Is the Patriots offense good enough as is? - Page 2 - New England Patriots Forums

***HEY BRO! WHAT UP?*** · 04-17-2009, 01:35 PM

Lewis doesn't scare anybody. Until Watson can catch the ball, he doesn't scare anybody. The Pats should add another WR and an OL through the draft.

fair catch fryar · 04-17-2009, 01:36 PM

Yes. Especially if BB addresses the key issues on defense this year. Imagine the opportunities the O will get if the D develops an effective pass rush and stopping 3rd down conversions forcing a lot of 3 and outs.

***Deus Irae*** · 04-17-2009, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HEY BRO! WHAT UP?

Lewis doesn't scare anybody. Until Watson can catch the ball, he doesn't scare anybody. The Pats should add another WR and an OL through the draft.

Neither Lewis nor Watson need to scare anybody. Watson is a quality player, despite the ravings of Patsfans.com experts, and Lewis has the speed to put a lot of pressure on linebackers and low end DBs. With DBs having to cover Moss and Galloway, that will leave bottom of the barrel DBs, or linebackers, trying to cover Welker and Lewis/Watson, and wings and prayers trying to cover Faulk out of the backfield.

The 12th Man · 04-17-2009, 01:49 PM

One big area of concern for me is the FB position with the departure of Heath Evans. I always liked what Evans brought to the team and was always under the radar kind of guy who could block well, catch well, and run well when asked. I think he was a big part of our great running game last year and we will miss him more than Gaffney IMO. I think a solid FB is our #1 immediate need on offense.

JSn · 04-17-2009, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deus Irae

Neither Lewis nor Watson need to scare anybody. Watson is a quality player, despite the ravings of Patsfans.com experts, and Lewis has the speed to put a lot of pressure on linebackers and low end DBs. With DBs having to cover Moss and Galloway, that will leave bottom of the barrel DBs, or linebackers, trying to cover Welker and Lewis/Watson, and wings and prayers trying to cover Faulk out of the backfield.

Exactly. The player-hater bandwagon gets a ton of action around here. Watson is a good TE and hasn't found his ceiling yet. Be nice for him to grow a bit this year and then click right after he signs a cheap extension, hehe.

***Deus Irae*** · 04-17-2009, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSn

Exactly. The player-hater bandwagon gets a ton of action around here. Watson is a good TE and hasn't found his ceiling yet. Be nice for him to grow a bit this year and then click right after he signs a cheap extension, hehe.

Well, I can see where it comes from. Watson, like Maroney, has been less successful as a first round pick than players like Wilfork and Seymour (who also gets skewered unfairly), and people will always look for things to gripe about. If the Patriots had not lost a game in the past 8 seasons, and every draft pick was Pro Bowl bound, people would start complaining that the team didn't bring in enough quality UDFAs, or something along those lines. It's just natural human reaction, unfortunately, that people take "less than one hoped" and turn it into "flat out sucks" or something along those lines.

JSn · 04-17-2009, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deus Irae

Well, I can see where it comes from. Watson, like Maroney, has been less successful as a first round pick than players like Wilfork and Seymour (who also gets skewered unfairly), and people will always look for things to gripe about. If the Patriots had not lost a game in the past 8 seasons, and every draft pick was Pro Bowl bound, people would start complaining that the team didn't bring in enough quality UDFAs, or something along those lines. It's just natural human reaction, unfortunately, that people take "less than one hoped" and turn it into "flat out sucks" or something along those lines.

I understand that. Watson didn't decide to be a first rounder though, lol.

I think his speed and blocking are big assets (yeah, he's definitely improved his blocking, it's undeniable) and Meriweather proved that hands can be improved. Also, Watson may have made strides and had a hard time adjusting to a different "ball" - both Gaffney and Welker talked about the differences catching from Cassel. In fact I think the comments were something to the effect of "too much heat on it" hehe.

***Tunescribe*** · 04-17-2009, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The 12th Man

One big area of concern for me is the FB position with the departure of Heath Evans. I always liked what Evans brought to the team and was always under the radar kind of guy who could block well, catch well, and run well when asked. I think he was a big part of our great running game last year and we will miss him more than Gaffney IMO. I think a solid FB is our #1 immediate need on offense.

Fullback has always been somewhat of a nebulous position in BB's offense, and probably the one offensive position with the least "impact," IMHO. I can't recall a high-profile player in that position throughout BB's tenure, but it's also a league-wide thing. Gone are the days of the split backfield where fullbacks carried the ball much. Now, they block situationally and occasionally catch passes. Evans would only carry the ball on 1-yard dive plays, and was successful about half the time. I liked Lamont Jordan for those inside runs and was sorry to see him go.

billdog3484 · 04-17-2009, 02:17 PM

I think our offense is going to be pretty darn good again, one of the best in the league as long as Brady and Moss stay healthy. I think OL is a position where we can upgrade in this draft, either OT at 23 or 34, or OG, 34,47 or 58. Obviously a S and a LB would be nice in the first two rounds. 5 needs, 4 top picks, so we should be in good shape

tatepatsfan · 04-17-2009, 02:39 PM

I agree with your offensive analysis completely.

1. OL depth, 2. TE depth, 3. WR depth

If we use all of our top 6 picks in the first 3 rounds (although I doubt we do), I'd be very surprised if any more than 1 or 2 were on offense.