Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Defense Meets Its Match in Versatile Cincinnati Bengals Offense? — Crossover Thursday

Starting point is 00:00:00 You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Bengals fans and Patriots fans, thank you for taking time out of your day to join us here on Crossover Thursday, another episode of the Crossover Thursdays here on the Locked On Podcast Network. I'm your host, Mike DeBate of Locked On Patriots, joined, of course, by Jake Liskow and James Rapine of Locked On Bengals. It is always my honor, always my privilege to join these two gentlemen on the microphone. And of course, folks, remember today's episode, Crossover Thursday episodes,

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Starting point is 00:01:31 That's prizepix.com, promo code LOCKEDON. Pats fans and Bengals fans, it is time for a crossover. We're crossing the streams here on Locked On Podcast Network. And, of course, in anticipation of a Christmas Eve matchup at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, the 7-7 New England Patriots hosting the 10-4 reigning AFC champs, Cincinnati Bengals. And this is one that Patriots fans have circled for a while.

Starting point is 00:01:59 Gentlemen, I leave it to you. The Cincinnati Bengals and the Patriots have kind of reversed roles since the last time these two teams played. You can make the argument in 2019 that the Bengals had already started to rise and the Patriots were starting to decline a little bit, but at the same time, how the tables have turned. The Bengals, one of the class acts, one of the top teams in the AFC, the Patriots right now treading water. From a Bengals perspective, what are some of the big storylines coming out of Cincinnati heading into this matchup? It's all about the number one seed, Mike, and that's where Bengals fans are.

Starting point is 00:02:37 I think that's where the Lockdown Bengals podcast is, and that's where the Bengals are. They won't say it like that. I think they're thinking afc north division championship first but you better believe the players in that locker room are are paying attention to the standings and they know if they went out they control their own destiny to the two seed and they need the chiefs to drop one and if the chiefs drop one and they win their next three they'll get that one seed so that is is the big story. Can they keep this run going? They've

Starting point is 00:03:05 won six straight. They're eight and two since Joe, or 10 and two, excuse me, since Joe Burrow told everybody to relax when they started O and two and Burrow wasn't looking like himself coming off of that appendectomy. And so they've appeared to turn a major corner and vault themselves, like you said, into the AFC's elite. Now can they get all the way over the hump and get the one seed? I think that is the number one storyline going into this game. And it's certainly something we've talked about a lot in past weeks and certainly this week going into Saturday. Yeah, without question.

Starting point is 00:03:40 I know the New England Patriots right now are in the same boat in terms of looking at the playoffs, but they're on the outside looking in. And right now, the big story coming out of New England is not just what the hell were they thinking on that last play against the Raiders. We're still trying to figure that out. I don't think we'll ever figure that out here in New England. But seriously, they are trying right now to cling to very, very slim, very, very precarious playoff hopes for the Patriots right now. Just a bad outing in all three phases. The defense looked pretty solid in the second half with the exception of the final two drives. So if New England is to have success against right now a Bengals team that looks solid in every phase that you can imagine, they need to learn how to leverage their strengths and they need to learn how to put points on the board.

Starting point is 00:04:29 It sounds weird to say that for a team competing for a playoff spot in Week 16, that they're having difficulty putting points on the board. But that's where we are here in New England. That shows you how dominant their defense has been and how they've been able to get some special teams assistance as well. But really, it's the defense that's carried this team throughout the season. And I look for that to be the case on Saturday, too, if they look to be competitive. Yeah, that's one thing that we've talked about on the Locked On Bengals podcast this week coming into the game, as we've had very sparing conversation about this game so far. But you start to look ahead, of course, a little bit early in the week.

Starting point is 00:05:03 And it reminds us, James and I both, I think, of the Bengals' matchup late in the season last year with the Denver Broncos, who had a defense that was great, and they still do, but they couldn't score points. And maybe it's not quite that extreme in New England. Maybe it is. You tell me. We'll talk about that, I'm sure, as the show goes on but that's a really really good defense for the Patriots you go back to that game the Bengals played against the Broncos last year they had a very conservative game plan which essentially said

Starting point is 00:05:35 we're going to get to the double digits and we're not worried about your offense you know it would be great if we could score a little bit more but we're going to take care of the football and we don't have any concern that you're going to outscore us when you need to, that you can play from behind. And it wouldn't surprise me if there's a similar idea in this game. I think maybe with a loftier expectation for the offense, given the way they've played lately, but this is probably the best defense they'll have seen so far this year. And I know there's no individual, you know, TJ Watt, Miles Garrett type edge rusher, but Josh Uchi and blanking former Raven defensive end. Help me with the name.

Starting point is 00:06:18 Matthew Judon. Thank you, Matthew Judon. Both very good players at the edge. So some challenges there still too. And in that regard, there's a test for the Bengals in terms of a bigger defensive test than they've seen a lot this year. So it'll be interesting to see how the game plays out from a game plan perspective as both of these teams

Starting point is 00:06:41 try to find their way to a win to help their playoff hopes. Yeah, without question, the New England Patriots right now, again, are having difficulty scoring points. And to answer your question, Jake, I don't necessarily know if you exaggerated it or maybe even understated it. I think there's probably a little bit of both when it comes to the problems that the Patriots have had, but their ability to fix them. They've been on the cusp of having some success offensively when they utilize play action, when they utilize the play action pass, which is generally done where they'll pull the guard, they'll utilize the gap run concept. This is what the New England Patriots do well when they run the

Starting point is 00:07:21 ball, and that opens things up in the passing game for some of the play action that you'll see but they've done that very sparingly extremely sparingly and it's a little bit of a head scratcher uh to determine why they shy away from that so much so that's going to be the determination is can the New England Patriots make adjustments in order to be able to put points on the board or at least put themselves in a position where they're getting into the red zone regularly and trying to put pressure on Cincinnati's defense. Not an easy task, but that's where the Patriots are going to have to win it. If they're going to be successful in this game overall, though, I think their key to victory is going to be utilizing points off turnovers, points off of miscues.

Starting point is 00:08:02 If there's one area where the Patriots have excelled this year, it's scoring off of turnovers, especially on defense. They come into this game having scored 91 points off of defense, one of the best teams in the league at being able to do that. I should say off of turnovers. And those are non-offensive points. So that's something that is very big for the Pats. If they can shore that up and

Starting point is 00:08:26 they can create some difficulty, they may have a puncher's chance in this one, but you know, that's why they play the games on the field, not on paper. Yeah. Yeah. I think that that's the story. If you tell me Joe Burrell has two turnovers or the Bengals have three turnovers and are minus two in the turnover department. Well, then I'm like, oh, well, the Patriots have a shot, you know, especially when the when matters momentum wise, especially early in the game. And if the Bengals can get off to a quick start and not have those turnovers and just not beat themselves, I think this can be one of those boring games where they just kind of coast and you know not that it will be easy but if they don't beat themselves i think it makes it that much tougher

Starting point is 00:09:10 on the patriots to score enough points to win the game even with a great defense so i do agree that that's a huge storyline is that two straight games for the patriots that did i see that right with defensive touchdowns the last two weeks yes absolutely and kyle duggar was the one that ended up having to uh you know kind of spark the patriots uh and it really did it sparked a 21 point run that was unanswered by the las vegas raiders of course we're not going to talk about the last few series that's a little bit of a painful thing to talk about here in foxborough although i know you guys are going to try to prod that out of me in the next segment, and we will go ahead and do that, I'm sure. But yes, you're absolutely right on that. And again, if this team is to win, the formula is to use your defense to be able to do it. And it's not going to be easy to do

Starting point is 00:09:53 against a Cincinnati offense that right now is clicking on so many cylinders, clicking so well, and really has so many ways to beat you. You're right. It's going to be tough. It's going to be tough for them to potentially shut down this offense. And let's go there next. Let's talk about key matchups, whether it's Burrow, Belichick. I think that that's a fun matchup that we should maybe start with. We'll do that next right here on Locked On Crossover Thursday.

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Starting point is 00:11:07 or catch the full series wherever you get your podcasts. They're available now. Audible, get in the game. Let's dive into those key matchups and let's start with it. Burrow Belichick. It might not have the same ring as it would have a few years ago with Brady in the mix, but I still think it's mighty, mighty interesting.

Starting point is 00:11:28 You have this dropback passer, this guy who some call the next Brady, some call the next Manning. We know how Belichick started against Peyton Manning, the 0-6, or 6-0. Manning was 0-6, I think, in his first six against Belichick. I wonder if he can dial it up here. Still has a really talented defense. How realistic is it, Mike? And what do you think he's going to try to do? Because it isn't just Burrow. It's Chase. It's Higgins. It's Boyd. It's the ground game. It's Hurst, who I think is going

Starting point is 00:11:57 to play on Saturday. I mean, they have a lot of weapons. You absolutely nailed it, James. I mean, the Patriots have their hands full with trying to keep all of the weapons that Cincinnati has at the ready. I mean, you talk about passing game, we'll start there first. Jamar Chase, one of the best receivers in the game without question. And he leads the team 71 catches, 881 yards, eight touchdowns. And that's after missing more than a month. That's incredible. And that really says a lot about the relationship that he has with Burrow and the real synergy

Starting point is 00:12:27 that these guys can put out there on the field. But that doesn't end there. You've got Tee Higgins, like you said, really emerged as the go-to guy when Chase was out. 65 grabs, 894 yards, six touchdowns for him. So this is not a situation where the Patriots can take any time off on the perimeter. In the slot, Taylor Boyd's been solid. So the Patriots have to learn to be able to contain him. Also, you're looking at tight end Hayden Hurst.

Starting point is 00:12:52 And the Patriots have typically had some difficulty defending tight ends when there's some deficiencies in the secondary. Jabril Peppers, Adrian Phillips have provided good coverage there but if they're a breakdown like we saw against the raiders last sunday guy like darren waller can definitely break the end zone and get what they need to get done so this is going to be an interesting part of the patriots game if belichick is going to have any success against joe burrow you have to try to attack him at his heel and this is a very minor achilles' heel because he does it well, but Burrow has a tendency to hold the ball a little bit. If the Patriots can keep pressure on him with Uche and with Judon, that's really, I think, their only shot right now because their secondary is extremely banged up.

Starting point is 00:13:38 Jalen Mills is looking like he's not going to go with a groin injury, missed the last two days of practice. Jack Jones has been on the shelf. He didn't play last week, and that's going to be a problem for the Patriots secondary as well. Jonathan Jones popped up on Wednesday's injury report as well with a chest injury. That's three players that have slugged serious starting time for the Patriots in the secondary. It's a lot to put on the young shoulders of Marcus Jones, who's their only healthy starting option right now. So to me, I think that's the matchup of this game. Yeah, I think that the way that the Patriots' corners play is going to be an interesting thing to watch as well,

Starting point is 00:14:15 how the Bengals are preparing for that. We've seen with this team that really physical play, catch technique corners in particular, can kind of bait the Bengals young wide receivers in particular Jamar Chase into getting into a little bit of a fight instead of just going out there and trying to get through the contact and get into the route we saw this a little bit with the way that last week's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was officiated and you know that when you get that catch technique and Jalen Mansey did this in the Super Bowl too didn't always work for

Starting point is 00:14:43 him it can frustrate these guys a little bit. So it'll be interesting to see if the Patriots corners deploy any of that and how they choose to match up with these guys. Because when it's a Belichick defense, you just have the confidence that they're going to come out with a doctored approach, right? That's going to be specific to the weaknesses or perceived weaknesses or ways that Belichick thinks that they can get after the Bengals on offense.

Starting point is 00:15:07 And that trench matchup is especially interesting to me with Judon and Uche. Both of those guys, I think, could present their individual problems to Lael Collins, who has honestly been getting a little bit worse coming out of the bye. Like he was better with a little bit of rest. And then without the rest, the pass protection has been wanting a little bit for the Bengals first year in their system right tackle he's been dealing with various nagging injuries this year and my question for you about those edge guys is do they generally play sides or is that something where Uche is going to move around to try to find the matchup that they think is going to be best for him and

Starting point is 00:15:44 Judon's going to pick the other side or go against a matchup that'll be better for him. Yeah, the Patriots have really been versatile in that regard and Uche is somebody that can play in so many different formations with the Patriots that they're not limited to sides and Judon is basically the same way. That is very adaptable to being able to adjust to either side, whereas Uche kind of runs off a feel. But both of these guys are versatile enough to be able to play on either side. So that's what makes them such a difficult cover is you can't determine where they're going to align on the field at any given moment. Yeah, they do. They have their tendencies.

Starting point is 00:16:18 Uche sometimes likes to go to the right a little bit more, leaving Matt Judon a little more on the left. Sometimes you get Matt Judon that wants to play on the right, and you see Uche switch over. But most of the time, these guys are fluid in motion, and it's led to a lot of success. The thing that I also want to highlight, too, is the presence of Christian Barmore back in that defensive front is taking some of the offensive double team

Starting point is 00:16:40 that we didn't see guys getting early on when Barmore was out of the lineup. Lauren Dodge, Devon Godshaw were taking some of that a little bit. Even Dietrich Wise was getting in there a little and getting away from being a pass rush specialist. Farmore back in the lineup now allows Wise to be freed up. So now you've got three guys that can rush the quarterback and put pressure. So again, it's a real, it's going

Starting point is 00:17:05 to be vital for the Patriots to try to utilize that. The question is, can they get the job done against Cincinnati Bengals offensive line that is light years improved from the last time these two teams faced off? Let's switch gears. Let's talk a little bit about this, this Patriots offense versus the Bengals defense. And look on paper, you'd say, all right, Bengals offense, Patriots defense. That's a pretty interesting matchup. It could be pretty close. Flip it. This Bengals defense is playing really well.

Starting point is 00:17:34 We know the Patriots offense has its issues. But they can run the ball, Mike. And I think that the Bengals, they have been better against the run. But if you told me the one thing that the Bengals have to stop, it is this ground game. So I think that that's the matchup to talk about. Of course, we could talk about Mack Jones and receivers versus the Bengals, secondary, all of those things. But you need to stop that Patriots rushing attack first and foremost.

Starting point is 00:17:59 Yeah, without question. You're absolutely right. And the running game right now for the Patriots is exactly how they're sparking that offense from Andre Stevenson save for the beginning of that lunatic lateral that happened at the end of the game uh taking that aside he had a masterful game 172 yards on the ground he had to go ahead 34 yard touchdown that really should have been a game winner if the Patriots had held ground and were able to hold the lead. That's where the Patriots are going to have to try to attack. But Cincinnati, again,

Starting point is 00:18:31 like you said, a much improved run defense, 109.6 yards, according to my notes, per game on the ground. Eighth in the league is what they're allowing, 4.2 yards per carry. So between DJ Reeder and BJ Hill, those guys are space eaters. And that's something that could cause problems for Ramondre Stevenson. If he's trying to break out, they may need to utilize him a little more out of the backfield with short screens to try to get Ramondre in open space and get the chance to get some yards after the catch. Running straight forward, maybe a little bit of a problem on this team. So if that's the case, then you got to put the ball into the hands of Mac Jones. And that has not been a consistent thing for the New

Starting point is 00:19:10 England Patriots this season. He's had moments where he's looked good. I mean, he had a great game against the Minnesota Vikings on Thanksgiving, well over 300 yards passing, was hitting his targets, looked like someone that was comfortable and finding his rhythm and since that time he hasn't looked comfortable he hasn't looked like he's in his rhythm and really one of his worst statistical games of his career he's coming off of against the Raiders so it's going to be a tale of two max which is going to show up on Christmas Eve at Foxborough and I think one thing that again you can take away from theals' most recent game against the Buccaneers is Bucs' breakout play action. For the heaviest usage that they've probably gone all year in the first half to get away from it in the second half, Dan Orlowski tweeting out the stat today, 22 out of the 23 under center snaps for the Patriots last week were running plays.

Starting point is 00:20:00 So is that a tendency that this offense is willing to break and try to catch the Bengals playing the run and playing that tendency? This was an issue the Bengals had earlier this year before they married up their running game in the passing game and went to be a much more heavy shotgun team, almost exclusively a shotgun team as the season has gone on and they developed the offense. But we'll see how the game plays out this weekend, of course. And we've got predictions to get to as well. So we'll wrap up the show there in a minute. But first a word from bet online, bet online is your number one source for all things, sports betting info, stats, news analysis. You can get the latest odds and trends for every professional and amateur league out there. So

Starting point is 00:20:44 maybe if you're a Patriots fan, you want to wager on the Patriots to not only win Saturday, but make the playoffs. You can do that. You could wager Bengals fans on Burrow winning MVP or the Bengals winning the AFC North or well, finishing the job and winning the big one this year, all in one spot. And it's not just NFL. Like I said, NBA in full swing right now, college football, bowl games, college basketball, and so much more. I've used BetOnline. It's the fastest and easiest way to wager on all your favorite sports. So don't delay. Sign up for free today at BetOnline, where the game starts. Did you know that driving under the influence of marijuana is illegal?

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Starting point is 00:21:59 on the pod on Crossover Thursday. We've crossed the streams up and down every which way. That's going to lead to Route 1 in Foxborough, Massachusetts on Saturday afternoon, a Christmas Eve matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and the New England Patriots. 1 p.m. Eastern kickoff from Gillette Stadium. Gentlemen, we've arrived at that time. The Cincinnati Bengals obviously tend to be well on their way to getting into the playoffs. As you said earlier, James, it's all about trying to lock up that one seed.

Starting point is 00:22:29 For the New England Patriots, it's 7-7. On the outside looking in, it's about three very difficult matchups they have coming up. And this Christmas Eve matchup may be the toughest of the three for the Patriots because of the uncertainty, the unfamiliarity with the team, and just the way these two teams match up. It's a nightmarish type of matchup for New England, especially with banged up secondary members. So being that the Patriots are going to be at home, I leave it to you gentlemen to talk first. Which do you believe will happen? Are the Bengals going to hold court and show the New England Patriots that it's been a while since they've been a dominant team in the National Football League, at least in the AFC,

Starting point is 00:23:10 or can the Patriots pull the upset? Your game predictions for this Saturday. They can. They certainly can. And my first thing, this is going to be a tough game. This is going to be a really hard game for the Bengals. And yet I think that they're mature enough, disciplined enough, and a smart enough team to where they're not going to go on the road and beat themselves. And for years and years and years, that's how the Patriots have won. Now, you can say all these negative things about them and they're still seven and seven. And I that isn't the the the recipe of new england that's not the standard i get all of those things i get it patriot way i'm a big brady fan i get how it's been seven and seven still pretty darn good especially with a team that's clearly

Starting point is 00:23:55 flawed and so i think that this is going to be a tough game but i just think that this bengals team the way they're playing on offense they may may have a turnover. They're not going to have three or four turnovers. They may have a mess up. They're not going to have all of the mess ups that it's going to take to make this a game where the Patriots, you look up and they're winning 13 to 10 and they get a sack fumble and can put the game away or something like that. So I think it's going to be hard. I don't think it's going to be pretty, even though the Patriots have their injuries and the Bengals are, they're going to be without Sam Hubbard, but they should have most of their defenders back in the lineup. Hayden Hurst should play.

Starting point is 00:24:30 So I'm going to take the Bengals, a close one, a one score game, but they go on the road and they handle business 20 to 13, something in that range. It could be 23, 16. They don't, it's not a firework show. Jamar Chase isn't going to gritty all over the place, but they're also not going to let the Patriots defense run into the end zone four times and celebrate turnovers. I think that's going to be the difference. While I think that Burrow might get

Starting point is 00:24:59 sacked a couple of times, they overcome it and they're able to get a tough hard-fought road win on Saturday. I really like that Patriots defense. I'm excited to see how that plays out. People that listen to Locked on Bengals know that I don't do predictions, but really excited to see the chess match when it's a Bill Belichick defense against the Joe Burrow, Zach Taylor, Brian Callahan offense. The answers that they try to deploy for the secondary or in the secondary for the Bengals wide receivers. And Mac Jones talked about this in his presser. Both of these defenses, very multiple.

Starting point is 00:25:33 And he's talked about, you know, you have a lot to prepare for because the Bengals do a lot of things. But our defense is right up there, too. They're similar in that way. And Joe Burrows had the same experience on the other side they're both used to playing against these relatively versatile scheme diverse defenses in practices going back to training camp especially and so the Bengals have been a team that's had to adapt a lot this year and even within games we've seen often they'll have these halves like they had against Tampa and then they'll come out in the second half or toward the end of the second seen often they'll have these halves like they had against Tampa and then they'll come out in the second half or toward the end of the second quarter and they'll adjust things and

Starting point is 00:26:09 and kind of tilt the matchups more toward their favor we've seen that against the Saints we saw that against the Buccaneers last week in terms of their ability to make changes in the game so those are always fun things to me for me to watch and I know that's not a prediction but that's something that I'm very excited for, especially when the Bengals have the ball on offense this week. Yeah, I think our listeners here at Locked On Patriots definitely just got a first. You guys being a little bit more positive about the Patriots than I've been all week. Listen, there's still a bitter taste in the mouth of a lot of people up here. And don't kid yourself, gentlemen, this is coming from someone that was labeled as the biggest Patriots owner on the face of the earth of a lot of people up here. And don't kid yourself, gentlemen. This is coming from someone that was labeled

Starting point is 00:26:45 as the biggest Patriots owner on the face of the earth, really kind of giving some vitriol this week with regard to some of the things that we've seen and some of the difficulties that the Patriots have had, especially on the offensive side of the ball and a couple of special teams breakdowns as well. But I agree with both of you. I think that this is going to be a very tight game.

Starting point is 00:27:04 The Patriots are playing for a lot of pride, and Bill Belichick prides his team on going out and giving their best effort each and every night. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but they're getting that team motivated, and the team is speaking in a manner that leads me to believe that they're taking this matchup extremely seriously, and they're going to put their best foot forward. That being said, I think, James, you hit the nail on the head when you talked about turnovers. The Bengals are not a team that is going to beat themselves with multiple turnovers. And as much as the Patriots are going to try to enhance and increase their abilities to put points on the board,

Starting point is 00:27:42 I think it's going to be very difficult for them to do that. Even with, you know, like you said, Hubbard being out, I still think that the Bengals are savvy and smart enough to be able to employ those strategic blitzes from the second and third level of the defense that have caused Mac Jones some headaches. And right now, the offensive tackles, especially for the Patriots, have struggled to protect him. If that continues and Matt continues to be under duress, then the Patriots are really going to have problems putting points on the board because that's going to allow Cincinnati's defense to zero in on Ramondre Stevenson. Joe Burrow, I think, will be able to find some success against this secondary. I think the Bengals take this. I think it's going to be a close one because I think the Patriots

Starting point is 00:28:23 will give them all they can handle, but at the end of the day, it's just too many weapons on both sides of the ball for Cincinnati. They're the team that's on the rise, and I think they prove it this weekend. Let me ask you one more question, Mike. One of the bigger issues for Joe Burrow in recent weeks has been batted passes being intercepted by opponent defenses. This has been a big story for Bengals fans. I maintain that it's largely a matter of luck what happens after the pass is batted in the air. But teams have been keying in on this and trying to get into passing lanes, especially over the middle of the field, especially in the quick game.

Starting point is 00:28:55 Last week, we saw it on an RPO in particular that led to an interception. How are the Patriots in this regard? I just took a quick glance at the PFF charting. It doesn't look like there are a ton of batted passes to their credit would you say that this is something that they can do well i would probably say they have the ability to do it because of the athleticism and because of the field savvy that they have at the position would not be a bit surprised to see the patriots go very heavy in the middle of the field to try to combat that i think that's a very good point that you make jake and if they do they will try to utilize guys like us the field to try to combat that. I think that's a very good point that you make, Jake. And if they do, they will try to utilize guys like Usha. They will try to

Starting point is 00:29:28 utilize guys like Judon in their ears back. But that's where someone like Juwan Bentley becomes a very, very pertinent member of this defense because there's a guy that can move around the entire field from sideline to sideline and really cause some difficulty in the middle part he is essentially taking over the dante hightower role that hightower had up here for a number of years so if the pats are going to have success there he's going to be the guy to do it i think they have the chance to do it but you're right pff's uh you know rating i did take a look at that as well does not show a whole lot in terms of batted passes uh my guess is that bill belichick is going to have them working on that this week but we'll see if that ends up coming

Starting point is 00:30:10 to fruition but i think that's an excellent point just uh that's interesting that's such a no it's all right it's just that's such a big topic like last last week bengals twitter melted down when a safety came up second level and it made a nice play. Keanu Neal did. And it's like, oh, these defensive lines wasn't a defensive lineman, but it's such a topic. And even during the six game win streak, we've seen it. So that's certainly something, especially early that the Bengals don't want. If they can get off to a quick start.

Starting point is 00:30:42 I feel like we're saying this every week now, Jake, but it matters so much. You're ever catching it in the YouTube comments for it, too. By the way, I don't care, YouTube commenters, because guess what? Hey, Mike, if the Bengals get out to a 17-0 lead, are the Patriots' offense, is that capable? Are they capable of rallying? The way they're currently constituted, no. No, they're not. It pains me to say this. If they get down very early like that, then yeah, this Patriots offense is just not built to come behind. It isn't. I don't think they'll do that, by the way. I don't think that's how the game's going to play out.

Starting point is 00:31:16 Point being, there's a reason we say that. You get off to a good start. You don't have to chase and get behind against a team that wants you to be down, run the ball, and hit your quarterback at the end. Especially the last two weeks, teams like Tampa Bay and New England, where if they're quarterbacks, and no disrespect to Tom Brady, we all know what he's done in his career. If those quarterbacks are drop-back passers this year, things aren't always going to go very well.

Starting point is 00:31:41 And the Bengals are pretty well situated to deal with that as well. So it's going gonna be an interesting one and I'm excited for it I mean regardless of what's happened with the Patriots this year Mike Bill Belichick has my utmost respect I love watching his press conferences when when the Patriots play the Bengals because it always starts with Bill Belichick talking up Mike Brown and the Brown family now that Mike Brown's family is involved and Paul Brown and talking up the opponent. He's always very complimentary, so that was a highlight of my week as well.

Starting point is 00:32:15 But regardless, we'll be with you here on the Lockdown Podcast Network on Lockdown Patriots and Lockdown Bengals with your postgame reactions, analysis, and a pregame show before we get to the game on Saturday, of course, as well. So make sure you check those out. And thanks for listening to the Locked On Podcast Crossover Edition this week.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Defense Meets Its Match in Versatile Cincinnati Bengals Offense? — Crossover Thursday

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