three. They'll try to do zone-specific beating route combinations. But if the Patriots come out in man coverage, which is what I expect them to do because they do whatever is best for the week ahead. So I expect the Patriots to go away from their tendency,

play a ton of man coverage because the Titans can't do anything against that right now with the weapons they have. So if they do that, the Titans are probably going to try to come out and use a bunch of bunch formations with like three wide receivers and a triangle, use trips, three wide receivers to one side. They're going to have to utilize the screen game as well to take advantage of that great defensive line of the Patriots.

So I would expect the Titans to do whatever they need to do based on what the Patriots do, but what the Patriots decide to do on defense is kind of the interesting thing for me to watch here. But either way, kind of like what I'm saying, regardless of what the Patriots decide to do, the Titans are going to have a tough time on offense winning whatsoever. Yeah, I think in a lot of ways you put things in perspective when you look at the amount of injuries that the Titans have had. And for them to be in the position that they're in at this point is truly remarkable. It really is a testament to work ethic.

It's a testament to system. And it's really a testament to coaching. And Mike Grable deserves all the credit in the world for keeping these guys focused and right at the top of their game. But at the same time, you're right. The Patriots have made their bread and butter playing zone coverage. And basically the reason why is because it's the best way for guys like Christian Barmore, guys like Dietrich Wise Jr. on the edge, and also the interior, that rebuilt interior of the New England interior of the defensive line, Devon Godschall, Lawrence Guy, and then you flank a guy like Christian Barmore, even having someone like a Carl Davis at a nose tackle in a reserve role come in and be able to spell him. It's the easiest way for the Patriots to be able to get those guys

in position. So that way the edge rushers can pin their ears back, get after the quarterback, and the Patriots can play that base safety three set that they love to play. And they love to employ with Devin McCourty, Adrian Phillips, and also someone like a Kyle Duggar, who really has been a real force for them if the Patriots decide to switch back to man and I do agree with you on that I think they will do it based on the strengths and the weaknesses of the Tennessee Titans that means JC Jackson's going to come up big that means you're going to try to take these guys out of the lineup take away your best option and then it allows people like Jalen Mills, Miles Bryant, Joanne Williams, not household names throughout the rest of the league,

but guys who have been playing solid corner alongside JC. And Miles really has done a great job filling in for Jonathan Jones in the slot. So that'll be an interesting game. There's no question about it, Tyler. Definitely looking forward to this one. And that leads me quite nicely into my next question for you. And that is, we'll flip over to the offensive side of the ball for the Patriots. And Mac Jones is enjoying a pretty stellar rookie season. Right now, has to be considered the front runner, maybe alongside

Jamar Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals, for Offensive Rookie of the Year. Mac's completing over 70% of his passes. He's looked in command. He's looked in control. And he's definitely accurate in terms of his ability to deliver the football, developing a good reputation, a good, solid relationship with Hunter Henry, also with Kendrick Bourne, Jacoby Myers. He's utilized the running game very well. And that running game has been solid, too, behind guys like Damian Harris and Ramondre Stevenson. The one knock on

the Patriots and where they can be had offensively is Mac does have some difficulty picking up the blitz you saw this against the Arizona the um excuse me the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday even a little bit against a team like the Los Angeles Chargers this was a difficulty for the Patriots so when you look at what the Tennessee Titans may do are they going to take a page out of the book of their coach and be aggressive and try to blitz Mac Jones force him into making throws he doesn't want to make and maybe even into a mistake or two well I think that's why this game is so interesting it's a tendency break game because the Patriots have been playing a ton of zone,

but it would be better for them to play a ton of man in this game. The Titans have not been blitzing a lot this year. I mean, they've been sending a cornerback or sending a linebacker, but when they do, they always drop out a defensive lineman. When I say the term blitz, I mean, having at least five rushers going after the quarterback, not just your standard four, regardless of where they're coming from. But like you're saying, I think that the Titans have to consider, especially because teams know now that the Titans play a lot of cover three, cover four, and man on early downs, and they usually use cover two on third down or second and long passing situations.

So what that does is that leaves easy opportunities to get easy completions to the flats and to the underneath outside areas. And Mac Jones, with his accuracy, will pick you apart all the way down the field. He'll be happy to dink and dunk all the way down the field, which is what the Titans defense tries to get good teams to do. They want them on those 10, 15, 12-play drives, dinking and dunking all the way down the field and hoping they can win in the red zone or the offense makes a mistake. Well, the Patriots aren't. They're going to play that way and not

make a mistake because that's how they're used to playing. So the Titans, it would behoove the Titans to bring some more blitzes, to play some tighter man coverage, to play some cover two on early downs and try to force Matt Jones to throw the ball down the field and do what he does not want to do. If the Titans break their tendency, I think that would help them have a successful game plan against the Patriots. But we're going to continue talking about this matchup, what we think. I'm going to ask Mike some questions about the Patriots side, a lot of those things that we hit on here.

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BetOnline, they are stuffed with deals this Thanksgiving. All right, Mike. BetOnline, they are stuffed with deals this Thanksgiving. Find both the podcasts anywhere that you listen to podcasts and always free. No paywall here at the Locked On Podcast Network. But I'm going to put you in the hot seat now. Ask a couple of questions. You talked about Mac Jones in our first segment, and that's kind of where I want to start because Mac Jones and him turning into maybe the best performing rookie quarterback of the year.

I think that's pretty set in stone right now. Obviously the best situation of any rookie quarterback as well. So that helps, but you got to give Mac his credit where it's due, especially when people were just hating on him in the pre-draft process. A lot of people, including myself, I didn't give Mac Jones enough credit for this. It's the non-flashy things in football that sometimes do the most. And I should know this well from Ryan Tannehill, it's being accurate, hitting the right person, checking down when that's the right move, knowing where people are supposed to be lined up,

all that stuff. Mac seems to have a good handle on it. So I just wanted to get kind of your take and your opinion of his development so far through the season. The Patriots obviously didn't start as hot as they are right now. So what have you seen from Mac that has kind of put him in that rookie of the year candidacy position? Yeah, I mean, I think you hit the nail on the head. And not to toot my own horn, but when we did the Locked On Ultimate Draft show, the Locked On Ultimate Draft show way back in mid-April, right before the draft. I did predict that the Patriots would draft Mac Jones.

And I remember we were in that locked on war room, that virtual war room, when I said that I was making the Mac picks. I remember vividly the amount of McCorkle jokes that came out of the chat room that night. But Mac Jones has really developed into the type of quarterback that the New England Patriots love to employ. And what really gave me a heads up that the Patriots were serious in their pursuit of Mac is when you hear someone like Charlie Weiss sing his praises, who was offensive coordinator here for a number of years in New England, spent a lot of time under Bill Belichick, that old Parcells regime. Charlie absolutely knew that Mac was the perfect quarterback to come in and do what the Patriots needed him to do. That quick timing-based offense predicated on

accurate throws made to where the receiver can get them and where the receiver can not only get them but also make plays on it. Early on in this season, Mack was doing a very good job of delivering the ball accurately on time and where the receiver could get it what's changed now is Mack is feeling his oats a little bit now he's actually starting to gain his confidence he's not just throwing it where the receiver can catch it he's also throwing it where the receiver can then catch it and make things happen in the open field yards after the catch is such an important part of the Patriots offense under Josh McDaniels and Mack is starting to be able to navigate that offense very well. He's taking shots down the field.

He's throwing it to tighter windows. He's starting to gain confidence. And by gaining confidence, that's allowing him to run this offense more efficiently. And it's really getting noticed by his teammates. You hear guys like David Andrews as a team captain. Been a staple here in New England for a number of years. He's been singing his praises. Mainstays on this roster, like Matthew Slater, Devin McCourty, Donta Hightower, guys that played alongside Tom Brady for a number of years

are praising Mac for the same type of work ethic, the same type of dedication. Now, I'm not comparing the two because they're not comparable, but at the same time, Mac Jones has done a very good job and been very efficient. So you have to be impressed and you have to be definitely thrilled if you're a New England Patriots fan with the output that he's put. Is there a long way to go? Absolutely. Mac is still coming into his own. He's nowhere near where he can be, but at the same time, his development right now, entering week 12 of the 2021 NFL season, is looking pretty good. Yeah, and to help that development, he needs a good offensive line. And the Patriots were banged up on the offensive line early in the season. I think that might be part of the slower start.

I don't want to call it a slow start, but a slower start for the Patriots than what we're seeing now. Some of that offensive line health. Where is the offensive line right now, and how well are they playing? The offensive line is playing its best football of the season. This was going into this season, going to be the strength of their team, especially on offense. They were ranked in the top five in a number of different national polls. Pro football focus had nothing but glowing things to say about the potential of this offensive line. Trent Brown got injured in game one of the 2021 NFL season, and that really threw a wrench into the Patriots' plans. They weren't

able to assemble the way they had in preseason. So naturally, what are you going to do? You're going to go with a platoon at right tackle. You're going to go with guys like Yasser Duran and Justin Harone, the two reserves. They didn't quite work out so well. So you try to experiment with different combinations. You take Michael Wainu, who was one of their best offensive linemen last year, swing him back over to right tackle where he's most comfortable. Trent Brown returns to the lineup. Ted Karras, who has done an amazing job in a reserve role, holds on to the left guard position alongside Isaiah Wynn.

Those two guys playing well together. Karras plays a similar style to the departed Joe Tooney. Tooney is not, I'm not comparing Karras to Tooney. Tooney is an all-pro, will be an all-pro, and one of the best offensive linemen in the league. But Karras plays a similar style, and I think that's helped Wynn to be able to play left tackle maybe a little bit more efficiently.

David Andrews is a glue in the middle of that offensive line, and the Patriots continue to get good contributions on the right. Now that Trent Brown is back, he's playing great alongside Shaq Mason. So this is a team that right now is peaking at the right time. They're not perfect. There's still difficulties coming off of the blitz. They can be had, and the Patriots can yield up yards. The aggressive team comes at them and shows them looks that may confuse their young quarterback.

But all in all, this offensive line is starting to play its best football. Yeah, it's pretty obvious they're dominating up front, especially recently. The Titans defensive line, though, is not the defensive line that they have faced in recent games. So that'll be a really fun matchup to watch. Speaking of defense, I want to talk about the defensive line for the Patriots. They've been dominating up front. Christian Barmore as a rookie has been really impressive.

Who are some names that Titans fans need to know that maybe they aren't as familiar with as defensive linemen? Well, Barmore, you mentioned, I think as a rookie, he's doing a phenomenal job. If not for Mac Jones in the season that he's having, Barmore would probably be considered their top pick. And I think the argument can be made that from start to finish, maybe Barmore has been their most consistent rookie. I mean, this kid's ability to push the pocket, be able to stand strong and run defense

has been tremendous. And he continues to get more and more playing time each week. He's been a difference maker in that defensive line. But in terms of the pure line itself, especially the interior, Devin Godchow is starting to play much better too. He's settling into that middle part that the Patriots lacked a presence in last year. Now, it's a little smaller than their prototypical nose tackle.

The Patriots usually like their nose tackle a la Vince Wilford. Big, you know, definitely bruising type guys that can clog the middle, take on the double team. Godchow plays a lot bigger than he is. And he's a big guy. I'm not saying that he's not Godchow plays a lot bigger than he is, and he's a big guy. I'm not saying that he's not, but he plays a lot bigger than he is. And because of that, it's allowed guys like Lawrence Guy and even Dietrich Wise Jr. on the edge to be able to come off

and get after the passer. If I'm the Tennessee Titans, I'm keeping an eye on Lawrence Guy this weekend. The reason being is if he's getting into the mix on a lot of these different scrums, especially in the run game, that's a sign that the Patriots are controlling the line of scrimmage. Lawrence Guy is one of the better players at being able to protect the nose tackle, be able to protect the edge rush when he's controlling the line of scrimmage. And if he's involved in a lot of different plays, that's a guy to keep an eye on, as well as Barmore. I mean, obviously, you definitely don't want to lose sight well as Barmore. I mean, obviously you definitely don't

want to lose sight of Christian Barmore. He will be there. He's not going to illuminate the stat sheet with a number of different sacks or any of these. He's not going to illuminate it with tackles, but keep an eye on the pro football focus. When it comes out on Monday and Tuesday, you'll see the amount of quarterback pressures and hurries that this guy is tallying. He's been phenomenal. And really, I think the difference maker in that line. Yeah, absolutely. He's been playing great football. Excited to watch him play.

The Titans offensive line is vulnerable, especially in pass protection. So that'll be something to watch there. The last part and the last question that I have for you that I want to hit on is the defensive backfield for the Patriots. Obviously, some good cornerbacks that you've talked about earlier, but my real question for you is the Titans are struggling with wide receivers, and I think that may lead them going back to more of what they did last year with two, three tight end sets in this game.

If the Titans come out in two and three tight end sets, the Patriots have been playing a lot of nickel and a lot of dime and basically just rolling with that, not playing base defense because they have physical safeties like you mentioned earlier, like Adrian Phillips and Kyle Duggar. Do you think if the Titans go super heavy with two, three tight ends that the Patriots will have to counter and take some of those defensive backs off the field? Or do you think, no, they're comfortable with the physicality of Duggar and Phillips and they'll just keep their best package out there? I think they're going to keep their best package out there. That's kind of the way they've been operating throughout the entirety of the season.

And the physicality of the way Adrian Phillips and Kyle Duggar play football allows them to do that. Bill Belichick invoked the name of Patrick Chung earlier, who is one of Bill Belichick's favorite players that has ever played for him in terms of the physicality and the toughness he showed on every single down uh devin mccordy can play that way but it's not his strong suit devin is definitely more of a free safety and devin had a tremendous game against the atlanta falcons if i'm the

tennessee titans i'm watching that tape i'm keeping a sharp eye and a close eye directly on devin mccordy all game the way he was able to control the field, that's textbook. If you're playing safety in the NFL or at a collegiate level or at a high school level, I encourage you to go back and see that tape of the way Devin McCourty played. Definitely something to keep tabs on and definitely something to aspire to. But to get back to your point, Tyler, the physicality of both Phillips and Duggar is something that the Patriots have continued to utilize, especially Duggar. Duggar has been much more of a physical presence than he has been, than he was last year. He's really, again, coming into his own, someone that's really developing into the type of player that when the Patriots drafted him in 2020, everybody rolled their eyes and said,

what's Bill Belichick doing? A division two kid out of Lenore Rhine. He's not going to be able to make this team. And if he does, he's not worth a second round pick. Duggar was someone that really, I think, has really come into his own. So good for Bill, good for Kyle to be able to make good on that. But this is a safety tandem. This three-base set of the safeties that the Patriots employ is one of the better in the league.

I would look for them to continue to do what they do best. Yeah. And I, and honestly with you, Mike, I think that the Titans want them to do that and they're going to, they're getting their number one tight end, Jeff Swain back. Now I say number one tight end because he's on the top of the depth chart. He's probably the worst starting tight end in the NFL right now, but either way, I think the Titans having their full complement of tight ends for the first time this year with Tommy Hudson.

So four tight ends total. I think the Titans will try to go heavy, heavy tight end and get the Patriots out of what they do best with that three safety lineup. But we are going to give our predictions, our kind of what we think is going to happen in this game in our final segment. Before we get into that, I do want to tell you guys about the best tasting protein bars

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sure that you go to BuiltBar.com use promo code LOCKED15 and you're going to get 15% off your order. Once again, that's promo code LOCKED15 for 15% off at BuiltBar.com Mike, we have made it to the end of the Locked On Crossover Thursday Thanksgiving special. Between me, Tyler Rowland, host of Locked On Titans,

and Mike DeBate, host of Locked On Patriots. I personally think, Mike, the conversation that we just had for the last 25 minutes or so is probably the most informative preview you can get in the world on this game while getting both sides of the perspective. So proud that we got to put that on here. Hopefully you guys are enjoying, but we're going to end the show

talking about our predictions, I guess, for how this game will go. Now, Mike, you told me that you've already kind of thought of a score and a prediction in your head. I'm still kind of working on my score, so I'm going to let you take the lead on this one. How do you see this matchup ending and going between the two top teams in the AFC? Well, thank you for your hospitality, Thanksgiving Day, my friend. I appreciate it, and allowing me to dine at the table first. Look, all kidding aside, from the conversation that we had,

I think it's not a stretch of the imagination to say that this one is going to be a defensive slugfest. I think these two teams come out very much aware and very much intent on controlling the other's offense. If you're the Patriots, you want to keep doing what you're doing. Strong play in the interior of the defensive line. You want the linebackers to be able to get into coverage. A lot of Matt Judon, a lot of Kyle Van Noy,

and you want to see these guys get active in getting after the quarterback. You want guys like Juwan Bentley and Dante Hightower in the middle part of that linebacking core being able to stuff the run. That allows your defensive backs to get into position and play the man coverage that I think the Patriots will try to employ against a Tennessee offense that might be a little bit banged up, but it's still capable of putting points on the board. At the end of the day, I think both teams are going to have difficulty

putting the ball in the end zone as a result. I like the way that Tennessee will be able to match up, and I agree with you from our earlier conversation. I think they go a little heavier on the blitz this week. Try to confuse Mac Jones. Try to keep him off battle. So based on that, I think that this is going to be a lower scoring game than most people are anticipating. Probably going with my heart a little more than my head here.

But I'm going to go with the New England Patriots pulling off a victory at home by a final of 20-17, but this is going to be a great one on Sunday in Foxborough. Yeah, I think it should be an entertaining game unless the Titans turn over the ball, which, you know, they have the propensity to do, as we know from a five-turnover game against the Texans and an embarrassing loss that just happened last Sunday. For me, you know, a lot of Titans fans say I'm too pessimistic,

and I will admit admit in this scenario, it is exactly like the Tennessee Titans to lose at home to the one and eight Houston Texans and then go on the road and beat the Patriots. That is exactly the two-faced Titans always find a way to show up. But I think that happens when they have an NFL level offense. And right now they don't, they just don't. They're missing their top three running backs to start the year. Darrington Evans, Jeremy McNichols, and Derrick Henry, of course, they're missing their top three wide receivers in Marcus Johnson, Julio Jones, and AJ Brown. And it's my opinion that AJ Brown will miss this game. They don't have great tight ends already. Their number one tight end went and joined the Patriots

and John Hugh Smith. And while the Titans' offensive system can work without a game-breaking high-level tight end, it would still help in these scenarios where all the wide receivers are gone. The Titans' pass offensive line is bottom five in pass-blocking grade per pro football focus. And the eye test and the numbers match that up as well.

The Titans have given up, I believe, 29 sacks on the year. Last year, they gave up 24 the whole season. So the Titans offense is a shell of itself right now. It's, quite frankly, it's practice squad level at the moment. And with how good the Patriots defense has been, I think it's going to be hard for the Titans to score enough points to win this game so of course they always prove me wrong when I think they're going to lose it's just how it works when you cover the Titans but for me and

I'm with you actually I think the Titans will try to blitz they'll try to move people around a little bit more to take advantage of the rookie but I also think one big thing that we talked about is on offense, the Titans are going to go heavy, heavy tight end personnel and try to get the Patriots out of that personnel package. If you want to leave six defensive backs or five defensive backs on the field while we're in three tight end, you go ahead, Bill. That's what we want to see, and we're going to try to run on that. And I think running the ball is what can keep the Titans

from being exposed for that lack of talent in the passing game. They're going to have to run the ball. I think if the Titans can run for over 150 yards, they can win the game. But I don't think they do. I think the Patriots win this game 23-13. And I think it's just with what the injury situation is on offense for the Titans, I think it's just impossible.

This would be an excellent, great game, like 24-27, something like that, if the Titans were themselves. But based on what they have right now and how hot the Patriots are, it's in New England. Bill Belichick wanting that revenge for the Titans, sending him home and ending the Brady era. I think the Patriots win this by double digits, 23 to 13. Wow.

For a repeat, 23 to 13, two weeks in a row. That'd be interesting to see if that actually does happen when it comes to the Tennessee Titans. But this will be a phenomenal game, I'm sure, in Foxborough. You can't ask for a better post-Thanksgiving treat than watching the Pats and the Titans for really all the marbles in the AFC right now. If the Pats win this or if the Titans win this, both teams in the driver's seat when it comes to dictating their fate and that number one seed for the time being anyway,

because as we know and we've seen throughout the season, anything and everything has the chance to change in the AFC. And week to week, you never know what you're going to get, but you always know what you're going to get folks right here on the Locked On Podcast Network with the amazing crossover Thursdays and all of the great content up and down the network.

Can't recommend it highly enough. Folks, as far as my listeners go for Locked On Patriots, definitely check out the great work that Tyler Rowland does each and every day on Locked On Titans. You want to keep a close eye. You keep your friends close, but your enemies closer in these weeks. You've got some time in a holiday weekend. Definitely check out what he has to say. You'll never find a more knowledgeable host in terms of knowledge of what the Titans do. You heard a little snippet of it today, and believe me, it's amazing, but he goes into much

more detail on his podcast. Can't recommend that highly enough. Also, a great point on Jonu Smith. We didn't mention him much, but the Patriots like to run that 21 personnel with the two backs. I look for them to run a little more 12 and a little more 22. I think you're going to see two tight ends. I think Jonu's ready for a little bit of a breakout game here. But bottom line, my friend, thank you for joining me here on this Thanksgiving day. My best wishes to you and your family for a very happy Thanksgiving

and to all of you out there listening to the Locked On Podcast Network.