Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Turnaround: New England Patriots Defense Looks to Recover Versus Ravens

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots face off in a pivotal week 16 matchup. It's now in prime time. You are locked on NFL crossover. Part of the Locked on podcast network. Your team every day. You are locked on Ravens and Locked on Patriots. into the show. I'm Kevin Ostriker of Locked-on Ravens. He is Nick Cattels of Locked-on Patriots and we're here with you on the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day and now

Starting point is 00:00:39 the number one sports podcast network. Appreciate everybody for tuning in making Lockedon Ravens and Lockedon Patriots a part of your day. And thank you so much to all the everydayers, the first-time listeners, if you're somewhere in the middle. Thank you as well, five days a week of Ravens content on Lockedon Ravens and Patriots content on Locked on Patriots. and we have a jam-packed episode talking about the biggest stories, key matchups. And of course, he's the victory on a crossover Thursday here and want to tell everyone and remind everyone today's cross-off Thursday, locked on Ravens and locked on Patriots is presented by prize picks.

Starting point is 00:01:12 Now, the prize picks at the day news code locked on NFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. Nick, Patriots coming off a tough loss to Buffalo in week 15. The Ravens, they got back on track with a big win against Cincinnati. What's the biggest storyline in New England right now for a team that won a handful of games in a row coming off their first loss in a while? Yeah, I mean, look, I think it's how this team will respond. That's the biggest question for me.

Starting point is 00:01:41 How do you respond after that terrible second half against Buffalo? That was their worst 30 minutes of football the entire season. It was very strange, Kevin, because the worst 30 minutes of football came after, I think, the best 30 minutes of football that they have played this year. So, you know, is their confidence shaken? Are they going to suffer a little bit of a hangover after what happened in the second half last weekend? Drake May, I thought, had his worst half of football maybe all season long. And I would say it was his worst half of football all season long, in my opinion, against Buffalo in that second half.

Starting point is 00:02:15 So how do these guys respond? Where are they mentally? You hadn't lost the game since week three. So it had been like 10 weeks since you lost the football game. So you haven't felt this way in a while. and you lost to Pittsburgh, you could look at that game and say, well, we turned the ball over five times. That's why we lost that game. So just overall, how does this team respond to just a bad, bad 30 minutes in all three phases?

Starting point is 00:02:41 And does Mike Vrable get these guys kind of in the right mental space, which he has all year long? Will he get them in that right mental space for Sunday night? And the Ravens kind of had the opposite thing where the Ravens and Bengals in the first quarter of that game in week 15, I mean, nobody wanted to take the momentum. It was drops running into interceptions and other drops and bad sacks taken. And then finally, the Ravens started to get under the Bengal skin and they were finally up 14 and nothing at halftime. Then I think they played their best half of football, at least one of them of the season in that second half against Cincinnati. We saw the pass rush consistently get to Joe Burrow.

Starting point is 00:03:17 The offense finally fighting their stride, especially in the run game. I mean, if the Ravens didn't kneel out the ball three times at the end of the game, it would have averaged 8.5 yards per carry. but the Bengals held the ball for twice as long as Baltimore and they still were able to win and shut out fashion and a lot of that had to do with defensively forcing Joe Burrow in the bad situations. Jamar Chase didn't play well. But coming off of two really tough AFC North losses in the previous two weeks, the Ravens had their backs up against the wall. And they understood that if they lost this game in week 15, their season would be all but over. But they played with intensity, with passion, stuff we really haven't seen Nick from this team consistently this season,

Starting point is 00:03:54 especially starting one in five. The losing, I think, started to infect them a little bit. They rattle off five straight wanes. And then, of course, like I mentioned, dropping to both Cincinnati and Pittsburgh to previous two, it's been a weird year here in Baltimore. And even so, they still have an opportunity. And both these teams have something to play for here. Obviously, with the Patriots lost, one seed still in play.

Starting point is 00:04:16 AFC East, obviously they still lead it. But you need to pick up wins here, especially with Buffalo Hot on your tail after that, that loss that you have there. So for Baltimore and New England, this game means a lot for both of them. And while New England, I mean, look, New England is going to be in a playoffs.

Starting point is 00:04:34 We know that already. But for Baltimore, if they lose this game, there are still paths for them, but their easiest path is when their next three games, and they're in regardless. So I think that we're going to see that intensity and passion from both teams. Yeah, it's a fascinating matchup because much like last weekend,

Starting point is 00:04:49 you got two teams in two different spots as far as where they are in their phase of building a team, right? I mean, John Harbaugh has been coaching for, it feels like 35 years in Baltimore. It's Mike Vrable's first season in New England as the head coach. You know, you got a young quarterback versus Lamar Jackson, who has been in the situation before, has gotten to the playoffs, as one in the playoffs, maybe not as much as Ravens fans wished or hoped that he would, but he has still, you know, gone there. He's been there. He's done that. He understands these types of games. And, you know, the Patriots, it was their first chance last weekend. Mike Vrable had said during the week, building up to the Buffalo game,

Starting point is 00:05:25 this is a championship week for us. This is our opportunity for the first time as a team to win a championship at essence by winning the AFC East. And they came out like they were shot out of a cannon, played really well in that first half, and then they just fell apart in the second half. So you've got a team in Baltimore, you know, a lot of veterans. And the Patriots have a lot of veterans because of free agency, because they had a lot of turnover on the roster. But don't get it twisted. I mean, this is a new team. They rely on a lot of young guys. They rely on a lot of their draft picks. In Baltimore, you know, you look at them, Kyle Hamilton's been there. Roquant Smith has been there. Obviously, you've got multiple

Starting point is 00:06:04 guys in the offensive line that have been there. Derek Henry is 45 years old and still trolling people in the second half last weekend, since then how he to start the third quarter. So they've got a bunch of dudes that have been there. And so it's just going to be very compelling to watch. Like, how do the Patriots come out? What do they look like? Do the young players, you know, are the lights a little bit too bright this time because they've had a Sunday night game this year. That's when they beat Buffalo and kind of put themselves on the map on the radar in the NFL this season. And it's just going to be compelling to watch that the veteran grizzled team in Baltimore who are fighting for their

Starting point is 00:06:38 playoff lives and the Patriots, I think they've got to keep it in the back of their heads that, you know, we still have something to play for. And let's not get fooled by the 99% playoff simulators and predictors. Let's try. to go out there and win a football game. Yeah, and the Ravens generally very good in prime time, especially at home. But this season, it has been a different story. And a lot of the Ravens fan base right now is saying, no, please, no more, no more getting embarrassed in prime time this season.

Starting point is 00:07:05 Obviously, Detroit embarrassed them Cincinnati. And that was the most recent one Cincinnati embarrassed them on Thanksgiving. But, you know, I think it takes just one week to find momentum. And the Ravens are so momentum-based. Like if something goes wrong, it feels like it affects us. some for like two or three quarters. If something goes right, it feels like they'll just ride that and just stomp the team that they're playing.

Starting point is 00:07:27 And I think we saw that in the Cincinnati game where Jamar Chase drops a wide open second and four and then, you know, Joe Burrow gets sacked, knocks the Bengals at a field goal range and the Ravens says, oh, okay, now we can go to work. And it changed the entire outcome of the game. So those plays, the Ravens live for those plays. And, you know, with a guy like Derek Henry who, you know, when he has 45, Nick, he might still be playing the way he's playing because he's, he's, he's, he's been that consistent, but Mike Rable talked about Derek Henry on Wednesday and obviously those

Starting point is 00:07:57 two have a connection to each other, but he said that he was very valuable to their success in Tennessee when Rable was over there. And so was Derek Henry. So they had a great relationship. And whenever the Titans needed to play, he made it. And the Ravens have had that with Derek this season. Now, the Ravens' offensive line, which I'm sure we're going to talk about moving forward. It's a big issue, but I know Nick the Patriots run defense on the surface. You look at the surface stats, they're not bad, but obviously I know that they're missing Milton Williams. That's been a big loss and the run defense hasn't been as good in recent weeks. Yeah, look, I'm sure we'll dive in a little bit deeper here as far as, you know, what that,

Starting point is 00:08:36 what that run defense has looked like recently. But the first nine weeks of the season, Kevin, we're talking about a run defense. That was the best run defense in football. And I know people look at the Patriots and they say, yeah, the schedule, the schedule, the schedule, they played some really good running backs during that nine weeks. stretch. They played James Cook and shut him down on Sunday night in Buffalo. They played Rico Dowdo and Chuba Hubbard with Carolina and played those guys very well. I don't have to go through every running back they faced. You get the point. They played some good running

Starting point is 00:09:04 backs during that stretch. And they just were unbelievable against the run. There's no doubt the Milton Williams absence has been significant. He was their second best player easily on this team before the injury. It was Drake May number one, Milton Williams number two. Milton Williams was the Drake May of the defense. Every single week, he had six or seven impact plays. And we're talking against the run and the past. I mean, he was that much of a difference maker. And the front seven just has not been the same with him out. And then you had Robert Spillane sit out last week. He was active for the game, Kevin, but he sat out. I mean, he just stood there and watched the game. Mike Vrable said it would have had to be an emergency for him to play against Buffalo. And the run defense,

Starting point is 00:09:48 Again, it was dealing with stuff before the Spillane injury, but then you have Jack Gibbons out there playing like 90 plays between defense and special teams, and he stunk out loud. So they've got to figure out their run defense this weekend. Yeah, 100%. And coming up, we'll dive a little bit more into the key matchups to watch here. So stay tuned. Plenty coming your way on Locked on Ravens and Locked on Patriots here on Crossover Thursday.

Starting point is 00:10:16 First, this episode is brought to you. by prize picks. The holiday season is one of the best times for sports, bowl games, big basketball matchups, playoff, playoffs, it's all happening at once. But while we're all making choices every day, one of the most fun places to make the right call is prize picks. Prize picks is the easiest way to get in on daily fantasy. Just pick more or less on at least two player projections, locking your lineup, and you're in the game. It's simple, fast, and available in 45 states, including California, Texas, Florida, in Georgia. Prize picks has added an extra layer of excitement of the holiday sports schedule.

Starting point is 00:10:48 line-up takes less than a minute, and the app makes the whole process smooth and intuitive. You can choose from a huge range of unique stats, fantasy score, field goals attempted, free throws, made turnovers, whatever fits your strategy. Now, the prize picks out today. News code locked on the field and get $50,000 lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. That's code locked on in the field to get $50,000 lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. Price picks, it's good to be right. Moving along here on crossover Thursday, locked on Ravens and Locked on Patriots, Kevin Ostriker and Nick Cattel's still here with you.

Starting point is 00:11:26 Thank you again for tuning in here, making Locked on Ravens and Locked on Patriots, a part of your day and your first listen each and every single day. And thank you for making Locked on the number one sports podcast network. You already live your team every day. Now take it up a level and go ad free. Join the every day or club today and get locked on Ravens or locked on Patriots or both with no interruptions. members only discord access and more all for just $5 a month or $50 a year and you can go into the description below we'll have that there for you and check the link in that show notes to learn more and thank you for making us first listen again each and every single day if you want to

Starting point is 00:12:00 have the all access version of that you get discord access as well as a one-on-one text access with Nick or I or both again you get all access episodes exclusive newsletter 15% discount to the locked on merch store so so many cool offerings with the every day or a club. Nick, let's get into some key matchups here for this Ravens and Patriots game. Is there one in particular? Maybe it's player versus player. Maybe it's, you know, defense versus offense in general. Where are you kind of looking to what intrigues you? Yeah, I'm looking just to continue what we were taught about right before you told everybody about prize picks and what they do some lovely work prize picks for sure. I look at the run games and I look at the interior defensive

Starting point is 00:12:43 line of the Patriots versus the Ravens Interior offensive line. And the reason why I'm looking at that, Kevin, is the second half, one of the biggest issues the Patriots had defensively was they let the run game get going for Buffalo. In Buffalo, they finally committed to the run game in the second half. It's like Joe Brady, I don't know if he took a whiff of smelling salts and woke up. It was like, wait a minute, we got James Cook and we can try to run against this defense because they've been bad the last three or four weeks against the run. But what happened was without Milton Williams, as we mentioned earlier,

Starting point is 00:13:13 you know, Christian Barmore has not had the type of impact you want him to have. He got off to a pretty darn good start this season. Without Milton Williams, he's getting doubled more. So Christian Barmore has not been playing with enough pop, not making enough impact plays. And then you look at guys like Corey Durden and Joshua Farmer, one of their draft picks this past April. You look at some of those guys, those backups on the interior, and they got pushed around against Buffalo. but Buffalo got them off the line of scrimmage, created some space, and then you had some bad run fits from the linebackers.

Starting point is 00:13:46 So, you know, the Patriots, they can't lose up front like they did in that second half against Buffalo last weekend. If they get pushed around, if their interior defensive line gets pushed around, Derek Henry is going to have a heck of a day, Keene Mitchell is going to have a heck of a day. Lamar Jackson might chew him up a little bit running with the football when he decides to. So they just cannot get pushed around and bullied on Sunday night. They've got to be able to deal with double teams.

Starting point is 00:14:11 They've got to be able to, you know, shed the blocks and make tackles. They have to be better up front and they've got to be better on that interior if they want to keep Baltimore from putting up 30, 34 points on Sunday night. Yeah, I'm really glad you mentioned that because going back to what I mentioned with the offensive line, I mean, the offensive line has been pretty abysmal for the Ravens this season, particularly at the guard spots where Daniel Falay-Lay and Andrew Borges have practically been there the entire season. They tried out a little rotation on Thanksgiving with their rookie

Starting point is 00:14:41 Emery Jones, who was just coming back from a shoulder injury, but those have been their guys, and they have not been consistent at all. And it's not just on them. It's not just on one first. And Daniel Follelae, the right guard has been kind of the poster child. And, you know, a lot of that criticism is warranted. But Roger Rosengarten has regressed in his second season. You know, Ronnie Stanley's been very up at points and very down at other points.

Starting point is 00:15:02 And it's all affecting Tyre Linderbaum, who is a heck of the center. but, you know, he doesn't have Marshall Yonda next to him anymore. Kevin Zitler, like, these are two inexperienced guys, and it does take a toll there. So what we saw against Cincinnati is the Ravens holding some of their tight ends back instead of going out on routes. They stayed back to give extra protection to Lamar Jackson. And those guys got bullied on some plays by some bigger Cincinnati edge rushers. But the point is, like, they need to do everything they can to keep Lamar Jackson upright in that pocket and able to go through his reads without feeling like he's, going to get just crunched by a guy every one and a half seconds in the pocket.

Starting point is 00:15:39 And that's impacting everything because with the run game too, like some of the run plays that Derek Henry has had this year, Derek Henry is a very specific runner where everybody looks at them and you think, oh, look at this huge mountain of a man, like this guy's a bruiser. He's like not a typical bruising back. Like he has a lot of speed to his game and, you know, he's a guy that's like a freight train literally. Like the more runway you give him, the harder he is to tackle because the faster he moves, the harder it is to tackle a man of his size when he's going that speed it's difficult so when he doesn't

Starting point is 00:16:09 have that runway and teams are identifying some of the run is run plays have been pretty predictable this year from todd munkin in this offense sometimes they go away completely from the run game when it's working it's just it's been very weird but part of it also has been in the red zone Baltimore and this to me is the the matchup of two it's an immovable object and an unstoppable force you have the second worst red zone offense in the NFL versus the worst red zone defense in the NFL by numbers with the Ravens and the Patriots. So something has to give here, Nick. One of these teams has to get rid of their red zone woes and get rid of those demons.

Starting point is 00:16:47 And I think that's going to be a key matchup with this one for me because, look, I think with both these offenses and their scoring potential, you can't kick fuel goals in this game and expect to win, especially when he get down in the red area when we know that both these offenses can be very explosive. So if Baltimore is not converting in the red zone, if Patriots can get rid of those red zone defense demons and hold them, or if it's the opposite way where the Patriots can't score in the red zone, which the Ravens have become a very good red zone defense over the last handful of weeks,

Starting point is 00:17:15 that could be the defining factor in the game. Yeah, I mean, look, the red zone defense has been just abominable for the Patriots. There's no lipstick to put on that pig. It's been that bad. And we're talking about going against teams that aren't very, very good in the red zone. It still hasn't mattered. It's like, hey, if you get inside the 20, baby, just put six up on the board. And last week, you're talking about a game where the Patriots, if you take away the kneel down at the end of the game by Buffalo, Buffalo was five

Starting point is 00:17:42 for five in the red zone. That's inexcusably terrible. I mean, there are no words. There are, I don't consider myself a wordsmith, so to speak, Kevin. But if I was a wordsmith, I would not be able to come up with the correct words to aptly describe how bad the red zone defense has been miscommunications, you know, have hurt them badly, just lack of execution has hurt them. The run defense declining certainly has not helped when they get into the red zone defensively over the past month or so. It's been a disaster. And part of that is, frankly, you look back at that Buffalo game last weekend, you know, the kickoff return coverage was brutal. And Buffalo had three big returns.

Starting point is 00:18:28 They had two returns that got them to short fields. They had two touchdown drives to end their first half and to begin the second half, 86 total yards for two touchdowns because all they had to do is drive 45 yards or less. If you're letting Josh Allen, you know, if you're letting him drive 45 yards to pay dirt, yeah, good night, right? And the same would be said for Lamar Jackson and Baltimore, even though you've had trouble in the red zone offensively. So the Patriots have to make sure that Baltimore does not get inside the 20-yard line.

Starting point is 00:19:02 The defense has been pretty good in between the 20s, right? It's just when they get into the red zone, it's been bad. How bad I'll just give you one more stat. The red zone defense, when teams get into the red zone against this Patriots defense, they score 75% of the time. 75%. That is shockingly awful. So keep them.

Starting point is 00:19:23 in between the 20s, and you might have a chance and not give up 40 points. I do think it's interesting. You mentioned the offensive line because, look, I watched the film against the Bengals. I thought the offensive line was pretty good. First half, not as much with the run game. I thought the second half, especially first couple of runs by Derek Henry, you popped a few big explosive runs there to start the second half. When you look metrically and analytically, it's actually pretty nice to the Ravens' offensive line,

Starting point is 00:19:52 especially in past protection. I mean, they got three guys that are ranked in the past block win rate from ESPN. Roger Rosengarten is ranked number one in past protection for tackle play. Ronnie Stanley is sixth and Tyler Linderbaum is third. So it's kind of interesting to hear, you know, I guess maybe it's just the inconsistency level of the offensive line because when you look at it analytically and watching that film against Cincinnati, I walk away and go, offensive line's pretty good.

Starting point is 00:20:19 But I'll take your word for it. You've watched every game. You know what you're talking about, Kevin. You are the lockdown expert for the Ravens. So maybe the offensive line isn't as good as I thought it was heading into Sunday night. No, it is the inconsistency is where it is, where one guy will have an incredible, like Rosengarten, for example, has been a lot better over these last couple of weeks, especially like against the Steelers.

Starting point is 00:20:40 He was incredible in past protection and, you know, even against that Cincinnati team, he was great there too. But then there are weeks where he just is horrendous. And then there are weeks where Ronnie Stanley's great. And then Ronnie Stanley is bad or Linderbaum is great. And sometimes it's they're great in pass protection, but they're terrible and run blocking or they're great and run blocking and they're terrible and pass. So it's just like they alternate. And it's not always on one guy where one guy like for Stanley, he's had like stretches where he's been incredible.

Starting point is 00:21:06 And then he'll have just one game of horrendous football. You can like tell every single play it's on the field. So analytically, I'm like it definitely paints a picture because I think that when you have those games, it's going to favor you and it'll put you up. those because, you know, that obviously takes into account the full season, but it's more just kind of like outside of the, the SINC game last week where I, again, like I do think they had probably one of their best, if not their best games of the season in that game, which again, great timing, if that's the case, because he can hopefully carry that momentum into these last three games for the Ravens. But, you know, also on that Sincy defense, I'm just like, man, they're

Starting point is 00:21:41 not going to face a defense, even though there's no Milton Williams. And, you know, I know with Harold Landry and his injury going on and what he's dealing with, like Patriot still. They're not as bad as Cincinnati's defense. Nobody is. So they're going to have to show it to me with the offensive line in these last three weeks is going to be a heck of a challenge. But I think that it always starts in the trenches for me, Nick, both offensively and defensively.

Starting point is 00:22:07 So whichever team wins there, I'm pretty sure. Even if it's a close game, those trench battles can put you over the top in a game where maybe it does come down to a late field goal or something along those lines. But coming up in the final part of the show, Nick and I will give out some keys to how the Ravens and the Patriots can each come out with a win. We don't like ties over here on Locked on Ravens. I don't know if you're a fan of ties, Nick, but I know I'm not over here. So we're going to talk about how these teams can win this game. Stay tuned.

Starting point is 00:22:34 Plenty coming up here on both Locked on Ravens and Locked on Patriots. Continuing on on crossover Thursday, Locked on Ravens and Locked on Patriots. Final striker are locked on Ravens, Knit Cattles, a locked on Patriots, wrapping up our show, but we still have some keys to victory to talk about for both of these teams. So, Nick, I'll start with you. What are three keys or keys you have to victory for New England and how they can get a win in Baltimore? This is probably low-hanging fruit, but it is what it is. Keep Lamar Jackson in the pocket.

Starting point is 00:23:10 And I know Lamar Jackson has not necessarily been the same guy, all the physical issues. I've watched them play a number of times because Baltimore is on TV an awful lot. in prime time, as you mentioned earlier, you know, he's got like 75 ailments he's dealing with. And I don't think anybody watching Lamar Jackson feels like he's Lamar Jackson right now, as far as, you know, his ceiling of play, his level of play. I thought he moved around pretty well last week against Cincinnati for what that's worth, but you've got to be able to keep him in the pocket. And, you know, the Patriots did a very good job, Kevin last weekend in the first half,

Starting point is 00:23:41 in the first half of maintaining, you know, discipline in keeping Josh Allen in the pocket, not allowing him to extend plays, not allowing him to roll to his right, not allowing him to hurt them with his legs, with some designed runs. Second half, it was completely different. Buffalo threw some designed runs at the Patriots. They struggle.

Starting point is 00:24:00 They struggle with some of the read-option stuff. And, you know, you look at one touchdown in particular, which was, again, I remind you how bad the red zone defense is. Third and goal from the 14-yard line in Buffalo scored, no big deal. Josh Allen just rolls out, extends, and Jack Gibbons, who I mentioned earlier, just loses coverage against a tight end. Touchdown.

Starting point is 00:24:22 Easy, right? So they've got to limit Lamar Jackson's movement. They've got to keep him in the pocket, which is obviously easier said than done. Secondly, I would also say offensively for the Patriots, they've got to find a way to get Stefan Diggs going against, I think, a pretty tough matchup with these Baltimore cornerbacks. You know, the last three games, Stefan Diggs has had a total of eight. catches in 72 yards and that's just not going to do it. I mean, he he has been crucial to the

Starting point is 00:24:51 operation for most of this season, third down, fourth down, some huge conversions. Drake May trusts Stefan Diggs in big spots. And Stefan Diggs just has not been the same guy. And if you look historically, his worst month of the season through his career is December. So are we starting to see that decline? He's also playing less snaps. I wonder if the Patriots will play him more on Sunday night to try to get him going. And finally, what I would say to you, my third key is third down. I said this going into the Buffalo game, but especially with this matchup after what happened against Buffalo, the Patriots third down defense needs to hold up after last week.

Starting point is 00:25:29 Buffalo was eight for 14 on third down. The Patriots have hung their hat all year long on being a good third down defense. It's part of the reason why they've kept pretty much every team until last weekend to 20 points or less. It's because of that third down defense. They get off the field. in Baltimore 24th on third down and offense. So can the Patriots get off the field? Can they limit Baltimore's explosivity on third down

Starting point is 00:25:55 and put them in third and long situations and just get off the field and give Drake May some time to operate? So those would be three of my keys. I got more, but those are three of my keys and I've talked long enough. No, well, I'm glad I think we're both in agreement on the red zone. That's going to be my first key here for Baltimore's offenses. You need to be able to score points.

Starting point is 00:26:14 We talked about it throughout the entire show. And you know, mentioning New England, 75% conversion rate against their defense. That was where Baltimore was last season on offense. They were the best red zone offense in a league last year. 74 right around their percentage conversion rate. They have dropped 30 percentage points this year to be the second worst. They're now 44% conversion rate in the red zone as an offensive unit.

Starting point is 00:26:37 And, you know, you mentioned that third and goal from the 14. I mean, the Ravens have had drives Nick where they'll be at the opposing. closing three yard line, have four shots at it and they don't get in the end zone. And sometimes it can be more difficult because the field shrinks in the red zone and you have less room to operate. But I mean, you have Lamar Jackson and Derek Henry on your football team. You should be able to punch that ball in a little bit more than you have. So again, I don't think field goals are going to cut it for either of these teams.

Starting point is 00:27:04 Secondly, for me, I think establishing your run game early because, you know, mentioning how the Patriots have struggled recently against the run, I think that can open up a lot of your offense because if you are running it, you know, eight yards a clip with Derek Henry, maybe five yards a clip with Keaton Mitchell, whatever those numbers are and you're picking up chunk gains on first and second down, naturally the Patriot is going to have to stack the box a little more. And that will open up the play action game because you see maybe an option play or a straight handoff. And those linebackers and safety is going to take that step up because they're worried about the run game and, oh, it's been beating us

Starting point is 00:27:39 all day. And so Lamar will pull that ball back and you can maybe have. Mark Andrews or an Isaiah likely, you know, creep over the linebackers. Nick Lamar can just throw that ball up over the heads of those guys and find those zones. So I think that the run game will open up a lot of what they do. And then finally, I think for the defense of Baltimore, it's forcing a turnover or two. And I know that for the Ravens, turnovers were really hard to come by over the first month or two of the season. Their defense was horrendous.

Starting point is 00:28:08 They picked it up after the by week. And while it's still inconsistent, I mean, the Ravens sack leader, right? at right now is Mike Green with three and a half through 15 weeks, which is not not wonderful. But having those splash plays on defense doesn't even have to be a turnover. It could just be a big sack on Drake May that, you know, pushes the Patriots out of field goal range or something along those lines. Like I mentioned, the Ravens very momentum based. So I feel like with those turnovers, obviously that helps any team out.

Starting point is 00:28:33 But it just feels like with Baltimore, I don't have the exact record of, you know, what they are when they force a turnover versus when they don't. But they might be undefeated when they force a turnover. might have lost every single game when they don't. It feels that much of a swing when it happens. So Drake May is an incredible player, but he also is somebody who was young and the Ravens generally have had success against rookie and second year quarterbacks because of the complexity of that defensive system, whether it was Don Martindale or Mike McDonald or now was Zach or sending simulated blitzes or simulated pressures and disguise stuff. So, you know, like we saw

Starting point is 00:29:08 in that, if you saw the Calvinoi play where he intercepted Joe Burrow and then hands it off to Lohie Gilman who runs at the sideline for the pick six. They were rushing DBs on that play and drop back Travis Jones, their defensive lineman and Vinoy into coverage. So they'll do a lot of crazy stuff like that with their guys to keep it unpredictable. So if you can get pressure on Drake May, force him to speed up that internal clock and maybe make a couple of tough decisions and say, oh, I have this guy open. But all of a sudden, hey, here comes Kyle Hamilton to make a play or something like that.

Starting point is 00:29:38 I think a splash player two on defense is going to go a long way for. this Ravens team, but should be a good one on Sunday night. Don't turn their TV on looking for the game at one. It was moved to Sunday night. It's not going to be there if you turn on your TV at one. So primetime football, Ravens and Patriots. It's always happy on Lockdown Ravens and Lockdown Patriots today. Thanks so much for tuning into the show.

Starting point is 00:30:00 Ornick Cattle is a Lockdown Patriots. I am Kevin Ostriker of Locked on Ravens. We'll be back here rounding out the week with our respective shows. So stay tuned. We'll see you right back here soon on Lockdown Ravens and Lockdown Patriots. Thank you. Thank you.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Turnaround: New England Patriots Defense Looks to Recover Versus Ravens

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.