Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Locked On Patriots October 30, 2018 - Glorious Victory Edition

Episode Date: October 30, 2018

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Hello there everybody and welcome on into a, I guess we can call it a glorious victory edition of the Lockdown Patriots podcast. Mark Schofield slotted into the big chair just minutes after the New England Patriots finish off the Buffalo Bills 25-6 on Monday Night Football in a game that might have been the strangest 19-point victory I've ever seen in my life. We're going to have, we'll still do the great, the good, and the bad. It was a win. I guess when I talked about this game over the weekend into Monday,

I said it was never going to really feel close, but it was never going to really feel like a blowout, and that's kind of exactly what happened. The Patriots, they have a 9-3 lead at the half. They've got a 12-3 lead into the fourth quarter. They get two fourth-quarter touchdowns, one offensively, one defensively, to sort of pull away. But you never really get the sense that

Buffalo was going to come out and take the lead or anything. Yeah, there was some sort of squeaky bum, as Sir Alex Ferguson would say, type of moments, but you never really get the felt that the game was truly in doubt. But the Patriots do just enough.

Divisional game, first Monday night game in Buffalo in 10 years. The environment was nutty. They're retiring Thurman Thomas' number at halftime. So it's a quality win. Divisional wins, even against a team that's 2-5, with an offense that's rather inept, are important. They're good to get.

And so you like to get out of there with a win. You get to 6-2. Now you've got a huge one Sunday night, you know, against the Green Bay Packers in a game which is already getting a ton of buzz. Obviously, NBC pulling out Michael Jordan to do the promo for that one. So that's going to be a fun one to look forward to. We're going to get going on that before you know it because we're on to a short week here and we're on to Green Bay. But before we do all the post-game analysis,

a reminder to follow me on Twitter at Mark Schofield. Check out the work at places like InsideThePylon.com, Pro Football Weekly, The Score, Matt Waldman's Rookie Scouting Portfolio, Big Blue View, part of the SB Nation family of websites. Let's get into it. Start with the great from this 25-6 win. And we'll go big picture first, as we have been doing. And I think you've got to start with the defense. It's hard to, look, on a night like this, when as an offense, you don't get 400 yards. You know, this Patriots offense ran 72 plays,

gained 387 yards, just 5.4 yards per play. 311 of them coming via the pass. Just 76, you know, rushing yards on 25 attempts for just a 3.0 average on the ground. Tonight was about the defense. You know, this Patriots defense I think stepped it up obviously you hold them to two field goals you don't let them get into the end zone

they came close on that throw to Kroon late in the game in the fourth quarter that was ruled upon further review and incompletion then you get the pick-sits which of course we're going to talk about I think this defense had the game plan that we expected stop the run. Stop LaShawn McCoy.

Don't let him get going. And make Derrick Anderson go out there and beat you. And Derrick Anderson goes 22 of 39 for 290 yards and a back break and pick six. So I think that was the game plan they wanted. And if you watch this game, I think you probably saw how cognizant the Patriots defensive front was of LaShawn McCoy looking to hit those home runs, looking to bounce runs to the outside, or looking to cut back runs to try to hit those home run type plays, try to get it all in big chunks. Patriots defense, guys like Trey Flowers and Kyle Vannoy, who we're going to

talk about a little bit more specifically as we get through this game they were very cognizant of that reality that potential and they did such a great job anytime McCoy looked to stop cut and move and try to hit one of those home runs they had an answer for it you know when you look at McCoy specifically, he did not have a great game running the football. 12 carries for just 13 yards. And considering his lawn on the day was 12, they had a lot of tackles of him behind the loss. He averaged just 1.1 yards per carry. By contrast, Chris Ivory, 6 carries for 34 yards, an average of 5.7.

They had much better success running the helmet quickly on the inside. The Patriots were so cognizant of McCoy trying to bounce stuff that those slower developing plays, they strung them out slow well. When they just hit it quick on the inside, they did a much better job rushing the football. Three guys that I got to mention in particular as we go on the defensive side of the ball, Kyle Van Nooy, Treyrey Flowers, Devin McCourty

Kyle Van Nooye, eight tackles, seven of them solo, two sacks, one tackle for a loss, two quarterback hits as well Trey Flowers, six total tackles, all of them solo, two tackles for a loss, one pass defense, two quarterback hits as well and yes, Devin McCourty with that back break and pick sense there were there were some great players on the defensive side of the ball you could say Landon Roberts he was dealing with it looked to be a groin injury Nicholas Grigsby getting there for a bit you know but he had a near interception which could have been a pick six that was a big play at that moment Patrick Chun did some nice things you know Stephon Gilmore I'm going to talk about him about him a little bit more,

specifically a little bit later, but thought he had a solid game. But those first three guys, Kyle Van Nooy, Trey Flowers, Devin McCourty, they really stood out to me tonight, particularly those first two guys. They were a force up front, both of those players. Tremendous nights from those three guys. Let's go through some of the specifics quickly here. You know, talking about the great stuff, and we see it right away. Buffalo's first drive of the game.

They have a 39 situation. Derek Anderson tries to throw a post route. It's high. It's an incomplete wide. You got Kyle Van Nooy with great pressure in Anderson's face, forcing the high throw. What he did on that play, he shows rush. Then he drops back for a second like he's faking the blitz

and, you know, going to retreat into coverage. But then he loops around into the opposite A-gap, gets great pressure on Anderson, and forces the incompletion. You know, Buffalo's second drive of the game. You know, they started with a lot of trick stuff, which we'll get to a little bit later. Their second drive of the game, they get a first and ten play. They go wildcat with a zone read, and it's one of those plays where

McCoy's trying to make something happen. Trey Flowers, though, sheds Charles Clay, their tight end. Stack and shed him. Gets the tackle. Loss of three. You get them into a second and 13 situation. Next play. They try to throw a quick game.

Three-step drop. Trey Flowers facing the cut block by the offensive lineman. Such active hands to first use his hands to get that cut block to the turf, but then get him up, get him in the throwing lane. Tips the pass at the line of scrimmage. Great awareness on that play. And then on third and 13, Patriots did something a little bit tricky. They showed Devin McCourty down over the slot

Then he bails to help on the outside receiver Leaning Patrick Chun alone On that inside receiver They throw an out route short of the sticks That coverage, that late little rotation by Devin McCourty Sort of dekes Derek Anderson a little bit He's forced to sort of check it down late They tackle him short of the sticks

Actually, I guess that pass went incomplete Patrick Chun, good coverage on the play. Punt into the end zone. Touchback. So I thought that was great. New England's ensuing drive. Third and seven play. Tom Brady picking it up with his legs. Getting hit short of the sticks

but fighting through the tackle to pick up the first down. Thought that was a great play from him. Buffalo's third drive of the game. They get on their first play of that drive, a first and ten situation. They try to throw the nine ball to Kelvin Benjamin. Stephon Gilmore, great active hands

at the catch point to break that up. Next play, second and ten. They try zone to the right. Shady McCoy, he wants to bounce it. He wants to bend it back to the left, but again backside. Kyle Van Noy, cognizant of that threat. They must have drilled this into their heads all week. He stays home, chops it down.

No gain on that play. Then 39-30 long situation. They try to shallow route to Zay Jones. Jason McCourty with an immediate tackle, short of the sticks, forcing the punt. New England doesn't really do much on their next drive. So Buffalo's fourth drive of the game. New England does get a field goal, so it's 9-0. You kind of want the defense to step up big here.

They do give up a field goal, but there were some great plays on this drive. It starts with another McCoy run that he looks to bounce. Trey Flowers stays home, strings it out, forces him out of bounds just for a gain of four. It could have been a much bigger run. They throw a wheel route to Shady McCoy later in this drive. Kyle Van Noy get burnt on it earlier. This time covers it much, much better.

Helps force an incomplete pass. Third and eight, they go super conservative. They run draw, try to sort of perhaps trick New England. Patrick Chung, great run flit, you know, holds it to a two-yard gain. Bills are forced to settle for a field goal. Going into the second half, Buffalo, they open the second half with their possession. There's a first and 10 play on that drive. They go wildcat again with LaShawn McCoy.

Kyle Van Nooy and Nicholas Grigsby with great defense on that place. You know, first it's Van Nooy with some immediate penetration to sort of make McCoy cut in the backfield. Grigsby cleans it up for a loss of five. That was a great play at that moment. New England's drive, excuse me, after the sort of strange sequence, which we're going to talk about, where the Patriots go three and out, They get a bad punt and a big punt return by Buffalo. You know, that's a big moment for this defense. They basically go three and four is a long field goal try.

You know, the Bills have really good field position. First play, though, there's a fumbled snap. Chun breaks up a pass that was thrown to the flat. And they're lucky. The Patriots were very lucky on this play that Derek Anderson fumbled that snap because they were trying to hit a deep over route. It was open, perhaps, for a touchdown. But because the play got off to such a bad start, Patriots dodged a bullet there. Second down, Trey Flowers.

Splits a double team. Stops McCoy on a run. Minus three yards on that place. Now it's third and long. Patriots show blitz, but then they do bring some pressure. They force a quick throw. They hit Benjamin for just a five-yard gain. They're forced to settle for a 51-yard field goal try, which is good.

Now, the game gets to 9-6 at that point, but it could have been a whole lot worse. Patriots' next position, they get a play-action dig route to Josh Gordon, who we all heard pregame wasn't even going to start, but he was in there right at the outset, so not too sure about that report, but he makes a nice catch in a dig route. Patriots are low. They're forced to punt again.

Buffalo now, it's 9-6. They get a chance to perhaps take the lead here. Maybe they string together a decent enough drive and punch it in the end zone. Well, Kyle Van Noy said no way. he gets good moves, speed rush to the outside of their left tackle, gets to Anderson, hit forces a fumble, Patriots recover. Next play, you get that sort of wide iso throw to Gronkowski along the sideline, the one that was reviewed. Tremendous catch from him. Patriots, again, they're forced to settle for a field goal, but it's 12-6.

And then that brings us to the next play I really want to talk about. The two final defensive plays, one before the pick six is another nine ball thrown by Derek Anderson against Stephon Gilmore and great coverage on Kelvin Benjamin. And then the pick six itself, you know, after the potential touchdown comes off the board, they go three by one. They try to go four verticals to the tight end, Charles Clay, who's that inside receiver. You'd expect him to come over the middle a little bit more. It's a cover two look. Jason Witten did a great job sort of pointing it out,

how they sort of confused Anderson. They showed him a different sort of alignment from the guys underneath. And then it's Devin McCourty reading the eyes of the quarterback, breaking on the football. Fantastic play, 85-yard pick six. Pretty much put that game away. That was the great stuff. We're going to get to the good in a second.

Before we do, a reminder, look, everybody, for some of you teams out there that aren't, some of you listeners out there that aren't Patriots fans, maybe it's already draft season. That's why our great friends over at Locked On NFL Draft, Travis Sikama, John Ledyard, they've got you covered a year-round, 365, covering the NFL Draft. You might want to check out that show.

Get yourself thinking draft season. Mark Sofa, back with you now on this. Again, we're calling it a glorious victory edition of Locked On Patriots because we do that after every win. Was this truly a glorious win? No, but it's a divisional win on the road. Monday night football. We'll take it and get ourselves to six and two.

Feel pretty good about that. Let's talk about some of the good stuff. Big picture stuff. Steven Gostowski. Obviously, it was all Steven Gostowski points wise until the Patriots got the ball into the end zone twice. Once offensively, once defensively. And, yes, he did miss a long field goal try right before the half that would have made it a much more, perhaps, pleasant-feeling 12-6 game

instead of 9-6. But Ghost had a pretty big game. Wind was swirling. A couple of those kicks were probably a little bit difficult, but he came through the majority of the time. So that was good. Stephon Gilmore, we talked about him a bit. I thought his coverage, particularly against Calvin Benjamin, was pretty good all night long. Benjamin

did have one big catch, but I think he kind of got away with a push off there. It was actually flagged later in the drive, which felt like even though it was a legitimate offensive pass interference again, it felt like they were kind of making a make-up call there. Patterson, some versatility from him lining up as the deep back in the eye.

This is a team. This is an organization. The more you can do, the better you are in our eyes, and the more valuable you will be to us. Now Patterson with Soti Michelle out, taking over as part of the deep back. What's interesting is if you follow sort of Vikings Twitter, like Luke Inman, Arif Hasan, Andy Carlton, they would tell you that, look,

Patterson was probably better suited as a running back. And that's something that I talked about this offseason. Don't be surprised if he ends up lining up a running back. And that's how they use him. And they certainly did their fair share of that. And he had one big run sort of in the second half of that game which couldn't have come at a better time some defensive stats third downs third down defense fourth down defense from this new england patriots defense was perhaps as good as it gets buffalo 4 of 14 on third downs, 0 for 2 on fourth downs.

Tremendous work by this defense. Now, again, some of it might have been the fact that this was a somewhat inept offense, but look, defense did their job. Let's go with some specific stuff. New England's open and drive, two pretty good plays there. The first play, again, you see Patterson lined up with a deep back. They run him to the right end for a gain of five. Right out of the gate, you're seeing something new.

They get into their first third down of the game. They go three by one. Buffalo shows blitz. They drop, though, but you get James White matched up against Alexander, the linebacker. Easy throw, easy catch. Matchup game. That's what the Patriots do.

New England's second drive, that reverse with Edelman, with Tom Brady throwing the block on Alexander. Now, yes, Brady gets steamrolled, but he did his job. He got in Alexander's way. Alexander didn't make the tackle, allowed Edelman to get the edge. So we'll take it. First play in Buffalo's second drive. McCoy, again, trying to reverse the field, trying to make the cutback. It's Keonta Davis this time, stopping him for no gain. Those are the types of plays

this defense needed to make all night long, and they made them. New England's third drive of the game. They get into a second and long situation, second and 15. They have Gronkowski lined up in the backfield as an up back. They go play action. You get Edelman and LaCrosse for a gain of 18. They had some success running that play action stuff, at least early in the game, getting those young linebackers like Tremaine Edmonds, who's got some length to him. Matt Milano crashing downhill.

Linebackers get out of position here. Edelman, gain of 18. Speaking of Edmonds, New England's fourth drive of the game, it opens with a check down to James Devlin, who, I mean, two massive bodies, Hammond, Tremaine, Madman's collided, and Edmund's getting the brunt of it as he ended up leaving the game with a concussion.

But James Devlin just catching the ball, running hard. Good play from him. New England's drive before the halftime. You know, they take over. They don't have timeouts. They take over their own 25, but you get Edelman on a digger out when Brady has all day to throw. Gordon on an in-cut for 10. Gronk on a curl for 10. A check down for three. They clock it. They have a third and seven play. They throw the out route to Gronkowski. That's just kind of off target. They're forced to try for the field goal from 50. Then it's pushed to the right. Offensive Holden was on that play anyway, which would have

negated it. But up until that point, I thought the Patriots did a great job sort of managing the clock in that situation, getting themselves into a field goal position. So that was good execution from this offense. Obviously, the touchdown drive from New England, they're probably their best drive of the game. Obviously, it is the best drive of the game that they had because they get into the end zone. And you had some big plays on that drive, too. You know, you get a second-to-lawn situation thanks to a penalty on Adrian Waddell. Brady buys some time with his feet, checks it down to James White for a gain of 11. Third and five.

New England at that point was just three of 11 on third down. So far, this was a huge play. They go blitz look. Great throw to Edelman on this play. Patriots expected maybe a cover two look. That's what they get. They call that flat seven smash concept. You get Hogan in the flat.

Edelman on the deeper outer corner. Cornerback squats on Hogan. He throws it. Brady throws it out to Edelman on that deeper route. They move the sticks. Third and eight. Another third down on this play. You're now four for 12 on third downs.

We'll make it five of 13 because you get a third and eight. He's forced to check it down to James White in space, but he makes that linebacker number 51 miss in space. Huge play to move the chains, keep that drive alive. Then they're able to get it into the, you know, first and goal situation down to the one. Tremendous execution from Brady to Chris Hogan on a back shoulder throw. Then James White

punches it in for the short touchdown run. Huge play right there from that defense. So that's some of the good stuff that we saw in New England's 25-6 victory. Up next, yes, we got to talk about some of the bad. There was some bad stuff in this game that we got to talk about, and a little bit later, some game balls and our take of the game from the Locked On Patriots Slack channel. That's ahead on this glorious victory edition

of Locked On Patriots. Mark Schofield back with you now to close out this show and talk some of the bad stuff from New England's 25-6 victory over the division rival Buffalo Bills. Let's start offensively. Third down offense, red zone offense.

Wasn't exactly the best outing from this group. Red zone attempts. Three red zone attempts and just one touchdown. You'd like to see a little bit better execution down in the red zone. And as for those third downs, just 5 of 14 on third downs.

Offense needed to be a little bit better. This Buffalo defense, give them credit. They played extremely well. That is the strength of this team right now. And they played extremely well. But they'd like to see the Patriots do a little bit better in the red zone. Pass protraction struggled at times. Brady started to get a little bit antsy in the pocket.

You can understand why. Guys like Kyle Williams were starting to get to him. He took some shots. Hughes got to him a couple of times. Alexander got a sack on him. Overall, in terms of sacks, Brady was sacked just twice for a loss of 13 yards, but he was hit a bunch. So you like to see the pass pro get cleaned up.

Guys were a little bit banged up too. Shaq Mason was hurt. Adrian Waddle seemed to be laboring as well, so you had Karras in there a little bit. Mason with a calf injury. So they might have gotten a little bit banged up and got somewhat of a short week now because you're playing Sunday night, so that's going to be something to watch. Some of the play calls, mainly the toss to Patterson,

when it's a third and fourth situation, I was not a fan of that play call at all. Some bad stuff, New England's opener drive, that third and 14 play where they had a shot on Josh Gordon. He had a step on Tredavious White, but they couldn't make the connection. Brady was pressured there by Kyle Williams. Thought it was a catchable ball, but he just didn't secure it. And then Buffalo, the start to their drive. The Patriots were trying to piece together stuff the Bills were doing.

They come out, they go Wildcat. They get an out route to St. Joe's. You go Wildcat again. You go that full house backfield with McCoy where they basically run 18 power. It's like watching Pop Warner football out there. They get a flea flicker that is open. Derek Anderson has Charles Clay.

He just misses him. Patriots are kind of struggling to figure things out. Then a little bit later, we referenced this earlier that the wheel route to Shady McCoy on our second and long. Kyle Vannoy gets beat. That was the only bad play Kyle Vannoy had, but this is the bad section of the show, so it's going to get mentioned. Some other bad stuff, Ghost the missed field goal right before halftime

that he pushed to the right. The flag would have negated it anyway, but you don't like to see him miss a kick like that. The play before Kyle Vannoy's forced fumble. It's a first and 10 situation. You get an inside run of a 13-yard gain from Chris Ivory. Part of the reason Nicholas Grigsby gets locked up with a blocker at the second level. Cannot get off the block at all.

You'd like to see a linebacker be a little bit better at getting off the blocks like that. Grigsby wasn't able to do it in that situation. Thankfully, Kyle Van Noy, though, stepped up in the next moments. And speaking of Mr. Kyle Van Nooye, he is one of our three game ball recipients, probably the three guys you would have expected, Devin McCourty, Kyle Van Nooye, and Trey Flowers. Just tremendous, tremendous, tremendous games from those guys. Very impressed with what the defense did.

Of course, again, part of it might very well have been just the fact that this Bills offense is not very good. But the Patriots did their job, and that's kind of what they do best. Let's do take of the game now. It's from Ian McDonald in the Locked On Patriots Slack channel, who shortly before halftime, I think we'll see Patterson break off a long run if they keep giving him carries. Not much shiftiness, but all he needs is a bit of space on one.

And sure enough, Patterson did break one in the second half. His longest run of the day was 22 yards, and it was a big play for the New England Patriots because it was one that they needed. I'm trying to find a run here. It was a first and 10 run to the right edge. It was on their touchdown drive, that run for 22 yards to the right edge, and Ian called it.

He said he was feeling one big run, and the Patriots got it from Patterson, using him as a running back on Monday night. So that will do it for today's show. I will be back for tomorrow. We're going to be doing crossover because we're already getting into Packers week. Obviously looking ahead to the Green Bay Packers. But before I go, I do want to remind everybody that it is now Halloween. No, I take that back.

I can't read my calendar right now. It is now October 30th, Tuesday, October 30th. We are now a week away from midterm elections here in the United States. And as I have been preaching to all of you listeners here and then, not telling you who to vote for, not telling you what to vote for. I'm just telling you to get out there and vote. There are ballot initiatives, there are local elections, school boards, all sorts of important things all over the country. And for example, I know there are a lot of people that listen to this show

that live in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. There are three ballot questions on this year's midterm ballot. You might have a strong opinion on, you might feel strongly about one way or the other on these. They're covering their staffing levels, campaign finance laws, and transgendered rights. These might mean something to you.

These might be important to you or somebody you know and love. And just because maybe it's not a presidential election, you think, oh, it's not a big deal. These are the types of things that you see on midterm elections or in every election cycle that can really impact lives. And if you feel strongly about it, and you probably should feel strongly about some of these, get yourselves out and vote. Go vote. Tweet me the pictures. Get that little voting sticker. Show it to me. I want to see everybody out there voting again.

I don't care who you vote for, but there are so many reasons to go out there and do it. Partly because, look, if you don't, then you don't get to complain. At least that's the way I view it. If you don't go out there and vote, you don't get to complain if things don't go your way, if you're not happy with the way things go. Because this is the one thing you can definitely do to make a difference. And so please, I'm going to keep bugging you guys

until the election is over. Go out there, get it done, go vote. I will be back tomorrow with our crossover show with our good friend Peter Bukowski over at Locked on Packers. Until next time, keep it locked. Right here to me, Mark Schofield over at Locked on Packers. Until next time, keep it locked right here to me, Mark Schofield, and Locked on Packers.