Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots ‘Problem Areas’ in Prep for 49ers: O-Line, Jacoby Brissett, Drake Maye, Edge

Starting point is 00:00:00 Will an up-tempo offensive attack really help to mask the New England Patriots' biggest problems along the offensive line? Stick around, you're about to be locked in to 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 to all of you, Foxborough faithful. And thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. I'm your host, Mike DeBate, and I cover your New England Patriots.

Starting point is 00:00:38 For Patriots Country of Athlon Sports, reach out to me. Let me know what's on your mind on X at MDABAPENFL. While you're out there showing some love to Lockdown Patriots social media style, please follow our account there as well at LO underscore Patriots. And Pats fans, on today's show, at one and two, your

Starting point is 00:00:57 New England Patriots continue to have a lot of problem areas, a lot of areas in need of improvement. And we're going to break them all down for you here today. From an offensive standpoint, from a defensive standpoint, and we're even going to dip into those San Francisco 49ers. What are the biggest challenges they pose to your New England Patriots? And joining me here to break it all down,

Starting point is 00:01:19 because we need a reasonable mind to break it all down, is my good friend, my Patriots Paisan, columnist extraordinaire at Patsfans.com, as well as being the co-host of Patriots 4th & 2, another great podcast you need to add to your rotation, Steve Balistrieri. Steve, welcome to Locked On, Patriots. Thank you for joining me today. Always a pleasure. Always a pleasure.

Starting point is 00:01:40 I love talking football with my paisan. But before we start, we should send a shout out to Murph. Thomas Murphy was in a bad car wreck this weekend, but he's on the mend. He's back home, so we're glad to hear that. And I think he's just been Wally Pipped. Well, only time will tell. I think Murph's going to have something to say about that one i'm sure he's sending me a nasty gram already oh i'm sure yeah and you know what and uh it definitely we like angry murph when he shows up here on locked on patriots but now bottom line murph is a true member of the locked on patriots familia one of the most valued friends here that we have on locked on and we're certainly glad to see him on the men. He'll continue to be on the men.

Starting point is 00:02:26 And I got a funny feeling he's going to be back on these airwaves sooner rather than later because there's a lot to talk about at Patriots Nation. We all know Murph loves to share his opinions on that. So a tip of the cap, my friend. Continue to get well. We're here for you. We love you. And we're right behind you.

Starting point is 00:02:42 And of course, folks, today's episode brought to you by FanDuel. Place your first $5 bet and you'll get started with $200 in bonus bets guaranteed. Visit FanDuel.com to get started. And Steve, I think it's time for us to get started here on Lockdown Patriots because the Patriots face a 4-15 kickoff time on Sunday, week four in the NFL. The Patriots will be traveling to Santa Clara, California, and they will be taking on the San Francisco 49ers. Now, the Niners are sitting at one and two, but if we're being honest, it still looks

Starting point is 00:03:16 like a mismatch on paper when it comes to this game. The Niners are defending NFC champions, so a lot more is expected of them, and there is a possibility that they may be viewing this game as a get-right game. But, Steve, you and I both know that's why they play games on the field, not on paper. New England Patriots do have areas that are in need of improvement, and if they want to be able to compete with San Francisco on Sunday, they're going to need to shore up some of these areas. And let's start on offense, because they're going to need to shore up some of these areas. And let's start on offense because

Starting point is 00:03:45 they're going to need solid contributions from the offensive line. They're going to need their pass catchers to step up and they're going to need their quarterback to start taking some chances down the field. Steve, in this regard, when you look at the biggest Patriots problem area right now on offense, what do they need to improve between now and Sunday to make this one interesting? I think they have to, well, I think it's two things. They have to protect their quarterback much better than they have. You know, I watched the all 24 or all 22 film of the Jets game. And, you know, there were wide receivers getting open open but your quarterback doesn't have time to look at half of this you know his progressions and you know he's running for his life there was

Starting point is 00:04:37 a couple of plays where he was forced to you know move in the pocket. And at the time there was wide receivers open. And I know there's a lot of people that want to see Jacoby Brissett put on the bench and Drake May coming in. But honestly, I don't see how things would be much different because Drake May isn't going to have that time either. He's going to be forced to, you know, move around in the pocket until they get this offensive line straight. And there's a lot of new faces and we knew it was going to take time. We just didn't know it was going to be as bad as it is. However, the other thing I think they need to do is get back to who they are. Last week, I thought they went a little overboard trying to get the passing game going. Get back to running the football.

Starting point is 00:05:29 And then, you know, if you're successful running the ball, mix in some of that play action. You know, take some shots down the field. If you can get the 49ers leaning heavy on the running game, there'll be some areas there where they can take a shot. But I mean, that's a big task. Yeah, that's a very big task. And again, I think the Patriots will try to return to more of a run-centric start, at least when it comes to offense, because that is what an Alex Van Pelt offense is predicated on. And we've said that many times here

Starting point is 00:06:02 on Locked On Patriots. But I want to circle back to something that you just said about Drake May, because the argument amongst a lot of members of Patriots Nation right now is that this team would benefit from the kid being in there. The argument for it is that when the Patriots are running a more quick hitting spread offense, it helps to mask some of the problems that the O-line is having right now in creating time for the passer to be able to find open receivers, to be able to execute properly in the pocket or when they have to go off script. May's athleticism makes him a better off-script quarterback than Jacoby Brissett because he has the ability to scramble and he does have the ability to complete passes off script. We watched him do it last year at North Carolina and and he did it very well and the patriots obviously if drake was going to be in the lineup they're going to run more of those gun runs they're going to run more rpos play action and the quick game is going to be a very

Starting point is 00:06:55 strong focal point of the way they're going to play ball however there is a flip side to that and the biggest flip side to that is you run the risk of Drake May not only getting injured, but I also think it's not being talked about enough that his mechanics could be thrown off by having to go off script so much. Part of being an NFL quarterback is learning how to navigate through the nuances of NFL defenses. It's a lot different than the way he played quarterback for North Carolina. And if he reverts too much to the UNC version of Drake May, I think it's going to derail a lot of the progress he's made in trying to become an NFL quarterback. The footwork that he's been learning and he's been trying to master could end up getting derailed. In my opinion, I think those

Starting point is 00:07:42 negatives outweigh the positives of giving Drake May the start at this point. I still think he's a little bit away, and I think the Patriots will be temperant or should be temperant when it comes to putting him in there, especially knowing the problems this offensive line could be facing. Right, and you're just putting too much pressure on him. I mean, you know, I hear the argument, well, you know, Caleb Williams is starting, Jaden Daniels is starting, Bo Nix is starting, you know. But those teams don't have as many negatives for the quarterback coming in right off the bat. You have a very fluid situation on the offensive line and then you know your your best wide receiver is still on you know uh pup so and you know you have a couple of rookies who

Starting point is 00:08:40 and one second year guy that barely played last year. So at wide receivers, I just don't see the value in it right now. You know, if down the road, the offensive line starts to gel a little bit, starts to solidify, then by all means, that's when the time will come. But, you know, I don't want to see the kid lose his confidence. And I don't want to see them revert to a college-type offense because that's not what they brought him in here for. They brought him in to be an NFL quarterback, and they've been showing patience with him,

Starting point is 00:09:15 and I think they need to continue to do that. Yeah, very well said. And that college-style offense is not what Alex Van Pelt wants to incorporate here in New England, and that will have a detrimental impact on Drake May's development. So bottom line, folks, the Patriots know what they're looking for from Drake May. They know what they're looking for from their offense. When those two things come together, you'll see Drake May in the lineup. I do believe it's going to be sooner rather than later. Also, one thing I wanted to come back to, Steve, that I thought you made an interesting point with was the Patriots getting a little bit too

Starting point is 00:09:48 reliant on trying to force the passing game rather than test it properly. Against the 49ers this weekend, do you see a pathway where the Patriots can fully utilize the run but still allow themselves to test that passing game off a play action, or is this simply not the week they want to be doing that? They might be forced to do it. I mean, you know, depending on how this game plays out, I mean, this was one of those games that I had chalked up that, you know, this was going to be a loss. And I don't think many people would disagree with that.

Starting point is 00:10:25 Now, you know, I think if they ran a couple of RPOs to give, you know, Brissette a chance to see what's there in front of them. I mean, if the blocking can hold up, then I think you should give it a try. I mean, it can't hurt at this point because you want to get your passing game going and you want your quarterback to be able to see the field. I mean, you know, there was several times last week where under two seconds he was under pressure and sometimes under two seconds under pressure by multiple jets. And, you know, you can't blame the quarterback for something like that. It's just, it's impossible. If you had flipped around and put Aaron Rodgers in that position, he would have failed too because you can't do that. I mean, you know, we all know he has to see the field before, you know,

Starting point is 00:11:25 he's getting hit or has to move away. So, you know, this week maybe mix in some RPOs and see what you can generate off of that. You know, they have guys, Pop Doboglis, I really like. And he made some strides last week. And I wouldn't mind seeing him get involved again in the running game. We saw the one play with him, you know, it loosened up the defense a little bit. So I want to see more of that.

Starting point is 00:12:01 Yeah, I think Patriots fans would love to see that. I know I would. And look, when you look at the amount of pressure that Patriots quarterbacks, and I really point the finger squarely at Jacoby Brissett because he's taken the vast majority of the meaningful snaps here so far in the 2024 regular season. Next Gen Stats has him charted as being under pressure 44.8% of the time. That's a lot of pressure, Steve. And that's a lot of pressure to put on someone like a drake may who would be coming in and be forced to have to endure that plus all the growing pains that

Starting point is 00:12:31 he's going through as an nfl quarterback and trying to find his own niche he'll get out there sooner or later he'll be able to play through pressure nobody's trying to put this kid in bubble wrap and leave him on the shelf for a long period of time. I just think you have to be very strategic about when to do it. And if that's the case, and the Patriots do want to make sure that this kid is at his best when he's given the keys to the kingdom, I still think the Pats have a few things to figure out along the offensive line first before we throw this kid into the wild and allow him to showcase what he can do. So, folks, what is your biggest problem area for the Patriots on offense?

Starting point is 00:13:08 Is it that porous offensive line? Is it the lack of contributions from the pass catchers? Or could it be the quarterback position itself? Maybe Jacoby is just not aggressive enough to be able to lead this team. Let us know what you think in the comments section below. We're always interested. But, Steve, it's not just about offensive improvements. The New England Patriots defense did not have their best game on Thursday night against the New York Jets. We talked a little

Starting point is 00:13:34 bit about that earlier this week when we recapped the Jets game. However, I'm going to put you on the hot seat in just a minute, my friend, and I'm going to ask you what the Patriots' biggest defensive problem area is. Could it be the fact what the Patriots' biggest defensive problem area is. Could it be the fact that the Patriots have not been able to set the edge consistently? Steve and I are going to talk about that in just a moment 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, when you're hiring for your small business, you want to find quality professionals that are right for the role. That's why you have to check out LinkedIn Jobs. LinkedIn

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Starting point is 00:14:52 Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. That's linkedin.com slash locked on NFL to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on Locked on Patriots and making us your first listen each and every day. Folks, if you have, we definitely encourage you to continue to do so. And a big tip of the cap and a thank you to all of you, especially all you everydayers that make Locked On Patriots possible. If you've made Locked On Patriots your first listen today,

Starting point is 00:15:28 I encourage you to make your second listen, our good friends over at the Locked On NFL Podcast. All the biggest stories across the NFL brought to you and broken down by all of the great analysts we have right here on the NFL channel of the Locked On Podcast Network. Much like Locked On Patriots, Locked On NFL is free and available on all platforms and a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And folks, we are breaking down your team, your favorite team in Foxborough

Starting point is 00:16:00 with our resident voice of reason, Steve Balistrieri of Patsfans.com and the Patriots 4th and 2 podcast. And Steve, in the previous segment, we talked about the Patriots' biggest offensive problem areas. But one of the things that I think was a surprise coming from the 24-3 loss to the New York Jets last Thursday is that the Patriots' defense looked mortal for the first time. Maybe a little bit too mortal for Patriots fans liking. Team had difficulty solving a problem like Aaron Rodgers, and they also struggled in terms of setting the edge, in terms of some of the fundamentals you usually see the Patriots excel at in the secondary.

Starting point is 00:16:38 When you look at this team, Steve, especially heading into this weekend's matchup against the Niners, what is the biggest message Gerard Mayo and that defensive coaching staff should be sending to the defense? Well, I think it starts with what you mentioned right off the bat, setting the edge. The Patriots are always known for setting the edge, not only in the running game, but in the passing game. Too many times last week against the Jets, their rush lane integrity got compromised. And, you know, you had edge rushers, you know,

Starting point is 00:17:16 trying to crash down and Rodgers escaped to the outside. And it cost them 80 yards and a touchdown on those eight plays five of them more passes he completed five out of five for 62 yards and a score and he rushed three times for 18 yards and that all stems from not setting the edge properly and maintaining your rush lane integrity. And all of those just, you know, kept drives going. And that was a big, big issue for them. You know, granted he was eating them alive underneath from what Rogers has always done. I wrote about it in my keys to the game last week. It's those quick slants and quick crossers.

Starting point is 00:18:05 Rogers has made a living off of those for years, and they didn't do a good job of that. But to me, you know, their biggest problems were on the edge because those plays kept extending drives and, you know, kept them on the field. And, you know, I think it all starts, you know, with that edge and, you know, that's something they're going to have to very much right. The ship with this week, Brock Purdy gets outside. We know he can make plays with his feet. They have wide receivers.

Starting point is 00:18:42 If they catch you, you know, pinching in, they'll run a end around or, you know, one of those jet type sweeps and they'll kill you with that, with the speed they have on the outside. Very well said. Very, very well said, especially when it comes to setting the edge, because I do think consistently setting the edge may be their biggest red flag heading into this game. Look, the Patriots lost the edge more than they set it against the Jets last Thursday. That can't happen if you want to remain competitive. It definitely can't happen if you want to win. So the Patriots need to shore that up and they need to shore that up in a hurry. You need to get 99 home. You need to be able to get Keon White into lanes where he's pursuing the quarterback

Starting point is 00:19:25 and he's wreaking havoc. You saw them do that against the Cincinnati Bengals in game one. In game two, you saw the Patriots do it a little bit and the Seattle Seahawks offense was able to catch on to it a little bit. They were able to at least keep them at bay. Obviously, the Patriots lacked any opportunity to control any of the tempo on Thursday night. When you yield the time of possession, 19 minutes to approximately 40 minutes for your opposition, you know something is going wrong on the defensive side of the ball, and it doesn't give your offense any chance to find rhythm. So there was a lot of mea culpa going around on Thursday night between the Patriots' offense and the defense,

Starting point is 00:20:05 but we also saw some deficiencies in the Patriots being able to defend against the run, and I think this is a direct result of Juwan Bentley not being in the lineup. He is so important to the middle of that defense and helping that run defense move forward. When you look at this team now as presently constituted, because as Rick Pitino would say, Juwan Bentley's not walking through that door, folks. You're going to have to solve this problem with a combination of Raekwon McMillan, Jelani Tavai playing off the ball. How do the Patriots counter that?

Starting point is 00:20:38 Because you know that the 49ers are going to be eager to move that ball and run the football even without christian mccaffrey in the lineup oh yeah i mean uh look i i know ray corn mcmillan a lot of people were you know were hopping on him last week you got to remember this is his first start in quite a while and you know uh you're replacing a guy that knows the inside and outs of the defense. Perhaps the communication wasn't as great without Bentley in there, although Gerard Mayo said the communication was fine.

Starting point is 00:21:20 But, look, you know, McMillan and Tavai each had 10 tackles. But, you know, I think it was a combination of Barmore being out, you know, Bentley being out. That middle was a little suspect. And, you know, the Jets took advantage of it. I thought they ran the ball very well up the middle against the Patriots. And that's something I think they can look to improve upon. I've always liked McMillan, as I told you last week.

Starting point is 00:21:56 I mean, I think, you know, he's a very, very good football player. And I think he's going to be just fine. But, you know, maybe the last week was, you know, one of those games because the entire defense, to me, Thursday, didn't have that jump in their step that we saw. You know, they looked flat. They looked slow. So they need to get that back this week they you know by the time the game rolls around they'll have 10 10 days to prepare for the 49ers and i i look for them

Starting point is 00:22:35 to at least be more active out there agreed and i think the patriots will be more active out there and look it takes an effort in every aspect of the defense. You need that front seven to be formidable. You need that defensive front, the interior of the defensive line to be strong against the run and to provide the type of opposition that you need to get the linebackers into gear and to make them a part of your pass rush. That pass rush over on the edge needs to be much more aggressive in getting after the quarterback. I think improved play and maybe a little boost from Keon White can help that a little and get guys like Dietrich Wise involved. And we saw him get after the quarterback a little bit, or at least try to against the Jets last week.

Starting point is 00:23:19 Patriots need to improve that. And that's going to allow the secondary to be able to set. Christian Gonzalez has been under some fire, which I think is a little on the disingenuous side. I think if you're going after Christian now, I think considering what the Patriots have been through on both sides of the ball, I think that's a little bit unfair, but you want to see a little more out of him as a lockdown corner. And definitely the safety tandem of Kyleyle duggar and jabril peppers is only as strong as what jabril is going to be able to do if he's banged up a little bit so these are all concerns for the patriots but i think it begins and ends with setting a consistent edge and if they're able to do that it's going to help mask a lot of the little periphery problems

Starting point is 00:24:00 that the patriots have right now on the outliers. So once again, folks, what is your biggest defensive red flag for the New England Patriots heading into this matchup with the Niners? Drop us a note in the section below. We'd love to hear your thoughts on the defense. Steve and I will review them, and who knows, maybe when we preview the game later on this week, we'll definitely read a couple of these comments out and address some of the concerns, some of the things that we see coming from Patriots practice in the next few days but Steve

Starting point is 00:24:29 no matter how much the Patriots prepare team on the other side is definitely battle-tested they know how to win they know how to go deep into the playoffs they were a Super Bowl participant just one year ago but right now the San Francisco 49ers sit at 1-2, just like your New England Patriots. What can the Patriots expect from this Niners team on Sunday? Well, Steve and I are going to review what we believe to be the biggest challenge that the Niners pose to the Patriots when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast wraps up right here on the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

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Starting point is 00:25:53 Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on Locked On Patriots, talking about the Patriots' biggest problem areas, heading into a week four matchup against the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, California at Levi's stadium. Folks, we are only scratching the surface when it comes to the Patriots and Niners. Don't forget crossover Thursday with the hosts of locked on Niners.

Starting point is 00:26:15 It's going to be a lot of fun breaking this one down with my brethren over in the Bay area. Not going to want to miss that folks. Definitely download, subscribe to and follow wherever you're getting your podcasts to ensure you don't miss a single second of Lockdown Patriots and Lockdown Niners crossing the streams. But today, we're going to talk a little bit about the New England Patriots and the problems that the Niners can pose for them. We need a reasonable mind to decipher this, and we've had the wisdom and counsel of our resident voice of reason steve balistrieri of batsfans.com here with us today to talk about the patriots problem areas

Starting point is 00:26:50 well now steve we're going to flip the script a little bit and talk about these san francisco 49ers one and two coming off of uh i don't want to say a heartbreaking loss but i think a disheartening loss to the los angeles rams last Sunday. They had this game almost pretty much in hand, 24-17 with less than five minutes to go, and they relinquished the lead and eventually relinquished the game, 27-24, to the Los Angeles Rams. So the Niners are reeling right now, or are they? A lot of people think that this may be the game that wakes the sleeping Giants. So, Steve, when you look at this Niners team from top to bottom, just months removed from representing the NFC in the Super Bowl,

Starting point is 00:27:32 what is the biggest problem, the biggest challenge that they pose to the New England Patriots right now? Well, you know, initially I was going to say, you know, their defense because they're fast and they're very good. But I think when you look at this team, you know, with them trying to get on track, I mean, once they get everything moving in the right direction, they're very, very hard to stop offensively. You know, they're so multiple multiple they can show run and then throw the ball over your head they can show pass and run it down your throat even without debo

Starting point is 00:28:14 samuel and and christian mccaffrey this offense is still very very good i mean mean, just against the Rams on Sunday, Juwan Jennings, 175 yards receiving, you know? So I look at that offense being so difficult to stop. And, and especially right now, the Patriots defense is reeling a little bit, you know, with two off, I would say two off-par games in a row where they've given up combined in the last two weeks at about 600 yards passing. So that's very unlike a New England team.

Starting point is 00:28:56 And if they start getting some – the passing game going early in this one, I think it's going to be really, really tough because then that running game can come full, you know, full to bear on this defense. I really think that's going to be your biggest challenge this week. Yeah, I agree with you. I think that when you look at this Niners team, the biggest challenge to me that they pose to the New England Patriots is scheme, both on the offensive side of the ball and the defensive side of the ball. That scheme creates so much versatility and the versatility in their players creates so much versatility in their scheme that it could become a problem for any team. And once the Niners put that all together, you're going to start to

Starting point is 00:29:39 see the team that won the NFC last year, the team that consistently looked like the best team in the conference last year. Defensively, they've got guys that can get after the quarterback. Leonard Floyd obviously comes to mind. He's one of their top rushers. Nick Bosa obviously has had a couple of sacks. He's still one of the best pass rushers in the league. Devondre Campbell is someone that can be a versatile piece in that defense. Now Now they did lose Javon Hargrave. He's going to be out for the year. Jordan Elliott's going to come in and take his place at the defensive tackle position. But in my opinion, I still think the Niners are deep enough to be able to withstand that

Starting point is 00:30:15 hit and keep moving forward. So the Niners defense is going to be ready. They're going to be prepared to face this Patriots offense. But when you look at what the offense of the 49ers can do against the Patriots defense, that's where this becomes interesting. Because once again, the Patriots had difficulty stopping the run against the Jets. The Niners are going to want to come at you and they're going to want to run it. Even with McCaffrey out of the lineup, Jordan Mason has been a very good understudy. And I think he's proven that this team can run the ball effectively.

Starting point is 00:30:46 You've got guys up and down this roster that are capable of doing it. Even with Debo banged up, Brandon Ayuk is still in the lineup. Maybe he'll start earning some of that monster contract that he got from the Niners just a few weeks ago. Juwan Jennings is someone that can definitely put the game on his shoulders. And Brock Purdy, at the end of the day, is playing behind a very strong offensive line. When they're blocking for him and creating opportunity,

Starting point is 00:31:12 he's one of the best in the business of being able to find open men. So it's going to be very interesting to see how the Patriots counter some of the versatility that the Niners have, because they can beat you in so many different ways. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you know, they're so creative with their running and passing games. And when they're clicking, I normally just love to watch that offense go. I probably won't be loving to watch it go this Sunday,

Starting point is 00:31:42 but you have to respect it for what it is. And they're just so good once they get their running and passing game in sync. And that's going to be tough for the Patriots this week. I really do believe that. Even without Debo and McCaffrey, they have the players that can step up. I like their full back. I mean, you know, they just, and then I think Brock Purdy, I just don't think he gets his due

Starting point is 00:32:15 simply because he was, you know, uh, the last pick in the draft. I think people still look upon him as not being that good. And I'm here to tell you, I think he is. No, I agree with you. I think he is too. Look, he's far from being Mr. Irrelevant. I think we can all agree on that.

Starting point is 00:32:36 You don't get to the Super Bowl and have the type of career he's had thus far being Mr. Irrelevant. But at the same time, yeah, there is a stigma that will continue to kind of be around him and kind of surround him until he breaks that ceiling and actually hoists a Lombardi trophy. Conventional wisdom would say, oh, well, he got there. He's going to be able to shed that. But we haven't seen much slack thrown his way for that type of success. So eventually, Purdy, I think, will get the credit he deserves for being the type of

Starting point is 00:33:05 navigator he is of that Kyle Shanahan offense in San Francisco. But again, I think it begins and ends with a run on both sides of the ball for the New England Patriots. I think they need to establish it and get back to their roots, like Steve said earlier, in order to remain competitive. You've got to take shots down the field. You've got to get the passing game going. But the one thing the Patriots don't want to do is force it. Let the play action come from the running game, from the outside zone, and then try to see if you can take some deep shots down the field. On the defensive side of the ball, you've got to stop it. Stopping Jordan Mason's not going to be easy, but it is a task that the Patriots have to be up to in order to be able to take on the Niners this weekend. Folks, we always enjoy the wisdom, the counsel, and the level-headed reason of my good friend

Starting point is 00:33:50 Steve Balistrieri every time he drops by the pod and every time he comes by to lend his expertise when it comes to the world of NFL football. You can catch Steve on Patriots 4th and 2 podcasts alongside the great Derek Havens. We're still long overdue to get the both of them on here at the same time. We're working things out, folks. Patriots 4th and 2 going to invade lockdown Patriots sooner or later, and we can't wait to make it happen. And, of course, all throughout the week, Steve sends his wisdom and counsel to patsfans.com,

Starting point is 00:34:18 so check out all of his great written work at patsfans.com, including his weekly grade report and, of course, his Sunday column, which I believe is among the best in the business, not just in Patriots media, all over, folks. That's how good it is. Follow him on Twitter at SteveB7SFG. Once again, I'm Mike DeBate, and on behalf of Steve Balistrieri, we appreciate all of your support, and thank you for tuning in today to Locked on Patriots, and we'll see

Starting point is 00:34:44 you back here again next time on the Locked On Patriots podcast.

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