Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - LOCKED ON PATRIOTS- 10/8/16- How will the Patriots attack the Browns?

Episode Date: October 9, 2016

Chris Simoneau discusses the matchup in Cleveland between the Patriots and the Browns, the first game back for All-Pro quarterback Tom Brady. #bradysreturn #dontforgetaboutninkovich Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Minimum purchase required, U.S. only. Hi, I'm Chris Cimino, your host of Locked On Patriots, your source for everything Patriots. Today is Saturday, October 8th, 2016. And once again, we have a fully loaded docket. And we are in the business of wasting time. So let's get to it First things up Patriots news It was a busy Saturday the offices at Gillette Stadium today as the Patriots made multiple roster moves Some surprising and just some just paperwork moves

Officially declaring plays back on the roster. Guy Jonathan Cooper, the player the Patriots received in return for defensive end Chandler Jones, has been cut. Cooper was the 7th overall pick in 2013, and he was one of the highest rated guys to ever enter the draft, so being tabbed as a can't-miss prospect that would dominate for a decade was a bit off. So, well, it didn't work out for him, and if Dante Skarniecki can't coach him up and get the talent out of him that's supposedly there,

then most likely no one will. I'm sure a team will take a flyer on him, and maybe New England did this simply to make room and told him to sit tight, but either way, this is a sad day in the career of one of the highest-touted prospects over the last decade that just looks like a complete burnout. With the release of Cooper, New England signed rookie defensive tackle Woodrow Hamilton off their practice squad, which does make sense because Vincent Valentine, another rookie, is a no-go for tomorrow. He was originally

listed as questionable. Now he's out. Hamilton was originally signed as a free agent out of Mississippi. He was impressive in training camp in the preseason. Valentine's out, but at least we got a chance to look at Hamilton who did look pretty good. In other transaction-related news, like I said before, I just kind of knew this was coming. The Patriots officially activate quarterback Tom Brady and defensive end Rob Ninkovich. Brady starts tomorrow, as we all know,

and Ninkovich is also expected to play, although with his position, his defensive end, a little different for a quarterback. I think it's going to take a few games to get Ninkovich up to full speed. Both players' return is huge, though. You know, Tom Brady is arguably the best quarterback of all time, and he's still great, so that's nice to have. Ninkovich, he'll be able to spark a pass rush that really has been

non-existent over the first month of the season. They really need to get it going there on the pass rush. Ricky quarterback Jacoby Brissett last night was officially placed on injured reserve. He had surgery to repair a ligament in his thumb. Technically, he is eligible to return in eight weeks, but the chances are that he is out for the season. It doesn't really make sense to bring him back after eight weeks as a third-string quarterback. It does kind of stink for his physical development,

but he'll still be in team meetings every day, positional meetings. He'll be learning from great coaches and teammates, so it really shouldn't hinder his development all that bad. One thing we did get to see in these two games on the field, this kid showed some real toughness and talent. He can play. Patriots fans, I think they're going to really love this kid. I'm going out on a limb.

I'm going to proclaim that he will be Brady's replacement in about three to four years. I don't think it's going to be Garoppolo. I think it's going to be Brissette, and I think that Brissette's going to be a better NFL quarterback, although I do like Garoppolo, too. Overall, on the injury front, there is too much to report. Julian Edelman was added to the list. He's questionable with his foot, as usual.

Vincent Valentine, who I said earlier, he was listed as questionable. Now he is out. He has a back issue. He is definitely not playing tomorrow. Running back LeGarrette Blount has a hip issue, chronic hip issue. Who knows with him? Sometimes he plays and he's hurt, but he is definitely hobbled. He's not the same.

Marcus Cannon, a tackle that they need, considering that he's a backup. They don't want to have the third string guy there. He also has batted a hip injury. Linebacker Jonathan Freeney, who is not only a good backup linebacker, but he's also important for special teams. He's nursing a shoulder injury, as is quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who is questionable but should be good to go as a backup for Brady.

Tight end Rob Gronkowski is also listed as questionable with his bulky hamstring, but again, Gronkowski's played the last two weeks with Brady back. I fully expect to see him out there. And also terrific rookie guard Joe Tooney. He's got a shoulder problem. I really hope he doesn't miss tomorrow's game because, like I said, he's been really good and he looks

like a steal for the Patriots. In fact, he is part of the trade for Chandler Jones. So they got Malcolm Mitchell and Joe Tooney out of that deal. So even though they lost Cooper, let him go. It still looks like a good deal. Not only are a lot of players listed here,

but a lot of them are crucial to the Patriots' success. So it is going to be interesting to see who is inactive. Hopefully 80% of these players get the play tomorrow. Let's take a minute to hear from our sponsor. The first month of the season is officially in the books, which is just crazy. How's your fantasy football team doing this week? How'd they do last week?

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And with this being your classic trap game, a blowout seems out of the equation. The flip side is the Browns are awful. Brady is angry and looking to unleash hell in the NFL, and the Patriots are embarrassed about their loss last week, so the whole team is ready to fight somebody. That makes me think this might be a little different from the Cleveland games, the Cleveland trap games over the last few years. Let's take a look inside the numbers of this matchup. The Patriots, when they've had the ball this year, they've been pretty good, but they're obviously better with Garoppolo than they were with Brissette.

Brissette, obviously, in the last game was the nearest injury that he's now been placed on injury reserve for, but with Brady back, man, it all changes. Let's see what Rob Gronkowski is. Let's see if Gronkowski is back, man, it all changes. You know, let's see what Rob Gronkowski is. Let's see if Gronkowski is back to himself, which I have a feeling he's going to be. Let's see what Brady does with having Martellus Bennett and Rob Gronkowski to work with. Let's see what Julian Edelman looks like. He only had one catch last week, I believe, maybe one or two.

But he was ineffective last week, and I know with his foot injury, it can be a problem, but Brady typically puts it on him when he's hurt or not hurt. So Edelman, we're going to see his numbers come up this week. The Browns do have a decent young secondary with Joe Hayden back there. They do have to be very careful not to get a little too ahead of themselves. But overall, they should be able to move the ball, and it's going to be interesting to watch because it's going to just look different than it has the last couple weeks.

When Cleveland has the ball, they'll be starting a rookie quarterback with Cody Kessler out of USC. But Kessler's done decent. He's done all right since he's been in there. He's completed 67% of his passes this season. So it's not like he's been bad. Granted, a lot of his throws have been like screens and short throws and game plan stuff, just like the Patriots did with Brissette.

But, again, he's hit 67% of them. He isn't getting deceptions and not throwing the ball away, so he's done a good job. But really what it comes down to for Cleveland is if they'll be able to get running back Isaiah Crowell going. He's been pretty good the last couple weeks. Terrell Pryor also has been pretty good, but as we know, Bill Belichick likes to take away

the top weapon of the team he's facing. So with the way Pryor's been playing, I'm sure they're looking to take him away. Tight end Gary Barnage is also a threat, but again, that'll be the second threat they look to take away. And then, which is what they usually do, they defend the run, and that should hem Crowell in. So I do think that Cleveland has their hands full of the Patriots defense. Although they have played clean, it doesn't mean that they've been explosive by any means,

and they can be very, very limited as far as points on Sunday. This will be an interesting thing to watch. Patriots defense, too, hasn't really been that good the last few weeks. They had a decent second half against Buffalo, getting stops when they had to and trying to get the ball back to the offense so they can maybe score a point, which they didn't, but that's a story for another day. But the defense generally has been embarrassed over the way they've played

the last few weeks, so I have a bad feeling for Cleveland that they're going to take it out on them. Another area that the Browns have struggled mightily in is the kicking game, and we know how the Patriots value that. They've been terrible. Cody Parkey has missed three field goals last week, and he also missed one in overtime and a loss to Miami. It's just a nightmare. Their coverage units are pretty bad too.

You know, 29.2 on kickoffs and 13.4 on punts. It's just that they've been awful. I know Cyrus Jones was pretty bad last week. He just made a couple bad decisions, and I'm sure as a rookie he's got a lot on his plate and a lot swimming through his head when he's trying to make a play. So he probably will not make those same mistakes again after getting coached up this week by Belichick and hopefully he can take advantage of Cleveland's awful kickoff and punt units tomorrow and maybe make a play. On the medical side of it

that's where it gets interesting. I had mentioned earlier that they had mentioned Vincent Valentine was out. Shea McClellan has also been ruled out with a concussion. Brandon Bolden has also been ruled out with a knee. Again, the questionable list

with Edelman, Cannon, Gronkowski, Blount, Franey, Garoppolo, Hightower, Tooney. The play remains the same. They're all questionable. But again, there are three players out in McClellan, Bolden, and Valentine. For Cleveland, they're also battling their own injuries. Out for Cleveland will be wide receiver Corey Coleman, tight end Seth DeValve,

center Cameron Irving, quarterback Josh McCown, who has a shoulder injury, and Austin Reiter, who's a center, he's got a knee, and tight end Randall Telfer, who has an ankle. They also have questionable players, tight end Carl DeSibre, who has a hand issue, quarterback Ibrahim Campbell has a hamstring, and quarterback Tremont Williams is battling a shoulder, He has a hand issue. Quarterback Ibrahim Campbell has a hamstring. And quarterback Tremont Williams is battling a shoulder. So Cleveland's not exactly the healthiest team in the world either,

but they're not in as bad a position as the Patriots are. Unfortunately for Cleveland, their roster puts them in a bad position every game. So with Brady back and with Ninkovich back and with the Patriots angry after a loss last week at the hands of the Buffalo Bills, a team in the division, a team they don't like, it's safe to assume that the Patriots are going to be ready to go. I said it earlier, I'll say it again, it feels like a trap game, but a lot of times when you feel the trap, that's when you know that you can avoid the trap and win the game. It's like a euphemism for football. A trap is one of the most famous

plays in football. If you know it's coming and you know how to defend it, you can stop it. If you don't know it's coming, you get knocked off your feet and you get snot bubbles and you look like an idiot on the field while the guy runs right through the hole and runs for a long gain or a touchdown. Well, that's what a draft game is like. You either pick up on it, you know it's coming, and you avoid it and you blow it up and you win the game, or you come through the hole, you get smashed by the guard,

and the running back goes right by you and you lose the game. So that's how it's going to be tomorrow for the Patriots. They're either going to be ready to go. You. They're either going to be ready to go. You know Tom Brady's going to be rusty to start. It's just the way it is. He's 39 years old. It doesn't matter how old he is. He's been out for a month.

These guys have been already rolling for a month. So it's going to take him about a quarter, a quarter and a half maybe, to get himself going. But once he does, assuming the defense does their job and they have enough healthy bodies out there that can keep Brady upright and have some guys to throw to, they're going to break through and they're probably going to end up scoring close to 40 points and possibly win this game by a couple touchdowns. So that's how I see things playing out.

There are some things to keep an eye on. Julian Edelman's foot, Rob Gronkowski, not only his injury, but let's keep an eye on his production and targets versus Martellus Bennett, because this is starting to get interesting. It's starting to wonder if maybe Bennett might be a guy the Patriots are looking to keep around, and maybe Gronkowski

may be the guy on the move, just because of, you know, Bennett stays on the field. That's a big part of what the Patriots are looking for. We'll see what happens there. But tomorrow it should be interesting to watch what the target situation is looking like

between the two tight ends. So again, the plan for the Patriots tomorrow is take away Terrell Pryor, then take away Gary Barnage, and try to limit Isaiah Crowell in the running game. And they should take care of business. I'm going to say predicted score.

I'm going to make it Patriots 38 and Browns 9. I think it's going to be a blowout. Again, I've said the trap game thing, but you guys have heard my trap game theory. And now that we know that it's out there and the Patriots know what the situation is because of how the Browns have handled them in the last few games they should be able to really take care of business now another word from our sponsor

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Again, that's 844-722-2387. Again, that's 844-722-2387. Join the 1,000 of online players today already playing. Only the biggest, only the best, only at mybookie.net. Sign up today. I want to thank all you Patriots fans for joining us again today here on Locked on Patriots. Tomorrow we'll be on a couple times. I'll be on pregame about 20 minutes before to quickly go over

who's inactive, who's active, and what to watch for based on those situations. And then we'll be on postgame to go over our postgame report. So again, thank you for joining us tonight, and be sure to join in tomorrow, twice, for Locked On Patriots. I'm Chris Simino. Have a great night. Is democracy in danger or decline?

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