Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - LOCKED ON PATRIOTS- 8/25/17- Preseason Week Three Pregame Podcast

Episode Date: August 25, 2017

Chris Simoneau, Patriots Insider for Scout.com, gives you all the information you need leading up to tonight's Patriots/Lions preseason battle at Ford Field in Detroit. #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 evening, I'm Chris Simino, Patriots Inside of a Scout.com, and also your host of Locked On Patriots. Today is Friday, August 25th, 2017. Welcome to our preseason week 3 pregame podcast. Patriots take on the Detroit Lions tonight. They'll be playing this game out in Michigan, out at Ford Field, one of the nicest fields in the league. Patriots will use a lot of their starters tonight. This is the dress rehearsal. Week 3 is the one.

This is when you get to see some of the starters will play at the end of the first half, even into the third quarter for at least one series. So it's always the best one to watch out of all the games as far as the preseason. And to be perfectly honest, the first two have been kind of boring. So this is the one that fans should be definitely paying attention to. Get an idea of what the Patriots are thinking as far as who the ones and the twos. And you also get an idea of who's really battling for a roster spot. So we'll get you guys up to date on who's going to play, what some of the positions you need to watch for, some of the position battles.

And after we get through that, we will let you guys go so you can enjoy the game. And then tonight, assuming that we don't have the same technical difficulties we've had for the last few days, my apologies for that, we will have a post-game show, and we'll get you guys up to date on what went down in the game and who stood out, who didn't stand out, and any injuries and all that good stuff. So let's get right to it, get you guys up to date on who's playing, who isn't, and like I said, the position battles, and that's about it. We're not going to keep you guys tied up for too long. So as far as the big names, Tom Brady will play tonight.

Brady will play his second preseason game in a row. Typically, like I said, third game, a lot of guys play in the third quarter. That's Brady. He's one of those guys who will typically play a half. Sometimes at the end of the first half or sometime in the second quarter, they might bring Garoppolo in and then bring Brady back in to simulate what would happen in a game if Brady was to go down or go down and come back in, things of that nature. So we'll see Brady probably at least for the entire first half and into the third quarter. Rob Gronkowski is going to play his second straight preseason game.

That's a good sign. That means Gronkowski is feeling good. He said that this is the first time he's played preseason in five years and he thought it was good to get out there and see the game speed before the season starts. I agree with that to a degree, but I just worry about him because he's been hurt so many times in his career. And I know he's working with Alex Guerrero, Brady's guru there, on how to take care of his body. But sometimes when guys have back issues, there's really not much you can do about that. And I think it might be something that's more of a genetic thing than it is just an unlucky thing.

So hopefully that does work out for Gronk in the preseason. Him playing in the preseason doesn't have an effect on him health-wise, and he will play again tonight. Dante Hightower did not travel with the team. He will not play tonight. I think that's more of a maintenance thing. He was pulled off the pup list. He did practice this week, but that's more to get him ready for week one against Kansas City than to get him ready for preseason week three against Detroit.

So no Hightower tonight. Also, Nate Solder did not travel with the team. He will not be there tonight. So Brady's backside is not exactly as protected as one would like, so that's definitely something to keep an eye on. It's always something to keep an eye on. That left tackle, hopefully we don't see Cam Fleming. That would be bad. So that's something definitely to keep an eye on though. No Nate Solder as he continues to sit out with an injury. Again, that could be a situation where they're looking to manage him because they know that they need him so badly when the regular season starts up but i could be wrong who knows well it could be wrong we haven't gotten definitive information on what's going on with soldier as

far as when he'll be back if he'll be back and all that good stuff so um let's just keep an eye on that and i do believe um that that stuff will work out. But again, Brady doesn't have his blindside protection tonight. I think one of the things that people really should keep an eye on tonight is the position battle at running back. It's legit. There's a battle going on there. And, you know, when it comes down to those type of battles, somebody's either going to get traded or cut or end up on the practice squad.

And in this situation, there's no way around it. It has to happen because, you know, they just have too many guys. So it's going to be interesting to see what they do. I think we'll see a steady dose of Dion Lewis tonight. If Gillisley is ready to go, I think you'll see him out there too. So we'll see. But, again, this is a big a big game for the running backs, and I think that if they do well, all of them do well,

I think that's a good thing for the Patriots because that gives them a trade market so they can go out and possibly look for a defensive end or possibly more depth on the offensive line, which I think is a major problem too. Some of them don't play well, and that makes the Patriots' decision easy, but unfortunately doesn't give them the trade piece that they'd be looking for.

So running back is definitely an area to keep an eye on. It's a very interesting area to keep an eye on tonight. Linebacker is another position that has been, you know, there's some battles going on. But tonight we will not see Shane McClellan or Landon Roberts, who also didn't make the trip. So, unfortunately, the battle at linebacker, which is something that I'm going to keep an eye on, won't see two of the number, two of the players that really stand out. Well, not stand out, but two of their better linebackers.

Unfortunately, they won't be out there tonight. McClellan's been dealing with something all preseason, and Landon Roberts has a rib injury that occurred during the last preseason game. He also avoided a knee injury, too, so Landon Roberts is lucky that he's not out for a prolonged period of time, because he very well could have been after the hit that he took, but he'll be

good to go very soon. But he will not be good to go tonight. So no Landon Roberts and no Shane McClellan tonight. And again, that was an area that I was really looking at, you know, as an analyst for this team and watching what they do. But unfortunately, we won't get to see that tonight. Tonight's a big night for Harvey Lange.

He's done a good job, and he might be one of those undrafted free agents that makes this team, like it seems to happen every single year. Keep an eye on Coney Ealy tonight. I know that the Patriots are engaged in some trade talks early this week this team, like it seems to happen every single year. Keep an eye on Coney Ealy tonight. I know that the Patriots are engaged in some trade talks early this week on possibly moving him out of here, even though they just traded for him recently. He just hasn't done what they wanted him to do. And with Ninkovich's retirement, they need him to do, they need him to step up. So he did look okay against Houston, but he has a lot to prove.

And if the Patriots are already looking to trade him, that's not a good sign. That means that he's probably on his way out of here. If he goes nuts tonight and starts to buy in and figures out, all right, this is where I want to be, this is the best place to be to have a big year to earn a contract. I just don't understand Ealy. I hope he hears one of these podcasts someday. Coney, get your head out of your butt.

Don't you get it? If you don't succeed with New England, then other teams are going to be like, well, if he can't play for them and he can't succeed with the team that we're trying to get to that level, then why are we going to pick him up if he's just a head case

and he's just going to annoy people? Because that seems to be what his thing is. He seems like an uncoachable player. So with Ealy, I think it's all going to come down to tonight. If he plays his butt off and he has a good attitude for the rest of the preseason, he might make this team, might make this team, or he might get traded. Either way, Ealy's one to watch tonight. I'm very interested.

I'll be having the microscope on him all night tonight. Big battle tonight also with the tight ends. Jacob Hollister and James O'Shaughnessy are battling for a roster spot. And I know O'Shaughnessy's looked pretty good the last couple games, but Hollister's been more consistent throughout the preseason. He's been on the field more so. To me, I think staying healthy is as much a talent in football as catching a football. People may think that's crazy, but as a scout, as a coach, as an analyst, as a coach, as an analyst,

as a writer, and I've been around the game my entire life, I've played the game, it's a talent. Being able to stay on the field and not getting hurt is part of the game, but not everybody can do it. So a guy like Jacob Hollister seems to have that skill set, when James O'Shaughnessy, well, maybe not. So this is definitely something to keep an eye on. And also, wide receiver, injuries seem to be opening up a spot.

And the two guys that I've been talking about all preseason, the guys that I really like, Devin Lucien and Austin Carr, I think Austin Carr would have a better chance to make the team because I think the Patriots believe that they can slip Lucien through waivers and get him onto the practice squad. But who knows? They're both good receivers. But again, Austin Carr is a little bit of a bigger name. He led the country in receptions last year for Northwestern. So I just think that

Carr has a better chance of making it than Lucien, but both of those guys are definitely battling for a spot right now. So we will see what happens. We're also going to get an idea of really who's on the bubble. So I talked about that to open the show. If you are a veteran player and you're playing in the fourth quarter, you are on the bubble. So I talked about that to open the show. If you are a veteran player and you're playing in the fourth quarter, you are on the bubble. There are going to be guys that we see doing that. So definitely keep an eye on that. This is the good reason to watch this entire game.

You're going to see some things. You're going to see some guys out there and go, Whoa, why is such-and-such on the field with three minutes to go in this game? What's going on here? Well, the answer to that is because he's on the field with three minutes to go in this game. What's going on here? Well, the answer to that is because he's on the bubble. So Malcolm Mitchell, Matthew Slater, Rex Burkhead, Ted Karras, Matt Lengel, Shane McClellan, who we already mentioned, Derek Rivers, who we know as a 20 ACL, Tony Garcia, who is losing valuable, valuable experience through this entire preseason. Both the Patriots' top

picks that they had last year, and they weren't really top picks. They were third-round picks, but still, they've been a complete waste. Rivers, because of his knee, he was starting to make progress, but now he's done, and Garcia's done nothing, so those picks have turned out to be not very good. Gino Grissom, another bust of a pick. He won't be playing tonight. Keontae Davis, who they just picked up about a week ago, is out. Andrew Jelks continues to be out. And Dietrich, sorry Dietrich, I've been saying your name wrong since I've been talking about you.

He is also not expected to suit up, but he did return to practice this week. I think Wise is going to make this team. But those guys will not play tonight. And again, like I told you, Nate Solder will not play because he didn't travel. Mike Gillisley is a question mark. We'll see what happens there. And also, we'll keep an eye out on the Lee Adrian Waddle front because I'm not 100% sure if he's going to play tonight.

Last week, we received information that certain guys weren't playing. And then we watched the game, and they did. And to me, it's very frustrating as a member of the media when we're given a release telling us which players aren't playing, and then the team turns around and puts those players in the game because that makes us look bad. So I'm not going to go out on a limb anymore considering that the Patriots have decided

that they're not going to give us correct information. So, those are the players that are supposed to not play tonight, but as we saw last week when the Patriots decided to I wouldn't say lie to us, but they told us different information than what was actually happening. So, I'm not going to go out on a limb and say every one of those

guys is out, but those are the guys that are expected to not play tonight. Expected. We'll have to put that out there every time now until we know that the reports are correct. So again, that's what to watch for tonight. You've got the position battles, that running back, that tight end, and that wide receiver.

I also think Cyrus Jones is one to keep an eye on tonight. He's been a guy to keep an eye on preseason. Second round pick who's been a bust. He had a good... Let me take that back. He had a decent game last week and made some plays. It's funny because all these so-called experts in the media that I work with

trying to decipher if that was a good punt return and telling us why it wasn't a good punt return, I just laugh because they call me good lord and they don't know what they're talking about. He had a good game last week in the return game. He did. He made good plays. He had good returns. You know, I heard one guy today, and I'm not going to say his name.

He said, well, you know, that really wasn't a good play. All he did was catch the ball and run to the left. Yeah, he caught the ball with two guys bearing down on him. They were about a foot from him. He made a juke move to the right, to the left and picked up 20 yards picking up 20 yards on any punt return especially when you have two um gunners or bullets whatever you want to call them bearing down on you is one of the most difficult if not the most difficult thing to do in football the fact that he was able to pick up 20 yards after that and put them in the position where they were on the other side of the team's

field that's a good thing and then later on in the game when he made that play where people were like, oh, you know, he went away, he was freelancing. No, he wasn't. He made a play. So now we're starting to get to the point where the media that doesn't like him is starting to nitpick when he does make a good play, and that's not cool. So, Cyrus, I'm going to you the props when you make good plays those are good punt returns last week you also had a couple stupid plays though so eliminate the

stupidity continue the good stuff don't get too amped up because when you get too amped up that's when you make a mistake and just keep doing what you were doing when you were making the good plays last week and i think you'll have a chance to make it. And then the other advice I would have for Cyrus Jones, it's time for you to ignore most of the media around here because it seems like now that they've made the decision that they want you cut, that a lot of the big-time reporters are going to start to push the Cyrus Jones needs to be out of here agenda, which the Patriots are the ones that make the ultimate decision,

and Bill Belichick and Nick Casario know what they're doing, so let's just let them do it, alright? I'm telling you guys to watch for it, because I like the fans to be able to watch what they see. Don't listen to what everybody else is saying. Watch it, and then we'll talk about why or why he did not make this team when that decision comes. So, again, I want everybody to enjoy the game tonight.

Like I said, this is the dress rehearsal. It gets a little heated against the Lions sometimes. Just be aware of that. I don't know what it is. It's something about these two teams. It seems like they hate Brady. I have a feeling that a lot of Detroit fans love Brady because he went to Michigan, and I think that maybe the Detroit players kind of don't like that.

There's something there. So keep an eye on that tonight. It may be a little bit heated. That's why I said to keep an eye on Brady's blind side because nobody wants to see him get hit from the backside and lose any amount of time because that would just be bad. So Patriots in the Lions. They're going to kick off in about 40 minutes. Again, assuming we don't have the technical difficulties that we had last week,

and I apologize for that because it was very frustrating, definitely tune in tonight after the game and check out our post-game podcast. If we don't get it posted tonight, I'll definitely get it posted for you guys first thing in the morning. We'll just have bullet points on what we saw. And then starting on Monday, starting on Monday, because for us, week three kind of signifies, the preseason kind of signifies the start of the regular season. We're going to start having a show every day, Monday through Friday.

We'll have our All-22 review on Monday, and then we'll go from there and start getting into the rhythm. This is what it is. We're in preseason. It's preseason for us here, too, at Locked On Patriots, but as we ramp up closer to the season, we're going to start having shows every single day, and just make sure you guys come on in, check us out, sit around for 20 minutes, enjoy the show, get all the information you need about the Patriots, tell your friends about us too, and then go enjoy your day, and make sure you listen to us the next day.

Alright, so again, I'm Chris Simino, your host for Lockdown Patriots, I want to thank you all for joining us for this pregame show. Enjoy the game and I will talk to you guys in about four hours. Have a great night, everybody. Whatcha doing? Ran out of space on my phone so I'm deleting some stuff. Bye singing dog.

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