Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots, New York Giants Crossover: Will Mac Jones Start at QB?
Episode Date: November 23, 2023The New England Patriots are set for a Week 12 showdown against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Will Mac Jones be the Pats starting quarterback? Will Giants QB Tommy DeVito make it two in a ro...w for Big Blue? Host Mike D’Abate welcomes Patricia Traina of Locked On NY Giants to breakdown this matchup in the Meadowlands. Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-patriots-daily-podcast-on-new-england-patriots/id1140512627?i=1000632782469 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFmwg3WbfxAU3tR5Ve?si=k196wH-yRqifUcQQz8SjIQStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-patriotsAnd follow host Mike D’Abate on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans.Twitter: @mdabateNFLSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!DoorDashGet 50% off up to $10 value when you spend $15 or more on your FIRST order, when you download the DoorDash app and enter code LOCKED23. Subject to change. Terms apply.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. PrizePicksGo to PrizePicks.com/lockedonnfl and use code lockedonnfl for a first deposit match up to $100!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed.LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.FanDuelScore early this NFL season with FanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook! Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning FIVE DOLLAR MONEYLINE BET! That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – if your team wins! Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON 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) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcript
Discussion (0)
Will Mac Jones get the start against Tommy D and the NYG?
Stick around.
It's time to cross the streams right here on the Locked On Patriots podcast.
You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast.
Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello and a happy Thanksgiving to all of you, Foxborough faithful out there.
Thank you for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage.
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I'm your host, Mike DeBate.
I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country
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Patriots. And on this
Thanksgiving holiday, folks, it is time
to cross the streams. Locked On Patriots. And on this Thanksgiving holiday, folks, it is time to cross the streams,
locked on Patriots and locked on New York football giants. That's right. In anticipation
of the New England Patriots Sunday matchup week 12 with the giants East Rutherford, New Jersey
MetLife stadium, going to be a lot of fun. And it is always my honor, my privilege to share the
microphone with truly one of the best in the business.
Not just a dear friend, but one of the best Giants beat reporters out there.
And of course, Pats fans, before I welcome in my colleague Patricia Train, a host of Locked On Giants in just a moment,
I wanted to take just a little bit of time to express my gratitude for each and every one of you.
All of you everydayers out there, all of you casual listeners, and of course, you first-timers out there.
Those of you that take time out of your busy schedule to join us here on Locked On Patriots,
I am truly honored, grateful, and thankful for all of the support that you provide.
Thanksgiving is always a great time to do some reflection and to tell the world what you're grateful for.
I'm thankful for so many of the blessings in my life, one of which is working for this great network
and getting a chance to share our thoughts
and our mutual love for the New England Patriots.
So whether you're listening to us in transit
or listening to us right on the holiday itself,
I want to wish each and every one of you and your families
a very happy, healthy, safe, and peaceful Thanksgiving and holiday season.
Enjoy the food. Enjoy the family and friends.
Most of all, enjoy the football.
It's time to cross the streams here on Locked On Patriots and Locked On Giants.
This episode of Crossover Thursday is brought to you by PrizePix.
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That's prizepix.com slash locked on NFL for a first deposit match up to $100. That's prizepix.com slash LockedOnNFL for a first deposit
match up to $100. Hello, everybody. Welcome on in to Crossover Thursday on this LockedOn Giants,
LockedOn Patriots edition. My name is Patricia Chain. I'm the host of LockedOn Giants,
and I am absolutely delighted to be alongside of a very good friend, a guy that I absolutely adore, Mike DeBate.
He is the host of Locked On Patriots.
And Mike, first off, it is so good to see you.
We only see each other really once every four years, but when we do, it is always a treat.
It truly is always a treat.
I was thinking about this early, Patricia. And, you know, the only bad thing about the Lockdown Patriots, Lockdown Giants crossovers is there just simply aren't enough of them.
But it's my honor, my privilege.
Thank you so much for the kind words.
You know I feel the same way in return.
Going to be a fun one today because it hasn't been so fun for our fan bases this season.
No, it has not.
The battle of the tank, actually.
The battle of who's going to get a higher draft pick. Both teams having an uncertain future at quarterback. And Mike, I think we need to kind of start there with the key storylines for New England. And I'll let you obviously weigh in on what you think the key storylines are. But from my perspective, I'm kind of wondering, who's going to be the quarterback on Sunday for the Patriots?
Yeah, well, that is the big story in New England right now.
And really, I think the main story in New England right now,
not just this Sunday, but even beyond.
But let's stick to this Week 12 matchup for the purposes of today's conversation.
Because when Matt Jones walked off the field at Deutsche Bank Park
in Frankfurt, Germany,
fresh off a 21-17 loss for the Indianapolis Colts,
everyone in Patriots Nation, fans and media alike,
were wondering whether or not they had seen the last of Mac on the football field as a starter for the New England Patriots.
This came after what I believe may be his most cringeworthy interception of the season.
Backfooted, off-balance, not a very smart throw for Mac Jones to make.
Obviously, he was pulled for Bailey Zappi.
Bailey threw his own egregious interception into triple coverage.
But a lot of people were wondering whether or not Mac Jones, yet another failure in clutch
situations, whether he even deserved the opportunity to retain his job and fight
for his job?
But like I've said several times on Locked On Patriots in the past weeks, it's all well
and good to want to bench your starter.
And he may even deserve it, believe it or not.
But you also have to take a look at what's on the bench and where they would be turning
to.
Zappi, 10 passes, 104 yards, and an interception during three appearances in relief
duty not exactly commensurate to what we saw from him last season when he led the patriots to
consecutive victories does he still have that in him we haven't seen it at all this year including
preseason and uh in the times that he's been able to come in and play mob up duty for mac
will greer is the hot name right now, but bottom
line, he hasn't taken a meaningful in-game NFL snap in a competitive setting since 2019. So that's
a lot to put on a quarterback, especially if he's a couple of years removed from his last in-game
action. And you've got Malik Cunningham who saved for one drive to close out their opening preseason
game against the Houston Texans,
really hasn't shown the Patriots brass all that much.
So it's all well and good to want to benchmark.
But if you're trying to remain competitive, even if the dreaded tank word is out there in the ether,
it's tough to say that you want to pull the plug at this juncture.
He may be your best option.
At the end of the day, Patricia, he may be the only option.
So I share your curiosity.
The Patriots are unsurprisingly being mum on the situation,
but we'll find our answer, and hopefully we'll find our answer
in time for Sunday's 1 p.m. kickoff.
Yes, the Patriots, of course, coming off a bye week.
They are 36-18 coming off of a bye,
but the New York Giants are 16-11 against teams that are coming off of a bye, and the Giants are not coming off of a bye, but the New York Giants are 16 and 11 against teams that are coming off of a
bye and the Giants are not coming off. So the Giants, if you're looking for a reason to be
optimistic, Giant fans, there's one reason. But you know, Mike, sticking with the key storylines,
let's stay on the quarterback theme because over for the New York Giants, it's all going to be
about Tommy D, Tommy DeVito, who's been like a feel-good story for this New York
Giants the Giants of course down to their third string quarterback DeVito the undrafted rookie and
you know he got his first start a couple weeks ago against Dallas didn't play horribly you know
obviously he looked like a rookie holding on to the ball too long you know quick to tuck it in
run instead of buying some time in the pocket. And then last week against the Washington Commanders,
leading the Giants to a win, their first win in three games.
So now it's all about, okay, what happens from here?
Now, currently, Daniel Jones is done for the season.
He just had ACL surgery on Wednesday, which according to the team was a success.
Tyrod Taylor, the backup, the number two guy currently on IR with the rib cage injury.
He has to remain on IR this week and next week during the bye. And then he's eligible to come off the injured reserve list after the bye week. So in time for the Green Bay game on Monday night.
So the question here for the Giants,
where one of the big stories is,
is can Tommy DeVito hold on to the starting job
for the Giants the rest of the year?
And it's not going to be easy
because as we have seen so many times,
and you could probably attest to this,
Bill Belichick's fingerprints are all over that defense.
And even though there are some injuries on that defense,
they like to confuse the heck out of quarterbacks.
And they don't care if you're a rookie.
They don't care if you're a 10-year veteran.
They do all kinds of funky things to confuse the opposing quarterback.
And how does Tommy DeVito respond to that?
Now, DeVito thus far has been very good with ball security.
Even when under duress, he hasn't lost the ball. He hasn't really thrown any stupid interceptions
or any, you know, balls that are into traffic where you say, oh my gosh, what was he thinking?
But with Belichick's defense, they can fool a young quarterback. And I think how Tommy DeVito
performs this week is going to go a long way
towards helping head coach Brian Dable,
offensive coordinator Mike Kafka decide if they're going to stick with DeVito
the rest of the year,
or are they going to go back to Tyrod Taylor once he is eligible and
activated to come off of IR?
Yeah, I think that's a great question for Giants fans and media alike and
anyone in Giants country right now that's looking at the long-term future for this team, whether or
not it is, you know, be who of the Giants to continue to ride the Tommy DeVito train. We're
already seeing memes up here pop up in New England Patriots social media of Joe Pesci walking through
the door in Goodfellas out to, you know, face his comeuppance in a Bill Belichick defense.
And you alluded to that. I promise, folks, I won't make any more Goodfellas references from here on in.
But bottom line, I think that is a good point. Bill Belichick has a penchant.
He has a reputation of being very difficult, especially for young or rookie quarterbacks that may be a little wide-eyed when it comes to the type of looks that Bill Belichick is going to give you,
either exotic looks or really being straightforward.
And sometimes that's enough to confuse a young quarterback as well.
So that, I think, is a good underlying storyline for the Patriots.
But on the flip side of that, you're dealing with someone in Brian Dayball
that is very familiar with Bill Belichick as well.
This is someone who's had success against Bill Belichick defenses when he was the offensive coordinator in Buffalo.
So the Giants fans are feeling a little squeamish about that.
And even though Brian Dayball has not necessarily done the job I think a lot of Giants fans felt he would do this season,
I feel pretty confident that he knows Bill Belichick as well as Bill Belichick
knows him this is going to be a very good chess match for two teams on Sunday afternoon for sure
and speaking of chess matches after this next break we're going to talk about some of the chess
matches the matchups that may very well decide the game so please don't go anywhere
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All right, everybody.
Welcome back to the crossover edition.
Locked on Giants.
Locked on Patriots.
The Giants, the home team.
The Patriots, the visitors.
I'm Patricia Traynor of Locked on Giants.
He is Mike DeBate of Latham Patriots.
And we are getting into this game.
We are getting you ready with the key storylines, the matchups.
And we're coming up, we're going to talk a little bit about predictions.
And Mike, you know, let's talk about some of the matchups.
And I'll let you go first.
I have an idea of what matchup I'm going to be watching,
but I want to hear what you have to say first.
Well, what I would love to see from the New England Patriots
is for the running game to get going early.
This is something that has been very late blooming
when it comes to the Patriots offense
and being able to utilize it to facilitate so much
of what Bill O'Brien does well in coordinating an offense.
You use the run to
set up play action to give Mac Jones an opportunity to hit his targets, get yards after the catch.
The Patriots have not done that nearly enough this season, but the last couple of games that
the Patriots have played, albeit losses against the Commanders and against the Indianapolis Colts,
you're starting to see the running game get going a little bit. Ramondre Stevenson, 87 yards against Washington, against the Colts in Germany, 88 yards.
You're starting to see that lead back really emerge.
And one of the things that has been helpful for the Patriots is play along the interior
of the offensive line, blocking well for the run.
Patriots have been very difficult and suspect when it comes to pass protection, but against
the run, they've been very good.
Now, you're looking at a Giants team that hasn't necessarily defended the run all that well this year.
So there's my matchup that I'm looking for.
It's the interior of that Patriots offensive line going against the Giants run defense.
They're 29th in the league.
They're allowing 135.1 yards on the ground 4.8 yards per carry but if there's
something that worries me in this matchup it's Dexter Lawrence there's no question about it this
guy can definitely provide you a lot of difficulty in trying to run against that defense 92.8 overall
grade best among interior defensive linemen from pro football focus. When it comes to his move from the snapper, it comes to his block recognition.
I think this is one of the most formidable interior defensive linemen in the game today.
He also is able to facilitate pass pressure as well.
So that's a concern of Mac Jones.
But if he's going to win his matchups, it's got to be against that interior of that defensive line.
David Andrews, Cole Strange, City So.
I think the Patriots have found a good core in that middle.
This may be their toughest task to date since settling on that trio.
So has been good, but he's a rookie.
He struggles in pass protection.
Andrews is solid.
Strange has been up and down because of injuries.
This is a matchup that could, I think, decide the outcome of this game for New England. How about you, Patricia? What are you looking at? You know,
I'm going to keep it in the pit as well, or the trenches. Everybody said, why do you call it the
pit? It's actually the trenches, I guess. I'm old school. I call it the pit. But anyway,
I think the Giants defensive front against the Patriots offensive line. Now, you know,
we don't know who the
quarterback's going to be. Is it going to be Bailey Zappi? Is it going to be Matt Jones? Who's it
going to be? But whoever it is, it's not Tom Brady. And Tom Brady, as you know, Mike, from covering
the Patriots for a number of years, like you did have, he could decipher things, get the ball out
of his hands, knew what to do. He could basically, you know, avoid the rush. He could
avoid the pressure. I'm not so sure with these, any of these quarterback options that the Patriots
have, that that's going to be the, the case. According to Pro Football Focus, the Patriots
offensive line ranked 28th in pass blocking efficiency, 81.1%. They've given up quite a few pressures.
And, you know, when you have a young quarterback back there
who takes maybe a little bit longer to decide where he's going to go
with the ball or what he's going to do, that can be a recipe for disaster.
I mean, we've kind of seen it with the Giants
and Tommy DeVito holding onto the ball, averaging 3.03 seconds thus far in his two starts.
So for me, you know, the Giants, Kayvon Thibodeau has been on a tear these last few games.
He was quiet, you know, in the Dallas game, but he has been on a tear.
First defender in a Wink-Martindale coach defense to actually have double-digit sacks.
That's amazing.
And he's only like two and a half sacks, I think behind the team,
the the league leader in sacks.
So it's been a while since the Giants have had a sack leader.
So between Thibodeau, between Dexter Lawrence, who is also, you know,
quite a load to handle.
I mean, he's going to draw easily double teams,
which should open up stuff for,
you know,
the Thibodeaux's and the other guys to come in.
That's going to be a matchup that I want to keep an eye on because if the
Giants could rattle whoever the quarterback is,
it really won't matter who Belichick plays back there,
get pressure on him,
move the quarterback off his mark for some mistakes for some,
you know,
bad decisions.
And maybe just, maybe you give yourself a chance to win this one.
Such an interesting point that you make about the Blitz and Wink Martindale
and his love for, you know, getting pressure on quarterbacks.
Mack Jones, when he spoke to the media on Wednesday morning,
did not reveal who was going to be the starting quarterback,
but a cryptic comment that he made stuck in my head.
And he said, it takes experience to be able to counteract a Giants defense that loves to blitz,
that loves to put pressure on the quarterback and show you a lot of different looks. I think
that's interesting because if you look at the arsenal behind Mac Jones, you don't have a whole
lot of NFL game ready experience. Bailey Zappi's experience has been limited, especially this season.
Will Greer, we said last segment, not a competitive snap since 2019.
And Malik Cunningham is an undrafted rookie relegated to mostly practice squad duties.
So that could be interesting.
Does that force a Patriots hand to put Mac Jones in there at the same time?
What the Giants do well has been Mac Jones's toughest task
to date he doesn't handle the pressure well especially when it starts coming from the second
and third level of the defense that could really be something so I'm glad that you brought that up
that matchup is a lot more intriguing than simply Dexter Lawrence against the interior I'm going to
be keeping my sharp eye on that but really, I think the Patriots O-line
and their ability to handle the blitz is going to be just as intriguing, if not more, against that
total Giants defense. Yeah, and it always starts up front. I mean, you can make the same argument
for the Giants offensive line, the worst in the league, having given up the most sacks in the
league. Now, not all the sacks are on the Giants offensive line. Some of them you got to tack onto the quarterback for, as I said,
holding onto the ball too long.
But really the offensive line, I think everybody can agree safely
that the Giants offensive line has not been a strength for this team.
It's had some injuries.
Evan Neal, the right tackle, who hasn't really developed the way they hoped he would,
he's probably going to miss another game.
Andrew Thomas, their stud left tackle, he's banged up, but he should be good to go.
You know, he's dealing with a knee, uh, and then of course is coming off the hamstring injury.
And then the interior where you have Justin Pugh, who had a kind of a rough game last
week, he's playing left guard.
You've got the rookie John Michael Schmitz.
And then, you know, I'm assuming at right guard,
it's either going to be Marcus McAthon or maybe it's going to be Mark Lewinsky.
I'm not even sure, you know, who it's going to be.
Tyree Phillips will probably fill in for Evan Neal at right tackle.
So just a lot of mixing and matching and just that offensive line has been a problem
for the New York Giants. And that's where it all starts, my friend. It starts in the pit.
You know, if you can't win, whether you're on offense or defense, if you can't win that battle,
then what chance do you have? Yeah, you're absolutely right. And that is where these
games are won. And then it always makes the matchups at the skill positions a lot more intriguing.
The corners going against the receivers.
These things are all sparked by what you see up front.
And I think for these two teams, that's going to be the battle over the afternoon.
All right.
Well, speaking of battles coming up, we're going to talk about predictions.
And then, Mike, I've got a question I have to ask you.
I didn't get to ask it in the first segment, but I'm going to ask it in the next segment.
So don't go anywhere, folks.
We'll be right back on this crossover edition,
Locked On Giants, Locked On Patriots.
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All right, everybody,
welcome back to this crossover edition, Locked on Giants, Locked on Patriots.
I'm Patricia Trena of Locked on Giants.
Here's Mike DeBate of Locked on Patriots.
The Giants, the home team, and the Giants looking to record their second win in a row.
They have not strung together back-to-back wins this season.
So they're hoping
for that. And I know Giant fans, of course, are hoping for the opposite because of draft position
and tanking and all that stuff. But I have a burning question. Before we get into predictions,
Mike, I've got to ask you, there have been reports, rumors, whatever you want to call it,
that Bill Belichick may be in his last year as
the coach. Now, I don't know what his contract status is. I think I had read that he had signed
a multi-year extension. And, you know, if he's fired, there's going to be this whole big mess
if somebody wants to get him. But what can you tell us about Bill Belichick's future with the
Patriots? Well, based on what we've heard regarding Bill's contract, and again,
this is always the most closely guarded secret in New England, Patricia. Bill's contract is
reportedly through the end of 2024. So if a team wants to secure his services for this upcoming
season in 2024, it would have to be via trade or working out some sort of a deal with the front
office in order to allow him to pursue another opportunity. I don't think the Patriots are just going to let Bill Belichick walk out
the door for nothing. So now you're probably looking at a trade. If that were to happen,
there are a lot of pieces of red tape that would have to be cleared up, including what Bill
Belichick's compensation would be. That's not something that we're privy to. So that could get
interesting. Belichick is saying all the right things when you speak to him during media
availability, saying that I'm focused on what I need to focus on. I can only control what I can
control. I'm ready for the Giants or I'm ready for the Colts or whatever team is coming up on that
given Sunday is going to be his main focus. But you also know that somewhere in the back of his
mind, Bill Belichick realizes that he's now only one of three coaches to win 300 games. He's got his eye
on Don Shula. I don't think retirement is something he's ready to do. He doesn't seem like the type of
coach that's ready to walk away. So it's all well and good in New England right now to look at the
two and eight record and say, Bill Belichick is the reason, the game's passed him by, let him go, bring in a new coach, offensive-minded coach, we're done
with Bill, and the old man has finally had it. But again, it's almost like a Mac Jones situation.
You know what you've got. You don't know what you're going to get in that room. Who is better
equipped to lead this rebuild than Bill Belichick? If the Craft crafts feel that a new voice is the optimal choice here,
then they'll make the move. They're not going to stand on sentimentality. But at the same time,
you also have to weigh all of the options of the guys you're going to be bringing in.
I think right now it's a 60-40 split, in my opinion. I know that's in favor of Bill Belichick
coming back to New England next year, but those are the highest odds I've given him leaving since these rumors started about
five or six years ago when I first started covering the New England Patriots.
This is the most likely that I would say is the opportunity for him to leave.
And where he goes is a matter of conjecture.
The Chargers are being rumored.
The Commanders are being rumored.
Patricia, you can say this better than anyone. I know there's probably a lot of people in Giants country that would love to see
Bill Belichick return we don't know what that means for Dayball next year I know he's been given
uh quote unquote that blessing from above that they're likely to retain his services but
when Bill Belichick is dangling out there you know I don't know strange things happen so
my gut reaction tells me he's back in New England, but it would not shock me to see him leave New England at the end of this season.
All right. Well, we'll just have to wait and see. And by the way, I don't think
the odds of Bill Belichick landing with the Giants, I would say are slim to none,
even if he does become available. And Mike, speaking of of odds our friends at fandu have the giants as a
three and a half point underdog at home against the patriots what's your thought on that do who
do you think wins this weekend's game well i can never say with absolute certainty that the new
england patriots have a get right game well not this season not with this team not with this team. And the way the Giants played against the Washington Commanders,
I think this is a very worrisome matchup for the New England Patriots.
And a couple of weeks ago, I might have thought this was a little more evenly matched.
But look, if the Patriots are going to be successful at all,
they have to win their battles on third down.
That's been, I think, their biggest Achilles heel all season long.
They're doing a decent job of containing on defense, but on offense, they were only able
to convert six of 14 attempts against the Indianapolis Colts two weeks ago.
And this is a team that is not known for their third down prowess.
If the Giants can win these matchups and keep the Patriots in third and long situations,
it's going to be a very long afternoon for the Pats and the Meadowlands this Sunday.
They need to do that and they need to execute. That means a solid performance all the way around from their
offense, and we talked about that in the previous segment. What the Patriots also have to do is they
have to be smart, and they have to be capable of handling the run on defense as well, and that's
where guys like Jelani Tavai and Mack Wilson are going to be so vital because I do believe that Saquon
Barkley is going to draw coverage against guys like Kyle Duggar, Jabril Peppers, maybe even a
Jalen Mills. Adrian Phillips may even chip in a little bit. I think he's going to be covered by
safeties, but we've seen that when Barkley gets linebackers one-on-one, just take a look at the
tape of what he did against Yaman Davis, and I think you can see what this kid is capable of breaking. If the Patriots allow Saquon to get those types of
one-on-one matchups, it's going to be disastrous for New England. So stay tight on the run defense,
win your battles on third down. The eternal optimist in me, for the sake and sanity of my
fan base, Patricia, I'm going to say the Patriots eat this one out 19-16
in, I think, a very hard-fought defensive battle between both sides.
But it would not shock me to see the Giants come away with this,
especially if the Tommy DeVito that showed up last week shows up this week in the middle ones.
And speaking of DeVito, I think the game plan has to be get the ball out of his hands quickly.
Last week, DeVito threw quite a few downfield passes with some success,
I might add.
But you know what?
They're going to have to get rid of the ball quickly.
Don't give Belichick and that defense a chance to confuse the kid.
Keep it simple.
Get the ball out of the hand to a Wandale Robinson or a Jalen Hyatt.
Get him involved, especially if Darius
Slayton isn't able to play. Run Saquon Barkley. Saquon Barkley last week as a receiver and as a
running back was able to help move the chain. So he's obviously got to be a big part of that
offense. And then on defense, as I mentioned, get pressure on whoever the quarterback is. I think
it's going to be Mack Jones. I'd be surprised if it wasn't him.
So get pressure on him.
Force him into making some mistakes.
This defense, this Giants defense, is now playing with a lot of confidence coming off of that game against Washington.
I think it spills over.
And, you know, I'm going to break a pledge that I made.
I said I would not pick the Giants to win a game the rest of the year
until they gave me a reason to do so. I the year until they gave me a reason to do so.
I think last week they gave me a reason to do so.
And I understand Washington isn't very good.
You know, they're better than the Giants.
So let's call it what it is.
But I'm going to say the Giants upset the Patriots at home.
I think it will be a low scoring game.
And I'm going to say 24-21.
I think they win it on a field goal.
I think the Giants definitely provided a good amount of optimism for Giants fans last week.
And that should spill over this week into this matchup coming up on Sunday, Patricia.
Yep, absolutely.
And Mike's going to be a good one.
I look forward to covering it, as I'm sure you do.
And folks, that's going to do it for us here on this crossover Thursday
edition, Locked on Giants, Locked
on Patriots. Be sure you follow
myself if you want information on
Giants, or if you want information on
Patriots, follow Mike or on Locked on Patriots.
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Thank you and have a good one, everybody.