Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Patriots Performance Evaluation: Analyzing the Offense and Defense Against the Jets — 9/21/2021

Episode Date: September 21, 2021

As the New England Patriots begin to turn their attention to the New Orleans Saints and a Week Three matchup in Foxboro, there are still evaluations to be made from their Week Two victory over the New York Jets. Joining host Mike D’Abate is Steve Balestrieri of PatsFans.com. The duo break down the Patriots performance against the Jets and take a quick first look at the Saints.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.ManscapedFellas, don’t gamble on shaving your balls with the wrong tools! Choose MANSCAPED™, Your Balls Will Thank You™! Get 20% off + free shipping with the code LOCKEDON at manscaped.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. You are now locked into the Lockdown Patriots podcast. It is Tuesday, September 21st, 2021. And as such, it is time for a visit from our resident voice of reason here on your daily home for news, notes and analysis. On your six-time Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. And Pats fans, don't forget that the Locked On NFL Draft podcast has relaunched as of

September 20th with brand new hosts. Eric Crocker brings the player scouting. Ryan Tracy brings the analytics. Follow the Locked On NFL Draft podcast on YouTube, the Odyssey app, or wherever you get your podcasts. Greetings and salutations, Patriots Nation. Thank you so much for joining me here on this Tuesday episode of the pod. My name is Mike DeBate, and I cover your New England Patriots for Patriot Maven of Sports Illustrated.

I am also your host of the Locked On Patriots podcast, which, of course, is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And, folks, because it's your team every day, that means your questions, your comments, your feedback are always welcomed and very much appreciated. So share that feedback. Send it to the Internet by reaching out to me

and following me on Twitter at MDABATENFL. And while you're out there doing some Tuesday traveling through the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at L-O underscore Patriots. Pats fans, it's almost time to start turning our attention towards Sunday's Week 3 matchup with the New Orleans Saints. But not just yet. There are still some details to dissect regarding the Patriots' Week 2 victory over the J-E-T-S Jets, Jets, Jets.

Quarterback performance, overall offense performance, and of course, defensive performance. And what better way to evaluate, I mean truly evaluate, the Patriots' performance on the field on Sunday than with a reasonable and level-headed approach. Luckily for us today, it's Tuesday, and that means a visit from our resident voice of reason. My Patriots paisan and good friend Steve Balistrieri of Patsfans.com is my guest today on the pod, and Steve and I will be discussing the Patriots' offensive and defensive prowess.

We'll delve into Mac Jones' performance and, of course, talk about the discussing the Patriots' offensive and defensive prowess. We'll delve into Mac Jones' performance, and of course talk about the prolific Patriots' secondary and all points in between. An action-packed agenda on the pod today, as we get Steve's thoughts on Sunday's win over the Jets, and we take an early look at this week's Week 3 matchup against the New Orleans Saints. Our resident voice of reason, Steve Balistrieri, joins the hot seat when this Tuesday episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Hello again, Patriots fans.

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You know his great work from patsfans.com, as well as being the co-host of not one, but two amazing podcasts, Patriots 4th and 2, and of course, One Patriots Place. He is my Patriots paisan, and of course one Patriots place he is my Patriots Paisan and despite what he will tell you worthy of all the praise he gets and then some my good friend Steve Balistrieri once again joins me here today on his regular spot on Lockdown Patriots thanks for coming back to the pod bud oh as always thanks for having on. I look forward to our talks every week. And now we're talking about a win, which is always a lot more fun. Absolutely. Always my honor. Always my pleasure to welcome you here on the pod. I love when we have you in on Tuesdays.

Murph sets the tone for the week and kind of kicks everything off. And Murph was in a better mood than he was one week ago. So a win always, always puts people in greater spirits, I guess is the better way to put it. And Patriots fans are certainly in good spirits this week as they even up their record. Now 500 Patriots sit at one and one. They'll be taking on the one and one New Orleans Saints in a little bit. And we'll get to those Saints in just a minute. But we haven't quite taken our leave of the Jets yet. And over the weekend, Steve, a lot of people talked about the Patriots beating this win, having it be a necessary win, maybe even a must win to avoid an 0-2 hole, not just in the AFC, but also in the AFC East. The division hotly contested this year,

obviously wide open, the Buffalo Bills getting back, you know, into the AFC East, the division hotly contested this year, obviously wide open. The Buffalo Bills getting back, you know, into the swing of things. The Miami Dolphins looked rough this weekend. AFC East is kind of wide open right now, even though I still consider this to be the Bills decision of the Bills. Excuse me, the Bills division to lose. There is still a lot to play for. And the Pats came out knowing that they needed a win. It's very easy to sit here a couple of days after the game and be able to critique the

performances of what we saw on the field. But let's face it, it's our job and we have to do it. And in my opinion, very few, if any, do it better than you, my friend. So we're going to take a look into that Balistrarian crystal ball with hindsight being 20-20. So we're going to take a look into that balustrarian crystal ball with hindsight being 2020. And we're going to take a look at some of the grades and how you've graded some of the Patriots performances, but no better place to start than the quarterback position. It is the most high profile position in all of sports. There's no question about it. And it is also the hot topic in and around New England right now. Mac Jones's performance. Are the Patriots handcuffing him a little bit? Are they not allowing him to throw the ball downfield? Is he having difficulty

in the red zone? Why so many checkdowns and short passes? We hear all the criticisms, but for all of that criticism that we hear, I think Mac deserves a lot of credit for not turning the ball over, protecting the football well, and making sure that his team was always in a position to be able to win the game. That's something his counterpart in New York, his fellow rookie quarterback, Zach Wilson, did not do. And that was the big difference in this game. When you look at the quarterback position, Steve, what was your assessment of Mack's performance on Sunday, and did it reveal anything about him going forward? Well, I think, you know, there was a couple of reasons behind all the dinking and dunking, and I think the coaching staff is definitely, you know, erring on the side of caution with them. And as I wrote a couple of times since the game, you know, you only have to look at what's happening with the Jets right now

and see, you know, that as a cautionary tale on, you know, cutting a rookie quarterback to lose too quickly. You know, when I looked at Mac's game, I definitely thought he had more rookie moments. You know, when I looked at Mac's game, I definitely thought he had more rookie moments, you know, in this one than he did against Miami. But, you know, at the same time, I give the Jets credit for that. They had a lot of pressure on him. I thought the offensive line, especially in the first half,

did a little bit less of a job than we expected them to do. But at the same time, you know, he held on to the ball a little bit too long. He had some opportunities to go down the field. There was some opportunities there. He didn't take them. He erred on the side of caution. And I think, you know, as he gets more comfortable in the NFL game,

he's going to start taking those shots. But, you know, I looked at him. I gave him a B- for the day in my positional grades. And even I said I thought I might be cutting him a little slack on that one. It might have been a little tad lower. You know, he did complete 22 or 30 but for only 186 yards, but no touchdowns, no

interceptions. He had some really nice moments too. That throw he made to Jacoby Myers over the shoulder, I thought that was a beauty. It's just that screen game, that

dinks and dunks and stuff. It's tough for him and his receivers to get down the field. Yeah, without question. I think you're right on the money when it comes to a solid B-, maybe even a C+. I could see that in some assessments when you look at some of the opportunities that Mac did let go throughout the game. And let's face it, folks, unfortunately, if you're scoring at home, there were plenty of those opportunities that he did leave on the board. Pass protection is going to be the culprit. That's going to be where everybody is going to point to.

But the pass protection was actually a little bit better in the second half than it was in the first. It was so bad in the first that I think it maybe had Mack a little bit gun-shy taking those chances down the field. I think he felt he needed to complete passes, get the ball out of his hands quickly and make completions and not turn the ball over considering the pressure that he was under in the first part of the game. So that will mess with a quarterback, any quarterback, whether you're a seasoned veteran or whether you're a rookie like Mac, you will get gun shy if you feel yourself under pressure more often than not. And I think that's exactly where Mac was coming from the double pass. I think a lot of people are pointing to Nelson Aguilar. I was as guilty of that as anybody during the game.

We all tweeted out Aguilar was open. Why not hit him? You know, there are different, you know, circumstances where you do, you know, have those moments within games, you know, missing Hunter Henry, you know, on the last play of the first half. He was uncovered that looked like that could have been a walk in touchdown. Mac aired on the side of caution and you can't necessarily get on him too much because that perceived pressure did lead to the short passes. Easiest way for Josh McDaniels to try to spark the Patriots passing game was to slow down the Jets rushers. And they needed to do that with short passes off of the screen, you know, doing what they need to do to keep the ball controlled. So for everyone that's getting on Josh about having the training wheels on the, you know, on the, on the Patriots offense, uh, I've said that a couple of times, Murph and I talked about it the other day, you watch it with more of a level head and with less of a talking head. And folks, if you've seen the news lately, you probably know who I'm referring

to, but I digress different conversation, you know, the mood for another day, but we'll, we'll keep this conservative and we'll keep this respectful, you know, for people that, you know, compared Mac's performance to chicken fingers. We all know what he can do with those chicken fingers. But in any case, folks, a family show, not going there. Let's get back to the the issue at hand. And I completely agree with you that I would like to see maybe Mac get a little more aggressive, make those throws. I think as he becomes more comfortable in the Patriots offense, he will. But overall, I give him a lot of credit for maintaining the football and having the field savvy to know, you know, when to make those passes and when not to. And Josh alluded to this when we spoke with him on Tuesday. He basically said right down the middle, look, there's not much we're holding back from him. The Jets had a very aggressive

defensive front and they needed to, the best way that they knew to combat that was to have the game plan that they enacted. And for everyone saying, yeah, the deep shots, Josh addressed that as well, basically saying there's more than just getting back into the pocket and just hurling the ball and letting it fly. You have to know when to unleash that type of an attack. And the Patriots did what they felt they needed to do more often than not. So, but, you know, we continue to evaluate and we'll always continue to evaluate, but I place a whole lot of faith in your assessment as well. And I think you're right on the money when it comes to quarterback. I think there was more to like about Mack than there was to dislike about him in this game.

And we'll see what happens in week three. Mack is not the only focal point of the offense, though. I mean, we've seen this running game and we've talked about this running game being the potential focal point of the offense though. I mean, we've seen this running game and we've talked about this running game being the potential focal point of the offense. And I thought the running game for the most part on Sunday looked pretty good. I thought that, you know, when and how they chose to deploy their, their rushers, Damian Harris definitely was the lead back, led the team 62 yards. That 26 yardyard touchdown was probably on the highlight reel for him for the rest of his career, and it probably will be on the highlight

reel, at least for the Patriots' first half. That was a hell of a run. James White still, you know, making plays, you know, third, you know, on third down, he continues to be a great option. We've talked about James several times as well. The tight ends were utilized, I think a little bit underutilized in this game, but part of that might've been to John who, you know, it might've been as a result of John who Smith having the hip injury, maybe they were a little bit conservative in trying to keep him in check, but bottom line, Steve, this offense still has its issues, but it also has its bright spots. What was your evaluation of the remainder of this offense? What to you

stood out for the most part and where is their biggest area of concern heading into week three? Well, you know, a lot of people are concerned with the wide receivers, but when you're throwing screens and short, quick tosses, you're not going to get a ton of production out of your wide receiver core. So I'm really not concerned with them at this point. They had some plays, as we mentioned earlier, that they were open. I think the same applies to the tight ends. We saw Mack hit that one big seam pass to Hunter Henry for 32 yards. You mentioned, you know, at the end of the first half,

he had Hunter Henry going down the field. It looked like he might actually have a touchdown there. You know, there was other plays. Jonu Smith, you know, him and Mack really weren't on the same page on that. There was one play there that looked like they had some room for yards after the catch. But at the same time, you know, I think once they get their act together when it comes to the red zone, you're going to start seeing more production out of these guys.

There was another play where I thought Henry was opening the corner of the end zone, but it's easy to see that from watching on the couch rather than being on the field. But, again, these plays are going to come, and I think especially the tight ends in the red area, they're going to start seeing a lot more looks coming their way. I'm not really concerned with the wide receivers at this point. I think, you know, right now they're doing what they need to do, and they're playing within the game plan.

The only concern I have right now is the offensive line. I think it's not just the right tackle. You know, they're getting opponents are getting pressure from different spots. Isaiah Wynn's been giving up a lot of pressure. I think, you know, once they get all this settled, and it's

going to get better, the offense will be just fine. I really think so. I think the running backs, as you mentioned, are going to be outstanding, as they always are. And James White looks like James White again. Yeah, he does. James White does look like James White again.

And you'll love to see it because White is one of those guys that can really be the catalyst to get this offense going when it's needed most. You saw guys like Julian Edelman and James White do that under Tom Brady here in New England. And I think that returning to that type of offense that these guys were used to thriving in is so important for a guy like James White who's hitting the wheel routes. He's getting the ball on third down. He's getting looks. He was their leading receiver in terms of targets on Sunday. So, you know, you look at what this kid can do, and I say kid because, I mean, he still is in a lot of ways. But when you look at what this guy does, you know, from a leadership perspective, but also on-field prowess

and being in the right spot at the right time, James White is such a key for this offense. I agree with you on the wide receivers. I think a lot of what we saw from the receivers on Sunday really came from Mack not having much time to throw, making it hard to find them down the field. So Mac alluded to this after the game too. I mean, he even said, you know, I need to get the ball downfield. I will get the ball downfield a little bit more. You know, obviously the Jets defensive line played into that as well. As we've said said I agree with your assessment on the tight ends definitely you know would like to see them a little bit more involved and I think Mac

as he continues to get more comfortable in this offense you'll see it and the offensive line obviously I mean we know this continues to be a concern over the first two games hopefully we'll see Trent Brown back sooner rather than later Dur Durant, Heron have not been the platoon that Patriots fans have hoped for, but go back and take a look. And I'm glad that I did, folks. Go back and take a look at some of the game. If you have the opportunity, whether it be through NFL, you know, red zone or whatever, if you've got a DVR, whatever, however you'd like to go back and take a look. That offensive line did shore up their protection a little bit, especially on the right side in the latter part of the game.

So maybe now that they're getting their feet set and getting a little bit more continuity, it might be a little bit better, but there's no question about it. This team misses Trent Brown, and they'll be glad to see him get back out there. Steve, always spot-on analysis, and I thank you so much for giving us your insight when it comes to the Patriots offensive side of the ball. But folks, we're not done yet because Steve Balistrieri will offer his thoughts on the defensive side of the ball. What did the Patriots do best on Sunday? And what are the areas of improvement that we're taking a look at as they head into this week three matchup?

And speaking of week three, we're going to get Steve's thoughts on the Saints when this Tuesday episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Locked On listeners, does this sound familiar? You've got one device that lets you catch the game live, another device that lets you stream your favorite shows, you're watching sports highlights on your phone, and you've got your neighbor's best friend's login for the good stuff. Well, I want to tell you about a simple way to get all that entertainment you love without the hassle and a great way to finally get your TV together. It's called Direct TV Stream and it brings your

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when you share your wisdom and counsel, your voice of reason here on Locked On Patriots and spot on analysis and great thoughts when it comes to the Patriots' offensive side of the ball, their strengths and weaknesses, and of course, a great evaluation of the quarterback position. But on the defensive side of the ball, their strengths and weaknesses, and of course, a great evaluation of the quarterback position. But on the defensive side of the ball,

Patriots had a decent day. I thought their linebacking core played strong. I thought their secondary was very good. The defensive line, well, I thought they played well for the most part, but this is a team that had its difficulties defending the run on Sunday. Steve, when you look overall at the Patriots' performance on the defensive side of the ball, how much of their success was attributed to the Jets' futility on offense? What did you like from this defense, and what are the areas of improvement as they move toward Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints? Well, it seemed like to me, you know, they got good pressure on Zach Wilson without selling out. They didn't blitz a lot. And, you know, I thought the game plan coming in

was they were going to try to keep Wilson in the pocket and squeeze it, and I thought they did that. You know, he was pressured on more than 40% of his snaps. They got four sacks on him. I thought that, you know, he was very careless with the ball on a couple of his throws. I thought the Patriots made a couple of nice plays on balls that were in the air. But, you know, you can't find fault at all with the secondary

when they turn in four interceptions, regardless of how the other quarterback is playing. When your secondary gives you four interceptions, you just have to smile, check the block. These guys did their job. They were in the position they needed to do, you know, or to be, and you move on. I was very happy with the play of the linebackers.

I think the linebackers are all over the field right now. Josh Uche, Matthew Judon. It seems like Judon is in on every play. I know he had one sack, and I think they said six or seven quarterback pressures. It seems like he's in on every play. The only concern I had early in the game, well, not a concern, it was just a head scratcher. They activated Tashaun Bauer off the practice squad,

and early in the game he was getting a lot of snaps rather than Uche or Chase Winovich, which I thought was very curious. You alluded to the run defense. That's something that they need to clean up, and we'll talk about it more when we talk about the Saints, but they gave up 152 yards for a team that was pretty inept the week before at running the football. 4.9 yards a carry. I think it's something that needs to get cleaned up.

They have the bodies there for it. They have the talent there. They just need to get it cleaned up. But overall, I was really happy with the play of the linebackers because I believe that they're all over the field. They're around the football at all times. Even the defensive line, you know, like I said, they were tasked with, you know, keeping Wilson in the pocket.

I thought they did that for the most part. They even got a sack from, you know, Davis, you know Davis in the middle there. And it's just – it was a mixed bag for the defensive line. But overall for the defense, you hold your opponent to six points, you get four turnovers. You can't really find too much fault with that. They do have some issues that they need to clean up. Absolutely. And I completely agree with you. Again, spot on analysis. I'm so glad that you

mentioned Carl Davis's sack. I had to laugh when Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston Post game said, you'll love to see a defensive tackle register, you know, one of those sacks on the stat sheet every now and then. And it really is. And you really have to root for Carl and, you know, his uphill battle and making the team and really, you know, being a strong contributor thus far and getting in and really playing well on the defensive line. So I'm happy for Carl. I was glad to see him make that play. But you're right. The Patriots need to shore up this run defense, allowing 4.9 yards to carry to a team that was very inept at running the football against the Carolina Panthers in week one. Steve, we talked about it last week. That running game was almost nonexistent.

So we thought controlling the Jets passing game was going to be the Patriots biggest headache and their biggest difficulty. This is an area where they do need a little bit of improvement along the defensive line, even in the linebacking, you know, core, as much as we all love Dante Hightower, the missed tackle in the second quarter really seemed to frustrate him. And I think that's something that will come in time, hopefully for the New England Patriots, but they're going to need to act quickly because they have a very strong running team coming in in just a bit. And folks, we will get to those Saints in just a moment. But again, I love your analysis of Matt Judon, always in on a bit. And folks, we will get to those Saints in just a moment. But again, I love your

analysis of Matt Judon, always in on every play. He looked like he was playing in a little bit of pain. He actually looked like he was limping at times. Hopefully we'll keep an eye on that. The Patriots re-hit the practice field on Wednesday. Keep a very sharp eye on the injury reports. If you don't see Matt show up, folks, then it's all good. But if you see his name out there, it's something you definitely want to monitor as the days come because they're definitely going to need him with the sack of multiple pressures. He's been a huge factor. And then, of course, Josh Uche, who continues to elevate himself

in this crew. Two sacks on Sunday and late in the game. And a special shout- out to Juwan Bentley as well, who I thought was excellent in coverage. He was instrumental in that first interception. The pressure that he put up the middle forced Wilson, I think, into making a throw maybe he didn't want to make, and excellent coverage from the secondary downfield, who I thought played great. And Murph and I talked a lot about the secondary yesterday, folks. If you haven't had a chance to listen to that yet, go back. We'll go into great detail on the Patriots secondary there.

But Steve's found an analysis, as always. So I think there's no better way to take us home today, my friend, than your level-headed expert opinion on what this team needs to do against the New Orleans Saints, specifically taking a look at what the Saints do well and what concerns you most as we head into this matchup. We're going to talk a lot about the Saints this week, folks, so we're just kind of dipping our toe into the pool here right now, Steve, but when you look at both sides of the ball and you look at what this team does well, how do you think the Patriots match up here? And what concerns you most from a Pats perspective when it comes to try to either defend the New Orleans Saints

or keep them out of the end zone? Well, you know, when you look at the Saints, the first guy that comes to mind is Alvin Kamara. So, you know, he's a dangerous player with the football in his hands. I mean, we've seen it for years and years. So, you know, when you're looking at a guy like him, okay, so that area that the Patriots have struggled the first couple of weeks of the season, dating back to last year, is stopping them. If Kamara has a big day,

then it's going to be a long afternoon for the Patriots defensively. So I think they really need to focus on stopping him. Now, the other aspect of the defense is when you look at the Saints have had trouble protecting, you know, their quarterback. We've seen it. We saw it big time on Sunday. And, you know, that's something the Patriots need to look at. They have their issues along the offensive line.

They haven't got them sorted out yet. This may be a week for them to take advantage of that and bring some pressure, you know, on the quarterback and maybe force a couple of turnovers. On the flip side of the ball, I think they need to loosen up the reins a little bit, you know, on Mac Jones and start taking advantage of the plays that are there. I would really like to see the tight ends attack the seam more this week, you know, and start moving the ball down the field just a tad more and use that running game to set

some stuff up. Yeah, without any question, I think you're absolutely correct. Once again, when you think the New Orleans Saints, you automatically think Alvin Kamara and you have to think that he is going to be such an integral part of what the Saints would like to do, especially knowing that the Patriots had their difficulties defending the run on Sunday. This is an area where the Patriots are going to need to be very diligent in their practice preparations. And we look for that this week.

But you also make great points, Steve, when it comes to Jameis Winston, when it comes to what the Patriots are going to need to do to control the passing game. And then of course, you know, defensively moving the football against this team with, you know, sound secondary. And there's, there's still a lot, uh, that the Patriots will need to do in order to maintain, uh, that type of momentum that they're carrying right now against a very good Saints team. This is a game that the Patriots would unquestionably love to have for a lot of different reasons. And one of those big reasons is their week four opponent.

You don't want to be going in on a down note, with a one and two record with Tom Brady and the Super Bowl champions coming to town and facing off here at Gillette. And it still sounds weird every time you say that, that Tom Brady's going to be coming into Gillette as an opposing quarterback, but it will be a reality. 12 days from today, folks, we will see that. Steve, what can I say?

We always appreciate your level-headed wisdom and counsel, your voice of reason, racing the airwaves here on Locked on Patriots, and we look forward to talking to you each and every week. We will do this again on Tuesday, folks, and folks, we didn't get a chance to talk much about Brady and the Bucks in today's episode because we're focusing on the Saints, but

it's a safe bet to think that Steve and I are going to have a few stories to swap when it comes to Tom coming to town next week, but in the meantime, if you haven't followed this man yet, please do so. I highly recommend everything he does, whether it be putting voice to a microphone or pen to paper, it's always top-notch work. Steve, please, for the benefit of our new listeners, let everyone know where they can find you, all your great work and what

you have coming up in the coming days and weeks from the great pen and the great voice of Steve Balistrieri. Well, thanks, my friend. Thanks for all the kind words. You can find me on Twitter at SteveB7SFG. I'm also on Facebook and Instagram. You know, I write for PatsFans.com. And, you know, we're all done with the Jets now. We finished our positional grades that went out this morning, and now we're starting to watch film on the Saints.

And we're figuring out how the Patriots might decide to, you know, attack this matchup with New Orleans. One thing to keep in mind for our listeners out there, you know, traditionally the Saints aren't the same team when they're on the road and playing outdoors. So keep that one in mind when you're looking at this matchup this week. Absolutely. Great insight. Great information. And again, folks, definitely, I cannot recommend highly following Steve and the work that he does each and every day, each and every week for Patriots Nation. One of the true unsung heroes and one of the true unsung stars of Patriots media is this

gentleman. And my greatest honor is being able to call you a friend. And we look forward to talking ball with you again right here next week on Locked On Patriots. So stay safe, stay well, and enjoy the game, this game coming up on Sunday. And we look forward to doing this all again as the Patriots march toward week four. Just like that, Patriots Nation, we are nearly at the midway point in your work week. But fear not, folks, because there is still plenty of Patriots coverage left to come right here on the Locked On Patriots podcast.

So to ensure that you do not miss a single second of the action, download, subscribe to and follow Locked On Patriots on platforms such as the Odyssey app, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. Just make sure that you are staying locked in to Locked On Patriots. Once again, my name is Mike DeBate. I thank my good friend Steve Balistrieri for his time, his insight, and his appearance on today's pod. But most of all, I thank you all so much for listening and for continuing to make Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Until tomorrow, Foxborough faithful, stay safe, stay well, be the change you wish to see in the world.

Have a great day, everyone.