Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots ‘Tight Endage’ Party of 3: Hunter Henry, Mike Gesicki and Pharaoh Brown

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. All of you, Foxborough faithful, 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 available wherever you get your podcasts. So be sure to download, subscribe, and follow to get the latest episode as soon as it's available. I'm your host, Mike DeBate, and I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. So reach out to me and let me know what's on your mind on Twitter, on the Bird app, on X, whatever you want to call it these days, at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L.

Starting point is 00:00:59 And while you're out there showing some love to the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. And folks, today's episode is brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use the code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Last-minute tickets, lowest price, guaranteed. And Patriots fans, as your New England Patriots continue to bask in the glow of their 29-25 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, they're getting ready to play

Starting point is 00:01:33 their second straight AFC East Divisional game. And that's going to mean a trip to Miami Gardens, Florida, where the Pats will take on the Miami Dolphins. And of course, we all know it's going to be the second meeting between the Pats and the Dolphins. The first one, the Patriots dropped to Miami at Gillette Stadium 24-17 on September 17th. Yeah, we all remember the Cole Strange lunge that didn't quite get there. Well, the Patriots are going to do their best to make it two straight divisional wins. And to do so, they're going to need a similar, if not better, offensive effort that they got against the Bills last Sunday. Mac Jones stepped it up and proved himself more than capable of being on a pro football field,

Starting point is 00:02:09 but he needs to carry that momentum into this week. And to do that, he's going to need a solid effort, not only from his offensive line, but also from his pass catchers. And luckily for Mac, some of those pass catchers are coming alive in the form of three prolific tight ends, Hunter Henry, Mike Gusecki, and Farrell Brown. And if we're going to talk tight endage, you know that there's no one else in Patriots Nation that could come in and lend the wisdom and counsel and expert tutelage when it comes to 12 personnel than my good friend, Clazzy Claire Cooper of Pat's Propaganda and the host of her very own Patriots podcast The Claire Perspective. I'm going to pop in here in just a moment and we're going to talk

Starting point is 00:02:49 about Hunter Henry and Mike Kosicki. Are we finally seeing that tight-ended tandem that the Patriots have been craving for quite some time? We're also going to give some well-deserved love to Farrell Brown who continues to come up big in the biggest moments. Can the Patriots count on that to continue? Claire's got her perspective on the matter and she's going to share that when she pops in here in just a moment she's also going to give her insight on what we might see from Miami's tight ends and also from New England's tight ends because after all we are now turning the page and it's all about the Miami Dolphins and of course folks as you can see this is already shaping up to be an interesting game.

Starting point is 00:03:26 Keon White was absent from Wednesday's practice, still in concussion protocol. Trent Brown was limited with both ankle and knee injuries that forced him to leave Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills. And on Miami's side, the injuries are starting to pile up, folks, and significant ones. Tyreek Hill dealing with a hip injury

Starting point is 00:03:43 that kept him out of action on Wednesday. Could it possibly keep him from suiting up on Sunday? Well, folks, we're going to have the very latest on Miami's list of walking wounded, New England's list of walking wounded when we cross the streams tomorrow on Locked On Patriots with my good friend and colleague Kyle Krabs, host of

Starting point is 00:04:00 Locked On Dolphins. Folks, you are not going to want to miss crossing the streams on Crossover Thursday between Locked On Patriots and Locked On Dolphins, but today a very special treat, and without further ado, I welcome in our resident tight-endage expert as we begin this Patriots tight-endage party of three. New England had its share of heroes and big-time performers on Sunday. Mac Jones came up big, rebounded big-time.

Starting point is 00:04:26 Tamario Douglas, Kendrick Bourne, all getting a lot of love for what they did in the open field. But we'd be lying if we said that the game was not won if it wasn't for the hands of a big tight end. And that is exactly what we're going to focus on today, folks. We're going to give some love to tight endage. And how could we possibly host a Patriots tight end party of three without the empress of tight endage herself, the Countess

Starting point is 00:04:51 of Klaas, the woman that not only provides wisdom and counsel here, but also expert tutelage on 12 personnel. She is my good friend, Claire, Klaasie Claire Cooper of Cats Propaganda and her very own Patriots podcast, A Claire Perspective.aganda and her very own Patriot podcast, A Claire Perspective. Thank you so much for joining me here today, Connors. Welcome back and bringing some light back to the Lockdown Patriot studios. I will. Thank you so much for inviting me. It's always fun to go on to Lockdown. And yeah, it's a bit of a tight-ended week, isn't it, really, coming off the bat of that wind. So yeah, how could I not? I very gladly squeeze you into my calendar. Absolutely.

Starting point is 00:05:28 You know, Claire, National Tight Ends Day was earlier this week. Mike Kosicki catching the big win for the New England Patriots. Hunter Henry and Farrow Brown, huge receptions. How could we not invite you on this week to regale us with all of your expert analysis on tight endage. And folks, Claire has definitely brought it today and we're not going to waste any more time. We're going to dive right into it. Claire, we heard so much in the off season, a lot of it coming from these airwaves from you and I, about 12 personnel, Bill O'Brien coming back into the fold and

Starting point is 00:06:01 utilizing the two tight end sets and really resurrecting what had been such a big part of this offense for a number of years with guys like Rob Gronkowski you know that we know the whole list we don't have to go down them we're going to live in the present uh I'll throw Ryan Izzo into that list just because I know it always makes you happy countess and we have to make sure that the countess is happy but bottom line hunter henry and mike koseki are starting to round into that tandem that we all believe they would hunter getting key receptions one of the big uh you know receptions that he uh you know caught on sunday 14 yard strike from jones on that final scoring drive that helps set up the game winner and of course mike koseki being the

Starting point is 00:06:42 threat in the red zone that's exactly what he was brought here to do. And he did it in a big way. But as I like to say on occasion here on Locked On Patriots, you see things us mere mortals don't see when it comes to tight endage. Over the course of the last couple of games and how they've evolved into this season, what are you seeing from both Hunter Henry and Mike Gusecki as a pair, maybe even individually a little bit, that leads you to believe that this is the beginning of something special for the Patriots offense? Well, you can't only talk about the top personnel when you talk about the Patriots offense right now, because as I know that we may touch on a little bit later in the show, there's that 13 or 23 personnel because there's the inclusion of Farrah Brown in that. And I think he's made a big impact but you know as I said I know that we'll talk about him a little bit later but the Titans were evenly split or they had an even split of of reps slash snaps for this game um Hunter

Starting point is 00:07:35 Henry had 30 Mike Kosicki had 30 and Farrah Brown had 23 and I know some of the spacing out is going to be because Hunter Henry will have had you know it has sustained that ankle injury so something that he's nursing but they seem to be most successful six oh this is where they can't seem to get today the most successful there we go we've got it um when they've got that three tight ends you know in unison it it may be that sort of key to unlocking success maybe it may have a lot to do with the right receiver room and you know that's something that we would look at separately but it is something that has been a big success and through the weeks one to seven i did note i did do a little bit of research and statistics that i tried to pull out that three weeks one and seven the patriots are sixth in the whole of the nfl um for tight end

Starting point is 00:08:22 targets and that's behind some of the top teams that utilize their tight ends that you would really be knowledgeable of, such as the Chiefs with Travis Kelsey and the Vikings with TJ Hawkinson. So they've had 58 targets. And I know obviously you've got to put numbers, you know, it's relative when you have to make the comparisons. But it seems to be something that is successful utilizing the tight ends. And we knew going into the season that Hunter Henry was a good fit here.

Starting point is 00:08:48 He's already proven that he was a good fit with Matt Jones. We saw that obviously much more predominantly in 2021 because it was a much more successful year. But yeah, you've seen that he fits. Unfortunately, Johnny Smith didn't. And the bringing in of Mike Isecki was something of a, you know, the slight concern of, you know, they've tried it once with one of these athletic sort of tight ends. Is it going to be something that can be successful?

Starting point is 00:09:15 I'm going to be careful with that word, actually, not trying to use it too much. No, but seriously, it was, there was that cast of shadow of a doubt because it didn't work last time. And he's been, you know, off to a slow start. This is his first touchdown and it is week seven. And I have my sandwich bet, as some of the listeners slash watchers will know if they're fans of my show,

Starting point is 00:09:38 that the sandwich bet that I have that Mike Gazzicchi would be the top receiver of the Patriots for this 2023 season. Now, in my defence, I made that bet before the season had actually started and before he had his slow progression into the season. But you never know. There's still time, hopefully, maybe, for him to become the top one. But, you know, we've seen the utilisation of Hunt to grow and become more successful.

Starting point is 00:10:03 And I think a lot of it is, a lot of it comes from the fact that the Patriots have taken a while to get started. And I know that you've talked about on this show plenty of times with plenty of your guests, the reasons behind the lack of success that they have had recently. And the O-line sort of falls foul to plenty of that. But other things are affected by that in getting started and it just sort of maybe feels like now that the offences realise and under Bill O'Brien that this

Starting point is 00:10:31 is how they're going to move forward they know that Hunter is that proven entity and he can really be utilised in the middle you know they've got three sections of real sort of strength they've got Hunter in the in the middle of the They've got Gusecki, as you said, you know, a very end zone threat, particularly because of his fluidity and his ability to utilise his height, you know, really to his advantage. And then they've got the real positiveness of,

Starting point is 00:10:58 and we'll touch on again in a moment, with Farrah Brown, with his skill set. So it's a very rounded out, you know, little group that they've got there. And some of it may be having to put a bandaid over any issues that they've had with wide receiver, you know, with speedy wide receiver or lack of wide receivers.

Starting point is 00:11:15 But it also feels like it's evolving into a really good offense and maybe having the three tight ends set or utilizing the three tight ends or, you know, even just Hunter and Gusecki, if you want to just look at that, you know, under the spotlight, it's something that has its ability to throw defences off as to how it's going to be utilised. And tight ends are, you know,

Starting point is 00:11:35 it's a position that can be very difficult to mark in the sport. And I know that the Patriots defence have their own little few issues with, you know, with covering tight ends. It's something that is a very dominant, a very strong position. And I know people who are wide receiver fans. I'm not a fan, don't get me wrong. We'll say the speed of a wide receiver. But I think the versatility of really good tight ends

Starting point is 00:11:57 is what makes it difficult for defences. And you've got a plethora of skill set now with these three tight ends. And the Patriots' off offense can use that to their ability and, you know, maybe make it their, you know, key skill set going forward. I mean, I'm enjoying it. I don't know about you guys, but I am really enjoying it. And I mean, I'm pretty sure that most of Patriots Nation, ones that don't want the Patriots to tank, of course,

Starting point is 00:12:20 really enjoyed the Gusecki catch and the win over the Bills. I mean, can you get any more delicious on National Titan Day? A Patriots win over the Bills with Hunter playing a, you know, predominant part because he's, they're all my favourites now. I'm really struggling now. They're just all my favourites because I just love the Titans. And now I've got three to adore. But yeah, I'm just finding if you're asking me my favourite,

Starting point is 00:12:44 it just depends on one which given day it really is Wednesday today maybe it's Giseki but maybe in like a few minutes when we move on to the second segment it will be Farrow Brown who knows but yeah it's sort of how can you not love it at the moment so let's just take that moment just to enjoy it maybe absolutely so well said and you know Farrow i think has been such a pleasant surprise that we're going to give him his just do we're going to give him his own segment in just a moment uh and we will definitely touch on that folks but bottom line i really really think that you made some great points on mike and on hunter and you knew that coming into this season they

Starting point is 00:13:19 were going to be focal points of this offense mike kiseckcki is a red zone threat. And with all due respect, I know there are a lot of people out there saying, well, Mike Gusecki hasn't lived up to what they thought he was going to be when he came in. Folks, the Patriots hadn't taken many trips down into the red zone prior to their game against the Raiders. A lot of the curtailing of Mike Gusecki's statistical output has been because the Patriots offense has simply been so futile and there really hasn't been an opportunity to utilize his strength so for anyone criticizing him always put things in perspective and I think Claire you did that perfectly because you lend that Claire perspective for all of us but bottom line Hunter Henry on the other hand we all know

Starting point is 00:14:02 his prowess coming in Hunter is a team captain There's a reason why he's a team captain. It's not just because he's got a good personal relationship with Mac Jones. It's because he is a guy that people can look to for inspiration, for positivity. He exuded it when he was in Los Angeles. He continues to do that here in New England. And whenever you need a big reception, Hunter Henry is usually in the mix to grab it. And again, Sunday was no exception. 14 yards you need a big reception Hunter Henry is usually in the mix to grab it and again Sunday was no exception 14 yards you need go to Hunter Henry spark that drive it's on a third and eight fresh set of downs and all of a sudden now you're cooking and you're in

Starting point is 00:14:35 business so that's the type of player that you're getting with Hunter and again you're seeing that in clutch situations it's not just enough to be able to grab the reception you have to be able to run the route correctly and hunter is one of the best route running tight ends i've ever covered so in that respect i think you're absolutely on the money when it comes to that and with gasecki now folks and the patriots utilizing those red zone formations i think you're going to see a lot more of him as well hopefully what we saw on sund Sunday is not an anomaly for the Patriots offense. Claire, we alluded to it and we're about to get to it in just a moment, folks. Farrow Brown.

Starting point is 00:15:12 So let it be written. So let it be done. And he's been doing it on the field, folks. He's been doing a great job of it and really proving the Patriots. I think really showing everyone that he's not just a blocker, folks. This guy can get out in coverage and can actually be a pretty good receiver. And right now, he's on target to break a record held by one of the Patriots' greatest receivers of all time.

Starting point is 00:15:36 Which record and why has Farrow Brown been so good here in New England? Claire and I are going to fill you in 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, 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 way, an affordable way to do it. Well, you shouldn't have to worry when you're buying tickets to your next big event.

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Starting point is 00:17:15 for $20 off. Download Game Time today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. Patriots fans, thank you so much for joining us here today on locked on patriots it is a patriots tight endage party of three and who else would we even think about having on today's show than the empress of tight endage herself who is lending expert tutelage on 12 personnel and so much more she is claire classy claire cooper columnist extraordinaire of patspropaganda.com as well as the host of her very own patriots podcast declare perspective

Starting point is 00:17:51 check that out wherever you get your podcasts and also the pats propaganda show that she hosts along with her lovely assistant shutters did i say that correctly all kidding aside anytime claire puts voice to microphone or pen to paper, it is appointment viewing, listening, reading. Check it all out. She's great. And you know that because she's here on Lockdown Patriots today. Claire, we talked about Hunter Henry and Mike Gusecki. And judging by the big smile on your face just a few moments ago, everybody knows that you're enjoying this, you know, and the renaissance of tight endage that's going on in Foxborough right

Starting point is 00:18:25 now. But a big reason for that renaissance has actually been the rule of a Pharaoh. And that's right. Pharaoh Brown, folks, has been everything that the Patriots hoped he would be and so much more. Not just a good blocker, which everyone knew he was coming in here. He's proving to be not just like Bill Belichick called him big target and it's 6-6-2-58 folks yeah he's a big target but he's also doing a great job as a receiving a pass catching tight end what has leapt off the page for you for Farrow Brown Claire when you watch him take the field and in terms of what you've seen from him so far how excited should Patriots fans be for the future of Barrow Brown here in

Starting point is 00:19:06 Foxborough? Well, I'm so glad that you've read it like that, because I want to throw back to, sorry, small self plug here. Back in September, I did a piece on Brown because he was that unknown entity. He was sort of, when he sort of made plays, it was like, wait, which tight end is that? So I put out a piece there

Starting point is 00:19:25 so i hope that you all picked that apart back in september and if you didn't then it's still there on the website so please do go and look at the like the background story of farrah brown because he has been in the league for a while he was an undrafted free agent in 2017 not to sort of spoil the whole article but there's plenty more information so it's his seventh season and it kind of feels like one of those things that he's finally being recognized maybe he's finally being taken seriously by the offensive coordinator in Bill O'Brien that he can be more than just a blocker or maybe he's just improved his skill set over the time to become something that is more than a blocker and boy is he something more than a blocker I mean you mentioned what Bill said um coach Bill said in the press conference

Starting point is 00:20:10 recently but I'll kind of wanted to get it word for word really because he said that Brown he's got some size he can block he can catch the ball a little bit and he's good he's in good com I can't even read my writing now he's a good compliment. Sorry. Apologies. So bad writing. He's a good compliment, obviously, to Hunter and Gusecki. And that's what I alluded to sort of earlier in the show is we can look at these guys separately, like in a vacuum, and they're all decent in their own right in regards to what their strengths are. And Farrow's strength, yeah, was that, you know, the blockiness of him. But the weakness in the O-line really made him more of a necessity and then when bill o'brien maybe realized he

Starting point is 00:20:51 already knew not certain because i know there was an overlap in regards to um coaching with him previously that it's maybe he's sort of seen actually this guy can do a little bit more maybe let's take him seriously and see that he can do it you know give him the opportunity to do more and and he you know he's he seemed to be excelling at it at the moment which gives the Patriots as I said previously such an extra dynamic on the field that they've now got three tight ends with the strength in their skill set the one thing that I sort of wanted to mention was the snaps increased versus the Jets for Farrow-Brown, 225. His blocking has been significant, but he was only really being utilised minimally. But he was a big part of the first 100-yard rushing performance that the Patriots had

Starting point is 00:21:37 so far this season. So the one thing to look at is when you look at, the Patriots have been slow to start, it really sort of feels like that at the moment. And I know that we've alluded to already that we hope that the momentum continues against Miami. And it's important for that momentum to continue. And what also has gained momentum during the season, as the Patriots have tried to rev it up, is the usage of players such as Brown in areas that he can actually excel that you wouldn't have necessarily initially thought so it's just a positivity that they've got such a wide range of skill set when they've got these different tight ends now on the roster and he yeah it just feels like maybe his seventh season this

Starting point is 00:22:18 is the the golden season for him they have now been able to utilize him for all his advantages for all his strengths. And going forward, you know, he's going to be a force to be reckoned with. As you said, the Patriots have got some serious tight endage on their roster now with Hunter Henry and his two touchdowns, Gasicki with his one and Brown with his one. And, yeah, they're ranging from 6'5 to 6'6 in the three of them, from 2'4, 5'2, 2'5, 8". So they've got some they've

Starting point is 00:22:45 got some good sizable tight ends there on their roster to to utilize and not just to make a thing of their size because yeah you've got you've got to have it and you've got to be able to use it and i think they've just got as i said a trio of tight endage that know their strengths that the offense know their strengths now and they're able to maximize them for their strengths perfectly said and that is the strength of a tight end as the position has evolved throughout the years you're seeing a lot more prowess when it comes to pass catching and part of that is not only knowing how to secure the football but also to protect it and also be able to gain positive yards and this is something that Bill Belichick praised Farrow for earlier this week when we spoke with him. Bill has been very complimentary

Starting point is 00:23:29 about him and you're seeing it in the stat sheet. You mentioned the increase in snaps. He's getting out there and he's showcasing exactly what he can do. Five catches for 137 yards this season. That's not exactly going to light the stat sheet ablaze when it comes to other tight ends in the league. But when you look at the fact that he's averaging 27.4 yards per reception, that's impressive. And that puts him in very impressive company. That was the first to tweet this out right after the game on Sunday, where the highest average yards per reception in a season for a single Patriots player is a record that is 42 years old it's held by receiver Stanley Morgan who should be in the pro football hall of fame folks

Starting point is 00:24:10 conversation for another day put Stanley in there he deserves it yeah one of my hot button issues Claire really he should be in there but bottom line I was just thinking oh this needs to be a conversation for another time but bottom line we are talking tight endage today but that is my soapbox Stanley Morgan for the hall of fame but he holds that record for the Patriots so far with a 23.4 yard average and he did so in 1981 you talk about players that have come through here in New England and I won't go through the laundry list but you know that several hall of famers several prolific pass catchers have come in and no one has approached that mark there is a lot of football left to be played but if brown can continue this type of productivity and the patriots can use him in this fashion he could remain within striking distance of morgan's

Starting point is 00:24:56 record and all of a sudden that puts him in rarefied air in new england and what he's doing right now bottom line if he can continue to make plays in tandem with Hunter Henry and Mike Gusecki, Patriots now have a party of three in that tight endage room and it's paying off big time. And he said it earlier this week. He says all three of our tight ends can make plays. You can't ask for more than that when you're asking for an offensive resurrection. And when you can get it from the tight endage room, you know you're doing something right. So definitely a good move on Bill Belichick's part

Starting point is 00:25:26 and the Patriots' brass to bring in Farrell Brown. Yeah, completely. Could not agree more. Well, Claire, we've talked about the Patriots' prowess on tight endage, and unfortunately all good things come to an end. It's Wednesday, so we now have to turn our attention away from beating the Bills, and we have to turn our attention to the Miami Dolphins.

Starting point is 00:25:47 And you can see it out on Claire's face, folks. She is not a Dolphins fan. If there is an area to be had on this Miami roster, it might be tight endage. What might the Patriots do defensively to force Tua Tagovailoa to go to his tight end? Claire is going to inform us and give us her wisdom and counsel and maybe even a little clairvoyance when it comes to your New England Patriots against the Miami Dolphins 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 00:28:55 slash LockedOnNFL. That's LinkedIn.com slash LockedOnNFL 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, making us a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Don't forget, tomorrow here on Locked on Patriots,

Starting point is 00:29:19 Kyle Krabs, host of Locked on Dolphins, is going to join me as we cross the streams. At what better time, folks? Ghostbusters crossing the streams. Halloween, it all fits together. Pat's Dolphins down in Miami Gardens, Florida. Kyle is the best in the business of covering the Dolphins, as you know, from his numerous appearances here on the airwaves. Check out Crossover Thursday tomorrow all across the Locked On Podcast Network.

Starting point is 00:29:43 A special consideration for Locked On Patriots and Locked On Dolphins right here on the channel tomorrow. So don't miss it. But in the meantime, we continue to be regaled, entertained, and very well informed by the Empress of Tight Endage herself, the Countess of Clas. What a loss, Claire. Let's just carry on then.

Starting point is 00:30:04 Let's not put it. Let's just talk about miami we're on to miami as they say so yeah i know you wanted to talk about the dolphins and the one thing that you had me on here for is tight endage and so i wanted to allude to the fact that the the statistic that i did pull up prior to this show in regards to the patriots being sixth in the league for their tight end targets the Miami Dolphins are last right at the bottom for tight end targets in the NFL league and it's definitely obviously a team that isn't utilizing their tight ends which for the Patriots may be a little bit of a positive because as we mentioned covering tight ends is difficult, and the Patriots' defence has a bit of trouble when it comes to covering tight ends. So the lack of utilisation of those tight ends might be something that is very positive

Starting point is 00:30:52 when it comes to the Patriots' defence succeeding when they go off to Miami. But, I mean, they do have a reasonable tight end when it comes to Smythe, I believe it's pronounced, because it looks like Smith with a Y in the middle. So it always throws me off as to how people want to pronounce that, actually, but yeah, I've watched him, he is a good tight end, but it isn't something, it isn't part of their offensive skill set, and as I said, I believe that's a positive for the Patriots' defence, and whether or not that's the key to their success, you know, that's something maybe here and there. The other thing is, when you sort of think about in regards to teams practicing and that kind of thing, the Patriots have got this trifecta, as we mentioned, of tight ends.

Starting point is 00:31:33 So it's something that in practice they have got plenty of tight ends to utilize to practice against. Miami are less of a utilization of tight ends. So that's something that they may not practice as much considerably. So that gives the Patriots an edge because they've now going down to Miami with three Titans that maybe the Finns aren't prepared for. Now, I know a lot of people will say, oh, you know, that's just a little bit of hearsay.

Starting point is 00:31:57 You know, that's just look on their side, that kind of thing. And I'm sure that they do practice plenty against Titans, but there's always those little things. And the one thing we feel Belichick is kind of accentuating those little errors, those little flaws that teams may have. So maybe, just maybe, that when we go down to Miami, when the Patriots go down to Miami, there will be a Miami upset.

Starting point is 00:32:17 The demoralised Finns coming off a loss. The jubilant Patriots. Jubilant? Jubilant Patriots. Oh, me and my words again. It's going to get too exciting. Coming off a win, plus this tight-endedness of the trio from the Patriots and maybe the lack of the production from the Finns,

Starting point is 00:32:36 maybe if you roll that all up together and smash it together, you have a recipe for success. But we're on to Miami, so we shall see. Yeah, absolutely. I think in a lot of ways you make some great points about miami look in terms of defending tight ends and in terms of how they're going to defend the patriots tight endage trio we can't say tandem anymore claire it really has to be a trio because of pharaoh brown's prowess and you know whenever he gets on the field you know

Starting point is 00:33:00 there's going to be an opportunity for him to get the ball. So even if he's there as a decoy at the very worst, it's something that other teams, opposing teams, have to be able to game plan for. Deshaun Elliott is their strong safety. Brandon Jones comes in on occasion as well. You're probably going to see some safety coverage on these guys. You might see a safety drop over. Try to blanket Hunter in the open field.

Starting point is 00:33:23 Obviously, if it's going to be in the end zone or in the red zone, you're going to have linebacker help coming over. So I don't think you're going to see a lot of cornerback help. I think this is going to be the safeties and the hybrid linebackers that are going to defend the Patriots tight ends. Now, as for how the Patriots might look to contain Durham Smythe, who definitely is a formidable force, but not someone who is a focal point of that Miami offense. So again, I don't think you're going to see a whole lot of cornerback help on someone like a Durham Smythe. You're going to see the strong safety position come out.

Starting point is 00:33:54 I think you're going to see Kyle Duggar on him a little bit. I think you might see Adrian Phillips play him a little bit. Adrian is someone that can cover tight ends. I know he's had his difficulties as of late with that, but he's still someone that has that hybrid linebacker star type safety mindset, and he can be able to provide some coverage there as well. And then, of course, you know, you start dipping in and maybe Miles Bryant comes over a little bit cheating from the slot if the Patriots go with Jonathan Jones and J.C. Jackson

Starting point is 00:34:22 as their top two corners this week. And now with Jack Jones back into the mix, maybe you might be able to see Miles Bryant come back and play a little hybrid. That could be something to watch as well, folks. But bottom line, it's going to be fun. And there is going to be a lot of tight-ended excitement on the field on Sunday, folks. Claire, what can I say? Thank you so much for lending your wisdom, your counsel, all of your expert tutelage when it comes to 12 personnel and so much more. Before I let you go today, my friend, please let everyone know where they can reach out to you, interact with you,

Starting point is 00:34:52 and what we can expect coming from the great voice, the great pen of Claire Classey, Claire Cooper in the coming weeks. Well, I think we're going to have to start talking about 13 and 23 personnel, Mike. I think it's too important now that there's three. Absolutely. Two key. But yes, as always,

Starting point is 00:35:09 thank you so much for having me. It was so much fun to be on lockdown. It's always fun to be on here with yourself anyway. So yeah. Where to find me? Yes. As you alluded to my, my docket has changed.

Starting point is 00:35:20 I have moved over switch and we have different shows now, but a clear perspective of Patriots podcast is still there for you wherever you get your podcast most of the places you get your podcast brought to you by for press coverage.com so please there is an episode every week there is an episode on its way to you right now somewhere out there in the in the cloud or whatever in the in the interweb universe it is it is mulling and it will be dropping so you will get that very shortly as we record this on Wednesday so hopefully you'll have that by Thursday so yeah please do check out the latest episode of a clear perspective and as Mike said I am doing a show with for Pats propaganda even so

Starting point is 00:35:54 for patspropaganda.com with my previously my assistant and now my co-host Chudders so it's called Pats procrastination and it's basically a kind of a game recap wrap up that we try and bring you pretty much the day after the game, if possible, if schedules do permit. So, yeah, that is a weekly thing as well on the Pat's Propaganda YouTube channel. So please ensure that you're subscribing to that channel to enable you to get the show notifications each and every week so that you get that. And, yeah, please do check out patspropaganda.com because I am still writing on there. It is a little bit less nowadays because you can only do so many shows and so many articles in one day but um i recently posted i believe it was yesterday an ode to fandom uh your light so i hope you go and check that out on patspropaganda.com so yeah keep your eyes on patspropaganda.com and

Starting point is 00:36:40 make sure you're subscribing to a clever perspective so you do not miss an episode ever absolutely folks check it all out and you can expect to a Claire Perspective so you do not miss an episode ever. Absolutely, folks. Check it all out. And you can expect to see Claire back here every single time the Patriots score a tight-endage touchdown. No, I'm kidding. But, you know, you get the point. Well, it could be a heavy docket for me.

Starting point is 00:36:55 It could be a very heavy docket. Yeah, but all kidding aside, we do enjoy all of your wisdom and counsel, not just when it comes to tight-endage, folks. Claire is very well-versed in all the ins and outs, the ups and downs of this team, and will continue to seek your wisdom and counsel, not just when it comes to tight endage, folks. Claire is very well versed in all the ins and outs, the ups and downs of this team, and will continue to seek her wisdom and counsel here on Locked On Patriots throughout the season and beyond. And we want to thank all of you for taking time out of your busy schedule to join us here on Locked On Patriots each and every day. Folks, we always remind you that Locked On Patriots is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

Starting point is 00:37:28 And in that vein, I am your host, Mike DeBate. And on behalf of my illustrious co-host today, Claire Classy, Claire Cooper, we remind 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 for crossover thursday on lockdown patriots

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