jmt57

I suppose it all depends on whether the glass is half full or half empty.

QB/Empty: Brady is now injury prone, physically beat up, unfocused and no longer motivated.
QB/Full: Brady is a full year recovered from the knee surgery. He's in a contract year. He knows it might be his last year with Moss - and Faulk, Talor, and others. He wants to prove doubters wrong regarding last season.

RB/Empty: Thy're all old and slow, with the exception of an UDFA who couldn't crack the lineup even with injuries.
RB/Full: They're all in contract years. Prior to last season Taylor averaged 14 games per season for the last seven years.

WR/Empty: Moss is an old lollygag dogfaker over the hill malcontent. Welker will never be able to walk agian, much less catch a football. The rest are the equivalent of high school sophomores in terms of experience.
WR/Full: Moss is in a contract year. He should be healthier than last year, when hampered by back and shoulder injuries. Tate in year two > Tate in year one; ditto for Edelman. Holt has to be better than Galloway's production; same goes for Price versus Aiken.

TE/Empty: Zero experience in the system. A big heavy old guy and two unproven rookies - one with a bad back and the other smoking a bone.
TE/Full: There's nowhere to go but up in every aspect of this position: blocking, red zone offense, moving the chains, receptions and yardage, opening up the field for wide receivers, etc.

OL/Empty: Mankins is a Pro Bowler, we're doomed. Light can't handle speed rushers and Neal is bound to go on IR. Koppen can't handle big nose guards either.
OL/Full: Light is in a contract year. Vollmer will get more reps and build on last season. Kaczur as a guard is better than Kaczur as a tackle. LeVoir is healed and ready to step in at tackle if needed. Connolly is more than capable as a backup and is ready to step up in the interior if needed.

spacecrime

Ha ha, not only is every player NOT the same as he was last year (he'll be either better or worse but NOT the same), I don't think we'll see Adalius Thomas playing end or Isiah Stanback playing WR or Hanson punting, so I guess they won't be what they were last year either.

__________________
“When we look at the board, based on everything we want in a football player at that particular time, we evaluate them and take the player that fits best for our football team. That’s what we always do, and I think the last nine years we’ve put a pretty competitive team out there on the field every year. I think that’s how you do it – you get good football players. Sometimes they are not always at the No. 1 position, but I don’t think you pass up good football players to get the guys who aren’t as good just because they’re at a position that somebody feels you need.”
BB on his draft philosophy, April 2010

SammyBlueCat

I disagree. Most members watch the games and form their opinions from what they observe and then post here. The stats that you posted are most likely skewed by a few blow outs against very weak teams.

By the way you list Brady's injury as though it is a mitigating circumstance.
If the offensive line is a good unit Brady would not have multiple injuries that need to heal.

dhamz

Not sure what Hanson or Thomas have ever had to do with the weaknesses on offense.

There remains no proven 3rd target in the passing game. There are certainly some guys who have a chance to fill that role. The offensive line without Mankins looks on paper to be worse than the one that got the franchise beaten to a pulp over the last 6-7 games last year.

Those were the weaknesses a year ago. As of now they remain the biggest questions on offense. By Week 1 they may or may not be.

mgteich

All stats are affected by blowout games. Posters post based on what they see and how they FEEL about what they see. Stats don't get in the way. Certainly, the view of analysts or players from other teams don't matter. The fact that Belichick has had the same line for the past five years somehow is NOT a vote of encouragement or confidence in the OL. Posters KNOW how weak the talent is.

Our OL has been dissed on this board forever, certainly as long as you have been posting. The bottom line is that the OL has been solid for years. It is BETTER than the OL that won the last two Super Bowls. Both Mankins and Kaczur are upgrades over what we had then.

As I indicated, it is only here that Light and Kaczur are mediocre JAGS. Most here would have cut Kaczur rather than extend him to a solid contract and start him. Many wanted to trade Light.

The next 2-3 years will a time for transition on the OL. For this year, we will likely lose Mankins and gain Vollmer on the starting OL, ciompared to where we started in 2009. Perhaps this is a major loss, likely not. It remains to be seen whether any of the late round draftees (4th and higher) end up being more than depth in the next couple of years. I have been one that wanted to draft guards early in the past two drafts. Belichick has chosen to draft later and hope, and then draft higher next year if necessary.

THE BOTTOM LINE

We have one of the BEST pass-blocking offensive lines in the league. It has been top 10 for the entire decade. The way to see this is indeed the stats and the effectiveness of the passing offense. Yes, Brady is a god. But he has not led us to one of the top 3 passing offenses almost every year with OK receivers and a poor pass-protecting OL. That is just NOT the way it is.

Brady knows the truth. Belichick know the truth. Dante knows the truth. The opponents that we have played know the truth. Even analysts and players voting for probowl know the truth. The bottom line is that their truth is different from that of most posters here. We live in a time when truth is dependent on who is telling the story.

Foe me, it is what it is, as a couple of great coaches have taught us.


[QUOTE=SammyBlueCat;1862577]I disagree. Most members watch the games and form their opinions from what they observe and then post here. The stats that you posted are most likely skewed by a few blow outs against very weak teams.

stinkypete

[QUOTE=mgteich;1862633]All stats are affected by blowout games. Posters post based on what they see and how they FEEL about what they see. Stats don't get in the way. Certainly, the view of analysts or players from other teams don't matter. The fact that Belichick has had the same line for the past five years somehow is NOT a vote of encouragement or confidence in the OL. Posters KNOW how weak the talent is.

Our OL has been dissed on this board forever, certainly as long as you have been posting. The bottom line is that the OL has been solid for years. It is BETTER than the OL that won the last two Super Bowls. Both Mankins and Kaczur are upgrades over what we had then.

As I indicated, it is only here that Light and Kaczur are mediocre JAGS. Most here would have cut Kaczur rather than extend him to a solid contract and start him. Many wanted to trade Light.

The next 2-3 years will a time for transition on the OL. For this year, we will likely lose Mankins and gain Vollmer on the starting OL, ciompared to where we started in 2009. Perhaps this is a major loss, likely not. It remains to be seen whether any of the late round draftees (4th and higher) end up being more than depth in the next couple of years. I have been one that wanted to draft guards early in the past two drafts. Belichick has chosen to draft later and hope, and then draft higher next year if necessary.

THE BOTTOM LINE

We have one of the BEST pass-blocking offensive lines in the league. It has been top 10 for the entire decade. The way to see this is indeed the stats and the effectiveness of the passing offense. Yes, Brady is a god. But he has not led us to one of the top 3 passing offenses almost every year with OK receivers and a poor pass-protecting OL. That is just NOT the way it is.

Brady knows the truth. Belichick know the truth. Dante knows the truth. The opponents that we have played know the truth. Even analysts and players voting for probowl know the truth. The bottom line is that their truth is different from that of most posters here. We live in a time when truth is dependent on who is telling the story.

Foe me, it is what it is, as a couple of great coaches have taught us.


You speak the truth.

The Patriots have had a top 5 offensive line, year in and year out, for about half a decade now. A QB is going to get hit regardless of how good is line is.

The only weakness I see in the line is interior depth. Over the past 3 seasons, we've learned the importance of Steven Neal. With Mankins potentially out of the picture (at least for camp and half the season), this concern becomes magnified. I think Kaczur will be an adequate replacement for Mankins as a starter, but that thins things out big time.

Challenge for the offensive line bashers here. Name 10 tackles the are clearly better than Matt Light. I'll give you a head start...Long, Thomas, Clady, Gross, Roos...maybe Deihl...who else. Is Jason Peters any better than Light? Furguson, nah. There aren't many.

PatsCanDoIt

I think the oline is pretty good actually. Vollmer should stabilize the right side and then Kaczur would provide better depth at tackle and guard.

On the other hand I have no faith in the RBs to stay healthy. What if Maroney, Morris and Taylor are all injured at the same time? I wouldn't be surprised if it happened. Furthermore, I would be shocked if any of them made the probowl. That's not the case for any other unit on offense. At least the schedule seems favorable to the run game.

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mgteich

I agree that we need better prospects inside.

I have been a proponent of drafting an OG in the first or second round for the past two years, hopefully someone who also could backup at center. The situations with Mankins and Neal have been foreseeable. Obviously, the team has confidence in both Kaczur and Connolly.

Belichick has taken the road of drafting in late rounds and hoping to develop someone or two. We have had Ohrnberger, Bussey, Larsen in the past two years. It seems likely that we will need at least two starters inside by the time the 2012 season starts.

An interior lineman will almost assuredy be a top need going into the 2011 offseason unless we re-sign Mankins to a long-term deal.

[QUOTE=stinkypete;1862712]

RyanP421

Measuring pass protection on sacks allowed is an ignorant way to do that.

So if Brady is able to throw the ball away because he has LBs running towards him, we don't count that as bad pass protection because there was no sack, right?

willdeespats

[QUOTE=Bobs My Uncle;1862171]Playcalling is the biggest weakness on offense as far as I'm concerned. QUOTE]

I think its more than just play calling. Play calling is just one aspect of offensive coaching and that's where I think the greatest weakness lies. CW was an excellent offensive coach. He knew the right play to call because he studied the defense continuously. He didn't need to look at some play chart and make some prescripted selection. I hope BB not having an OC means that he will be much more involved with coaching the offense - I don't see anyone else that can do this!! And I realize that this is just a hope as BB seems to spend a lot of time during a game coaching the defense with his back to what the offense is doing.

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