Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots vs. Washington Commanders Crossover: Big Stories, Key Matchups and More

Starting point is 00:00:00 You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. New England Patriots fans, Washington Commanders fans, welcome to Crossover Thursday here on the Lockdown Podcast Network. A proud part always, your team every day. And of course, we are crossing the streams today between Lockdown Patriots and Lockdown Commanders. A 1 p.m. kickoff this Sunday from Gillette Stadium.

Starting point is 00:00:47 And it's always going to be a lot of fun when these two teams hit the gridiron together. And it's always even more fun when I get to share the microphone with my good friend and colleague today, host of Locked On Commanders, David Harrison. Of course, David, I am Mike DeBate, host of Locked On Patriots. We don't get a chance to do these Patriots- Commanders, Crossovers, all that much. But when we do, it's always a lot of fun. Yeah, I think most of the time that we talk in recent years has been because of Tom Brady going to the Buccaneers and my other show, Locked On Bucs. So it's nice to talk to you.

Starting point is 00:01:20 It's always nice to talk to you, but it's nice to talk to you with a little bit of non-Brady conversation, even though I just brought him up. So I guess that's dead in the water, but nice to talk to you anyway. Absolutely. Well, Patriots fans always love them some Tom Brady talk. So you definitely endeared yourself to our audience here on Locked on Patriots. And you know what? Commanders fans don't have, I don't think, that much animosity toward Tom. So we're probably dealing with a neutral crowd.

Starting point is 00:01:44 But folks, it is Crossover Thursday, and today's Crossover Thursday episode brought to you by PrizePix, the easiest and most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports. Go to prizepix.com slash LockedOnNFL and use the code, all lowercase,

Starting point is 00:02:00 LockedOnNFL for a first deposit match up to $100. And, of course, David, once again, this is an inter-conference matchup, an intra-conference matchup, I should say. New England Patriots at two and six, Washington Commanders at three and five, two teams that are right now feeling the effects of a lot of things, whether it be personnel loss, whether it be struggles on the field. There's an awful lot going on with these two franchises. But the one thing that I think we

Starting point is 00:02:28 can agree on is these two teams are looking toward the future, whether it be the immediate future or the not so immediate future. That's where these two teams are right now. For the benefit of my listeners on Locked On Patriots, you being the visiting team, what would you say is the biggest story coming out of DC right now when it comes to the Washington Commanders? Yeah, it's the trades of Chase Young and Montez Sweat and the fallout that's going to happen around that. And obviously, you've got a little bit of question about the long-term future of the franchise and whether or not this is a sign that Ron Rivera and his coaching staff are

Starting point is 00:03:04 going to be dismissed at the end of the season or even earlier depending on how the rest of the season goes and then of course you have the short-term future which is I think what Patriots fans are going to be more concerned about so I'll stick to that part of the conversation which is what is this defense going to look like now without arguably two of the probably the four their four best defenders on the field anymore and I think that's really the largest reaction here. And, you know, we took this into the locker room on Wednesday when we got to speak to them, Mike. And we asked a lot of these players, look, the national media,

Starting point is 00:03:34 some fans of the Commanders, a lot of football fans that are just around the league are all looking at this as the franchise, new owner, new managing partner, senior owner, Josh Harris, and the ownership group, including Magic Johnson, basically waving the white flag on this season and punting and saying, okay, you know what, 2023 is a wash. Let's get ready for 2024. And to a player, you expect them to say, no, that's not what's happening.

Starting point is 00:03:57 But not only did they say that's not what's happening, they said it with conviction. And they said it when some of them rolled their eyes and some of them looked at you steely-eyed, right? And you kind of had that mixture of responses but being around these guys Mike and seeing them in practice seeing them in the locker room I don't think it's lip service I don't think it's locker room talk I don't think it's coach speak this roster this coaching staff this team is coming out planning on being competitive every single week every single

Starting point is 00:04:20 weekend and they come out planning to win every single game, including this one on the road in a very, very difficult place to win, which is Gillette Stadium. So while the story of Chase Young and Montez Sweat leaving is important, the spirit and emotion of this team coming and looking to win the game, I think, is more important to the Patriots, more important to Patriots fans, because they should absolutely expect a motivated and a hungry defense and a hungry commanders team in general looking to break a two-game losing streak. Yeah, without question, and I'm glad you brought that up because Bill Belichick, when we spoke to him on Wednesday morning, had something very similar to say in that even though Washington may have traded away a

Starting point is 00:04:57 couple of very valuable players in the middle part of that defense, this is still a talented team from top to bottom. There's a lot of opportunity for them to score points on offense. Sam Howell has been much better than expected this year. He can ball out when given the opportunity and the way the Patriots defense is reeling right now, there's a lot of, I would say, confidence that could be brewing with the commanders right now because of the way that they could possibly attack that defense. And then of course, offensively, Matt Jones has had his difficulty with pressure albeit you take away two very big key components in the commanders being able to put that pressure on him still there are opportunities to be had and the patriots do have to rise above the loss of some very key members

Starting point is 00:05:42 of his team especially now on offense. And honestly, David, that's probably the biggest story coming out of New England right now is the loss of Kendrick Bourne. The Patriots already reeling with the loss of Matthew Judon, already reeling from the loss of Christian Gonzalez. And now you put Kendrick Bourne on season-ending IR with a torn ACL. Kendrick had been their top receiver, 37 catches, 406 yards, four touchdowns. Those are good numbers.

Starting point is 00:06:09 They're not world-breaking numbers. But what Kendrick brings to this team is something the Patriots are going to miss deeply. He is not only someone that can win his battles on the perimeter, he can win them in the slot. He really has the ability to take over his matchups on any alignment that they put him in and the work ethic, the positivity that he brings to the locker room each and every day. You mentioned a hungry team, a team that's willing to go above and beyond and prove that they still have a lot of pride in that locker room. Kendrick Bourne was one of those guys that just exuded those qualities. Even when the Patriots were staring at back-to-back losses to the Dallas Cowboys,

Starting point is 00:06:47 38-3, 34-0 to the New Orleans Saints at home. Kendrick Bourne was one of those guys that always remained positive and proved to the Patriots that they could still hang in games, and they pulled off a pretty big upset against Buffalo last week. So his loss is going to be huge. Who takes that step up? Is it the rookie Demario Douglas? He probably becomes your number one. Juju Smith-Schuster is going to

Starting point is 00:07:10 be needed in a much bigger role out of the slot. Devontae Parker did not practice on Wednesday. He's in concussion protocol. From what I'm hearing from the team, I'd be very surprised, if not shocked, if he suits up for Sunday's game. So now the Patriots really suffering with those pass catchers. Farrell Brown was also out of practice on Wednesday with a back injury. That's notable because he's been their big chunk play machine. Patriots have got some stuff on offense, so this is definitely not going to be an easy matchup either way. Both of these teams coming in with their struggles,

Starting point is 00:07:41 but a lot of pride to play for as well, my friend. Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, it's lot of pride to play for as well, my friend. Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, it's interesting because you talk about those absences, and I saw Devontae Parker still in concussion protocol. And like I said, I mean, if he's out Thursday, you can pretty much call it done that he's not going to be playing because of just the way you have to go through these phases of the protocol. But I look at Jalen Rager, and I know he hasn't had the greatest career

Starting point is 00:08:01 in the world, former Eagle. And, you know, it would just be a commander's thing to do to have Jalen Rager go off against his defense. And they have not done well against speed this season. So that would just be the most commander's thing ever to happen this weekend. It's funny that you mentioned that because we did talk about Jalen yesterday. And I mentioned to a regular here on Locked On Patriots, my good friend, Thomas Murphy, that it wouldn't shock me to see him provide more motion to the Patriots offense.

Starting point is 00:08:28 He did that when he was with Philadelphia. He did that a little bit, you know, in the NFL, certainly did it in college. So that could be a wrinkle as well. And I know, you know, Patriots fans right now, we're looking at what the Washington commanders bring to the table. We're going to talk about matchups in just a moment because there are some intriguing ones to look forward to but just looking at the injury list from the commander's standpoint Jonathan Allen veteran rest day smart to get these guys healthy you want to make sure your top one of your top defensive tackles is ready to go Curtis Samuel with the toe that's something that definitely raises an eyebrow because we know how effective he can be as a receiver. Any news on him or in terms of this, is this a lingering thing

Starting point is 00:09:06 or is this something where, you know, kind of taking it day-to-day if you're the Washington Commanders? I think right now we're looking at it as kind of a day-to-day thing. He left the loss against the Philadelphia Eagles with that injury. You know, Byron Pringle came in a little bit. Jameson Crowder was able to come in, catch a late touchdown and actually fill in pretty admirably for him. You know, i don't think the washington commanders are going to feel like they need to rush curtis samuel back certainly would love to have him on the field but even

Starting point is 00:09:32 without curtis i think they feel like they've got enough weapons that offensively they can still do what they need to do absolutely and of course folks these matchups are always fun you can always find big ultimately the action on the field comes down to the matchups. And this matchup between the Patriots and the Commanders certainly has a tremendous amount of intriguing matchups. David and I are going to tell you exactly which ones are going to catch our shop eye on Sunday when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. A proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network.

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Starting point is 00:12:24 I'm Mike DeBate, host of Lockdown Patriots. And David, in the previous segment, we talked about some of the big storylines heading into this game. But you and I both know that these games come down to the matchups on the field. You want to see defense versus offense. You want to see player versus player, star versus star. I know the Patriots are a little banged up with their stars right now, and I know that Washington just traded away a couple of theirs, but there are a lot of intriguing matchups in this. When these two teams take the field on Sunday, which matchups are going to be catching your sharp eye?

Starting point is 00:12:59 Well, obviously, Jalen Rager is going to be someone that I'm keeping an eye on, especially against that commander secondary. But I think that if you're talking about the Washington commanders and what's going to help them be successful, obviously you've got to start with a young quarterback, right? And you kind of mentioned it, Sam Howell doing a lot better than a lot of people did, and I think that's fair. You know, pretty much everybody on the D.C. beat.

Starting point is 00:13:21 Spent most of the offseason, training camp, preseason, fielding questions from, from people. I mean, I haven't went on new Orleans radio and the commanders don't even play the saints, but I went on new Orleans radio and was asked if, if the Washington commanders are really going to go with a second year quarterback, fifth round draft pick in Sam Howell. And, and, and, you know, outside of DC, everybody's surprised inside of DC. We're actually only surprised that he's thrown as many interceptions as he has.

Starting point is 00:13:45 And to be honest with you for those interceptions came in one really bad game. So outside of that, he's actually been really efficient and really protective of the football because this is the Sam, how that we saw last season developing as a rookie quarterback. This is the Sam, how we saw all training camp.

Starting point is 00:13:58 And this is the Sam, how that we expected to see here locally. And we're, we're, we're happy that everybody else is starting to catch up. But for Sam Howell, and it's something that he does realize, is as everybody starts to catch up, they also start taking more seriously. And as they start taking more seriously,

Starting point is 00:14:13 things get a little bit more complicated. And he is expecting a lot to get thrown at him by Bill Belichick. This isn't a coach in Bill Belichick who's going to take any quarterback lightly. Rookie, not rookie, veteran, doesn't matter who you are. He's going to throw everything that he can at you to try to beat you, and he's going to take you seriously from jump street. So you got to look at this offensive line and the right tackle. The right tackle, Andrew Wiley, has arguably been the weakest spot of this offensive line

Starting point is 00:14:37 outside of center Nick Gates, who was benched last week in favor of Tyler Larson. Now, with Tyler Larson installed in the offensive line, also left guard Chris Paul for injured left guard Sadiq Charles, they did better against the Philadelphia Eagles. Part of that was blocking, part of that was Sam Howell getting better at pre-stab reads, getting better at being more decisive and getting the ball out quick and understanding that it's okay and even admirable and more effective to prioritize the check down and the short routes versus always trying to take the shots and kind of a jab jab hook type of situation right set up the deep ball with the short ball and work beautifully against philadelphia eagles so the question is and the question with all young

Starting point is 00:15:13 quarterbacks right is can sam howell now do that consistently and not only that but can the offensive line do it consistently so for me the key matchup i'm gonna say matchup is the offensive line versus this patriots defensive line. I know statistically speaking, they're not getting sacks as much as, you know, obviously any defense would want to, but we've seen this Washington commanders team go in against the worst sack team in the NFL three different times. And that team would come out and set a sack high or a season high for sacks. In fact, twice that team actually had more sacks in that one game than they had the entire season leading up to this point.

Starting point is 00:15:46 Now we're deeper into the season, so that's unlikely to happen for the Patriots, but still the term get-right game for teams looking to get more sacks out of their defense has been pretty accurate for the Washington Commanders or going up against the Washington Commanders. So to me, that's where I'm starting this matchup because Sam Howell against himself just isn't as sexy for Patriots fans. Absolutely. No, that's a good point to make. And I'm glad that you made that point about the sacks,

Starting point is 00:16:09 because right now, obviously, the loss of Matthew Judon clearly has hurt this team when it comes to being able to rush the passer. Josh Uche has been banged up as well. He's been out with a foot injury the last couple of games. He was back out on the field today, excuse me, on Wednesday. So we're looking toward possibly him suiting up this week. Obviously a lot of people thought he might be on the trading block. Patriots kept him around for a reason. And if he can start to harness some of the abilities he had last year, where he compiled 11 and a half sacks, that's going to be something

Starting point is 00:16:40 that I think Patriots fans will hold on to and realize why the Patriots held on to him. So that's a good point about pressure. I had a question for you on the opposite side of the ball when it comes to Washington's defense, because obviously now with Montez Sweat and Chase Young both playing for different teams now, some of what they were able to do, that 25 sacks that the Washington Command commanders had compiled, six and a half from Sweat, five from Young. So that's a big chunk of those sacks now taken away. You have to think that Washington's going to come into this game trying to use their secondary to confuse Mack Jones, because there have been opportunities where Mack will make a poor read. And we saw last week where Jalen Ramsey hopped the, I don't want to say baited him into it, but he took advantage of a very poor decision by Mack and a very poor throw and nearly took it back for the pick six.

Starting point is 00:17:34 So this gives opposing teams an opportunity to scout that. Now, I know that Washington's secondary right now has been really led by Kendall Fuller. Emmanuel Forbes has had his struggles as well. Benjamin Sunjuice and, of course, Danny Johnson are going to be in that role as well. Is there any opportunity that you see from commanders that lead you to believe that they can take advantage of Mac Jones, even if he's not under pressure, maybe force him into some bad throws and kind of force some turnovers there? Because that's been an Achilles heel of the Patriots. Yeah. So this team, this commander's defense has been much more, uh, much more keen to take advantage of fumble opportunities, right? Like

Starting point is 00:18:13 Cam Curl is a really good strip artist. Uh, Duran Payne will get the ball out. Jonathan Allen certainly has been known to get the ball out. Interceptions is not their forte. And that's one of the reasons they went on drafted Emmanuel Forbes, you know, college football record holder for pick sixes in a career and all that stuff. But his struggles have been widely specular circulated. And those are 100% accurate. That's, that's accurate on the outside as much as it is on the inside. But you know, now outside the Atlanta Falcons game, unfortunately, this commander's defense honestly has let a lot of interceptions slip through their hands. And that's something that when you play a quarterback like Mac Jones, you don't want to do. Because for everything that Mac Jones isn't, something that he is, is he's still a patient quarterback who's able to take advantage of second opportunities.

Starting point is 00:18:54 And if the Washington Commanders give Mac Jones second opportunities by dropping interceptions, that's certainly something that can come back and bite them in the rear. So, you know, we would like to think that hopefully the secondaries wouldn't continue to get better at that and secure some of those interception opportunities but so far outside of a few instances like against the atlanta falcons i would say that most most often that's not something you really have to worry about too much although this could also be the week that is like the falcons week in the outlier where they actually find their hands and are able to come away with some of those passes yeah absolutely very good. Very good insight. And thank you, because I know that's something that's always on the minds of Patriots fans is how are they going to be able to attack this offense? And there have

Starting point is 00:19:33 been various ways to do it. And to know that this is something that could give Mac Jones some difficulty, at least because Patriots fans a little heads up as to where that needs to be. In terms of matchups, I'm going to be watching very closely and something that I'm definitely going to be, and I know Patriots fans will be as well, is the Patriots running game. Can they get on track against this Washington defensive front? Last week, 77 yards on 19 carries. That also included a two-yard backup from Mac Jones and a four-yard run from DeMario Douglas, that's not enough from Ramondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott, especially when so much of what New England does is predicated

Starting point is 00:20:11 on the running game. It's predicated on using the run to facilitate play action. That's where Mac is most comfortable, and if he's not doing that, it becomes problematic for all parties involved. So Patriots right now need to try to get that running game going. So I look for Stevenson and Elliott, not just to create their own space with their talent, because they did that last week. They need to start hitting the holes when the offensive line opens them. The problem is the offensive line has to win those battles, and it's not going to be easy. Deron Payne and Jonathan Allen are two very good, you know, interior defensive linemen that can really help to clog the run.

Starting point is 00:20:46 I know they get a lot of help from the linebackers from Mayo and Jonathan Davis. Washington right now is allowing 117.4 yards per game on the ground, 4.2 yards per rush. That's 21st in the league. That's not necessarily a deal breaker when it comes to them being able to hold the Patriots in check, but it gives Pats fans and at least the Patriots in check, but it gives Pats fans and at least the Patriots players on the field a little hope that they might be able to

Starting point is 00:21:10 exploit that, folks. So I'm going to be watching the running game very closely because if the running game doesn't get going, then the Washington defense can start teeing off on Mack, start setting their defensive backfield, and that's where New England has consistently had problems all season long. So running game's big for the New England Patriots, folks. And what are you going to be keeping your sharp eye on when the Patriots and the Washington Commanders take the field? Drop us a line either in the YouTube comments or reach out to us on Twitter, on X, on the Bird app,

Starting point is 00:21:39 whatever you call it these days. But bottom line, David and I would love to hear what you think. And you can cross the streams as well if you're a commanders fan want to know about the patriots reach out to me i'm always happy to answer any questions and i know david is always happy to hear from pat's fans as well as long as we keep it respectful folks it's always a lot of fun and david we've arrived at that time the keys to victory and game predictions always a a lot of fun. Always a testy time for the hosts. And I know for all of you listening out there,

Starting point is 00:22:09 but how is this one all going to shake out on Sunday in Foxborough? David Harrison of Locked On Commanders. And I will tell you in just a moment when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues, a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. But David, before I do so, it's always a good idea for you to tell us about our good friends over at PrizePix. Yeah, today's Crossover Thursday episode brought to you by PrizePix, the largest independently owned daily fantasy sports platform in North America.

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Starting point is 00:24:16 to uncross the streams and to reveal exactly what is going to be put into the trap. All right, folks, I know I've been watching too much Ghostbusters lately. We're one day removed from Halloween, but bear with me. David, it's always a lot of fun. This has been a blast, but it's going to get to the time now where we have to lay our cards on the table and basically give our prediction, look into our Belichickian or our Reverian crystal balls,

Starting point is 00:24:41 respectively, and determine what's going to happen out there on the field this weekend. David, what is the key for a commander's victory victory and how do you see this one shaken out this weekend in new england yeah you know this is going to sound kind of weird but i think the key to the washington commanders getting a win against new england patriots is to force at least three punts in this game and the reason i say that is because lately with this washington commanders defense and in a few more than a few games in this season with his washington commanders defense these drives are ending with either points or turnovers and you always love the turnovers right but the problem is when you don't get the turnovers you're giving up points and you go back to the philadelphia

Starting point is 00:25:19 eagles game that they recently lost you even go back to the atlanta falcons game that they won but the reason they won is because they had three takeaways. One of those takeaways was somewhat garbage time towards the end of the game, but two of those takeaways that the Washington Panthers had, the Atlanta Falcons were in scoring range. If Desmond Ritter does a better job of taking care of the ball, they get at least three points, potentially have another opportunity to score a touchdown

Starting point is 00:25:39 because none of those interceptions came on third or fourth down opportunities. But Desmond Ritter being a young quarterback put the ball in peril and the Commanders were able to take advantage of it. Then you turn to the Philadelphia Eagles, and this is a game where they had multiple takeaways from the Philadelphia Eagles offense, which usually spells the opportunity to have success, especially two takeaway fumbles inside their own five-yard line. The problem is they also gave up nearly 40 points.

Starting point is 00:26:03 So when you take the 40 points that they nearly gave up, plus the two takeaways inside their own five, and you kind of see where I'm coming from, the Washington commanders are not forcing a whole lot of punts recently in the season. And that's what they need to do against New England Patriots. Now, look, if they can supplant three of those punts with three extra takeaways, and we end up with five takeaways for the Washington commanders defense, of course, I will humbly take that, and you're probably looking at a Washington Commanders win. But outside of the world where Mac Jones just gifts this Commanders defense three takeaways, they need to be able to stop the Patriots offense from doing things without the need of an interception or a fumble recovery, because that is the way you play

Starting point is 00:26:40 most of your complementary football in the National Football League. When we talk about sustainable models, that's the sustainable model we need out of this commander's defense. Besides being good friends, folks, you can tell that we're like-minded because mine is essentially a mirror image of yours in terms of a key to a New England Patriots victory. Folks, if the Pats are going to win this game against the commanders on Sunday, they need to muster better than two of 11 on third and fourth down conversions. The Patriots converted only one of nine third down conversion against the Miami Dolphins. That is not

Starting point is 00:27:12 going to cut it, folks. Every time the Patriots lag in that area, they struggle. This is not a team that is built to come from behind. This is not a team that is built for third and long situations. You have to keep defenses on their heels and keep your offense on the field, especially with a banged up defense right now. Everybody makes a whole lot of Matthew Judon and Christian Gonzalez being out. These are two major holes, but this team has also had to deal with the losses either temporarily or for the season of guys like Josh Uche has been out for a couple of games with a foot

Starting point is 00:27:43 injury. As we spoke about earlier, Keon White has been out on concussion protocol. Marcus Jones, their punt returner and their slot corner has been on injured reserve and will be for the remainder of the season with a torn shoulder labrum. So the Patriots have had to put together some makeshift lines and makeshift secondaries to be able to make things work. But the one thing that they've been able to do on defense is fill those holes pretty well with guys like Jabril Peppers. Kyle Duggar has had big moments. Christian Barmore is playing up to snuff now. This is what the Patriots need to do on offense to be able to take pressure off of what Mac

Starting point is 00:28:20 Jones does. And they need your pass catchers to step up this week, folks. I look for Hunter Henry to be a focal point of what Mac Jones looks for in terms of getting him the football. He could be a weapon on third down. If Farrell Brown is healthy, he's also a guy that can get you some good yardage on fourth down, third and fourth down as well. So keep a sharp eye on his health for the week.

Starting point is 00:28:41 But ultimately, the Pats are going to need guys like Demario Douglas, like you said, Jalen Rager, and maybe even a Keyshawn Butte sighting this weekend, folks. Can't guarantee it, but it would be nice to see the rookie get a little play out there on the field, especially if Devontae Parker is not able to go. For the Patriots, it's about next man up and moving the chains. If they can do that, they'll have a puncher's chance in this one. Well, David, it is that time now. We have kind of danced around the subject. We are right at game prediction time. Are you feeling a little lucky, my friend? Do you want to give a game a score prediction here

Starting point is 00:29:17 for all of our listeners on Lockdown Patriots and Lockdown Commanders? Yeah, I don't mind giving score predictions. Commanders are now three and a half point underdogs in this game yesterday they were three point underdogs so basically uh the odds makers are giving the pats another half point because of chase young amante sweat being out but i will tell you walk around that locker room like this team has got a chip on their shoulder they hear everybody saying this team's throwing in the flag or throwing in the towel waving the white flag because they got rid of chase young and Montez Sweat. And they're taking it personally.

Starting point is 00:29:45 Remember, this is, and not for you, but for anybody who needs that reminder, this is the ultimate team sport, right? This is two of 22 starters. There's still 20 other starters for that Washington Commanders team that are still around. And then you talk about the rotations of players. Really, you're talking about two of about 30 players that get significant action on a regular game day

Starting point is 00:30:02 that are now no longer with the Washington Commanders. So there are 28 other guys on that roster, give or take, that are certainly taking this a little bit personally. And I expect them to come out and fight against the New England Patriots. I expect them to come out with a little bit of teeth. And that's really what this team has been missing, to be quite honest with you, is teeth. And I'm not saying this is an addition by subtraction in totality for the Washington Commanders. But for one week, it's kind of like firing your coach. For one week, you might see a little bit of a feistier Washington commanders team than you're used to seeing. And that's bad news for the new England Patriots. I'm going to take

Starting point is 00:30:31 the Washington commanders in this one. I am going to take them 24 to 21. Uh, so I've, I've got them with a three point victory. Um, but you know, it's going to be interesting. I can't, I can't deny that. It's going to be interesting to see what this team looks like without Montez Sweat and Chase Young permanently because we've seen it before. But now that it's permanent, see if there's a little bit of a difference there. Yeah, without question. And anybody thinking that the Washington Commanders are going to come in distraught, folks, no, this team is not going to come in distraught. They definitely have a good amount of talent on the defensive side of the ball,

Starting point is 00:31:02 both in the secondary and in the defensive front. And anytime you're fielding an offense that includes Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, if he's healthy and able to go, Jahan Dotson, and of course, Logan Thomas at the tight end position. Sam Howell has a good amount of weapons at his disposal, and he can use them if the Patriots defense sputters. I think the Patriots defense feels they have something to prove, especially after a subpar outing against the Miami Dolphins last week. They want to show that they're not only

Starting point is 00:31:29 going to be stingy against the run, but that this team, this secondary, can defend against the pass. And J.C. Jackson's going to be playing with a little bit of a chip on his shoulder, and I think that means good things for guys like Jonathan Jones, who is a little banged up right now and could use some help in that secondary. Maybe Miles Bryant moves up, and Jack Jones as well, the X factor here in the secondary, a guy who's finding his stride a little more each and every game he plays. He could be a significant factor as well. But ultimately, I think it's going to come down to whether or not the Patriots can take advantage of the changes in the Washington pass rush.

Starting point is 00:32:02 I think if that offensive line can give Mac Jones just a few extra ticks on the clock, I think the Patriots are able to exploit that. I think they take this one by a final of 24-17, but ultimately, David, I agree with you. I think this is going to be interesting and a sneaky, exciting game in Foxborough on Sunday. Don't sleep on this one, folks.

Starting point is 00:32:23 Yeah, it should be entertaining. It should be competitive at the least. Absolutely. And we hope that you were entertained today here on Locked On Patriots and Locked On Commanders. Always a blast when me and my good friend David Harrison are able to cross the streams here on the Locked On Podcast Network. I always say it each and every week. This is often imitated, folks, but it's never duplicated anywhere. The Lockdown Crossover Thursday is something that is so valuable

Starting point is 00:32:50 to this network. I'm always honored to be a part of it, and I know David is as well. So, Bats fans, reach out to David at DHarrison82 on Twitter. Commanders fans, you can reach out to me at MDABATENFL, and we definitely hope you enjoy Sunday's game

Starting point is 00:33:05 in Foxborough. On behalf of David Harrison, I'm Mike DeBate, reminding you all to stay safe and to stay well and to be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone, and enjoy the game on Sunday.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots vs. Washington Commanders Crossover: Big Stories, Key Matchups and More

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