Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - LOCKED ON PATRIOTS- 1-26-17- AFC Championship All 22 Breakdown

Episode Date: January 26, 2017

Chris Simoneau breaks down the All-22 Coaches Film from the AFC Championship. #patriots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Good afternoon. I'm Chris Cimino, Patriots Insider for Scout.com and also your host of Locked On Patriots, your source for everything Patriots. Today is Thursday, January 25th, 2017. Today we're going to review the All-22 from Sunday's AFC Championship And we're going to officially move on after that Today is the final day of Pittsburgh Steelers talk And we're going to move on to talk about the Falcons and the Super Bowl

Starting tomorrow In fact, I started yesterday and went on a radio show Which we're going to post for you guys a little bit later on so you can pick up on some of that audio. It was actually pretty good stuff down in ESPN in Georgia. So we'll make sure we get that post for you guys so you can hear it. And if you haven't, you can go onto my Twitter account and you can see it posted on there. But back to the All-22. All-22 provides us with a few gems that we don't notice during the game. This week was no different.

There were some guys that really played well that word is noticeable to the naked eye when you're watching just a regular film and you're watching it live. But when you go and you're actually able to see them from above and see them all at the same time and see the back angle, you can see some really good blocking and see who makes mistakes and things of that nature. So we'll get started right away, but first thing like we always do, I want

my listeners to know that I can be found on Twitter under the handle Chris underscore Simono at C-H-R-A-S underscore S-I-M-O-N-E-A-U and if you have any questions for the show, be it about the Patriots, myself, Patriots Insider, or if you're looking to advertise here on Locked on Patriots, you can email me directly at simono.christopher5

at gmail.com. That's S-I-M-O-N-E-A-U dot C-H-R-I-S-T-O-P-H-E-R, the number five, at gmail.com. If you are a member of Patriots Insider on scout.com, you can contact me directly on the site via message. All right, enough of that. Let's start talking about the All-22 review. So what we do, as some of you guys probably know from listening to the show on a regular basis, and I thank you, you regular listeners are the reason why I keep doing this. We're going to start right from the first quarter and work our way through the game. Patriots got the ball first. Very surprised. They won the toss and they took the ball. That just goes

to show that their goal was to get out on top. When you face a great offense, that's something that is definitely a possibility with Belichick because of the fact that how much he believes in the momentum part of the game. It helped because the Patriots were able to identify what Pittsburgh was trying to do to them right off the bat. Malcolm Mitchell, he had a big drop on third and one that would have probably, if he didn't score, he would have gotten down to at least the two yard line

because there was a lot of space there. He had a good angle and he was flying. So that's a huge drop by Mitchell. There had a good angle and he was flying. So that's a huge drop by Mitchell. There was absolutely no reason for him to drop the ball. Forced the Patriots to go for three, which they got. This guy was getting them on the board. But the path of the ball was still a little bit sketchy. I noticed it when I watched it on the game and then I saw it on the film. And when you can see it on film and it's low enough, that's usually not a good sign. But the ball kind of hooked left and it's low enough, that's usually not a good sign.

But the ball kind of hooked left and then went into the right and ended up making a through. But again, he missed an extra point later in the game too, so that was a little shady, a little sketchy of a kick, but he nailed it. So Pittsburgh gets the ball back, taking over at the 22. Bell got him started, getting the ball a few times, picked up three, got a first down.

Then the Steelers did. And the Steelers, I thought it was smart what they did. I've always believed that when you play the Patriots, you've got to take a shot down the field early, and they did. They took a shot at Sammy Coates on third and one. It's a good time to call it. The Patriots are expecting a run, and when you have Le'Veon Bell, you should be expecting to see a run.

But unfortunately for the Steelers, Coates couldn't make the play, which I think he should have, and the Steelers were forced to punt. Bell had two carries for nine yards on that first little series there, so we all expected to see a lot more of him, and we know how that all worked out. So Patriots get the ball back, and it was ugly. It was an awful, awful protection on third down, and that looked like, it actually looked like the Patriots when they played Houston. It was a pathetic attempt at offense. It was gross. Unfortunately, the punt wasn't very good either,

but, you know, the special teams coverage wasn't too bad, so they were able to hold the Steelers at least to their own 38. But I was a little concerned at that point. I remember saying to myself, oh, I hope this isn't the start of Patriots' brain cramps. But as we know, they were able to recover. And again, Ben Roethlisberger decided, you know, let's be aggressive here. Took another shot. It wasn't all the way down the field.

It wasn't a bomb, but it was a pretty far 25-yard out pattern to Antonio Brown up the field, and Malcolm Brown was very, very close to picking it off. In fact, he probably should have picked it off, but he didn't. So Patriots did force that 3-and-out, though. Patriots then took over the 25 after the touchback. That was really good defense on that series there, so the Patriots held the lead 3-0 though. Patriots then took over the 25 after the touchback. That was really good defense on that series there. So the Patriots held the lead 3-0. They get the ball back and it was

time for Chris Hogan to start making some plays. Makes a catch in the slot. Took it 26 yards. Huge play. First and 10 Patriots. That was a huge play. You know, Hogan really was impressive in this game and we're going to talk about him as we go on here. But he was impressive, and he just, that quarter's coverage that Pittsburgh was running, he just tore it apart. Then the Patriots scored. Chris Hogan with a 16-yard touchdown catch.

He was wide open. That was complete blown coverage. He was so open that Brady didn't even see him at first because he never would imagine that he'd be that open and then he looked back again and made the throw but he was wide wide open on that 16 yard touchdown catch so the huge play in that drive I believe was Patriots had converted on a third and six from the Steelers 16 so that that was it that that conversion was huge because you know the Patriots know that they needed to get touchdowns and not field goals. And it's going to be the same thing in a week and a half from now. It was a great

play by Brady to buy some time. And then it was a great job by Hogan to break off his route and find the open spot in the end zone. So that was a very nice score. Good job by them to get the ball down the field. It didn't take long either. But it was impressive. They went on a good 75 yard, you know, five minute drive that got them that touchdown and put them up by 10, so good drive, great job by Chris Hogan getting open, and great job by Brady to buy time and be able to find him, and granted, like I said, he was shocked that he was as open as he was, but he was open, and he got him. So that was pretty much the first quarter. That was it.

I mean, there wasn't a ton to it that really stood out to me. Like I said, there was the terrible blocking on third down by the Patriots, but they cleaned that up. There was some very big third-down conversions by the Patriots in the quarter to keep drives going. And the Chris Hogan show, I mean, he was just awesome. Second quarter, you see the steelers are starting to drive um but then all of a sudden we noticed d'angelo williams was in the game so dig a little deeper and come to find out levy on bell's gonna pull the groin at this point but he was here's the thing it's pretty obvious that bell was hurt going into the game i mentioned it last week on this podcast.

I said, Le'Veon Bell's in the injury report as did not participate. Now, I'll admit, I said I thought he had an illness because that was what was going on in the Pittsburgh locker room. They had guys that had the flu. So I'm like, they're lying and they're saying that he had personal reasons, but really he has an illness. I wasn't 100% wrong. He didn't have an illness. He had an injury, and they're saying that he had personal reasons, but really he has an illness. I wasn't 100% wrong. He didn't have an illness.

He had an injury. And they were hiding the injury. If the guys hurt and you're trying to hide the injury, just don't put them on the injury report, you fools. What are you thinking? At least Seattle didn't put Sherman on the injury report at all. Somebody had to do a little digging and Pete Carroll had to be stupid in order for that to come out. Pittsburgh? Oh, no. We'll just put him on there as did not participate,

and then not even the end of the first quarter, and this guy has the black coat on, the black steel is overcoat, and his helmet off. It's pretty clear that he was hurt going into the game, so that one they're going to pay for. But the flip of that is D'Angelo Williams is in the game. And here's the thing. D'Angelo Williams tears apart the Patriots' defense.

He killed them last season. He's always hurt them. So for the Steelers, yes, you lose Le'Veon Bell. I know some people say, what are you, crazy? D'Angelo Williams is way better than Le'Veon Bell. Sorry, flip that. Le'Veon Bell is way better than D'Angelo Williams. He is. But D'Angelo Williams is way better than Le'Veon Bell. Sorry, flip that. Le'Veon Bell is way better than D'Angelo Williams. He is.

But D'Angelo Williams is a different kind of back. He's a little bit quicker than Bell. And Bell's a little bit more plodding, and he waits for the holes to open. And teams that are disciplined, like the Patriots, can deal with Bell better than the guys that are very, very fast and can get to holes that get to him faster than Le'Veon Bell does, and that's what D'Angelo Williams does. So the Patriots had an adjustment in dealing with him.

Now, eventually, they settled in and they were able to slow him down, but on that drive, he just kept on going. He was tearing it up. He had a three-yard catch. He had another nice catch. He had a five-yard run up the middle for a touchdown untouched pretty much. It was just, it was the D'Angelo Williams show. Just like the Chris Hogan show on the other side of the ball, that drive that the Steelers, their one touchdown drive of

the game. I take that back their first touchdown drive of the game. I kind of forget about that second one because it was absolutely pointless. But their first touchdown drive was all about D'Angelo Williams. That was impressive. Big, big miss on the extra point. That's a huge miss. Seven points is so much different than six points. And I know people, well, it's just a point. It's not just a point. It's not just a point it's not just a point if you are down 13 to 6 or say 16 to 6 or 14 to 6 it's a lot different than being down 13 to 7 or 14 to 7 or 17 to 7 it changes everything because then you're looking at two-point conversions and that's not always the easiest route to tie a game now granted pitt, Pittsburgh did convert on a two-point conversion late in the game, but that's when the Patriots were already up by 21 points, and that made it 19.

Not really that big of a deal. But that missed extra point was huge. And everything kind of looked good, but then you slow it down a little bit, and you can see some mechanical issues. He kind of rushed a little bit and and he missed and in foxborough that's not something that doesn't happen i mentioned it the week before i said you better look out he's going to be billy kundiff pot too it wasn't nearly that bad but again you missed an extra point so instead of having a seven point touchdown it's almost like

kicking two field goals and that's not what they wanted. So, Patriots get the ball back. Struggling a little bit. First and second down were disgusting. And then third and ten, Edelman just made a great catch. It was a huge play. First down, Patriots at their own 42. Then they made a couple more plays in the running game. Not much.

Picking up a little bit of yardage here and there. And then they got creative with the flea flicker. And that flea flicker was great because not only was it executed beautifully, it was blocked beautifully. The guys up front did a really good job of making sure Brady stayed clean. That play takes time to develop. I mean, you hand it off, he runs up, turns around and throws it back. That's four seconds right there.

As an offensive lineman, I coach, so I understand what we're trying to teach. You try to teach your offensive lineman to block for four seconds to give your quarterback time to get the ball out. So that play takes at least four seconds, and you have to make sure your receiver's open, which he was, and of course it was Chris 7-11 Hogan. So Hogan picked up a nice touchdown catch on the flea flicker, and the Patriots with a good answer after Pittsburgh came out with, like I said, with D'Angelo Williams tearing them up.

Offense came out and said, no, this isn't happening today, Steelers. You're not going to be able to stop us. And that was just another sign that Pittsburgh didn't really have a chance. The Patriots were having a lot of trouble establishing the run at this point, and that's something that I talked about last week. They had run the ball against Pittsburgh the first time they played them. Apparently Pittsburgh decided that wasn't happening, at least in the first three quarters of this game.

But they did throw at will on this disgusting steal of secondary. They're terrible. I'm sorry. They're terrible. And I know people will say, oh, they're young and i know you know people say oh they're young and they're this and then that pittsburgh secondary is not good end of story and if they are good and they're running the wrong um system they might want to think about going man to man because if they continue to run zone they're never going to beat the patriots never um all right so

pittsburgh gets the ball back again, and guess what starts happening again? D'Angelo Williams. He's just tearing it up, catching the ball, running the ball. He's just really, really good when he sees a Patriots uniform. I remember some of his comments. I don't think he likes the team either, so that makes it even better for him because if you have a hatred towards something and you're facing that thing, it tends to get you a little bit more fired up.

So I think that's part of the reason that D'Angelo Williams plays so well against the Patriots. So again, the Patriots did a good job in the red zone. They held them to a field goal. It was awful defense for the entire drive. They had no pass rush, weak coverage, and then they got a second life. Pittsburgh had scored a touchdown, but coverage, and then they got a second life. Pittsburgh had scored a touchdown, but it was called down at the 1, which was the right call. And the stuff the Steelers like, and the Patriots stuff the Steelers like,

a high school team. It looked like an NFL team versus a college team. That first play that they ran was a 4-yard loss. That play never had a chance in H-E double hockey sticks. I mean, that was awful. I just don't understand what they're doing there in the red zone, too. I mean, they have enough guys to be able to make plays, but they don't. There was also a great, great play on third down.

If you get a chance to watch any of the replay of the film, if you guys have NFL Network or NFL.com and you have the access to the league pass and things, go check it out and watch what Dante Hightower does. He absolutely crushed, his name escapes me, the tight end, the backup tight end for Pittsburgh who was in there, who actually played pretty good. He got absolutely pulverized when he was trying to run a crossing pattern at the goal line because you have five yards to hit a guy.

So you get five yards, and Dante Hightower is the guy that gets to hit you. There's a pretty good chance that you're going to be in what feels like a car accident, and you're not going to be able to get back up for a while. And he got leveled. And you could see, because Roethlisberger threw it to the guy who was out of bounds and came back in, and you could just see him shaking his head, because he knew right away what had happened. And he also knew that there was no way that they were going to be able to throw it in from there

because the Patriots would just hammer their receivers, because they're legally allowed to, and that's a smart play. So great job by the Patriots defense after just being completely inept for the whole entire drive and again touchdown gets eliminated they said the ball didn't get across and it's almost like they had new life so at that point Patriots holding a 17 to 9 lead they're getting the ball back I personally at the time thought at first maybe they should be aggressive. Then I went back and said, no, maybe they shouldn't. Then I said, you know what?

Screw it. It's the AFC Championship. Get after it. And I kept hemming and hawing. Oh, guess who else was hemming and hawing? Coach Belichick. They looked like they were going to try to do something, and then they looked like they weren't,

and then they made a little bit of a play, and then they got a penalty call for them. So it was like, all right, you were going to try to do something, and then they looked like they weren't, and then they made a little bit of a play, and then they got a penalty call for him, so it was like, all right, you're going to try to go for this? And then Martellus Bennett gets tackled awkwardly on the last play of the half, and he limps off. So that was just a stupid little play at that point when they decided that they weren't going to do anything with it. They should have just downed it at the end of the half.

So luckily Bennett was able to finish the game, but that hemming and hawing, they've got to figure out what they want to do with that. It used to be the old score quick and then get the ball back at the half and try to score again. This game, obviously, they took the ball first, so that wasn't going to be the situation, but they could have taken the ball, scored, and then if they scored at the end of the half that would separate them by more points and then if pittsburgh comes out and gets a score that you don't have to worry about it as much because if pittsburgh had come out and scored a touchdown to open that second half it would have been a very different game altogether um so that's how it went so the patriots had a 17 to 9 lead uh they're well on their way to a 30 point day it was pretty

obvious um then reports started coming out saying bell is going to return in the second half and i had a 17-9 lead. Low on their way to a 30-point day was pretty obvious. Then reports started coming out saying Bell was going to return in the second half, and me and a couple other guys said, I don't think that's going to happen. I honestly said that they might be better off sticking with a healthy D'Angelo Williams, and I still believe that. A healthy D'Angelo Williams is much better than

a 50-75% leave-in on Bell. It's not even close. I think the first half was exactly what I expected. I tend to have some luck, and I don't think it's luck. I just think it's based off of what I see as far as predicting the scores and what teams are going to get. And I hope you guys appreciate the amount of work that goes into that because it's not just a guessing game. There is a little bit of a science to it

and we had predicted here on the show um we said 34 20 when we did uh the crossover show um but we changed i ended up changing that and ended up saying i thought the final score would be 33 to 17 so i was pretty close. 33-14, sorry. We were pretty close, and you could just see that exactly what we thought was going to happen was happening. So get to the third quarter, and the Patriots did exactly what they needed to do, and they did it because the defensive line was awesome. Malcolm Brown playing a great game.

Alan Branch, you can't move the guy. Patriots force a three and out to open the second half. Offense gets a chance to get the ball and make it a two-sc great game. Alan Branch, you can't move the guy. Patriots force a three and out to open the second half. Offense gets a chance to get the ball and make it a two-score game. So at that point, I was thinking field goal or touchdown is good. Either one of them is going to extend to a two-score lead. So Patriots go. It's 12 minutes left in the third quarter. They're facing a third and one at their own 44.

Brady decided to go for the sneak, and he fumbled. Period. There's no getting around that. He fumbled the ball. The ball was out before his knee was down, and Pittsburgh recovered. I understand that they said that he recovered or he was down or whatever they said. They made a mistake.

They missed the call, and the Steelers got screwed. Period. This is a Patriots radio show, Patriots podcast, openly admitting that on that play, Brady absolutely fumbled the ball and they missed it. They just missed it. And it was a hard angle, I mean, no question about it, but as soon as you saw the angle of Hib's arm getting hit

and his knees not down yet, you knew the ball was out. Once you watched the coach's film and you saw the angle of Hibbs' arm getting hit and his knees not down yet, you knew the ball was out. Once you watched the coach's film and you saw the back angle, you can see the ball actually come out and his knees aren't down. So Pittsburgh got, they got screwed. They really did. They got screwed on that one. They made a huge play that they needed to make. And unfortunately, fortunately for the Patriots, but unfortunately for the Steelers, New England

was awarded the first down. And that was pretty much it. That was pretty much it for the Patriots, but unfortunately for the Steelers, New England was awarded the first down, and that was pretty much it. That was pretty much it for the day. Next play, Hogan, another big catch, and it was on third and ten too, so it was a big play. And then Malcolm Mitchell, Bailey missed a tiptoe catch for a first down. Would have been a really nice catch. That kid's got good hands.

After the drop too, it was nice to see him. I know I named him one of the duds of the game, but that tiptoed sideline, that was an effort play that he almost pulled off, so that was good to watch. Then Malcolm Mitchell, like I said, and then Steven Gaskowski came in and drilled a clutch, and I say that's clutch because he struggled in the playoffs the last couple seasons, so it was good to see. A 47-yard field goal and extended the Patriots' lead out to 11. So like I said, any kind of score would have helped right there. Make that a two-score game.

Make it so that it's not only a two-score game, but a two-score game by more than 10 points, so that way they're forced to go for two if they want to do anything, and they're forced to score either two touchdowns or, again, get a two-point conversion and a field goal. Brady found open receivers all over the place in that series. And pretty much, from what I could see, he knew that he could probably score on every drive. And there was just no way that Pittsburgh

was going to be able to slow him down. Pittsburgh stayed in that gross zone coverage. It doesn't work. And Brady just tore it apart. Like I said here, I noted during the game, if this continues, the Steelers are going to be in serious trouble. The Patriots extended the lead out to 20-9. Pittsburgh got the ball back. Actually, the Patriots extended the lead out to 20-9, sorry. Steelers got the ball back.

They started driving. They took a shot at Haywood Bay in the end zone, which was a good move. I firmly believe, like I've been saying, if you're going to beat the Patriots, you've got to take shots down the field, which I know the Falcons will do, but we'll get to that tomorrow. Pittsburgh did it too, but they just didn't convert. Haywood Bay was being covered by Eric Rowe. Rowe didn't really do anything.

Bay just dropped the ball, but Rowe decided that he was going to dance because, you know, that's what guys do when they don't make a play and a guy makes a mistake they dance i guess that's the way now um so didn't work out incomplete pass steel is forced to punt and the patriots ended up taking over at their own 11 so at this point of the game they get the ball back at their own 11 there's 644 to go they're up 20 to 9 this is it if pittsburgh can get a stop and get the ball back and go score a touchdown we have a game if pittsburgh can't get a stop and new england goes down and gets any kind of score be it a touchdown or a field goal this thing was pretty much done this is how it went first down patriots edel 13-yard catch on third and seven. Patriots at their own 32.

Great play. 452 on the clock. Another first down, this one by James Devlin, which is always fun to see. Gets the ball up to their own 46. Next play, Patriots try to run the ball. Not happening. That wasn't happening.

James White had a carry in this game, and when I watched it again on the All-22, it made me even more sick. He got the ball. he took one step, a guy got into the backfield, slapped his ankle, and he went down. That was it. He slapped his ankle and got him down. So after that gross run, the Chris Hogan show continued. He makes another huge catch, took the ball down on the steal, was 18, and then with 2.44 to go on the clock, Blount was handed the ball

and basically showed the Patriots fans maybe the best run we've seen around here in a long time. Incredible run. Dragon tackles down to the two. We had the whole offensive line pushing him, trying to get him in there. And then on the next play, he easily punched it and extended the Patriots lead to three scores. So they went 89 yards in three minutes. That will break your spirit faster than anything. Put the Patriots up by 18 points, they're up by 27-9 at this point.

At that point in the game, the Steelers are pretty much done. Patriots kick it off, Steelers get the ball. First play, fumble. Patriots take over at the Steelers 28. And it was one of those fumbles where the guy made the catch, took one step, and just got knocked out. It was just a terrible, terrible play on his part, just not concentrating enough.

Following play, Edelman with an 18-yard catch, gets down to the Steelers 10 already. And then right after that, Edelman with an 11-yard touchdown catch on third down. Patriots couldn't do anything on the first two downs, but they were able to pick up that touchdown. Edelman was wide open right in the middle of the end zone, right in the middle of the front of the end zone, wide open, nobody near him. That extended the Patriots' lead to 24.

It would have been 25, but like we said earlier, Gostkowski missed the extra point so Patriots are holding a 33-9 lead with a minute 35 to go in the third quarter next series, Pittsburgh got the ball and they proceeded to drive right down the field which is kind of normal some people say, oh god, why didn't they stop them

football is like that especially in the NFL where these guys are professional athletes they're paid athletes, why didn't they stop him? Football is like that, especially in the NFL, where these guys are professional athletes. They're paid athletes. They're incredible. They do special things. So when you're sitting there and you're in the AFC Championship and you're down 33-9 and there's a minute 35 to go in the third quarter,

you get a little bit of a sense of urgency and you need to go out and make some plays. And on top of that, the defense gets that little sense of, well, I think we might have these guys. Well, the Steelers drove right down the field uh they're facing a third and one from the 13 to open the fourth quarter uh they get the they got their first down uh then they got it all the way down to the basically all the way down to the goal line uh so it's first and goal for the steelers patriots make the play get the stop uh second and goal from the five. Nope, not happening. Patriots make another stop. Third

and goal from the two. Nope, not happening. Great play by the defense. They came through and there was just no chance that Pittsburgh was going to score. And then on fourth and goal from the two, Patriots broke up the pass. Awesome job. Logan Ryan continued a strong game of the pass, break up in the end zone. Patriots defense kept the Steelers out of the end zone again. So this is a great job staying with it after giving up some big plays. And that's similar to what happened when they had reversed the touchdown. Once they realized, crap, we've given up all these big plays. We've got to get it together.

They buckled down. Same thing happened in this series. Offense ended up taking over, and they're up by 24. I thought that they should have ran it three times, take the time off the clock, and if you don't get the first, punt it and play the clock game. Pittsburgh needed three more possessions at least, so killing the clock eliminates that. But they didn't listen to me.

They never listen to me. Nobody wants to listen to me. Except for you guys, because you're awesome. Foolish throw on first down they did run it um they ran it on first and second down and blunt picked up a first down he had a nice nine yard run to get them out of there and then he got the first down and then they started throwing so incomplete pass with a 10 36 to go on the clock it was an incomplete pass so the steelers were able to get the ball back. Again, I don't understand why they would take Blount off the field when he's starting to feel it. Just give him the damn ball.

So Pittsburgh ended up taking over. But with 10-14 to go, it didn't take long. Roethlisberger with a terrible throw. Honestly, that could have been a miscommunication. I can't figure it out by watching the film who was wrong on that one, but I think it was him. I just think he overthrew it. Interception for the Patriots, miscommunication. I can't figure it out by watching the film who was wrong on that one, but I think it was him. I just think he overthrew it. Interception for the Patriots.

Miscommunication on that route. Eric Rowe, the dancer, ended up making the play and he reaped the rewards of a bad throw. The Patriots took it down to the Steelers 32. Nice little drive. They get it down to the goal line, but they couldn't punch it in.

So Gaskowski came in, kicked another field goal, extending the lead up to 27 points. Just a great game from every phase of the Patriots on Sunday. Offense, defense, special teams, everybody was good. It was fun to watch just seeing a team be so efficient like that. That's the word that comes to mind was efficiency. They were awesome. So they're up 36-9, 624 to go in the game. Just seeing a team be so efficient like that, that's the word that comes to mind was efficiency. They were awesome.

They're up 36-9, 624 to go in the game. In the center of the game was over at that point. Steelers mounted a drive. I'm not going to get too into it because I don't have time for that. You can listen to that on the Steelers podcast. You know, a little too late for it to really matter. But at least they can say they scored another touchdown, and they converted a two-point conversion. Mike Tallman, otherwise known as Omar Epps' long-lost brother, he must have loved that one. But it didn't matter. So, Patriots still holding the 36-17 lead.

At that point, Patriots get the ball back, get a couple first downs, get it down to two minutes, and Pittsburgh knew that the game was over. So, Patriots downed it, and that was the end of that. So it was a very, very great win by the Patriots. The couple things that stood out to me was Malcolm Brown was very impressive, Alan Branch was very impressive, Dante Hightower was very impressive. I thought Logan Ryan could have been a stud of the game if I had given him one, but Malcolm Butler beat him out. But Logan Ryan was also very good. The offensive line, if I haven't already mentioned them, excellent.

They did an excellent job. They got a good warm-up with Houston the week before that. So when you see that type of talent in the following week, the team comes in with not as much talent, you end up playing a little bit better. Brady was just a masterful performance. I honestly think that might have been his best playoff game. He was clean. He played awesome. You take away some of those drops, and he's got more than 400 yards and possibly another even touchdown on top of that too.

So it was impressive by Brady. Just overall, it was just a great game. The Patriots did what they had to do. They played a great game. And because of that, now they'll be heading off to the Super Bowl. And, you know, Steelers, when it really comes down to it, they have to look back and look at what they do. Because the bottom line is that their zone coverage does not work

when they're playing the Patriots. It just doesn't work. It doesn't work for any team that plays them because Brady shreds zones. It doesn't matter what zone you're playing the Patriots. It just doesn't work. It doesn't work for any team that plays them. Because Brady shreds zones. It doesn't matter what zone you're playing. He knows how to shred all of them. So NFL teams out there. If you hear this thing. Or any of you guys hear this.

If you're fans. And you got a relationship with anyone on your team there. You might want to let them know. When you're playing the Patriots. You might want to go man to man. Instead of going zone. Because you're going to get squished if you don't. So that's just food for thought.

I want to thank you all for joining us for this Thursday edition of Locked On Patriots. And be sure to go to iTunes and subscribe to our show today, as in right now. And make sure you tell your friends about us. We're growing like crazy. Talking about us on ESPN. We're one of the top 100 on iTunes. Locked On Network is where it's at. You want to listen to a good podcast

and you want to get the information you want about your football team, about your basketball team, you better go check out Locked On Networks and subscribe to Locked On Patriots because you're going to love it. We're all about getting Patriots fans the most info you need to be the most in-the-know Patriots fan. Be sure to join us tomorrow. Tomorrow it begins.

It begins. Super Bowl breakdown. We're going to start talking about the Falcons. We're going to start talking about what they do offensively, what the Patriots do defensively, and what the Patriots can do to maybe slow down that prolific number one offense. They've done it before. We've been here before. The Patriots beat the Rams withific number one offense. They've done it before. We've been here before. The Patriots beat the Rams with the number one offense back in the day. I don't think this is quite the same type of matchup, but you've got two great offenses against each other,

so it's going to be really fun to watch, and it's going to be really fun to talk about leading up to it. So, again, be sure to join us tomorrow. We're going to talk about the Falcons, and we'll explain who has the edge with the Patriots defense versus the Falcons offense. We'll go over that tomorrow. Again, I'm your host, Chris Simino. I want to thank you guys all for joining us today and be sure to tune in tomorrow. Have a great day, everybody. Is democracy in danger or decline? Condoleezza Rice, William Galston, and Carlos Gutierrez and

others take on this question in the fall edition of The Catalyst, a journal of ideas from the Bush Institute. Surveys show Americans place less trust in institutions like the media and business. Others contend America has faced far more challenging periods and emerged strong. Leading policymakers, Bush Institute experts, and respected journalists take on this debate. Read about it at bushcenter.org slash catalyst.