Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - LOCKED ON PATRIOTS- 11/8/16- Did The Patriots Make The Grade On Defense?

Episode Date: November 9, 2016

Chris Simoneau hands out report cards to the defense this time, and he was a little tougher with his grades than he was with the offense. #fixthepassrush Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hi, it's Jamie, Progressive number one, number two employee. Leave a message at the... Hey Jamie, it's me, Jamie. This is your daily pep talk. I know it's been rough going ever since people found out about your acapella group, Mad Harmony, but you will bounce back. I mean, you're the guy always helping people find coverage options with the Name Your Price tool. It should be you giving me the pep talk.

Now get out there, hit that high note, and take Mad Harmony all the way to nationals this year! Sorry, it's pitchy. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. Price and coverage match limited by state law. Good evening, I'm Chris Simino, your host of Locked On Patriots, your source for everything Patriots. Today is Tuesday, November 8th, 2016. Today is day two of our report card review, with defense getting their grades and breakdowns for the first half of the 2016 season. Defense has done a pretty good job of keeping teams off the scoreboard, but there are some players that are struggling and some that are excelling, so we're going to go through all of that. Okay, first we're going to go through Patriots news and notes like we always do, and then we'll see who made the grade. One thing that has contributed to the Patriots' 7-1 record is health,

and the reason may be from changes made during the offseason. It was a surprise to a lot of fans and a lot of people around the league when the Patriots fired their strength and conditioning coach, Harold Nash, at the end of last season, and they promoted Moses Cabrera. But the results from the first half of the season speak for themselves, and I don't think for one second that Belichick hasn't noticed. In fact, he spoke about it yesterday. Here's what he had to say as far as the change.

He said, quote, halfway through the season at this point, you can look at the numbers relative to where we were a year ago and see there was significant improvement. Hopefully we'll be able to maintain that through the second half of the season when we ran into some trouble last year. I think we've always worked hard. We've tried every year to work a little bit harder, try to do things a little bit better,

and hopefully some of those little things are paying off. I know the players work extremely hard on their training as well as in nutrition, hydration, rest, recovery, and all those things that go into performance. Belichick had a lot more to say in this. I'm not going to sit here and go through his entire quote because I'll be here all night. But he did have a lot to say in the article, and it was a very interesting read, so I would recommend to go check it out. Just Google it, Belichick talking about nutrition and all that.

It'll come right up. Because to be perfectly honest with you, I can't remember where I read it, Belichick talking about nutrition and all that. It'll come right up. Because to be perfectly honest with you, I can't remember where I read it, so you're going to have to Google it to find it. But when you consider how tight-lipped he usually is and how tight-lipped this organization is when it comes to injuries, it's pretty interesting just to hear what he has to say. He's been a coach in the NFL for 41 years, and he's seen it all. So when you see a lack of injuries from one year to the next,

it definitely proves that specific practices in injury management do help. Again, like I've said before, I'm a coach. I know I work with high school kids. It's a little bit different, but we've even noticed this season that with some of the things we've done strength and conditioning-wise that the kids do stay healthier, and it's no different in the NFL, or in college for that matter. In other news and notes, the Patriots signed linebacker

and former Maine Black Bear Trevor Bates from their practice squad. In order to make room for Bates, unfortunately, the Patriots had to cut fullback Glenn Gronkowski, who seems to be on the old getting cut and getting re-signed treatment that you used to see our old friend Ray Ventrone get. Gronkowski is the new Ventrone. Bates was drafted by the Colts in the seventh round of the 2016 draft. He did get some playing time.

He got in and played some special teams. In fact, Robert Mathis raved about him there in training camp. But he played 22 special teams plays for Indianapolis, and I believe it was week one, and then they released him. So either they saw something on tape they didn't like, or they just didn't have room for him. He had an impressive career all at Maine. He had 207 tackles, 35 of them for losses, 19 sacks, 3 interceptions, 5 forced fumbles,

2 fumble recoveries, and he broke up 9 passes. So needless to say, he was an active linebacker that was all over the field for the Black Bears. Bates hails from Westbrook, Maine, so he is a lifelong New England resident. Bates will definitely be on special teams, especially if he's active. And he may end up on some sub-packages at linebacker. It's something to keep an eye on with some of the injuries that they've dealing with. So I wouldn't be surprised if we see him on the field a little bit in sub-packages on defense. Congrats to the local kid.

It's always good to see a kid break through that's from the New England area. Well, today is election day and we do have some news regarding the Patriots and their involvement. I'm sure you guys all heard about it today on multiple news stations and things of that nature. Tom Brady sent his absentee ballot yesterday, and Donald Trump said that Brady called him to tell him that he voted for him. Trump also received a letter from Bill Belichick. Belichick said that, quote,

you've dealt with an unbelievable slant in negative media and have come out beautifully. You've proved to be the ultimate competitor and fighter. Your leadership is amazing. I've always had tremendous respect for you, but the toughness and perseverance you've displayed over the past year is remarkable. Hopefully tomorrow's results will give you the opportunity to make America great again. I'm not going to lie.

I'm a little surprised Brady and Belichick would be so open and public in regards to whom they're voting for, because to be perfectly honest with you, we don't need to know. I don't care. It's not my business, just like it's not their business for whom I voted for. But for some reason we're in this society now where everyone feels like

they need to get out and tell each other who they voted for and fight over politics instead of discuss it and keep their vote to know to themselves which is how it really should be um but to each their own i guess i guarantee you brady and pelichick lost some fans with the uh with their endorsement of trump in a very very very democratic state of massachusetts um but hey they chose who they wanted to choose. So that's their right as an American. Okay, enough about the elections, because to be perfectly honest,

I don't want to talk about it. Let's get to the Patriots defensive report card, which is a little up and down, but we'll just stick with the starters. I don't want to get too far into the sub-packages. If there's somebody that's struggling or doing well we're going to have them in our studs and duds segment at some point so we'll get to them sub package guys later on in a different show today we're just going to focus on the starters so when chris long was signed i don't think anybody really expected much out of him he's one of those veteran

pickups in the offseason that didn't really seem like a big deal. A lot of times those guys get cut, just to be perfectly honest, especially when it comes to the Patriots. But he's turned into a good find for this team. They're in need of defensive ends and he's really stepped up. He's started 7 of 8 games. He's got 13 tackles, 8 assisted, 1 sack, 2 passes defended, and he's got a fumble recovery. Those aren't really jump-off-the-page stats, but he's done a good job setting the edge, and although he only has one sack, he still creates pressure, and he's one of the few that can do it on the Patriots' front four.

He's not getting any younger, but he definitely has some of the pass-rushing skills that he's always had throughout his career, and he still brings it on every single play. Long's been pretty good. I've been pleasantly surprised by him. I do think, though, with Long that with Ninkovich back, hopefully they can establish some stability at the outside linebacker position so they can bring Ninkovich up to the line again as a DM like they've had him because they've had him in linebacker for the last couple weeks.

So hopefully they can do that, and then they can use Long in sub-packages where he would be at his best. He can create pressure. So if you have him coming in on third-down situations and he's rested, he's going to make plays and his sacks are going to go up. I think he could be like a Trace Armstrong type. I know some of you young guys may not know who Trace Armstrong is, but he was a pass-rushing specialist for Miami.

Late in his career, he had a resurgence and just was making sack after sack. The reason why is because he was only playing on second and long and third and long or third down in general. It lengthened his career, and he ended up becoming a great player in the league, and I think that Long could be that type of guy too. Next up, Alan Branch, defensive tackle. Branch has also started seven of eight games, and to me, he has been the anchor of the defensive line,

especially when it comes to stopping the run. He has 16 tackles, 11 assisted tackles, and he also has one sack. Another one, his numbers don't jump out at you, but he's such an intimidating force, and when teams try to run at him, they pay the price and they don't really get anywhere. I've stated multiple times that Branch jumps off the screen in film review, but he isn't a very strong pass rusher, which does hurt his overall grade.

I'm going to give Branch a B+. If he can start to get some pressure and cave in the middle of that pocket and start to cause some real issues as far as the passing game, then that grade will go up for the second half of the season. But he's earned a solid B+, and like I said, he is the most intimidating force on the Patriots' defense, besides their best player, who we're going to get to in a moment. Next up, Malcolm Brown, defensive tackle. Brown, like the two before him, has also started seven of eight games.

It seems to be a trend. But he hasn't been as consistent as the other two. His numbers are okay. He's got 13 tackles. He's assisted on 10. He's got two sacks. But he disappears for games, like last week when he had zero tackles versus the Bills. Yeah, he had two quarterback pressures, but he's got to bring more.

He's a second-year defensive tackle who's started pretty much every game in his career. The Patriots know how talented he is. They really, really, really need to get him going. Because if they don't, he's not going to pan out the way they wanted him to. If we see the Malcolm Butler that showed up for the Cleveland and Pittsburgh game, we see an A-minus player. If we see the Malcolm Butler that showed up for Buffalo, Miami, and the Arizona game, we see a C-minus player.

So we're going to meet somewhere in the middle. Actually, we're going to meet right in the middle to determine his grade. Malcolm Brown, you have earned a B- for the first half of the season. You have much room for improvement, and I think that main area of improvement comes in consistency. So Malcolm Brown, B- needs to be more consistent. Next up, Jabal Sheard, right defensive end. Sheard has started all eight games for New England.

Hey, good, at least one of them started all eight. And at one point he was battling an injury, so it helps that he has the toughness to battle through. He has 15 tackles, three assisted tackles, three and a half sacks, and he's really the only true pass rusher they have on the roster. I know I said Chris Long earlier too, but Jabal Sheard is a three-down pass rushing specialist who can really get there, and he actually is pretty good against a run, too. He's only been okay this year, though.

He hasn't been as explosive and as good as we thought he was going to be heading into the season, and they need that out of him, especially after trading Chandler Jones away. They need somebody to step up. So they need more out of him if they expect the pass rush to get it going in the second half of the season. Sheard's also in line for a new contract, so he has plenty of motivation to go out there and get some sacks. Let's see if he can get it going, and let's see if the Patriots game plan enough for him to be able to get to the quarterback.

Overall grade, I'm going to give Sheard a B-. Next up is Dante Hightower. Hightower is the best Patriots player on defense, and it isn't even close. His numbers aren't crazy. 14 solo tackles, 19 assisted tackles, one and a half sacks, one pass defended. But he did have two safeties in consecutive weeks that were huge plays that completely shifted the balance of momentum in both games. It was impressive. Hightower always seems to be battling some type of injury, but he always finds a way to work through it. He started the six games he's been active for. He missed two games with a knee injury. So again, he's always battling

something, but he finds a way. Hightower's great at stopping the run. He squeezes down and he hits blockers back and they're running back sometimes. And I just laugh because you teach these guys how to do this stuff, but then you see somebody so talented and so strong and so dynamic like him and explosive, and he just hammers a guy and they go flying backwards like that. It's just that's what football is all about, and Hightower is just great. He's great at stopping the run, and although he doesn't pile up a ton of sacks, he does make big plays in pass defense. Sometimes I penalize plays

with missing time, but Hightower's been so good that I'm not going to. I'm going to give him an A-. In fact, yeah, that is a little bit of a penalty, an A- for missing two games, but he's been awesome. Hightower, best player on the defense, and I think they're going to get him signed up. Next up, we've got a rookie, Landon Roberts. The rookie out of Houston, led the country in tackles last season and for some reason kind of slipped through the cracks. Well, he isn't slipping through anymore because Belichick has found himself a player, and he loves him.

Roberts, he just brings it, and his tackling prowess in college is translating to the NFL. Some guys, they just know how to get to the ball and know how to tackle. They are rare, but when you find one, you have to use them. You've got to hold on to them. Robert's strong play went into the Patriots' thinking, too, when they traded away Jamie Collins, which says a lot about how they really feel about Roberts. He's only started two games.

He's appeared in five. He's got 12 tackles and nine assisted tackles. So I figure he only started two games. I know he appeared in five, but he didn't play a ton in those other three. And, you know, to have 12 tackles and nine assists, that's impressive. He's always around the ball. And starting on Sunday, he has a chance to become a permanent starter. Considering that he hasn't had a ton of opportunities just with the two starts,

for what he's been able to accomplish and where he came from and what was expected, Landon Roberts' overall grade is an A- and it's well-earned. Good job, Rook. Keep it going. Next up, Rob Ninkovich, weak-side linebacker. Ninkovich, he missed the first four games of the season for a failed drug test. So, yeah, that hurts his grade. I'm sorry. It was something he could control, and he didn't, so that makes me take away the grade. He hurt the Patriots defense by not being there, and I think it still has an

effect over the last few games. He started three of the four games he's been back. He's only made five tackles. He's assisted on six, and he's forced one fumble, but he doesn't have any sacks. They need to start getting him involved with the pass rush ASAP, which is on the coaches. It's not on him. Ninkovich doesn't develop the game plans. He just does his job. It's time to let him get after the quarterback because he's good at it and they need to get after them desperately. Unleash the Nink. It's enough. I understand they're using him at linebacker, but they really need to bring him up at end like they did last year when they had him opposite Chandler Jones.

Set him up opposite Jabal Sheard. Get a little 4-3 going and get a pass rush going with them because if they don't get it going soon, their secondary is going to get exposed by a very good quarterback. So overall grade, I'm going to give Ninkovich a C+. I know that sounds a little bit harsh, but he really hasn't been all that productive since he's been back. And I think, again, I put that on the coaching staff,

but the numbers are what they are, and what I see on film is what I see. C+. Sorry, Rob. You've got to get it together. The suspension didn't help. Next, Malcolm Butler, left cornerback. Butler's been good again this season. He's started all eight games. He's got 24 tackles. He's got nine assists.

One at deception, which was a huge one in the end zone, which pretty much stopped the touchdown drive and really was a big Patriots win in that game. And he has 10 passes defended. One thing that does bother me about Butler is him getting beat initially and having to chase to make a play. Typically he'll make the play, barely. But if he's in a better position initially, he could maybe intercept more balls.

He's got 10 passes defended, so it's pretty clear that quarterbacks aren't afraid to throw at him, and it's time that he makes them pay. No more recovery all the time. It's time to cover andbacks aren't afraid to throw at him, and it's time that he makes them pay. No more recovery all the time. It's time to cover and make a play, Butler. Your overall grade is a B. I would love it to be higher, but he's not getting any help from the pass rush

because he's got to cover for longer than he usually does, and he's not getting any help from his own self when he doesn't cover initially and he has to recover too much. So, B for Malcolm Butler. Patrick Chung, strong safety. Chung, he's been one of the Patriots' best defenders in 2016, and he's started every game. He has 28 tackles, 18 assisted tackles.

He's got one at deception, and he's defended three passes. Chung is really good defending the run, but he's not just a run stopper anymore. He's also improved tremendously against the pass. You know, I really don't have a lot to say about Chung. I've talked about him a lot last week or two weeks ago when I had him in the studs and duds. He was one of the studs.

Chung is a steady player, and he just keeps getting better, and he may be the best defender not named Dante Hightower or Devin McCourty. So Chung earns an A. Patrick Chung, you are an A player this year. Devin McCourty, free safety. The talented free safety has been his typical consistent self, and that's exactly what the Patriots need on the back end. McCourty has 37 tackles, 4 assists, and he's defended 3 passes.

He brings more than stats, though, as we've discussed on this show. He has the ability to recognize formations, trends, and things that you won't think will work, he doesn't think will work. He'll go to the coaching staff and tell them, you know, a guy's got to pay attention here, they've got to get their heads turned around in coverage here. He picks up on stuff that coaches aren't on in the field, so they can't see some of these things that the players see.

And some of the players don't understand what they're seeing, which may sound dumb, but it's the truth. They just don't understand what they're seeing because of their football IQ. McCoy does. He sees it and he gets it. So his work is crucial to the coaching staff and the defense overall. He hasn't been perfect, but he's been damn good. Overall grade, A-, and that's an easy one. Next up, last but not least, even though he's been least lately,

he's struggled so far this year, is right cornerback Logan Ryan. Up and down season for the talented cornerback. The thing is, he's a man corner, plain and simple. He's being used in zone, and of course, what's going to happen, he's going to struggle. Ryan has started six of eight games. Eric Rowe got a couple starts for him towards the end, heading up to the eighth game there.

Ryan does have 40 tackles. He's assistant on nine. He's got three passes defended, and he's forced to fumble. He has made plays, and he does tackle well. It's time for the Patriots to use him strictly in man, which is what they should be doing anyways. Don't start Eric Rowe over Logan Ryan. That's just not a good idea.

I think Rowe can play, but I think Ryan is a pretty good player. I gave him a C+, because of some of the games he just struggled. He really struggled, and for the fact games he just struggled. He really struggled. And for the fact that he lost his job for two games. But that C-plus could easily jump if Ryan goes out and has the second half of the season that I fully expect him to have. So, again, Logan Ryan, overall grade C-plus. But he has much room for improvement.

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So I want to thank you all for joining us today on the largest growing podcast network in the world. Make sure you tell your friends to listen. We'll have between five and seven shows a week we always sit there and go over the news first and then we get into a segment and then as the week goes on we start to preview the team that the patrons will be facing so you know we're going to give you all the up-to-date information we're going to give you our opinions and we're going to give you all the up-to-date information. We're going to give you our opinions, and we're going to do it in less than half an hour every single day. So come check us out. Tell your friends about us. Listen to us on your ride home from work.

Listen to a couple podcasts on your ride to work. They're all on there. Come check us out at Locked on Patriots. Again, I'm your host, Chris Semino. Have a great night, Patriots fans. 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.

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