Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - LOCKED ON PATRIOTS- 1/18/17- Studs and Duds From Patriots/Texans AFC Divisional Round

Episode Date: January 18, 2017

Chris Simoneau picks his "Studs and Duds" from the AFC Divisional game between the #Patriots and the Texans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Learn more about our healthy benefits at fepblue.org slash getmore. Good afternoon. I'm Chris Simino, Patriots Insider for Scout.com, and also your host of Locked On Patriots, your source for everything Patriots. Today is Wednesday, January 18, 2017. Today we're going to discuss the studs and duds from Saturday's Patriots win. Some of the selections may be surprising to some of you. We call it as we see it here at Lockdown Patriots, so nobody can escape the dud list. Especially if they're one of the worst replays on the field, this is how we roll. Before we get started, I just want my listeners to know that I can be found on Twitter under the handle Chris underscore Seminole, that's C-H-R-I-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 advertising here on Locked On Patriots, you can email me directly at Seminole at simoneau.christopher5, that's S-I-M-O-N-E-A-U, dot C-H-R-I-S-T-O-P-H-E-R, the number 5, at gmail.com. If you are a member of Patriots Inside, you can contact me directly on the site via message. Okay, enough of that type of stuff. Let's get to the good stuff. Let's talk about the studs from Saturday's matchup. It wasn't the prettiest game. I'll be the first to admit that. Patriots didn't really play all that well, but there were some guys that stood out.

Shaq Mason was the number one stud. Mason was excellent in pass protection. Allowed just one hurry, and when the Texans did start to have some success with their interior pass rush, he was able to step up and help when David Andrews was actually struggling. Mason, he's been consistently improving as a pass blocker all season, and he's already a road grader as a run blocker. So he's on the verge of becoming a very good all-around guard. That's not bad for a guy that played in the option at Georgia Tech,

and that's all he played in was the option because they barely threw the ball. He was actually projected to struggle in pass protection in the NFL, which he did, but now he's finally starting to figure it out with the tutelage of Dante Skarniecki and being around some good veterans. So good for Mason, good for the Patriots. Shaq Mason, number one stud of the day in that guard. The number two stud of the day is also a guard. This one is rookie Joe Tooney.

We haven't been shy about Tooney's struggles over the last six weeks of the regular season, but we can't deny someone when they have an excellent game. And we were all over him and what he had to do during the bye week to fix his technique issues. Well, clearly he did what he had to do because he was awesome on Saturday. According to the Pro Football Focus, Tooney did not allow a single pressure in his 43 pass-blocking snaps. He did struggle a little bit in his run-blocking grade, but Patriots didn't run the ball enough for that to be a factor,

so I'm not factoring it in. It's more impressive, too, that he did this against a team that was trying like hell to get that interior pass rush, which they did pull off multiple times. This week it wasn't Tooney who allowed his man through. He was busy doing his job, and again, good for him to be able to go and fix the issues that he was having. Our third stud of the week goes to defensive tackle Alan Branch.

Branch was completely dominant against the run. He had six tackles, earned himself a game-best 89.0 run defense grade. That's courtesy of Pro Football Focus. Branch has been the Patriots' best run-stopping defensive tackle all season, and they're going to need him to play that way too against the Steelers this week in the AFC Championship. I know it will help slow down Le'Veon Bell in that strong offensive line that Pittsburgh has now. It took a long time for Pittsburgh to develop that, but they have. But I think the Patriots' defensive line is one of those defenses that matches up with these guys, and I think that they can slow them down.

If they do the job right and they tackle right and they take the proper angles, they should be able to at least keep Le'Veon Bell in check and not give up 160, 200 yards. Maybe keep him in check between 80 and 110. As crazy as that sounds, that's keeping him in check. And a big part of that's going to be Alan Branch. Again, Branch was awesome. I couldn't, the Texans couldn't run to his side on Saturday night,

which is typical because that's what Branch has done all year. So the number three stud of the night was Allen Branch. We do have a couple honorable mention people here. Malcolm Brown. Brown teamed with Branch to stuff that Texans run game. One of the keys to the Patriots' win on Saturday. Brown finished the night with three solo tackles, three assisted tackles, one sack, and he also had a tackle for a loss.

It's interesting to me because Brown had lost his starting job for a couple weeks late in the season, but whatever issues he was having are clearly over now. Like we said about Branch, Brown really needs to step up and have his best game of the season Sunday night against Pittsburgh because if not, it could be off-season time for the Patriots. Malcolm Brown, need you. Need you to step up. Need you and the rest of your defensive linemen to step up and slow this Steelers defense down. Specifically slow that running game

down and make them one-dimensional. The final honorable mention of the day goes to Julian Edelman. There's no way we can ignore what Julian Edelman was able to do. He was Brady's top target the entire game, finished with eight catches for 137 yards. And the catches he made weren't his typical over-the-middle or an out-route, things of that nature. It was more down the field and making big plays and coverage. One time he turned himself around and made a play with one guy behind him,

one guy in front of him, went up and made a great catch. He had a 48-yard play, which also was a huge play. He was pivotal in this Patriots win. Edelman easily could have been named one of the studs instead of just getting honorable mention, but those other guys, they earned it. So I gave Edelman the honorable mention tag, but he was awesome. So good for Edelman. That's good for the Patriots because they're not winning anything without having Edelman playing the honorable mention tag, but he was awesome. So good for Edelman. That's good for the Patriots because they're not winning anything

without having Edelman playing up to his ability. All right, let's take a minute to tell you about one of our sponsors. Patriots Insider on scout.com provides daily news, video from NFL.com, be it after the game or even just some of the segments that they do on the website, fantasy football, which is awesome. You can pay for it. You can get advice on it. And you can also earn money back when you sign up.

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You'll see the sign up here tab over on the right. Again, that's nwe.scout.com to register today. This is an unbelievable deal. Go take advantage of it. So unfortunately, like we do every week with our studs and duds, we got to go to the duds. So it is what it is, as Bill Belichick would say. So the number one dud of the day went to Tom Brady. It's not often that Brady makes his way into this category, but this week was not good for the future Hall of Famer.

Brady finished the day 18-38 for 287 yards, two touchdowns and two very costly, ugly interceptions. Brady was 4-12 for 69 yards, one touchdown and two very costly, ugly interceptions. Brady was 4 out of 12 for 69 yards, one touchdowns and two picks on passes between the numbers, and he was 14 out of 22 for 218 yards and a touchdown on passes thrown outside the numbers. So that's a little different. Makes sense, though. It shows that the Texans realized that they had to take away the inside stuff or they were going to get scorched, and they did. They did a good job of it.

But Brady was consistently productive on deep passes. He finished 6th of 11 for 181 yards and a touchdown on passes, thrown for over 20 yards. So it wasn't all bad. He was a dud. He ended the big turnovers, and that's why he's in this category. But I definitely want to point out some of the good stuff. Even with his success on the deep ball, though,

the short game has always been the Patriots' calling card, like I said. And the Texans have slowed it down. Brady was forcing throws. He was getting pressured up the middle, and that's the one area I say could be a big concern leading up to this game and any other playoff game the Patriots are in. If the opposition gets a middle pass rush, the Patriots are in trouble. Brady did make plays when he had to,

but he's definitely worthy of this top dud of the day. I'd be willing to make a bet that he makes up for his bad game in the AFC Championship against Pittsburgh, a team he historically has played well against and he historically plays pretty well after he struggles. So I do think that Brady's going to have a very good game on Sunday night. The number two dud is not a player, it's a coach. And everyone's excited that Brady's going to have a very good game on Sunday night. The number two dud is not a player. It's a coach.

And everyone's excited that he's staying, but I wasn't too happy with what he did on Saturday. Number two dud, Josh McDaniels. Josh, come on, man. I just don't understand why you get so addicted to the pass. Why freeze Blount out of the game plan? It wasn't because he was sick. It was simply the offensive plan, and it was not a good plan. Blount had eight the game plan. It wasn't because he was sick. It was simply the offensive plan,

and it was not a good plan. Blount had eight carries for 31 yards, but he also had a 20-yard run called back due to a hold. His best legal run of the night came in the fourth, and that helped the Patriots seal the deal, and there was one thing that was evident. Blount runs well against his Texans team when you give him a chance. You give him eight carries and he only runs for 31 yards, people are like, oh, well, he didn't do much. Well, A, that's still four yards a carry, and B, it takes running backs more than a few carries to get themselves going,

especially a guy like Blount. McDaniels completely dropped the ball by not going to Blount early and often. You know, you're facing the top pass defense and the best overall defense against the pass. But they give up the run. But, of course, McDaniels forces the throw. And that almost costs the Patriots the game. So, you know, that stuff can't happen.

We're at the AFC Championship now. He needs to game plan properly and make sure that he attacks the weaknesses like they've done in the past. And this was just not his best game on Saturday night. He just was not properly game planning. They should have run the ball a lot more, and they didn't, and that was the huge mistake.

So Josh McDaniels, number two dud of the game, and it was well-deserved. The number three dud of the night goes to David Andrews. And, you know, if you're a center and we hear your name, that's a problem. So Andrews was not effective. He gave up a sack in two hurries. He was blow average in his run-blocking grades. And, again, I'm not going to hold that against him, though, because when your lead backs only combine for 21 yards, that's on the play calling, like we just said, not the blocker.

So Andrews, I'm not going to call him out for his run blocking, but I will call him out for his pass blocking. Of course, no lineman can get into a rhythm run blocking if they do it every four plays, which is what was happening on Saturday. Andrews did struggle with that middle pass rush, though. Something he needs to fix if the Patriots plan on winning the Super Bowl. That's just being blunt. It is that important of an issue. The middle is Brady's kryptonite, and they need to fix if the Patriots plan on winning the Super Bowl. That's just being blunt. It is that important of an issue.

In the middle is Brady's kryptonite, and they need to fix that problem now. And Andrews needs to be the first to clean it up and make sure that he knows his assignments and what he's supposed to do. Dishonorable mention. That's right. This game was so up and down that we actually have people, not one, but two people on the dishonorable mention list. Number one, Eric Rowe. The Patri on the dishonorable mention list. Number one,

Eric Rowe. The Patriots had just taken a 7-0 lead, held the Texans to a 3-0, and this moron goes and gets a personal foul. Listen, I typically wouldn't call a player a moron, but that play warranted it. I could just imagine what Belichick called him when he pulled up the tape Monday, and that was the first play that they showed. People try to claim that this isn't true, but one play, especially early, can change the entire game. It does. I don't care what anybody says. That is the absolute truth. One play can change the game. That was the one play that gave the Texans confidence that, hey, you know what, maybe we can hang with these guys.

And as much as anybody wants to say, oh, they won by 18 points, everybody who watched that game knows that that score was a lot closer than what it looked like. And a lot of it has to do with Eric Rowe's stupid penalty and giving the Texans confidence that they could stay in the game when they went down the field and they got a score on that first drive. So, Eric Rowe, shame on you. Don't you ever do something like that again.

This is foolish. Number two, dishonorable mention. This one's kind of tough, but I had to do it. Michael Floyd, he had a strong performance in Miami to end the regular season, and many, including myself, were expecting a pretty big performance out of him. Well, it didn't happen, and along the way he became one of the duds of the week. If he had just made his one catch for nine yards on his three targets, I'd move on, but he got his hands on the ball, tipped it,

and it resulted in a deception that led to points. That just can't happen. I put a lot on Brady, too, because the pass was a little bit off, but still, if you can get your hands on it, you can make the catch. That just can't happen. Letting that ball get tipped, he needs to play better, especially with Malcolm Mitchell still nursing that sore knee. No one knows if he's going to play this week, so Floyd needs to be on point.

Pittsburgh's defense isn't even as close to as good as Houston's, so I do think Floyd will be able to bounce back and have more success this week, but he was worthy of being a dud, and he wasn't all the way up on the list, but dishonorable mention is not exactly good, so Floyd, clean it up, buddy. You're in the playoffs now. This isn't Arizona. This is New England. So, that'll do it for our studs and duds segment.

I hope everybody enjoyed it. I'm sure everybody doesn't agree with who we named, but sorry. We go by what we see, and we go by the stats, and I thought it was pretty clear this week that the duds were absolute duds who deserved to be named, and I thought it was pretty clear this week that the Duds were absolute Duds who deserved to be named, and the Studs were good, so they got what they got. If you disagree, feel free to email us, and we can talk about it on the show. That'd be great. My question for you guys, though, you guys ready for NFL Championship weekend?

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I want to thank you guys all for joining us on this Wednesday edition of Locked On Patriots. Be sure to go to iTunes and subscribe to our show today, as in right this second. And be sure to tell your friends about us too. Here at Locked On Patriots, we're all about getting Patriots fans the most info they need to be the most in-the-know Patriots fan.

Be sure to join us tomorrow as we discuss the last meeting between the Patriots and the Steelers. Again, I'm your host, Chris Simino. Thanks for joining us today and have a great day, 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. 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.

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