Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills Crossover: Mac Jones. Pats Defense, Damar Hamlin and More

Episode Date: January 5, 2023

It’s Crossover Thursday on the Locked On Podcast Network. Join hosts Mike D’Abate of Locked On Patriots and Joe Marino of Locked On Bills as they preview this Sunday’s game between the New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills from Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, NY at 1 p.m. ET in Week 18 of the 2022 NFL Season. Mike and Joe also share their thoughts on Bills safety Damar Hamlin.Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-patriots-daily-podcast-on-the-new-england/id1140512627 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFmwg3WbfxAU3tR5Ve?si=k196wH-yRqifUcQQz8SjIQStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-patriots And follow host Mike D’Abate on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans.On Twitter: @mdabateNFLSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFLBuilt BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!PrizePicksFirst time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDONUltimate Football GMTo download the game just visit Ultimate-GM.com or look it up on the app stores. Our listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo LOCKEDON (ALL CAPS) in the game store. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What's up everybody and welcome inside the Lockdown Podcast Network's crossover Thursday where we're going to get you ready for Bills vs. Patriots in week 18. I'm Joe Marino of Lockdown Bills joined by Mike DeBate, the outstanding host of Lockdown Patriots. And there's a lot to talk about this week, not just a football game, but obviously a football game in the aftermath of what we experience on Monday Night Football, which will be at obviously the forefront of everyone's minds as we navigate this discussion. But we will do the best we can here to provide some normalcy while also keeping DeMar Hamlin's health at the forefront of everyone's minds here, as I

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LOCKEDON. Well, folks, I mentioned I'm joined by Mike DeBate, of lockdown Patriots and Mike, first and foremost, there's been a lot of positive messaging across the entire NFL in support of the Mar Hamlin and what the Buffalo bills have gone through. And it's been really cool to see the new England Patriots take some steps here with what they've done with their stadium, of course, joining all the teams and changing their Twitter profile pictures and just a lot of positive messaging coming out of Foxborough. And a lot of that comes from you as well, who shared some very kind words to help, right? To help try to share your thoughts and offer some encouragement to Bills Mafia and the team and those types of things.

So first of all, welcome and thanks for what you've done. And I know that you're not responsible for what the Patriots have done, but I wanted to at least acknowledge that right here at the start of the podcast. Well, thank you, my friend. And whatever small part that I can do to help along is something that I'm not only glad to do, I would be remiss if I said I didn't have to under these circumstances, but ultimately, you know, NFL fandom is all a community, and the NFL players are all a brotherhood. And you're really seeing that demonstration of regional alliances meaning little to nothing when a member of that fellowship, a member of that community is in need. And that's something that I think everybody can relate to, whether you're a football fan, a sports fan or not, you can relate

to rallying around a community in need, a person in need. And when you look at the legacy right now of DeMar Hamlin and the type of human being that he is, he's an easy person to root for. And it's something where you look at this and you say, a young man's life is in the balance. That is the only concern. That is the primary concern. And it should be the primary concern of everybody there. And you're seeing that. It's been a soul warming support system around Buffalo, around Pennsylvania, McKees Rocks and Pittsburgh, where DeMar spent some of his formative years. And really, I think it's a testament just to the young man and who he is. It's a testament to the

respect for the Buffalo Bills organization. But I think it's a testament to the good that still remains in society, that we don't always get a chance to see Joe. And I said this on my show yesterday, that it's a shame it takes an event like this to galvanize an entire community but um the overwhelming support that demar has received for his charitable toy drive the chasing m's foundation the gofundme page well over six million at the time we're recording this that's a remarkable show and you mentioned the patriots robert craft making the donation mac jones making a donation bailey zappy tom brady an-Patriot, still a member of the family in a lot of regards up here in New England, Devin McCourty. You're seeing a lot of different players do what they can to lend their support.

And really, it just comes down to the fact that we are all a community and something that I think that Bills fans and Patriots fans can unite on this weekend. We're all supporting each other right now, and we're just happy to do our part. Well, football is at its best when we can respect opponents and appreciate the competition, but when it's used as something that can unify, and we've seen that in so many different instances throughout history, and this just happens to be the latest example, and I can't wait for Damar to be able to receive all this love and be in a position where it where he can feel this and um you know there's a lot of good that's coming out of this and obviously you know Damar still has a fight ahead

of him but there's been some positive messaging which we're all happy to hear but the prayers continue and the thoughts and the best wishes so um as we talk about the lead story, in a way, I think we have. There's Damar Hamlin and his health. That's always the most important thing right now. But as of the recording of this podcast, the Bills and Patriots are going to play a football game on Sunday afternoon. Now, the NFL hasn't dismissed that changing as of the recording of this podcast, but our expectation at this point is for the Bills and Patriots to play on Sunday. And I know you'll get the team is able to perform. And there's a side of me that can see this being a wonderful rallying opportunity for the team to dedicate the season

to DeMar Hamlin, put their best foot forward and try to win a football game. On the other side of the coin, which is completely acceptable, is who knows? Who knows how this team is playing, is ready to play, who knows what their mindset is, can they do it, can they go out and play professional football at its highest level on Sunday, that remains to be seen, and if they struggle to do that, it would be completely understanding, but Mike, I reflect on what's happened recently in Buffalo outside of just the football team and a lot of a lot of the region is you know a lot of it has to do with the football team but there's been a lot Mike it's uh it's been nine months of a mass shooting right there there's been health concerns with the Bills owner Kim Pagula who's had some type of health emergency where we've had no updates and we're not sure what's going on. Dawson Knox had a brother unexpectedly pass away.

We've seen other players leave the field in an ambulance this season. Dane Jackson on Monday night football. Micah Hyde had a neck injury. There was a seven foot blizzard that happened that obviously forced the team to have to go play a home game in Detroit and what it took to get the team to Detroit and get back from Detroit. And then the generational blizzard that took the lives of 40 people in Western New York just recently that kept families away from each other on Christmas. And now this, right? It's a team with heavy hearts.

It's a community with heavy hearts. It's a community with heavy hearts. And, um, you hope, you hope that the football team is able to rally and use all of this for good, but you just wonder how much is too much. And again, the, how they perform on Sunday is anyone's guess. And I don't think there's a wrong answer. You would understand any piece of it, but I think that's where I find some level of intrigue in just seeing how the team responds to this and understanding how difficult it will be for them to go out there and play a professional football game on Sunday afternoon.

100% agreed, Joe. There's no question about it. And really, there is no right nor wrong answer. There is no right or wrong reaction. You could understand the Bills using this moment to galvanize this team and to move forward and, you know, win in honor of DeMar and play and use that as an outlet. We've seen teams do that. And events like this, tragic events, can galvanize an entire community. And you've mentioned the Buffalo community and the area of western New York that's really been decimated by some very, very difficult problems. And I'm not playing like for like or trying to, you know, match the situations because they are disconnected. But

it takes me back to a few years ago when Boston suffered the difficulties and the problems that they had at the Boston Marathon and the tragedy that happened there and how that galvanized the city. And you saw members of the Bruins, Celtics and Patriots and the Red Sox rallying together to try to rally the people in the community, to get people behind their sports teams and use that as an opportunity to come together and to put all of their shared grief, all of their shared anxiety and anguish into something, that could be an opportunity for the Buffalo Bills.

But again, it's such a slippery slope, my friend, because there are arguments to be made that this is a little bit too soon to be able to move on from something like that, or that there is still a lot of heaviness in the hearts of a lot of Buffalo and Western New York residents that are dealing with a lot that don't have anything to do with the football team. So with regard to what we see on the field on Sunday, to me, I think that's anybody's guess right now. I think it might still be a little bit too early to determine how this is going to affect. We are encouraged by the limited updates that we do get on DeMar's condition. That may help to galvanize the team a little bit, give them a little positivity heading

into the weekend. But again, it's such a difficult situation and there's no blueprint to be followed. There is no roadmap. There is no crisis council that you can look at and say, okay, this is how it works. We have to follow this blueprint. You kind of have to find how it's going to go as a team. You can have people there to help you get there, but ultimately it's going to be Sean McDermott. It's going to be the, the, uh, the bills, uh, team captains, and it's going to be really the entire team coming together and deciding what's best for them. And in my opinion, if they're acting from the heart, they can't make a mistake. Yeah. And look, everybody moves at different paces, right? Everybody process things and handles things differently. And so like, I think you said it

best there. It's anyone's guess as to what this football game is going to look like, but we know that regardless, this is going to weigh heavily on everyone's minds today, tomorrow, and for the foreseeable future. Absolutely. Without any question. And it will, you know, continue to be on everybody's mind and in everybody's heart. And ultimately it's the welfare, the wellbeing of most obviously DeMar Hamlin, but it's the welfare and the wellbeing of his teammates, of his family, of everybody involved and the team, the way they're going to be able to react on the field, taking the field,

putting on that uniform, once again, knowing full well what happened the last time, it's an unenviable spot. But if there is a team with the resolve and the backbone and the strength to do it, it's the guys up in Buffalo. They've been through a lot this year. They've come through an awful lot. Like you said, the biggest question is how much is enough? How much is too much? And I think we'll we'll find out in the coming days well in just a moment mike and i are going to talk a little bit more about the actual matchup on sunday but first bet online.net it's your number one source for sports betting info stats news and analysis you can get the latest odds and trends for every professional

and amateur league out there for pro football to to college basketball, boxing, and golf. We've got it all over at betonline.net. If you love sports podcasts, you can find those as well over at BetOnline. They always have the fastest and easiest way to get your betting information. So head on over to the website today or use your mobile device to learn more. It's BetOnline, and it's where the game starts. All right, Mike, there's a football game, a big one for the New England Patriots. For as much criticism as this organization has received for their roster construction,

for their coaching staff, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, they are in a control their own destiny situation. There's only a few teams that can literally go into week 18 and say they don't need any help. And one of those teams is in New England Patriots. And so as you consider the matchups in this game that could dictate the outcome, where does your mind go? Well, obviously, I mean, if you're thinking from a New England Patriots perspective, it's

going to be how John, excuse me, Mac Jones is going to be able to react to Buffalo's defense and their ability and their pension to be able to get pressure on Mac. They've done it several times and they've done it well in the previous meetings that these two teams have had. Mac continues to struggle with the pressure from the second and third level of the defense. If he has difficulty and if his offensive line has difficulty protecting him, that could lead to a very long night or a very long afternoon in Orchard Park. So Mack has to learn to be able to react a little bit more, has to be a little bit more

decisive than we've seen him in previous games against the Bills. What the Patriots are hoping for is that we see similar production from Mack Jones that we saw in quarter one and in quarter four of the game against the Miami Dolphins. Decisive, making the pinpoint throws where he needed to, not necessarily worrying about airing it out or getting the deep ball involved, but being able to use it if it's your only option. And even going off script a little bit, he and Jacoby Myers on the touchdown had a nice read of the Miami defense realized that the play call that was going to be instituted was not going to

work those two guys recognized it and they did it so I'm definitely looking forward to seeing that matchup when these two teams do indeed take the field something else I'm looking forward to with regard to the defensive side Joe Joe, is Isaiah McKenzie has been a definite thorn in the side of the New England Patriots defense. And you look back to last year, his breakout performance in week 16, similar situation, end of the season, 11 catches, 125 yards, one touchdown in that. That stuck in the mind of Bill Belichick when he game planned for the previous meeting between these two teams earlier this year and he planned accordingly but unfortunately I think he did it to the detriment of guys like Stefan Diggs who easily beat up on the Patriots

perimeter corners but despite splitting their schemes between zone and man coverage and New England's man patterns were designed to cut Isaiah off from working in the middle of the field. And that's where I think they erred in this situation. If they're going to have success in this game, they have to realize that Jonathan Jones one-on-one and one man coverage is not going to get the job done. Josh Allen is going to be able to recognize it. And I think Isaiah McKenzie or guys that I should say, I should have Stefan Diggs, Gabe Davis. Those guys are going to be able to pick up on it. You can't worry too much about what Isaiah is going to do. And even when they tried to put my end coverage back on him, Miles Bryant struggled to do it. New England's secondary is very banged up right now.

So those are the matchups I'm watching in this game. If I'm a New England Patriots fan. Mike, we have very similar notes here for this segment here. Obviously, Patriots offense versus Bills defense is something that is going to fascinate me. They struggled big time in that first matchup, and I'm interested to see what adjustments are there from that side of things and what the Patriots will lean into to have more success offensively in a gotta have it moment. Some other things that my mind goes to is, you know, you mentioned the Bills and their ability to affect Mac Jones. And if you remember our last conversation, I talked a lot about how Mac Jones has struggled against the Blitz and something that you've acknowledged. Well, early in that game against the Patriots, the first time Buffalo played them, that first

series, the Bills were really interested in Blitzing and Mac Jones had all the answers. Part of it being the Marcus Jones touchdown reception where they caught the Bills in a Blitz and Marcus Jones doesn't need a whole lot of help with how explosive he is to get down the field. But that was an example. And that wasn't the only time. I think they blitzed him like three times all on that series and then they stopped blitzing him the rest of the game. And so the Bills blitz recipe doesn't really work against Mac Jones like other teams have been able to have success. And so I'm interested to see defensively how they mix it up and if they're willing to try to send some pressure again, which has been effective for

other teams, or if they play it a little bit more straight up and see if their front four can get home. We'll see how that goes. I'm very interested in seeing what they do with Stefan Diggs, the Patriots. Obviously, they've been very willing to live in man coverage with him, whether it's been JC Jackson throughout the years, Jonathan Jones, the the last matchup Steph Diggs kind of continues to get the better hand of those matchups and so I don't think Bill Belichick's gonna sit back and just say well let's just try it again and hope for a better result right and so that leads me into my my kind of final talking point here in this matchup segments in that what are the X factors? What's in the bag for the New England Patriots? Because like I said already, for as much as we've wanted to criticize New England,

they're right there in it. They were a playoff team last year. And Mike, I think Bill Belichick's best coaching job might've been the seven win team that he had with Cam Newton, that quarterback three years ago. Right? So it's like, okay, Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, congratulations. You win the division every year. You go to the Superbowl almost every year that we kind of got numb to that, but you can look at this three-year stretch since then and come away with some level of appreciation for what this team's been able to get done. And if you can't get there, then you're just, you're not paying attention to the results. And so what's in the bag for Bill? What does he have offensively to change the course of what's happened recently? He hadn't been able to stop

Josh Allen outside of the hurricane game, right? The Monday night game with all the wind. What does he have up his sleeve for this do or die moment for this Patriots football team I'm anxious to find out because I know there's going to be something and um there's going to be some wrinkles because I don't think I don't think status quo is working and so I'm interested in finding out what Bilicek has up his sleeve and again leaning into what I think he's been able to accomplish in these last three years is at some level of belief that he does have something up his sleeve. Well, conventional wisdom right now would be to say that if the Patriots are going to try to do anything that they can to neutralize Buffalo's vertical game and be able to neutralize what

Josh Allen does well, you might see them take a page out of what they did last week against the Miami Dolphins. Two very explosive wide receivers in Tyree Kill and in Jalen Waddell. A lot of speed, a lot of ability to make plays in the open field. What the Patriots did is they effectively used the package of four safeties consisting of Devin McCourty, Adrian Phillips, Jabril Peppers, and then of course a strong sider in Kyle Duggar. He's an Xfactor here you mentioned an x-factor in terms of defense Kyle really is able to dictate the type of game that the Patriots can have by being aggressive when you get guys like Jabril Peppers and Adrian Phillips that can come up play the hybrid linebacker position it allows you I think at that point it creates

difficulty for teams to have long sustained drives and it also tries to help take away the big play and that's something that New England was very conscious about when it came to Miami and neutralizing that it's a different animal when it comes to the to the Buffalo Bills because if you dedicate too many resources to trying to take away the big play Josh Allen is more than capable of beating you with his legs, and he's more than capable of making things happen with some of the other options that he has at his disposal. Now with a resurgent running game in Devin Singletary and also James Cook, who's been very good the last few weeks. So it's a pick your poison when it comes to the Patriots, but because

of the injuries they have in the secondary, And right now, Marcus Jones has yet to practice. He's still in concussion protocol. Jalen Mills has been out with a groin injury. Jonathan Jones was listed all last week with a chest injury. He got shaken up and had an injury scare himself on Sunday against the Dolphins. So there's a lot of banged up people in that secondary. Patriots are going to need all hands on deck and to me I think it starts with getting that type of pressure and using the

safeties to allow the linebackers guys like Josh Uche and Matt Judon to be able to get pressure and Christian Barmore up front you're looking at Duggar as the x-factor in the secondary Barmore might be the x-factor up front because if he's able to draw double teams, that's going to make things a little bit easier on the Patriots' pass rush. But again, just a very, very difficult task considering the type of lineup the Patriots may have to put out, especially in the secondary. Actually, I had one more thing in my notes here for matchups. Was that Pat's rush against the Bills' offense, which I remember our conversation last time. I was giving all the flowers to Josh Uche, right?

He goes out there and gets a couple of sacks, right? And we know how good Judon is and Varmore's back. And so they got a lot of guys up front there that allows them to play a little bit more of an aggressive style with their front, knowing that they have some guys on that D-line that can really get into the backfield and cause a lot of disruption. And so I'm anxious to see how that all shakes out on Sunday. If I could sneak one more question here regarding the Patriots and just your expectations for them offensively, you know, you kind of, I think you did a really good job of bringing up Duggar and multiple safety

packages and the front, right? The pass rushers that they have is potential X factors and neutralizers for the defense. What are you looking at offensively for New England to hope for a better result this time against Buffalo? Well, New England's offense always runs better when Mac Jones utilizes play action, can take advantage of the seam route and hit someone like a Hunter Henry, a tight end up the middle and give him the opportunity to run with the ball. When Hunter used his ability to get open in the seam route, that's something that really is a catalyst of making things happen and facilitating things around him.

Patriots running game started off very hot in this year, but they've cooled significantly as of late because I think a lot of teams are catching on to what the Patriots like to do with the run. Ramondre Stevenson had a little bit of a reduced workload, which is a good thing for him. It sounds bad, but it's not considering that he's really been their only healthy running back almost all year. And he's been on injured, you know, injury reports, you know, regularly throughout the

season. So this is a crew that is very banged up. Even with the return of Damian Harris last week, Patriots runners were only able to muster 77 yards on the ground. So what do they have to do to make up for that? They're going to try to use the short game. They're going to try to use the compact game to make things happen. And if they're going to air it out, we started to see in New England a little bit of a budding relationship

between Mac Jones and rookie Tyquan Thornton, who's a blazer. This kid can definitely get down the field and he can make things happen. Two receptions of more than 20 yards, which is a rarity for the New England Patriots. 24-yard pass from Mac in the first quarter was really, I think, one of his highlights, including a seven-yard touchdown as well. So this is something that if I'm a Bills fan, you're keeping an eye on because if New England feels like they want to try to air it out a little bit, that may be the connection that you need to pay attention to.

But ultimately, I expect most of it to be compact and try to do the best they can off of play action. Use the run to facilitate it. But if you start to see Henry get open in those seam routes, that's where Mac Jones can go to work and do his best work. Well, in just a moment, Mike and I are going to offer our prediction for the game on Sunday, but I have a prediction for you right now. It's that I'm going to eat a Bilt Bar after this podcast because these things are absolutely delicious. Perhaps you're looking for a treat, but you don't want all the fat. You don't want all the calories.

Well, you got to try Bilt Bars. You know, we just got through the holidays. Everyone wants to eat a little healthier this time of year. Check out Bilt Bars. You know, we just got through the holidays. Everyone wants to eat a little healthier this time of year. Check out Bilt Bars. They are healthy. They are tasty. The macros are just unbelievable. 130 calories, 4 grams of sugar, and a whopping 17 grams of protein.

And, you know, we've always talked about Bilt Bars, and we said you got to go to Bilt.com, which you still can't. But you can also get them at Walmart and Sam's Club. So check them out next time you're around those two stores. They're available off the shelf. No need to wait for them to come and be delivered to you, unless you still want that to be the case. But they're just as delicious as ever.

You've got to try the Puffs. They're my favorites. They're the protein-infused marshmallows. They're absolutely delicious delicious as ever. You got to try the puffs. They're my favorites. They're the protein infused marshmallows. They're absolutely delicious. Check them out. Builtbar.com or of course, Sam's Club and Walmart. Mike, I certainly appreciate you offering some extra insight there in that segment. It's been an unusual week here, obviously.

I haven't done the normal things that I do to prepare for a game. And so pulling a little bit more out of you in that I do to prepare for a game. And so, uh, pulling a little bit more out of you, uh, in that matchup segment was appreciated by me. And I know the listeners, uh, from at least the bill side of things, but we got to do a prediction. And we talked about at the beginning of this podcast expectations of what level of performance you're going to get from the bills is, is challenging to predict. So I wanted to put that blanket statement out there as we do our best right now to predict the outcome on Sunday afternoon. I'll allow you to go first, my friend.

Okay. Well, thank you, my friend, and thank you for the kind words. I do appreciate that. It's my honor, and it's always my honor to join you here on these crossovers. And, again, wish it was under slightly different circumstances. I think we all do. But we always try to make the most of these whenever we can. So once again, thank you for that.

In terms of this game and how it unfolds, I think that this is going to be a close game regardless of the circumstances. I think Buffalo is going to be highly emotional. I think that could work to their advantage. Again, we talked about the possibility of that going the opposite way, but this is a resilient team. This is a battle-tested team that has been through an awful lot, and the resolve that they've shown, to me, has to count for something here. We can talk about all the X's, all the O's, crossing all the T's, dotting all the I's. But at the same time, there has to be a heart and soul to a championship caliber football team.

You see that in the Buffalo Bills. That being said, the New England Patriots are a prideful team as well. And I know they're going to come in here with every, or I should say come into Archer Park with every intention of trying to take it to the Bills, get the victory, and earn a playoff spot. They're essentially playing for their playoff future. So based on that, again, I look for Mac Jones to try to utilize the short areas of the field, but he's going to need some reliable targets downfield as well to spread the wealth around. You can't lock in on Jacoby Myers the way he's been doing. You can't necessarily lock in on Hunter Henry in the seam routes, even though I was very vocal about that in the previous segment. Someone has to emerge, and I think that person could be Tyquan Thornton. On the defensive

side of the ball, the Patriots have to force turnovers. They've been excellent at doing so. They've been excellent at scoring points off of turnovers. So because of that, that's something that if I'm a Bills fan, I'm looking at. Are the Patriots getting after? Are they forcing fumbles? Are they intercepting? Obviously, everybody's going to know if they run back another interception for a touchdown. But at the same time, that's the key to New England's catalyst. That's the catalyst for New England.

And that's the key to them earning a victory is can they force turnovers on the opponent's offensive side of the ball by utilizing their defense, which has a notion for that. If they can do it, the Patriots have a punter's chance in this one. There's no question about it, but if they struggle on both sides the way we saw them struggle in the previous matchup, then you're probably going to see a similar result as we saw back in early December. So that's my game prediction. I think that the New England Patriots definitely have a puncher's chance in this one. But Resolve says if this game's played on paper the way it should be, then the Bills come out with a victory.

But do not count that team out in Foxborough. They're playing for a lot as well. Yeah, they certainly are. The Bills obviously have locked up some things, the division, of course, and we don't know what the league is going to enough, but the bottom line is there's still a lot to play for, for this Buffalo Bills football team. And, and, um, I think a lot about the culture and the foundation that's been established in Buffalo since Sean McDermott and Brandon Bean took over this operation in 2017. And there's been a lot of intentionality about the people that they brought into the organization and, um, to be able to respond when there's adversity.

And again, I have no idea what to expect from this Bills football team, but I'm inclined to believe to some degree that it will be a rallying opportunity and that the best way that they can honor DeMar Hamlin is to go out and play at a high level and try to do their best to focus and win a football game. And football is important to these guys, right? They know what they want to get done this year. We know what the expectations have been. And it's hard to go down this route, Mike. It's hard to even talk about it.

But you'd like to think that they believe that everything is still right there in front of them, right? And they can go out and put their best foot forward. I don't know. I don't know if they can. I have no idea. But I'm going to lean into that being true. I don't think when you look at the last several matchups between the Bills and Patriots,

like you said, kind of on paper, kind of looking at those results, it hasn't felt close. And I mean, maybe this time is different around. And maybe I'll eat my words, but I am expecting 27 to 13 bills on Sunday afternoon. Yeah, I mean, you know, and there is definitely an argument to be made for that as well. Like I said, on paper, if these two teams come in and play the way they should and play the way they're trained to, then you probably are going to see a result very similar to that. With the Patriots' backs against the proverbial wall, my New England born and bred nature

prevents me from being able to predict against them this time around. So I'm going to go with the Patriots winning a tight one here. I'm going to go with them winning 24 to 21. But again, this is going to be an emotional day, I think, for everybody involved. Definitely an emotional day in Buffalo, in Orchard Park, at Highmark Stadium. So, you know, you pray for a great game from everybody. You pray for everyone to come through this healthy. But our thoughts, our prayers at Locked On Patriots continue and will remain as such for quite a long time with DeMar Hamlin and his family.

And I want to give a special thank you to some of your great listeners on Locked On Bills. I received a few very heartwarming messages from some of the Locked On Bills viewers and listeners about some of the words that I had for Damar yesterday. I thank each and every one of you for that. That meant the world to me. It touched me very deeply. I just tried to speak from the heart and that's exactly what I did. So there's no need to thank me for my sentiment. I

just, I lend my feelings and I lend my support to all of you. And to tell you that, I give you a tip of the cap because you're handling this with tremendous class and not tremendous poise. So at the end of the day, that really is all that matters. Mike, certainly appreciate you saying those words. And Hey, listen, we did this three times last year. Maybe we'll do it three times again this year. There's, there's a pretty clear path to that happening. So maybe we will continue to set the, the record for most crossover game discussions in a season, right? Three's the most you can have.

So maybe we'll do it once again here this year and tie our own record that we set last season. So I hope everyone enjoyed our conversation today and can appreciate the challenges that come with balancing the DeMar Hamlin situation with the inevitable football game that appears to happen. That's going to happen on Sunday. And it's certainly a challenging spot for us to be in here to navigate that conversation. But we do appreciate you joining us for the ride. We do appreciate you making Locked On Patriots and Locked On Bills your first listen every day.

There's tons of great podcasts on the network. So be sure to check them out. As always, we do kindly ask that you share, subscribe, rate, and review. And we look forward to catching up with you again next time.