Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins Crossover: Drake Maye, Tua Tagovailoa Pats Defense and More
Episode Date: November 21, 2024The New England Patriots will trade the cold November rain for some Florida sunshine as they take on the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium in Week 12. Can Pats rookie quarterback Drake Maye outduel ...Fins veteran Tua Tagovailoa?  Will New England’s defense led by Christian Gonzalez shut down Miami speedsters Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle? Hosts Mike D’Abate of Locked On Patriots and Kyle Crabbs of Locked On Dolphins discuss these points and much more on this Locked On NFL Crossover episode. #nfl #newenglandpatriots  Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFm... Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-... And follow host Mike D’Abate on X, where he’ll be sharing the latest ne ws about the New England Patriots and talking with fans — @mdabateNFL  Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Pre-Alcohol by ZbioticsGo to zbiotics.com/LOCKEDONNFL to learn more and get 15% off your first order when you use LOCKEDONNFL at checkout. BetterHelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON today to get 10% off your first month. Bilt RewardsEarn points now by paying rent right now by when you go to joinbilt.com/lockedonnfl Hillsdale CollegeAll of Hillsdale’s courses are self-paced so that you can start whenever, and tune in wherever. Plus, you can go deeper with readings, quizzes, discussions - or just enjoy the lectures. Go right now to hillsdale.edu/lockedon to enroll. There’s no cost, and it’s easy to get started. PrizePicksDownload the app and use code lockedonnfl to win $50 instantly when you play $5. You don't even need to win to receive your $50 bonus, it's guaranteed! Prizepicks. Run Your Game.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFL GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. FanDuelYou can start the season with a big return on FanDuel. New customers can place a FIVE DOLLAR bet and you’ll get started with ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS - if you win your first FIVE DOLLAR BET ! Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started.   FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)
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Thursday on the Locked On Network can only mean one thing.
It is a crossover edition of Locked On Patriots and Locked On Dolphins,
previewing the Week 12 matchup between these AFC East Rivals.
You are Locked On NFL Crossover, part of the Locked On Podcast Network.
Your team, every day.
What's going on, everybody?
Welcome to another Crossover Thursday episode here on the Locked On Network.
I'm Kyle Krabs, the host of Locked On Dolphins, joined by Mike DeBate of Locked On Patriots.
And we're here to set the stage for an AFC East matchup between two teams hungry for a win.
Today's crossover Thursday episode on the Lockdown Network is presented by
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Mike, it's not been that long since we had a chance to last get together.
It was, what, week five when we played up in foxborough
the jacoby brissett versus tyler huntley matchup that everybody in the world was excited for a
little different flavor for these two teams this time around uh what's going on in new england
around the patriots as drake may continues his strong start to his rookie season. Well, one interesting tidbit, Kyle, that I think we'll kick off the show with today
is Patriots offensive lineman, Patriots offensive guard Cole Strange
once again returning to the practice field.
Cole has not seen the field at all this season.
He's been on the shelf due to a patellar tendon injury.
Still very early to determine whether or not he'll even be ready to continue practicing
or he'll be able to give it a go this weekend or if he's going to be activated.
But it is something to monitor, and it is big news for the Patriots
who need as much help as they can get up front.
And for all of the vitriol that's been thrown at Cole Strange by Patriots fans
about him being a bust in terms of being a first-round pick,
Cole is a very good blocker when it comes to outside zone runs,
which is what Alex Van Pelt loves to do.
So if I'm a Finns fan, I'm keeping a watchful eye,
not necessarily a sharp eye, but a watchful eye on that.
And that's something that I think could be monitored.
But the big story up here in New England is whether or not
a complete team effort can be put out on the field by this team.
That means offense defense
special teams and especially the coaching staff which is coming under a lot of fire this week
uh questionable decisions on defense coverage not exactly what a lot of people would have expected
from new england when it came to defense very conservative on offense almost too conservative
for the type of quarterback they're employing and this team continues to have difficulty holding on to the football so a lot of question marks for the New
England Patriots and they're facing a team that is now starting to improve and show their capabilities
and what is annually a house of horrors for the New England Patriots down in Miami this weekend
a lot seems to be working against the Pats as they look forward to their road matchup
with Miami this weekend.
Yeah, Mike, I wanted to ask you
about the Patriots defensively
and just kind of this dearth of turnovers
in the past month or so.
I think one turnover in the last five games
for New England.
They got Christian Barmore back,
which is an awesome story for the Patriots.
Obviously, Christian Gonzalez and all the things that he brings as a lockdown corner.
What's been the biggest barrier in your mind to getting turnovers?
Is it just unfortunate bounces of the ball?
Is it incomplete defensive scheme and game plan approach?
Why has this team that under Belichick was so well known for turnover margin
and defensively creating a lot of turnovers kind of struggled in this stretch of games
and they've played six games this season without a turnover out of the 11 that they played so far
well I think they've been struggling Kyle when it comes to mechanism and when it comes to
being able to take away what your opponent does well, when you sell
out to try to shut off an area of the field like they had in the last couple of weeks
against the Bears and then against the Rams, sometimes it's going to work.
Sometimes it's not going to work.
Christian Gonzalez is an excellent lockdown corner.
But if you're putting him out on the perimeter against the Marcus Robinson and the Los Angeles
Rams, and you're leaving Cooper Cup and Pukunukuwa open to be able to wreak havoc on the opposite side of the field, it's not going to result in a lot of
turnovers, and it's certainly not going to result in a whole lot of success. So the Patriots have
been decimated by injury in the secondary. Their safety tandem of Kyle Duggar and Jabril Peppers
has very seldom seen the field together. Obviously, Peppers not seeing the field for off the field reasons.
But Kyle has been banged up.
He was back in the lineup on Sunday, but still working his way back.
Jalen Hawkins, Del Pettis, these guys have been doing a decent job of trying to keep
the ship afloat.
But again, Del is an undrafted rookie.
And when you have him playing cover zero, that's going to result in a lot of veteran quarterbacks like Matthew Stafford like Tua Tagovailoa who they'll see this weekend
kind of feasting on those matchups so I think the Patriots need to do a much better job of maybe
dialing back some of the aggression that they've had and trying to overcompensate for their lack
of personnel let the personnel they have on the field do the work if that's the case then i
think they can start getting back to the basics of what this team does well defensively but when
you're missing christian barmore for the better part of the season and you don't have that guy
up front to take the double team you're missing elements in the middle of that defense and juwan
bentley who was kind of like the traffic director and then you're missing your best middle of the
field or center player when it comes to
Jabril Peppers at the safety position yeah it's no wonder why the Patriots have struggled up until
this point so injury is part of it but the Patriots need to do a better job of scheming
the players they do have healthy and on the field Mike what's been the biggest surprise of Drake
Mays play thus far this season for you I think his mental advancement in the game, Kyle, has been a big
surprise, a pleasant surprise for me. One of the big knocks that I had on Drake coming into was
the turnover ratio, was the pressure to sack ratio, his inability or unwillingness, really,
I think, you know, two sides of the same coin to always go for the big play and avoid taking the
check down or avoid taking the easier option when it's available in terms of being able to move the sticks.
Drake has really made so many strides in this area, Kyle, because you've seen him go from
a quarterback that is always pushing it down the field, always feels like he needs to overcompensate
for a lack of talent in front of him.
You do see that at times because the Patriots offensive line is clearly not the strongest
in the league, but he trusts his teammates a little bit more.
I think he trusts his mechanics a little bit more.
He's leading with the left foot.
His eyes are matching his footwork.
But bottom line, this kid is showing a poise and a wisdom beyond his years, and his teammates are responding to it.
They're buying into it.
And as long as he continues to improve on the field, Patriots have found themselves the quarterback that they've been searching
for since Tom Brady left.
Well,
the,
this team dynamics certainly feel a lot different than they did the first
time that the dolphins and Patriots play,
but the same can also be said for Miami with a functional offense with not
their third string quarterback playing.
And we're going to set the stage for some of the big storylines of what is
going on in South Florida next year on this crossover Thursday episode.
Make sure you stick with us.
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as things currently stand for this Sunday week,
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Mike, I'm going to take my hands off the wheel.
Where do you want to go?
What do you want to know about the Miami Dolphins and what what has been a roller coaster season for this football team so far well kyle as you've
hinted in the previous segment these are two different teams that we're going to be seeing
on the field this weekend and obviously drake may be the starting quarterback of the new england
patriots as part of it but the real story here is the return of Tua Tagovailoa to this lineup in Miami since Tua's
return the Dolphins are two and two they're averaging 27.8 points per game with an NFL best
604 conversion rate on third down so obviously this team is moving the ball much better the
Dolphins have scored on 21 of their last 35 possessions which i found pretty remarkable and they haven't punted in
six quarters so again this is a different offense that the new england patriots are going to be
facing defensively given what i had to say about the patriots defense in the previous segment
and knowing what you know about this dolphins offense what do you believe the approach is
going to be this weekend when Tua takes the ball
and this Miami offense and Mike McDaniel and that coaching staff looks at what the Patriots are
bringing defensively? How do you think they're going to match up this week? Yeah, the Dolphins
set a season high in rushing yards the first time these two teams played, and I would not be
surprised to see them try to push some of the same buttons as far as the running game and getting
vertical, and they had some explosive plays between the tackles in that game, but that may them try to push some of the same buttons as far as the running game and getting vertical.
And they had some explosive plays between the tackles in that game, but that may be
dependent upon the availability of Alec Ingle, the fullback who was not active for each of
the last two games.
The dolphins have played, uh, obviously the short week, uh, coming off Monday night football
into the Sunday game against the Raiders. And the run games really regressed.
They had posted over 100 rushing yards and at least 149 rushing yards
in four consecutive games.
And then they barely, they hit 149 in the last two games combined.
And they've lost tackle, right tackle Austin Jackson for the season
with some kind of a knee injury at the end of the Bills game.
So his absence has been a piece of that puzzle as well but the way that they're covering for that is a lot more of
the methodical completions and taking short routes as a extension of the passing game or an extension
of the running game uh to stay on schedule with the offense and that gets into a lot of the third
down conversions that you alerted to and the efficiency of the offense and just these crazy long like the multiple
opportunities in the last three weeks to go 90 plus yards on touchdown drives for like 15 play
drives like that was not the Dolphins of 2023 and the fact that it seems like the team has taken the
struggles of how they had to play without Tua and then applied that into the dynamic of Tua being back.
It's added an extra layer to how they go about their business.
And I do expect that they will probably look to mitigate some of those pressure looks that the Patriots have given with Bill Belichick and Gerard Mayo off the same coaching tree, obviously,
and negate a lot of that by spacing the field, creating checkdowns.
They've been very good at getting all five eligibles out into routes, and that allows them to have answers based on where you're choosing to bring your pressure.
And if you want to organically bring four and play guys on the roof, then they'll look
to run the football.
And that's kind of been touch and go at the beginning of each one of these
games,
as they figure out what everybody's temperature is to try to do whatever
when they play.
Yeah,
very good point.
And again,
you're looking at an offense with two,
a tug of eye lower at the helm that includes Jalen Waddle.
That includes Tyree kill.
It includes Raheem mostard.
And obviously the dolphins had a very good time running the football,
like you said, in the first matchup.
Probably going to be a little bit more of a balanced attack now with Tua back.
But at the same time, there's so much to account for.
And the Patriots defense needs to be wary of that.
They tried blitzing Matthew Stafford 18 times last weekend
and did not get home once.
If the Patriots want to have any type of success
they need to turn up the pressure they need to get home but they also need to be able to stop
the run and that may be where Christian Barmore could be a little bit of a help for this team
because obviously they didn't have him the first time but for as much success as you talked about
the Dolphins running game having against the Patriots defense last time. The Patriots were able to gash the Dolphins offensively on the running game on a couple
of occasions in the first meeting.
Mondre Stevenson carried the ball 12 times for 89 yards.
Antonio Gibson, six for 52.
Both turned in a couple of big plays, 33 yards, 24 yards.
But the Patriots have not approached that type of production since that time and this
running game has had difficulty getting on track for an Alex Van Pelt run offense which predicates
itself on using the run game to facilitate play action they haven't been able to do a whole lot
from my perspective this looks like a battle that the Miami Dolphins are well equipped to win
stopping the Patriots running game but you know the team better than anyone.
Do you believe that Miami's defense this time around
is better suited to bottle up the Patriots' offense?
I think they've had a lot more positive momentum
as far as defending the run.
In each one of their first six games on the season,
they allowed at least 100 rushing yards total to opposing offenses.
The last four weeks, it's been 82, 94, 70, and 60.
And they've kind of found an emergence with Deshaun Hand as kind of the third
interior defensive lineman.
At the beginning of the year, it was Zach Seeler and Calais Campbell as two
really well-established guys, and you didn't really know what else you had
to work with.
And they brought in a bunch of guys and threw a bunch of stuff at the wall to kind of see what was going to stick and it seems like
Deshaun Hand is the one who when they go with their even front looks and they have two interior
defensive linemen on the field he's the guy they feel good about being the rotational guy if they
want to keep Seeler on the field or if they want to keep Campbell on the field but they don't have
to play in both at super high snap volumes.
He's been the one who's been the next in line against the Raiders who played a ton of 12 personnel.
It was a big matchup for Brandon Peely or excuse me for Benito Jones and Benito Jones
at nose tackle had a great showcase against the Raiders that I think was the best interior
defensive line performance of anybody this season, not named Zach Seeler or Calais Campbell in a single game.
So the question is, how hot is the hand of Benito Jones
if you want to go with your base defense looks,
which they may be more inclined to do because it sounds like that Kendall Fuller
is going to be out this week as well, his second consecutive week missed with a concussion.
So that kind of creates more of a question with the third corner.
It's been a UDFA in Storm Duck who was out snapping Cam Smith,
who had primary looks at that opportunity the last two weeks before that.
So do they have comfort with one of those players?
Would they rather stay in base and clog the interior gaps
and kind of structurally build themselves in the opportunity
to be more stout against the run? I think that's one of the big questions like schematically for Miami and how
they choose to play this because obviously you have a quarterback in May who's a little bit
more capable of getting off his spot than what Jacoby Brissett is so you don't want to play with
less numbers on the back end unless you feel comfortable with what you have to plaster those
guys and cover those guys so that I think that is one of the big decisions with what you have to plaster those guys and cover those guys.
So I think that is one of the big decisions Miami's going to have to make coming into this game.
Yeah, absolutely.
And again, when it comes to Drake May,
this will be the first time that this Dolphins defense has faced Drake
as a starting quarterback.
From around the league, one of the questions I've been asking
a lot of our colleagues here on Locked On podcasts,
especially from the NFL channel,
is their impressions of the young rookie quarterback.
From a Miami perspective,
what's the buzz around facing Drake May this week?
Is there an excitement level?
Is there an anticipation level?
Do they believe this is a matchup
that they have the upper hand with?
What's the vibe surrounding Drake May
when it comes to the opponent this week?
I think the Dolphins team is saying all the right things.
I think they know also that it's go time for them.
They dug themselves a massive hole.
And I think the intensity you have seen, particularly defensively the last two weeks,
but offensively the last four weeks, and they were without a couple of key players in the first two weeks, the two was back and it really hurt them uh they know their margin for error is very slim and i think that
carries over and i thought that showed against the raiders regardless of what the record is of
the opponent um they have to play with a certain level of intensity. So while it might be easy to look at the Patriots schedule
and say, oh, rookie quarterback, we can cross him up. Jalen Ramsey going to tempt him to take a
couple of chances and throw tight window throws and try and facilitate a few picks or anything
like that. That's not the way that they played against the Raiders. They were very execution
oriented against the Raiders and they just decided we're going to play our game and we're going to try to force you as the opposing team to methodically work your way down the field and not make mistakes.
And they did a pretty good job of that until they got in the red zone.
They got stopped a couple of times in the red zone, forced for field goals, and then the game script tipped over.
So I would not be surprised to see this team not come out guns blazing
and say, it's a rookie quarterback.
We're going to light him up and come after him.
I think they'll try to play their game,
and certainly it'll be a good test because this is a quarterback
that brings a whole bunch of different things to the table than Jacoby did.
And if you're
not able to get them down, that's been something Miami struggled with is finishing some of those
opportunities for sacks. That's when they've really gotten hurt. So hopefully they apply
the lessons of playing Josh Allen twice this year and playing Kyler Murray this year.
Those quarterbacks made you pay when you couldn't get them on the ground. So that's certainly
something I think will be in the back of a lot of dolphins players.
We're going to get into keys to victory next here on this crossover Thursday locked on Patriots locked on dolphins.
Make sure that you stick with us.
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Okay, Mike, keys to victory in this game.
What stands out the most to you
as the things the Patriots have to achieve
if they're going to come to Miami and get a win?
Well, again, I think it comes back to using pressure and making it count Kyle we talked about earlier how the Patriots have attempted to put
pressure on quarterbacks but they're not getting home the Pats quarterback pressure rate is 31.5
and their average time to pressure is 2.58 seconds now conversely when you look at Miami
and Tua Tagovailoa with six starts he's been pressured on 20.3% of his dropbacks,
an average time to throw of 2.43 seconds.
So if I'm the New England Patriots,
you need to pay attention to both coverage and tackling
because that's going to be key.
You have to find a balance between both.
The coaching staff needs to adapt.
If their coverage schemes are not working,
something they haven't done the last couple of weeks,
I think they hear a lot of the noise coming from the fans and the media up here in new england so i would
look for them to be on alert to adjust when things aren't working their way but they also have to
remember that they do need to finish their tackles and this is something that they're not doing and
a lot of teams are making them pay for it so if you're gonna apply pressure you have to make it
count you can't have it come up empty and expect to beat the miami dolphins they will absolutely decimate you and
won't be pretty uh down in uh miami gardens this weekend i think another key for the patriots
this week is they're going to have to attack miami where they believe they might be a bit
vulnerable and you mentioned kendall fuller being out this week um this is a group that
struggles to cover tight ends on occasion and they had difficulty with brock bowers uh last week uh
caught 13 passes for 126 yards they did shut down the rest of the vegas passing game but they allowed
a guy like bowers to be able to hurt them so if i'm the new england patriots i'm looking at both
hunter henry and i'm looking at um austin hooper as guys that could potentially be a type of a threat if some of the wide receivers
are simply not doing their job in new england or if drake's having difficulty shaking them free
and throwing them open and bottom line if the patriots are going to have any success at all
in this game they have to one protect the ball and they have
to limit their opponents takeaways that includes erroneous penalties which the patriots have not
been able to do well they were penalized seven times last week for 45 yards that cannot happen
if they're going to attempt to get a victory on the road this weekend so they need to do a much
better job of protecting the ball scheming it and also being able to attack their opponents when they're weak it sounds simple but
that's the way it's been for the past this year it's the little things that have doomed them
in some games that maybe they should have been better equipped to win yeah i look at this game
for the dolphins and the keys to victory that they have. And I look at, you mentioned attacking opponent
where they're weak from a Patriot side of things.
And the Patriots offensively this season come up short
as far as their league standing in a couple of areas
where the Dolphins defense actually ranks quite well.
And that's third down and red zone.
The Patriots currently ranked 26th in the NFL
with 35% conversion rate on third
down. They are 46.9% touchdown percentage in the red zone. That is 29th in the NFL.
The Dolphins have been a top 10 team defensively on third downs all season long. And that's despite
the Raiders were almost unstoppable on third and fourth down. I think they only got three or four stops on like 16 opportunities on third and fourth downs in this past game.
They didn't tackle well in front of the sticks.
But the Dolphins ranked 10th in the NFL in third down percentage defensively at 35%.
And they're giving up touchdowns on just 48% of their defensive trips into the red zone.
That ranks eighth in the NFL.
They have to keep that trend going against a team that has across the course
of their season thus far struggled relative to league average.
If they can do that,
I think you'll see the same kind of script that unfolded with the Raiders and
the Rams where maybe those teams are both able to move the football,
but the dolphins kept the Rams out of the end zone entirely.
They kicked five field goals in that game and the Raiders had two possessions in the
first half.
The entire first half had effectively two possessions for each team.
Miami gets a touchdown and a field goal.
The Raiders kick two field goals.
They go into halftime with a lead.
So that's been part of the script has been you may give up some yards, but don't break,
and I think that's another thing this week when the field gets a little bit more compressed
and things happen a little faster and there's more bodies in a tighter space.
How do you choose to attack a rookie quarterback in that opportunity?
And I think that's a big opportunity for Miami in this game.
I do think they'll need to run the ball a little bit better than what they have
from a negative runs perspective.
The dolphins are number one in the NFL in negative runs of runs that have
gone for at least minus one yard,
uh,
thus far this season.
And they're in the high forties.
I think there's only two of the teams in the NFL that are at least over
40,
but Miami with that top spot,
those negative runs have really been a detriment that they've looked a
lot better with some
of their on schedule stuff but then they'll get a chunk gain then they'll pass for a first down
and then it's second and 12 because they lose two yards trying to get out on the edge so
whether this process for them includes Alec Ingle or not that's a big point of emphasis I think for
Miami they have to start getting better at avoiding the minus runs.
They do that in this game, and I think that it will bode well
for their ability to, again, stay on schedule, be very clock-oriented.
And I think the last thing that they need to do is they need to figure out
what they need to do to get Chop Robinson to continue his strong stretch of play.
He's been their one organic winner from a pass rush perspective.
The last three weeks have been the best three games he's played in his rookie season.
He's really starting to come on.
There's been some chemistry with some twists and stunts and games.
And if Cole Strange plays, and that's a new player that hasn't played
that you're inserting back in, can you attack that with some gap exchanges
and miscommunications?
If it's not
the strongest pieces of your defense have still been Zach Seeler, Calais, Campbell,
lean on those guys, the experience that they have, try to get some wins, try to get some runs in
Drake Mays face because chops the guy who's athletic enough to get them on the ground,
but you got to get them some free looks at the quarterback for that to happen. So that that's
where my mind goes for keys to victory for the Dolphins.
Any final thoughts here as we wrap up this crossover?
No, I think, you know, it's just,
it's always an honor and always a privilege to do these crossovers with you
each and every year.
Here we are wrapping up yet another year's worth of crossovers for Miami and
New England.
Miami hoping maybe to be able to find a way into the playoffs and
England's chances are essentially done.
But it's always fun doing these, Kyle, and looking forward to a fun one down in Miami this weekend.
Absolutely. I'm hoping that it's a clean game. I'm hoping it's a healthy game.
Obviously, this time of year, the injury reports start getting real long.
And, Mike, I'd like to make a pact with you.
I'd like for us to try to aspire to get three of these crossovers in next year.
I think that's something we would both love to do.
So here's the debt coming to pass in 2025,
but it's been a pleasure with you this year with our two crossovers as well.
I am Kyle Krabs.
He's Mike DeBate.
Locked on Patriots, locked on Dolphins.
We'll have you covered all week long in the buildup to Sunday's game
and in the immediate aftermath of the game
because it is your team's every day
here on the Lockdown Network.
We appreciate you guys for checking out this crossover.
Come back and see us again soon.