Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins: Tua Out, Teddy In, Mac Jones — Crossover Thursday

Starting point is 00:00:00 Patriots fans and Dolphins fans, welcome to another crossover Thursday episode here on the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Remember, Lockdown Podcasts are available wherever you get your podcasts, including YouTube. So smash that subscribe button for your favorite team and download, subscribe to and follow Lockdown Podcasts wherever you get your podcasts. I am Mike DeBate, host of the Lockdown On Patriots Podcast, and joining me for this week 17 crossing of the streams is my good friend and colleague, Kyle Krabs, host of Locked On Dolphins.

Starting point is 00:00:35 Kyle, Locked On crossovers are always great. They're always the highlight of my week, but I'd be lying if I said that interdivisional crossing the streams just hits differently and when it's Pat's Dolphins it's always a lot of fun uh definitely glad to be back on the microphone with you my friend yeah it's uh it's been a while since we've had a chance to catch up obviously week one was the first showcase this year and uh what a roller coaster both of these teams have taken both of us on our fan bases on and uh well we're playing meaningful football late in the year even if the momentum is not necessarily on either one of our sides as things currently stand but uh it's good to catch up with you looking to hear what's what's

Starting point is 00:01:13 going on in uh foxborough and company up there in the northeast and uh get prepped for this game on sunday absolutely and we are looking forward to this game on sunday week 17 matchup at gillette stadium the first of the calendar year in 2023 before we get started folks please remember today's crossover thursday episode is brought to you by our friends at prize picks prize picks is so much fun it's so easy to play no competing with other players it's just you versus the projections available you pick two to five players and if they score more or less than their PrizePix projection, you can win up to 10 times your money on your entry. It can literally take less than 60 seconds to enter.

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Starting point is 00:02:12 And Kyle, it is a situation where these two teams are not currently as hot as they have been all season long. But you know they're hot to face one another. This is a long divisional rivalry. A lot of storied history between these two franchises. Really a tale of two seasons, I think, when you look at how everything is shaken out. So let's start right there, my friend. And obviously, questions surrounding the quarterback position are really, I think, the big stories coming out of both camps. And if you don't mind, I think we'll start with you today.

Starting point is 00:02:43 Obviously, the big story in this game, Tu Tagovailoa concussion protocol he will not start on Sunday against the Patriots Teddy Bridgewater is in never faced in the Wingland Patriots before but drew an awful lot of praise from Bill Belichick when he spoke with the media on Wednesday regarding this matchup Kyle what's the mood surrounding Dolphins Nation right now and Finns fandom? How are they feeling, obviously, about Bridgewater starting this game? I think we both are in the camp where, as far as Tua Tagovailoa, I think everyone, Patriots fans, Dolphins fans, are united in this front,

Starting point is 00:03:21 saying that the most important thing for Tua is his health, his well-being. So obviously, we're glad to see that he is being given the time to recover and to be able to fully, you know, make a return, hopefully, whenever that may be to the field. But there are game implications to this as well. And it feels odd to be talking about those, but such is the job in which we have, my friend. What's the mood right now in Finns Nation? Yeah, at the end of the day, nobody that doesn't work for the team and hasn't inspected and taken a look at Tua knows the details of what his personal situation is, and I think that's important context here.

Starting point is 00:04:01 And because of that, we talk about what we know, right? And that's the game that is scheduled to be played and they're not going to reschedule or cancel the game. So we're going to talk about the football game. These are the, these, these are the kinds of situations in which you pay a quarterback like Teddy Bridgewater, the contract that they gave him the one-year $6 million contract to be the backup quarterback in Miami. I will say the dolphins over the course of the last two years have paid handsomely for backup quarterbacks and Jacoby Bursette and Teddy Bridgewater.

Starting point is 00:04:31 And I don't think they've won one of those games yet. And I think that really gets into the psyche of Dolphins fans. It's already a tough enough skid where you went winless in December and you went from eight and three to eight and seven and just seemingly finding ways to not win football games late. And it's fascinating to look at both of these teams and the parallel storylines between the two of them

Starting point is 00:04:59 that existed as far as late game execution and having winning records going into December and not executing and kind of floundering in this opportunity that both teams have had. that existed as far as late game execution and having winning records going into December and not executing and kind of floundering in this opportunity that both teams have had. But for Dolphins fans, like the expectations feel like they're zero. It's like, here we go. This is the same old Dolphins. You know, you go back to 95 and 92 and 2002 and 2013. And there's all these examples of these years where the dolphins have been really well positioned to make the post season and they implode late.

Starting point is 00:05:29 And that's kind of the sense that a lot of dolphins fans has is just, here we go again. And now you're starting quarterbacks out and you're, you're playing with Teddy Bridgewater and we saw Teddy Bridgewater and Skyler Thompson earlier in the season and the dolphins went 0-3 in those contests. And Jacoby Brissett started for a month last year for the Dolphins and he didn't win a single game as a starter except for the Houston Texans game and the Texans finished with the number one overall pick so

Starting point is 00:05:52 it's it's just there's not a lot of optimism right now and I don't think there should be you know Teddy Bridgewater did not play particularly well the last time we saw him play now what that ultimately becomes maybe that facilitates some changes for the Dolphins that Dolphins fans have been desperate to see. The Dolphins have come out the last two games and really run the ball effectively. And then they get into a position in the game where they have the lead and they say, okay, we don't need to run the ball anymore. It's well, no, you're going to have to play balanced, especially with the backup quarterback against this defense. And I guess that's my hope coming into this game

Starting point is 00:06:27 is that we will see the Dolphins bring a little bit more of a balanced approach and not ask so much of the passing game, despite the fact that you have Jay LaWaddle and Tyree Kill. Find some easy completions for those guys. Find the way to get the ball into their hands in space quickly and see what they're able to do with it after the catch and try and test New England in other ways other than throwing the ball 35 times a game

Starting point is 00:06:52 when you're only playing 50, 55 snaps offensively, which is what the Dolphins have been doing lately. And it's not sustainable. And I think a lot of Dolphins fans sense it and feel it. And we'll see if a change of quarterback that's facilitated by an injury is the change that's needed to actually have that happen for 60 minutes. Yeah, you make a very good point when it comes to the Dolphins record with Tua in the lineup, eight and five, 0-2 with Teddy Bridgewater starting back at the tail end of September,

Starting point is 00:07:18 early October, when Tua was forced to miss some time previously in concussion protocol. So something that I know Dolphins fans are watching closely, but I think you also hit on something very important is that if they're going to be able to take it to this Patriots defense, one of the areas that the Patriots defense has been a little bit deficient is defending mobile quarterbacks. They haven't been able to do that very well. Also defending alpha wide receivers.

Starting point is 00:07:42 They did a pretty good job of trying to keep guys like jamar chase and uh t higgins of the cincinnati bengals in check for at least a little bit of the second half on uh saturday on christmas eve against the bengals patriots are going to need to try to pull upon that again but again a very difficult situation a very difficult uh matchup for the patriots there and we're going to get more into those matchups, folks. But Kyle, obviously there are other storylines coming out of Miami, not just related to Tua and Teddy and the quarterback situation. For the benefit of our listeners here on Locked On Patriots, what are some of the big storylines coming out of Miami

Starting point is 00:08:20 that don't involve the quarterback position? Yeah, there's some other significant players that are in question with injuries this week. Bradley Chubb being one. Fullback Alec Ingold is another. It sounds like both of those guys have soft casts on a hand right now. Teron Armstead and Melvin Ingram, a couple veteran players, did not practice midweek, but that's not necessarily anything out of the ordinary.

Starting point is 00:08:43 They get a lot of vet rest days. I would expect both of those latter two will go. But from a Dolphins perspective, Ingold is a really valuable chess piece in the offensive structure and being able to fill a lot of different roles to keep them personnel flexible. And then obviously the Dolphins went out and got Bradley Chubb. I think the other storyline to watch is the the dolphins uh defensively how much they will

Starting point is 00:09:07 choose to bring pressure in this contest uh josh boyer despite the fact that the dolphins are down like four corners and three safeties is still very much of the mindset despite the fact that they went out they got a pass rusher at the trade deadline that i got to bring extra bodies at the quarterback and it really bit him in the rear end against the Green Bay Packers this past week in giving up 16 consecutive points to end the game. So I'll be looking at how aggressive the Dolphins choose to be, especially when you transpose that against the first matchup that these two teams played when the Dolphins limited the Patriots to seven points in 271 yards offense. Absolutely. And, you know, the New England Patriots as well are dealing with their own situations with injury.

Starting point is 00:09:48 And that really, I think, is one of the big storylines coming out of Foxborough right now. You're looking at a depleted secondary with Jack Jones and Jalen Mills both still missing practice. They're both still dealing with injuries. There are situations where Marcus Jones did not practice on Wednesday. He has been their biggest and probably their most exciting weapon in all three phases of the game. That'd be a huge

Starting point is 00:10:12 loss if the Patriots are dealing with him being anything less than 100 percent or dare I even say out for this matchup. So something to keep an eye on there as well. And of course, it's consistency that really has been the plague of the New England Patriots all season long we see flashes of their ability to move the football on offense we saw it a little bit against the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday didn't see nearly enough of it and then just mental mistakes that seem to plague this team in the latter part of the game and that is so unusual for a New England Patriots team to essentially Kyle shoot themselves in the foot over and over again we've seen it now two weeks in a row that's something that is a concern for the Patriots so as we continue to move forward here on a locked

Starting point is 00:10:56 on Patriots locked on Dolphins crossover Thursday we're going to get into some of the key matchups Kyle and I are going to drill a little bit deeper into some of the issues we've talked about and talk about what we're going to keep our sharp eye on when these two teams take the field on New Year's Day at Gillette Stadium. We'll be back with this episode of Locked On Patriots and Locked On Dolphins in just a moment. But first, folks, this episode is brought to you by Audible. Audible is releasing a state of a slate of new

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Starting point is 00:12:09 Get in the game. Patriots fans, Dolphins fans, we are crossing the streams in style here on the final crossover Thursday of the calendar year of 2022. Keeping an eye on this Week 17 matchup with the New England Patriots and the miami dolphins 1 p.m kickoff sunday january 1st new year's day at gillette stadium in foxborough kyle in the previous segment we talked a little bit about some of the big story lines and obviously

Starting point is 00:12:36 all eyes are going to be on the miami dolphins quarterback situation to itaga vailoa out teddy bridgewater in that's definitely a concern for both teams, and it's definitely a matchup that I think a lot of our fans, mutual fans, are going to be watching. But when you have your eyes on the field on Sunday, my friend, when you're watching this one, what are going to be some of those matchups that you think could determine the outcome of this game coming up between the Dolphins and the Patriots.

Starting point is 00:13:05 Yeah. I think about the trenches on both sides of the ball, really. New England, the depth that they have up front and the play that we've seen from Matt Judon this season against the Dolphins offensive line. And they've settled into Brandon Schell at right tackle. And we're expecting Tron Armstead will play. plays at left guard and then vice versa with the Patriots offensive line I know there's been some shuffling pieces Cole Strange has been in in the lineup and has had some growing pains and what the Dolphins are able to throw at him with Christian Wilkins I think Matt Judon and Christian Wilkins are two players in this contest that could really wreck the opposing offensive game plan respectively for either team.

Starting point is 00:13:46 One just happened happening to be a guy who comes off the edge and the other one being a guy who lines up inside. So I think Cole Strange versus Christian Wilkins is one and Brandon Schell versus Matt Judon is another one for me as individual matchups go that I think are really big X factors in how this game is going to turn out. Yeah, I think that the trenches are absolutely something to keep a close eye on. And in my opinion, I think I take it really up to the step that you've taken it to. And I'm going to throw Trent Brown into the mix.

Starting point is 00:14:14 Trent has had a difficult season for the New England Patriots at left tackle. And that has been an area where the Patriots have been vulnerable. When Matt Jones is under pressure, and he has been for the better part of the season, it's those strategic blitzes coming from the second and third level. A lot of times last year, they came from the right side. They attacked a lot of what the Patriots were doing at the right tackle position. This year, Kyle, you're seeing them come from both sides

Starting point is 00:14:39 because the Patriots' play at both ends have really been difficult, and it's given Mac no time to be able to set his feet to be able to view the field see the field and make completions it's led to a lot of missed receivers some of the fan base in New England is going to continue to blame Mac for missing some of these receivers I happen to think they have a point there are times where you look at the field and you say protection is good he's missing guys that's unexcusable but it's also i think disingenuous to put it all on max shoulders and not shoulder the blame with some of the difficulties that they had at the tackle position and then including also obviously there's been some play calling issues i'm sure you've heard them our fan base has definitely

Starting point is 00:15:20 heard them ad nauseum over the course of the last year or so with how things have gone under Matt Patricia and Joe Judge calling plays on offense. So that to me is going to be an interesting matchup for the New England Patriots on offense. Can they battle through what is almost certainly to be a pressurized situation with Miami's defense on Sunday? I'm going to flip it over and ask you when you look at this matchup from an offensive standpoint with Miami especially now with guys like Teddy Bridgewater going to be starting you know he still has Tyree Kill he still has Jalen Waddle there is still a trio of potent running backs all of which have experience under Mike McDaniel in previous incarnations. We're talking guys like Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson, and Salvan Ahmed, who can be a weapon in a lot of dual threat capabilities.

Starting point is 00:16:11 He's not a name that you hear often on a lot of national broadcasts, but I've followed this kid for a while and I know what he can do. When you look at this matchup, what are you looking at from the Dolphins' perspective that you believe is a favorable one against this Patriots defense? Well, I think one thing the Dolphins will have to try to look to do is find the balance between getting the Patriots into their big dime packages where they're implementing more safeties on the field. And maybe you're putting those guys in a position to fit the run and try to play physical with them in the box. One thing that the Dolphins did successfully against the Buffalo Bills was they found D.B. Teron Johnson, who's their nickelback and kind of a safety linebacker hybrid type player,

Starting point is 00:16:56 consistently fitting up on the second level, and they really got after him. So I think for Miami, finding opportunities to get smaller bodies fitting in the box, or conversely, getting your past personnel out there, try and facilitate getting a player like Josh Uche on the field, who's been phenomenal as a pass rusher this year, but then find opportunities to run out of those sets and try and run after him, whether it be that with Jeff Wilson or someone else. So I think New England does a really good job with their personnel, putting their guys in a position to have success defensively. But if I'm Mike McDaniel,

Starting point is 00:17:30 this is one of those ones where you kind of got to live up to your, your label as a really sharp offensive mind to play the games and get billed, put the personnel groups out there that you want to be able to then go attack them in the ways that they're not at their best. So I think from that running game perspective, trying to get those big dime packages on the field with those four safeties and trying to get Josh Uche out there and trying to run directly at him and challenge him are two things that the Dolphins should aspire to do and whether or not they actually do that, well, we'll find out on Sunday. Yeah, and you mentioned Josh

Starting point is 00:18:04 Uche. That's definitely a key for New England as well. You want to get him and Matt Judon working in tandem to try to disrupt Teddy Bridgewater's rhythm. Those guys have been very good at doing that from a pass defense standpoint, and that's something the Patriots would love to keep Uche in. I think you make a very interesting point that if the Dolphins start running at him with some of their multi-threat runners that they do have, it create matchup problems and that's something that could be a problem for the New

Starting point is 00:18:29 England Patriots and it's also going to free up Teddy Bridgewater to extend plays with his legs which we know that he can do and again as I previously stated that's been a problem for the Patriots if there's one thing that still concerns me though with New England and I sound like a broken record these last few weeks, but it's the health of the secondary, particularly the cornerback stable for the New England Patriots. Conventional wisdom with Bill Belichick says he's going to take away your top pass-catching option and make the other guys beat you. That's essentially how he's done business since taking over here in New England.

Starting point is 00:19:02 And whether you say that it's going to be Tyreek Hill or Jalen Waddell, you know, that's probably a conversation that Dolphins fans are more equipped to have than Patriots fans in terms of who your top option is. But you look at the personnel that the Patriots put out there on the field, you usually put your top corner or at least your top cover corner on the second option and then use a platoon to try to stop the first. That's going to be difficult jonathan jones banged up um jalen mills has missed the past couple of games marcus jones again missing practice as i said earlier and jack jones of the rookie corner um really kind of

Starting point is 00:19:37 like the ball hawk that's almost taken the place of jc jackson this year has been on the shelf with a knee injury there's your top four players at the position right now, either severely compromised or possibly out for this game. So if there's a way that Teddy Bridgewater can exploit that hole in the Patriots defense, it could be a long day for the Pats on New Year's Day. Definitely not a matchup that the Pats are looking forward to. So as the week goes on, obviously obviously we'll continue to monitor that situation and monitor those guys. But right now, Kyle, it's looking, you know, very bleak in terms of the

Starting point is 00:20:11 Patriots corners. And we're hoping, you know, for the best here in Foxborough, that things will get indeed better. But my friend, it is almost time to make those predictions. We've talked about some of the matchups. We've talked about some of the big storylines, but Kyle and I are not going to leave for the year here on Locked On Crossover Thursday without letting you guys know what we believe will happen on the field this coming Sunday. Game predictions for Pats Dolphins when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues.

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Starting point is 00:21:47 The bottom line is if you feel different, you drive different. And driving high is considered driving under the influence. So remember, drive high, get a DUI. Paid for by NHTSA. Patriots fans, Dolphins fans, it has been a blast crossing the streams with my friend and colleague Kyle Krabs of Locked On Dolphins. I'm Mike DeBate, host of Locked On Patriots. It's Pat's Dolphins hooking it up. Week 17 of the 2022 NFL season.

Starting point is 00:22:16 First game of the calendar year in 2023. The 8-7 Dolphins, the 7-8 Patriots all facing the potential of their playoff lives flashing before their eyes in this one kyle um obviously we've talked big storylines we have talked a key matchups in this but ultimately there will be a winner or there will be a loser unless there's a tie folks i know that's a possibility but we're going we're kind of gunning on having a definitive winner on this one. Kyle, when you look at this matchup, we know that there are concerns on both sides of the coin, but we also know the potential of both these two teams when they play well. How do you see this one shaking out on Sunday?

Starting point is 00:22:59 Is this going to be a win for the Dolphins? Is it going to be a win for the Patriots? Or is it really too close to tell at this point? Well, I look at a couple of things that I know have kind of communicated the pessimism that exists in the Dolphins fan base right now. And I certainly think having to play offense differently than the way that you have aspired to will kind of create a wild card in this matchup. But I really don't like the vibes for Miami going in. This is a young team with a first-year head coach trying to buckle down and

Starting point is 00:23:31 stop what is a catastrophic slide from eight and three. And we're facing a situation where New England, they win, they put themselves in a position to win and in in week 18. And there's nothing more terrifying for Dolphins fans than week 17, than the phrase week 17 clinching scenario, which is where they find themselves, where if they beat the Patriots and the Jets lose to the Seahawks at four o'clock, the Dolphins will clinch the seventh seed. I think about the fact that the Dolphins have won four in a row

Starting point is 00:24:03 and five of their last six and seven of the last 10 in this matchup. And law of averages says to me, I think this matchup being as close as it is being in Foxborough with the Dolphins having the string of recent success, just from a law of averages standpoint. I don't really like the vibes for Miami between how they're playing, the recent trends, the youth situation, the team, the injury situation with the quarterback. It just feels like a lot. And for optimal chaos standpoints, I think I'm probably going to pick the Patriots at home to win this football game. The Dolphins haven't shown me the ability to close a football game in the last month. In games that were winnable football games for, for all of them, they were one score games in the fourth quarter and Miami could not close any

Starting point is 00:24:49 of them. And so I understand that the Patriots offensively are a little bit different than playing the, the Buffalo bills in Buffalo, right? I know they don't have that kind of firepower, but if you told me this game was 20 to 16, one way or the other, I wouldn't be surprised. But but until the Dolphins show me that they can win a late season game under the current structure of the team, I'm I'm going to have to see it to believe it. So give me the Patriots 2016 final.

Starting point is 00:25:29 Interesting point that you make in terms of this being a young team that right now is facing a lot of adversity and going into a hostile environment, obviously, and trying to clinch a playoff spot and really reclaim some of the magic that they had earlier this season, minus their starting quarterback. It's a lot for any team. It's a lot, definitely, for a young team. But I can tell you on the Patriots' side of things is whenever you see the Miami Dolphins lining up on the other side, it definitely sends a little bit of a squeamish feeling through the bodies of most Patriots fans because the Dolphins have had the Patriots number as of late. This has not been a winnable game for New England, whether it's in Gillette or whether

Starting point is 00:25:56 it's down in Miami. So the Patriots are going to have their work cut out for them. Mack Jones and the New England Patriots absolutely have to move the ball on offense. They cannot do it inconsistently. They cannot do it intermittently. Otherwise, the familiarity that Miami's defenders have will eventually get to the Patriots offense, and it could make things very difficult for New England on Sunday. I know you mentioned earlier guys like Bradley Chubb and Jalen Phillips have had intermittent success lately in terms of rushing the passer and in terms of being able to put pressure on the quarterback. But this is something that New England has had difficulty containing themselves.

Starting point is 00:26:34 So that, to me, is something that if the Patriots can do that, I like their chances of being able to keep their offense on the field and give their defense a little bit of a break. And the wild card in all this, Kyle, is if the Patriots can force any type of defensive points or special teams points. They've been one of the best teams in the league at doing that. They nearly pulled out a comeback that no one thought they could pull off on Saturday against Cincinnati Bengals. But for a couple of, you know, last minute snafus, this team was well on their way to being able to take it to one of the better teams in the league. So if the Patriots do that and they maintain their cleanliness

Starting point is 00:27:10 in the closing moments, I like their, well, to steal, you know, a term from what you said, I like the vibes that the Patriots are giving off. Even in the loss on Saturday, you could sense the confidence starting to creep back into this room about the Patriots being able to hang with anybody. So I'm going to go out with a Patriots final score here of 24 to 21. I think they yield a little bit of points on this, but in the end, I think they're able to take advantage of just enough confusion on the offensive side of Miami to be able to take advantage of it. So I like the Patriots by three in this one to win and keep their playoff hopes alive. Well, it'll definitely be an entertaining game and everybody New Year's Day,

Starting point is 00:27:50 one o'clock, AFC playoff spot on the line in this matchup. So make sure that you are tuned in and hit subscribe to Locked On Patriots and Locked On Dolphins for all of your needs all season and also all offseason. You know, we are your team every day. We don't just say it. We live it here on the Locked On Network. With Mike DeBate, I'm Kyle Krabs. Make sure you check out all the great shows that we have on the Locked On Network.

Starting point is 00:28:13 We appreciate you checking out this crossover Thursday. Enjoy the rest of your day. Enjoy the game on Sunday. And we'll see you again soon.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins: Tua Out, Teddy In, Mac Jones — Crossover Thursday

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