Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Edge: Drake Maye Outplayed Justin Herbert | Patriots Staff Won Playoff Chess

Starting point is 00:00:00 In the playoffs, the margin for error is slimmer than imaginable. In the wild card round, we saw the difference the Pat's staff and QB can make. This is Locked-on Patriots. You are Locked-on Patriots. Your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. What's happening? I'm your host, Nick Cattels, born and raised in New England.

Starting point is 00:00:31 Been covering the Pats for the past 16 years. Also, the co-host of the Greg Bedard Patriots, podcast with Nick Cattels and a sports radio veteran. Welcome to lockdown patriots, part of the Lockdown podcast network, now the number one sports podcast network, your team every day. On today's show, in the third segment, our top takeaways from the all 22, including the biggest play nobody is talking about. In the second segment, we'll dissect the curveball that the pads through at Justin Herbert. But first, the Pat's advantages were clear in the matchup versus the chargers in the wild car round on Sunday night.

Starting point is 00:01:09 C cliches exist because they are true. That's why they exist. Take the head coach quarterback in the postseason cliche. The team with the better quarterback, the team with the better head coach usually wins in the playoffs. And there's really no better example of this than what we saw play out on Sunday night. The Patriots coaching staff, the Patriots quarterback, both were. better than the Chargers coaching staff and the Chargers quarterback.

Starting point is 00:01:38 And that's how you walk away with a 16 to 3 victory and move forward to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. Let's start with the quarterback. Drake May outplayed Justin Herbert on Sunday night. It's as simple as that. Looking back at the All-22, first let's begin with the decision-making. The decision-making by Drake May, it wasn't perfect, obviously. you had the interception, which I don't think was much on Drake May.

Starting point is 00:02:08 It was a great play by the defense. Those things happen. You bat passes up. Things happen. Football falls to a defender is what it is. But of course, you had the fumble. Then you had the second fumble that thankfully Jared Wilson jumped on and recovered for the Patriots. So the decision making wasn't great throughout beginning to end.

Starting point is 00:02:28 It wasn't flawless from Drake May. But I will tell you this, his decision making. overall was consistently good. And he made sound decisions. The scrambles that we saw from Drake May on Sunday night, they were the right decisions by the quarterback. I did not see a scramble that made me shake my head. I didn't see a scramble where I said,

Starting point is 00:02:50 wait a minute, he had that guy obviously wide open. The scrambles were necessary. The checkdowns. I thought Drake made did a very good job checking down when he should check down. He took the profits. Generally speaking, watching this game over again, I would say that Drake May saw the field mostly well. Again, it wasn't perfect.

Starting point is 00:03:14 We talked about some of the mistakes in the live post game, but for the most part, Drake May saw the field mostly well against a very difficult Chargers defense. In the second half, I thought Patriots quarterback had at least three elite throws. In the second half, second and 10 play to Hunter Henry. Drake May is getting pressure, and he makes a great pass, a great touch pass to Hunter Henry

Starting point is 00:03:43 towards the sidelines on a second and 10. Then you had the Kashan booty shot play down the field towards the boundary again. That was an incredibly difficult throw for Drake May to make. I mean, just a crazy throw. When you watch that throw a couple of times over, you really should appreciate how great, how top level of a throw that was to Kishan Booty for that huge chunk play in the second half. And of course, you had the fourth quarter touchdown throw to Hunter Henry, which was a fantastic throw just over the fingertips of Derwin James. Drake May in the second half finished 11 of 14, 173 passing yards and a touchdown.

Starting point is 00:04:24 I had those numbers for you in the live post game. But I will add to that the passer rating for Drake May in the same. second half of his first NFL playoff game was 142 even. That's crazy. His EPA per play was at plus 0.23, which again is a very good mark. On the other side, you add Justin Herbert. And the Patriots defense will get into the Patriots defense even deeper than we did in the live post game now that we've had the opportunity to watch the film

Starting point is 00:04:58 and really see what Zach Core, the defensive play caller, did against the Chargers, the curveball he threw to Justin Herbert. But Justin Herbert just was not good in this game. So you had a combination of factors here. The Patriots defense was very good. Justin Herbert was not good. He was incredibly impatient in the pocket. He left the pocket early for no reason. He seemed like he was jittery. Now, I would just have to imagine it's because he doesn't trust his offensive line. But Justin Herbert was very impatient in the pocket. And as I said with Drake May, mostly seeing the field well, I did not think that Justin Herbert saw the field well. He missed three or four golden opportunities for big plays for his offense.

Starting point is 00:05:43 And Andrew Callahan posted after the game on Sunday night, what did Calebon Chason like about this matchup against the Chargers? Caleb on Chasan said, quote, just going against the quarterback. We knew we'd have opportunities. We knew they'd give us great opportunities talking about the back seven. and just allow him, talking about Justin Herbert, to hitch the ball and just give us the extra second to rush. And when you talk about three or four missed opportunities from your quarterback, that could be night night. And it was night night on Sunday night for the Chargers.

Starting point is 00:06:16 You can't miss plays that are there. Now, again, we'll save the next segment for a thorough breakdown of Zach Corr's approach defensively in this football game. Thought it was unreal. But let's look at Josh McDaniels. What Josh McDaniels did, showing the staff advantage, was he got Los Angeles in their base defense for defensive backs. And when he got the chargers in the base defense, he took advantage for some big plays.

Starting point is 00:06:42 Taylor Kyle's of CL&S posted both of Drake May's deep completions came from six offensive linemen sets that forced the chargers into base. I discussed before this game, preview episode, going with big personnel and throwing out of big personnel, setting up the charges. That's what Josh McDaniels did. The game ceiling touchdown to Hunter Henry, six offensive linemen, right? The game ceiling TD, six offensive linemen set, chargers in the base and their base defense, and you get a touchdown out of it.

Starting point is 00:07:16 Evan Lazar posted. L.A. was in base on 34.4% of defensive plays second most in a game for the charges this season. They were actually in their base defense over 42% of the time in the second half. What did Drake May do against the Chargers base defense on Sunday night? He completed seven of eight passes for 105 yards a touchdown in a plus 0.51 EPA per play. Josh McDaniels goaded. He baited Jesse Minter, the defensive coordinator of the Chargers. He baited Jesse Minter into base defense. and when they saw that base defense,

Starting point is 00:07:56 they let Drake May attack. And he was almost perfect against that base defense. Again, you talk about the difference of winning a playoff game, losing a playoff game, going 7 of 8 for over 100 yards, a touchdown, and an EPA per play of plus 0.51. Those plays against the base defense by your quarterback helped win you that football game. I also want to give a special shout out to Jeremy Springer.

Starting point is 00:08:25 We touched on this in the live post game, but again, watching this game over, it was a great night, a great night for the special teams. Their coverage was simply fantastic. So when we look at postseason football and we go back to that cliche, whoever has the better quarterback, whoever has the better coaching staff, they're likely going to win unless something crazy happens. that's what we saw play out on Sunday night. Drake May was better than Justin Herbert.

Starting point is 00:08:56 The Patriots coaching staff was better than the Chargers coaching staff. And that resulted in a dub on Sunday night and the Patriots moving on. And with this coaching staff and with this quarterback, the Patriots absolutely have a shot to get to the Super Bowl. Not telling you that's what's going to happen. We'll go match up by matchup, but they absolutely have a shot of getting to the Super Bowl. They have the opportunity to get that done

Starting point is 00:09:26 because of the advantage they have between the staff and the quarterback. The curveball that the Chargers failed to figure out all night, that and more coming up. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. If you've ever hired someone who looked good on paper

Starting point is 00:09:49 but wasn't the right fit, you know how important that is. When you want candidates who truly match what you're looking for, trust Indeed's sponsored jobs. Hiring, Indeed is all you need. Stop struggling to get your job post seen on other sites. Indeed's sponsored jobs put your post at the top of the page and help you reach the right candidates faster.

Starting point is 00:10:07 If I needed to hire someone for this show, I'd go straight to Indeed and be very specific about what I need. Real experience. Not just a resume buzzword. Spend more time interviewing candidates who check all your boxes with less less time and more results using Indeed sponsored jobs. Listeners of this show get a $75 sponsored job credit to help give your job the premium placement. It deserves at Indeed.com slash locked on NFL.

Starting point is 00:10:34 Just go to Indeed.com slash lockdown NFL right now and support the show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring, do it the right way with Indeed. New Year, new systems. This is the time when a lot of us look at the mess. of how we run our business and think, there has to be a better way. And there is. Streamlining your communications is one of the quickest upgrades you can make. That's why

Starting point is 00:10:59 today's episode is brought to by, quote, spelled QUO, the smarter way to run your business communications. Because when your team is reachable, organized, and communicating in one place, you're not just working cleaner. You're creating more opportunities to connect with customers. Your whole team can call and text from one shared business number so nothing gets missed. You'll love how simple Quo makes everything. It's no surprise. Quo is the number one rated business phone system on G2, trusted by more than 90,000 businesses from solo operators to growing teams. Make this year where there's no opportunity and no customer that slips away.

Starting point is 00:11:35 Try Quo for free plus get 20% off your first six months when you go to Quo.com slash Lockdown NFL. That's QUO.com slash lockdown NFL. Quo, no missed calls, no missed customers. You already live your team every day. now take it up a level kick it up a notch go ad free join the everyday or club today get locked down patriots with no interruptions members only discord access and more all for just five bucks a month or 50 bucks for the year go to lockdown patriots dot supercast dot com or check the link in the show notes to learn

Starting point is 00:12:09 more and don't forget if you're watching us on youtube click that thumbs up give us a like helps us with the algorithm don't forget to throw comments in as well your thoughts on drake may and this coaching staff giving the Patriots a clear advantage on Sunday night. And don't forget to subscribe. That subscriber number continues to climb, thanks to all of you. The next goal, of course, is 8,500 subs. We are getting there as the Patriots continue this playoff run. Let's show the rest of the lockdown network,

Starting point is 00:12:38 how powerful the Patriots community is. Lockdown Patriots, like, comment, and sub. The best coaches, the very idea of coaching is accentuating your team's strengths and taking advantage, attacking the opposition's weaknesses. And on Sunday night, Zach Corr threw a curveball to the Chargers offense and Greg Roman, the offensive coordinator.

Starting point is 00:13:07 And that curve ball was that Zach Corr decided to heat up Justin Herbert, to blitz Justin Herbert a ton, to change the way, the Patriots attack defensively. That's what Zach Corr did on Sunday night. In the preview episode, I mentioned how important I thought it was going to be for the Patriots to get pressure on Justin Herbert using only four pass rushers. I said that because Justin Herbert going into the wild card game,

Starting point is 00:13:39 what he did in the regular season against the Blitz was very good. Justin Herbert was number two in the entire NFL at the quarterback position in QBR against the Blitz. So as we prepared for this game, you would think one of the things the Patriots would not want to do defensively would be to Blitz Justin Herbert. He was really effective against the Blitz.

Starting point is 00:14:05 Instead, the Patriots, they went bananas with the Blitz. As a matter of fact, my notes, rewatching the game on Monday morning, the first four defensive play calls in the second half that I charted We're all blitzes. They came out of halftime going blitz, blitz, blitz, blitz. Greg Bedard, my buddy at BSJ, he posted the Patriots blitzed 45% of the time on Sunday night.

Starting point is 00:14:29 If you're wondering, I checked it out, the Patriots in the regular season blitz, 26.6%. So if you're looking at what the Patriots do, 26.6% blitz going against the number two and QBR ranked quarterback against the blitz. and the Patriots blitzed 45% of the time a massive jump in what they have done throughout the entirety of the regular season. In the regular season, the Patriots had a 35.9% pressure rate on Sunday night. That jumped up to 48%. Evan Lazar noted that pro football focus had the Pats with a 56.8% pressure rate and 37 individual pressures, which is a.

Starting point is 00:15:15 monumental number. Zach Corr, Mike Vrable, they were in the lab last week. And they looked at this Chargers offensive line. They looked at Justin Herbert and they said, we know what the numbers say. We know that Justin Herbert's been able to handle the blitz,

Starting point is 00:15:32 but we couldn't care less. We're going in. We're blitzing the heck out of this football team. We are attacking Justin Herbert. And Herbert, even though in the regular season, his QBR was great against the blitz. On Sunday night, he was not good against the blitz. Next-gen stats. Justin Herbert

Starting point is 00:15:51 completed seven of his 16 passes against the blitz, 69 yards. His completion percentage was under 44%. His yards per attempt were just over four yards. His passerating was a rough 56.5. And his EPA per dropback was a minus 0.59. Justin Herbert struggled to against the blitz against this Patriots defense. And as a matter of fact, let's up the ante. The Patriots also through the old cover zero blitzes at Justin Herbert. Ted Johnson calls him the casino blitzes, right? That's when you send the house, when you are sending the house.

Starting point is 00:16:37 And according to Evan Lazard, Justin Herbert went one for four with eight yards against cover zero. The Pats produced two unblocked pressures by bringing all-out blitzes. And one of the biggest decisions in play calls by Zach Corr was the fourth and two red zone stop, the turnover on downs after the Drake May interception. I mentioned it in the live post game, how much of a swing that was. You went from turning the ball over, setting the chargers up at your 10-yard line, to getting the football back at your own two and driving down the field and getting a field goal. Massive swing in the game early.

Starting point is 00:17:13 Well, on that fourth and two red zone stop, the Patriots went with a cover zero blitz. They sent the house and it worked, incomplete pass. Marcus Jones, Christian Gonzalez, good coverage. Herbert threw it away. Mike Giardi of BSJ, up until late in the fourth quarter, Zach Corr blitzed at a 53% rate. More than 50% of the time until the very end of this game, the Patriots blitzed the Chargers. I would have never, I would have never predicted that. And that's what makes football so fun.

Starting point is 00:17:50 Something else Zach Corr did. He leaned into the strengths of his defensive backs. Different approach than the regular season. Now, I wondered in the live post game how much man coverage was actually charted because watching the game in real time, it seemed like the Patriots played a decent amount of man. When you look at the numbers, it was actually Patriots played 73% zone, 20% man.

Starting point is 00:18:12 But as Greg Bedard noted, that did not tell the tale because what the Patriots did is they changed up for this game. So before the snap and before Christian Gonzalez left with a concussion, Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis

Starting point is 00:18:25 were in the middle of the field waiting for the chargers to break the huddle, and then Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis matched up. So they pretty much played, you know, match man. It was often Christian Gonzalez on Quentin Johnson,

Starting point is 00:18:40 Carlton Davis on Trey Harris or Keenan Allen, and Marcus Jones was on Ladd McConkey. Christian Gonzalez would take the third down snaps against Keenan Allen because Keenan Allen, as we talked about in the preview episode, we did mention putting Christian Gonzalez on Keenan Allen on third down because Keenan Allen has been incredibly effective on third down. So the Patriots did play match up with their man coverage. Now, I expected more of this before the season kicked off.

Starting point is 00:19:08 I expected the Patriots to be a much heavy. or man coverage team because of the defensive backs that they have in the room. And when you go with this man coverage and you match up your defensive backs to certain receivers, you can get more aggressive. And that's what the Patriots did. They leaned in on the strength of their cornerbacks and their coverage. And they sent a ton of blitzes. And it had Greg Roman, the OC of the Chargers confused.

Starting point is 00:19:34 It had Justin Herbert confused. And it stalled the Chargers offense. I questioned it before the game on the preview show. Would the Patriots play more man? Ladd McConkey versus Marcus Jones, Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, your outside cornerbacks, and they did. Christian Gonzalez was really good, by the way. My grade watching it was a plus three, give him a plus three.

Starting point is 00:19:57 Overall grade on Sunday night. Pro football focus noted that Christian Gonzalez gave up zero catches on four targets, had two past breakups, next-gen stats, had Christian Gonzalez not allowing a reception on any of his five targets across 26 coverage snaps. Christian Gonzalez, according to next-gen stats, has allowed a league low minus 9.7 receptions over expected this season, including the playoffs.

Starting point is 00:20:22 That's the style of football for Gonzo. And of course, he's in the concussion protocol. We hope that he gets better quickly. Robert Spillane in the postgame told the media that the Chargers, Chargers players, offensive players, were going up to him in the postgame, telling Robert Spillane that they had no idea what the Patriots were doing defensively. And the number is just dominant. Greg Harvey from Opta stats, the Patriots defense, allowed three or fewer points,

Starting point is 00:20:54 had six plus sacks, allowed two or fewer combined third, fourth down conversions, allowed 160 or fewer pass yards. No other team, no other team in the Super Bowl era has done that in a playoff game. Opta stats also noted the Patriots defense allowed zero touchdowns at a half dozen sacks, allowed under 100 rushing yards, allowed under 150 net passing yards. The only other team in the Super Bowl era to do all of that in a playoff game was the 1985 bears against the Giants. We witnessed history, frankly, in the Super Bowl era from that defense last night. I mean, it was just unbelievable.

Starting point is 00:21:37 Zach Corr, through the curveball, and the chargers were lost. Great job by him. Great job by Mike Frable. The biggest play of the night nobody's talking about. The best route of the night and more coming up. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Let's be real. No one starts a business for the joy of calculating tax withholdings or managing payroll

Starting point is 00:22:01 spreadsheets. That's where Gusto comes in to take the stress out of payroll, benefits, and HR so you can focus on running your business and supporting your team. Gusto is the all-in-one remote-friendly payroll and HR platform that makes managing your team simple, transparent, and fast. Whether you're hiring, onboarding, or paying employees, Gusto helps you do it all from one place without the hassle or hidden fees. Unlimited payroll runs for one monthly price, which means no surprise charges at the end of the month. And knowing you can reach certified HR experts anytime gives you real peace of mind. Try gusto today at gusto.com slash locked on NFL and get three months free

Starting point is 00:22:42 when you run your first payroll. That's right. Three months free. Payroll at gusto.com slash locked on NFL. One more time I'm going to give it to you. That's gusto.com slash lockdown NFL. The wild card round is here and Fandul is officially in playoff mode. Every game day during the NFL playoffs, Fandul is giving customers even more ways. to get in on the action because right now, every NFL playoff game day, Fanduil users get a profit boost pack waiting for them inside the app. Each game day, you'll see a pack loaded with multiple profit boosts. You can apply to the bets you like most.

Starting point is 00:23:20 Open your profit boost pack first thing on game day and see what boosts you want to apply. The boosts let you lean into your game day instincts, whether you're backing momentum, defense, quarterback play, or coaching. Every play feels bigger and the boosts, make your bets feel that way too. You make your picks. Then apply your profit boosts to go after even bigger payouts while the playoffs they get rolling.

Starting point is 00:23:45 So do me a favor. Visit Fandul, an official sportsbook partner of the NFL. Again, it's Fandul, the official sportsbook partner of the NFL, and grab your profit boost pack every NFL playoff game day. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe. Let's jump in quickly to the all 22 takeaways and notes. I love watching. winning film on Monday. It's awesome. No better feeling. I want to start with the defensive line,

Starting point is 00:24:13 the interior defensive line, Milton Williams, Christian Barmore. They had multiple violent reps versus the Chargers and their interior offensive line on Sunday night. An example of this was second and three from the L.A. 35-yard line, 53 seconds left in the first half. Both Milton Williams and Christian Barmore just destroy the interior of the offensive line, results. in a Milton Williams sack and just kills the end of the half for the Chargers. I mean, Milton Williams, Christian Barmore, they're back to looking like the devastating combination they were from really the first week through the injury to Milton Williams. So fantastic to see.

Starting point is 00:24:57 You know what else was really cool? We talked about how big the Kyle Williams fourth and four conversion was in the live post game. I went back and I watched this route a number of times. Kyle Williams has Cam Hart opposite of him. We talked about this on the preview episode, the deep dive preview, that the Patriots would attack Cam Hart, and guess what, they attacked Camhart. And on that fourth and four, Kyle Williams cooked, cooked Camhart. Camhart fell, face first, face first on the turf.

Starting point is 00:25:31 Fantastic route, great footwork on the sideline to get in. Kyle Williams destroyed Camhart on that play. And also Kyle Williams, excellent instincts to throw a block down field on the gigantic chunk play from Ramandre Stevenson on that checkdown from Drake May. So Kyle Williams limited opportunities. He also cleared out the defensive backs on that Hunter Henry touchdown catch, by the way, limited opportunities for Kyle Williams. But he's had some significant impact. All right, several guys making huge plays. offensively for the two first half red zone stops inside the five.

Starting point is 00:26:10 I want to break this down so you know who deserves the credit for showing up big. The red zone stop number one. This was after the Drake May interception. First and 10. Milton Williams. Corey Durdon get pressure. That forces Justin Herbert to scramble. Patriots rally.

Starting point is 00:26:30 He only gets four yards. Second and six from the New England six. Carlton Davis actually. shuts down the Justin Herbert quarterback run at the boundary. Justin Herbert gets three yards, but Carlton Davis does a great job at pursuing and beats Christian Ellis and K. Levin Chase on to the boundary to knock Justin Herbert out of bounds. Third and three from the New England three.

Starting point is 00:26:54 This was the play we talked about in the live post game. Marcus Jones makes a one-on-one tackle versus Justin Herbert after only a one-yard gain. And then fourth and two is the play we talked about earlier. during this show. The cover zero, fourth and two from the New England two, cover zero, Marcus Jones, Christian Gonzalez with the coverage in complete past. The second red zone stop inside the five.

Starting point is 00:27:18 First and 10 from the New England 11. Christian Ellis fills a hole, stops Kamani Vidal after three yards. Great job by Christian Ellis. Second and seven from the New England. Patriots got lucky here. Anthony Jennings drops off of Tucker Fisk, when Christian Ellis is spying Justin Herbert, Anthony Jennings did not have to do that.

Starting point is 00:27:41 He left Tucker Fisk wide open. Fortunately, Tucker Fisk falls after he catches the football and can't get into the end zone, which leads to a third and two from the New England three. Christian Barmore, Robert Spillane, they blow up a Kamani Vidal run for no gain. So that is how you put together to, huge red zone stops defensively inside the five in the first half that really allowed the Patriots to win this game.

Starting point is 00:28:13 Robert Spillane, Christian Ellis, I thought made a big difference filling holes in the run game. Sure, tackling. Yes, Christian Ellis missed the tackle in the game early resulted in that face mask, but overall was very good. I also thought Christian Ellis and Robert Spillane were pretty good in coverage. So it was great to have Robert Spillane back out there on the field at the second level. Offensively. The biggest play that nobody's talking about. A third and 13 conversion from your own 12 yard line. This happened in the third quarter. The Patriots are staring down a third and 13 from their own 12 yard line.

Starting point is 00:28:51 You're punting pretty much from your end zone if you don't get any yards out of this play. Not only did the Patriots get yards, but they converted that third and 13. It went to Hunter Henry from Drake May. the Patriots convert that, they continue to drive, and that leads to a field goal. That play was gigantic. Converting that third and 13 deep in your own territory in that moment, somewhat early in the third quarter, that is another kind of game-changing play by your quarterback, game-changing play by your offensive coordinator and play caller Josh McDaniels. I want to wrap up with a couple more offensive things.

Starting point is 00:29:30 Kishon Booty, critical. Stefan Diggs was quiet. He was getting double-teamed and bracketed a decent amount, especially on third down. You don't have Mack Hollins, as we know. Kishan Booty four catches, 66 yards. You needed every single one of those yards. You needed Kishan Booty in this game to show up.

Starting point is 00:29:48 He did. And I want to wrap it up with Ramon Dre Stevenson, who's been terrific and continues to be terrific. I thought his vision and his contact balance on the film was even better than watching it in real time. Ramondre Stevenson has been a freaking beast for this football team since he came back from that toe injury. All right, that wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots. Thank you for making us your first listen and for being an everydayer.

Starting point is 00:30:14 Reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C. Radio. And don't forget to throw a comment in on the YouTube channel, hit that like button and subscribe. And if you're looking for a gift for someone, make it easy. Check out the Everydayer Club. Add free episodes of this show, exclusive Discord, server access, and more. Subscriptions can be gifted through lockdownpatriots.supercast.com. Have a great day, and we will see you tomorrow.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Edge: Drake Maye Outplayed Justin Herbert | Patriots Staff Won Playoff Chess

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.