Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins, Mac, Tua, Tyreek, J.C. and More: Crossover Thursday

Starting point is 00:00:00 Can New England's secondary hold down Miami's top receiver, who looks like he's going to be playing? Crossing the streams on Crossover Thursday. Stick around, you're about to be locked in to the Locked On Patriots podcast. You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful. Thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage remember download subscribe to and follow Locked On Patriots wherever you get your podcasts to ensure that you get the latest episode as soon as it's available

Starting point is 00:00:54 I'm your host Mike DeBate 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 X or the bird app or Twitter, however you happen to be referring to it these days, at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L. And while you're out there showing some love to Locked On Patriots, social media wise, be sure to follow the account there as well at L-O underscore Patriots. And Pats fans, today's Crossover Thursday episode is brought to you by PrizePix, the easiest and most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports. Go to prizepix.com slash locked on NFL and use the code, all lowercase, locked on NFL for a first deposit match up to $100.

Starting point is 00:01:38 And Pats fans, it is that time again. It's Thursday, so it is time to cross the streams here on Locked On Patriots as we welcome Kyle Krabs, host of Locked On Dolphins, one of the very best in the business in Dolphins coverage, and of course several appearances here on Locked On Patriots Crossover Thursdays. Pat's first meeting with the Dolphins didn't quite go according to plan. We all remember that 24-17 loss and the Cole Strange lunge that just wasn't meant to be.

Starting point is 00:02:06 But the Patriots are coming off of their best performance so far this season. And there's a lot to be optimistic about in New England. Or is there? Well, that's what Kyle and I are going to discuss today. We're going to go into the biggest stories coming out of New England and Miami. We're going to discuss the key matchups and what we're going to have our sharp eye on. And of course, we're going to provide each team's respective key to success to find a victory this Sunday in Miami Gardens, Florida, when the Pats and the Dolphins take the Hard Rock Stadium field at 1 p.m. And of course, one quick programming note.

Starting point is 00:02:37 When Kyle and I sat down to cross the streams, a lot of the information surrounding Tyree Kill and his injured hip was not out yet. Obviously, we heard the reports on Wednesday that there was an injury. A lot of people were concerned that Tyreek might not only be out for this game, but several games. Well, Tyreek was back on the practice field on Thursday, spoke with reporters after practice was done, and essentially declared himself ready. So consider it game on for the Patriots secondary versus Tyree Kill. That's did a pretty good job of containing him the first time. Can they do it again? Well, without further ado, let's cross the streams here on Locked On Patriots,

Starting point is 00:03:15 Locked On Dolphins, as Crossover Thursday begins. It's Thursday here on the Locked On Network, and you know what that means. It is an AFC East clash between the New England Patriots and the Miami Dolphins. I'm Kyle Krabs of Locked on Dolphins, joined by Mike Bate of Locked on Patriots. We're doing this for the second time this season.

Starting point is 00:03:36 Miami and New England last played in week two and things have changed a little bit for both of these teams. Perhaps not a more thrilling win for either team although i maybe 70 points could be in that conversation but the patriots knocked off the bills last week mac jones fourth quarter comeback mike it's good to see how things going man well a lot better this week than they have been in previous weeks kyle without any question no i'll get inside uh for

Starting point is 00:04:01 patriots fans it was definitely good to get a win no matter how the win comes but when it came in the fashion that the New England Patriots were able to beat the Buffalo Bills in it makes the week coming into it a little sweeter but not for too much longer because they have I think an even more formidable opponent waiting for them this weekend in the Miami Dolphins yeah so Miami coming off a Sunday night football loss to the Philadelphia Eagles dropped their record to five-2 on the season. There's kind of this developing storyline for Miami and their ability to perform against the better teams on their schedule.

Starting point is 00:04:32 But anytime you see a Bill Belichick defense on the schedule, you know you're going to get schemed up really well. They're going to test you in new ways. They're going to play fundamental football. And I think you saw that last week against how the Bills were able to or were not able to circumvent the game plan that Bill Belichick cooked up for Buffalo. And I guess my question for you, Mike, is what made that defensive effort for New England with so many of their best players not available when you think about Matt Judon and his injury and Christian Gonzalez with how good he looked early in the season and the other injuries that the Patriots had what allowed them to minus a

Starting point is 00:05:11 a flurry late by Buffalo and a turnover that put them in position to go ahead late in the game I think they got through the third quarter with 10 points so what what did the Patriots do and how sustainable do you think that'll be as far as building some momentum? Well, the risk of sounding cliche, Kyle, what the Patriots did was employ next man up to the best of their ability and it worked. And that's something that has not worked for New England up until this point this season. It seemed like every button Bill Belichick and either the offensive or defensive coaching staff in the case of your question, were pushing, just didn't seem to hit the mark, but it did on Sunday. Anthony Jennings stepped up in a big way in the absence of Matthew Judon, also in the absence of Josh Uche, and even Keon White, who were all three of them,

Starting point is 00:05:55 were sidelined for this game. But Jennings came in with an aggression, approaching the quarterback, and was able to cause some disruption back there. You also look at guys like Christian Barmore, who finally stepped up on the defensive line and really made strides in being able not just to be a force in run defense, but also get after the passer and make sure that they were winning their battles at the line of scrimmage. So New England utilized the players they have to be able to put forth, I think, a solid game plan. What they did was challenge Josh Allen through the middle, which is really, I think, the only way that they were going to be able to have success against him, prevent him from either rolling to the left or rolling to the right where he is at his best.

Starting point is 00:06:48 And what that did was that kept him off balance enough for the New England Patriots to be able to keep the Buffalo Bills off the scoreboard and give that offense a chance to prove itself. Credit to the offense. They stepped up in a big way as well, but I think the defensive effort is getting lost in the shuffle, and I'm so glad that you asked about that. Yeah, and then offensively, 29 points, which is a high watermark for New England this season. What was different about how they played the Bills? Obviously, the Bills are banged up defensively right now, but you talked about New England being banged up. I, at some point on this show, am going to talk about how banged up the Dolphins are. Everybody's got injuries at this stage, right? But I certainly don't think you come out and score 29 points by just playing a team that's missing a few players. What did they do offensively that helped kind of give them a spark? Well, I think in a lot of ways, what Bill O'Brien did was he knew he had to go back to basics. He had to put Mac Jones

Starting point is 00:07:28 in a situation where he felt comfortable. He felt secure. It starts with pre-snap and go-snap motions that the Patriots are employing. And these are things that they have not done regularly or haven't done well. They did a good job of incorporating motion into the offense and it facilitated the running game. The running game then in turn facilitated play action, and that's where Mac Jones is at his best. That's where he's most comfortable. The offensive line deserves an awful lot of credit as well, Kyle, because they were able to keep him upright and comfortable. Michael Wainu playing that right tackle position all of a sudden was able to seal the edges, and it allowed the guards.

Starting point is 00:08:08 Cole Strange coming back was big, and City So actually had a very good game. That allowed Mac Jones to have the time he needed to complete his passes. And when Mac has got time, he's capable of doing things with the football and making things happen. And you saw that on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills. And from Miami's perspective, obviously you lose on Sunday night football. It was a big game matchup, a chance to play against one of the premier teams in the NFL and the Philadelphia Eagles. And well, Miami did not play particularly well. The conversation coming out of the game was how Philadelphia was able to hold Miami to

Starting point is 00:08:38 244 yards of offense. Some of that exacerbated by the early exit of Isaiah Wynn former New England Patriot he's on IR he will it sounds like we may not see him again this season and I know that's a storyline that that unfortunately for Isaiah New England fans are very familiar with because that's that's kind of been the book is is there's been some promising play I know he bounced around positions last year but it's now put Miami's offensive line in flux where Connor Williams has not played three of the past four games. Teron Armstead is on injured reserve. He will be eligible to come back starting next week ahead of the Kansas City game. Now the left guard

Starting point is 00:09:16 is out. So Miami's perspective of lack of continuity up front really hurt them against a very disruptive defensive line with the Philadelphia Eagles. And then defensively for Miami, I would point to, I think the front seven with the absence of Zavian Howard and Jalen Ramsey, not yet quite ready to come back. He may play in this game on Sunday against the Patriots, but he did not play against the Eagles. The front seven played pretty inspired against Philadelphia's really good offensive line. They held the Eagles. The front seven played pretty inspired against Philadelphia's really good offensive line. They held the Eagles to 99 yards rushing. And obviously there was four tush pushes in there for a yard, yard and a half. And you had a couple of kneel downs at the end of the game, but Miami actually averaged more yards per carry against the Philadelphia Eagles than

Starting point is 00:10:01 the Eagles did against the Dolphins defense. And the last time we did this crossover, Mike, we were talking about how the Dolphins gave up 233 yards rushing to the Los Angeles Chargers in week one. So that rushing effort defensively for Miami, I think is something that they'll feel really good about. And there'll be a good new test to see. And when you went right tackle and some of the changes versus what new England implemented in a personnel standpoint last time, you know, their last six games from a rushing defense perspective

Starting point is 00:10:26 is 88 yards, 69 yards, 104, 85, 108, and 99. They've been much, much more firm than they were coming into that week two game. And the challenge for Miami is how well they can sustain that against what New England is doing differently than they did the first time when Miami held them to 88 yards rushing. Yeah, that's a great point. And I know last time we talked about matchups and we'll talk a little more about matchups in just a moment.

Starting point is 00:10:50 It was New England's running game. Can they gash Miami for big time yardage? In that regard, the New England Patriots don't have that luxury this time. When you hold Philadelphia's rushing attack to 2.9 yards per carry, you know you're doing something right. So New England's going to have to either get inventive or find new ways to be able to get that Miami defense because they're playing at a much higher level now. Credit to guys like Christian Wilkins and Raekwon Davis who form that formidable front

Starting point is 00:11:17 that really protects guys like Long and Baker. I know Long's been banged up a little bit and there are injuries all over the place, but that's going to be something to watch if you're a New England Patriots fan, because so much of what they do is predicated on success and early success with the run. If they can't find that, do those old demons start to crop up for the New England Patriots? That could be a very interesting thing to watch on Sunday. So Mike, well, let's get ready to talk about injuries and matchups. But before we do, I think we have a very important message we got to watch on Sunday. So Mike, well, let's, let's get ready to talk about injuries and matchups. But before we do, I think we have a very important message.

Starting point is 00:11:49 We got to tell everybody. We do. Absolutely. And Kyle, you and I definitely do enjoy watching football. We do what we do for a living because we love to watch football and all of our listeners on locked on Patriots and locked on dolphins love to watch football, but why root for your team on an empty stomach? Order on DoorDash and save on all of your football watch party favorites.

Starting point is 00:12:10 All your favorite restaurants and stores from retail to grocery, guess what, folks? They're on the app, so you can shop everything you need to get game day ready. Kyle, this is a home game for the Miami Dolphins. I know that everyone in the Miami area or anyone that's a Dolphins fan right now is going to be looking for their favorite snacks and delicious treats while they watch this one. If they can't be at Hard Rock, why don't you fill everybody in on the Miami area on things that might be available through DoorDash. So anytime I go down, because I do not live in Miami, but

Starting point is 00:12:41 anytime I go down for a game, I go down for about three, three, four home games a season. I definitely get the Pierre's Caribbean cuisine. The oxtail is to die for, and that is on DoorDash. So I can confirm if you're looking to get something dropped off on game day and you're not going to the stadium and doing the tailgate bit. And if you are going to the tailgate or doing the tailgate bit, you can get prepped ahead of time with DoorDash. But Pierre's Caribbean cuisine is at the top of my list. And I am always pumped

Starting point is 00:13:08 to see them on DoorDash in case I get a late flight in and I sync it up as I'm in the Uber on the way to the airport. I can get it dropped off and I can have a good meal the night before the game. That sounds great. It definitely sounds good. If you're in the Miami area, check that out. And this may not be so popular in the Miami area, Kyle, but speaking to my fans here in New England, nothing says game day to me like a little New England clam chowder. Well, folks, if you're like me, great news, because the best chowder in the business is available on DoorDash.

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Starting point is 00:14:13 when you download the DoorDash app and spend $15 or more. Subject to change, terms apply. Okay, Mike. What I would like to do is I want to give you and then ask you to do the same for me kind of the rundown on expectations for guys that are banged up just because we're going to talk key matchups but guys that may or may not be available it's kind of puts an asterisk on some matchups in this game off the jump anyway so i've already mentioned isaiah when. He's going on IR. So that's a loss for the Dolphins up front offensively.

Starting point is 00:14:48 We'll see what the status is with Connor Williams, the center. He's missed the last two weeks. Mike McDaniel has said he's been chomping at the bit to get back in the game. He got injured against Denver, missed the Bills game, came back against the Giants, has missed the last two. So with Miami now losing the left guard, the question is, hey, if he's still 90%, 95%, do we feel prompted to put Connor Williams back into the game and get him back into the mix? So that offensively is kind of where your eyes are at. Jalen Waddell

Starting point is 00:15:19 had some back spasms on Sunday Night Football, but he's fine. Mike McDaniel said he's expected to practice and be fine moving forward. Defensively, Javon Holland is currently in concussion protocol. He and David Long had the collision in the second half against Philadelphia. David Long left the game and did not come back by the time he cleared protocol and his neurologic check. It was too late in the game. Javon Holland cleared immediately, and then in his following morning follow-up visit with the neurologist, self-reported concussion symptoms. So he got placed into protocol on that point. David Long is good to go. He will be fine.

Starting point is 00:15:57 From a returning standpoint, Miami has Nick Needham, defensive back, expected he's going to get some run at safety. He is back off the PUP list. He tore his Achilles last year. And then Jalen Ramsey is practicing with the first team defense this week after serving in the scout team defense last week. And there is some question of whether Jalen Ramsey may come back this week and play against the New England Patriots. So that's where Miami's at from an injury standpoint with some of the bigger names. Yeah, without question. And that's actually great information,

Starting point is 00:16:28 especially for our listeners on Lockdown Patriots, because if there's one thing that these two teams can definitely shake hands on, it's laundry lists of players that are banged up and difficulties being able to fill some of the major roles that they play. On the New England Patriots side of things, good news. They're starting to get some guys back at practice. Now, what that means for their status on Sunday, still very early in the

Starting point is 00:16:49 game to be able to decipher. Josh Uche was back out on the field, linebacker who missed last week's game. He's a big part of what they do with the pass rush and still one of the better pure pass rushers on this team. So if he's back in the lineup, especially to pair alongside a guy like Anthony Jennings, that's a big opportunity for the Pats to be able to put pressure onto Otago Bailoa and something that they'll be able to want to do. But again, it's still very early in the game. Keon White, he is in concussion protocol

Starting point is 00:17:19 from suffering a head injury against the Raiders two weeks ago. Still kind of coming along. Things are working out, you know, from what I'm hearing according to plan, but it's also something they're being cautious with as well. So Keon is one to watch. He adds a lot of bump and a lot of ability in that defensive front, especially either on the edge or at an outside linebacker position. He's one to watch. On offense, Juju Smith-Schuster back on the field on Wednesday. He's missed the last couple of games following concussion protocol. In his absence, guys like Demario Douglas and Kendrick

Starting point is 00:17:50 Boyd have stepped up majorly to really help this team. Does Juju still have a role in the slot on this team when he comes back? That's going to be something to watch. But New England right now is nursing injuries that unfortunately have either ended the season or have marginally disrupted it in the case of Matthew Judon. You're not close to getting any one of those guys back, but getting people like Juju and Josh Uche back in the lineup on both sides of the ball is something good for New England. Yeah. As far as matchups for those that we are expecting to be ready to go and available, one that I'm really interested in is the return of Jack Jones to this specific matchup.

Starting point is 00:18:28 And you think about what New England trading for J.C. Jackson, who Miami played in week one with the Chargers, and Jack Jones. Those are two corners that Bill Belichick did not have at his disposal when they played the Dolphins the first time. It was Christian Gonzalez that really popped and shined for his ability to cover and help cover Tyreek Hill and now it's Jack Jones is back JC Jackson how do they choose to play matchups you saw New England come out with some of those more big 12 e3 safety looks against Miami and some early down looks

Starting point is 00:18:58 when they played the first time which is really the only team that that's hit Miami with one of those looks as far as trusting their safeties to play from depth and fill and get involved in the run game and help cap the defense and the vertical routes in the middle of the field. So from my perspective, thinking about two new corners in the mix for New England into the game plan versus the game plan that they came out and had some success with last time these two teams played. That's a really interesting layer to this game for me.

Starting point is 00:19:27 Yeah, it definitely is. And it's one of the matchups I'm watching closely as well. Because look, Tyreek Hill is such a big part of what Miami does offensively. Obviously, the offense runs through Tua. He's the quarterback and having a phenomenal season. But when you have a dynamic generational talent with the speed and the capability of changing the complexity of a game like Tyreek Hill, it makes things so difficult for the opposing team on defense. Yes, the Patriots did have some early success, I guess you might as well say.

Starting point is 00:19:55 You know, Tyreek had his catches. He didn't quite have the game that we know he's capable of having against New England with the three safety looks, which we talked about the last time that we were on here and we predicted could be a possibility. It was nice to see that that came into fruition, at least for Patriots fans it was. But this week, I don't believe New England is going to stray too much from the formula. Usually what Bill Belichick likes to do is say, okay, we showed you what we were going to do the first time. Now we're going to flip it up and we're going to make things even more exotic. I think this team is at a point where you have to stick with what works, whether it might be anticipatory or not. So I do still look for the three safety looks at times, but

Starting point is 00:20:33 with Jack Jones in the lineup, maybe some of that ball hawking ability kind of keeps Tyreek at least under control when it comes to that pre-snap motion, especially in home games, because you don't have to worry about the crowd noise or anything like that. Jack has a very good ability to draw a beat on the football. So that could be something to watch and something that the Patriots may try to wrinkle Miami on, but it's a formidable task without any question. And the Patriots have their hands full. Yeah. And then as far as when the Patriots have the ball, a matchup that I'm looking forward to is Unwainu and Trent Brown versus Jalen Phillips and Bradley Chubb. Jalen Phillips did not play, tweaked his back on Friday before the game the first time these two teams played, and then he came back against Denver and retweaked that oblique right around halftime. So Phillips didn't play the first two times,

Starting point is 00:21:29 the first time these two teams played. Andrew Van Ginkle stepped up and had a very large impact. Bradley Chubb has played probably his best two games in succession as a member of the Miami Dolphins since being acquired at the trade deadline last year, the past two weeks. So seeing Bradley Chubb really turn it on. He tagged Jordan Mailata for a couple of really good pass rushes on Sunday Night Football.

Starting point is 00:21:51 He logged two sacks in that game. Looking forward to seeing the test of the power of New England's tackles with Trent Brown and Nwenyu, who's obviously such a big-bodied guy. How Miami's rush approaches those two guys, I think will be critical because if New England is going to have success with the play action passing game, keeping you off balance with what your rushes are in your landmarks and your timing of pressing to the quarterback, you're going to have to win some reps early. And I look at those two guys, that's a big matchup for me. Oh, it's a huge matchup. And again, if you're the New England Patriots and you're trying to counteract that,

Starting point is 00:22:28 the only way I think they can do it is get success by once again opening up a short passing game. And that's where a guy like Demario Douglas becomes so vital for New England. He's someone that's explosive with the ball in his hands. I think the best pure playmaker that they have on offense from a pass catching standpoint. So if he can start to get catches early and gain yards after the catch that's big for new england that sets up guys like kendrick born to be able to get looks because all of a sudden you're drawing the attention away from miami defenders uh and then they can start using the tight ends as well hunter

Starting point is 00:23:00 henry mike kisecki someone you know very well in the red zone. And don't be a bit surprised to see Farrow-Brown align in certain packages and try to get big chunk plays when they seem to have needed to get those. Farrow seems to be there for the handoff. So if you see him in alignment and you're a Miami fan, keep a very sharp eye on that. Of course, Miami can counter that a lot better this time around. If Zabian Howard is indeed able to go and he's at least at potent strength with this, maybe not full, but potent strength, and you've got Jalen Ramsey alongside him, that's automatically going to put a lot more pressure on the Patriots pass catchers.

Starting point is 00:23:34 So I think that matchup this time around, like you said, is going to be interesting as well, but it really all starts up front. And yeah, the Patriots fans are going to be watching Bradley Chubb and Jalen Phillips very closely we will talk additional keys to victory next here on this episode of crossover Thursday so stick with us if you're looking to have the most fun you possibly can this football season snap into action with FanDuel America's number one sportsbook. Right now, new customers can bet $5 and get $200 in bonus bets guaranteed win or lose. So if you like good return on investment, it's pretty hard to beat $5 becoming 200 win or lose with your first bet with FanDuel. You've been thinking about joining FanDuel. There's no better time to get in on the action than right now. The app is easy to use. There is a wide range of betting options, including spreads, player props, over-unders, and more.

Starting point is 00:24:29 And just a quick administrative note on this game between these two teams. FanDuel Sportsbook currently has the over-under for this game at 47 points, which is a healthy number. And the current spread of this game, Miami at home is currently being favored by nine and a half, which is an uncomfortably large number for me personally, my two cents with these two teams, like divisional matchups always get a little weird. So I don't know how much spread action I'm going to get in on Vandal, but you can visit Vandal.com slash locked on and kick off the NFL season. Vandal official partner of the NFL. There is a lot of uncertainty in the world today, and it is important for you to be prepared

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Starting point is 00:26:33 I do have one, yes, and unfortunately, it's one that New England can sympathize with when it comes to Miami, and that is with the loss of Isaiah Wynn. Now you're putting all of a sudden a lot of pressure on Lester Cotton and possibly even Robert Jones to fill those shoes. They've had their struggles against the Eagles. Can that continue? Because this is a situation where I know that Miami was going against a very, very good interior defensive line with the Philadelphia Eagles. And probably, if I'm being honest, more talented than the one that they're going to be going against this weekend against the New England Patriots but is this a matchup that the Patriots can exploit especially because they did such a good job of applying pressure off of Josh Allen

Starting point is 00:27:15 on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills that's what I'm going to be watching it's whether or not the reserves can step up and can have a good game against this New England defensive front if If they can, I think it's going to be a long day for New England. But if they start winning these battles and you can start throwing Tua Tagovailoa off his game, it makes it that much easier for New England to set its defensive game plan and control the tempo. And that's something that New England is good at and being able to move forward. So I'm going to be watching that one closely as well. I'm glad you mentioned that because my number one key to victory in this game is the timing of the offense as predicated by their pre-snap mechanics. And the two games in which they have been most impacted by that have been road games

Starting point is 00:28:01 without Connor Williams at center in Philadelphia and in Buffalo. Now, the timing was still compromised when they played in week two against the New England Patriots on Sunday Night Football, but Connor Williams played. So the availability of Connor Williams, and if you don't have him, the home field environment and what that can provide us with an extra data point to make sure that everything that Miami does with the shifts and the motions and all of the work that they make you do before the snap and the stress that they can provide on you, that all ties back to this interior offensive line and how much help that they can give. And I know Bill Belichick

Starting point is 00:28:43 is looking at the twists and the stunts and the games that the Eagles played on the left side of the line when Lester Cotton came in for Isaiah Wynn, and he's licking his chops to try to run some exotic pressure looks and try to force miscommunication. So that communication up front, and by extension of that, Miami's ability to run the full breadth of their offense, which we have seen them not necessarily be able to do. And it's hard right now to say, whether it's because you played a good defense on the road, or if you didn't have Connor Williams

Starting point is 00:29:14 against a good defense on the road, I'm hoping this can be a data point where Miami doesn't have to answer the question with or without Connor Williams because he plays, but we'll see. That's a big key to victory for me is how Miami can do everything that they want to do schematically offensively. Very good point. And I think that is a good key for Miami to be able to pull out the victory. And again, if they are having success in those manners, it's going to be a long day for the New England Patriots. On the flip side of the ball, we're going to have to keep their playmakers on the field. And I think this is true of any team that they play this year, but especially Miami and someone that knows the team so well, has so many different ways to beat you offensively and defensively. This is such a tough matchup for New England and in a building where they haven't had a whole lot of success. Miami has been the house of horrors for New England, even going back to the Tom Brady day. So this is a difficult place to play for New England, but Bill O'Brien has to put Mac in a

Starting point is 00:30:10 position to be able to run this offense well. How does he do that? Allows and devise a game plan that allows Mac to lean on the running game early, help facilitate play action, like I said before, and even though the Bill has a fondness for two tight end sets and I do expect to see some of those on Sunday need to wisely mix in some 11 personnel as well with one running back one tight end three receivers utilize those intermediate areas of the field and that'll help the Patriots advance the ball if they can start doing that and getting first downs keeping that Miami defense on the field and keeping that explosive offense off of it, that really, to me, is the key to victory for New England. It's going to be winning those battles and keeping their offense in a position where

Starting point is 00:30:53 they're controlling the game as opposed to Miami. Because if that offense starts to gain momentum and they put you into a track meet, I don't think there's any team in the NFL that can beat the Miami Dolphins when they're playing at that level, whether it's the Patriots or not. I think they're just so far and above offensively where other teams are right now that it's a real problem for anybody to play from behind on this team. So Patriots have to keep their playmakers on the field at all times, especially on offense. That is going to do it for this crossover Thursday between locked on Patriots and locked on Dolphins. We hope you all enjoy the game on Sunday.

Starting point is 00:31:27 You can keep tabs with Mike over on locked on Patriots. If you are a Patriots fan, if you're a dolphins fan locked on dolphins, has you covered it's your teams every day. Make sure you check out all the great shows we have on the locked on network. We have an outstanding network of shows and hosts in a community that is available to you on a daily basis. We hope you will make the most of it, and we hope you enjoy the game on Sunday.

Starting point is 00:31:50 But that is going to do it for us and this Crossover Thursday episode.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins, Mac, Tua, Tyreek, J.C. and More: Crossover Thursday

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