LIVE Patriots Daily: Previewing the Patriots offense vs Maxx Crosby w/ Ted Nguyen

CLNS Media Sports Network

Taylor Kyles from CLNS Media teams up with Ted Nguyen, an NFL Staff Writer for The Athletic, to discuss the upcoming Week 6 match-up between the Patriots' offense and Maxx Crosby-led Las Vegas Raiders' defense. Following a tough 34-0 loss to the New Orleans Saints, the 1-4 New England Patriots are preparing to take on the 2-3 Las Vegas Raiders, who recently celebrated a significant win. In the previous game, Patriots' quarterback Mac Jones was benched for the second game in a row after throwing two interceptions.  This episode of the Patriots Daily Podcast Show  is brought to you by:  This episode of the Podcast is brought to you by Fanduel Sportsbook, the exclusive wagering partner of the CLNS Media Network. NEW customers can bet $5  and get $200 in BONUS BETS – GUARANTEED. Now is the best time to join FanDuel! The app is easy to use and you can be on everything from spreads to player props and more! So, visit FanDuel.com/BOSTON and kick off the NFL season with an offer you won’t wanna miss. 21+ and present in MA. Hope is here. First online real money wager only. $10 first deposit required. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable bonus bets that expire 7 days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. GamblingHelpLineMa.org or call (800)-327-5050 for 24/7 support. Play it smart from the start! GameSenseMA.com or call 1-800-GAM-1234. ￼￼￼ Factor! Visit https://factormeals.com/PATSDAILY50 to get 50% off your first box! Factor is America’s #1 Ready-To-Eat Meal Kit, can help you fuel up fast with ready-to-eat meals delivered straight to your door.  #Patriots #NFL #NewEnglandPatriots

Transcript

00:00 your patience, had some technical difficulties, but we're here now to preview the Patriots

00:05 Raiders matchup this season, or I'm sorry, this weekend.

00:08 The Patriots are not only looking to get back on track for the season, but I'm sure there's

00:12 some people on the team that would like a little bit of revenge considering how last

00:16 year's matchup in Vegas played out and to go through some of the important matchups

00:21 and some of the things that you should be looking for in this game.

00:24 I've got one of my favorite football content creators and just people in the media space,

00:29 Ted Nguyen of The Athletic.

00:30 Ted, how are you doing, brother?

00:33 Doing well.

00:34 Thanks for having me on.

00:35 Should be a, I don't know if exciting is the right word for this matchup, but it should

00:39 be fun to watch.

00:41 Hopefully, man.

00:42 I'm just hoping that we get an entertaining matchup because the past couple of weeks,

00:46 sorry about that, a lot of glitches, technology, you're used to it.

00:49 But yeah, the Patriots could definitely use an entertaining game after the past couple

00:54 of weeks.

00:55 But if this game is actually going to go in the Patriots' favor, the currently three-point

00:59 underdogs, what has to go right for New England or what has to go poorly for the Raiders?

01:05 I think as far as shutting down the run game, to me, that's a given just because I think

01:10 the Patriots do have a good defensive line.

01:13 I think they have good run-stopping linebackers and the Patriots don't have to line up in

01:19 too high.

01:20 Like last year, a lot of teams played a lot of too high against the Raiders because of

01:24 Devontae Adams and Carr was willing to throw it deep.

01:27 But this year, a lot of teams have been stacking the box against the Raiders.

01:31 And that's one of the reasons why Josh Jacobs has not been able to get going.

01:34 This offensive line, it's never been an overpowering offensive line, but they took advantage of

01:39 a lot of light boxes last year, which is how Josh Jacobs won the rushing title.

01:44 But this year with Jimmy Garoppolo on their center, teams just aren't respecting his deep

01:48 ball.

01:49 And they're playing a lot of eight-man box.

01:51 And I expect the Patriots to do a lot of the same on early downs, just to make sure that

01:56 Josh Jacobs doesn't get going early.

01:58 So I don't think Josh Jacobs would be a big factor in this game.

02:02 And I think the Patriots are going to do what they do defensively.

02:05 They are going to take away your best weapons.

02:07 They're going to find different ways to double-team Devontae Adams.

02:10 And I think they're going to be motivated also not to give away big plays to Jacoby

02:16 Myers.

02:17 So I think they're going to play a lot of cover seven, which is going to allow them

02:19 to bracket both players.

02:21 And last year, guys like Keelan Cole and Mack Hollins was able to take advantage of those

02:27 types of coverages and one-on-one and got some deep balls.

02:31 But this year, I don't think that Garoppolo is going to be willing to take those deep

02:35 balls.

02:36 And he's not going to have the arm to take advantage of those types of one-on-one opportunities.

02:41 So I think maybe there are different ways to get some of the Raiders' third and fourth

02:46 guys going besides going deep.

02:49 But you just lose that big play ability and that way to punish the Patriots' play style

02:56 by not being able to go deep.

02:57 And Garoppolo just doesn't have – he's not willing to do that, nor does he have the

03:01 physical ability to do that.

03:03 Yeah, and like you mentioned, the brackets.

03:05 Last year, we saw a lot of either straight double-teaming Devontae Adams or at least

03:08 heavily shading his safety to his side.

03:11 And then it also seemed like making sure Hunter Renfro had a little bit of extra attention

03:14 at times was a priority.

03:16 But Hunter Renfro's numbers are kind of down this season.

03:18 So I would agree.

03:19 Probably more bracket coverages, get some more attention outside.

03:23 But the Patriots, the recent streak hasn't been great.

03:26 Realistically, we like to be cautiously optimistic over here.

03:30 But if they continue that streak, what went well for the Raiders?

03:33 Sorry, could you say what wasn't great for the Patriots?

03:35 Oh yeah, no, I'm sorry.

03:37 If the Raiders are going to pull this one out and continue the Patriots' current losing

03:41 streak, what goes well for the Raiders?

03:42 Sorry about that.

03:43 I think they're going to have to hit some big plays, either through yards after the

03:49 catch or maybe Grappler hits a couple deep ones with timing routes rather than trying

03:55 to heave one 50 yards deep.

03:57 Maybe he could hit the back step of his drop and hit a goal ball 35 yards downfield.

04:03 I think Trey Tucker, a guy that we'll talk about, their third-round pick who runs a 4-3,

04:10 his speed shows up on film, but they haven't been able to target him.

04:14 They've been giving him some jet sweeps and that kind of deal.

04:17 But I think they're going to have to try to get an opportunity for him to catch the ball

04:21 deep.

04:22 I think Michael Mayer, their second-round tight end, will need to have a good game as

04:27 well.

04:28 He had a couple big catches against the Packers.

04:31 So I think for the Raiders to win, I think Mayer and I think Tucker, one of those guys

04:36 are going to have to have a big game, a big impact on this game.

04:40 For whatever reason, this regime has not trusted Hunter Renfroe.

04:45 They haven't targeted him.

04:47 They paid him a lot of money, but they just have not made it a point to get him the ball.

04:52 So I think one of those rookies is going to have to step up on the offensive side of the

04:56 ball.

04:57 And defensively, obviously, Max Crosby is going to have to wreck the game.

05:02 I think the Raiders have a better defense than people are giving them credit for, but

05:07 it all is contingent on Max Crosby being as disruptive as he is.

05:12 When it comes to the big plays, if the Patriots were at full strength like they were earlier

05:16 in the season, you kind of expect there's not going to be so many of those.

05:19 But as we've seen in the past couple of weeks, there's been injuries, guys filling in like

05:23 Shawn Wade, and the pursuit angles and the tackling haven't been up to snuff.

05:27 It doesn't help that the Patriots' offense has been putting the defense out there for

05:31 a long stretch of time.

05:33 So usually you'd say, all right, they'll be able to limit the big play ability, but that's

05:36 no guarantee in this matchup.

05:39 But without further ado, let's dive into the tape.

05:42 I'm really excited to see what you've been seeing.

05:44 I'll share my screen right now.

05:46 You tell us, I'll run through it real quick first time.

05:49 But what are we looking at here?

05:51 So we're looking at Malcolm Koontz, who is the Raiders' second rusher.

05:55 He's obviously had to take a much bigger role than expected with the Chandler Jones situation.

06:00 And he's been very efficient.

06:01 He doesn't have a sack this season, but his pass rush win rate and pressure rate has been

06:06 very good.

06:07 I mean, I think it's at 30%, which is a really good number.

06:13 And obviously we know Crosby is going to be the guy that the Patriots have to stop.

06:18 But I think Koontz could have, you know, if the Raiders win this game, I think he's going

06:22 to have to make one or two key pressures and get a sack.

06:26 And we're going to see him run a stunt here.

06:28 I believe he even gets chipped here, but he's still able to get some interior pressure.

06:32 And as we know, Jones has been really finicky in a pocket in the last few games.

06:38 And if you know, and the Raiders don't have defensive tackles that are just straight up

06:41 going to get interior pressure.

06:43 So I think Koontz on some games and stunts like this or Crosby on stunts and games like

06:49 this will be a big key in this matchup.

06:53 And this is one thing I'm really worried about because last season we saw the Patriots try

06:56 quick passes.

06:57 They tried play action.

06:59 They gave more chip help than they usually give.

07:02 And it slowed Crosby down.

07:03 It only had three hurries, no set, or I'm sorry, three hits, no sacks, no hurries.

07:08 But you also saw that the Patriots were healthy on the interior of their offensive line.

07:11 They had on Wenu, they had Andrews, they had Strange.

07:14 So we wasn't able to make much of an impact on those interior line games.

07:17 But this year, now you got all those guys and Wenu and Strange were both limited this

07:22 week.

07:23 So you're not even sure if they're going to play.

07:24 And Antonio Maffi, who has been playing every single game for them as a rookie, he had some

07:29 solid performances.

07:30 I thought he had his best game of the season a couple of weeks ago against Dallas.

07:33 But last week when they were running stunts against him, even just straight up pressures,

07:38 he wasn't doing a great job identifying those.

07:40 And that's one area that scares me, especially if Strange and on Wenu can't finish the game,

07:44 because then it's pretty likely that you see a guy like Sidiso, who's a rookie, have to

07:49 step in and be the guy who can handle some of those interior line games.

07:53 So, and I also saw statistically the Raiders don't use a ton of stunts.

07:57 Is that maybe something that gets lost in the numbers or is it more of a situational

08:00 thing for them?

08:01 Yeah, I think they could use more.

08:03 I think they use a little bit more.

08:05 I don't know if the numbers are right in front of me, but I think they used a little bit

08:07 more against the Packers.

08:10 And I wouldn't be surprised if they use them against the Patriots.

08:13 I mean, especially, like you said, the Patriots line has kind of struggled with stunts and

08:17 communication.

08:18 And even on Mac Jones' interception, I believe it was the pick six, they failed to pass off

08:23 a stunt exactly like this, the same side.

08:26 So I would assume that we're going to see similar stunts like this to test the Patriots

08:32 line and test if they are able to communicate and pick up those stunts.

08:37 That would be a very big step forward for the Patriots offense.

08:41 Now we're going to move on to the next play.

08:43 Let's see what we got queued up here.

08:45 Set it up for you.

08:48 All right, so we got a third and sixth situation.

08:52 You want to set the scene for what's about to go down here?

08:55 Yes, so it's third and sixth.

08:57 And the player I wanted to highlight was Trey Tucker, because I don't think a lot of people

09:01 know about Trey Tucker.

09:03 And his stats hasn't been great.

09:06 And I think the Raiders are trying to integrate him slowly into their system and into their

09:12 offense.

09:14 But right here, he's going to get wide open.

09:18 It's going to be a bunch formation.

09:19 The safety is going to shade over to Adam's side, who's on the bottom of the screen.

09:23 And then the safety on the bunch side is going to play Robber, and he's going to help on

09:27 Jacoby Myers.

09:29 And that's going to leave Trey Tucker wide open.

09:32 There's a bit of a miscommunication.

09:34 And you can see his speed and how fast he gets.

09:36 The Packers corner just passes off a little bit slow, and there's a bit of hesitation.

09:42 And Trey Tucker is able to get behind him right away.

09:45 And Garoppolo does get pressure on here, but I believe he could have thrown this ball if

09:49 he just takes one hitch and throws it.

09:51 You know, you're in the NFL, you get paid $30 million a year.

09:56 You got to be able to take the hit and make this type of throw.

09:58 But he doesn't even look over to Trey Tucker's side.

10:00 So I think there will be opportunities like this, especially if you're going to bracket

10:05 Adams and you're going to bracket Myers.

10:07 We'll see if Garoppolo can take advantage.

10:09 I do think Tucker has a speed and separation ability to punish the Patriots if Garoppolo

10:15 is able to find him.

10:17 And how big of an issue has it been, Garoppolo, in terms of the rush?

10:20 Like, is he dropping his eyes?

10:21 Is the line not doing enough and he's getting skittish?

10:24 Because Matt Jones is having a pretty similar situation where pressure not only is getting

10:28 home a lot, but he's not reacting very well to it.

10:31 Is that something the Patriots also, for what it's worth, their pass rush, didn't have a

10:34 single defender with multiple pressures last week with Judon out.

10:38 But if they can manage to affect the pocket, make Garoppolo feel that, do you think that's

10:42 one of the keys in the game?

10:43 Or is this just a theme with Garoppolo not really seeing some of these things?

10:47 I think Garoppolo is, I don't think he gets affected by pressure that much.

10:51 I think he actually has pretty good pocket presence and pretty good pocket movement.

10:57 He's not going to be able to get away from pressure.

10:58 He's not a guy that's super athletic and he's not going to be able to get outside the pocket

11:03 and make plays outside the pocket.

11:05 He did a little bit in week one, but that's just not his game.

11:07 But I feel like if you're able to manage the rush and let him navigate the pocket and make

11:12 those subtle movements, he's willing to do that.

11:15 But if you have a free rusher or a guy that gets off clean, like on this example, he's

11:21 not going to escape that pressure.

11:23 So it's going to be up to the Patriots to really get off of those blocks and really

11:29 affect him that way.

11:31 Because I think if you do get blocked, but you do get some push, he's able to navigate

11:37 through those.

11:39 And this is just purely a question.

11:42 I am very curious if Garoppolo struggles early or they fall into a hole, is the team confident

11:48 in Aiden O'Connell or was that just a situation where Garoppolo is hurt?

11:52 We got to throw a guy in or is there a little bit of a QB controversy like what people were

11:56 talking about in the preseason when O'Connell was playing well?

11:59 So it's a weird situation.

12:01 So actually Aiden O'Connell has been inactive every game except for that Chargers game because

12:06 they believe that Brian Hoyer is the guy that they want to come in if Garoppolo gets hurt

12:12 because the back of quarterback doesn't get much practice time and they trust Hoyer to

12:16 come in without practice time and play more than Aiden O'Connell.

12:20 So the reason why Aiden O'Connell started against the Chargers was because they felt

12:24 like they felt good about giving him a full week's practice and giving him the necessary

12:30 reps.

12:31 I don't necessarily believe that.

12:32 I think you should just roll with Aiden O'Connell.

12:35 And I even think Aiden O'Connell should be playing over Garoppolo, honestly, but that's

12:38 another story for another time.

12:40 But Hoyer is going to be the main backup coming into this game unless they make a philosophical

12:45 change.

12:46 But Hoyer has been the main backup for every game that Garoppolo has been starting.

12:51 OK, well, for right now, before we get to the next slip, we're going to head back to

12:55 the defensive side of the ball.

12:57 But of course, we got to pay the bill.

12:59 So Ahmed, if you could, please and thank you.

13:01 Send it over to our friends at Factor.

13:03 With the NFL season officially underway, it's been pretty tough finding time to cook

13:11 for myself and my family and even tougher making meals that both taste good and don't

13:16 destroy my body.

13:18 Thankfully, our friends at Factor provide ready to eat meal kits that are not only chef

13:22 prepared, but also dietitian approved and delivered straight to your door.

13:25 And I don't know about you, but I don't know any chefs or any dietitians.

13:29 So this has been a huge help for me on a daily basis.

13:33 These save me a ton of money.

13:34 I don't have to go to the grocery store to get ingredients.

13:37 And most importantly, they taste fantastic.

13:40 Additionally, they save me a desperate trip to the nearest fast food place when I have

13:45 completely forgotten to cook myself dinner.

13:47 Head to factor meals dot com slash Pats daily 50 and use code Pats daily 50 to get 50 percent

13:53 off.

13:54 Use code Pats daily 50 at factor meals dot com slash Pats daily 50 to get 50 percent

13:59 off.

14:00 All right, diving back into the film and on this play, we're going to be highlighting

14:07 a player who has one of the cooler names I've ever seen in football.

14:11 Break this one down for us.

14:12 I'll share the screen right now.

14:14 So this is Divine Diablo and this is the this was a Raiders rookie two years ago that converted

14:22 from safety to linebacker.

14:24 So he's you know, he's got that athleticism, but he's also kind of learning the position.

14:30 But he's played well.

14:31 I thought he flashes rookie year.

14:33 Second year he got hurt.

14:35 And now I think he's making plays all over the field.

14:37 He's sidelined the sideline.

14:38 He's very good in coverage.

14:40 He definitely has to process inside against inside run a little bit faster.

14:44 And you know, his tackling is his hit or miss.

14:48 He's going to go for that big hit and he's made some really big hits this season.

14:52 But I think coverage wise, I think he's going to be a factor in this game.

14:57 You know, he's really good at taking away the middle of field here.

15:00 You're going to see the Raiders are going to play Tampa two and he's going to run down

15:04 the hole against rookie slot receiver Reed.

15:09 And he kind of takes away the middle of field there.

15:11 You can see his speed, athleticism.

15:14 And I think he's going to cover Ramondre Stevenson in times of this game, too.

15:21 And we know in the past that Ramondre Stevenson has been a could be a big part of the past

15:25 game.

15:26 So I think his athleticism on a second level is going to be one of the keys of this game.

15:32 And you mentioned the run defense.

15:33 So last year, the Patriots ran for 200 yard against the Raiders.

15:36 If he struggles in that area, and I'd also I would like your perspective on how far the

15:41 Raiders defensive front has come since then.

15:43 But do you think it's possible we see another big rushing game for the Patriots?

15:46 Or do you think the Raiders can kind of snuff them out this time around?

15:49 I think the Raiders run defense has been better.

15:52 I mean, Crosby is so effective and they have a couple of defensive tackles that are good.

15:58 They eat up blocks.

15:59 They're not like necessarily disruptive or they're not going to get a bunch of TFLs,

16:04 but they can eat up blocks and they could keep blocks off of Diablo and Robert's Blaine,

16:09 who has been it's been OK.

16:12 So I think I don't think they're going to run for 200.

16:16 And I think the Patriots and the Patriots run game just isn't as effective as it was

16:21 last year as well.

16:23 So I can't see them running for 200.

16:27 But I mean, if I think if they rush for 100 or over 100, they're going to win this game.

16:32 I just don't think we're going to see much offense from both teams.

16:35 But if the Patriots run for 100, I think they're probably going to score in that 14 to 20 range.

16:41 And that might be enough to win this game.

16:43 Hopefully, man, that's music to Patriots fans ears before I let you out of here.

16:48 I do have to ask you, do you have any kind of predictions for this game?

16:52 Are you feeling it's going to go one way or another?

16:54 What are you thinking for the matchup?

16:56 Honestly, I've gone back and forth on this.

16:59 I know the over under in this game is 40 and a half.

17:01 I you know, if I would take the under my but as far as picking a winner, I've gone back

17:07 and forth.

17:08 So ultimate maybe home field advantage will take will be a factor in this and and the

17:13 Raiders will pull it out playing at home two weeks in a row and the Patriots being on the

17:18 road and just the Patriots offense has been pretty tough to watch the last couple of weeks.

17:24 But at the same time, they've played some elite defensive lines.

17:27 They played against an elite defensive line with Dallas and then they played against an

17:31 elite defensive line with the Saints and the Raiders defensive line is not at that level.

17:37 Crosby is, but the rest of them aren't at at that level.

17:41 So maybe the offense performed better, but it's just hard to see them going from scoring

17:47 three points in the last two games to putting up a ton of points against or maybe even putting

17:52 up 20 or 24 points against the Raiders.

17:56 And I mean, it's kind of wild that the last three games the Patriots have scored the Patriots

18:01 offense has scored 18 points, I believe.

18:05 How many points against Patriots offense has scored in the I think the last two games they

18:09 scored negative 19 points because they had the fumble return for a touchdown to pick

18:14 sixes and the surprise two point conversion, which has to be a record.

18:17 I don't know, but that seems like something that's never happened before.

18:21 Yeah, and I think, you know, the Raiders defense is not a level of the Cowboys or the Saints,

18:27 but it's just tough to see that how they're going to come out of that and all of a sudden

18:32 put up over 20 points.

18:34 But it's possible.

18:35 I mean, it is the Raiders.

18:37 And you don't really hear a lot about the Raiders secondary.

18:40 Is that because they haven't been performing great?

18:42 They have some underrated guys that people aren't paying enough attention to.

18:45 What's the situation on the back end?

18:47 I think they have a better secondary than people are giving them credit for.

18:50 I think Trayvon Morig, their second round of safety from a couple of years ago, is having

18:57 the best year of his career so far.

18:59 He's kind of breaking out.

19:01 Marcus Epps, who they signed from the Eagles, is just a really solid safety that puts everybody

19:05 in the right place.

19:06 Great tackler.

19:08 Marcus Peters is not the corner he was, but he does provide.

19:13 He's just solid at that spot.

19:15 And he's a gambler.

19:17 You never know where he's going to be.

19:19 He was the reason why Robert Spillane got one interception against the Packers.

19:22 He knocked the pass away from Christian Watson that ended up getting deflected to Spillane's

19:27 hand.

19:28 So he's kind of a wild card, but it's also a good veteran presence there.

19:31 Jacorian Bennett, who didn't play against the Packers, but he's picking the fourth round

19:36 this year.

19:37 He went to 4-3 all lengthy.

19:39 The Raiders consider him their number one corner.

19:43 He's a pretty good player as well.

19:45 So I think the secondary is solid.

19:49 It's better than people giving credit for.

19:51 Yeah, gambler against the Patriots offense is a very scary proposition, considering the

19:56 recent trends.

19:57 Actual last thing I'll ask you before I let you out of here, the Patriots, Bill Belichick

20:02 seems like someone who job security is locked in.

20:05 But because of what's happened over the past couple of years, I think it's somewhat understandable

20:09 that he's kind of on the hot seat.

20:10 And Josh McDaniels feels like he's kind of been on the hot seat since he got to Vegas.

20:15 Do you see him being the head coach next season?

20:17 I know there's money problems and the Davises can't exactly just cut them loose right now,

20:22 but do you think that he's done enough to justify coming back?

20:25 Or do you think they might be looking to move on after this season and maybe Josh comes

20:29 back and starts coaching back again?

20:30 Yeah, I mean, I think at the beginning of the season, I definitely thought there was

20:35 no way that they're going to fire Josh McDaniels unless it was an absolute disaster of a season.

20:41 And I think that win against the Packers was pretty big.

20:45 And I mean, there's still a lot of potential for this season to go by the wayside.

20:51 So I don't see them firing McDaniels.

20:53 Like you said, there are some financial ramifications to why he's probably going to come back next

20:58 year.

20:59 But unless, you know, if the season goes haywire and they end up just winning one or two more

21:06 games the rest of the way, then I think they're going to consider firing McDaniels.

21:11 But it's going to take a lot because they're still paying John Gruden money, you know,

21:16 so you can't be paying two coaches like a ridiculous salary that's not even coaching

21:21 your team.

21:23 So yeah, unless it's an absolute disaster, I think McDaniels will be back.

21:28 Two teams in some tough situations, but you provided some fantastic insights, of course,

21:33 Ted.

21:34 Thank you so much for your time.

21:35 For anybody who's not familiar, please let everybody know where they can find your fantastic

21:39 work.

21:41 You can read me on The Athletic and I have a TikTok as well.

21:44 I believe it's the same name, FB_FilmAnalysis.

21:48 And you can find a lot of my work on Twitter.

21:51 I want to emphasize enough, one of the best in the game.

21:53 Thank you so much, Ted, for joining us.

21:55 Thank you all for watching and once again for your patience.

21:58 We were getting started here.

22:00 Take care of yourselves, take care of each other, and we will see you next time.

22:04 Have a good one, everybody.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended