Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - LOCKED ON PATRIOTS- 10/27/16- Is The Pass Rush Officially A Concern?

Episode Date: October 27, 2016

Chris Simoneau discusses today's Patriots news and notes & also answers questions from the "Fan Mailbag". #tradeseasonishere #timetofixthepassrush Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Talkspace.com slash BOOM. B-O-O-M. Good afternoon. I'm Chris Simino, your host of Locked On Patriots, your source for everything Patriots. Today is Thursday, October 27th, 2016. Today we'll check out our fan mailbag, and we'll also take some time to answer the questions of some of our listeners who tend to listen a lot. We tend to get some repeating questions from regular listeners and we really appreciate it.

So we're going to get to that today. We're also going to get to our news and notes. Remember, if we don't get to your question this week, always try again next week. We got a pretty good amount, but we try to select the questions that make the most sense for this week's opponent and also make the most sense as far as what the situation is with the Patriots right now. Okay, let's get down to business. As always here on Locked On Patriots, we're going to start with our news and notes. According to Ian Rappaport of NFL.com, Patriots running back Deion Lewis

is expected to begin practicing this week. The Patriots have 21 days to activate Lewis, and if they don't, he'll be added to the season-ending injured reserve list. Lewis tore his ACL during Week 7 last year, so his timetable to return makes sense, but I am a firm believer that athletes need 18 to 24 months before their ACLs are fully healed. I understand everyone wants to point to Adrian Peterson a few years back when he came back after one year and had his best year of his career.

Adrian Peterson is a freak athlete, so that does not count. Granted, all NFL athletes are freak athletes, but Dion Lewis is a normal freak athlete who needs his typical, again, 18 to 24 months to come back. I wouldn't be surprised if the 21 days come and go and Lewis is placed on injured reserve, but if he does come back, that would be another big boost for this offense if he's healthy and can be able to cut like he was able to before he got hurt.

Lewis did not practice yesterday, nor did guard Trey Jackson, who was also on the pup list. Another player the Patriots are looking forward to having back. Speaking of former Patriots, former Patriots running back Stephen Ridley signed with the Atlanta Falcons yesterday. After tearing his ACL in his final season with New England, Ridley has struggled to stick with the team. He's had tryouts, played with the Jets for a year, got tryouts with the Lions and some

other teams, but it just hasn't worked out for him. Hopefully he can make the most of this opportunity because I don't think he's going to get many more. On Tuesday, the Patriots worked out defensive back Shamil Gary, which we noted on Tuesday's show. And the workout ended up going well, so he has been signed to the practice squad, which seems like it's constantly in flux this season. This goes to show how important every roster spot is to Belichick and Casario. From top to bottom, they want players that not only fit their system but guys they can sign from the practice squad and step in if called upon.

We've already seen it this year. So they like to get their guys on the practice squad and they think they're kids that can actually play, not guys that are just there to maybe fill depth at a spot. They go out and sign guys because these are guys that they're actually trying to develop. It's a testament to their excellent scouting and hard work. We do have some injury news today. It is Thursday, so this is when we get the list.

There were eight players on the limited participation list yesterday um so those players are tight end martellus bennett who's still battling an ankle injury running back brandon bolden who's battling a knee injury and after the way he played last week i'm starting to wonder if he's battling a hand injury a brain injury and a foot injury because he didn't use any of those things very well on Sunday. So Bolden is battling a knee. Linebacker Jamie Collins is still in the report nursing his hip injury. That's one to keep an eye on because a hip is never a good thing and Jamie Collins is one of their best players. So got to make sure that he's able to go. I would be shocked

if he didn't play on Sunday considering how big of a game this is. Wide receiver Julian Edelman remains on there with his foot, something that's been ongoing for over a year now. Defensive lineman Woodrow Hamilton, another player actually that was signed off the practice squad. As we said earlier, the practice squad is players that can play in the NFL, and he's one of them. He is battling a shoulder injury, so it is questionable if he will play this week.

Wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell, rookie out of Georgia, is battling a hamstring. Mitchell was really good in the preseason. He had one really good standout game, and then he dislocated his elbow. So he's been battling to get back since then. The thing with Mitchell is I would expect more from him in the second half of the season than the first. You've got to allow Brady to get comfortable with him during practice, and then as the games roll on, I think we're going to start to see him really emerge. Linebacker Alandon Roberts, another player that has emerged out of nowhere, is battling an ankle injury, an injury that occurred two weeks ago during the game. He played through it, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him out there on Sunday against Buffalo.

And defensive lineman, another rookie, Vincent Valentine, is also still battling a back injury that occurred I believe three weeks ago. So, who knows? Who knows if Valentine's going to be back? He's been all over Twitter and he seems to be in good spirits and he seems like he's

ready to go, but back injuries are a very fickle thing and who knows if maybe it's just one of those things where it flares up. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad. We'll see. Valentine's a good player, so hopefully they can get him back because they like the development that they've seen so far out of him, and it'd be nice to get him back on track so we don't lose what he's already gained over the first half of this season. With the Patriots facing essentially a must-win, and yes, I

understand a 6-1 team really shouldn't be facing a must win but if they get swept in the division by Buffalo it actually puts them in danger of losing their AFC East crown which they've held since 2009 they only lost it for a year in 2008 and they were 11-5 and the reason they were 11-5 and not 15-1 is because Don Brady tore his ACL so as everybody knows the Patriots have been dominant in the AFC East.

But if Buffalo beats them this week and they're only a game back and they're right there, I'm telling you right now, don't be surprised if Buffalo is able to steal the AFC East from the Patriots. This is a huge game. So the Patriots need as many of those dinged-up players we spoke about to be able to go. My question for you guys is, do you love football? Are you ready to get into the action?

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Go check it out. It's all I sent you. So, what we always like to do, we do it once a week here on Locked On Patriots, is we take a few minutes to answer some questions from our mailbag. The first question comes from Chris from New York. Chris asks, with the recent trades, do you

think that Barkevious Mingo is not viewed as an asset? And secondly, what is your view on Amendola and his playing time or lack thereof? Well, that's two questions, Chris, but we're going to allow it because they're two excellent questions. As far as Mingo, I think he's seen as strictly a situational pass-rushing linebacker that they'll use if they absolutely need to get a pass rush, which they do.

Honestly, Mingo has had more success and shown more flashes throughout his career than Van Noy, but many people believe that Van Noy has been miscast in the wrong system and he'll flourish with the Patriots. Personally, I say everyone should relax because Van Noy has been very unproductive with the Lions. Mingo definitely has value in the Patriots' eyes, but again, I think they see him as a one-trick pony, a pass rusher, and I think they see Van Noy as maybe a little bit more polished

as a run stopper and a pass rusher and kind of more of van nuys maybe a little bit more polished as a run stop or a pat and in a pass rusher and kind of more of a mix than mingo is but they definitely have a different skill set um so i i don't i wouldn't look at this as a as a knock on mingo i just think it's one of those situations where you lose jonathan freeney and you need to replace him so a good guy to replace him with is another guy who, you know, Freeney kind of slipped through the cracks when we got him here in New England. He ended up turning out to be a pretty good third linebacker, and he's actually stepped up to be a starter at times. Now they're going to try to do the same thing with Van Noy,

who has actually been starting in Detroit this year. So I see why the Patriots did it, but I wouldn't look at Barquevious Mingo as less of an asset because of it. As far as the situation with Amendola, it's an interesting one. And I'm beginning to think that this is all about preservation and backup plans. Amendola has always dealt with nagging injuries, but when he plays, he's excellent. He has good hands, he runs good routes, and he's tougher than people think.

The problem is, he's similar to Amendola in his skill set, and Edelman is the starter. Sorry, he's similar to Edelman in his skill set, and Edelman is the starter. So yes, Amendola can play outside, but the Patriots have enough depth to keep him off the field and retain him as an insurance policy should Edelman go down again. You know, that's a major issue that they had last year. When they lost Edelman, their offense just wasn't the same.

So the Patriots now have enough depth on the field and then they keep the insurance policy. I know it seems like a waste to keep a good receiver on the sidelines, but if anyone remembers how awful this offense was without Edelman last year, it makes sense to have a strong backup for him healthy and ready to go. Our next question comes from Brian from Oxford. Brian asks, Do you think the lack of a pass rush will eventually catch up with the Patriots,

especially when you consider that Landry Jones threw for 280 yards and threw all over them? Well, yes, that's plain and simple. I do. I think it will catch up with them if they don't take active steps to resolve it. Make a trade. Start to blitz more. Use man in the secondary so you can actually blitz more and not have to worry about it as much. Do whatever it takes to get a pass rush because right now it feels like 2011 and that is scary. New England lost two Super Bowls with zero pass rush and a secondary

that was forced to cover for too long. In 2014, they finally realized that they had to go to man, get aggressive and start the blitz more. And it worked. They won the Super Bowl because of what they did and their defensive changes. There is no reason to go back to the soft zones and bend but don't break defense.

It eventually breaks, and it happens at the worst times. You know, when you're facing Ben Roethlisberger and you're facing some good quarterbacks, which, you know, if you look at the AFC picture right now, you're probably not going to see a really good one until the second round of the playoffs or the AFC championship. You're still going to see one. And when the Patriots play this soft zone, no pressure, sit back and make them go on 18 play drives to beat you, eventually you're going to run across a guy that will, and I think that Ben Roethlisberger is that guy. Luckily, he didn't play this week, because if he did, New England would not have won

that game, assuming that they used the same game plan, which they probably wouldn't have. But I still don't think they would have won because there was zero pass rush, unless they decided to stop blitzing, which would have left some lanes open and things of that nature. So I'm a little, take that back, I'm very concerned about the pass rush. I do think it's going to catch up if they don't make a move. So we'll see what happens, Brian. That's a great question, and it's something that I've been really talking about here on this on the show a lot they need to do something and

they need to do something in the next five days i believe in the trade market in order to get what they need to move forward our third question comes from tony from framingham tony asks and this is right down that path do you think the Patriots are done making trades? Well, Tony, that's a good question. And no, I don't. I don't think they're done making trades. And I think they might have something big up their sleeve, and it's not involved with a pass rusher.

Greg Bedard of Sports Illustrated, who is an excellent writer and also maybe the best in media when it comes to breaking down film, he mentioned a player that he and I have discussed since the Patriots passed on him to select Shane Vereen. Running back DeMarco Murray is one of the best backs in football, but he's on a team that's rebuilding. They have Derrick Henry ready to take the lead back spot, and Murray has to want to play for a team that has a chance to win.

I mean, every player wants to play for a team that has a chance to win. I mean, every player wants to play for a team that has a chance to win. The younger guys, like the aforementioned Derrick Henry, it's a little different because he knows he's on an up-and-coming team as a young guy. Murray's been in the league for a few years now. He's been in the league since 2011. You know, he really wants to get a shot to win. And coming to New England would definitely give him that chance. Murray with the Patriots is a scary thought for defensive coordinators around the league.

He would make Gronk and Bennett even better, and vice versa. So that is absolutely a situation to keep an eye on. Now, I know the Patriots would probably have to give up a second or third round pick to acquire him, but it's worth it because they've already picked up fifth-round pick for A.J. Derby. Who knows what's going to happen as far as compensation picks because they always get them when they let free agents go. I think it is absolutely worth it to give up a second or third-round pick if you have a chance to acquire a player as talented as DeMarco Murray because at that point, your running game is going to be just as good as your passing game,

and the Patriots' offense is legitimately going to be unstoppable. So it's something to keep an eye on. Also keep in mind that the trade deadline is Tuesday, November 1st at 4 p.m. So any move that they're going to make is going to happen within the next six days. So it's here. It's you-know-what cutting time. So if they're going to do something and they're going to go after somebody big, it's going to happen. You time so if they uh if they're gonna do something and they're gonna go after somebody big it's gonna happen you're gonna see it soon so we are seven weeks into the

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to me via Twitter or Facebook if you want to discuss advertising on Locked On Patriots. Tomorrow, we're going to focus solely on the Patriots-Bills showdown, a game, like we said earlier, that the Patriots desperately need. Again, thank you all for joining us, and be sure to tell your friends all about Locked On Patriots. Have a great day, Patriots fans. Whatcha doing? Ran out of space on my phone, so I'm deleting some stuff. Bye singing dog.

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