Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Take Two: Patriots Plan to stop Goff, Donald - 12/9/2020

Episode Date: December 9, 2020

With the New England Patriots set to take on the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday Night, host Mike D’Abate provides his insight on how the Pats might look to contain Rams’ quarterback Jared Goff. He then flips the script and describes how the New England defense might attempt to marginally disrupt the defensive prowess of defensive lineman Aaron Donald.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 “LOCKEDON,” and you’ll get 20% off your next order.MyBookieINVEST IN YOUR INTUITION. USE PROMO CODE LOCKEDON AND DOUBLE YOUR FIRST DEPOSIT. NEW PLAYERS GET UP TO $1,000 IN FREE PLAY - DESIGNED TO ADD MORE EXCITEMENT TO THE SPORTS YOU LOVE AND THE GAMES YOU BET. YOUR WINNING SEASON BEGINS TODAY...ONLY AT MYBOOKIE!BuiltGoVisit BuiltGO.com and use promo code “LOCKED,” and you’ll get 20% off your next order.BetterHelpI want you to start living a happier life today. As a listener, you’ll get 10% off your first month by visiting our sponsor at BetterHelp.com/LockedOnDoorDashRight now, our listeners can get $5 off and zero delivery fees on their first order of $15 or more, when you download the DoorDash app and enter code LOCKEDON. 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. And in honor of the New England Patriots two-fold trip to Hollywood, we're playing a little game of Take Two here on your daily home for news notes and analysis infused with the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. Lockdown Patriots is presented today by Pepsi, made for football watching.

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football. Watch it. Happy Hump Day, Patriots Nation, and thank you for joining me here today on Game Day Eve as your New England Patriots get set to take on the LA Rams Thursday night, 8.20 p.m. Eastern, 5.20 p.m. Pacific at SoFi Stadium in Englewood, California. My name is Mike DeBate, 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, comments, and feedback

are always welcomed and greatly appreciated. Feel free to share that feedback anytime by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-F-P-C. And while you're out there seeking some Wednesday wisdom and counsel out on the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at L-O underscore Patriots.

Patriots fans, normally this would be a good time to say, well, we're on to Los Angeles, but Patriots are already in Los Angeles. Big win on Sunday, 45- we're on to Los Angeles, but Patriots are already in Los Angeles. Big win on Sunday, 45-0 against the LA Chargers, but the Patriots would love nothing more than to finish off this two-game road trip in the City of Angels with a victory over the LA Rams. That will not be easy, because the Rams have a number of weapons, both on offense and defense, that can make it very difficult on opposing teams.

Today here on the pod, I'll be taking a deeper dive into two of those particular weapons, and I'm sure you can probably guess which two are going to be in the crosshairs of my sharp eye today. On defense, Lyman Aaron Donald, one of the most fearsome defenders in the NFL. I know I talked up Joey Bosa a lot last week. I covered him in Los Angeles, and some of it was probably for that reason, but I do not believe I was over the top in my praise for Bosa. He deserved it. I think the Patriots just had a great game plan of being able to contain him. This week, they're going to need an even better game plan to keep Aaron Donald in check. Of course, on the offensive side of the

ball, Rams still have a lot of weapons. Robert Woods, Cooper Cupp at the receiver position, Daryl Henderson and Cam Akers at the running back position, Tyler Higby at the tight end. All of these guys can make plays and find the end zone. But more often than not, the success of the Los Angeles Rams offense begins and ends with their quarterback, Jared Goff. And even though Jared is coming off of a game in which he threw for over 350 yards last Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, it might have laid the blueprint for being able to keep him in check. How, you may ask?

Well, I'll let you know in a little bit. So again, because the Patriots are playing two in Hollywood, we'll throw in a little Hollywood catchphrase and examine not one, but two of the Rams' stars in anticipation of tomorrow night's game at SoFi Stadium between the Rams and the Patriots. So sit tight, folks. Settle in. And a fast-moving show here today on the Locked On Patriots podcast. But of course, being just one day removed from game day,

no pod would be complete without a look at both teams walking wounded. We'll start with your New England Patriots. And for the second straight day, the Patriots did not have one player that was unaccounted for. Perfect attendance in Southern California as the Patriots started to practice. There were the usual suspects that were limited in their availability, of course. Juwan Bentley, Adam Butler, Byron Cowart, Jakob Johnson, Shaq Mason, even Cam Newton continues to be listed with that abdomen injury. But the encouraging thing, folks, when it comes to the Patriots

injury report is that JC Jackson, Jonathan Jones, and Ryan Izzo, three players who have had their own injury concerns over the past 48 to 72 hours, were all visible on the practice fields yesterday. Now, will that translate to them being ready to go tomorrow night? Your guess is still as good as mine, folks. Keep a very close eye on the Patriots injury report Wednesday evening. We'll break that all down for you in tomorrow's pregame show. But as of right now, it looks to be a good sign for the long-term health, at least of those three players, that they were all visible on the practice field. As for the Rams, well, they had perfect attendance as well. Both running backs

Cam Akers with a shoulder injury and defensive lineman Michael Brockers with a neck injury were listed as non-participants on Monday. On Tuesday, they were back on the practice fields, limited in their availability. Now, Akers in particularly, like I said yesterday, is going to be one we continue to keep our sharp eye on. He's one of their most talented and versatile running backs. If he can't go in this, it likely means that Darrell Henderson is going to have to take the majority of the snaps. Henderson is a very good running back, but when you compare him alongside Cam Akers, all of a sudden that rushing attack becomes much more formidable. If the Patriots only have to worry about game planning for one, it makes their job a little

easier. But always keep in mind that the final report has not yet been posted, so definitely be sure to tune in to tomorrow's episode of Locked On Patriots. We'll have the very latest on Wednesday's injury report, if any statuses have been published yet, and that will likely be the last we hear of the Patriots walking wounded right up until about an hour before game time when the Pats and the Rams will list their inactives. But at least as of right now, when it comes to each team's 53-man roster, the Rams and the Patriots both look to be pretty healthy heading into this one, and that should mean

for an excellent matchup tomorrow night. And before this season began, I bet a lot of you out there, myself included, were not counting on the Rams matchup being one of the more exciting when it comes to the NFC West gauntlet that the Patriots would be facing. I'm sure most of you were looking forward to the matchup against Seattle and Russell Wilson, Jimmy G coming back to Foxborough with the 49ers to take on the Patriots, even the excitement of facing a guy like Kyler Murray and that high-flying Arizona Cardinals offense. But the Rams, well, after the season they had last year, it kind of left you feeling meh.

They've been anything but this year. Give Sean McVay and that coaching staff a lot of credit, and of course, both the offensive and the defensive units coming up huge for Los Angeles. They're tied in the NFC West division lead for a reason, folks, and that's because they get the job done. And today here on Locked On Patriots, we'll take a look at two of the biggest reasons why the Rams are in position to win the NFC East. Quarterback Jared Goff and defensive lineman Aaron Donald.

A take-two look into this Hollywood duo when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Patriots fans, you've all heard the phrase, often imitated but never duplicated. I mean, is there a better phrase to describe your favorite football team in Foxborough? Six Super Bowl titles in just under two decades? Yeah, no other NFL team in the modern era can even come close to making that claim. Only the

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Use promo code LOCKEDON for 20% off at BiltBar.com. Patriots fans, we continue our behind-the-scenes, take-two look at the LA Rams here on this Wednesday, game-day eve episode of the LockedOn Patriots podcast. But before we cut to the chase, I know I keep throwing in these Hollywood sayings, but bear with me for a moment. Before the plot thickens, I remind you that in addition to tomorrow's crossover Thursday episode with Sosa K, the host of the Locked on Rams podcast, we will also be breaking down all Thursday night's action, including analysis of all the action you'll see on the field on Thursday night and what Thursday's outcome will mean for the Patriots moving forward.

Are they still in contention for a playoff spot or will the role of spoiler be the best that the Patriots can hope for in 2020? So stay locked in to Locked on Patriots for anything and everything related to your 2020 New England Patriots. But again, I've dubbed today a Take Two pod for a reason, and here on this Wednesday episode on game day eve, we're going to break down two of the Los Angeles Rams' most prolific stars. And offense may get the glitz and glamour, but let's start on the defensive side of the ball.

And yesterday here on the pod, Steve Balistrieri of Patsfans.com joined me, and we took a brief look, a first look, at the Los Angeles Rams and what prowess they can bring to the table. Steve mentioned more than a couple of times that the Rams are very good at defending against the run. And folks, he was not kidding. The Rams come into this game ranked third in the NFL in run defense. They only allow 93 yards per game and 3.9 yards per carry. That's the best in the league. And if you're a team like the New England Patriots that is so predicated on your offense

getting into gear when you run the ball effectively, that could be a problem. One of the big reasons why the run defense is so good, defensive lineman Aaron Donald. And he'll be in my sharp-eye crosshairs today. But before I start to sing the praises of Aaron, Los Angeles isn't just one-dimensional. They've got a good amount of players around him that can really help to facilitate the run defense. Sebastian Joseph Day is in the middle of that defensive line, and he's done a very good job of providing that mid-tackle protection, that nose-tackle role.

Joseph Day plays that very well. On the opposite side of Aaron Donald, you've got Michael Brockers, who incidentally, folks, that mid-tackle protection, that nose tackle role, Joseph Day plays that very well. On the opposite side of Aaron Donald, you've got Michael Brockers, who incidentally, folks, is on the LA Rams injury report, like we went over earlier. It'll be interesting to see if he suits up in this game. But for the sake of argument, let's assume he plays on Thursday. Those three up front, Sebastian Joseph Day, Michael Brockers, Aaron Donald, is as formidable as it gets, especially when you consider that the Rams play a 3-4 front. Those guys, when clicking on all cylinders, are a run-stopping

machine. The linebackers are also good in run coverage as well. Troy Reeder, Kenny Young, they're pretty effective on the inside. And this past Sunday, they put out a very strong showing. A great effort against the Cardinals' ground attack, limiting Kyler Murray to only 15 yards and the entire team to only 92. Now, I know the Patriots had a successful game against Arizona, but I caution you, do not be fooled. It does not make what the Rams did against the Arizona Cardinals any less impressive.

You hold that type of a ground attack to under 100 yards on the day, you know you're doing a great job. But as good as this run defense is, they can be had. And just a couple of weeks ago, the San Francisco 49ers may have laid some of the blueprint for being able to slow this team down. The key for the Patriots to do that on Thursday is for the offensive line to be physical and challenge up front, allow the Patriots running backs to get some success early in the game if they're not able to do so.

And this defensive line is able to make life difficult for Cam Newton and the rushing attack that the Patriots employ, could be a long day, because if the Patriots have to match air for air attack, unfortunately, I think they lose that battle. Because even though their run defense is the strongest part of this unit, LA is not exactly easy to pass against either. LA employs a very good secondary. Jalen Ramsey and Troy Hill at the corners. John Johnson and Jordan Fuller at the safety. They've been excellent all season. Teams have only averaged 198 yards per game against this unit. That's third in the NFL and they've only been able to muster up an average of 5.5 yards per pass play. That again folks tops in the league. Who's the common denominator? Once again, Aaron Donald.

The fact that the Rams' defense can generate heat on the passer without blitzing means that Aaron Donald is getting home. He's getting after the quarterback. As a team, Los Angeles has 36 sacks on the season. Donald has 11 of those himself. I also want to give credit to Leonard Floyd, who's having a nice bounce-back season. He has seven sacks on the season for the Rams. All in all, the team as a whole ranks fifth in the league in sacks per pass play with a success rate of 8.3%.

But make no mistake about it, folks. Aaron Donald is the straw that stirs the defensive drink in Los Angeles. He's going to be the key for them to be able to get home against the quarterback and also stuff the run. Yeah, folks, he's that good. He's the biggest key to their run defense. He's the biggest key to their pass defense. If the Patriots want to have any success against a defense that employs a guy like Aaron Donald in it, they have to avoid negative plays on first down. They have to remain balanced. If Cam's going to be forced to play from behind and he has to throw downfield into the secondary, then I don't see a happy Hollywood ending for your New England Patriots in this one, folks. I'm just keeping it honest. But if the Patriots can find a way to marginally disrupt Aaron Donald's rhythm, then

they have a shot to let Damian Harris really shine in this game. We know that Damian can use his legs to be able to move the ball, but if he can show some of that strength to move the chains like he did against the Chargers last Sunday, then I think the Patriots have a very good chance to be able to put up some points on this defense. But that's really going to be determined by whether or not they're able to keep Aaron Donald in check. That means the interior of the offensive line for the New England Patriots is going to have to have their best game of the year. That means huge contributions from David Andrews, Joe Tooney, and Shaq Mason.

And the person that knows that best is Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. And speaking to the media yesterday, of course, Belichick was effusive in his praise for Aaron Donald, saying, quote, he's very quick, he's very explosive, he's instinctive, he's just a good football player, recognizes things quickly, able to quickly take advantage of leverage opportunities that are created in line and can quickly get to them. Belichick went on to say that he'll wreck a game and there's no play that he's not a factor on. He's right in the middle of the defense. You can't really get away from him on any run or pass play. You've got to deal with him blocking on every play. He's definitely a major factor in the game. We'll have to do a good job on him, but that's the way it's done. And coincidentally, one of the teams that Donald has struggled against throughout his career is the New England Patriots, albeit

it's a small sample size, folks. He's only faced the Patriots twice in his career, once in Week 13 in 2016, and the other one I'm sure you remember, Super Bowl 53. All in all, Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels have done a solid job at limiting how much Aaron Donald impacts the game. In those games, he only totaled eight tackles and two quarterback hits credit a lot of that to amazing play in the Super Bowl by Joe Tooney who really helped to keep Aaron Donald in check that game and there's going to be a similar emphasis to limit him again on Thursday but Bill is a smart enough coach to know that you can't overcompensate you can't over commit to Donald if you do that you're freeing up a lot of other Rams defenders and then you got a whole new set of problems on

your hands Belichick was asked this yesterday and he Rams defenders, and then you've got a whole new set of problems on your hands. Belichick was asked this yesterday, and he responded in kind, saying, quote, You've got to be careful about letting Donald ruin the game. But at the same time, if you put so many guys on him, that creates problems in other places. So don't look for the Patriots to dedicate too many resources on trying to stop Aaron Donald tomorrow night. I look for Tooney to be the guy primarily that draws this coverage. Shaq Mason will really need to step up in this game. And of course, having David Andrews in the middle of that offensive line will provide the anchor the Patriots need to at least make

their best effort to marginally disrupt Aaron Donald. The rest of the line is going to need to keep their eyes out as well. Jermaine Illuminor and Michael Wainu at the tackle positions, maybe even Justin Heron getting some backup work. And let's not forget that the running backs, the tight ends, the wide receivers, they're going to have to throw blocks and chips in there as well. It's going to be a complete team effort to shut down the Rams defense. They are one of the best in the league for a reason. And even though I've been singing the praises of Aaron Donald for the last few minutes, it's not just about shutting him down.

It's about finding a balance to contain what is a very good defense in all three phases. Defensive front, the linebackers, and of course the secondary. As for what the Patriots might be able to do best against this defense, well I think you're going to see them take a few pages out of the playbook that they used on Sunday against the LA Chargers. Utilize the run early as much as you can on first and second down. Try to put the Rams on their heels. Damian Harris is going to have to run with a little bit of anger, a little purpose. And the good news for us Patriots fans is he's very capable of doing that. If Damian Harris and the running game control the tempo early, that allows Cam Newton to

be able to set, utilize play action, incorporate his own runs, his designed runs into this offense, but also to utilize guys like Sonny Michel, James White out of the backfield. If the Rams start to see that the Patriots are having success, it may make Aaron Donald or even Leonard Floyd a little overaggressive. If that happens, the Patriots can then start to utilize their pass catchers in the open field. That's when you'll see guys like Jacoby Myers, Dummy or Bird, maybe even Dante Moncrief. Don't sleep on my main man, the man that the NFL made a gunner today

by naming him AFC Special Teams Player of the Week. Congratulations to Gunnar Roschowski, but he can be a weapon in the open field as well. And don't throw things at your radio, folks, but Nikhil Harry may start to emerge as a legitimate red zone threat for this team. I'm not saying it's going to happen. There is still a lot that Nikhil needs to show to me that he's ready, but I can tell you he does have the talent. There is still a lot that Nikhil needs to show to me that he's ready, but I can tell you he does have the talent. If he can put it together, he could be a nice addition to this red zone offense. So offensively, it seems the key to this game is going to be neutralizing,

or at least marginally disrupting Aaron Donald. But what can the Patriots do on defense to stop the Rams' most potent weapon? Quarterback Jared Goff. Well, there is a blueprint to stopping Goff, and just as luck would have it, New England Patriots are one of the teams that helped to create that blueprint. How might Bill Belichick and his defensive coaching staff neutralize a young but very effective quarterback in Los Angeles? I'll give you my thoughts on Jared Goff when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues.

Locked On listeners, tomorrow is Crossover Thursday across all of the Locked On NFL network of podcasts. And here on Locked On Patriots, I'll be crossing over with my friend and colleague Sosa Kay, host of the Locked On Rams podcast. And we'll be breaking this one down from an LA Rams perspective and a New England Patriots perspective. Crossover Thursday is a great way to get a quick breakdown of every game for your fantasy team or even for your parlay. Crossover Thursday is only on the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

Patriots fans, welcome back to segment two of Take Two Wednesday here on the Locked On Patriots Podcast. And in the previous segment, I discussed Aaron Donald, his prowess in this LA defense, and what the Patriots might be able to do to keep him in check. But there's a flip side to that coin. The Patriots aren't just going to need to control the Rams defense, the Rams offense is more than capable of putting up significant points, even on very good defenses like that employed by your New England Patriots. For the past couple of weeks, the Pats defense has made very good quarterbacks look average,

mediocre at best. But keep in mind that the two quarterbacks that they faced, Kyler Murray in Arizona and Justin Herbert of the Chargers, are both very young and somewhat inexperienced. Murray is only in his second year in Arizona. Herbert is the Chargers rookie who, by and large, was expected to back up Tyrod Taylor this year. So the Patriots were able to confuse them with exotic looks, confuse them at the line of scrimmage, and allow the Patriots' defense to be able to set and play their game.

The problem is they may not have that type of luck with Jared Goff. He's a much more savvy veteran. And he's coming off of a week in which he played fairly well. He threw for 351 yards, scored two touchdowns, a season-high 78.7 completion percentage rate against the Arizona Cardinals. Now, you're probably listening to that stat line and saying, wow, the Patriots are really going to have their hands full with Jared Goff tomorrow night. I'm not going to lie to you.

There's a chance they might. Jared Goff is a much better quarterback than he gets national credit for. He's very accurate, and if he avoids bad decisions, he can pick a part of defense. And he's most effective in doing that when he more or less takes what the defense gives to him. That usually means short, easy passes underneath. This is where Jared Goff shines. And on Sunday against the Cardinals, this is pretty much exactly what he did most of

the time. But there is one thing he didn't do on Sunday all that much, and this is where the Patriots might be able to find the weakness in Jared's game. He didn't push the ball downfield all that much. He didn't do a great job of utilizing the field to make throws deep. In my preparations for this week's game, I took a look at some of the next-gen stats, and I took a look at Jarrett's passing chart, and that chart didn't exactly show a lot of deep shots down the field. Very few completions down the field of 20 yards or more, only one attempt at a pass that was 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. If you look at where Jared's game is at his strongest, it's within 10 yards

of the line. In fact, only three of his 37 completed passes were at least 10 yards down the field. He went three for six on those throws. Now granted, he was excellent in throws under 10 yards, 34 or 41, but that's not exactly a recipe of creating big plays, and if the Patriots want to challenge Jared Goff, they actually might be smart to challenge him over the top. And I know, some of you are probably saying that sounds weird, considering that the Rams have two of the NFL's best receivers after the catch in Robert Woods and Cooper Cupp. But the deeper you dive into these statistics, it actually bears out. Again, according to NextGenStats, on average, Jared Goff had 2.6 completed air yards with

an average intended air yards of 3.5. Both of those numbers are the lowest in the NFL in Week 13. Every other quarterback in the league averaged at least 5.2 intended air yards. That includes your very own Cam Newton. On top of that, Jared's throws weren't all that aggressive in Week 13. He only threw into tight windows at a rate of 4.3%. That was the lowest of any quarterback this week as well. So that shows that Jared Goff is content to take what the defense gives him. The short easy passes underneath are exactly what he's looking for, exactly what he does best, and things that he will want to do on Thursday night against the Patriots.

But I caution you, that comes with a caveat, because Jared Goff has proven that he can force the ball into tight windows. Even though he hardly did it on Sunday, that comes with a caveat, because Jared Goff has proven that he can force the ball into tight windows. Even though he hardly did it on Sunday, he did complete a really nice pass to Cooper Cup in tight coverage. Patrick Peterson was covering. And even though Peterson has great closing speed, he couldn't catch up to it. So conventional wisdom, like the one that I've laid out, would tell you, test Jared Goff, make him beat you over the top, try to make him throw the ball deep.

That does come with a pick-your-poison type mentality because he has proven he can do it. The one thing he hasn't done is do it on a consistent basis. That's why I think you're going to see the Patriots try this at least a few times on Thursday night. Bill Belichick and the Patriots' defense will start to show Jared Goff some looks that force him to throw the ball downfield into tight coverage. If he starts making those, the Patriots will adjust. They'll try to confuse Jarrett of the line of scrimmage. They'll do what they do best.

Chip his receiving targets. Get him out of his rhythm. Force him into making throws that he's not comfortable making. And try to force the Rams to beat you on the ground. That may not be as easy as it looks. The Rams are very good at running the ball. But as I said to open the pod today, rookie running back Cam Akers is banged up. He may not be able to go in this game. If he doesn't,

that puts a lot of pressure on Daryl Henderson. Now Malcolm Brown, who's their other running back, will definitely be in the mix as well, but Henderson last week really shined in a 38-yard touchdown run. If Akers is not able to go, I look for Henderson to play more of the feature back and Malcolm Brown to play more of a supporting role. If the Patriots can control Henderson, control Brown, and Akers if he's able to go on the ground, that will force Jared Goff to be able to try to beat the Patriots through the air. And unfortunately for the Rams, Goff hasn't proven to be overly reliable in that area. In fact, the three worst performances he's had this year have come against pretty good

pass defenses. Last I checked, Patriots are pretty good at shutting off the pass. Those three worst games that I've spoken of come against the San Francisco 49ers and the Miami Dolphins. Again, two teams with very good pass defenses. It definitely is noteworthy that one of those teams is the Dolphins because who is the Dolphins head coach? Former Patriots defensive coordinator Brian Flores. And when Flores was the Dolphins head coach? Former Patriots defensive coordinator Brian Flores. And when Flores was the de facto defensive coordinator of the Patriots, who were the Patriots' opponent in his final game? That's right, the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl 53.

If you don't think some of those secrets are still taped to the wall in Foxborough, I don't know what to tell you, folks. Bill Belichick definitely took notes. They know how to do their best to contain Jared Goff, and I think they're going to do just that tomorrow night. That means dialing up that budding three-headed monster we've been talking about all week long here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. Adam Butler, Josh Uche, Chase Winovich.

Butler providing coverage up front, and Winovich and Uche doing their best to get into coverage and get after the passer. John Simon and Dietrich Wise are going to have to be very active on the edges, trying to beat the offensive line of the Rams and make Jared Goff uncomfortable. Don't give him quick, short, easy looks. Utilize pressure to force him to throw into the Patriots' secondary downfield. If that's the case, you've got Stephon Gilmore. Hopefully, J.C. Jackson will be able to go in this one.

If not, Jason McCourty or maybe even Jawan Williams gets a shot downfield. Hopefully, Jonathan Jones goes into the slot, but if he can't go, Miles Bryant will get some snaps. And of course, don't discount the Patriots safeties, guys like Adrian Phillips, even Kyle Duggar who can get into coverage from time to time. And of course, as he proved last week, Devin McCourty still has a nose for the football. He'll be able to get after it, and the Patriots secondary can set, lay their coverages as assigned, and maybe, just maybe, they might be able to slow down the Rams' offensive attack enough to make this one a hotly contested game tomorrow night at SoFi. And I know I made it sound easy for the Patriots tomorrow night. All you have to do is marginally disrupt Aaron Donald. All you have to do is

neutralize Jared Goff. Neither of those are going to be an easy task for this New England Patriots team. And here tomorrow, to get you ready for game day, we will bring you Crossover Thursday, bright and early here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. My man Sosa Kay, host of the Locked On Rams podcast, will join me as we break this one down from a Pats perspective, a Ram's perspective, and of course, keep a sharp ear to the conclusion of tomorrow's show, where I will open up my game notebook and give you my game prediction.

So to ensure that you do not miss a single second of the action, subscribe to and follow the Locked on Patriots podcast on platforms such as Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts, just make sure that you're staying locked in to Locked On Patriots.

Once again, my name is Mike DeBate. I thank you all so much for listening today and for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Until tomorrow, Patriots Nation, stay safe, stay well, be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone.