The Boston Herald's Doug Kyed returns to preview the Patriots' sneaky big game at Dallas. Together, Andrew and Doug run down why the Pats' 2021 loss to the Cowboys should offer a strong preview for Sunday, Christian Gonzalez vs. CeeDee Lamb, how to help Mac Jones and defend Dak Prescott.
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SportsTranscript
00:00 understated, overlooked storyline about this game
00:03 is imagine what a win would be.
00:05 The Patriots go to two and two,
00:07 two weeks after you have people in the media
00:10 legitimately asking, is it time to panic?
00:12 Is the season over?
00:13 No, this would be a statement win for Mac Jones.
00:16 This would be potentially a comeback for Mac Jones
00:19 in a way that tells the Patriots,
00:20 we're here, we're sticking around,
00:21 and we're gonna give most teams hell
00:23 because they came close against the Eagles.
00:25 They came close against the Dolphins.
00:26 But you go on the road as six and a half point underdogs
00:29 and knock out the Dallas Cowboys in their building,
00:32 the rest of the league feels that in a way
00:33 that they have not felt anything
00:35 from the Patriots in three to four years.
00:37 - Patsy DeFerrence is brought to you by FanDuel,
00:39 the exclusive wedgering partner of the CLNS Media Network.
00:42 - Okay, so the Patriots are taking
00:46 their first long road trip of the season.
00:48 So we figured we would go on the road with the podcast
00:51 from my lovely studio at home to my road office
00:54 here at the stadium.
00:55 Doug Cotta, the Herald is back to preview
00:56 Patriots and Cowboys and Patsy DeFerrence,
00:58 as you know, brought to you by FanDuel,
01:00 the exclusive wedgering partner of the CLNS Media Network.
01:03 So, a lot going on this week.
01:05 We have press conferences coming right behind us.
01:07 They're practicing right now as we record Thursday.
01:10 Covered a lot yesterday between Mac and Zeke
01:13 and the defense and Lawrence Guy is like doing
01:15 a standup bit now for 10 minutes every Thursday
01:18 and we get to talk to him, which I'm really enjoying
01:19 because Lawrence Guy hadn't done a lot of standup with us
01:22 in years past.
01:24 So of all that, as we always start, spit it out.
01:27 What is this game for the Patriots about on Sunday?
01:29 - This is very, it's simplifying things very much,
01:32 but I look at this as the Patriots opportunity
01:35 to have a coaching mismatch in one area here.
01:39 Because I think this is Bill Belichick
01:41 against Mike McCarthy.
01:42 I think it's also Bill O'Brien against Dan Quinn.
01:45 Like if you boil everything down to its base parts,
01:48 I do think the Patriots have an advantage there
01:50 when you talk about Belichick versus McCarthy,
01:52 maybe not so much with Bill O'Brien and Dan Quinn.
01:55 So the Patriots are not more talented
01:58 than the Dallas Cowboys.
01:59 I think we can all agree on that.
02:01 But so this is a game where the Patriots have to win
02:04 the coaching matchup, especially on defense
02:06 against the Cowboys offense.
02:08 - I like this because it lets me reference work
02:10 that I did last week that turned out to be true.
02:12 Bill O'Brien, I thought had to be the difference
02:14 against the Jets, another team you could argue
02:16 was more talented than the Patriots,
02:18 but you look at the one touchdown,
02:19 they were able to get offensively.
02:21 And I think frankly, in my analysis,
02:23 underrated some of the weather part about this,
02:25 but it was the touchdown to Farrell Brown,
02:27 58 yards from 13 personnel.
02:29 They had set it up with seven straight runs,
02:31 all from under center, the eighth play from 13,
02:34 under center play action.
02:35 He's wide open, good job, Bill O'Brien.
02:37 I agree with you there.
02:38 And I don't even think like Mike McCarthy is this clown
02:41 that everyone happens to paint out on TV,
02:44 but it is really interesting.
02:46 Couple of things I do wanna hit before we dive in,
02:47 and we'll do when the Patriots have the ball,
02:49 when the Cowboys have the ball,
02:50 our three, two, one breakdown and make some game picks.
02:52 This episode unofficially brought to you by Diamant Dew,
02:54 because Doug and I don't have a problem,
02:58 just can't stay awake.
02:59 Mac Jones called a dirty player
03:03 a whole lot earlier this week.
03:05 I'm ready to stop talking about it,
03:07 but I feel like because of all of the,
03:09 I don't wanna call them allegations,
03:10 but video and nonsense that's happened since I last recorded,
03:13 just real quick, your final thought on this as well.
03:16 - I mean, I just think that Mac needs to cut it out,
03:18 because you don't see other quarterbacks
03:20 having multiple instances.
03:24 I know how to use that word.
03:26 - More too.
03:27 - Per incidents or instances of dirty play per year.
03:32 And that's essentially what we've seen now from Mac Jones.
03:36 And this was just the latest one.
03:38 And I think that to some degree,
03:40 he's kind of lucky that the video was like blocked
03:44 and hidden from exactly what went on there,
03:46 because it might've looked a little bit worse.
03:48 Or I guess maybe it would've looked better
03:49 if there wasn't an unblocked view there.
03:52 But I don't think that Sauce Gardner
03:54 is making up that that happened.
03:55 We now see enough video evidence
03:57 to see that something happened there.
03:59 And it just, it has to stop,
04:01 because he's already got this reputation.
04:03 Now it's gotten this much worse,
04:06 because there's another incident early this season.
04:08 So this basically now can't happen again
04:10 for the rest of his career.
04:11 - Yeah.
04:12 My take is one I'm going to copy and paste,
04:15 as I literally did from Devin McCordy,
04:17 who spoke on this Wednesday.
04:18 And I think his words should carry more weight,
04:20 frankly, than anyone, as someone who knows Mac,
04:22 played with Mac, and is now watching this,
04:24 as much as you can, be an objective observer
04:27 or an analyst from Sunday Night Football.
04:29 And this is what he said to WEI.
04:31 Quote, "We can't come back and say,
04:32 no, this isn't what I meant to do.
04:34 There are a lot of players that have played this game
04:35 and they're not involved in any of these things."
04:37 Continues, "I think for anybody,
04:39 you can't keep defending the same thing.
04:41 So I think Mac needs to do a better job of that.
04:43 I don't think he's a dirty player or a dirty person.
04:46 I think somewhere along the line in his competitive edge,
04:48 he's doing things that you really don't have to do
04:50 in a football field ever."
04:52 End quote.
04:53 Agreed. Okay.
04:55 - One more thing.
04:56 I also think that there's a difference
04:58 between Mac sliding and kicking his leg up,
05:01 or holding onto Brian Byrne's ankle after a play,
05:05 where that is a competitive edge.
05:06 He's like, he's doing it almost out of instinct, I think,
05:10 of like, this is what I have to do to prevent whatever.
05:12 This is different though.
05:13 Like a cup check is not a competitive edge.
05:16 So like, this to me seems almost worse
05:19 than some of the things that he does
05:20 that might be more dangerous,
05:22 because he also has to curb those.
05:23 But at least that's coming from a competitive place.
05:25 This doesn't seem to be.
05:26 - Yeah. I gotcha.
05:27 All right. Other storyline this week.
05:29 Zeke's returned to Dallas.
05:31 To me, we talked to him yesterday,
05:33 and here's another quote.
05:34 This is from Zeke.
05:35 "I keep saying it, it's just another week for me.
05:37 I'm not going to make it bigger than what it is.
05:39 I want to go out there and play Patriot football.
05:41 We want to go out there, get better, get a win.
05:43 Just a next stop on the 17 game journey."
05:45 Yeah, sure.
05:46 Totally just your next stop
05:47 after you spend seven years down there
05:49 with the most famous football team in the world,
05:51 making three Pro Bowls and an all pro team.
05:53 But let's say he's being genuine.
05:56 You know, this feels like going
05:58 to your partner's high school reunion
06:00 where you don't really know anyone.
06:01 The Patriots are kind of long for the ride.
06:03 They're going to see a lot of familiar faces,
06:04 but you don't really care.
06:05 You're there as a plus one.
06:07 Am I missing anything?
06:08 - No, I just think it's odd that,
06:11 like it's entirely possible that Zeke does not care.
06:13 He doesn't care at all.
06:15 He truly is just thinking of this as another week.
06:18 I have a hard time believing that though.
06:20 Don't you?
06:21 - Yeah.
06:22 - Like if I was to go back to,
06:25 like you said, like a high school reunion.
06:27 If I was like to step into my high school or like-
06:29 - Professor McCarthy's still bumbling around.
06:31 - Right.
06:32 Like if I was like, I was born in like Edmonds, Washington.
06:34 If I went back to Seattle,
06:36 it would be cool to go back to Seattle.
06:38 You know what I mean?
06:38 It's like, it's probably cool
06:39 for him to even just go back to Dallas.
06:41 So I guess what I don't fully understand is,
06:44 why isn't he just being kind of more open about it?
06:46 Because I cannot take this at face value.
06:48 I do not believe that this means nothing to him,
06:51 that this is just another week.
06:52 And I think it is just kind of more
06:53 of the Patriots weirdness where they don't want to make him
06:56 the center piece of the, but he's going to be anyway.
06:58 Like we all know that this game is Zeke's return to Dallas.
07:01 So I do just wish that there was maybe
07:03 a little more transparency here,
07:05 but people can handle things how they want.
07:07 And if he doesn't want to be the center of attention here,
07:09 then I guess it's fair for him.
07:10 - Yeah, I think he's had plenty of time
07:12 at the center of attention.
07:13 The guy who won the national championship in college,
07:15 top five pick coming out of Ohio State, plays in Dallas,
07:18 all those different things.
07:19 Now it comes to New England,
07:20 and like we have a large media presence here
07:22 representing an entire freaking region.
07:24 Dallas is probably bigger,
07:26 and if not the only beat in the league
07:27 that has just as much media attention.
07:29 He knows what he's doing at a podium.
07:30 It just struck me as like, oh, this is, okay.
07:33 All right, then if he doesn't care,
07:35 shouldn't be on the quotes that he gave.
07:37 Though he did speak with Dallas reporters this week
07:39 and said he expects some emotion.
07:42 So maybe there will be something more on Sunday.
07:45 Last thing, I like asking this of guys
07:47 at the end of press conferences
07:48 when we'll get one or two more questions,
07:50 and they're silenced.
07:51 Like, okay, let me jump in.
07:53 And I did this with Hunter Henry yesterday.
07:54 I said, what are we missing about Dallas's defense?
07:57 And sometimes it gets in with a really good answer.
07:59 Like Jonathan Jones, a couple of weeks ago,
08:01 what are we missing about the Dolphins?
08:02 He's like, two is underrated,
08:04 which was the first time they'd said anything nice
08:06 about two in four years.
08:08 What have we missed this week besides Mack, Zeke,
08:10 and all the stuff we're gonna get into very quickly here
08:13 with the actual game?
08:14 - This is a little bit,
08:15 this is not exactly like a big picture thing.
08:17 This is much smaller,
08:18 but the fact that Trevon Diggs is out of this game
08:20 and that quite honestly, like, it doesn't even really matter
08:23 because the Patriots passing attack.
08:25 Just like, if I'm Dallas's defense,
08:29 even without Trevon Diggs in there,
08:30 I'm still not afraid of this Patriots passing attack.
08:33 Like, until they can prove it,
08:35 until they can prove that they can like produce big plays,
08:37 that there is a scary receiver in there.
08:40 I don't know.
08:41 I just kind of think that you can throw out whoever,
08:42 like, I kind of think that
08:44 the replacement level defensive back
08:47 is going to do pretty well against this team right now.
08:49 And until they prove that otherwise,
08:51 that's how I look at this Patriots passing attack.
08:53 I think that it would probably help the Cowboys
08:55 if they had Trevon Diggs,
08:56 but I also don't know if you need an elite cornerback
08:58 out there to slow down this Patriots passing attack.
09:00 - So I just love that you call them replacement level corner
09:03 and the guy replacing Trevon Diggs,
09:05 his last name is Bland.
09:06 It's actually Duran Bland,
09:09 who's six foot coming from the nickel going outside.
09:11 No one's really heard of him.
09:13 And that seems to have a fairly standard kind of Bland game.
09:16 I think that's dismissive of Trevon Diggs
09:19 or the Patriots receivers,
09:20 but I don't think they've done enough to say,
09:23 okay, there's a mismatch against Mr. Bland necessarily.
09:25 The difference to me is Diggs is the same guy
09:27 that had a pick six that seemed to end their last game here
09:31 two years ago,
09:32 which when I reviewed the tape and some of my field notes
09:34 seemed really relevant in a couple of ways,
09:37 both offensively and defensively.
09:39 In other ways, obviously two years was a long time,
09:41 things change.
09:42 So the Cowboys, go ahead.
09:43 - He did also let up like the 75 years.
09:45 - Yes.
09:47 - So there was some give and take there with Trevon Diggs.
09:49 I just, I've already said what I've said.
09:51 So like whoever can say whatever they want
09:53 about what I said.
09:55 I think that it would matter much more
09:57 if Trevon Diggs was playing this game
09:59 if the Patriots had Justin Jefferson
10:02 or like that like top tier wide receiver
10:04 that you're like, we need to shut this guy down.
10:06 And the only one who can do it is Trevon Diggs.
10:09 And the Patriots just don't have that weapon
10:11 in their offense.
10:12 And I don't know, maybe it was dismissive to say
10:14 like the replacement level of quarterback
10:15 can shut them down,
10:16 but they don't have that one weapon
10:18 that you need that elite defender to take away
10:20 in this offense.
10:21 - So that is one of the reasons I think
10:24 the game two years ago is gonna be a really good preview
10:27 of what's to come here.
10:28 And I'll get to that in a second
10:28 because big picture is zooming out.
10:30 Let's look at the Cowboys.
10:31 They're two and one.
10:32 Their game so far have been a 40 to nothing win
10:34 at the Giants, a 30 to 10 drubbing of the Jets at home.
10:38 And then they lose 28 to 16 at Arizona,
10:40 which surely didn't screw with any kind of parlays
10:42 anywhere across the league, media or amongst my friends.
10:45 Offense will be for the Patriots when they have the ball.
10:47 They are 13th right now on offense, according to DVOA.
10:50 Dallas is third on defense.
10:53 Dallas is third on defense primarily
10:54 because they have the highest pressure rate in the league.
10:57 We talk about the Eagles.
10:58 Oh, best defense in front in the league.
11:00 Oh, the Dolphins are gonna get pressure on Mac.
11:02 Oh, Quentin Williams in the Jet.
11:03 No, no, no.
11:04 The scariest monster is now coming out of the closet
11:06 for Mac Jones in the form of Michael Parsons
11:09 in this Dallas defense.
11:10 Parsons has four sacks.
11:11 He is a game wrecker.
11:13 He, according to ESPN, has been doubled on 33% of his snaps
11:16 and is still hitting pressure 40% of the time.
11:19 So this is a defense beyond Parsons.
11:22 I think it's solid with Leighton Van Der Esch
11:23 in the middle hole.
11:24 I thought it could have been a Patriots fit
11:26 in their agency five times, never happened.
11:28 Stephon Gilmore at corner, the safeties are interchangeable
11:30 and Dan Quinn is playing.
11:31 So kind of a cover one, cover three structure
11:33 to the old Seattle system,
11:35 but the parts are a little more interchangeable.
11:36 Like he's modernized this.
11:38 The thing that I'm bouncing off of what you just mentioned
11:41 is that in the last meeting, Dan Quinn called cover one,
11:45 man to man across the board with one deep safety, 71%
11:50 of the time.
11:50 That is complete disrespect for the Patriots receivers then.
11:53 And I would not be surprised if that number,
11:57 it's hard to get higher than 71%,
11:59 but could be close on Sunday
12:01 because of the things you just mentioned.
12:02 - Yeah, no, I mean, obviously getting digs out there
12:04 could change their plan a little bit,
12:06 but no, I think that they can run many coverage
12:08 against this Patriots receiving core
12:10 because there isn't that guy who you're afraid of.
12:13 And I don't think that guy is necessarily even coming
12:16 if Tyquan Thornton comes back.
12:17 I think that he'll have to prove it.
12:18 I know he's got a little bit more speed,
12:19 but obviously- - And he'll need another week.
12:21 - Yeah, he will, yeah.
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14:36 - So last year, they had Trayvon Diggs,
14:40 and he had the interception.
14:41 Like I said, he also allowed the 75 yard.
14:43 - Never boring with Trayvon Diggs, yeah.
14:45 - But there was also, like,
14:48 Devante Casey was involved in that too.
14:50 It was like, looked like there was some miscommunication.
14:52 I won't purely blame Trayvon Diggs for that.
14:56 But also Randy Gregory had two sacks in that game.
14:59 He is not obviously on the Cowboys anymore,
15:01 but they didn't have Demarcus Lawrence in that game.
15:03 And Demarcus Lawrence is, I believe right now,
15:05 PFF's fifth highest graded edge defender.
15:09 One spot below, Micah Parsons.
15:11 So you've got a couple of those guys to worry about.
15:13 But for the most part,
15:15 there's a lot of pieces from that Cowboys team
15:17 still on the Cowboys.
15:18 There's a lot of pieces still on that Patriots team,
15:20 still on the Patriots.
15:21 So these are still pretty similar matchups
15:23 from what we saw back in 2021.
15:25 - And you talked about the coaching at the outset.
15:27 This is where I get into, okay,
15:28 the Patriots have had multiple offensive coordinators
15:30 since that game.
15:31 It was Josh McDaniels last year.
15:32 We all know what happened last year.
15:34 Bill O'Brien, I think is gonna look at this defense
15:36 and see what Josh McDaniels saw.
15:38 Because what Josh McDaniels saw was an opportunity
15:40 to play bully ball.
15:41 And in my notes, they ran with multiple tight ends
15:44 on 85% of their snaps
15:46 in those first three drives against Dallas and succeeded.
15:48 And when you look at the Dallas defense this year,
15:51 not only did you give up 222 yards on the ground
15:55 to the Arizona freaking Cardinals,
15:57 you're allowing 5.3 yards per carry on the season as a whole.
16:00 So the way that they've used multiple tight ends
16:02 and like, Gigasic, he's in there.
16:03 That's not really 12 personnel.
16:05 It's like 11 and a half.
16:06 But Farrell Brown has come through for them
16:09 not only as an inline tight end,
16:10 not only receiving against Jets, but as a fullback.
16:14 Like, again, we talked about percentages.
16:15 85 would be really high for three drives or longer,
16:19 but I think this is gonna be another bully ball opportunity
16:21 in their eyes.
16:22 - Yeah, no, absolutely.
16:24 And I'd say that the fullback snaps
16:26 that Farrell Brown has taken so far,
16:28 I don't know if he's got like the longest future fullback,
16:30 but no, he's been an effective player.
16:32 I think that this could actually wind up being
16:34 a pretty big Farrell Brown game.
16:36 And I'll get into that in a second
16:37 when we make our next point.
16:39 But I think it's helpful before we get into that,
16:43 that they had that big play to Farrell Brown too,
16:46 because now defenses at least have to be aware
16:48 that that's gonna be a possibility
16:49 from this Patriots offense.
16:50 That I know that everyone kind of knows
16:52 who Farrell Brown is anyway,
16:53 but like just showing that last week
16:56 has to put a little bit of fear in other teams' defenses
16:59 when Farrell Brown is in there,
17:00 just so that that doesn't happen again.
17:02 And that, like I said,
17:03 that that's at least even a possibility for this offense.
17:05 - What were the odds if I asked you a couple of weeks ago,
17:08 you said, "Doug, what are the chances
17:10 "you're gonna say this in two weeks
17:11 "that Farrell Brown is gonna put a little fear
17:13 "in the defenses?"
17:14 - Listen, I'm a Farrell Brown supporter.
17:17 He had like one game back in 2021 that I still remember.
17:19 So this is a big Farrell Brown guy.
17:22 - PH. - Yeah.
17:23 - All right, let's talk about Parsons,
17:24 because aside from Zeke going back
17:26 and Mac being a dirty player,
17:27 like most of the questions we've asked this week
17:29 are about Mike Parsons, and for good reason,
17:30 because in talking about low chances, if you ask me,
17:33 is Belichick ever going to compare anyone to Lawrence Taylor,
17:36 I would have said 0.0%.
17:39 He did that on Monday, and it was just athletically.
17:42 On WEI, saying the athletic gifts remind you of a Taylor,
17:45 which of course only ever means,
17:47 well, sometimes Swift nowadays, but Lawrence Taylor.
17:50 Belichick backed away from this on Wednesday,
17:52 and not in a way that like, he, you know,
17:54 dismissing what he said, he just said,
17:56 "They have different responsibilities in the defense.
17:57 "Okay, what about athletically?"
17:59 He just goes, you know, again,
18:00 they don't run a three-four defense,
18:02 so yeah, it's totally different.
18:03 - And then you said like, "I won't put anyone above Taylor."
18:05 - Right, not yet. - When I was like,
18:06 "Well, you're right, yeah."
18:08 - And that's the thing about Parsons,
18:09 is it's not only he's just an athletic freak,
18:11 it's at the production, 30 and a half sacks
18:14 through two plus seasons, seven forced fumbles,
18:16 two all-pro teams in two years,
18:18 and second in defensive player of the year voting,
18:21 in back-to-back years, we talked about, or I have,
18:23 you know, the Patriots against these pass rushers.
18:25 Go tempo, run at them, then run away from them.
18:28 Chip, slide, double, all these different things.
18:31 The Cowboys make that harder
18:33 because of the way they move Parsons around.
18:34 Sometimes he's over the center, he's on the edge,
18:36 he's coming through B-gap, stunting, looping around.
18:38 They lead the league in the rate of which they use stunts.
18:41 All of which is to say,
18:42 it's not as simple as double team Michael Parsons.
18:44 So what the hell do you do?
18:46 - I think you try to keep in that extra tight end
18:49 as much as you can, even if it means limiting yourself
18:52 from a passing perspective.
18:53 But I think that there's an issue here
18:55 with just the amount of moving parts
18:57 that we're still seeing on the Patriots offensive line,
18:59 because these guys have to be constantly communicating,
19:03 they have to be like gelling perfectly,
19:06 and yeah, that would be fine if it was still like 2016
19:09 and you've had, or 2018 and Joe Tooney's been around
19:13 and all these guys have been around
19:14 and Shaq Mason, David Andrews.
19:16 But right now, I mean, we were just out of practice.
19:18 Cole Strange looked very limited.
19:21 And if he doesn't play,
19:23 then that would mean either one of the two rookies,
19:25 Antonio Moffey or Sidney Sow playing that left guard spot.
19:29 You're probably gonna have Vardarian Lowe
19:31 still at right tackle right now.
19:32 He made his first career start last week.
19:36 Antonio Moffey and Sidney Sow
19:37 made their first career starts in week one.
19:39 Like, I don't know,
19:41 I think that that's just a real area of concern
19:44 for the Patriots.
19:45 At the same time, like, I feel like we've had
19:49 this conversation, this exact conversation for 10 years
19:53 of how are they gonna stop JJ Watt?
19:55 How are they gonna stop this guy?
19:56 How are they gonna stop that guy?
19:57 And they always figure out a way to do it.
19:59 I think that this is a little bit different though,
20:01 because you do also have Demarcus Lawrence
20:03 on the other side that you have to worry about.
20:05 And you can't completely take away Michael Parsons
20:07 and then ignore Lawrence and be like,
20:09 "Hey, Vardarian Lowe, go take care of Demarcus Lawrence."
20:10 And it's a complete disaster.
20:13 So I don't know, I do see some areas of concern here
20:17 just based on the inexperience and the moving pieces
20:20 and everything that's going on
20:21 and continues to go on with that Patriots offensive line.
20:24 - Yeah, I think they look at this almost as in,
20:27 success is gonna have a different definition,
20:29 pass blocking, than it does most weeks.
20:31 Like, he's probably going to get his act.
20:33 That sack just cannot be a strip sack if you're Matt Jones.
20:36 And that sack cannot happen immediately.
20:38 In the larger picture of this too,
20:40 is we talk about all the different ways
20:41 to handle these guys.
20:42 The one constant that I think can work,
20:45 and it plays off of the point I made earlier
20:47 about bulking up, playing through multiple tight ends,
20:49 maybe multiple backs, depending on where Pharaoh Brown is,
20:52 this all-star Pharaoh Brown,
20:53 is just run the damn ball at them.
20:56 Like, Michael Parsons wants to get into the backfield.
20:58 Okay, let him.
21:00 Run some trap, run some wham, run away from him,
21:03 bootleg back the opposite way.
21:04 He'll get his, but whatever that is,
21:06 just try to minimize it.
21:07 Like the old, oh, we can't stop him,
21:08 we have to contain him.
21:09 And the flip side, of course, defensively,
21:11 is just like, again, keep that sack to four yards,
21:14 you know, two TFLs versus just trying to say,
21:15 we'll stop him, 'cause like you said, it's impossible.
21:18 On the flip side of that is, you know,
21:20 the fourth most common question this week has been,
21:22 how the hell are you gonna get explosive plays?
21:24 And Bill O'Brien has said,
21:25 they need to get the deep passing game going.
21:27 Belichick again.
21:27 Belichick has been the master conversation setter,
21:30 table setter this week in his WEI interview,
21:33 and he's completely right.
21:34 I mean, this is one of the least explosive offenses
21:37 in the league.
21:38 We're only three games in,
21:39 Mack has completed two or three passes
21:40 longer than 20 yards downfield.
21:42 Do you think this is a week, where I mentioned before,
21:44 the Cowboys play a lot of single high,
21:46 that you could take some shots
21:47 and get some explosive plays down the field?
21:49 - I mean, the simple answer is no,
21:51 just because like, until I see it,
21:54 I don't believe it's gonna happen.
21:55 And I think back to the conversation that we had
21:57 after the joint practice against the Packers,
21:59 I know that I've like,
22:00 I probably brought this up too much at this point,
22:02 but like, we finally saw Mack hit on a deep pass
22:04 to Devontae Parker.
22:05 And we were like,
22:06 the thing that we looked at that optimistically as like,
22:08 hey, they can finally do this.
22:09 They've shown that they can do this.
22:11 Let's see if they can keep doing it moving forward.
22:13 But I go back to before then,
22:14 when they were having trouble all summer,
22:16 hitting on chunk plays.
22:18 And obviously the Patriots defense is good,
22:21 but it was also just, you know,
22:23 overthrows by Mack, under throws,
22:26 lack of like some miscommunication
22:29 between Mack and his receivers.
22:31 And I think that we've just kind of seen that continue now
22:34 into the season as well.
22:35 And I'm just not convinced
22:38 that they've got the player to do it,
22:40 unless Devontae Parker can go up there
22:42 and catch a contested ball under Daron Bland or whoever,
22:45 because like these deep shots to Kendrick Bourne,
22:48 just feel like a waste of a play.
22:50 - Yeah, they are.
22:50 - Juju Smith-Schuster clearly doesn't have the speed
22:54 at this point to be making those plays.
22:56 I think that only, you know,
22:57 there's only been one deep shot to Juju Smith-Schuster.
23:01 And then, you know, they have a,
23:03 I don't know if it was considered a deep ball,
23:05 but the throw that was intercepted
23:07 from Mack Jones to Devontae Parker,
23:08 that was like kind of a contested catch.
23:10 Like when that's not even working,
23:12 like the one against Zavion Howard,
23:14 it's just bad news overall.
23:16 So it's also damning, I think,
23:19 that one of the few explosive plays that they've had,
23:23 I think it wasn't a throw over 20 yards,
23:24 but it was still one of their explosive plays,
23:26 was to Farrow Brown.
23:27 Like it was just like, it was them going-
23:30 - Wait, now we're all over the map on Farrow Brown being-
23:31 - Well, I mean, I'm so like, they're in 13 personnel,
23:35 like it's play action.
23:37 They had essentially just fooled the Jets
23:39 in a thing they were going to run the ball
23:41 out of that formation the entire time.
23:43 Soss Gardner and Jordan Whitehead bite on the play action.
23:47 Farrow Brown gets behind them.
23:48 Like Farrow Brown's not getting behind defenses
23:50 on a weekly basis here.
23:52 I think he ran like a four eight or something like that.
23:54 So I just, I'm not convinced unless they come up
23:57 with another very creative way to scheme this up,
24:00 that they will be able to consistently hit
24:02 on deep throws this season.
24:04 And I mean, Max completing what,
24:06 like 20% of deep throws, if that, this year.
24:09 He's only got 50 yards on deep throws,
24:11 despite the fact that he's got the most deep attempts
24:14 out of the entire NFL so far this season.
24:16 Like they're trying these plays,
24:18 but they are consistently not hitting on them.
24:20 - And I think the big reason for that,
24:23 obviously, is personnel.
24:24 And you lay that out.
24:24 Like Juju Smith-Schuster is not the same player
24:26 we even saw eight months ago.
24:28 Devontae Parker missed the opener
24:30 and then only has eight catches for 76 yards.
24:32 Comebacks, deep outs, like missed down the field.
24:34 And Kendrick Bourne, added 15 pounds this summer.
24:37 Like that's not going to help you get faster down the field.
24:40 That's never been his game.
24:41 It's been yards after the catch.
24:42 And that's where I think-
24:43 - Demar'o Douglas is five eight.
24:44 - Right, yes.
24:45 Demar'o Douglas is five eight running slot fades
24:47 and getting hit in the face mask
24:48 and everyone sees it except for the one person who needed to.
24:51 But moving on from that,
24:53 I think it gets back to,
24:55 they do need to scheme some explosive plays
24:57 because the players just aren't here.
24:58 And that falls again on Bill O'Brien,
25:00 not just against Dan Quinn,
25:01 but Bill O'Brien the rest of the freaking year.
25:03 And I think it starts with more play action.
25:05 They were at 20% against the Jets.
25:07 That number can and I think should go up.
25:09 It'll depend on the game script.
25:11 But I think getting those yards after the catch
25:13 will have to be Demar'o Douglas,
25:14 a little bit more Kendrick Bourne.
25:15 Like we need to look at this as an explosive play issue,
25:17 not a downfield passing
25:19 because downfield passing probably is not going to be great.
25:22 I think it'll get better
25:23 when you're not playing from behind
25:24 and against too high Fangio style defenses.
25:26 But that's the key is to lean on,
25:28 to utilize players in the way that they're best positioned.
25:32 And that's going to be yards after catch.
25:34 And that means Bill O'Brien
25:35 getting him in those kinds of positions.
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26:46 - One other thing about Dallas
26:48 is they've only allowed 11 explosive plays
26:49 according to Arjun Menon,
26:51 who used to work analytics for the Jets.
26:53 And that's fewer than the Patriots.
26:56 So like this is a defense that so far
26:58 has not given up those big plays.
26:59 And if they do, they're on the ground.
27:01 Last thing from the Jets game
27:02 will go when the Cowboys have the ball
27:03 and the Patriots are on defense.
27:05 I've written a ton about Mac being under pressure,
27:07 being much better under pressure.
27:08 It's a small sample thing.
27:09 It's a noisy stat,
27:11 but that was an improvement as was running the ball.
27:14 How much do those two matter?
27:15 Because in my mind,
27:16 they could be the two biggest factors in this game
27:18 as far as when the Patriots have the ball.
27:20 - Yeah, I mean, Mac just needs to continue
27:21 to play very well under pressure,
27:23 which he's done so far.
27:24 And the Cowboys have the NFL's worst success rate
27:27 against the run so far this season.
27:29 I think it's at 50%,
27:30 which is very high success rate
27:33 for an offense against a defense.
27:35 The Patriots, I think are at like 33%.
27:38 Patriots offense is also around 33%.
27:40 So that kind of gives you a sense
27:41 of what that 50% metric means.
27:43 Cowboys clearly are not gonna want Zeke
27:45 to beat them on Sunday.
27:47 So I think that this is potentially a get right game
27:50 for Romandre Stevenson.
27:52 I don't think that there's any one specific reason
27:54 why Romandre Stevenson has struggled
27:55 beyond his offensive line.
27:57 He's still the same player that they had last year.
27:59 He hasn't gotten significantly worse
28:01 over the last 12 months or so.
28:03 - He did not gain 15 pounds this summer.
28:04 - Right, yeah, if anything, I think he lost some pounds.
28:08 So no, I think that this could wind up
28:10 being an important game for Romandre Stevenson,
28:12 but the Patriots also can't get out to an early deficit.
28:16 That means like if they can,
28:18 if they're going to have success on the run,
28:19 they have to do it early.
28:21 And I thought Zeke was kind of interesting yesterday
28:23 when he was saying that one of the reasons
28:25 why the Patriots have struggled to run the ball
28:27 is that they haven't been able to wear down defenses.
28:30 And like, yeah, maybe that's true.
28:31 Maybe you can run the ball a little bit better
28:33 at the end of games when defenses are worn out,
28:35 but like you can't wait until the end of the game
28:37 to start running the ball.
28:39 You have to get out to an early lead
28:40 and then like not have the opposing defense
28:44 just know that you're gonna be passing the ball
28:46 on every down.
28:46 - Right, which they could have worn down the Jets,
28:49 at least theoretically.
28:50 And then they go from 4.6 yards per carry
28:52 on first downs for the game
28:54 down to literally cutting that in half
28:56 over the last three drives
28:57 when you needed to lean on that defense and wear it out.
28:59 It didn't happen.
29:00 One note on Stevenson, this number will vary
29:02 between where you're looking either pro football focus
29:05 or pro football reference,
29:06 but yards after contact is the one reason I would go.
29:09 He's not the same player.
29:10 And he gave voice to this
29:12 when pro football reference says he's averaging
29:14 0.2 yards after contact this year.
29:17 Pro football focus has that at 1.8.
29:19 Either way, it's not good enough.
29:20 And he said that this week saying,
29:21 I think I need to get back to breaking more tackles
29:24 and forcing guys to miss a little bit more often.
29:27 So that's something that might just rectify itself
29:29 on its own because you're right.
29:30 They didn't run block the first two weeks.
29:32 They did run block against the Jets
29:33 and Mondrey just wasn't making guys miss
29:35 in the way he hasn't.
29:36 Sometimes it happens
29:37 when you've only played three football games in a season.
29:40 Okay, Dallas with the ball.
29:42 Cowboys are only 15 on offense according to DVOA.
29:44 Patriots are 13th on defense.
29:46 It's a big jump.
29:47 Thank you, Zach Wilson from last week.
29:49 Again, looking back to two years ago,
29:51 'cause I think this is gonna be a really good barometer
29:53 or preview of what we see coming Sunday.
29:56 Patriots played a ton of cover too.
29:58 This was a Dak, you need to be patient kind of game.
30:00 We're not giving you these big chunk plays,
30:02 but that didn't work 'cause Dak was patient.
30:05 Cowboys of course, 135 to 29,
30:07 and they played 89 snaps on offense,
30:09 which meant Judah and Duggar and Jalen Mills
30:11 was playing cornerback then,
30:13 all set individual career highs in snaps.
30:15 And that pass rush for the Patriots
30:17 went from a 35% pressure rate in the first half.
30:20 Very good, excellent.
30:21 To less than half of that after halftime
30:24 between the second half and overtime.
30:26 So they contain the running game,
30:28 they made Dak play patient.
30:30 I don't think you can afford to have the same game plan
30:32 here against Dallas on Sunday.
30:34 - No, I also think that, you know,
30:36 Kellen Moore's gone,
30:37 he was the offensive coordinator at the time.
30:39 I just, I don't envision a scenario
30:41 where the Cowboys throw the ball 51 times in this game,
30:43 just based on what we've seen from them
30:45 over the first three weeks of the season.
30:46 So if anything, might be a good thing for the Patriots,
30:50 just because Dak is a good quarterback.
30:53 They have three really good wide receivers
30:54 in CD Lamb, Brandon Cooks, and Michael Gallup.
30:58 So I think that that's one of the main things
31:00 that's essentially just not going to apply in this game.
31:02 I think that we will see a lot more
31:03 of them running the football.
31:05 I think the Tony Pollard's gonna be heavily involved.
31:07 And essentially, I was really impressed
31:10 with the way the Patriots were able to defend the run
31:12 last week against Brees Hall and Delvin Cook.
31:15 Might be a little bit more difficult
31:17 with some of the injuries on the defensive line.
31:18 We'll see if Devon Godshaw's good to play in this game.
31:21 If he's not, they don't really have another nose tackle body
31:24 on their defense.
31:25 But at the same time,
31:26 Patriots really did defend the run well
31:28 throughout that entire game,
31:30 even after Devon Godshaw and Daniel Equalley left the game.
31:33 So-
31:34 - Well, let's stop there for a second,
31:35 because you were at practice, you've seen him both days.
31:37 He is still on the roster in a way
31:40 that a Daniel Equalley is not, being an injured reserve.
31:42 And they have an open roster spot.
31:44 - Yes.
31:45 - They have not chosen to fill that
31:46 by at least Thursday afternoon here
31:48 and through two practices.
31:49 To me, that would be an indicator
31:50 if he's probably gonna be good to go,
31:52 because otherwise you get somewhere in here
31:53 and they could still promote Jeremiah Farms
31:55 from the practice spot.
31:56 I think Farms is a ways away from playing.
31:58 But to me, at least the signs seem, at this point in time,
32:01 pretty good that Godshaw could play.
32:02 - I would agree with that,
32:03 because the guy that they signed was Manny Jones,
32:07 who's like 6'4", 290.
32:09 - To the practice squad.
32:09 - To the practice squad.
32:10 He's like more of the Daniel Equalley body type.
32:15 And even Farms, I think Farms is only 300 pounds
32:18 or something.
32:19 I do think that if they didn't think
32:20 that they were gonna have Godshaw for this week
32:22 or even longer than this week,
32:24 then maybe you do bring back a Carl Davis
32:26 or some other nose tackle body into this defense.
32:30 So yeah, I do think that's a good sign,
32:31 but we'll just have to wait and see,
32:32 because they really don't give us a lot of time
32:34 out there at practice.
32:35 But today we did get a little bit more time
32:37 and that's why we got a better sense
32:39 of where Cole Strange is heading in this game.
32:40 - Yeah.
32:41 Speaking of offensive linemen,
32:42 Dallas has a help wanted sign
32:44 outside of their offensive line room,
32:46 because they were down three starters last week
32:48 against the Cardinals.
32:49 That showed up in a big way against the Cardinals defense.
32:51 Not loaded with talent, but looked like it,
32:53 at least for one game,
32:54 in the way they were able to get after Dak
32:56 and kind of contain the Cowboys run game.
32:58 Because Tony Pollard leads the league in touches.
33:00 He's only averaging 4.3 yards per carry.
33:02 And that's because you were missing left tackle,
33:04 Tyron Smith, you were missing your center,
33:06 Tyler Biotish, and then your right guard,
33:08 Dak Martin, who's going to go to the Hall of Fame,
33:10 probably with Tyron Smith.
33:12 Today, Thursday, Smith was expected to miss practice.
33:17 They all missed yesterday.
33:19 And Martin and Biotish were limited.
33:21 So who knows what that means for Sunday,
33:23 but there's a good possibility they're missing
33:25 at least one or two starters come kickoff.
33:28 I see this as a way because of how good
33:30 the Patriots pass rush has been.
33:32 Pressure rates north of 40
33:33 in two of their first three games
33:35 could really swing this in a way that,
33:37 we talk about the Patriots minimizing sacks of Mac Jones.
33:40 This could go from a sack of Dak Prescott to a strip sack,
33:43 the way that Judon and Uche and Keon White,
33:45 especially, have been able to get on the field
33:47 and get after quarterbacks.
33:48 - Yeah, and last year,
33:49 Dak Prescott led the league with 15 interceptions.
33:52 Seven of those came under pressure.
33:54 So there is ways to force Dak Prescott
33:56 to make some mistakes in there
33:57 if you do get some pressure on him,
33:59 even if you're not sacking him.
34:00 I'm curious to see exactly how the Patriots handle
34:04 Daniel Kuale's absence in a full game.
34:07 Curious to see if this means maybe some more
34:10 passing pass rush opportunities
34:12 for Christian Barmore or Keon White.
34:15 - Just give them to Keon White.
34:16 Like I'm ready for 99 on the field at all times.
34:19 - So I also think that Christian Barmore
34:21 still has some untapped potential in there
34:22 as well as a pass rush in the middle of the defense.
34:24 So I don't know,
34:25 I think that you still have the pieces in place
34:27 on this defense to rush the passer,
34:29 even with the quality if he's out for the season.
34:32 Matthew Judon already has four sacks in three games.
34:35 Two of the, one of those was completely unblocked.
34:38 Another one came after Zach Wilson
34:39 just like decided to sit on the grass.
34:41 - He sacked himself.
34:42 - Yeah, he just decided to sit down.
34:43 - He's like a kid who gave up in right field
34:44 at a baseball game.
34:45 - Yeah, he took his ball to the right.
34:46 - He put me in right field, I know what that means, yeah.
34:49 - Matthew Judon's a fantastic player,
34:51 but he's had a lot of sacks over his Patriots career
34:54 that like have come a lot easier
34:56 than maybe some other guys who've gotten sacks.
34:57 - He's been playing with a four leaf clover up his ass
35:00 constantly.
35:00 Now he's a great player.
35:01 - Yeah, exactly.
35:02 - And we're gonna actually talk to him soon.
35:03 I don't think I'll say that to his face,
35:06 but he would agree.
35:07 You know, some sacks you walk into,
35:08 but that's a function of like--
35:09 - He's brought it up before too.
35:10 - Zach Wilson, you know, feeling that pressure,
35:13 anticipating, and it's because you made him feel it
35:15 in, you know, in a real way before he took a seat.
35:18 - Yeah, and I think that even if, you know,
35:20 Tyron Smith and Zach Martin and Tyler Biotis,
35:23 even if those guys play,
35:24 the fact that they are dealing with injuries
35:25 means that maybe you can get a little bit more pressure
35:28 against this Dallas Cowboys offensive line
35:30 than you usually could,
35:31 because they're historically year after year after year,
35:34 one of the best lines in the NFL.
35:35 - It'll be interesting too,
35:36 I think from a personnel standpoint
35:38 to see Dallas wants to run the ball.
35:39 Like Lawrence Guy telling us this morning,
35:41 I've seen articles and interviews,
35:43 which means Bill Belichick is bringing them up
35:45 in their squad meetings to start every day
35:46 and saying, this is who they are,
35:48 giving away their identity if we want to run the ball.
35:51 How much do they want to do that through bigger personnel
35:53 with multiple tight ends?
35:54 Jake Ferguson, Luke Schoonmaker,
35:56 third round pick in Michigan,
35:57 or do they want to spread out in 11
35:59 and then go after the Patriots
36:01 when they're a little bit lighter defensively?
36:03 Because if they do bulk up, the Patriots are like, great,
36:05 we just ran a full, a real three-four defense
36:08 against the Jets and Keon White and Anthony Jennings
36:11 and Sam Roberts were out there
36:12 and we just bottled up the Jets in a way
36:14 that probably won't happen with the Cowboys.
36:17 But in the backend,
36:18 inevitably they're going to get to third down
36:20 and we're going to look at Christian Gonzalez and go,
36:22 is he following CD Lamb,
36:23 who went off for nine catches, 149 yards
36:26 and two touchdowns two years ago against the Patriots
36:29 in the way that he did against Tyreek Hill
36:31 and Garrett Wilson to a degree.
36:32 I think it's been overstated.
36:33 Like this was not a Stephon Gilmore one for one.
36:35 Do you like that matchup?
36:36 Is that what you would want to see is him shadowing?
36:38 - I mean, it is what I want to see,
36:40 if only just because I think that he's the best cornerback
36:44 on this team by a significant margin,
36:46 at least like against a bigger receiver like that.
36:49 The big question that I have there
36:51 is that CD Lamb plays a lot of his snaps in the slot.
36:54 Like typically Brandon Cooks and Michael Gallup
36:56 are their outside wide receivers
36:57 and CD Lamb is in the slot.
36:58 Christian Gonzalez has only played 17 snaps in the slot
37:01 so far this season, 164 outside,
37:04 then like a smattering in other places or whatever.
37:06 So I'm curious to see exactly how the Patriots handle this
37:10 because if Jonathan Jones plays,
37:13 then you'd probably see Myles Bryant in the slot.
37:16 I guess even if Jonathan Jones doesn't play
37:19 in three receiver sets, Myles Bryant's gonna be in the slot.
37:21 So I don't know if you want Myles Bryant against CD Lamb,
37:25 you'd have to have a lot of help.
37:27 - Let's ask the folks at home,
37:28 how do you feel about Myles Bryant on CD Lamb?
37:30 - But I do think that like the best matchup
37:32 would probably be like, see how Christian Gonzalez does,
37:36 even if it's in the slot against CD Lamb.
37:38 Then you've got Jonathan Jones,
37:39 if he's healthy on Brandon Cooks,
37:41 and then you've got Myles Bryant on Michael Gallup.
37:43 I know that that's not an ideal matchup
37:45 because Gallup's a little bit bigger.
37:46 He's kind of a big play guy,
37:48 but that's the way that I would probably
37:50 have this all shake out.
37:51 And if they have to adjust, then they have to adjust
37:54 just because Christian Gonzalez is a little bit more
37:57 inexperienced in the slot.
37:58 But yeah, he's gone up against the best guys.
38:01 Like you said, it hasn't been a one-for-one
38:03 Stephon Gilmore type thing,
38:04 but he's had enough success
38:06 that I wanna see him against Lamb.
38:08 - I wanna see it for my own personal entertainment.
38:10 I'll start there.
38:11 I will just be completely honest.
38:12 I wanna see as much Christian Gonzalez
38:14 put to the test against the best receivers in the NFL
38:16 to find out who he is.
38:17 And also this is just a lot of fun.
38:20 The thing for me though, is as much as C.D. Lamb
38:22 leads the Cowboys and catches a 19,
38:24 Tony Pollard's behind him with 12,
38:26 and all the other receivers have fewer than half of 19,
38:28 good receivers, Michael Gallup and Brandon Cooks,
38:31 I'm probably playing sides
38:32 because I think no reporting behind this.
38:34 Jonathan Jones is probably ready to come back.
38:37 And he's a guy that I would trust
38:38 from a speed and quickness standpoint
38:40 against C.D. Lamb and against Brandon Cooks.
38:43 And the body type that he has and Gonzalez does
38:46 is he could handle all three of them,
38:48 I would think well enough,
38:50 but Michael Gallup will have a significant size advantage
38:54 over Jonathan Jones or Miles Bryant.
38:56 So I think playing sides,
38:57 the Cowboys will then get to pick their matchups,
39:00 but maybe you double then in the slot
39:02 as the Patriots have before.
39:03 And I always think of this game
39:04 against the Bengals last year.
39:06 Here's Jamar Chase, there's T. Higgins,
39:08 Bengals get in the red zone.
39:10 They're not doubling either of them.
39:11 They're doubling Tyler Boyd because he's in the slot.
39:13 And if you don't have Gonzalez follow,
39:16 C.D. Lamb and you have Miles Bryant,
39:18 there's that same double that Tyler Boyd got,
39:20 that Tyler Boyd double inside the red zone.
39:22 And you still feel good about the outside.
39:24 I think though, ultimately, key situations,
39:27 like we saw against the Jets,
39:28 that's when you'll see Christian Gonzalez go,
39:30 "Okay, I'm gonna get the guy
39:31 that Dak really wants in that C.D. Lamb."
39:33 All right, last thing,
39:35 you notice this about Belichick's five minute
39:38 on the dot opening statement on the Cowboys.
39:40 It ends with, "That's it, that's Dallas.
39:42 There you have it."
39:43 It's just a great finishing.
39:44 - Just a full everything on Dallas.
39:47 - A good dismount.
39:48 He spent fewer than 10 seconds, if that, on Dak.
39:53 - He didn't mention him.
39:54 - He didn't mention him at all.
39:55 - He literally did not mention Dak Prescott.
39:57 He talked about 21 different individuals on the Cowboys
40:02 from Jerry and Steven Jones down to Bones,
40:05 who's John Fossil, their special teams coordinator.
40:09 He talked about CJ Goodwin, who's a special teamer.
40:11 Talked about Kevontae Turpin, who's their returner.
40:13 - Best returner in the league,
40:14 supposedly. - Did not mention
40:17 Dak Prescott at all.
40:19 I can only think this is an oversight,
40:23 even though it seems a little strange to be like,
40:24 "All right, let's go top to bottom
40:26 and forget the quarterback."
40:28 But he also referred to Tua as the quarterback
40:31 before the Patriots took on the Dolphins in week two.
40:34 So I don't know if this is some sort of like,
40:37 "All right, I'm not even gonna like
40:39 talk about the quarterback."
40:41 But he did mention Zach Wilson.
40:43 He said he's very athletic heading into week three.
40:45 - And that was it. - And that was it.
40:47 Week one, he like really hooked up Jaylen Hurts
40:50 in week one.
40:51 Maybe we made too big of a deal about that.
40:53 And now like, maybe like the Patriots quarterbacks
40:56 got sensitive about it.
40:57 But I don't know.
40:58 - And I just wanna pump the brakes
40:59 because I'm sure there are folks listening
41:01 or watching this being like, "Classic Boston media,
41:04 stirring negativity, overanalyzing."
41:06 We're laughing, we're enjoying this.
41:08 Like it's humorous that Belichick would go for five minutes
41:12 about the most famous football team in the entire world
41:15 and not mention the most famous player on that team
41:18 playing quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.
41:20 I know Belichick has a lot of respect for Dak Prescott.
41:23 And he might even say it tomorrow
41:24 in his morning press conference.
41:26 Like, and I brought up four years ago
41:27 when they played them at home in 2019.
41:30 You know, Dak is Dak, Zeke is Zeke.
41:31 Like, "Hey, they're really good.
41:33 I don't need to go on about this."
41:34 He just happened to go on about everything else.
41:36 It's just, it is interesting though.
41:39 Like he knows what Dak can do.
41:41 He did it here, 35 points,
41:42 almost doubled up the Patriots two years ago
41:44 in yards and first downs.
41:46 And he's a really, really smart processor.
41:49 I just, it was funny.
41:51 Like he just didn't mention him once
41:53 and I thought he at least gave him a couple seconds
41:55 and you're saying none.
41:56 - No, he did not mention the quarterback.
41:58 He did not make check, Dak Prescott at all.
42:00 It'd be funny if he had mentioned like Trey Lance
42:02 or something.
42:03 Cooper Rush, one of the best backups in the NFL.
42:07 Trey Lance, gotta worry about him as the third QB.
42:09 No, but he didn't do that.
42:10 - Yeah, Dak is Dak.
42:12 - Anything we missed before we go to three, two, one?
42:14 - No, I don't think so.
42:15 - Oh, good job by us.
42:17 Three, two, one, three keys.
42:19 The guess always comes with two.
42:21 I'll give you mine off the top.
42:22 It actually involved Belichick.
42:24 And this is related to last week.
42:27 This is related to two years ago against Cowboys.
42:29 Belichick needs to be more aggressive managing this game.
42:33 It starts with the fact you're six and a half point
42:34 underdogs on the road.
42:36 It extends to the fact that you just tried to let the air
42:39 out of the ball against the Jets
42:40 when you had a 10 point lead.
42:41 I get it was raining, yada, yada,
42:43 but the inability to stretch that lead
42:45 almost cost you a victory.
42:47 Okay, you were a couple inches away from Randall Cobb
42:49 catching your third loss in a no win three start.
42:52 It didn't happen.
42:53 Not gonna linger on that.
42:54 But two years ago against Cowboys,
42:56 Belichick kneels the clock out
42:58 with a minute 30 going into halftime.
42:59 Booze rained down from Gillette Stadium.
43:01 In overtime, so that minute 30 going into halftime
43:06 kneels out the clock.
43:07 In overtime, fourth and three,
43:09 opts to punt the ball away.
43:10 Okay, Dak goes down as he did the previous five drives
43:13 and scores and knocks you out and wins the game.
43:16 He needs to be more aggressive here.
43:18 It might be fourth down.
43:19 It might be clock management.
43:20 It might be a trick play or something on special teams,
43:23 but he's gotta give them an edge.
43:24 The way that we talked about Bill O'Brien
43:26 should against Dan Quinn,
43:27 because you need all the edges you can get
43:29 against a talented roster and a big team on the road.
43:33 - Yeah, my two keys are a little bit more basic.
43:36 First of all, I know that I don't actually think
43:39 this is going to happen, but like,
43:41 if for the Patriots to win,
43:43 they do need to hit on explosive plays.
43:45 And some of that is what you're saying,
43:46 where they have to be a little bit more aggressive
43:48 as a game manager, maybe like,
43:50 I'm not saying to call deep shots to Kendrick Bourne,
43:52 like eight times a game, certainly.
43:54 But I do think that whatever it is,
43:57 whether it is getting to Mario Douglas in space,
43:59 whether it is getting Juju Smith-Huster in space,
44:01 because that's one of the reasons why they wanted
44:03 to sign him over to Kobe Myers,
44:05 is they thought he could be a better player
44:07 with a ball in his hands after the catch.
44:09 And we have not seen that.
44:10 He's averaging six yards per catch right now, I think.
44:12 He's got like 10 catches for 66 yards.
44:15 So whatever it is, whether it is deep shots,
44:18 whether it is, you know,
44:19 getting the ball in space to your playmakers,
44:21 they have to be getting some more chunk plays.
44:23 And then I think his defense just needs
44:25 to force more turnovers as well.
44:27 And I think they've got the potential to do it.
44:29 We just haven't really seen it that much so far.
44:32 We saw Christian Gonzalez get the interception.
44:34 We saw Jabril Peppers force the fumble against Jalen Hurts.
44:37 But then like, it's also been blocking a field goal,
44:40 which is similar to a turnover, but not really.
44:43 The safety last week, similar to a turnover, but not really.
44:46 I just, I think that there's the potential
44:48 to force mistakes out of Dak Prescott.
44:50 Lots of teams did it last year, as I mentioned.
44:52 Led the league in interceptions last year.
44:54 I think this has to be a game where you come out
44:56 of this game with two or three turnovers,
44:58 whether that is picking off Dak Prescott,
44:59 whether it is forcing fumbles against Tommy Pollard.
45:02 You just need to get the ball back in the offense's hands
45:05 with good field position in this game.
45:06 - Okay, three keys, two matchups.
45:08 What are you looking for from a matchup standpoint?
45:10 - I mentioned it earlier, but Demarcus Lawrence
45:12 against whoever's playing right tackle for the Patriots.
45:15 And it seems like that's probably going to be
45:17 Vardarian Lowe again this week.
45:19 It was Calvin Anderson the first two weeks.
45:21 He really struggled coming off
45:23 the non-football illness list.
45:24 They put in Vardarian Lowe last week.
45:26 He allowed what, like six pressures
45:27 or something like that against the Jets.
45:30 And you could see something similar this week
45:32 with him going up against Demarcus Lawrence
45:34 or Michael Parsons, whoever it is
45:36 that's gonna be on the edge there.
45:38 But Demarcus Lawrence plays almost all of his snaps
45:41 on the defensive left, which would be going up
45:43 against Vardarian Lowe there at right tackle.
45:45 And I mean, you can only give him so much help
45:48 when you're also dealing with Michael Parsons.
45:50 So it's not one that he's probably gonna win,
45:53 but he at least has to like slow down Demarcus Lawrence.
45:56 - Right, Duran Bland.
45:58 We started with this earlier.
45:59 The very average replacement level corner
46:01 moving outside from nickel back to the Patriots.
46:04 I don't care if it's Kendrick Moore.
46:05 I don't care if it's Devante Parker.
46:06 The Patriots need to make him pay
46:08 for being out there in a spot that the Cowboys,
46:10 at least to start the season, didn't want him to be.
46:13 Because of course you would pick Stephon Gilmore
46:14 and Trayvon Diggs over most corners.
46:16 Diggs is gone.
46:17 You need to take advantage of that
46:18 because I think Jordan Lewis,
46:19 the replacement in the slot, is a decent nickel option.
46:24 But Demario Douglas, unless he's gonna play the entire game,
46:26 isn't gonna get enough cracks at him, I think,
46:28 to exploit that matchup.
46:29 Devante Parker playing virtually all the snaps, should.
46:32 Kendrick Bourne playing virtually all the snaps, should.
46:35 And they need to come up big
46:36 because you'll get a catch here and there against Gilmore.
46:39 But the receivers that give Gilmore trouble
46:40 are not the ones that you have.
46:42 They're quick twitch guys, speed.
46:44 Garrett Wilson, speeding away from him
46:47 in the one touchdown the Jets got.
46:48 Patriots don't have any players like that.
46:50 And the one they do have,
46:51 Douglas is probably playing in the slot.
46:53 One wild card, something we haven't said,
46:56 could be a prop bet, something off the field,
46:58 travel issues, restaurants.
47:00 Like I do not care.
47:01 It's my favorite part of most episodes.
47:03 What's your wild card?
47:04 - My wild card was a prop.
47:06 I like Mack Jones over 214 and a half passing yards
47:09 because I think that if the Patriots win this game,
47:11 he'll probably be throwing for more than 214,
47:14 215 passing yards.
47:15 And if they lose the game, he probably still will
47:18 because that means that they've probably gotten off
47:19 to an early deficit and he's got to throw the ball.
47:22 But yeah, one restaurant,
47:26 I'd like to go to, but we probably won't, is Pecan Lodge.
47:29 I went there back in like 2015.
47:30 It was a barbecue place.
47:31 There was like a very, very, very long line.
47:34 Maybe we'll check out that line once we get in
47:36 to see if we can get some barbecue.
47:38 But it was some of the best barbecue I've ever had.
47:39 - Awesome. - Yeah.
47:41 - Mine last week was the Jets detailing
47:42 that Greg Zerline had hurt his right groin.
47:44 There was an R in parentheses on the injury report.
47:47 Fortunately, we don't have anything close to like that.
47:50 For me, I've never been to Dallas.
47:51 So this is me asking the folks listening,
47:53 and maybe we'll just end up going to the Pecan Lodge.
47:56 Any tips?
47:57 Because the reaction I've got when I say that is like,
47:59 I'm going to New Orleans and we'll have five drinks in me
48:02 by the time I get off the plane.
48:03 It's like, you are in for a crazy time.
48:06 So been to New Orleans plenty of times, not so much Dallas.
48:09 We will land, I think six o'clock Saturday.
48:12 So any tips, restaurants, bars, places to avoid?
48:16 Hit us up because I would love to know more.
48:18 All right, let's get on this game pick.
48:20 - Cowboys but the Patriots cover.
48:25 - Do we have a final score?
48:27 - Let me think about that.
48:28 I'll let you do your pick while I think of a final score.
48:30 - So we're in the same boat.
48:32 I have Cowboys 20, Patriots 16.
48:35 I think this is a game that the Patriots
48:36 successfully drag into the mud,
48:38 but Micah Parsons can thrive in the mud.
48:41 And at some point I think he's going to break through
48:43 or DeMarcus Lawrence will break through in a way
48:45 that the Patriots just can't prevent or help.
48:47 Defensive game, I would take the under
48:48 as far as we're talking about betting.
48:51 But this is just a game where I think the Patriots
48:53 are there and at some point the talent is the talent.
48:56 And it's a bummer because I think one under, over,
48:58 understated, overlooked storyline about this game
49:03 is imagine what a win would be.
49:05 The Patriots go to two and two,
49:07 two weeks after you have people in the media
49:09 legitimately asking, is it time to panic?
49:12 Is the season over?
49:13 No, this would be a statement win for Mac Jones.
49:16 This would be potentially a comeback for Mac Jones
49:18 in a way that tells the Patriots we're here,
49:21 we're sticking around and we're going to give
49:22 most teams hell because they came close against the Eagles.
49:25 They came close against the Dolphins.
49:26 But you go on the road as six and a half point underdogs
49:29 and knock out the Dallas Cowboys in their building,
49:32 the rest of the league feels that in a way
49:33 that they have not felt anything from the Patriots
49:36 in three to four years.
49:37 This is a huge opportunity for them
49:38 to not only U-turn the last two weeks,
49:40 but start to U-turn from the last three, four years.
49:43 - Yeah, we've been waiting for that statement win
49:44 from Mac Jones really for his entire career,
49:46 that signature statement win.
49:48 It hasn't happened.
49:49 Very few wins where they've been the underdogs.
49:51 I'm gonna go 23-17 Cowboys.
49:54 Lots of field goals in this game.
49:55 Patriots defense pretty good at bending, but not breaking.
49:58 So I think we'll see quite a bit of that
50:00 against a pretty high powered Cowboys offense.
50:03 - All right, there you have it.
50:04 Put our gambling advice to good use.
50:06 To FanDuel, official sponsor of this podcast,
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50:10 or do the opposite, which tends to work out.
50:12 Again, Cowboys Cardinals last week, real bummer.
50:14 So he is Doug Cott, I'm Adrian Kelly,
50:16 I'm with the Boston Herald.
50:17 You will find all of our work at thebostonherald.com
50:19 or in print if you are still picking up a paper.
50:23 We appreciate it.
50:24 Also, I wonder what the Venn diagram is
50:26 of Pat's interference listeners and watchers on YouTube
50:28 versus people who actually pick up a newspaper.
50:31 Like these are two separate circles, I'd imagine.
50:33 - Yeah, podcast and newspaper.
50:34 I think it's like, I think like Bill Simmons
50:36 is the only one that does that.
50:37 - Yeah, well, thank you, Bill.
50:39 And we will see you guys next week.
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