Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Pats-Bengals Recap/Much Ado About Leaked Footage? - 12/16/19

Episode Date: December 16, 2019

The New England Patriots defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 34-13 on Sunday in Cincy. However, injury concerns and needed-improvements in execution still provide some causes for concern. Host Mike D’Abate provides some optimism for the Pats on-field performance, details the latest injury news and provides his take on the leaked footage of the Bengals’ sidelines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello to all you Foxborough faithful, and welcome to your Victory Monday edition of Locked on Patriots, your daily home for news, notes, analysis, and the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. This episode is brought to you in part by Casper. The original Casper mattress combines multiple supportive memory foams for a quality sleep surface with the right amounts of both sink and bounce. Get $100 towards select mattresses by visiting casper.com slash locked NFL and using locked NFL at checkout. Terms and conditions apply.

If you can't visit Casper right now, you can find this and all other offers from Locked On sponsors at lockedonpodcast.com slash offers. My name is Mike DeBate, and I am your host of Locked On Patriots, which of course is a part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Please feel free to reach out to me on Twitter at MDABATEFPC, and be sure to follow Locked On Patriots on Twitter at LO underscore Patriots. Two straight weeks without a victory in New England seemed like a lifetime, am I right, folks? But thankfully, your New England Patriots didn't want anyone in Patriots Nation to find out what three was going to feel like.

And after a couple of subpar defensive stands to open the game, the Patriots defense reminded everyone of exactly who they are, clinching a playoff berth with a 34-13 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. Tom Brady threw a couple of touchdown passes and closed in on a notable career record, which I will discuss a little bit later in today's show, but the key to this one, folks, was turnovers and defense, and the Patriots snapped that two-game losing streak by collecting a total of five turnovers, including four interceptions in the second half. And that victory put an end to the week that started with a lot of intrigue, and also ended with even more intrigue, and I will be addressing that today as well, folks.

The real story here is the Patriots' win on Sunday, and let's start right in on the action. The Patriots got off to a hot start on this one. On their first drive, Tom Brady and the Pats picked up on the Cincinnati Blitz. They exploited it for a 23-yard touchdown pass to James White, and I wanted to give a little unsung credit here on the play to Patriots offensive lineman Joe Tooney. He threw a great block on the outside to seal the outside. As a result, White was able to break free for the touchdown. With that touchdown pass, Tom Brady tied Drew Brees for second place on the all-time touchdown list with 537.

At present, Peyton Manning still holds the record in that category with 539, and Brady would add to his touchdown pass total later in the game. But at this point, the Patriots were up 7-0, and it only took 3 minutes and 16 seconds. But credit the Bengals. They responded. Cincinnati running back Joe Mixon carried the ball five times to open Cincinnati's first drive. That included a 29-yard run to the Patriots' 32 after several Patriots missed tackles on the edge,

uncharacteristically sloppy opening for the New England Patriots' defense, and Cincinnati would make them pay for it. Four plays later, Andy Dalton would find Seethan Carter from eight yards, and Jonathan Jones slipped and missed the tackle. That allowed Carter to step easily into the end zone, and the game was tied at seven. For the Bengals, that touchdown pass from Andy Dalton ended a streak of 20 straight games without reaching the end zone on their opening drive. The Bengals would continue to ride that wave early on.

After the Patriots went 3-and-out on their next offensive drive, the Bengals strung together a 9-play, 49-yard drive that was capped by a Randy Bullock 34-yard field goal. That gave the Bengals a 10-7 lead, and just like that, we had a game in Cincinnati. But from that point on, the Patriots had had enough, and it showed the rest of the way in this one, folks. For starters, the Patriots simply executed better. Defensively, the front seven tightened up their coverage, led by Danny Shelton. They got a huge stop on fourth and inches at the Patriots 31. That also featured some great positioning by linebacker Juwan Bentley to make the stop. The Patriots would capitalize on their field position and convert it into a game-tying

40-yard field goal from Nick Fole. Shortly thereafter, the Patriots' special teams would continue to show why they are such a vital part of this team's success. As they've done so many times this season, they forced a huge turnover. And who else would be the catalyst for this big play than... You guessed it, folks. Matthew Slater. The captain

stripped the ball away from Alex Erickson as he was attempting to field a Jake Bailey punt at the Cincinnati 23. So the Patriots would take over with great field possession, but for a second straight series, they had to settle for the leg of Nick Folk to convert points on the scoreboard. At second and eight from the Cincinnati 21, Muhammad Sanu couldn't haul in a Tom Brady pass toward the end zone. It was a makeable play for Sanu, but it wasn't exactly one of Tom's best throws either. On the next snap, Brady was sacked on third down, this time by Carlos Dunlap, and Nick Fult came out to kick a 46-yard field goal, which gave the Patriots a 13-10 lead, which they would carry into halftime.

The second half opened with the Bengals having possession, but that changed in just three plays, as Andy Dalton threw it directly to Stephon Gilmore, who was covering Tyler Boyd. Gilmore continues his march toward a Defensive Player of the Year award, and if there's a better candidate for it, folks, I certainly don't see it. But this interception started a positive trend for the Patriots' defense. They started to play more man-to-man coverage, and in the second half, they got the better of it. As for the Patriots' offense, well, it almost looked like they were going to have to settle

for another three points off of a turnover. However, with the ball back in his hands, Tom Brady was able to buy enough time in the pocket to find Nakheel Harry, running across the back of the end zone from seven yards out, and the Patriots took a 20-10 lead with over 11 minutes left in the third quarter. But once again, the Bengals showed some fight, and they actually put together a nice drive and ultimately arrived at the New England 36-yard line. However, after a penalty backed them up five yards at first and 15 from the New England 41, Dalton attempted to find Tyler Boyd in the right flat, and that's when Stephon Gilmore continues to show why he's the best cornerback in the league, folks. He undercut the route for his second interception of the day,

and it was off to the races. 64 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown. That made it 27-10. The Patriots were just starting to break the game wide open. The pick six gave Gilmore two interception returns for touchdowns this season, and a career-high six interceptions on the season as a whole. And I will elaborate a little bit more on Gilmore's brilliance in just a moment, folks. But J.C. Jackson also got in on the action. He picked off Dalton on the sideline while covering Erickson. Jackson would later join Gilmore with his second interception of the day, giving the Patriots a total of four.

The Bengals' only response to the Patriots' onslaught would be to add some points on a Randy Bullock 48-yard field goal. That made it 27-13. But in the aftermath of that field goal, Cincy would try an onside kick rather than kicking it deep. Bullock's kick traveled just five yards, and the Bengals actually thought they had forced a turnover on a fumble by Mohamed Sanu. But the Cincinnati defense committed three fouls on the play,

and that gave the Patriots the ball at the Cincinnati 33. That was all former Bengal Rex Burkhead needed to put the cap on this one. Touchdown Osiris Rex, as I like to call him, took the snap on the next play and ran up the middle for 33 yards for a touchdown. This one put the finishing touches on the victory for New England, and with that, the Pats clinched a playoff berth and moved to 11-3 on the season. They remain in the number two slot for playoff seeding with two to play. That includes a very tough game coming up on Saturday at Gillette Stadium,

in which the Pats welcome the playoff-bound Buffalo Bills, who were victorious on Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers. And I will be spending a great deal of time on Buffalo this week, folks, so stay tuned for that. But this Patriots win turned the frowns upside down in Patriots Nation. However, there are still some causes for concern, and in just a moment I will outline why you can breathe some sighs of relief regarding the execution on offense, why the injuries might be an area of greater concern, and I will sing some more statistical praise of this New England defense. However, before I proceed with that, we at Locked On are proud to say that this episode is sponsored by Blue Chew.

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Again, that's B-L-U-E-CHEW.COM, promo code LOCKEDON to try it for free. Blue Chew is the better, cheaper, faster choice, and we thank them for sponsoring this podcast. Once again, folks, the New England Patriots return to the win column with a 34-13 rout of the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. And while some might say that outside distractions regarding the allegations of videoing the Cincinnati sidelines the previous week might have added a little bit of fire to the Patriots,

well, they'd be the first to tell you that the focus is always on the field. This team is second to none when it comes to ignoring the noise. And that's all these allegations are, folks. Baseless noise. But I'll set that aside for just a moment, because there is some praise to be handed out on this Victory Monday. And that praise pie belongs to the Patriots secondary. Look, the defense as a whole played very well in this one, so kudos all around.

But the secondary, they were particularly sharp on Sunday. And that begins and ends with Stephon Gilmore, who as I tweeted on Sunday and reiterated earlier in this show, Gilmore is the defensive player of the year, and I don't think there's a close second to him right now. Gilmore even got high praise from Bengals coach Zach Taylor, who after the game when asked about Gilmore's performance said, on the one-on-one plays we got bullied. Their guys competed, they played tough man coverage, Gilmore is one of the best in the league, unquote. And he was brilliant in this one, folks. Gilmore picked off Andy Dalton twice in the third quarter, his second pick six of the season, that put New England in control, and really it was the reason why the Patriots were able to dominate this one from the second quarter on. But the Patriots secondary as a

whole was outstanding, and I want to give an honorable mention here to JC Jackson, who also picked off two Andy Dalton passes and really established the Patriots secondary as being dominant in this league. Patriots defense as a whole leads the league with 25 interceptions. It's the fourth time this season that the Patriots have picked off four passes in a game. They also picked off four passes this season against Miami, Buffalo, and the New York Jets. This game even made a little history. It was the sixth time in Patriots history that two players had a pair of interceptions. The last time was actually back to 1986 when Ronnie Lippett and Steve Nelson each picked off two passes. The Patriots special teams

have also been outstanding and deserve a lot of praise just picked off two passes. The Patriots' special teams have also been outstanding and deserve a lot of praise just as the defense did. The Patriots have seven touchdowns by their defense or special teams this year. Two fumble returns, three interception returns, and two block punt returns. The Patriots' club record is nine non-offensive touchdowns that was set in 2010 and also back in 1961. So the Patriots are two away from tying, three away from setting a new record, and the way this defense is playing and the special teams are

playing, you have to wonder whether or not this is a very real possibility for the 2019 New England Patriots. And if I were to be handing out that proverbial game ball, it would definitely go to Gilmore. Sunday marked the second time this season that Gilmore has returned an interception for a touchdown. The last Patriot with two of those was Teddy Bruschi in 2003. So Gilmore continues to shine, but he remains humble and focused. After the game, he told reporters, quote, I've got some great players around me. We're just having fun, unquote. And that is very Patriots-like in deflecting the praise, but it also shows that Gilmore has his eyes squarely focused on loftier goals than individual stats and accolades, and that is also Patriot-like. This team has one goal, folks. Miami, Florida, and a berth in Super Bowl 54. And that won't be an easy road. The Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, Houston Texans, they're all playing very

well, and they have those designs too. There's also something else that each of those teams have, and that's victories over the Patriots. So none of those three teams are going to be intimidated by New England in the postseason. As for the Patriots' next opponent, the Buffalo Bills, well they're more than capable of coming into Foxborough this Saturday and getting a win. Buffalo's defense is not just legitimate, but I'd put it up there among the NFL's elite. Their offense also continues to make improvements each week, led by a resurgent quarterback in Josh Allen. And throughout the remainder of this week, I will continue to analyze and break down the Buffalo Bills, including what we can expect to see this Saturday afternoon in Foxborough. However, for the immediate time being, it's suffice to say that all of Pat's nation needs to keep a sharp eye

on them. But the biggest obstacle in the Pat's way lately has been themselves, at least by consensus, when it comes to the analysts and beat writers that cover the team. And it's hard to argue that. Many of their struggles have been self-inflicted, especially on offense, which has been the pincushion for all that are either worried about the team or gleefully relish even their slightest struggles. And who else would undergo the strictest scrutiny under the microscope than quarterback Tom Brady Brady's performance on Sunday folks is once again being panned mostly by people that have no understanding of football but that aside Tom had touchdown passes of both 23 and 7 yards that left him with 538 for his career

and as I said earlier in the show that left him one shy of Peyton Manning's record of 539 now yes yes, I know folks, we all know that Tom is technically already the career leader with 611 touchdown passes. That's because of his postseason prowess, but that gets ignored a lot more than it should in my humble opinion. But for this game, he finished 15 of 29 for 128 yards. He did miss some open receivers numerous times, and if you look purely at the stat line, you'd assume that Brady had a subpar game. But Brady wasn't overly dejected after the game. In fact, when he was asked by reporters about how he felt following the victory, despite his numbers not impressing the hot takers, he said, quote, Yeah, but we won. I'm happy we won. I wish we'd

always do better. There's always things to improve upon, unquote. And that is the key here, folks. Improvement. The Patriots' offensive struggles on Sunday were more cause for optimism than worry, and I'll explain what I mean by that. The Patriots' receiving core are either at or near the top of the NFL in credited dropped passes in 2019. That's depending on the source of stats. Some will list them with 22, others with 20, but several of these have been in key situations, and some have even cost the Patriots points. Now, not all of these drops are always the direct fault of the receiver, but let's face it, there have been a lot of issues surrounding execution with this team, especially when

it comes to route running and a lack of experience for some of the targets in the Patriots passing game. Julian Edelman is always reliable, but he has had a monstrous workload, and that might just be taking a real toll on his health. And I'll get back to Julian in just a moment. But yesterday's game showed some great progress, even when the drops came into effect. Mohamed Sanu had a couple of big drops yesterday, and a receiver as accomplished as Sanu, he's going to haul those in eventually,

especially as the health of his ankle improves. But the reads and the placement are definitely there. That synergy that I talk about between Brady and Sanu, it looked pretty good yesterday, and while they didn't connect on some of them, the play calling and the joint understanding of what was being called, where to throw, and where the receiver needed to be, that was there to repeat its execution for the Patriots offense. Without some of the drops you saw yesterday that stalled the drives, had those catches been made, the drives would have continued. It's really not that complicated, believe it or

not. It's just a matter of the execution being better. And look, that has to be both by Brady and his receivers. No one is absolving Tom from any blame here. But to hear people say that this offense doesn't have it figured out, or that they're lost, shows that maybe these people that are telling you that don't really watch each down or each play because the evidence is there folks. Nikhil Harry and Tom Brady particularly had a much better day yesterday and have really started connecting. Sanu gets leaned on more when Edelman grabs attention. So if Edelman is double teamed, that may create more opportunities for Mohamed Sanu.

His hands need to be better, but I believe he's a savvy enough veteran to make those adjustments, and I believe he'll improve as he continues to practice. James White can also be a big contributor out of the backfield. We saw this yesterday with the touchdown and a couple of his big plays. If an opposing defense has to dedicate a source to either Harry or Sanu, it'll open things up for White, even Rex Burkhead. If he's lined up against the linebacker, that's a great matchup for Rex, and he has the burst to be able to make it happen, and we saw that on the final touchdown of the game that sealed the victory for the Patriots.

So my takeaway from this game is that the Patriots have a more than capable offense in there, and one that can compete for a championship. It just takes time. On Friday, Matt Chatham joined me here on Locked On Patriots, and when I asked Matt what the Patriots needed to do to beat the Bengals on Sunday, he responded very simply and said, they just need to play better. They need to execute better.

If they did that, it would lead to sustained improvement over the rest of the season. During the game on Sunday, Matt took that a step further and said that the Patriots play calling was getting the looks that it wanted, and despite some of the difficulties on execution, that this would not be the same team that you would see in a month, meaning they would drastically improve. I'm in agreement with that assessment. The improvements are clearly there, provided they're being seen by eyes who want to see them.

Keep that in mind, folks. Hang in there. I think we're finally starting to see where this offense can go. Based on what I've seen in the second half of the Kansas City game, and pretty much for the majority of the game yesterday, it's my assessment that this offense is improving enough for the Patriots to make a deep playoff run. But unfortunately, folks, it's not all great news because there's still something beyond anyone's control that could derail that run. And that's true of any team, and that's injuries. And the Patriots do have a couple on which I'm keeping a sharp eye. Of course, yesterday, Patriots cornerback Jason McCourty was inactive again with a groin

injury. That was the third time in the last four games. Now, McCourty did play against Kansas City on December 8th, you'll recall, and it could be that the Patriots made a judgment call yesterday to rest him and have him ready for Buffalo. That may be very significant and hopeful on behalf of Patriots Nation because cornerback Jonathan Jones suffered a groin injury in the fourth quarter of yesterday's game left the game he was assisted off the field and we're awaiting news on that one from Patriots camp also leaving

yesterday's game was right guard Shaq Mason apparently his departure was the result of an ankle injury we're also awaiting word on Mason's situation. And that's definitely something to watch for as well, especially for an offensive line that has had more than its share of health concerns. But the most eyebrow-raising of these injuries are the injuries to wide receiver Julian Edelman. He continues to suit up day in and day out for this team. He's already been suffering from ribs and shoulder injuries, but last week against the Chiefs, he appeared to suffer a left knee injury. And that injury kept him out of practice on Wednesday and even led to speculation as to whether or not he would even suit up in yesterday's game against the Bengals. Of course, Edelman made the trip and ended up playing against Cincinnati.

But just prior to the start of yesterday's game, this story got a bit more interesting. And that's when NFL Network's Mike Giotti reported that Edelman is dealing with a tendon issue in his left knee. Now, tendon issues are always a cause for concern. And to expound upon that, Dr. Jessica Flynn, who was recently a guest here on Locked On Patriots, wrote a piece for the Boston Sports Journal, and I highly recommend checking that out. And according to Dr. Flynn, the main tendon in the knee is the patellar tendon, meaning

that Edelman's injury is thought to be one of two things, either tendonitis in the patellar tendon or an acute partial tear of the tendon. And Dr. Flynn explains that it could be managed by lessening Julian's workload. But again, she reiterated that this is not a quote nothing injury. It will need to be managed for the rest of the season and into the postseason. It will likely limit his effectiveness, and it does carry a risk of significant worsening if he continues to play on it. In sports medicine, Dr. Flynn advises that

they consider patellar tendinitis or tearing an overuse injury. And let's face it, folks, there's probably not a wide receiver in the league that's been overused more than Julian Edelman. So keep a sharp eye on the practice fields, folks, and hopefully some of those hopeful holiday vibes will bode well for the collective health of your New England Patriots. But there is still one more item that hangs over the pats like a sword of Damocles, and that is the fiasco that happened in Cleveland on December 8th. The infamous footage, folks, or at least a very small snippet of that footage, was released and aired on national television on Sunday. And anyone with even the most rudimentary knowledge of football that's seen this footage will tell you that it's hardly significant. The national haters and hot takers

are at it again, folks, and they're acting like they just discovered the Subruder film. In just a moment, I will tell you what was found and why this is not the indictment of the Patriots that so many are hoping for. Once again, folks, the Patriots' 34-13 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday definitely helped Patriots Nation breathe a little bit of a sigh of relief. However, the good news continues to be overshadowed by an 8-minute video, which might end up being one of the most overblown stories in sports, since a football team was reprimanded for findings that found that it was more probable than not, quote-unquote, that their star quarterback was again, quote-unquote, generally aware of the evaporation of PSI pressure in footballs. Who was that football team, folks?

Oh, that's right. It was the Patriots. But I'll tell you what, let's chalk that one up to mere coincidence. This latest filming fiasco has been the story of the week, and look, we're all aware of the details. The Kraft Productions videographer that didn't know what the rules were in the NFL about filming sidelines, admitting to wrongdoing, the assumption that he was there under the sinister direction of the Patriots football operations, carrying out some elaborate scheme under orders to learn the hand signals and steal the play calling of an opponent that has a record of 1-11.

I know folks, it's ridiculous, but people do believe it. And on Sunday, that video that everyone's been dying to see was broadcast on Sunday's Fox pregame show. NFL insider Jay Glazer, who is about as reliable and locked into the NFL as anybody that you'll find, was responsible for showing the leaked footage, and in an ironic twist, he was also the one that obtained the footage that was supposedly destroyed by the NFL on the Spygate situation as well, the original Spygate back in 2007. And despite what you'll hear from those that want to see the Patriots' dynasty crumble into rubble, the video showed exactly what we Patriots said in their statement released last Monday night. A production crew, which included a full-time employee of Kraft Sports Productions, inappropriately filmed the field from the press box.

That was a part of the do-your-job profile on the advanced scout. When questioned, the crew immediately turned over all footage to the league and cooperated fully. Now, Glazer's video did show a brief glimpse of what was being shot. It also included a verbal exchange between the videographer and someone from the Bengals who saw what was being shot. It also included a verbal exchange between the videographer and someone from the Bengals who saw what was being filmed. And essentially, the videographer from Kraft Productions was called out on his behavior. And when questioned by the Bengals' representative as to exactly what he was doing, and that it also happened to be against NFL rules, the videographer responded, quote, I didn't know. The Bengals' security representative

responded by saying, quote, how did you not know? And once again, the Patriots' videographer responded by saying, I didn't know. I'm sorry. He then offered to delete the footage and told the Bengals' representative that once he deleted it, he would never be able to recover it again. To that, the Bengals' representative responded, quote, The damage is done, my friend, unquote. Now, some are using the response of the Bengals' security representative as evidence that he caught the videographer red-handed in a sinister act.

And you'll hear others that'll equate this to finding the assassin with a rifle in his hand on the third floor of the Texas School Book Depository. But the reality of this, folks, is that the video shows that the Patriots' employee clearly did not know that what he was doing was wrong. As I discussed last week here on Locked On Patriots, what the videographer was doing was obtaining B-roll footage. And this video supports that explanation. Despite the delusional contextual interpretation of what so many would have you believe, the

video that Glazer showed clearly displayed that the videographer only filmed the sideline and the field. There was no panning to the scoreboard to show down or distance. So therefore, any of this so-called footage that's being obtained for sinister reasons, it would have no value to the football operations team and it wouldn't provide them with even distance. So therefore, any of this so-called footage that's being obtained for sinister reasons, it would have no value to the football operations team and it wouldn't provide them with even the slightest shred of competitive advantage. What this video shows and what it appears that this footage was intended for, was to

actually show what the scout would be looking at through his binoculars. That would be the next opponent's sidelines. In this case, that would be the Bengals. Part of going to the next opponent's game is to observe their sideline for substitutional patterns. That's the responsibility of an advanced scout. That's what he was doing, and that's what the video was going to show. And to sum it up, I want to give credit to Ryan Hannibal of WEI, who I thought summed

this up very nicely in his column on Monday, and it states, When objectively watching the leaked video, the only conclusion to be made is that everything goes in line with the Patriots' statement, that the illegal video was mistakenly shot of the field, but it had nothing to do with the football side of the organization. And before you get hung up or angry at the word illegal, folks, technically Ryan is correct. It might have been a mistake by the Kraft Productions videographer, but it was a violation of NFL rules, and for that reason, the Patriots will likely be punished for it. As for the severity of this punishment, who knows?

It should be a very minor infraction, but this is the NFL, and there are a number of factors that could make this punishment worse than what it should be. You've already heard Commissioner Goodell say that past transgressions are a factor in this. What also are underlying factors, probably ones they wouldn't admit, are public opinion, and of course wouldn't admit, are public opinion and, of course, the desire of the other owners and teams in the NFL. And all of us here in Patriots Nation are eagerly awaiting the NFL's decision. But in the meantime, I encourage all of you out there that haven't already predetermined

the Patriots' guilt on this to view the situation and especially this video with an objective eye. If you do that, it's my assessment that you'll see that this amounts to nothing more than an unintentional wrongdoing, one that was committed on behalf of Kraft Productions, had nothing to do with the Patriots' football operations, one they will be disciplined for, but definitely not one that was a part of an all-encompassing evil plot by Bill Belichick and his coaching staff.

And with that being said, folks, I will be back tomorrow to put a cap on the Patriots' victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. I'll also start to take a brief look ahead to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, and of course, bring you the latest, hopefully scandal-free, news notes and analysis from Patriots Nation. As always, please be sure to join me each and every day on the Locked on Patriots podcast, and subscribe to Locked on Patriots via your preferred podcast provider. Once again, I'm Mike DeBate. I thank you so much for listening and for staying locked in to Locked on Patriots via your preferred podcast provider. Once again, I'm Mike DeBate.

I thank you so much for listening and for staying locked in to Locked on Patriots. Have a great day, everyone.