Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Locked On Patriots - October 7, 2019: Landslide Victory in Washington

Episode Date: October 7, 2019

The New England Patriots defeated the Washington Redskins 33-7 on Sunday, thus re-establishing their agenda of dominance on both sides of the ball. Host Mike D’Abate breaks down the on-field action, offers his insight on the game’s standout players and some helpful analysis on how the Pats preserved their pristine 5-0 record.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello to all you Foxborough faithful and welcome to your post-game day Monday edition of Locked On Patriots, your daily home for news, notes, analysis, and the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. Locked On Patriots, as always, is a part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Today's show is brought to you in part by Vivid Seats. Make a memory that lasts a lifetime and let the Vivid Seats app help you to get to your favorite live event. Enter promo code kickoff at checkout to receive a discount of up to $100. I am your host, Mike DeBate, and I cover

the New England Patriots for fullpresscoverage.com, which is where you can always find my written work. You can also reach out to me on Twitter at MDABATEFPC, and be sure to follow Locked On Patriots on Twitter at LO underscore Patriots. I hope that everyone had a great weekend, and the Patriots remained perfect on the season with a 33-7 win over the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field. And without question, there's a lot to break down in this one. The offense, definitely back in action.

Some sputters, but all in all, a pretty solid effort. The defense continues to look elite. They continue to impress, and they continue to be dominant, folks. And there is a new face in the kicking game, and he made things a bit interesting early on, but did straighten out a little bit toward the end, and I'll get into that in just a moment, and I'll break it all down for you today. But without further ado, let's get started with yesterday's action from Landover, Maryland. And, you know, folks, it can be said that the Patriots visited our nation's capital on Sunday with a singular focus. And in a city that's best known for its political battles, and Lord knows there's a lot of them going on in dc right now your defending super bowl champions re-established their agenda of dominance

on both sides of the football and in the process they preserve their pristine record defeating the redskins 33 to 7 and improving to 5 and 0 and remain unbeaten on the season now the pats were playing their second consecutive road game in as many weeks and the Patriots I think found the confines of FedEx Field to be much more hospitable than last week's hostile environment in Orchard Park. Pats jerseys, Brady chants, they were abundant in Landover on Sunday afternoon. In fact the vibe of this game really seemed to more aptly embody that of a home game. New England fans in attendance would once again head home with a smile. And that begins and ends with quarterback Tom Brady. And despite absorbing four sacks from a pressurized Washington defense,

they did bring pressure on Brady in this game, much more so than I thought they would, or a lot of experts thought they would in this game. But Brady ended up completing 28 of 42 passes. He threw for 348 yards and three touchdowns. He connected with Julian Edelman on a six-yard strike for his first score of the day. In the third quarter, he found Brandon Bolden on a 29-yard seam route, which made my good friend and frequent guest here on Locked On Patriots,

the incomparable Thomas Murphy. We all know how much he loves his Brandon Bolden, and he definitely deserved the love on this play. looked great running that route it was a great pass from Brady just a great play all the way around and Tom's third and final touchdown pass on the game was a 10-yard touchdown toss to tight end Ryan Izzo was wide open in the end zone this brought a lot of the Brady chants out of the Patriots fans that were in Washington this weekend. In fact, on my Twitter page, I dubbed it the Touch Dizzo to Izzo, and I received a lot of ribbing on that on my Twitter page, and I take full responsibility for it.

But hey, you know what? I was in the moment, and it seemed appropriate at the time. Some people liked it, so for those of you that did, I appreciate it. For those of you that didn't, I truly apologize, and we'll move on from there. But all in all, it was a pretty solid game for Tom Brady. There were moments where he was under pressure. He was intercepted in the end zone in this game, and it was an uncharacteristic mistake by Brady, and I will get into that in just a moment.

However, I did want to acknowledge the fact that the Patriots were able to find success in reemploying the running game, especially within play action. Sonny Michel has largely been ineffective for the first few games. However, he did finish this game with 16 carries and 91 yards and a touchdown. He also had career highs in the receiving game with three targets and three receptions for 32 yards. James White was also effective in this area. He had six receptions for 46 yards out of the backfield.

And for the Pats, this is a great sign. You definitely want to see them reestablish the run game, make it a factor. It opens up so much for Brady and the offense to be able to execute their game plan effectively. Don't forget, Rex Burkhead sat this one out with an injury, so with his return coupled with Michelle and White having big games, it spells for great things for the Patriots offense

and it's something they will definitely build on heading into a short week this week and a matchup with the Giants on Thursday which I will get to in a moment but will continue with yesterday's action. The offense does deserve some praise in this one folks but it was the Patriots defense once again that earned this game's well-deserved spotlight.

The Pats held Washington quarterback Colt McCoy to 18 of 27 passing for 119 yards and an interception. The Patriots defenders sacked McCoy six times, and that marks the first time in franchise history that New England has four straight games with at least five sacks. That's impressive. That is great pressure, and it's really a testament to how well this defense has played. In addition to that, the Patriots completed a fifth consecutive game

without allowing a touchdown pass. The 2019 Patriots are the first team to accomplish that feat since the 1988 Cleveland Browns, so it's been a while since a team has done that. Patriots defense putting up historic numbers, and they look to be extremely formidable and have really been the gem of this team so far. It's truly hard to pick out a guy that stands out on this defense, but linebacker Dante Hightower really made his presence felt in this one, especially after missing last week's

matchup against the Buffalo Bills with a shoulder injury. Hightower came back strong. He finished the game with eight tackles, one and a half sacks, four tackles for a loss, and one pass deflection. Jamie Collins, Danny Shelton, Chase Winovich each got a sack in on Colt McCoy. Michael Bennett even chipped in with a half sack as well. The secondary as well had a good game. Jason McCourty intercepted McCoy right before the end of the first half.

That set up a 23-yard field goal from new Pats kicker Mike Nugent. He had an interesting day, and I'll get to that in just a moment as well. But even though the Patriots defense didn't allow a touchdown pass by the Washington Redskins, Washington did score a touchdown, and this was a very uncharacteristic miscue for this defense. They scored that on a 65-yard and around from Stephen Sims Jr., and that included two missed tackles by the Patriots defense. It was, again, their only missed cue of the day. They would hold Washington scoreless for the remainder of the afternoon, but I'll break down that play in just a little bit. With the win, the Patriots remain unbeaten at 5-0.

It's the fifth time in franchise history that New England has started the season 5-0, and it's only the second time they've done so since 2007. So, excellent start for the New England Patriots, still remaining unbeaten. Quick turnaround this week, but before we get into some of the intricacies of what happened in this game and also a brief look ahead to what we can expect on Thursday night, I just wanted to take a brief minute to acknowledge that sports fans appreciate stamina. Going the distance is always gratifying, am I right? Well, you know who else

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he begins the task now of assuming the kicking duties for Steven Gostowski. Of course, we all know that Gostowski was placed on season-ending injured reserve this past Wednesday. He's having hip surgery. And of course, we all wish Steven the very best in his recovery and look forward to seeing him back on the field in 2020. But in the present, in the here and now, Nugent is the guy. And Thomas Murphy and I discussed a little bit on Friday about what type of kicker Nugent would be, and that he does have some limitations, but his experience in the kicking game should

allow the Patriots to stay afloat. And he got off to a very auspicious debut. It was definitely less than ideal. He missed his first point after try, and this has been an issue for the Patriots this season. So naturally, Patriots fans went into hysterics when they saw him miss his first point after. And he did end up straightening out for his credit. He did end up making a 37-yard field goal, a 23-yard field goal, and he did make three remaining point after tries. So it looks like Nugent will be okay, but the Patriots' kicking game still remains a question mark, and you have to wonder how long it can remain a question mark. I would like to think that Nugent's miss of the initial point-after try was just beginner's

jitters. Looked like he settled down a little bit, but again, the Patriots do need to keep a close eye on that. They brought in Young-Wei Ku for a reason, folks. He's there. He's insurance, just in case Nugent sputters a little bit, but again, the Patriots do need to keep a close eye on that. They brought in Young-Wei Ku for a reason, folks. He's there, he's insurance, just in case Nugent sputters a little bit. Kicking duties in the NFL are definitely at a premium, and the Patriots place a big-time premium on special teams play. So if Nugent continues to struggle or has further struggles, this may be something that Bill Belichick is not afraid to address head on and right away. I don't believe that will be the case. I think Nugent will be okay. He's not going to be Kostowski, folks. There's no question of that. But he does have the ability to make kicks, provided

it's within his range. And look, the Patriots are not a team that's overly aggressive when it comes to making kicks beyond 50 yards, which Nugent's range is technically 50 yards or less. And I discussed this with Murph on Friday as well. So keep a sharp eye on Nugent. Again, if there does seem to be any struggles, Bill Belichick is not afraid to address these issues, and he will do so. But in the final analysis with Nugent, I'll say he's going to be just fine. And we go from some kicking concerns to some

injury concerns, and Patriots wide receiver Philip Dorsett, who's been one of their most reliable targets, one of their most prolific targets, left the game pretty early in the action yesterday, and he did not return to the field at all in this game. It was reported as a hamstring injury, and as always during the game, information on injuries is always few and far between. But after the game, the indication seemed to be from the Patriots locker room that Dorsett was going to be okay. Looked to be more of a situation where they were looking to rest him and prevent any further aggravation of the injury.

But as always with injuries, have to keep a sharp eye. It'll be interesting to see how Dorsett practices this week, if he practices, if he's limited, and how this injury might factor into the Patriots on a quick week and a short turnaround as they're hosting the New York Giants on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium. So as always, stay tuned and I'll bring you the very latest on Dorsett's status as the week progresses. As I had discussed earlier, there were plenty of standouts in this game. The Patriots a big win over the Washington Redskins to remain unbeaten. And my first and most prominent standout this week had to be linebacker Dante Hightower. And it just seems like every week a

new defensive player puts on a show and the linebackers have really been at the forefront of everything. And Hightower took his turn this week and he finished the game again eight tackles one and a half sacks four tackles for a loss one pass deflection he nearly picked off Colt McCoy with a minute left in the third quarter and I think if he had caught that ball it's easy to imagine he probably would have had a pick six if you look at the replay there wasn't anybody in front of him and the way Hightower was chugging, he probably would have gotten to the end zone. And just had a monster game. He was all over the field.

You could see the value of Dante Hightower. His positioning on the field is always impeccable. And he seems to direct traffic in that defense like no one else can. And a big difference between this week and last week. Linebackers, the front seven, everybody just seemed to be in the right place at the right time. And it's no coincidence, folks. It's because of a guy like Dante Hightower and the command he has over that defense. Another stellar effort. And even though I'm not big on assigning individual players of the game, if I were forced to give one, it would be to Dante Hightower in this game. That's how good and dominant he was.

Great game for him. And as impressive as he was on the field, his most significant accomplishment actually might be after the game in the locker room when during a post-game interview he referred to his linebackers as the boogeymen. And not only has Hightower started a new catchphrase here apparently, but he really has started off I think a new marketing campaign. As a matter of fact, I think Barstool Sports is already selling t-shirts regarding the Boogeymen, and this is probably going to be a moniker that's going to stick. Social media is having a blast with it, and Dante Hightower just continues to feed into the great day that he had on the field, off the field, all over the place, and well-deserved, especially after having to miss last week's game with the injury. It was great to see him back. It's great to see him doing great things. Another standout in this game to me has to be quarterback Tom Brady. And look,

Brady faced a great deal of pressure, and I think a lot of that was because of the struggles on the offensive line. They did not give him a whole lot of protection. Brady was under pressure and even some duress during this game. Don't forget, Tom Brady was sacked four times in this contest. He had only been sacked three times in the first four games, so the offensive line definitely struggled to protect him. It's something that the Patriots will need to address. Despite that, Brady still managed to complete 67% of his passes, but he did throw an interception, and that interception came in the red zone. He actually did the same thing the previous week in Week 4 against the Buffalo Bills,

and this throw was mostly on Brady. Yes, there were some protection breakdowns on the offensive line that did cause it, but ultimately, Brady should have taken the sack. He forced the ball. It looked more like a rookie mistake than something that a veteran would do, but it was a bad throw, folks. They are going to happen. Brady is not infallible.

He's human. He's going to make mistakes, but in true Tom Brady fashion, he picked himself up, dusted himself off, and put together a solid effort and definitely looked to be every bit an elite quarterback going forward through the second quarter and into the second half and to finish the game off. In another standout performance, you have to give credit to Pat's receiver, Julian Edelman. And it's hard to label him a winner when he spent the day clearly playing through pain. I mean, you could see it every single time he caught a reception.

He would get up, he'd wince, he'd grab his chest. And you certainly hope that he's going to be okay long term. But he was targeted nine times, eight receptions, 110 yards, and one touchdown. His first half touchdown came at a point where the Patriots offense was really sputtering, really having difficulty getting going. And that's very typical of Julian Edelman. Whenever something is going wrong, Tom Brady usually looks to Edelman to right the ship. And that's exactly what happened here.

All game long, despite nursing an injury, Edelman was consistent, he was efficient, and he really put together a gutsy performance in this game. And in good conscience, I couldn't mention standouts in this game without giving a well-deserved shout-out to Julian Edelman on another stellar performance. And a couple of honorable mentions in this category. Defensive tackle Danny Shelton continues to have a big season. A great game for Shelton yesterday, had three tackles, one sack, and I think he's really emerged as the anchor of that defensive line, and I mean that both literally and figuratively, folks. But seriously, and all kidding aside,

he's really done an amazing job working with guys like Adam Butler and Lawrence Guy and Michael Bennett. That front seven has become very formidable and a really key part of the Patriots defense, and Shelton is a big reason why. So he had a great game and well deserved on that. And last but not least, another honorable mention has to go to Sonny Michel. And look, it's been a rough season for Michel so far. He's taken a lot of hits in the media, only averaged 2.8 yards per carry entering the game, and that's caused a lot of people, fans and media alike, to throw around the terminology sophomore slump. And one game might not be enough to erase that, but Sony did have a solid effort without any question. He had 16 carries for 91 yards and a touchdown on the

ground, and to make the day even better, he had career highs in targets, receptions, and receiving yards. So overall, a great game for Sony. It was great to see him get back on track. He is proving that he can indeed catch the ball out of the backfield, so that could be an added dimension to his game, and he still proved that he's capable of ripping off some solid runs. So overall, a good game for Sony, and it was great to see the Patriots' running game get back into a rhythm today, and that could be something they will need to utilize going forward.

And on the flip side, there weren't a whole lot of lowlights in this game, but there were a couple, and the first that I wanted to mention was left tackle Marshall Newhouse. And right tackle Marcus Cannon didn't have a great game by any stretch of the imagination either, folks, but Newhouse really did struggle. He had a hard time in one-on-one situations. He allowed a lot of pressure to Tom Brady, also seemed to miscommunicate on a third down in the first half. That let a lot of the Washington Rushers run free on Tom Brady, so you can bet this is going to be something that Dante Skarnecchia and the coaching staff are going to be looking at very closely, and they may need to address this week in practice and work on getting the communication better between Brady and his tackles, particularly Newhouse. The left tackle position is so vital to protecting a quarterback, especially one that's 42 years

of age. Absolutely vital. So they will need to look at that, and they will need to make some adjustments there as well. And for almost the entirety of the show, I've been praising the defense and how great they've been. So it may seem a bit counterproductive to mention a defensive play as being a low light, but the 65 yard touchdown run by Stephen Sims Jr. did put the Patriots in a 7-0 hole, and in fact it was actually the first time the Patriots had trailed all season long. And that set off a social media firestorm for Patriots fans.

However, to put everyone's mind at ease, this was really more the exception rather than the rule when it came to the Patriots' defense. Quite simply, it was just a breakdown in coverage that forced the two missed tackles. Basically, what happened on this play is that J.C. Jackson really did his best to set the edge. That forced Sims to run inside, and when he ran inside, he ran toward the quarterbacks, Jason McCourty, and also toward Devin McCourty and Deron Harmon, who were playing safety on the play at the time. They ended up bouncing off of Sims. Simultaneously, that really kind of shielded Sims from the rest of the Patriots defenders, so in a way, and to use a basketball term here, the Patriots' defenders actually set a pick on their own players, and that allowed Sims to scamper up the sideline and really

a great piece of running, and he ran it up for the 65-yard touchdown. So the Patriots did right the ship after that, folks. They played very solid defense from there on in. That was the lone miscue of the day, and it's fairly obvious that the Patriots rebounded nicely from that. So just to give you an example of why that play happened and how it happened, moving forward, this is not something that should keep you up at night, Patriots fans. The defense is solid. They're stout. They will continue to be both solid and stout as the season progresses and before i

wrap up today's show i just wanted to give a well-deserved shout out to quarterback tom brady once again not necessarily just because of what he did on the field but for a milestone that he achieved today and with a 15 yard pass to julian edelman in the third quarter brady moved past brett farve into third place on the career list of passing yards with 71,923. Brady now trails only Peyton Manning at 71,940 and of course Drew Brees in the lead spot at 74,845. Brady also edged closer to Manning's record of 539 touchdown passes. Brady currently sits at 527. So congratulations to Tom Brady on a big day, inching ever closer to two milestones that

really seem to be inevitable now. And just another step toward what has been an amazing career, a certain enshrinement in Canton, Ohio in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and yet one more accolade to add to the resume of who some consider, and I'm one of them, to be the greatest quarterback to ever play the game. And with that being said, that puts a wrap on the Patriots' 53-7 victory over the Washington Redskins in Landover, Maryland. As for me, I will be back tomorrow to start to look ahead to the Patriots' matchup at

Gillette Stadium with Danny Dimes and the New York football giants on Thursday Night Football. And I will be speaking with some special guests along the way, too. As always, make sure to join me each and every day on the Locked On Patriots podcast and subscribe to Locked On Patriots via your favorite podcast provider. Once again, I'm Mike DeBate. I thank you so much for listening today. Have a great day and a great week, everybody.