Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots vs. Houston Texans: Drake Maye Debut, C.J. Stroud, Texans Defense; CROSSOVER

Episode Date: October 10, 2024

New England Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye will lead his team into a Week 6 battle against the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium. Will coach Jerod Mayo’s decision to start Maye against the ...NFL’s top pressure defense lead to more problems for the Pats offense?Join Locked On Patriots host Mike D’Abate and Brian “Big Sarge” Barefield, co-host of Locked On Texans to break down the biggest stories and keys to victory on this “Crossover” episode.  #nfl #newenglandpatriots #drakemaye  Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFm... Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-... And follow host Mike D’Abate on X, where he’ll be sharing the latest ne ws about the New England Patriots and talking with fans — @mdabateNFL Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Hillsdale CollegeAll of Hillsdale’s courses are self-paced so that you can start whenever, and tune in wherever. Plus, you can go deeper with readings, quizzes, discussions - or just enjoy the lectures. Go right now to hillsdale.edu/lockedon to enroll. There’s no cost, and it’s easy to get started. ZbioticsGo to zbiotics.com/LOCKEDONNFL to learn more and get 15% off your first order when you use LOCKEDONNFL at checkout. PrizePicksDownload the app or click HERE and use code lockedonnfl to win $50 instantly when you play $5. You don't even need to win to receive your $50 bonus, it's guaranteed! Prizepicks. Run Your Game. GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. FanDuelPlace your first FIVE DOLLAR bet and you’ll get started with TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS - guaranteed ! Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started. 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. 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. RobinhoodThe new gold standard is here with Robinhood Gold. Sign up at robinhood.com/gold Terms apply, for product specific disclosures visit robinhood.com/gold. Investing involves risk. Rate may change. Gold membership is offered by Robinhood Gold, LLC. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Will Stroud stand strong or will there be a new day for May in week six? Big stories, key matchups and more. Locked on Patriots and Locked on Texans cross of the streams right here on the Locked on Podcast Network's Crossover Thursday. You are locked on NFL crossover, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team every day. New England Patriots fans, Houston Texans fans, it is week six of the 2024 NFL season. And that means it's time for the New England Patriots to host the Houston Texans this Sunday, October 13th, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Starting point is 00:00:47 And that's right, you guessed it. It's also time for yours truly, Mike DeBate, host of Locked On Patriots, and Brian Big Sarge-Bearfield, one half of the hosting tandem of Locked On Texans, to cross the streams here on Crossover Thursday. And remember, folks, Crossover Thursday is presented by PrizePix. Download the app, use the code LOCKEDONNFL to win $50 instantly when you play $5. Sarge, welcome to the Locked On family. This is definitely an exciting crossover.
Starting point is 00:01:20 I know it's one of your first into this foray into Crossover Thursday here on the Lockdown Podcast Network as co-host of the Houston Texans alongside my good friend, John Hinkman. And as the visiting team, the Texans enter this game 4-1. Huge victory over the Buffalo Bills last weekend. Not a surprise that our friends over at FanDuel have listed them as the favorites. But as we all know, injuries can be the great equalizer. And any given Sunday, things can happen as a result of those injuries.
Starting point is 00:01:52 The Texans have a notable void at wide receiver with Miko Collins on injured reserve. And to me, that looks like the biggest story coming out of Houston right now. But is this the biggest concern for the Texans heading into this week six matchup? Well, Mike, first of all, thank you for having me on. I appreciate it. Thank you for welcoming me into the Locked On family. I appreciate that. It is one of the biggest concerns because the wide receiver room for the Houston Texans is very deep. Now, of course, when you lose the number one wide receiver, the number one receiver in the NFL when it comes to receiving yards
Starting point is 00:02:29 and Nico Collins, like that's a big void. And that would normally have been a problem in the past for the Houston Texans. But when you have players like Stephon Diggs, when you have players like Tank Dale who's looking to prove a point, and let's not forget, they also have a big wide receiver. Now, Nico Collins is 6'4", but Xavier Hutchinson is 6'2". And these are two guys who talk to each other a lot.
Starting point is 00:02:57 By them being the biggest wide receivers in the room, they always feed off of each other, talk to each other. Nico is constantly helping Xavier get better. He feels like he's the vet. He's like, I'm the big vet here, Sarge. So he normally sits next to Xavier Hutchinson, teaches him. They talk a lot on the field. And one thing that CJ Stroud has done is he loves big targets.
Starting point is 00:03:22 When he gets out, when he does that scramble drill, a lot of times he's looking for number 12 because number 12 is the biggest target on the field. Next to him is Dalton Schultz, tight end. But when he scrambles out, he's looking for number 12. Well, this week he can scramble out and look for number 19 because if Xavier Hutchinson is going to get the majority of the snaps coming with Nico Collins being injured, if Xavier Hutchinson is going to get the majority of the snaps coming with Nico Collins being injured. If Xavier Hutchinson is going to get the majority of the snaps, we're talking about a guy who was a Bolitnikov finalist
Starting point is 00:03:52 in college. In 2022, he was a first team All-American. The only thing missing for Xavier Hutchinson is reps. And that's all that he has been missing. He's been doing his part as far as on special teams doing whatever they need him to do. When he does get in the game last week against Buffalo, he got in the game. I think he had two big third down catches. And so he's going to be able to fill that void when he's on the field with, for Nico Collins. That's after though, that's after Tank Dale and Stefan Diggs. because with Nico on the field, Stefan has been playing a lot of the slot.
Starting point is 00:04:27 We know that he can also play on the outside as well. And when you put Tank on the outside, you put Stefan on the outside, and when Xavier Hutchinson comes in, you can move Stefan Diggs back to the slot. But also, because they have so much depth, at the end, in the post-game press conference last week, they asked Stephon Diggs. Stephon Diggs was asked when we were in the media scrum, what did you say to the team after you knew that Nico wasn't coming back?
Starting point is 00:05:00 He said, we have enough depth. We have enough depth on this team, and it's just time for the next man up. It's time for the next man to step up. So it's time for Xavier Hutchinson to step up. It's time for John Mechie to step up, because when you put Diggs on the outside, you have Tank on the outside. You can also bring in John Mechie, who can run every route on the route tree. He's going to be able to help, And you still have Dawson Schultz. You still have Cade Stover. So they're going to miss Nico. Definitely going to miss his presence. Definitely going to miss what he brings to the field.
Starting point is 00:05:33 But they have enough depth in order to hold it down until he gets back. And that's very good to know because the Patriots secondary right now is definitely feeling the injury bug itself with Kyle Duggar not being able to go a lot of people wondering if this is going to be the week where he does come back he did not practice on Wednesday Patriots rely on Kyle to be that traffic director in that backfield so without him there puts a lot of pressure on guys like Christian Gonzalez and Jonathan Jones to be stout in the corner game because the Patriots right now are devoid of safeties. Of course, we all follow the Jabril Peppers situation. He right now is on the commissioner's exempt list, so he will not be out there. Going to be interesting to see how the
Starting point is 00:06:14 Patriots kind of adapt to be able to try to keep that potent passing attack of the Houston Texans in check. But Sarge, also on offense, the Texans are also dealing with an injury to starting running back Joe Mixon, and that has caused the running game to slow down a little bit. The Texans are averaging 104.2 yards per game, but barely four yards per carry. Is there a concern that if the Patriots defense tries to force Houston to be one-dimensional, that it could lead to problems with this running game. On Wednesday, we got some very good news from head coach D'Amico Ryan. Damian Pierce, who started in the league here before for the Houston Texans,
Starting point is 00:06:56 and now is a backup to Joe Mixon, who's been dealing with a hamstring injury, will be back. And so he was close to playing last week, but they held him out one more week. And coach D'Amico Ryan said on Wednesday that he will be back and so he was close to playing last week but they held him out one more week and coach D'Amico Ryan said on Wednesday that he will be playing and so that will that that will help out that Texans offense so much and one of the reasons why those rushing numbers look like that is because you don't have Joe Mick you don't have Joe Mixon you didn't have Damian Pierce they were down to the third and fourth string running back in Darre Ugumawale in Cam Akers.
Starting point is 00:07:28 And what Darre did against the Buffalo Bills, let the Texans know that they could sit out Joe Mixon at least one more week to get him healthy, especially if you're going to get Damian Pierce back. What Darre Ugumawale has done is he's a third down back who's starting to get a lot of snaps. And although he's not getting the runs that he needs in between the tackles, what they're doing is they're finding ways to utilize his skill set as that third down back playing on first and second downs, getting him into the flats. You remember last week against the Buffalo Bills when CJ Stroud, the last offensive play that they had before they kicked the game winning for Kiami Fairbairn, kicked the 59 yard game winning field goal. CJ was pretty much stuck and didn't know where to go. Looked right in the middle of the field. And there's Darryl Ogobunwale wide open, got another four or five yards to put them in field goal range. And, you know, the rest is history. And so having Damian Pierce back, I don't know.
Starting point is 00:08:28 He's missed so much time. He hasn't played since the first week. Missing him during that time and trying to get Cam Akers, a running back who, you know, we've seen him Super Bowl winning running back, but was looking for a job after he dealt with injuries. They gave him a tryout. He came and he made the team, but he's still getting himself together, still getting his body together.
Starting point is 00:08:50 And they're still trying to teach him how to, you know, reteach him how to run between the tackles. That's why they're doing a lot of sweeps with him. So that running game should look better this week, getting Damian Pierce back in with Darryl Ugamowale. Yeah, very good point. I'm glad you mentioned Pierce, one of the more exciting rushers before he went down with the injury.
Starting point is 00:09:09 Going to be good to see him back on the field unless you're a Patriots fan. You definitely don't want to see him coming at you because the Patriots right now are still trying to figure out things up front on their defensive line and trying to stop the run and be a formidable defense. Before we take our leave of the Texans' biggest story, Sarge, I did want to ask you at least one question about that Texans' defense that right now is generating a league-best 42% pressure rate. Obviously, you've seen the headlines. You know Drake May is going to get the start here in New England.
Starting point is 00:09:40 The Patriots' offensive line is allowing a league- league worst 48.3% pressure rate. How much right now do you think the Neil Hunter, do you think Will Anderson are licking their chops waiting to get after this Patriots offensive line? Well, you know what, Mike, what I couldn't understand is why now? Why start Drake May now against the fourth best defense, the fourth best defense in the league. With the defense who, and I know you look at the numbers,
Starting point is 00:10:08 and like you said, with the quarterback pressures, they're not getting the sacks, but they're getting the pressure, and they're causing so much chaos and confusion. And so I don't know if Coach Mayo looked at the game last week and see what the Houston Texans defense did to a top five quarterback in the league, holding him to 9 of 30. 30 passing keep I think he had 131 passing yards and did not look comfortable the whole day and now you say hey Drake you ready and he's like to play against who because that's the one thing that I couldn't understand Mike is you're going to start him against the number four defense in
Starting point is 00:10:45 the league when your next three games is against the Jaguars, the Jets, and the Titans. I don't think you should just throw him to the wolves right now, but since you are going to throw him to the wolves, I hope that they watched a lot of tape of the week two game against the Chicago Bears and what the defensive ends and Daniel Hunter and Will Anderson Jr., how much pressure they put on rookie Caleb Williams, the number one overall selection in the 2024 NFL draft. This is a guy that was exciting, exhilarating, and they kept him on the run the entire day.
Starting point is 00:11:21 And so as I watched some film, I watched some film of the New England Patriots offensive line. And I said, I don't know if they're ready, but with that being said, the Houston Texans have been getting a lot of ugly wins here lately. You know, the last two weeks we see how they had to be the Jacksonville Jaguars and how they had to be the Buffalo Bills, excuse me. And what I don't want to happen to the Houston Texans is this become a trap game. And they play and, you know, look, I don't mean any disrespect when I say this, but I don't want them to have to play down to their competition
Starting point is 00:11:57 while they're looking ahead to play the Green Bay Packers in the next week. So with that being said, D'Amico, coach D'Amico Rines, has already reiterated to his team on numerous occasions coming to practice because I talked to Will Anderson Jr. on Wednesday and he said, coach told us we better be ready. No matter who we're playing against, no matter what the record is, this is still an NFL team. And if Drake May puts on a NFL uniform, if he puts and if drake may puts on uh nfl uniform if he puts on a uniform he puts on a patriot uniform it takes a snap at quarterback we're going to treat him as if we're playing patrick mahomes lamar jackson josh allen we don't
Starting point is 00:12:37 care who's that quarterback we're just trying to get to the quarterback yeah absolutely and to your point i think we'll get into in the next segment a little bit more as to why the Patriots are making this move at this point. But I got a funny feeling it has to do with averaging 119.4 passing yards per game. One of the worst in the league. Patriots have nowhere to go but up offensively. Or do they? I think Sarge has given all of us here in New England a little something to think about heading into this game, but we're going to get into the Patriots strategy and what the biggest storylines coming out of New England are when this episode of the Locked On Patriots Locked On Texans crossover
Starting point is 00:13:16 episode continues right here on the Locked On Podcast Network your team every day. Locked On listeners, I wanted to take a moment to ask you all out there in Locked On land, are you familiar with Z-Biotics, the pre-alcohol probiotic drink that's the world's first genetically engineered probiotic? It was invented by PhD scientists to tackle rough mornings after drinking. Here's how it works. When you drink alcohol, it gets converted into a toxic byproduct in the gut.
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Starting point is 00:16:25 and a 1 p.m. kickoff at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. In the previous segment, folks, we talked about the biggest stories heading out of Houston. Brian, it's a tale of two cities here in New England. It's a much different circumstance. The Pats sit at one and four, really at the bottom of the statistical barrel when it comes to offense the defense has tried to hold pretty strong but they've had their issues with injuries lately
Starting point is 00:16:50 and the Patriots right now quite simply have nowhere to go but up one of those big reasons why you're going to see the rookie Drake May make his starting NFL quarterback debut against the Texans this weekend now in the previous, you kind of led us into this segment by asking why. Why are the Patriots going to Drake May at this point? Knowing full well that this is a pressure-packed defense that the Houston Texans are throwing at them. A lot of talent on this side of the ball. New England right now is having difficulty getting their receivers open, getting separation to be able to make things happen. The running game has been somewhat solid,
Starting point is 00:17:28 but there have been issues with ball security. And of course, the offensive line has been decimated by injury and riddled with poor play. But the Patriots have made strides in some of those departments as of late, Sarge. So I think what the Pats are looking at is they're seeing a bottom of the barrel rating when it comes to passing yards. They're seeing an option where a young rookie quarterback has the chance to maybe help to mask some of the problems that you have along the offensive line by going off script, being able to make throws down the field, give him an opportunity
Starting point is 00:18:00 to extend or make plays with his legs legs and essentially provide that type of spark that the Patriots are going to need in order to be able to remain competitive. That being said, it's going to be a tough road ahead for the New England Patriots going against the Houston Texans. To answer your question of why, I think the Patriots would have preferred to start Drake when he was fully ready, maybe when the offensive line was doing a better job, maybe against a defense that wasn't so pressure-packed. But considering all of the difficulties that Jacoby Brissett has had up until this point, I think the Patriots looked at it and said, we need a spark. We need it now. Let's see what the kid can do against one of the top teams in the league. And I definitely understand all of that. And it's, you know what the crazy
Starting point is 00:18:45 thing about this is, Mike, because if we would have had this conversation a while ago, a long time ago, and I'm not even talking about Drake, man, I'm just talking about the franchise in general. It's, it's still weird to me to look at the new England Patriots franchise and see, you know, all that nostalgia, all that history, all that consecutive Super Bowls and AFC Championship games. And now we're saying it's almost like they're in a rebuild. And so being in a rebuild, and I know that they didn't draft Drake May for him to sit on the bench. I understand that they drafted him to play and everybody isn't going to have the situation like the Houston Texans had with C.J. Stroud,
Starting point is 00:19:26 where he just came in and had a record-breaking rookie season. I mean, even though he was the number two overall pick in that draft, he still had a chip on his shoulder, and he proved to everybody that he probably should have went number one. But when I'm looking at the Patriots offense and I'm saying, OK, you're going to put Drake May in there. Can you tell me how wide receiver Jalen Polk and Ramondre Stevenson can help a young quarterback like Drake May? Absolutely. Well, first of all, it really starts with Ramondre Stevenson, because Alex Van Pelt, the offensive coordinator in New England, loves to run an offense predicated on using a strong running game to be able to open up play action, take deep shots down the field. He loves to call an outside zone game, and that's where Ramondre is at his best. Ramondre has actually looked very good running the ball in Alex Van
Starting point is 00:20:19 Pelt's offense. He's comfortable in the outside zone. He is able to facilitate that type of passing game. The problem is twofold. One, Jacoby Brissett has not been able to find enough time in order to be able to get the ball downfield. That's problem one. The other problem is Ramondre's had his difficulty with holding onto the ball. Prior to last Sunday's game against the Miami Dolphins, he fumbled the ball four times in as many games.
Starting point is 00:20:45 If you're going to be that strong force to facilitate their offense, it's going to be very, very difficult when you can't control the ball. So Ramondre has to do a better job of taking care of the ball. He looked very good doing it against the Dolphins. Obviously, the Patriots have confidence that he can continue to do that. And if he does, Drake May is the type of quarterback that can go off script. He can roll out. He can make the type of throws, the athletic type of plays that the Patriots are going to need to provide a spark for that offense. So that's how Ramondre can really help Drake May. Run the ball strong, be a force on early downs, and then allow that second, third down weapon to really be Drake Mays arm and his ability to move the ball downfield and that's where Jalen Polk comes in because Jalen is a very good point
Starting point is 00:21:31 of catch receiver right at the point of attack this guy can go up get the ball and he can make things happen especially in the red zone so I think Jalen is going to be a very big factor for the Patriots that's when I look for guys like Demario Douglas and maybe even the veteran Kendrick Bourne coming back from an injury, had his first game back last week. These can be security blankets for Drake in order to get the ball down the field. So all of these players are going to have a major role in whether or not Drake may succeed on Sunday. I think that outside of Drake May having to go up against the defensive ends, Will Hunter, I mean, Will Hunter, Daniel Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. Outside of trying to avoid them. One of the issues, one of the biggest issues he's going to have is going up against the mind of
Starting point is 00:22:18 head coach D'Amico Ryans. I mean, he, this is a coach who not only played the linebacker position, but also was an assistant on the San Francisco 49ers when their defense was top five, top two sometimes. I mean, he also was the defensive coordinator before he got the job with the Houston Texans. So you're going up against his mind and his ability to be able to scheme different types of defense and defensive schemes and give different looks to a young quarterback who has never seen it before. You also have Aziz Alshair playing in that middle spot who, you know, I know that he's going to be waiting on remandre he's going to be waiting on stevenson because he's just that type of attack attack attack and he's very very smart when you watch him on film he will come downhill and hit you but he's also not bad in pass coverage either he had two opportunities to intercept the ball from josh allen on last weekend one of the reasons why he didn't is because he was in the emergency room Saturday night, lost 10 pounds,
Starting point is 00:23:28 didn't think that he was going to even be able to play. They actually told him, we don't think you should play, but he said, you're not going to keep me off the field. And so we're talking about Anderson. We're talking about Hunter. We're talking about Aziz Alshair. We're talking about D'Amico Rines. But you also have
Starting point is 00:23:45 to remember when it comes to Jalen Polk and Boren, they're going up against arguably one of the best defensive backs, cornerbacks in Derrick Stingley Jr., who can shut down an entire field. I think he was targeted four times last week, no catches. There was no receptions against him. This is a young man who, he amazes me I love talking football with him in the locker room because he can run you through plays matter of fact I think two weeks ago he told me about when Devontae Adams tried to run a double move on him when they played the Raiders I don't even remember how many he's like yeah I remember he tried to run this move twice and I'm saying saying to myself, how do you remember that? I can't even remember what I had on last week.
Starting point is 00:24:26 But I digress. You have Stingley on one side. And then this rookie out of Georgia, Kamari Lassiter. This is a young man that he just, he refuses to lose at anything. And I understand he's a two-time NCAA champion when he was at the University of Georgia. But he's so competitive, and he wants to be just as good as Derrick Stingley. Sometimes you forget that he's a rookie. Now, there are some moves that he can be beat on.
Starting point is 00:24:55 Last week, he missed a tackle on Keon Coleman, and that freed him up to score that touchdown, a 49-yard touchdown on a missed tackle. But he only gave up, he was targeted six times, gave up two receptions for 70 yards, and the majority of that came off of that. And so when you take all of that dynamic of that defense and Jalen Petrie, who they moved from safety to the corner position now, who is almost like an additional linebacker, along with Aziz Alshair and Henry Toto. I just think it's going to be a very long day for a rookie like Drake May against that defense.
Starting point is 00:25:34 Yeah, without any question. And I'm glad that you mentioned that. D'Amico Ryans is a coach that is innovative, and he loves to make life difficult for young quarterbacks. You mentioned this earlier about what they did to Caleb Williams and the Chicago bears in week two, two interceptions, seven sacks,
Starting point is 00:25:50 and only his second career start. That is going to be something the Patriots need to monitor because you know, they're going to give Drake a lot of exotic looks, things that he hasn't seen things that he's not used to going up against. That could be a problem. Folks, can the new England Patriots and Drake May earn their first victory since week one and upset the Houston Texans?
Starting point is 00:26:09 On the other hand, can the Texans keep the ball rolling, move to 5-1, and put their stamp on being one of the AFC's top teams? What's it going to take for each of these teams to earn victory? We're going to talk keys to victory in this episode of Locked On Patriots, Locked On Texans Crossover Thursday episode continues right here on the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.
Starting point is 00:26:34 Hey NFL fans, you can start the season with a big return on FanDuel, America's number one sports book. Houston Texans heavily favored against the New England Patriots this weekend. If you want to put that fandom to the test, definitely do so with Fan Duel. So when you get a hunch in the middle of the game, you can check out the latest stats,
Starting point is 00:26:56 view live play-by-play, and so much more on the same page right where you place your bets. You'll get started with $200 in bonus bets guaranteed when you place your first $5 bet. Do so with FanDuel. Don't delay. Do it today. FanDuel.com. That's FanDuel.com. Patriots fans and Texans fans, thank you for joining us today on this Locked on Patriots
Starting point is 00:27:24 Locked on Texans crossover episode. Mike DeBate of Locked on Patriots joined by Brian Big Sarge-Bearfield, host of Locked on Texans. And Brian, we've talked a lot about what the New England Patriots and the Houston Texans need to do to remain competitive and to give themselves an edge in this game. But when it comes right down to it, these games are usually about keys to victory. Little things that these teams need to do, maybe major things these teams need to do in order to make sure that they're on the winning side.
Starting point is 00:27:55 Being a visiting team, when you look at the Houston Texans, what would you say are the keys to victory this Sunday for Houston? The only key, there's only one key for the Houston Texans this weekend, and that is to get that offense going. Now, when you look at their stats, I know that they're ranked number one in passing offense with 272 yards per game. I know that they are sixth in total offense at 376.6 yards per game, but the offense has looked stale. The offense has looked ineffective at times. It looks like they're stuck sometimes in mud,
Starting point is 00:28:34 and they need to get out of that mud, get out of that rut, and get going. They haven't scored over 30 points this year, and with the amount of talent that they have on the offensive side of the ball, led by quarterback C.J. Stroud, now is the time. This is one of the times where you're playing against a team, and I don't want to call the Patriots a weaker opponent because any team can be beaten in the NFL on any given Sunday. Last year we watched the Houston Texans go into a game against the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers were winless on a season and a loss.
Starting point is 00:29:07 Went in against the Atlanta Falcons, a team that they should have beaten very, very handily on that day, and they lost. And so you cannot look past they have in the offensive mind and Bobby Sloic, the only key to victory is to make sure that you're scoring and you keep scoring in the second half. In the second half of games this season, that offense has become putrid. And I know people don't like when I say that. But, you know, before last Sunday, they were averaging 8.5 points in the second half. And you can get that from kicker Kiami Fairbairn, especially with this type of offense, you have to score, score and keep score, keep your foot on the gas. And so the only key to victory is to make sure that that offense runs smoothly and effectively. Very good point. And I think that if the Houston
Starting point is 00:30:03 Texans do that, once again, it's going to be a long day for the New England Patriots, even though they are playing in those snazzy red throwbacks, which I know fans are going to love to see. They are at home. They are starting a rookie quarterback and it is the beginning of a new era. It will be a bright era in New England folks, but they're facing a tough team on Sunday and it's going to be awfully tough to gain this victory. But I am here to tell you, Patriots fans, there is a way to do it. The way the Patriots need to earn a victory against the Texans is, first off, they need to protect their quarterback. The Patriots need Viderian Lowe to have another strong game at left tackle, the interior of the offensive line, to play solid.
Starting point is 00:30:43 If that line can hold up, the Patriots have a puncher's chance in this one. That means Ramondre has to be strong running the football. That means Antonio Gibson needs to be a strong receiver out of the backfield and be a third-down weapon, and the Patriots have to get the passing game involved. There will be times, Sarge, where you will see Drake May make eye-opening throws, and Patriots fans will be excited. The problem is, is he going to be able to make enough of them? And you mentioned the secondary of Houston,
Starting point is 00:31:11 and as well as that pressure-packed defense led by Daniil Hunter and Will Anderson. It's going to be tough for the Patriots to do that. On defense, the Patriots have to try to control what is a very dangerous Houston offense. The way to do that is to ride the legs and the arms of Christian Gonzalez, who has been one of the better cornerbacks in the league this year, the size, the length, the ability to be able to lock down his opponent.
Starting point is 00:31:37 But finally, and this is going to be the big key, they have to hope Houston makes some mistakes and the Patriots have to capitalize on it. I think this is the biggest key to victory for New England. When you match up these two teams on paper, Houston should win this matchup nine times out of 10. If the Patriots can capitalize on mistakes and can force them, that's where they're going to be able to feed off the home crowd, use that newfound energy from Drake May starting
Starting point is 00:32:03 in this game, and then they have a chance to do it. Do I like their chances in this game? We'll see. But at the same time, I'm looking forward to it. Sarge is looking forward to it. We'll be in attendance, and we're going to be ready to break this game down for you. But first of all, Bud, I just want to thank you very much for joining me here today on this crossover episode, for joining the Lockdown family.
Starting point is 00:32:26 Honored to be your colleague. More honored to now be your friend. And I'm looking forward to covering this one. So any parting words for Patriots fans or Texans fans when it comes to this one heading into week six? But well, I just want to tell the Houston, Texas, and I meant to throw this in there. Hey, cut down on the penalties. They will make the fans very, very happy. Other than that, hey, I look forward to seeing what the Houston,
Starting point is 00:32:52 Texas are going to do. And like I said, any given Sunday, any team could be beat. I just don't think that it's going to be this Sunday. Yeah, I think you make a great point on penalties, Sarge. The Patriots had a dozen penalties that they were whistled for last week against the Dolphins, six of which, by colleagues of mine that I hold in the highest regard, were labeled as egregious or totally avoidable. That's not good. Patriots have to be more disciplined. Houston has to be more disciplined.
Starting point is 00:33:18 Whichever team wins that battle may end up coming out on top. But we hope you enjoy this matchup coming up on Sunday. Don't forget, game predictions, and there's still more to come, both on Locked On Texans and on Locked On Patriots. So check out Brian Big Sarge-Bearfield and my good friend John Hickman each and every day on the Locked On Texans podcast. And if you're a Houston Texans fan and you want to keep your friends close and your enemies closer this week, you can check me out on Locked On Patriots. On behalf of Brian Big Sarge-Bearfield, I'm Mike DeBate, wishing you all the chance to
Starting point is 00:33:48 stay well, to stay safe, 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, right here on the Lockdown Podcast Network.

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