Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - LOCKED ON PATRIOTS- 10/14/16- What's Up With The Bengals Offense?

Episode Date: October 14, 2016

Today we discuss the 2016 Bengals, a team that typically is one of the best in the AFC but is currently struggling at 2-3. Can their offense get it going versus the Patriots? #redzonetroubles #shouldhavekeptsanuandjones Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thanks for coming in, Mr. Mahoney. Do you have your member ID card? Yep, I have it right here in the FEP Blue app. See? Great. Can I... It's awesome. The app can also help me find a provider and keep tabs on my deductibles. Okay. Can I see... Oh, yeah. And my out-of-pocket spending and visit limits. And I can call the nurse line. I'm really glad it does all that, but I only need to see your member ID card. Oh, that's it? Why didn't you say so?

Fearless is just one tap away. With the new FEP Blue app from Blue Cross and Blue Shield, you can access your health benefits on the go. Download it now at FEPBlue.org slash app. Good afternoon. I'm Chris Simino, your host of Locked On Patriots, your source for everything Patriots. Today is Friday, October 14th, 2016, and we are only two days from game day. Today we are going to break down the 2016 Bengals, a team that is much different on offense personnel-wise, which may be a problem for them. Keep in mind that if you want more material on Sunday's game,

be sure to log on to nwe.scout.com, and you can check out all my articles on Patriots Insider. As always, let's get to the Patriots news and notes. It's Friday so we get a good idea of who is going to be playing on Sunday and who may miss the game with an injury. So let's take a look at the Patriots and Bengals injury reports. As far as non-participation, we had running back Brandon Bolden with a knee issue. Linebacker Jonathan Freeney with a shoulder,

and tight end Greg Scruggs with a knee. All three of those guys, like we said, didn't participate in practice yesterday, so there's a good chance that they're going to miss the game. We will get more information on that later on today when we find out if they practiced today. But as of yesterday, they did not, so the chances of them playing are not good. As far as limited participation, tight end Martellus Bennett still nursing that ankle injury. Running back LeGarrette Blount still nursing his hip injury.

Tackle Marcus Cannon with his calf. Linebacker Jamie Collins was a recent addition to the injury report with a hip. That's one to watch for. Wide receiver Julian Edelman still continues to battle his foot injury that he had happen last year, so that's worrisome. Jimmy Garoppolo's right shoulder is still bothering him, so he continues to stay on the injury report. Rob Gronkowski hit his hamstring, still an issue. Dante Hightower on his knee, still an issue.

Shane McClellan, he had a concussion a few weeks ago. He did miss one game, but he should be back for this week's game. It's looking good for him. Malcolm Mitchell is battling a hamstring, another one that probably will play. Joe Tooney, who was battling his shoulder injury last week, again is back on the injury report. There is a good chance that he does play in this game. And Vincent Valentine, who did miss last week's game with a back injury, did have limited participation in practice yesterday, so that at least raises his chances of being able to play in the game on Sunday. Valentine would be a welcome addition back. Woodrow Hamilton did do

a good job. The Patriots signed him off the practice squad and played him last week. But again, Valentine was a pretty high draft pick for a reason. I know the Patriots like to use him, so it would be nice to have him back. As far as the Bengals, in the did-not-participate portion, tight end Tyler Eifert battling a back and ankle. That's huge for them. If Eifert doesn't play this week, that team is in big, big trouble because of their red zone issues,

something we're going to get into when we discuss the Bengals. As far as limited participation, cornerback Drake Kirkpatrick, another one, we'll get into that later, that could be a major problem for them. He has a hand issue. Offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth, he had limited participation, it wasn't injury related, so not really sure what's going on there, but he should play. And wide receiver James Wright is battling a hamstring injury. Full participation. Guys are still battling, but they fully participated in practice yesterday.

Guard Clint Bowling is dealing with a shoulder issue. Halfback Rex Burkhead has a hamstring pull. Wide receiver A.J. Green's got a tweak of the calf. Jeremy Hill, another one. Big, big injury, and we'll see how he plays this week because last week he was completely ineffective. He's battling chest, neck, back, kind of that whole area he's battling injuries. And then George Iloca is battling a shoulder injury.

He's a safety. And tight end C.J. Uzema is battling an ankle injury. So there are a good amount of Bengals on the injury report too, but they don't look like they're dealing with as much as the Patriots are. But keep in mind that if Tyler Eifert doesn't play, they're in big trouble. We'll have an even better idea of the outlook for Sunday. Again, like we said, when the practice is completed today, typically when a player doesn't practice on Friday, they're not going to play on Sunday. So we're going to keep an eye on that and then just listen for tomorrow's podcast.

We'll give you all the updates on that. Week six marks the return of former wide receiver Brandon LaFell, a player that appeared to be exactly what the Patriots needed, and he was in 2014. 2014 started off slow due to a foot injury that actually occurred in the final game of 2014, not the Super Bowl, but the useless game against Buffalo. And LaFell battled to get back. The injury never healed like they thought it would, it just, the bruising never went away, so that's why he ended up on the pup list.

He came back, and he says he came back a little bit too early, and he developed a pretty bad case of the dropses, which will get you removed from the Patriots roster very quickly. LaFell spoke with the media yesterday regarding his time in New England, and he was, as he always was when he was here, he was brutally honest. LaFell said, it was two different seasons. I played great my first year. My second year, I was an average guy, and that's why they had to let me go. Well, I think average is a compliment.

He wasn't average. He was well below average. He was actually quite terrible last year. Awful is the word that comes to mind. And he forced the Patriots to drop him, and they really liked him. So a guy that they thought they would have around for a few years, big outside receiver that Brady liked to throw to, unfortunately he may have jumped the gun coming back.

He should have told the team that he wasn't ready because if Aaron Dobson can fly along the roster for three seasons and just finally get cut dealing with injuries, I'm pretty sure if LaFell was straight with them that they would have kept him around. He probably would have ended up on IR last year, but at the same time, he kind of maybe screwed up his career a little bit by not telling the Patriots what the real deal with his foot was.

But he'll always have 2014. In other news, Chris Harris, who we spoke about earlier this week, the all-pro cornerback for the Browns, when he discussed that the Falcons had basically lifted the Patriots game plan from the AFC Championship, he threw some more respect towards the Patriots yesterday. Yesterday, Harris discussed his top five receivers in an article on the Denver Post, who he's faced in his six-year career, and the number one player on the list wasn't a wide receiver. It's tight end Rob Gronkowski. Here is what Harris had to say about Gronk. He said, quote, the best way to defend him is to

not let him get started. You got to put hands on him early so he has to stop and start again. The thing is, you can't go overboard and play too physical because the officials are going to let Gronk play football. You don't want to get into a wrestling match with him because when you bump him, you have to keep him at arm's length. If you get too aggressive and get up in his face, he's going to use the 50-50 battle to push off on you, and then you're in trouble.

Well, Harris is one heck of a player, so to receive a compliment like that shows how dominant Gronk really is. Since Calvin Johnson has stepped away from the game, I personally believe that Gronk has ascended to the top of the league as far as an uncoverable offensive talent. And then you add in his blocking ability to it, he might be the best overall player in the league. We know his peers recognize his talent,

and I think a lot of times these so-called experts don't really pay attention to blocking, but in the game of football, blocking is just as important as running. It's actually more important because you're not going anywhere if no one blocks for you, and Gronk is incredible in the blocking, as far as run blocking game, and he's also great in the passing game too. So he is an overall ridiculous talent,

and again, I think he's the best player in the league. Speaking of Gronkowski, him and fellow tight end Martellus Bennett, they were the darlings yesterday. Everyone was talking to them, and they spoke about the first time they met. This is what they had to say. Gronkowski was actually a little bit confused. He didn't realize that it was Bennett. He said, I saw this big dude working out and I didn't even know it was him. I knew who he was and everything, but I didn't recognize him at the moment. It's like, man, that dude is huge. So I went up to him and talked to him and boom, the next few

days he was on our team. I was like, dang, we were just talking about how cool it would be. It would be great to work with him. We're just BSing around and help each other out and feed off each other and then it happened Bennett had to say We were in a gym and he was he was like is it all sweat I thought I was the only other guy to sweat like that. I'm like man. You're not the only other tight end who's working, bro But same thing I saw him and I was like man this kid is huge he's just like me it was funny we hit it off from that day and told jokes and laughs and now we're on the same team again it's nice to see because those two really do work well off each other and they seem like they're

having fun out there let's take a minute to hear from our sponsor seat geek is the smartest easiest way to find tickets for football games you want to see up close in person this season there's nothing like being in the stadium for the biggest plays of the year, and with SeatGeek, it's never been easier to get the guaranteed seats you want for a great value. I have the SeatGeek app on my phone, and it's by far the easiest way I've found to shop for tickets. I can be anywhere, and with just a few taps, I can instantly find seats for this weekend or any game this season. With SeatGeek, you always get the best deal on every ticket because SeatGeek price compares for you by searching multiple ticket sites.

Prices can vary depending on where you shop, but SeatGeek will always find you the lowest available price. And SeatGeek wants to help you get the most bang for your buck. That's why every ticket on SeatGeek is given a grade based on value. You'll immediately see any underpriced seats and be able to find the best deals that fit your budget. Plus, every ticket you buy on SeatGeek is backed by their 100% guarantee, so you can shop for tickets on SeatGeek with confidence. Best of all, my listeners get a $20 rebate with their first SeatGeek purchase.

To get your $20 rebate on tickets, what you need to do is download the SeatGeek app, go to settings tab and click add a promo code. Enter promo code LOPATRIOTS. That's L-O-P-A-T-R-I-O-T-S. SeatGeek will send you $20 after you made your first ticket purchase. Again, download the SeatGeek app and enter promo code LOPATRIOTS. That's L-O-P-A-T-R-I-O-T-S today. It's a great site, guys. Go on and sign in. Take advantage of that promo code and get some tickets

and go down to Foxboro and watch a great team. So what we want to do now is we're going to take a deep dive into the 2016 Bengals and see what the Patriots are up against on Sunday. Over the last five years or so, the Bengals have been one of the better teams in the AFC North. In fact, it goes back even further, but the last five years they've been a legitimate contender. First they had Carson Palmer. He didn't want to stay in Cincinnati. Makes sense. It happens. But then they went out and drafted Andy Red Rocket Dalton to run the show,

and he's done a good job. The one constant they have had is Coach Marvin Lewis, who may be winless in the playoff games as a head coach, but he always has his team playing well in the regular season. This season, Lewis has had a challenge because of some of the major challenges, changes within the offensive personnel. Lewis, he didn't re-sign muhammad sanu he didn't re-sign marvin jones and tyler eifert's battling injuries so the passing game just isn't as good as it has been the last few seasons especially last year when they peaked and had

one of the best passing games in football uh you know you look at their yards and it looks pretty good but overall their passing game has been terrible. They're currently 2-3, and they're in third place in the NFC North, which is a tough place to be when you're looking up at Pittsburgh and Baltimore in the standings. Like we said earlier, the offense has taken a hit, although it isn't obvious in the Bengals' passing yards, but it is when it comes to their scoring. They're averaging just 18.4 points per game, which is 25th in the NFL.

They're averaging 366.4 yards per game, which is actually 9th in the league, which is not bad. 282.6 of those yards are coming through the air, which is 4th in the league, and they're rushing for 83.8 yards per game, which ranks them 26th. When you have Giovanni Bernard and you have Jeremy Hill as your running backs, you should be averaging more than 83.8 yards per game and a lot higher than 26 in the league. And you should also be scoring more than 18.4 points per game. So many of you are saying to yourself, Chris, you just said that their passing game is down this year, so what gives?

Well, here is the deal. Garbage time, yardage, and red zone troubles. There are two clear indicators that the Bengals' passing game and offense is not what it once was, and they're struggling. The points per game and the rushing yards, with those two areas being ranked 25th and 26th in the league respectively, that directly relates to their poor record over the first five games. The red zone woes come from the losses of Jones, Sanu, who was a beast in the red zone, and also Tyler Eifert, who is Dalton's second option in the red zone.

And their top red zone back, Jeremy Hill, has been battling injuries and just hasn't met himself. Add all that up, and you have a team that can move the ball from the 20 to the 20, but once things tighten up in the red zone, A.J. Green gets double-teamed and defenses force Dalton to go somewhere else. A lot of times what Dalton's been doing is running, which is not what they want him to do. He's got good feet, but they want him to throw the ball and get it out there so they can let their guys make plays. Now this is a major problem. The Bengals, they're going to be at 500 or below all year if they don't resolve this issue. Defensively, the Bengals have been extremely average, allowing 22 points per game, which ranks them 16th. That's the definition of average in a 32-team league.

They allow 338.6 total yards per game, which is 11th in the league. 224.6 passing yards, also 11th, and they're allowing, this is a surprise, 114 yards per game on the ground, which is 20th in the NFL. The Bengals have pretty good linebackers, and they've had a pretty good defensive line for the last few seasons. So giving up 114 yards per game is just a surprise. When you give up the run, it's a defensive recipe for disaster, and that is, again, one of the main reasons the Bengals run to.500.

With the Patriots as the next opponent, it isn't going to get any easier, and this game has a chance of being a blowout if the Bengals can't stop LeGarrette Blount. Brady in the passing game, they're a load to handle as it is, but if New England can run and throw, you might as well load up the bus at halftime and go home because you have no chance. Cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick was a limited participant in practice yesterday, but he has a hand injury and that really shouldn't keep a cornerback off the field unless it's a really, really bad injury.

So I fully expect him to play. If he doesn't, that is going to be a humongous hit to the Bengals secondary. And if he doesn't play, that's another reason why I don't see Cincinnati staying in the game. They've also had a ton of trouble covering tight ends this season. So what are they going to do with Gronkowski and Bennett now playing together and starting to get scary momentum? Last week was the first time that they really used the two of those together in the passing game

instead of having one stay back to block or maybe just having one off the field. And they accounted for almost 300 yards and three touchdowns. How can teams deal with that? I don't think they can. There's been many, many experts talking about this this week, and nobody's come up with anything and saying, you know, we can maybe double Gronk and put a corner on Bennett or do vice versa. The reason why we haven't heard anything like that

is because the honest-to-God truth is there really isn't anything that teams can do to stop these two beasts from dominating. So I do think that you're going to see big games out of Bennett and Gronkowski pretty much every week, assuming that they have health. And what they do in addition with the running game and how good a run blockers they both are, I don't think anybody's going to be able to deal with it. And Cincinnati is going to be having a tough, tough time covering them.

And with the way that their defense has been averaged, like I said, I expect the Patriots to score between 35 and 40 points this week. Let's take another minute to hear from our sponsor. Football season is here and in full swing, so it's time to get in the action and play like the pros at MyBookie.net. It's the most exciting online experience for sports fans. MyBookie features real Vegas odds And incredible player props on every football game

Oh no, the game already kicked off? Well, you have nothing to worry about MyBookie has live in-game odds Updated in real time So it's never too late to make a play MyBookie.net is also optimized for smartphone users For non-stop action on the go So what you need to do

Go online, type My bookie in your browser and sign up today use promo code patriots that's p-a-t-r-i-o-t-s to be entered into the million dollar prize pool or you can call the number 844-722-2387 so again either go online to mybookie.net use promo promo code PATRIOTS, P-A-T-R-I-O-T-S, and you can be entered into the million dollar prize pool, or call 844-722-2387. Join the thousands of online players already playing.

Only the biggest, only the best, only at mybookie.net. Sign up today. I want to thank you all for joining us today, and be sure to tune in tomorrow as we break down the Patriots after five games and discuss how they plan to attack the Bengals Sunday in Foxborough. As always, thanks for listening to the fastest-growing podcast network in the USA. Have a great day, Patriots fans.

Is democracy in danger or decline? Thank you. 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.