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One of the most glaring shortcomings of the Patriots was highlighted by the downfield fireworks that took place in Baltimore’s 34-31 win over San Francisco on Sunday night, a game that turned into a shootout with 49ers signal-caller Colin Kaepernick and Ravens quarterback (and Super Bowl MVP) Joe Flacco both trading haymakers deep down the field.
That a quarterback like Flacco -- leaning heavily on veteran Anquan Boldin -- led his team to a title is hardly a surprise. He’s very much in the mold of the quarterbacks who have hoisted the Lombardi in recent years. Since Tom Brady and the Patriots last won the Super Bowl in 2005, the last quarterbacks standing have all been heavily reliant on working down the field with their wide receiving corps...
Look, this is not to suggest that the Patriots aren’t one of the league’s premier offenses. But in the wake of this season -- particularly, the performance of the Ravens’ passing game in the regular-season and playoffs -- it’s worth revisiting what an opposing scout told me about New England’s offseason priority list, and specifically, their need at receiver: “The Patriots need to add a vertical speed player with some size to the offense. Rob Gronkowski stretches the seams, and they are efficient running the ball, as well as with their horizontal passing attack. People try to get hands on their hands on wide receivers, and bracket inside options. If Gronk and Hernandez are on the field at the same time, they put stress on the defense -- but not as much vertically. The Patriots do have fast wide receivers, but they are small, and require Brady to be more accurate on his deeper throws. And because of their size, they aren’t consistent vertical threats. What they need is a wide receiver who is a vertical threat, but is also big enough to be physical in press coverage.”
He also noted that that while Flacco was first in the league in downfield targets at 17.3%, Brady was sixth at 13.2%. Real difference was Flacco was able to make those throws with zero picks because he was targeting big, physical WR's. Brady meanwhile had three of those throws picked. Flacco got most of the credit for last night, but his WR's stepped up and made plays, Bolden in particular.
We kicked his tires in 2010, but settled for the return of Deion Branch. Might be worth a look if the opportunity arises again. Kind of similar to the Reed situation, where the age and remaining motivation might be a concern. But we've wasted a lot more on a lot less recently.
patriots - Patriots' Super shortcoming easy to spot Sunday - WEEI | Christopher Price