Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Takeaway Tuesday and a Fond Farewell to 2019 - 12/31/19

Episode Date: December 31, 2019

As 2019 comes to a close, host Mike D’Abate addresses the latest from Foxboro , and opens the Locked On Patriots Mailbag for #TakeawayTuesday. Among the topics discussed are Bill Belichick’s coaching decisions, New England’s defensive adjustments for the Tennessee Titans and Tom Brady’s future in New England. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello to all you Foxborough faithful, and welcome to your Takeaway Tuesday Farewell to 2019 episode 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. 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. As the Counting Crows once said, it's been a long December, and there's reason to believe

that maybe this year will be better than the last. But in Foxborough, this past year hasn't been so bad. A championship victory in Super Bowl 53 isn't exactly a bad way to remember the outgoing year, because folks, it's Tuesday, December 31st, 2019, New Year's Eve, and we're saying a fond farewell to 2019 as well as a fond farewell to a decade, and what a decade it has been for your New England Patriots. Starts with 10 AFC East Division titles. Let that sink in for a minute.

The Patriots have been AFC East Division champions for the entire decade. Absolutely amazing. But it doesn't stop there. Five conference titles in the AFC and three Super Bowl championships to complete that pretty little six-pack of banners on the Gillette Stadium facade. As a fan base, what more can you ask for? But in New England, the past is gone, and we're on to 2020 and a Saturday night hot date with the Tennessee Titans.

8.15 p.m., January 4th, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts. Three seed versus six seed. The playoffs are here, folks, and your New England Patriots find themselves playing on wildcard weekend for the first time since 2009 and there were a lot of questions created by the Pats 27-24 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday and the team has problems to solve and time is running thin to solve them but the Patriots are not the only ones that have opinions on their play nor are they the only ones that have some questions about what this means for Saturday's matchup with the Titans. Isn't it amazing folks that we're talking about quote-unquote serious problems on a

team that finished the season 12-4 and is hosting a home playoff game? That really speaks volumes on the level of success that the Pats have enjoyed during the Kraft, Brady, and Belichick era. But all that aside, there is a task at hand, and that task is Saturday's game against the Titans. And rather than panic, some of you out there were kind enough to send in some of your thought-provoking questions to the Locked on Patriots mailbag. And as a result, today I bring to you the third installment of Takeaway Tuesday here

on Locked on Patriots, in which you submit questions to me, and I will do my best to answer them in a clear, concise, and most of all, an intelligent manner. I know, everyone, that's a pretty tall task, for me especially. But bear with me, I do have some great questions in the mailbag today, and I hope that you enjoy the show, and most of all, I hope that you take away some additional knowledge here on this New Year's Eve edition of Takeaway Tuesday. But first, let me address the news of the day, and that is turning the page. Just like that calendar will read a new year and a new decade on January 1st,

the Patriots are already on to a new day. Now, the loss to the Dolphins does mean that the Pats miss out on the first round bye, and that means they'll be hosting the Titans on Saturday night, in case you haven't heard. As you'd expect, the Patriots are going all in on preparation for this one. Spent a lot of time in film analysis. They're expected to hit the practice fields on Tuesday, most likely for a walkthrough. And at that time, it's likely that we'll hear more about the health of some players that have injury concerns. Guys like Julian Edelman, Jason McCourty, Jonathan Jones, even Tom Brady.

Their practice participation will be evaluated, and I'm sure we'll have more information as the week goes on. But if the Patriots can win that game, it'll actually be on to Kansas City in the divisional round. And many of us, including myself, believe that the Patriots would be hosting that divisional round game. But as fate would have it, they will not be. And if the Patriots do get by the Tennessee Titans on Saturday, it's on to Kansas City in a matchup with the Chiefs. And that's certainly not what the Patriots fans wanted.

I know the team would have loved to have had an extra week off to rest, but Kyle Van Nooy didn't waste any time in trying to put a positive spin on it. When he spoke to the media yesterday, he described this schedule as an opportunity for the Patriots to take, quote-unquote, a revenge tour. Vannoy was quoted as saying, What a better way to start off than with Tennessee, who we lost to last year. Got big motivation, end quote. And Vannoy's comments remain focused on the Tennessee Titans.

However, some prognostications were made, and if the Patriots do win twice, they would have to go through Kansas City and most likely Baltimore. Those are two teams that beat the Patriots earlier this year, so the whole revenge tour moniker could just be an interesting slogan coming up for the 2019 NFL playoffs. But as much fun as it is for the fans and the media to speculate on that, their focus is squarely on the Tennessee Titans. And that includes their coaching staff, even if one of their top men is highly coveted. And I'm talking about offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. There are four NFL coaching jobs available at the moment, and McDaniels' name has been linked to three of them. Those are the Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, and New York Giants. And even though they want to interview him, the Patriots have already begun preparations for the wildcard matchup on Saturday, so any interviews would

have to be scheduled next week. He wouldn't be allowed to interview this week. And when McDaniel spoke to the media on Monday, he reiterated that his entire focus is on the next thing directly in front of him, and in this case, it means the Titans. When asked directly about any potential links to these jobs, McDaniels responded by saying, quote, I'm 100% fully invested in getting ready for Tennessee and trying to put our best performance of the season out there on Saturday night. We have a lot of work to do. That's where my focus will be. That's where it's at now, and it'll stay there.

That's the best thing for our team. It's the best thing for me. We're one of 12 teams that have an opportunity to compete in the postseason, and that's the only way I'll ever do it. But folks, we've seen it time and time again. When it comes to the Patriots, the plot does have a tendency to thicken. And things took an interesting turn when the Miami Dolphins, remember them? Yeah, it's okay, I do too. They made a surprising move on Monday when they parted ways with offensive coordinator and former Patriots assistant Chad O'Shea. This is less than one year after O'Shea left New England to join Brian Flores in South Beach.

Now, Miami's decision to part ways with O'Shea does come at an interesting time. First, it's a bit surprising that after one of their best offensive outputs of the year, the offensive coordinator would get the ax. But what's even more interesting is that it comes within hours of McDaniels being linked to some potential head coaching jobs. If McDaniels does decide to leave the Patriots for a head coaching job elsewhere, O'Shea seems to be like an obvious candidate to replace him based on his history with the organization. Don't forget, O'Shea spent 10 years as the Patriots wide receivers coach.

Keep a sharp eye on this one, folks. This could get interesting, and I'll definitely do my due diligence to bring you the latest on this and any developments when it comes to the Patriots coaching staff. But it is Takeaway Tuesday here on Locked on Patriots, and in just a moment, I will answer your questions on your six-time Super Bowl champions as the New England Patriots enter the 2019 NFL playoffs and make yet another push for a Super Bowl championship. However, before I proceed with that, I don't need to remind you that it's New Year's Resolution time, and that means an increased focus on wellness.

Here on the Locked On Podcast Network, we talk about physical fitness a lot, but there's another side to the game that's just as important, and I'm talking about mental fitness. Calm, the number one app for sleep and meditation, has teamed up with NBA superstar LeBron James to help you train your mind. LeBron and Calm know that your mind is like any other muscle in your body, and Calm can help you train your brain so you sleep better, have less stress, and perform at your best. For athletes like LeBron James, our very own Tom Brady, and so many others, sleep is such an important part of their mental fitness routine. In fact, LeBron has even been quoted as saying getting good sleep and finding time to rest is one of the most valuable things he can do for his body and mind.

And if you head to Calm.com slash Locked On, you'll get 40% off a Calm premium membership. With Calm, you'll have access to nature scenes, sleep stories, meditations, and so much more. For a limited time, our listeners can join LeBron in using Calm with a 40% discount to an annual membership at Calm.com. That's C-A-L-M.com. Unlock the content that will help you focus, ease stress, and sleep better. Get started today at Calm.com. That's C-A-L-M.com. Here on this third installment of Takeaway Tuesday, I just wanted to take a moment before I start addressing these questions to thank each and every one of you that took the time to send one in. This was actually the largest group of questions that I've received since starting the Takeaway

Tuesday segment here on Locked On Patriots. I consider myself so fortunate to have such a knowledgeable and passionate listening base, and I really appreciate both your time and effort in helping to contribute to what I feel is going to be a diverse and interesting question and answer segment that I have for you today. So without further ado, let's get started here on Takeaway Tuesday. And the first question actually comes from Instagram, believe it or not. And this comes from BillM617 on Instagram. And his question is, why did Bill Belichick not take a timeout and go for points at the end of the half against the Dolphins? Well, Bill, you and

about 94% of Patriots Nation shares your curiosity. And I have to say, for the better part of Sunday night and even into Monday morning, I was one of them. I was surprised the Patriots didn't show more urgency in that minute, trying to get at least some points on the board and heading into the half with a little momentum. And then I stopped and thought about it for a little bit, and something my good friend Thomas Murphy, who was yesterday's guest here on Locked On Patriots, said kind of triggered some thoughts in my mind, and that was, it's hard to label something as idiotic or inexcusable when you're talking about a person with the resume of Bill Belichick.

Now, don't misunderstand here. I'm not saying that he's infallible or can never be questioned. Far from it. But so many people took to social media Sunday afternoon and Sunday evening saying that Belichick's decision had no basis in logic and that it was completely out of left field. That simply isn't the case. Bill Belichick does not make haphazard decisions that don't make any sense. You may not agree with him, they may not always work out, but there's always logic behind it. And to find that logic, I look to the wisdom and counsel of my friend and former guest here on Locked On Patriots, Dave Brown of the Concord Monitor, who put it so eloquently, I can't think

of a better way to explain it. The first point that Dave makes here is that the more timeouts you have, the more difficult you are to defend. That makes perfect sense. With a full arsenal of timeouts, the Patriots aren't forced to find the sidelines. Therefore, they can pass over the middle and then use a timeout if they're able to advance the ball. If you burn through timeouts too quickly, you have less of the field to work with. The second and most important point that Dave made here was that the Patriots did in fact try to advance the ball.

They chose to run the ball on first down, they lost two yards on a draw to Sonny Michel, and when that happened, the Patriots field position at their own 25 put themselves in a difficult predicament. If they used timeouts and continued to fail to advance the ball, Miami could have gotten the ball back with a chance to score. Just one week prior against the Buffalo Bills, the Patriots were in almost the exact same position. They left the Bills 33 seconds on the clock, and Josh Allen was able to find a touchdown pass and tie the game going into the half. And Dave concludes his argument with a supporting factor that some may say is a little bit of a stretch, but I think is very relevant, and that is against the Miami Dolphins in 2018,

they only needed 16 seconds to score a game-winning touchdown against the Pats. So all in all, Bill, to answer your question with a big assist from Dave on this one, Bill Belichick didn't like the early looks he was getting from the offense, chose to sit on the ball, and felt it was best to take his chances with the Patriots possessing the ball to open up the third quarter. And look, this one's going to continue to be second-guessed. However, if you're questioning whether or not it was solid clock management, it absolutely was.

Did it work out to their advantage? Absolutely not. And we may never know if it would have worked out if the Patriots had put pressure on to try to get points on the board. But in my opinion, this coaching decision was far from being the only reason why the Patriots lost the game on Sunday. There were plenty of slices of blame pie to be passed around. And while this might have angered you, me, and a lot of Patriots fans, Bill, hindsight being 20-20, when you take a look back at it,

probably wasn't as disastrous of a decision as some people are making it out to be. So again, thanks very much to Dave Brown for the assist here. And Bill, I hope that I was able to answer your question. It was a good one and a pressing one on the minds of a lot of Patriots fans. And Bill's question leads me very nicely into the next great question that I received. And this comes from Stephanie at SMARS319. And Stephanie would like to know how Bill Belichick adjusts to coaches who know how to read his plays, a.k.a. his former assistants.

Stephanie concludes her message, which was submitted via Twitter, by saying that he must be a very good teacher, meaning Belichick, as his former prodigies often do well against the Patriots. Stephanie, this is an excellent question, but it is one that's based a little bit more on perception rather than reality, and I'll explain what I mean by that. When coaching head-to-head against one of his former assistants, Bill Belichick is 15-11 in total. So the myth that he has this disastrous record against his former pupils is a bit far-fetched,

but it is undeniable that his former protégés have had success against him. Stephanie, the simplistic answer here is that familiarity within the system does give you insight and a slight edge. It's one thing to know the mannerisms of the coach, and believe me, Bill knows guys like Josh McDaniels, Brian Flores, Matt Patricia, and others better than anybody. But it's another thing to have knowledge of the personnel as well. These coaches have not only spent significant time with Bill Belichick, but they've spent significant time within the organization, particularly guys like Bill O'Brien, Matt Patricia, Brian Flores. They've had recent victories over Bill Belichick.

But not only do they know Belichick's strategy, they also know the body language and the mannerisms of Tom Brady, Julian Edelman, James White, and a lot of others. They've observed these guys in practice day after day, week after week, sometimes even year after year. They also know the defensive mannerisms of guys like Stephon Gilmore, Dante Hightower, and the key cogs in that defense. No one can deny that Bitt was a master strategist, and he can game plan and know what his opponent's thinking all he wants. But having the knowledge of the system and the mannerisms of the players within that system, it does provide an advantage. And in this case, it can provide an advantage to the protege. It's a pretty safe bet

to say that Flores, O'Brien, Patricia, they've coached more guys on the Patriots than Bill Belichick has probably coached on their individual new teams. It may sound simplistic, Stephanie, but in practice, I assure you it's not. And again, sometimes it's the knowledge that the former colleague can have of his players that can make all the difference. So once again, thank you for that great question. I hope I was able to provide some insight for you, and I appreciate you sending that in.

I wish you and Mike a very happy New Year, Stephanie, and I thank you for your continued support. The next question comes from my man Anthony Curtis, at AnthonyCurtis68, and Anthony expressed his curiosity, saying that the Patriots typically make great second half adjustments. However, even with Stephon Gilmore having all kinds of problems with Parker, they didn't change matchups or double him. Why?

Anthony, it's a great question, but I assure you the Patriots did make adjustments. A lot of people have looked at Sunday's game and said Stephon Gilmore had no answer to Devontae Parker. That really wasn't the case. Parker just did a better job of executing than Gilmore did. Early on, Gilmore was getting beat. It was clear that the Patriots needed to make adjustments. And Fitzpatrick's first big completion of Parker was perfect evidence of this.

Gilmore was expecting Fitzpatrick to get the ball out quick. That's what most quarterbacks do against New England's cover zero. However, Fitzpatrick was smart, and he pump-faked. That pump-fake got Gilmore to bite, and that freed up Parker down the sideline. Gilmore's actually had success with that for the better part of the season. That was just a very smart play by Fitzpatrick, and Gilmore just got beat on that one. Later in the first quarter, Parker collected a pretty big first down, and that was because Gilmore was allowing way too much separation.

He was already at a disadvantage on this play. If you take a look at the replay, he was playing inside leverage versus an outbreaking route, and you can't defend that giving up the type of separation that Gilmore was giving. So it was clear that the game planning and the strategy was not working. But to answer your question, Anthony, in the second half, the Patriots actually did make some adjustments. The problem was Miami just made better ones. To his credit, Gilmore started closing his routes better. That's something he did not do a very good job of in the first half. He was also playing a lot more over the top to protect against deep routes. But you have to credit Parker on this one. He just made big plays when he needed to. On most of the routes, Stephon

stuck with him stride for stride, but Parker high pointed, came back for the ball a lot of times. That made it difficult for Gilmore to defend. Gilmore also had a couple of false steps on some of the hitch routes that Miami ran in the fourth quarter, and that led to a lot of easier completions from Fitzpatrick to Devontae Parker. What a lot of people forget in this game is that the Patriots were shorthanded at cornerback. Jason McCourty was not active, and Jonathan Jones was really a shell of himself with a groin injury. So double teams weren't always an option for the New England Patriots on Sunday. I think they tried to do the best they could with what they had, but it was a lot to ask of a rookie in Juwan Williams and also JC Jackson to come over and help out when he had his own guys to cover as well.

So to sum up in that long answer to your question, Anthony, is I put more praise on Parker for having a good game as opposed to Stephon for having a bad game. But this was a subpar game for Gilmore in his own admission. After the game, he owned it. He knows that he's got adjustments to make. And mark my words, he will do so prior to Saturday's game against the Titans. But I thank you for asking a great question, and I always appreciate your support, my friend. Keep the great questions coming.

I'll try to answer them as best I can. In building off of that, our next question comes from Diane at LadyDog44 on Twitter. And Diane is one of the biggest supporters here of Locked On Patriots. And she's probably listening to this on her daily walk with her dog, Gracie. And Diane actually shared some of Anthony's concerns with regard to the Patriots defending against some of the team's most prolific weapons. And her question is regarding Derrick Henry, the running back of the Tennessee Titans. And she wanted to know, how do you think they're going to be able to handle Derrick Henry? He looks unstoppable.

Diane, that is a great question. And Derrick Henry is one of the best, if not the best back that the Patriots will have faced all season long. He does everything well as a runner. He's got great vision. For his size, he sees things very well. And he has very good quickness. He can get into space quickly.

He can make the right cuts. He's elusive in the open field, but he's also very strong and powerful. He can run through tackles, and he has the speed to make long runs. I know, it sounds like an insurmountable task for the Patriots to be able to defend him. Especially when you consider that Tenry has gone over 100 yards in 5 of his last 6 games, and he has 15 touchdowns on the season. But if you're looking for a silver lining, Diane, I'm going to give you one. The New England Patriots' run defense has been a little bit better in the second half of the season than the one that was getting gashed consistently early on in the second

and even third quarter of the regular season. Danny Shelton has been a consistent force at nose tackle pretty much all year long, but the emergence of Lawrence Guy at the guard position has been huge for this team. Guy has been a monster run stuffer. He's been consistently winning his battles with the offensive linemen, and because of the pressure the Patriots can generate up front with Shelton, Guy, and even Adam Butler on the opposite side at guard, that's allowed linebackers like Alandon Roberts and even pseudo-defensive ends like Chase Winovich and John Simon to help step up and stop the run. The Patriots' defensive front is going to have to chip Henry at the line of scrimmage, throw

him off of his route. That's the best bet to stop a power back like Henry, because if they allow him to get into his rhythm, it's going to be a long day for the Patriots run defense. But to effectively answer your question, Diane, this is going to be a very tough task for the Pats defense, but it can be done. They will game plan for it. Bill Belichick is very good at being able to take away your opponent's primary weapon, and in this case,

it's definitely Derrick Henry, but they're gonna have their hands full, and I believe whoever wins the battle between the Patriots' run defense and Derrick Henry could have the inside track at winning this ballgame on Saturday night. So again, Diane, thank you so much for your question. Hope you're feeling better, and I hope that you enjoyed your walk with Gracie. And our last question today on this New Year's Eve edition of Takeaway Tuesday comes from Zouken Redak at Red Red Sox. And Zouken asked a question that is on the mind of pretty much every member of Patriots Nation, and that is, will Tom Brady be back?

What coaches have the potential of leaving the Patriots? And what will this team look like next year? Well, Zukin, it's a great question. And my answer will be like the answer of anybody that would answer this question. Speculation. Now, some have answered this question with wild speculation, some with educated speculation. I'm going to try to answer it with level-headed speculation.

And that is to simply say, I don't know. The NFL is probably the most consistent in all of the four major sports in being year to year. That's what makes this run that the Patriots have been on since 2001 truly remarkable. The fact that they've remained in contention year after year after year, really for the last 20 seasons, is something that will never ever be seen again, not in the NFL, and probably not in any type of professional sport at all. To address your concerns on the coaching staff, there is a chance Josh McDaniels may leave for greener pastures.

It's awfully difficult to turn down an option to be a head coach in the NFL. Now, Josh has a record of 11-17 as a head coach. Not exactly a glowing record, but his record as an offensive genius and an offensive coordinator is really unblemished. Three teams have requested interviews with McDaniel, so it doesn't appear that everyone is shying away from him based on what happened with the Indianapolis job a couple of seasons ago. I think most teams, especially these three teams,

the Panthers, the Browns, and the Giants, are looking at that and saying, Josh probably was just a little bit concerned about being a fit with the Colts rather than leaving New England. I truly believe if the right situation comes along, Josh will be a head coach in this league, and he deserves to be. Will that be this year?

It's anybody's guess. It depends on whether or not these three teams, or maybe even another team out there if a job opens up, comes the intriguing position that he's been looking for all along. As for what the roster is going to look like, that's anybody's guess. The Patriots have a number of free agents. Devin McCourty, Kyle Van Noy, Jamie Collins, Those are just a few to mention that do have contracts coming up. And the Patriots have decisions to make on all of them. There's such key components in the success they've had this year and the success they've had in previous years. It'll be interesting to see how those

contracts are approached in the offseason. And don't worry, Zukan, I'm not going to leave you hanging. Your question about Tom Brady's likelihood of coming back to New England is probably one that's keeping most of Pat's nation up at night. If I'm being completely honest, this is the first year that I've ever had any doubt whether or not Tom Brady would be back under center taking snaps for the New England Patriots. The status of his contract and the adversity through which he's had to play this year make it a definite possibility that at the end of the year, this could be the time where the Patriots and Brady choose to amicably split. At 42 years of age, soon to be 43, it's always possible that Brady could consider

retirement. However, everything that he's saying publicly leads you to believe that he is gearing up to play again next season. Will that be with the Patriots? And a lot of people are giving a lot of speculation on this. However, the one question that I don't hear a whole lot of people asking is, well, if not New England, where? Where is the best fit for Tom Brady to succeed and win? Those are the two things that are most important to him. It's not really about

the money with Tom. It never has been. He's taken numerous pay cuts to make sure that his team remains relevant and remains competitive. So with at at best, a year or two remaining in his playing career, why would Brady all of a sudden make this about the money now? If he's truly unhappy in New England, then there definitely is a situation where all bets are off, and he may be willing to go elsewhere to prove that he can succeed. I don't think that's what's motivating Tom Brady here, folks. That's why, at the end of the day, I do not believe that he will leave New England. My gut reaction tells me that if he plays next year, it's going to be taking snaps under center for the New England Patriots. I can't see the Kraft family, and I even can't see Bill Belichick allowing Tom Brady to walk away knowing that he's still the best fit to lead this team to success, and I can't see Tom walking away knowing that his best chance of success and winning

still resides here in New England. Don't let the house going up for sale fool you. Don't let the best buddies thing fool you. I don't think these things are related. I truly believe that when Tom Brady decides for you by giving you my opinion, because right now, that's all I can give you, is just an opinion. The truth is, only Tom Brady and the New England Patriots know for sure what's going to happen next year with his contract status and how this team is going to look next year. That's why, folks, it's so important for you to enjoy this run. The Patriots are still in the playoffs. They have a big game coming up against the Titans on Saturday. The window's closing here in New England for success.

Do yourself a favor and don't bog yourself down with negative thoughts. Enjoy it and enjoy the game on Saturday. And I hope that you enjoyed today's New Year's Eve episode of Takeaway Tuesday. I especially want to thank Anthony, Bill, Stephanie, Zucan, and Diane for submitting some great questions for today's show. And before I put the cap on today's podcast and the 2019 calendar year in Locked On Patriots, I just wanted to thank each and every one of you for listening every day and making me a part of your Patriots coverage routine. 2019 brought me a lot of blessings, and one of my greatest blessings

is to be able to host this podcast, Locked On Patriots, on such a great and growing network like Locked On. It's truly been my honor and privilege to share this hosting chair with Mark Schofield, who had the reins early in 2019, and since August, I've had a lot of fun being the host of Locked On Patriots. I'm so humbled to be a part of your daily routine, and in 2020, folks, my best advice for a New Year's resolution is to follow your dreams. Three years ago, I did just that, and with some hard work, it's allowed me the good fortune of being able to cover a team I grew

up idolizing and have a part in covering two Super Bowl appearances and one Super Bowl championship in 2019. So always remember, folks, keep believing and always make sure to take care of yourself and those that you love around you. From the bottom of my heart, I wish each and every one of you a very happy, healthy New Year, and I wish you love around you. From the bottom of my heart, I wish each and every one of you a very happy, healthy new

year, and I wish you all the happiness and blessings that 2020 has to offer. As for me, I'll be back next year. Yeah, that's right, folks. I just could not resist. It will be Crossover Wednesday on New Year's Day here on the Locked On Podcast Network, and I will be joined by Tyler Rowland of Locked On Titans and we will break down Saturday's matchup, go into X's, O's, strategy, and anything and everything you could possibly want to know about this game.

As always, be sure to join me each and every day here on the Locked On Podcast Network and subscribe to Locked On Patriots via your preferred podcast provider. Once again, I'm Mike DeBate. I thank you so much for listening today and have a very happy new year, everyone.