Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - LOCKED ON PATRIOTS- 12/19/16- Studs and Duds From Yesterday's Patriots/Broncos Showdown

Episode Date: December 19, 2016

Chris Simoneau of Scout.com gives you his Studs and Duds from the Patriots 16-3 win in Denver yesterday. #patriots 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 afternoon, I'm Chris Simino, Patriots Inside of a Scout.com, and also your host of Locked On Patriots, your source for everything Patriots. Today is Monday, December 19th, 2016, like we like to do here every Monday here on Locked On Patriots. Today is Monday, December 19th, 2016, like we like to do here every Monday here on Lockdown Patriots. We're going to go through our studs and duds from yesterday's huge win in Denver. It's difficult to pick duds from a game like yesterday, but let's

be honest, the offense only scored 16 points, and there were some areas that they struggled in. So we'll discuss that, along with all the positives from the game. The Patriots really never looked in danger of losing. We also have some news notes and we also have a new thing here, some interesting stats. We get some great stuff from Pro Football Focus every week. I just want to make sure that I'm able to share some of these very interesting notes with you guys that really brings to light what went down in the game yesterday. But 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 Simino.

If you have any questions for the show, be it about the Patriots, myself, Patriots Insider, or advertising here on Locked On Patriots, be it, you know, anytime, you can email me at chrissimusc at yahoo.com. That's C-H-R-I-S-S-I-M-U-S-C at yahoo.com. If you are a member of Patriots Insider, you can also contact me directly on the site via message. So again, you can hit me up through Twitter. It's chris underscore simino on my email at chrissim at usc.com, or you can hit me up through Patriotsinsideronscout.com. Okay, let's get down to the good stuff.

Like I said, our news and notes section is going to be a little bit different today because we want to focus on pro football focus and what they put out for the excellent statistics that they provide us here on Locked On Patriots. They send them to us every single week, and I feel like I haven't done you guys right by not passing them forward to you, so that's what we're going to do. First thing they talked about was fullback James Devlin.

Devlin has earned above-average grades in each of the last nine games. That's impressive. Devlin played 43 snaps yesterday in Denver. That is a season high. And with the way he's playing, he's a big reason why the Patriots have been so confident in their running game. When you have a lead back, a fullback like that, it's like having an extra guard.

And along with Martellus Bennett, I know they did lose Gronkowski for the year, and that definitely hurt them as far as their extra run blockers besides the guys at alignment, but Devlin's been awesome, and that just was clarified yesterday by Pro Football Focus and their excellent statistics that they give to us. Right tackle Marcus Cannon also had an excellent game, allowing just one hurry on his 35 snaps in pass protection. Left tackle Nate Solder allowed two hurries.

He now ranks ninth among all NFL tackles in overall grading for the 2016 season. So that's pretty impressive for a guy like Solder. You know, he had testicular cancer going for a while. He beat that. Last season, his son had cancer. He had to deal with that. His son beat that. Dante Skarniecki comes back, a player, a coach that Solder really flourished under. He's healthy, his son's healthy, he's mentally healthy, and now look,

he's ranked ninth amongst all NFL tackles and overall grading for this year. It goes right in tune with where he was before all these things happened to him, so congratulations to Nate Solder. And just to put it out there, and this is kind of an interesting stat, and I'm not trying to be morbid or anything, but this is pretty interesting. The Patriots' bookend tackles of Nate Solder and Marcus Cannon both had cancer. They both beat cancer. So these guys have seen some pretty long odds, and you hear people say, well, Cannon's not that great,

and Cannon struggled here, and you hear people complain about Solder at times and this and that. Well, you need to take a look back at what they had to go through to get where they are. You also need to look back when they struggled and when they were having their issues. All I know is right now Cannon just signed a long-term deal, and he's most likely supplanting Sebastian Vollmer and taking his job, and Nate Solder solidifying himself as the left tackle of this team for the next five to seven years.

So I'm pretty impressed about that, and to see how good of a day they had yesterday against this incredible Denver defense, especially their pass rush and their pass defense, it's one of the best I've ever seen, and I'm impressed by what the tackles were able to do yesterday. So, you know, for you guys out there that listen to the show who may have had a family member battle cancer,

or even if you battle on yourself, look at these two guys and look what they've done and look at Nate Solder's son went through the same thing. Maybe that gives some people some hope. So Cannon and Solder really stood out, and I'm impressed by that. Left guard Joe Tooney, he had kind of a tough day yesterday in pass protection. Gave up two sacks and also three hurries. But he did lead the team in his run-blocking grade, so that's pretty good.

In fact, that's what I've been seeing a lot when I watch his other co-part there, the other guard there, Shaq Mason. Sorry, having a bit of a brain cramp. It's been a long day. Shaq Mason was the same thing last year. He was a great run blocker, but he would really get mauled in pass coverage as far as blocking, but his pass blocking has improved a lot too. So maybe Tooney just needs that year to get maybe stronger, a little quicker,

and a little bit more mentally in tune with what's going on. But again, he did struggle in pass protection, but the goal yesterday was to run the ball and he led the team in his run blocking grade. So again, great stuff in pro football focus when you can look at a guy who looks like he had a terrible game and he really didn't. So interesting stuff there. 20 of the 28 pass attempts for Tom Brady traveled less than 10 yards.

Brady was 15 of 34 on his dropbacks, and he finished 7 of 13 for 77 yards in those plays. Yesterday just wasn't a Tom Brady day. I know that sounds kind of strange to say, but it's just the truth. It was not a day where Brady's going to be the number one guy, and it makes sense because when you're facing a team that's only given up 180 yards passing a game, but they're 29th in the league in run defense, you've got to find a way to run on them. And that's what they did. Running back LeGarrette Blount, he didn't

really. He did not force a single missed tackle on his 17 rushes. And 24 of his 31 yards came after contact. Dion Lewis fumbled, but he was much more productive. Lewis finished with 95 yards and 18 carries. He forced a pair of missed tackles along the way. As far as overall halfback snaps, Lewis ended up with 28. James White ended up with 24. And Garrett Blount, lowest on the list, ended up with 23.

But again, we'll get into that more later, but it actually does make sense to me. And I'll explain it to you guys when we get into that. Defensive tackles, Malcolm Brown and Alan Branch led the team in run defense grading. Brown added a cleanup sack, and Branch also batted down a pass too. So great job by the interior guys. I thought they were really active yesterday. They were really into it too, getting everybody going. That's good stuff to see.

This defense is starting to get confident. They're starting to have fun out there, so it's fun to watch. Defensive end Trey Flowers recorded two sacks in three hurries. He has now earned above average grades in five of his six games since becoming a starter in Week 10. And it's clear the Patriots' defense has improved since he's been inserted into the lineup. So Trey Flau is continuing to make waves in the NFL this season.

Cornerback Malcolm Butler was targeted just four times, and he allowed only one catch for seven yards. Butler trails only Denver cornerback Chris Harris in 2016 coverage grade among all, that's all NFL quarterbacks. So you look at that, and then you think about the trade of Jamie Collins and get rid of Chandler Jones and the amount of money the Patriots are going to have. Well, they're going to have to pay Butler. I wasn't saying this before.

In fact, if you listen back two months ago to this show, I was thinking, all right, they can get away with paying Butler, maybe a second-tier corner. No, that's not going to happen. They've got to pay him. He's good. He's fast. He's got good closing speed.

He's a good tackler. He's competitive. He's going to keep working because he's not a top-round pick. He's one of those guys that understands that it could end at any moment. Those guys tend to have long careers, good, solid long careers in the NFL. So I think they need to take some of that money and get Butler locked up, especially if he's shutting down guys like Emmanuel Sanders, who's a heck of a player. Linebacker Kyle Vannoy allowed seven catches for 97 yards on nine targets, so not the best

day for coverage for Vannoy. Vannoy rushed the pass three times. He picked up one hurry. He settled into the role as the coverage linebacker opposite Dante Hightower. But again, seven catches for 97 yards and nine targets. They clearly were going after him yesterday, but it really didn't hurt them in the long run. Overall linebacker snaps yesterday.

Van Nooy led the way. He had 51 overall snaps. Hightower was second with 42. Shane McClellan was third on the team with 20. And Landon Roberts only played 11 snaps yesterday. So that tells you that he may have hit the rookie wall a little bit, and he's kind of limited as just pretty much a run stopper. He's very, very, very limited in his coverage.

Cornerback Jonathan Jones got to play 11 snaps yesterday, and he has passed Cyrus Jones on the depth chart. So that's something to keep an eye on. Now, again, you guys didn't hear a lot from me leading up because it was a different host of the show. But with Scout.com, one of the things we really focus on is college football and who's going to be coming up and who the next guys are. And you guys will see as the show goes on during the offseason,

I'll have probably more detail about these college players than any other radio show, any other podcast. And there's no knock on those guys. It's just myself and the other guys from Scout.com that also do work for Locked On Network know a lot more about the college guys. So when Jonathan Jones was coming out, I loved him. I really liked Jonathan Jones in college, and to be perfectly honest with you,

I always liked him better than Cyrus Jones. So it's not a surprise to me to see Jones getting snaps and Jones being placed on an active, especially with the way Cyrus Jones has played. He's been awful. Jonathan Jones, on the other side of it, has been good when he gets his opportunity to play defense. He does a good job, and he's been excellent on special teams.

So I'm happy for that kid. I knew he could play. He was awesome at Auburn, and I have a feeling that he's going to be one of those guys we look back in a few years and go, oh, what a steal. So Jonathan Jones, again, this opportunity. 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, fantasy football, like you wouldn't believe. It's incredible how much information they have. And you also get money back when you sign up for the site. When you sign up for Patriots Insider on Scout.com, you'll receive 10% off tickets to NFL games, NBA, NHL, or MLB. And you can also get tickets discounted for concerts,

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There's a trial offer on there first. If you want to try it out and check it out. But I'm going to tell you right now, your best bet, just go right in, sign up, and get yourself started today. So, week 15 is in the books. It's time to take a look at our studs and duds. And I'm not going to lie to you guys. This week was tough. I had a lot of trouble picking this week because from a studs department, you know, you can look at it and say, well,

obviously the defense was all studs and that has to be them, but that wasn't the case. The defense was really good yesterday, but when you look at the studs and duds category, it's kind of a mixed bag. So let's get us started. Our number one stud of the day yesterday was Deion Lewis, and I don't even think it was close. This was an easy choice. Lewis carved up the Broncos' defense for 95 yards and 18 carries, always getting that extra little yard, being able to square it free, making plays.

He also had a touchdown taken away from him when it was clear that he had broken the plane of the goal line. LeGarrette Blount came in and poached that touchdown away, which I'm sure angered fantasy owners across the country, probably cost some people in their playoffs. But New England foolishly decided not to challenge. They should have challenged that. Because the thing is, and I know he scored in hindsight's 20-20,

but if you actually go back in that situation, if they hadn't scored that touchdown and they were forced to kick a field goal, that changes the complexity of that game. The Patriots are, you know, that's four less points they got on the board right there. And, you know, they're up 12-3 instead of, they went 12-3 instead of 16-3. It just changes things. So I do think they need to do a better job of making sure that when a guy scores a touchdown and he breaks the play and that they actually see it so they can challenge it

and take advantage of the fact that he had scored a play sooner. It also puts all the players at risk. Why play an extra play if you don't have to? Lewis also had two catches for five yards, so he had a total of 100 yards on the day, and he gave the Patriots that type of quickness and cutting ability you need to have to run successfully on this Broncos defense. Lewis is getting stronger every week, and Blount is in the midst of his best season ever, so the Patriots are in a good position with their running back depth, not to mention having James White coming out of the backfield too. May not have had the best day yesterday, but that trio

is really tough to deal with, and Deion Lewis led the way yesterday, so he is the number one stud of the day. Number two, easy choice, Marcus Cannon. As we stated stated earlier Cannon only allowed one hurry and 35 drop box wow it's one of those days 35 drop backs I'm sorry guys it's been a long day most of those drop backs he was dealing with he had to cover

and block the all world pass rusher Von Miller who I personally believe is the most dominant defensive player in football right now so now Cannon has shut down J.J. Watt back with Houston and Vaughn Miller both this season. And I think that's a big part of why he earned a new contract that's going to pay him quite handsomely for the next few years. Like we said before, we're very happy for Cannon and we'd like nothing more than to see his excellent play continue. Cannon's development is falling right in line with them bringing back Dante Skarniecki.

And like I said before, too, it's going to most likely force him to win the pot ways of Sebastian Vollmer. But Vollmer's 33 years old. He's not getting any younger. He'll catch on with somebody else for a couple of seasons, hopefully assuming that his back isn't as bad as what I've heard. And hopefully he can finish out his career somewhere else. But I don't think Fulmer will be back, and I think the reason is canon. And when you hold Von Miller to one rush out of 35, that's pretty good.

So he did a great job yesterday. Our third stud of the game, this guy could have been number one or two, and he's actually been just awesome for the last six weeks. Trey Flowers. Trey Flowers has been a force since he was inserted into the starting lineup back in week 10. Provides a pass rush that was sorely needed if the defense is going to continue to grow, and it has grown in leaps and bounds since he started playing on a regular basis. Flowers is strong rushing inside and out, but his inside pass rush is more valuable because New England doesn't really have a lot of players on the roster that can get that interior rush. Yesterday, Flowers finished with three tackles, two sacks, three hurries, and he was awesome.

Chris Long actually stated yesterday after the game, he thinks that he may be the best interior rusher in the league right now. That's saying a lot. I get that. But, you know, watch him play. And, you know, you hear Chris Collinsworth said last week he looked like the best player on the field. And you're hearing that left and right. The guy is a force. He's found his place in the NFL.

And he looks like a starter for years to come. Good for Flowers. I know he's only playing rotationally right now, but I think that he's one of those guys that's not going anywhere for a long time. Flowers is a good example of hard work and taking coaching that is provided to you. So congratulations to Trey Flowers on being the third stud of the day yesterday. And, you know, I'm sure Patriots fans are thanking him because he's been so good for them and been such a huge, huge addition to the defensive line.

I don't think this team's 12-2 without Trey Flowers. Let's put it that way. All right, let's get to the duds. Duds, the duds, duds, duds. I know you guys don't want to hear this, but Tom Brady, number one dud of the day yesterday. Brady was 0-6 to begin the game, and he looked shaky as can be.

I'm sure there's going to be people out there who think I'm being harsh, just saying, oh, Chris is a moron. He said that Tom Brady was a dud. He was. He was. I call it as I see it. I call the film as I see it. And Brady wasn't good yesterday. The bottom line is Brady sees

ghosts in Denver. His feet get shaky before the pass rush even shows up. And he simply isn't good in that stadium. It's okay. It's okay, everybody. Tom Brady's not going to play great in Denver. He also doesn't play good in, oh my God, oh my God, wait for it, Miami. Yeah, he stinks in Miami. So everybody has their little bugaboo situation that they can't deal with

and that they struggle in, and Brady's happened to be Denver and Miami. Most likely because of bad things that happened earlier in his career that never really left his head. It also has something to do with the fact that Denver always has a good team, a good defense, and it's very hard to win in that stadium because of the thin air up in Mile High Stadium. And down in Miami, typically the Patriots used to play them earlier in the season when it was 100 degrees down there.

You're talking about a team from up north that has to go down. You know, Brady needs to get blocked for him. If you don't block for him, he's going to get killed. And that's been the situation in his career in not only Miami but in Denver too. So he's stunk in both those places. It is what it is. He's the greatest quarterback that's ever lived. But it doesn't change the fact that he was a dud yesterday.

And the truth is no Patriots quarterback has ever played well in Denver, so it's pretty clear that that home field advantage Denver has, it's real, and I actually think it's more important for them to be playing at home than it is for a team like Seattle. And I know people are going to think that's blasphemy, but it's true. Look at the numbers. Denver is unbelievable at mile high, and they have been for years. And when they play their best afc opponents

like new england and they dominate them there that says a lot about how big of a home field advantage it really is brady ended up finishing the day 16 out of 32 for 188 yards zero touchdowns and zero interceptions so that's the good thing he didn't give the ball away but unfortunately he didn't give any touchdowns either he did fumbleumble twice, but both were recovered by New England, so it didn't really hurt them in the long run. So again, Brady was the number one doubt of the day yesterday. And again, you know, don't hate the messenger. I'm just telling you guys the truth.

Look back at the numbers against Denver. Look back at the numbers against Miami. Those are the two teams that he struggled with throughout his career. Everybody else, he's whooped their butt. But those two teams, he has a lot of problems with. And that's why when we talked about it in the preview yesterday about the Patriots focusing on the run and how they had to focus on the run no matter what and stay with it, we were right. And we were right because we've seen the history of this matchup.

Brady needed the running game to get that win. He knew he needed the running game to get that win, and they came through for him. Our second dud of the day yesterday was Chris Hogan. Somebody needs to put an APB on Chris Hogan. He is missing. I'm just joking. So let's start with the positive. That's right, positive. One positive, as in singular. He had one big catch. It was a huge catch for 18 yards. It was on a third down, picked up the first. It was a big play. Other than that, he was only targeted one other time. It was also another huge third down, and he dropped it when he should have caught it.

He was sliding, but still it was right on him. Hogan's been struggling with a back injury. I know he had the long catch last week, big play, big touchdown to put those guys way up in the Baltimore game, but he has been dealing with this back injury. He doesn't look quite as quick. And I think that might be the reason for his drop in production. And it also doesn't help that he was facing the best secondary in football yesterday.

But the truth is, he's become an integral part of this offense. And when he has a down day, the offense feels it in a negative way. I fully expect Hogan to be back on track next week versus the lowly Jets. But last night was his worst outing as a Patriot and he needs to not do that anymore he needs to get it together our third dud and again, I don't think people are going to like this

but again, we call it as we see it LeGarrette Blount for a guy that has lived in the stud column all year he was bound to find his way into the dud list at some point and that time is today. Blount finished the day with 17 carries for 31 yards and one poached touchdown, his 15th rushing touchdown of the season,

which, another positive, that's a new Patriots rushing touchdown record. Part of the reason for Blount's struggle is simple. It was a bad matchup. He was facing a defense that suited to stop big backs like him because they're quick and they can trip him up. So New England unleashed their water bug because that's what made sense for this matchup. Blount didn't talk to the media after he got out of there. I'm not going to lie, that kind of bothered me. That's another reason why he's on

the dub list. You know, you're not a huge part of the game plan. You didn't have a big game, but you just broke a huge record for a team that's been known for running the ball before Brady showed up here. So to have 15 touchdowns in a year for the New England Patriots and break that record, that's pretty cool stuff. And I'm sure the media wanted to ask him that type of stuff, and we wanted to ask him questions. But, you know, he got mad and he left because he only had 31 yards.

So it is what it is. He was a dud for the day. I love Blount as a player. I also think he's a great guy. So, you know, I'm not going to let it negatively affect how I feel about him just because he skipped a press conference and he wouldn't talk to the media after the game. But he definitely earned that dud yesterday because he just wasn't that good.

A dishonorable mention, and you guys aren't going to like this, Joe Tooney. Yes, Joe Tooney was tops on the O-line as far as his run blocking grades provided by Pro Football Focus. But he gave up two sacks, three hurries, and he was completely overwhelmed in pass protection. I know he's a rookie, but I'm not going to let him off the hook because he's an offensive lineman, and he has two responsibilities, not one. He has to be able to pass protect as well as run block to succeed as a starting guard in the NFL. Unfortunately, yesterday, he did not get that done.

He was awesome in the run game, and he was terrible in the pass game. That makes for an average day, and that makes for you to get onto the dud list in a game where everybody else played excellent. So those are our studs and duds for this afternoon. Again, it was a great win, 16-3, and it put the Patriots in a position where now they have a bye. They're definitely going to be playing at home for their first game for the divisional round on either, again, January 15th or the 16th, depending if they get the Saturday or Sunday game. And if they

beat the Jets this week, they will wrap up home field and have the number one seed. And on top of that, if they beat the Jets this week, they will wrap up home field and have the number one seed. And on top of that, if they beat the Jets, and I believe if they lose to Miami, depending on what happens with Denver, there is a very good chance that if the Patriots lose to Miami that Denver will be knocked out of the playoffs. I'm not, actually that's not true, I'm not a huge fan of Denver. I've never really liked that franchise. It's because growing up in New England, they always seemed to beat the Patriots and it was hard to watch. As I've become more professional and I've become a reporter and I've done these things and I'm a writer and I'm doing all these other different things, I've grown to respect them because it's such a good organization, and I have a healthy fear of them too.

And I personally would not want Patriots fans to have to watch the Patriots play that team again because I don't like their chances no matter where they play because when teams play twice where they have that good of a defense, typically that other team will win one of those games. So hopefully New England will take care of business against the Jets next week, wrap up home field, send out the JVs against Miami, hope that Miami's smart enough to be able to take care of business either next week or the week after to clinch a playoff spot and get Denver out of there.

So that's the plan here. I don't know what the plan is in Foxborough, but I'm pretty sure it's not much different. So, again, I want to thank you guys all for joining me today. We go over the studs and duds. Tomorrow's show, we're going to talk about the All-22, get an idea of who stood out that we really didn't get a chance to talk about. I want to take a look at the secondary.

I know they had a pretty strong game yesterday, and I just want to get an idea of what they did from switching coverages and things of that nature. So I know they played a lot of cover, too, yesterday, but I know there was a lot of man there. So a lot of different mixed-up coverages and things of that nature. So I know they played a lot of cover, too, yesterday, but I know there was a lot of man there. So a lot of different mixed-up coverages. So we'll get into that tomorrow afternoon. Again, I'm Chris Simino, your host for Locked On Patriots.

Thank you all for joining today. Make sure you go on iTunes, subscribe to the show, tell all your friends about us. Have a great night, Patriots fans. What you doing? Running out of space on my phone, so I'm deleting some stuff. Bye, singing dog. Bye, goal.

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