Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Mac Attack the Middle: New England Patriots Keys To Victory Over Miami Dolphins in Week 17

Starting point is 00:00:00 Can Teddy Bridgewater beat the New England Patriots pass rush? That's just one of the questions we're talking about on today's game preview episode. Stick around. You're about to be locked in to the Locked On Patriots podcast. You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful, and thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots

Starting point is 00:00:50 a daily part of New England Patriots coverage and also your first listen every day. Remember, Locked On Patriots is free and available on all platforms, including YouTube. So smash that subscribe button, download, subscribe to follow Locked On Patriots wherever you get your podcasts. I'm your host, Mike DeBate.

Starting point is 00:01:07 I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. Be sure to reach out to me. Let me know what's on your mind on the Bird app at MDABATENFL. And while you're out there showing some love to the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. That's fans. What better way to bookend the week and bring you our last episode game preview episode of the calendar year of 2022 than with our very favorite here on Lockdown Patriots. He is the legendary counter Murphy Pisto himself. Thomas Murphy of E2G Sports.com going to pop in

Starting point is 00:01:44 here in just a moment. But first, folks, remember that today's episode is brought to you by BetOnline. BetOnline has you covered this season with more props, more odds, and more lines than ever before. BetOnline, where the game starts. And let's start with the game, my good buddy. Murph, the New England Patriots enter this matchup at 7-8. They're at a crossroads. Well, maybe

Starting point is 00:02:10 not crossroads, but you understand where I'm coming from. We're definitely down the crossroads, Murph. This team enters this game right now at 7-8 on the precipice of potentially making the playoffs.

Starting point is 00:02:25 Who would have thought that after two heartbreaking losses back to back to the Las Vegas Raiders and the Cincinnati Bengals, but the Patriots control their own fate and they need to win in order to get in. The question is, can they get that done? The Miami Dolphins have been a kryptonite for the New England Patriots. Even if the game is up here in Foxborough, even if the game is down there in Miami Gardens, this has not been an easy matchup for the Patriots. But the Dolphins right now are nursing their own problems.

Starting point is 00:02:54 And let's start with Tua Tagovailoa being out for this game. Teddy Bridgewater comes in. Your thoughts on what this does to change the complexity of the action we're going to see on the field on Sunday. Almost nothing. There's a reason why Teddy Bridgewater is probably the highest paid backup in the NFL at the quarterback position. Because they knew what they were going to get with him. They wanted to make sure they got him.

Starting point is 00:03:19 They wanted him happy while he was sitting there on the bench. Because quite frankly, folks, Teddy Bridgewater could start on more than a third of the teams in the NFL right now. If you put Teddy Bridgewater out there in la-la land with the Rams, they wouldn't be having the issues that they have. They wouldn't have had to go out and pick up Baker Mayfield. You know, Teddy would be taking care of things. If Teddy Bridgewater was in Denver, they wouldn't be having these problems.

Starting point is 00:03:48 Teddy Bridgewater was down there in Arizona. They wouldn't have been having these problems. This is a, a, a quality quarterback. This goes back to, you know, when people back at, at Superbowl 52, the last time that the, the Patriots faced the, uh, the, um, the Eagles, you know, what they asked me about that game was, you know, the same question. What changes? The team actually got better, you know, with Junior out.

Starting point is 00:04:19 And that could be the story here right now. It really could. This team could be better with Teddy Bridgewater right now. It really could. This team could be better with Teddy Bridgewater under center. I'm sorry. Sorry, Miami fans. Yeah, I mean, there are people that I think will at least give you the benefit of the doubt on that. I think there are a lot of people in Patriots country that will agree with you, and I think there are some people in Dolphins country that will agree with you as well.

Starting point is 00:04:43 Look, Bill Belichick, when asked about this subject earlier this week, said that he did not expect a whole lot to change schematically from what these guys do. There might be little bit things here and there, obviously, two is a lefty, Teddy's a righty. So that's going to change a little bit of what they might do, but he expected that game plan to remain intact. And that brings up an interesting point, at least in my opinion anyway, because you're looking at a concept or you're looking at an offensive strategy that really worked very well at the beginning part of the season for Mike McDaniel. Murph, we talked a little bit about this on Monday, and I wanted to ask you to expound upon it a little bit

Starting point is 00:05:21 in terms of whether or not you believe Mike McDaniel's concept, this schematic ability to game plan for an offensive passing game is being found out in the league. Is he being caught on to it here? Well, it is. I talked about that in my keys this week is the fact that, you know, teams have made book on him. Also, the fact that McDaniel came from a running program, right? And they don't run the ball. They don't.

Starting point is 00:05:49 They sling it. He's out there to make his quarterback and his wide receivers happy. Those are what he considers his weapons. And people have figured that out. They know what they're going to do, which is a shame because, oh, God, why am I at a loss for his name right now? Mozart is running the ball at an extremely high rate right now. He's at 4.9 yards per carry.

Starting point is 00:06:22 All right. But Miami doesn't run the ball. They throw the ball on almost every down. Okay. First down, third down. Then, okay, they're running the ball. It's third and one. They're running the ball. I mean, they're passing the ball. I'm sorry. And so, yeah, people have caught up with them. We said this at the beginning of the year when the Patriots took that loss. Let's wait and see. Okay. People are going to make book on what he's doing and what he's calling. There's no book on him. There was before this season, there was no book on, he was not a play caller. Okay. Now he's out here calling plays. People have seen it once. They've seen it a dozen times on film and, uh, and the other teams have caught up yeah

Starting point is 00:07:08 and a lot of ways i believe they have and that's one of the things that is a little surprising for me as well and we're going to get into this when we start turning the monster keys in just a moment both offensively and defensively but that to me i think is going to be an interesting part of bridgewater being in the lineup as opposed to to a part of Bridgewater being in the lineup, as opposed to, to a tug of ILO being in the lineup. The last time these two teams faced off McDaniel unleashed Tyree kill. You saw a lot of these motions against New England's man coverage, which by the way, may not be robustly, uh, you know, available either. The Patriots are right now, um, they're fighting their own injury bug, uh bug on the defensive side of the ball.

Starting point is 00:07:46 When you look at the cornerbacks that are going to be in this matchup, Jalen Mills is still out of practice at the time we're recording this. He did not practice Wednesday or Thursday. You're still looking at Jack Jones being out with a knee injury. Marcus Jones remaining in concussion protocol. So these types of things are having their difficulties for the New England Patriots. So to me, it's going to be whether or not you're going to be able to see Teddy Bridgewater exploit some of the holes in the Patriots secondary right now, because you know that

Starting point is 00:08:16 pass rush is going to be pinning their ears back and trying to get to him. The key for, and Kyle Krebs talked about this yesterday here on Locked On Patriots and Locked On Dolphins, the crossover episode, is run it at guys like Josh Uche. Try to run at them and see what that will do to disrupt some of what does well. Exactly. It's football one-on-one. The only thing is that the Patriots have somebody on the other side that is pretty good at stopping the run. Yeah, absolutely. He is pretty good at stopping the run, and we've seen that. And now that the Patriots' defensive line is getting healthier, and guys like Barmore being able to add that type of level that they didn't have just a few weeks

Starting point is 00:08:57 ago with Lawrence Guy and Devon Gottschall playing very well and playing at a high level, this automatically kicks that into gear. So that could be a key matchup, my friend. But is it the key matchup? Is it one of the offensive keys to be turned? Is it one of the monster keys to be turned? Well, we're going to stay on the offensive side of the ball in just a moment when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues, because Murph is about to go a little bit off script.

Starting point is 00:09:23 Or is he, my friend? I'm no one of that. I don't want to steal your thunder. I'm going to let him take that in just a moment, talking about the offensive monster keys to victory for your New England Patriots. More with Locked On Patriots when we continue. Did you know that driving high was considered under the influence that's right driving under the influence of marijuana is against the law in every state even in states where marijuana is legal that means that driving high could get you a DUI and if you think that law enforcement

Starting point is 00:09:57 officers can't tell when you're driving high well folks you're wrong your friends can tell your co-workers can tell even your parents can tell. Even your parents can tell. Everyone can tell. So what makes you think that law enforcement officers don't know when you are driving high? Driving under the influence of marijuana can slow your response time and change how you perceive time and speed. So even if you think you're fine to drive when you're high, you're not. Because the bottom line is, if you feel different, you drive different. And driving high is under the influence. So remember, drive high, get

Starting point is 00:10:32 a DUI. Paid for by the NHTSA. Patriots fans, the legendary Connor Murphy Fisto. Thomas Murphy joins me here today on Locked On Patriots. Colonist extraordinaire for E2GSports.com, ready to turn the monster keys, which can be found as we speak, on E2GSports. So, Murph, in that vein, we talked a little bit about the offensive strategy for the Patriots, talked a little bit about some of the defensive strategy that we're going to see against Teddy Bridgewater because the New England Patriots obviously will be facing Bridgewater

Starting point is 00:11:07 as opposed to Tua Tagovailoa, who will be out for this game. I teased earlier that we're going to stay on the offensive side of the ball. That doesn't mean for the Miami Dolphins. That means for the New England Patriots. So we're going to switch gears in a little bit, and we're going to return to some of that defensive prowess when we turn our defensive monster keys in just a moment, folks. But offensively, the New England Patriots right now need to get something generated.

Starting point is 00:11:33 They need to find a way to break some of the pressure that is being put on Mac Jones and forcing him into difficult situations. When the Patriots have been able to shake some of that pressure, they have been able to make things happen. The New England Patriots are entering this game against the Miami Dolphins, knowing that a formidable pass rush can be expected. But Miami is also entering this game with a couple of key members of that linebacking core that are injured right now and banged up. At the time we're recording this, folks, neither Murph nor myself have the final injury report for the week, but Bradley Chubb, backing core that are injured right now and banged up at the time we're recording this folks neither Murph nor myself have the final injury report for the week but Bradley Chubb Jalen Phillips both

Starting point is 00:12:11 have been out month to uh Wednesday and Thursday each uh you know going back and forth now on a litany of injuries and this is significant for the Miami Dolphins because if they're not able to get pressure on Mac Jones this is a secondary that can be had a little bit with Byron Jones out with McNeidham out Xavier Howard has not been the same covered corner that he's been in years past so this could be an opportunity for the New England Patriots to pounce here is this an offensive key to be turned Murph to the Patriots need to take advantage of a banged up dolphin secondary are you in my notes have you been reading my notes we do we're gonna get in trouble for sharing sharing test answers some of that clairvoyance that Claire brings to the table

Starting point is 00:12:55 every Wednesday is starting to rub off on me a little bit I think so I'm becoming some somewhat clairvoyant not quite to her level but I but I'm becoming that. So no one is, no one is, no one is, no one can match the angry elves clairvoyance. Um, uh, yeah, this is, this is a game where we're going to pass to set up the run. All right. This is a game where, where, uh, you know, he, Max should be able to get back in, in, into, uh, drop back and start slinging it and go after that soft underbelly that you were talking about

Starting point is 00:13:30 with their banged up linebacking core and the troubles that they're having. And they say, I'm not a huge stat guy. I don't often go down that rabbit hole, folks. But this week you can ignore the fact that the Finns defense, you can't ignore the fact that the Finns defense is thinnest in the backfield. What was once a strength on this team has become a serious weakness due to injuries and some ineptitude. Right now, Miami is fifth worst in team passing yards allowed on the season and 12th worst in dropbacks. Sling it, Mac. Just get out there and sling it.

Starting point is 00:14:05 Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, under defensive coordinator Josh Boyer, who I think is definitely someone that is a holdover from the Brian Flores days, these are still standards that are put into place by Miami. You see an awful lot of man blitz. That's, you know, top five single high safety rate. These guys know how to do that and they're going to continue and they will from everywhere exactly so if there is any type of

Starting point is 00:14:31 deficiency in the middle of that field like you said matt needs to account for it he needs to be able to attack that he needs to be able to take advantage of that scene exactly and bust that seam and the good thing about it is that even though Hunter Henry may be a little bit banged up with the knee, he is a limited participant in practice. Patriots are going to need him, Murph. I mean, they're very thin at tight end as it is. John O'Smith remains in concussion protocol. Scotty

Starting point is 00:14:56 Washington is on IR and the practice squad. That leaves Hunter as the lone tight end alongside a guy like Matt Sokol. So if the Patriots are going to utilize that seam, they're going to need Hunter, and hopefully they'll have him in this matchup. But I think they'll also use guys maybe like Jacoby Myers, possibly,

Starting point is 00:15:13 or maybe even some of these guys that can receive out of the backfield. Ramondre, I think, is going to get looks there. You may even see Pierre Strong, maybe even Kevin Harris, get a little bit out of the backfield. That does bring an interesting point. Miami has been decent against the run. Is this a game where, like you said, you believe that you're going to pass to set up the run? Or if Miami is successful in keeping pressure on Mac and they can't utilize the passing game the way they can, can the running game carry them to victory in this game?

Starting point is 00:15:43 Is it possible? It can, but as receivers out of the backfield, okay? You're not going to be able to run on this defense consistently enough to move the chains. I love Ramon Dre. He's going to break off one or two, and that yards per carry is going to climb because of that. But these guys stuff the run, and you're going to have to do it the right way. I could see a wheel route this week.

Starting point is 00:16:16 I could actually see a wheel route. We always think of Murph when we see wheel routes, always. If they stay away from the screen game, okay, and they get the running backs out into space past the line of scrimmage, please, past the line of scrimmage, those guys could do some damage in that way. There are weapons all over this field. I don't care what anybody says.

Starting point is 00:16:41 They just need to be utilized right, and Mac needs the time to get it to them. But no, this is not going to be a running attack. The Patriots want to get up early. They want to make Miami one-dimensional, and they want to get into Teddy Bridgewater's face as much as possible. Yeah, without question. Not to skip ahead, but.

Starting point is 00:17:01 Absolutely. No, but I think that leads us very nicely into our next topic here on Locked On Patriots, defensive keys to victory. How can the New England Patriots slow down that potent offense that Miami is capable of putting out there? At the end of the day, folks, Tyree Kill and Jalen Waddell, that's a lot of talent and a lot of speed with a banged-up secondary, but there is a way to get to this team.

Starting point is 00:17:26 And Murph and I are going to tell you exactly how that's going to happen when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. But first, today's episode is brought to you by our good friends over at BetOnline.net. Your number one source for betting information, stats, news, analysis, you name it, they have it covered, folks. Get the latest odds and trends for every professional and amateur league out there, from pro football to college bowl season to basketball. They've got it all at BetOnline.net. And if you love sports podcasts, you can even find those on BetOnline as well. The fastest, the easiest way to get all of your betting information is through BetOnline.net. So head to the website today

Starting point is 00:18:07 or use your mobile device to learn more. BetOnline, where the game starts. Patriots fans, the legendary Thomas Murphy of E2GSports.com joining us to close out the week in style and bring you the very latest from foxborough with regards to the patriots and the dolphins looking it up on new year's day sunday january 1st 1 p.m kickoff gillette stadium foxborough massachusetts murph we've talked a little bit about what mac and the offense needs to do in order to find holes in seams in this Dolphins defense. But I think the

Starting point is 00:18:47 ultimate key to victory here is going to be whether or not the Patriots defense can rise to the occasion as they have all season long and continue to make life difficult on opposing offenses. The Pats have had their troubles defending alpha wide receivers. We that justin jefferson stefan diggs but lately they've been able to find a formula that has been effective in being able to limit what guys like deandre hopkins can do guys like davante adams and to a certain extent in the second half we talked about this a little bit on monday t higgins and jamar chase of the of the cincinnati bengals a little bit more of the same coming up. A little bit more of the same coming up this week with the Patriots and the Dolphins. Tyreek Hill, Jalen Waddell,

Starting point is 00:19:30 they're as potent as a duo that you're going to see in the passing game anywhere in the league. These guys can beat you in a number of ways, especially Waddell, who's extremely versatile, and the speed that Tyreek Hill has is tremendous. You have to give him credit for being one of the fastest guys out there every single time he takes the field. New England tried to neutralize this by getting a group of speedy cornerbacks. Jonathan Jones, Marcus Jones, Jack Jones. These guys have the speed to be able to hang with them. But Marcus and Jack right now are banged up,

Starting point is 00:20:01 and we do not know if they're going to be available for this game. So that being said, I know you know in your infinite wisdom my friend in the belichickian crystal ball where you don those keys each and every week you know that there's a way to be able to neutralize what miami does well turn the key for us my friend take us home what do the patriots have to do defensively to keep Miami off balance? Spare change. Nickels, dimes, and quarters. Spare change. This is a spare change game, folks. I expect to see a lot of that coverage come Sunday. Limit the big plays and let the guys pin back their ears and go after the quarterback. Okay. Force him to do things quicker than he wants to. Um, this is, this is one of the reasons why, um, I would rather see Tua back there than

Starting point is 00:20:54 Teddy Bridgewater because Teddy Bridgewater has seen everything on the planet. Tua hasn't, he just hasn't, he hasn't played enough football to see everything and i know um everybody's dancing around tua is four and oh against the patriots or whatever the number is right now there were other reasons other than than david tua being um i mean sorry to a tag level i went into boxing there for a second god don't get old people. Um, so, but getting, getting back to it, getting to the quarterback is, is still going to be paramount. The, um, it will be easier to contain Bridgewater than it would be, uh, to, uh, but it's not, it's not something that is, uh, that is a definite, this is still a guy that, that can see a hole, hit it and move the chains

Starting point is 00:21:46 with his legs when he has to. Um, but no, it's a spare change game. Um, a limit, limit the big guys on the outside, um, use those, uh, those boundaries as a 12th defender as often as you possibly can. And luckily, you know, the, aren't quite as tall as some of the other guys that the Patriots have had to go up against over the past few weeks. Yeah, absolutely. And I'm glad that you mentioned spare change because that I believe is going to be a key in being able to keep the Patriots in a situation where they can dominate in the trenches. They can dominate on the line. I want to give credit to Kyle Krebs for mentioning this yesterday because it is so important for the Patriots to remember that this game needs to be won in the trenches. When you look at Miami's offensive line, 31st in the league as graded by

Starting point is 00:22:36 pro football focus right now. If the Patriots are successful in allowing the Miami Dolphins to match them on this offensive line and be able to shut off the run, that's going to force Miami into passing situations. And if that happens, that's when you're going to see guys like Matthew Judon, Josh Uche, tee off. They're going to come around. Exactly. Full circle.

Starting point is 00:22:59 And they are going to be in the face of Teddy Bridgewater. Yeah. Right. Exactly. So you want to talk about bringing this all full circle and bringing it back to where we need to be. That's where the Patriots, I think, have the best chance to win this game. It's going to be winning that line battle between the Patriots' defensive line

Starting point is 00:23:18 and Miami's offensive line, who, by the way, might be without the services of starting tackle Teron Armstead. He's been out the last couple of days. Litany of injuries. There is a chance that he will play. And I do want to, yeah, exactly. At the time, we don't have the final injury report just yet, folks. But even if he does, likely to be a little bit banged up, likely to not be 100%.

Starting point is 00:23:41 So these are things to be watching. Brandon Schell,, one of their starting offensive linemen as well, limited with a shoulder injury. So are these things that the Patriots can attack? If there is a deficiency there on the Miami offense, it is the offensive line being able to provide that type of protection Teddy Bridgewater is going to need against a very aggressive defensive front for the Pats. Because again, this is a team that's going to be limited with their abilities in the defensive backfield. Looking at a potential of three prominent corners being out. Let's not forget Jonathan Jones is fighting a chest injury as well, folks.

Starting point is 00:24:18 He's not 100%. Now you've got Adrian Phillips on the injury report with an illness. Yeah, things could get interesting in the defensive backfield. You know, we might see Tay Hayes back there. Yeah, we might see Tay Hayes back there, folks. No question about it. Just recently signed to the practice squad. So there's a lot to go on, a lot to be determined for the New England Patriots.

Starting point is 00:24:44 This is something that I think is one go on, a lot to be determined for the New England Patriots. This is something that I think is one of the biggest monster keys to be turned, but don't take our word for it. Let us know what your monster keys to victory are. Drop a comment in the section below or let us know at LO underscore Patriots on Twitter. Murph, what can I say, my friend? It is always my honor, always my privilege to join you here on Locked On Patriots when you bring your wisdom and counsel the way only you can. So please, for the benefit of our listeners, please let everyone know where they can find you, your great work, and what you'll have your sharp eye on this weekend and to the next

Starting point is 00:25:18 as we get set to ring in 2023. Well, you can follow me on the Bird app at TeamMurph207, and then you can find everything that I do after that, you can follow me on the bird app at teamerf207. And then you can find everything that I do after that. Um, you know, over there at e2gsports.com, they have an exclusive on me, except for when they loaned me out here to Mike. Um, of course, you know, one Patriots place, uh, is every Tuesday. We had, uh, Pat Lane of, uh, Pat's pulpit fame on this week. Go go check that out you can check that out at e2g sports or you can download it wherever you download your favorite podcast i've got a couple of new articles up today um on the red sox and their woes so cory kluber's here to save the day uh

Starting point is 00:26:00 and other than that you know jay you know check me out here every Monday. And once again, sometimes on Friday. Absolutely. We can't get enough locked on Murph, whether it's Monday, whether it's Friday, the hashtag is really omnipresent. I know we reserve Mondays for Murph, but Friday, Saturday, whatever the day is, we're always happy to have you here. But my sincere wishes to you and yours for a happy new year, as all of you out there in Patriots Nation. And once again, if you're headed to Gillette on New Year's Day, do so safely.

Starting point is 00:26:31 Weather forecast looking pretty good for this one, Murph. It's going to be a warmer day up in Foxborough, but still a little colder than what they're used to down in Miami. What do we got to do? What do we got to do? I finally get these guys up here in December, and it's going to be balmy. We're going to be sitting there. Bring youran lotion folks yeah i know last week you know cincinnati comes up here in the cold and whatnot and you know they're kind of used to that over in

Starting point is 00:26:53 cincinnati not used to that down in miami but you know what but we takes when we can gets it when we can gets it and that's exactly what the patriots are going to do folks thank you for taking time out of your schedule to make lockeded On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage and also your first listen every day. Remember, make your second listen, our good friends over at Locked On Sports Today. All the news you need and all the sports that you can handle,

Starting point is 00:27:18 and they even give you a take of the day. How much better can you ask for? You can't. Check out my good friend Peter Bukowski on Locked On Sports today, each and every day, wherever you get your podcasts, whether it be on the Odyssey app, YouTube, or any major carrier. And don't forget to smash that subscribe button

Starting point is 00:27:34 and download subscribe to the Locked On Patriots wherever you get your podcasts. On behalf of my good friend Thomas Murphy of E2GSports.com, I'm Mike DeBate. Continue to stay safe, stay well, be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone, and enjoy the game on Sunday. So many nickels and dimes just playing with them in your pocket. I need it. I need it.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Mac Attack the Middle: New England Patriots Keys To Victory Over Miami Dolphins in Week 17

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