Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Locked On Patriots October 20, 2017 - Falcons Gameday Edition

Episode Date: October 20, 2017

If it's Friday, it's your Gameday Edition of Locked On Patriots. Mark Schofield takes your questions, then breaks down what he will be watching Sunday night. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Mark Schofield here in the big chair as I am five days a week. Apologies to Mr. Chuck Todd from NBC's Meet the Press, stealing his tagline there. But it's your game day edition of Locked On Patriots. Getting ready for this Atlanta Falcons game on Sunday night. As I teased it out, it's going to be a little different today. Not going to be as much from me. Going to be a lot of you. I'm going to be responding to a lot of questions that were submitted. Had some great ones come in via Twitter, via Carrier Pigeon.

Some comments on the LockedOnPatriots.com. Some questions came in that way. Again, check out LockedOnPatriots.com. Doing some stuff over there as well. But I said, got some great questions in. I'm going to get to those in a second. At the end of the show, I'll give you some stuff that I'm looking for on Sunday night, as well as my prediction like I do every week. But let's dive into your questions here.

I'm going to start with one from Dave Archibald. Dave is a colleague of mine over at Inside the Pylon. Hopefully, if you're listening to the show, you've heard of Inside the Pylon. If you haven't, check it out, InsideThePylon.com. You'll recognize some names over there. Dave has some questions in this week, and I've got to actually cue up some music for his first one here. There we go.

Dave's question. How sad were you when the Patriots released Taylor Heineke off the practice squad? And I had to add some music to this because it was a bit of a blow. Not going to lie. I once done a bit. I mean, I dedicated an entire emergency podcast to Taylor Heineke. Heineke was somebody that I liked coming out of college. He went to Old Dominion. You heard me talk about it.

Was I surprised? No. It was a little sad. Partly because, look, if you're in the football media business, if you're out there on Twitter, on Draft Twitter, wherever, it's hard to take an L. It's hard to take a loss on a guy that you may have touted from time to time. And Heineken, like I said, was a guy that I liked, but hasn't sort of made it work for him yet.

And so, a little bit of an L to take there. There are some Ls on the horizon too. Sort of going off the cuff here, but every year I sort of revisit my draft projections some L's on the horizon too. Sort of going off the cuff here, but every year, I sort of revisit my draft projections and evaluations from two years prior. Get some big names and I'm going to have to revisit

this draft season. Jared Goff, Carson Wentz, Christian Hackenberg, Dak Prescott. Man, I am going to take a massive, massive L on that one. I'm already dreading it.

Anyway, the music that sort of underscored me here, that is, I kid you not, the name of the song is Endless March of Sadness from Unheard Music Concepts. I've used them before. I've talked about them before. Check them out. Unheardmusicconcepts.com They're a trio out of the Netherlands.

I've used their music before. Used it for the Jets Week intro. Whenever sad stuff happens, I'll be coming back to that song. Next question here from Zach Goodall. You can follow Zach. Please follow Zach on Twitter. Zach Zach Goodall. You can follow Zach. Please follow Zach on Twitter. Zach underscore Goodall.

G-O-D-A-L-L. He is the host of Locked on Jaguars. Check that out as well. They've just launched a Twitter account, Locked on Jaguars, at Locked on Jaguars. You can follow them as well. Zach's question.

Send you a flower for Jimmy G you see Zach one of the many Jaguars fans who's pretty much had it with Blake Bortles and I can understand but you're not getting Jimmy G from us I'm sorry you're going to have to ride it out here with Blake.

But help is on the way. Strong-armed quarterback. Athletic. Mobile. Can do things in and out of the pocket. Get some people very, very, very excited. You're going to want to get your hands on that new teal jersey as soon as it comes out. And you know who I'm talking about, Zach.

It's number 17. You loved having a guy named Allen be your quarterback, Zach. You were batting the table for it this preseason and now you're going to get to live the dream. Get ready for your little Josh Allen. Sorry, Zach.

I had to do it. Had to do it. Another question here from our good friend Dave Archibald. And Dave puts on a little bit of a more serious note here. Dave asks, Shane McClellan back practicing this week. What do you see his role as? Off-ball linebacker? Edge? Base? Nickel? Take snaps from Kyle Van Noy or someone else? And I think this might be the way that the Patriots look to use Shane McClellan going forward.

An edge. I kind of see them using him as an edge, and I think the guy that he's going to take snaps away is Cassius Marsh. I think that's kind of how that's going to play out going forward. If you look at Marsh's usage over the past couple of weeks against Tampa Bay, saw 50 snaps. He was on the field for 69% of the defensive snaps in that game. Against the Panthers in Week 4, he was only on the field for 18 snaps. But Marsh has been getting some snaps from them. They've been using him as an edge, using him as a defensive end. He's an outside linebacker, edge hybrid type, and that's Shea McClellan. I mean, I think

that's the role he's suited to play. And so going forward, when they get Shea back into the lineup, when they get him back on the field, I think he's going to be your hybrid edge type guy. I think they're looking at Hightower and Van Noy as their two inside backers. And they'll look at McClellan to give them that hybrid type so they can go four-man front and put McClellan down on the edge. They can go 3-3-5 looks and get McClellan as sort of an off-the-ball look there. That's how I expect that playing out going forward. Piggying back off that a bit, next question from at Jeff underscore LJ underscore Lloyd.

This is Jeff Lloyd. If you're not following Jeff on Twitter, fix that. He's the host of the Locked on Browns podcast. All around good guy, one of the great guys out there on Twitter. One player you may see Bill Belichick look to acquire for his defense. And I get where Jeff's going with this. I would be surprised to see the Patriots acquire anybody. That hasn't been their MO over the past couple of years. It's not typically what they do. They'll look at getting a guy like Shane McClellan back on

to the practice field, and that's an acquisition for them. That's how they'll view it. It would really surprise me to see them go out and get somebody. But they have made moves in the past, but it's usually been the Chandler Jones type move where you've got a guy going into a contract year. You'd rather get what you can for him now. So it's more of a unloading type situation than them going out and actively getting somebody that they expect to come in and contribute. Now that being said, look, I've said this before, I'll say it again.

I have made some mistakes trying to get into the mind of Bill Belichick. You would think the two Wesleyan guys would be on similar wavelengths but hard to get into that man's head.

So I could be completely wrong here. They could go out and get somebody you know at the trade deadline make an acquisition bring in somebody to try to contribute but it would shock me. you know, at the trade deadline, make an acquisition, bring in somebody to try to contribute.

But it would shock me. All right, let's move on to our next question here from another great person out there that you should be following. John Ledyard, who is at Ledyard NFL Draft. He is the host of Locked On Steelers. He's the co-host of Locked On Draft with Trevor Sekima. He asks, how has Marcus Cannon been this season? I know

last year was supposedly his breakout year, but he struggled to start 2017. And I think, you know, the best way to answer this is he did struggle to start the year. You know, and the Patriots offensive line

woes there, particularly in pass protection. You know, those have been well documented. We talked about Nate Solder last week. We broke him down on an episode. There's an article over at LockedOnPatriots.com

where I got into his technique. I relied on the wise Brandon Thorne at Veteran Scout on Twitter to get his thoughts on Nate Solder's technique. With respect to Cannon, again, some struggles early, but I think he's starting to get into form here. And, you know, I've talked a lot about Pro Football Focus, their grading system, the edge subscription,

which you guys can still get your hands on you know Marcus Cannon stood out to them against the Jets he didn't allow a sack a hit or a hurry

on 38 pass blocking snaps last week against New York they gave him a perfect pass blocking efficiency rating of 100 now you might quibble with They gave him a perfect pass block and efficiency rating of 100. Now, you might quibble with PFF's grading. I know many people have.

But the fact that he didn't allow a sack, didn't allow a hit, didn't allow even a hurry, that speaks to how well he played in that game. And so I think Cannon is rounded into form. I think he's getting a little bit better here as the season wears on. And that's a great thing to see. Because you want to get better as the year goes on. Like we've talked about with this defense, you want to see the guys get better as the season goes on. And so that's kind of where I am in on Marcus Cannon. Next question from one of the great fans and supporters of the show. He is at Captain Huggyface. At C-A-P-N-H-U-G-G-Y-F-A-C-E. I know he's a Maryland guy as well. Big fantasy guy. But again, he's a huge supporter of the show,

so show him some love. Give him a follow. Have you ever considered doing a Google handout, Periscope, et cetera, where you can show the plays you are breaking down? And that's a great idea. I know I talk a lot about scheme stuff. I do a lot of X's and O's,

and sometimes if you're like me, you're a more visual person. It helps to see it. I'm doing more and more of articles over at the.com that show you the plays that I'm talking about. So you can, you know, see the videos themselves as I'm breaking it down, you know, doing, setting up something like a YouTube channel where I can do some more breakdowns is something I've definitely considered, you know, so I am considering it, you know, if people out there, if listeners are interested in that,

let me know and I'll definitely get it set up for you. Because again, I understand that sometimes it can be confusing. You're wondering what it is I'm talking about. It's hard to visualize it. And if so, if that's something that the people want, I'm here to help the people so I can get that set up. Next question here. Ian McDonald. He is at Ian C. McDonald, M-A-C-D-O-N-A-L-D. Another fan of the show. How much of the O-line problems are caused by execution, scheme, loss of settlement, or desire for longer routes? And Ian, I think the cop-out answer here is it's all of the above. You know, I think there have been execution issues.

We've talked about that with Nate Solder. I think the desire for longer routes is part of it. They're looking to get more vertical with Brandon Cooks. We've talked at length about the Yankee concept. That's a max protection concept, yeah, but it's a vertical route. You know, scheme sort of plays into that as well. And the loss of Edelman, yeah. I mean, you know, losing Julian Edelman is a contributing factor as well because that's who Brady looks to on third and seven.

That's who Brady looks to on those quick pivot routes and things like that. And so those situations where he's pressured, his security blank in those moments isn't on the field. So I think it is an all-of-the-above issue. As we talked about with Cannon a few minutes ago, I think they're getting better, the offensive line as a whole. Big test Sunday night against guys like Grady Jarrett, who gave them problems in the Super Bowl,

so we'll see if that continues, but I think they're getting better. Next question. From my friend Richard Schrager. He is at rsschrager, S-C-H-R-A-G-E-R on Twitter. What cereal do Belichick and Brady eat before games? And I know where Richard's going with this. He wants me to say something about the Patriots and

either Deflategate or Tapegate or whatever you want to call it. Richard, you're a Giants fan, buddy. Congratulations on the first win of the season. It was a big one. I just remembered he's a Yankees fan too, and his Yankees are probably going to the World Series. Let's just move on.

At This Ryan Jackson. Ryan, another good friend of the show. Another good follow on Twitter. You can follow him at This Ryan Jackson. What position will be looked at the most in draft free agency? Is Lawrence Guy's roster spot going to be safe in 2018? this Ryan Jackson. What position will be looked at the most in draft free agency? Is Lawrence Guy's roster spot going to be safe in 2018? Well, I think at the outset, let's take this in reverse.

I think Guy's roster spot is set. They've been using him a lot this year, snap count, snap usage. I think he's going to be safe. I would look to offensive tackle. I think at some point you're going to want to look at a replacement for Nate Solder. I think they would look at that. This is a very interesting running back class. I've talked about Saquon Barkley. I think the Patriots will be out on him as talented as he is, but there are some running back names that are worth consideration. It's interesting. People came into this draft or early draft season with high expectations for this draft class,

and it hasn't sort of panned out across the board. So things will always change. I think linebacker is going to be looked at. They've kind of duct-taped that position together a bit. I've talked about Tigre Scales at Indiana. I talked about Jason Cabinda at Penn State. Got to see both of those guys a few weeks ago at Penn State. But I think linebacker might be a spot where you're looking to address as well. Last question here, Colin Benson, at Colin underscore Benson, B-E-N-S-O-N. I like Brady, so I loaded up on avocado ice cream, but now I can't afford my mortgage.

Should I bet the spread, the money line, or the over-under? And this is a perfect segue, a great tweet, by the way, as well, but a perfect segue to get into my predictions and what I'm looking for on Sunday night. And let's start with when Atlanta has the football. Stephon Gilmore, absent from practice again. This is Thursday when I'm recording this. Absent from practice yet again. So that's an area of concern right now.

Because if you don't have Gilmore on the field, you're looking at a trio of Jonathan Jones, Jonathan Adamisi, and Malcolm Butler to contend with guys like Julio Jones. You know, I talked a lot with Aaron Freeman about how the Patriots might try to defend Julio Jones. It wouldn't surprise me, given what we've seen them do this year and how they've used Devin McCourty. Again, it wouldn't surprise me to see them use McCourty on Julio Jones from time to time.

They used Logan Ryan on them in the Super Bowl. Logan Ryan obviously not on the Patriots anymore. So maybe McCourty is the answer there. You know, so that's the first thing I want to look for. I want to see if Gilmore is on the field and if he's not, McCourty on Julio Jones. How are they going to handle those running backs out of the backfield? Another thing we talked about with Aaron Freeman. Again, follow Aaron at FalcFans.

Devonta Freeman, Tevin Coleman. Those are guys that can cause some problems, especially against guys like Dante Hightower. Kyle Van Nooy can do some coverage stuff, but we've seen running backs have success against this Patriots defense in the passing game. And so that's something else

that I'm watching. How are they going to cover those guys out of the backfield? That's something that I'm worried about. You might see a lot of three safety looks. Patrick Chun on those guys.

Maybe they use McCourty on one of the backs out of the backfield instead. Maybe that's how they use him. You know, you might see a situation where they put Butler on Julio Jones. They bring McCourty down into the box to help in pass defense against the running backs.

You have Patrick Chun maybe to help with those tight ends. Austin Hooper, a good young player as well. So that's kind of where my head is at in terms of Atlanta throwing the football. But I'm still concerned about Atlanta running the ball. There's a great tweet that I've retweeted. I'll retweet it again.

From Adam Spinks. He's at TheRBScout on Twitter. Does some interesting data visualization stuff. Running back analysis. You know, he's got a tweet out there. Patriots defense, Russian data by gap. And what it analyzes is it has your offensive line, left end to right end,

all seven positions on the offensive line. It has the Patriots defense up top, Devonta Freeman rushing down to buy gap at the bottom. So you can see how many attempts Freeman has to basically every hole along the offensive line. His average in terms of rushing the ball

towards each direction, towards each hole. The total yardage. And then finally up top what the Patriots have given up when the ball has been run to those spots on the field. And we've talked about Atlanta's ability to run the football to the edge. What stands out here more than anything,

Freeman's most successful running plays have come to the left edge. 15 attempts for 128 yards, average of 8 yards per come to the left edge. 15 attempts for 128 yards, average of eight yards per carry to the left edge. The Patriots' worst defensive gap in terms of yardage allowed versus the run, that edge. They're averaging, they're giving up 11 yards per carry

when the offense runs to their left edge, the right edge of the defense. So watch for that too Sunday night. If they start getting that ground game going, getting those runs to the left edge, defense isn't containing them. They're not setting the edge. Freeman's able to bounce those to the outside. Coleman, when he's in the game as well, watch for that.

That's going to be a critical component of how Sunday night plays out. Now, when the Patriots have the football, that Atlanta defense has struggled a bit. I talked a little bit about my conversation with Charles McDonald. He thinks the run defense has been pretty good, but the secondary hasn't been that great. Then you heard me talk with Aaron Freeman. I raised that with him, and he said,

I disagree with Charles. I think the run defense has been bad too. New England's going to put up points in this game. And I expect this to be a higher scoring game. And it wouldn't surprise me to see this be a one-score game as well. I think this is going to be a close game. New England's a three-point favorite at home, so basically Vegas is telling you this is a pick-em.

I think New England wins this game. I think they pull it out I see right now the line has moved New England by 3.5 so it's moved a half point in their favor so it's still basically a pick over under is 56 that's high

but I think they get there so I think New England wins this game I think they get there. So I think New England wins this game. I think in response to Colin, hit that over. That's where I'd go. You're telling me, Colin, though, that your mortgage is on the line.

You can't pay the mortgage right now. But whatever you do, go to mybookie.ag to get that set up. But that's kind of where my head's at on this game right now. I think it's going to be a high scoring affair. I think it is going to be a one point game. I think New England does win it. I'm worried about Atlanta running to the left edge of their offense,

the right edge of the Patriots defense. I'm worried about their running backs out of the backfield, them creating some mismatches in the passing game. Obviously, you have to be worried about Julio Jones. But in the back of my mind, look, I was saying things like this before the Tampa Bay game. I was saying things like this before that Thursday night affair when, oh, they can't cover anybody.

They can't get it figured out. Oh, my goodness, the weapons they have. Talking to Trevor Sycamore, oh, my god, Trevor, how scared should I be? And they went out and won. And maybe that's what we see again. Maybe the worry, the consternation, the fear is all for naught. But still, this is a

rematch game. And when it comes down to it, you know what this game means to Atlanta. Aaron told us on Thursday's show. The players have already been talking about it. You lose a game like that, you blow that lead. You know you want to come out the next chance you get

and make a statement. And that's the opportunity in front of the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday night. A chance to make a statement. Will they seize it? Will they seize that chance? In the end, I don't think they do. I think New England pulls this one out.

It's going to be close, but I think New England pulls this one out. So that's been your game day edition here of Locked On Patriots. Hope you enjoyed it. As always, let me know your thoughts on Twitter, at Mark Schofield. Please, please check out LockedOnPatriots.com.

New stuff going up on the.com all the time. Another resource for you. And as I've said, look, I know that it's a crowded media market here for Patriots fans. I know you have a ton of incredible, incredible, incredible options. And so every listen, every retweet, every nice comment that I see on Twitter, it does mean a ton to me. I do appreciate it. If you appreciate the work, if you like the show, if you like the content, tell a friend. Let somebody know, hey, I know there are

a ton of great podcasts out there. I know there are a lot of great Patriot shows out there, but here's another one to get in the rotation. Hope you enjoyed, again, today's show. Hope you have a wonderful, wonderful weekend. Hope you enjoy the games this weekend. I will be

back late Sunday night with some instant analysis of the rematch game until we talk again please keep it locked right here to me Mark Schofield and Locked on Patriot Thank you.