Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Crossover Thursday - Patriots, Dolphins set to open 2021 NFL Season — 9/9/2021

Episode Date: September 10, 2021

It’s Crossover Thursday! The 2021 NFL Season is about to begin. Join hosts Mike D’Abate of Locked On Patriots and Kyle Crabbs of Locked On Dolphins as they preview the season opener between the New England Patriots and the Miami Dolphins from Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts on Sunday, September 12th.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.ManscapedFellas, don’t gamble on shaving your balls with the wrong tools! Choose MANSCAPED™, Your Balls Will Thank You™! Get 20% off + free shipping with the code LOCKEDON at manscaped.com.RunYourPoolCheck ‘em out TODAY and get $10 off at RunYourPool.com and usepromo code LockedOn at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful. You are now locked in to the Lockdown Patriots podcast. Today is Thursday, September 9th, 2021. And for the first time in 2021, it's time to cross the streams here on your daily home for news, notes, and analysis infused with the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. And Pats fans, after listening to today's Crossover Thursday episode with Locked on

Dolphins, don't forget that it is not too late to listen to the Ultimate Season Preview 2021 for previews of every team and every division from our local experts and Odyssey's NFL experts. Search Ultimate Season Preview 2021 today on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Greetings, salutations, and crossover Thursday well wishes, Patriots fans. Thank you for joining me here on this Thursday episode of the pod. My name is Mike DeBate and I cover your New England Patriots for Patriot Maven of Sports Illustrated. I'm also your host of the

Locked On Patriots podcast, which of course is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And folks, because it's your team every day, that means your questions, comments, and feedback are always welcomed and very much encouraged. So share that feedback.

Send it to the internet by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at MDABATENFL. And while you're out there doing some Thursday traveling through the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. Pats fans, each day that passes is one day closer to Sunday, and it can't come fast enough. 4.25 p.m. kickoff, your New England Patriots host the Miami Dolphins, Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, as these two AFC East rivals kick off their respective 2021 NFL seasons. And as you all know, a staple here on the Locked On Podcast Network is Crossover Thursday. And in 2021, we are pleased once again to be bringing you the crossover each and every

Thursday during the NFL regular season, into the playoffs, and maybe even into the Super Bowl. After all, here in New England, we know a thing or two about playing football in the months of January and February. Not as much of a sure bet as it used to be, I know, but the Patriots have a lot of optimism this season. But step one is getting win one, and the Patriots are going to look for that first win this Sunday against the Dolphins.

Because it's Crossover Thursday, Kyle Krabs, host of Locked On Dolphins, will be crossing the streams with me here on the Locked On Patriots podcast as we will discuss this matchup from a Patriots perspective and a Dolphins perspective. Not only is Kyle a phenomenal host of the Locked On Dolphins podcast, he's also one of the leading experts in Dolphins media, and you also know his great work from thedraftnetwork.com. And today, he and I cross over in Pat's Finns Rivalry Week AFC East Divisional Showdown

between the Miami Dolphins and the New England Patriots. Locked On Dolphins crosses the streams with Locked On Patriots when this crossover Thursday here on the Locked On Podcast Network continues. Attention gamblers of all shapes and sizes. Our friends at Manscaped have a can't-miss bet for you today. The leaders in male grooming just launched their fourth-generation performance package. The betting odds are in your favor when you use the Lawn Mower 4.0. Across the board, this is the package to get you in the mood

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the New England Patriots will host the Miami Dolphins in the 2021 season opener, 425 p.m. Eastern, Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The Bats and Finns rekindle an old AFC East divisional showdown rivalry. And today here on Lockdown Podcast Network, it is Crossover Thursday. My name is Mike DeBate, host of the Lockdown Patriots podcast. And joining me today is my friend and colleague, Kyle Krabs, host of Locked on Dolphins. Kyle, it's always an honor and a privilege to join you on the mic for these crossovers.

And it's hard to believe that we're back in the saddle for 2021. Yeah, and it's pretty cruel of the NFL to put this kick at 425. You know, the week one jitters and you're ready to go and you're chomping at the bit and you just got to wait an extra three and a half hours really I'm a little upset by it but at the same time I'm looking forward to this weekend and whenever these two teams meet it's it's always a nice litmus test test for Miami when you consider what New England has been for so long and unlike some of the other rivalries in the AFC East whether it's the Bills versus the Patriots which New England owned for so long or the Bills versus the Dolphins which the Bills have owned for

so long this is usually a pretty competitive season series so we'll see who's going to set the tone to open this year. Yeah, without any question, these two teams very evenly matched, very well coached. Two coaches that know each other very well. Bill Belichick, obviously on the Patriots side, Brian Flores on the side of the Miami Dolphins. And it's, again, just always nail biters, always close matchups between these two teams. And usually you can predict what's going to happen. Your Patriots will probably dominate up here in New England, and then they'll go down to Miami and they'll get their revenge. But there have been some deviations to that. And I think this game coming up here in New England on Sunday is going to be one of the more closely monitored and I think one of the

better games on the 2021 NFL week one slate and I'm looking forward to it as much as you are so without further ado bud we're going to dive right into it and we'll start with your Miami Dolphins obviously coming off of a season in which the Miami Dolphins exceeded expectations really came into their own after a little bit of a shaky start. Brian Flores and his team really riding the ship when it came to offense, and obviously when it comes to defense, the sixth-ranked team in total defense in 2020. No easy task for a rookie quarterback, and that's exactly what the Patriots will be starting. Rookie Mac Jones making his NFL debut against one of the more

talented secondaries he's going to see this season. Talk about a trial by fire, folks. It will be for Mac Jones this week against that Miami defense. But they also finished 16th in the league while allowing an average of 116.4 yards per game in 2020. Kyle, when the New England Patriots look at the Miami Dolphins defense, Bill Belichick, I think, said it best when he spoke to the media on Wednesday morning. This is a team that's very well coached. They really are very sound and solid in all three phases of the defensive scheme,ins will look to attack a rookie quarterback, but most importantly, maybe stop that Patriots running attack as well? Well, I think that's really where it starts, Mike, is you got to stop the run. When you take inventory on what New England brought in this offseason and what we're presuming the offense is going to look like without the threat of a running quarterback. It's going to be a lot of 12 personnel, a lot of smash mouth football.

They've got one of the best offensive lines in the entire NFL. They're going to look to run the ball and then they're going to look to establish the run and then come back out of that with play action passing. So if I'm Miami, I'm really trying to turn this game into nine on nine. And what I mean by that is New England did some work this off season on the wide receiver room, bringing in Nelson Aguilar and Kendrick Bourne. And obviously Jacoby Myers has made strong strides as a complimentary receiver, but that talent just based on, if you're comparing what they're bringing to the table versus Xavier and Howard and Byron Jones,

you should be expecting, if you're Miami, those corners to win the majority of those matchups based on the physical talent that they provide. So if you can match up on the outside and kind of turn this into tight ends versus safeties and linebackers and commit that extra hat in the box and not be threatened to play too high safety looks a lot of the time and get that extra hat in the box and not be threatened to play too high safety looks a lot of the time and get that extra hat in the run game. I think that's really where Miami's going to hope to start and get into some third and longs.

If they can't get into third and seven plus, they're going to have a long day defensively against New England. So as I'm thinking about Miami, I'd probably play a lot of middle of the field closed coverage with a free safety in the middle of the field. I would try my luck with playing cover one and play man to man with those guys on the outside and see how well I can fare with that second safety down in the box, trying to out gap the Patriots in the run game. Absolutely great insight. And I completely agree with you. I think if the Patriots are going to be contained by this Miami defense, and in a lot of ways this is going to be a very tough test for Mack, not just for Mack Jones, but also the Patriots offense as a whole,

including the offensive line going up against a stout D-line that's going up against them, it's going to be a little bit difficult for them to be able to move the ball. That being said, Miami is employing Tua Tagovailoa as their starting quarterback, as their undisputed starting quarterback this year. And in 2020, of course, we had a good dose of Ryan Fitzpatrick. Tua got his shot.

Fitz came back in a little bit. A little bit of a disjuncted year for the rookie, the then-rookie, but he's coming back in now, knowing that he is the full-fledged starter. In terms of growth this year, Kyle, what have you seen from Tua so far in training camp and preseason? What type of quarterback can we expect from the Miami Dolphins in 2021? Yeah, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that Tua Tungvalu is going to be a top 10 quarterback in the NFL in 2021, but I saw a very different player than the

one who was behind center for Miami in 2020. The confidence, he definitely is generating more velocity on his throws. He's getting more torque. And he spoke on that himself this offseason, talking about throwing mechanics and lower body recruitment on his throws and trusting his hip more. And he spent the entire offseason training to get bigger, faster, stronger, and not just to rehab from a serious hip injury that almost ended his career. So I think that's the most notable thing is the confidence that he displays, the willingness to keep his eyes downfield in the preseason games in the midst of some muddy pockets and extend some plays within the pocket. He looked like Alabama Tua, not 2020 rookie Miami Dolphins,

kind of shell-shocked at times and not really having answers. So I think it's kind of a blend of Tua himself, the work that he's put in this offseason, and then completely overhauling what the pass catchers look like, where there's a lot more dynamic play with Jalen Waddle and Will Fuller and Albert Wilson coming back from being an opt out from COVID-19 in 2020. So this wide receiver room, one of the biggest issues they had last year was they could not defeat man coverage. If you had half a lick's worth of salt of talent at corner, you were going to stay sticky on the Dolphins receivers last year down the stretch. They just didn't have any bodies that were dynamic.

And I think you're seeing some more confidence to find those players, but simultaneously you're seeing more efficiency in the pre-snap process to understand where he's supposed to go with the ball. So I had a chance to go down, and I was down in Miami for three days for two practices worth of training camp. And obviously got a chance to see him in the two preseason games that he played. And I'm expecting probably a top 15, top 18 caliber quarterback from a conservative projection standpoint. This is not like 30th starting quarterback in the league anymore. And I think that really creates an interesting layer because that's probably

where you would peg Ryan Fitzpatrick. Last year was a top 20 starter and it's, can Tua have that same caliber of play without the turnovers, knowing that there's a higher ceiling to tap into as he continues to mature? Yeah, absolutely. Great insight on Tua. And really echoing, I think, the statements that Bill Belichick put out on Wednesday morning when he spoke to the media up here in New England, really sung the praises of Tua Tagovailoa and basically let everyone know this is not the rookie Tua that we saw last year. He's going to be better. He's going to be more well-prepared.

So the Patriots have to be well prepared in that realm as well now as in terms of how you have evaluated him I would probably agree with you I would say that's pretty much in line with where Patriots fans and probably Dolphins fans expect him to be but I do expect that the Patriots will get all they can handle and that defense will get all it can handle with Tua under center and that leads me quite nicely into my final question for you today before we flip the script and you put me on the hot seat, my friend. That is with respect to the Patriots' revamped defense. And I know that there are a couple of guys on this defense that you know pretty well covering down in Miami.

Well, one that you know very well, one that I guess had a cup of coffee down there in Miami and then decided he wanted to come back up here to the Duncan in New England. But I'm talking about linebacker Kyle Van Noy, who had a year in Miami, now back in New England. And of course, defensive tackle Devon Godshaw, who has now shored up the middle part of that Patriots interior of their defensive line. These two guys changed the complexity of the way the Patriots interior of their defensive line. These two guys changed the complexity of the way the Patriots play. All of a sudden now, the Patriots have two elements they did not have last year. They have a versatile linebacker that can go up, allow the Patriots to play that three-fourth set

that they love to employ under Bill Belichick, a linebacker that can drop into coverage or step up and be a ball-hawking pass rusher. They also have the middle part of that interior of the defensive line shored up, and now they have the nose tackle that allows them to stop the run. Patriots finished 26th in the league in defense and stopping the run in 2020. You know as well as I do, Kyle, that was a statistic that kept Bill Belichick up for quite some time. He was not happy about it, and he went out and made sure that he upgraded. Now, Miami has had their difficulties with the run, save for the game against the Patriots last year, where they pretty much ran all over them.

This is a different Patriots defense than you had in the past. How do you think Miami is going to look to attack that Patriots defensive front, which I can tell you from personal experience and having seen that team up close and personal in the preseason, this has a chance to be a very, very good defensive front in New England. How does Miami counter that on Sunday? Yeah. So I want to clarify something real quick. You talked about the Dunkin you're talking Dunkin Donuts up there.

Is that correct? That is yes. So what do you guys do differently with your coffee because i went up there for a uconn game one time to scout for the draft network and the duncan donuts coffee up there is it just hits totally different than down here like i'm in the mid atlantic i'm outside of philadelphia so is there like a secret to the Dunkin in Boston or what? Like, what's the deal? You got to give me the scoop here. I believe it's a Poland spring water. What it means to be from Maine. No, just kidding, folks. I really have no idea. I think it just hits differently. I think

when you go in all the, you know, I'm going to Dunkin's, you know, I think if you say it like that, I think automatically the coffee just tastes better. It's probably that salty flavor that just gets into your bloodstream. But no, I really that's a good question. And I happen to agree with you. I have had it in the mid-Atlantic or in the South. And just it's different. I don't know. It's not the same down here in New England.

Yeah. I think that, you know, the manufacturing plant is in eastern Massachusetts. So maybe that has something to do with it. Oh, OK. It's maybe the fresh. I could tell you Kyle Vannoy didn't hit the same down in South Florida either for being completely honest. I'll say this for Kyle Vannoy.

I have a ton and I almost made a contribution to the proverbial swear jar here. I had a ton of respect for Kyle Vannoy playing through injury last year. You could tell about the second half of the season he was dealing with a hip issue. He was not 100%. and he played through it and he was a team leader for miami the year that he was down here and i understand there's some probably some ill will there about the the ending of that short tenure in miami and uh i'll be interested to see how kyle. And I would not be surprised if Miami tests him a little bit in that, you know, Van Noy, he's not a younger player anymore. He came in the league in 2014 with the 2014 draft. And I wouldn't be surprised if they try to physically challenge him and run at him to see how he does. To answer your question there, I certainly wouldn't try to

run at Matt Judon, who is another big addition to this Patriots front seven. So if you have opportunities to run at Kyle Vannoy, I'd certainly take my chances there and see how that fared if I was going to try to run off tackle, which Miami, the game that they played against New England late in the year last year, when they had over 200 yards rushing, which was just such an aberration for them versus what they had been beforehand. A lot of that success came off of Robert Hunt, who was playing right tackle at the time. And I think that's an interesting matchup with Devon Godchow, who's going to be playing on the interior. And Robert Hunt has kicked inside to play right guard this year. And I appreciated what Devon Godshall brought to the table during his tenure in Miami

because he was a dirty work player. He was a blue collar player. He didn't really make a lot of splash, sexy plays, but he was fairly stout along the front. And I think Miami will probably try to put two bodies on him if New England doesn't run a lot of bare front, which they're occupying all three interior offensive linemen with a body on a body. So that's kind of a subplot to this that I'm interested in to see how Miami ends up, what looks New England gives them to run. But, you know, I would try to double-team Devon Godchow, and I would try to run at Kyle Van Noy if I can and try to test my luck there.

But I would say this for the Dolphins offense specifically, it's engineered to pass to set up the run. I don't think this is something where it's kind of the inverse of New England, if we're being completely honest. So I think Miami's personnel groupings if they go 11 personnel or 12 personnel with Mike Isecki is one of the tight ends and put them in the slot I think they're going to try to stretch this team out a little bit and force them to respect the speed on the field and try to lift that safety out of the box and get into some too high safety looks with speed on the field and try to lift that safety out of the box and get into some too

high safety looks with speed on the field. And obviously Will Fuller won't play in this game, and that's a big boost to New England, but New England's also got to account for no Stephon Gilmore. So I think Miami's probably going to try to look to dictate the coverage looks and then try to run the ball from there and pick their spots. Yeah, very, very good insight. And I agree with you in a lot of respects, especially when you take a look and especially when you talk about the Patriots lack of Stefan Gilmore. And I think we'll probably talk a little bit about that a little more in just a moment, but good information on Godchow. And I think he may get double teams. Look, Miami right now,

facing a little bit of uncertainty on their offensive line. We're not quite sure if Austin Jackson will be removed from the COVID list in time to be active for this game. We know backup tight end Adam Shaheen will not be available for this contest on the COVID list as well. So if the Patriots are going to try to exploit that Miami offensive line, that may be the opportunity for them to try to do it. And they do have the personnel to be able to attempt it when it comes to Godchow. Obviously, Lawrence Guy, the incumbent coming back in and rookie Christian Barmore has looked very impressive in the Patriots training camp and preseason thus far as well. So Kyle, excellent insight on the Miami Dolphins. Always, always a pleasure to talk all with you when it comes to this.

But, folks, we are not done yet because, again, here on the Locked On Podcast Network, it is Crossover Thursday. And in just a moment, Kyle Krabs, host of Locked On Dolphins, will put me on the hot seat and we'll talk a little Patriots Dolphins. Mike DeBate of Locked On Patriots. Kyle Krabs of Locked On Dolphins. Crossover Thursday continues indown Patriots, Kyle Krabs of Lockdown Dolphins. Crossover Thursday continues in just a moment here on the Lockdown Podcast Network. Lockdown listeners, it is that time of year again. All eyes are now turning to football as teams are back on the gridiron to start the football season. As always, BetOnline is your number one spot for all the pro and college football action this season. Get all the updated odds, props, and contests,

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Welcome back to Crossover Thursday here on the Locked On Network. Kyle Krabs of Locked On Dolphins joined by Mike DeBate of Locked On Patriots. And Mike, we've had some really good conversations already about this showdown between these two sides. And obviously, an AFC East divisional contest early on in week one is a big test. And there's a lot of ground to be gained, especially when you consider these two teams specifically will not meet again until week 18, which feels a little dirty to say week 18.

It's not natural still, but that's what we're working with now with the 17 game schedule. So the first thing that I wanted to ask you is this. When you look at what New England has this season, with a number of significant additions between Devon Godchow and Matt Judon on the defensive side of the football, and Jalen Mills, who presumably is going to be one of the key pieces to try to fill in for Stephon Gilmore. And then on the offensive side of the ball, John U. Smith, Hunter Henry, Mac Jones, Nelson Aguilar. There's a lot of new pieces.

I wanted to get your perspective on how quickly you think all of these new pieces can get assimilated because both of these teams are going to try to start fast. And from a divisional perspective, you'd love to be 1-0 with a win in the division exiting week one. So what is the temperature as far as how quickly and how seamlessly so many transitions can take place for New England? Well, that's a good question, Kyle. We'll start with the defensive side of the ball first, because I think probably you would say there's more optimism on the offensive side of the football.

But I think there's going to be a quicker assimilation into the Patriot way when it comes to the defensive side of the ball, because the upgrades that they've made are very Patriot like in terms of how this team operates. We talked a little bit in the previous segment about the addition to Matt Judon to this linebacking core, along with someone like Kyle Van Nooy, who obviously has been up here in New England before and knows the system. But Judon has really assimilated himself into the Patriots system so well. He is just that hand-in-glove fit that allows him the versatility to be able to drop back into coverage, be a defender against the run, but really get after the quarterback. He just always seems to be in the right place at the right time. And Judon has really complimented guys like Juwan Bentley. He's complimented guys like Dante Hightower, who's making his return after the opt-out in 2020. He's really elevated

what this team does well, and that's allowed younger linebackers on this team, like a Bentley, who I just mentioned, or a sophomore like Josh Uche to come up and really start to come into their own and develop specialized roles where they can fit into this defense and not be called upon to be playing out of position. Something that both Uche and Bentley had to do several times last year because they just didn't have the bodies or the personnel to be able to run the type of defense they wanted to run up here. You couple those additions with what they did to upgrade the interior of the defensive line, which we also talked about a little bit in the previous segment with Godchow coming in, Henry Anderson coming in from the Jets.

He's been a good addition to this defensive line, able to go up, stop the run, very adept at that, but can also drop back and he can get after the passer a little bit as well. He was a fairly good pass rusher for the Jets in his early days there. So this is a much different defense than the one that the Patriots employed in 2020. Because of that, I think you're going to see them assimilate much faster into the Patriot way and make differences in games early on. Offensively, really, there's no other way around this. It's going to depend on how Mac Jones is able to utilize his weapons around him. Patriots upgraded from what they had last year in terms of offensive weaponry. They had virtually

no production from the tight end position in 2020. They went out and got the top two on the market in Jonu Smith and Hunter Henry. The 12-man personnel running out of play action is something that all Patriots fans are anticipating. Hunter's been a little bit banged up by all accounts. He's pretty good to go, but he'll still be assimilating in and trying to get used to the Patriots offensive system, as will John. And I think that's going to come along a little bit slowly. The wide receivers right now, Nelson Aguilar was listed on the injury list today, so we'll continue to monitor that. I think a heavy dose of Jacoby Myers is likely when it comes to the receiving core.

But if I'm the New England Patriots, you have to try to run the ball. Miami was middle of the pack last year in terms of run defense. They've made some additions to shore that up. But if I'm the Patriots, I test that early and often to find out what kind of offensive attack I'm going to put out on Sunday. If you don't mind, I'd love to stay on the defensive side of the ball because just kind of reviewing not only the New England depth chart, but some of the players who are not going to be available for New England in this game. And obviously Stefan Gilmore is the highlight name amidst an ongoing

contract situation. I think it's probably an appropriate way to put it, which Miami fans know all too much about with what happened with Zabian Howard this summer. But I also see names like Anthony Jennings, who was a recent draft selection in the middle rounds, and Byron Cowart, who has developed into a really good role player for the New England Patriots, plus another familiar face for the Dolphins, and Raekwon McMillan, who was traded about this time last year to the Raiders and

didn't really get a lot of run and is now on IR. So looking at some of those names, Jennings, Gilmore, Cowart, McMillan, how big of a role were each of those players expected to take amidst the reinforcements? Obviously, Stephon Gilmore is the headliner, but I look at Byron Cowart amongst the defensive front that did add Devon Godchow and Henry Anderson. And my mind tells me, yeah, you know, that might be something of a loss that we need to take account for for New England. But I wanted your perspective on the weight that missing those players is going to carry for the Patriots. Yeah, that's a great question. And look, the loss of Coward is something that I think will be felt by the team on the field. Coward had really started to develop into a player that really could play multiple roles, especially on that defensive line.

He's strong, he's stout, got a little bit of quickness to his step, and I think he was developing into quite a nice player with the Patriots. Obviously, him being on reserve, he's going to be on the shelf for a little bit. But what mitigated that loss to me was the addition of Christian Barmore as a defensive tackle out of the draft. Barmore has been extremely impressive, and he continues to impress each and every day, winning one-on-one battles in training camp and in joint practices. He has the ability to get up and be a strong force in stopping the run and even putting his ears back and getting after the quarterback. He showed great versatility and for a kid of his ilk,

basically meaning that a rookie without much pro experience, he's playing at a veteran level. And that's something I would definitely watch if I'm either a Patriots hater or especially a Patriots fan, you're definitely going to want to keep your eye on Christian Barmore this weekend. Also the emergence of Carl Davis, who's been really a role player throughout much of his career, even here in

New England last year. But he's been one of the defensive standouts for New England in training camp, proving his value within the system as that two-gapping interior defensive lineman. That coward really kind of played that role a little bit last year and even the previous year. So I think in that regard, you're looking at Davis and Barmore in the addition, and that will help mitigate the loss of someone like a Byron Coward. In terms of Raekwon McMillan, that was a real hurt for the New England Patriots because Raekwon was having a tremendous camp up until getting hurt and then obviously ending up on season-ending injured reserve. That was a blow to New England because I think Raekwon McMillan could have been a great fit

here for the Patriots in terms of how they like to employ their linebackers. He just had all of the intangibles. On the New England Patriots, you've got to go back to the drawing board now. Now you have to lean heavily on guys like Chase Winovich, Harvey Longy, who's making his second tour of duty here in New England after a brief stint with the Jets, and rookie Ronnie Perkins, who really spent most of his time in college at the University of Oklahoma as a defensive end. He's going to move to outside linebacker now. So at that point, you're going to look at these three guys to kind of bring up the rear in the linebacking core,

which is a role that I think Raekwon McMillan could have played very well. So the Patriots do have the ability to mitigate those losses, but the glaring loss on the field, Kyle, on Sunday is going to be Stephon Gilmore. Gilmore missing the first six weeks of the season, still on the physically unable to perform list. We know this contract situation's going on. Bill Belichick kind of danced around the subject this week. Not sure how that's going, but we know for sure he's going to be out for the first six weeks. So who takes his place? J.C. Jackson proving that he's ready for prime time. It'll be the option and the guy that Miami is going to try to attack on offense. But who's going to emerge as his counterpart? Good question.

Jalen Mills may see as much time at safety as at corner. A lot of people are saying he's going to be penciled in on the depth chart right now. He's listed as the number two corner. The two guys to watch particularly closely upon Miami, Jawan Williams, I believe he's going to see some increased snaps. He comes in third year in the league now, former second rounder out of Vanderbilt. So a lot of pedigree with Jawan Williams, but he's yet to emerge as a real match with the Pats and their press coverage schemes. He's got some good size and length, but the newly acquired Sean Wade, a rookie coming in from the Baltimore Ravens, he could end up being a factor there as well. He played a little outside corner, had some injury history last year with Ohio State, but he's coming into his own here in New England as well.

So keep an eye on that. But the outside cornerback depth is thin right now. And that's my biggest concern on the Patriots defense. I have one more question for you, Mike, and it is rooted in the Patriots running game. I don't think anybody can question the offensive line that the Patriots have assembled. Obviously, Michael Nwenu had a phenomenal rookie season last year, him replacing Joe Thune at left guard. That transition, you couldn't draw up a better potential succession plan than having a sixth round pick hit to the degree in which Nwenu did. And then you bring back Trent Brown, who had success in New England before leaving to play in Las Vegas with the Raiders and is now back. So I think that offensive front is a really imposing threat

that's going to test the depth that the Dolphins have up front. But I wanted to ask you about the running back rotation with Damian Harris after the Sonny Michel trade to the Los Angeles Rams, perceived to be your lead back, your feature back. But there's a lot of bodies here. And J.J. Taylor was really impactful in the preseason. And fourth round pick Ramondre Stevenson has, I believe, was a dislocated thumb. That's not necessarily expected to keep him out of action, but it's something to monitor.

Plus a long term staple in James White is another receiving threat out of the backfield. So how much of the workload do you expect any of these names individually to take? And is there any rhyme or reason to what the rotation looks like for the Patriots? Good question. Again, then to answer your question, the first part of your question about who is going to take the lion's share of the snaps or where is the main focus going to come from on the running game, it'll begin with Damian Harris. Damian Harris is going to be the team's feature back, especially now that Sonny Michel is in Los Angeles. Damian has proved that he can do that. He can be their every down early down feature back.

Someone that can run with power, can run with speed, even drop into the backfield and catch the ball out of the backfield if he needs to. Damian can do it all. And he's proven that he can be the guy at the top of that running back rotation. So I don't look for that to change. It started in 2020. That will continue and even grow into 2021. But J.J. Taylor is the intriguing option here. He's probably the one that's going to raise the most eyebrows. Taylor had a very strong camp, a great preseason. And he's starting to assume that change of pace back role that was filled so well by Rex Burkett here for the last couple of years. Obviously, Rex is in Houston now.

He's not here in New England any longer, but JJ will be able to fill that role and maybe with a little bit more health than Rex did. I loved Rex Burkett, loved covering him up here. Just a great guy, you know, all the way around, but he had his injury history and unfortunately you had to pencil in a few misses for him every year because of that. With JJ Taylor, his durability is going to allow him to be a factor in this offense, maybe a little bit more than not. Brandon Bolden's the elder statesman here on this crew. Special teams ace should be a viable third down option to help lessen the workload of

James White, who is still one of the best third down backs in the league. I think that will continue. I think his synergy that he's developed with Mac Jones in training camp will allow James to return to a major factor in this offense as he was up here during Tom Brady's tenure in New England. And then, of course, you mentioned Stevenson, and he's a little bit of a wild card right now. Of course, the dislocated thumb may slow him a little bit.

He wasn't on the injury report, so I'm assuming he's going to be good to go for Sunday. But even if he slowed a little bit, Patriots still have a lot of depth to take over what he brings. But I love this kid. He's just got a great amount of intangibles to be an effective weapon, both in situational runs or even receiving out of the backfield, which he did in Oklahoma very well. So all things considered, Kyle, running back core should be among the most productive units in the Patriots offense. Yeah, you know, it was a good pick when I sat here and pounded the table for Ramondre Stevenson as a good fit for the Dolphins in the middle rounds. And then, of course, New England goes out and drafts him.

So congratulations on plucking that one. You know, I said the same thing about Joshua Bledsoe's on the non-football injury list and Cam McGrone, who's on the non-football injury list. So I'm a little green with envy with what New England managed to haul on day three of this year's NFL draft. And I think that's one of the exciting subplots here is these are both teams that have transitioned into a renewed focus towards building for the future. And them plus the Bills, I know we've both said this in the pre-show, but it figures to be one of the more competitive divisions in the AFC East in 2021 with a lot of young talent. Excited to see how it transpires all season long

and including in week one with Dolphins and Patriots. Absolutely, without question. These two teams always, always play each other well. long and including in week one with Dolphins and Patriots. Absolutely. Without question. These two teams always, always play each other well. And I don't look for that just to be competition here in week one. These two teams are going to be keeping an eye on each other all season long. And that week 18 matchup, and I agree with you, it just doesn't sound right saying that, but we'll get used to it.

I guess that week 18 matchup will loom large. I think there's going to be a lot on the line in that matchup, and it's always a lot of fun when these two teams play with something to play for. I'm looking forward to it, and it should be a fun season both ways around for both franchises and, of course, for both fan bases. Amen to that. Kyle Krabs, Locked on Dolphins. Mike DeBate, Locked on Patriots.

We hope you enjoyed this crossover Thursday experience here on the Locked On Network. Your team every day. Thanks as always for listening, and we hope to talk to you again soon. fans, we are almost through your work week, but don't worry, there is still plenty to come when it comes to Patriots coverage, getting you ready for Sunday's game against the Miami Dolphins. So to ensure that you do not miss a single second of the action, download, subscribe to and follow the Locked On Patriots podcast on platforms such as the Odyssey app, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. Just make sure that you are staying locked in to Locked On Patriots.

Once again, my name is Mike DeBate. I thank my friend and colleague Kyle Krabs, host of the Locked On Dolphins podcast, for crossing the streams with me here today on Crossover Thursday. But most of all, I thank you, each and every one of you, so much for listening and for continuing to make Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Until tomorrow, Foxborough faithful, stay safe, stay well, be the change you wish to see in the world.

Have a great day, everyone.