Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Locked On Patriots September 27, 2018 - Skyfall

Episode Date: September 27, 2018

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Hello there everybody, welcome into Lockdown Patriots for Thursday, September 27th, 2018. Mark Schofield back in the big chair for a Thursday show that we're going to dedicate to listener questions and the reason being, lo and behold yet more reasons to be wary and uneasy about the New England Patriots as we sit here on Thursday before I dive into all the questions I got I'm going to try to get to them I got a ton 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 View, part of the SB Nation of websites. And look, let's just jump right in.

We got bad news yesterday. Rex Burkhead, Juwan Bentley, both placed on injured reserve. Obviously, the Patriots now, they're down two at the running back spot. They lose Rex Burkhead with injury. They already lost Jeremy Hill to an injury. And now when you lose Jelon Bentley, now you're losing somebody that we were looking to be an athlete on the second level. We were looking to be somebody that can play in the middle of the field, to shore up the athleticism.

We thought maybe we were getting something out of Juwan Bentley, and it hasn't quite materialized. And now look, the Patriots drafted nine players this spring, and six of them are on or on their way to injured reserve. That is some bad luck. Now, the Patriots did make a move. They signed defensive end slash outside linebacker John Simon. He was formerly with the Colts from Ohio State University. Dan Hope, who covers the Buckeyes, said that, look, you know, the Patriots are getting somebody with incredible work ethic. Nobody's going to work harder than this guy. High character type player.

And that's great. But, you you know this defense is hurting right now you know trey flower is out with a concussion patrick chun out with a concussion obviously we're hopeful to get them back but this is just the latest sort of kick to the stomach the patriots fans didn't really want to see didn't really want to wake up to or see on their Wednesday morning. So that's news right there. I'm going to start with questions now. We're going to start with something I got from my buddy at Captain Huggyface at C-A-P-N-H-U-G-Y-F-A-C-E. Is Belichick's winning formula outdated given what we are seeing across the league, i.e. dynamic playmakers on offense, Tyreek Hill,

Alvin Kamara, even Jakeem Grant in Miami. Pats could use a guy like Brandon Cooks in their offense, no? Would love to hear your take on the Locked On Patriots podcast. Even, he went on, even take a look at Detroit with Jones and Galladay, Johnson in the backfield. How would the Patriots

look with Deion Lewis and Cooks? Can Sonny Michel be their Lewis? And, you know, first off, shout out to my boy, Captain Huggyface, for the question. And it's a loaded one. And it's an important one. There are reasons to wonder about, as I've been arguing, the new trend, the new offensive paradigm,

athletes at all positions, spread guys out, spread the field, try to just make opportunities in the passing game for wide open throws, sort of play it like it's a Big 12 type offense. You do wonder if teams are going to catch up, if defenses are going to catch up, if defenses are going to catch up, how long it will take defenses to catch up. And you particularly wonder that in the wake of what myself and others were saying over the course of this offseason, needing to get more athletic at the second level.

It seems like they just don't have the speed team-wise right now on the defensive side of the ball to counter what we're seeing from so many of these offenses whether it's Kansas City whether it's Detroit as captain huggyface shows you know points out it just seems like they're struggling it seems like there's a lack of athleticism that is still present and part of it might be it's early in the season and they're trying different combinations. They're seeing what they can get from Hightower, who seems to be a

step slow. You're seeing what you can get from other guys, whether it's veterans like Jason McCourty, Jonathan Jones in the secondary. Are they going to have to go to younger guys like Crossan and JC Jackson? It seems like they're trying to figure things out here. But it is unnerving to see this offense continually giving up plays on Crossan routes, plays on things that you have to expect are coming. And then you start to think about what you're going to see down the road. I mean, I just two nights ago recorded a show with the guys over at Locked On Chiefs. And you can only imagine what those guys are feeling right now. And that's a team you're going to see in a couple weeks here.

You get a team like the Packers. You're going to get a team like the Steelers that can do some stuff to spread you out. And so are they going to be able to match up with teams like that? I don't know. As far as whether the game is passing Belichick by, I'm not sure.

I think it's just the Patriots' defenses right now and last year, they seem to be behind the curve a little bit. They're trying to catch up. You know, they're trying to be more athletic in the second level. You know, maybe some decisions were made in terms of letting guys go, whether it's, you know, Marquis Flowers or others that might've given you that athleticism that could be beneficial right now. I don't know, you know, but it does seem like the Patriots are a step behind on the defensive side of the ball.

But to my boy, Captain Huggy Faze, huge thanks for the question. Another question from the Lockdown Patriots Slack channel. Chuck A asks, a couple of thoughts, questions. Are Belichick and McDaniels keeping things simple early on as they have new guys that Brady doesn't yet trust? I've always been a bit of a conspiracy theorist in a good way about Belichick and that he keeps the playbook simple early in the season to hide things and build towards the playoffs. Having a lot of offensive turnover and absence makes this more likely in my mind.

And I think there could be some truth to that. And when you look at what the Patriots are doing from a schematic standpoint, especially in the run game, there's not a schematic standpoint, especially in the run game, I mean, there's not a lot of scheme diversity to the run game right now. It's been very predictable as we've been talking about. In the past game, I think there's a couple of things at work. There's a lot of new bodies, number one. There's a lot of guys that you may have been counted on that haven't panned out for you, whether it's Kenny Britt, whether it's not having Julian Edelman for the first four games that he's suspended. And so that factors into it as well.

There is a learning curve here. There is a sort of figure-it-out curve here. And that gets into another question that was asked about Brady's absence. Jim R. in the Patriots Slack channel, LockedOnPatriots Slack channel. Does Tom Brady missing so much time in the spring reflect the poor passing stats to begin the season? I'm thinking this group of wide receivers needed as many reps as possible,

and it's apparent there are communication issues. I think there's something to that, and we may have seen it on that play I broke down at the Tape Tuesday show, the intentional ground and play, where it seemed like Patterson was confused, free snap, seemed like he might have run the wrong route.

You know, it's an issue. And so, you know, I think there might be a bit of a smaller playbook right now because they're trying to figure things out with the guys that they have. And we'll see what this team looks like, you know, in week five. You know, when you get Edelman back, maybe you finally get Gordon in the mix, who admittedly was not somebody you were planning on counting on in preseason when you were doing all this InstaHall stuff. As for Brady's absence, it's possible. I wish I had a more definitive and clearer answer on that, but it's possible that without the extra time gelling with these guys,

they're not there yet. You know, it's clear that they're not there yet. You know, but at the same time, there were guys that would have been in camp, you know, Riley McCarron, you know, Braxton Berrios, you know, Kenny Britz, you know, that aren't part of this team.

You know, so how beneficial would it have been, Brady, to be spending more time throwing to those guys, guys that aren't here right now? And so I think there's two sides to that sort of coin here. Would it have been good to get Brady some more work? Sitting here right now, I think so. But who would he have been throwing to? And that's also something to consider.

But those are some questions out of the gate. We've got more, believe me, a loaded set of questions here on Locked on Patriots for your Thursday show. Reminder, if you want to be part of that Slack channel, I know there are some people that hit me up. I know I owe some invites out there. But if you'd also like one, let me know at Mark Schofield on Twitter, mark.schofield at insidethepylon.com for your invite.

Up next, we're going to talk third downs. We're going to talk dolphins. A little bit later, we're going to do some fantasy stuff. And I got a question from my boy, Richard Schragerger that as much as I don't want to answer it, I'm going to because I thought it was funny. That's ahead on this Thursday installment of Locked on Patriots. Mark Schofield back with you now on this listener Thursday installment of Locked on Patriots here. And a couple questions now from Truck on Twitter.

He is at YIRT. Give him a follow. First question, why do we struggle so much on third downs? And when I first got this tweet sent to me, I thought that I should ask for clarification. Truck, did you mean offense? Did you mean defense? And then it hit me. I don't need clarification on it.

They're bad on third downs right now. I mean, look, go back to week two against Jacksonville. Patriots, they convert only four of 14 third downs right now. I mean, look, go back to week two against Jacksonville. Patriots, they convert only four of 14 third downs in that game and that loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. And then on the flip side, Jacksonville, they convert, I think it was 10 of 14, 12 of 14, one or the other. So they clearly struggled in that game on third downs. And then when you look against the Detroit Lions on last Sunday night, another situation where the Patriots struggled on third downs.

For the Patriots, they had nine third-down opportunities in that game. They converted two, and they also missed on a fourth down. Lions, they had 14 third down opportunities they converted seven of them now those are not good numbers let's start with the offensive side of the ball and i think we can all at least agree on the culprit when it comes to the pass game if you're a defense you get third and seven against new england patriots right now you double gronkowski or if you don't fully come out and double him, because I know we were talking about it

on the Locked On Patriots Slack channel, and they've only double, technically double-covered Gronkowski teams out of like 25% of the time this year. But there are double coverages, and then there are like bracket-type things where you've at least got defined safety help or defined help somewhere.

And so you can get two guys, in a sense, on Gronkowski, and then who else is going to beat you? Who else do you trust to win a one-on-one route right now on this Patriots offense? Nobody. And so I think that's a problem with the pass game. When it comes to the run game, it's an execution problem, and it's the numbers and predictability problem that we've already talked about We've talked about both of these these issues so far this week just again to rehash them Look, the Patriots are predictable in the sense that if Sonya Michelle is in the game. He's getting the ball in all likelihood he is getting the football and

You know, that's the first part. The second part is, for example, against Detroit, 15 runs, 14 of them had him lined up as the single back with Brady under center. So there's that. And then there's an execution standpoint, whether it's Shaq Mason getting blown up on a third down, you know, Dwayne Allen missing some blocks on third downs. They failed to execute in the blocking when it comes to running the football, especially on third downs, they've failed to execute in the blocking when it comes to running the football, especially on third downs. And so it's all bad. You can't convert third downs because you can't

get guys separation in the pass game. You can't execute in the run game. It's bad. And then on the defensive side of the ball, again, it's some of the stuff that we've been talking about. And I worked up a piece yesterday that's coming out, I believe, today for the score about some of the X's and O's matchups and stuff I'm looking at for this weekend's slate of games. And I'm looking at, you know, can Miami run these crossers against, you know, New England? And ask yourself that question.

You know, is there any reason that you would have confidence that the Patriots will have figured out how to defend crossers against a team that loves and thrives on throwing crossing routes? I don't, I'm not confident right now. You know, and it starts with up front, they can't get pressure with four, and then so they blitz, and then, you know, you get guys that can't cover them on a consistent basis, other than Stephon Gilmore. And even Gilmore got beat on a crossing route, albeit on what looked to be a non-blitz situation,

just playing man coverage behind it. But still, it starts with the inability to get pressure with four. And even when they don't blitz and just rush four and drop into zone coverage instead since there's no pressure quarterbacks whether it's borders or stafford or whomever me my cat they just got all day to wait to find the right moment to throw that crossing road against the zone coverage and then you're like well you know we can't play zone because we can't get pressure. So we might as well go blitz and man

and then you don't have the athletes to cover. And so, it's just a cavalcade of bad right now. I was looking for another C word.

I couldn't quite come up with it. And so, you know, since I do most of these shows in just one take straight through, you know, I don't want to go back and edit.

So, I just roll with Calvocator bad. Other question from Truck at YIRT on Twitter. Are the Dolphins for real? If they lose, is it the end? Well, that's a two-part question. First part, I will say the Dolphins look to me to be real right now. You heard the show yesterday, Travis Winfield from Locked On Fins.

I was on his show as well. Ryan Tannehill is playing extremely well right now. I think Travis's point that the offensive system under Adam Gates, it fits well with what Tannehill can do. They're getting contributions from a number of different skill position players, from Danny Amendola to Yakeem Grant. You're getting Mike Giusecchi worked into the mix, a guy that I liked a lot. Kenny Stills is doing a lot for them.

Albert Wilson is doing a lot for them. So they're getting contribution on the offensive side of the ball from a bunch of different people. Defensively, a bit of a work in progress. You know, there is an opportunity for New England to make some hay against this linebacker group. I was a bit more excited until I talked to Travis about those linebackers. It seems like they're struggling a bit. Kiko Alonso is struggling a bit. You know, Raekwon

McMillan, you know, he's trying to come back after the injury he suffered last year, but, you know, not anywhere where you might expect him to be given the time that he missed, you know, and Jerome Baker, a third round pick for them, another rookie. So you've got some young linebackers there that are still trying to figure it out. So as Travis said, there are opportunities for the Patriots thrown against those guys. Now losing Burkhead, that hurts. You know, so we're going to see a lot of Michel. We're going to see a lot of White.

We're going to see them be factors in the pass game, I think. You know, maybe if there are situations where they can try to get a matchup with Gronkowski and one of those guys, whether it's McMillan or Baker, I think they'd have to try to take advantage of those moments and hit in those moments. It's one thing to create the opportunities. It's another thing to take advantage of it.

And they're going to need to do both. Create the opportunities and take advantage of those. But the Dolphins are for real. And yeah, they beat the Jets. And, you know, they're coming off a win against Oakland, who seems to be struggling. And, you know, they won a game against the Titans, who are 2-1. But it's a flimsy 2-1, I'd say.

You know, they kind of, Tennessee's kind of gotten their two wins with a little bit of smoke and mirrors with Houston and Jacksonville, a team whose numbers, you know, Tennessee seems to have. You know, but the Dolphins, I think, are legit. Now, if New England drops to 1-3, is it the end? I don't think it's the end. I wouldn't go that far. But you're looking at a three-game hole in the division. And when you look around the AFC right now, can you be convinced that after a 1-3 start,

you're going to make a run and get to the playoffs, perhaps as a wildcard team? I mean, it's very early, you know, but you've got a number of two and one teams, you know, some of some of whom we expect to be three and one, and you're looking at one and three, you know, you're now like a two game hole in the wild card standings alone so i wouldn't say it's the end but it you know what's the expression it's not over until the oversized lady sings you know she's not sinning yet if you lose this game but she's at least in the dressing room got herself like powdered, sipping some tea, and she's getting ready. She's not even warming up yet, I'd say, but she's

getting ready. This is a big game. It's stunning to think that, look, New England could be in a three-game hole in the AFC East come Sunday night. It's just stunning to think that, but here we are. Up next, a couple more questions to close things out

on this Thursday installment of Locked On Patriots. Mark Schofield back with more questions to close things out on this Thursday installment of Locked On Patriots Mark Schofield back with you now to close out this Thursday installment of Locked On Patriots and we're going to take a question here

from Jack over in the UK at J-A-C-K-D-U-F-F-I and he is one of the hosts of Browns in the UK

podcast I was kind enough they were kind enough to ask me on. I talked about them in yesterday's show. Again, check them out. You can follow Jack on Twitter at J-A-C-K-D-U-F-F-I-N and his co-host at PaulBrown underscore UK. Jack's asking stuff about Sonia Michelle, Julian Edelman,

and Chris Hogan from a fantasy perspective. Let me say this. With respect to Sonny Michel and Julian Edelman, I'm buying on them right now. I think with this Burkhead injury now, you're going to see even more of Sonny Michel. I think with Edelman coming back, the Patriots desperately need Edelman's skill set in this offense. And so with those two guys, I'm buying. With Hogan, I'm selling. The take of the game last week from Dave Archibald in the aftermath of the debacle in Detroit

was how they need to rename him in the post office because he's never open. I think it's apt. He is struggling to get separation. Maybe that changes with Edelman back. Maybe that changes if they get Gordon into the mix. Maybe that forces teams to play more cover two stuff. So you might get some opportunities for him. He might see some different coverage looks. They might be able to free up some space for him. But right now, he's struggling to get consistent separation. And you can't be an effective NFL player, NFL wide receiver, if you

can't do that. You can't be an effective fantasy asset if you struggle to get separation as a wide receiver. And so that's how I'm looking at those guys right now. Michelle and Edelman, I'm in on. Hogan, I'm not. I'm just going to pause the breaks on Chris Hogan as a fantasy asset right now. He's not somebody I would truly count on. Finally, I'm going to close this out with a little bit of humor from my good buddy Richard Schrager at R-S-S-C-H-R-A-G-E-R. Yeah, I get that right. R-S-S-C-H-R-A-G-E-R. He asks me,

when the Patriots lose again, will Belichick join Toto when he's fired after the next loss? Now, as I've said before on this show, my friend Richard is a Giants fan. He always uses any chance he can to stick the needle in, remind me of those two Super Bowls. But I will sooner be joining Toto than Bill Belichick. I'm pretty sure that if and when Belichick decides to leave

as the head coach of the New England Patriots, he will either go coach lacrosse at Wesleyan University, our alma mater, or just retire to Nantucket and raise his dog, whom he seems to adore. But I don't see Bill Belichick joining Toto anytime soon. So, friends, how are we feeling right now? Probably not pretty good.

Look, it's been a long week. It's been a long week, both from a Patriots perspective and just from a global perspective. It has been a long week. This weekend can't get here fast enough. This game on Sunday cannot get here fast enough. We all need to see this team bounce back. We all need to see this team have a win. And

thankfully, hopefully, we can get one. But, if they don't, well, I was going to use the usual music to send this out, but given how I think we all sort of feel right now, I think it's better if we introduce a new song from Adele,

the theme from Skyfall, because that's how it kind of felt Wednesday morning. All of this was going down with Burkhead, with Bentley, coming off the loss. It does seem a little bit like the sky has fallen. Hopefully the Patriots can stave that off on Sunday, but if not, the Skyfall will be truly upon us. I will be back tomorrow for your game day edition of Locked on Patriots can save that off on Sunday. But if not, the skyfall will be truly upon us. I will be back tomorrow for your game day edition of Locked on Patriots,

getting you ready for Sunday, doing some tape stuff on the Dolphins. Until then, stay strong, everybody, and keep it locked right here to me, Mark Schofield, and Locked on Patriots. This is the end. Hold your breath and count to ten Feel the earth move and then Hear my heart burst again For this is the end I've drowned and dreamt this moment So overdue I owe a day

Swept away, I'm stolen Let the sky fall When it crumbles We will stand tall I'll face it all Together let the sky fall when it crumbles we will stand tall face it all together