Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - LOCKED ON PATRIOTS- 1/24/17- Studs and Duds- AFC Championship Edition

Episode Date: January 25, 2017

Chris Simoneau of Scout.com picks his "Studs and Duds' from Sunday's AFC Championship game. 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, Patriots Insider for Scout.com, and also your host of Locked On Patriots, your source for everything Patriots. Today is Tuesday, January 24th, 2017. We are two days removed from the Patriots winning the AFC Championship. Today we're going to review the studs and duds from that

great game. Well, great game for one side, not so much for the Pittsburgh side. I know you Patriots fans are excited about the Super Bowl and want to talk Falcons and talk about those guys and get into it, but we have two weeks to work with here, so we're going to do a thorough breakdown of the AFC Championship and the AFC playoffs for the Patriots in general over the next two days, and then on Thursday, we will officially move on to the NFC Champion Atlanta Falcons and start to do our breakdown of Super Bowl 51. 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.

If you have any questions for the show, be it about the Patriots, myself, Patriots Insider on Scout.com, or looking to advertise here on Locked On Patriots, you can email me directly at simoneau.christopher5 at gmail.com. That's S-I-M-O-N-E-A-U dot C-H-R-I-S-T-O-P-H-E-R at gmail.com. If you are a member of Patriots Insider on scout.com, you can contact me directly on the site via message. All right, let's talk about the studs and duds from this Sunday's Epic Patriots 36-17 win. And we weren't too far off on the score here. We're starting to get noticed by some of you guys. We're getting some tweets and starting to get some messages from the guys out in the Vegas land

saying, hey, good job on the score. So, hey, like I said, we will make you the most in-the-know fan. And that's not just in-the-know for stuff that's happened in the past. I'm talking about in-the-know for stuff that's going to happen. Because if you haven't figured it out by now, we pretty much nailed it on the head with pretty much every game the Patriots have played this season. We've had a few mistakes here and there, but we know our stuff here at Locked On Patriots. We do a lot of film study, you know, a lot of experience with the game. So stick with us because I guarantee you, we're going to tell

you what's going to happen. Chances are it's going to, and if it doesn't, we'll be the ones that admit it, that we were wrong, but usually we're not. So the first start of the day, this was a no-brainer. This was easy as can be. Easy peasy, Tom Brady. Brady was vintage Brady Sunday night. He was finished 42 out of 32 for 384 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Jersey was pretty much clean when the game was over. Brady just continued his dominance of the Steelers. It's a team he's tortured throughout his career.

Pittsburgh, once again, they deployed their zone coverage, thinking they'd be able to get pressure on Brady and disrupt his timing, but they couldn't. They weren't getting pressure on him. pressure on Brady and disrupt his timing, but they couldn't. They weren't getting pressure on him. There was no disruption of his timing, and he killed them. As we discussed at length last week, the Steelers, they don't have the personnel or the scheme to stop the Patriots, which has been the norm since Brady and Belichick took over.

The days of Dick LeBeau and his zone blitz may be over, but Brady still sees the black and gold, especially when they're in zone, and he he just goes to another level if you play a zone against Tom Brady and the Patriots and you don't get pressure you're done you're not going to stop them and you're going to lose the game the Steelers should have realized this considering it's been going on since 2001 and the Falcons they're probably going to learn this lesson in two weeks because they play the same exact defense that Seattle plays, which is a zone, and they don't have the personnel that Seattle has, and it didn't even matter what the personnel was because Brady still tore them apart in the second half of the Super Bowl two years ago.

What's he going to do to a rookie-laden Atlanta defense that runs the same defense? I have a feeling Tom Brady's going to have a monster Super Bowl. Chris Hogan, second dud of the day. One of the last things I said, this is funny, and I will admit when I'm wrong, so this is one of the things, you guys want to listen back to last week's preview show. I said in the preview episode that Chris Hogan was a non-factor against the Steelers in week seven, which was not a lie, he was terrible, and he was still battling an injury, so he'll probably do nothing.

This is what I said the other day then i said just tongue-in-cheek just kind of threw it out there he'll probably have five catches for 170 yards and three touchdowns since i've said he'll do nothing yeah awkward silence is there for a reason i wasn't totally wasn't totally wrong but i was hogan finished the day with nine catches for 170 yards and two touchdowns, so he burned me after I said I didn't think he'd do much. He did exactly what I said he was going to do. He burned me, which I think is funny. Hogan, he had an easy touchdown on the flea flick, and he was wide open. He actually almost dropped that ball, but he was able to hold on. I think the ball was so soft and easy, I think he was almost surprised by that, and then he made a nice 30-yard

catch in the fourth quarter. I know he had other catches around that since he had nine of them, but I'm just talking about the big ones. Not even the touchdown catch in the fourth quarter, but the 30-yard catch that set them up. And then LeGarrette Blount took it down. They extended the score. That was a big, big play. Hogan, he's been battling injuries for the latter half of the season, and Sunday is the best he's looked in many weeks. I think that bodes well for the Patriots in the Super Bowl, and then Hogan may end up being just another guy that teams let walk

that becomes a huge contributor for the Patriots. I'm going to put this out there now. My dark horse MVP for Super Bowl 51 is Chris Hogan. Dark horse MVP candidate. Bowl 51 is Chris Hogan. Dark Horse MVP candidate. Deion Branch won it. Okay, when they faced, when they were in Houston, Deion Branch, I believe he had 13 catches or 12 catches right around that mark. He did it.

What's to say that another guy comes out of nowhere, and I know Deion Branch was a second-round pick, and he didn't come out of nowhere and this and that. I'm sure people are saying that, but he kind of did. Nobody expected him to be a Super Bowl MVP. Nobody expected Chris Hogan to have nine catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns, especially this guy here. So I'm going to go on a limb and say my dark horse for the MVP of that Super Bowl

is Chris Hogan. The third stud of the game, this is an easy one, Malcolm Butler. He had the unenviable job of covering Antonio Brown, and he did a great job doing it. Yeah, the Patriots did play some zone, but they used a ton of man coverage, and then when that happened, and they went back to man, Butler just locked him down. Butler all year long has been excellent. One of the problems I had with him earlier on is that he wasn't covering, and this is a line from Chris, one of our show's guests,

and he listens all the time, he asks questions and stuff, but he had a great line earlier in the season saying that he doesn't cover, he recovers, and he was right about that. Well, I think that he's gotten past that, and I think he understands now that, yeah, he's got good makeup speed. He doesn't have Deion Sanders' makeup speed. And Antonio Brown, again, he shut him down. And it's a good matchup for Butler because Brown's a little bit smaller than him.

And Butler's got great hips. He knows how to turn. And that's the thing with covering a guy like Antonio Brown. He's shifty and he's hard to work, hard to cover. But Butler did it again. The Butler did it. He did it again. So those were our three studs for the day so we're

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Go check it out. Our number one dud of the game was kind of a no-brainer. Look through the stats, take a look at the film again, and it was pretty obvious. A player that I thought the Patriots needed to have an effect on the game, and he did nothing. Running back James White. Three catches, eight yards, one carry, zero yards. And when he got touched, he was on the ground.

Like, there was no resistance whatsoever, and that's the thing about White that I've said since he came into the league. And I'm a James White fan. Let's preface this by saying I am a James White fan let's let's preface this by saying I am a James White fan I liked him in college I liked him at Wisconsin I was happy when the Patriots drafted him I think he is a very good running back out of the backfield catching the ball he reminds me a little bit of um I'm trying to think of his name it escapes me at the time he used to play for Philadelphia uh his last name was sherman and i can't remember by the top of my head but he was a good pass catching back he couldn't run the ball

he could not run the ball but he was a good pass catcher and that's what white is but he was so bad on on sunday he was okay in protection but that's not what they want him for he's not in there to protect he's in there to catch the ball out of the backfield and he just didn't do it um and again his yak yard after catch is pretty good but his yards after hit his yeah i guess we'll call that uh is not good i'm telling you the guy gets touched and he's on the ground so he needs to get himself a gauntlet at his house and work on that in the offseason on how to break a couple tackles of an NFL athlete because right now it ain't happening but come Super Bowl time they're going to need him they need to be able to throw the ball to their running backs against this Atlanta defense because that's going to really get them on their heels they need to get him back up

and going again so number one dot of the day it was an easy choice like i said goes to james white you know i don't want to have to do that because i like him so much as a player but again you got to be able to stay on your feet without you know getting ddt like in like a wwe wrestler after the guy forearms you and you need to be able to make an impact in the afc championship game and your offense desperately needs you. Number two stud also came from the offensive side of it, Malcolm Mitchell. Yeah, I know. He's a rookie.

I get it. He's been dealing with a knee injury. I get it. Yada, yada, yada. He didn't produce, period. And not only did he not produce, he was targeted five times. He had one catch for five yards, and he had a huge drop on the first series that probably, I don't think he would have scored the touchdown on the catch,

but he might have because of the momentum he had on the slant, but he absolutely would have had the first down. He would have put the Patriots within the five-yard line, and it would have set him up for a touchdown instead of a field goal on the first drive, which is what they were looking to do, and that's why Belichick didn't kick off. He took the ball because he wanted seven, not three. But either way, they got the score. So Malcolm Mitchell, you got your opportunity.

You got out there. I know you're hurt, but I'm not going to take that as an excuse because you were healthy enough to play. So Mitchell's the number two stud, number two dud, sorry, number two dud. One catch, five yards off of four targets and one big drop that really could have had an effect on the game if the Patriots didn't manhandle Pittsburgh so easily. So Mitchell needs to make that play when they get to the Super Bowl

because if he doesn't, that could be the difference between them winning and losing the game. Four points is big when you're talking about a Super Bowl. That's no joke. So our third dud, third dud. I'm having a little problem with That's no joke. So, our third stud, third dud, having a little problem with the stud and dud thing today, but our third dud of the day. You look at his numbers

and the, eh, he did okay. But then you watch the game and go, oh my god, he stunk. Eric Rowe, man, what are you dancing for after a guy drops a pass? Like, seriously, who does that? Eric Rowe does that. Yeah, he had four total tackles, three were solo.

That's good. He does a good job of tackling. He's a big corner, so he's pretty good with that. Two passes defended. Okay, that's good. He also had three passes dropped in his vicinity that should have been catches by Pittsburgh. And there was also some blown coverages around his vicinity, too.

So he did not play well. He did not have a good game. catches by Pittsburgh. And there was also some blown coverages around his vicinity too. So he, he did not play well. He did not have a good game and he's kind of the weak point right now for the Patriots. And I understand he's a fifth or sixth corner, depending on how they deploy it. If they, you want to bring Harmon in and then they can have Harmon and Chung back there. And there's things that they can do with their safeties because McCourty is so flexible and playing so well, but they don't want to have to bring McCourty up. They want to keep McCourty back because he's such a good safety. So they're going to be forced to use Rowe.

So Rowe needs to get it together too or he's not going to be playing much. I wouldn't be surprised to see Jonathan Jones start to get some of those reps, possibly even Cyrus Jones if he comes back healthy. Because right now, I don't see Cyrus Jones I know he struggles in punt returns but as far as a defensive back overall I don't see much of a difference between him and Rowe so keep an eye on that situation I have a feeling that Rowe might not be long as far as playing time is concerned I think his days may be numbered also, I don't think that comes off very good to Belichick too when a guy's celebrating after a guy made a mistake on the other team.

That's foolish. I mean, you didn't do anything. You didn't do anything at all. It was the other team who made a mistake. So yeah, that's great for the Patriots and happy for the fans and happy that they're able to get off the field and not give up a touchdown, but you have no reason to be happy about what you've accomplished if you're not the guy who made the play. So hopefully Eric Rowe has been given that speech, and he shows a little bit more humility this week. If a guy drops a pass in his presence and you break one up,

you make a nice play, that's one thing. But if you just out there being a jerk, that that's another and I didn't like that. So Eric Rowe, third dud of the day. So that's going to do it for tonight's episode of Locked On Patriots. I want to thank you guys all for joining us on this Tuesday night edition. Be sure to go to

iTunes and subscribe to our show today as in right this second. Don't wait because if you wait then you won't do it and then you'll be like, oh I forgot to you wait, then you won't do it. And then you'll be like, oh, I forgot to do it. And then you won't hear the show tomorrow. So make sure, log in, iTunes, check it out, subscribe to our show, and tell your friends about us. You'll hear a lot on Patriots.

I said it earlier, we're all about getting Patriots fans the most info you need to be the most in-the-know Patriots fans. And we're going to give you information that you're going to know before the game going in, and you're going to be not only the most in-the-know Patriots fans. And we're going to give you information that you're going to know before the game going in, and you're going to be not only the most in-the-know fan, you're going to be a happy fan because you're going to know what to watch for. So make sure to join us tomorrow as we break down the tape. There's a lot more to this game

than just the studs and duds that we just went through. We're going to go through the All-22, get an idea of who stood out and who didn't, and the studs and duds could always Like I said they could always be altered on the next day Because if there's somebody that really jumped out I'm going to add them to the list So we'll talk about that tomorrow afternoon

Again make sure to join us I'm your host Chris Simino Thank you all for joining us tonight Have a great one What you doing? Ran out of space on my phone, so I'm deleting some stuff. Bye, singing dog. Bye, goal.

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