Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots: Jonathan Jones Ankle Injury? Importance of Henry/Gesicki, Thoughts on Dolphins

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. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful. Welcome to the Lockdown Patriots podcast. We're a proud part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Subscribe or follow for free on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts to get the latest episode as soon as it's available. I'm your host, Mike DeBate, and I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated.

Starting point is 00:00:46 So reach out to me and let me know what's on your mind on Twitter, on the Bird app, on X, whatever you happen to be calling it these days at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L. And as long as you're showing some social media love to Lockdown Patriots, please follow our account as well at L-O underscore Patriots. And Pats fans, today's episode is brought to you by Jace Medical. Empower yourself when you purchase a Jace case, providing you with

Starting point is 00:01:10 a personal supply of five antibiotics that treat 50 plus infections. Get yours today at JaceMedical.com. That's J-A-S-E Medical.com. And Pats fans, as always, thank you for joining me here today and for making us your first listen every day. And as always, a special shout out to all of you Locked On everydayers out there, all of you Locked On loyalists that make Locked On Patriots possible. You take time out of your day to spend time with us here on the pod. I'm always honored and always humbled by your support. And week one is in the books. The Patriots have totally turned their attention to the Miami Dolphins in an 8.20 p.m. kickoff this Sunday night at Gillette Stadium.

Starting point is 00:01:51 Throwback Sunday night as they welcome the Miami Dolphins to town. And the Patriots trying to get into the win column for the first time in 2023. And that is not going to be so easy. Even though the Pat Patriot and the Red Throwbacks are going to be making an appearance, Patriots are a little banged up right now. And the injury report the last two days, folks, just hasn't been pretty. There's no sugarcoating it. Trent Brown, City So, missed their second straight practice while in concussion protocol.

Starting point is 00:02:20 Not looking good for either Trent or City to suit up in this game. And that's definitely a problem for the Patriots you already have Michael Luenu nursing the ankle injury Cole Strange still trying to work his way back from the knee injury David Andrews once again on the injured list the New England Patriots offensive line is definitely banged up but that may not be the most disturbing factor in the New England Patriots stable of injuries right now. Because on Thursday, a name surfaced on the injury report that should raise some eyebrows. We're talking about the guy that mostly everyone in Patriots Nation right now expects to either contain or marginally disrupt.

Starting point is 00:02:57 Speedy Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill. And that man is cornerback Jonathan Jones. Jonathan listed with an ankle injury as a limited participant. He didn't miss practice but this bears monitoring because any time an athlete suddenly appears on an injury report when they weren't listed the day before usually means that an injury happened during practice. Hopefully Jonathan will be able to work it out and it won't be serious but his practice participation on Friday and the status with which he's listed for the game is going to be very interesting and very telltale as to whether

Starting point is 00:03:31 or not the New England Patriots are going to be able to use Jonathan to defend against Tyreek Hill and unfortunately he may be their best option he may be their only option of hoping to contain Tyreek because right now, as we talked about yesterday here on Locked On Patriots with Kyle Krebs from Locked On Dolphins in our crossover episode, Tyreek Hill is playing at a remarkably high level. If I'm being honest, he might just be the most difficult receiver to cover right now in the NFL. Had 11 catches for 215 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Starting point is 00:04:06 And this guy is lightning with the ball in his hands and even playing away from the ball. But if you're the New England Patriots, you look at recent history, and all of a sudden it doesn't look so bad against Tyreek Hill. We all remember the October 2018 game where he torched the Patriots for 142 yards and three touchdowns. That was as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs. Since joining the Dolphins, Patriots haven't let Tyreek find the end zone. Two games, week one, week 17, 149 yards on 12 catches. And if we're talking about where Tyreek was at his best, it was definitely in week one. 94 yards receiving did it mostly against the Patriots' zone defense,

Starting point is 00:04:43 although Jonathan did get some time covering him as well in week 17 Patriots held them to only 55 yards and they actually took a little bit of a different approach to what Tiger Vailoa and Tyreek Hill are two of the best in the game in terms of quarterback and receiver that can absolutely decimate single high coverage again as Kyle and I talked about yesterday the New England Patriots love single high coverage. Again, as Kyle and I talked about yesterday, the New England Patriots love single high coverage. The problem is, so do Tua and Tyreek. So if you're the New England Patriots, you don't really want to go that route this week. What you want to do is take a page out of what you did last year in week 17. If he's healthy, Jonathan Jones is still your best option to put on Tyreek. But what you also want to do is use some split safeties. The Patriots did that very well last year, and again, they held Tyreek to only 55 yards receiving.

Starting point is 00:05:30 But even if you want to take the split safety approach, whether it be Kyle Duggar or whether it be Jalen Mills, maybe Adrian Phillips gets into the mix, Jabril Peppers would look nice in that alignment. The key element in being able to marginally disrupt Hill's rhythm is Jonathan Jones. Don't forget that since he took the reins in Miami and even back to his days in San Francisco, Mike McDaniel's scheme heavily relies on zone blocking, stretch runs, play action passes, and even a few naked bootlegs thrown in there. Jones is the only one in that secondary right now that has both the speed and the physicality have any realistic attempt at slowing down Tyree Kill. If he's not able to go, all of a

Starting point is 00:06:06 sudden the Patriots now have to turn their attention to potentially Miles Bryant. Maybe Marcus Jones steps up and plays a little on the perimeter. Jalen Mills could step in and play corner. We know he played perimeter corner last year, or the mission might be for the rookie, Christian Gonzalez, should he choose to accept it. Folks, any way you it jonathan jones not being a part of this secondary on sunday night is not a good thing for the new england patriots i would definitely keep a close eye on this one and hopefully we'll see jonathan suit up if he doesn't patriots will be testing that next man up theory very prominently it's going to take a big effort to slow down tyree kill and oh yeah by the way patriots still have to contend with a

Starting point is 00:06:45 formidable running game, pretty good tight end in Durham Smythe. And oh yeah, Jalen Waddell is also on this team as well, who is certainly no slouch, one of the best speed slot weapons in the NFL, and a guy that could even play a little perimeter if he wanted to. This is a high-powered offense, and the Patriots need all hands on deck deck and hopefully a pair of those hands still belong to Jonathan Jones so once again folks we'll continue to bring you the very latest on Friday and into the weekend regarding all the Patriots injury whether it be the decimated o-line because once again all of these divisional games are going to add up and they're so important if the Patriots want to try to contend for a divisional title this year. Yeah, that's right. I think the Patriots have as good a shot as anybody at making this interesting.

Starting point is 00:07:29 The Buffalo Bills are currently 0-1. The New York Jets right now are vulnerable, and the Miami Dolphins probably playing with the most confidence of any team in this division right now. It's wide open, and if the Patriots can gain a victory on Sunday night, it's going to do them wonders, because next week they're going to be taking their talents to East Rutherford New Jersey and a match up with the New York Jets who have their own problems with contingency and injury right now Aaron Rodgers done for the season with an Achilles tear now the Jets have to turn their control back over to Zach Wilson Jets coach Robert Sala confirmed that Wilson is going to be in the starting lineup throughout the year.

Starting point is 00:08:05 I still would believe that even if they falter this weekend, he's probably still going to be the starter in week three when the Patriots visit the Jets. And again, it has implications for the Pats' pursuit of trying to contend for a division title. If Wilson is going to remain in the starting lineup, the Patriots are going to be facing him twice this year. And that's something that I know Patriots fans are going to be excited about because let's face it, the New England Patriots have had Zach Wilson's number. Wilson has completed only 54 of 106 pass attempts for 693 yards, two touchdowns, seven interceptions, and has been sacked 11 times in four games. You want to talk about a team that has an ownership over the opposing quarterback? Yeah, it's New England Patriots and Zach Wilson. So bottom line injuries,

Starting point is 00:08:50 whether it be to the quarterback, whether it be to your O-line, or whether it be to a cornerback like Jonathan Jones, can't have a ripple effect and can have wide-reaching implications. It's important for the Patriots to try to get as healthy as possible, and hopefully they start this week against the Miami Dolphins. And here today to help us continue to take an early look at those Dolphins, as well as provide an in-depth look at some tight endage, is none other than the Empress of Tight Endage herself, Claire Classy, Claire Cooper of A Claire Perspective of Patriots podcast, and also pastpropaganda.com.

Starting point is 00:09:23 Going to drop by here in just a moment. We will talk some tight endage. That means Hunter Henry, Mike Gusecki, but it also means an early look at the Dolphins as Sunday's game fast approaches. Don't miss Claire's tight endage perspective, as well as her early look at the Dolphins by keeping it right here on the Locked On Patriots podcast, a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network,

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Starting point is 00:11:30 a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage and hopefully your first listen each and every day. And here today on Locked On Patriots to join me is truly one of our favorites, the midweek monarch here on Locked On Patriots, but most importantly, the empress of tight endage, which as I teased coming into this break, is definitely a subject we are going to enjoy talking about today. And if we're enjoying it, you know she's going to enjoy it as well.

Starting point is 00:11:57 She is the countess of class herself, columnist extraordinaire coming from Pat's Propaganda, who also, by the way, folks, has their very own YouTube channel and broadcasting show now. Definitely be sure to check that out. And of course, you never want to miss a single episode of Claire's podcast, a Claire perspective, a Patriots podcast available wherever you consume your podcasts. My good friend Claire, classy Claire Cooper joins me today. Countessess thank you so much for joining me today from across the pond oh thank you for having me and for that big intro and telling everybody where to get all my work that was great thank you so much absolutely we always want to make our guests

Starting point is 00:12:35 feel comfortable here and we always want to show our appreciation Claire the Patriots now sit at 0-1 after a difficult 25-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. We all know that whether it be a win, whether it be a loss, there's always lessons to be taken from the field. One of the areas that I think this team vastly improved in is be able to block and get these guys in position to succeed, especially in the red zone, which is an area where the Patriots had difficulty last year. of the tight end position here in New England. We've talked about this so many times. We've talked about how Bill O'Brien's 12 personnel was going to come in and really give this tight endage group a shot in the arm that they needed, that they didn't have last year. Solid performance by Mike Gusecki. I think an outstanding performance by Hunter Henry.

Starting point is 00:13:40 He even had Pharoah Brown chipping in there as a run blocker and really doing some amazing things, but you see things us mere mortals do not see when it comes to tight ended. I know you were grinning from ear to ear, especially with that Hunter Henry grab that is still mind boggling as to how he grabbed that, but I don't want to steal any more of your thunder than I already have.

Starting point is 00:14:00 Count us your evaluation of the tight endage performance against the Eagles on Sunday, have at it. Well, yeah, I need to kind of capitalize on what you have already said, because what you said was completely true. Gusecki was utilized, but not very much. I think one of the keys with that is, I think this is a bit of a, I had high expectations.

Starting point is 00:14:22 I know a lot of individuals, a lot of Patriots Nation, if you like, I think had some high expectations of Guse lot of individuals a lot of Patriots Nation if you like I think had some high expectations of Gusecki and a lot of people didn't and that's fair enough I think it's a little bit in the middle at the moment because I think maybe they're easing him in he was used he was in the game and he and you know he rocked up some snaps he only played 41% of the game which was a comparison to Hunter Henry 79 79%. So, obviously, he wasn't used for more than half of the game. So, I think it's going to be the easing in. He's coming off an injury or he's coming back from injury, should I say.

Starting point is 00:14:55 He's new to the team, whereas Hunter Henry, obviously, isn't new. So, I'm sort of still holding out hope that we're going to see more from him. I'm still very kind of confident that it's going to be something that's going to be there when it comes from Gusecki. And I really hope so, because as listeners of a Claire perspective do know, I have sandwich bets on these sorts of things with my assistant. So, yeah, so I have a vested interest that's external from my tight endage love. But no, seriously, I think that we just need to be a little bit patient with that and like you said with the 12 personnel i think i believe that there may be some increase in the productivity increase in usage of that but as you said as you mentioned hunter henry did

Starting point is 00:15:34 really well he had again he really showed us those flashes of that matt jones and tenry binky thing that we saw prior to last year that you know Hunter's first season with Matt Jones before it kind of went a little bit awry last year shall we say and leave it at that we saw a really good relationship develop between the quarterback and that tight end and it for me obviously it was beautiful to see hopefully for a lot of Patriots nation it was good to see as well I think it's always pleasurable when you've got a tight end and a quarterback with a really good bond, with that kind of binkiness, because I think it seeps out

Starting point is 00:16:10 in confidence as well, because I know we look back at the Brady-Gronk thing and you can't compare it to that, but it was a relationship that sort of, as I said, seeped out into the team. I think it just gave more confidence, more familiarity, that sort of thing into the team. I think he just gave more confidence, more familiarity, that sort of thing into the team. So hopefully if Mack and Hunter can have a really good relationship, we can have that seeping out into the offense that sort of brings it up.

Starting point is 00:16:36 Hopefully. We shall see. It is only week one, as we all know. But yeah, great prediction from Hunter. Hoping that he just capitalises on that more. And I believe that the integration of Gusecki will be more so going over the season. I think this is going to be a drip situation, as in we're going to see drips of it rather than a flow. I was expecting like a full flow of Gusecki,

Starting point is 00:16:58 a full flood of him. But I think we're just going to see it as a drip situation going forward. But yeah, it's still blossoming it's still growing and it's only week one and it was quite an exciting from a tight-ended perspective granted the whole loss and like as you said in your introduction in regards to wanting to do it a moral victory or terrible I'm very much in the middle I think they lost and it was unfortunate but there's also so much that we can be happy about from coming out of last season.

Starting point is 00:17:28 I know that you could say, oh, well, that's easy to do. All you needed was an offensive coordinator and that kind of thing. But I think we're blaming it a lot on that. And I think there is more to the pie than that. So it's nice to see an offence that you look at that could be good. It wasn't great in that game against the Eagles, but it could be good. There was mistakes. We're still looking at, I know we're going away from tight endings,

Starting point is 00:17:53 but looking at the offensive line. And you touched upon the rookies. There was two rookie guards in that offensive line. And Matt Jones was very verbal when he had his press conference. I think it was the after the game press conference. So it was a couple of days ago now that he didn't feel pressure, that it was his responsibility and he took it on his shoulders. But I think he was taking a little bit of it for the team really

Starting point is 00:18:17 because the O-line still has its niggles and that's going to seep out into the situation, as you mentioned, that they use Farrah Brown for the run blocking. So when you've got've got the week o line those sorts of things are going to transition outwards and that's going to affect the tight endage usage and it's going to offend the blocking and it's going to affect sorry how they can be utilized when it comes to play making when it comes to pass catching so i think it's all it's all still very integrated still very connected obviously and but just hopefully it's going to be something going forward as i said it's going to be blossoming and something more exciting for us but yeah i mean i'm still on the high of that hunter henry

Starting point is 00:18:53 one-handed catch ice that's still very exciting for me i've still got tingles as we all know hashtag tight end is tingles and things like that so yeah touchdown tingles was the hashtag that we used from uh from a clever perspective a couple of weeks ago. Tingles all over the place when it comes to things like that. So just, you know, fingers crossed for more of that and for more of it. Absolutely. And you know what? As many hashtags as we can

Starting point is 00:19:16 possibly get trending around Claire, it's always good. You know the tight ends are performing at a high level, folks. Tight-ended tingles, I love that. Touchdown tingles touchdown let's keep it going um drop your hashtags in the comments section because we want as many of them as we possibly can but no i think you make some excellent points first of all before we get back into the tight ends i'm so glad that you mentioned the rookies on the offensive line um and the offensive lines

Starting point is 00:19:41 performance as a whole because you look at the first few series for the New England Patriots, the pick six by Mac Jones, the fumble by Ezekiel Elliott, and then three straight three and outs. Any type of team that is trying to find its identity could be so demoralized by something like that that they could very easily fold. This team didn't, and especially with two rookies making their pro- level debut against the

Starting point is 00:20:07 most fearsome ass rush one of the most fearsome defensive fronts in all of the nfl they could have very easily felt that the moment was too big for them they didn't mac jones only faced two fourth quarter sacks in this game so in a way yes he was trying to deflect some of the blame and take it upon his shoulders. And Murph and I talked about this the other day about him being a good teammate by doing that. But at the same time, he's also correct in some of his assessment because that offensive line did provide him the protection that he needs. So I think that was an excellent point, and I'm so glad that you made it.

Starting point is 00:20:40 But when it comes to tight endage, and I knew that when we started to see these tight ends performing well on the field that this was going to be a great conversation this week and so far you brought it you talked about Hunter Henry his familiarity with the type of offense that Bill O'Brien runs as opposed to what we saw last year from the Patricia Judge regime look there I don't think there's anybody questioning right now that hunter henry deserves to be an integral part of this offense maybe even one of its top two three focal points um and i think bill o'brien is going to properly utilize him i think you saw that on sunday elite pass catching talent and he always has had that um one of the best route runners i've covered in the nfl he runs clean routes got great control, and he can change direction when he needs to. I think that's why you're seeing Hunter be voted

Starting point is 00:21:29 as a captain. I can tell you from having covered him in Los Angeles that it's not for him being this vocal rah-rah type guy in the locker room. That's not his style. Although he says he is going to get a little more vocal, and I do believe him think he will but at the same time it's what he does on the field it's leading by example and one of the things that's really impressed me the most is watching hunter evolve as a blocker something that he does not get enough credit for his detractors on social media yeah detractors i think is the proper word we'll use to describe the people that have something negative to say about Hunter. We'll be respectful today on Locked On Patriots. They're going to tell you that, you know, the questions on him always stem from his

Starting point is 00:22:15 blocking ability. And that goes back to his days with the Chargers, back when I covered him with San Diego and then Los Angeles. That was the knock on him. It was quote unquote, he is an average blocker at best. He's going to be a liability there as well. But I think his strength as a blocker has so much improved. He used to get pushed off his spot as a blocker an awful lot. And anyone that's played the position will tell you that's something that's not good for a tight end. But what I noticed on Sunday is that that he's moving better he's moving with more aggression and he's generating more power as a result of that so he's not getting easily pushed off and because of that his run blocking improved pro football focus graded him at a 51.3 on sunday which is not world-breaking folks but it is an improvement from what he had last year his past

Starting point is 00:23:02 blocking showed improvement too he's 69.8 on that. So I think that's always been where he's traditionally better, but improvement in the run game is big. And to me, that's something that'll help him from the problems he had with being able to block against penetration years ago. That's been a huge, huge help to his game. So if he can add that dimension,

Starting point is 00:23:23 you're looking at a complete tight end and a top of the line tight end for this team perhaps in this uh this season and we haven't even gotten into the meat and potatoes on Mike Gusecki just yet have we well that's it that's why I wanted to kind of interject is when Hunter kind of rounds that out a lot more it it gives it opens Gusecki up more than for what he's best at doing because he's more of a receiver I know people like to say so with Hunter being able to develop those skills so that he's valuable not only kind of in the passing game but in as a blocker in the running game in the passing game as a blocker as well you then all of a sudden you've got Hunter and Gusecki on the field and

Starting point is 00:24:03 you're not quite sure what Hunter's going to be doing because he's becoming even more and more capable so then it's that then you're looking at Gusecki and you're looking at Hunter and it's like which one you cover and they're both quite you know we've seen that Hunter is a is a great end zone threat and then it just needs Gusecki to sort of build up his momentum within the team as I mentioned earlier and I think that that has such an impact Hunter's improvement has such an impact on the potential for Gusecki that it gets even more and more exciting it truly does and look Mike showed his ability to make catches in the open field he had a couple of impressive grabs on Sunday definitely want to see more of him and I got a funny feeling we may see more of him this

Starting point is 00:24:41 weekend because he's facing a familiar opponent this weekend a team that he knows pretty well i think he spent some time down there with those guys wearing aquamarine in the southern hemisphere in the u.s so we're gonna get into those well he's gonna be wearing throwback red on sunday night the patriots bringing back the pat patriot and the throwback red so yeah you gotta love that that's gonna be exciting. Great looking uniforms. Personally, my favorite look for the New England Patriots. And I'm looking forward to seeing Pat Patriot painted back out on the Gillette Stadium field. Bottom line, Claire, I think what you said was absolutely correct. When it comes to Hunter Henry now being able to show an ability to do things just beyond being a pass catcher opens things up so much for Mike Gusecki.

Starting point is 00:25:28 And you also saw why the New England Patriots felt the need to add Farrell Brown onto this 53-man roster and be that third tight end. This is an extremely talented blocker, especially in one game. An 89-point grade from pro football focus this weekend. The highest graded Patriot from pro Football Focus this weekend was Farrell Brown, and one of the big things about what he does so well. So this Patriots team, I think, is well-suited in their tight endage, and I think it's going to be a lot of fun, and we hope it's going to translate into a lot of fun on the field this weekend.

Starting point is 00:26:03 But, Claire, you and I both know that the Patriots face another tough task this weekend with the Miami Dolphins and a high-powered offense coming in. It's going to be a fun one, but it's going to be a tough one in New England. What are Claire's thoughts on the Miami Dolphins? Do the Patriots have enough on both sides of the ball to keep this one close and to be able to shut down some of the high-powered rapid weapons that Miami has at their disposal. Claire's going to give her initial thoughts on Miami

Starting point is 00:26:31 and maybe even a little bit more when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues, a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team, every day. Locked On listeners, everyone should be empowered to care for themselves and their loved ones during the unexpected. That's why Jace Medical offers the Jace Case. The Jace Case provides five life-saving antibiotics for emergency use and gives you a peace of mind so that you are not just hoping that you have access to medication in an emergency.

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Starting point is 00:28:37 by going to prizepicks.com slash locked on NFL and use the promo code locked on NFL. PrizePicks daily fantasy sports made easy. Fans, thank you once again for making Locked on Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Today, we are absorbing the wisdom and counsel, the tight ended wisdom and counsel. That meter has already been broken by our guest today. The illustrious claire classic claire cooper of pat's propaganda and a claire perspective the patriots podcast and claire it's

Starting point is 00:29:11 always fun to talk tight-ended with you it is a subject that you absolutely dazzle us with the new england patriots face another tall task this week as if the philadelphia eagles coming to town defending nfc champions wasn't difficult enough. The Patriots now face one of the most potentially explosive offenses in the NFL. This is a team that is well-suited to be able to score in so many different ways. A wild win over the Los Angeles Chargers, 36-34 in Week 1. Tua Tagovailoa is showing a lot of versatility. Tyree Kill is just absolutely incredible. When you look at this team, when you look at the Miami Dolphins

Starting point is 00:29:52 and the performance that they put out on Sunday, and you look at what the Patriots did on Sunday, what are your initial thoughts on Miami? Have at it. The floor is yours. What are your gut reactions telling you as we head into this matchup on Sunday? Well, I know we can't swear on this show because it's a family show, so I can't actually tell you the words that are going around in my head

Starting point is 00:30:15 at the moment because we're keeping it clean. But I am still being positive that the Patriots can squeak out a win. I know everybody's looking at me like oh she's crazy she's crazy however I have some points in my bag as to why they're very small but I still have some the one thing that I found interesting shall we say that I'm sure people will have picked up on in the in the Dolphins Chargers game was the centre quarterback exchange and there's definitely a weakness there I believe there was three fumbles and those sorts of little things can seep out and take away the confidence that someone is going to have so I think that there is

Starting point is 00:30:59 something there to be had when it comes to the defense to put the the scares in them because it does it crumbles i mean the the um i'm gonna have to check my notes so that i get it right there was an early in the first quarter miami were less than 20 yards from the end zone fumble and then it was recovered by la now things like that in the NFL, they happen. The problem is you look at it and when you've got a really pristine team, they need to not happen because it can make or break a game. And as I mentioned just a moment ago, it can make or break confidence. And that's all we need to do. We need to scare Tua into losing his confidence because yes,

Starting point is 00:31:39 we know he's a good pass thrower. We've seen it. The one thing that's key with miami as you mentioned is the weapons and the whole jaylen waddle tyreek hill thing is the thing that scares me the most that that part of their offense is so good and i just hope that the patriots can mix up some potions when it comes to their defense because the patriots defense is a darn good defense just hoping that they can mix something up, that they can put something out there on the field. So work some magic as to how to shut these two weapons down.

Starting point is 00:32:12 I don't know how well it can be done, but we shall see. I believe that Belichick with his defensive mind can mix something up. Now, I know that Patriots Nation will be sitting there saying, well, why has he already done it? And I don't have the answer for you. I am with you with that question. Why has he not already done it? Because there was a great stat that came out from,

Starting point is 00:32:32 I believe it was Evan Nazar on social media this morning. He put out how the NFL's best passer against a single high coverage in 2022. I apologize, I have to read from my notes, but my memory is so bad that you know that I'll bumble this and the Patriots defense was second most snaps in single high coverage 72% of the coverage of snaps versus Philly was single high so you look at that and say well if the Patriots run that defense or run those plays defensively it's obvious that it's against the Dolphins it's not necessarily going to work and you would think Bill Belichick is going to be very aware and au fait with this information let's hope so

Starting point is 00:33:10 it may take him if it may be that this is the year that he sorts himself out and beats Tunga Vailoa I have my fingers crossed I do have faith that that can happen folks and I know a lot of people do think I'm crazy and that's okay because I am a little bit crazy but yes i hate the fins so that does always color my judgment a little bit when it comes to things like that but i do try and be as objective and analytical as possible but i am still a patriots fan so there's i've always got that in my in my corner can the patriots beat them as i said i'm saying yes. So I'm still looking at the offensive weapons with concern. I mean, even their tight end, Smythe, he looks good. Even for a tight end, he looks good.

Starting point is 00:33:51 You know, they've already got Waddle and they've already got Hill, but they've got a decent tight end as well. They didn't have particularly many targets. He has six targets and three receptions in the LA game for 44 yards. And it's quite low when it comes to production. But for a tight end in an offense that's got the weapons that it has got, you know, that's quite considerable.

Starting point is 00:34:08 So I think the defense is going to have to be on its very best behavior to be able to shoot down Miami. And the offense just needs to click that bit more. Hopefully being a home, being a home game that it, that helps it out, whether or not it does, we shall see but

Starting point is 00:34:25 i'm still i've still got i've still got faith i've still got faith and confidence that the patriots defense can do the whole old the the old school boogeyman thing that i know a lot of people probably don't want bringing back and that's fine we we should come up with something better but with the two red zone turnovers by miami and things like that i think there's there's there's loopholes there for the patriots defense to exploit to enable them to succeed against this this great miami offense yeah without question i think you hit the nail right on the head what the patriots need to do is to try to keep that offense off the field as much as possible and that means a heavy dose on the ground. Keep grinding out those first downs.

Starting point is 00:35:08 And that's where you see guys like Ramondre Stevenson, Ezekiel Elliott, and Ty Montgomery. For him to take a more active role this week as well. I think the Patriots have an opportunity to be able to do that. Claire, once again, you always, always bring the wisdom, the counsel the way only you can. And we appreciate you stopping by here and spending time with us on Locked On Patriots, especially on midweek part of the show. After all, there is only one midweek monarch here on Locked On Patriots, and we are thrilled to have her each and every week. So, Claire, before I let you go, please let everyone know where they can find you, where they can absorb your great work and what you have coming in the next week or so from the great pen the great voice of claire clausie claire cooper well thank you as you said in the introduction i have a new show or we have

Starting point is 00:35:53 a new show i have a joint show now on the pats propaganda youtube channel so it's the first pats propaganda youtube show so it's where our pilot hit the airwaves on Monday following the Eagles game it's kind of um a post-game recap wrap-up it is it is to replace at this moment my written column my written article that I would do after each Patriots game for Pat's Propaganda as my game recap wrap-up for people to read so we're bringing you this kind of audio visual feast of fun Pat's procrastination as I said on the Pat's propaganda YouTube channel so I hope people have been enjoying that I know as I said it's been out since Monday a clear perspective now it's the regular season brought to you by full press coverage is going to be out every it's out every one to two weeks it does depend on workloads and

Starting point is 00:36:43 things for myself and and games and game times and stuff like that. So please keep your eyes out for a clear perspective on the full press coverage. And as you mentioned, most of those places that you find your podcasts. So yeah, definitely some podcasty, YouTubey stuff out there. And just before I go, I do want to say, firstly, thank you to everybody who has been supportive

Starting point is 00:37:04 of the YouTube show, as it did only launch on Monday, as we record this on Wednesday. We've had some great feedback and we've been really, really lucky to have such positivity. So we really appreciate everyone that has watched and has reached out to say that they like the show, that kind of thing. So I hope you still enjoy the show and you will stick with us for the whole season because we will be ringing you on each week following a Patriots game.

Starting point is 00:37:26 So I hope that you continue to enjoy that on the Pats Propaganda YouTube channel. And I just need to say a quick shout out because as we record this on Wednesday, Wednesday the 13th of September, it is John who is a fan of this show and of A Claire Perspective as well. It's his son's birthday. So happy birthday to Lewis for today. Absolutely. Lewis, happy birthday. A tip of to Lewis for today. Absolutely. Lewis, happy birthday.

Starting point is 00:37:46 A tip of the cap and a nod to the guys from all of us here at Locked On Patriots. And Claire, thank you for dropping that in. We do appreciate John's support and all of your support out there from all of you everydayers, all of you casual listeners, and all of you first timers as well. We hope you've enjoyed all of the wisdom and counsel you've heard today from Claire and a little bit from myself as well. Folks, please continue to stay safe, stay well, and be the change you wish to see in the world. Do not forget to smash that subscribe button, download, subscribe to, and follow Locked On Patriots wherever you get your podcasts.

Starting point is 00:38:17 On behalf of the illustrious Claire, classic Claire Cooper, I'm Mike DeBate. Have a great day, everyone, and we'll see you back here again tomorrow on Locked on Patriots.

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