Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - LOCKED ON PATRIOTS- 12-3-16- Breaking Down the Patriots Offense vs. the Rams Defense

Episode Date: December 4, 2016

Chris Simoneau discusses the big news involving Alan Branch and Rob Gronkowski, and then breaks down the matchup between the Patriots offense and the Rams defense. #branchdidntinhale #patriots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Minimum purchase required, U.S. only. Good evening, I'm Chris Cimino, Patriots Insider for Scout.com, and also your host of Locked On Patriots, your source for everything Patriots. Today is Saturday, December 3rd, 2016. We are getting close to kickoff here. We're a lot less than 24 hours now. Getting close tomorrow, 1 o'clock, between the Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams. Tonight, we'll update you on all the other Patriots news and notes that we didn't update you guys on yesterday. Injury report for both of the teams, who appears to be in and out for tomorrow's game

and lastly we're going to break down the Patriots offense versus the Rams defense before we get to all that I just want all 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 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, email me directly at chrissimusc,

at C-H-R-I-S-S-I-M-U-S-C, at yahoo.com. If you are a member of Patriots Insider on scout.com, you can contact me directly on the site via message. Okay, let's get to the good stuff here. Patriots news and notes. Huge win for the Patriots today as Alan Branch wins his appeal. He will not be suspended for any games whatsoever.

And that's somewhat of a shocking end to what looked like a huge blow to the Patriots defense, specifically the run defense. I'm shocked. I didn't think that Branch had any chance to win it completely. I thought that they would knock a game or two off. Typically they knock it down to two or three, like they did with Le'Veon Bell, but hey, we'll take it. The Patriots have got to be happy about this one because after losing Gronkowski for the season, we'll get to that in a minute, it's nice to know that they'll at least have Branch in the defense to be a huge part of their run defense. So Field Yates reported tonight, he's been all over this thing,

he reported tonight that the Patriots have officially placed Rob Gronkowski on injured reserve. So that's just an update that we heard just in the last hour or so. So make sure we get that news to you guys. So Rob Gronkowski is officially out for the season. We will see him during, well, minicamp for the 2017 season. But I bet you won't see him doing much but staying on the sidelines and on the stationary bike because I'm not going to risk it with this kid and I don't think he's going anywhere. So again, Rob Gronkowski has been placed on injured reserve. He is out for

the season. They already brought back that one player they could. They did with Jacoby Brissett and I don't think Gronkowski had the opportunity to come back anyways because he had a back surgery. So we promise you guys the injury update. Well, here it is. So grab a snack and a seat because this is going to take a while. We already told you Gronk out. Season, see you later.

Safety Jordan Richards also bad on the knee. He is out for this week. Defensive tackle Woodrow Hamilton has an illness. He's questionable. Why did you see him Matthew Slater with a foot injury? Questionable. Tight end Martellus Bennett is an ankle and his shoulder has been added to the list now. He's questionable, but he'll play. Tom Brady with his knee, questionable. We know he's going to play. Nate Ebner, concussion, questionable. That's a true questionable because concussions you never know. And Ebner's one of those guys that's kind of on the cusp of being put on, you know,

an active list week to week just because of sometimes with depth and things like that. So Ebner is a question for this week. Why do you see with Julian Edelman? Edelman continues to stay on the list with that foot injury, which means that it's never gotten truly right, but it's good enough to play on, so he's questionable. Trey Flowers has a shin injury. He's also listed as questionable, but it appears that he's probably going to play.

Wide receiver Chris Hogan has a back injury, also listed as questionable. Watching Hogan the last few weeks since he tweaked the back, it's been obvious that he has something up with him. So if they can get away with putting him on the bench for the week and trying to get that thing better, maybe use Amendola a little bit more and use Malcolm Mitchell a little bit more, it might be a good idea to just make sure they get Hogan ready for the playoffs. And a new addition to the injury report is linebacker Landon Roberts,

who has a jaw injury. He's questionable. I think he'll play. The jaw is going to hurt though. That hurts. Putting on that helmet and hitting people and doing all that while you have a jaw injury is not fun.

That's a long list. Although I'm sure most of them will play, this shows how banged up they are right now. Not long ago, we were talking about the new strength and conditioning coach and how the lack of injuries show how great a job he was doing. But all of a sudden, they're pretty banged up. It makes you wonder if it's inevitable that all NFL teams will face injuries during the season.

I mean major injuries. Nobody ever stays totally healthy, as we know. But every team typically loses at least one major star or contributor. And there's no real way to determine, not if, but when it will happen. And that's the hard part. The Rams are also dealing with some injuries of their own. None of the same skill as New England, but they have some guys that are pretty important. Wide receiver Tavon Austin has a chest injury. He is doubtful.

Center Tim Barnes has a foot injury. He is also questionable. Tackle Andrew O'Donnell has a hip injury. Questionable. Defensive end Robert Quinn with a concussion. Also questionable. And last but not least, guard Roger Saffold. Also questionable.

So Austin, Barnes, and Saffold, they're all starters. And Austin is doubtful, so he's probably not going to play. So they're going to be shorthanded at least one guy. This offense is bad enough as it is. If Bonds or Saffold are out, or God forbid both of them are, this could be an even more inept day for this disgusting Rams offense. We talked about how bad they were yesterday. McDonald's a backup, so that isn't that big of a deal.

But, you know, Robert Quinn, that would be a tough loss too if he isn't able to play. He's a starter on the Rams defensive line. He's a playmaker. So, you know, I know I'd be willing to bet that Austin is definitely going to sit, but I'm not going to say that he's the only one. But that's a big blow to rookie quarterback Jared Goff, having the fastest guy on the field to go to.

I know that Tavon Austin hasn't exactly been what everybody expected him to be in the pros, but he's still pretty good. He makes plays, and for a guy like Goff to lose a weapon like that, you know, heading into New England, a place where he's going to be, you know, he's going to be scared, period. He's going to be nervous. He's going to be struggling. It's just the way it is when you're a rookie quarterback and you're going up against a historic team, and a team that's probably going

to come out playing angry tomorrow considering all the crap that's been said about them and talked about them and the Gronkowski loss and people saying they've done all that. I think this Patriots team is a wounded dog coming out and they're going to be angry this week. It's going to be interesting to watch. So, you know, Jared Goff may have his hands full and without having Tava on Austin, it could be a long week for him. So we'll see how that all works out. Let's take a minute to tell you about one of our sponsors.

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get to hear this too. So go check it out. It's really good. Alright, it's time to get to the Patriots offense versus the Rams defense. This is the better matchup. Yesterday's discussion was kind of gross. But today's a little bit more interesting. Patriots offense has been pretty consistent all year. Still averaging 26.6 points per game, 6th in the league. 386.2 yards per game, which is also 6th in the league.

270.4 passing yards per game, which is also 6th in the league. 270.4 passing yards per game, again, 6th in the league, and 115.8 rushing yards per game, which is impressive, 7th in the league. The Rams' defense has actually been okay. They allow 21.5 points per game, which is 14th in the league, 339.8 yards per game, which is 9th, 227.5 passing yards, which is 14th in the league, 339.8 yards per game, which is 9th, 227.5 passing yards, which is 7th, but they have a weakness here, 112.3 rushing yards per game. They are 20th.

So, you know, this is an interesting matchup on paper. It looks like a good matchup for the Patriots, but there are some things to worry about if you're a Patriots fan, and that specific thing is defensive tackle Aaron Donald. And to a lesser degree, old friend, paper mache's knees, Dominic Easley, a player that could not have been happy with his release, and he's going to look to get some payback. And as bad as the kid's knees are,

I know that he's one finger tap away on the kneecap from being done. He can make plays. The Rams have 22 sacks on the year, 6 interceptions, and 9 forced fumbles, so they get after the ball a little bit. And the talent of this team does rest in the defense. So I do think they'll give the Patriots some trouble tomorrow, but not enough trouble to stop them from scoring in the 20s. One area the Rams do struggle on defense is defending the run, like I just said, which could be a major problem when you're facing the 7th-ranked rushing team in the NFL.

A rushing team ranked 7th, that's not going to stop running the ball, especially with Gronkowski out now. That has to be part of what they do on offense. Expect a heavy dose of Blount and Lewis, Patriots' new version of Thunder and Lightning. And also expect to see James White making a lot of plays in the passing game, getting them out in the flash, again, trying to make up for the loss of Gronk. They're going to throw to their backs a lot. I think Malcolm Mitchell has a chance to be used a lot tomorrow.

I've talked about this specifically in the red zone. He's going to be used a lot, but don't be surprised if you see him on some go routes and trying to get him going in the deep game and try to really see what you got here with this kid. Because if you lose a great playmaker off your offense for the season, but all of a sudden you find one, well, you know, you can be okay. This Patriots offense is still pretty loaded here, and I want fans to realize that without Gronkowski here, they were 3-0. This team still has a very, very good chance to win the Super Bowl this season, even without Gronkowski playing. So, you know, have confidence, and Malcolm Mitchell's the guy to watch. So in total,

I think the Rams and Terrier pass rush will force the Patriots to run the ball. But the run's going to be successful. And once the Rams are on their heels a little bit, New England's going to break out the play-action passing game and then get some quick hits going and get the offense going. They'll get the roll, and I can definitely see that happening. I see the Patriots putting up 27 points on the board tomorrow. So yesterday I predicted 13 points for the Rams. Today I'm predicting 27 for the Patriots. I think you can all do the math.

My prediction for the game tomorrow, the New England Patriots 27, the Los Angeles Rams 13. But the game will be closer than what the final score will indicate. It's going to be a pretty good game, I think, at least for the first three and maybe two and a half quarters that I think, at least for the first three and, yeah, maybe two and a half quarters, and I think the Patriots will pull away. So, I know it's a little bit late tonight, but

we definitely want to make sure that we got this show out to you guys. It's been a long day at college football and all types of good stuff, so thank you for joining us on this Saturday night edition of Locked on Patriots, and be sure to go to iTunes and subscribe to our show tonight. Go do it right now.

And go tell your friends about us. If you're at a party or anything like that, go take the podcast, rewind it right to the beginning, and press play so everybody gets to listen. And then everybody in that room, go and download this on iTunes and subscribe to us today. What are you waiting for? Again, I'm Chris Simino, your host of Locked On Patriots. Make sure you guys check out the pregame show tomorrow.

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