Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots: Rhamondre Stevenson Sidelined; Pats Grades in Loss to Chargers

Episode Date: December 6, 2023

The New England Patriots has will be without the services of their top running back for the foreseeable future, as Rhamondre Stevenson will be sidelined with an ankle injury. Joining host Mike D’Aba...te is Steve Balestrieri of PatsFans.com as the duo discuss who besides Ezekiel Elliott will be ‘next man up’ at running back. They also provide their positional grades for the Pats performance in their loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 13. 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.Skylight FrameSkylight is a touchscreen photo frame you can send photos to straight from your phone! Get $15 off a Skylight Frame at Skylightframe.com/Lockedon.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.Jase MedicalGet $20 off these lifesaving antibiotics with Jase Medical by using code LOCKEDON at checkout on jasemedical.com.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

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Starting point is 00:00:00 You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful, and thank you once again for making Lockdown Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage and also your first listen every day. Remember, Lockdown Patriots is a proud part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.
Starting point is 00:00:41 Download, subscribe to, follow Lockdown Patriots wherever you get podcasts to ensure that you get the latest episode as soon as it's available. I'm your host, Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. Reach out to me and let me know what's on your mind on
Starting point is 00:00:57 X at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L. While you're out there showing social media love to Locked On Patriots, please be sure to follow our account there as well at LO underscore Patriots. And today's episode brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, use the code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed and pats fans it is a short turnaround for your new england patriots this week as they will travel to the steel city for a thursday night matchup with the pittsburgh
Starting point is 00:01:32 steelers already shaping up to be an interesting one in terms of who will be playing and who won't be and of course we're still not ready to completely leave the Patriots Chargers behind our grades for that game in today and of course if we're talking grades who else but my Patriots Paisan and our Pats professor here on Locked On Patriots columnist extraordinaire for patsfans.com as well as being the co-host of another amazing Patriots podcast Patriots fourth and two alongside Derek Avins he is my, Steve Balistrieri. Thank you so much for joining me here today, Steve. Welcome back to the pod, buddy.
Starting point is 00:02:11 Yeah, it's a little earlier this week. Usually we do it at the end of the week, but hey, things being what they are, we're ready to jump in and talk about the Chargers game, which probably most fans would rather forget, and the upcoming game against the Steelers. And as you said, I mean, you know, this is shaping up to be an interesting one because now key players from both teams will be missing.
Starting point is 00:02:40 Yeah, without question. And we'll start there, Steve, before we delve into the Steelers or even further into the debacle that we saw on Sunday at Gillette Stadium with the Patriots and the Chargers, the second home the test done the last 24 to 48 hours confirmed that it was indeed a high-angles playing for Andre Stevenson and that he is going to miss, quote-unquote, a few weeks. Not putting a timetable, a definitive timetable on that, but with five games remaining on the schedule, Steve, and the fact that the Patriots are playing more for enhancing their draft position really than anything else at this point, I think Patriots are playing more for enhancing their draft position, really, than anything else at this point, I think Patriots Nation seems to be in full agreement that there really is no reason to rush Ramondre back.
Starting point is 00:03:34 But again, you take a level-headed approach and a reasonable approach to all of this, my friend. Is there an argument to be made for Ramondre getting back on the field in 2023? If there is, I'm not seeing it right now. Not really. I mean, I wouldn't rush him back by any stretch of the imagination. And, you know, if he's completely healthy, which really nobody is at this time of the year,
Starting point is 00:03:59 but, you know, if he's fully recovered from that and he wants to finish out the season on a high note, then by all means, I would let him play. But I wouldn't rush him back. The only reason I was looking forward to seeing him down the stretch is he still, as of Sunday, had a very realistic shot at reaching 1,000 yards this season again. It would have been back-to-back years for him you know the way he had been progressing upward you know he had to average 70 yards per week which was I think doable for him and he was definitely off to that great start, right? He had like 40 yards in the first quarter.
Starting point is 00:04:45 And then on his last carry, you know, he hurt his ankle. He fumbled the football. He lost the yard. But, you know, that would be the only reason I would think to bring him back. And now that seems to be out of the realm of possibility. Yeah, without question. I mean, anytime you have an opportunity to earn a milestone like that,
Starting point is 00:05:08 which would actually be a Bill Belichick milestone as well. Not typical for Bill Belichick to have a running back in his stable that has back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons, especially during his tenure as Patriots head coach. So this is uncharted territory for New England in a lot of ways. And Ramondre really,
Starting point is 00:05:25 I think, is such an exciting runner and a dual threat runner and someone that can be a weapon out of the backfield. What he's done recently, Steve, the Ramondre of old, breaking tackles, being able to find seams, utilizing his skills sometimes to open holes that may not even be there for the average runner because of the problems you're having with the blocking on the offensive line. So you look at the futility of the way the Patriots are playing offensively, it's almost a situation where you're like, okay, well, you know what? It may not be in our best interest to rush him back.
Starting point is 00:05:56 And again, if there's even a doubt in Ramondre's mind that he's not 100% ready to go, I think at this point you shut him down and you look to 2024 because this is a valuable cornerstone on which the Patriots need to build. And you're seeing that each and every week. This kid is truly someone that New England needs to rely on in the short term and in the long term as well. Steve, staying on Ramondre for just a second, if in fact Ramondre is going to be sidelined we know he's definitely sidelined for thursday night there's no question about that conventional wisdom will tell you that ezekiel elliott is going to continue to take a majority of the snaps at the position
Starting point is 00:06:33 he'll be your lead guy i think he deserves it at this point he's played relatively well both as a runner as a blocker even as a backfield receiver i think he's shown a little more prowess in that area than maybe um most Cowboys fans and a lot of people out there told us he had left. But when you look at this squad right now, who is going to take on the load behind Ezekiel Elliott right now? Do you think it's going to be Ty Montgomery, Kevin Harris, or maybe even Jermichael Hasty getting a call up from the practice squad?
Starting point is 00:07:04 Who do you see taking that mantra as next man up? I think, you know, Ty Montgomery would probably see more snaps than, you know, he's been getting. But I would think it would behoove them to bring up Kevin Harris from the practice squad because, you know, if anything would happen to Zeke, you need squad because, you know, if anything would happen to Zeke, you need that big, you know, bruising type of running back. That's what this offense is predicated on.
Starting point is 00:07:35 And I would like to see that. You know, they haven't brought up Jermichael Hasty and haven't used him yet, so it'll be interesting to see how they go with this. I think it'll be Kevin Harris we've brought up, but I think Ty Montgomery will see a lot more work to give Zeke a break. Yeah, Montgomery has the ability to be a pseudo-triple threat. Now, he's not going to move the needle in terms of being the missing
Starting point is 00:08:05 piece of this offense. And all of a sudden things are going to start to click with Ty Montgomery getting more covers, but folks, he can settle into a notable role on third down. If the Patriots need him to be the third down guy, he can do it. He can be a Z receiver option. Maybe the third one in that Patriots lineup right now, he's capable of getting those types of looks on select packages because, you know, he loves to play off the line of scrimmage. That's where Dye is at his best. Again, it's going to be whether or not he can stay healthy and whether or not he can actually get to play a prominent role on this team.
Starting point is 00:08:37 All we've been hearing the last couple of years is promise and potential when it comes to Ty Montgomery, but it almost seems like universally there is a medical setback. There is a health-wise setback that prevents him from reaching his pinnacle. So maybe this is the opportunity to do it, but I agree with you. I do think Harris will be called up, maybe signed to the 53-man roster, at least for Thursday. You would have to think he's going to be a game day elevation, that straightforward power runner. He can provide short yardage protection. Really, I think a very optimal complement to Ezekiel Elliott at this point.
Starting point is 00:09:12 So, Steve, again, the Patriots have to dip into the well and see who's going to be able to carry on the mantra of do your job and next man up. Patriots already suffered a devastating injury on offense earlier this year with Kendrick Bourne. The opposite side of the ball, they've been decimated. Matthew Judon, Christian Gonzalez, Marcus Jones. You add Ramondre Stevenson now to this list, albeit not the level of those injuries, but the time of year is definitely a tough one for the Pats.
Starting point is 00:09:41 And Ramondre is done for the year. He's definitely given you everything he can to make sure that the offense was at least respectable didn't get a lot of help from his fellow colleagues on the offensive side of the ball and what better way to segue into grading your new england patriots folks steve and i have channeled our inner dean wormer for far too long yeah folks it may not be pretty but you're not going to want to miss it. I guarantee you that. Grading your New England Patriots top to bottom, offense to defense, tip to tail.
Starting point is 00:10:12 When this episode of the Lockdown Patriots podcast continues, a proud part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Lockdown listeners, we've all been there. You want tickets to the big game or your favorite musical artist, and you just can't find an easy and affordable way to do it? Well, you shouldn't have to worry when you're buying tickets to your next big event. Game time is the fast and the easy way to buy tickets for all the sports,
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Starting point is 00:11:47 Pats fans, thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage and also your first listen each and every day. And here today on Locked On Patriots, we are grading your New England Patriots Week 13 performance, a 6-0
Starting point is 00:12:04 shutout by the Los Angeles Chargers. You can't imagine that these grades are going to be very pretty. But again, folks, the man with the grades is the man with the reason, the wisdom, and the counsel. And that's why we always value his opinion each and every week here on Locked On Patriots. Steve Balistrieri, the Patriots pison, the Pats professor. You can call him whatever you want, want folks but make sure it's respectful
Starting point is 00:12:26 because he deserves that Buddy, I don't know where we go from here when it comes to grading the New England Patriots, there are only so many times you can hand out a 0.0 GPA or an F- or whatever type
Starting point is 00:12:42 of grade that you want to give these Butarskian Patriots as they continue to plod through the 2023 NFL season. But that's where we are, unfortunately, for better or for worse. We'll start on the offensive side of the ball. You took a very reasonable and I think a very even-handed approach on this. Your overall grades that stuck out to you on offense, I guess we'll start on quarterback. Bailey Zappi, trying to do the best with what he had didn't really perform all that well but to say that he's the sole reason why the patriots offense stall is simply not accurate in my opinion no and you know,
Starting point is 00:13:28 the bottom line at the end of the day, we grade our quarterbacks on, you know, how they do overall. Are they putting up points? Are they giving their team a chance to win and the bottom line this week they never got into the red zone they scored zero points um was it all zappy's fault no just like it hasn't been all mac jones's fault all year long you know i i wrote about if this team if there was an injection of a clutch gene that you could inject into the offense, the Patriots need a double dose because at times, you know, and I wrote, you know, Zappi started off poorly. He was throwing behind guys.
Starting point is 00:14:18 He missed this, you know, a late throw, you know, and the play calling was very conservative in the first half, which added to the Patriots' misery. But then, you know, he wasn't helped by his receivers either. I mean, that throw to Tyquan Thornton, it seemed like it was a tad long, but, you know, maybe he should catch that. I'm not going to sit here at this point. Again, the long pass to Devontae Parker. I thought Parker made a great play to haul in the football,
Starting point is 00:14:56 and then, unfortunately, his left foot bounced out of bounds. But, again, on that play, where was the pass interference call? You know? But, again, on that play, it was the pass interference call, you know. So it's just like, you know, this mixture that keeps coming up. But, you know, we were all hoping that Zappi would inject a little bit of life into the offense because they've been so down. It just didn't happen. And, again, it's not all on him like mac jones he was missing kendrick bourne he was also missing the mario douglas who i think had been the two best
Starting point is 00:15:34 receivers this season so you know it's tough to put it all on him but the bottom line he didn't get the job done uh there was was plays to be had on the field once again. But, you know, I wrote – I'll add one more thing to it. I wrote that the defense must wake up every week hearing Sonny and Cher like Bill Murray did on Groundhog Day. Wash, rinse, and repeat, right? It's like the same thing. Defense holds them, gives them a chance to win.
Starting point is 00:16:12 The offense can't get it done. That's true. You're absolutely right. And look, bottom line, folks, you can talk about quarterback play and you can talk about futility from individual players. Yeah, there were plenty of players that would love to have that game back taekwon thornton probably being the most obvious in terms of not being able to snag a single reception at the 39 yard run that really i think was the patriots offensive highlight of the day but bottom line when you can't capitalize on
Starting point is 00:16:40 hauling a pass that i believe he should have hauled in. I mean, I know a lot of people are getting on Zappy for that, but that was within his grasp. As a receiver, you have to be able to haul those passes in. I'll stand by that. Some people will argue against it, and I can understand where they're coming from, but in my opinion, that was a catchable pass. I'm glad that you mentioned Demario Douglas and even Keyshawn Butte
Starting point is 00:17:03 because let's not forget that Keyshaun's big highlight from the preseason, that touchdown that he was able to get extra yards, came from the arm of Bailey Zappi. That was a good connection between the two of them. You have to wonder if that could have maybe been something that he could have utilized this week, whether or not these two guys had the type of connection that could have led to something better on the field than what we saw on Sunday but he was definitely missing DeMario and yeah you are missing that leadership from Kendrick Bourne the tight ends were missing in action Hunter Henry four targets caught only two of them for 15 yards neither Farrow Brown or Mike
Starting point is 00:17:41 Kosicki were targeted or obviously had a reception yeah you can use Farrow as a blocker. He got quite a few snaps in that regard. Gusecki played six snaps on Sunday. That investment is not looking good when you have diminished your role in this offense to that point. And then you look at the offensive line, who unfortunately I thought did regress in this game. They've been looking a little bit better, but when you're responsible or hold some culpability for four out of the five sacks that were registered on Bailey Zappi, you know you're not providing the type of protection you need to make sure that this team is doing well. And Connor McDermott coming in, taking the
Starting point is 00:18:21 12-man on the field. It's just, again, self-inflicted wounds that the Patriots are nowhere near good enough to play through, let alone play beyond. It just it digs a hole that they just can't take themselves out of. And it's not a surprise when you see all these mistakes stacked together that this is a two and ten football team. Yeah, absolutely. And, you know um you know i look at the overall picture of the offensive line on sunday i mean granted um i think a couple of times zappy held the ball far too long but they just didn't hold up well i mean i know trent brown, and, you know, the speed rush to the outside, it just didn't look pretty, where he wasn't able to hold up. Leo Mack, you know, on the right side, gave Michael Owenu a real hard day. So, you know, that in itself wasn't good. And then, honestly, you know, if you look at the box score,
Starting point is 00:19:26 it's kind of misleading because it says the Patriots rushed for 148 yards. And you think, okay, well, they did a great job run blocking. But as you mentioned earlier, 39 of them came on the run from Taequann Thornton. And, you know, you add up the rest, and they're averaging only 3.5 yards a carry. And you talked about the wide receivers and the tight ends. I mean, they're facing what was the worst pass defense in the NFL. They were allowing an average of 280 yards a game through the air. Patriots are only able to go 140, which is half of that. It's just, it wasn't pretty.
Starting point is 00:20:12 It wasn't pretty all the way around. It certainly was not pretty. And the grades, bear that out for your New England Patriots offense, folks. They're more than a little below par, Mr. Hoover. They stink. And the New England Patriots, unfortunately, now with the loss that they're going to incur of Ramondre Stevenson, don't look like things are going to get much better, folks,
Starting point is 00:20:32 against a Steelers defense that has been known to cause problems for opposing offenses this year. Steve, we're going to talk about those Steelers in just a minute, but it wouldn't be a full report card, folks, unless we gave some glowing grades, and those glowing grades definitely are deserving of this Patriots defense. They did all they could to keep the Patriots in this game on Sunday. If you hold your opponent to two field goals, you should win that game.
Starting point is 00:20:58 9.9 times out of 10, that did not do it, but that doesn't mean the defense didn't do its job. Steve is going to provide his grade point average on the defense as well as mine. And we're going to take a very early look at the Pittsburgh Steelers in anticipation of Thursday night's matchup, all this and more when this episode of the lockdown Patriots podcast wraps up right here on the lockdown podcast network,
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Starting point is 00:22:38 Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on Locked on Patriots. Of course, folks, Steve Balistrieri joining me here today from patsfans.com to lend his wisdom, his counsel, and his grade sheet to Locked on Patriots today for the Patriots' performance against the Chargers. Steve, we've already established the offense will continue to fall to depths that we didn't know they could fall to.
Starting point is 00:23:01 And now, with Ramondre Stevenson out for the foreseeable future, it's not looking good for the Pats scoring unit. But I think we owe this defense a little love. And I think we owe them that love in terms of pretty good grades, especially for the front seven. When you hold a team that has Justin Herbert, Keenan Allen, and Austin Eckler, whether they've lost a step, whether they look like themselves or not, when you hold that team to two field goals, your defense has done its job. And then some Patriots did everything they could to keep this team in the game from a defensive standpoint on Sunday.
Starting point is 00:23:39 I thought the defensive line and the linebackers were excellent in this game. Yes. Defensive line and linebackers both rated an A for the day. And I don't think you can argue with that. I mean, you know, I thought the D-line had a terrific game on Sunday. You know, the Chargers were held at just 1.2 yards per carry. That's with Austin Eckler, 29 yards on 24 carries.
Starting point is 00:24:05 Eckler ended up with 18 yards on 14 carries. That is doing the job. I thought Devon Godchild, Lawrence Guy, Christian Barmore, they all had great games because that's, you know, that's what your first focus is, especially on a weather day, right? You know, you think with bad weather, the opponent wants to run the football to take away those weird things that can happen in a weather game, right? And I thought the Patriots answered the bell and then some.
Starting point is 00:24:39 Dietrich Weiss was missing this week, the rookie Keon White. He steps up, plays 87 87 of the snaps on defense you know he he chips in with four tackles uh three run stuffs and a quarterback hit i mean i thought those guys were outstanding and the linebackers again juan ben, Jelani Tavai, I know Bill was raving about Jelani Tavai yesterday on WBEI, and, you know, deservedly so. I mean, those guys were just all over the field. They were making plays. And you know your defensive line is doing its job
Starting point is 00:25:20 because they're holding everything at the line of scrimmage. And, you know, then your linebackers are cleaning up i thought uh anthony jennings had another solid day a couple of run stuff mac wilson showed up uh on a couple of plays as did josh uche showing his speed with a tackle for loss so these guys i thought your front seven did an outstanding job. I don't think there's any way you could break it down any other way. And you mentioned some of the guys that had big games, like Jelani Tavai and Jawan Bentley, leading the team with eight tackles. When you have Josh Uche, Mack Wilson, Anthony Jennings showing up in the stat sheet
Starting point is 00:26:00 and registering notable plays on the stat sheet, that's a real real testament to how good your defensive line especially your defensive front seven really because i want to include the linebackers in that as well uh keon white definitely getting a good look and showing what he can do three run stuffs uh for keon so little something there to bite onto in terms of him projecting as a five-tech player. I do think he has the ability to do so. Maybe he hasn't seen the field as much as he needs to this year
Starting point is 00:26:31 or given you enough of return on that second-round investment, folks. But be very patient with Keon White. There is a player there that I think is lurking below the surface that you're going to see really, I think, blossom, maybe even before the end of the year, but definitely into 2024. This kid has it all, and he's got the intangibles to be a solid and fearsome defender for a number of years to come. He's got that little bit of attitude that I think Patriots players
Starting point is 00:26:57 and his teammates are going to love to have as well. So, yeah, I agree with the front seven being very good. Steve, before we take our leave of this subject uh the cornerbacks and the safeties uh probably had a little bit of a rougher day than the front seven i think the corners especially got bailed out by a couple of key drops that could have made this game a little uh tougher uh to grade on them uh the quentin johnston drop obviously is the one that's going to stand out to everybody, but ultimately I thought JC and Jonathan did
Starting point is 00:27:28 a decent job in trying to contain what the Chargers had available and another solid day for guys like Jabril Peppers, Kyle Duggar, and Jalen Mills, I thought, showed up for this game on Sunday. Yeah, and I totally agree with that. I wrote the same
Starting point is 00:27:44 thing. I mean, the secondary I graded out as a B. It could have been a lot worse because the Chargers did have some drops. The Patriots had some misplays in there mixed in as well. But the bottom line, the end of the day, Justin Herbert threw for only 212 yards. He had a passer rating of 75.5, no touchdowns. So, I mean, you can't argue with the results. Yes, you can nitpick with some plays in there. But just like, you know, the Patriots had plays that they missed,
Starting point is 00:28:20 it goes with the territory. But, you know, I thought, you know, they had kind of a mixed bag. But Jonathan Jones, I thought, was outstanding. I mean, we all know he's been playing banged up. Keenan Allen, he held to five catches, 58 yards on nine targets. I think, you know, if you went into that game saying that, the Patriots coaches would take that all day long, especially Jonathan Jones. And I'm glad that you mentioned him. Congratulations to Jonathan, who is the Patriots 2023, um, nominee for the Walter Payton man of
Starting point is 00:28:56 the year award that will be awarded in February, right before the super bowl. Uh, Jonathan is truly one of the pillars of the community, the work that he does with equality in sports and his fight to eradicate hunger is something that is truly remarkable. So a tip of the cap to Jonathan Jones. Congratulations. Thank you for being an inspiration both on and off the field for Patriots fans, NFL fans, and really anyone in any walk of life. Very well deserved. We hope you can bring it home, but regardless, Pats Nation is definitely proud of you, Jonathan, for all the great work that you do. And Jonathan will be a key to try to shut down Mitch Trubisky and that Pittsburgh Steelers offense on Thursday. That's right, folks. Kenny Pickett suffering the injury. He will not go in this game. The Steelers are known, they're predicated on their defensive prowess. Their offense might be a little bit weakened now without Kenny Pickett under center or at least
Starting point is 00:29:49 taking snaps at quarterback. Steve, I know it's early, but it is a quick turnaround time. So as you turn your attention now to the Pittsburgh Steelers, what should Patriots fans be keeping their sharp eye on when it comes to this team and the Thursday night matchup they have on the horizon. Well, even without Kenny Pickett and with Mitch Trubisky in there, I think it comes down to Pickens, right? You have to keep an eye on him. Absolutely. You know, both offenses have struggled this year. Pittsburgh's offense hasn't struggled nearly as bad as the Patriots. But, you know, I think it comes down to Pickens. I think, you know, it's going to be a tough matchup who's ever guarding him because he is a dynamic kind of receiver.
Starting point is 00:30:37 So I'd be watching that. That Pittsburgh defense is always tough. They get after the quarterback, and the Patriots' offensive line has their work cut out for them this week. Yeah, without any question. It is not going to be an easy matchup for that offensive line. And coming off of a game in which you saw a little bit of the same problem start to creep in again,
Starting point is 00:31:01 you have to wonder whether or not this Patriots team is going to be able to stave off a very hungry Pittsburgh Steelers defense that can get after the quarterback, and they'll definitely do that in a hurry. And I'm glad that you mentioned Pickens because he is definitely someone to watch for. Folks, we're going to break this matchup down, inward, outward, up and down, any way you can imagine, and we're going to slice it up for you in the form of crossing the streams here on Locked On Patriots as my good friend Christopher Carter, host of Locked On Steelers, joins me on these airwaves as we cross over the Steelers and the Patriots Thursday night football
Starting point is 00:31:37 coming up for you. And Bud, what can I say? In the meantime, we thank you for lending your wisdom, your counsel to Locked On Patriots, as you do each and every week here on the pod. Before I let you go, please let everyone know where they can find you, reach out to you, and what we can expect from the great pen,
Starting point is 00:31:54 the great voice of Steve Balistrieri in the coming week. Thanks for having me. As always, my friend, you can find me on Twitter at SteveB7SFG. I write for PatsFans.com. My column this morning was the Patriots report card against the Chargers, which I'm sure a lot of people don't want to read the first half of it because that deals with the offense. But we'll be looking obviously at the Steelers game upcoming. And I think it's going to be a rough obviously at the Steelers game upcoming and you know I think it's going to be a
Starting point is 00:32:27 rough night for the offense but we've seen stranger things happen in a short week we have seen stranger things happen in a short week folks you know what just when you think you have this Patriots team figured out they throw a little wrinkle into plans at times and you have to wonder if maybe this Thursday night game on short rest could be just what they need to maybe turn the fortunes around. But again, most of you out there in Patriots nation kind of liking the losses right now. You're embracing the losses because you want that top draft pick. And there's an argument to be made for that, Steve.
Starting point is 00:33:00 I can't necessarily argue, but just remember, wins are a good thing too. And in that vein, we will be breaking down the Patriots Thursday night matchup with the Steelers here on Locked On Patriots on Crossover Thursday. But in the meantime, a tip of the cap and a nod to the gods to my good friend Steve Balistrieri for lending his wisdom, his counsel, his reason, and most importantly, his report card of the New England Patriots here on today's episode. And again, folks, we thank you for lending your time to Locked On Patriots
Starting point is 00:33:29 and making us a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. On behalf of my Patriots, Bison Steve Balistrieri, I'm Mike DeBate, reminding you to stay safe and to stay well and to be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone, and we'll see you back here again tomorrow on Locked on Patriots.

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